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August 29, 2018

Volume 2, Number 2

Building Cohorts in the Classrooom

One of the best ways to assist in retaining students is to engage them as an active part of a cohort within the classroom. Students who feel involved and important are more likely to be eager to attend every class meeting and retain the content shared there. Building a nest of Eagles in your classroom can be accomplished in many ways. Let’s look at three quick and easy ideas that can assist. Using a student’s name makes them feel involved and important. It’s also helpful in cohort building for the students in a class to know each other’s name. Starting the semester with name tents can help facilitate this. The visual reminder aids you in learning the students name and helps them remember each other as well. Giving them a blank sheet of card stock on the first day of class and an assignment to make their own tent for the semester allows some self- expression as well. Providing an electronic space for class interaction is also a valuable tool. Setting up a GroupMe account where the students can communicate in a text-like fashion helps facilitate discussion outside of a traditional Blackboard Discussion Board, but still in a controlled environment. They can quickly send a message to ask about an assignment, but they can also send an invitation message that says “I’m at The Rock studying for the exam if anyone wants to join.” The instructor’s role can be minimal and direct messages can be sent to other members or the instructor without sharing personal phone numbers. This is an app that students can access on their phones, but it can also be accessed from the web on a pc. Many times students will share information in writing that they wouldn’t necessarily share out loud. Adding a non-traditional question asking mechanism to your classroom can bring topics to light that wouldn’t be addressed by the students in a classroom discussion. This can be done through quiz questions that ask things like “what’s the worst thing about being at MSU” or “what’s one thing you wish Mrs. Highley knew.” It can also be accomplished by adding a question box by the door and requiring questions be dropped in one day per week. Pass out index cards and explain that the price of exiting is to deposit the card with a question or comment on it. You’ll be surprised what you get early in the semester and at high stress points during the term. – Mindy Highley, Assistant Vice President Alumni Relations & Development

Events on Campus for Students

Here are opportunities for students (and maybe you) on campus: Career Services (ground floor of the Camden-Carroll Library): Road Show - August 22nd (Wednesday) from 10am to 2pm at the Bell Tower. Stop by to learn more about Career Services and get all of your career-related questions answered. Resume Lab - Sept 5th (Wednesday) from 2pm to 4pm in Bert Combs Building, Room 302. Your resume is a very important document in your job/internship search. Drop in and let the professionals in Career Services assist you in constructing a strong resume. Start from scratch or bring a draft in electronic form.

In-The-Know

Stem+ Monthly Webinar First Friday of Every Month: 3-4pm est The Next Webinar: September 7, 2018  KyCC has created a monthly webinar for STEM+ faculty to connect with each other and learn about effective practices. The webinar is on the first Friday of the month from 3-4pm EST.  For more information, please see their website: https://kycompact.org/what-we-do/stem-network/.

2018 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis October 21-23, 2018 *Registration deadline is October 5th * The Assessment Institute in Indianapolis is the nation's oldest and largest event focused exclusively on outcomes assessment in higher education. This event is designed to provide opportunities for (1) individuals and campus teams new to outcomes assessment to acquire fundamental knowledge about the field, (2) individuals who have worked as leaders in outcomes assessment to share and extend their knowledge and skills, and (3) those interested in outcomes assessment at any level to establish networks that serve as sources of support and expertise beyond the dates of the Institute. For more info, click here.

Kentucky Convergence Conference Save-The-Date: October 17-19, 2018 The 2018 Kentucky Convergence Conference will be held October 17-19 at the University of Louisville Shelby Campus. This year’s theme is “The Next Reality: Doing it Farther, Faster, and Better.” Convergence is the single event that brings together professionals in information technology, academic libraries, online learning, and instructional design from all the public and private colleges and universities in Kentucky and the surrounding states. Sponsored by Kentucky post-secondary institutions and private sector partners, Kentucky Convergence is a conference that emphasizes innovations and best practices in the fastest-growing areas of higher education. For more info: http://kyconvergence.org

Teaching Professor Conference - (June 7-9) - New Orleans  The Teaching Professor Conference, is accepting proposals for concurrent sessions and poster presentations. New this year is a proposal to present a 20-Minute Mentor session, which will be published as a Magna Webinar (yes, that's the ones we feature below).   The deadline for submitting a proposal is October 31. The conference is June 7-9, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Conference information and session proposal can be found here .

Magna (Online) Webinars 24/7 Professional Development for Faculty

Featured Webinars: What is the Best Way to Grade Participation? Faculty members know it is essential for students to be active participants in their own education. The challenge, however, is developing a method to grade class participation. This webinar explores: Activities worth doing and how-to-do them. Common mistakes to avoid when grading participation. Ways to evaluate and refine the grading method. What Do Students Want in Online Courses? The webinar addresses how to meet the needs of both students and faculty when developing online courses, including how to: Ask the right questions on the front end. Create a better online experience. Meet students' needs without sacrificing standards. Accessing Webinars:  These licensed Magna resources are available through a password-protected website. For access, faculty need to: Log into MSU’s employee portal; Look under the My Classes (Blackboard) section for the Magna Training Site; If Magna isn't showing up in your list of courses, please send a request to be added to msuonline@moreheadstate.edu. When you click on the Magna Training Site, the Blackboard shell will open. Please note, you will be asked to submit a "Terms of Use" agreement before viewing any webinars. Benefits of Magna Webinars: I understand that you have a lot on your plate, so let me give you a few reasons why you should consider trying a Magna webinar: Each webinar takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. All webinars are available on your schedule since they are online and easily accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Webinars include supplemental materials such as bibliographies and handouts. Certificates of completion are available for professional portfolios and Faculty 180.

Ambassadors for Excellence in Teaching Morehead State University workshopwednesday@moreheadstate.edu

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