CEILS Monthly Newsletter 

Issue #99 | October 2023

ceils.ucla.edu

Join us October 18th & 25th from 3:00 - 3:50pm PT

Terasaki Life Sciences 1100



Join us as we explore the latest high quality STEM Education Research studies and how to implement effective and inclusive teaching. We welcome guest speakers from UCLA and other academic institutions to share their research and lead small group discussions with our teaching and learning community. Faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and anyone interested in STEM education research are welcome to participate.

Happy Hour in the Hershey Hall Front Courtyard following the talks at 4:00pm.

Call for Instructional Improvement Grant Applications - Due Nov. 9th!

The UCLA Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) presents this call for the Instructional Improvement Program (IIP) grants. The grant program supports innovation, experimentation and development of undergraduate curricula and pedagogy. Projects may be initiated by faculty, departments or larger units. Proposals should address the specific needs of an undergraduate course or curriculum and explicate an appropriate and cost-effective response to a clearly defined pedagogical problem.

The TLC would like to make special note that IIP grants — as well as mini-grants for guest speakers, media purchases, etc. — can be used to support issues of diversity and inclusiveness in the classroom and to address disparities in performance between students in different demographic groups. The IIP Committee believes these are important considerations for faculty in designing their curricula.

Please review the 2023–2024 Instructional Improvement Grant Program overview and online application.

To enable the Committee on Instructional Improvement Programs’ full deliberation, all proposals must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 9, 2023. Please contact us at IIP@teaching.ucla.edu with any questions or to schedule a consultation appointment.

Teagle Foundation Grant Opportunity

A grant from the Teagle Foundation to UCLA has made possible an additional funding opportunity to support the development of new General Education (GE) classes and the modification of existing non-GE classes to qualify as GEs. Successful proposals create a GE class that brings engineering students together with students from non-engineering majors to form a diverse group of learners engaged in exploring a General Education topic while developing skills that are hallmarks of a liberal arts education.

Proposals are encouraged from all UCLA departments. Funding includes a $5,000 grant in research funds and a one-quarter GSR to support the development of the new course. Proposed modifications to existing courses will receive either the faculty research fund grant or GSR support. If the proposal includes plans for GSR support, a separate proposal for the GSR support must be submitted to the IIP program.

More information including submission instructions can be found on the UCLA Teagle Foundation Grant website. Please contact us at IIP@teaching.ucla.edu with any questions or to schedule a consultation appointment.

In Fall quarter 2023, on Tuesdays at 10am, the TLC instructional designers are offering a series of seven pop-up sessions on focused, specific topics related to online/hybrid course design. For 10 minutes, they will demo how to do something in your course that will benefit your students’ learning, while simplifying your teaching with Bruin Learn. An optional, additional 10 minutes is available for discussion and Q & A.

• 10/17 Make your Syllabus Accessible in Bruin Learn
• 10/24 (Why) Organize your Quiz Questions in Quiz Banks
• 10/31 Creating Engaging Discussion Prompts
• 11/07 How to Keep Students on Track in Hybrid & Online Courses
• 11/14 To Skim or Not to Skim: Using Headings for Accessibility

Zoom link for all sessions: Click Here

For more information, click here or use the QR code:

SABER West 2024

Building Bridges For Equity in STEM

University of California, Irvine

The eighth annual SABER West conference will be held face to face on January 13-14, 2024 with pre-conference workshops on Friday January 12, 2024. Early registration is open now through November 17th!

From Physics to Life

October 12, 2023 | 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm PT

California NanoSystems Institute | Alfred E Mann Family Foundation Auditorium

From Physics to Life is a series of public talks by leading scientists, followed by a panel debate on the origin of life and beyond. Topics include: “Are we alone in the universe?”; “Does life need quantum mechanics?”; “Quantum steampunk”; and “Why is the universe just right for life?”

From black holes to the Nobel Prize - Jim meets.. Andrea Ghez

October 12, 2023 | 6:30pm - 8:00pm PT

California NanoSystems Institute

Quantum physicist, best selling author and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili talks with UCLA astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner Andrea Ghez about her life and work. From a childhood ambition to become the first female astronaut - as well as a ballerina - Andrea fell in love with space and never looked back. In 2020 she shared the Nobel Prize for Physics (only the forth woman to do so) for her part in the discovery of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. 

Featured Resource: Student Campus Resources Guide

This resource guide for UCLA students has been developed by Britney Robinson, DEI Coordinator for Physical Sciences and Lauren Buzzanco, Lead mentor for the Summer BRIDGE Program. Please share this in your classes, with your colleagues, and add it to your course syllabus to help spread the word about all of these supportive programs available to our students. Thank you, Britney and Lauren, for your work developing this comprehensive resource!!

For more information about CEILS events and resources, including a list of STEM education events from previous mailers, please visit the CEILS website at ceils.ucla.edu or stop by our CEILS office in 222 Hershey Hall. If you wish to be added to the CEILS mailing list for future newsletters and special announcements, please send your request to media@ceils.ucla.edu. 

Please note, this monthly newsletter is circulated through many departmental listservs. Most other CEILS correspondence, including special event announcements and reminders, are sent to CEILS mailing list recipients only. If you have questions or have difficulty reading this newsletter, please email us at media@ceils.ucla.edu.