Dear Colleagues,
At the FCTL we are enjoying every hint of spring, and hope you are too! In this issue, we’d like to draw your attention to the NKU Inclusive Teaching Academy occurring on April 7-8, a two-day immersion into the foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for educators who wish to lead and instruct through a lens of racial equity and inclusivity while creating a learning environment that fosters a sense of belonging for every student. The FCTL can assist with funding if you are interested in attending.
Also, please note the Blackboard Professional Development Series Distant Education is offering this semester.
Finally, this week the FCTL is hosting two workshops on Faculty Mental Health. Drs. Bernadette Barton and Connie Hardesty will review some of the research-based stresses faculty are experiencing during COVID and explore strategies to enhance individual well-being. We will discuss how we can help ourselves, help one another, and how MSU can best support us. There will be opportunities for you to share your stories if you like. The same material will be offered on two different days to best accommodate campus teaching schedules. While this workshop focuses on instructors, much of the information presented and explored will be of value to staff as well. The FCTL recognizes the toll COVID continues to take on all university employees and invites everyone to attend one of the February workshops on mental health. The FCTL Workshop on Faculty Mental Health will be Feb 22 from 3:30-5:00 and Feb 25 from 1-2:30, on WebEx. To save your spot, you may click on the link here.
Wishing you a wonderful week!
FCTL
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Save the Date for NKU’s Inaugural Inclusive Teaching Academy |
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The 2022 Inclusive Teaching Academy will be a two-day immersion into the foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for educators who wish to lead and instruct through a lens of racial equity and inclusivity while creating a learning environment that fosters a sense of belonging for every student. In this two-day workshop, the goal is to provide participants an opportunity to increase their own awareness about concepts related to cultural and learning diversity through discussion and interaction, as well as to identify the conditions and strategies necessary to create relevant and engaging lessons that enable diverse students to matriculate and graduate. |
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Blackboard Tool Tips
Professional Development Series
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Blackboard 102 | Course Materials: I Can Show You the World
In this session, we will demonstrate best practices on sharing course materials, including how to share different types of course materials, choosing the right materials, and ensuring the materials align with your course goals.
To sign up for this session click here and select one of the dates listed below:
- Tuesday, February 22nd at 3pm
- Wednesday, February 23rd at 2pm
Blackboard 202 | Groups: What’s Gonna Work? Teamwork!
In this session, we will demonstrate tools and best practices for group work in Blackboard, including Blackboard Groups, Discussion Forums, group assignments, and group contracts.
To sign up for this session, click here and select one of the dates listed below:
- Tuesday, March 8th at 2pm
- Wednesday, March 9th at 3pm
- Tuesday, March 22nd at 3pm
- Wednesday, March 23rd at 2pm
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
In this session, DEID and Professor of Education Dr. Chris Miller will demonstrate best practices for incorporating UDL in your online/hybrid course.
To sign up for this session, click here and select one of the dates listed below:
- Tuesday, April 12th at 2pm
- Wednesday, April 13th at 3pm
Blackboard 302 | Grade Center: Making the Grades
Keeping track of student grades can be difficult, and the complexity of Blackboard’s Grade Center can be daunting. In this session, we will demonstrate how to quickly and easily organize your course Grade Center, add grade categories, and create accurate weighted grades.
To sign up for one of these sessions, click here and select one of the dates listed below:
- Tuesday, April 19th at 2pm
- Wednesday, April 20th at 3pm
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Supporting Women Academics During COVID |
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The pandemic has had a profound impact on the professional and personal lives of women academics. Shouldering increased demands of child-care, elder-care, and student emotional support, female faculty members are reporting higher levels of stress and lower research productivity, and are submitting fewer research papers for publication. How can colleges support women as they grapple with changing professional and personal demands?
A virtual forum, hosted by Liz McMillen, The Chronicle’s executive editor, will include a panel of experts to discuss the unequal effects on women and to offer potential solutions to such questions as:
- What barriers do female faculty members face as a result of the pandemic?
- Beyond extending the tenure clock, what measures can colleges take?
- What can colleges do to consider the needs of contingent faculty members who are women?
You can register to watch on demand here. |
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SWEET Advice for Student Success |
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We spend a lot of time thinking about strategies for teaching and learning that can improve student learning. Sometimes, we need to step back and think about the state of the learner. How well can a student make use of the learning activities we design?
Bowen (2012, 2017a & b) suggests we not only remind students, but encourage them to attend to non-cognitive factors that can improve (or interfere with) their ability to learn. Bowen identifies five non-cognitive factors and describes these in a neat mnemonic that makes them easy for students and faculty to recall: SWEET.
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Sleep. Modern life (and the allure of screens) promotes sleep deprivation. Small daily doses of sleep deprivation accumulate over time and impair short term memory and attention. Two weeks of chronic sleep deprivation can create cognitive impairments similar to impairments observed in people who have been awake for 48 hours. Moreover, sleep is important for consolidating memories and new skills.
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Water. Our brains function better when our body is properly hydrated. Students sometimes try to offset sleep deprivation by consuming caffeinated beverages, which also function as diuretics. They might feel more awake, but they will function better if they ensure that they are properly hydrated.
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Eat. Just as hydration is important for brain function, so is nutrition. Thinking (and learning) requires energy and effort. Reduced glucose levels in the brain have been associated with more impulsive behavior and impaired decision-making (Masicampo & Baumeister, 2008).
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Exercise. Bowen argues that physical activity can improve cognitive function. A growing body of research illustrates how simple activities like taking a walk can help individuals solve problems and develop new, creative ideas.
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Time. Learning requires practice, and practice requires spending time on assigned practice tasks. In addition, many effective learning strategies (the testing effect, spaced repetition) entail multiple episodes of practice distributed over time.
Resources
Bowen, J. A. (2017a, June). Assessment as strategy: You are what you measure. Plenary address at the annual meeting of the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE), Louisville, KY.
Bowen, J. A. (2017b). Teaching naked techniques: A practical guide to designing better classes. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Bowen, J. A. (2012). Teaching naked: How moving technology out of your college classroom will improve student learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Masicampo, E. J. & Baumeister, R. F. (2008). Toward a physiology of dual-process reasoning and judgment: Lemonade, willpower, and expensive rule-based analysis. Psychological Science, 19, 255-260.
Submitted by:
Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D., Director
Center for University Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
University of West Florida
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What I Love About Teaching |
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Let's hear from you!
Share your response to the question "What I Love About Teaching". Your response can be short, long, a bulleted list, or an image to offer up a few suggestions.
To share your response, click here.
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Educator Insights: Accommodations: Support more granular control
Accommodations support instructors to specify extra time for students on timed assessments. Instructors may set any percentage of extra time needed for a student's time limit accommodation. This change supports both the students’ needs and the instructor’s assessment strategy.
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Ambassadors for Excellence in Teaching
Morehead State University
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