Dear Colleagues,
We are now back into the rhythms of the semester. I want to thank everyone who attended the successful virtual Spring Forum and once again all our awesome presenters. Our workshop presenters graciously gave of their time, talents, and energy with the goal of helping faculty and staff think through how we can best support all of our students, undergraduate and graduate alike. Our winners of the $100 gift cards were: Dr. Carol Jim, Jamie Cacciola, and Dr. Jennifer Cuddapah. As we push forward to spring break, please consider attending Tea and Talk workshops in March. Presenters include Drs. Aijuan Dong, Becky Grove, and Suzanne Hiller. In addition, the CTL Advisory Committee will be reviewing the Academic Innovation Grant applications in the coming weeks and will notify the recipients. The CTL will continue its commitment to providing engaging workshops, webinars, and other learning opportunities regarding pedagogy in higher education. As always, please reach out to me if you have topics in mind that you would like to see addressed by the CTL in the future months.
Sincerely,
Paige Eager
"18 large, peer examined studies show improved learning and closed equity gaps among students taught by ACUE-credentialed faculty at institutions as diverse at Rutgers-Newark, Broward College, University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of Nevada, among others. Contrary to popular belief, this research also shows the relevance of foundational practices to faculty across subjects and different levels of experience. Put simply, good teaching works, and can be taught, at scale." Click here to learn more about how to teach good teaching.
"The stress, sadness, and logistical challenges that the pandemic continues to heap onto educators, staff, and students are exhausting. On top of that, our country is not at peace. That vibe permeates. The pandemic is dire and difficult, and the waves of worrisome political disruption make that burden so much heavier. How do we keep trudging through, when “resilience” feels like a fairytale buzzword? How do we stay positive during our third pandemic winter? Why should we?" Click here to keep reading.
"The College Board announced Tuesday that the SAT will be delivered digitally internationally beginning in 2023 and in the U.S. in 2024... Test will be offered in digital format only and will be two hours instead of three, among other changes." Click here to learn more about these upcoming changes to the SAT.
"What I didn’t expect was that I would learn a set of lessons that would significantly inform my leadership as an academic dean... Ali Carr-Chellman found that working on one, like learning to lead, requires attempting various approaches: trying, failing, trying again and seeing what works." Click here to learn what lessons can be applied to your perspective.
"Faculty everywhere have been observing an increase in student reports of mental health issues during the last few years. In this episode, Katherine Wolfe-Lyga and Kyle Dzintars join us to discuss how faculty, counseling centers, and institutions can work together to better support our students during challenging times." Listen to the latest Tea for Teaching podcast, episode 224, here.
"Our first- and second-year undergraduates have yet to experience a “normal” semester of college. Getting “back to normal” may not be a realistic or well-reasoned goal. But as faculty members, we have an opportunity to help: We can give grace and support to our students and ourselves through this uniquely taxing time." Click here to learn about six ways faculty can support their students without exhausting themselves in the process.
We challenge you to watch, read, listen and/or reflect on at least one equity-related item each day over the course of four work weeks - February 28 to April 1. You can use resources such as Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. and Debbie Irving's 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge or, if you’re already familiar with these recommendations, you could explore their resources on Activism Self-Care or Protest and Rebellion. This challenge can be an individual experience or a communal one. On Monday, February 28 from 11:15-11:30am and again from 5:00-5:15pm, Hood faculty and staff will host a 15-minute kickoff event where interested participants can meet via Zoom to complete Day 1 together. After that, Hood will host weekly Zoom check-ins on Fridays at 12noon, facilitated by Tina Barr, Cathy Breneman, Michelle Gricus, Tammi Simpson, and Ronnie Taylor. Blackboard discussion boards will also be incorporated for each day of the challenge. Keep your eye on your inboxes for links and more information concerning this challenge or contact Dr. Michelle Gricus for more information.
"As Black History Month began, dozens of HBCUs across the country were swarmed with bomb threats for two days in a row... When Favors learned of the threats, he wasn’t surprised. “My first initial thought is that this is not new,” he said. Black institutions have been targets of violent threats ever since they were created... Seeing what’s happening today, Favors said he can’t help but draw parallels to the hostile race relations of the Reconstruction era." Learn more here about the history of threats against historically black colleges and universities.
"This series starts by focusing on how to support undergraduates who are the first in their family to attend college and the lessons that institutions have learned by serving them that apply to other students." Click here to learn about how to support first-generation students.
"The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear an appeal of a ruling that Harvard University’s use of affirmative action in admissions is legal. In addition, the Court will hear an appeal of a similar decision that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)’s use of affirmative action is legal... While some legal and higher education experts say that affirmative action may not be overturned given precedent, with the makeup of the court today, others voice concern that the end is in sight and colleges may soon need to turn to other means to enhance diversity." Keep reading here.
"Colleges have promised for years to do more to expand the number of Black faculty members in their ranks. The numbers are stark. While 14 percent of undergraduate students are Black, only 6 percent of full-time faculty members are... So how can a college increase its number of Black faculty members without depleting the pool of minority educators at other institutions? We offer the following approaches." Click here to keep reading.
Discussion Boards: A new light!
Participation in a discussion board is one of the most common assignments in asynchronous courses. Instructors usually ask students to respond to a reading or a question and reply to several classmates. But at the same time, discussion boards are the one tool that students (and instructors) dislike the most. You may have heard: "Discussion boards are not engaging enough." "Prompts could be answered with a yes or not, but we have to be creative and answer in more than that." "Sometimes I just agree with my classmates; there is nothing else I could say and stresses me out trying to find something to write." "It is just so boring to read the same thing over and over again." Because of that, I would like to share a few articles on designing discussion boards that will get your students engaged and yourself looking forward to reading the threads.
Do you have a question about technology or teaching? Send an email to CTL@hood.edu, and on every Friday, we'll answer the question most broadly applicable across departments. When you email your question, let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous, use a fun sign-off moniker of your choosing (akin to the Dear Abby column), or list your name. All questions welcomed!
The Center for Teaching & Learning
Email: CTL@hood.edu
Website: www.hood.edu/CTL
Location: Hood College, Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD, USA
Phone: (301) 663-3131
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1139236646512716/
