Greetings Colleagues,
I certainly hope everyone had a bit of time to recharge over Fall Break. Thank you to everyone who has participated in our October workshops. Remember, we are posting recordings of these workshops on the CTL Blackboard site. We have exciting Tea and Talks from Xinlian Liu happening today, Jay Harrison on October 22, Mary Atwell on November 12th, all running from 3-4:30pm both in-person and virtually. Please let me know if you have other ideas you would like to bring forward for programming as we already start to think and plan for the spring semester. We at the CTL endeavor to offer workshops that will empower all of you both inside and outside of the classroom.
Best wishes,
Paige Eager
"A new website for academics offers 20-minute micro courses to help you catch up on teaching innovations.... OneHE is a British faculty-development site that emphasizes brief but meaningful training — by faculty members — in essential areas of teaching and learning for academics around the globe." Click here to keep reading about how this new resource could help you quickly refresh your skills.
"Email is not making our work easier... The conveniences only escalate demands on specialized professionals to communicate and perform administrative tasks once previously performed by support staff.... Even if we can't change the way our entire university communicates, we can do something to take control of our email-addled minds." Click here to read Newport's three recommendations for higher education professionals on how to manage your email inbox.
Thanks to April Boulton, Associate Professor of Biology & Dean of Graduate School, for this article!
Tammi Simpson is the new VP of Community and Inclusivity at Hood College. We asked her to five questions about her role and here is what she said:
1. How did you become interested in working in higher education? Some of my college classmates work in higher education as professors and deans at other institutions. They often told me how much they enjoyed their work and that I should consider it. Having been in the field for almost eight years, I understand completely what they mean and wouldn’t change the path that I’m on for anything in the world.
2. How does your work in Community and Inclusivity fit with Hood's mission? As you know, Hood’s mission is to provide an education that empowers students to use their hearts, minds and hands to meet personal, professional and global challenges and to lead purposeful lives of responsibility, leadership, service and civic engagement. How does one empower students to lead purposeful lives of responsibility, leadership and service without ensuring that they feel welcomed and included in this space? If students transfer from Hood because they feel that they do not belong here, then we have failed in delivering upon Hood’s mission. How can students use their hearts, minds and hands to meet personal and professional goals if they are experiencing hunger or they do not feel well mentally or physically? In my view, there is a direct correlation between the work of the Division of Community and Inclusivity and Hood’s mission.
3. How do you respond to folks who sometimes argue that "DEI" Is just the latest trend in higher education? At first, I was annoyed by the question. Upon further reflection, my next thought was that, if true, then great. I’m thrilled that it is a “trend” in higher education after many years where underrepresented groups were denied admission because of their race or ethnicity or, when finally admitted, they faced accusations that they were not smart enough to be successful. Underrepresented students were forced to “fit in,” or were invisible on college campuses and yet were faced with denials that inequalities existed in higher education institutions. One could also argue that if it’s true that DEI is a trend, then it’s concerning because that indicates that we are supposed to move on to the new shiny object. Intransigent issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion weren’t created overnight and they certainly won’t be fixed quickly even if it’s no longer trendy to talk or write about it.
4. What are three strategies that faculty and staff can utilize on a daily basis to be intentional about foregrounding DEI? I can think of three easy strategies to start:
- Support the co-curricular activities of diverse students by attending programs and events.
- Make time to attend DEI trainings or continuing education on DEI and how to make your syllabus and classrooms more inclusive.
- Practice the Hood Hello! everywhere to everyone you run across.
5. Any tips for faculty/staff on work-life balance? I admit that I don’t do this well and I have to be more mindful that work-life balance is critical in the long term to being the best version of myself at work and home. I often advise students of the following: do not sit and study or read for more than hour. Take a quick five-minute break, get up and walk around, chat with a colleague or friend, and then return to work. Another suggestion is to take advantage of Rev. Beth’s Mindful Meditation sessions. And finally, while the weather is still pleasant, conduct meetings outdoors if you can.
"This positive/negative, joy/guilt, excitement/anxiety, love/hostility emotional tug of war occurring in offices, factories, schools, homes, and neighborhoods across the country has led some of my colleagues to describe America’s current emotional landscape as a weird place where grief and gladness, despair and delight, oppression and optimism exist in the same space and time, rarely experienced on such a collective scale before." Click here to read more about the complicated impacts of COVID-19.
"Since January, I’ve spent hours on Zoom fielding questions from doctoral students and postdocs about mentoring and mentors... I never expected to teach a graduate course on mentoring, nor did I expect that, when I did, my students would be so captivated by the topic. But with a pandemic curtailing opportunities for in-person interactions, mentoring — or the lack thereof — has been on everyone’s minds." Keep reading here.
"Drawing on narratives from hundreds of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous individuals, Ebony Omotola McGee examines the experiences of underrepresented racially minoritized students and faculty members who have succeeded in STEM. Based on this extensive research, McGee advocates for structural and institutional changes to address racial discrimination, stereotyping, and hostile environments in an effort to make the field more inclusive." Click here to read more about this book.
Thanks to April Boulton, Associate Professor of Biology & Dean of Graduate School, for this article!
"Fifty years after the sexual revolution, there is still an essential conflict between child rearing and professional advancement in academe. While law firms and tech companies typically provide employees with paid parental leave (and even, in some cases, fertility treatments), many academics must do without such accommodations. Academic parents often have no paid parental leave, no child-care subsidies, and sky-high expectations about their productivity during the most intensive years of child rearing." Continue reading here.
Lecture Capture Using Panopto Capture
Despite being back in the classroom, there are still many faculty that are recording their lectures using the Blackboard, Zoom, and the Panopto integration. But, did you know that you can skip the Zoom step to provide a recording of your lectures and activities? To do this you can use the Panopto Video link inside of your Blackboard course site, navigate to the "Create" button, and use the "Panopto Capture" tool. There is no need to install any software and you will have many of the same capabilities as you did in Zoom. To demonstrate how this works in a classroom environment, I have created a short demonstration video here. Once you make your recording, it starts to instantly process in Panopto and is available for students to review. To learn more about how you can use Panopto Capture without the need for Zoom, please also take a look at these training materials provided by Panopto Support here. As always, if you have questions about using Panopto Capture, please contact the IT Help Desk at helpdesk@hood.edu or 301-696-3622.
Groupwork during COVID!
As someone who does a LOT of group work during class time, my students and I have been figuring out ways to make it a bit more COVID friendly. Since students’ comfort levels really vary in terms of working closely with others while indoors, my goal is for everyone to be at ease and focused on the task at hand... rather than worrying about having to sit close to others, or make themselves heard while wearing a mask in a classroom of people all talking simultaneously. So this is the process that has been working well for us:
- When group work is on the agenda, I post the info they need in our weekly folder on Bb right before class begins.
- I start off class by reviewing that info and making sure everyone understands what their goals are and how long they have to work.
- Once groups split up, they can go anywhere they want on campus so that all group members are comfortable (most usually work at the tables outside Whitaker, since my classes meet in Rosenstock, but some prefer to work in a library study room).
- I stay available on Zoom so that I can answer any questions that come up while they are working (or if everyone is working outside Whit, I will hang out with them there).
- Sometimes I ask them to work collaboratively in an online doc that I have set up; other times I ask them to create something and upload it to Bb – it just depends on what we are trying to accomplish that day.
- We reconvene in the classroom at a specific time to review everyone’s work and have our concluding discussion.
This process has been working well! I’ve been pleased with the level of collaborative thinking and problem solving that has happened, and students are enjoying the variation in their routine. As we all know, many of them have long days with back-to-back classes and so a bit of a break from that (and for many of them, a chance to take off their mask) helps introduce a bit more normalcy into everyone’s day. Got other great ideas for COVID-friendly groupwork? I’d love to hear what’s working in your classes too!
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
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