Director's Note

Relationships. Building relationships is hard. And important on so many levels. Last month, I participated in a conference with a theme around relationships, and I took away several ideas that I offer as both reflective fodder and to help your planning for the coming semester:

When you cannot be present, you cannot teach effectively

Slowing down and focusing on relationships doesn’t negate that we are capable of producing

Mentor up, down, and across professional stages to unsettle hierarchical relationships and promote an ethos of care

Negotiate a balance between structured and unstructured meeting time

Students need meaningful relationships to both help and challenge them to explore big questions

We need to cultivate a culture where relationships encourage genuine support, curiosity and mutual growth

Consider the ways in which instructors create a learning environment that not only enriches knowledge but fosters wellbeing and welldoing

Looking for some examples of concrete strategies for strengthening relationships in teaching and professional activities? I have a few. This first, Centering Care in the Academic Research Enterprise, is a fresh take on the culture and practice within our collective scholarly community. The next is an online guide, Community Building in the Classroom, with a wealth of activities to foster engagement among students. Trust as a foundation for relationships is highlighted in this piece, Building Trust with Students–Even Before Class Starts. Lastly, who knew that assessment practices could also help contribute to a relationship-rich learning environment? Check out Fostering Success Through Connection: The Impact of Collaborative Quizzes on Relationship-Rich Education.

At what cost? Artificial intelligence poses interesting challenges to human relationships. And to resources both human and environmental. Of late, I have been reading about who exactly stands to gain from wide(r) AI adoption. While I may sound critical, what I am most interested in underscoring is the importance of critical questioning and analysis–things us academics are good at. I also appreciate that conversations about AI on our campuses have centered ethics and equity. Can one take the bias out of the algorithm? Or, as with biases inherent in teaching evaluations, do we proceed with deliberate mitigation strategies? Particularly given the timing of this mailing during Human Rights Week and the focus here on relationships, it is worth keeping an eye on the intersection of technologies and their applications with fundamental human rights. And in considering our sources of information, we would be wise to note the extent to which the medium is the message. A cohort from GVSU will be attending an AI conference in Lansing next week. The focus will be on K-12 educators and I am eager to be part of the conversation. We will be sure to share what we learned with others. Lest I forget to offer resources, here are a few pieces listed in (my) order of priority. If you only have time to review one thing on the topic of AI in advance of the winter semester, please read this first article:

Framework for the Future: Building AI Literacy in Higher Education White Paper

Assigning AI: Seven Approaches for Students With Prompts

Embracing the Future of Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom: The Relevance of AI Literacy, Prompt Engineering, and Critical Thinking in Modern Education

U. S. Department of Labor Artificial Intelligence and Working Well-being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers

Pew FTLC Teaching Guide, Generative AI in Education

Curiosity. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this word in the past few weeks. The contexts have varied widely: creativity/flow, scholarly activity, student success, civil discourse, leadership, and, yes, AI. If asked to distill the purpose of higher education, I would be tempted to respond with: to cultivate curiosity. We do an amazing job of helping students to ask deep, beautiful questions and seek robust, multifaceted answers. We model intellectual curiosity and foster lifelong commitments to learning and growth. I do wonder, though, how visible all of this is to students. Is it clear why instructors send out a pre-class “get to know more about you” survey? Do students appreciate why we sometimes (okay, often) respond to their questions with questions instead of answers? Is the intention and design of assignments that ground course content in students’ lived experiences well understood? As usual, I have more questions than answers, but I invite you to ponder with me and keep the notion of curiosity at the forefront as we approach the months and year ahead.

Quick reads. I love books. Especially the long ones. That said, I recently read three short but important books that I couldn’t resist recommending here:

The thin book of trust: The 3rd edition was published this fall and is available through University Libraries (after entering your GV email to access the eBook)

Me and white supremacy: Combat racism, change the world, and become a good ancestor: I read this as part of a workshop, Antiracist development for white leaders, also available as an eBook through University Libraries

A teacher’s guide to learning student names: Why you should, why it’s hard, how you can: the briefest of the bunch, hot off the press, and part of an evocative new series co-edited by James Lang and Michelle Miller. If you can’t wait for the book to arrive, here is an interview with the author and two shorter guides: one from Yale and the other from Ohio State.

Have a safe and restful break. I look forward to reconnecting in the new year.

–Christine Rener

GVSU Assessment Conference 2025

The Office of the Provost and the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center are excited to reignite our annual GVSU Assessment Conference for 2025! The event will be on Friday, January 10, 2025, at the Eberhard Center. This is a great way to share and learn about multi-faceted assessment practices across campus to enhance student learning and experiences.

Register here to connect with colleagues and help us build our culture of assessment. We look forward to seeing you!

We revamped our Teaching Guides!

Our Teaching Guides provide instructional materials for faculty of all levels and disciplines. Within each topic division are pages curated on evidence-based teaching strategies, explanations of learning principles, and take-and-try resources to support your professional development. For example:

Want to know more about student motivation but are unsure where to start? Check out the "Motivation" page under “Principles of Learning.”
Heard a colleague talk about growth mindset and want to know more? Read the “Growth vs Fixed Mindset” page under “Principles of Learning.”

Curious about engaging with scholarship on teaching and learning? You might find our regularly updated "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning" page helpful.

Winter Sneak Peak!
Strong Start Teaching Institute Continuing Series

An extension of our annual Strong Start Teaching Insititute, this continuing Winter series is meant to carry on conversations around small teaching practices for faculty to support our first and second-year students. Throughout the Winter semester, workshops will cover topics like challenges in student reading competencies and redesigning your syllabus with student feedback. These in-person workshops will be offered at both the Allendale and Downtown campuses by our Assistant Director, Dr. Maggie Goss. More to come in our next newsletter!

Looking for Tech Professional Development?

Register on Workday Learn to discover new ways to elevate your teaching at Speed TECHing, an exciting professional development event for faculty on January 24, 2025 9am – 12pm (Devos campus, classrooms to be sent after the semester begins).

For those unable to make it to campus, there will also be an option to participate online via Zoom. Visit the eLearning Technologies website to learn more. This event is a collaborative effort featuring eLearning Technologies, FTLC, Student Accessibility Resources, and University Libraries.

Join a Winter Learning Community!

Looking to connect, grow, and learn this winter? Learning Communities (LCs) offer faculty and staff a chance to engage in 1–2 semester-long discussions on shared interests. Explore our current LCs and find one that inspires you! Visit our Current Learning Community webpage to see all of the exciting options.

Here are some that might be of interest to you:

CLAS FACULTY INCLUSIVE TEACHING LEARNING COMMUNITY
How can CLAS faculty foster a greater sense of belonging and success for all students in the classroom?
CREATING A COMMUNITY OF CRITICAL PRACTICE IN MENTORING
How do the complex and discriminatory systems in higher education affect students' experiences, and how can faculty address these issues through mentoring?
CURE 101: GETTING STARTED WITH RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM
How can we take an existing course and add a research activity to promote an interest in student research?
DIALOGUE: CONVERSATIONS FOR THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND
How might authentic dialogue practices foster open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, constructive disagreement, and sustained curiosity in group learning environments?
HUMANITIES FOR ALL
What do we as Humanities faculty value the most, and how can we most effectively work together to make our dreams a reality?
INCORPORATING TRAUMA-SENSITIVE MINDFULNESS INTO TEACHING AND WORKING WITH STUDENTS
How might student wellbeing be enhanced through trauma-sensitive mindfulness practices?
ZINES! A REVOLUTION IN LEARNING, ACCESS, AND INFORMATION
How and why should zines be used in a college-level, interdisciplinary classroom?

Still want to propose an LC of your own? We invite you to submit a proposal!