Pew Faculty Teaching & Learning Center
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Director's Note
Sense of Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation
I am sharing four items that have risen to the top of my browser tab collection in the hopes that they provide inspiration and practical suggestions for getting your Winter 2023 courses off to a solid start.
Sneak Previews
Pew FTLC Office Hours
Before the semester begins, our Faculty Learning Communities launch and Happy Hours take place, we wanted to offer several Pew FTLC Office Hours. No registration required; feel free to stop in any time.
Thursday, January 5, 10am – 12pm, 3068 Zumberge, Allendale Campus
Friday, January 6, 1 – 3pm, 411 Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Resources and ideas related to these four topics will be highlighted:
• Student engagement
• Assessment and grading practices
• Building community in the classroom
• Student support services
Student Success Series: Student Engagement Indicators
As part of the ongoing Student Success Series, GVSU is delighted to host Dr. Jillian Kinzie on Wednesday, January 18th. In her 9–11am session to be held on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus, Dr. Kinzie, Associate Director, Center for Postsecondary Research and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Institute at Indiana University's School of Education, will present an in-depth look at Grand Valley's data in comparison to other institutions. Schedule and registration details will follow in the new year, but please do mark your calendars for this important conversation.
Just for Fun
Maybe I am behind the times, but I have been inspired by Powerpoint Karaoke to go through my professional and teaching slide decks and create havoc and laughter for my family.
Depending on your definition of fun, I wanted to remind you that the Pew FTLC subscribes to the Magna Publications Mentor Commons. If you don’t yet have an account, contact us at pewftlc@gvsu.edu and we will send you the activation code and access instructions. You have 24/7 access to 100’s of 20-minute video-based programs, including titles such as:
• What is ungrading and how can it unleash your students’ potential?
• How can I structure class discussions to maximize student engagement?
• What behavioral changes can I make to inspire enthusiasm in my classroom?
• What three things should I do each week to engage online students?
As I am thinking about my own course next semester, I have some Google Workspace ideas brewing. If you are happy with the ways that you have incorporated Google applications in your own teaching, I would love to hear about it.
I wish you peace and rest as this semester winds up (as it reliably does each year) and also over the coming break. Take care and I look forward to reconnecting in the new year.
– Christine Rener
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A Few Spots Remain
Winter 2023 In-Person Teaching Life Retreat: Take a Step Back and Consider
Friday, January 6, 2023 • 9am—4pm
Calvin University Prince Conference Center
Do you ever wish for a respite from your busy schedule long enough to consider the "big picture?" To quietly reflect on where you've been and where you'd like to go? To have a warm and supportive environment in which to commune with your colleagues? Join us for a day-long retreat where you will have time to think, journal, converse, walk, eat, and restore. Calvin University's Prince Conference Center has a beautiful stone fireplace for warmth and relaxation and a gorgeous arboretum (adjacent to the conference center) for a refreshing and peaceful walk. We will provide brief readings ahead of the retreat that are intended to inspire reflection. Give yourself the gift of this time before you embark on yet another semester of activity.
This one-day retreat will be held in person at the Calvin University Prince Conference Center from 9am–4pm. Lunch will be included.
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Pew FTLC Winter 2023 Ultra Working Groups: Centering Teaching Best Practices During the Bb Ultra Transition
Students are more engaged, learn more, persist in their studies, and graduate in stronger numbers when we use evidence-based teaching practices. A focus on pedagogy/andragogy first, in combination with content expertise and research methods must drive our response to technology and platform upgrades.
Details will be forthcoming in early January, but we invite you to consider joining a small group of faculty colleagues in a working group facilitated by an expert graduate of the ACUE course on effective teaching strategies who is also an early adopter of Bb Ultra. The group will work together in making the move to Bb Ultra align with those best and most effective teaching practices. We are finalizing the schedule and will be offering groups that meet either in person or virtually.
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Join a Winter 2023 Faculty Learning Community
Looking to connect with others and build community around something you are intersted in? Want to learn something new but in a more relaxed and collaborative way?
Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) bring faculty together for a 1-2 semester long conversation on a topic of mutual interest and encourage an application of the knowledge gained.
Building a Sense of Community for All—How might we create a culture in higher education where students feel a sense of belonging in that they are comfortable being themselves in communities valued by the university?
Connected Teaching—What strategies might we use to better connect with our students in helping them meet with success in and out of the classroom?
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Faculty Happy Hours are BACK
Join us in Winter 2023 on BOTH the Allendale Campus and the Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Faculty Happy Hour is BACK and expanding to both campuses! Join us each month for fellowship, talk about teaching, light snacks, and a cash bar (that only accepts credit cards).
All faculty are welcome. Registration is not required—just drop by! A few minutes will be devoted to talk about about a teaching topic and then the rest of the time is reserved for engaging in fellowship. Drop in (and take off) at any time during the 4:30–5:30pm window. Topics for this coming semester include: Ungrading, Reacting to the Past, Community-Based Learning, Teaching Innovation Grants and more! Mark your calendars!
ALLENDALE FACULTY HAPPY HOUR
Held in the Alumni House from 4:30–5:30pm
- Wednesday, February 15, 2023
- Wednesday, March 15, 2023
- Wednesday, April 19, 2023
PEW GRAND RAPIDS FACULTY HAPPY HOUR
Held in the University Club (DEV 107C) from 4:30–5:30pm
- Wednesday, January 25, 2023
- Wednesday, February 22, 2023
- Wednesday, March 22, 2023
- Wednesday, April 26, 2023
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Blackboard Ultra is Coming
Winter semester 2023 is all about getting you ready to use Blackboard Ultra courses for the launch in Spring/Summer. Blackboard Ultra training comes in a variety of formats to meet everyone's scheduling needs. Lunch-and-Learns are quick 20-minute sessions offered by eLearning Technologies around the noon hour via Zoom. For those with larger blocks of free time, Bb Ultra course build-a-thons provide a deeper 2–3 hour dive into getting your course converted and ready for Blackboard Ultra. Be sure to review the complete Bb Ultra training schedule and feel free to direct questions to your eLearning Technologies liaisons. They are happy to offer a specialized version of any training option for departments or units and can even accommodate evenings and weekends so that adjunct faculty can join. Don't forget, all faculty are also enrolled in a Self-Paced Ultra Course training found in Bb under the "Professional Development" category.
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