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We’re back! Fall quarter is now fully underway; we hope you have a chance to catch a breath after the first week. As the incoming Learning and Teaching Commons Scholar, my mantra for this year is “students” -- how can we better support them in their learning, particularly at a time of uncertainty and struggle, and make them more central to our work at the Learning and Teaching Commons? To that latter end, we would like to add a student (or two) to the membership of the LTC Advisory Council, which helps make decisions about conversations, workshops, speakers, summer institutes, and other programming the Learning and Teaching Commons offers to faculty and staff. If you know a student who would have a strong interest in the work, and a capacity to attend 3-4 meetings per quarter, please let us know! As part of a student-centered focus of the Commons, we are working to establish a quarterly conversation between faculty and Academic Advising; the session would allow for faculty to hear from advisors about what they hear from students, and for faculty to share observations about students from their experiences of teaching. Details to follow soon!
In the immediate future, the Commons and Academic Computing will be helping support emergent needs around remote and hybrid teaching. Students may need help with learning how to use these tools as well. We recommend that you show them how to access important tech resources via the “Student Services” menu tab on Canvas.
Some of the basic functions of Office 365 are now integrated into Canvas; in our fall program “Social/Media,” Julie Russo and I have been having success sharing Office 365 documents via the Canvas “Collaborations” page. Students use these documents in small group breakouts to generate content that can be shared with the full program. For details on Office 365 Collaborations and links to recent Office 365 training videos, please visit Teaching at Evergreen’s Collaborative File Sharing: Office 365 page. We would like to keep open the question “What can our commons do for you”? Please share your thoughts with us using the below survey.
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Please read on for a host of announcements and resources. We look forward to working with you throughout 20-21!
Eric A. Stein
Learning and Teaching Commons Scholar, 2020-2021
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Deep gratitude and appreciation to our faculty and staff colleagues (listed below) who will serve on the Commons Advisory Council this year. The Council works collaboratively with Washington Center staff and the Learning and Teaching Scholar to advise on Commons programming, bring diverse perspectives from the Evergreen community, develop strategic directions, and support the development of summer institute offerings.
Stephen Beck, Ariel Birks, Margaret Blankenbiller, Robin Bond, Julia Heinceccius, Rachel Homchick (co-chair), Julia Metzker, Penelope Partridge, Sarah Ryan, Eric Stein (co-chair), Eirik Steinhoff, Pauline Yu, Sonja Weidenhaupt, Ashley Williams, and Anthony Zaragoza.
As we launch our (mostly) virtual fall quarter, we’ve pulled a few highlights below to help you get connected and find resources virtually.
- We are still looking for creative suggestions to name this newsletter. Send your suggestions to learningandteaching@evergreen.edu.
- What can the Commons do for you? Complete our short survey. Your responses will inform the resources and programming that comes from the Learning and Teaching Commons.
- Evergreen's summer institute canvas shells are now open for self-enrollment. Was there an institute you were dying to attend, but unable to? Now is your chance to review the materials from institutes you were unable to attend.
- The Learning and Teaching Commons has launched the Commons Slack workspace. We invite all faculty and staff to join this space to discuss teaching and learning at Evergreen. Need a private channel for group collaboration? No problem, just email us to request a private channel and we will create it and add you to it. Join today!
- The Learning and Teaching Commons offers individual and small group remote teaching consultations. Consultations provide an opportunity to get direct feedback on your teaching puzzles. For more information, visit https://sites.evergreen.edu/ltc/teaching-consultations.
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Students seminar on Red Square in 2016
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Inclusive Teaching Tip
An important element of inclusive and culturally-relevant teaching practices is acknowledging that students have diverse experiences outside of the classroom that shape who they are and how they learn. For many of our students this year, stress and uncertainty will impact their ability to focus and learn. In a recent edition of the Chronicle’s weekly newsletter, Teaching, Beth McMurtrie, and Beckie Supiano offer useful advice for reducing student stress, including three strategies you can employ in your teaching.
- Emphasize deadlines and expectations.
- Tell students how they’re doing.
- Intervene early when you think students might be in trouble.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS Did you miss something? Visit the Commons website for “recasts” of important communications.
Free Virtual Learning Community Summit | Register Now!
The Washington Center, along with the Learning Community Association and the National Learning Community Conference, is excited to host the first Learning Community Summit, a free virtual summit for learning community practitioners.
We invite Evergreen faculty and staff to attend and support our wonderful colleagues presenting at this event:
Marcia Tate-Arunga, Academic Dean of the Tacoma Campus, and Julia Metzker, Director of the Washington Center, will be co-facilitating a panel on Embracing Anti-racist Practices in Learning Communities.
Larry Roper, member of the Washington Center National Advisory Board, will be delivering the Keynote on Learning Communities in Times of Crisis.
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Commons advisory council seeks student members
The Commons Advisory Council is looking for students to join Commons Advisory Council, which helps make decisions about conversations, workshops, speakers, summer institutes, and other programming the Learning and Teaching Commons offers to faculty and staff. Please consider nominating students interested teaching, learning, and pedagogy. The council meets 2-3 times per quarter. Send nominations to learningandteaching@evergreen.edu.
Join the CELTS advisory board
Tamsin Foucrier, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Transformational Change (CELTC) is seeking faculty and staff to join an advisory board. The advisory board will help shape the future of CELTC, determine a long-term strategic plan for success, and identify areas of collaboration across our college. If you are interested in joining the board, please contact Tamsin Foucrier by email.
Call for Authors | Learning Community Research and Practice
This special issue will explore the ways in which learning community programs adapted to the challenges of educating students during a pandemic that required social isolation. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts that share lessons learned and describe the creative responses they used to sustain learning community programs in remote learning environments. Submissions are accepted throughout the year with a final deadline of January 15, 2021 for the Spring 2021 Special Issue.
New! Free and remote access to the Chronicle
The Library now provides an Evergreen site license to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Access is available on campus, off-campus, and by email domain. Create a Chronicle account with your @evergreen.edu email address, and that will also connect you to our account. If you have questions, check out the FAQ, or contact Ray Zill.
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TEACHING RESOURCES #facultyatwork - Teaching tips from Evergreen faculty
#facultyatwork highlight - Writing academic statements
Nancy Koppelman is developing a series of videos to guide students as they develop their academic statements. The complete series will be available at #facultyatwork for you to use with students.
Request a teaching consultation
Do you have a teaching puzzle? Is there an activity you are struggling to translate to remote teaching? Do you need some help designing asynchronous activities?
The Learning and Teaching Commons offers individual and small group remote teaching consultations. Consultations provide an opportunity to get direct feedback on your teaching puzzles. Click here for details.
Join a community of practice
The Learning and Teaching Commons will be launching several new communities of practice (CoPs). CoPs support professional learning by bringing together groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly - an approach to professional learning that affirms Evergreen’s commitment to learning communities. If you are interested in joining one of the following or would like to sponsor your own, please contact us.
- Inclusive Teaching Practices
- Building Anti-racist Learning Communities
- Wise practices in Online and Hybrid Teaching
Support for teaching the academic statement
All fall quarter full-time programs include at least 6-hours of academic statement programming. Academic statements can be a powerful tool to help students reflect upon their academic journeys and bring coherence to the curriculum through structured reflection. Visit the Academic Statement Canvas page for resources and workshop materials.
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STUDENT RESOURCES
Federal CARES Act grants are still available to support student success in a remote learning environment. Students may apply for grants to purchase computers, peripherals, software, or pay for internet access needed for school. If you work directly with students, or know a student in need, please share the financial aid webpage for more details.
These individuals and offices are eager to support students remotely. Keep this list handy when advising students or reach out to schedule a visit to your program or course.
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DATES & DEADLINES |
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Submit week 1 tracking forms ( my.evergreen.edu) Deadline for students to add/drop program or adjust credits - 100% refund
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New faculty cohort meeting | 3:30-5 pm
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Faculty meeting | 3-5 pm Art Lecture Series | 11:30-1 pm Commons Advisory Council | 1-2:45 pm
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Last date for students to drop credits for financial aid
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New faculty cohort meeting | 3:30-5 pm
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Deadline for students to drop - 50% refund
Campus Food Bank | 2-4 pm
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Path group meeting | 3-5 pm
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