CETL Newsletter – May 2025

Center for Excellence

in Teaching & Learning

Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning

This week, the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research (OAIR) is launching a new course evaluation system, Explorance Blue, in Canvas. Questions about course evaluations should be directed to OAIR's Lisa Fugina Russell, who is the course evaluation administrator.

Departments that self-selected to participate in the pilot will have their course evaluations run from Apr. 24 until May 8, 2025. Students will see a "Course Evaluation" link in the Canvas menu on the left side of the screen to complete their evaluations.
Departments that are not participating in the pilot will still see a new Course Evaluations button in their Canvas course, as will students in the course. This is likely to cause confusion. Please ensure adjuncts, TAs, and students are aware that while their course may not be participating in the pilot, they will still see a Course Evaluation button.

Register for this three-part Inclusive Teaching workshop series aimed at preparing instructors to effectively teach UWM’s changing student body.

Promote the value of course evaluations to students. Clearly communicate the purpose, for example, "Your honest feedback helps me understand your learning experience and improve the course for future students. I genuinely value your perspectives and suggestions." If applicable, provide an example of changes made to the course in response to student feedback.
Encourage students to provide constructive, specific feedback. Guide students on providing actionable feedback. For example, "Please be specific about what worked well for you and areas where you faced challenges. Concrete examples are particularly helpful for making meaningful improvements."
Acknowledge innovation or changes made to a course. Be transparent and tell students if you experimented with a new approach this semester and briefly explain the reasoning behind your decision. Being transparent with students about innovation can reduce frustration in course evaluation responses.
If useful, review Cornes and colleagues (2022) 12 tips for helping faculty receive and respond constructively to student evaluations of teaching.

This hybrid session provides an overview and UWM examples of embedding real-world application in several course locations, followed by time to begin embedding real-world application into your course. Register for May 5, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

This hybrid session introduces the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework as a transformative tool to redesign assignments that not only clarify learning expectations but also align with course and program learning outcomes. Register for May 6, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

What happens when we treat AI-generated content as a starting point for teaching research skills? Join us as music professor Gillian Rodger shares how she transformed potential challenges with AI into opportunities for developing critical information literacy. Register for May 7, 9:00-10:00 a.m.

Each semester, the Thank an Instructor initiative collects notes from students expressing appreciation for those who made a difference to their education. Please share the Thank an Instructor form with students.