Valued colleagues,
I’m delighted to be writing to you in my capacity as the Learning and Teaching Commons Faculty Scholar. While I’ve always sought out opportunities to think about pedagogy, most of what I know about teaching I learned from you! I will have various occasions to share resources and dialogue with you about a wide range of topics, but to open the academic year, I want to signal-boost an Evergreen initiative: the SEAL, or Six Expectations Assessment of Learning. Hopefully you’ve heard tell of this collective effort in communications from institutional research and academic leadership, but what does it really mean for you and your students?
The Six Expectations are a collaboratively-generated articulation of what students should achieve in their education at our college, conceived broadly. We use this document in work with accreditors, but ideally we also use it in our classrooms to help students connect their learning in programs or courses to overarching goals. The 6E capture “real world” skills that are relevant to informed citizenship and career development (see How College Contributes to Workforce Success from AAC&U). You may have seen the SEAL framed as an avenue for generating data that can strengthen our accreditation portfolio – a method for converting the 6E into an assessment rubric. It is that, but I want to put in a plug for the SEAL as a pedagogical tool.
Zooming out, I believe that the SEAL serve as one facet of learning and executing “transparent” assignment design, as framed by the Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education project. TILT “aims to advance equitable teaching and learning practices… [by] Promoting students' conscious understanding of how they learn [and] Enabling faculty to gather, share and promptly benefit from current data about students' learning.” According to TILT resources (under Tools for Teachers), a transparent assignment includes, in addition to a description of the task, explanation of the purpose and the criteria for assessment.
The SEAL Supplementary Guide offers a menu of 56 learning outcomes extrapolated from the Six Expectations by a collaborative team – an on-ramp to this sort of assignment framing that can be so meaningful to students’ engagement and confidence with academic work. Choosing 3-5 outcomes to incorporate into one assignment this year is a manageable opportunity to practice transparent design principles and gauge the impact on students. The SEAL is bilateral: students will also self-assess their work based on these outcomes. This reflexivity promotes what is itself one of the 6E – assuming responsibility for academic work – as well as getting students more aware of and involved with the 6E. I hope that you will give some attention to recent emails about the SEAL rollout from Steff Beck (BeckS@evergreen.edu) and indicate your plan via this form, if you haven’t already. (I did not receive any offers of remuneration in exchange for this promotion.)
In my capacity as Faculty Scholar, I would be glad to meet with you one-on-one to support development and/or execution of your SEAL assessment!
I’m excited about the rich and generative educational experiences I know you will foster for the students you’re learning with this quarter. Please keep in touch…
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This year, we are adopting a new model for teaching support and enrichment sessions: LTC Salons. Salons, held Fridays 12:30-2:30pm, will be hosted by the Faculty Fellow as informal gatherings around a theme.
Each Salon topic will come with a digital resource packet – stop by any time during the event to pick up a hard copy and say hello. Stay for a while, if you like, to discuss the materials or bounce around your own issues and questions over tea and snacks. You’re welcome with whatever amount of time and engagement you have available that day.
Some Salons will repeat and others will be new each quarter, depending on interest, so if you miss one you hoped attend do let us know.
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Fridays 12:30-2:30pm
Week 3 - Facilitating Inclusive Seminars
Week 4 - Approaches to Week 5 Check-ins
Week 6 - Building Community in Online Classes (with Timothy Corvidae)
Week 8 - Strategies for Narrative Evaluations
Week 9 - Library: Open Educational Resources (tentative)
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Call for Evergreen Summer Institute planning group |
The Learning and Teaching Commons is seeking 3-4 faculty who are interested in playing a role in planning and reviewing proposals for Evergreen Summer Institutes in the 2023-2024 academic year.
We have streamlined the meeting schedule and responsibilities for this group to allow for faculty to make a meaningful contribution to faculty development without over-extending time and resources.
Please review the Summer Institute Planning (SIP) Group Guide for details about the responsibilities and schedule. If you're interested in participating, we'd love to hear from you! Accepting volunteers through October 20.
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Operationalizing DEI - A Deep Dive |
Higher education professionals across the country are working to improve student outcomes through diversity, equity, and inclusion interventions, but there are often complex challenges to meaningful progress. The Washington Center is pleased to partner with Crucial Shift Consulting to bring you a series of virtual panel discussions with recognized leaders to delve into the practical implications of managing DEI change in the classroom and across the institution.
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Gina Ann Garcia, Ph.D
University of California, Berkeley
Dexter Gordon, Ph.D.
The Evergreen State College
Jillian Kinzie, Ph.D.
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Institute
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| 2: Supporting DEI Progress |
Gail Evans Grayson, Ed.D.
Western University of Health Sciences
Mathew Johnson, Ph.D.
SPARC Associates
Tammy Robinson, Ed.D.
Mesa Community College
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Lee Skallerup Bessette, Ph.D.
Georgetown University
Keith Claybrook, Jr. Ph.D.
California State University Long Beach
Phyllis Esposito, Ph.D.
Reed College
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| Rosalie A. Richards, Ph.D.
Stetson University
Larry Roper, Ph.D.
Oregon State University
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2023 Evergreen Summer Institutes |
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“It’s a chance to network with colleagues old and new, and explore emerging issues and problems in a warm, supportive environment.”
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Evergreen Summer Institutes wrapped up the week of September 4th, and we are already reviewing feedback and making plans for Summer 2024. The program for 2023 included 16 institutes, 9 community-initiated institutes and 7 sponsored institutes. Out of the 140 individuals who attended one or more summer institutes, 74 were staff and 66 faculty. Average attendance at the institutes was 14, with the highest attended at 45.
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All participants were asked by conveners to complete a feedback survey following their institute. The response rate for this survey was 46%. 99% of respondents reported that they strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they would be able to use what they learned in this institute to improve their teaching/work at the college. 98% of respondents reported that they strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that the work of the institute would be fruitful.
The Learning and Teaching Commons staff is currently accepting proposals for Sponsored Institutes and will be posting the call for community-initiated institutes in early December.
Want to be part of shaping the Summer Institutes for 2024? Join the Summer Institute Planning (SIP) group! We’re looking for a group of faculty to collaborate on the call for community proposals and to engage in peer-review of proposals and program selection. Contact us if you have questions or think you might be interested.
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“It was informative, engaging, and helpful. A great use of my time. I’m so glad I signed up!”
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| “It was well organized, engaging, relevant, moving at times. I like how it integrated a whole human experience – intellectual, emotional, physical.”
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Hello, everyone –
This fall quarter we’re stewarding one more open submission period for Real Evergreen: An Educator’s Handbook. You have something to contribute!
Real Evergreen 2023 (RE23) is an opportunity to continue the affirmative exploration begun in RE 21, of what Evergreen staff and faculty do to support learning at Evergreen. We’re seeking writing/photos/artwork on practices or practical philosophies regarding any aspect of Evergreen educations. These educations are varied and many! How and why do you do what you do here?
Below are some sample topics we’d love to include in RE23. Build on these or suggest your own; we’d like to know what you are interested in thinking and writing about. For more details and for conversation to support for your work for RE23, contact Joli Sandoz at sandozj@evergreen.edu.
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• What for you is a satisfaction of working at Evergreen? What specifically prompts that satisfaction?
• What about supporting students and student learning at Evergreen has led you to new insights and understandings? Include an example (or several).
• What are some of the ways you’ve experienced your own learning and knowledge-making (writing, research, art-making, designing and facilitating activities and workshops, lecturing, etc.) supporting the blossoming of student curiosity/inquiry?
• Which of Evergreen’s signature education features – narrative evaluations; seminars; emphases on reflection and on collaborative knowledge-making; interdisciplinary, team-taught, half- and full-time programs that can extend beyond a single quarter; undergraduate research opportunities; broader community connections – do you find richest in terms of sparking learning, your own or that of students? And how does that learning happen? (If you are an Evergreen alum, you have valuable experience to share here! And if you’re not an alum, respond from your perspective. What about Evergreen’s structures informs Evergreen learning, in your experience?)
• How do the Five Foci put you to work, as a staff or faculty at Evergreen? In what ways does one or more of these focal points shape what you do to support student learning? (interdisciplinary study, collaborative learning, learning across significant differences, personal engagement, linking theory with practical applications)
• According to Google’s English Dictionary/Oxford Languages, “experimental” can be defined as “based on untested ideas or techniques and not yet established or finalized.” Or here’s an archaic meaning of “experimental”: based on “experience as opposed to authority or conjecture.” In your view, what’s the role of the staff/faculty “experimental,” in student learning?
PUBLICATION LIST
Many Evergreen faculty and staff have published in off-campus venues about pedagogy or about their experiences of supporting student learning here. We’re developing a list of such publications. Please send bibliographic information to sandozj@evergreen.edu by October 15. Whatever citation style you use is fine, so long as you provide complete information; we envision this list (which is already 16 pages long as of 10/1/23) as an informal finding aid for future researchers interested in Evergreen’s varied approaches to education. Thanks for adding your name and work!
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There are many opportunities for faculty to share their achievements, and we want to encourage you to contribute to the wealth of knowledge in our Evergreen community. Explore the options below for highlighting your work.
Faculty Notes
The Learning and Teaching Commons celebrates notable faculty accomplishments through Faculty Notes. Each year we collect notable publications, presentations, appearances, recognitions, awards, exhibits, performances, research, or other accomplishments to celebrate the incredibly talented faculty at Evergreen. Submit a Faculty Note.
Library Institutional Repository
The Library is developing a new institutional repository to publicly share and promote scholarship produced at Evergreen. We are looking to expand on the faculty and staff scholarship available on the site, and are especially interested in sharing unique learning resources created by faculty. Please submit any publications, learning resources, or other materials that you would like to share and contact archives@evergreen.edu with any questions or feedback.
Real Evergreen: An Educator’s Handbook
Fall quarter is an open submission period for Real Evergreen: An Educator’s Handbook! All relevant submissions are welcome: Real Evergreen 2023 is an opportunity to continue the affirmative and constructive exploration begun in RE 21, of who Evergreen staff and faculty are and what we do to support learning at Evergreen. Essays on practices or practical philosophy regarding any aspect of Evergreen educations (these educations are varied and many) are particularly sought. How and why do you do what you do here? For details or to submit a contribution, contact Joli Sandoz.
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As the quarter continues, the Writing Center is available to support students with essays and other writing projects for their programs and classes, as well as with self-evaluations, resumes and cover letters, scholarship and other application essays, creative writing, and more. Students can access writing tutoring in the following ways:
Visit or call (360-867-6420) the Writing Center in Library 2310 (on the Library’s main floor) during our open hours:
Mondays – Thursdays: 12pm-7pm | in-person OR online
Fridays and Sundays: 12pm-4pm | online only
Schedule an appointment through our WCOnline platform
Email us: WritingCenterStaff@evergreen.edu or ansley.clark@evergreen.edu
Additionally, please don't hesitate to reach out to schedule a Writing Center visit for your class or program, ask questions, voice comments and concerns, and request specific support. As I continue to get to know Evergreen's communities and learn how the Writing Center can best support them, I welcome feedback and look forward to getting to know faculty.
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• Faculty Foundation Grants are back!
To apply will need to prepare a 2-3 page narrative proposal and budget (with some additional materials possibly required for Sponsored Research applications) and applications for both will be due by 5 PM Monday, October 16. Expect detailed application information soon.
→ Email John Caraher with questions
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• AGLS October Live Chat | Teaching is Our Scholarship: Publishing and SOTL in General Education Program
October 16 2:00pm EST | Live Chat with Wynn Yarbrough-University of the District of Columbia
→ Register Now
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• Annual Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL) Conference | October 27-29
→ learn more
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•Accessing Higher Ground | November 6-10
Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference → learn more
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These individuals and offices are eager to support students. Keep this list handy when advising students or reach out to schedule a visit to your program or course.
• The Greener Hub connects students in touch with the people, offices, and services they need.
• Visit the Daniel J. Evans Library page to learn about student access to electronic and print materials.
• Refer students to the Writing Center and the Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning Center for tutoring support.
• TRiO provides wraparound services to first-generation, low income, and disabled students.
• Media Services offers equipment, instruction, and production services in audio, video, animation, film, and photography for students, faculty, and staff.
• The Title IX office is available to support us in our responsibilities as mandatory reporters. Review the Guide for Responsible Employees for more information.
• Connect your students with Advising and Career Services for support with academic planning and career exploration.
• Access Services for Students with Disabilities works with admitted Evergreen students to ensure equal access to academic programs and services.
• Submit your student concerns to the Campus Assessment, Response & Evaluation (CARE) Team. This cross-divisional team directs students towards supportive campus resources.
• The basic needs center provides resources for a variety of student needs.
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