TEACHING TIPS

This section is full of timely and evidence-based practices to apply in your teaching

If you have been noticing higher levels of student disengagement recently, you are not alone. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education outlined common trends related to a larger “student disengagement crisis” that instructors across the country are facing including a combination of post-pandemic academic challenges, widespread mental health challenges, and a general lack of motivation. While there is no easy fix or quick solution to these complex issues, the following tips provide some insight and strategies for working collaboratively with your students to address these challenges: 

• Keep a trauma-informed lens. Students are navigating many stressful life situations at any given time, just like we are. The culmination of these personal experiences along with global events and institutionalized inequities can greatly impact an individual’s ability to engage in learning the way they desire. This is a good time to (re)visit the UTLC’s trauma-informed teaching guide with interactive infographic that provides an overview of the prevalence of trauma, impact on learning and student success, and specific strategies to utilize in your teaching. Most importantly, we must keep a trauma-informed lens when evaluating student behavior by shifting our thinking to ask, “what happened to you” instead of “what is wrong with you.” 
• Find points of connection. Disengagement often signals disconnection. If students are showing signs of disengagement such as infrequent attendance, distracted classroom behaviors, and missing assignments, they may feel a lack of connection in their learning environment. Another article by The Chronicle highlights the importance of making authentic human connections to address student disengagement. Building relationships with their peers and professors is essential, and students may also be seeking opportunities to make connections between course content and their personal goals. Perhaps you can find time at the beginning of class to post a question about the lecture topic and ask students to reflect with a partner on how this connects to their future plans. You can walk around the room during this time to further engage with students to foster connection and show how you can support their learning goals.  
• Pull back the curtain. Some of the disengagement comes from students not having been explicitly taught how to do well in school (especially during the pandemic). While these strategies for success may have been assumed during our own time as a student, teaching with this level of transparency can help many more students be successful by addressing the hidden curriculum. This advice article from The Chronicle suggests that instructors should help to explain why students must attend class regularly, be alert and engaged in class, carve out time to do homework, complete assignments on time, resist digital distractions, take care of their health, and seek help when they are struggling. Taking a moment to address these aspects early and often in your course when they are most relevant can go a long way to support students to be engaged and successful in their learning. 

UTLC FEATURED ANNOUNCEMENTS

Check out the latest updates and offerings from the UTLC.

UNCG's first AI Institute: Educate, Innovate, Iterate on May 6, 2024 will feature a series of 10-minute lightning round talks from UNCG instructors to share how AI can be used to support teaching and learning. Lightning rounds can feature strategies on using Generative AI to help with course planning, developing educational content, ideas for assignments that incorporate AI at any level, or how students can use AI to support their learning. If you have any questions, please email utlc@uncg.edu. Lightning round proposals are due by Friday, April 5.

The UTLC and UNCG AI Work Group are excited to announce new Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Implementation Grants. The grants are available for projects that address and incorporate elements of Generative AI into their teaching materials in the 2024-2025 academic year. Grants are available to instructors (any rank) and will be awarded by project, totaling $1,500. Please complete and submit the proposal from in its entirety by April 1, 2024. View the call for proposals for the full description, requirements, and timeline.

Did you know you can store frequently used comments in SpeedGrader to add efficiency to grading? Watch the latest Learning Tech Tip video to find out how. This new video series demonstrates helpful features of our instructional technology tools, typically in one to two minutes. Visit the UNCG ITS: Learning Technology YouTube channel to find these as well as longer tutorials on more complex topics.

FACULTY ENGAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT

Check out these upcoming opportunities from the UTLC and other partners on campus. Additional training opportunities are available at workshops.uncg.edu.

Ongoing Opportunities

• ACUE Micro Courses | Learn more about these self-paced microcredentials and enroll using the UNCG ACUE web portal.
• DiversityEDU | This online module through Canvas offers faculty and staff skills-based development in areas of equity and diversity.

• Indigenous Safe Space Project on Canvas | This student-led initiative helps to prepare the campus community with basic skills for supporting our Indigenous and Native students.

• Level Up: Mental Health Education & Training | Help foster a culture of care by engaging in trainings for suicide prevention, Mental Health First Aid, Spartan well-being, and more.
• UNCG Libraries Webinars | Research and Application Webinar Series (Spring 2024 registration and recordings) | Zotero Webinar Series (recordings)
• New to Teaching | Access this Canvas site to learn about how students learn, preparing for class, grading, office hours, engagement, active learning, and more.
• Safe and Trans Zone Training on Canvas | Enroll in this self-paced online course to complete Safe Zone 1.0, 2.0, and Trans Zone if you cannot attend an in-person workshop.
• Web Accessibility 101 | This asynchronous, self-paced course focuses on the fundamentals of making online content accessible.

Upcoming Events, Training, and Workshops

MINERVA MENTIONS

This segment features instructors who exemplify excellence and innovation in teaching at UNCG.

To nominate yourself or a colleague, please complete the form at go.uncg.edu/minerva-mentions.

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