Welcome to the Weekly UTLC Newsletter: Week of February 17, 2026 |
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Teaching Tips: Midterm Grades |
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It is midterm grades time! Midterm grades are required in all undergraduate courses and should be submitted in UNCGenie by Friday, February 20.
Students may have concerns about midterm grades. Midterm grades are meant as a check-in and starting point for them, but contextualization is also helpful:
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Please remind students that this grade is just a snapshot of their current performance in the class.
- If they're doing well, but let up on what they're doing, then their grade may decline.
- On the other hand, if they're doing well and continue to let that success motivate them, they may continue to do well.
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The midterm grade is just a picture of the right now and a conversational starting point about what is working for them academically and what is not.
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If their grade is not where they would like it to be, they should contact you about what they can do to improve. You can also refer them to campus resources such as the Communications Lab, the Academic Achievement Center, or the STEM Help Center. Students may need encouragement to seek out help (Fong et al 2023), so please refer them to resources as needed.
- Please remind students that a grade is not a value judgement or a judgement on them as a person; it is a measurement of their current performance in the class versus assignment and syllabus standards.
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With effort and seeking out assistance, it's possible for anyone to do well in a class. Encouragement is part of developing growth mindsets in students, which are essential for learning.
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Compiling midterm grades is a lot of work, and we see that. Thank you for providing this essential feedback to our students!
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Community Engagement Book Club |
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Please join the University Teaching and Learning Commons, the Institute for Community and Economic Engagement, and the University Community Engagement Council as we collaborate and sponsor the Spring 2026 Community Engagement Book Club. Together we will be reading Rewriting Partnerships: Community Perspectives on Community-Based Learning by Rachael Shah. The book invites us to rethink our partnerships, emphasizing the potential for valuable knowledge co-creation. Drawing on interviews with partners and examples from courses and research projects, Shah shows how community-engaged teaching and research are enhanced by ethical collaboration with the community at program design, implementation, and evaluation.
There will be 3 meetings total on March 5, March 26 and April 23. We will be meeting 2:30 to 4:00ish, but please feel free to drop in and out depending on your needs. Location is TBD. Coffee and light snacks will be provided.
The ebook is available through the UNCG library.
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We are pleased to share that the UTLC is now active on social media. We encourage you to follow us on Instagram (@utlc.uncg), Facebook (UNCG UTLC), and LinkedIn (University Teaching & Learning Commons) to stay informed about weekly teaching tips, upcoming events, and resources that support teaching and learning at UNCG.
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Open Office Hours with ITS |
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Open Office Hours with ITS: Learning Technology’s Instructional Design Team: Tuesdays 10am–12pm
Drop in for a conversation with an instructional designer! We can assist with course and assessment design, discuss teaching questions, and help with Canvas, Teams, and other learning technology.
No registration is needed; you can just join online.
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Spring 2026 Graduate Teaching Assistant Network Meetings |
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We are pleased to announce the Spring 2026 GTA Network dates! The GTA Network is open to all graduate teaching associates and is a space to connect, learn from colleagues, and receive collaborative support.
What can you expect at GTA Network Events:
Fresh Ideas & Teaching Tips – Explore new strategies, tools, and approaches to elevate your teaching practice.
Real-Time Demos – Get walk-throughs on essential processes like submitting grades, using Canvas tools, and more.
Timely Updates – Stay informed about important UNCG events, deadlines, and teaching-related resources.
Safe Space for Sharing – Bring your questions, wins, and challenges. This is a judgment-free zone where your voice matters.
Campus Connections – Learn how to collaborate with key support offices and student services across campus.
The meetings are all on Mondays, with February 23, March 23, April 6, and April 20 from 2 to 3pm remaining this semester.
You can access the MS Teams call through the GTA Network Teams Channel or .
If you have questions, please contact Judy Fowler at JAFOWLE3@uncg.edu.
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Anthology Course Evaluation Pilot |
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The Anthology Course Evaluation pilot is ongoing! We are piloting Anthology Evaluate as a possible alternative to class climate. After successful Spring and Fall 2025 semesters, we are hoping to recruit more participants to "load-test" the system and collect data on two different possible question sets. Evaluate offers two sets of research-backed common question choices, the possibility of adding custom questions, the ability to access your reports online, and teaching evaluations that can be completed in class (for face to face classes), with the potential of raising response rates.
If you're interested in participating, please opt-in by March 23. If you have questions, please email Joyce Clapp at jfclapp@uncg.edu.
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| Free Subscription to The Teaching Professor from Magna Publications |
Magna Publications has a weekly newsletter with teaching tips, strategies, and the latest best practices of teaching offering approaches on a wide range of teaching topics, such as:
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- Planning and designing courses
- Promoting academic integrity
- Increasing student engagement
- Responding to course evaluations and feedback
- Developing effective activities and assignments
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| Access to Quick Teaching Workshops with Magna Publications |
Magna Publications offers a series of 20-minute and 40-minute workshops on teaching and learning topics from national experts in teaching and learning.
The UTLC has secured campus access to over 20 trainings on topics such as teaching effectiveness, generative AI, student engagement, course design, and much more.
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Faculty Engagement & Development Opportunities |
Check out these upcoming opportunities from the UTLC and other partners on campus. Additionally, the university workshop calendar has opportunities.
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- Self-Paced Training Options| Online, research-based workshops cover a range of essential topics.
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UNCG Libraries Webinars | Research and Application Webinar Series (Spring 2024 recordings) | Zotero Webinar Series (recordings)
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New to Teaching | Access this Canvas site to learn about how students learn, preparing for class, grading, office hours, engagement, active learning, and more.
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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.
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Web Accessibility 101 | This asynchronous, self-paced course focuses on the fundamentals of making online content accessible.
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