CTL & ASSETT Newsletter - March 2025

"When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization." 

– Pat Wadors

✨ Mid-Semester Check-In: 

Resources, Feedback & Support for Success

Newsletter March

 

The CTL/ASSETT staff are here to support all campus educators through free consultations, online teaching resources, workshops, and other programs! We invite you to email our team with any questions related to teaching or to learn more at CTL@colorado.edu.

🎉 Celebrate 5 Years of CTL – Share Your Experience! 🎉

As CTL approaches its 5-year anniversary, we’d love to feature testimonials from past participants like you in our annual report and other communications. If CTL consultations, workshops, or events have made a difference for you, please consider sharing your experience through our optional testimonials form.

Thank you for being part of our community!

💬 Using Student Feedback to Strengthen Teaching 

Turning Feedback Into Action: Small Changes, Big Impact

Student feedback shouldn’t wait until end-of-semester evaluations. Getting input earlier can help you make changes while it still counts. Here’s how: 

  • Quick Surveys: Use Canvas to send out short surveys about what’s working and what’s not. It’s easy and anonymous. Click here to find how to create them.
  • Class Check-Ins: Try exit tickets or short reflections at the end of class to see what stuck and what didn’t. Click here to find out more
  • Mid-Semester Surveys: Go a bit deeper halfway through the semester and show students you’re listening by making adjustments where you can. Click here for more tips.
  • Informal Chats: Sometimes just asking students during class can spark helpful insights. 

Need Tools? Check out our Reflection Resources for templates and ideas. Or set up a consultation to talk through a feedback plan that fits your class. 

💡 Building a Culture of Support: Student, Faculty & Staff Resources

Mid-semester is a crucial time to ensure that students, faculty, and staff have access to the resources they need to succeed. Supporting students doesn’t have to be overwhelming—faculty and staff should know that they’re not alone. CU Boulder offers a wide range of resources to help students thrive while allowing faculty and staff to maintain their balance. In this edition, we’ve compiled a list of key campus resources to connect students with the support they need while also highlighting services available to faculty and staff. Whether you're looking for tutoring options, tech support, or faculty-and-staff-focused programs, these resources are here to help you navigate the rest of the semester with confidence.

Student Support:
Faculty & Staff Support:

📚 Recommended Readings of the Month: 

Reflective Practice: Transforming Education and Improving Outcomes by R. N. Sherwood, Gwen D. , Ph. D., Sara Horton-Deutsch 

This volume explores how reflection fosters critical questioning to enhance quality and safety in learning. With a learner-centered focus, it offers adaptable exercises for group work and individual reflection, supporting mentorship and professional growth.

Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education by Harriet L. Schwartz 

Harriet Schwartz argues that the role of teachers and administrators is as important as ever and is evolving profoundly. She stresses that the relationships faculty and staff have with individual students and with classes and cohorts are the essential driver of teaching and learning.

College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It  by Richard Kadison & Theresa Foy DiGeronimo 

College of the Overwhelmed explores the mental health crisis on college campuses, offering insights, student stories, and practical strategies for managing stress. It examines common stressors like identity, relationships, academics, and cultural challenges while identifying warning signs of issues such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

🌟 Buff Spotlight: Students as Partners—Redefining Teaching & Learning

Students as partners

At CU Boulder, Students as Partners is more than a concept—it’s a transformative approach that redefines the traditional roles of faculty and students. By creating collaborative partnerships, this initiative empowers students to co-create learning experiences, shaping curricula, assessment strategies, and classroom practices. Over the past three semesters, ASSETT has embraced this framework through the Students as Pedagogical Partners program, where students work alongside faculty to enhance teaching and learning for the College of Arts & Sciences. This semester, ASSETT officially launched the Students as Pedagogical Partners program, campus-wide, bringing together faculty-student pairs to explore curricular design, assessment strategies, and project-based learning.

Leading this initiative are Jacie Moriyama, ASSETT’s Student Services Manager, Rachana Bhave, Equitable Assessment Specialist, and Rebecca Lee, Student Initiatives Coordinator, who are dedicated to strengthening student-faculty collaboration and ensuring the program’s success. Through their leadership, ASSETT & the CTL continues to elevate student voices in meaningful, equitable, and innovative ways. By challenging traditional hierarchies and building reciprocal learning experiences, Students as Partners is creating a more inclusive and dynamic educational experience at CU Boulder. Learn more about this concept by attending the Students as Partners Showcase on Friday, April 4, 3:30-5:00 pm in CASE E-390! Register here! 

📅 What’s Ahead: Events & Announcements:

  • Friday, March 7, 2025 CU Boulder’s Data Science & Humanities Symposium featuring speakers Katherine Elkins, Jo Guldi, Katherine Bode, and Safiya U. Noble. Click here for more details!
     
  • There’s still time to request ASSETT’s Visualizing Instructional Practices (VIP) classroom observation service! Visit the VIP website to learn more or email sarah.andrews-1@colorado.edu to schedule your consultation by Tuesday, March 11th for spring 2025 observations!
     
  • Nominate a faculty member for ASSETT’s Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award - Each year, ASSETT recognizes a faculty member, of any rank, who has a record of excellence in teaching with technology, as well as demonstrated commitment and leadership in furthering ASSETT's mission of advancing teaching and learning within CU's College of Arts & Sciences.  To nominate an individual, please fill out the online form no later than 11:59 pm on April 4, 2025. Peers and students are encouraged to submit nominations; nominations of early-career faculty members are especially welcome.
     
  • Need help building your website, portfolio, blog, or digital project? The BuffsCreate team is here to support you! Book an appointment for one-on-one guidance—choose in-person or online. BuffsCreate.net is your space to experiment, learn, and showcase your work. The only limit is your imagination! Get started today and schedule an appointment.
     
  • ASSETT’s Educational Technology Research Assistants are excited to announce the launch of a survey to understand CU Boulder undergraduates’ perspectives on and use of generative AI! Please encourage students in your class to take the survey by sharing this flier with your classes. We are also seeking partnerships with instructors who are willing to offer extra credit to their students for taking the survey.  Reach out to the research team at etra@colorado.edu if you are willing to partner with us!  
     

  • We invite you to join us for our Lecturers Mixer on Wednesday, March 5 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. for the Lecturer's Mixer. Enjoy light refreshments, mingle with colleagues, and meet with our staff. Our goal is to hear from you about your experiences as lecturers and adjuncts on our campus. What have you found meaningful and/or challenging? What kinds of resources and opportunities would be useful for you? Register here!

  • Please join us for our new series on Pedagogical Conversations on March 12 &13 from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm. Join our community of practice and engage in conversations about faculty well-being and resilience. Our theme for this month will be mindfulness. Kristina Eklund from the CALM Center and Annie Margaret, PhD, from the ATLAS Institute, who will share valuable meditation practices and resources to support your well-being and resilience. Lunch will be provided!
     
  • As we transition from the shorter days of winter to longer days in the spring, it is important for us to take pause, reflect, and reset. Let’s take this opportunity to celebrate the hard work all of you have put into this semester! Join us on for the Spring Break Send-Off on March 19 from 3:00 pm-5:00 pm. We’ll provide refreshments, raffle prizes, and opportunities to connect with your peers. Register here!
     
  • Attend the CAAAS Graduate Fellows Keynote with Rachel Harding – Join the University Libraries and CAAAS for a special keynote with Rachel Elizabeth Harding, a poet, historian, and scholar of Afro-Atlantic diaspora religions. Dr. Harding, associate professor emeritus and former chair of Ethnic Studies at CU Denver, will explore the connections between history, spirituality, and social justice. Monday, March 10, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m., Norlin Library, Room M549. Registration required—sign up here.
     
  • Join the Office of Academic and Learning Innovation for BoulderTalks on Thursday, March 20, featuring two sessions on AI and education. From 4–5 PM, Dr. Tawnya Means will explore how generative AI enhances creativity, streamlines workflows, and drives innovation. From 1:30–2:30 PM, a faculty workshop will provide hands-on strategies for using AI to boost student engagement and learning outcomes (limited to 50 participants—RSVP required!). Free and open to the public. Register here.

Join Us for Other Upcoming Events!

Mon, Mar 3, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. MT, The Joyful Journey: Writing Your Teaching Statement for the Academic Job Market

Tue, Mar 4, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MT, Student Educational Scholarship Series: TA Support Effects on Student Self-Perceptions and Academic Outcomes

Tue, Mar 4, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. MT, Introduction to Buffscreate

Wed, Mar 5, 4:00 p.m-5:00 p.m. MT, CU Lectures Mixer

Fri, Mar 7, 12:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m., Data Science & Humanities Daytime Symposium - Open to CU Boulder Only

Fri, Mar 7, 5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m., Data Science & Humanities Evening Symposium - Open to Public

Mon, Mar 10, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. MT, The Joyful Journey: Writing Your Research Statement for the Academic Job Market

Tue, Mar 11, 12:30 p.m. -1:30 p.m. MT, Teaching & Learning with AI Community of Practice

Wed, Mar 12, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. MT, Inclusive Community of Practice

Wed, Mar 12, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m., Pedagogical Conversations: Faculty Well-Being & Resilience - lunch provided by Illegal Pete’s Taco Bar

Thu, Mar 13, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m., Pedagogical Conversations: Faculty Well-Being & Resilience - lunch provided by Illegal Pete’s Taco Bar

Thu, Mar 13, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. MT, Teaching with Technology: Portfolios as a High Impact Practices (HIPs)

Fri, Mar 14, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. MT, Boulder Faculty Assembly AI Working Group

Tue, Mar 18, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. MT, Processing and Using Student Feedback on Teaching

Wed, Mar 19, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 pm MT, Spring Break Send-Off (Educators Mixer) - lunch provided by Ali Baba Grill Boulder

Thu, Mar 20, 10:00 am - 11:30 am MT, Inclusive Research Mentoring for Graduate Student and Postdoc Participants: Fostering Professional Development

Thu, Mar 20, 12:00 p.m. -1:15 p.m. MT, Power of Slow Education in our Hurried Times - lunch provided by Illegal Pete’s Taco Bar

Fri, Mar 21, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. MT, Inclusive Research Mentoring for Faculty Participants: Fostering Professional Development

Tue, Apr 1, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. MT, Leveraging Equitable Assessment Practices to Mitigate AI-facilitated Cheating

Wed, Apr 2, 10:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. MT, Joyful Journey: Careers Beyond Higher Education Panel

Wed, Apr 2, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. MT, Students as Partners Showcase

Fri, Apr 4, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. MT, Boulder Faculty Assembly AI Working Group

Mon, Apr 7, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. MT, Joyful Journey: Careers Beyond Higher Education Panel II

🎓 InspirED✏️📚 Finding Motivation in Mid-Semester Moments

At this point in the semester, it’s easy to focus on what’s left to do—but don’t forget to recognize the progress you and your students have made. Take a moment to reflect on a class discussion that sparked great engagement, a student who showed improvement, or a lesson that went especially well. Consider sharing these moments with colleagues or jotting them down as a reminder of your impact. Finding small wins can reenergize your teaching and keep you motivated through the rest of the semester.

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