CTL Newsletter - April 2022

By Rolf Norgaard and Stephanie Foster 

Does thinking about spending hours grading student writing fill you with dread? It doesn’t have to! Writing is an essential activity for developing higher order thinking ability such as critical thinking, inquiry, and metacognition. Research has shown that students respond well to feedback that is timely, clear, focused, and consistent with instruction and course goals. Students can grow as writers and thinkers when they have multiple opportunities to receive feedback and revise their writing.

Common misconceptions about responding to and grading writing can get in the way of using writing as an effective pedagogical strategy. Here, we attempt to dispel some of these misconceptions and provide recommendations for effective teaching practice.

Applications due June 30, 2022 for work to begin in Fall 2022

The Innovating Large Courses Initiative is a NEW program that provides 3-year funding and educational support to departments to improve student success in large lecture courses. Apply now for the fall cohort.

Applications due May 15, 2022 for full consideration.

The CTL and ASSETT are pleased to announce a campus-wide Faculty Fellows program! During fall 2022, faculty fellows will attend a seminar and engage with a cohort of colleagues around teaching topics such as course design, active learning, inclusive teaching, teaching assessments, teaching with technology and other topics of interest. At the end of this seminar, fellows will propose a project to actively address identified teaching and learning challenge(s). 

April 15, 2022 from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Has your sense of well-being changed over the past two years? The Leeds Teaching Excellence Committee, in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), is pleased to present, Dr. June Gruber. Dr. Gruber will present new research on how the COVID-19 Pandemic impacts student learning. Please RSVP to reserve your event participation. 

Nominations due by 11:59 PM on May 16, 2022

To nominate an individual, complete the online form. Peers and students are encouraged to submit nominations; nominations of early-career faculty members are especially welcome. 

May 19, 2022 from 8:45 AM - 1:30 PM: This half-day event will once again bring together higher education teaching and learning professionals from the region to share ideas, resources and successes from the past year while learning together. The meeting will feature talks by colleagues at community colleges and four-year institutions. All sessions will occur online, via Zoom.

May 17th, 18th, and 19th, 2022 from 1:00-3:00 PM - Do you want to change the way you deliver your course content? Do you want to explore the different frameworks of the flipped classroom, hybrid, or online course designs? If you do, please join us for a Course Design Workshop. ASSETT’s Course Design Workshops provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to developing a range of technology-enhanced learning experiences. Whether you are looking at teaching a new course or wanting to update an existing course, we will cover course design for face-to-face teaching, hybrid and remote delivery, providing a foundation of pedagogy, technical tools/skills, and research-informed practices that can be used flexibly to support Canvas courses.

Invigorate your classes. Activate your teaching. Engage your students. The Reacting to the Past Conference, hosted by the University of Colorado’s Center for Teaching and Learning and the Arts & Sciences Support of Education Through Technology’s Innovation Incubator, will be held in person in Boulder from June 13-16, 2022, in the Center for Academic Success and Engagement building. Our goal is to provide a conference that will rejuvenate and encourage faculty in their pursuit of active learning through Reacting to the Past!

CU Engage collaborates with communities, schools, and organizations to address complex public challenges. They facilitate the development of equity-oriented partnerships that sustain engaged learning and mutually beneficial community-based research. The CU Dialogues Program, housed under CU Engage within the School of Education, engages diverse audiences of the CU-Boulder community in open conversation on difficult topics and across differences of all kinds in order to enhance students’ learning and advance critical thinking skills. Schedule a dialogue; or contact Pilar Sattler via email if you have any questions or would like to learn more.

she is more hungry now,
learning language everyday,
remembering faces, names and dates.
when she is strong enough to travel
on her own, beware, she will.

- Lucille Clifton, excerpt from “i am accused of tending to the past”