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Calls for Applications

Anonymous — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:29:33 +0000

Calls for Applications Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/15/2024 - 11:29

Apply for the Teaching International Students (TIS) micro-credential Fall 2024 cohort by August 2nd

Looking to enhance your understanding of cultural nuances and instructional practices that better support international students or peers in your program? The Teaching International Students(TIS) micro-credential focuses on developing high-impact instructional knowledge and practices that can leverage the linguistic and cultural assets international students bring to the U.S. classroom. All CU ��«��Ƶ instructors, graduate students and instructional support staff are welcome to apply for the Fall 2024 Cohort.

Apply for the Just & Equitable Teaching (JET) micro-credential Fall 2024 cohort by August 2nd

The Just & Equitable Teaching (JET) Program brings together educators from the CU ��«��Ƶ community to provide professional development in social justice and equity in the classroom. The goal of this program is to equip instructors with evidenced-based resources and practices to co-create inclusive learning environments. All CU ��«��Ƶ instructors, graduate students and instructional support staff are welcome to apply for the Fall 2024 Cohort.

Apply for the Fall 2024 CTL/ASSETT Teaching Triads Program by August 23rd

Do you want to learn about instructional methods and reflect on your teaching practices while building community? The Teaching Triads program provides a structure and framework for small groups of faculty from different departments to observe each other’s teaching, learn instructional methods from one another, build community, and optionally write each other peer observation letters. Time commitment is anticipated to be 7-9 hours over ~10 weeks of the semester (the equivalent of less than 1 hour per week). Participants who complete the program will receive a $250 Professional Development Award. If you teach in-person courses and are interested in peer observations of teaching at CU ��«��Ƶ in fall 2024, please apply for the Fall 2024 Teaching Triads cohort.

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Recent Q&A with Center for Teaching & Learning Founding Director Kirk Ambrose

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 20:35:45 +0000

Recent Q&A with Center for Teaching & Learning Founding Director Kirk Ambrose Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/09/2024 - 13:35

Kirk Ambrose

Describe the mission of the Center for Teaching & Learning.

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) serves all campus educators interested in improving teaching and learning. This includes tenured and tenure-track faculty, teaching professors, instructors, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and staff. Our core activities include promoting inclusive and evidence-based practices, building assessment capacity for faculty and departments, and supporting effective teaching irrespective of modality.

Where does CTL sit today relative to the vision outlined in Academic Futures?

Academic Futures envisioned the CTL as a centralized, community space dedicated to advancing the teaching mission of the university. We take that charge seriously and are proud to work with educators from every school and college, as well as other campus partners. We regard teaching less as an isolated activity than as a deeply collaborative enterprise.
This works on a number of levels: Teachers collaborate with their students to advance learning. Teachers collaborate with one another to share effective practices. And our center serves as a space that collaborates with units and specialists from across campus to support educators in achieving their goals.
Virtually every day, I hear faculty and staff laughing in our offices. That signals to me that folks are connecting with the joy of teaching and learning.

How can faculty use CTL to learn about and use AI?

CTL has established a community of practice dedicated to exploring the implications for artificial intelligence for higher education. We also have developed an online AI resource for faculty, which we will continue to expand and develop. In May, we will hold an AI workshop for faculty to engage in this technology; a call for applications will go out soon.

What does CTL have planned that is energizing and helpful to faculty?

Many faculty find this to be an extremely challenging time to be an educator. Later this month, we will host a conference to discuss issues such as faculty burnout and increasing student engagement. This fall, we plan to roll out an online course for faculty addressing the topic of wellness in the classroom for our students and for educators. This course was developed by experts from our Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, with the input of faculty focus groups.
More generally, we plan to expand and deepen collaborative projects with faculty groups to make meaningful and sustainable changes. This past fall, in partnership with OIT, we convened a faculty working group that made recommendations for promising practices in Canvas gradebook. With Continuing Education, the Digital Accessibility Office and OIT, we recently convened a group to develop an optional template for Canvas. The goal is to decrease faculty prep time and provide a format that makes it easier for our students to navigate across their multiple courses.

With a divided political climate and an upcoming presidential election, how can CTL help faculty handle political discussions in the classroom?

This fall, we plan to host panel discussions on how to facilitate challenging conversations in the classroom. With the help of experts from across our campus, we developed a guide for fostering respectful dialogue in the classroom. We invite anyone interested in an individual consultation on this or any other teaching-related topic.

Learn about the CTL's mission, vision and plans for helping educators navigate current and emerging teaching-related topics.

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Faculty Support with Early Course Alerts

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 23:41:49 +0000

Faculty Support with Early Course Alerts Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 16:41

Submitted by Lory-Ann Varela, Assistant Vice Provost Academic Support & Enrichment

Our campus has implemented an early course alert system to help support students’ academic success in their classes. Faculty will receive a request to submit notices for students who are not participating, have not attended class or submitted assignments, or are not performing well with grades. When faculty submit these alerts, it is triaged to student success staff who can then reach out to students and share additional campus resources they might need. We encourage faculty to continue positive teaching approaches of reaching out to students when they are concerned about their academic performance while also submitting the course alerts.

This early alert system informs our campus web of support to make sure our staff prioritize outreach when we see students that may have multiple course alerts and other simultaneous referrals. For example, students may be referred to speak to an Academic Advisor, encouraged to meet with an Academic Coach to talk about study skills, or have staff from the Student Support and Case Management reach out to them. Additional resources could include helping students make an appointment with Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), visit the Office of Financial Aid, or get connected with the Student Emergency Fund. These referrals are possible because of our faculty engaging with the Course Alert system.

Additionally, an important aspect of the academic performance process for students is receiving relevant and timely feedback that helps them alter their study skill practices. When students have assessment opportunities in the first month of the term, it allows students to revise their study approaches, reach out to advisors, attend tutoring, and reach out to professors. With the early alert process, students receive feedback and are empowered to make changes well before the course drop date.

Thus, when faculty participate in the early course alert system, they are making sure students have a chance to evaluate their study skills while also connecting this information with a campus-wide support system. We hope you will continue to provide early assessments and direct feedback to students in your courses. Finally, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Office of Undergraduate Education if you have questions about the early alert process or resources.

Our campus has implemented an early course alert system to help support students’ academic success in their classes.

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Using student feedback to inform our reflections

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 20:06:44 +0000

Using student feedback to inform our reflections Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/30/2023 - 13:06

Kelly Gildersleeve

You’re almost there! As we near the end of the semester, we often encourage students to reflect on and celebrate their accomplishments–including how the new knowledge, skills, and perspectives they have acquired this semester will help them achieve their longer term goals. Importantly, the end of the semester is also a great time for us, as educators, to reflect on and celebrate what we have accomplished. This practice can enhance the meaning of our work and add intention to our growth process as educators.

Sometime in the next few weeks, we encourage you to set aside just 15-30 minutes to ask yourself the following questions: What about your teaching this semester was most effective, and why? Can you think of a teaching moment (or moments) you found particularly rewarding? How did that moment resonate with your core values or motivations for teaching? What about your teaching this semester was least effective, and why? (Remember to exercise self-compassion!) What would you like to do differently next time, and what resources will you need to implement these changes? As you think through these questions, we encourage you to explore the CTL/ASSETT’s many teaching resources and upcoming events, and remember that we are here to support you!

Ideally, your reflections will be informed by feedback from your students. For tips on interpreting student feedback collected via the Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQ), see our article on making FCQs work for you. Wish you had received this feedback even earlier? Our article on soliciting mid-semester student feedback to inform your teaching will help you plan ahead to make sure you get the feedback you need when you need it the next time you teach. Additionally, if you would like to discuss the feedback you have received and how to implement it to support the continual improvement of your courses, consider signing up for a free one-on-one consultation.

Lastly, remember that we are all members of a vibrant community of CU educators! We encourage you to share your reflections and accomplishments, as well as the feedback you received this semester, with your fellow educators. This is a wonderful way to build community, while also building a network of support for future tip- and resource-sharing.

You’re almost there! As we near the end of the semester, we often encourage students to reflect on and celebrate their accomplishments. Importantly, the end of the semester is also a great time for us, as educators, to reflect on and celebrate what we have accomplished. This practice can enhance the meaning of our work and add intention to our growth process as educators...

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Supporting communication in the classroom

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 22:18:27 +0000

Supporting communication in the classroom Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/08/2023 - 15:18

Many instructors seek support handling polarizing topics that may arise in the classroom. The CTL has compiled a series of considerations to support conversations in the classroom.

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Faculty support for integrating technology

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 21:56:59 +0000

Faculty support for integrating technology Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/08/2023 - 14:56

We recognize that there is a rapidly evolving digital landscape, and teaching well with technology has become increasingly important in higher education. Technology can transform the learning experience, making it more engaging, interactive, and accessible for students. By incorporating technology into their teaching methods, educators can leverage a wide range of tools and platforms to enhance the dissemination of knowledge, foster critical thinking skills, and promote collaboration among students. Additionally, teaching well with technology opens up new opportunities for inclusivity and accessibility in higher education.

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Dr. Lev Szentkirályi's Journey at CU ��«��Ƶ

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 18:35:21 +0000

Dr. Lev Szentkirályi's Journey at CU ��«��Ƶ Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/02/2023 - 12:35

In 2007, Lev Szentkirályi started his doctoral studies in Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, and in desiring to study in a field that had greater practical application to the problems of social justice that concerned him, Dr. Szentkirályi changed the trajectory of his graduate studies and arrived on our campus in 2010 as a Ph.D. student in Political Science. Throughout the following years at CU, he developed an interdisciplinary specialization in political philosophy and international relations, engaging diverse empirical and philosophical problems of environmental risk, public health, and environmental justice, as well as the ethics of revolutionary violence. As a second-generation American citizen (the youngest son of András and Enikő Szentkirályi, both of whom immigrated from Hungary in the 1950s), Dr. Szentkirályi’s Hungarian heritage has uniquely shaped his formal studies, current research interests, and his teaching career.

In learning the sobering details of his parents’ histories—not the least of which included their enduring the Second World War in Budapest, Hungary, surviving Hungary’s revolution against the Soviet Union, and fleeing their home country for the promise of greater freedom and security—and in learning how his parents and various relatives were impacted by decisions of state actors, Dr. Szentkirályi became keenly interested in subjects of political morality: inspiring his commitment to the study of global and environmental justice, and our moral obligations to champion democratic values and to protect our communities against injustices. In this spirit, his current research explores contemporary problems of applied ethics like sustainable development and corporate social responsibility, gun violence, and disaster risk reduction. For example, Dr. Szentkirályi’s first book, The Ethics of Precaution (New York: Routledge, 2019), defends safeguards against scientifically-unverified environmental health threats and argues that industry is morally obligated to take reasonable strides to prevent putting others in the way of potential albeit uncertain harm—especially vulnerable groups, like children, the elderly, the poor, and marginalized minority groups. Similarly, his most recent manuscript, “Run, Hide, and Fight?!,” aims to raise the standard of corporate social responsibility by arguing that businesses have significant duties of due care to strive to safeguard the public against possibilities of gun-related injuries and deaths, which the gun industry has routinely failed to heed. Dr. Szentkirályi’s current book project, Future Uncertain, is a co-authored edited volume that critically engages genuine and manufactured challenges of uncertainty and brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners across the natural, social, and policy sciences, on a host of climate-change-related problems. In exploring prevailing uncertainties with the impacts of climate change on diverse issue-areas (like ocean health, infectious diseases, food systems, and water security), this book indicts those who would abuse uncertainty to sow doubt and confusion or to advance private agendas at the expense of truth and the public’s interest, and it reaffirms our capacity to overcome uncertainty and achieve greater environmental sustainability.

As a Political Science graduate student, Dr. Szentkirályi spent two years (2012-2014) serving as a Lead Graduate Student in the former Graduate Teacher Program (now housed within the Center for Teaching and Learning), working to refine his teaching skills and to promote teaching excellence among graduate students in his home department. It was through this meaningful experience that he discovered the importance of student-centered pedagogy and deliberately striving to accommodate the diverse needs of our students and to effectively teach to their different strengths to help them achieve their potential. This foundational principle has defined Dr. Szentkirályi’s interdisciplinary teaching career at CU. In 2017, he accepted a position as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric in the College of Arts and Sciences, where he designed and taught a diverse suite of thematic academic and professional writing courses at the intersection of public policy and ethics, which taught students how to improve their research and writing skills in their respective majors and professional futures. In 2022, Dr. Szentkirályi transitioned to the Leeds School of Business and joined the Social Responsibility and Sustainability Division, where he teaches courses on business ethics, global political economy, and environmental sustainability—helping Business students understand the broader social and ethical implications of their studies and future careers, and challenging students to explore their moral obligations as educated citizens and community leaders to improve the welfare of those who are underprivileged and marginalized. He also teaches occasional classes for the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics, and Society and the Philosophy Department.

Beyond his research and teaching, Dr. Szentkirályi also consistently invests in our broader campus community. For instance, as the former ��«��Ƶ Faculty Assembly (BFA) Chair of the Student Affairs Committee, he collaborated with faculty and university leaders to motivate greater faculty involvement in promoting mental health wellness of CU students. During the pandemic, as the Student Affairs Committee Chair, he also served on the COVID-19 Faculty Response Committee, advising university leadership in promptly addressing myriad pressing and quickly-evolving challenges of the pandemic. As the Faculty Director for Global Initiatives in Leeds School of Business and the Director of the Global Business Certificate—which also involves serving on CU’s Education Abroad Committee and International Risk Committee—Dr. Szentkirályi helps to create meaningful experiential-learning opportunities for students, and helps to ensure rigorous global curricula that enhance students' cross-cultural competence and that prepare them for careers in a dynamic and globalized economy. Moreover, as the Faculty Fellow for Teaching and Clinical Professors with the Office of Faculty Affairs, Dr. Szentkirályi advocates for our non-tenure-track faculty and creates professional development programming to support early-, mid-, and late-career teaching and clinical professors through unique challenges that define their careers at CU. Finally, as the Founder and Executive Director of the Szentkirályi Scholarship Fund—a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit foundation whose purpose is to award scholarships to deserving CU students—Dr. Szentkirályi strives to enrich the educational experience of our students by recognizing their achievements and potential, and to expand the educational opportunities available to students who face unique barriers to attending college and succeeding in their studies.

Whether it’s contributing to a talk at the Conference on World Affairs, facilitating graduate student workshops on teaching and learning for CTL, hosting professional development workshops for teaching and clinical professors, or regularly treating his students to coffees to explore their academic and professional aspirations, as a dedicated educator and colleague, Dr. Szentkirályi has a strong presence on campus and in Leeds—always wearing a smile, always willing to help others, and always ready for a friendly conversation over a cup of coffee.

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Teaching & Learning in the Age of AI

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 18:17:15 +0000

Teaching & Learning in the Age of AI Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/01/2023 - 12:17

The advent of generative AI tools has created new challenges and opportunities for educators. It has also raised complex questions about how we can best prepare our students to work with AI responsibly and ethically in their future professional, personal, and civic lives. That is why the Center for Teaching & Learning is committed to providing all CU educators with the support and resources they need to go boldly into teaching and learning in the age of AI!

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Join us for CTL's & ASSETT's Annual Educators Mixer (Revolving-door Open House)

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 16:14:27 +0000

Join us for CTL's & ASSETT's Annual Educators Mixer (Revolving-door Open House) Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/02/2023 - 10:14

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Please join us for our annual 3-day Fall Intensive educator's workshop series!

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 18:15:46 +0000

Please join us for our annual 3-day Fall Intensive educator's workshop series! Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/28/2023 - 12:15

The Intensive will run from Wednesday, August 23rd-Friday, August 25th, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. MT-5:00 p.m. MT.

*Coffee, tea and light snacks will be served during the morning in-person sessions.

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Blog

Calls for Applications

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Recent Q&A with Center for Teaching & Learning Founding Director Kirk Ambrose

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Faculty Support with Early Course Alerts

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Using student feedback to inform our reflections

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Supporting communication in the classroom

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Faculty support for integrating technology

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Dr. Lev Szentkirályi's Journey at CU ��«����Ƶ

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Teaching & Learning in the Age of AI

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Join us for CTL's & ASSETT's Annual Educators Mixer (Revolving-door Open House)

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Please join us for our annual 3-day Fall Intensive educator's workshop series!

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Dr. Lev Szentkirályi's Journey at CU ��«��Ƶ