The Faculty Development Digest highlights events and resources that may be of interest to faculty and other educators on campus. The Digest will be posted on the Faculty Resources site periodically throughout the year. If you have an item that you would like to suggest for inclusion in a future issue, please send the details to the Director of Faculty Development. To access previous issues, use the links in the Recent Posts box or on this page.
Spring Educator Resource Institute
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Spring 2024 Educator Resource Institute on Tuesday, May 14. Session materials are now linked to the schedule.
Whether or not you attended the ERI, we invite you to complete the ERI survey. As part of this initial survey, ERI participants will have the opportunity to opt into a follow-up survey that will be distributed later this year to collect information about the kinds of changes participants made as a result of the ERI.
Summer Events
New Faculty Orientation
Incoming full-time faculty are asked to reserve Wednesday, August 14, and Friday, August 16, for New Faculty Orientation. You will receive more information from the Director of Faculty Development in early August. Please also take look at the New Faculty Information page.
If you’re not familiar with Canvas or would like a refresher, you are encouraged to sign up for one or both of the August 15 Canvas workshops (see below). Also, check out the Canvas Tips page for information on getting started.
Summer Canvas Workshops
Instructure trainers will offer two Canvas workshops to the Allegheny community on August 15, 2024:
- The first workshop will take place via Zoom from 10:00am to 11:30am and will focus on Content Creation. This workshop is aimed at new Canvas users and anyone who would like a refresher on the basics; sign up here.
- The second workshop will take place via Zoom from 1:00pm to 2:30pm and will focus on Outcomes and the Learning Mastery Gradebook. Sign up here.
Fall Educator Resource Institute
This day-long professional development event will take place on Monday, August 19. Additional details will be shared in August.
Reimbursement Requests
Please remember to turn in all Faculty Travel or ASC Grant reimbursement requests to Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir by Friday, June 7, so that they can be processed before the end of the fiscal year. Original, itemized receipts should be accompanied by a completed Travel/Entertainment Report form with an ink signature; electronic submissions are generally not accepted. Additional information is available on the Faculty Funding page. Paperwork can be dropped off in Rachel Weir’s mailbox in Arter 103 between 8am and 4pm; the door on the Quigley side of the building should be unlocked at these times.
Report Reminders
ASC Funding Reports – June 30 If you received an Academic Support Committee grant for the current fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024), please remember to complete the Funding Report submission form by June 30. This form and further details are available on the ASC Grant Applications page. Please contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir with any questions.
Activities Reports – June 30 As a reminder, the Annual Activities Report was significantly streamlined last year and should now be submitted via this form. Instead of asking for information that is available through other sources and reports, you are asked to identify, reflect upon, and highlight significant innovation and changes in your work. Your CV will be the primary location for listing activities and accomplishments; the Google Form will be the place where you can briefly reflect or provide context as appropriate. It will be most helpful if you can identify on your CV (via bold or highlighted text, for example), what elements are newly added in this reporting period (June 2023-May 2024).
Leave Reports – October 31 If you had a sabbatical or pre-tenure leave during the 2023/24 academic year, please remember to submit your leave report using the form on this page. For fall one-semester leaves, reports were due by March 31. For spring one-semester leaves and two-semester (fall/spring) leaves, reports are due by October 31.
Canvas Tips
End of Semester Tasks
Check out the Summer 2023 Faculty Development Digest for information on managing student access to completed courses and downloading your gradebook from Canvas.
Share Your Canvas Tips & Tricks
The Allegheny Canvas team would like to know how you’re using Canvas in your courses! How are you leveraging Discussions? Do you have any creative approaches to Canvas assignments or tips for making an especially engaging Home page? Have you found any uniquely useful LTIs or any navigation options that you consider an absolute must? Share your ideas with the team via this form for possible inclusion into upcoming workshops, faculty training, and/or announcements.
Canvas Updates
We’ll be rolling out a few changes to Canvas this summer so they’ll be ready to go for the fall semester.
- Instructure has redesigned the Discussions tool; check out this video from Instructure for more details. For more information, see the Instructor Guide on the Discussion Redesign in the Canvas Community.
- Instructure has also made some similar changes to the Announcements feature; check out the Announcements Redesign Instructor Guide in the Canvas Community for more info and tips.
- Starting in June, the old Google Apps Canvas plug-in will no longer be available and all instructors will use the Google Assignments LTI 1.3 tool. If you bring forward previous assignments into your Fall 2024 courses, this step-by-step guide will help with recreating Google Apps assignments to configure them for the new Google Assignments LTI 1.3.
Professional Development
The Grading Conference
Interested in learning about alternative grading methods in higher education? Register here for the 2024 Grading Conference – Higher Ed Focus, which will take place online from June 13 to June 15. The registration fee of $50 can be reimbursed from your Faculty Travel allowance. The keynote speakers will be Dr. Susan Blum, Dr. Laila McCloud, and Jeff Schinske. See the schedule for additional details.
Community-Engaged Learning
Materials from Dr. Barbara Jacoby’s recent workshop “Conducting and Supporting the Scholarship of Service-Learning” are available in this folder.
Summer Reading and Listening
Blog Posts
Here is an eclectic list of recent blog posts for your summer reading pleasure!
- After a Tough Year for Classroom Innovation, It’s Time for a Reset
- Busting Myths About Deadline Extensions
- Can You Teach Students to Read Effectively?
- It’s Time to Start Teaching Your Students How to Be a Student
- Teach Students How to Translate Their Learning for Employers
- The Goose in the Bottle (see also The Imperfectionist blog)
- The Liberal Arts Have a Messaging Problem
Podcasts
A very long list of podcasts by and for higher education professionals is available here. Here are a few that you might want to start with:
Events
Upcoming Events
- August 14 and 16 – New Faculty Orientation
- August 15 – Canvas Workshops (see details above)
- August 19 – Fall Educator Resource Institute (save the date)
Past Events and Materials
- May 14 – Spring Educator Resource Institute
- May 13 – Keynote Address: Thriving or Surviving? A Vision for the Second Year of College, Dr. Laurie Schreiner
- May 10 – Course Reflection Coffee Break
- Dec 20 – Course Reflection Coffee Break: Resource Page
- Aug 21 – Fall 2023 Educator Resource Institute
- Aug 17 – Canvas Essentials Workshop
- Aug 17 – Canvas Q&A Session
- May 16 – Spring 2023 Educator Resource Institute
See the Faculty Development Opportunities page for additional links to previous events.
Faculty Development Digest, February 2024
February 15th 2024
The Faculty Development Digest highlights events and resources that may be of interest to faculty and other educators on campus. The Digest will be posted on the Faculty Resources site periodically throughout the year. If you have an item that you would like to suggest for inclusion in a future issue, please send the details to Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir at rweir@allegheny.edu.
Spring Educator Resource Institute
Save the Dates. Thanks to the Maytum Center for Student Success and the William Beazell Memorial Fund, the Spring Educator Resource Institute (ERI) will kick off early this year with a presentation and reception on Monday, May 13, in advance of our traditional day of workshops and presentations on Tuesday, May 14.
Dr. Laurie Schreiner, a national expert on the second-year experience, will be giving a talk at 4:15pm on Monday, May 13th, with a reception to follow. Her presentation should be of interest to all faculty, staff, and administrators who mentor and advise students, with particular relevance to Exploratory Advisors, who will be continuing to advise 2023-2024 students through much of their pivotal second year. A related workshop will take place on May 14 as part of the ERI. Please direct questions to Second Year Class Dean Amy Stearns.
Funding Opportunities
Demmler Awards. The Demmler endowment provides funding for faculty members who wish to pursue projects to develop innovation in teaching and in the curriculum. Consistent with data provided to us by the Art & Science Group and the strategies outlined in The Allegheny College Pathway, this year preference will be given to projects that focus on 1) building career discernment into academic programs; 2) building hands-on learning into the academic program; 3) developing accelerated academic programs (3+1 or 4+1 combined bachelors/masters degrees); and/or 4) developing proposals for federal grants or grants from major foundations.
You can read the full description of this year’s call here, and applications should be submitted using this form by March 1, 2024. Proposals will be reviewed by the Provost and Senior Associate Provost with the goal of notifying applicants of the decision on funding by April 1, 2024.
College Schools Collaborative. Do you have a terrific idea for a new collaborative project between Crawford Central School District and Allegheny College faculty, staff, or students? If so, the College-Schools Collaborative (CSC) can help you by providing funding to support your collaborative project. Guidelines and the application form can be found via this link. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Whitenack.
In the Library
Looking for a resource to guide your teaching? Each month we will highlight relevant materials from our collection in Pelletier.
As an example, a search for “peer review” yields multiple articles including The Benefits of Student Peer Review, Three Methods to Enhance Peer Review in Your Classroom, and Student Peer Review and Learning. Check out The Teaching Professor the next time you need advice or strategies to support your teaching!
Teaching Tools
Midterm Course Reflection. Have you made time in your course schedule for a Midterm Course Reflection? Week 7 (Feb. 26 – Mar. 1), right before we head into Spring Break, could be a great time to pause and gather feedback from your students about what is and isn’t going well for them in your course so far. You can find multiple resources on the Midterm Course Reflections page, including how to set up the survey, how to review the responses, and how to follow up with your class. This information is also available via the Teaching Resources page in the Faculty Resources site.
Reports of Student Experience (RSEs). The spring RSE survey will be open during the week of April 22, so please make sure that you set aside time for students to complete the survey during class that week.
Post-Semester Course Reflection. At the end of the semester, make time for a post-semester course reflection. Watch for details about our May Course Reflection Coffee Break if you’re interested in reflecting with colleagues!
Professional Development Opportunities
Study Away Workshop. Study Away brings students into contact with new cultural frameworks that can challenge and shape their identities, and we as educators can help make this a productive growth experience for them. Join Allegheny’s Global Education Office as we welcome veteran Higher Education Leader, Dr. Shakeer Abdullah, to lead our faculty and staff community in a training seminar on Using Multicultural Competence to Support Diverse Students in Study Away Programs. Dr. Abdullah will coach us on the knowledge, skills, and awareness we need to support our students and their identity development before, during, and after they study away. Read Dr. Abdullah’s full bio and watch a brief video introduction of the workshop for additional information.
Please RSVP by April 1. Space is available for 35 Allegheny educators to participate in the workshop on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch will be provided at the start of the event, and light refreshments mid-afternoon. Support for this event was provided by the Great Lakes Colleges Association through its Global Crossroads Initiative, made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Inclusive STEM Teaching Online Course. The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, an NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program, is hosting a free six-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from March 4 – April 26, 2024, via edX. Participants in the course will learn how to:
– Advance awareness, self-efficacy, and ability to cultivate inclusive classroom environments
– Support their development as reflective, inclusive practitioners
– Engage in reflection and discussion around topics of equity and inclusion across a variety of institutional contexts
– Implement inclusive teaching methods in their classes that will remove common barriers and enhance learning in STEM for all students.
Click here for more information and to register for the course.
Questions can also be directed to Lisa Whitenack, who completed a previous offering of the course.
Perusall Community Book Event. As part of the Perusall Engage series, faculty are invited to participate in a 4-week asynchronous, author-facilitated, communal reading experience focused on Michelle D. Miller’s book Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology. This community event will run from February 26 until March 22. During this time, participants will be able to engage with the author, with each other, and with the book content, all within the Perusall platform and at their own pace. There is a $15 fee to access the book for two months, but you can participate in the four-week book event for the first week without charge. A discount coupon will be provided for attendees who wish to purchase a print copy of the book after the event. Click here to join the event.
ASC Reminders
ASC Funding Deadline. The spring semester deadline for ASC grant applications is February 15. All full-time continuing faculty are eligible to apply for funding of up to $3500 per year to support projects in 2023/24 or 2024/25 that are related to teaching or research. Requests for sabbatical or pre-tenure leave funding should also be submitted as ASC grant applications. The application form and additional details can be found on this page. Please contact ASC Chair Tim Bianco or Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir with any questions.
Supplemental Research Funding. Outside of the two funding cycles each year, faculty can apply for up to $500 in ASC funding using the same application process, as described on this page.
ASC Funding Reports. If you use Academic Support Committee funding in the current fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024), please remember to complete the Funding Report submission form by June 30. This form and further details are available on the ASC Grant Applications page. Please contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir with any questions.
Fall Leave Reports. If you were on leave during the fall semester, please remember to submit your leave report using the form on this page by March 31. For spring one-semester leaves and two-semester (fall/spring) leaves, reports are due by October 31. Please contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir with any questions.
Teaching Conferences
PKAL Meeting. The 2024 Capital PKAL Regional Network Meeting will take place virtually on March 15 from 8:30am to 4:00pm with the theme Empower Students & Preserve Critical Thinking in the World of AI. PKAL (Project Kaleidoscope) is an AAC&U initiative focused on STEM higher education. More information is available on this page and interested faculty can register for $75 via this page. Please note that this registration fee can be reimbursed from Faculty Travel allowances.
What Works in 2024. The Center for Innovative Pedagogy at Kenyon College is currently accepting presentation proposals for the What Works in 2024 Conference, which will take place virtually during the week of May 29-31, 2024. The application deadline is March 15 and presenters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 29.
GLCA Webinars and Resources
“Do Faculty of Color Really Matter for the Liberal Arts?” Webinar. Professors Irene López (Psychology) and Simon Garcia (Chemistry), both of Kenyon College, presented this significant and timely webinar on behalf of the GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning on December 5, 2023. You can access various resources associated with the presentation, including the recording and slides, via this document.
“Working with Students When Things Get Difficult” Webinar Cyndi Kernahan, Professor of Psychological Sciences and Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, presented this webinar on January 18, 2024, also on behalf of the GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning. The webinar recording can be found here and other resources from her workshop are available in this folder.
Results of Survey on Generative AI. The findings of the GLCA survey that was administered in November 2023 can be found in this report from Paul A. Djupe (Director, Data for Political Research at Denison University) and Lew Ludwig (Director, Denison Center for Learning and Teaching).
Events
Upcoming Events
- May 13, 4pm – Presentation by Dr. Laurie Schreiner, national expert on the second-year experience
- May 14 – Spring Educator Resource Institute (save the date)
Past Events and Materials
- Dec 20 – Course Reflection Coffee Break: Resource Page
- Aug 21 – Fall 2023 Educator Resource Institute
- Aug 17 – Canvas Essentials Workshop
- Aug 17 – Canvas Q&A Session
- May 16 – Spring 2023 Educator Resource Institute
See the Faculty Development Opportunities page for additional links to previous events.