Tag Archive: Course Reflection | Faculty Resources

Course Reflection

Faculty Development Digest, April 2024

By rweir April 16th 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. To access previous issues, use the links in the Recent Posts box or on this page.

Center Survey

The Center for Faculty Research and Teaching Excellence is envisioned as the campus hub for faculty and staff development, supporting transformational teaching and research and enhancing the use of educational technology. Faculty and staff, we invite you to complete this survey to let us know what you would like to see in the Center and how you might want to contribute to the Center. Thank you for your input!

Spring Educator Resource Institute

The schedule for the Spring Educator Resource Institute (ERI), which will take place on Tuesday, May 14, is now being finalized and will be posted soon.

Advising Second Year Students. Thanks to the Maytum Center for Student Success and the William Beazell Memorial Fund, the ERI will kick off early this year. Dr. Laurie Schreiner, a national expert on the second-year experience, will give the keynote address Thriving or Surviving? A Vision for the Second Year of College in the Tillotson Room at 4:15pm on Monday, May 13, with a reception to follow. Her presentation should be of interest to all faculty, staff, and administrators who mentor and advise students. Her workshop We Have Some Data… Now What?! will focus on Allegheny’s results from the recently-conducted Sophomore Experiences Survey and will take place at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 14 as part of the ERI. Please direct questions about Dr. Schreiner’s visit to Second Year Class Dean Amy Stearns.

Save the Date. The Fall Educator Resource Institute will take place on Monday, August 19.

Course Reflection Coffee Break

When you have a moment to look back on your classes this year, you might want to consider the ideas in Rachel Toor’s blog post Love Them More; Care Less. In short, we as educators work hard to make our classes as effective as possible and if things don’t go well, we often take that to heart. Toor’s advice is to do “the best you can, while also not contorting yourself to try to fix things you can’t manage.”

This advice will be the theme of our spring Course Reflection Coffee Break. On Friday, May 10, we invite you to take a break from grading and spend time with colleagues looking back on your teaching successes and challenges this semester. There will be an open tab for participants at French Creek Coffee & Tea between 1:30pm to 3:00pm and we will gather in the meeting room at the end of the upstairs hallway at French Creek. Bring a copy of each of your syllabi so that you can record notes about each course for next time – your future self will thank you!

New Faculty Orientation

New Faculty Orientation for any incoming, full-time faculty will take place on Wednesday, August 14, and Friday, August 16. There will also be a Canvas workshop for new users on Thursday, August 15. Please be aware of these dates as you schedule departmental retreats or other meetings in the lead-up to the fall semester. Additional information for new faculty can be found on this page.

In the Library

Looking for a resource to guide your teaching? Each month we will highlight relevant materials from our collection in Pelletier.

Books in the Faculty Development Collection. Tressa Snyder, Dean of the Library, is showcasing two books from the Faculty Development Collection located in the soon-to-be renovated Allegheny Authors area on the main floor next to the study rooms. The first book, Journal Sparks: Fire Up Your Creativity with Spontaneous Art, Wild Writing and Inventive Thinking by Emily K. Neuburger, offers out-of-the box ways to apply journaling concepts to stimulate creativity in the classroom. These formats can be applied to all subject areas from traditional writing to mathematical thinking to comp research. The second book, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks, is more for personal introspection. Brooks explores the characteristics of lives of meaning and purpose, and how we can use our gifts to build a “life of interdependence and commitment to others.”

Study Away Workshop.

Do you work with students in an advisory capacity at Allegheny? Have you wondered how you might help them if they asked you about study away? Then you’d benefit from attending an engaging training workshop about supporting diverse students who express an interest in studying away while at Allegheny. 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 on Monday, May 13, 12:00pm-4:00pm (lunch included). Please RSVP using this form. 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.

Professional Development Opportunities

WTF: Way(s) to Fail. Materials from this GLCA Consortium for Teaching and Learning workshop on embracing the pedagogy of failure in your classroom are now available. This interactive workshop was led by our colleagues Lydia Eckstein, Amelia Finaret and Lisa Whitenack on Wednesday, March 20. You can view the workshop recording here. Additional resources can be accessed via this Google doc.

Scholarship of Service-Learning Workshop. The SoTL SIG of the POD Network will host the free webinar Conducting and Supporting the Scholarship of Service-Learning, facilitated by higher education consultant Dr. Barbara Jacoby, on Wednesday, April 17, from 3:00pm to 4:00pm. See more information on this page. Interested participants can join the webinar via this link.

Teaching Conferences

TLTCon 2023. The 7th Annual Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference (TLTCon 2024), hosted by the College of Charleston, will take place online on May 7-8, 2024. This year’s keynote speaker is Josh Weiss, Director of Digital Learning Solutions at Stanford University. The conference is free but spaces are limited, so register today!

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.

Events

Upcoming Events

May 10, 1:30pm-3:00pm – Course Reflection Coffee Break (French Creek Coffee & Tea Meeting Room)
May 13, 4:15pm – Keynote Address: Thriving or Surviving? A Vision for the Second Year of College, Dr. Laurie Schreiner
May 14 – Spring Educator Resource Institute (schedule coming soon!)
August 14 and 16 – New Faculty Orientation
August 15 – Canvas Workshops (more details soon)
August 19 – Fall 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.

Faculty Development Digest, February 2024

By rweir February 15th 2024

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.

Did you know that Allegheny has an institutional subscription to Magna’s The Teaching Professor resource? Via this subscription, you can access articles and advice on a variety of teaching topics and you can also sign up to receive a weekly newsletter. To access this resource, use this link or search for “Teaching Professor” in Aggregator on the Library website.

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.

Faculty Development Digest, January 2024

By rweir January 11th 2024

Spring Book Group

There’s still time to sign up for the spring book group! Meetings begin on Wednesday, January 24.

Belonging Book Group. How can we foster a sense of belonging for our students and for ourselves? The spring 2024 faculty/staff book group, facilitated by Rachel Weir, will focus on Geoffrey Cohen’s book Belonging: The Science of Creating Connections and Bridging Divides, which describes how “small actions to boost belonging have the potential to restore a sense of community in times of isolation and division” and that a sense of belonging “even boosts individual and communal health.” Meetings will take place on Wednesdays (January 24, February 7, February 21, March 13, March 27, April 10, and April 24) from 12:30pm to 1:20pm, with lunch provided, and all participants will receive a copy of the book. Please contact Rachel Weir with any questions. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

Setting Up Your Courses

Syllabus Checklist. The Syllabus Checklist page contains a list of required and recommended syllabus content, summarizing the information found in Section 9.1 of the Faculty Handbook.

DR Assessment. If you are teaching a course that has an ME or CL tag, please make sure you are able to identify at least one assignment for which one rubric row can be applied (Process or Conventions for ME; Civic Systems or Civic Actions for CL). Additional details can be found in the ME rubric and the CL rubric. Information about the assessment process will be emailed to instructors.

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. You may also want to make time to administer a midterm course reflection, followed by a post-semester course reflection.

Canvas Courses The RSE and other assessments are administered via Canvas, so all courses must have published Canvas sites, preferably by the Add/Drop deadline so that reminders don’t need to be sent out to instructors. This doesn’t mean that entire courses need to be managed through Canvas. You can find instructions on how to create a minimal Canvas course in this document.

Check out the Preparing for a New Semester page for additional reminders and tips for the new semester.

Teaching Tools

First Day Advice. Check out James Lang’s post How to Teach a Good First Day of Class for advice on how to set the tone for the semester by incorporating curiosity, community, learning, and expectations into your first class meeting.

Engaging Teaching. In her advice guide How to Make Your Teaching More Engaging, Sarah Rose Cavanaugh (author of The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion) shares four principles for increasing engagement in your classes:
– Cognitive Resources Are Limited. Emotion Trumps.
– Your Persona and Performance Matter, Like It or Not
– We Are Intensely Social Creatures, Motivated by Community
– Stories Are Our ‘Most Natural Form of Thought.’

Mental Health Days. Thinking about incorporating mental health days into your class schedule? In the post Student Wellness Tip: Create Mental Health Day Reflections, read about how one professor structures these breaks by requiring students to submit a short, written reflection describing how they spent the scheduled class meeting time, with the only rules being that they can’t sleep or study. The professor also commits to using this break to focus on his own wellness.

Ending With Review. In her post The Case for Ending the Semester With Review, Beth McMurtrie describes how Robert Talbert structures his classes so that the last two weeks do not involve any new content, allowing time to review material so that students can further bolster understanding. A similar strategy is to use these two weeks to delve more deeply into the material, but to only assess students on the earlier material. This provides the opportunity for students to view the assessed content from different points of view, enhancing their understanding without the pressure of additional testing.

Reading Your RSEs

Finding RSE Reports. Each course’s responses are contained in an Evaluation Report. To find your Evaluation Reports, go to the Anthology platform, click on the Reports icon at the top and then select Evaluation Reports. You should then see a list of your courses. Select the reports that you would like to see by checking boxes in the Include column and clicking the View button that appears above the list. You can also use the filters at the top of a page to find a specific course. Department chairs can access the reports for faculty in their department in the same way. The Anthology platform can be accessed directly via the RSEs link in your Canvas courses or via the Google waffle. If you run into any issues, please email rsesupport@allegheny.edu to contact the on-campus Anthology managers.

Analyzing RSE Responses. RSE results should be viewed through the lens of reflection and growth, as opposed to comparison with other faculty. For the qualitative responses, which appear at the end of the Evaluation Report, look for themes and identify possible action items. Pay attention to the positive comments, not just the negative ones! For the quantitative results, look for trends over time, celebrate the positives, and identify areas for improvement.

It’s normal to have an emotional reaction to reading feedback from your students, so give yourself time to work through any feelings that come up for you. For more advice on how to approach reading your evaluations, take a look at Constanza Bartholomae’s post Put Your Teaching Evaluations in a Jar. For example, she suggests “leaning into your values” and creating a “jar of affirmations.”

The Reports of Student Experience page contains additional information and advice, including the slides from the October 2022 presentation RSEs and You: What Does It All Mean?

Canvas Information

Course Mergers. Faculty who are teaching more than one section of a course may wish to request that the sections be merged into a single Canvas course. To request a merger, please use the Request a Canvas Course Merger button on the Library Resources for Faculty page, and submit the form provided. Requests will be processed by Library Services after approval by the Registrar, so please allow time for processing. Course mergers cannot be completed after students have submitted assignments or participated in discussions in the course.

New Quizzes Training Course. A 90-minute on-demand training course on New Quizzes is now available through the Canvas Training Portal. To access the portal, click the Help link in Canvas, located at the bottom of the navigation menu on the left-hand side. As noted in the portal, “New Quizzes is an enhanced quizzing tool available inside of Canvas. The tool offers a variety of interactive question types to promote engagement in your assessments. This course explores New Quizzes including the creation process, moderation and grading options, item bank management, as well as how to import and migrate existing quiz content.”

Canvas Support. The Canvas Tips page contains information about Canvas resources and support, course set-up reminders, troubleshooting suggestions, and a link to materials from previous Canvas workshops. Two quick reminders:
– If you’ve copied content from a previous course, watch out for issues with invalid links or unpublished images (the dreaded padlock!). You can identify these quickly using the Course Link Validator. See this article for more information.
– If you can’t find one of your courses in Canvas, click on the Courses icon and then select All Courses. Click the star next to any course to add it to your Courses menu and your Dashboard. See more information here.

ASC Reminders

Teaching Conference

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.

Events

Upcoming Events

May 14, 2024 – 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.

Faculty Development Digest, November 2023

By rweir November 30th 2023

Mindfulness Minute

As you are reading this newsletter, briefly take a break to look around where you are. Can you find one beautiful thing? Focus your attention upon it, breathing deeply and allowing your body to settle as you just enjoy its presence. Anytime, you can return your attention to this object as a way of orienting yourself to beauty and pleasure. (And, if you can’t find anything at this moment, allow this to be a gentle nudge to place objects of beauty — plants, art, small stones, photographs — in places where you work, to allow you access to this orienting practice at any time.)

Teaching Feedback and Reflection

RSE Week. The Reports of Student Experience (RSEs) will be open to students next week (December 4-8). To encourage students to complete the RSE, please set aside time in class and share with your class how their feedback is useful to you as you reflect on and revise your courses.

RSE Access. Students will receive an email when the survey opens on Monday and they can access the survey from that email or from the RSEs link that should be in every Canvas course. If you’ve previously hidden the RSEs link, please make it visible by: 1) selecting Settings in the left-hand menu in Canvas; 2) in the Navigation tab, dragging RSEs from the bottom list into the top list; and 3) clicking Save at the bottom of the page.

Syllabus Annotation Activity. Looking for additional ways to collect feedback from your students? Bring copies of your syllabus to class on the the last day and ask your students to annotate them. Emily Farris, Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas Christian University suggests the following prompts for students: What did they like/dislike? What was impactful? What would they change? If they could add a week, what would they include or want more of? This activity can also be done electronically using the commenting function in Google docs or a platform such as Perusall. See this enthusiastic post from Matt Reed for his view on the benefits of this activity.

Bonus Tech Tip. For the above activity, you can create a copy of your Google doc for each student as follows:
– Share your document with “Anyone with the link” or “Public.”
– Copy the URL for your document and use it to create a link to your students. For example, you might provide the link within a Canvas assignment or on a Canvas page.
– Update the link, replacing the word “edit” in the URL and anything after it with the word “copy.”
When anyone clicks on the link, they will now be prompted to create a copy of the document that will automatically be saved in their Google drive.

Course Reflection Coffee Break. Faculty are invited to take a break from grading to reflect on and celebrate this semester’s teaching successes. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be available in CC 301/302 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm on Wednesday, December 20. Stop in to spend a little time talking with colleagues about teaching and giving yourself an opportunity to decompress. Bring a copy of each of your syllabi so that you can record notes about each course for next time – your future self will thank you!

Upcoming Events

Do Faculty of Color Really Matter for the Liberal Arts? The GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning will be hosting this virtual presentation by Professor Irene López (Psychology, Kenyon College) and Associate Professor Simon Garcia (Chemistry, Kenyon College) on Tuesday, December 5, at 12pm. López and Garcia will present on their findings of barriers and issues faced by faculty of color in academia and, in particular, the importance of faculty of color for students, the curriculum, and the institution. They have also launched a website, the Faculty of Color Network, specifically designed to support faculty members of color and will showcase this initiative during the presentation. Register here to attend this event; registered attendees will receive a link to attend via email the day before the event. The first part of the session will be recorded.

Spring Book Group

How can we foster a sense of belonging for our students and for ourselves? The spring 2024 faculty/staff book group, facilitated by Rachel Weir, will focus on Geoffrey Cohen’s book Belonging: The Science of Creating Connections and Bridging Divides, which describes how “small actions to boost belonging have the potential to restore a sense of community in times of isolation and division” and that a sense of belonging “even boosts individual and communal health.” Meetings will take place on Wednesdays (January 24, February 7, February 21, March 13, March 27, April 10, and April 24) from 12:30pm to 1:20pm, with lunch provided, and all participants will receive a copy of the book. Please contact Rachel Weir with any questions. Interested educators can sign up by completing this form. The form also provides space for you to register your interest if you can’t meet at this time; if there’s enough interest, another group may be formed. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

In the Library

Each month we will highlight a resource in Pelletier.

Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices That Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education: published in 2023, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to nontraditional grading techniques. Authors David Clark and Robert Talbert describe motivations for using alternative grading approaches, together with multiple case studies from a variety of disciplines. For additional case studies and resources, check out Clark and Talbert’s companion blog Grading for Growth.

In addition to the ebook linked above, a paper copy of the book is available in the Faculty Development section in Pelletier, which is located on the main floor near the Allegheny Authors section (look for the bright green walls).

URSCA Updates

Summer Research and Scholarship. Information about 2024 summer research opportunities is now available on the Summer Research Program website. Interested students can apply for up to 8 weeks of funding to participate in research, scholarship, and creative activities on campus and in the Meadville community during Summer 2024. To apply, students should submit a completed proposal (available here as a Word document) and submit it via the link on the website by Friday, March 29, 2024; the link will be live early in the spring semester.

Faculty Stipends. Faculty who mentor students participating in the Student-Faculty Research Program through the Office of URSCA will receive a stipend of $100/week (for up to 8-weeks of support) for their mentorship. The $100/week stipend is not paid per student (i.e., faculty mentoring 2 students will only be eligible for $100/week) and this stipend is available only to faculty whose students participate in this specific program.

Contact Matt Venesky (mvenesky@allegheny.edu), Director of URSCA, if you have any questions.

Global Education Updates

Global Learning Seminars in 2025. Faculty are invited to propose a Global Learning Seminar for 2025. GL Seminars are led by two Allegheny faculty and take students to a domestic or international off campus destination. GL Seminars are offered as standalone 2-3 week summer courses or as part of a Spring 2025 course with travel embedded into Spring Break. Proposals are due by January 17, 2025. Are you interested in leading a GL Seminar but don’t know where to start? RSVP at this link to attend a presentation about the 2025 proposal process on Dec. 4 at noon. For further information, review the 2025 Global Learning (GL) Seminars: Proposal & Program Policies.

Major Specific Study Away Advising Sheets for Students, Faculty, and Staff. Last summer, Allegheny faculty members collaborated with the Global Education Office (with support from the GLCA Global Crossroads Innovation Grant) to create major-specific advice for students considering studying away for a semester. These are now housed on a new My Major & Study Away landing page on the Global Education website. Do you have questions about which semester it’s best for any given major to study away? Or have you wondered which of our sponsored program options are best suited for a particular student looking to take upper-level major coursework while away? What about the mandatory courses students in a given major need to complete before they’re approved by their department to study away? These advising guides answer all these questions and then some. We hope they will be a valuable resource for the Allegheny community when supporting our students in their study away adventures.

Teaching Conference

Ohio PKAL Conference. The eighth annual Ohio Project Kaleidoscope (OH-PKAL) conference, Navigating Current Challenges & Opportunities in STEM Higher Education, will be held at Otterbein University on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The keynote speaker is Dr. Lynne Parker, Associate Vice Chancellor of The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and expert in Artificial Intelligence. OH-PKAL is a network of STEM faculty and graduate students promoting and enhancing evidence-based, learner-centered STEM undergraduate education. Check out the call for proposals to learn more about the conference’s themes and to submit a proposal for a poster, presentation, or workshop; the deadline for submissions is Tuesday, December 19. If you’re interested in carpooling with other faculty, contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir.

Professional Development Opportunities

Research Seminar on Affirming and Inclusive Engaged Learning for Neurodivergent Students. The Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University invites interested scholars and practitioners, regardless of discipline, to apply to join a multi-institutional cohort of researchers who will investigate systems, supports, pathways, and pipelines for neurodivergent students to facilitate access to and participation in high-quality engaged learning experiences. Selected applicants will meet on Elon University’s campus one week every June for the next three years. The deadline to apply is January 16, 2024; more information is available here. Alexis Hart (ahart@allegheny.edu) has been participating in the current research seminar and would be happy to talk with interested faculty.

2024-2025 Workshop for Early Career Faculty. The Nielsen Center for the Liberal Arts at Eckerd College invites early-career faculty at liberal arts colleges to join a supportive learning community and national network. Nielsen Fellows participate in a seminar-style workshop throughout a year-long program that includes three in-person gatherings at Eckerd College on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The deadline to apply is December 22, 2023; more information is available here.

Events

Upcoming Events

Dec 14 – Informer 5 Lunch & Learn Session on Visualizations (Murray 120, 12pm)
Dec 20 – Course Reflection Coffee Break (see green box above)
May 14, 2024 – Spring Educator Resource Institute (save the date)

Past Events and Materials

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, September 2023

By rweir September 20th 2023

Mindfulness Minute

Inspired by the spring 2023 book group focused on Oren Jay Sofer’s book Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, here is one example of a way to create short pauses amidst your busy day:

Right now, as you are reading this newsletter, be aware of the sensations of your body sitting (or walking, or standing). Bring your attention to points of contact between your body and the chair and your feet and the ground. Keep returning your attention to those points of contact. Were you aware of those sensations a few moments ago before beginning this exercise? How does it feel to become aware of your direct, present-moment experience?

Fall Educator Resource Institute

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Fall 2023 Educator Resource Institute on Monday, August 21. Materials from all of the sessions 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.

Save the Date. The Spring Educator Resource Institute will take place on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Click here to save the date on your calendar.

Gator Day Faculty Events

Mark your calendars for these two Gator Day (Tuesday, October 24) events for faculty.

Using Assessment Instruments. (Tillotson Room, 9:00am-10:00am) A hands-on workshop that guides faculty through the process of implementing assessment instruments such as the DR rubrics (in courses that carry an ME or CL tag) and those identified in program assessment plans.

Caffeine and Cupcakes. (Tippie Alumni Center, 10:00am-11:00am) The Office of the Provost invites you to stop by to connect with colleagues, eat some cupcakes, and pick up some Allegheny goodies.

In the Library

Each month we will highlight a resource in Pelletier.

Teaching at Its Best : A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors: released in 2023, this is the updated fifth edition of this well-known book, which provides multiple evidence-based strategies for faculty. Here’s an example from Chapter 9 (Enhancing Student Motivation):

Explain to your class why you have chosen the teaching methods, readings, assignments, in-class activities, policies, and assessment strategies that you are using. Students don’t assume that everything you do is for their own good.

Canvas Information

Canvas Workshops. Recordings from the August 17 Canvas Essentials workshop and Canvas Q&A session are now available via the Canvas Workshop Materials document, which is linked to the Canvas Tips page.

Canvas and RSEs. Please remember that all courses that are eligible for end-of-semester Reports of Student Experience (RSEs) must have published Canvas sites because the RSEs are administered via Canvas. This doesn’t mean that entire courses need to be managed through Canvas, but every Canvas course does need to be published with at least some minimal amount of content. You can find instructions on how to create a minimal Canvas course in this document.

Fundraising and You

Are you interested in learning more about how fundraising at Allegheny works? This could include: how to identify and engage with potential donors; how to effectively communicate possible donor opportunities; how Institutional Advancement can help departments and programs connect with donors; the role of faculty in donor stewardship; or understanding fundraising responsibilities for faculty who move into administrative roles. Interested faculty are invited to complete this form, briefly indicating the kinds of topics they would like to learn more about. Responses will be collected by Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir and shared with Institutional Advancement in order to plan possible training opportunities.

Useful Subscriptions

Allegheny is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD), a nationally-recognized, independent organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty at all stages of their career. To take advantage of resources such as the Monday Motivator emails, 14 day Writing Challenges, and a range of webinars, set up your free account by following the steps detailed in this post.
Looking for news, advice, and analysis that is relevant to higher education community? Use your Allegheny email to create free accounts with platforms such as Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle of Higher Education and then subscribe to email newsletters that connect to your interests. Department chairs, check out the Ask the Chair posts that address readers’ questions related to departmental leadership.

Do you have other suggestions that would be of general interest to faculty? Email them to Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir for use in future issues of the digest.

AI and Teaching

AI Assignment Collection The WAC Repository, a publication of the WAC Clearinghouse and the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum, recently released TextGenEd: Teaching with Text Generation Technologies, a digital collection of 34 undergraduate-level assignments to support students’ AI literacy, rhetorical and ethical engagements, creative exploration, and professional writing, along with an Introduction to guide instructors’ understanding and their selection of what to emphasize in their courses.

Events

Upcoming Events

Oct 24 (Gator Day) – Using Assessment Instruments, 9:00am-10:00am, Tillotson Room
Oct 24 (Gator Day) – Caffeine and Cupcakes, 10:00am-11:00am, Tippie Alumni Center
May 14, 2024 – Spring Educator Resource Institute (save the date)

Past Events and Materials

Aug 17 – Canvas Essentials Workshop
Aug 17 – Canvas Q&A Session
Aug 21 – Fall 2023 Educator Resource Institute
Aug 21 – Spring 2023 Educator Resource Institute

See the Faculty Development Opportunities page for additional links to previous events.

Faculty Development Digest, August 2023

By rweir August 10th 2023

Fall Educator Resource Institute

Allegheny faculty, staff, and administrators are invited to participate in the Fall 2023 Educator Resource Institute on Monday, August 21, with sessions running from 9:00am to 3:00pm. A full schedule has been posted on the Faculty Resources site; please check this schedule for updates and room details.

For planning purposes, participants are asked to select the workshops that they will be attending by 3pm Friday, August 18, using this form. You will receive a calendar invite for each session that you select, as a reminder of your responses.

Setting Up Your Courses

Check out the Preparing for a New Semester page for reminders and tips for the new academic year. In particular:

Take a look at the Syllabus Checklist page as a reminder of the required and recommended syllabus content. This page summarizes the information found in Section 9.1 of the Faculty Handbook.
If you are teaching a course that has an ME or CL tag, please make sure you are able to identify at least one assignment that will assess that learning outcome. Faculty teaching courses with other DR tags should still consider how specific assignments could be used to assess those learning outcomes, as we anticipate expanding this requirement to additional tags in future semesters.

Reports of Student Experience (RSEs) The fall RSE survey will be open during the week of December 4, so please make sure that you set aside time for students to complete the survey during class that week. This survey is administered via the RSEs link that appears in the navigation menu in each of your Canvas courses. For this reason, all courses that are eligible for RSEs must have published Canvas sites, preferably by the Add/Drop deadline so that reminders don’t need to be sent out to instructors. This doesn’t mean that entire courses need to be managed through Canvas. You can find instructions on how to create a minimal Canvas course in this document.

You may also want to make time to administer a midterm course reflection, followed by a post-semester course reflection.

Canvas Information

Canvas Workshops.On Thursday, August 17 at 10am, Instructure trainer Cory Chitwood will facilitate a virtual, 90-minute Canvas Essentials workshop, aimed at new Canvas users or anyone who would appreciate a refresher on the basics of Canvas. Sign up via this form.

Cory will also run a virtual, 90-minute Q&A session at 1pm on August 17. Participants will have the opportunity to submit questions during the session and Cory will aim to address as many as possible during the allotted time. Sign up here.

Also on August 17, at 2:30pm Instructure will be hosting a 30-minute virtual session on creating and using rubrics and duplicating assessment and content for effective and efficient content building. Click here for more information, including the Zoom link.

Course Mergers. Library Services, working with the Office of the Registrar, has developed a streamlined process for merging course sections in Canvas. Faculty who are teaching more than one section of a course may wish to request that the sections be merged into a single Canvas course. To request a merger, please use the Request a Canvas Course Merger button on the Library Resources for Faculty page, and submit the form provided. Requests will be processed by Library Services after approval by the Registrar.

Please allow time for processing. It is imperative that course merger requests be submitted before classes begin. Course mergers cannot be completed after students have submitted assignments or participated in discussions in the course. Please note that this process supersedes the former methods of emailing LITS or opening a WebHelp ticket.

AI and Teaching

AI and the Honor Code The Honor Committee is actively discussing the potential impact of generative AI (genAI) on academic integrity. The Committee already interprets Article II regarding “unauthorized assistance” based on what an instructor does or does not define as authorized. So, instructors who wish to restrict the use of genAI in their courses have the support of the Honor Code in doing so because the act of authorizing or forbidding particular types of assistance resides with the instructor. As with any other allegation, no outcome can be promised in any individual case, and it remains incumbent upon the instructor to make the case for a violation of the Honor Code consistent with their own course policies. This is no different from any other case an instructor might bring. — Ian Binnington, Dean for the Student Experience.

As the above statement indicates, faculty have the freedom to select genAI policies for their own courses. Whatever approach you choose to take, please communicate it clearly to students. To assist with this process, here are some lists and guides compiled by educational developers over the summer:

Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools (Lance Eaton)
AI Prompts for Teaching (Cynthia Alby)
What’s My Stance on genAI in This Class? (Gettysburg College Johnson Center for Teaching and Learning)

Additionally, here are three of the many articles written about AI over on the last few months:

4 Steps to Help You Plan for ChatGPT in Your Classroom (Flower Darby)
How to Write AI Prompts: The Key to Better Outputs from Generative AI (Laura Starita)
From AI to A+: Prepare Your Students for Using ChatGPT and Other AI (Ryan Watkins)

Professional Opportunity

Have you ever wanted to know how to become a reviewer for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)? Join the NSF for their webinar “Becoming a Reviewer for the NSF GRFP” on August 15th, 2:00pm-3:00pm ET; register here. This webinar is for those who have not reviewed for the NSF GRFP and will provide an overview of the review process and offer you the opportunity to ask questions. Serving as a reviewer offers a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into the review process, equipping you with the knowledge to better support your students in their application process; see more information here.

Fall 2023 Opportunities

Fall Teaching Circle

A teaching circle is a group of up to a dozen faculty members who meet on a regular basis throughout the semester to share issues, ideas, and advice connected to their teaching in a confidential and supportive setting. Our fall teaching circle will be facilitated by Assistant Professor of Computer Science Doug Luman. Watch for a My Allegheny announcement for information about dates and times, plus a sign-up form. Please contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir with any questions.

Writing Accountability Group.

Are you an untenured faculty member (tenure-track, NTTR, visiting, adjunct, etc)? Do you have scholarly writing projects you need to complete and just have a hard time finding the time? Do you like to have camaraderie while you work? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, please join us for the Writing Accountability Group (WAG)! Starting September 16th, we will be meeting one Saturday a month to write (9:00-12:00), socialize during lunch (12:00-1:00), and write some more (1:00-4:00). Lunch is provided. If you are interested in joining us, please complete this form. Note that completing this form does not mean you are required to attend every meeting. If you have any other questions about WAGs, please email Chris Normile at cnormile@allegheny.edu. This group is sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

Upcoming Events

Aug 16 – New Faculty Orientation, Day 1
Aug 17 – Canvas Essentials Workshop (sign up here)
Aug 17 – Canvas Q&A Session (sign up here)
Aug 18 – New Faculty Orientation, Day 2
Aug 21 – Fall Educator Resource Institute
Aug 22 – Exploratory Advisor Training 2, 11:15am-4:00pm
The second in a series of two required workshops for instructors of LS 198 and LS 199.

See the Faculty Development Opportunities page for additional links to previous events.

Faculty Development Digest, Summer 2023

By rweir June 7th 2023

Upcoming Events

Canvas Workshops On Thursday, August 17 at 10am, Instructure trainer Cory Chitwood will facilitate a virtual, 90-minute Canvas Essentials workshop, aimed at new Canvas users or anyone who would appreciate a refresher on the basics of Canvas. Sign up via this form.

Fall Teaching Circle If you would like to register your interest in participating in a fall teaching circle, please complete this form. The form also asks if you would be willing to serve as the facilitator. Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir will use the information received via this form to finalize the structure of the group. For reference, a teaching circle is a group of up to a dozen faculty members who meet on a regular basis throughout the fall semester to share issues, ideas, and advice connected to their teaching in a confidential and supportive setting. Please contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir with any questions.

New Faculty Orientation Incoming full-time faculty are asked to reserve Wednesday, August 16, and Friday, August 18, for New Faculty Orientation. You will receive more information from Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir in early August, but feel free to reach out to her before then if you have any questions. 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 17 Canvas workshops (see above). Also, check out the Canvas Tips page for information on getting started.

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 9, 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 Arter Hall during business hours; the door on the Quigley side of the building should be unlocked at these times. You can either leave everything in Rachel Weir’s mailbox in Arter 103 or slide it under her office door (Arter 114A). Please contact her with any questions.

Reimbursement requests for the next fiscal year will not be processed until early August.

Report Reminders

ASC Funding Reports – June 30 If you received an Academic Support Committee grant for the current fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023), 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 – August 1 This year’s Annual Activities Report has been significantly streamlined and should now be submitted via this Google 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) which elements are newly added in this reporting period (June 2022-May 2023).

These reports are not intended to reproduce the detail required for a self-evaluation, and are primarily for reflection and reporting of activities not listed on your CV. With your updated CV, this report will offer appropriate audiences, such as the Provost, a better understanding of the broad range of faculty work occurring across campus. For most faculty in most years, completing the form should take less than 30 minutes. Please submit your report via the Google form by August 1, 2023. Department chairs will receive copies of their faculty’s Annual Activities Reports from the Provost’s Office after all reports have been submitted.

Leave Reports – October 31 If you had a sabbatical or pre-tenure leave during the 2022/23 academic year, please remember to submit your leave report using the form on this page. For fall one-semester leaves, reports are due by March 31. For spring one-semester leaves and two-semester (fall/spring) leaves, reports are due by October 31.

Spring Educator Resource Institute

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Spring 2023 Educator Resource Institute on Tuesday, May 16. Materials from all of the sessions are now linked to the schedule.

The Fall Educator Resource Institute will take place on Monday, August 21. Click here to save the date on your calendar.

Canvas Tips

Student Access to Completed Courses
When creating Canvas courses, faculty have the ability to control when students can access the courses. Changes can be made via the Settings page in a Canvas course, in the Participation section. If you’d like to allow your students to access the course after the semester is over, just uncheck the box next to “Restrict students from viewing course after term end date.” Note that it’s not possible to allow only specific students to access the course. See this page for further details.

Downloading Canvas Gradebook
If you’ve been using the Canvas gradebook and would now like to download a copy for your records, follow these steps:
– Open the gradebook by selecting Grades from the navigation menu in the Canvas course.
– At the top of the page click Actions; this will open a dropdown menu.
– Select Export Entire Gradebook. This will download the gradebook as a CSV file, which you can then save in your Google Drive.
If you have applied any filters to the gradebook using the View menu at the top of the Grades page, choose Export Current Gradebook View to download only the filtered version.

See this page for further details.

Micro-Credentials

The development process is now open for micro-credentials to be launched in Spring 2024. If you, your department, or a team of faculty wish to develop a micro-credential, please fill out this form at your convenience.

The deadline for submitting micro-credential proposals to the Curriculum Committee is October 5th, 2023. With the number of potential credentials being considered, submitting the initial intake form linked above between now and August would be ideal, but not required.

For more information, please see the micro-credential website or email Byron Rich with questions. The full micro-credential proposal is available upon request.

Data Science Workshop for Faculty

Faculty are invited to register for a summer workshop, to be held virtually, on infusing data science in STEM education. Funded through NSF award 1917002, the workshop provides curricular materials for incorporating data science concepts in early (first/second year) courses in both STEM and Social Science undergraduate education. More information about the workshop, including stipends offered and participation in the grant activities beyond the workshop, can be found here. (The application deadline is listed as May 15, but appears to have been extended.)

Summer Planning Workshops

In the April Digest, we mentioned two free, online summer strategy sessions offered by the NCFDD (National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity). If you missed those sessions, you can view the materials by following the links below:

5 Tips to Avoid Summer Burnout
– 2023 recording

Every Summer Needs a Plan
– 2022 recording
– 2023 slides

For other tips on how to address exhaustion and burnout, see this NCFDD post.

If you are prompted to create an NCFDD account, check out this page for instructions.

FCR Updates

The Foundation & Corporate Relations (FCR) office invites you to check out the grant opportunity below and to contact them early and often at fcr@allegheny.edu if you’re thinking about applying for a grant.

Humanities Faculty: Community-Engaged Course Development & Voter Education The Project Pericles’ Periclean Faculty Leadership (PFL) Program in the Humanities Grant provides $4,500 grants to design new or significantly revised courses in the humanities that incorporate community-initiated projects and voter education. There are multiple deadlines to apply. If you are interested, please complete the FCR office’s grant proposal endorsement form, indicating which deadline you are interested in.

STEM Faculty: NSF Mid-Career Advancement Grant The MCA program offers an opportunity for scientists and engineers at the mid-career stage to substantively enhance and advance their research program and career trajectory. Mid-career scientists are at a critical career transition stage where they need to advance their research programs to ensure long-term productivity and creativity but are often constrained by service, teaching, or other activities that limit the amount of time devoted to research. MCA support is expected to help lift these constraints to reduce workload inequities and enable a more diverse scientific workforce (more women, persons with disabilities, and individuals from groups that have been underrepresented) at high academic ranks. If you are interested, please complete the FCR office’s grant proposal endorsement form.

Spring/Summer 2023 Events

Upcoming Events

June 9 – First Year Course Registration Training
Aug 16 – New Faculty Orientation, Day 1
Aug 17 – Canvas Essentials Workshop (sign up here)
Aug 17 – Canvas Q&A Session (sign up here)
Aug 18 – New Faculty Orientation, Day 2
Aug 21 – Fall Educator Resource Institute (click this link to save the date)
Aug 22 – Exploratory Advisor Training 2, 11:15am-4:00pm
The second in a series of two workshops for instructors of LS 198 and LS 199.

Past Events and Materials

February 3 – Virtual workshop on AI-Based Writing Systems
– Recording
– Slides
– Handout
May 16 – Spring Educator Resource Institute
– materials are linked to the schedule
May 17 – Department Chairs Workshop
– materials are available on the Resources for Chairs page
May 18 – Course Reflection Session
– to learn more about how to conduct a post-semester course reflection, check out this page.

See the Faculty Development Opportunities page for additional links to previous events.

Faculty Development Digest, April 2023

By rweir April 26th 2023

Spring Educator Resource Institute

Allegheny faculty, staff, and administrators are invited to participate in the Spring 2023 Educator Resource Institute on Tuesday, May 16, with sessions running from 9:00am to 4:00pm. (We recognize that this is Election Day, but available days are limited without going further into the summer.)

A full schedule has been posted on the Faculty Resources site; please check this schedule for updates and room details. Participants are asked to RSVP by 2pm on Friday, May 12, using this form. Form responses will be used to determine room locations for the sessions.

Upcoming Events

Course Reflection Session Continuing the tradition begun at the end of the fall 2022 semester, faculty are invited to set aside some time to reflect on their spring courses in the company of colleagues at a Course Reflection Session on Thursday, May 18, from 1:30pm to 3:00pm. Interested faculty can sign up by completing this form. Refreshments will be provided. See the Post-Semester Course Reflections page for additional information.

Teach Global Health: Summer Institute for Curriculum & Course Design The institute is a three-day workshop (June 20-23, 2023 on the Allegheny campus) for faculty at undergraduate-serving institutions to share experiences and best practices, evaluate curricular programs and assessment tools, and participate in charrettes designed to refine course and curricular materials that strengthen students’ learning, with facilitators from AAC&U, University of Richmond, Trinity Western University, University of Maryland, and CUGH. Allegheny faculty who are interested in either developing a new course or updating an existing course that could be available as an elective for Global Health Studies majors / minors (as well as their own department) are welcome to participate for free. Please email Caryl Waggett (cwaggett@allegheny.edu) by May 16 to register your interest. See this website for additional information. This program is sponsored by AAC&U, GLCA, CUGH, CFHI, and CISG.

Canvas Training

Mark your calendars for the following opportunities that will take place this August:

On Thursday, August 17 at 10am, Instructure trainer Cory Chitwood will facilitate a virtual, 90-minute Canvas Essentials workshop, aimed at new Canvas users or anyone who would appreciate a refresher on the basics of Canvas. If you’d like to sign-up now to get it on your calendar, please complete this form.

Sign-up reminders will be included in upcoming Digest issues.

Tech Tips

Directory Information
Is your information in the Employee Directory incorrect or incomplete? If so, check out the instructions on the Update Information page to find out how to update your details. In short:
– you can update your Box Number, Office Number, and Office Phone Extension via Self Service
– you can update or add other information (e.g. Title, Biography, Photo) using the form at the bottom of the Update Information page.
The Update Information page can also be reached from the Employee Directory using the green button on the right-hand side of the page.

Migrating Files to a Personal Account If you’re finishing up your contract at Allegheny and want to keep any content from your Allegheny account in Google Workspace (e.g. Gmail, Drive), take a look at these instructions to learn how to download or transfer this content.

Workshops

Teaching. Registration is open for Intentional College Teaching‘s 3-week, online professional development courses, including:
– Teach Students How to Learn, June 12-28 (designed by Saundra McGuire)
– Significant Learning by Design-I, July 10-26 (designed by Dee Fink)
– Designing a Motivational Syllabus, July 31 – August 16 (designed by Christine Harrington and Melissa Thomas).
Faculty participants receive personalized feedback, discuss and share ideas with like-minded colleagues, and leave each course with tangible products they can implement in their teaching practice immediately. The cost of each workshop is $495.

Research. On June 20 from 12pm to 3pm, CUR will be hosting the virtual workshop Beginning a Research Program in Experimental Science Discipline at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution. This workshop will share first-hand experience from established faculty within such an institution, along with strategies for enhancing one’s research program within the context of undergraduate teaching and mentoring. In addition, this workshop will provide participants with information about sources of funding and other resources to support their research with undergraduates. The registration fee is $50.

The cost of professional development workshops like the two above can be reimbursed using your Faculty Travel allowance.

Summer Planning Workshops

Join the NCFDD (National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity) for two free, online strategy sessions focused on making the most of your summer. The first session, 5 Tips to Avoid Summer Burnout, will take place at 2pm on Thursday, May 4, and will focus on the best tips and strategies for maximizing research and productivity during the summer term and how to combat professional isolation and create a supportive writing community. The second session, Every Summer Needs a Plan, on Thursday, May 11, at 2pm, will focus on hands-on planning, where you can take time out of your schedule to identify your personal and professional goals for the summer, create a strategic plan to accomplish them, and identify the types of community, support, and accountability you need to make this your most productive and balanced summer ever!. Click here to sign up for one or both sessions.

If you haven’t taken advantage of our NCFDD institutional membership yet, check out this page for details on how to sign up.

FCR Updates

AI-Writing Resources

Webinar Resources. As advertised in the March 2023 Digest, the GLCA-GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning hosted a conversation on ChatGPT on Wednesday, March 29. The following resources from that event are now available:
– a 29-minute video introduction to ChatGPT by Lew Ludwig (Denison)
– a Google Drive folder where you can see the Jamboard notes created in the webinar break-out rooms, along with a useful article by Ryan Watkins, Get Creative With Your Assignments.

Spring/Summer 2023 Events

Upcoming Events

May 3 – Exploratory Advisor Training 1, 10:00am-3:00pm
A workshop for faculty serving as instructors for the pilot “advising labs” in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 (LS 198 and LS 199, respectively).
May 11 – Exploratory Advisor Training 1, 10:00am-3:00pm
A repeat of the May 3 training. Exploratory Advisors need only attend one of these two trainings.
May 16 – Spring Educator Resource Institute
May 17 – Department Chairs Workshop
May 18 – Course Reflection Session
June 9 – First Year Course Registration Training
Aug 16 – New Faculty Orientation, Day 1
Aug 17 – Canvas Essentials Workshop
Aug 17 – Canvas Q&A Session
Aug 18 – New Faculty Orientation, Day 2
Aug 21 – Fall Educator Resource Institute (click this link to save the date)
Aug 22 – Exploratory Advisor Training 2, 11:15am-4:00pm
The second in a series of two workshops for instructors of LS 198 and LS 199.

Past Events and Materials

January 5 – Post-semester Course Reflection Session 2
To learn more about how to conduct a post-semester course reflection, check out this page. Also, stay tuned for news about another course reflection session following the end of the spring 2023 semester.
January 10 – Workshop on Using Google Storage with Canvas
To learn more about how to use Google Drive as your primary storage location for your Canvas materials, check out these workshop slides. Included in the slides is information about how to set up a folder system in your Drive and different ways to integrate your Drive files into Canvas.
February 3 – Virtual workshop on AI-Based Writing Systems
– Recording
– Slides
– Handout

See the Faculty Development Opportunities page for additional links to previous events.

Faculty Development Digest, February 2023

By rweir February 15th 2023

Updates

On the right-hand side of the Faculty Resources site, you will find several new additions:
– The Opportunities for Faculty box contains information about time-sensitive opportunities. Check to see what’s coming up whenever you access the site! Feel free to submit items to Rachel Weir.
– The Recent Posts box contains links to recent issues of the Digest and other posts on the Faculty Resources site.
– The Digest Topics box contains a word cloud of topics that appear in issues of the Digest. Just click a topic to access all relevant issues. Click Digest to access all issues.

Mark your calendars!
– The Spring Educator Resource Institute will take place on Tuesday, May 16. Click here to save the date on your calendar.
– The Fall Educator Resource Institute will take place on Monday, August 21. Click here to save the date.

Teaching Tools

Have you made time in your course schedule for a Midterm Course Reflection? Week 7 (Feb. 27 – Mar. 3), 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.

At the end of the semester, you can return to this feedback and your responses to it as part of a post-semester course reflection. Watch for opportunities to join a May course reflection session with colleagues – more details soon!

Canvas Information

Did you know that you can control how long students have access to your Canvas course by adjusting the Participation option in Settings? Choosing Term means the course will be visible as soon as you publish it and will be available until the last day to submit work for an Incomplete for that semester. Choosing Course instead gives the instructor the option to adjust the start and end dates manually. If you want to make your course visible to all enrolled students indefinitely, uncheck the box next to “Restrict students from viewing course after course end date,” located at the end of the Participation section in Settings. All of these settings are course-wide; there isn’t a way to give students different access dates.

You also now have the option to change the course name that is displayed in the Courses menu. Just go into Settings and update the entry in the Course Name box. This change will be in effect for everyone in your course. You can create a course nickname just for yourself by clicking the three vertical dots on the course card in your Dashboard and changing the entry in the box below Nickname.

If you do make any changes in Settings, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the page and click the yellow Update Course Details button so that your changes are saved.

AI-Based Writing Systems Workshop

On Friday, February 3, we were joined by Heidi McKee and James Porter, both of Miami University, for a workshop on AI-Based Writing Systems. If you weren’t able to attend, please check out the materials below:
– Recording
– Slides
– Handout
You can also find these materials on the Teaching Resources page, under On-Campus Workshop Materials.

FCR Updates

The Foundation & Corporate Relations (FCR) office invites you to check out the grant opportunities below and to contact them early and often at fcr@allegheny.edu if you’re thinking about applying for a grant.

Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Faculty: Fundamental Research The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation of The Pittsburgh Foundation awards annual research grants to researchers at Pennsylvania colleges and universities to carry out fundamental research in biology, chemistry and physics. Grant programs include:
– New Investigator Research Grants – Up to six awards at a maximum of $150,000 for two years ($75,000 per year).
– New Initiative Research Grants – Up to four awards at a maximum of $300,000 for two years ($150,000 per year).
If you are interested in this opportunity, please complete the FCR office’s grant proposal endorsement form by March 1, 2023.

Call for FCR ERI topics The FCR office is planning a presentation during the next ERI. What topics would you like to know more about? How to write a strong proposal? How to create a grant budget? How to write a solid grant report? Email your ideas to fcr@allegheny.edu.

Did you know? The National Endowment for the Humanities website offers a tool to help match your project ideas with available opportunities. Don’t forget to contact Allegheny’s Foundation & Corporate Relations office at fcr@allegheny.edu to discuss your ideas!

Fulbright Programs

The 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholar Program is now open. Faculty whose work could benefit from some international field time or who would like to spend a semester or two teaching abroad are highly encouraged to apply. Allegheny faculty have fared well in this competition over the years; see this page for a full list. Anyone with even a passing interest in applying is encouraged to reach out to the Fulbright Campus Liaisons – Rachel Weir and Patrick Jackson – for more information or to start a conversation about Allegheny resources that might be useful as you put together an application.

Do you have a student or advisee who is doing great things? Share their name with Senior Assistant Dean for Fellowship Advising Patrick Jackson and he will reach out to connect the student with fellowship opportunities including the Fulbright Student Program, the Rhodes Scholarship, the Marshall Scholarship, and many more.

Teaching Conferences and Workshops

Faculty and staff are invited to participate in Teaching and Learning Together: The Possibilities and Challenges of Pedagogy Partnerships, a summer workshop hosted at Grinnell College on June 13 and 14, 2023 through a grant from the Mellon Foundation. Pedagogy partnerships bring together faculty, students, and others to co-create meaningful teaching and learning experiences. The grant will cover all costs for participants (travel, lodging, and meals). Interested participants should complete the application form by Friday, February 24.

The Center for Innovative Pedagogy at Kenyon College is currently accepting presentation proposals for the 2023 What Works Conference, which will take place virtually during the week of May 30-June 2, 2023. The application deadline is Wednesday, ~~March 1~~ March 22 (extended deadline), and presenters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 30.

The 7th Annual Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference (TLTCon 2023), hosted by the College of Charleston, will take place online on May 16-17, 2023. This year’s keynote speaker is Jay McTighe. Jay is a veteran educator and accomplished author having co-authored 18 books, including the award-winning and best-selling Understanding by Design® series. The conference is free but spaces are limited, so register today!

Spring 2023 Events

Past Events and Materials

January 5 – Post-semester Course Reflection Session 2
To learn more about how to conduct a post-semester course reflection, check out this page. Also, stay tuned for news about another course reflection session following the end of the spring 2023 semester.
January 10 – Workshop on Using Google Storage with Canvas
To learn more about how to use Google Drive as your primary storage location for your Canvas materials, check out these workshop slides. Included in the slides is information about how to set up a folder system in your Drive and different ways to integrate your Drive files into Canvas.
February 3 – Virtual workshop on AI-Based Writing Systems
– Recording
– Slides
– Handout

Upcoming Events

May 16 – Spring Educator Resource Institute (click this link to save the date on your calendar)
May 17 – Department Chairs Workshop
Aug 21 – Fall Educator Resource Institute (click this link to save the date on your calendar)

Faculty Development Digest, January 2023

By rweir January 9th 2023

Welcome to the second issue of the Faculty Development Digest. We will use this digest to highlight 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.

In this issue, you’ll find a variety of resources connected to the start of the semester and setting up your courses. There are also reminders about various faculty development opportunities that will be taking place this semester. You can also see what’s coming up by checking out the Faculty Development calendar, which is posted on the Faculty Development Opportunities page.

Upcoming Events

We’re pleased to announced a virtual workshop on AI-Based Writing Systems, which will take place on Friday, February 3. If you’ve been anxiously following recent conversations about services like ChatGPT and the possible effect they may have on our courses, this workshop is for you! Thanks to Alexis Hart for helping to get this workshop in place and to the Pelletier Library for financial support.

On Thursday, January 19 from 12:00pm-1:30pm CST (1:00pm-2:30pm ET), join speakers Susan D. Blum, Joshua Eyler, and Courtney Sobers for a virtual, public conversation about grades and (un)grading in higher education: what are our challenges, how are we meeting them, and where do we go from here? Organized by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi.

And one last reminder – if you’ve been notified that you’ve reached your Canvas storage limit or you just want to learn more, check out the workshop on Using Google Storage with Canvas that will take place on Tuesday, January 10, at 1pm. You can also check out the slides here.

Setting Up Your Course

Take a look at the Syllabus Checklist page as a reminder of the required and recommended syllabus content. This page summarizes the information found in Section 9.1 of the Faculty Handbook.

There’s still time to conduct a post-semester course reflection to identify what worked and what didn’t in your classes last semester. One step in this reflection process is analyzing your RSE (Report of Student Experience) responses from the fall semester, which are now available on Anthology. See more information about the survey and how to analyze your responses on this page.

The spring RSE survey will be administered during the week of April 24. Please make sure that you set aside time during class for students to complete the survey. You may also want to make time to administer a midterm course reflection.

For these tips and more, see the Preparing for a New Semester page.

Teaching Tools

One way to begin to build a welcoming classroom environment is to create opportunities for everyone to get to know each other in the first days of the semester, or even before the semester begins. Here are some ideas:

Create an Introductions slide deck and have each student add a slide. Click here to get a copy of a simple template.
Use name tents at the start of the semester so everyone can start to learn names.
Have students write a low-stakes (or no stakes) introductory essay at the start of the semester. For example, this Math Autobiography assignment can be adapted to other disciplines.
Administer an anonymous Who’s in Class? survey.
Create opportunities for students to work together during the first days of class. You could use activities connected to the course content or more general icebreakers. See this page for some examples.

For more information on inclusive teaching, check out What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching, by Tracie Addy et al., new online at Pelletier!

Canvas Information

The Canvas Tips page contains information about Canvas resources and support, course set-up reminders, troubleshooting suggestions, and a link to materials from previous Canvas workshops. Three quick reminders:
– Faculty who are teaching more than one section of a course can request that the sections be merged into a single Canvas course, provided the merger meets the following criterion: students will have occasion to see each other in the same classroom or collaborate (physically or online) with each other for educational or pedagogical reasons related to the course during the semester.
– If you’ve copied content from a previous course, watch out for issues with invalid links or unpublished images (the dreaded padlock!). You can identify these quickly using the Course Link Validator. See this article for more information.
– If you can’t find one of your courses in Canvas, click on the Courses icon and then select All Courses. Click the star next to any course to add it to your Courses menu and your Dashboard. See more information here.

Resources

Check out the new Registrar Quick Links page in the Faculty Resources site. This page contains links to the Registrar resources that are most commonly used by faculty and is listed in the right-hand menu.

If you’re looking for a way to “regain some control over [your] work, [your] commitments, and [your] attention in order to have time and energy to get what [you] want out of both work and life,” check out Robert Talbert’s new blog Intentional Academia. The first post came out on January 9, 2023.

Spring 2023 Opportunities

Communities of Practice

Critical Professor Series

Using various interdisciplinary frameworks, this professional development opportunity will reintroduce faculty to hidden dimensions of their pedagogical identities and actively discuss equity and inclusion inside undergraduate classrooms. Upon completion, participating faculty may be asked to co-facilitate future department level, course diversity audits throughout the College. Participants will meet weekly for 8 weeks beginning January 2023 (lunch will be provided). Participating faculty will receive a stipend for their active engagement. If interested, please complete this Google form by January 5th, 2023. For more detailed information, please contact Heather Moore Roberson at hroberson@allegheny.edu.

Mindful Communication Book Group

How can we slow down to focus on creating conversations, spaces, and a community prioritizing care and compassion? The spring 2023 faculty book group, facilitated by Sharon Wesoky (Political Science), will focus on Oren Jay Sofer’s book Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication to learn the theory behind mindful approaches to communication, as well as specific practices to cultivate skills in presence and patience, curiosity and care, focusing on what matters, and applying these skills to conversations both in and out of the classroom. There will also be the opportunity to participate in optional instruction in mindfulness meditation. Meetings will take place on Mondays (January 23, February 6 and 27, March 20, April 3 and 17, and May 1) from 12:30pm to 1:20pm, with lunch provided, and all participants will receive a copy of the book. Please contact Sharon Wesoky or Rachel Weir with any questions. Interested educators can sign up by completing this form. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

Writing Accountability Group

Are you an untenured faculty member (tenure-track, NTTR, visiting, adjunct, etc)? Do you have writing projects you need to complete? Do you need some camaraderie while you work? Please join us for the Writing Accountability Group! We meet one Saturday a month to write (9am-12pm), socialize during lunch (12pm-1pm), and write some more (1pm-4pm). Lunch will be provided. If you’re interested, please email Pam Runestad at prunestad@allegheny.edu for details.

Events

January 10 – Workshop on Using Google Storage with Canvas
February 3 – Virtual workshop on AI-Based Writing Systems

May 16 – Spring Educator Resource Institute (click this link to add the event to your calendar)
May 17 – Department Chairs Workshop