Blog

Welcome to the CTE’s 2022 Summer Institute. The last three years have been incredibly challenging for everyone, and especially for educators. We have stepped up to the challenge to keep moving forward and provided our students with both academic and emotional support. However, in doing so, we may also have experienced added stress and fatigue. How can we refill our cups and avoid burnout?

This year’s theme is refresh, renew, and recharge. It is especially difficult to help others and find motivation for our mission as educators unless we first spend some time to reflect on all that has happened. This process provides us with some much needed insight to think about how to grow and progress, refreshing and reinventing ourselves in a world that is filled with constant change and uncertainty. It also emphasizes the need to allocate time to renew and take care of ourselves. Only then are we recharged and ready to fulfill our mission to help others on their learning journey.

We hope that the programming we have prepared based on your feedback can support each and every one of you in that journey to refresh, renew, and recharge. We encourage you to attend as much or as little of the programming as you find helpful and that you reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

See the full schedule (with registration links) on the CTE Summer Institute website

Download the program schedule

Register for sessions on Eventbrite

Our fifth annual and first virtual Teaching and Learning Day is on Friday, April ^1st, 2022! Help us celebrate the fresh thinking and pedagogies of GGC faculty and staff related to enhancing teaching and learning. The event  provides a forum for individuals and groups to share work related to teaching, learning, and technology, including but not limited to:

– course design (face to face and hybrid),
– assignment design,
– engaged pedagogies (including experiential learning),
– assessment strategies,
– research on teaching and learning, and
– efforts to enhance student success. 

The sessions also provide an opportunity to reach a broad audience and initiate conversations with colleagues sharing similar interests. 

Access the program by clicking here. The event starts at 12:30 PM. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please join us at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 15, for the monthly VPASA Professional Development session featuring the Center for Teaching Excellence. The event will provide an overview of the Integrative Learning & Experiential Learning tracks to preview workshops offered during Spring 2022.  These workshops are designed to engage faculty in innovative ways to create materials and motivate students to explore new ways of learning the materials.

You may access the session via Teams.

Deadline for submission: Friday, March 11, 2022

The CTE’s Teaching & Learning Day (which will take place this year on April 1, 2022) is an annual event that showcases the fresh thinking and innovative strategies of GGC faculty and staff related to enhancing teaching and learning. Our fifth annual Teaching & Learning Day will consist of a poster session that provides a visual forum for individuals and groups to showcase innovative work related to teaching, learning, and technology, including but not limited to:

• course design (face to face and hybrid),
• assignment design,
• engaged pedagogies (including experiential learning),
• assessment strategies,
• research on teaching and learning, and
• efforts to enhance student success. 

The poster session at Teaching & Learning Day provides an opportunity to reach a broad audience and initiate conversations with colleagues sharing similar interests. We invite you to submit an application to present your work.

Please complete this application by Friday, March 11, 2022.

Questions may be directed to Roy Marquez at rmarquez1@ggc.edu.

Please see the FAQ here: Teaching and Learning Day FAQ

Are you new to statistics instruction and interested in creating a student-centered learning environment? Are you a veteran statistics instructor looking to update your teaching practice? Are you designing a corequisite support course to accompany the introductory statistics course?

Are you looking for a support group of peers and other statistics education leaders? Are you willing to try out new classroom techniques?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, we invite you to participate in the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways’ professional learning opportunity:

Series 7: Strengthening Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Statistics
Incorporating active and inclusive teaching and learning strategies (for in-person or virtual settings)

In this series of six sessions, you will examine strategies for engaging students with the foundational concepts of a modern introductory statistics course, and explore equity-minded strategies that deepen students’ conceptual understanding. This series is appropriate for instructors of in-person and virtual classes as well as for those designing statistics corequisite support courses.

Series sessions are highly interactive and take place online via Zoom video conferencing technology – so there is no travel required to participate!

You’ll work with a cohort of peers in large and small groups to learn together. Facilitators from the Charles A. Dana Center will guide each session and ensure that you have all of the tools and support you need to apply your knowledge effectively in the classroom.

This professional learning opportunity is provided at no charge to mathematics and statistics faculty and those teaching statistics support courses.

See page 3 for session descriptions

Two new cohorts now open!

Day: Tuesdays Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm ET Dates: Feb 8, Feb 22, Mar 8, Mar 22, Apr 5, Apr 19 Deadline to register is 12:59 pm on Feb 1

Day: Wednesdays Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm ET Dates: Feb 9, Feb 23, Mar 9, Mar 23, Apr 6, Apr 20 Deadline to register is 12:59 pm on Feb. 2

Register for either cohort at:
https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=d1f519e18c6e439e895f80a1e427f21c

What am I committing to?
Actively participating in the full series of 6 sessions (12 total hours)	In each 2-hour session, we will use authentic situations to explore, struggle with, and make sense of pedagogical and content challenges. Session delivery uses the video and audio features of Zoom. This technology enables us to converse “face-to-face” in real time in large and small groups, without the expense and hassle of traveling to a central location.
Preparing for each session and trying new ideas in your own classroom after each session	Prior to each session, you are expected to do a limited amount of preparation work, often a short reading, video viewing, document analysis, and/or personal reflection.After each session, you commit to trying a technique or approach we discussed during the session.
Contributing to the large and small group discussions; supporting your peers on this learning journey	Contribute in the large and small group discussions, bringing your own perspectives and prior experiences into the conversations.Collegially engage in conversations and application activities focused on deepening student understanding through effective student discourse and collaboration.

What support will I get from the Dana Center?
FOCI materials	You will receive high-quality, well-researched, and thoughtful materials for the entire series. All session materials (readings, reflections, handouts, and PowerPoints) will be provided.  You will also have access to recordings of the sessions so that you can review the content on your own.
Support from trained facilitators	Dana Center curriculum and professional learning specialists will lead the sessions. These individuals are available to answer questions and provide support during and between the sessions. They can address content and application questions as well as technology issues (e.g., the Zoom platform).
Certificate of Completion	You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the series that may be submitted with tenure or promotion materials for your department. The topics and number of hours of professional learning you completed will be included.

Do I need any previous knowledge of statistics or active and inclusive pedagogy to participate?

No previous knowledge is required! This series will provide an introduction to active and inclusive pedagogies within the context of foundational statistics concepts. A sample of learning outcomes for each session in the series is given on the next page.

FOCI Series 7: Strengthening Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Statistics Incorporating active and inclusive teaching and learning strategies (for in-person or virtual settings) Session 1: Guiding Student Thinking about Implications of Data Collection Participants will: * Establish a safe, supportive, participant-centered learning environment for the cohort and set goals for participation and growth. * Explore types of statistical studies. * Engage in activities that illustrate various types of biases and potential confounding variables in the context of a statistical study. * Consider how to develop understanding of the relationship between study design and the types of conclusions that are appropriate. Session 2: Developing Student Understanding of Sampling Variability Participants will: * Use simulation to explore sampling variability. * Consider ways to motivate understanding of sampling distributions and how a sampling distribution provides information about the long-run behavior of a sample statistic. * Reflect on ways to develop conceptual understanding of statistical inference. Session 3: Fostering Understanding of Statistical Significance and Practical Significance Participants will: * See how an activity can be used to develop a conceptual understanding of hypothesis testing and p-values. * Engage in an activity that develops understanding of “statistically significantly different.” * Explore the meaning of statistical significance and of practical significance, and understand the difference between them. Session 4: Building a Foundation for Selecting Appropriate Data Analysis Methods and Graphical Displays Participants will: * Consider how an understanding of basic statistical terms, including population, parameter, sample, statistics, and variable types, provides a foundation for data analysis methods. * Engage in activities that allow students to focus on selecting methods of analysis appropriate for a given research question. * Explore how understanding of variable types in a dataset equips students for choosing suitable graphical displays. Session 5: Providing Experience with Describing Relationships and Building Linear Prediction Models Participants will: * Experience activities that use applets to develop an understanding of correlation and least squares regression. * Build linear regression models and assess their usefulness for making predictions. * Explore the difference between a statistical relationship and a cause-and-effect relationship. Session 6: Developing Conceptual Understanding of Probability and Addressing Probability Misconceptions Participants will: * Consider ways to help students develop the ability to communicate effectively using probabilities. * Explore common student probability misconceptions and discuss ways to address them. * Plan for next steps.

I HEAR AND I FORGET
I SEE AND I REMEMBER
I DO AND I UNDERSTAND

Confucius (Gentry JW, 1990)

Experiential learning is a learning process whereby students “learn by doing” and by reflecting on these experiences. Examples are hands-on laboratory experiments, internships, service learning, clinical education, community-based research, practicums, field work, study abroad, undergraduate research and studio performances (https://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/experiential-learning/).

Many of us incorporate experiential learning experiences into our classes already.  Some of us may want to incorporate these experiences but are looking for more information or a platform to assist us.

The CTE Experiential Learning Entrant Badge Track will provide you with the knowledge to develop experiential learning experiences in your courses.  In order to earn the Entrant Badge, you attend five CTE workshops offered this semester. The CTE workshops are offered on Tuesdays at 9:30am in-person (in CTE conference room) or Wednesdays at 1pm ONLINE.  100 level workshops are introductory and 200 level workshops are advanced continuation based on having taken the 100 level workshops.

Registration for workshops is on the CTE Eventbrite website (https://cte.ggc.edu/events/)

Date	9:30am – IN-PERSON (Tuesdays)	Date	1pm – ONLINE
2/8	LRNG 150 – Experiential Learning	2/9	LRNG 150 – Experiential Learning
2/15	LRNG 250 – Experiential Learning	2/16	LRNG 250 – Experiential Learning
2/22	LRNG 152 – Reflection	2/23	LRNG 152 – Reflection
3/8	LRNG 252 – Reflection	3/9	LRNG 252 – Reflection
3/15	LRNG 154 – Motivation/Course Narrative	3/16	LRNG 154 – Motivation/Course Narrative
3/29	LRNG 254 – Motivation/Course Narrative	3/30	LRNG 254 – Motivation/Course Narrative

If interested in Experiential Learning workshops or participating in an Experiential Learning FLC, please contact Karen Perell-Gerson @ kperellg@ggc.edu

Online Sessions through Teams:

Tuesday, 11am, Jan 25 – Integrate through Big Ideas

Tuesday, 11am, Feb 1 – Principles for Smart, Effective Teaching

Tuesday, 11am, Feb 8 – The Active, Engaged Classroom

Tuesday, 11am, Feb 22 – Sustaining Learning in the Era of Uncertainty

Tuesday, 11am, Mar 15 – Flipped Classrooms and Integrative Learning

Tuesday, 11am, Apr 5 – Integrating across Schools/Disciplines

Tuesday, 11am, Apr 19 – Assessing Integrative Learning

…

In-Person Sessions in the CTE:

Thursday, 12:30pm, Feb 17, Integrate through Big Ideas

Thursday, 12:30pm, Mar 10 – Principles for Smart, Effective Teaching

Thursday, 12:30pm, Mar 31 – The Active, Engaged Classroom

Thursday, 12:30pm, Apr 14 – Sustaining Learning in the Era of Uncertainty

…

Workshop Descriptions:

Integrate through Big Ideas

LRNG 192 – Concept-Based Approach to Integrative Learning     

Description: The Concept-Based Approach to Integrative Learning workshop is designed to explore integrative learning within and across disciplines using concept-based teaching strategies. The purpose of this offering is to stimulate conversations regarding best practices for assisting students in making connections among concepts across disciplines and having those students actively participate in their learning.

The Active, Engaged Classroom

LRNG 130 – Impacting Motivation

Description: The Impacting Motivation workshop is designed to be an interactive presentation of several factors that influence student motivation. This session will to expose participants to best practices scholarship on motivation, help participants understand best practices approaches to enhance student motivation and learning, and explore the variety of cognitive, emotional, and cultural elements that impact student motivation

Flipped Classrooms and Integrative Learning

LRNG 190 – Affecting Positive Change through Student Motivation Using Active Learning

Description: The Affective Positive Change through Student Motivation Using Active Learning workshop is designed to empower faculty to have a toolkit of strategies that can help maximize student motivation. Notably, activities will focus on creating flipped classrooms that empower versatile teaching methods—face -to-face, hybrid, and online—which infuse to student motivation and self-directed learning.

Principles for Smart, Effective Teaching

LRNG 120 – How Learning Works

Description: The How Learning Works workshop is designed to be a brief summary of the concepts off the How Learning Works book. Participants will explore 5 out of the 7 principles and see the research-based strategies presented in the book for smart teaching.

Sustaining Learning in the Era of Uncertainty

LRNG 193 – Sustainability in Every Classroom

Description: This Sustainability in Every Classroom workshop identifies numerous ways that sustainability is actually intrinsic to everything we teach and encourages us to take active roles in shaping our students’ sustainability literacy. Activities will focus on identifying the various ways sustainability relates to disparate disciplines and developing activities that highlight those connections within existing learning outcomes.

Integrating across Schools and Disciplines

LRNG 201 – Intro to Integrative Learning at the Practitioner Level

Description: This session moves discussion and implementation of integrative learning into the Practitioner level (achieved by completing of 5 100-level integrative learning sessions). With the pedagogical and methodological work from those previous sessions as an informative background, we will move into constructing class activities and assignments that link larger theories about learning across disciplines and schools at GGC.  

Assessing Integrative Learning in LCs

LRNG 202 – How Do I Grade This?

Description: This session addresses the question that often follows implementation of an integrative assignment for a class or a triad/tetrad of classes in a Learning Community: how should I grade or assess student work with integrative learning? We will explore several activities and assignments for integrative learning in LCs and examine possible rubrics for assessment.

Watch the recording (contact cente@ggc.edu for the password)

How to Teach a Good First Day of Class (chronicle.com)

Who: The events will bring together a round table of three teaching experts: Isis Artze-Vega, vice president for academic affairs at Valencia College, in Florida; Regan A.R. Gurung, associate vice provost and executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Oregon State University; and Viji Sathy, associate dean of evaluation and assessment in the office of undergraduate education in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s College of Arts and Sciences. They’ll be joined by Chronicle reporters Beth McMurtrie and Beckie Supiano.

What: A four-part series of interactive virtual events for instructors and the administrators who support them. We plan to cover the changing student/professor dynamic, how to foster motivation and engagement, and the future of grading and assessment, respectively, in our first three sessions. While all of the sessions will be interactive, the last one will be built entirely around questions from our audience.

When: The final Fridays of January to April at 2 p.m., Eastern time. That’s January 28, February 25, March 25, and April 29.

Where: Discussions will be on Zoom; sign up here. And we plan to keep the conversation going in the newsletter, too.

Why: To help professors think through common challenges, like expanding student engagement and fine-tuning grading and assessment, and to provide a sense of community along the way.

Sign up here!

Teaching: Let’s Talk About Teaching (chronicle.com)