TLC Bi-Weekly Newsletter for Tuesday, April 27th, 2021
Good morning, K-State!
We are fourteen weeks into the Spring semester and the Teaching & Learning Center (TLC) would like to remind you of our commitment to support your efforts in teaching, mentoring, and advising. We at the TLC are excited to announce the various priorities, events, and resources that are designed to advance teaching and learning at K-State!
Click HERE to see what the TLC can do for you!
TLC Highlighted Teacher
Our TLC Highlighted Teacher this week is Robert Pettay. His teaching philosophy is as follows. In Motivation and Personality (1954), Abraham Maslow states “What a man can be, he must be”. Maslow’s concept of self-actualization represents the highest-order motivations, which drive us to realize our true potential and achieve our ‘ideal self’. On a daily basis, that is how I approach my teaching and advising. My approach to my work is a desire to help our students achieve at the highest level possible and in the process I am able to find meaningful and fulfilling experiences as a teacher and advisor. A good day is a day when I can go home at night and feel like I helped make a student’s day better or provided some level of knowledge or inspiration that will benefit the student moving forward. Being accessible, listening, and being a role-model by continually working to improve my knowledge and experiences are facets that influence my work. Finding appreciation in the opportunity to be a teacher and advisor and having as many of those peak moments as possible keep the energy level up and bring meaning to my work.
Click here to see a video of Robert Pettay discussing his teaching philosophy.
Programs & Events
To show our support for K-State instructors, we have designed a professional development series for the Spring 2021 semester that will help you power through and finish strong in May! The theme for our professional development series this year is “Caring, Connections, and Community.” In our 35 events this academic year, 504 people have synchronously attended our events and over 581 people have participated asynchronously! More specifically, in our 17 events in 2021 thus far, 229 people have synchronously attended our events and 229 people have participated asynchronously. See our Professional Development Series page for more information. Be sure to check out our Events page for upcoming events and/or our Archived Events and Canvas pages for recordings of past events.
Professional Development Certificate & TLC Fellow Information
The TLC offers a Professional Development Certificate that reflects your commitment to teaching and learning excellence. To be eligible for this certificate you must participate in 12 of our events over the course of the academic year, complete post-event surveys afterward, and complete a Final Reflection. Becoming a TLC Fellow reflects your commitment to your teaching and learning excellence as well as others’. To be eligible for TLC Fellowship, you must complete the Professional Development Certificate requirements and some additional information. See the full requirements for the certificate and Fellowship here. The deadline for application submissions is Friday, May 21st.
Upcoming Professional Development Events in the Next Two Weeks
All events will occur at 12 noon via Zoom: https://ksu.zoom.us/j/93106034653. We hope to see you there!
On Wednesday, April 28th (TOMORROW!), Pat Ackerman will present an event entitled, “Online Education: Through the Lenses of Technical Communication, Readability, & Plain Language." Click here to see a promotional video for this event.
On Wednesday, May 5th, we will have a Teaching CHAT to wrap-up the semester. Bring any questions you would like to crowdsource with the group before the end of the semester!
Teachers Telling Stories Video Series
We are creating a new video series called “Teachers Telling Stories”. We are looking for short videos on a story you tell in class to emphasize a particular point or a story that has a teaching lesson. Ideally, these stories are funny and/or have a feel-good message. If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact us! See below for the stories released thus far.
Linda Yarrow’s Duct Tape Story
Chardie Baird’s Cultural Script Story
Don Saucier’s Hit and Run Story
Spotlight Preview
SPOTLIGHT will be Monday, October 25th, and we will start releasing promotional videos this semester for the speakers. Stay tuned!
Engage the Sage
On Don Saucier’s YouTube channel, Engage the Sage, he releases videos targeted toward instructors. The following videos are particularly relevant as we approach the new semester:
The Four Cs of Writing (this one is great to have your students watch!)
The Problem with Academic Rigor
Five Things to Do Mid-Semester
Empathetic Assignments & Assessments
Empathetic Course Structure & Policies
Empathetic Syllabus Statements
The Empathetic Course Design Perspective
Excellent Email Etiquette for Students and Instructors (this one is also great to have your students watch!)
Three-Minute Thursday Tips
Global Campus is releasing quick tips via K-State Today on Thursdays. Thus far, they have released tips on course navigation, creating a course welcome, and using groups in Canvas. Be on the lookout for these informative tips every week! For a full archive of these tips, click here for a YouTube playlist.
Follow Us on Social Media!
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel! Please use the hashtag #ITeachAtKState when you post about your teaching, mentoring, and advising activities!
Please email us (teachingandlearning@k-state.edu) if you would like access to our TLC Professional Development Series Canvas page!
We look forward to this exciting semester as we advance K-State’s teaching and learning mission, as always, with energy and optimism! We are proud to say, “I teach at K-State!”
#ITeachAtKState
Sincerely,
Brian Niehoff Don Saucier
Director, Teaching & Learning Center Associate Director, Teaching & Learning Center