Teaching & Learning Center

TLC Bi-Weekly Newsletter for Thursday February 6, 2020

Good morning, K-State!

Here is an update about what is going on in the Teaching & Learning Center (TLC): dff

Check out our TLC Professional Development Series!

Do you want to earn a TLC Professional Development Certificate or be selected as a TLC Fellow? You can, by participating in our series!

We have offered 13 events to date, and over 410 people have attended the events in person! We have explored many domains of teaching and learning and will explore many more. Zoom participation is available by request if you can’t attend in person.

It is not too late to participate! All of the events will be cataloged on our TLC Canvas page, and you can catch up at your convenience.

Please email us (teachingandlearning@k-state.edu) if you would like an invitation to our TLC Professional Development Series Canvas Page. This will provide access to the videos of our professional development events, information about our Professional Development Series, and provide a forum for discussing topics related to teaching and learning.


Our Next Professional Development Event Is Tomorrow!

Please join Mick Charney (Professor, Architecture) as he discusses how you can optimize the use of PowerPoint within your classes. After this session, you will be able to: critique your own use of PPT through the lens of its inventors’ intentions, articulate what differentiates good from bad pedagogical use of PPT, recognize the various types of elaborated media and understand how the brain best processes them, compile a personalized checklist of maxims that will help you tweak PPTs to maximize learning gains. This event is scheduled for Friday, February, 7 from 10:00-11:00AM in CBA 4061.

Click HERE to view our promotional video for this event.

Click HERE to register for this event.

K-State First Is Seeking Instructors to Teach EDCEP 111 or DAS 100

K-State First and the Academic Achievement Center are looking for qualified instructors to teach EDCEP 111 University Experience or DAS 100 Introduction to K-State Culture.

In Fall 2020, the university will offer 11 sections of EDCEP 111 University Experience as a high energy, active-learning First-Year Seminar that meets twice a week. For first-year students only, this course is designed to introduce students to K-State and teach them the skills they will need to thrive in a college learning environment.

Next fall's Introduction to K-State Culture schedule will include six sections of DAS 100. These First-Year Seminars provide an introduction to the intellectual and cultural life of the university and support in the transition to college-level learning and college life.

We are looking for faculty, student life professionals, or advisors at K-State who have experience working with new students and an interest in new student success. Instructors of EDCEP 111 will receive professional training, a stipend of $2,000 that can be taken as professional development funds or salary, and the support of an undergraduate learning assistant. DAS 100 faculty will also receive training, a stipend of $2,000 that can be taken as professional development funds, and complimentary admission to all of the performances and events on the Fall DAS 100 schedule.

If you're interested in the position or would like to nominate someone, please complete a short application online — Fall 2020 UE and DAS 100 Hiring — and submit there also a short — one-page — curriculum by Thursday, Jan. 30. Alternatively, you may apply by sending a one-page letter of interest and CV to Gregory Eiselein at eiselei@k-state.edu prior to the deadline.

The Office of Assessment Is Partnering with the TLC to Offer an Assessment Series

We will be offering, with Fred Burrack and Dorothy Thompson from the Office of Assessment, a series of workshops in a partnership with the Teaching & Learning Center to discuss the all-important topic of assessment. Teaching, learning, and assessment are three core components of the K-State educational mission, and together we will be offering workshops on:

  • Assessing Undergraduate Learning Outcomes (Critical Thinking, Communication, Diversity)

Friday, March 6th from 2:30-3:30PM in CBA 4061

Register HERE

  • Power BI Training

Thursday, April 9th from 1:00-4:00PM in CBA 4061.

Register HERE

We look forward to you joining us in this exciting series!

TLC Canvas Discussion of the Week

Our discussion question of the week is:

Would you have supported, or did you support, your students missing class for the Super Bowl parade?

Let us know if you have other questions you would like us to post.

TLC Highlighted Teacher February 2020

In each newsletter we will feature a K-Stater who is doing something special related to teaching and learning. This time, the TLC would like to highlight two graduate students who have recently won the Graduate Student Council’s Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence. These students will also serve as Kansas State University's nominees for the annual Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Award. These nominees compete for a $750 honorarium that is presented at the annual MAGS meeting in April. Click on the links provided below to learn more about these individuals and see examples of their teaching styles.

tucker

katie

Call for TLC Twitter Teachers of February

Each month we will collect nominations for TLC Twitter Teachers of the Month. Please click here to nominate someone you would like us to recognize for their contributions to teaching and learning at K-State this month.

We look forward to continuing this exciting year! #IteachatKState

Sincerely,

Brian Niehoff

Director, Teaching & Learning Center

Don Saucier

Associate Director, Teaching & Learning Center

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter! We will be using this hashtag to identify our posts – please use it as well when you post about your teaching, mentoring, and advising activities:

#IteachatKState

Upcoming Events Hosted by the TLC:

  • Faculty Exchange in Teaching Excellence (FETE) – Spring 2020 Teaching Workshop
  • “Rekindling Your Love of Teaching”
    • The Faculty Exchange for Teaching Excellence (FETE) is an opportunity to learn about high impact teaching practices and trending topics from fellow faculty and staff members. FETE also provides opportunities to network and build connections.
    • Friday, February 14th and Saturday, February 15th
    • Click HERE to Register for this Event

  • Professional Development Series
  • “Teaching Practices in STEM Courses & Labs: A Panel Discussion with Experienced Faculty”
    • More information coming soon!
    • Exact Date TBD

  • Professional Development Series
  • “Enhancing Critical Thinking in the Classroom” by Pat Ackerman ( Communications, Humanities, & Social Sciences)

  • Need to Know Series
  • “Overcoming Barriers to Student Success” by Stephanie Bannister (Assistant Vice Provost of Student Success), RJ Youngblood (Academic Achievement Center), & Brian Lindshield (Food, Nutrition, Dietetics, and Health)
    • Exact Date TBD

  • Professional Development Series
  • “The Embodied Student” by Sally Bailey (School of Music, Theatre, and Dance)

  • Professional Development Series
  • “Teaching: One Size Does Not Fit All”
    • GTA Panel Discussion
    • Exact Date TBD

Other Upcoming Events Related to Teaching and Learning:

  • “What If I Fail?:” A Panel on Resiliency
    • Join students, faculty, staff and community members for a conversation about resiliency from 12:30-2:00PM Friday, Feb. 7, in Town Hall of the Leadership Studies Building.
    • The event will begin with a resource fair at 12:30 p.m. followed by a panel starting at 1:00PM Conversation and questions will focus on resiliency, featuring students, community members and alumni who will share their stories of failure and how they were able to find opportunities for growth. Come explore how failure can be the beginning of great things.
    • The event is hosted by the SPARK program, which provides pathways for students who are readmitted to K-State after their first semester. SPARK is supported in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Achievement Center, K-State First, Career Center, Parent and Family Association, Housing and Dining Services, and the Office of Student Life. For more information about SPARK, visit k-state.edu/aac/SPARK.html or contact the College of Arts and Sciences at artsci@k-state.edu, or the Academic Achievement Center at achievement@k-state.edu.
  • An introductory training for Microsoft Excel is scheduled for Friday, February 7 from 1:30-3:30PM in room 306 within Calvin Hall
    • This session will cover basics about getting started with Excel…handling data…and creating data visualizations. Then, the session will proceed to some of the more complex features of the tool, based on participant needs.
    • Some areas of interest may include 3D mapping, pivot tables, dashboards with sliders, VLOOKUP/HLOOKUP, or other features, in the second hour.
    • If you have questions, please email Shalin Hai-Jew (shalin@ksu.edu).

Upcoming Award Deadlines & Requests for Proposals:

  • In FY 2021 Global Campus will provide two funding cycles, one in the spring and one in the fall. The updated format will provide flexibility and accelerate project development. Priority is given to proposals that:
    • Revise existing and develop new, student-focused programs or courses
    • Reduce course gaps in online curricula or time to degree
    • Focus on learner-centered scheduling (accelerated courses and multiple start dates during a year)
    • Promote interdisciplinary approaches
    • Expand learning opportunities in areas of university strength

Click HERE for more information on the Global Campus Development Grants.

  • Office of the Provost Invites Nominations for Three University Awards
    • The Office of the Provost invites nominations for the following three university awards. Application materials for all awards are due by 4:30PM Monday, March 2.
      • Kansas State University Presidential Award for Outstanding Department Head
        • The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward an outstanding department head at Kansas State University.
        • One award is made each year for the outstanding department head award.
        • Nominees should be submitted electronically in PDF format to the provost's office before the deadline of March 2.
        • Presidential Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
           Presidential Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
          • The purpose of these awards is to recognize and reward excellence in teaching performance in the undergraduate program.
          • Two awards are available this year for excellence in undergraduate teaching: Presidential Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Presidential Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
          • The nominations for the awards are made at the college level. Nominations for the awards are solicited from students, faculty and administrators. Nominees are submitted by department heads to the dean of the college in which the teacher is appointed. Each dean may submit up to two nominees from his or her college: one for the GTA award and one for the undergraduate teaching award. Colleges are strongly encouraged to nominate individuals who have not previously won this award.

Nominees from each college should be submitted electronically in PDF format to the provost's office before the deadline of March 2.