TLC Bi-Weekly Newsletter for Tuesday, May 11th, 2021
Good morning, K-State!
Congratulations on finishing the Spring 2021 semester! 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 Suzanne Porath. Dr. Suzanne Porath was an English Language Arts, history, and humanities teacher, curriculum coordinator, and reading teacher for 13 years before becoming a teacher educator. As an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, she teaches courses in literacy for undergraduates, graduate Reading Specialists, and in the Master of Arts in Teaching for Secondary English Language Arts program and advises students in the two graduate programs. An advocate for action research, she is the editor-in-chief of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research .
As a constructivist, she uses traditional tools like graphic organizers and chart paper along with technological tools like FlipGrid, Padlet, and Abode Spark to encourage students to interact with each other and make their thinking visible. This supports students in constructing their own meaning of content and applying it in new situations. She helps students develop a habit of reflection with a focus on metacognition, understanding themselves, perspective taking, and self-evaluation. Her life’s mission is “To support all people in being and becoming the best they can be.” As a Strengths Champion, she believes that all students can leverage their own strengths in their personal and professional lives to achieve holistic wellbeing.
Click here to see a video of Suzanne discussing her teaching.
Programs & Events
To show our support for K-State instructors, the theme for our professional development series this year was “Caring, Connections, and Community.” In our 35 events this academic year, 504 people attended synchronously and over 594 people participated asynchronously! More specifically, in our 19 events in the Spring 2021 semester, 236 people attended synchronously, and 242 people participated asynchronously. See our Professional Development Series page for more information. Check out our Archived Events and Canvas pages for recordings of past events. We hope to see you again next semester!
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.
Course Design Institute
Global Campus is offering their Online Course Design Institute for free this summer from June 1st to July 2nd. It will include five modules: 1) Teaching Persona, Philosophy and Practice, 2) Fundamentals of Online and Blended Teaching and Learning, 3) Tools for Integrating Technology into Teaching and Learning, 4) Student Success in Online and Blended Teaching and Learning, and 5) Assessment in Online and Blended Teaching and Learning. Click here for more information, including registration details.
Teachers Telling Stories Video Series
The following instructors participated in our “Teachers Telling Stories” series in which we asked them to share a story they use in their teaching or a story that has a message related to teaching. See below for the stories in this series.
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 for the speakers soon. 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:
A Few of My Favorite Things (from Teaching this Semester)
Managing End of the Semester Chaos
Learning From Your Evaluations
Evaluating Teaching Evaluations
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 love advancing 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