TLC Newsletter for Wednesday May 13, 2020
Good morning, K-State!
We hope your remote teaching is going well! Here is an update about what is going on in the Teaching & Learning Center (TLC):
Keep Teaching!
Changing how we deliver our courses may take many of us out of our comfort zones. It may cause us to prioritize certain course objectives and assignments. It may cause us to consider different ways to assess our students’ learning. It may take more time and effort than we anticipated. The information we provide will connect you to resources, and people, here at K-State to help you continue to teach during a possible disruption.
The resources on this website, including more information about tools such as K-State Canvas, Zoom, Mediasite, and Office 365, will offer ideas and strategies for how to engage students in quality remote learning experiences with minimal preparations. This will help you plan efficient ways to keep teaching your courses during an impending disruption.
Click HERE to access the K-State “Keep Teaching” Page
Online Course Design Institute
K-State has created the Online Course Design Institute to support instructors as they transition new courses to the online modality as part of the response to COVID-19.
The Online Course Design Institute was developed as a partnership between Global Campus, the Teaching and Learning Center, Information Technology Services, and the Polytechnic Campus as well as other campus leaders. The Institute replaces K-State Online Essentials, previously offered to Global Campus faculty.
Questions about this program can be directed to Katie Linder (kelinder@ksu.edu), executive director for program development at Global Campus.
The Online Course Design Institute includes a comprehensive checklist to guide the course design process and is customizable to each instructor's experience and comfort level with teaching online. Program elements also include:
- a self-paced set of materials for instructors who want to work through course design steps on their own (housed in Canvas)
- a cohort-based series of activities to be completed over four weeks (with repeated options throughout the summer) based on the Canvas site materials for instructors looking for more structure
- a set of synchronous virtual workshops and conversations on a range of topics that those designing an online course can choose to engage in; these will be recorded for instructors to view at a later point as well
- continued one-on-one support through the automated calendaring system that launched in late March
For those interested in the cohort model, there is still an opportunity to complete the program:
- June 8-July 5
Please click HERE to register for the self-paced materials or to join one of the cohorts.
TLC Highlighted Teachers Series
Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, the TLC sought to recognize some of Kansas State University’s excellent teachers. Below is a list of all those who were recognized this year. We will be starting this series again in the Fall, so if you know someone who you think should be featured in this series, please email the Teaching and Learning Center (teachingandlearning@k-state.edu) and let us know.
Click HERE to view a video on Julie and her teaching.
Click HERE to view a video of Brian and his teaching.
Click here to view Dr. Wanklyn video where he talks about his teaching strategy at K-State
Click HERE to view a video on Tamara and his teaching.
Click HERE to view a video on Kevin and his teaching.
Click HERE to view a video on Tara and his teaching.
Click HERE to view a video on Kodee and her teaching.
Teachers Thriving Remotely Series
We have a real opportunity to advance to the next stage of K-State's transition to remote teaching. We have been in a coping phase where our messages have been about providing information and reassurance, but now is the time to move toward an inspirational phase where our messages are about thriving.
Toward that end, the TLC has developed a “Teachers Thriving Remotely” series that depicts brief videos by excellent K-State instructors. These videos contain energetic, optimistic, and hopeful messages as well as a brief overview of specific teaching ideas, philosophies, or practices that you may consider using in these challenging times. Below is a list of individuals who have already contributed to this series.
· Don Saucier “Don is still kicking, cooking, and teaching, but NOT testing”
· Tamara Bauer "Student Tips for Using Zoom"
· Kelly Briggs "Don't Panic! More Ways to Have Fun Zoom Teaching"
· David Wood "Cutting some slack, creating the sense of grace, allowing some extra time"
· Linda Yarrow "Combination of distance and face-to-face classes"
· Mike Finnegan "Switching up office locations and message board to dinner conversations"
· Daniel Kuester "Students applying their learning to the current situation remotely"
· Anne Longmuir "The right note of humanity and practical advice"
· Stuart Miller "Discussion board assignment, setting the norms, getting students to engage"
Update on our 2019-2020 TLC Professional Development Series!
Despite our TLC Professional Development Series being temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you still have the opportunity to earn our professional development certificate. The deadline to submit your materials has been extended to Friday, May 22nd.
For Graduate Students Pursuing this Certificate:
You must (a) have attended and completed post-event surveys for at least 10 events sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Center and (b) complete the observation component (more information on this is available on our "GTA PD Series" Canvas page) by 11:59PM on May 22nd. If you did not yet complete the observation component with a colleague prior to K-State's transition to remote learning, you can still complete this requirement in a remote setting by sharing a link of you teaching and/or allowing a colleague to join a Zoom session of you teaching.
For Faculty and Staff Pursuing this Certificate:
You must earn twelve (12) event credits by participating in various events over the course of the academic year. However, at least four (4) of your twelve (12) event credits must be earned by participating in events in this series designated as “Need to Know” events. Attendance at the Faculty Exchange for Teaching Excellence (FETE) Teaching Retreat and/or Spotlight will count for more than one (1) event credit. You must document your participation and earn event credits by completing our post-event survey for each event in which you participate. After earning your twelve (12) total event credits (from the TLC Professional Development Series, the “Need to Know” events, Spotlight, and the Teaching Retreat), you will complete a Final Reflection of your experience. Guidelines for Final Reflections are available here and the deadline for your submission of Post-Event Surveys and Final Reflections is Friday, May 22nd, 2020.
For Faculty and Staff Interested in Becoming a TLC Fellow:
Being selected as a TLC Fellow demonstrates your commitment not only to improving your own excellence in teaching and learning, but to improving the teaching and learning excellence of others. To be selected as a TLC Fellow, you will complete the requirements for the TLC Professional Development Certificate as described above. You also will submit a TLC Fellow Application on which you summarize your efforts to improve the teaching and learning climate at Kansas State University and beyond (copy of an application form available here). These efforts may include having given presentations or workshops on teaching and learning topics, engaging in the scholarship on teaching and learning (SoTL), etc. You will also provide an abstract for a workshop/presentation on a teaching and learning topic that, if selected as a TLC Fellow, you would like to offer as a professional development event next year. The forms you will complete to become a TLC Fellow are due by Friday May 22nd, 2020.
Additional Information For Everyone:
If you have not attended the required number of events, you can access an archive of this school year's events (as well as the corresponding post-event survey) on our "TLC Professional Development Events" Canvas page. 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.
Please email completed forms/applications to Tucker Jones (tuckerj@ksu.edu).
Update on our 2020-2021 TLC Professional Development Series
In the coming weeks, the TLC will begin working on scheduling the TLC Professional Development Series for next school year. We will start announcing our schedule of presenters in August. If you would like to present in our series, please let us know (teachingandlearning@ksu.edu).
Fall 2020 Orientation for GTAs
The TLC staff is currently working on scheduling our annual orientation for new/incoming GTAs. Given our transition to remote teaching, it is likely that this orientation will look a little different this year. More information will be made available on this as soon as possible, so be on the lookout for updates on our various social media platforms.
Thank you for a Great Semester!
Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, the TLC sponsored a number of events (e.g., TLC Professional Development Series, New Faculty Institute, SPOTLIGHT K-State, Faculty Exchange for Teaching Excellence, Difficult Dialogues). On behalf of the TLC, thank you to all those who presented at and attended these events! Because of each of you, we are proud to say that #ITeachatKState.
We look forward to continuing our momentum in the Fall!
Sincerely,
Brian Niehoff
Director, Teaching & Learning Center
Don Saucier
Associate Director, Teaching & Learning Center
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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.