Month: August 2020

Teaching in Uncertain Times
UPTLC Virtual Workshop Series 20-21
Wednesday November 4 @ 3:30 PM

Healthy Professor: Incorporating Practices of Well-Being to Teach Fully and Engage Students Meaningfully
Jody-Lynn Rebek, Algoma U. Business Department

Abstract: The healthy professor is a session that will explain, promote, and demonstrate aspects of holistic health, within the context of higher education teaching and learning, especially in light of COVID19.  The session will illustrate the personal experiences of the facilitator, and explore the impact of incorporating well-being into daily living, including current research.  A particular focus on mindset, attitudes, and perspective via practices such as intention setting, gratitude, and mindfulness will be explored.  Ways to nurture authentic leadership through practices that promote greater self-awareness will also be shared.  Faculty who nurture healthy attitudes and engage in activities that promote well-being, trickle into the classroom setting, impacting students, and others in nurturing ways (Seigel, 2018).

Dealing With Distressed Students
Christina Hartline, NMU Counseling and Consultation Office

Abstract: Students at university and college counseling centers across the country are seeking services with increasingly severe problems and concerns (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018; American College Health Association-National College Health assessment, 2018). Educators at these institutions are experiencing a change in student needs, academically and emotionally, and are oftentimes expected to know how to manage students with mental health needs. This presentation will provide audience members with education, techniques, and resources regarding dealing with distressed and/or distressing students. The presenter’s background as a clinical psychologist and assistant professor will provide a first-hand account of the role that mental health plays in students’ well-being. Specific areas that will be addressed include an overview of symptoms and behaviors that may suggest a need for intervention, strategies for communicating with students who are distressed or distressing, and education about available resources for students. Audience members will actively participate in case study demonstrations that illustrate useful interventions and have opportunities to explore classroom concerns. The knowledge and skills acquired from this presentation will allow audience members to support students’ social and emotional learning by normalizing and encouraging help-seeking behaviors.

To register for this event, click here.

CTL Presents: Online Course Showcase
Tuesday November 6 @ 3:00 PM

Michigan Tech has made a commitment to making quality online learning opportunities available for working adult professionals from around the country and further.  Even without the demands the current pandemic has imposed upon us, it is important to be able to deliver education to learners that are working full time, have demanding schedules and family obligations or are bound by place for a variety of reasons. Developing and delivering quality, fully online, asynchronous courses requires creating an online experience that is active, engaging, and features frequent and substantial student-student, student-instructor, and student-course material interactions.

Join the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning on Tuesday, November 10th, at 3:00pm for an opportunity to interact with Michigan Tech faculty who have designed and delivered online courses in Canvas. There will be a showcase by each faculty followed by breakout sessions for questions and discussion.

This event will be held over zoom. A link will be provided when you complete the registration.

CTL Presents – Canvas Course Showcase
Tuesday October 27, 2020 at 3:00 PM

The current remote instruction environment has required many instructors to develop new approaches to using Canvas.  Providing students with an organized and intuitive course design, opportunities to engage with peers, and a workflow to efficiently complete course activities is critical.

Make plans to attend a Canvas Course Showcase, hosted by the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning.  This Zoom event will feature three Michigan Tech instructors who will showcase their Canvas courses and highlight some of the organizational features that help support their students.

This event will be held over zoom. A link will be provided once you have completed the registration.

CTL Presents – De-escalating in the classroom
Friday October 30, 2020 at 12:00 PM

The Center for Teaching and Learning,  in cooperation with Public Safety and Police Services, present De-escalation in the classroom. Students, like instructors, are dealing with exceptional stressors. These agitated states can make interactions with and between students very difficult. If you say the wrong thing, they can become increasingly angered, but if you give in to their unreasonable demands, you may unintentionally create an even more complicated situation. While there is no perfect solution, knowing how to verbally de-escalate “hot moments” in a classroom or other situation might increase opportunity to reach a mutually desired outcome. In this lightly interactive workshop, Reid Devoge from public safety will share strategies and techniques that can be used to resist verbal aggression and ultimately create a situation wherein productive dialogue can occur.  Rob Bishop from Conduct Services will also be present to address questions about how his office might address conduct issues for such situations. and share other relevant campus resources.

This event will be a zoom lunch session. Once you have registered, you will be provided with a link via a calendar invite. 

Teaching in Uncertain Times
UPTLC Virtual Workshop Series 20-21
Tuesday, September 8 @ 3:30 PM

Take it or Leave It? Student Engagement Techniques to Carry Forward Into Fall and Others that Can Stay In The Spring
Brigitte Morin, MTU Biological Sciences Department

Abstract: Spring 2020 brought an opportunity to try out many new teaching techniques in a variety of classroom situations. From completely flipping an already flipped class, teaching synchronously and asynchronously, live and pre-recorded, big (150+) and small (22), some vital teaching lessons have been learned. This session will highlight the major takeaways from each scenario, focusing on strategies that stuck regardless of the class setting or size as well as discussing techniques that can be left behind. The talk will center around keeping students engaged and connected in various ways despite the virtual and physical distance. Participants will leave with clear strategies that they can apply (or not!) in their own classroom regardless of size or subject matter.

How a Weekly Video Saved My Sanity
Cathy White, LSSU Education Department

Abstract: Although I thought I had all my content clear and ready for the first week of remote teaching, I received an almost constant barrage of emails from my students asking for clarification or how to do x,y, and z. The next week, I made a document with a checklist of what needed to be done and a short video overview where I explained the tasks and how to submit. Students knew what to do and how to do it and could focus on the work instead of asking me for more information. Many students mentioned the videos in the course evaluations. Weekly overview videos can be used in face-to-face, online, and hybrid classes. This session will show some examples of videos and show how to make your own. 

To register for the event on September 8, please click here.

Teaching in Uncertain Times
UPTLC Virtual Workshop Series 20-21
Tuesday, September 16 @ 3:30 PM

Empowering Students to Learn Without You
Barb Light, LSSU Dean of College of Education & Liberal Arts

Abstract: Headed to a conference? Need to miss class? Teaching online? Want to prompt student learning outside of class times? This session will share ten ideas for managing student learning when you cannot be with them for whatever reason. Some will integrate technology into the strategy.

The Importance of Self-Care During a Pandemic | A New Path: Choosing Wellness
Mary Franczek, NMU  Nursing Department

Abstract: Do you view health as the absence of disease? A static condition for which there is no change? Or do view health as an opportunity to live life to the fullest even with disease present? Wellness is a choice. Dorothea Orem defines self care as the “practice of activities that individuals initiate and perform on their own behalf in maintaining life, health, and well-being.” How well are you taking care of yourself? The short form of the Integrative Health and Wellness Assessment (IHWA) tool was developed to support self-assessment and self-reflection on the eight dimensions of wellness defined by the Theory of Integrative Nurse Coaching (TINC). These dimensions include (1) Life Balance and Satisfaction, (2) Relationships, (3) Spiritual, (4) Mental, (5) Emotional, (6) Physical (Nutrition, Exercise, Weight Management), (7) Environmental, and (8) Health Responsibility (Dossey, 2015). This tool, once completed by the attendee, helps to assess readiness to change, priority for making changes, and the persons confidence in the ability to make change. I have researched the need of personal self care in nursing, medicine, social work, psychology, teaching, pharmacology, and physical therapy. There is a pervasive need for all professionals to engage in a daily practice of self care. Through storytelling, with humor and honesty, participants will reflect on their personal need for self care. Through completion of the IHWA, participants will identify personal self care wellness goals. Daily application of information gained, will improve the health and wellness of participant educators. This path will lead to improved outcomes for ourselves, our students, and our universities.

To register for the event on September 16, please click here.

Future events include:
October 13: Collaborating Group Testing Implemented Online Using Zoom
In Defense Of Distance Education Lessons Learned From Zoom
November 4: Healthy Professor: Incorporating Practices of Well-Being to Teach Fully and Engage Students Meaningfully Dealing With Distressed Students

Teaching in Uncertain Times
UPTLC Virtual Workshop Series 20-21
Wednesday, August 26 @ 3:30 PM

Enhancing Pedagogical Impact Through Voice and Movement
Elizabeth Parks, LSSU Theater Department

Abstract: Teaching digitally has forced us into a conversation with our webcam. The camera doesn’t lie. Our verbal and nonverbal communication doesn’t lie. In this workshop we will explore vocal and physical strategies for maximizing our impact in the classroom through personal vocal and physical engagement. By exploring the psycho/social/physio-vocal training methodologies of Lessac Kinesensic Training and Margolis Method we will explore ways to make your digital teaching more effective and teaching in-person with a mask more effective. We will explore ways to strengthen your vocal prowess and ways to cultivate physical energy whether in an online format or an in-person format. Ultimately, energy is energy is energy and we will explore how energy is manifested in the classroom, in the teacher, and in the student in order for the teacher to craft the best experience for the student to maximize teaching and learning. 

Using Starpoint Activities in Online Chat as a Method of Engaging Students
Nadun Kulasekera Mudiyanselage, MTU Mathematics Department
Co-Presented with Jacob Blazejewski

Abstract: This past academic year two MTU graduate teaching instructors set out to improve student engagement through Canvas’ integrated online chat forum: Piazza.  We aimed to develop robust activities that helped build community among students and increase contact with the instructor beyond the stereotypical “post three observations from your reading and comment on two other observations.” These activities were graded using a simple ‘star points’ rubric and student’s participation counted as a portion of their final grade. We will share our rubric and demonstrate it live with an engagement activity.  Additionally, we will present data about the effectiveness and student’s perceptions of star points in Precalculus and Differential Equations from three in-person sections and two online sections. We hope attendees will be inspired to use our easily adaptable activities within their own courses of any subject area.

To register for this event, please click here.

Future events include:
September 8: Take it or Leave It? Student Engagement Techniques to Carry Forward Into Fall and Others that Can Stay In The Spring
How a Weekly Video Saved My Sanity
September 16: Empowering Students to Learn Without You
The Importance of Self-Care During a Pandemic | A New Path: Choose Wellness
October 13: Collaborating Group Testing Implemented Online Using Zoom
In Defense Of Distance Education Lessons Learned From Zoom
November 4: Healthy Professor: Incorporating Practices of Well-Being to Teach Fully and Engage Students Meaningfully Dealing With Distressed Students