Center for Teaching and Learning Blog

Center for Teaching and Learning bring back the Coffee Chat, Thursday September 16, 2021 at 4:00 PM

Student Mental Health continues to be a significant concern to front-line instructors.   The new My SSP  (student support program) app is just one of many excellent resources to help instructors help students stay well and address mental health concerns.  In this coffee chat, we’ll review these resources, then apply them to a variety of common student mental health situations.   Those planning to attend (remotely or in person) are asked to register and to watch the above-linked video prior to the event. . (Video duration: ~20 minutes) 

This event can be attended via zoom or in person. Please register here and indicate how you will be attending.

CTL Instructional Award: Innovative or Out of Class Teaching: Smitha Rao, Thursday September 23, 2021 at 3:45 PM

The CTL recognizes, from those nominated via the Deans’ Teaching Showcase, instructors who make contributions in large class teaching, out of class or innovative teaching, and curriculum development or assessment. This year, Smitha Rao, Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering, has been selected to receive the CTL instructional Award for Innovative or Out of Class Teaching. The abstract for her presentation, entitled “Reaching out to Student Researchers: An ‘old’ mentor’s journey” is below. Following her presentation, Smitha will be recognized formally. We hope you can join us for this event! To register, click here.

ABSTRACT: As a newly minted faculty, the harshest reality I had to face was that the students saw me as a “mentor.” (I soon learned this was code for “old”!) I found that I had to remind myself (repeatedly) that my undergraduate students had only recently completed high school. Not only was I not a peer, but the age gap seemed to grow (sigh!) and become a huge problem. How would I reach across this chasm? In this presentation, I’ll explore the solutions I have found. To seek common ground, I work to challenge student curiosity, engage them through opportunities in the lab and encourage them to take ownership of their work. I will share things I have tried and ideas I have learned as I work with graduate and undergraduate researchers. I hope the presentation stimulates dialog so we can all continue to learn and grow and rely on these combined experiences as we engage with more students.

Each workshop consists of two consecutive presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion.

Spring UPTLC virtual presentation 3, April 13, 2021 at 3:30 PM

Returning Students to the Classroom Post Concussion by Co-Presenters: Joseph D. Susi II, LSSU School of Kinesiology and Erin Young, LSSU Student
Abstract: Concussion incidence varies among sports with the NCAA illustrating football with the highest overall portion of collegiate athletic concussions at 37% (2013-2014 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook).  However, a 2019 study on the incidence of concussion among US undergraduates depicts that the overall concussion rate of sport related concussion was lower than non-sport-related concussion.  Athletes have Return to Play Guidelines and professionals to assist them along the way.  What provisions are available for students and student-athletes in returning to the classroom or “Return to Learn?”  Our talk is based on a class project from fall 2019 and will  examine concussions, identify a “Return to Learn” Team and present guidelines for a “Return to Learn” protocol for students who have experienced a concussion.   

“This Film Made Me Want to Pull My Hair Out!” The Value of Student Diaries for Course Assessment by H. Russell Searight, School of Behavioral Sciences
Abstract: Describes a faculty-student collaboration that provides meaningful course assessment information highlighting student reflections on course content. The presentation describes how the use of student dairies can provide a deeper understanding of the impact of a course.  

The subjective impact of a college course on students’ knowledge, critical thinking and ethical development is difficult to assess with standardized quantitative ratings or summative end-of-semester written comments. In particular, when teaching a new class with non-traditional pedagogy, such as the Honors Course, “Medical Ethics and Film,” students’ subjective experiences can provide valuable information for the instructor. Film, as an affectively-evocative narrative, may produce strong emotional reactions which can aid or hinder students’ understanding of course content. Students in “Medical Ethics and Film” were asked to keep a diary in which they recorded their reactions and ethical analyses for each week’s movie. The diary method is useful in providing educators with useful insight into how the class actually impacted students’ knowledge, critical thinking, and personal development and can be a form of communication between teachers and learners. To optimize the pedagogical value of personal course diaries, students should be able to write about their experiences in a reflective manner and experience openness and trust in how their writing will be used. Students were informed at the outset of the course that their reflections and observations through their diaries would be used in a qualitative research paper which they would co-author. However, students were assured that their diary entries would be described without identifying information. At the end of the course, an article, co-authored by the students and instructor was submitted and subsequently accepted for publication

To register for other UPTLC presentations, use these links:

Tuesday, February 16 at 3:30 PM 

Tuesday, March 16 at 3:30 PM 

Spring UPTLC virtual presentation 2,

Tuesday March 16, 2021 at 3:30 PM via zoom
Each workshop consists of two consecutive presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion.

From Classroom to Resume – Skills that Count by Geralyn Narkiewicz, LSSU Career Services
Abstract: It is not unusual to read business reports or survey results that indicate recent college graduates are lacking in key employability skills. What skills are employers looking for? Are students truly lacking these skills or are they just not connecting the dots between their learning and the skills they are developing? In this presentation, we will discuss the 8 career competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Participants will share and discuss ideas for increasing student awareness and understanding of the skills they are developing through their college coursework.

WRITE-D: Applying Write-on-Site to Graduate Work in the Disciplines by Co-presenters: Andrew Fiss, MTU Humanities Department; Sarah Isaacson, Will Cantrell, and Pushpalatha Muthy, MTU Graduate School
Abstract: While writing is a necessity in graduate programs throughout the disciplines, many find it difficult to address. At this session, we will introduce “write-in-department” groups: groups that provide a regular space and time for writing together within a department. Acknowledging the uses of such groups in undergraduate instruction, write-on-site groups have been implemented successfully at the graduate level at Michigan Technological University. Session leaders will discuss the application of this model to groups in Physics, Chemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Biological Sciences. Attendees will be asked to participate in a short exercise of writing and reflection as a way of exploring the benefits of this approach. Graduate write-in-department groups provide an opportunity for discipline-specific discussions of writing over the duration of the graduate program. In contrast to the “dissertation boot camp” model, the WRITE-D model engages students with disciplinary writing throughout. As needed, faculty share knowledge about rules, norms, and processes, especially having to do with publications, proposals, and fellowships in the field. More broadly, write-in-department groups provide a social network for working through writing — one located within the department, with involvement of department faculty and facilitated by graduate student peers. Overall, the WRITE-D program uses graduate write-in-department groups as a way to help students generate better writing, more effectively.

To register for other UPTLC presentations, use these links:

Tuesday, February 16 at 3:30 PM 

Tuesday, April 13 at 3:30 PM

CTL Instructional Award: Large classroom teaching to Kette Thomas

Tuesdays, March 30. 2021 at 3:30PM

The 2020-2021 CTL instructional Award for large class teaching will be presented via a zoom session on. Dr Thomas will give a presentation titled Empathic Instruction: The Power and Limits of Making it Personal. To register for this event, please use this link.

Abstract: Professionalism suggests disciplined, objective, and impersonal communication between the vendor and his client. Conventional business practitioners might frame their organizations around bureaucratic ideals, delivering their products and services mechanically and “without prejudice.” This presents the appearance of equitable distribution and management of goods and services. A University setting, however, is more complicated than a conventional business model automatizing its products. University educators require an approach that acknowledges the very personal nature of learning. Indeed, to open yourself up to education is to make yourself vulnerable. This vulnerability is not weakness but, rather, a tool that can guide the learner to new areas of knowledge acquisition. But inappropriately applied, vulnerability in the classroom can also act as an impediment. Educators are, therefore, charged with negotiating the power and limits of intellectual vulnerability. In this lecture, we will look at the uses of empathy during instruction and how they can both accentuate and obstruct the learning process.   

Each workshop consists of two consecutive presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion.

Spring UPTLC virtual presentation 1, February 16, 2021 at 3:30 PM

Our Evolving Co-Advising Model by Jillena Rose, Bay College
Abstract: This bridge in Viet Nam cleverly demonstrates the obvious: Bridges are held up by more than one support. Students, also, need the support and advice of more than one person. It takes more than one advisor to guide a student through college.
Bay College has recently implemented a Co-Advising Model of support for its students. From the moment they are admitted, students receive a co-advisor in addition to their faculty advisor–a guide to help students acclimate to the world of college and empower them to succeed by pointing them toward the people and services that history teaches us will help them succeed. Individually and as a group we also seek to identify and break down barriers individual students encounter to success which might be as “simple” as speaking to an instructor about missed work, as personal as finding child care, and as practical as making an academic plan for future semesters.
How do Co-Advisors do all of that? How do they work with Academic Advisors? Those are great questions and we’re still figuring them out. Presenters will share what we’re using, including some of the data tools we use in the background to help us make more intentional choices when it comes to communication, planning and outreach.
The goals of this session are to describe the Co-advising model and talk about its’ success at Bay so far. We also look forward to participants sharing successful tips for connecting with and supporting students on their campuses. 

Building a Bridge to Information Literacy with Michigan eLibrary Content by Liz Breed, Michigan eLibrary Coordinator; Library of Michigan | Michigan Department of Education
Abstract: Today’s students struggle with developing sound information literacy skills. Project Information Literacy stats indicate 92% of college students use search engines for course research. Students’ reliance on Google and social media combined with our ever-changing information landscape makes building strong information literacy skills increasingly more challenging. At the post-secondary level, there are several supports available including the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Framework and the eResources available in the Michigan eLibrary (MeL). Combined, these tools offer educators a way to weave information literacy concepts into assignments to support students as consumers and creators of information and their development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. This session will review the ACRL Information Literacy framework and demonstrate how assignments can be paired with MeL content to support the application of the information literacy frames in instruction.

To register for other upcoming UPTLC presentations, use these links:

Tuesday, March 16 at 3:30 PM 

Tuesday, April 13 at 3:30 PM 

CTL instructional Awards: Curriculum Development, Katrina Black

Tuesday January 26, 2021 at 3:30PM, Katrina Black will present on curriculum development. Her topic will include how we choose to spend class time and assess student learning should reflect what it means for students to know and do within our disciplines. Although these beliefs are likely to look somewhat different for every discipline (and even every instructor!) there are many principles that can be broadly applied. In this talk, I’ll describe what aligning beliefs about learning to course structure and assessment has looked like in my physics classroom, including rethinking traditional topic order presentation, focusing on in-class group work, getting things wrong on purpose, and standards-based and mastery grading.

To register for this zoom event, click here.

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

May 13 at 3:00PM, CTL and Idea hub present: Online Education Session VIII: Tech Forward to Better: Lessons Learned during COVID-19

Over the past eight weeks, most everything about the way we engage with students changed as the pandemic challenged us to quickly put our classes online, identify new ways of assessing learning, and support students in their unique and varied situations–all while our homes became our offices, we experienced zoom fatigue, parents became teachers, and toilet paper became a precious commodity.

While we all envision a time when we can get back to normal, a look back through the chaos and uncertainty shows incredible stories of ingenuity, creativity and resilience. Times of crisis often lead to the biggest opportunities for innovation, and many of us have examples of things that we did in the online environment that we’re planning to keep and improve upon as we prepare for a Flex Fall.

Join us for the last in our spring 2020 series of virtual IDEA hub/CTL Online Education Sessions, on Wednesday, May 13 3:00 – 4:30pm, as we reflect back on the challenges of the semester, share our stories, and reframe our thinking around opportunities to go “forward to better” rather than “back to normal.” If you have a story you’d be willing to share, please respond to this brief google form by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Friday, May 8. Selected story tellers will be asked to prepare a one-slide, two-minute overview of their best practice, new idea, or lesson learned.

Whether you want to share a story or listen to the stories of others, click the link to register and be added to the calendar invite which will include the Zoom link. If you have questions or do not get the calendar invite, please email margaret@mtu.edu.

Immediately following the session, join us in our virtual IDEA Pub for an end-of-semester happy hour from 4:30 – 5:00! As always, this will be a chance to kick back with your beverage of choice, socialize, and connect with one another. We’ll provide some prompts to get the conversation going.

Once you have registered with this link, you will be sent the link to join the meeting via zoom.