Empowering Educational Equity: Affordable, Open, and Inclusive Course Materials
CTL Lunch and Learn – Accessible and Affordable Learning Materials
Tuesday October 10, 2023 at 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Are you passionate about making higher education more accessible and affordable for your students? Make plans to attend the next CTL Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, October 10, at noon in the MUB Alumni Lounge, featuring the Committee for Accessible and Affordable Learning Materials (CAALM).
During the luncheon members of CAALM will introduce the committee’s mission and discuss three critical areas of focus that promise to improve the way we approach course materials:
1. Enhancing Course Material Affordability:
Discover how inclusive access agreements with publishers can help reduce the burden of expensive textbooks and course materials. We’ll shed light on innovative strategies to make education more cost-effective without compromising quality.
2. Embracing Open Educational Resources (OER):
Explore the world of Open Educational Resources and learn how to find course materials tailored to your discipline. There is a wealth of freely available resources that can enrich your curriculum while reducing financial strain on your students.
3. Ensuring Digital Accessibility:
It’s time to ensure that your instructional materials are inclusive for all students, regardless of their abilities. We’ll share insights on the importance of the digital accessibility of course materials, including ebooks, PDF documents, slide presentations, and video recordings.
This Lunch and Learn event promises to be a source of inspiration, innovation, and collaboration. Lunch will be provided to those who register in advance. We look forward to seeing you there! Contact the CTL (ctl@mtu.edu) with any questions.
CTL Workshop: Enhancing Canvas Course Design Using DesignPlus
Thursday, October 12, 2023, 2:00pm – 3:00pm,
Would you like to develop a high quality, engaging course using a modern and professional looking course template? Plan to attend the instructional design team from the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning for a workshop about enhancing Canvas course design using DesignPlus tools. We will introduce DesignPlus and the course template, review how to import the course template, and show you how you can customize it for your own course. This workshop will focus on the most common and easy course design features to help you build a high quality professional looking course. No advanced technical skills are necessary.
Registration for this event can be found here.
CTL Coffee Chat- Michigan Tech Writing Center: Supporting Students
Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
You’re invited to the next CTL Coffee Chat on Tuesday, October 17, at 3:30. Claire Helakoski, Assistant Director of the MTU Writing Center, will discuss the Center’s role, the different types of plagiarism that instructors might encounter in student work, and provide practical insights on effective language to discuss citing issues with your students. We’ll also review the Turnitin (TII) similarity tool, demonstrate how to enable this feature in a Canvas-based writing assignment and provide guidance for interpreting Turnitin reports.
Registration for this event can be found here.
CTL Lunch and Learn – Essential Education Experience
Monday, October 23, 2023, 12:00pm – 1:00 PM
Learn more about the Essential Education Experience at our next CTL Lunch and Learn.
One of the signature pieces of the new Essential Education curriculum is the Essential Education Experience. This credit-bearing experience will give all Michigan Tech undergraduate students an opportunity to use what they are learning in their general education coursework to engage in collaborative, project-based work that connects them with the local community or with global partners. Join leaders from the Essential Education implementation leadership team to learn more about the Essential Education Experience and share your ideas about the kinds of innovative opportunities we can develop to address this new requirement.
Registration for this event can be found here.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Are you passionate about making higher education more accessible and affordable for your students? Make plans to attend the next CTL Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, October 10, at noon in the MUB Alumni Lounge, featuring the Committee for Accessible and Affordable Learning Materials (CAALM).
During the luncheon members of CAALM will introduce the committee’s mission and discuss three critical areas of focus that promise to improve the way we approach course materials:
1. Enhancing Course Material Affordability:
Discover how inclusive access agreements with publishers can help reduce the burden of expensive textbooks and course materials. We’ll shed light on innovative strategies to make education more cost-effective without compromising quality.
2. Embracing Open Educational Resources (OER):
Explore the world of Open Educational Resources and learn how to find course materials tailored to your discipline. There is a wealth of freely available resources that can enrich your curriculum while reducing financial strain on your students.
3. Ensuring Digital Accessibility:
It’s time to ensure that your instructional materials are inclusive for all students, regardless of their abilities. We’ll share insights on the importance of the digital accessibility of course materials, including ebooks, PDF documents, slide presentations, and video recordings.
This Lunch and Learn event promises to be a source of inspiration, innovation, and collaboration. Lunch will be provided to those who register in advance. We look forward to seeing you there! Contact the CTL (ctl@mtu.edu) with any questions.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 12:00pm – 1:00pm
CTL Instructional Award Presentation
Curriculum Development and Assessment Award
Radheshyam Tewari, Associate Teaching Professor, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Pasi Lautala, Professor, Civil, Environmental and Geospatial Engineering
Innovative or Out of Class Teaching Award
Elham Asgari, Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
College of Business
Large Class Teaching Award
Tim Wagner, Assistant Teaching Professor, Mathematical Sciences
Click here to register to attend this lunch and learn.
Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 12:00 noon
CTL Lunch and Learn: Engaging Students
Learning involves more than just listening!
Changing a student’s role from a passive listener to being actively involved in the learning process is said to improve one’s skills in collaboration, critical and creative thinking as well as problem solving. An active role in learning has also been vital to supporting retention of new knowledge. The constructivist learning theory states that learning happens when students are able to test their constructs through discussions with their peers, ask questions and test various possibilities.
Have you considered ways that you can increase student engagement in your courses but are not sure where to start?
Register to attend the next Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning Lunch and Learn on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023 as we explore educational strategies best suited for your course content, level of complexity, class size, and even classroom layout! Whether you are just starting to explore ways to engage students or have had success and would like to try other approaches we hope you will join us.
Register here to join us for this lunch and learn.
Thursday, October 13 at 3:45 PM
The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning will recognize Loredana Valenzano-Slough (Chemistry) as the recipient of the CTL Instructional Award for Large Class Teaching on Thursday, October 13 at 3:45 in the Library East Reading Room. She was selected for the award after her nomination via the Deans’ Teaching Showcase during the spring 2022 semester.
Valenzano-Slough’s presentation: Physical Chemistry is Dead… Long Live Physical Chemistry!
Abstract: As the name suggests, Physical Chemistry (PChem) is heavily dependent on physics, which is heavily dependent on math and problem-solving reasoning. In time, it became evident that students struggling the most in PChem were those lacking practice in math. To help the students, I started to spend some of the PChem class time in “math review sessions” to give them practical suggestions on how to approach and use the necessary mathematical tools (multivariable derivatives, power series, and integrals). I soon realized though, that this was not enough and that they needed more first-hand practice on the actual use of such tools and their applications toward solving PChem problems. For this reason, I designed a “Math for (applications) in PChem I” online 1-credit course which exposes students to those mathematical concepts used in PChem but concentrate on their actual applications and problem-solving techniques.
Please plan to join us in recognizing Loredana Valenzano-Slough by registering for the event.
Tuesday October 18, 2022 at 12:00 noon
Now that Michigan Tech has a campus-wide iClicker Cloud license we’re seeing a large increase in adoption by instructors this fall based on early usage data. iClicker polling is a great way to engage your students in class, and increase learning and retention. How can you enhance your pedagogical strategies for iClicker polling in your classroom? We are curious to know how you use iClicker polling?
Join your colleagues and the CTL team on Tuesday, October 18 as we revive our lunch and learn format with an iClicker Showcase. We’re looking for up to five instructors to share one of their favorite iClicker polling questions, review the pedagogy supporting it, and discuss the impact on learning that they’ve observed.
iClicker instructors are encouraged to apply to participate in the showcase. Applications are due by October 7! You’ll be asked to submit a single slide polling question and a brief description of how you deliver the question in your class. Submissions will be reviewed for uniqueness (including use of the various question types: short answer, target question, multiple answer, numerical, multiple choice) as well as adaptability for other instructors. In addition to recognition as an iClicker expert, featured showcase instructors will also receive a gift card.
Whether you’re new to iClicker this semester, a power user, or just want to learn ways to improve and expand your teaching practices, make plans to register and attend the CTL iClicker Showcase [https://mtu.libcal.com/event/9698685]. All registered attendees will have lunch provided. As always, instructors who need assistance getting started with iClicker or have specific technical questions can contact the CTL for assistance (elearning@mtu.edu, 487-3000).
Tuesday October 27, 2022 at 3:45 PM
The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning will recognize Kristin Brzeski (CFRES) as co-recipient of the CTL Instructional Award for Innovative or Out of Class Teaching on Thursday, October 27 at 3:45pm. Kristin was selected for the award after being nominated via the Deans’ Teaching Showcase during the spring 2022 semester.
Brzeski’s award presentation: Integrating regional natural resource partners into lab and field based learning
Abstract: Dr. Kristin Brzeski will share her experiences developing and funding a field and wet-lab based component in her wildlife courses. In this presentation, Dr. Brzeski will emphasize how she integrates partnerships with the MI Department of Natural Resources (DNR) into her instruction, where students generate data that is presented directly to DNR biologists. Through this process, students get hands-on field and lab based training while actively participating in the process of translating research for applied management. Students also get tips and advice for advancing their careers with land-management organizations such as the DNR.
To register for this event, please click here.