April 2023 Tuesday Tips

4th April 2023

Sent on behalf of Dr. Alisa Wade, Assistant Professor of History and READI Equity Fellow

While serving as a Research on Equity, Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion(opens in new window) (READI) Equity Fellow this past year, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about and reflecting on inclusive and equitable pedagogy. Part of the process of working toward a student-centered approach to teaching entails empowering our students as active agents and considering ways we as educators might draw on their cultural knowledge and creativity in the classroom. How might we, as instructors at a Hispanic-Serving Institution(opens in new window) with a growing percentage of first-generation students(opens in new window), find ways to continue to support our students and encourage them to take ownership of their own learning experiences?  

In Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education: Teaching for Leadership, Innovation, and Creativity(opens in new window), the authors advocate for a pedagogical approach that “promotes creativity, imagination, and emotional depth of students along with knowledge acquisition and development” and “cultivates a participatory culture in academia at all levels” (5-6). In this framework, the goal is to embed students actively in work of our disciplines(opens in new window) in the classroom and to encourage them as participatory and engaged local, national, and global citizens. In turn, the process of working closely with faculty members can help them learn and grow in new ways, build confidence, bolster their academic success, and give them relevant skills for their academic and professional careers. 

One program on campus designed to facilitate this process is the Adelante Postbaccalaureate Pipeline(opens in new window). The Adelante Program’s mission centers on supporting Latinx and low-income CSUC students, and includes a Summer Research Program(opens in new window) for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in a “faculty-mentored, funded research experience” that will give students a hands-on opportunity to engage in—and, later, present on and consider publishing—their research under the guidance of their faculty research mentor. Applications for this summer just opened last week, and the deadline for submissions is April 24, 2023. For those in Agriculture, Engineering, and the Natural Sciences, CSC²(opens in new window) offers additional student resources, including a Summer Undergraduate Research Program. 

For details, tips, and resources on encouraging students as active classroom agents, take a look at the FDEV teaching guide for building student agency(opens in new window). 

If you’d like to comment on this or any other Tuesday Tip, visit the FDEV Blog(opens in new window).
All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

11th April 2023

Dear faculty, 

I want to use this Tuesday Tip to remind you about the Spring into Canvas for Fall day, which will be held on Thursday April 20^th both in person and via Zoom. 
You can access the program (Google Doc) here for more details about the sessions. 

The Technology and Learning Program is planning a whole day to help faculty learn about Canvas and start getting familiar with the new learning management system. 

Spring into Canvas for Fall 
April 20, 9am - 4pm 
Colusa Hall 116, 114, 111 

Have a lot on your plate? TLP is  breaking Canvas down into bite-sized tasks. Come for 10 minutes, a single session, or the entire day. Or just come have pastries and coffee and/or lunch. This day is all about you.  

TLP Instructional Technology Consultants are hosting structured sessions and available to help you personally in a dedicated workroom. Join in-person or on Zoom. Our Canvas workroom will provide “10-Minute Tasks” that will help you get started.

• If joining us in-person, bring your laptop, your coffee mug, and TLP will help you get started with your transition to Canvas.  
• If joining on Zoom, you’ll arrive in the TLP Lab when you click on Zoom link and will then be directed to a Zoom breakout-room. 
• Can’t come at all? You haven’t missed the boat. We are here all summer and will continue to offer sessions and consulting to assist you before the fall semester starts when over 600 faculty will be using Canvas for the first time.  

I also want to remind you that Faculty Development released a Zine (PDF) last week focusing entirely on Canvas. In the Zine, you can read longer pieces about the transition to Canvas but you can also access practical tips about specific tools in Canvas. 

 TLP will offer more opportunities for training and support, both in person and via Zoom, later in April and in May, as well as during the summer.   

I hope you will take this and future opportunities to learn more about Canvas and I particularly want to encourage faculty teaching in summer to attend the Spring into Canvas for Fall Day and other workshops this Spring to make sure you have the proper support for your summer courses! 

If you’d like to comment on this or any other Tuesday Tip, visit the FDEV Blog(opens in new window).
All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website. 

If you’d like to comment on this or any other Tuesday Tip, visit the FDEV Blog(opens in new window).
All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website. 

26th April 2023

Sent on behalf of Tina Hanson-Lewis, lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and READI Equity Fellow.

Over the past year, your Equity Fellows have been hard at work serving as liaisons between each college and FDev's Hub for Research in Equity, Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (also known as the READI Hub). Based on the needs identified by each college, we developed, compiled, and/or organized resources in a manner that we hope will reduce barriers and increase access to resources. Some of these resources were in the form of new Teaching Guides. I particularly appreciate the Teaching Guides, as I find them concise, comprehensive, and extremely helpful. Each guide begins with a background information section, a list of peer-reviewed resources, and then a brief list of application ideas. The second half of the guide consists of resources in a variety of formats (text, videos, podcasts, etc.) about the topic from credible sources.

As liaison for the College of Natural Sciences (CNS), I was informed that many faculty members in CNS wanted STEM-specific guidance, since STEM course designs often differ from those in other fields. I would like to briefly introduce you to four new STEM-specific teaching guides that have been developed to meet this need.

• Flipping a STEM Course - (A Low Barrier Approach). This teaching guide supplements the more general "Flipped Classes" teaching guide by providing STEM faculty with additional insights and advice on how to flip their course(s).
• Assessment in the STEM classroom. As an addition to the more general teaching guides ("Formative Assessment" and "Summative Assessment"), this guide is designed to introduce STEM faculty to the concerns surrounding 'traditional' STEM assessments.
• The Anti-racist STEM Classroom. Along with the guide on "Creating Anti-Racist Classrooms," this STEM-specific add-on presents resources designed to assist faculty members in identifying how and where racism appears in STEM curricula.
• Inclusive Mentoring of STEM Students. In STEM we often work as mentors one on one with students or with small groups of students. Faculty may find themselves in a position where they mentor students who have different life experiences than their own. In this guide, faculty are provided with resources that will assist them in being better mentors.

These resources are provided in the hope that they will be helpful to you, even if you teach outside of the CNS. However, if you have any additional questions, concerns, or unmet needs, please do not hesitate to reach out.

If you’d like to comment on this or any other Tuesday Tip, visit the FDEV Blog(opens in new window).
All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.