October 2024 Tuesday Tips

1st October 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Course Materials

You are at the grocery store selecting ingredients for a fall-themed soup you read about. You have found everything you need except for kale, then you spot some lovely looking organic kale, but there is no price. Asking an employee restocking the produce how much for the kale she responds, “don’t know, and you can’t find out until checkout.” You are confused. “That doesn’t seem right, what if it is really expensive, can I buy some non-organic kale instead?” Her facial expression is somewhere between indifference and judgment. “No, once you get to the checkout you have to buy it, those are the rules.”

This is not a perfect analogy, but it does highlight a difficult situation we sometimes put students in. Course material costs range from free to several hundred dollars and students often have to sign up for classes without knowing. When that information becomes available to them it is often too late to select different kale courses. This is even important if you are using a free resource or something that is not at the bookstore. Create the first step towards trust and transparency with students by selecting materials before 10/28. This process looks different for different people. 

• You know what you are teaching and the course materials you are requiring. Use the Canvas “Account” menu option in the upper left, and then click “Follett Discover”, or you can email your course materials list to wildcatstore@csuchico.edu, and you will be done in a flash. If you know what you are teaching, but have yet to be officially assigned your Chair can help or you can email the bookstore. 
• You know what you are teaching, but aren’t sure about course materials. Try to make the time to select something before the 10/28 cutoff. Talk to colleagues, make an informed decision, and give your students the information they need. 
• You aren’t sure what you are teaching. Talk with your Department Chair. Many courses assign the same materials every term, but the faculty change. In these cases, the Chair can take a moment and select materials for the course. 
• You are a Department Chair and know the agreed upon materials, but have not assigned classes yet. You have your own menu in Follett where you can make that selection.

Speaking of textbooks, if you are looking to find or develop a quality resource to lower costs for students, that also increases the likelihood they will have the materials and read for your class, be on the lookout for our CAL$ program in Spring. If you are looking to learn more now, check out this recent episode of Teaching in Higher Ed(opens in new window).

Finally a reminder, this Friday at 12PM is the second part of our Zoom webinar(opens in new window) series on Free Speech and Inclusion (PDF). This week we are working with Juni Banerjee-Stevens on de-escalation in the classroom. All faculty and staff are welcome.

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

8th October 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Unlock Your Teaching Potential with the FDEV Teaching Certificate!

Dear Faculty,

We are taking the Teaching Tip this week to announce the FDEV Teaching Certificate. This self-paced course includes three modules. The completion of each module comes with a letter designed for inclusion in your dossier as evidence of your commitment to improving your teaching. This work started with Chiara Ferrari and Grazyne Tresoldi and was completed by Jamie Gunderson from the School of Education. I am proud of the contributions all of them made along the way. Special thanks to Jamie for completing the work and doing so in a way to maximize utility for faculty. 

Are you ready to elevate your teaching? We’re excited to invite you to participate in the FDEV Teaching Certificate course on Canvas! This is your opportunity to invest in your professional development and enhance the learning experience for your students—on your schedule, at your own pace.

Why the FDEV Teaching Certificate?

Tailored Learning: Choose from three modules — Instructional Planning, Teaching Enhancements, and Research in Equity, Antiracism, Diversity, and Inclusion — to align with your interests and teaching goals.

Innovative Strategies and Resources: Explore new instructional methods and assessment techniques designed to engage your students more effectively. Gain access to tools and resources to confidently design or redesign your courses. 

Flexible Format: Learn at your own pace! Whether you have a busy schedule or prefer deep dives into specific topics, this course fits your needs.

What’s in it for you? 

Enhance your teaching practices and create more inclusive learning environments. Participants who submit a module deliverable and reflection will receive an individualized letter for their dossier, outlining their work and the resources they applied to improve their pedagogy.

Ready to Get Started?

Don’t Wait! Log into Canvas and enroll in the FDEV Teaching Certificate course today!

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

15th October 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Free Speech in Classrooms

Do not forget to RSVP for the final event in our Free Speech and Inclusion collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This was a three-part webinar series that is culminating with an in-person event this Friday. Even if you have not been able to attend the series you are welcome to join us on Friday. The purpose of the series has been to catalog the resources and limitations on our campus regarding Freedom of Speech. We have covered “Free Speech Basics” which was an outline of legal frameworks, “De-Escalation in The Classroom” which outlined best practices for dealing with contentious issues in instructional spaces, and finally “Support Systems on Campus” where we covered different offices on campus that can help faculty prepare for tough conversations or deal with the aftermath. All the webinars are archived and available in this playlist. 

As we enter the final stages of the US election season and broader conversations about contentious issues continue I want the faculty of the campus to hear one thing–you are not alone. Frequently we think of the classroom as an island where we are cut off and have to figure things out on our own. When it comes to issues of Free Speech we are in a rich ecosystem of support. Last week we were joined by representatives from the CARE team, The Well, The Counseling Center, Title IX, OEDI and our collective theme was, we are here to support faculty and students through the good times and the bad. Don’t hesitate to reach out to FDEV if you need help directing your inquiry, it is part of what we are here for. 

In solidarity,

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

22nd October 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Increase Student Feedback Response Rates

Student Feedback on Teaching (SFOTs) can be frustrating. We have all had students focus on something we did not think mattered or use the outlet as a place to express concern about something you do not control. Perhaps the most exacerbating aspect can be a lack of response overall. Low response rates can skew results, in some cases make them unreportable, and limit your information when you are trying to understand the student experience to improve the course. Fortunately, there are absolutely things we can do to positively impact response rates, even if you do digital delivery, and even if you teach asynchronously. The review period is 12/2-12/13 so now is the time to make a plan to get better feedback. 

First, make the time. Moving to digital SFOT delivery resulted in a drop-off in response rates for many faculty, but the decrease is not the result of the delivery method, it is the allocation of class time in a live class while you excuse yourself into the hallway. In my experience taking the same time during a class period for digital evaluations as you would for paper evaluations dramatically increases response rates. Students can fill out the SFOT using almost any device. This experience matches 2018 research published(opens in new window) in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education where the authors found “Response rates were substantially higher when faculty provided in-class time to students to complete SETs.” 

Second, tell them why. Making class time is great if you teach live courses, but explaining why works for all faculty regardless of format. We need to be telling students why their voices matter in this context. Chapman and Joines (PDF) (2017) found this to be a common thread in courses with a high response rate, regardless of format. I want to encourage you to be specific with this. Tell students about your review of the SFOTs, identify changes in the course or your teaching you have made as a result of the feedback, and talk with them about continual improvement. Students are much more likely to invest the time if they know it matters. 

Finally, tell students how it’s going. This draws from the first study and is especially salient for online and asynchronous courses. Communicate via Canvas announcements when the review period starts, what your target response rate is, and update them each week during the review period by continually highlighting why this matters to you and why it should matter to them.

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.