April 2025 Tuesday Tips

1st April 2025

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Summer Programming and More!

We are taking the Teaching Tip space to announce two popular summer programs.

What: AI Retrofit
When: May 27-30, 2025 
Format: Online 
Payment: $500 per participant
Facilitators: Faculty Development, TLP, and Friends!
Applications due by 4/18 at 11:59 p.m.

This is an improved version of the popular AI retrofit program. This one-week program introduces participants to different Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and applications. The bulk of our time will be spent identifying disruptions to assignments and learning outcomes to then map out proposed changes. This was originally planned with a STEM focus, but we have broadened the application pool in response to the CSU partnership with OpenAI. View the full description (Google Doc) and tentative schedule (Google Doc) for more information. 

Apply now!(opens in new window)

What: Shut Up and Write, Summer Edition 
When: May 27-30 and June 2-5, 2025 
Format: In person
Payment: $350 per participant
Facilitator: Chris Fosen
Applications due by 4/18 at 11:59 p.m.

A unique opportunity to cut yourself off from other responsibilities early in the summer and get started on that writing project you’ve been putting off.  Across these two weeks, we’ll alternate big blocks of writing time and some strategic small group workshops in which we’ll share writing with others and solicit input. We’ll provide the snacks! View the full description (Google Doc) and tentative schedule (Google Doc) of the first week for more information.

Apply Now!(opens in new window)

Finally, a few quick updates. 

1. I continue to make my way to different buildings to hear from faculty. This week I’ll be in Plumas on Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and the Science Building on Thursday from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Stop by to chat or message me if you have ideas about how FDEV can better support faculty or what you like best about your work. 
2. The Division of IT has several upcoming forums(opens in new window) related to the launch of ChatGPT for the campus. The Faculty and Staff facing forum is on Thursday from 1:30-3:00 p.m. in SELV 100. I will be joining our partners in DoIT to show how this technology can work for you.

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

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.

8th April 2025

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Improve Your Teaching by Better Understanding All Students

This tip is brought to you by the Neurodiversity and Disability Faculty Staff Association. 

The Neurodiversity and Disability Faculty Staff Association advocates identifying the needs for change on campus by embracing our neurodivergent and disability communities while striving to bring awareness and acceptance for an inclusive and welcoming campus. 

Opportunities and resources:

• Event - Come celebrate with the Creative Showcase: Empowered Expressions (PDF) - Celebrating Neurodivergent and Disabled Creators on Friday, April 18 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the ARTS courtyard. We have a variety of expressions through art, poetry, performance, and more from our campus and community of neurodivergent and disabled creators. Gaining insight and perspective of our neurodivergent and disabled students, strengthens our understanding in how is applies to our teaching and advising approaches. 

• Training - Our team took all the feedback from our campus communities last year to create our first Neurodiversity Ally Training (PDF)!!! Neurodiversity continues to increase on college campuses. Increase your understanding and acceptance of your neurodivergent peers and students. Learn the general context of neurodiversity and approaches to neurodiversity at Chico State both in the classroom and across campus. This information will introduce how to create a more supportive learning environment for your students, especially those who are not aware they are neurodivergent, or choose not to share their identity. 
  • Please RSVP(opens in new window) so we can get a general headcount of interest for Tuesday, April 29 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. in Colusa 100A. 

• Tools - Check out the Faculty Development Teaching Guides that serve as an additional tools to the events above. Within the context of this teaching guide, we focus on college students who are autistic, have ADHD, or have learning disabilities. However, neurodiversity is a topic that continues to evolve. The research, classroom strategies, and resources here are intended to provide a starting point for both improved practices and conversations on how we as a Chico State community can improve.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Betina Wildhaber, bdwildhaber1@csuchico.edu, President of the Neurodiversity and Disability Faculty Staff Association. 

Finally, a few reminders

1. Applications for the AI Retrofit (Google Doc) and Summer Writing Support (Google Doc) are due on 4/18.
2. I continue to make my way to different buildings to hear from faculty. This week I’ll be in O'Connell on Tuesday 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and in the Glenn Hall FinTech lab on Wednesday 10:00-11:30 a.m. Stop by to chat or message me if you have ideas about how FDEV can better support faculty or what you like best about your work. 
3. ChatGPT launches for campus next week on 4/15. Check out the upcoming programming(opens in new window) from DoIT for more information.
4. The Chancellor’s Office Webinar series(opens in new window) I host is on again this week from 12-1PM and covers the groundbreaking survey of AI use at San Diego State. Tune in to learn how it has informed their work with students.

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

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.

15th April 2025

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Tell Them Why

Last week I was able to attend a special presentation from Mary-Ann Winkelmes about Transparency in Learning and Teaching(opens in new window) (TILT) in Higher Ed. For the tip today, I’m pulling one theme from their research-based approach to teaching and student success, telling students why we are doing what we are doing. 

The connections between an assignment and a learning outcome are often obvious to us as course designers and instructors. Perhaps you designed a writing project with tons of scaffolding assignments or exploration of a STEM theme built around several mini-projects. You understand why things need to happen in a particular sequence and how the skill they are building will contribute to success in professional or civic life, but do they? 

Students often complain about busy work because they are not told why something matters. Personally, when I taught a capstone writing class I struggled to get students to understand why literature reviews are organized around ideas rather than articles. I had a breakthrough once I connected it to a professional setting where a supervisor might assign a new employee to research and report on a new project or sector. They would want the information in themes, not in summaries. 

Next year we will do a mini-series of teaching tips on TILT in support of some programming offered through the Chancellor’s Office, but for now start small, pick an assignment or a task and take a couple minutes to help students understand why they are doing it.

Finally, a few reminders

1. Applications for the AI Retrofit (Google Doc) and Summer Writing Support (Google Doc) are due on 4/18.
2. ChatGPT launches for campus this week. Check out the programming(opens in new window) from DoIT for more information.
3. The Chancellor’s Office Webinar series on AI in the CSU that I host is continuing. Last week we heard from SDSU about their survey and next week we will zoom in on instructor adaptation in different modalities of instruction.

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

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.

22nd April 2025

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Teaching and Joy

Joy-Centered Pedagogy in Higher Education(opens in new window) is a newly published open access book(opens in new window) edited by Eileen Camfield(opens in new window) that is making waves in higher education. Eileen was recently interviewed on the Teaching in HigherEd(opens in new window) podcast and she gives a wonderful rundown of why the book is important. My favorite part about this interview is the acknowledgement of the things that have made teaching and learning less joyful in the past few years. This is not an attempt to get us to pretend to be joyful or “smile more”, this is an honest evaluation of why joy matters and paths to re/introduce it in our teaching. Normally, I don’t use this space to do book announcements, but this one has a connection that was too good to pass up. 

I recently concluded my tour of campus buildings (seven stops to lobbies and two visits to program meetings–I’m still happy to come to you if you would like). Of course, people wanted to talk about budgets, enrollment, changes in federal policy, artificial intelligence, and other pressing concerns. However, when asked about what keeps them coming to work nearly every person remarked “the students” with a huge smile on their face. It was so comforting to me that even in times of uncertainty people take joy in their jobs and in their work with students. It makes me think that while I am sure there are lessons to be learned in this new text on joy and teaching, we are also living it here in ways we don’t always talk about.

Finally, a few updates

1. The Chancellor’s Office Webinar series(opens in new window) on AI in the CSU continues this Wednesday at noon. This week we will hear from faculty around the system, including our own Dr. Naomi Lazarus, on how they have adapted their content for different modalities, including online asynchronous environments. This will be a rich conversation about some of the many problems with AI in different fields, opportunities, and the start of our conversation on AI literacy. 
2. ChatGPT Edu(opens in new window) launched on campus last week. Faculty Development is experimenting with custom GPTs to identify opportunities for faculty. I created a prototype assistant(opens in new window) for the Freedom of Speech class I frequently taught. Log in(opens in new window) with your Chico State account to check it out, and reach out if you have an idea about a customized chatbot.

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

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.

29th April 2025

Tuesday Teaching Tip: New Course Material Options

Librarian Michelle Mussuto recently shared something with us we want to pass on that may inform future course material selections or decisions about where to publish your research.

Chico State has a new open access Read and Publish agreement(opens in new window) with Oxford University Press. Faculty can now publish their articles as open access with no article processing charge (APC). For more information about the agreement and how to publish articles go theRead & Publish Agreement Author Guide (PDF).

The agreement means that authors can publish articles using an open access license at either no cost or at a reduced cost in more than 500 hybrid and fully open access Oxford University Press journals. This means their publication will not be behind a paywall. Oxford University Press publishes more than 3,000 open access articles per month across all major subject areas. 

Visit the Meriam Library website for more information about Chico State open access agreements.

If you have questions about the Oxford University Press open access publishing agreement or just questions about open access publishing in general please contact your subject librarian. 

And for a delightful few minutes you can watch our Meriam Minute: The Finer Points of Open Access YouTube video(opens in new window)! 

This new agreement is one of many options faculty have for reducing cost while maintaining quality for students in course material selection. For more information, including a guide to material selection, check out the Chico Affordable Learning Solutions (CAL$) website. Getting material selected for students to see before they register is a best practice for student success and also required by law.

Finally, a few updates

1. The Chancellor’s Office Webinar series(opens in new window) on AI in the CSU continues next week with a session on institutional approaches to AI literacy. The session last week featured Dr. Naomi Lazarus and others, on how they have adapted their content for different modalities, including online asynchronous environments. The recording is up on the website linked above. 
2. It is Student Feedback on Teaching (SFOT) season. We want to remind you about proven strategies(opens in new window) for increasing response rates we featured in the Fall.

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

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.