Tag: free speech

Course Materials

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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.

Finally a reminder, this Friday at 12PM is the second part of our Zoom webinar 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 Sciences
Google Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

New Research on Student Names

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It is week five. There is a robust class discussion, the kind you have been trying to create the space for all semester. A student makes a great point to move the conversation forward and you respond with “Great point! This is the perfect segway to what we are going to cover next…I don’t remember your name, but great job.” Not your best moment.

We have all been there. Remembering student names has always been hard for me, just like it is for so many of us. It is also important to remember names and preferred pronouns to cultivate an inclusive and welcoming classroom which is why this topic has become a somewhat regular tradition for Tuesday Teaching Tips. 

This year I want to emphasize this enduring theme through the work of Michelle Miller whose book A Teacher’s Guide to Learning Student Names will be available in November (you can pre-order now). Miller’s text is more than a how-to guide, it is rich with research from her background in psycholinguistics. One of the takeaways highlighted in this Chronicle of Higher Education interview (available with a free account) is that learning names is hard, because it is different from other words. We have to tap into the power of association in an intentional way to actually remember. 

Miller promotes a four step process of attend, say, associate, and retrieve. This is explained in more detail in the interview and explicated much more in her book. It is worth a read as we all have room to improve in this area. 

Finally a reminder, this Friday at 12PM is the kick-off of our Zoom webinar series on Free Speech and Inclusion. We are starting with Free Speech Basics, which should be accessible to everyone. Faculty and staff are welcome to attend any part of the series, we look forward to seeing you soon.

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

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

Improving Classroom Climate

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Last week we announced our funded webinar series on free speech and inclusion (Google Doc). Everyone is welcome to attend every session, but we have 20 paid spots for people to attend all sessions and produce the related deliverables. The application for these spots is brief and due on 9/20. 

Today’s teaching tip is related to this upcoming webinar series. Dr. Mylien Duong is the Senior Director of Research and Innovation for the Constructive Dialogue Institute. She was a recent guest on the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast for a conversation about Facilitating Contentious Conversations in Your Classroom (Duong, 2024). Her work in this field is cutting edge and I want to share an abbreviated guide to setting up classroom discussions from her co-authored 2022 piece in Times Higher Education (the whole thing is worth a read, but this section is an abbreviated quotation from the article).

  • Invest time to foster a positive climate. Get to know your students as students and as people.
  • Establish ground rules, norms or shared agreements for discussions. Whatever you call them, it’s more effective to co-create these norms with your students rather than simply telling students what they are. 
  • Plan discussions. Meaningful exchanges rarely happen spontaneously. Planning for discussions means two things.
  • Think through what role you want to play during the discussion. Is your stance one of intentional neutrality? Will you challenge a student’s point of view if you don’t agree? What if you find the point of view offensive? Will you play devil’s advocate? Under what circumstances, if any, will you as facilitator express your own stance on an issue?

The key takeaway from the work of Dr. Duong is that facilitating this sort of dialogue requires planning. We often see poorly planned classroom discussions in YouTube shorts or things that seem expertly constructed during peer observations. The planning work is lost in these snapshots. It can take up class time, it can be challenging, but in the end building community is worth it for an array of reasons–not least among them is the capacity to have meaningful conversations about difficult issues. 

Last thing, just a reminder that this Thursday we are collaborating with Information Security, the Technology and Learning Program, and Student Rights and Responsibilities to offer a workshop on Academic Integrity and AI. It is on Zoom from 9-11am on Thursday and we will record it.

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

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

Early Fall Opportunities are Here!

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We are loving the energy on campus to start the Fall. In FDEV, we are launching our programming as quickly as possible to support you this semester. We don’t want to clog your inbox, so we are using the teaching tips to promote our upcoming workshops and the Fall Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs). 

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Workshops. All sessions will be recorded. 

  1. AI Basics. 9/5 from 12-1pm. Zoom. Get started with the foundational knowledge you need about this disruptive technology. This session is designed with beginners in mind. Collaboration with TLP.
  2. Academic Integrity and AI. 9/19 from 9-11am. Zoom. This collaboration with Student Rights and Responsibilities covers how Academic Integrity and AI intersect and your changing role as an instructor. 

Classroom Culture. All sessions will be recorded. 
This series will launch in late September and will focus on fostering a healthy classroom environment, especially during contentious times like election season. This is a collaboration with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office. Details forthcoming. Preliminary schedule will be:

  1. Free speech fundamentals. 9/20 from 12-1pm. Zoom.
  2. De-escalation in the classroom. 9/27 from 12-1pm. Zoom.
  3. Campus support systems. 10/4 from 12-1pm. Zoom. 
  4. Culminating event. 10/11 from 12-1pm. In Person. 

FLC Opportunities for Fall. All applications due on 9/3 at 11:59pm.

Advancing Hispanic/Latinx Student Success
(Google Doc)Who: All faculty including lecturers 
Leads: Teresita Curiel and Gloria Lopez
Grant Contact: Sabrina Marquez
Compensation: $1000 (a taxable training and professional development stipend)
Format: In Person
Application

This project is partially funded by a generous U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) grant from PI Ryan Patten, College of BSS.  We are happy to collaborate on this important work.  This FLC will feature connected workshops focused on better understanding Hispanic/Latinx university students and how Chico State can advance their success. Applications are due on 9/3.

Collaborative Online International Learning (Google Doc)  (COIL)
Who: All faculty including lecturers 
Lead: Dr. Nan Li
Compensation: $500 (a taxable training and professional development stipend)
Format: Online and Synchronous
Application

International Education and Global Engagement (IEGE) is offering faculty an opportunity to participate in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) this fall to support with implementation of Collaborative Online International Education (COIL) as a component within your course at Chico State. IEGE offers support—training, mentoring, resources, and partner matching—for faculty members who wish to develop a virtual exchange experience with a faculty member(s) abroad, connecting students globally to project-based learning and valuable international opportunities.

Leadership Development
(Google Doc)Who: Tenure/Tenure-Track and Lecturers currently in/considering leadership roles on campus
Lead: Holly Nevarez
Compensation: $500 (a taxable training and professional development stipend)
Format: In Person
Application

The leadership FLC will introduce leadership styles and strategies. This FLC is designed for people who lead from wherever you are. Perhaps you are not a formal leader on campus, but find yourself leading other staff or students; perhaps you would like to be a formal leader someday and want to start to develop skills; or perhaps you are going to be a department Chair next year and want to start preparing. In any of those scenarios, this FLC is for you. We will talk about staffing, shared governance, facilitating meetings, managing difficult people, work to develop a leadership philosophy and more. Applications are due on 9/3.

Quality Learning and Teaching (Google Doc) (QLT)
Who: All faculty including lecturers
Lead: Allison McConnell
Compensation: $500 (a taxable training and professional development stipend)
Format: Fall Online and Primarily Asynchronous
Application

The Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) Program is an asynchronous, self-paced Canvas course structured around the QLT evaluation rubric. This QLT course is designed to meet core standards in the QLT instrument through the completion of eight modules with associated deliverables that guide you to fully redesign a course (or design a new course). Topics and deliverables focus on backwards design, student engagement, authentic assessment, inclusion and accessibility, and more. This QLT course requires a final course review. While focusing on online learning, QLT provides a framework that is applicable to all modes of instruction. Applications are due on 9/3.

Universal Design for Learning (Google Doc) (UDL)
Who: All STEM faculty, including lecturers (CNS and ECSCM)
Lead: Jamie Gunderson Compensation: $1880.00 (a taxable training and professional development stipend)
Format: Academic Year Online and Synchronous 
Application

The CSU Chico Office of Faculty Development (FDEV) is thrilled to present an NSF-funded Faculty Learning Community (FLC) dedicated to implementing teaching strategies that enhance student learning in STEM disciplines. This FLC invites participants to delve into Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to design assessments and implement activities that foster inclusion, accessibility, engagement, and student success within their courses. We strongly encourage all STEM faculty to apply.

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

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

Tell Us What YOU Want Next Year!

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In this final Tuesday Tip of the academic year, the Office of Faculty Development (FDEV) is interested in what type of programming would most benefit you in 2019-20. This past year, we offered paid programs on teaching enhancement, article writing, online course design, free speech in the classroom, mentoring new faculty, a book club on artificial intelligence and another on culturally inclusive education, as well as four intensive summer programs on inclusive pedagogy, teaching writing, affordable textbooks, and a writing community.

Assuming FDEV is appropriately funded in 2019-20, we plan to retain most of our existing offerings while also exploring programming on teaching first-generation college students, grant-writing, and department chair development.

FDEV is the one office on campus that supports your growth and development as a teacher and scholar. Click on the FDEV blog and let us know what you want from your Office of Faculty Development next year.

Free Speech at Chico State

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Last Saturday, President Trump announced that he intends to sign an executive order to cut federal research money to universities that fail to protect free speech (article here). This presents an opportunity to reflect on freedom of speech at Chico State with a few questions for you to consider and post a response to on the FDEV Blog…

  • Does Chico State do enough to protect freedom of speech?
  • Does Chico State do enough to protect vulnerable groups from speech that is offensive but not illegal?
  • Do campaigns promoted by Chico State such as “I don’t say” or “Cultures are not Costumes” infringe on freedom of speech or expression?
    1. Are these campaigns effective in helping marginalized groups?
  • In your classroom, how do you empower students to exercise freedom of speech, particularly when they have a dissenting opinion?

Speech that is not protected by the first amendment includes defamation, harassment, true threats, and inciting imminent violence. In his book “Free Speech on Campus”, Erwin Chemerinsky argues that campuses should not treat the expression of ides as a threat to the learning environment. He acknowledges the tension between “the desire to protect the learning experience of all students and the desire to safeguard freedom of expression.” How do you balance these two aspects in your classroom?

 

Trigger Warnings in College

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The “trigger warning” below is a quote from Jonathan Rauch, a first amendment scholar and best-selling author who spoke at Chico State in 2016 (video here). He advocates for free speech and recommends that every university add this statement to their course catalog, website, and publicity materials…

 “Warning: Although this university values and encourages civil expression and respectful political behavior, you may at any moment without notice, encounter ideas, expressions, and images that are mis-taken, upsetting, dangerous, prejudice, insulting, or deeply offensive. We call this “Education.”

Do you think Chico State should include a trigger warning in our catalog?

Would you include a trigger warning on your syllabus?

Do trigger warnings threaten your academic freedom or ensure it?