Inclusive Pedagogy and Student Research Support

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

While serving as a Research on Equity, Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion (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 with a growing percentage of first-generation students, 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, 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 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. The Adelante Program’s mission centers on supporting Latinx and low-income CSUC students, and includes a Summer Research Program 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 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

Global Engagement Opportunities for Faculty & Students

This week’s Tuesday Tip is brought to you by International Education and Global Engagement (IEGE).

As study abroad opens up the world for students, teaching and conducting research abroad can be a life-changing experience for faculty, tapping into resources and developing pedagogy that incorporates global learning and engagement, a strategic priority of the University.

Chico State joins higher education institutions around the world in honoring and celebrating International Education Week from November 15-19, 2021. IEGE is hosting a series of activities next week for faculty, staff, and students to engage in global learning and cultural events, we ask that you encourage your students to attend, and explore international research and teaching opportunities for yourself.

Research and teaching with global partners, physically or virtually, provides space for faculty to develop intercultural competency and inclusive communication that enrich the CSU, Chico experience. Through these opportunities, faculty can also empathize with the experience of international students, staff and faculty at Chico State, as the instructor is immersed in different languages and cultures and learns to navigate a new educational system and environment. IEGE can help support faculty to internationalize their courses by adding a cultural and academic exchange experience within a class through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

Additional learning opportunities for global engagement and resources available to Chico State faculty include,  

  1. Upcoming Fulbright Scholar Program Q&A – learn more about this grant and how to put together a successful Fulbright program application for 2023-2024.  Fulbright program staff will discuss award opportunities, the application & selection process, and answer all questions.
  2. Apply to become a Resident Director on a CSU International Program in France, Italy or Spain for a year, deadline to apply is December 31, 2021. Contact Chico State ACIP Rep, Dr. Fay Mitchell-Brown, with questions: fmitchellbrown@csuchico.edu.
  3. Learn more about the COIL experiences of faculty, students and teaching partners through this panel presentation. For more information on COIL Faculty Learning Community, please contact COIL Co-coordinator, Dr. Sara Trechter, strechter@csuchico.edu.
  4. Invite a Study Abroad and Exchange advisor in your class(es) to present on program options, specifically tailored to your department or student interests, by completing this classroom presentation request form.
  5. Join the International Faculty and Staff Association.
  6. Encourage your students to visit the campus English as a Second Language (ESL) Support Services, which offers free online tutoring services for non-native speakers of English who want to improve their English proficiency. 
  7. Consider hosting a visiting international scholar in your academic department.
  8. Take students abroad through Faculty-Led Study Abroad. Deadlines vary by term.

Need more information than above?

Contact Dr. Jennifer Gruber, jlgruber@csuchico.edu, Interim AVP for International Education and Global Engagement.

Share your experience about studying and/or teaching abroad by adding a comment.

FDEV Teaching Guides

Dear faculty,

I truly hope you had a chance to breathe and re-energize during Spring Break and dedicate some time to yourselves!

I want to use this Tuesday Tip to give you an update about and encourage you to explore our Teaching Guides page, because it has grown significantly since I originally introduced it in January.

The creation of this page was inspired by Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching, which offers a series of Guides grouped into 5 different areas: Principles & Frameworks, Pedagogies & Strategies, Reflecting & Assessing, Challenges & Opportunities, and Populations & Contexts. I invite you to explore their website as they offer a variety of important resources.

Our Teaching Guides are grouped into 5 different areas: Assessment, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, Instructional Planning (in progress), Pedagogy, and Technology & Accessibility. One useful tool in the page is a search bar that allows you to narrow down your search and focus on topics that are more directly related to your needs, as opposed to having to browse through all teaching guides.

Thanks to our FDEV faculty fellows (Jamie Gunderson, Chris Crews, Dustin Bakkie, and Paul Bailey) we now have 20 teaching guides available, and we expect to have at least 50 by the end of the Spring semester. The teaching guides are built around principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), so each of them offers information about research on the topic, ideas for practical application in the classroom, and a series of resources that you can explore (websites), listen to (podcasts), watch (videos), or read (more articles on the topic).

And if ULD is your bread and butter, I want to encourage you to attend tomorrow’s Go Virtual Community meeting (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., via Zoom) because Jamie Gunderson will share her expertise and passion about UDL.

The FDEV faculty fellows and I really hope that you will find these teaching guides useful and we invite you to reach out to FDEV if you want to contribute to our repository.

Chiara Ferrari, Ph.D.
Faculty Development, Director
Campus zip: 026
Phone: 530-898-3094
www.csuchico.edu/fdev
Professor
Department of Media Arts, Design, and Technology
Campus zip: 504
Phone: 530-898-4647