Tag: program

You Can Listen

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I have been struggling with what to share this week. This is an exciting and stressful time of the year under typical circumstances with commencement and finals just days away. The budget situation combined with the tension on campuses throughout the nation has many of us trying to find the right words. Faculty are often the face of the institution for students. You are the person they ask questions of and look to for guidance. This is incredibly challenging especially since very few of us are trained in international politics, budget projections, or de-escalation. These issues are making their way into our classrooms and offices whether we want them to or not. 

There are resources on campus to help you and your students navigate challenging situations. The Counseling Center exists as does the Employee Assistance Program. However, the thing we can all do regardless of our professional background is the simplest–we can all listen. You can listen to your students who feel alarmed by what is happening in Israel, Gaza and/or campus. You can listen to students who have been subjected to antisemitic or anti-Muslim bigotry. You can listen to your student who does not want this to be the focus of the end of their semester as they try to finish the term or graduate. You can listen to your colleague who is anxious about the budget and what that will mean for their job. You may hear something you need to share with your Department Chair or a different office on campus–cross that bridge when you get to it.

Listening does not mean agreeing and it almost always helps. It can help you understand and it can help someone else feel heard. This is not the first time I have shared this advice in a fraught moment. I want to borrow the closing line I used in 2016. 

No one ever looks back on a decision and says to themselves “I wish I would have understood people less before proceeding.” So ask students how they are doing, let them know your office student hours are open to them, and listen.

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

Celebrate the Earth

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Compiled by Rebecca Nelson, Admin Analyst/Specialist (ranelson@csuchico.edu)

Join us in celebrating Earth Day on 4/22 and Earth Month throughout April, along with continuing efforts throughout the year to support environmental sustainability and resiliency. In Faculty Development, we are passionate about this work and have been proud sponsors of the Teaching Climate Change Resilience FLC series. These events are enrichment opportunities for ourselves and our students. We hope you find something here that resonates with you and what you teach.

Earth Day is an internationally recognized holiday to raise awareness, inspire change, and foster a deeper connection with nature. The Associated Students (AS) will be hosting an Earth Day Festival on Monday, April 22nd from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Trinity Commons. Visit the AS Sustainability program webpage for more information.

Extend your Earth Day celebrations into the weekend by signing up to volunteer at the 2024 Chico Spring Clean Day on Saturday, April 20th from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Hooker Oak Park and attending the Butte Environmental Council’s Endangered Species Faire on Saturday, April 20th from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Attend a public talk on Thursday, April 25th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Recital Hall as we welcome Dr. Sarah Ray (Cal Poly Humboldt) and Dr. Jennifer Atkinson (University of Washington Bothell) for a distinguished visiting professor public lecture to discuss the pre-release of their book, The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World, an easy-to-use field guide for teaching on climate injustice and building resilience in your students—and yourself—in an age of crisis. Their talk will be followed by a book signing and reception.

Watch The Climate Baby Dilemma, a film written, directed, and produced by award-winning filmmaker Victoria Lean. We were honored to host the international university film premiere of The Climate Baby Dilemma in March and have purchased digital access to the full film for Chico State through the Meriam Library.

Explore the Butte Resilience Collaborative vision for a resilient community through collaboration, communication, and connectedness throughout the year.

Visit the Teaching Climate Change and Resilience (TCCR) webpage for additional information and resources.

Upcoming events and announcements:

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

Grading for Growth 

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Grades are weird. We look at the work of a student, then we measure it against a rubric, often derived from work other students have done, and assign it a point value. Those points are added together at the end of the term and matched with a letter grade in a table which we then submit to the University. Then those letters are translated back into numbers so a student can know their cumulative GPA. This is the system we have arrived at through happenstance and history and it is outlined quite well in the recent book Grading for Growth by David Clark and Robert Talbert (check out this substack or recent podcast if you don’t want to read the whole book).

There are, of course, actual grading policy guidelines for this at Chico State. There are radical alternatives other Universities have tried. There is even the alternative of “ungrading” which seeks to unpack and undo the history of grading. 

This is not an endorsement of any specific practice or critique. Systems of grading are one of the many truths we have historically accepted that deserve a closer look. Take a few minutes and reflect on what you hope to accomplish when you assign a student a letter grade to see if it matches up with the broader convictions you have about education, growth, and learning. You could even go further and have a conversation with your students about what grades mean to them. Speaking of investment of time–applications for our summer programs on AI (May 28-31) and Writing (June 3-13) are open until April 19. Check out the full calls and apply now!

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

Spring into Canvas (…for Fall!)

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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 20th both in person and via Zoom. 

You can access the program 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 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! 

Student Success Funding Opportunity – CREATE Awards

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Dear faculty, 

Dean Kate McCarthy and I want to share information about a funding opportunity from the Chancellor’s Office, a call for proposals for the CREATE awards. 

Below is the broad description for the award and attached you find the full call. 

“The program invites individual faculty and faculty teams to propose plans that will transform the student experience. Winning proposal(s) will identify a common problem, articulate the ability to advance a solution locally and at scale, have a strong emphasis on equity and demonstrate the ability to institutionalize innovation across the CSU system. The award recipient(s) will be those who can creatively increase the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded, shorten time to degree and dramatically reduce equity gaps.” 

Proposals should be developed to align with one of three funding tiers: up to $50,000; from $50,001 to $100,000 and from $100,001 to $150,000. You can find more information on the CREATE Awards website, including information about past awardees, to get a sense of the type of proposals funded last year. 

Kate and I plan to host a Zoom session on Monday, March 27, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. to hear ideas from interested faculty and to see if UED and FDEV can support and/or collaborate with faculty who plan to apply. If you plan to attend, please let us know and share your idea in advance, so we can collect any necessary resource or information. Please be aware that this is not a call for funding sent by UED and FDEV, so for specific questions about the application process, please contact Dr. Chenoa S. Woods, director of Research​ and Student Success Initiatives at the Chancellor’s Office. 

The Zoom information is below: 
https://csuchico.zoom.us/j/7507777561?pwd=OWRzeUFyZERMdFJ6aldzaW5Ecjkwdz09

Meeting ID: 750 777 7561 
Passcode: 270151 

We look forward to seeing you on Monday! 

Chiara Ferrari, Faculty Development Director 
Kate McCarthy, Dean of Undergraduate Education 

Growth Mindset = Higher GPA

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A recent report revealed what many of us already know: Students with a growth mindset (believing that intelligence can be improved) rather than a fixed mindset (believing that intelligence is a fixed trait) are more engaged in class and have higher GPAs. Faculty have tremendous potential to help students shape their mindset to be more growth oriented, but only if they believe that students are capable of learning.  A 2018 survey of over 6,000 faculty indicated that 24% believe that student intelligence is “set” and cannot be improved…and that is very concerning. Some training programs are famous for telling students on the first day of class to “Look at the person on your left and on your right. One of them won’t make it through this program.” That is an unfortunate, anxiety-producing, and fixed mindset that can discourage students from persisting after a setback. A better way to inspire students in the face of a setback, such as a poor test grade, is to frame conversations with them around strategies for improvement (i.e. “You could study with a group next time”) rather than innate abilities (“you’re just not good at Math”).

Last call for Summer/Spring programming

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I do not want to clutter your email inboxes with additional items this week so this week’s tip is your final reminder that applications are due on 3/31 for the Spring/Summer offerings including our pilot one-week AeL program and several other funded opportunities.

Faculty Development Spring/Summer 2017 Program Offerings

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Feel free to apply for multiple offerings. General questions can be directed to Zach Justus
zjustus@csuchico.edu. All applications due on 3/31/2017.

Academy e-Learning 9.1: Teaching with Help

Leadership: Faculty Development and the Technology and Learning Program
Compensation: $750 (taxable income)
Workload: June 1-2, 5-7 9am-4pm intensive plus assessment reporting
Brief Description: You are invited to participate in Academy e-Learning (AeL) Cohort 9.1, launching with the first of this summer’s one-week institutes –Teaching with Help. During this intensive institute, we will explore highly effective strategies for mentoring and working with TAs/mentors so you can realize their full potential and value in your course(s). Your work during this institute will focus on incorporating assistants, in all their forms, into your courses in meaningful ways.

Full RFP Link
Application

Academy e-Learning 9.2: Best Practices for Working with Student Writing

Leadership: Faculty Development and the Technology and Learning Program
Compensation: $750 (taxable income)
Workload: August 3-4, 7-9 9am-4pm intensive plus assessment reporting
Brief Description: You are invited to participate in Academy e-Learning (AeL) Cohort 9.2, the second of this summer’s one-week institutes. In recognition of the campus’ on-going interest in high impact educational practices, this institute is focused on supporting students’ writing.

Full RFP Link
Application

 Writing Boot Camp

Leadership: Chris Fosen
Compensation: $500 (taxable income)
Workload: May 23-26 8am-4pm
Brief Description: You are invited to take part in a one-week writing boot camp. Applicants are expected to be physically present and participate all day.  Since our goal is substantive writing, it is most suitable for projects that are already well under way.

Full RFP Link
Application

Learning Enhancement Grants

Brief Description: The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) is offering faculty awards of up to $5,515 to improve quality and productivity in learning and teaching in a course or program. Projects that strongly enhance student learning and have a demonstrable impact receive priority consideration. Proposals should address relevance to the University Strategic Plan. Funds awarded in spring of 2017 must be expended between July 1, 2017 and May 30, 2018. Proposals are due by Friday, March 31, 2017 at 5pm.

Full RFP Link
Application

Just in time Professional Development

Brief Description: The Faculty Development Program is offering faculty awards of up to $1,000 in Professional Development Funds to support faculty who need to attend a conference or support a project. The funds must be expended by 5/30/2017.

Full RFP Link
Application

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Faculty Development Spring/Summer Offerings

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headerIn lieu of a traditional Tuesday Teaching Tip, we want to direct your attention to the late Spring-Summer offerings from Faculty Development. We look forward to seeing your applications!

Faculty Development Spring 2017 Program Offerings
Feel free to apply for multiple offerings. General questions can be directed to Zach Justus
zjustus@csuchico.edu. All applications due on 3/31/2017.

Academy e-Learning 9.1: Teaching with Help
Leadership: Faculty Development and the Technology and Learning Program
Compensation: $750 (taxable income)
Workload: June 1-2, 5-7 9am-4pm intensive plus assessment reporting
Brief Description: You are invited to participate in Academy e-Learning (AeL) Cohort 9.1, launching with the first of this summer’s one-week institutes –Teaching with Help. During this intensive institute, we will explore highly effective strategies for mentoring and working with TAs/mentors so you can realize their full potential and value in your course(s). Your work during this institute will focus on incorporating assistants, in all their forms, into your courses in meaningful ways.

Full RFP Link
Application

Academy e-Learning 9.2: Best Practices for Working with Student Writing
Leadership: Faculty Development and the Technology and Learning Program
Compensation: $750 (taxable income)
Workload: August 3-4, 7-9 9am-4pm intensive plus assessment reporting
Brief Description: You are invited to participate in Academy e-Learning (AeL) Cohort 9.2, the second of this summer’s one-week institutes. In recognition of the campus’ on-going interest in high impact educational practices, this institute is focused on supporting students’ writing.

Full RFP Link
Application

Writing Bootcamp
Leadership: Chris Fosen
Compensation: $500 (taxable income)
Workload: May 23-26 8am-4pm
Brief Description: You are invited to take part in a one-week writing bootcamp. Applicants are expected to be physically present and participate all day.  Since our goal is substantive writing, it is most suitable for projects that are already well under way.

Full RFP Link
Application

Learning Enhancement Grants
Brief Description: The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) is offering faculty awards of up to $5,515 to improve quality and productivity in learning and teaching in a course or program. Projects that strongly enhance student learning and have a demonstrable impact receive priority consideration. Proposals should address relevance to the University Strategic Plan. Funds awarded in spring of 2017 must be expended between July 1, 2017 and May 30, 2018. Proposals are due by Friday, March 31, 2017 at 5pm.

Full RFP Link
Application

Just in time Professional Development
Brief Description: The Faculty Development Program is offering faculty awards of up to $1,000 in Professional Development Funds to support faculty who need to attend a conference or support a project. The funds must be expended by 5/30/2017.

Full RFP Link
Application
Faculty Development is searching for the next director!

We held a popular workshop on Dossier Prep for Lecturers earlier this semester. Find the video archive and handouts here.
Dr. Sara Cooper has provided additional Book in Common Material. Check out this section of the CELT page for regular synopsis updates, discussion questions, and other resources.
Got feedback on this tip? Got an idea for a tip? Send it along. Check out our new and improved wordpress site here.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast! Our newest episode is out now! Mary, Tracy, and I discuss what it means to be an alum with Aaron Skaggs of the Alumni Association. Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.