Tag: teaching guides

Tools for Spring

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Faculty start work on their spring courses at different times and with different needs. For those of you preparing now, we want to highlight a couple of asynchronous faculty development resources.

We have a robust set of teaching guides developed by campus experts on everything from Teaching with Case Studies to Culturally Responsive Teaching. Check out the full, searchable and sortable, FDEV Teaching Guides list to get help with your prep for the spring semester. 

We also developed an asynchronous Canvas course with a step-by-step guide to course revision in the world of generative AI. The world has changed, and this will help you change with it. Enroll in the course at a time that works best for you.

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

Equity is Everyone’s Responsibility

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Last week we mentioned the grades and equity dashboard as a useful tool for looking at who your students are and how they are doing. It is no secret that our campus continues to struggle to make equity a reality. We continue to make progress in fits and starts, but we do not need to wait for big initiatives or funding cycles to make change. The most critical equity work on campus starts with you in the classroom. The challenges are real, but we partnered with Undergraduate Education to create a list of changes we can implement as individuals in the classroom–often while the semester is ongoing. 

  • Rename office hours student hours. A simple change in name can make you more approachable and increase student utilization of time you have set aside for them. 
  • Show your students who you are.  Sharing our own narratives with students makes it easier for them to approach us with questions.
  • Incorporate diverse examples into your assigned material. Students will not always see themselves in you and your experiences. They should see themselves in the material we assign. 
  • Incorporate an assignment where students draw on their personal experience. This signals to students you care about who they are and where they come from. 
  • Look for ways to lower course material costs. A 2020 survey reported about 65% of students have skipped buying course materials because of cost. This has a disproportionate impact on lower income students. Visit the Chico Affordable Learning Solutions (CAL$) website for more information about zero and low cost course materials.
  • Limit extra credit. Our students who are working, first-generation, and diverse are statistically less likely to do extra tasks. When we offer extra credit for additional work there is a disproportionate benefit for already advantaged students (Feldman, 2018, Grading for Equity).
  • Move away from high stakes assignments and towards more frequent, reflective, iterative work. Research shows that students are more likely to retain information when engaged in regular practice and application, and receive feedback that they can use to improve.  Here is some feedback from a faculty member who tried this technique in her classroom for a semester. 

For a deeper dive check out our existing teaching guides focused on inclusion and consider signing up for equity focused offerings in this semester’s FDEV slate.

Zach Justus
Interim Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences

STEM-Specific Teaching Guides

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Sent on behalf of Tina Hanson-Lewis, lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and READI Equity Fellow.

Over the past year, your Equity Fellows have been hard at work serving as liaisons between each college and FDEV’s Hub for Research in Equity, Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (also known as the READI Hub). Based on the needs identified by each college, we developed, compiled, and/or organized resources in a manner that we hope will reduce barriers and increase access to resources. Some of these resources were in the form of new Teaching Guides. I particularly appreciate the Teaching Guides, as I find them concise, comprehensive, and extremely helpful. Each guide begins with a background information section, a list of peer-reviewed resources, and then a brief list of application ideas. The second half of the guide consists of resources in a variety of formats (text, videos, podcasts, etc.) about the topic from credible sources.

As liaison for the College of Natural Sciences (CNS), I was informed that many faculty members in CNS wanted STEM-specific guidance, since STEM course designs often differ from those in other fields. I would like to briefly introduce you to four new STEM-specific teaching guides that have been developed to meet this need.

These resources are provided in the hope that they will be helpful to you, even if you teach outside of the CNS. However, if you have any additional questions, concerns, or unmet needs, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Resources and Support for Neurodiversity

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Sent on behalf of Dr. A. Josephine Blagrave, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and READI Equity Fellow. 

As we continue to improve access, equity and a sense of belonging for our students, and work to improve student retention, it is important to include our students with disabilities. Previous resources from FDEV include a teaching guide and a podcast on neurodiversity in higher education and the work Jaime Gunderson is engaging in with Universal Design for Learning. Helping our disabled and neurodivergent students, faculty and staff connect and engage with each other in shared community is important. Here are some new resources that are currently available or coming soon to improve connections and support.

Neurodiversity and Disability Symposium (September 23, 2022): Formerly the Northern California Autism Symposium, this year’s keynotes include Steve Silberman and Alycia Anderson.  

Neurodiversity Student Club  

Chico State Neurodiverse club is established to support students who identify as neurodivergent and their allies, through networking, educational activities, and events. This student group will work with the Chico State Neurodiverse Task Force, to help improve student success and support for neurodivergent students at California State University, Chico. The purpose of this club is to allow all neurodiverse students and allies to engage in social activities that help build a sense of belonging and community. Additionally, this club will host group discussions on several topics within their college career and adult life. Outside the school, the club will engage in helping neurodiverse campus and community members by participating in several events throughout the year.  

Chico Autism Spectrum Empowerment (CASE): open to all CSUC students who identify as being on the autism spectrum.  “Let’s Talk About…” sessions are held the second and fourth Mondays of each month starting at 4:00pm.  This semester’s topics include Career Preparation, Communicating with Faculty, Choosing a Major/Courses, ASD and Accommodations, etc.  Additionally, each session will provide time for open discussion regarding topics of interest related to being on the autism spectrum.  Students that are interested in getting more information can contact Terry Quinto at Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) 530 898-5959. 

Wellcat Counseling Center, ADHD Support Group: Going through college with ADHD can be challenging at best! Learn how to work with your brain’s natural strengths and get support around its obstacles. This group is designed to be a comfortable space to unmask, share some skills, gain psychoeducation about ADHD, and have some comfort in a chaotic world. Feel free to bring lunch, fidgets, drinks, and wear comfortable clothing for floor sitting if you choose! Clients do not need a formal diagnosis to be eligible to participate in the support group. All genders and types of students are welcome. 

Neurodiversity Task Force (Faculty & Staff): in Fall 2021, President Hutchinson established a Neurodiversity Taskforce to explore ways to raise awareness and acceptance and to better serve neurodivergent members of the campus community. This group continues to meet and partner with other programs on campus to improve supports, services and community for our neurodivergent students.  

Neurodiversity and Disability Affinity Group (coming soon!) 

FDEV Teaching Guides

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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