Welcome back!
Greetings from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) and welcome to a new academic year! I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the CTLE as Director and am really looking forward to working with the outstanding faculty, professionals, staff, and students at SU. A special welcome to all the new or new-to-their-role faculty and staff who will be teaching and working with students this year — I’m glad to be here with you. Read my complete bio and learn more about all the members of the CTLE Team, on our website Contact page.
2024-2025 CTLE programming and online resources will include:
- A monthly email newsletter
- Up-to-date insights and ideas for teaching and learning in the age of generative AI
- Support for navigating hot-button issues in the classroom
- Support for implementing Universal Design for Learning in course design and teaching practices
- Strategies for increasing connections, trust, and inclusivity in the classroom
In addition, the CTLE will continue to provide individual and department consultations; syllabus review and course design support; and assistance with planning and reviewing student feedback on teaching.
STUDENTS CONSULTING ON TEACHING (SCOT)
One of the most important ways the CTLE supports teaching and learning at SU is through our Students Consulting on Teaching (SCOT) program. SCOT is a short-term partnership between a faculty member and a student consultant trained to help faculty gather learner feedback. The purpose is to support faculty in making small, meaningful teaching changes informed by both broad research on learning and student feedback in a specific course. Instructors and students consistently report that SCOT is a uniquely effective way to gain insights, build skills, and improve teaching and learning in the classroom. There is still time to be paired with a Student Consultant! Learn more about the SCOT program here. Ready to sign up? Fill out this short form: SCOT Faculty Sign-up Form. Questions? Contact our SCOT coordinator and Faculty Development Fellow, Jacques Safari Mwayaona (mjsafari@syr.edu).
WORKSHOP AND EVENTS
Workshop: “Teaching in Tumultuous Times: The Value of Trust”
Zoom and on-site/in-person sessions offered, facilitated by Laurel Willingham-McLain
Anyone who works with students right now knows that the social crises and political tensions of our current time are shaping our interactions in and outside the classroom. Students and faculty alike are experiencing stress and heightened emotions, whatever field they are in. In this workshop, we will look at ways to cultivate and sustain mutual trust in the classroom through clear expectations, support for learning, and a belief in productive errors.
- Wednesday, September 4, 10:00-11:00a.m., in person, 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- Thursday, September 5, 4:00-5:00 p.m., Zoom
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Workshop: “Teaching in Tumultuous Times: The Value of ‘Scripts’”
Zoom and on-site/in-person sessions offered, facilitated by Jessamyn Neuhaus
Anyone who works with students right now knows that the political and social crises and tensions of our current time are shaping our interactions in and outside the classroom. When difficulties or tensions arise in a discussion, interaction, assignment, or other type of class activity, it can be pedagogically effective and personally empowering to have a “go-bag” of prepared phrases and responses. I don’t mean “scripts” in the sense of long, memorized speeches but rather a handful of carefully chosen sentences/wording that you know will defuse tension and help everyone productively navigate potentially fraught situations while maintaining professionally appropriate connections and facilitating a positive teaching and learning environment. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll identify some of the predictable tense and challenging situations we encounter in our teaching lives, reflect on how our past responses (especially what we said) either helped or hindered our teaching efficacy at those moments, share our current best scripts for difficult conversations/interactions, and brainstorm and practice some new scripts.
- Monday, September 9, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Zoom
- Wednesday, September 11, 3:30-4:30 p.m., in person, 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
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Discussion: “Teaching in Tumultuous Times: Co-Creating Classroom Civility”
Zoom, discussion facilitated by Jessamyn Neuhaus
How can college educators work together with students to create and maintain respectful and productive learning environments? Encouraging and ensuring civility between students, and between students and ourselves, can be challenging at times, and politically/socially divisive events and issues create additional pressures on classroom interactions. During this informal discussion, we’ll share our best strategies for deliberately co-creating classroom standards, values, and “rules of engagement” with students.
- Tuesday, September 24, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Zoom
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Workshop: “Fun to Grade and ChatGPT-resistant: The Un-Essay Assignment”
Zoom and on-site/in-person sessions offered, facilitated by Jessamyn Neuhaus
Advocates of “un-essays” (student-generated research projects that can take almost any form, except a traditional written essay) argue that it enables students to demonstrate knowledge in unique, individualized ways, encouraging more active engagement with content, and expands academic inclusion by offering students an unlimited number of ways to successfully complete scholarly research. Importantly, in today’s era of generative AI, a well-designed un-essay assignment can effectively motivate students to utilize only their own individual and unique ideas. This workshop gives an overview of un-essay assignments, including visual examples of completed undergraduate un-essays, and a brainstorming session for how you can incorporate an un-essay assignment into your course planning.
- Wednesday, September 18, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom
- Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:00 p.m., in-person, 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- Friday, September 20, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Zoom
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Recordings
In August, we hosted two guest expert-led sessions: Cyndi Kernahan’s “‘I could feel the heat in that class:’ Strategies for Working with Our Students When Things Get Difficult” and Jesica Fernández’s workshop “Developing Classroom Community Agreements.” View the recordings here.
Consultations
We are available to support and assist you with any teaching-related issues, including but not limited to syllabus review, designing assignments, soliciting and interpreting student feedback, and navigating student biases and stereotypes about professors. All individual consultations are confidential and voluntary, and only upon request from the individual. Contact us via the Consultation Request Form on our website.
MEREDITH PROFESSORS
I am so pleased that the CTLE will be working directly with the two new Meredith Professors! Their topics are both incredibly timely and relevant to college teaching and learning today.
Jook Park, “Generative AI and Its Application in Teaching and Learning” – Dr. Park is a Professor in the School of Information Studies, and his Meredith project focuses on enhancing and expanding the AI-augmented education framework to address emerging challenges in traditional teaching approaches, which stem from the increasing complexity of course materials and diverse student backgrounds in higher education. In partnership with the CTLE, this initiative will include a range of activities such as seminars, workshops, focus group forums, and mentoring sessions, all aimed at improving teaching effectiveness through AI-augmented methods.
C. Cora True-Frost, “Application of A Universal Design Framework for Teaching and Learning” – Professor True-Frost is the Bond, Schoeneck and King Distinguished Professor of Law in the College of Law, and her Meredith project will support faculty and staff in developing their effectiveness in reaching all students by offering hands-on, interactive workshops designed in collaboration with the CTLE to enhance and motivate both faculty and staff’s embrace of the universal design framework for learning (UDL) and deliver concrete results. This framework strives to create in students a feeling of belonging. It encourages flexibility in our teaching, curriculum design, and materials to anticipate and respond to student variation.
Watch for information in future newsletters and on the CTLE website for resources provided and events facilitated by Dr. Park and Professor True-Frost.
RESOURCE AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS
One great resource for navigating hot-button issues in the classroom is this 4-page PDF guide to “Hot Moments” created by the Equitable Teaching project at the University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Of the innumerable articles and blogs I read this summer about teaching and learning in the age of AI, Mark Watkins’ “The Rhetoric of Purpose: Conversations for Our AI Era” was a standout. It’s thought-provoking while also providing some truly practical guidance for educators contending with the impact of ChatGPT and other generative AI on student learning.
On the topic of teaching and AI, Meredith Professor Dr. Park addresses that higher education should prioritize teaching students how to use generative AI properly and effectively, as we integrate other emerging technologies and services, such as the Internet and its benefits, rather than merely restricting its use. As part of this initiative, Dr. Park recommends resources that provide guidance on how to cite generative AI in APA, MLA and Chicago Manuel of Style formats.
For increasing inclusivity and accessibility in our teaching, Meredith Professor True-Frost recommends this short article: What is UDL and Why Does it Matter? For more in-depth reading, she suggests Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice, edited by Sheri Burgstahler.
I know one important factor for everyone teaching this year will be the time and energy it takes to adapt course materials, assignments, and activities to Blackboard Ultra. If you haven’t already or haven’t recently, I recommend checking out the “Getting Up to Ultra Speed” page in Answers. It updates frequently as Technology Enhanced Learning and Online Learning Services offices add new resources and training sessions.
STAY IN TOUCH
This is the inaugural issue of our new CTLE monthly newsletter. We’ll send it to everyone on our mailing list by the first day of the month, and it will contain info about upcoming programs along with a few recommended readings and resources about teaching and learning in the college classroom. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.
I’m looking forward to meeting many of you in the coming month and learning from / brainstorming / collaborating / conversing with you about teaching and learning at Syracuse University.
Jessamyn Neuhaus
(Pronouns: she/her/hers)
Director
janeuhau@syr.edu