As we reach the mid-point of fall term, the Faculty Hub extends our thanks to all faculty and staff for maintaining our academic mission, despite the challenges. We have had many opportunities to work with faculty, especially since March 2020, and we are always seeking additional ways to help the faculty.
Please take a few minutes to review upcoming events.
Inclusive Teaching: Student Belonging
To what extent do students feel accepted, supported, and respected by instructors and peers? A sense of belonging is a basic human need and it impacts student well-being and academic performance. Want to learn more about how you can make a difference in promoting student belonging at UR?
Join us for Inclusive Teaching: Student Belonging, an interactive session designed to practice critical reflection and analysis around stories of students’ experiences in the classroom. We invite you to help us build a shared understanding of the ways in which students’ experiences can be supported by consistent actions from instructors. We are hosting a virtual presentation by UVA Acts on Friday, October 30 from 12 – 1:30 p.m. Register here!
(This is limited to 30 participants on Zoom; we will consider a second opportunity if there is interest.)
Morning Blend
Please consider our new program, the Morning Blend, a weekly online get-together to communicate helpful tips for faculty (a 10-15 minute presentation), a takeaway document (tip sheet) for later reference, and discussion time. The program runs every Monday morning and repeats on Thursdays, both at 9 a.m. Next week, we are discussing Adapting Media Projects for Remote and Blended Teaching. We schedule the sessions from 9 – 9:45 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays and use the same Zoom URL. No registration is needed and you are welcome to come for some or all of the session.
Faculty Hub Book Club
We and our students are consumers of data every day. What data can we trust? Do scholarly works contain valid information? How is data communicated? How do we identify and evaluate information, data, and news? What are some ways we can effectively incorporate data and information literacy into our courses and effectively communicate about data in our scholarship?
We invite you to join us to learn from Calling Bullsh*t: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West. The book’s focus on data and information literacy aligns with the work of Faculty Hub Associates, Dr. Kristine Nolin (Chemistry) and Dr. Kristine Grayson (Biology), who will lead the discussions.
Faculty from all schools and disciplines are invited to join us. One organizational meeting will be scheduled for late November or early December and three discussion meetings between January 11 and February 26. Discussion times will be selected for greatest participation by registrants. Your book will be delivered before Thanksgiving. Sign up here by Monday, November 2.
Faculty Hub Institute: Data Visualization with R
Rescheduled from spring 2020, we will be offering the Faculty Hub Institute twice next semester: once in the beginning of the semester and once after the semester concludes. The specific schedules are still being worked out and the time commitment is listed below.
- A pre-spring session on January 13, 2021 from 9 a.m. –2 p.m. plus 90-minute sessions in each of the three following weeks. Faculty will also need to commit to work independently 1-2 hours a week on their visualization projects between each session.
- A post-spring institute on May 11-12 from 9 a.m. –4:30 p.m. and May 13 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Individual project work time will be available during these hours.
If you are interested in learning more, check out the syllabus and/or email Andrew Bell. Registration will be available soon.
Responsive and Flexible Teaching
Materials we created for our three-week summer course, Responsive and Flexible Teaching, are still available in Blackboard, and we encourage you to review them as the semester continues and when you start preparing for spring term. If you do not yet have access to this course, please email facultyhub@richmond.edu to be added. Ryan Brazell, one of the Hub’s Technology Consultants, recently added a document that may be helpful to faculty who are interested in using Hypothesis, a social annotation tool that allows students and faculty to collaboratively comment on documents.
Faculty Hub Consultations
We are available for consultations throughout the semester. To request a consultation from the Faculty Hub staff, please use this link. To request a consultation from our Associates, please review the contact information below.
Dr. Kristine Grayson, Associate Professor of Biology, Faculty Hub Associate
Email: kgrayson@richmond.edu
Office hours for faculty: Wednesday, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., Friday, 1 p.m. – 2p.m. or by appointment (email for Zoom link)
Consultations: data literacy, quantitative skills assessment, grants and publishing on science teaching practice
Dr. Libby Gruner, Professor of English, Faculty Hub Associate
Email: egruner@richmond.edu
Office hours for faculty: By appointment (book here; Thursdays and Fridays are best. Zoom link will be sent)
Consultations: alternative forms of assessment, ungrading, portfolio grading, contract grading, inclusive pedagogy
Dr. Kristine Nolin, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Faculty Hub Associate
Email: knolin@richmond.edu
Office hours for faculty: Monday 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., by appointment (Book here. Zoom link will be sent)
Consultations: data literacy
Thank you all!
Linda