New Website and Faculty Development Opportunities

Same Address, New Design . . .

The Faculty Hub is proud to release our new website with a reorganized resource page, as well as updated program and services pages. We have developed this site to support the goals of the Faculty Hub.  Please let us know how you like it!  You can also now follow us on Twitter!

Upcoming Program Reminders

Registration is still open for Inclusive Teaching: Student Belonging, an interactive session designed to practice critical reflection and analysis around stories of students’ experiences in the classroom presented by UVA Acts on Friday, October 30 from 12 – 1:30 p.m. Register here!

There is also still time to join the Faculty Hub Book Club featuring 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 and Dr. Kristine Grayson, who will lead the discussions. Sign up here by Monday, November 2.

Please consider attending 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 Open Book Exams. Each session uses the same Zoom URL and no registration is needed.

Cross-Institutional Faculty Development Opportunities

Please take a look at some cross-institutional faculty development opportunities. These are great opportunities to extend your learning while also helping you connect to faculty with shared interests and methodologies at other institutions.

Fieldwork Across Disciplines

  • A deeper look into fieldwork across many disciplines, with applications to virtual environments. A Lafayette College faculty panel discussion with faculty from the arts, anthropology and sociology, environmental studies and biology, and civil engineering.  October 20, 12:15-1:15 p.m. EDT. Please register here.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Made Me a Better Research Mentor.

  • A conversation with ACS colleagues at Furman University and Wofford College. The focus is on mentoring strategies that faculty adopted in summer 2020 during the pivot to virtual projects. Panelists will share what they plan to retain from this experience after we return to in-person mentoring. October 22, 4-5 p.m. EDT. Please register here.

Building your Facilitator Tool Box: Honing dialogue skills to navigate pre- and post-election tensions.

  • Panelists will discuss tools that can be used to set up pre- and post- election conversations. Featured panelists are Roger Fisher; Associate Director of the Intergroup Dialogue Program at University of Michigan; Libby Roderick; Director, Difficult Dialogues Initiative, University of Alaska Anchorage; and Erica Dugué; Senior, African American Studies major, Dialogue and Difference in Action Leader, Princeton University. October 27, 4:30-6 p.m. EDT. Please register here.

Ungrading

  • How alternate approaches such as self-assessments, grade free zones and peer review can help students realize their potential. Facilitated by Lafayette College Professor Chris Phillips. October 29, 12:15-1:15 p.m. EDT. Please register here.

Introducing the Faculty Hub’s Redesigned Website

The Faculty Hub is proud to release our new website this week. We have developed this site to support the goals of the Faculty Hub: to foster excellence in teaching, cultivating cross-disciplinary interactions for scholarly exchange, and promoting professional development for faculty at all career stages. I wanted to share with you some of the features of the new website that we think faculty will love:  

Resource Page: 

Faculty told us that they wanted a resource page with curated guides, weblink, and tip sheets that was filterable for pedagogical and scholarship categories. The new page contains many terrific resources, but it is just our starting point. We will be regularly be adding new resources to the site. We also have links to our Slack page where faculty are encouraged to share their favorite resources and ask the faculty community about specific questions or concerns.  

Program Pages: 

The Faculty Hub is continually adding new opportunities for faculty to engage in. These programs typically have deliverables, applications, and other materials that faculty want immediate access to. Our new program pages have built in archives for easy asynchronous learning. Our Morning Blend program for example is a short 10-15 talk accompanied by a one-page tip sheet. We typically hold these events live on Monday and Thursday mornings but if you cannot make them, we now have a library of the materials on the website. 

Services Pages: 

Our one on one consultations are some of the most impactful services we offer in the Hub and the new website makes scheduling a consultation with Hub staff super easy. Check out the “Schedule” links on side bar in the one on one consultations page, these links take you to each consultant’s calendars and make scheduling meetings super easy.  

We are also very excited about the new Faculty Hub space on the third floor of Boatwright Library. Very soon, you will be able to reserve one of the many multi-use spaces in the Hub for your faculty focused group meetings.  

We encourage you to check out the new site and let us know your thoughts. We are always looking for ways we can best serve our faculty! 

Best,  

Andrew Bell 

Programs and Consultations, Mid-Fall 2020

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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 EnglishFaculty 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

Faculty Hub Update

Dear Colleagues,

We hope your first week of teaching has been rewarding and that you are taking steps toward greater comfort and confidence in the new modes of engagement.

I want to pass along a few updates from the Faculty Hub regarding upcoming offerings, opportunities to consult with Faculty Hub Associates and the Inclusive Pedagogy (IP) Cohort.

Upcoming Offerings

> Morning Blend

Throughout the Fall 2020 semester, the Faculty Hub will be hosting a new program, the Morning Blend. These online get-togethers will provide a quick helpful tip (5-10 minutes), a takeaway document (tip sheet) for later reference, and general discussion about the designated topic or other questions. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and join us on the dates below. Come for the tip and discussion or just the tip if you cannot stay the whole time.  We have scheduled 45 minutes but will keep our presentations efficient and provide a useful takeaway. All Morning Blend meetings will use the following Zoom URL, no registration required:  https://urichmond.zoom.us/j/92842075108?pwd=blFvSjR3Z043NlM0QXZXV1VBb0lRUT09 

Have an idea or request for a future Morning Blend session? We want to hear from you! Send topic ideas to facultyhub@richmond.edu.

Topic Monday Sessions Thursday Sessions
Strategies for Virtual Office Hours September 14

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

September 17

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Blended Classroom Discussions, Revisited September 21

9 a.m.– 9:45 a.m.

September 24

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Adapting Media Projects for Remote and Blended Teaching September 28

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

October 1

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Strategies for Gathering Midterm Student Feedback October 5

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

October 8

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

> Faculty Hub Office Hours

Do you need better ways to engage your remote students?  Are you seeking some feedback on managing a blended classroom while using new technology? Have you had some success in engaging your remote learners and would you like to share your approaches with other faculty?

Attend one of our office hour sessions next week!  In these two sessions, we will share strategies and resources to help instructors engage all students – both remote and in-person – in their lectures, learning activities, and class discussions. We have had some of our own challenges in teaching this week and we know that through group discussion, we can generate ways to improve the teaching and learning experience.

Join us on Monday, August 31 from 2-3:15 p.m. or Wednesday, September 2 from 11-12:15 p.m. to ask questions, share ideas, and learn from one another. All office hour sessions will use the following Zoom URL, no registration required: https://urichmond.zoom.us/j/92842075108?pwd=blFvSjR3Z043NlM0QXZXV1VBb0lRUT09.

The remaining dates, times, topics, and Zoom link can be found here, as well as information on scheduling individual consultations with Faculty Hub staff:

https://richmond.box.com/s/qnnmbo3vsbn3nsi4uw941euzklodput9

> Faculty Hub Associates

Welcome to our Faculty Hub Associates, Dr. Kristine Grayson, Dr. Libby Gruner, and Dr. Kristine Nolin. They have joined us this academic year to work on various faculty development projects and will also be holding office hours to assist faculty on certain topics. Their availability and specialty areas are listed below. Please reach out if you would like to consult with them.

Dr. Kristine Grayson, Associate Professor of Biology
Email:kgrayson@richmond.edu
Office hours for faculty (starting September 2): 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
Email: egruner@richmond.edu
Office hours for faculty: By appointment (book here; Thursdays and Fridays are best. Zoom link will be sent when you book.)
Consultations: alternative forms of assessment, ungrading, portfolio grading, contract grading, inclusive pedagogy

Dr. Kristine Nolin, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Email:knolin@richmond.edu
Office hours for faculty: Monday 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., by appointment (email to arrange an appointment)
Consultations: data literacy

> Inclusive Pedagogy (IP) Cohort

Faculty selected last spring for the IP Cohort will begin meeting in September.  This year, the program is co-facilitated by Dr. Kylie Korsnack, Educational Developer in the Faculty Hub, and Dr. Holly Blake, Director of the WILL* program and Associate Dean for Outreach Education and Development, Westhampton College.  The IP Cohort is a program of the Provost’s Office to enhance the use of pedagogies that help develop an inclusive learning community and engage all learners.

Finally, I want to give a big shout-out to all of our partners in this educational mission to prepare for the new modes of teaching.  Too many to name here, staff who worked on classroom setups, registration, cleaning protocols and current cleaning, signage, and others are all instrumental to our success this fall. While instructors are visible in the classroom or on Zoom, we cannot do this without the work of our partners.  A special thanks to Information Services for their tireless and gracious help for all instructors—we are so thankful for their work.

Best wishes,

Linda

Linda M. Boland, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub

Back-to-Teaching Event Documentation

Dear Colleagues,

The Faculty Hub has prepared materials for you from the Back-to-Teaching event on Wednesday, August 19.

You may now access the compiled Q&A document, the Zoom chat, and the link to the Panopto video in Box.

In addition, here is a list of resources compiled by the Faculty Hub, we hope you find useful as well.

We’ve done our best to organize everything in a way that will help you find the answers to your questions.  We know the amount of information everyone is receiving is challenging.  If you still have a question on where to find certain information, hop on our Slack workspace because that seems to be a time-sensitive way for all of us to connect.  If you find any broken links in our documents or inaccuracies, please let us know.

Good luck as you prepare for next week.

Linda

Linda M. Boland, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub

Back-to-Teaching Event and Experiments in Blended Teaching

Dear Colleagues,

Enclosed are some updates from the Faculty Hub.

Back-to-Teaching event

All who are teaching in fall 2020 or staff who support teaching are invited to attend a full University Back-to-Teaching Symposium on Wednesday, August 19 from 9-10:30 a.m.  Updates on the latest information and resources available will be provided by representatives from the Faculty Senate, Provost’s Office, Teaching and Scholarship Hub, Information Services, Academic Integration, Library, and Human Resources followed by Q&A. Faculty Senate leaders will moderate the Q & A.  To submit a question before the event, please send your question to Faculty Senate President Thad Williamson.  Please add this Zoom link for the Back-to-Teaching event to your calendar (also noted here for your reference: https://urichmond.zoom.us/j/96904902028)

Experiments in Blended Teaching

Thanks to the faculty and staff who helped us experiment with blended classroom approaches yesterday.  Special thanks to Professors Jane Berry, Saif Mekhari, and Jessica Erickson for their micro-teaching segments.  The Faculty Hub has produced another tip sheet with our recommendations for small and large group discussion when teaching in-class and remote students simultaneously that can be found here: https://richmond.box.com/s/ytadu2s7aop9ai1ao2nxsgtoj35i1uwb.  Special thanks to Andrew Bell for leading this work.

Thank you for all you are doing under these challenging circumstances.

Best wishes,

Linda

Linda Boland

Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub

Faculty Hub Recommendations and New Sessions

Dear Colleagues,

This is an update from the Faculty Hub about helping you prepare for fall term teaching.

We have been experimenting with the new classroom technology for blended teaching with students in the classroom, masked, with distancing and students participating via Zoom, synchronously.  We tested four common scenarios:  an interactive lecture with Q &A, a learning activity that required students to do something individually and share what they did, large group discussion, and small group discussions.  We created some videos to show you these experiences—note that these are not fully polished, they are experimental, and yet we think they will help you prepare.  We also made a concise list of key recommendations.

These materials are available to you here:

Blended Classroom Teaching demonstration videos: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7421113

Our recommendations:  https://richmond.box.com/s/6nf6fxo5g27hcwbepp8gca5yv5lu9aju

Thank you to the faculty and staff who participated as mock students, especially Professor Dean Simpson who modeled some wonderful approaches to engaging all students, regardless of mode of participation.

We want to experiment again with the small group discussion scenario as it is an approach many instructors wish to use and we found it to be the most challenging scenario.

We are seeking volunteers for a mock teaching session on Wednesday, August 12 from 9-11 AM.  If you are able to help, we will be most grateful and you will be assisting other faculty as we will communicate what was learned plus you will gain some direct experience which will be helpful to your own preparation for teaching in a blended setting.

If you are able to join us, please email us at:  facultyhub@richmond.edu and specify that you volunteer to be an in-class or remote student or that you can do either one, as needed. The face-to-face (F2F) “students” will meet in Jepson 107.  Other “students” will participate remotely.  We will send you the Zoom link once you sign up.  If you will serve as a F2F student, please remember to wear your mask and abide by the distancing protocol, bring your charged laptop to class, and please bring some type of earbuds or headset that functions with your laptop (we will not have one available for you).  For all volunteers, please plan to participate the entire 2 hours.

Finally, we have mapped out some additional opportunities for support for your teaching preparations in the time period leading up to and including the beginning of the semester.  In the event that you missed something earlier this summer or you want to re-visit a topic, have questions, or want to gain feedback on your ideas, please join us.

No registration is required for these sessions which will function like group office hours—they are not webinars but opportunities to learn tips and strategies and share ideas and examples.

The dates and times with a single Zoom link are here: https://richmond.box.com/s/qnnmbo3vsbn3nsi4uw941euzklodput9.

That document also includes some information about the topics you can explore in our courses (all materials still available to you this fall).

Upon request, the Faculty Hub session on Monday, August 17 will include ideas and strategies for faculty who are teaching in a fully remote mode using Zoom.

Thank you and best wishes.

Sincerely,

Linda

Linda M. Boland, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub

Update From the Faculty Hub

Dear Colleagues,

This is another update from the Faculty Hub. We want to continue to inform you about opportunities for faculty development this summer.

Our second summer course, Responsive and Flexible Teaching, is in its final week of delivery. It is not too late to join us!  To gain access to the course, administered through the University’s Learning Management System (LMS), Blackboard Learn (Bb), simply email us at facultyhub@richmond.edu.  On the course site, you will find readings, videos, demonstrations, assignments, and tools to assist your fall term course preparation. Completed synchronous sessions are recorded and posted for each module.

This week’s live, synchronous sessions are noted below.

Office Hours for Content Production, Curation, and Organization

*   Date/Time: Monday, July 27, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

*   Zoom URL: https://urichmond.zoom.us/j/97833272779?pwd=amNYMXlvbmtqc01Ub09MNys3WCtsdz09

*   Description: Bring your questions! Hub staff will provide clarification on module 5 contents and feedback on your course content that is in production (no matter how early) or finished. You are also welcome to attend with “early” questions or to learn from the questions and replies to other faculty.

Planning for the Beginning

*   Date/Time: Wednesday, July 29, 1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

*   Zoom URL: https://urichmond.zoom.us/j/98554042012?pwd=N0NMRFZsUDZZMk50QXgrb1dhSUh1QT09

*   Description:  Welcome to Fall 2020!  How do we approach the first day or first week of class in order to build a student-centered and engaging foundation for the uncertain semester ahead?  In this session, we will discuss strategies to get your course off to a great start, despite the uncertainties, masks, and distancing. We’ll look at ways you can help your students and some ways that you, the instructor, can gain confidence and support for the semester ahead.

Facilitating Meaningful Learning with Asynchronous Online Discussion

*   Date/Time: Thursday, July 30, 10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

*   Zoom URL: https://urichmond.zoom.us/j/98776587683?pwd=cStDNTBlMkNqUXpvSVVxMXRYK242QT09

*   Description: How do we create opportunities for students to participate in meaningful online discussion in our courses? What are some creative ways to structure these conversations, and how can we as instructors help students stay engaged? In this session, we will discuss strategies for designing, facilitating, and assessing asynchronous online discussions.

Additional Support in August 2020

The Faculty Hub’s summer courses will continue to be available for self-directed learning by instructors preparing for fall term teaching in all modes of instruction.

We suggest that instructors complete a course in sequence, but you are also welcome to jump into individual modules that you feel are most important to your preparation. If you need advice on where to jump in, given your circumstances and time constraints, please email the Faculty Hub for assistance. We will help you determine an efficient approach for your preparations.

Another course available to all instructors:

A final just-in-time offering of another course on Hybrid/Online Teaching is being facilitated by John Zinn in SPCS and all instructors are invited to participate. Among other positives, this course provides great examples and modeling of how to use asynchronous discussion boards with your students and how to use assessment tools and rubrics. The “SPCS Hybrid/Online Teaching Professional Development Course” begins August 3 and ends on August 23. Register online at this link: https://richmond.radiusbycampusmgmt.com/ssc/eform/B0SC0pBaB00kx6708Go.ssc

This is a three-week, asynchronous faculty development course designed to support online and hybrid/blended teaching. Beginning with the end in mind, faculty will review the course development process, focusing on desired learning outcomes. Teaching best practices will be considered, emphasizing the creation of an active and engaging learning community.

Topics will include:

*   eLearning Theory

*   Diversified Instruction

*   Leveraging Blackboard Tools

*   Assessments and Rubrics

*   Student Engagement (Discussions, Asynchronous and Synchronous Lectures, Zoom, Feedback)

Many instructors will need training on new classroom technology, supported by Information Services (IS). Please refer to SpiderTechNet for more information on the new classroom technology:

https://spidertechnet.richmond.edu/TDClient/1955/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=110863

And to register for classroom training:

https://spidertechnet.richmond.edu/TDClient/1955/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=44780

To help instructors use new technology effectively in blended teaching modes, the Faculty Hub will develop pedagogy-driven training videos for hybrid/blended teaching. Our approach is to lead with pedagogy and find ways to best implement the approach with the technology present in the room. We will work on several common scenarios anticipated for the blended classroom environment: facilitating classroom discussion, lecturing with Q&A, and drawing or writing on a device or the classroom whiteboard.

The Faculty Hub continues to engage with faculty via email, Zoom meetings, Slack, and phone calls (personal cell phones). To schedule an individual consultation, please email a member of the Faculty Hub or use our group address, facultyhub@richmond.edu and we will route your request to the appropriate person.

Please note that the Faculty Hub will be closed for correspondence on Friday, July 31 (University Holiday) and Friday, August 7 (Faculty Hub team planning for fall).

We hope this information is useful to you.

Best wishes,

Linda

Linda M. Boland, Ph.D.

Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub

Faculty Hub Course on Responsive and Flexible Teaching

The Faculty Hub invites all course instructors to participate in Responsive and Flexible Teaching, a three-week online course that mimics a highly flexible course delivery where faculty experience this from a student’s perspective. This online course will be led by the Faculty Hub and will include sessions with several online learning experts. All synchronous sessions are in Zoom and links will be provided within the Blackboard course. 

We have designed the course as a series of six aligned but independent online learning modules so as to provide multiple avenues for faculty to engage with course materials. Participants may choose to complete all six modules, or they may select the ones that most interest them. Additional information is below. Please click here to register. 

Course dates: This will run from July 13-30, and materials will be available throughout the fall for additional learning or review. 

Time Commitment: We have designed this course to meet the varied needs of faculty from across our campus. We encourage participants to spend as much time in this course as their schedule allows or is appropriate given their level of experience with online teaching.  

Cohort size: Unlimited; synchronous sessions in Zoom have a capacity of 300. 

Course modules are under development and will be added to the Blackboard site on the dates noted. 

 

Available Beginning July 10 

Module 1: Online Essentials  

Online courses are often characterized by a feeling of disconnect for both students and faculty. Learn about practical strategies to foster interactions, build community, and promote student learningInstructors will also generate a course learning objective that can be workshopped through subsequent modules on assessment, learning activities, and development of course materials  

This module features two synchronous sessions with online learning expert, Dr. Flower Darby, author of Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes. 

  • Fostering Connections and Community in Online Classes on July 14 from 10-11 a.m. 
  • Practical Strategies for Teaching Online During COVID-19 on July 15 from 10-11 a.m. 

 Module 2: Helping Students  

Many of our students have limited experience with online learningIn this module, instructors will learn how to apply cognitive science principles to help students meet the challenges of learning in an online environmentWe will identify opportunities and practical strategies to support our students. 

This module features two synchronous sessions with online learning expert, Dr. Claire Major, author of Teaching Online: A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice 

  • Helping Students Learn…Online on July 16 from 10-11:30 a.m. 
  • Helping Students Learn to Learn…Online on July 17 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. 

 

 Available Beginning July 17 

Module 3: Assessment  

Gain experience with tools and technology to design assessments that align with student learning objectives and learn about ways to use community-building and assessment design to foster academic integrity. This module will feature two synchronous sessions with members of the Faculty Hub. Times TBA. 

Module 4: Learning Activities  

Gain experience with tools and technology that enable interactive and collaborative learning activities that align with student learning objectives. This module includes two synchronous sessions with members of the Faculty Hub on July 22 (10-11:15 a.m.) and July 24 (10-11:15 a.m.) as well as a synchronous workshop on July 23 (11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) co-hosted by Dr. Carol Ann Downes from Hendrix College and Dr. Andrew Bell from the Faculty Hub.  

 

Available Beginning July 24 

Module 5: Producing, Curating, and Organizing Content  

Gain experience with a variety of strategies for producing, curating, and organizing course material using institutionally supported online platforms such as Blackboard, Box, Panopto, and Zoom. Includes two synchronous sessions: a faculty panel about organizing content in Blackboard, and a session to ask questions and get feedback about content production techniques. Times TBA. 

Module 6: Facilitating Online Learning  

Reflect on your engagement as an online learner within this course and identify practical strategies to facilitate student learning in your online or blended courseThis module includes two synchronous sessions with members of the Faculty Hub and will help build community among faculty colleagues for discussion of teaching strategies. Times TBA. 

Save the Dates and Welcome

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

I write with some updates from the Faculty Hub.

A reminder to consider the ACS Summer workshops for facilitated workshop time with faculty from other ACS institutions. One will be offered this morning from 10-11:30 a.m. on Making Learner-Centered and Inclusive Pedagogical Choices for an Unpredictable Fall Term. The session will emphasize the principles of learner-centered teaching and inclusive pedagogies as foundations to develop and evaluate instructional strategies for learning in varied contexts (traditional, socially distanced, remote, hybrid).

Register for the ACS workshops here. Once you register, you will receive an email with a Zoom link to join the session. After the sessions are completed, the ACS has said they will make recordings available.

Save the dates- On July 14 and 15 from 10-11 a.m., the Faculty Hub will host synchronous sessions with Dr. Flower Darby, author of Small Teaching Online. You can access this book as an e-book. We will be incorporating Flower’s time with us into the start of a new course which begins on July 13 and runs for three weeks, with continual access provided thereafter. There are no restrictions on the number of faculty who can attend.

Please also note that our librarians have secured a group of e-books about online teaching: http://libguides.richmond.edu/onlineteaching.

We recognize that there are some who cannot participate in faculty development opportunities right now due to other responsibilities. All of the Faculty Hub’s synchronous sessions and materials are available for faculty to use on their own. If you participated in our short course on Effective Online and Blended Teaching, you have continued access to course materials on our Blackboard site. If you did not register for the course but would like to gain access to those materials, we just need to add you. Please email us for access.

Welcome to Dr. Kylie Korsnack, Educational Developer

On July 1, we will welcome Dr. Kylie Korsnack as an Educational Developer in the Faculty Hub. The Educational Developer position is one we crafted last fall with an early spring national search that concluded just as the pandemic changed our lives.

Kylie earned her Ph.D. in English from Vanderbilt University where she also worked in Vanderbilt’s highly respected Institute for Digital Learning and the Center for Teaching. She has taught courses in Freshman Composition, Science Fiction, and World Literature, among others. She is currently an Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow for Humanities Education in the Center for Teaching and Learning at Berea College in Kentucky, where she is also a Visiting Assistant Professor in English. Kylie is dedicated to inclusive practices and support for faculty development in many areas including online/hybrid teaching, intensive writing, teaching in the humanities, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and digital pedagogy. She has worked on classroom observation approaches, instructional tools, and training for new college teachers. Kylie brings thoughtful insight, practical experiences, great enthusiasm, and outstanding collegiality to this new position. Please help us in welcoming Dr. Kylie Korsnack to the University of Richmond. Her email at UR will be: kkorsnac@richmond.edu

Thank you for all your efforts.

Sincerely,

Linda

Director, Faculty Hub