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Academics
IDEAS and CTL Partner to Present Teach Week Workshops
The Instructional Design, Engagement, and Support (IDEAS) group and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) have partnered to offer a week of workshops and other events to help faculty generate and implement new course design ideas during Teach Week.
“What Do Our Students Think about Flexible Learning?”
Date: Monday, May 23, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. via Zoom or in person
Facilitators: Claire Hamilton (CTL), Mei Shih (CTL) and Sara Cavallo (CTL)
Description: Across the last two years faculty have explored many ways to support students with compassion and empathy often by adopting more flexible teaching approaches. What do our students think about flexible learning? In this session, we bring UMass student perspectives into the conversation and explore what works for students, what doesn’t, and consider ways to design student-centered flexible learning opportunities that recognize the diverse needs, interests and experiences that students bring to the flexible classroom.
NEFDC Conference: “Learning Assessment, Evaluation & Grading: Are We Doing Justice?”
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., via Zoom
Facilitators: Susan D. Blum (keynote speaker) and faculty from colleges and universities in New England
Description: The New England Faculty Development Consortium invites faculty to join them virtually for their Spring conference focused on the theme of equity, justice and learner-centered approaches in learning assessment, evaluation and grading. Dr. Susan Blum will deliver her keynote address "Assessing for Learning, Learning for Assessing: How to Foster Authentic and Meaningful Learning." A faculty panel discussion on experiments with grading alternatives will follow, along with an interactive virtual poster session and two sets of dynamic concurrent sessions led by your NEFDC colleagues. UMass Amherst faculty can attend this conference for free by registering through the CTL. Learn more about the conference.
“Deepening Learning with Concept Maps”
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom or in person
Facilitators: Colleen Kuusinen (CTL), Sharon Kearney (IDEAS), Brian Baldi (CTL)
Description: Ever wonder what your students are thinking or how to get them to think more critically about course concepts? Concept maps might be just the thing for you! Concept mapping is an organizing exercise that helps students integrate knowledge, promotes student engagement, and also helps you gauge student understanding and adapt instruction accordingly. There are a variety of digital and analog tools available to create concept maps, which can be used for different types of learning across disciplines. In this workshop, we’ll explore concept mapping through hands-on activities with digital tools and demonstrate how these maps can be helpful for student learning and your teaching. Join us as we organize wonder and wonder about organizing.
“Tools and Techniques for Engaging Students in Flexible Courses”
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 1 to 2:30 p.m. via Zoom or in person
Facilitators: Dan Cannity (IDEAS), Sharon Kearney (IDEAS), Heather Sharpes-Smith (IDEAS)
Description: How do you engage meaningfully with students in Flexible and Online courses? Walk through the different tools and develop strategies that you can use to help students grapple with topics and course material, share ideas, give and receive feedback from their peers, and make meaningful connections with one another. Learn how to make the most of familiar tools and new ones, and the classroom practices they can support.
“Design Is Storytelling”
Date: Thursday, May 26, 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom or in person
Facilitators: Beth Lisi (CTL) and Dan Cannity (IDEAS)
Description: A good story, like a good design, communicates information and incites emotion and personality. If stories spark curiosity, and design transforms meaning through color and form, how can we leverage both in our Moodle course? In this hands-on hybrid workshop, we will explore how the storytelling components of setting, action, motif, and emotion translate to your Moodle course design. We welcome faculty in any discipline, those of you who are looking to enhance your Moodle visual organization, those of you who are still looking for ideas, and those of you who just want things to look cool. Join us for some experimental and creative fun.
“Preparing Your Lectures for the Digital Classroom”
Date: Thursday, May 26, 1 to 2:30 p.m. via Zoom
Facilitators: Tamarin Butcher (IDEAS), Dan Cannity (IDEAS), Xime Vicuña Cubillos (IDEAS)
Description: Want to avoid death by PowerPoint? Join us for a chance to discuss what makes good slide design, the techniques you can use to design slides for use with Zoom, Echo360, and live presentations, and learn how to avoid common problems before they even come up. This webinar will cover design best practices, and techniques to make the most of presentation tools to create memorable and engaging slides for your students. You’ll leave with new ideas, ways to save time, and some skills to breathe new life into your slides and lectures.
“Pedagogy around the Pond”
Date: Friday, May 27, noon, meet in front of the Old Chapel
Description: Interested in taking a walk around the pond with some gelatto and casually talk about teaching? Come join us for some fun conversation! We'll meet in front of the Old Chapel, make our way to the Blue Wall to grab some gelatto, and then take a stroll. No registration needed.