Volume 3, Issue 4--Published: Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

Getting to Know the Center:

Connecting with our colleagues, finding inspiration, and broadening our capacity for growth and courageous conversations is what professional development is all about. A student-centered approach to professional development provides opportunities that are responsive to the needs of today’s students. At The Center, we are dedicated to the art and craft of quality teaching, so that our students continue to receive the quality classroom experience that they deserve. If you are looking for opportunities to build meaningful professional development with your colleagues, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

8 Week Final Grades Due Date Extension!
 
Due to an issue in Blackboard regarding upload and download file issues, the Vice President of Learn has extended the due date for 8-week Final Grades to Monday, October 23rd. 

Our Work--The Center and You!

 
FQAS Hours Submission
Racking up FQAS hours? Good for you! Did you know that you don’t have to wait to update your FQAS hours in Sum Total?  The suggested best practice is for you to keep track of your Professional Development activities by submitting your hours in SumTotal as you complete them throughout the cycle. We hope you see this as a win-win; faculty are able to easily input and keep track of their hours, and The Center’s wonderful Faculty Development Coordinators have a more manageable work flow from a more even distribution of submitted hours. We’ve created the FQAS Hours Tracking Chart to help you.

The requirements for completion and length of the cycle are dependent on your probationary or non-probationary status. For more information, please see the FQAS page on the Center’s website.

Student Engagement Best Practices for new 8 week courses:
Some students may not remember or realize that 8 week courses started this week. A best practice is to send a friendly reminder. This email template can be used to remind students of the start date and foster their engagement in the course. Please feel free to use as much or as little of the text as you would like.
 

MATC Professional Development Opportunities:

MATC offers a wide-range of professional development courses in a variety of delivery modes and durations as part of our efforts to design meaningful professional development that provides just-in-time training opportunities for you to explore what you need when you need it. All of our offerings are free to MATC faculty and eligible for FQAS hours, so that you can plan and develop your own professional development goals and outcomes.  

Want “Just-in-Time” support for Ultra?

In October,  the Center for Teaching Excellence continues our support sessions in the use of Blackboard Ultra, which are designed to enhance your familiarity and proficiency with this platform.  These sessions aim to provide you with assistance with the features and capabilities of Blackboard Ultra, which can greatly enhance your teaching and engagement with students. Sessions include:

  • Navigating the Blackboard Ultra interface
  • Creating and managing course content
  • Facilitating online discussions and collaboration
  • Assessing student work and providing feedback
  • Utilizing interactive tools for a more engaging learning experience.

Whether you are new to Blackboard Ultra or looking to refresh your skills, these sessions will provide you with practical knowledge and hands-on experience. 

Training for Blackboard Ultra - Don’t Miss Out!

If you haven't attended Blackboard Ultra training yet, don't worry! The Online Learning department is offering sections of ZERD-190 'Introduction to Blackboard Ultra. In this free 1-credit professional development class, you will master navigation, content creation, assessments, gradebook management, and best practices for delivering high-quality instruction using Ultra.

Seats are available for all upcoming sections, including evenings and weekends. Register in Self-Service now to secure your spot! A video demonstration is available to guide you. If you have trouble registering, contact register@matc.edu for assistance.

Other Upcoming ZERD Courses
As part of our state's Faculty Quality Assurance System (FQAS) requirements, faculty are asked to focus on improving the success of their students through development of teaching excellence. MATC supports that work by offering free Professional Learning (ZERD) courses. Consider enrolling in an 8-week online (asynchronous) course by registering in Self-Service using these instructions.

Collaboration Connection:

Thank you for making "Innovation, Research, Conferences, and You! How To Be a Changemaker and Increase Student Voice and Representation" a big success!

 

Your MATC colleagues connected with each other and found inspiration in courageous, round-table conversations during The Center's inaugural MATC Day Breakout session with the goal of increasing the representation of our students through creating innovative student-centered initiatives, conducting research, and presenting at conferences. The Center wishes to thank our presenters and facilitators: Heidi Katte, Jenn Medved, Jacqueline Robinson, Goldhmong Vang, Anna Varley, Tom Vollman, Brenda Wingard-Haynes, Julie Ashlock, Traci Clark, Kami Hall, and Thomas Kalluvila.

Missed the Center’s  for Teaching Excellence MATC Day Breakout Session? No problem--our wonderful presenters created interactive slides with several excellence resources.

Keeping You Posted:

Our goal with Center Connections is to keep you informed, not only about Center’s work, but to help you navigate other college-wide initiatives that directly impact faculty.

Locating Student Support Resources is only a click away in your course Blackboard shell!

The ‘Student Help & Support Resources’ link in your Blackboard course shell can assist students with immediate access to resources. This link can be found under the 'Welcome–Students Start Here' folder that has been pre-populated in all Blackboard shells.

Please remind students of the availability of these resources:.

  • Child Care Services (e.g., MATC’s Children’s Centers)
  • Community Housing Resources (e.g., WESTOWN Green, WI Home Energy Assistance)
  • Counseling and Psychological Services
  • Emergency Financial Assistance (e.g., Local 212 FAST Fund, Dreamkeepers)  
  • Food Resources (e.g., MATC Food Pantries, FoodShare)Health Services (e.g., FastCare Clinics)
  • Legal Services
  • Student Employment Leads
  • Transportation (e.g., weekly bus pass)

Graduation Application Deadline
Students who will complete all their required courses this spring or summer and plan to attend commencement must first apply. Applying ensures students receive graduation updates and that their names are read during the commencement ceremony December 10 at Fiserv Forum and printed in the graduation program. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, October 31.

Friendly Reminders:

OER Updates & Resources

$125,000 has been allotted to MATC from the State Open Education Resources (OER) grant, and we will soon be announcing funding opportunities for MATC instructors. Check out the Fall 2023 MATC OER Faculty Feature with Professor Paul Carrier, who leads MATC Culinary Arts and has utilized OER materials in his courses since he started teaching at MATC in the late 1990s. Prof. Paul Carrier will be one of the keynote speakers for the third annual WI Open Education Symposium on Friday, October 27. Also, MATC OER facilitators Dr. Elaine Stracota and Dr. Krystia Nora will be presenting at 1 pm: "MATC Open Access Marketing: Building Awareness and Promoting Over $1 Million in Student Savings." The Symposium is free - you only need to register. The Fall 2023 MATC OER Newsletter is now available and highlights the latest in local, regional, national, and international OER news and opportunities.

Faculty's Textbook Adoptions for the Spring & Winterim terms need to be completed by Tuesday, October 31st!

Online adoptions are made through signing in to the bookstore website.  Adoptions must be completed for ALL courses including "No Text" sections. There is no automatic roll-over of course materials. Instructions and a Faculty Adoption FAQ  are available. If you have questions or need more information, please email textbooks@matc.edu.

Additional Professional Development Opportunities:

Thursday, October 26, 2023
 
These unique offerings are designed to increase educators' capacity for co-creating belonging in all learning spaces. The Institutes support inclusive learning for authentic self-reflection and engagement while exploring the application of "difficult conversations" about race, equity, inclusion, and systemic oppression. Participants are challenged to understand the dynamics of race and racism in education and other forms of exclusion/oppression and transform their educational practices.
Rejuvenate your outlook and thrive! Understanding and managing physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing can lead to more joy and less stress. You can join other higher education professionals in a journey to achieving wellbeing and resilience!

Inspiration, Research, and Best Practices

Part of The Center’s mission is to keep you informed about current best practices and pedagogical approaches. Each issue of Center Connections includes links that are meant to be engaging, thought-provoking, and applicable to various classroom environments. For information on MATC's free access to Magna Commons publications, please see The Center's website.   Enjoy the rabbit hole!

There is a robust accumulation of data showing that college students do not study in the most effective ways.
Conversations about exhaustion commonly focus on individual responsibility-a logic that ignores the wearying situations people are place in.
Whether or not we've wrapped our minds around AI, or determined how it will affect the work we ask students to shoulder, at the very least, we need to have a conversation.

created in Publicate