Getting to Know the Center for Teaching Excellence:
We can feel it on campus--where your advocacy for your students is reflected in the many campus improvements that our students can see, feel, and call their own. It shows in your work to create classroom environments, curriculum, and best practices that engage and encompass the experience of our wonderfully diverse students. MATC has several DEI professional development opportunities and events to support you as you deepen your work to meaningfully integrate diverse perspectives into your curriculum and amplify the voices of African American students, scholars, writers, and historical figures. We've highlighted several of these opportunities below; if you see opportunities for future professional development or know of additional connections and resources, please let us know at cte@matc.edu.
MATC Professional Development Opportunities:
“A Line Meant" Poetry Project with Dasha Kelly Hamilton:
Thursday, February 24, 12:00pm – 1:30pm via Zoom
"One line of poetry can work like a spell, conjuring a memory for one person and pulling gospel from someone else. As Wisconsin Poet Laureate, Dasha Kelly Hamilton is employing poetry lines to connect the creativity of neighbors and the humanity of strangers. Her project, A Line Meant, will be a statewide poetry exchange for traditional Wisconsin residents, to include residents of Wisconsin prisons. During the session, participants will have the opportunity to write a poem and share it on the project website. Every poem shared receives a poem from elsewhere in the state. Once activated, participants will receive new poems for a season and have access to view pieces uploaded from across the state."
Using Racial Memorabilia To Teach Social Justice
Friday, February 25, 12:00pm – 1:15pm
American history has a long tradition of creating images and memorabilia based on stereotypical and sometimes racist notions. In his 75 minute presentation (45 minute talk with 30 minutes for questions), Dr. David Pilgrim will discuss how we can use racist memorabilia to teach about race, race relations, and social justice. Dr. Pilgrim is the author of Understanding Jim Crow: Using Racist Memorabilia to Teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice (PM Press, 2015). He is also the founder and Director of the Jim Crow Museum, the nation’s largest, publicly accessible collection of racist objects, located at Ferris State University where he serves as Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion.
This Train Is Bound for Glory: The Joshua Glover Story and the Significance of Wisconsin in the Anti-Slavery Movement-BHM
Monday, February 28, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
In this presentation, MATC History professor Milton Dockery examines the Joshua Glover story, its significance to Wisconsin, and how it impacted the anti-slavery movement nationally. Enslaved in St. Louis, Missouri, Joshua Glover sought freedom in Wisconsin, only to be recaptured after a friend betrayed him. Defying the Fugitive Slave Act, Sherman Booth and other abolitionists helped Glover escape via the Underground Railroad, and he later settled in Canada as a free man. Prof. Dockery will also provide updates on a project twenty years in the making, to install historical Underground Railroad markers in the city of Racine.
Event is virtual and in person at MATC's Cooley Auditorium.
The DEI Committee’s Events Calendar has several opportunities for professional development posted for the remainder of the semester. For more information and links to register, please see
DEI Committee’s website.
3/20/2022 - 5/15/2022 (Online)
Join faculty leader Milton Dockery. This course will enhance faculty's cultural competence and provide a foundation to build upon regarding African American students, social justice issues, and how it impacts learning. This course delves into the psychological health of African American college students in the age of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). The course will balance a discussion of issues facing African American college students as well as offer research-based strategies and best practices for working with students of color.
ZERD 011 Preparation for Online Teaching 3/20 -5/15/2022
ZERD 100 Peer Support 3/03 -5/05/2022
ZERD 101 Understanding Classroom Environments 3/06-5/15/2022
ZERD 103 Course Design 3/20-5/15/2022
ZERD 209 Exploring Open Education Resources 3/20 -5/15/2022
Additional courses may be offered later in the semester based on faculty interest and need.
Our Work--CTE and You!
Operationalizing Equitable Teaching and Learning Practices:
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 noon - 1:00pm
In this webinar, panelists will share components/tenets to purposefully embed equity, social justice, and inclusion into innovative teaching and learning in face-to-face and virtual spaces.
Designing Assessments through a Culturally Responsive Lens:
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 2:00pm - 3:00pm
This workshop will provide examples of successful innovative and digital assessment approaches that center students and allow for authentic and culturally responsive measurement of student learning.
Democratizing Learning Environments:
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 12:00pm - 2:00pm
In this webinar, participants will engage in dialogue and discourse with panelists as it relates to co-creating environments that support and humanize students’ academic experiences while affirming their strengths and potential in the classroom.
Registration is free--you can attend as few or as many sessions as you would like!
To make these webinars even more applicable, CTE will have follow-up sessions for each event. In a facilitated discussion, faculty will be encouraged to self-reflect after each webinar, to consider how they might apply the knowledge that was discussed, and to share out their responses, ideas, or questions that were generated based upon the webinar.
Chats with Colleagues: Operationalizing Equitable Teaching and Learning Practices
Friday, March 11 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Chats with Colleagues: Designing Assessments through a Culturally Responsive Lens
Wednesday, April 13 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Chats with Colleagues: Democratizing Learning Environments
Friday, May 6, 2022 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Join us for as many conversations as you would like!
Join us for the next session of The Center’s Virtual Lunch and Learn Series!
"How Can I Use Everyday Interactions to Instill a Growth Mindset in Students?"
BYOLunch and join us at CTE's Virtual Lunch and Learn on Monday, March 1st noon-1pm. The session will include a viewing of the 20-Minute Mentor presentation followed by a guided discussion. There is no deadline to register, so feel free to pop in when you are hungry! FQAS hours are available for this session (and each session in the Lunch and Learn series).
Peer Coaching Workshop
Are you keeping up on your Teaching Action Plan but stuck on finding a Peer Coach and wondering how that works? CTE can help!
On My, February 21st from 9:00 to 10:00am, CTE is hosting a Peer Coaching workshop that will help to answer your questions with further information about:
Who makes a good Peer Coach?
How does one choose a Peer Coach?
How do I become a better coach for my peers?
There is no deadline to register. FQAS hours are available for this session.
8-Week Course Conversion Workshop
The 8-Week Course Conversion Workshop will provide faculty a “hands-on” experience in learning to converting a course to an 8-week format with the assistance of Faculty Coaches and an Instructional Designer. The workshop will qualify for 3 FQAS hours.
When: February 25, 2022, 9am-12:00pm, Virtual
To enroll, please determine a course you will begin converting to the 8-week format because you will start this process during the workshop. When you have a course identified, please email John Futterer, CTE’s Instructional Designer, and include the course you will begin converting during the workshop. For more information, please see CTE’s website.
Other Upcoming CTE Workshops:
21st Century Classroom Level 3 Cohort Workshop, March 4 & 11, 11am-12:30pm
HyFlex Workshop, April 19 and April 26 5pm-9pm
CTE Collaboration Connection:
The first Learn Pillar Integration Committee meeting took place last week, and work teams will hold their first meetings starting in February. We’ve scaled back the roll-out of the work teams in our inaugural semester to include the following:
- Career Essentials
- COS Process Review
- Course Modality
- Bilingual Faculty Classroom Support/Program Development
- 21st Century Classroom
- Cultural Competency in the Classroom
- Professional Development (FQAS) Work Team
If you’d like additional information, please see the Learn Pillar Integration Committee website.
Faculty have consistent, direct access with our students. We observe students who face challenges outside the classroom making learning difficult. To improve the health and wellness of our students, MATC is getting ready to launch a comprehensive, holistic and integrated Health & Wellness Center that addresses behavioral, mental, and physical health.
To assist faculty in understanding signs and symptoms of need and to identify available resources for our students, an overview of Holistic Student Health and Wellness services will be featured in the CTE Newsletter on a regular basis. Together, we hope the launch of these customized and coordinated comprehensive preventative and wellness services–which emphasize healthy lifestyles, wellness, disease prevention and overall health management–will greatly benefit our students, as well as align with the MATC Transformation 2025 Strategic Plan. Thank you for your excellence in teaching and your care and compassion in providing holistic support for our students!
Friendly Reminders:
Sum Total Reminder:
Sum Total requirements as assigned by Human Resources for all faculty and non-faculty are due next month on March 31, 2022. You can log into SumTotal using your MATC email address and network password.
We recognize that some of these training modules may be required annually and may feel repetitious; however, this college-wide training supports the continued sustainability of our operations. Thanks for your time in contributing to the benefits this brings to the college.
Keeping You Posted:
Connect Students with the Help They Need through EAB Navigate:
EAB Navigate has a function for all faculty to Issue an Alert. As of February 4th, Retention Alert is NO LONGER available.
A training video is in Sum Total and the SP2022 Guidelines document is on our EAB Navigate Resources page on myMATC > Quick Links.
Having problems submitting an alert in NAVIGATE or other problems? Use the EAB Assistance form link , also found on the myMATC resource page
Additional Professional Development Opportunities:
The Department of Labor’s Chief Evaluation Office and the Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Workforce Investment are jointly hosting these roundtables.
Inspiration, Research, and Best Practices
Part of CTE’s mission is to keep you informed about current best practices and pedagogical approaches. Each issue of CTE 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 CTE's website.
