Getting to Know the Center for Teaching Excellence:
Ah, March… a time of lions and lambs and busted March Madness brackets. If your bracket is busted already, no worries–The Center has a lot of wonderful professional development opportunities to console you. Learning is fun! We hope that you find something that engages your sense of play and curiosity. If you have any questions or suggested offerings, please let us know.
Our Work--The Center and You!
When following these guidelines, instructors will provide multiple means of:
- Engagement (the why of learning)
- Representation (the what of learning)
- Action and Expression (the how of learning)
Session 1:
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based framework and approach to lesson design and delivery that proactively eliminates barriers to learning for all students. This session will provide an overview of the principles that underlay the UDL framework, examples of identifying and removing barriers in curriculum and instruction, and key questions to ask while designing and delivering lessons to meet the needs of all learners. As more and more instructors foster equity within their courses, ideas and opportunities arise for instructors to include UDL principles or to take UDL to higher levels within their courses.
- Session 2, Friday, 4/1/2022 12 - 1 pm, Harnessing the Power of WHY: Understanding Engagement in the UDL Framework
- Session 3, Friday, 4/22/2022 12 - 1 pm, Cultivating Resourceful and Knowledgeable Learners: Understanding Representation in the UDL Framework–The What of Learning
- Session 4, Friday, 4/22/2022, Varying the HOW of Learning: Understanding Action and Expression in the UDL Framework
MATC Professional Development Opportunities:
CTE 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 these courses are free to MATC faculty and eligible for FQAS hours, so that you can plan and develop your own professional development goals and outcomes.
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 Friday, March 25th from 11:00am to noon, 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?
The Center’s Virtual Lunch and Learn Series
"How Can I Create an Online Service-Learning Project?"
BYOLunch and join us at CTE's Virtual Lunch and Learn on Monday, March 28th noon-1pm. The session will include a viewing of a 20-Minute Mentor Commons 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).
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.
Through reports from learning management systems like Blackboard, assessment results, attendance records, MATC IRB reports, and other sources of information, we have access to more data about our students than ever before. How can we use that data to improve educational outcomes? This course will introduce you to basic techniques to analyze, interpret, and act upon institutional and classroom data. The course will help you to apply these practices for equity and inclusion and make data-driven decisions for the benefit of our students.
Additional ZERD courses:
ZERD 011 Preparation for Online Teaching 3/20 -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.
Upcoming Workshops and Events:
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 the DEI Committee’s website.
In this session faculty will learn how to use SmarterProctoring to deliver a Blackboard test, and they will be abe to ask the vendor questions about the tool.
CTE Collaboration Connection:
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: Designing Assessments through a Culturally Responsive Lens (New Date!)& Democratizing Learning Environments
Friday, May 6, 2022 · 12:00 – 1:00pm
Join us for as many conversations as you would like!
Friendly Reminders:
Keeping You Posted:
Monday, April 4 – Priority Registration starts for current degree/diploma program students who are military veterans
Tuesday, April 5 – Priority Registration starts for all current degree/diploma program students
Monday, April 18 – Open Registration starts for students who are military veterans
Tuesday, April 19 – Open Registration starts for all students
Students should meet with an advisor to get ready to register. Students can connect with us in-person at any campus or go to matc.edu/gethelp.
Additional Professional Development Opportunities:
Sessions will be held each Friday in April from 9:00 – 11:00am.
April 1: Building an Inclusive College Culture
April 8: Creating Inclusive Syllabi
April 15: Strategies for Building Culturally Inclusive Learning Activities
April 22: Implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the Classroom
April 29: Equitable Assessments & Grading
Through the Community & Technical Colleges Grants, faculty may apply for the following award types:
Professional Development
Course Development/Enhancement
Event Sponsorship
Resource Development
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but all proposed activities must be completed by August 1, 2022. If you have any questions about the grant and/or application, please reach out to cie-nrc@uwm.edu
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.
