Volume 3, Issue 6--Published: Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

Getting to Know the Center:

In this season of gratitude, The Center wants you to know that we are grateful for you and all that you do for our students. We see your dedication to our students: being brave and trying something new and innovative, co-creating classroom experiences with our students, advocating for student-centered change, developing relationships and transformative feedback ...and so much more. The Center supports and applauds your hard-work and dedication. If there is anything we can do to support you or show you our appreciation, please let us know!

Our Work--The Center and You!

 
Friendly Reminder--NSCD is a great time to work on your TAP and submit FQAS Hours!
The Teaching Action Plan (TAP) is designed to afford you the professional respect that you deserve. The Center knows the importance of an embedded growth mindset in successful professional learning, especially as you work to incorporate your goals into the classroom. The goals that you set at the beginning of the cycle may grow and adapt as you start to implement your newly acquired professional development skill set into the classroom. The TAP allows you to capture the full process of professional learning from skills development and renewal to classroom application, so that you can reflect on what worked well, what didn’t work, what no longer works, and what could work with some adjustments.  At the Center, we recognize that effective teaching involves a quality review process that embraces all of these levels of self-reflection and feedback. The Center provides a safe and welcoming environment for you to receive support at any part of this process, so please do not hesitate to contact us. 

FQAS--All faculty actively engage in professional development under the framework of FQAS throughout their teaching career, reflecting the continuous quality improvement culture at MATC. Completion of the FQAS cycle is a requirement of employment for all faculty. The requirements for completion and length of the cycle are dependent on your probationary or non-probationary status. For more information, including FQAS submission support,  please see the FQAS page on the Center’s website.

Community Engagement and Service Learning 

Faculty -- Thank you for your work with our students, especially in courses that contain community engagement and / or service learning. The MATC Community Engagement and Service Learning faculty have created a short survey to better identify and understand the work taking place at our institution.  

Please complete the MATC Community Engagement and Service Learning Project/Activity survey by Friday, December 8 if possible. If you have any questions, please let us know.

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.  

Mastering the Art of Grading Workshop
Monday, November 20th
Noon to 1pm
Virtual

Join us for a one-hour workshop on mastering the art of grading structure. The Center of Teaching Excellence coach, Natasha Librizzi, will bring experience and expertise to guide you through the intricacies of percentage and point-based grading structures. You can learn how to implement these grading structures in your class and optimize your grading process for student success. With a particular focus on setting up grades in Ulta under both methods, you'll gain practical, hands-on skills to enhance your teaching effectiveness. Don't miss this opportunity to revolutionize your approach to education and create a more equitable learning experience for your students. Tools from the Student-Centered Syllabus Toolkit will also be utilized to help you include what you learn directly in your syllabi.

COS NSCD Drop-In
Wednesday, 11/22/23, 11am-3pm
The Center (M201–Downtown campus)
Are you an instructor asked to teach a course using the COS, but don't know where to find it or how to apply it to teaching? Are you a Developer tasked to edit a Course Outcome Summary (COS) in WIDS? Come to the COS Drop-In Session on Non-Student Contact Day! Curriculum Coordinators will be available to answer your questions, and get you started updating a COS or help ensure it's formatted correctly.
 

COS Reboot

Friday  12/1, 11am-1pm

Are you a Developer and edit the Course Outcome Summary (COS) in the WIDS and would like to learn more about writing Learning Objectives, Course Competencies, and Criteria? The Center is hosting a workshop to help you write and update COS's as well as navigate the COS approval process. You can attend the workshop either in person at The Center (M201– Milwaukee campus) or virtually through Zoom

Want “Just-in-Time” support for Ultra? Next Session: Thursday, 12/6!

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. 

Collaboration Connection:

Interested in Curriculum and Assessment and Collaboration? Student-Centered Planning and Review  Facilitator Role--Now Open!

MATC is taking steps to increase the culture of curricular, delivery, and assessment, faculty ownership to ensure that students have an awareness, direct access to, and a full understanding of: course and program competencies, learning outcomes, instructional modalities, assessment criteria, and career essentials. Through the work of Student-Centered Planning and Review Facilitators, an integrative space for faculty to align curriculum and assessment within and between programs and pathways and in collaboration with the operational departments within the Learn Pillar will occur. This work will help to ensure that MATC’s culture of curriculum, delivery, and assessment is reflected in a sustainable structure with processes that complete the academic and instructional application of the Plan (Curriculum), Do (Delivery), Check (Assessment), Adjust (Quality Review) cycle.  Read more about the Facilitator Role...

 

Friendly Reminders:

OER Update:
No Cost/Low Cost courses must be accurately labeled for proper registration of courses by students - be sure to check for accuracy of textbook adoptions, especially if you received grants to adopt OER to your courses.The Fall 2023 MATC OER Newsletter highlights the latest in local through international OER news/opportunities. Check out the Fall 2023 MATC OER Faculty Feature with Professor Paul Carrier. Recordings are available here for the third annual WI Open Education Symposium: MATC’s Prof. Paul Carrier was one of the keynote speakers and MATC OER facilitators Dr. Elaine Strachota and Dr. Krystia Nora also presented about marketing OER at MATC to help save students over $1,000,000. The State Open Education Resources (OER) grant allotted MATC $125,000; we will soon announce funding opportunities for MATC instructors.

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.

Attention All Faculty--Commencement Speaker Applications and Volunteer for Commencement!

 

Volunteer for Commencement:

The 2023 Winter Commencement will be held Sunday, December 10, 11 a.m., at Fiserv Forum. If you would like to be a part of this memorable occasion for our graduates or if you plan to participate in the processional/ceremony, please sign up by Monday, November 20.

 
Commencement Speaker Applications:

Encourage all students graduating this December with a 3.5 (or higher) cumulative GPA to participate in the following competitions:

  • Outstanding Graduate (Associate Degree) Application – Speaker at commencement. Apply here. 
  • Outstanding Graduate (Technical Diploma) Application – Serve as the announcer at commencement. Apply here.
  • Students with a 2.75 (or higher) cumulative GPA can participate in the President’s Award Competition. Applications close on Wednesday, November 15, at 6 p.m.

Questions? Email honors@matc.edu
 

Additional Professional Development Opportunities:

 Call for Proposals:

The University of Rhode Island's inaugural Innovative Education Conference, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, is a free, fully virtual, one day event. The theme of this year's conference is "Inclusive Teaching in an Ever-Changing Learning Environment", and we hope you will consider sharing the work you are doing aligned with our five conference tracks: 

Innovative Approaches to Blended & Online LearningFostering Inclusivity in the Physical and Online Classroom EnvironmentEffective Strategies for Assessment & Measuring Student Learning Supporting Faculty Wellness & WellbeingTeaching and Technology in the Age of Artificial IntelligenceYou can learn more about the conference and how to submit a proposal here:  Call for Proposals: 2024 Innovative Education Conference – Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. Proposals are due December 8, 2023. 

Faculty proposals: Impact of Equitable Digital Learning on Minoritized Students
 
Every Learner Everywhere is developing a resource that highlights how digital learning can improve learning outcomes for minoritized and poverty-affected students. Every Learner will pay up to 25 faculty an honorarium of $500.00 for narratives of evidence-based digital learning usage in class that improved engagement or grades or both specifically for Black, Latino, Indigenous, or students from low-income backgrounds. This form is to submit proposals only.  If your proposal is accepted for inclusion in the resource, we will inform you via the email you provided and send a contract for the work through DocuSign. Payment will be processed upon delivery of the narrative.

Dec. 12 - 15: Dig into strategies for engaging your learners and fostering feelings of connection to course content. Interact with your peers in these hands-on workshops to incorporate active learning and match content with goals. Choose between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. start times.

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!

These suggested strategies can be used as bellwork when students enter the classroom, they can be used as a break during a lesson, or as a wrap up as a way to end the class.
For me, ChatGPT is just another in a long line of technology-assisted tools that I accept may become a routine part of my professional/personal life.
Emotional trauma results from sudden or ongoing events that make us feel unsafe or helpless. Learn more about recognizing and coping with trauma with JED.

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