Issue 5

Issue 5--Published: Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Getting to Know the Center for Teaching Excellence:

One of the Center for Teaching Excellence’s responsibilities is to help the college align initiatives so the hard work that is put into these projects has a positive impact on student success. No place impacts students more than the classroom. CTE recognizes that quality teaching requires space for self-reflection and adjustment. All of us at the Center have classroom experience, so we understand how important it is for teachers to help and support each other as we work together to help our students become who they want to be. If need support, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Our Work--CTE and You!

Teaching Action Plans--What You Need to Know

As you work to incorporate your goals into the classroom, the new FQAS process acknowledges the importance of an embedded growth mindset in successful professional development. 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 redesigned Teaching Action Plan (TAP) allows you to capture the full process of professional development 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. CTE recognizes 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.

We encourage you to take a fresh approach to professional development, starting with this cycle’s TAP. The TAP is a living document that provides guidance and direction for the professional development activities that you choose to participate in throughout your FQAS cycle. It is designed to help you organize your goals, identify a peer coach, and chart your progress. Think of the TAP as a framework to build your professional development structure, so you can meet your own goals for fostering student success.

Below are the suggested time frames for staying on target with your TAP.

If you are a Full-Time Post-Probationary faculty, you will complete one TAP each year. These are labeled in your SumTotal FQAS cycle as TAP Year 1 and TAP Year 2. Because the TAP is updated throughout the process, it should only be submitted into SumTotal at the end of the academic year. Your suggested timeline is:

Fall:

Make a copy of the TAP form
Choose your Peer Coach
List your goals (minimum of 1)
Plan some initial actions that you will take

Winter:

List the actions that you’ve taken that relate to your goals in Part 2 of your TAP.
- Best practice: If the actions are also professional development activities that could be documented as part of your required FQAS hours, then consider submitting them into SumTotal at this time to keep a running total of your hours in Teaching Excellence/Student Success or Currency.
Reflect on how the TAP acts as a guide for deciding which professional development activities to participate in and adjust accordingly.
Check in with your Peer Coach - do they have any ideas or best practices to share with you? How are you progressing?

Spring:

List any additional actions you’ve taken towards your goals. If the actions are also FQAS activities then submit them into SumTotal as well.
Arrange for your final meeting with your Peer Coach, share your results, and get written feedback and a signature from your Coach on your TAP form.
Save the completed form and submit it to SumTotal under “TAP: Teaching Action Plan”.

You are required to submit your completed form every year prior to June 30.

If you are a Part-Time Post-Probationary, Part-Time Probationary, or Full-Time Probationary faculty, you will complete one TAP each FQAS cycle. Because the TAP is updated throughout the process, it should only be submitted into SumTotal at the end of the cycle. Your suggested timeline is:

First year of FQAS cycle:

Make a copy of the TAP form
Choose your Peer Coach (PT post-probationary) or use your Faculty Development Coach (PT or FT Probationary)
List your goals (minimum of 1)
Plan some initial actions that you will take

Middle year(s) of FQAS cycle:

List the actions that you’ve taken that relate to your goals in Part 2 of your TAP.
- Best practice for PT post-probationary: If the actions are also professional development activities that could be documented as part of your required FQAS hours, then consider submitting them into SumTotal at this time to keep a running total of your hours in Teaching Excellence/Student Success or Currency.
Check in with your Peer Coach (PT post-probationary) or Faculty Development Coach (PT or FT Probationary) - do they have any ideas or best practices to share with you? How are you progressing?

Final year of FQAS cycle:

List any additional actions you’ve taken towards your goals. For PT post-probationary: If the actions are also FQAS activities then submit them to SumTotal as well.
Arrange for your final meeting with your Peer Coach (PT post-probationary) or Faculty Development Coach (PT and FT Probationary), share your results, and get written feedback and a signature from your Coach on your TAP form.
Save the completed form and submit it to SumTotal under “TAP: Teaching Action Plan"

You are required to submit the form by June 30 at the end of your FQAS cycle year.

All faculty are required to participate in this Peer Coaching process; any questions should be directed to cte@matc.edu.

For more information, you can:

Make a copy of the TAP form
Explore what makes up a S.M.A.R.T. goal
Align your goals with MATC’s Standards of Teaching Excellence
Watch this video on how to download and use the TAP form
Watch this video on how to upload your TAP and other FQAS Activities that count towards Currency, Student Success/Teaching Excellence, and/or Probationary ZERD courses into SumTotal
Review these written instructions on how to upload your TAP or other FQAS activities into SumTotal

CTE Collaboration Connection:

MATC is one of over 300 colleges to participate in Achieving the Dream, an initiative designed to move teaching, learning, and “faculty leadership, engagement and respect...from the margins to the center of our redesign efforts.” To support your teaching and learning efforts, we encourage you to utilize Achieving the Dream’s Teaching & Learning Toolkit.

The College has created an Achieving the Dream Action Plan. One of the goals within the action plan is to Improve Student Engagement in the Classroom in Fall 2021 as reflected by a 10% increase in the frequency of usage scores in the “Student-Faculty Interactions” sections of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) survey in Spring 2022.

In the CCSSE survey, students will be asked to assess the overall support for learners by:

The use of email to communicate with an instructor
The discussion of grades or assignments with an instructor
The discussion of career plans with an instructor or an advisor
The discussion of ideas from readings or classes with instructors outside of class

The data shows that these engagement strategies have a high impact on student retention and persistence and that MATC could improve engagement in these areas. Your interactions with your students are valuable to their success. Many college initiatives such as the 21st Century Classroom and Stormer Connect are designed to support faculty in these interactions. The college would like to see the student perception of this increase from 46.7 % to 56.7%--let’s absolutely crush this!

Update--Learn Pillar Integration Committee Feedback Sessions:

Another college initiative that aligns with Achieving the Dream is the Learn Pillar Integration Committee, which will provide a structure for faculty involvement and collaborative decision-making across all Academic and Career Pathways. The Committee provides a diverse, equitable, and inclusive opportunity for front-line employees to give feedback based upon their direct interaction with students. The Committee performs this work by initiating and coordinating aspects of curriculum, instruction, and assessment using a collaborative and student-centered approach. For more information, please view the video and Google Slides from the Learn Pillar Integration Committee Feedback sessions. Opportunities to get involved are coming soon!

Friendly Reminders:

Priority Registration starts next week!

Let students know they can now view Winterim 2021 and Spring 2022 class options through the Self-Service catalog! They can meet with an advisor to get ready to register.
Course start dates:
Winterim 2021: Week of December 19
Spring 2022:
Week of January 16
Week of February 13 (12 week)
Week of March 13 (8 week)

Check out these important dates for advising and registration:
Advising Days are open now. Students can get a jumpstart on registering and connect with your Pathway Advisor at matc.edu/gethelp
Monday, November 8 – Priority Registration starts for current degree/diploma program students who are military veterans
Tuesday, November 9 – Priority Registration starts for all current degree/diploma program students
Monday, November 15 – Open registration starts for new students who are military veterans
Tuesday, November 16 – Open registration starts for all new students

MATC Professional Development Opportunities:

8-Week Course Conversion Workshop

CTE has 8-Week Course Conversion Workshops available on November 4th and November 19th. The workshop will provide a “hands-on” experience in converting a course with the assistance of Faculty Coaches and an Instructional Designer. The workshop is 3 hours long and qualifies for 3 FQAS hours.

Intermediate Computer Training Workshop:
This Workshop will provide faculty “hands-on” experience (with some assistance) on the following items:
1. Accessibility Syllabus: As a Word Document, PDF Format and Google Doc.
2. Download the gradebook from Blackboard
3. Translate documents and Blackboard content from English to another language
4. Career Essentials Assessment
5. Archive your Blackboard course shell
6. Import the archive into your semester course
7. Collaborate sessions

The workshop will qualify for 1.5 FQAS hours. Note: There is a minimum of 4 participants and a maximum of 10 participants in this workshop. We will cancel a course that does not meet the minimum required participants 3 days before the start.

Three different dates and times (come to one or come to all); will be held in M201(A) downtown:

Thursday November 18th from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Thursday December 2nd from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Friday December 3rd from 10:30 to Noon
To enroll, please email Erika Reyes at ereyes@matc.edu

HyFlex Workshop Seats Available

Are you considering teaching in the new HyFlex modality in the Spring term? The HyFlex Workshop schedule still has open seats available. To sign-up for a HyFlex Workshop on 11/12 or 11/13, visit the HyFlex Modality page on the CTE website. FQAS hours apply.

On Friday, November 5 from noon - 1:30pm, the DEI Committee will host a workshop with Dr Jennifer Bloom, titled "Engaging and Retaining Students through Appreciative Advising." This is a six-stage framework that teachers, mentors, advisors, and counselors can use, and Dr. Bloom was the scholar who developed it and has published a book on the topic. During the workshop, she will explain each phase and give practical strategies for each one. The workshop will not be recorded. FQAS hours are available, along with DEI badge points.

Additional Professional Development Opportunities:

Achieving the Dream--Upcoming Webinars and Events:

MATC’s partnership with Achieving the Dream (ATD) provides many opportunities for faculty to participate in outstanding professional development opportunities. Many of the upcoming sessions are free; however, CTE is willing to support faculty participation in Achieving the Dream professional development opportunities. To be awarded these funds please make a copy of the College-Sponsored Professional Development Agreement and email it to cte@matc.edu. Below are some links to upcoming ATD Professional Development opportunities.

Holistic Student Supports and Mental Health Summit (virtual conference): November 4-5

Moving Things Along: How Adopting Shortened Semesters Accelerates Student Momentum and Success (webinar): November 16

Collaborating with Faculty on Designing with Adaptive Courseware: An Instructional Design Perspective (webinar): November 17

Free Quality Matters Webinar: Principles and Best Practices for Using Visuals in Course Design

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at Noon.
Learn more about how visual design can enhance online learning during our next Online Learning Webinar! Join Todd Douglas from CourseArc and Dr. Bethany Simunich from QM to:

Explore basic graphic design principles, components and considerations
Discover ideas for incorporating visuals into the design of your online course
Receive a downloadable resource — the Bridge to Quality Course Design Guide — that walks you through all facets of designing a quality online course

The webinar is free and open to everyone.

Keeping You Posted:

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

The MATC Open Access Team proudly presents the first OERSeries session on November 17 from 11 am – noon. This session will showcase MATC resources and support available to help you learn about and adopt Open Educational Resources (OER) into your courses and promote equity in your classrooms.

Our ambitious effort called the Moon Shot for Equity continues to make progress. This month's update includes:

eConvening Series:
Disaggregating Data
Executive Update link
Technology updates, including Navigate
Step-by-step instructions to create an EAB account

Feel free to share with your teams as appropriate.

Read the Moon Shot Newsletter

Research and Best Practices

Incorporating evidence-based classroom best practices has a huge impact on student success. Each week we will provide information that is meant to be engaging, thought-provoking, and applicable to various classroom environments. Enjoy!