Volume 3, Issue 12--Published: Friday, March 8th, 2024

The Center and You!

With spring being so close, but yet so far away, March is a time of willful hope.  March is also the time to regroup, revamp, and reorganize before the final push of the semester. And just like we know that spring will be here soon, we know that the efforts that we put in now will pay off for our students in the weeks to come. The Center  has a lot of exciting offerings in March to help you stay engaged, invigorated, and motivated. At the Center, we know that happy and supported teachers create happy and supported students. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us!

MATC Professional Learning 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.  

Syllabus: Grading & The Syllabus Language
Join us for a one-hour workshop on mastering the art of grading structure. As the Center of Teaching Excellence coach, Natasha Librizzi brings 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.
Friday, 3/22/24, 11 am - 12 pm, Virtual

Blended & Hybrid Course Modalities Lunch & Learn
In this Lunch & Learn we'll examine teaching in the Blended and Hybrid course modalities. We'll explore scheduling, attendance, 8 & 12 week lengths, contact hours, student engagement, and other topics as we collaboratively discuss teaching in these modalities. Attend virtually or in-person at the Milwaukee campus in M201 (CTE).
Friday, 3/22/24 12:30pm-1:30pm, Virtual F2F Flexible

Flexible Course Modalities Lunch & Learn

In this Lunch & Learn we'll examine teaching in the HyFlex and Virtual F2F-Flexible course modalities. We'll explore scheduling, attendance, 8 & 12 week lengths, contact hours, student engagement, and other topics as we collaboratively discuss teaching in these modalities. Attend virtually or in-person at the Milwaukee campus in M201 (CTE).

Friday, 3/29/24, 10:30am-11:30am, Virtual F2F Flexible

Friendly Reminders:

Let's keep celebrating and learning from Open Education Week. Answer these three one-question MATC OER OE Week Scavenger Hunts, and you'll be entered to win $25 in campus cash! Deadline March 15.

     - WisTech Open Scavenger Hunt question

     - OE Week 2024 Scavenger Hunt question

     - MATC OER Scavenger Hunt question

Also, submit an OER grant application. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis throughout 2024.

8 Week sections (2nd set) begin soon! The second-set of 8-week classes begins on Sunday, 3/12 for many of us. If you are teaching an 8 week section, thanks for supporting this important initiative that is key to many of our students’ success!  
 
Final Grades for the 1st set of 8 Week sections due soon! Final Grades for the 1st set of 8 Week sections are due on Thursday, 3/14/2024.

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.

Ad Astra Training Workshops

MATC's Ad Astra team is excited to launch a series of training workshops to take the college to the next level in regards to course planning. As you might already know, Ad Astra has been successful at many colleges in regards to maximizing their schedule for students and faculty. For MATC, it pulls all the scheduling information that gets entered into Colleague and organizes it in all sorts of useful ways. It is meant for use by anyone who has their hands in scheduling courses, particularly faculty leads, deans, and associate deans.  There is an art and science to scheduling; Ad Astra blends both. 

Reporting  - March 15 - 2:00pm Zoom Link

Q&A - April 12 - 10:00am Zoom Link

Summer and Fall Registration Updates:

Mark your calendars for Summer and Fall 2024 class registration! To make the process as smooth and simple as possible, students will continue to register by their Academic & Career Pathway. Students in a degree, diploma or certificate program and taking classes this semester will have an earlier opportunity to register.
Summer and Fall 2024 class registration dates:

  • Continuing students (currently enrolled in a degree, diploma or certificate program):
    • Monday, April 8: Military veterans
    • Tuesday, April 9: Healthcare; Community Education pathways
    • Wednesday, April 10: Business & Management; STEM pathways
    • Thursday, April 11: Community & Human Services; General Education pathways
    • Friday, April 12: Creative Arts, Design & Media; Manufacturing, Construction & Transportation pathways

  • New students, continuing students, or students returning to MATC:
    • Monday, April 15: Military veterans
    • Tuesday, April 16: Healthcare; Community Education pathways
    • Wednesday, April 17: Business & Management; STEM pathways
    • Thursday, April 18: Community and Human Services; General Education pathways
    • Friday, April 19: Creative Arts, Design & Media; Manufacturing, Construction & Transportation pathways

  • Students not enrolled in a degree, diploma or certificate program can register beginning Monday, April 22.

Additional Professional Development Opportunities:

By challenging traditional instructional approaches, this webinar series provides support and resources for putting equity into practice.
Episode II of RACE: THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION (The Story We Tell) uncovers the roots of the race concept in North America, the 19th century science that legitimated it, and how it came to be held so fiercely in the western imagination.
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...
American Indian Studies: Implementing WI Act 31 Presented by: David O'Connor, American Indian Studies Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Date and Time: Wednesday, March 13, 2024 from 3:30pm - 6:30pm | Thursday, March 14,... The conference offers an opportunity to bring together...
Presented by Nicole Law, Sonja Hollins-Alexander, and John HattieBelonging, Identities, and Equity (BIE) Mindframes drive transformative practices for...

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!

We're here to bring instructors and teachers inspiration, energy, and creative strategies that they can utilize in their everyday teaching.
Exploring strategies in creating culturally responsive teaching that is applicable across different and diverse student populations.
You know the feeling. We all deal with it. Walking into a classroom the first day of a new semester, you're thinking about it all: What are going to be the first words out of my mouth? What are these students thinking about right now? Should I use that joke I used last semester?

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