Fall Workshops and Events

Learning Communities

Learning Communities are small groups of faculty and staff (5-12 members) who meet regularly each semester to discuss specific topics of shared interest or to meet the needs of specific groups. Each group has a contact person who works with interested participants to establish meeting times.

Browse Learning Communities

Professional Development Circles

Join your peers in a Professional Development Circle to share ideas, discover new approaches to teaching and student learning, reduce your stress, and increase your success! Circles are led by a facilitator who will guide group discussion, arrange contacts with key individuals, and provide information about campus resources and opportunities.

Early Career Professional Development Circle

Future Professors Professional Development Circle

Seminar Series

Foundations of College Teaching

The Foundations of College Teaching certificate program gives graduate students the basic pedagogical foundation they need to become inclusive and equity-minded professors with students who are engaged in the learning process. By the end of the program, they will have the beginnings of a portfolio that they can use for job searches, grant proposals, and teaching awards.

Begins Thursday, August 19 - Learn more and register

Foundations of Diversity and Inclusion

This seminar series tackles tough questions involving culture, identity, and responsive teaching in a friendly, non-threatening environment. Topics include: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions, and Privilege and Power. Participants who complete all three seminars in the series will receive a certificate of completion.

Begins Friday, September 10 - Learn more and register

Seeing White: A Journey to Becoming Anti-Racist

Critically examine the ideas of whiteness, white-supremacy, color-blind ideology, and aversive racism.

Begins Friday, September 17 - Learn more and register

Foundations of Equitable and Inclusive Teaching

Shift your course design by intentionally reflecting on your teaching practices with student diversity in mind.

Begins Friday, September 24 - Learn more and register

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Workshops

The Safe Zone Project for Instructors

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, September 1 • 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (In-person – STV 401A)

Facilitator:
David Giovagnoli, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology

The Safe Zone Project is a nationally recognized open-source curriculum to promote the support and inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals in educational settings at all levels. This workshop is based on that curriculum with a special focus on employing the principles of the Safe Zone Project as instructors, both in the classroom and in the design of your instructional materials. Dig into the core vocabulary and discuss the complex web of identities represented under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Explore scenarios related to coming out, microaggressions, and handling difficult conversations in the classroom. This workshop is appropriate for all experience levels, including those who previously completed a Safe Zone Project-based training program. In addition to the two-hour workshop, participants will spend another hour independently crafting an artifact showcasing what they have learned from this program, which could include a statement for their syllabus, an in-class activity, or another appropriate teaching resource, for a total of three hours of professional development credit. Registration is required.

Reflecting on Teaching through Formative Feedback

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, September 8 • 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Online)
Wednesday, October 13 • 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Online)

Facilitators:
Jennifer Friberg, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Dana Karraker, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology

Over the past several semesters, course instructors have had to reimagine their courses, learn and apply new teaching strategies, figure out new ways to develop relationships with students, and assess all aspects of their courses. Once again, teaching contexts will be changing as we return to in-person teaching. Course instructors have risen to this challenge in remarkable ways and a scholarly teaching approach can help capture and document the work we are doing. In this two-part workshop, we will discuss the value of a scholarly teaching approach for gathering feedback for purposes of documenting teaching effectiveness and growth. Scholarly teaching involves systematically collecting data and critically reflecting on the data to understand how teaching practices influence learning. In the first session, participants will develop a plan for collecting formative feedback and in the second session determine how they can use the information to document teaching effectiveness. Registration is required.

Participants who complete and submit their plan for collecting feedback from students and a final reflection on the process will receive a $250 stipend. 

Design Your Online Course (Self-Paced Workshop)

Register by: Thursday, September 16

Asynchronous work:
September 23 to October 7

Facilitator:
Linda Summers, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology

The Design Your Online Course workshop includes an overview of the Quality Matters™ Rubric and provides a framework for participants to design an online course plan. An integral element of the workshop is an exploration of the eight General Standards of the QM Rubric, focusing on learning objectives and overall course alignment. Participants will complete a Course Development Plan. The plan includes all of the essential Specific Review Standards (SRS) with a column for how the participant will meet the SRS in their course and what resources they will need. Registration is required.

Participants can expect to spend approximately 20 hours of asynchronous work over a two-week timeframe to complete this workshop.

Applying the Quality Matters™ Rubric (Self-Paced Workshop)

Register by: Tuesday, September 28

Asynchronous work:
October 12 to October 26

Facilitator:
Steve Travers, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology

Learn about the Quality Matters™ Higher Education Rubric and how to use it to review an online course. This internationally recognized workshop includes hands-on activities designed to help you discover how to continuously improve an online course so that it meets research-based standards of high quality. This version of the workshop is offered as a two-week, fully asynchronous workshop. Normally, this workshop costs $300. As a service to University instructors, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology will offer this workshop free of charge to tenure track faculty, NTT faculty, and administrators. Those who successfully complete the workshop will receive a Quality Matters™ certificate of completion. Registration is required.

Participants can expect to spend up to 40 hours of asynchronous work over the two-week window to complete this workshop. 

Making Course Materials More Affordable for Students

Register by Friday, October 15

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, October 27 • 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Online)

Asynchronous work:
October 20 – October 26
October 28 – November 3

Facilitators:
Lindsey Skaggs, Milner Library
Heather Koopmans, Milner Library

In a 2019 survey, 73% of Illinois State University students reported that they did not acquire a textbook or course materials due to cost. Textbook costs have risen more than 150% since 2000, and many students are struggling to keep up with the overall rising cost of education. This workshop will examine attitudes towards textbook and materials costs and explore resources that are available to instructors who want to make their course materials more affordable for students. At the end of the workshop, participants will develop an action plan to integrate affordable materials into their course(s). During the first asynchronous period, participants will spend approximately 30 minutes on pre-synchronous meeting preparation. They will then spend approximately 2 hours working on their action plan during the second asynchronous period. Registration is required.

Community Partner Networking Lunch

Synchronous sessions:
Friday, October 22 • 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Community Health Care Clinic
900 Franklin Ave,
Normal, IL

Facilitators:
Dana Karraker, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Harriett Steinbach, Center for Civic Engagement

Are you interested in working with a community partner to help address inequities which impact people’s health? As part of the Exploring Wicked Problems: Social Determinants of Health series, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology and the Center for Civic Engagement are hosting a Lunch and Learn to explore community partnerships with several local health-related organizations. Join us for a lunchtime meet and greet with representatives from several local agencies who would like to collaborate with faculty, course instructors, and students. Community representatives will give a short overview of their programs, services, and needs, and then attendees will have the opportunity to network with the representatives and discuss possibilities.

Teaching with Text Analysis (Introduction)

Synchronous sessions:
Friday, October 29 • 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Online)

Facilitators:
Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Milner Library
Anne Shelley, Milner Library

Text mining and text analysis involve processes in which computers are used to find patterns and relationships in text, often examining a large corpora of texts. Text analysis techniques are useful in a wide range of subject areas and can reveal information and patterns that could otherwise be difficult to identify when reading through individual materials. Text analysis can provide students with opportunities to visualize text or to explore sources in a new way, such as through distant reading practices. Visualizing text can also provide new insights that may otherwise be easy to overlook during research, and these insights may lead to the development of further research questions. This hands-on workshop will cover different approaches to text analysis, such as word frequency and topic modeling, along with easy-to-use digital tools and resources that are freely available. We will have suggestions for incorporating these tools and resources into classes. After the workshop, an optional working session will provide additional time for participants to continue exploring the resources covered in the workshop. Registration is required.

Using Visual Literacy to Enhance Teaching, Learning, and Critical Engagement

Synchronous session:
Thursday, November 4 • 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Online)

Facilitators:
Vitoria Faccin-Herman, Wonsook Kim School of Art
Heather Koopmans, Milner Library

Images are ubiquitous. Providing students with tools to critically analyze what they see every day can make learning more memorable or meaningful. This workshop will introduce participants to several key visual literacy theories and concepts as they relate to teaching and learning. Flexible strategies will be emphasized so that participants may adapt them to work with varied classroom modalities (in-person, hybrid, online), teaching styles, and subject areas. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the role of images in their classroom and in their disciplines and identify ways to apply visual literacy to their current teaching practice to enhance learning and engagement. We welcome participation from any instructors who would like to help their students engage with images more meaningfully and critically, or who are re-thinking their own methods of teaching with images. Instructors from all disciplines at Illinois State are welcome to participate. Registration is required. 

Teaching with Digital Mapping

Synchronous sessions:
Friday, November 12 • 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Online)

Facilitators:
Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Milner Library
Anne Shelley, Milner Library

Digital maps are a way for students in any discipline to discover and create relationships between physical locations, but also to relate these locations to events, people, and other elements. Creating maps is also a good way for instructors to provide course content in an engaging, potentially interactive way. In this hands-on workshop participants will learn about easy-to-use, freely available tools for creating geographic and story maps. We will also discuss ways you can immediately start incorporating digital mapping into course assignments and activities. After the workshop, an optional working session will provide additional time for participants to continue exploring the resources covered in the workshop. Registration is required.

 

Got questions? Email us at CTLT@ilstu.edu. If you need a special accommodation to fully participate in an event, please call the CTLT main desk at (309) 438-2542.