UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Center for Teaching and Learning

January Book Club: “Mind Over Monsters” (Jan. 8)

The College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning invite you to join your colleagues on January 8, 2025 from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. for a discussion of Sarah Rose Cavanaugh’s book Mind over Monsters: Supporting Youth Mental Health with Compassionate Challenge. 

Statistics in recent years indicate that mental health problems have been rising among youth, which can impact access and persistence in higher education. Cavanagh, a professor and psychologist, employs pedagogical, neuroscientific, and psychological research to frame an approach we can use in the classroom: compassionate challenge. “When we employ this approach, learning is undergirded by compassion. We guide students into practices that encourage challenge and help them face their fears in an encouraging, safe, and playful way.” 

Please email ctl@up.edu to get your name on the list for both a free copy of the book and to join the discussion.

Co-organized by Allie Stewart, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, and Terry Favero, Director of the CTL. This project is partly funded by the HHMI IE3 Grant and CAS.

Center for Teaching and Learning: Innovation Grants

Do you have an innovative teaching idea you are interested in deploying in your classroom? Do you want guidance and support in its implementation and some grant funding to make it happen? The CTL is seeking applications for its Teaching Innovation Grant program to support innovative teaching endeavors across the college. Successful applicants will receive up to $500 in stipend and an additional $500 in project budget funds. All grant projects will receive guidance and coaching during the grant period. Interested?

Please inquire with the Center for Teaching and Learning (ctl@up.edu) or Terry Favero (favero@up.edu) for details.

This project is funded in part by the HHMI IE3 Grant.

Fostering Balance: Virtue and Burnout in Academia—A Conversation (Nov. 1)

Faculty at small institutions often experience burnout as they fuse personal passions and identify with the work output, leading to fatigue, burnout, and, ultimately, low morale. Please join the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Faculty Welfare Committee for a lunch discussion about faculty, work, and vocation within our institutional “family” context.

Join us on Friday, November 1, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in the Teske Room

Please email the ctl@up.edu to reserve your spot

We’ll explore the concept of virtuous excellence in academia, examining how we can avoid vicious excess and foster a more balanced, ethical approach to our work as educators. The lunch discussion will be based on the excellent article “The Virtuous Professor” by  Brandy Daniels (THE) and David Turnbloom (THE). This conversation will be an opportunity to reflect on our institutional culture and consider strategies for promoting true excellence without falling into the trap of harmful overwork.

Questions? Email ctl@up.edu. 

Center for Teaching and Learning: Constructive Dialogue Lunch (Sept. 25)

Faculty and staff are invited to a lunch discussion on Constructive Dialogue. The CTL is partnering with Anne Santiago, Ph.D., the Dundon-Berchtold Faculty Fellow for Constructive Dialogue, to explore how we, as faculty, can support student learning in this area. 

With a student body diversifying at a pace much faster than faculty demographics, along with students wanting to connect classroom experiences and content to present-day phenomena, we are likely to encounter socially challenging or politically​ charged topics in classroom discussion​s. How we manage those discussions can significantly move us forward in achieving our instructional goals. 

Where: Teske Room

When: September 25, from 12:20 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Seats are limited and lunch will be provided, so please RSVP to the Center for Teaching and Learning (ctl@up.edu) by September 22 ​to reserve a space. 

Seeking Applicants: Inclusive Teaching Scholar Program

All Full-time Faculty members are invited to apply for the Inclusive Teaching Scholars Program. This program seeks to identify and support at least one person from each academic unit for a total of 5 or 6 scholars who would function as a cohort.

Individually, Scholars will undertake or enhance an inclusive pedagogical project in areas that may include inclusive classroom strategies, assignments, activities, and assessments that support diverse student perspectives, and/or the development of or utilization of learning materials from underrepresented scholars.  Collectively, they would help each other, our campus enterprise, and serve as the conduit between the CTL and each academic unit for all things under the inclusive teaching umbrella. 

Scholars will be compensated $1000 for participation in the year-long program. This program is supported by the Howard Hughes Inclusive Excellence IE3 Grant. 

Applications are due September 27.

The application form and information sheet can be downloaded at the link below:

Inclusive-Teaching-Scholars-Program-APPLICATIONDownload

Email ctl@up.edu with questions or call Terry Favero, at x7373.

SAVE THE DATE(s)—Pre-semester Faculty Development Workshops from the Center for Teaching and Learning (Aug.14-16)

The Center for Teaching and Learning will host three workshops focused on supporting successful student outcomes in advance of the Fall 2024 semester. Subjects include workload stress, teach-induced distraction, and alternative grading.

About the Workshops:

From Burnout to Balance: Supporting Student and Faculty Success in the Classroom—Join us for an interactive workshop. We will examine sources of workload stress and explore strategies for promoting student success while trying to avoid burnout.

Wednesday, August 14, 10:30 am-12:00 pm, DB 234.

Reclaiming Focus: Strategies to Combat Tech-Induced Student Distraction—Personal and educational technology can be both a disruption and a tool for enhancing student learning. This workshop will not only explore the research on distractions and their impact on student learning, but also provide practical strategies to help students overcome technology-induced distractions. You will also have the chance to create a technology policy that can guide your discussions with students on the appropriate use of technology in your class.

Thursday, August 15, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, DB 234.

Alternative Grading: Practical Strategies for Moving Beyond Theory—This hands-on workshop will help move faculty from the “thinking” to the “doing” stage of alternative grading. Participants will receive a stipend to develop alternative grading measures for a substantial assignment ($200) or entire course ($500). All participants will have use of and access to an experienced coach to help guide them in revising their grading policies in STEM, in writing, and in other courses as well. This workshop is funded by a grant to the University of Portland from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Inclusive Excellence Program.

Space for this workshop is limited; please indicate your interest by writing to CTL@up.edu or favero@up.edu.

Friday, August 16, 10:00 am-3:00 pm, DB 234.

If you have any questions or specific interests in any of these workshops, please email either CTL@up.edu or favero@up.edu.

A Discussion on Discussions (Feb. 28)

Is it possible to have every student speak and contribute to class every day? Are you curious to learn about the best ways to prepare for and manage class discussions? Join the CTL as it hosts Allie Stewart (GWSS/ILC) and David Turnbloom (THE) for lunch and community-building.

Teske Dining Room on Wednesday, February 28, 12:10-1:20 p.m.

Lunch is provided and seating is limited rsvp at ctl@up.edu or favero@up.edu.

Center for Teaching and Learning Email Digest

Are you looking for new and innovative ways to engage your students?  (Of course you are.) Do you want to stay up-to-date on the latest research and trends in education? (Of course you do.) Are you seeking inspiration and motivation to help you grow as a teacher? (Absolutely.) If you answered yes to any of these questions then look no further than the CTL email digest!

When you subscribe to the CTL email, you’ll receive a wealth of resources and insights to help you become a more effective and impactful teacher. Each month, you’ll get access to:

·      One effective, easy, and ready-to-implement classroom strategy or activity to help you engage your students and enhance their learning experience.

·      One link to an interesting and relevant research article or podcast to help you stay informed about the latest trends and developments in education.

·      One thoughtful and perhaps insightful quote or affirmation about our collective practice as teachers to help you stay motivated and inspired.

You can join the CTL monthly email by sending a note of interest to favero@up.edu or ctl@up.edu today. Join in and discover a world of new possibilities for your teaching practice!

Center for Teaching and Learning January Workshops & Events

The Center for Teaching and Learning will partner with faculty from various departments in January to present workshops focused on supporting our efforts to pursue excellence in teaching.

January 2-11

Moodle Update Drop-in Hours
Franz 107 1-4 p.m.

January 10

Alternative Grading 1- Overview and Examples from Non-Writing Intensive Courses.
Part 1: 2-hour Workshop for new and concurrent faculty stories and examples of how to integrate AG into your teaching- examples from various disciplines will be shared. Tamar More (PHY) and others.
DB 234 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Alternative Grading 2- Alternative Grading and Writing Intensive Courses.
Part 2: 1-hour workshop on Alternative grading in Writing Intensive Courses with Josh Swidzinski (ENG) and Andra Davis (SONHI).
DB 234 1 p.m.-2:15 p.m.

January 11

CAS/CTL Book Discussion Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks.  Contact Allie Stewart (stewarta@up.edu) for details. DB 234 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

January 12

Teaching First-Year Students: What Happened? So What? Now What?
With Brenagh Sanford and various faculty.
DB 234 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

CTL Teaching Grant UPDATE

Due to an error, previous submissions for the CTL Innovation Grant Program via Qualtrics were not saved. We apologize for the issue and respectfully request that you please resubmit your grant application materials to the updated application link.

Please use the updated link below to resubmit your grant.

https://uportland.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a5Ut1vwgF9LlH9k

You may also email a DOC or PDF of your application to Terry Favero (favero@up.edu).

Previous information about the grants can be found here:

https://sites.up.edu/upbeat/call-for-applications-teaching-innovation-grant/

If you have questions, please email Terry Favero (favero@up.edu).