UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Teaching and Learning Collaborative

TLC Teaching Tip of the Week: Spring Digital Lab Workshops

The Clark Library Digital Lab will present several workshops this semester. Topics will include:

  • Arduinos for Beginners: Workshop attendees will explore the basic functionality of Arduino microcontrollers and use online coding software to create simple programs.
  • Virtual Reality (VR): Participants will be able to use an HTC Vive VR headset and controllers during this drop-in session to gain an overview of the possibilities of the technology.
  • Adobe Premiere Pro: Attendees will be introduced to this professional video editing software, capable of producing high-quality videos for use in student projects.

Visit the Digital Lab (located on the upper floor of the library) or the lab’s website to register for a session. All workshops are free and last one hour. Additionally, contact José Velazco, Digital Lab coordinator, at velazco@up.edu if you would like to schedule an individual consultation on these or other multimedia topics.

TLC From The TLC: Mental Health Services for Students

As faculty and students return for the winter months of our “Spring” semester, the Teaching and Learning Collaborative hopes some might find it useful to get a primer (or, more optimistically, a reminder) about mental health services for students on campus. See the TLC blog for an overview of the who, what, where, when, and why of what faculty and academic staff might find relevant about counseling services for students at the UP Health and Counseling Center. Contact Andrew Guest for more information at guesta@up.edu.

 

TLC From The TLC: On Teaching Students How to Learn Your Discipline

If professors are finding that students in class aren’t learning, one remedy is to make sure we’ve made time to teach them how. In this week’s Teaching & Learning post, Lars Erik Larson summarizes two easy ways we can make our assignments and our fields more accessible and transparent to undergraduates, particularly first-generation and non-traditional students.

TLC from the TLC: Where To Turn for Student Help, Concerns

This week, as a third installment in the Teaching and Learning Collaborative blog series on mental health information for faculty and academic staff, meet the new and returning professional psychologists at the UP Health and Counseling Center. When we have concerns about students, who are the professionals that might help us know what to do, and who often help our students through challenging points in their college career? This week’s entry should help faculty know who to call.

TLC Tip of the Week: See It Right Here!

As the year gets underway, all faculty are reminded that the Teaching and Learning Collaborative exists to provide a range of resources and tips to help us hone our teaching craft. Each week, upbeat will publish a Tip of the Week; these will be archived in the very searchable TLC website, www.up.edu/tl. There you will find brief articles, videos and podcasts, as well as links to syllabus statements, Teaching Toolkits containing ideas for cross-curricular initiatives such as internationalization and ethics, and much more. TLC commits to presenting brownbag discussions and workshops each semester, which are driven by faculty concerns and expertise. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, at eifler@up.edu.

TLC from the TLC: Don’t Forget to Play in Your Classroom

As instructors, at some point we were taught to “put away childish things.”  But if this included play, then we’re missing out on a powerful resource for the classroom. For this week’s Teaching & Learning feature, Lars Erik Larson uses Steven Johnson’s new book, Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World, to help faculty to consider the role of innovation-sparking play in their courses.  Follow this link to the review on the Teaching & Learning website.

TLC from the TLC: Making Thinking Visible Through Questions

Before the Learning Commons initiated tutor training across its programs, peer assistants commonly did more explaining and less asking. Nowadays, questions increasingly play a major role in peer assistance sessions. How might this peer assistant training topic in the Learning Commons transfer to faculty teaching and interactions with students? How can questioning transform our students’ thinking and our own teaching? See more about this topic from Learning Commons administrator Jeffrey White go to this link.

Questions? Contact White at x7141 or white@up.edu.

 

TLC from the TLC: Quick Tips for University Design for Learning

Would you like to increase the pathways through which your students interact with your course material? These quick tips from Inside Higher Ed for incorporating Universal Design for Learning into your course design are tried and tested.  By implementing some UDL strategies, you will not only save time (by reducing the number of after-the-fact accommodations needed), you will also increase student engagement in your course which can improve learning outcomes.  Trying just one new strategy in your course design can make a demonstrable difference in your students’ learning experiences.

When more students understand and master your course material, they’re more confident in sharing their knowledge and supporting other students in the learning process.  While this NYT article is a little longer (15-20 minutes to read), it outlines the exciting example of Xavier University where community-supported learning is incorporated into course and program design.  Against the odds, the impressive results demonstrate significantly improved measurable learning outcomes in Xavier’s graduates’ admit rates to (and graduation rates from) medical school.

Feedback, questions or ideas to share?  Please contact Melanie Gangle in accessible education services at gangle@up.edu.

TLC Teaching Tip of the Week: Breaking the Cramming Cycle

The middle of midterm season forces us to come to grips with the fact that many students resort to cramming for exams. It seems to work well enough, but two days later it’s as if learning the material never happened. Employ the tools of recency, frequency, and potency to help students cram less and remember more. To flesh that tantalizer out, read on at this link to the TLC blog.

TLC from the TLC: It’s About Time

Welcome to the fifth week of the semester. By this time, students are dealing with the reality of just how much they still have to do for their courses. Those who successfully navigate their busy course loads will likely have developed approaches to managing their time and learning. In the newest Teaching and Learning Collaborative blog post, Jeffrey White of the Learning Commons shares a few topics and useful tips that he addresses in training peer learning assistants to help students improve their relationships with time and tasks.