No Images? Click here October 2019During the mid-semester crunch, I often find myself busy with “keeping up” with grading and also thinking about the courses that I will teach next semester. However, it’s not too late to consider making small changes to my current courses, and one good way of doing that is to administer a mid-semester evaluation. There are a few different ways to administer a survey like this in a course, the easiest being through a GoogleForm, but it can also be done through Blackboard or through a survey tool such as Qualtrics. We have instructions for setting up surveys using various Chapman-licensed software, such as Blackboard and Qualtrics. For the questions that you may want to consider asking on your evaluation, here are two samples with open-ended course evaluation questions that you can adapt for your own needs: Sample GoogleForm (please make a copy to use for yourself) Midterm Reflection Document (save to your local computer) And here are some reference articles that you may also want to peruse, on this topic: Parrish, G. (2016, Oct. 31). Transforming midterm evaluations into a metacognitive pause. Faculty Focus, Magna Publications. Shadiow, L., & Weimer, M. (2015, Nov. 23). A New Twist on End-of-Semester Evaluations. Faculty Focus. Magna Publications. As you are considering how you might make some small changes in your teaching this semester, I suggest that you watch this 3.5-minute talk from José Antonio Bowen about student thinking: If, after watching, you find that you would like to hear more of Dr. Bowen’s ideas about teaching, I will give away copies of his book Teaching Naked to the first three Chapman instructors who send me an email (remy@chapman.edu) explaining why they would like to know how their students “feel about water” (note: this prompt will make sense after you watch the video). Happy Teaching, Jana Remy
Introducing our Student WorkersLearn more about Sam, Alberto, and Zack, our EduTech Student Consultants Get a Head Start on Canvas TrainingOn demand training as well as videos and support documentation are available for you to explore! Join the Adobe Rollout GroupLearn how to promote the use of digital learning tools at Chapman! Save the Date - January Conference on Teaching (JanCon)Join us on January 24, 2019 for the annual JanCon sponsored by IETL & ETS. Additional information and registration details to follow. A Fresh New Look for Smith HallHave you been inside Smith Hall recently? Take a peek! Mindfulness Matters Learning CommunityWeekly mindfulness sessions, led by Michael Hass, will take place every Wednesday from 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. in Reeves Hall, Room 1. The dates can be found below: October 23, 30 November 6, 13, 20 December 4 Questions? Email Mark Maier at mmaier@chapman.edu. Supporting Students in DistressNovember 5 | 10-11:30 a.m. | Argyros Forum 209A Join a discussion of how to support students who appear to be struggling with physical or mental health concerns, personal or family crises, or other significant challenges that may impact them personally and academically. RSVP by emailing Kristen Entringer at entringe@chapman.edu. How to Write a Statement of DiversityNovember 14 | 10-11:30 a.m. | DeMille Hall 156, Human Resources Training Room or via Zoom A statement of diversity is increasingly becoming an expected component of a faculty’s portfolio. Learn how to compose a diversity statement at this workshop. Getting Started with CanvasNovember 19 & 20 | Orange Campus Canvas Trainer Adam Kuntz will be here for two full days teaching faculty about Canvas! Learn how to build your Canvas course from scratch at these workshops. Interested? Space is limited! Please email canvas@chapman.edu to get the RSVP link. This will be the only time Adam will be training during the Fall semester. Blackboard Learn Fall 2019 UpgradeBb will be down from 10 PM on Wed., November 27 to 10 AM on Thurs., November 28 to perform the Fall 2019 upgrade. Mark your calendars! Adobe Creative Cloud is now available for free to all Chapman faculty, staff, and students
No prior video production experience is required to use the IETL Instructional Video Studio! Explore 5 tips for creating better academic videos
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion hosts Safe Space faculty & staff workshops each semester
New email filtering system at Chapman U -- check your junk mail folder
Have you heard of Google Assignments? You can now supercharge collaboration in your Blackboard Assignments
Internet Explorer is no longer supported for Blackboard Learn
Training Available for Software and AccessibilityInterested in learning Excel for Mac? Take a look at these upcoming trainings with IS&T. NEW! The Online Classroom InventorySearch and view campus classrooms for available technology, room photos, and basic operating instructions. Find out more at chapman.edu/classrooms Magna Campus Presentation of the Week"How Can I Create a Platform for Difficult Conversations in the Online Classroom?" Presentation Date: October 21 and on-demand for one week NOTE: You will need to enter the following password in order to view this week's program: platform263 IETL Faculty Office HoursHave a question or need assistance? The IETL Co-Directors Jana Remy and Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith will hold the below office hours this fall in Beckman Hall 108 (located on the first floor, Starbucks’ side): Jana Remy | Tuesday, 1-2 p.m. Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith | Wednesday, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Learning Outcomes for Instructors, Not Just StudentsThere’s a fair bit of work involved with learning outcomes, and justifiably so. They help ensure that we’re on the right track in fostering our students’ intellectual, emotional, and in some cases spiritual growth. We need them. But why limit ourselves to student learning outcomes only? Critical Thinking: As a Course Goal and in AssignmentsWhy this article is worth discussing: hardly any research explores the connection between course goals and assignments, but this study does. Faculty were interviewed about course goals and assignments, and then their assignments were analyzed. The case in point is critical thinking, a common requirement of written work in many fields. See whether your guesses about connections between course goals, assignments, and how the latter were graded are verified by these findings. |