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Sheridan Newsletter
April 2024
Funding Opportunities: Call for Applications
Apply to be a Teaching Consultant
The TC Program is a semester-long learning community for graduate students and postdocs where participants deepen their knowledge of evidence-based inclusive teaching practices. For more information and to apply, visit our website. Applications are due May 1, 2024.
Provost’s Faculty Teaching Fellows
The Provost’s Faculty Teaching Fellows program builds cohorts of senior faculty to enhance the culture of teaching and learning at Brown. This is a two-year role that carries a $5,000 research stipend. For more information and to apply, please visit our website. Applications are due May 1, 2024.
Collaborative Research and Scholarly Experiences (COEX) Course Design Institute
Are you interested in designing or revising a Collaborative Research and Scholarly Experiences-designated course (COEX)? During June 4-6, 2024, the Sheridan Center will host a three-day COEX Course Design Institute to provide support for course development including professional training on course design based on emergent practices within the COEX model, individual consultation and feedback, a supportive cohort of peers, easily adaptable course materials, and standardized assessment of your course. For more information, visit the COEX Course Design Institute website. Please submit an application by Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 9:00 am.
Remote-Accessible Teaching (REM) Grants
In collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the Sheridan Center is pleased to announce course development funds to support the development of REM courses in the undergraduate curriculum.
A faculty member is eligible to receive a $2,000 research award to support this innovation. The application deadline is rolling but all funds must be disbursed before June 30, 2024. This grant might be used as seed funding for the Fulbright Global Challenges Teaching Awards (with a focus on Racial Justice, Inequality, Climate Change, or Polarisation and Division), due April 29.
March/April Programs
Inside the Canvas Gradebook: Exploring Features and Functionality
Wednesday, March 27, Noon - 1:00 PM
Zoom
Please join the Sheridan Center for our Canvas Gradebook workshop! In a live demo, DLD Learning Technologists will cover topics pertaining to general gradebook settings, grade posting policies, exporting final grades to Banner, as well as a designated time for any questions.
Please register.
Gradescope: Giving and Grading Paper Exams
Wednesday, April 3, 10:00 - 11:00 AM
Zoom
In this workshop we will review how to set up, administer, and grade paper-based exams with Gradescope. Gradescope is a digital platform that makes the work of grading more efficient, equitable, and expeditious. It is designed to provide the benefits of digital assessment while maintaining the security and fidelity of paper-based exams. The first portion of the workshop will introduce optimal Gradescope workflows. The remaining time will be devoted to answering questions from attendees. Please register.
Informational Workshop: Developing Broader Impacts for Your NSF CAREER Proposal
Thursday, April 4, Noon - 1:00 PM
Zoom
This spring, the Office of Research Strategy and Development is organizing an informational workshop to help you develop your full proposal for a National Science Foundation CAREER award. Past awardees will share tips on developing the Broader Impacts section of the proposal and attendees can workshop their questions in small breakouts with past awardees and members of the Engaged Scholarship and Broader Impacts (ES/BI) Working Group (a university-wide committee). Please register.
Canvas Module: Having Difficult Conversations Online
Open April 8-19 (Asynchronous and online)
Difficult conversations are difficult because the participants care deeply about the topics being discussed. The online classroom poses unique challenges when it comes to having these conversations, and both diplomacy and vigilance are key. This two-week, facilitated online discussion features a guide and resources to help you have these types of conversations virtually, as well as discussion prompts that give you the opportunity to share your thoughts and experiences with fellow faculty. This asynchronous module will be co-facilitated by Christine Baumgarthuber (Senior Learning Designer) and Greg Dillon (Learning Designer). Participation is open to faculty, graduate students, staff, and postdoctoral scholars. Please register.
Freelance Journalism as an Academic: How to Get Published and Broaden Your Reach
Tuesday, April 16, 3:00 - 4:30 PM
SciLi 520
Whether it's adapting a piece of academic writing for journalism or writing an original piece, academics can freelance to broaden the reach of their work and contribute to public discussion around important topics in their fields. Meena Venkataramanan, a Sheridan Writing Center Associate and former Washington Post journalist, will lead this workshop, offering tips for freelancing as an academic and answering attendees' questions. Please register here by April 12. This workshop is open to all
Brown affiliates, with an emphasis on welcoming graduate students and faculty who are interested in journalism.
Faculty Lunch Series on Difficult Conversations in the Classroom
This series reflects on purpose-related themes -- why we teach and who we are as teachers -- while introducing varied approaches that can be used to facilitate classroom discussions, controversial or otherwise. Discussion takes place Noon - 12:50 PM, with lunch served for takeaway or continued conversation.
On Friday, April 5, please join us for a discussion with Professors James (Jim) Valles (Physics) and Ruth Colwill (Cognitive and Psychological Sciences) at STEM Ed Fridays.
Please register.
On Tuesday, April 9, please join us for a discussion with Professors Laura Snyder (Education) and Brad Gibbs (Economics).
Please register.
Dr. Amanda Tachine Virtual Talk
Thursday, April 25, 4:00 - 5:30 PM
We invite you to a public, campus-wide virtual talk with Dr. Amanda Tachine, author of Native Presence and Sovereignty in College: Sustaining Indigenous Weapons to Defeat Systemic Monsters. Dr. Tachine will discuss her research and the topic of decolonizing the STEM field, followed by a 10 to 15-minute discussion with Dr. Christina Smith and Q&A with the audience. Registration will be forthcoming from CSREA.
Dr. Tachine comes as part of the Sheridan Center's Decolonizing Reading Group and the talk is supported by a CSREA Faculty Grant award. If you are interested in participating over the summer (interest form), we will be reading A Third University is Possible by la paperson. Books will be provided at no cost.
Problem Solving Fellows Speaker: Team Based Inquiry Learning - What is that?
Friday, April 26, 10:00 - 11:30 AM
SciLi 720
Please join us for an interactive workshop with Dr. Drew Lewis on Team Based Inquiry Learning (TBIL)! In this workshop, we will describe the essential elements of TBIL, and participants will explore how TBIL can be adapted to their own discipline. This speaker is brought to you by the Problem Solving Fellows. Please register.
Spring Sheridan Center Learning and Writing Communities
STEM Ed Fridays
Fridays, Noon - 1:00 PM
SciLi 720 (lunch provided) and Zoom
Are you interested in discussing STEM education at Brown? STEM Ed Friday is a vibrant learning community where STEM instructors and staff members share ideas, experiences, and challenges related to STEM education.
Friday, April 5: Join us for a discussion with Professors James (Jim) Valles (Physics) and Ruth Colwill (Cognitive and Psychological Sciences) in Sheridan’s Difficult Conversations in the Classroom series. Please register.
Friday, April 26: We will be hosting Dr. Drew Lewis, who will share his experience with Team-Based Inquiry Learning, alternative ways to grade, and how to teach critical thinking and logical reasoning in STEM courses. Please register.
For more information, please contact sheridan_center@brown.edu.
Faculty Writing Group
Open to all faculty and staff
Fridays, 10:00 - 11:50 AM
Zoom
Faculty of any rank and staff are invited to participate in a Faculty Writing Group. Questions can be directed to Jeremy Lehnen (Center for Language Studies; Provost’s Faculty Teaching Fellow) at jeremy_lehnen@brown.edu.
Please see the full event description and register for the Zoom link.
Large Class Learning Community
The Large Class SIG is an interdisciplinary group of faculty members that meets monthly to discuss issues surrounding the teaching of high-enrollment classes. Provost Faculty Teaching Fellow and Economics Senior Lecturer Brad Gibbs organizes and facilitates these meetings. If you are interested in joining these conversations, please complete this form.
"I know I’m not alone in needing a little more accountability and a little more kindness in my day. The writing community provided both in great measure!"
"I felt so validated and supported during this challenge, 10/10 recommend."
Join the 14-Day Graduate Writing Challenge!
Are you a graduate student hoping to make progress on a writing project? Join the 14-Day Writing Challenge! Running from April 15-29, the challenge helps writers meet their writing goals by providing community support and accountability. Participation will be virtual with optional in-person gatherings. Participants will be asked to share their writing goals with other participants, write for at least 30 minutes per day during the challenge, post their progress at the end of each daily writing session, and cheer on other participants. Space is limited; register here by April 9. For more information email graduate_writing@brown.edu.
Ongoing Programs
Sign Up for a Problem Solving Fellow Consultation or Teaching Observation!
Are you a UTA, tutor, or professor who wants a student perspective on your teaching? Sign up for a Problem Solving Fellow (PSF) Teaching Consultation or Observation! PSFs are undergraduate students trained to give feedback on any and all elements of teaching or assisting in teaching a course. If you are a professor, TA, or tutor and you are looking to increase the effectiveness of your assignments, lecturing, or general teaching strategies, consider reaching out! Each consultation or observation is confidential, personalized, and led from a student-based perspective! Please fill out our interest form to get started.
Asynchronous Programs
Recorded Talks Available Upon Request
Recorded presentations available upon request for the Brown community include:
Designing Creative Assessments in the Age of AI (Brown faculty panel)
Fostering Student Mental Wellness
AI and Teaching (Brown faculty panel)
Rigor as Inclusive Practice
Relationship-Rich Education
A Call to Innovation: Hope, Joy, and Risk
Towards Anti-Racist Pedagogy
To view these recordings, please complete this brief request form.
Creating a Teaching Portfolio
This online, self-paced Canvas workshop from the Sheridan Center guides participants through the process of writing a teaching statement and creating a teaching portfolio. For more information and to register, see the Sheridan website.
Photo by Colton Sturgeon on Unsplash
Designing and Teaching for Online
This online self-paced Canvas tutorial guides Brown instructors through the design or redesign of an online or hybrid course. There are three pathways (Developing an Online Course, Structuring an Online Course in Canvas, and Teaching an Online Course) that allow instructors to work through the sections at their own pace based on their own needs and interests. The tutorial can be accessed anytime with this direct link (you must be logged into your Brown Canvas account): Designing and Teaching for Online.
Planning Resource: Sheridan Calendars
Interested in knowing when Sheridan Center programs typically run during the year? Please see the calendars below.