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Sheridan Newsletter
November 2025
News from the Center
Introducing Pope Tech Accessibility for Canvas
Would you like to improve the overall quality and accessibility of your Canvas course? Sheridan’s Digital Learning & Design team is excited to introduce Pope Tech, a tool that will help you make your course site more inclusive for all learners. This tool is now available for any Canvas course instructor, designer, or TA. Visit our Pope Tech resources to learn how to use the Pope Tech Accessibility Guide and Canvas Course Dashboard. For questions, please contact dld@brown.edu or sign up for a Canvas course accessibility consultation.
Fall Programs
Braiding Knowledges: Understanding Indigenous Research Methods & Tribal Engagement at Brown
November 12 and 19, 10:00 - 11:30 am
Sciences Library 720 and Virtual
Register here
Are you interested in exploring Indigenous research methodologies and how anti-colonial praxis can enrich our pursuit of knowledge? Would you like to learn how tribal engagement at Brown can strengthen scholarship and align with the University’s Land Acknowledgment commitments? Faculty, staff, graduate students and postdocs at Brown are invited to join a two-part workshop introducing key concepts in Indigenous research methods, with case studies and examples of these approaches in practice. Together, we will consider how Indigenous methodologies can shape and strengthen our own work.
Co-sponsored by the Swearer Center for Public Service, the series will be facilitated by Christina Smith (Diné), Associate Director, Undergraduate STEM Development, in the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning and Adjunct Lecturer in Engineering; endawnis Spears (Diné/Ojibwe/Chickasaw/Choctaw), Practitioner in Residence for Tribal Engagement in the Office of Community Engagement; Tarisa Little, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Associate in History, NAISI and the Cogut Institute for the Humanities; Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason (Schaghticoke/HoChunk), Assistant Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Institute.
Registrants are encouraged to attend both sessions (November 12 and 19), though participation in a single session is welcome. Please email julie_plaut@brown.edu with questions.
ATLAS: Academic Writing Retreat
Applications close tomorrow for the ALTAS Faculty Writing Retreat, Brown’s two-day off-site academic writing retreat for faculty from the Office of the Dean of the Faculty. Taking place from December 16-18, 2025, this program is designed to provide dedicated time away to relaunch into research and writing, and support participants in identifying sustainable habits that might help them maintain a refreshed rhythm upon returning to the normal demands of life. Please direct questions to Esther Jones, Associate Dean for Faculty Development, at esther_jones@brown.edu.
CIRTL Self-Paced Teaching & Learning Courses (2025-2026 Academic Year)
Develop your teaching & learning knowledge and skills in one of CIRTL’s nine self-paced, asynchronous courses designed for graduate students and postdocs. These courses are now open for registration for the Fall 2025 term. You can read detailed descriptions of this programming and register by visiting the CIRTL website. If you have any questions, please email Dr. Logan Gin (logan_gin@brown.edu).
Fall Teaching and Learning Communities
Fall Faculty and Staff Writing Group
Fridays beginning on September 12
Zoom; 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Register here
All Brown faculty and staff are invited to participate in the Sheridan Center’s Faculty and Staff Writing Group. Writing groups can be an invaluable source of motivation and accountability, and the group is a “guilt-free” opportunity that prioritizes spending time in community and goal-setting together. Please register to receive the Zoom link for the sessions. Registration questions can be directed to sheridan_center@brown.edu. All other inquiries can be directed to Annie Gjelsvik (Public Health; Provost’s Faculty Teaching Fellow) at annie_gjelsvik@brown.edu.
Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash
STEM Ed Fridays
Select Fridays, Noon - 1:00 pm
SciLi 720 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.
Please register for an upcoming session:
Brown Learning Collaborative
The Brown Learning Collaborative provides opportunities for undergraduate fellows to collaborate with faculty and peer partners in key academic areas: Data Science, Problem Solving, and Writing.
Writing Fellows
Host a Writing Fellow in Spring 2026
Writing Fellows are trained peer tutors who provide one-on-one writing support in courses across the curriculum. In a ‘fellowed’ course, Writing Fellows comment on students' written drafts and hold individual conferences with students, where they discuss revision strategies. Faculty who partner with the program also receive support on how to integrate draft writing into their course designs.
If you are interested in hosting Writing Fellows in a course next semester, please complete the Writing Fellow Faculty Application Form by Monday, November 10th at 11:59 pm. Questions? Please email writingfellows@brown.edu.
Problem-Solving
Fellows
Improve Your Teaching with a Problem-Solving Fellow!
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! PSFs are undergraduate students trained to give feedback on any and all elements of teaching or assisting in teaching a course. If you are looking to increase the effectiveness of your assignments, lecturing, or general teaching strategies, consider reaching out! Each consultation is confidential, personalized, and led from a student-based perspective. Please fill out our interest form to get started. Questions? Please contact psf@brown.edu.
The PSFs are also working on projects related to faculty, staff, and advisor perceptions of S/NC; Brown STEM cultures from a student perspective; and making sense of new educational environments.
Asynchronous Resources and Programs
Teaching Metacognition
Based on Saundra McGuire’s book, Teach Yourself How to Learn, this Canvas Commons module can be added to any Brown course. The resource addresses these topics:
What is metacognition?
What is the difference between studying and learning?
How might your own study habits be setting you up for success, or holding you back?
What are proven systems, strategies, and mindsets to improve one's learning?
Faculty might also be interested in this Sheridan newsletter on Teaching Metacognition.
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, visit the Teaching Portfolio program website.
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.
English Language Support: Self-Paced Modules for Academic and Professional Communication
A new series of asynchronous modules is available for supporting international-identifying and multilingual learners’ academic and professional communication in the U.S.-specific context. These self-paced modules cover key communicative strategies, including effective email writing, professional communication for job search and networking, and navigating advisor-advisee interactions. Register to gain access to all modules using this Asynchronous English Language Support Request Form. Participants will be added to the English Language Resource Google Group and receive a link to the resource site. For questions, please contact Dr. Joy Liu at joy_s_liu@brown.edu.
Planning Resource: Sheridan Calendars
Interested in knowing when Sheridan Center programs typically run during the year? Please see the calendars below.