Teaching + Learning

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Welcome

Welcome to the webpage of the Jane B. Nord Center for Teaching + Learning 

This center was established in 2022 to support excellence in teaching and learning at CIA. In our inaugural year, we worked to create a webpage that provides resources across various topics, from course design to equity-centered pedagogy. As we continually work to build a site that is useful and informative, we welcome any feedback, questions, or suggestions of excellent resources. Please use our suggestion box or email the center's director: keweaver@cia.edu. 

Page Descriptions 

We currently have five pages in addition to this home page. Some pages are only accessible for CIA faculty and staff. 

1. Resources on Teaching and Learning - offers various resources (e.g., videos, books, articles, podcasts) arranged by topic.  

2. Workshops, Opportunities, and Events - listing of current offerings with descriptions and registration links.  

3. Educational Technology - resources, information, and opportunities related to educational technology, focused on our Interactive Media Lab (IML) and generative AI. 

4. Using Canvas - provides information and resources for Canvas, our learning management system (LMS). 

5. Supporting Neurodivergence at CIA - provides information on the ways CIA is working to be more neuro-inclusive and resources to support this work. 

Regular Offerings

  • Consultations: These individual or group consultations are an opportunity to get focused support for specific issues. These are typically an hour-long conversation (in person or online) followed by an email that summarizes the issue, offers several resources, and provides ideas. Consultation topics could include course planning, equity practices, classroom management, or any other issues related to teaching and learning. 

  • Newsletter: The NCTL sends 3-4 newsletters per semester. They include reflections on current events and issues, resources, programming information, and opportunities for professional development. Past newsletters are available on this page. 

  • Workshops: The NCTL offers several workshops each year on a range of topics. Many of the in-person workshop topics will also have an asynchronous video version available. Please see the "Workshops, Opportunities, and Events" page for more information. 

  • Learning Communities: These are cross-disciplinary groups that engage in an active and collaborative yearlong program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning. Learning communities offer learning, development, and community building. They are outcome/output-based and often structured around a central topic. Learning community members will be asked to come to regular meetings (1-2 times a month) prepared to discuss topic-based resources, develop intended outcomes/outputs, and take steps toward reaching those outcomes and outputs. Learning community members should see themselves as institutional change agents, prepared to share their learning with others through opportunities such as departmental meetings, Nord Center programming, and written research.   

  • Course and Curriculum Design: The NCTL offers several supports for course and curriculum design, including one-on-one consultations, workshops, and resources. This work can be done with individuals, groups, or departments, and can be done in single sessions or multiple sessions spread out over a prolonged period of time. 

  • Canvas Support: Canvas is our learning management system (LMS). The NCTL provides support for setting up and managing your Canvas course, including using our attendance application, Qwickly. 

  • Assessment and Evaluation Support: Assessment and evaluation is a key practice of teaching and learning. The NCTL can help you design assessments that align with and promote your learning outcomes, and help you make decisions about utilizing formative or summative assessments. The NCTL also works with our Institutional Research office to design and evaluate surveys and other assessment tools. 

  • Course Observations: A member of the NCTL team can visit your classroom to provide feedback and support on your teaching practices. This can include a student focus group to better understand if your practices are meeting your desired outcomes and experiences. Course observations begin with a short consultation to determine your goals for the feedback and conclude with a post-observation debrief. These can be particularly helpful if you are trying a new teaching method or if you are faced with issues of participation and engagement.  

Make an appointment or Request

Please use this link to book time for a consultation. You can also use this to book my time for finding specific resources, reviewing materials, or addressing a specific question. For more complex requests, such as a classroom observation or a departmental workshop, please email me at keweaver@cia.edu. 

Suggestion Box

What I learned about teaching and learning from Career Services 

 

Fri, Aug 26 2022 at 10:18 AM 

In August, I met with Lauren Ryan and Cassidy Wagner from Career Services to discuss learning outcomes in the context of career readiness. In this post, I describe some outcomes in common with classroom learning goals and share insights about how faculty can cultivate key professional outcomes. 

Outcomes in Common 

Two of the areas they noted as important for career readiness felt very familiar to concerns I have heard from many faculty: (1) The ability to manage interpersonal relationships, and (2) the capacity for self-advocacy. We discussed this in relation to the process of critique, and the desire for students to be able to engage in this process more as constructive dialogue, and not as judgment that is painful or personally devaluating. While some students are able to engage in critique as a learning process, others may struggle with the process. These struggles may be related to developmental changes in how individuals relate to authority figures; it may also have to do with  personal experiences of trauma or mistrust which could stem from identities marginalized in society or adverse childhood experiences. 

One way we at CIA can help students to engage productively in critiques and professional opportunities is by nurturing their capacity for self-advocacy and self-authorship. Self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for oneself, ask for support, and make deliberate choices and decisions. Self-authorship is the ability to know oneself, reflect on one’s knowledge, beliefs and values, and constructively weigh various perspectives. We can help foster self-advocacy by sharing resources like those offered through CIA’s Academic Support department and reminding students that seeking help is an important skill for everyone to practice. The authors of the Learning Partnerships Model offer three core principles for supporting self-authorship: 

  1. Validate learners as knowers. This includes letting them see you as human, approachable, and invested in their success and encouraging the active sharing of ideas. 

  1. Situate learning in the learner’s own experience. This includes explaining the relevance of ideas and skills to students’ daily lives and current reality, and providing opportunities for students to reflect on what they know and believe, how they came to that knowledge and beliefs, and how they want to act on those ideas and values. 

  1. Define learning and mutually constructing meaning. This includes defining learning as a collaborative process and allowing students to see your thinking, reasoning, learning, and creative processes. 

I was also struck by two statements during the conversation: 

  1. The way that faculty communicate and relate to students carries over to how students relate to and communicate with employers and other professionals. Faculty can help students develop skills of professional communication by talking to them about how to communicate proactively about missing class or struggling with work and how to communicate with clarity and respect for one another. 

  1. All of our students benefit from mentorship, but many feel unsure about how to cultivate this relationship. Faculty can help by creating opportunities for interactions and making sure students see them as approachable and valuable resources for support. Connections and community are key to professional success, and the ability to network and interact with faculty help students feel valued and capable. 

Remember that Career Services is dedicated to supporting our students with their professional success. You might mention their many services in your class or request a presentation on one of many topics, including networking strategies, career exploration, and portfolio review.