Teaching Tips – Office for Faculty Excellence

Default Syllabus Template for Spring 2025: What You Need to Know

seninav — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 19:36:52 +0000

As previously announced by Provost Gonzales, the Montclair Syllabus by Simple Syllabus is the default syllabus in Canvas for all courses beginning in Spring 2025. This template, created by OFE and a University Faculty Committee, and administered and supported by ITDS, helps instructors quickly produce a familiar, easy-to-navigate syllabus that students rate as much more helpful than others instructors use. Designed especially for instructors who have not previously used the Montclair Syllabus by Simple Syllabus, this session will offer a brief overview, rationale, and basic how-to along with some tips about adding your own style to the template.

Remaining session dates: Jan 22.

Student Support Partners: The Dean of Students Office: An OFE Partners Session

seninav — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 13:05:09 +0000

Faculty members are not on their own when it comes to supporting students. We know faculty play a crucial role in fostering a nurturing environment that addresses students’ broader needs of well-being and success. It’s a collective effort that involves engaging departments and resources. Instructors might not always be aware of the types of resources they can refer their students to. To bridge this gap, representatives from the Dean of Students Office (DOS) will shed light on the available resources as well as address the DOS’s role in helping students deal with their absences effectively, this week’s Strong Student Campaign theme. Questions welcome!

The Strong Student Campaign: Planning for Next Year

seninav — Mon, 06 May 2024 18:27:53 +0000

Whether you participated in the Strong Student Campaign this semester or want to learn more about it, please join us for this session. In this campaign, we are working with staff across the university to provide clear guidance on the small, simple behaviors students can adopt to be successful. Students are messaged directly, but instructors can do their part as well. Learn about the campaign, how you can incorporate it (simply and easily) into your fall course, and give feedback on how we can make it even stronger.

Discussion Boards are Out, Memes, FlipGrid, Videos, and Podcasts are in

seninav — Mon, 06 May 2024 18:20:02 +0000

Dr. Barry Bachenheimer will share how he uses digital tools such as memes, FlipGrid videos, Bitmojis, and podcasts to engage online students in a more creative and interactive manner. These approaches have helped him ensure that his students are completing original thoughts and work! Bachenheimer will provide practical and hands-on examples and tips for integrating these ideas into your courses. You can expect to come away with a better understanding of how to engage students using digital pedagogy as well as the benefits of doing so.

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About the speaker

Dr. Barry Bachenheimer has been an adjunct professor at ��vlog since 1998 in the Teaching & Learning and Educational Leadership Departments. He currently teaches in the Educational Leadership Master’s Degree Program. He is a member of the ��vlog Network for Educational Renewal Executive Board. Dr. Bachenheimer was the recipient of the prestigious Ercel Watson Award from the University in 2009 for his ongoing support of teacher education programs.

Bend without Breaking: Reasonable Flexibility

seninav — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:03:13 +0000

As the end of the semester approaches, instructors often find themselves confronted with questions about attendance, late work, and how to be flexible within reason. Join us for this online session on Tuesday, Apr 16, from 2-3pm, or Friday, April 26, 10-11am, to consider what “reasonable flexibility” might look like in your classroom. Please register to receive the Zoom link.

Connect Your Students to Careers and the World of Work

seninav — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 16:14:07 +0000

Interested in helping students connect their work in your course to their future career? Would you like to identify resources and tools that support students who are exploring their career options? Chantelle Wright, Executive Director for Experiential Education and Career Connections, will show faculty a few manageable techniques and tools to incorporate career planning into their existing courses, helping students to be ready for post-graduate career success.

Racial Trauma-Informed Strategies in Supporting Students of Color

seninav — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 21:37:06 +0000

This seminar, led by guest speaker Jasmine Lee, will equip faculty, advisors, coaches and mentors who work with students of color with the tools and knowledge to recognize and support students as they experience mental health concerns. In this seminar participants will explore how racial trauma and racial battle fatigue impact the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color, and learn how to adopt trauma-informed strategies to support and empower students of color.

Event is facilitated by the Steve Fund, a national organization dedicated to supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color.

About the Presenter

Dr. Jasmine Lee is a highly motivated, passion-driven individual who considers herself a scholar, practitioner, and activist. She is proud of her Lansing, MI roots, where she started her college career at Lansing Community College. She currently works at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she serves as the Director of Inclusive Excellence. For over a decade, Dr. Lee has served students directly by creating inclusive campus environments through direct programming, strategic student success initiatives, and collaborative leadership, along with consultation for racial climate concerns and broader diversity issues for faculty and staff across campus. Dr. Lee completed her doctoral degree in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Michigan State University. Her research focuses broadly on Black college student experiences, social justice, and theory-to-practice methods for higher education professionals. Additionally, she holds a BSW from Eastern Michigan University and MSW from the University of Michigan.

Gaming in the Classroom

seninav — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 21:11:48 +0000

Who doesn’t like to play games? It is no secret that integrating games into our courses makes class time fun and students engaged. But gaming also offers added benefits of introducing critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, and collaboration while reinforcing knowledge. In this workshop, I will share with you ideas for games you can use in class.

About the Speaker

Livia Alexander is a curator, writer, and Associate Professor of Global Visual Cultures at ��vlog. Her work focuses on global perspectives on modern and contemporary visual art; cinema, expanded media, and aesthetics; creative placemaking and cultural economy; and modern and contemporary art, cinema and expanded media of South West Asia and North Africa.

Mindset & Motivation: Psychological Factors in Learning

seninav — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 21:18:25 +0000

Seeking to learn techniques for engaging students in meaningful learning? Daniel Martin Rynerson, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, will explain the science behind tapping into students’ intrinsic motivation and curiosity to help them more easily integrate and retain new information. With evidence-based psychology and neuroscience practices, Daniel will guide participants in ways to implement a mindful approach to the learning environment to foster students’ knowledge acquisition.

Addressing Disruptive Student Behaviors: Classroom Management Strategies

seninav — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 21:11:33 +0000

How should you handle a student who continually interrupts you and others in the classroom? Or deal with students who have side conversations, distracting neighbors from the class discussion? How do you address a student who won’t stop scrolling their phone during group work? Join OFE to discuss and learn about proactive, in-the-moment, and after-the-fact classroom management strategies to deal with disruptive student behaviors.