By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Are you using Blackboard Grade Center to its full capacity? If not, you may be missing out on ways to simplify your grading. In this article, some of your VU colleagues share their favorite features of Blackboard Grade Center . Dan Maguire (ECE) talks about using rubrics […]
Category: 2022
VU Faculty Test-drive Simple Syllabus
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) This summer several VU faculty piloted Simple Syllabus, a new tool that ensures students can, with a single click, get to the most important parts of your syllabus. In this article two faculty–Theresa Carroll (CONHP) and David Rolling (Kinesiology)– talk about their successes and […]
Helping All Your Students with Universal Design for Learning
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) Many of our students are struggling right now. Some are hampered by two years of lockdown and missed learning. Others have learning disabilities, whether diagnosed or not. How can you help these students succeed in your classes? Christina Hearne, Director of the Access & […]
Using Student Groups Effectively
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Putting students in groups during class improves engagement, retention of knowledge, and deep learning according to several studies (see list of further resources at the end of this article). Students learn better when they can build knowledge together or when a fellow student explains a concept in […]
What to Do for the Last Week of Class
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Does your last week of class look like every other week of the semester? If so, you may be missing a chance for a memorable finale that will fix the semester’s learning in your students’ minds. In this article some of your colleagues share their ideas about […]
Take the Pain Out of Testing
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Everyone hates tests. For students, test anxiety has long been on the rise. Faculty dread both writing exams and the tedium of grading them. Three of your VU colleagues have found a way to take some of the pain out of testing. Musa Pinar (Business) draws on […]
Self-Care for You and Your Students
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL The second half of fall semester is bound to be a stressful time both for you and your students. For students, major assignments start to pile up and they begin to feel that they can’t stay on top of things. For faculty, keeping up with grading becomes […]
Using Starfish to Help your Students Succeed
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Starfish is one of Valpo’s primary retention tools. Used properly, it lets both students and advisors know early on when a student is struggling in your class. Yet many faculty don’t use Starfish at all or don’t take full advantage of its features. In this article, student […]
The Green Campus and Eco-Pedagogy
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) Would you like to see VU become more sustainable? Then read on to learn about some green initiatives on campus. Alberto López Martín (WLC), VU’s first Faculty Development Fellow, has spent the last year working on eco-pedagogy with a faculty learning community co-led […]
Helping Your Students Write Better
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL We all know that VU’s Writing Center exists to help students become better writers. But faculty often do not make full use of this splendid resource. In the following article, student writing consultant Maddie Henry gives us some tips about how we and the Writing Center […]