By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) As we know all too well, both faculty and students have been worn down by the pandemic. In particular, the mental health of our students has suffered. Even before COVID, the teen suicide rate had increased so much in the last decade that it […]
Tag: pedagogy
What Faculty Learning Communities Can Do for You
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Some of your faculty colleagues have been meeting regularly this year to explore a teaching topic that interests them and then making positive changes in their classrooms. That is what our Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) do. In the following article, Abbie Thompson (Psychology) talks about what she […]
The Power of Leadership in Learning
By Ed Finn, Executive Director, CITAL I was fortunate to attend the 26th Annual International Leadership Association (ILA) Global Conference in Chicago, November 7-10. The impact of leadership in higher education cannot be overstated. In this article, I will mention just a few takeaways and implications that struck me as particularly timely. The title of […]
Check-Ins to Foster Community and Building Your Students’ AI Toolbox
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL I recently attended the Lilly Conference on Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning in Traverse City, Michigan. In this blog I will share with you two sessions that could be helpful for your own teaching. The first gives some ideas for simple check-ins with your students that can both […]
Two Responses to AI and An Innovative Approach to Teaching Ethics
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL In this blog I will share with you three more sessions from the recent Lilly Conference that could be helpful for your own teaching. The first two sessions have very different approaches to AI. The first provides some practical classroom tips, while the second suggests that faculty […]
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 & […]
Teaching Underprepared Students and The Hidden Curriculum
By Tiffany Kolba (Math & Stats), Jenna Van Sickle (Lilly Fellows), Jesse Sestito (ME), & Lauren Sestito (ME) This academic year, fifteen Valpo faculty and staff members met biweekly for a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on “Teaching Underprepared Students and The Hidden Curriculum.” During the fall semester, we focused on reading two books: Teaching Unprepared […]
Reimagining the Curriculum
By Theresa Carroll (CONHP), Alberto López Martín (World Lang & Culture), and Karen Hernes (CONHP) Several of your colleagues have been working to increase underrepresented voices in their courses as part of the “Reimagining the Curriculum” (RIC) Initiative. These faculty attended a three-part workshop series last spring and then implemented their curricular projects this year. […]
Fostering Community and Student Engagement
By Natalie Krivas (English) & Stacy Hoult (World Languages & Cultures) For the past year, a group of Valpo faculty and staff have been meeting as a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) to discuss Fostering Community and Student Engagement. FLC members learned about and experienced the Solutionary Process, to “identify inhumane, unsustainable, and unjust systems and […]
Inside-Out Prison Exchange – A Class Like No Other
By Dawn Jeglum Bartusch, Department of Sociology and Criminology In 1995, Professor Lori Pompa from Temple University took 15 students to a prison in Pennsylvania for a tour and conversation with incarcerated men. My colleague, Danielle Lavin-Loucks, and I have been doing similar prison tours and conversations with our Valpo classes for many years. The […]