One of the aspects of teaching in the world’s largest public university system that I love the most is the CSU’s bone-deep commitment to an equitable education for all. While most of us can point to a seemingly tone-deaf initiative or two, at its core, the CSU was created to be the people’s university. For […]
Though I was a part of TLi’s Blended Learning Cohort 4 in 2013, I am now teaching my first blended classes. Three sections of my First-Year Composition Course in the English Program are blended. We meet face-to-face once a week for an hour and 15 minutes and the rest of the class is online. I […]
This is part 1 in a series of blog posts to highlight the work of our Teaching & Learning Innovations team. Each team member was asked to write a post about the work of one of their colleagues. When I first met Megan Eberhardt-Alstot and asked her about her work, a smile lit her face […]
Welcome to my first installment of a monthly series, Wired for Presence. High-touch humanized and connected course facilitation is essential in supporting positive student outcomes (course completion, grades, and student satisfaction) for historically underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged students (Kaup, 2012; Jaggars & Xu, 2016). However, balancing strong presence with a manageable instructor workload is of […]
Last night at the age of 41, despite my full time job as a university performing arts professor and mom of 2, I personally felt like I defied the status quo by dancing with Selena Gomez on the American Music Awards. I danced professionally in my twenties, and in my thirties shifted my dance practice […]
What a great gathering we had this month! We had new faces joining us and a big number of attendees participating remotely via ZOOM. Kudos to those that were using this tool for the first time! We discussed and shared some of the digital tools that are enhancing our courses (no matter their modality!): Google Sites, Canvas, Canva (not, not the same) […]
Announcing the HumanizED Podcast Teaching & Learning Innovations at CI is proud to introduce the launch of the HumanizED podcast. This podcast hosted by Michelle Pacansky-Brock, tells the stories of diverse students and those who serve them. The episodes will delve into provocative topics and unveil marginalized voices, in hopes of fostering connection and empathy through […]
After four years of a university education, one year abroad, years of volunteer and work experiences with people with disabilities, I was at a loss. What comes next? Graduation was coming up quickly, my friends had applied to graduate programs or jobs and I was sitting on my hands. My father suggested that I make […]
Recently, I’ve been examining Brené Brown’s research about vulnerability and it’s really got me thinking about what it means to college and university professors, as well as how it may be acting as a barrier to innovation. I suspect that vulnerability may seem like a strange topic to many of you. However, my experiences, which I share below, […]
Most people think they know what it takes to be a good teacher; in particular, most college instructors think they know how to do it and feel confident that they’re pretty good at it. Except for those few of us who have received formal education in how to teach, we model our approach to teaching […]
