Center for Teaching & Learning

Blackboard Ally is UVM’s new tool to help you make the files you post to Blackboard accessible to all students.

Do you ever wonder if your changes to your instruction or pedagogy are making a difference? Are you curious about how students are approaching a complex assignment outside of class? Do you want to know what would make your class more engaging for students? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), which is an increasingly popular approach to faculty development at institutions of higher education across the United States and Canada.

Today's episode:
Make Large Classes Interactive, Chrissy Spencer
Join colleagues to listen to a different Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode each Friday at noon. The podcasts are approximately 40 minutes and staying until 1:00 for some discussion afterwards is optional.

This is one of a series of short events called Sound (Teaching) Bites. In this session, we will discuss some of the reasons that active learning techniques are effective, and how to use this information to develop good (and avoid bad) active learning strategies in the classroom. Presenter: Annie Murray-Close, Psychology, Interim CTL Director

Instructional scaffolding provides students with supports to facilitate more advanced mastery and skill development. Effective scaffolding also includes the gradual reduction in supports as students become increasingly independent in their learning. In this session, we will discuss strategies for implementing scaffolding to help students achieve course learning goals. Topics will include potential benefits of scaffolding, common challenges and pitfalls of scaffolding, and strategies for addressing these challenges.

A small, colorful, meter now appears next to your files in Blackboard... will yours be red or green? To help ensure that our Blackboard course spaces are accessible to all students, UVM has implemented a new tool, Blackboard Ally. This new feature checks files against federal guidelines and, if necessary, helps you improve the files. It also provides alternative formats of those files to your students (e.g. HTML, audio, tagged PDF, eBraille, and more) so that all your students can benefit.

During this workshop we discuss the value of articulating a personal teaching philosophy and important elements to include in your statement.

Today's episode:
Team-Based Learning, Jim Sibley
Join colleagues to listen to a different Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode each Friday at noon. The podcasts are approximately 40 minutes and staying until 1:00 for some discussion afterwards is optional.

We teach from our own experiences. This workshop invites participants to think through their own writing background as a foundation for supporting writers in their classes. We’ll focus on reducing barriers and creating easier access to more productive processes.

We teach from our own experiences. This workshop invites participants to think through their own writing background as a foundation for supporting writers in their classes. We’ll focus on reducing barriers and creating easier access to more productive processes.

Today's episode:
Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone, Thomas Tobin
Join colleagues to listen to a different Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode each Friday at noon. The podcasts are approximately 40 minutes and staying until 1:00 for some discussion afterwards is optional.

This important presentation will discuss current mental health and behavioral trends and challenges in today’s college student population. Our guest presenters will identify best practices for faculty and/or staff in identifying, supporting, and referring students with behavioral and/or mental health concerns within and outside the classroom.

How do assignments (dis)encourage students to work? This workshop will present research findings on writing and engagement and then look at strategies for shaping assignments that get students working in ways you value. This interactive workshop will allow time for participants to apply these strategies to their own courses. Whether you're considering developing a new assignment or problem-solving with existing assignments, this workshop will open up possibilities for you.

How do assignments (dis)encourage students to work? This workshop will present research findings on writing and engagement and then look at strategies for shaping assignments that get students working in ways you value. This interactive workshop will allow time for participants to apply these strategies to their own courses. Whether you're considering developing a new assignment or problem-solving with existing assignments, this workshop will open up possibilities for you.

Blackboard Ally is UVM’s new tool to help you make the files you post to Blackboard accessible to all students.

Today's episode:
Intentional and Transparent Assessment, Natasha Jankowski
Join colleagues to listen to a different Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode each Friday at noon. The podcasts are approximately 40 minutes and staying until 1:00 for some discussion afterwards is optional.

Do you assign peer reviews on essay drafts and feel disappointed in the results? Peer-to-peer interaction can be a powerful motivator for student learning, but it's also a troublesome pedagogy. Students and faculty alike sometimes report that it seems like wasted time that takes away from the professor's input on priorities -- yet research says otherwise! What causes this disjunction? A lack of coaching and practice. This workshop will introduce several rationales for peer responses, provide strategies for how to…