In How Can I Make the Activities in My Course More Inclusive?, Elizabeth Harrison, Ph.D., director of the Office of Learning Resources at the University of Dayton, challenges you to reconsider how you set up and evaluate student engagement.

Does your course include any of the following common practices, which could stymie a student dealing with a disability?

• Small-group discussions
• Lab work
• Interviews
• Q&A and feedback sessions
• Developing charts or diagrams

If you use any of these elements, this session can show you proven methodologies to make sure your course is accessible to all your students. With its conceptual and practical approach, this session is perfect for new instructors who may not have much experience in developing accommodations and alternative modes of engagement to remove barriers to learning.

This fast and focused session will show you a practical approach to making accommodations and promoting equitable opportunity for learning and engagement for all your students.

Harrison shows you how to evaluate course activities based on:

• The learning goals the activity is designed to achieve
• Your reasons for selecting a particular activity
• Student takeaways from the activity
• The assumptions you’re making about what students can do

Designed to help you give all your students an equitable opportunity to engage with course activities, this 20 Minute Monday Morning session shows you how to think about your course in a more inclusive way.

The session link and login information to the March 7th 20 Minute Monday Morning Mentor is available in the announcements section of the Professional Development course within Blackboard. Enrollment instructions for the Professional Development course are located at http://tinyurl.com/profdevenroll.

Go2Knowledge (Your Link to On-Demand Professional Development)

UTHSC has purchased an institutional membership to Innovative Educators. Our membership provides all UTHSC faculty and staff access to on-demand events available through the Innovative Educator’s digital library (Go2Knowledge).

The Go2Knowledge library contains over a hundred sessions that fall within six of the following categories:

• At-risk populations
• Campus safety
• Organizational development
• Student success
• Teaching and learning
• Technology

Printable certificates of completion are available for each session. For information related to accessing sessions available through Innovative Educators/Go2Knowledge please visit the Professional Development course within Blackboard. Enrollment instructions for the Professional Development course are located at http://tinyurl.com/profdevenroll.

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Primarily Education-Focused Sessions and Resources

TLC’s Showcase in Teaching and Learning (HOLD THE DATE)

Date: April 28, 2016
Time: 8:30 AM – 1:3o PM
Location: TBA

Overview:

The UTHSC Teaching and Learning Center Showcase will highlight successful teaching strategies used in courses that are conducted on campus, at a distance, and online. Faculty will hear dynamic keynote addresses and participate in concurrent sessions packed with useful ideas. Time will be set aside for faculty to mix, mingle, discuss, and share ideas and successful (as well as not so successful) strategies.

Stay tuned for registration information!

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 Professional Sessions

Microaggressions and Workplace Bullying (Two-Session Live Webinar)

Dates: March 15, 2016 & March 22, 2016
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:3o PM
Location: GEB A104

Register to Participate:

March 15, 2016 – http://bit.do/WorkplaceBullying031516

March 22, 2016 – http://bit.do/WorkPlaceBullying032216

Overview:

This 2-session live webinar for UTHSC faculty and staff is co-sponsored by Faculty Affairs, Office of Equity and Diversity, and Human Resources.

Learn how to proactively identify and remove microaggressions and bullying from your office, department, and institution. During this two-session webcast you will examine critical issues related to microaggressions in higher education, including:

• Physiological and psychological impact on co-workers
• Role-based and hierarchical interactions
• Impact on organizational climates
• Implicit biases you and your coworkers may have

To view the agenda for each of the sessions please go to: http://www.academicimpressions.com/webcast/microaggressions-and-workplace-bullying#Agenda

New Faculty Orientation

Date: April 1, 2016 (Friday)
Time: 7:30 AM – 1:00 PM (A light breakfast and lunch will be served)
Location: SAC (Student Alumni Center) – Dining Hall

Register: http://bit.do/NFO-Spring2016

Overview:

The Office of Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs (AFSA) will be hosting New Faculty Orientation as a supplement to the orientation that is provided by Human Resources at each faculty member’s hire date. The AFSA New Faculty Orientation is catered specifically to the faculty with introductions of people and resources that may be of help in their growth and advancement during their time of employment with UTHSC.

This orientation is for ALL new faculty hired after January 1, 2015,  who have NOT YET attended a New Faculty Orientation. A light breakfast will be provided beginning at 7:30 AM. Orientation will begin at 8:00 AM.

TLC Reception and Networking Event (HOLD THE DATE)

Date: April 14, 2016 
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM 
Location: TBA

Overview: 

Stay tuned for more information!

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Did you know….

You can also visit the Professional Development Calendar to access a list of upcoming sessions sponsored by Academic/Faculty Affairs or other groups on campus at: https://academic.uthsc.edu/cii/calendar.php

You can apply credit received for professional development outside the university to your faculty training records? Simply complete the HR Request for Additional Training Credit form found at http://www.uthsc.edu/hrtraining/pdfs/additional_training_credit_form.pdf and forward it, along with a copy of the program’s agenda, to the HR Training Department at 910 Madison, Suite 727.

Why do this? The University of TN believes that professional development and training of its employees are central to the university’s mission, vision, and values. Having credit received elsewhere to your UTHSC training records is very useful to your department and college – for things such as annual reviews and program accreditations.