Previous ALCs

More than ever before, college and university instructors are faced with a challenge of student engagement. In the traditional face-to-face classroom, instructor questions are often met with silence. In the online classroom, student passivity is revealed in a variety of ways: silence in Zoom video conferencing, lack of iLearn login, failure to submit assignments and limited words in a discussion board threads.  

There are many suggested ways to encourage active participation in the higher ed classroom, face-to-face and online. This ALC will share some research that shows the results of student engagement activities along with effective methods for enhancing student engagement in your courses. 

Goal:  
The goal of this ALC is to provide faculty with resources to better facilitate student engagement within their courses.  

Participants:
All faculty, including adjunct faculty and department chairs.

Structure: 
For the purpose of this ALC, student engagement has been broken down in to six main topics that will each be discussed during a session or meeting. The six topics are as follows:  

• The Primacy/Recency Effect, When Learning Takes Place  
• Increase Student Engagement by Leveraging the Learning Management System (iLearn)  
• Improve Student Engagement with Less Technology  
• Zoom Breakout Rooms for Engaging Students  
• Gamification of Learning  
• Engagement Opportunities Outside iLearn  

Facilitator Info:
Cheryl Tays and Kyle Cook 

View Session Recordings 

When guests encounter the Disney experience, filled with warm and welcoming experiences from beginning to end, Disney makes it all look so easy. But, in fact, considerable behind-the-scenes leadership contributes to the overall consistency of quality products and services visible to guests. We, as instructors in the online classroom, can create for our students the same magic that Disney provides: a quality learning experience and exceptional service. 

This course is designed to explore 10 common sense leadership strategies used in the Walt Disney World parks and resorts and how we may adopt them to create a better learning environment in the online classroom. 

Goal:
The goal of this ALC is to provide faculty with new methods for creating success in their online learning environment.  

By the end of this course, instructors should be able to 

• Foster an inclusive online learning environment 
• Design your classroom organizational structure for success 
• Evaluate the competencies needed to be a successful instructor in the online classroom 
• Discover small behaviors that can have a great impact on students 
• Examine traditional/online classroom processes that need improvement 
• Look for opportunities to gather feedback from students 
• Explore ways to incorporate appreciation, recognition, and encouragement in the online classroom 
• Evaluate old habits and explore new methods for success 
• Recognize the value of credibility and trust as an instructor 
• Develop character that carries over into success in the online classroom 

Participants:
All faculty, including adjunct faculty and department chairs.

Structure:
This ACL will utilize:  

• Readings – Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell 
• Community Discussion Questions  
• Podcast with the Author (Lee Cockerell)  
• Personal Journaling and Reflection 

Facilitator Info:
Clay Wesley 

Goal:

Learning Objectives include (1) Develop awareness of published research on selected topics in engineering education. (2) Commit to implementing proven research-based practices. (3) Develop a plan for implementation and self-study of impact on student learning. (4) Share with fellow educators the outcomes of the implemented plan, discuss potential revisions, and consider publication via education conferences. (5) Understand what it takes to conduct research in engineering education and what is required for journal publication of research outcomes.

Participants:

Engineering faculty

Structure:

General Meetings: Active dialog around one page summaries of Journal of Engineering Education articles that the ALC members bring as conversation starters. The first session will model the process with a one page R2P that Sally Pardue will share about the use of rubrics for rapid and effective assessment of HW or Lab reports. Next, the group will brainstorm topics for future R2P summaries that individuals or pairs of participants agree to develop. Over the ensuing months, the ALC members will progress through the stages of Action Research (via the Learning Objectives 1 – 4) to enhance their R2P stories.

The purpose of this ALC is to allow participates to discuss challenges and concerns about managing large class sizes and ideas and learn about some of the best-practices to mitigate challenges and invigorate teaching will be explored.

Goals:

To expose faculty to the best practices for large class size management and to identify which of these strategies to implement in their classroom.

Participants:

All faculty ranks, including adjunct faculty, department chairs, and teaching assistants.

Structure:

General Meetings: Participants will discuss challenges and concerns about managing large class sizes and ideas over the course of the semester. These meetings will focus on evidence-based practices applicable to all disciplines. The sessions will assist faculty to identify individualized strategies to implement in their classes.

This iteration of the Inclusive Excellence Academic Learning Community will focus on trauma responsive teaching.

Goals:

To explore what it means to provide a trauma responsive classroom environment and trauma responsive teaching to promote inclusive excellence.

Participants:

All faculty ranks, including adjunct faculty, department chairs, and teaching assistants. 

Structure:

Meetings will occur once per month in the fall and spring semesters. The meetings will focus on group discussion of the book The Trauma Sensitive Classroom by Patricia A. Jennings. (A book will be provided for participants). Meetings may also include guest appearances by educational professionals on campus and off campus with relevant expertise.

Outcomes:

View the Resources on Trauma-Informed Teaching created from this ALC.

Want to know more about taking your teaching up a notch or even taking it to the world? Join the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Academic Learning Community this year. Join us as we take a practical, step-wise approach to creating a SoTL project this year. This workshop-formatted Academic Learning Community will meet the needs of SoTL novices to SoTL experts.

Goal:

To expose faculty to theoretical and practical issues in teaching and learning and so encourage them to implement evidence-based teaching strategies in their own classes. This will be good, not only for pre-service teachers, but for all students.

Participants:

New tenured/tenure-track faculty plus any others who want to attend.

Structure:

General Meetings: All participants will meet several times over the course of the year to consider issues about how people learn and what teaching strategies have been shown to support and enhance learning. These meetings will focus on general issues of relevance to all disciplines.

Members of this learning community will be lecturers and instructors (tenured/tenure track and non-tenure track) across campus with a primary interest in improvements and innovations related to pedagogy.

Goal:

To expose faculty to theoretical and practical issues in teaching and learning and so encourage them to implement evidence-based teaching strategies in their own classes. This will be good, not only for pre-service teachers, but for all students.

Participants:

Lecturers and Instructors, tenured/tenure track or non-tenure track

Structure:

General Meetings: All participants will meet several times over the course of the year to consider issues about how people learn and what teaching strategies have been shown to support and enhance learning. These meetings will focus on general issues of relevance to all disciplines.

The purpose of this ALC is to explore issues which surround novice faculty transition for professionals moving from a non-academic/private sector position or new rank appointment, to that of teacher-scholar in the academic setting.

Participants:

Lecturers and Instructors, tenured/tenure track or non-tenure track

Structure:

General Meetings: All participants will meet several times over the course of the year to consider issues about how people learn and what teaching strategies have been shown to support and enhance learning. These meetings will focus on general issues of relevance to all disciplines.

The purpose of this ALC is to discuss concepts and issues related to creating inclusive classrooms and institutions by exploring intersectionality in the context of higher education.

Participants:

Lecturers and Instructors, tenured/tenure track or non-tenure track

Structure:

General Meetings: All participants will meet several times over the course of the year to consider issues about how people learn and what teaching strategies have been shown to support and enhance learning. These meetings will focus on general issues of relevance to all disciplines.

The Learning About Learning program is an outgrowth of the TBR's Teaching Quality Initiative (TQI). In this program new faculty from across campus are introduced to theoretical and practical aspects of teaching practices that evidence has shown enhance student learning, and are encouraged to implement them in their own classes.

This learning community is a collaborative network of graduate students that provides support, resources, and ideas related to teaching and learning in higher education.

Goal:

To expose faculty to theoretical and practical issues in teaching and learning and so encourage them to implement evidence-based teaching strategies in their own classes. This will be good, not only for pre-service teachers, but for all students.

Participants:

Graduate students looking to teach in higher education.

Structure:

General Meetings: All participants will meet several times over the course of the year to consider issues about how people learn and what teaching strategies have been shown to support and enhance learning. These meetings will focus on general issues of relevance to all disciplines.

Dates: Spring 2018

This learning community will look at what makes games, video and otherwise, so appealing and how we as educators can bring some of those traits to the classroom. Members will participate in roundtable discussions, attend the Gameful Learning workshop, and potentially implement a new strategy in their classroom. This ALC is open to any faculty, staff, and graduate students looking to discuss the importance of games in education.

Goal:

To expose faculty to theoretical and practical issues in teaching and learning and so encourage them to implement evidence-based teaching strategies in their own classes. This will be good, not only for pre-service teachers, but for all students.

Participants:

Lecturers and Instructors, tenured/tenure track or non-tenure track

Structure:

General Meetings: All participants will meet several times over the course of the year to consider issues about how people learn and what teaching strategies have been shown to support and enhance learning. These meetings will focus on general issues of relevance to all disciplines.

Dates: Spring 2018

Dates: Fall 2016

Goal: An ALC focused on supporting instructors who teach (or want to teach) online and hybrid courses.

Dates: Fall 2016

An ALC focused on peer support and professional development for faculty who engage in qualitative research projects.

Dates: Fall 2016

An ALC focused on interdisciplinary conversations about the boundaries and intersections between the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.

Dates: Fall 2016

An ALC focused on interdisciplinary conversations about inquiry-based teaching and learning (in support of Tennessee Tech's QEP).

Dates: Fall 2016

An ALC focused on peer support and professional development for faculty and staff who interact with international students. Exploring perceived issues, possible solutions, and additional perspectives. Participants received a free copy of Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Facilitated by: Ashley Watson, Office of International Education, and Jacob Kelley, CTLE.