Welcome to March

I hope everyone is doing well. The days are getting incrementally longer midterms are just around the corner. By the end of this month, we’ll be heading out for spring break and the next thing you know, it’s April! March is, of course, Women’s History Month, but did you know that the first Friday of every March is the National Day of Unplugging? I don’t know if I can unplug during a weekday, but I could certainly stand to take a break from this laptop on a Saturday. If you have unplugging tips to share, send them my way at fpd@cod.edu

Waubonsee’s Spring Teaching Excellence Series

We are all invited to join faculty at Waubonsee Community College in attending their Spring Teaching Excellence Series! Upcoming sessions include:

  • Supporting Students in Equitable and Effective Learning (3/29)
  • Designing Authentic Projects (4/11)
  • Creating Escape Rooms for Team Building & Learning (4/18)

To register for these sessions, follow the links on Waubonsee’s Spring Teaching Excellence Series flier. Full-time faculty wishing to earn PDH for attending, should complete a short reflection – within a week of attending the event.

An ever-increasing number of on-demand options

I don’t know if you noticed, but Magna keeps adding to our collection of online resources. If you’re trying to keep up, we now have nearly 500 seminars in the newly redesigned Magna Digital Library, plus weekly 20-Minute Mentor programs. You can look for the 20-Minute Mentor updates every Monday in your inbox from fpd@cod. These short recordings are great for when you want a quick break from email and could use a little something new in your week.

Since there are so many options in the Magna Digital Library, I’ll highlight one each month. This month the featured seminar is Creating a Culture of Academic Integrity. Discover concrete practices to use right away to communicate expectations clearly for student ethical conduct, which are much more effective than spending time trying to catch cheaters after the fact. This 50-minute presentation is led by author and educator Tom Tobin and includes a transcript and copy of the slides, as well supplementary materials. Learn more about accessing the Magna Digital Library (and how to earn PDH) at https://fpdatcod.wordpress.com/2022/02/14/magna-now-even-more-mega

It’s not too soon to think about summer

Spring is just around the corner, but who isn’t looking forward to summer? Summer faculty professional development events provide faculty and teaching staff (who have the time and inclination) an opportunity to reflect on the past year, look ahead to the next, and take on projects that just don’t fit into busy fall and spring schedules.

The FPD Advisory Committee is looking for course and workshop/webinar proposals for the summer PD schedule. Summer is the perfect time to offer a 5-week reading seminar, do a deep dive into a new teaching practice, or tackle a concept that colleagues can put into action in the fall semester. Looking for inspiration? Check out the topics we cover in the FPD Teaching Guides for ideas.

Are there topics you’d love to see someone else cover this summer? Whether you saw a great idea at a conference or other school, have a specific need for your own teaching practice, or are just keen to explore a new concept, we’re open to your suggestions. Head over to this form and share with us!

ICYMI

I know you all assiduously read Teaching, Learning, and Practice, the world’s best blog with that name, but in case you unplugged in February instead of March, here are some of the posts you might have missed:

You can follow this not-yet-award-winning blog via WordPress, Twitter, and Facebook! So many options.

FPD this Month

All of the events below are eligible for full-time faculty PDH – click through the title links to register in Cornerstone.

Dynamic Virtual Presentations: PowerPoint Tuesday 3/1, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Oh, PowerPoint – you can be a friend or a foe! As part of the Dynamic Virtual Presentations series, this session will take a step back to see what built-in PowerPoint features we typically use on a consistent basis that can distract, instead of engage, audiences. Participants will un-learn some things and learn some best practices to help deliver an engaging presentation!

Finding and Using Open Educational Resources Hands-on Workshop Wednesday 3/2, 12:00 PM–1:00 PM  

Learn about OER repositories and search tools. Hands-on session in which everyone is a co-host!

Safe Zone I Friday 3/4, 2:00–4:00 PM

Safe Zone at College of DuPage-LGBTQ 101 Part I.  Safe Zone is a team of faculty and staff focused on building a safe, affirming and welcoming campus for members of the LGBTQ community. Part I will cover modern terminology, history of LGBTQ issues, and relevant statistics. 

Introduction to Pressbooks I Monday 3/7, 9:00–10:00 AM

This session will introduce the COD Digital Press and how to get started using Pressbooks. Attendees will get their own private Pressbooks account and useful instructions on how to begin writing projects. 

VMock – Faculty Demo: Providing Resume Feedback Efficiently Tuesday 3/8, 12:00–12:30 PM

Are your students thinking about resumes? Is it because you gave them an assignment? Or do they ask you for feedback because you are a trusted professional? There is a system to help you and your students develop better resumes. Learn how an AI software can help you be more efficient in providing student resume feedback.

Instruction Committee Presents – Get Out of Your Teaching Rut: Critical Reflection and Action Research to Revitalize Your Teaching Wednesday 3/9, 2:30–4:00 PM

Panelists Sarah Butler (Psychology) and Marco Benassi (Speech Communication). Educators are feeling burned-out after two years of pandemic pedagogy. The day-to-day uncertainty, stress, and anxiety has left many of us in a rut and feeling like we’re just going through the motions. This Instruction Committee panel features two faculty members who have employed strategies to reignite their passion for teaching and critically evaluate what’s working for them and what’s not. Join us for this first faculty panel of the spring semester! Join via Zoom

Dynamic Virtual Presentations: Virtual Presentation Formats Wednesday 3/9, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Since most presentations are done virtually nowadays. As part of the Dynamic Virtual Presentations series, this session will look at the various delivery formats that virtual presentations can take (from live sessions to recorded webinars). Participants will be able to consider best practices for these varying delivery formats.

Big Interview – Faculty Demo: Building Interview Skills in the Classroom Tuesday 3/15, 12:00–12:30 PM

Oral communication is an essential part of both education and preparing for the workforce. Career Services will demo a virtual interviewing platform that can be incorporated in the classroom to help connect career concepts to learning outcomes. 

Dynamic Virtual Presentations: The Virtual Room and How You Present Yourself Tuesday 3/15, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

As presenters, we are to enhance the presentation, and not be a distraction. While there are many technical factors to consider in order to prepare a dynamic virtual presentation, preparing ourselves – as presenters – is key. As part of the Dynamic Virtual Presentations series, this session provides some helpful tips and tricks for best presenting yourself.

Supporting Students When Mental Health Issues Come Up Friday 3/25, 1:00–2:30 PM

As we continue to navigate the pandemic and transition back to face-to-face instruction, you might encounter mental health issues in some of your students. If you are not a counselor or a professional in the field, it can be distressing when students disclose these types of issues to you as they seek advice, support, and understanding. Join us in a conversation about the best ways to respond to students who are experiencing mental health challenges that are negatively impacting school and general functioning.