CAE Back-to-School Workshops Begin January 8

Location: Zoom

Colleagues,

As you wrap up your fall courses, please save the dates for the CAE’s January Back-to-School workshops, designed to help you integrate all we learned about the adaptations to teaching, research, and service required by this extraordinary year.  Join us for any or all of our pedagogical workshopstopical lunchtime chats, or writing time together.  We will be joined by faculty and professional staff who will offer their expertise and success stories. Above all, we will be celebrating the unique community of practice that has buoyed us all throughout this year, and will continue to sustain us into Spring 2021.

All workshops will occur on Zoom.


Friday, January 8

Writing Retreat (10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.)
Join the CAE and a community of colleagues for a day-long writing retreat on Friday, January 8th, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Plan, begin, revise, or complete writing projects (e.g., manuscripts, books, syllabi, reports, portfolios/dossiers). Share and report on your writing goals, consult with peers or CAE staff about any stage of your writing process, or use the time for some solo writing. Bring your writing materials and tools.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752636/form

Syllabus Drop-In (10:30 a.m. - noon & 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
Drop in for a one-on-one consultation with a CAE Director about any aspect of your syllabus (learning outcomes, assessment strategies, active learning activities, tech tools, etc.)
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

Lunchtime Chat: Lessons Learned about Scholarly Productivity during COVID (noon - 1:00 p.m.)
Come join colleagues to discuss how this key aspect of our lives—research and creative activity—has been impacted by the age of COVID, and what you—and the University community—can do to sustain our scholarly productivity.
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

Monday, January 11

Reimagining Teaching for This Moment (Rather Than Translating Old Course Structures) (10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.)

The fall semester taught us that the most effective balances between hybrid and face-to-face teaching were struck when we allowed ourselves to reimagine courses, rather than “translate” earlier versions of the course.  Join several colleagues who will discuss the balance they struck between face-to-face and virtual experiences with an eye toward how you might re-envision some elements of your teaching for the spring online start.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752684/form

Lunchtime Chat: Tech Tools for Online Teaching Drop-in (breakout rooms available) (noon - 1:00 p.m.)
Join our tech team to preview some of the most helpful tech tools to support online engagement, or grab one of the CAE staff for a specific technical or pedagogical consult.
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

Anti-Racist Pedagogy & Practice (1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
Ready to start integrating anti-racist pedagogy into your teaching practice for Spring 2021? This session will introduce some best practices of anti-racist pedagogy and course planning, and create a familiarity with anti-racist approaches.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752691/form

Tuesday, January 12

Establishing Community in the Online Class (10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.)
The all-online start to the Spring 2021 semester presents us with the opportunity and challenge of building community in the synchronous online class.  This session will focus on how to make the most of establishing the online space as one where community thrives.  We will offer best practices about how to create, establish and sustain community in online classes, both for those who remain online all semester, and for those who start online and may need to return online at any time.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752707/form

Lunchtime Chat: Unpacking IDEA Results: What Can Our Students Teach us About the Fall Semester? (noon - 1:00 p.m.)
Join us for an informal lunchtime conversation where we consider what we can learn from our students’ Fall IDEA results about what worked and didn’t work in our Fall courses. Bring your Fall 2020 IDEA data!
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

Engaging Students during Live Zoom Sessions (1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
Holding live classes on Zoom can be a useful replacement for in-class learning, but it can also turn into a time of vacant stares and listless discussions. In this session we’ll look at some techniques that can help your students stay engaged in these virtual learning spaces. (We may even try one or two of them on YOU!)
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752709/form

Wednesday, January 13

Flipped Classroom Activities:  Moving Beyond Video Lectures  (10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.)
Our collective move to remote learning has forced many of us to consider for the first time using the “flipped classroom” model: providing students with content outside of our synchronous class meetings so the time together can be spent engaging with the material.  Most often, these flipped resources take the form of instructor-made videos - either talking heads, narrated PowerPoints, or virtual whiteboard recordings. In this session we will look at how you can expand the practice of flipped content to engage your students as well as do more than just deliver content. 
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752710/form

Lunchtime Chat: Isolation & Mental Stress in Online Classes (noon - 1:00 p.m.)
Join us for an informal lunchtime conversation where we consider ways of supporting students and each other to cope with the isolation and mental stress that results from teaching and learning primarily online.
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

Negotiating Difficult Conversations (1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
This session will discuss the challenges and opportunities of managing difficult conversations that arise when we engage in practices based on equity, diversity and inclusion in the classroom. In addition, we’ll discuss some practical strategies faculty can take to facilitate these conversations and support their own and their students’ learning. 
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752712/form 

Thursday, January 14

Supporting Accessibility in Online Courses (10:30 a.m. - 11:45 p.m.)
Join us as we engage with the challenges of providing accessible and welcoming classroom spaces and learning experiences for all of our students, and especially for those who require accommodations. Hear from faculty who found innovative strategies for supporting all of their students as well as from Megan Buxton, Director of Accessibility, who has curated our best learnings about making our online and hybrid classes accessible during the Fall 2020 semester.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752714/form

Lunchtime Chat: Faculty Service in the Time of COVID (noon - 1:00 p.m.) 
Not many could have anticipated the unique role service would play during COVID, from an increased need to adjust governance and policy to real-time and emerging issues, to advising and co-mentoring.  Join with others to discuss the unique challenges posed during this academic year of service.
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

Effective Assessment Practices in Hybrid & Online Courses (1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
This session will focus on the challenges we faced and the solutions we uncovered in finding effective ways to capture and evaluate student learning in our online courses. We’ll problem-solve ongoing challenges of online assessment and highlight successes and best practices in online assessment to take with us into our Spring courses.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752715/form

Friday, January 15

Lessons Learned Showcase (10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.)
Join us as we celebrate faculty successes from the Fall semester and draw on these successes to inform our Spring teaching. During this session, we’ll unveil a set of videos from faculty, each talking about one lesson learned, break people into groups to discuss learnings, and reconvene to look ahead to spring.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752716/form

Lunchtime Chat: Tech Tools for Online Teaching Drop-in (breakout rooms available) (noon - 1:00 p.m.)
Join our tech team to preview some of the most helpful tech tools to support online engagement, or grab one of the CAE staff for a specific technical or pedagogical consult.
No registration required (Zoom link will be announced on January 7)

CAE Talk Back / Celebration / Semester Kick-Off (1:15 p.m. -2:30 p.m.)
Join us as we at the CAE work to integrate the many lessons, triumphs, and challenges of the last ten months into a few takeaways that we anticipate will be most useful, applicable, or pertinent for you as you begin your spring semester.
Registration: https://form.123formbuilder.com/5752718/form


Didn’t see a workshop on a particular tech tool or pedagogical challenge?  
We invite you to visit our Continuity page at http://faculty.fairfield.edu/cae/continuity to access recorded workshops, videos and resources related to using various applications and tech tools to support your spring teaching.

See you soon on Zoom!  All best,

Carol Ann Davis
Jay Rozgonyi
Emily Smith
Directors, Center for Academic Excellence



For more information, contact Jay Rozgonyi / x2416 / jrozgonyi@fairfield.edu