CAE Mid-Semester Teaching Support Opportunities

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

At the CAE, we continue to be amazed by your ability to adjust to the challenging pivots required by teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. We never lose sight of the work you are doing, and we want to make sure you know that as we reach the midway point in our Spring 2021 semester, we are here to offer our support for those ongoing challenges.  Below we summarize some offerings related to your spring teaching available from the CAE.

Among the most useful feedback that can be offered at midterm is that offered by your current students. Checking in with them can provide you with valuable insights about how you can respond to students’ needs for the remainder of your class time.  While the deadline has passed to sign up for our traditional Mid-Term Assessment of Teaching & Learning (MAT) sessions, we do have other opportunities to seek feedback.
  • We are once again this semester offering our Peer Observation of Hybrid and Online Courses program, which allows any full- or part-time instructor to apply for a confidential consultation with a CAE-trained Peer Faculty Observer. Together, the Instructor and Observer will develop a plan for “observing” one of four elements of the instructor’s hybrid or online course: Course Goal and Student Learning Objective Design, Student Engagement and Course Activities, Integration of Technology and Tech Tools, or Online Assessments.  For more information and to register, visit https://form.123formbuilder.com/5835840/form.
  • You can conduct your own "mini-MAT" to gather anonymous feedback from your students about how the semester is going, what’s working for them and what isn’t, and how you might better support their learning.  The CAE is happy to consult with any faculty member on how they might best go about gathering this information - just email us at cae@fairfield.edu.
  • Last, we are available for individual consultations on any topic regarding pedagogy, student engagement, assessments, or tech integration. Simply email cae@fairfield.edu with a description of your topic and the director most suited to your particular needs will get back to you to set up a Zoom meeting.
As always, please know that you can reach out to us for any questions you may have or support you may need in your teaching.  It’s our third semester of COVID teaching, and each day it becomes clearer that the way forward during these difficult moments is by engaging with the community of practice we offer one another.  Thanks for all you are doing, and please reach out if we can be of help.

All the best,

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


For more information, contact Jay Rozgonyi / 2416 / jrozgonyi@fairfield.edu