Call for Applications: UWGB Teaching Scholars (2020-21) 

Dear Colleagues: 

Access. Think of all the ways you have heard that word recently. UW-Green Bay is an “access institution.” Do we practice equity-minded instruction that promotes inclusion and access? Do our students have adequate internet access to engage in learning right now? Are we using universal design principles to ensure access for all? How will our current range of instructional modalities influence how we and our students access education and each other? How does living in a pandemic influence our personal bandwidth access to function as educators and learners?  

Given the myriad ways it is a critical issue right now, access is the 2020-21 theme for the UWGB Teaching Scholars. The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL), with financial support from the Office of the Provost, is currently accepting applications for the academic year.  This program provides faculty and instructors of all experience levels – from new instructors to the most senior tenured professors – the opportunity to share their teaching expertise and further develop their craft. Being a Teaching Scholar is an honor and a recognition of teaching excellence. It is also a professional development opportunity designed to promote continuous growth as an educator. 

Directed by Kris Vespia (Psychology), the program offers opportunities to discuss teaching with colleagues, develop new teaching strategies, read materials about teaching and learning, and assess a learning goal through a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project. We will also build a community to support one another through the challenges and joys of this academic year. 

The Teaching Scholars program has the following major components: 

  • Scholars will attend at least four of the five scheduled meetings, to be held on the following dates from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.: Oct. 2, Oct. 23, Feb. 5, and April 9.* All meetings will be virtual. 
  • Scholars will read and discuss materials (e.g., chapters, articles) selected to fit with the annual theme (Access) and the selected scholars’ particular interests within it.   
  • Scholars will develop and implement a scholarship of teaching and learning project with guidance from the director. This year scholars may complete projects in pairs or as a group, particularly if they are interested in assessment of learning goals related to advanced “core-hort” CATL trainings from this summer. 
  • Scholars will participate in a formative peer-review of their teaching. 
  • Scholars will share the results of their SoTL project with the campus community in the Fall of 2021. 

*Note: It may be possible to change the meeting times after Scholars are selected, so please do not let that be an obstacle to applying. 

Up to five faculty members and instructors will be selected, and each will receive $500.00 as a stipend. Preference will be given to applicants who plan to design their SoTL project in the Fall of 2020 and implement it in Spring 2021.  If you are a 12-month, non-instructional staff member who teaches an introductory/gateway course, please reach out to your supervisor to see if they are supportive of this opportunity. 12-month staff receiving this stipend on overload may need to complete an Alternative Work Schedule Request to account for stipend-related activities performed on regularly-scheduled work time for their primary appointment, and the stipend will need to be approved by the Position & Compensation Review Committee. 

To apply for this professional development opportunity, please submit the following as one PDF to CATL (catl@uwgb.edu).  

  • A 2–page letter of interest detailing your: a) teaching philosophy, b) teaching accomplishments, c) interest in the students and access theme (very broadly defined), and d) a very rough description of a teaching or learning challenge or problem you propose to address with a SoTL project. Please include a sentence or two indicating your commitment to attend at least 4 of the 5 scheduled meetings, along with your availability on the currently selected days/times. 
  • A brief CV (approximately 2-3 pages, with an emphasis on teaching and any SoTL experience) 
  • A simple one-sentence statement of agreement from your unit chair indicating they are aware of and support your application to the program. 

Deadline: September 21, 2020  

Sample proposals from previous Scholars are available on the CATL website if you would like additional guidance on the letter of interest. If you have any questions about the program or your proposed SoTL project, please contact Kris Vespia (vespiak@uwgb.edu).

Call for help with Online Checklist

Overview

Developing and teaching an online class can be a daunting challenge. In the past, UW-Green Bay subscribed to the Quality Matters to provide guidance in course design. That program provided useful assistance to instructors in the development of online courses, yet Quality Matters shied away from issues related to teaching online courses. The team in the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning seeks to build upon the work the institution did with Quality Matters to provide a course quality process that assists with development as well as teaching online courses.

Anecdotally, this makes sense as many instructors report to us that developing relationships with students is among the most satisfying elements of face-to-face teaching and among the most difficult experiences to replicate in the online environment. This also makes a sense according to recent research which has shown that interactions among students and with instructors is the biggest determinant of student success in a course.[1] In this light, the Center seeks participants who would be willing to help us develop a rubric which will serve as the backbone of our trainings to help with online course design and delivery.

Two phases

We seek participants who are willing to assist with either or both of the following phases of this study.

Phase 1

We seek instructors who will be willing to analyze their courses with a draft version of our rubric and provide feedback on their experience. This analysis will take place both before the start of the semester and mid-way through the term. The goal of this phase is to determine the degree to which the rubric helps instructors with the development and instruction of their online courses.

Eligibility

  • Any instructor who teaches an online course during the four-week three summer period which commences on July 15.
    • We would like three to five participants.
  • Participants must be willing to discuss their experiences with the rubric prior to the start of the term; at mid-term; and at the end of the term.
  • Participants will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

Requirements

  • Assess online or hybrid course with the draft version of the rubric before semester and mid-way through the term
  • Provide feedback on experience.
    • The purpose of this phase of the study is to refine the rubric and is not part of a research study.

Benefit

  • Participants will earn $300 for their help, along with consulting help from the CATL team

How to apply

Email Nathan Kraftcheck (kraftchn@uwgb.edu) or Todd Dresser (dressert@uwgb.edu) if you are interested. Please email by July 8 if you are interested in being part of this phase.

Phase 2

We seek instructors who will teach the same course in the online environment in the fall and spring semesters of the 2019-20 academic year. We would like for these instructors to teach the fall semester as they normally would and to then apply changes based upon the rubric in the spring semester. We would like to compare the experience of the instructors and the students in the course. The goal of this phase is to determine the impact of the rubric for the student experience.

Eligibility

  • Anyone who teaches the same online course in the fall and spring of AY 2019-20.
    • We seek five to seven participants.
  • We will take participants on a first come, first served basis with preference for openness to modifying course during the period between semesters in December and January.

Requirements

  • Teach the fall offering as you typically would
  • Assess course with rubric for Spring
  • Consult with CATL on how to make changes based upon the rubric during Winter break (we expect that all participants would make some changes).
  • Allow CATL to survey students on their experience in your course.
    • This phase is part of a research project that the Center is conducting as part of the UWGB teaching scholars program. We are in the midst of seeking IRB approval for this study and participants will be required to ask students to be part of this study.

Benefit

  • Participants will earn $750 for their participation in this program.

How to apply

Email Nathan Kraftcheck (kraftchn@uwgb.edu) or Todd Dresser (dressert@uwgb.edu) if you are interested. Please email by August 23 if you are interested in taking part in this phase of the project.

  • Include a paragraph in your email which answers the questions: Why you are interested to take part in this study and what about your online course you are interested in improving?

[1] Shanna Smith Jaggars and Di Xu, “How Do Online Course Design Features Influence Student Performance?,” Computers & Education 95 (April 1, 2016): 270–84.