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Upcoming TILT Events & Teaching During Elections

TILT Master Teacher Initiative

The Master Teacher Initiative (MTI) is a university-wide program to enhance the quality of teaching within CSU’s colleges and libraries.

Visit TILT’s collection of Teaching Tips and the CNS collection of Teaching Tips

October 1, 2024

Tanya Buchan in TILT asked that we send out another public service announcement on upcoming TILT events.  TILT also provides this week’s teaching tip on teaching during the current U.S. elections.

Upcoming Professional Development Events

Please see the attached flyer for this semester’s Inclusive STEM Teaching Project workshop. There are still several spots open.  The workshop was set to begin today but the start date has been extended to Tuesday October 8 (see attached flyer).

Register at this link – https://forms.office.com/r/1HsywvkrUM

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Upcoming at TILT

2024-2025 Goldwater Scholarship Competition

The Office for Scholarship and Fellowship Advising (OSFA) and the Goldwater Scholarship Selection Committee are pleased to announce the opening of the 2024-2025 Goldwater Scholarship Competition.

The Goldwater Scholarship is a nationally competitive award for current 2nd and 3rd year students in the STEM fieldswho have excelled academically (3.8 GPA or higher) and conducted research either on or off campus. Recipients of this award receive up to $7,500 for educational expenses. More information about the award can be found here.

The Selection Committee invites faculty and staff to recommend students for this award. To recommend a student, contact Mary Swanson, OSFA’s Program Director, and provide her with the student’s name, contact information, and brief description of why you feel the student is a good fit for the award. Mary can be reached at Mary.Swanson@colostate.edu.

You can also encourage qualified students to attend an in-person information session on Wednesday, October 2. The session will be from 4pm to 5pm in LSC 396.

New Workshop! Using the TEI to Reflect Teaching Efficacy in the Annual Review

Join Jennifer Reinke, PhD., as she shares her experience with the Teaching Effectiveness Initiative (TEI) program journey through a faculty lens, including the strengths, the challenges, and the learnings along the way. Focus on learning related to evidence-based teaching practices, students, collecting evidence of student impact, and how to use TEI artifacts in your annual review.

Outcomes:1) Identify various methods of collecting evidence of student impact, and 2) Describe multiple ways to present TEI productivity in the annual review.

Event Details: November 6, 2024 11:00 am – 11:55 am in TILT 105.  Register for this Event

Visit the TILT events calendar for more information and events.

Tips for Teaching During the 2024 U.S. Elections

By Anastasia Williams, Director of Teaching Excellence, TILT

As the 2024 U.S. elections approach, instructors may face unique challenges in managing their classrooms. This tip offers three evidence-based strategies to create a supportive learning environment while addressing election-related concerns.

Before You Begin

Before implementing these strategies, consider your own positionality, teaching approach, and situational factors:

  • Who are your students?
  • What kind of learning environment are you aiming to foster?
  • To what extent are you comfortable sharing your own experiences and feelings regarding this event?
  • What learning goals are you trying to achieve beyond developing content knowledge and relevant skills? Consider Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning, which suggests three important dimensions: Caring, Learning How to Learn, and Human Dimension. How can you proactively plan to address these domains in your classes during election time?

Tip 1: Acknowledge the Moment

Research by Huston & DiPietro (2007) shows that students appreciate when instructors recognize significant events rather than continuing with scheduled material without pause. This simple acknowledgment helps build a supportive and inclusive learning environment, honoring the humanity of all participants.

How It Can Look:

  • Briefly recognize the election at the beginning of class.
  • Express understanding that students may be experiencing a range of emotions.
  • Offer a short reflective activity, such as a one-minute paper or mindfulness exercise.
  • Inform students about available support resources, including campus including campus Mental Health and Well-being resources and the opportunity to drop-by at your office hours.

Tip 2: Provide Flexible Support Structures

Our students are “intellectual, social, and emotional beings” (Ambrose et al., 2010). During potentially stressful periods like elections, they may benefit from flexible support options. This approach aligns with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and can foster trust and respect in the classroom while reducing stress and anxiety.

How It Can Look:

  • Offer additional office hours or virtual support sessions.
  • Provide flexibility with assignment deadlines (e.g., a standard two-day extension).
  • Consider alternative assessment formats, such as open-book or take-home exams.
  • Offer multiple ways to participate in class discussions (e.g., verbal, written, or online contributions).

Tip 3: Prepare for Potentially Heated Moments

Elections can evoke strong emotions and conflicting viewpoints. Being prepared to handle heated discussions nurtures an inclusive learning environment where all students feel respected and able to engage productively with challenging topics.

How It Can Look:

  • Plan Discussions: Co-create transparent community guidelines and objectives for discussions.
  • Use Frameworks: Employ structured approaches like the Structured approaches like the Critical Incident Questionnaire, ACTION, or RAVEN to foster respectful dialogue.
  • Implement Reflective Pauses: When discussions become tense, pause for brief reflective activities to allow processing and “temperature checks” of the class climate.

Please stay tuned for more evidence-based strategies and resources from TILT, coming soon to our website.

References:

  1. Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.
  2. Brookfield, S. D. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
  3. Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. (n.d.). Preparing to teach about the 2020 election (and after). University of Michigan. https://crlt.umich.edu/blog/preparing-teach-about-2020-election-and-after
  4. Center for the Advancement of Teaching. (n.d.). Election Resource Guide. Temple University. https://teaching.temple.edu/ja/node/436
  5. Feldman, J. (2018). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms. Corwin Press.
  6. Fink, L. D. (2005). Integrated course design. IDEA Paper 42. IDEA Center.
  7. Huston, T. A., & DiPietro, M. (2007). In the eye of the storm: Students’ perceptions of helpful faculty actions following a collective tragedy. To Improve the Academy, 25, 207–224.
  8. Souza, T.J. (2016). Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom: Concrete Strategies for Cooling Down Tension. In Faculty Focus Special Report: Diversity and Inclusion in the College Classroom. Magna Publication.
  9. Wood, J. L., & Harris, F. H., III. (2020, May 5). How to respond to racial microaggressions when they occur. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. https://diverseeducation.com/article/176397/

I hope you find these posts helpful for your teaching.  As always, I appreciate your questions, comments and feedback on this and other teaching related topics.

Cheers, Paul