Announcement – Professional Development Opportunities for Teaching Faculty

April 14, 2020

1.) Assessment Team for General Education Program

The Division of Undergraduate Studies is putting together a team of faculty to assess samples of student work from this academic year according to our General Education student learning outcomes and rubrics.

This year, we are assessing the areas of Communication (written and oral), Mathematics, and Natural Science. We welcome interested faculty to participate on the assessment team; expertise with the areas is needed, but experience in teaching our exact General Education courses is not required.

• The team will conduct their work from Tuesday, May 26 to Friday, May 29, approximately 9 am-4 pm each day. Team members must be available during the scheduled time period every day, excluding lunch break and breaks as needed. (*At this time, we intend for the team to meet in person on campus, but if the COVID-19 situation necessitates that this be done virtually, team members must be comfortable working remotely, with guidance from the Division of Undergraduate Studies.)
• Compensation is $2,000 total, transferred to a Fund 15 account (for professional development or summer salary, inclusive of fringe).
• We anticipate needing 16 faculty. Because assessing student work is an excellent form of professional development, we aim for a team where two-thirds of the assessment team have previous experience and one-third of the assessment team is new to General Education Program assessment. (Experience is not necessary, and an orientation will occur prior to May 26.)

Faculty interested in being part of the assessment team should complete a short information form by 5 pm EST on Saturday, May 2.

Questions can be directed to Director of Undergraduate Assessment Rene’ Schmauder (aschmau@clemson.edu).

2.) CT2 and Challenges Institute

The ever-popular CT2 Institute (Clemson Thinks2) will be running again this summer, with the opportunity for faculty attendees to also learn about and incorporate Challenges and/or Global Learning into courses and curricula.

All instructors may apply. We especially encourage departmental/ interdisciplinary teams of 2 or 3 who are interested, across multiple classes, multiple sections, and/or vertically throughout a curriculum.

Application deadline: May 7, 2020 at 5 pm EST. Institute dates will be June 1-2 and August 5-6, 2020. Compensation is expected to b $2,000 per participant transferred to a Fund 15 account (for professional development or summer salary, inclusive of fringe).

More information about the opportunity and how to apply can be found in the flyer.

Questions can be directed to Dr. David Knox (knox2@clemson.edu), Dr. Bridget Trogden (trogden@clemson.edu), Dr. Taimi Olsen (taimio@clemson.edu), or Dr. Kyle Anderson (kdander@clemson.edu).

3.) TeachingForward Fellows

Four Fellows will provide leadership to faculty colleagues in professional teaching development, helping us meet ClemsonForward goals.

Application deadline: May 31, 2020 by 5 pm EST. Appointment duration is August 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Workload is estimated to be 6 hours per month and compensation is expected to be $6,000, transferred to a Fund 15 account (for professional development or summer salary, inclusive of fringe).

More information about the opportunity and how to apply can be found in the flyer.

Questions can be directed to Associate Dean Bridget Trogden (trogden@clemson.edu) or OTEI Director Taimi Olsen (taimio@clemson.edu).

4.) Faculty Learning Communities

The Division of Undergraduate Studies and the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation will again be sponsoring a number of faculty learning communities (FLCs) for the upcoming academic year. OTEI Director Taimi Olsen will issue a call for FLC leaders and topic proposals soon!

5.) Preparing for Fall – Assignments & Signature Assignments

Do you need to do a refresh on the assignments in a course you teach? Do you want to learn more about evidence-based and learning-focused teaching? We have a tool for that!

The Division of Undergraduate Studies and OTEI have created an asynchronous Canvas course that covers “Learning-Focused Assignment Design.”

• Part 1: Faculty can begin the course at any point (time estimate: less than 2 hours).
• Part 2: Faculty will then engage in a facilitated peer review of an assignment with OTEI staff.

Suggested start time for 2020 Summer Cohort: June 1

This two-part series can be used as Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness according to the Clemson Faculty Manual definitions, and we can directly add a credential documenting participation to the faculty member’s Digital Measures portfolio.

Additionally, the Assignment Design series provides faculty with an opportunity to develop or adapt a Signature Assignment for General Education Program assessment and review. Signature Assignments will be necessary for all courses seeking new attribution in the General Education Program, and the General Educatin Committee is reviewing all current courses in the Program on a rotating basis.  We will be assessing Arts & Humanities (Literature & Non-literature) and Social Science student learning outcomes in the 2020-2021 academic year. Accordingly, we especially invite faculty teaching courses in these areas to participate in the opportunity.

Questions can be directed to Associate Dean Bridget Trogden (trogden@clemson.edu) or OTEI Director Taimi Olsen (taimio@clemson.edu).

6.) 2020 General Education Program Retreat

Update: This will be postponed until later in the fall semester.

Our second annual General Education Program Retreat will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2020, from 9 am to 4 pm in the Watt Family Innovation Center. The agenda will include the opportunity to engage with data on student learning, hear updates on General Education curriculum revision, and learn more about effective teaching from colleagues. Faculty, academic staff, and students (undergraduate and graduate) are welcome. Registration for the event will be posted at a later date.

Questions can be directed to Associate Dean Bridget Trogden (trogden@clemson.edu).