The CTE is offering 15 workshops and 4 brown bag sessions during April. Workshops are an opportunity for faculty to both explore topics and share practices across disciplines. Our Friday Brown Bags provide an opportunity for a more informal conversation to take place between faculty on subjects of topical interest.

Read more below about our April workshops in the areas of Learning-Centered Teaching, Enhancing Teaching with Technology, and Teaching with Blackboard, as well as our upcoming Brown Bags.

For more information and registration, check out our CTE Workshop Calendar.

LEARNING--CENTERED TEACHING

You Know What You Taught, But What Did They Learn?
Have you ever taught for several weeks thinking that most everyone was on the same page--students smiling and nodding as you lecture and not offering any overt signs of confusion, only to find out from the results of the first test that there was a clear disconnect between what you were teaching and what they were learning? This workshop is designed to help faculty learn about classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and how to use them on a frequent basis to gain important insight into how they are teaching and how their students are learning.
Date/Time/Location
4/7 9 - 11:30 AM Harris Hall 5182

In Sync with the Community; Applying Community Based Participatory
Research Principles and Methods
This workshop will resent an overview of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), also know as Community-Based Research, including appropriate research designs, principles, and effective roles of the researchers and community. Benefits and barriers of CBPR will also be discussed. Participants will be asked to share their experiences of CBPR and lessons learned from the field.
Date/Time/Location
4/7 12:30 - 2PM Harris Hall 5182

Breaking out of the Classroom: Community-Based Learning
This workshop will provide a summary of the theory and rationale for community-based learning pedagogy which includes: service-learning, experiential education and community projects. We will explore how community service experiences can be integrated with course content, and how instructors and community partners work together to make this a mutually beneficial experience. Participants will learn about resources through VCU's Division of Community Engagement.
Date/Time/Location
4/22 12 - 1PM Harris Hall 5182

Writing Multiple Choice Questions
Want to learn how to write multiple choice questions that test higher level thinking skills? Participants in this workshop will learn the elements of a good question, templates for different levels of questions, and how to write questions that won't help the good test taker or hinder the poor one.
Date/Time/Location
4/23 1 - 3PM Harris Hall 5182

TEACHING WITH BLACKBOARD

Online Tools for Supporting Student Collaboration
This class will discuss group processes and explore options for group work in Blackboard (Group Area and Wimba LiveClassroom), as well as online free tools such as delicious, Google Docs, and Skype (for internet phone meetings).
Date/Time/Location:
4/2 9 -11:00AM Cabell 320

Exploring Web Based Communications
Learn about communication tools in Blackboard and on the web that facilitate connecting with your students and promoting student engagement.
Date/Time/Location:
4/6 1 - 3PM Cabell Library 320

Assignment and Gradebook Management in Blackboard
Learn how to more effectively distribute assignments, collect student work, and provide feedback back to students once graded.
Date/Time/Location:
4/15 1 - 3PM Cabell 320

Getting Started with Blackboard
Learn how to customize Blackboard to create an online learning space that enhances your class and facilitates student learning.
Date/Time/Location:
4/16 9 - 11AM Cabell Library 320
4/29 9 - 11AM Cabell Library 320

Developing Online Assessments and Surveys in Blackboard
Learn how create online surveys, take existing WORD test documents and convert them into Blackboard tests, or repurpose tests into educational games like crossword puzzles or Jeopardy games.
Date/Time/Location:
4/22 1 - 3 PM Cabell Library 320

ENHANCING TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

Introduction to Podcasting
Participants will explore instructional uses of podcasting, consider recent research addressing the use of podcasts in education, and learn about tools available at VCU to begin creating their own podcasts.
Date/Time/Location:
4/2 1 - 3PM Harris Hall 5182

Blogging--Instructional Possibilities / Publishing Possibilities
Blogs have begun to move beyond personal journaling to emerge as a possible form of academic publishing for faculty. Blogs also provide a new medium for student communication, connections, and community building. Should students blog as part of their learning journey? Should faculty? This workshop will explore blogs in both classroom and academic disciplines.
Date/Time/Location:
4/8 1 - 3PM Harris Hall 5182

Creating Podcasts for Instruction
This workshop is for faculty who are interested in gaining hands-on practice in the recording, editing and posting of podcasts for instructional purposes. Participants will create a podcast of their own, explore sample delivery formats, and consider where podcasting might best fit into their own instructional context.
Prior attendance at the Introduction to Podcasting workshop is strongly encouraged.
Date/Time/Location:
4/9 1 - 3PM Cabell Library 320

Exploring Digital Storytelling: An Overview of the Process
Digital storytelling (DST) uses new digital tools to help ordinary people tell their own `true stories` in a compelling and emotionally engaging form. This session provides an overview of a process for creating your own digital stories and encourages faculty to explore how DST might work in their discipline/content area.
Date/Time/Location:
4/14 9 - 11AM Harris Hall 5182

Using Wikis in Education
Wikis are openly editable websites, and their use has opened the door to new opportunities for collaboration and user generated content on the web. This session will introduce participants to the educational use of wikis, and examine key questions and challenges faced in successfully implementing them into coursework. Faculty participants will brainstorm potential uses in their own courses and gain hands-on experience setting up and using freely available wiki tools on the web.
Date/Time/Location:
4/14 9 - 11AM Cabell 320

Screen Recording with Camtasia to Support Teaching and Learning
Currently available software tools allow for the recording of any activity on a computer screen that can then be produced as movie files and easily played in any web browser. This workshop will introduce participants to the use of Camtasia Studio for developing web-based tutorials and other instructional content to support student learning.
Date/Time/Location:
4/24 9 - 11AM Cabell 320

CTE BROWN BAG LUNCH SERIES

Course Capture Technology: Exploring the Issues
Video and audio recording of course lectures have become increasingly more common since the popularization of podcasting and the widespread availability of video recording hardware. Course capture technology integrates the content being presented on a computer with instructor audio to automatically produce a video of course lectures. These recordings can then be accessed by students on the web for review and learning purposes. This session will feature an overview of course capture technology available at VCU, consider recent research findings, and raise questions about the advantages and disadvantages of course capture to support learning.
Date/Time/Location:
4/03 12-1PM Harris 5182

Outcomes-based Assessment: Alternatives to 3 tests and a final
Are you looking for alternatives to multiple guess tests? Are you tired of the 3 tests and a final for a grading scheme? Are you tired of hearing students tell you that you gave them their grade (instead of them earning it)? Are you tired of students asking you for extra credit options during the last week of the semester? Come and join us for a conversation with faculty members who have innovate methods for evaluating student progress, and grading that are more accurate and relatively easy to administer.
Date/Time/Location:
4/10 12-1PM Harris 5182

Teaching and Learning with Technology: Perspectives from VCU Faculty Members
This session will feature several VCU faculty members who will share their experiences in learning about and experimenting with technology to support learning. All presenters are past participants in the CTEs Summer Teaching and Learning with Technology Institute. Discussion will focus on decisions impacting technology adoption, implementation challenges and perceived impact on learning.
Date/Time/Location:
4/17 12-1PM Harris 5182

An Introduction to Service Learning at VCU
Service-learning enhances academic learning by engaging students in the local community to address meaningful problems. A growing body of empirical research demonstrates that service-learning courses provide multiple positive benefits for students, faculty members, and community partners. This Brown Bag seminar will explain the critical components of service-learning and will provide multiple examples of VCU service-learning courses across the disciplines.
Date/Time/Location:
4/24 12-1PM Harris 5182