MISSION
The University Teaching Center (UTC) provides resources for UT faculty. The UTC promotes excellence in teaching and learning and seeks to create a culture which values and acknowledges activity that enhances instruction as a means to improving student learning.
INTRODUCTION
The primary focus of the University Teaching Center is to provide faculty development and to support the educational mission of the University. The office supports the educational mission in a variety of ways. These include the provision of professional development opportunities, support for the integration of technologies into teaching strategies and instructional materials and the provision of professional development resources.
The University Teaching Center was established in the fall of 2013 and initial programming was made available to faculty in January, 2014. The 2015–2016 academic year was the second full year that the center provided opportunities and made resources available to faculty. The number of programs and offerings has continued to grow throughout the year and the number of faculty impacted by the center has increased. Attendance and participation counts exceeded 560 during the 2015–2016 year. Opportunities involved face-to-face sessions on both campuses as well as electronic resources to accommodate faculty in terms of time and availability. Offerings included a range of activities - invited speakers, group discussions and training sessions and hosted webinars, in addition to one-on-one consultations and special projects.
This report will summarize the 2015–2016 activities and initiatives sponsored and supported by the University Teaching Center. Participation numbers and feedback are included as evidence of effectiveness. Goals for future initiatives are presented at the conclusion of this report.
OVERVIEW
The University Teaching Center is supported by, and reports to, the Provost’s Office. Faculty development opportunities are designed and implemented by UTC personnel, which is comprised of 3.0 FTEs: Vince Rocha, Director (1.0 FTE), Angela Paprocki, PhD, Assistant Provost for Instructional Strategies (1.0 FTE) and Lisa Taylor, Administrative Secretary I (1.0 FTE). A student worker provides assistance approximately 15 hours each week. Constance J. Shriner, PhD, (1.0 FTE), Vice Provost for Assessment and Faculty Development, is responsible for administrative oversight.
The UTC is located in University Hall, room 5120. Space is available for small group trainings and individual consultations.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The University Teaching Center provided a range of professional development opportunities for faculty during 2015-2016, which included:
• Face-to-face group sessions, presentations and training workshops
• Individual consultations
• Online professional development resources
• Professional Development for Academic Administrators (PDAA)
• Support for course revisions and innovations in teaching
• Special projects
TECHTALKS
TechTalks is a series of small group training sessions to introduce faculty to new technologies available for use on campus and in the creation of instructional materials. These sessions are hands-on and limited to a small number of participants to allow for practice with the technology and feedback. Approximately 65 faculty members participated in these sessions over the course of the fall and spring semesters.
SMALL GROUP SESSIONS
Small group discussions were led by UTC staff members and provided opportunities for the introduction of ideas and concepts, discussion and interactions. The sessions offered throughout the year addressed a number of important issues related to developing courses and supporting students’ success.
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATIONS
Individual consultations provide opportunities for faculty to learn a new skill set that can enhance their teaching or explore and reflect on their teaching practice and/or course design. Consultations are tailored to individual faculty needs and provide focused attention on specific areas as requested.
HOSTED WEBINARS
The University Teaching Center has purchased an Academic Impressions Pro (AI Pro) membership that will provide useful programs on higher education professional development training. Topics include Assessment, Compliance, Emerging Technologies, Libraries, Management and Support, Online and Blended Learning and Program Management. All faculty and administrators are invited to view these programs either as a group in the University Teaching Center or on their own time. During 2015–2016, the following webinars were made available. Participating faculty viewed the webinars as a group and then engaged in follow-up discussion. Dates, topics and a brief synopsis of each of these events are provided below. Total attendance for the series of ten webinars was approximately 90 faculty and professional staff members.
INVITED SPEAKERS
The UTC sponsored one speaker during 2015–2016, a presentation to UT Department Chairs. A full-day workshop focused on addressing some of the unique challenges encountered while serving as a Chair was available – all new and current chairs were invited to attend.
ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES
In an attempt to better accommodate faculty schedules, a number of online resources have also been made available.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATORS (PDAA)
Based on the results of the professional development needs and interests survey, a series of professional development sessions focused on skills related to leadership and administration was offered several times each semester.
Evaluation forms are distributed at the end of each PDAA session and overall feedback has been very positive. Approximately 95 evaluations were completed for the 2015-2016 sessions and the results showed the following:
SUPPORT FOR COURSE REVISIONS AND INNOVATIONS IN TEACHING
COURSE DESIGN INSTITUTE
In May and June of 2016, 22 faculty members participated in a new program, the Course Design Institute (CDI). This faculty development opportunity involved a five-day workshop during which faculty worked with facilitators from the University Teaching Center and the Office of Assessment to build, or rebuild, effective, student-centered courses. The CDI was modeled after the longstanding, highly successful program of the same name at the Ohio State University. CDI sessions were highly interactive and faculty spent time developing course elements and materials for their specific courses.
Participants included faculty at all ranks, including three department chairs and one associate dean, and one program director:
Professor---------------------------6
Associate Professor -----------4
Assistant Professor -------------7
Lecturer ----------------------------3
Adjunct Instructor ----------------1
EMS Education Director -------1
The CDI was interdisciplinary and participants represented multiple colleges and departments. Courses in the following departments were revised during the workshop.
A follow-up survey was conducted at the end of the fall semester (December 2015) to determine the actual impact of the CDI experience on teaching their courses during the fall. Participants were asked to report changes they had made in their courses. A total of 14 CDI participants completed the survey, which was about 61% of the total number who participated over the summer. Those who responded reported the following changes as a result of their participation in CDI
All CDI participants who provided feedback reported making some kind of change in some element of their course. In addition, all reported that they were planning to make additional adjustments and revisions for the next time they taught the course.
INNOVATIONS IN TEACHING AWARDS
Each summer, faculty submits proposals for the Innovations in Teaching Award program. Projects are focused on the development of innovative teaching strategies and materials, with goals of improving student engagement and the use of interactive teaching approaches. Proposals include specific project goals to be completed before teaching their course in the fall or spring as well as a defined strategy for evaluating the impact in terms of students’ performance or perceptions of the course.
Thirteen faculty were funded in June, 2016 – three faculty at the rank of Professor, three Associate Professors, two Assistant Professors, one Associate Lecturer, one Assistant Lecturer, one Senior Lecturer and two Lecturers. These individuals worked over the summer to develop new strategies and materials for courses in the following disciplines:
• Biological Sciences
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Family Medicine
• Foundations of Education
• History
• Information Operations Technology Management
• Law Instruction
• Mathematics
• Philosophy
• Rehabilitation Sciences
Examples of the types of course redesign projects that faculty undertake as part of the Innovation in Teaching Award program include:
• Develop and integrate video modules as part of weekly Blackboard activities in class for each core class topic/construct
• Create short videos focused on difficult concepts in the course using the Explain Everything app
• Create video demonstrations and handouts for self-study, to free up lab time for discussion and practice using community volunteers
• Incorporate LectureTools to increase engagement in class
• Integrate and utilize iPad apps to reinforce content
SPECIAL PROJECTS 2016
A number of special projects related to the institution’s educational mission were also completed by the staff of the UTC during 2015–2016. These included the following:
• Planned and implemented New Faculty Orientation in August 2015 – approximately 60 new faculty participated in the two-day event..
• Collaborated with UT Online to plan and sponsor the second Active Learning and Technology Conference for university faculty and high school teachers from NW Ohio systems.
• Hosted Open Textbook Workshop
• Hosted XanEdu workshop in collaboration with Barnes and Nobel Bookstore to facilitate faculty use of online classroom resources and custom course packs
• Presented to new teaching assistants, Creating an Active Classroom, as part of graduate student orientation
• Facilitated review of random sample of syllabi and presented results to Faculty Senate as part of the institution’s preparation for the HLC site visit
• Coordinated a chairs discussion of Title IX cases – facilitated by Kevin West
• Powering the modern classroom and using real-time learning data to improve student outcomes, presented by Dr. Angela Paprocki at the AACSU Academic Affairs Winter Meeting in Austin, Texas, on February 5, 2016
• Faculty development session for EMS faculty on June 21, 2016, entitled, Leveraging Technology for Consistency and Engagement – facilitated by Dr. Angela Paprocki
SUMMARY AND GOALS
The University Teaching Center is pleased with the 2015–2016 accomplishments in terms of both the number of opportunities and programs made available for faculty as well as with the types of experiences: large and small group presentations, hands-on workshops, online and face-to-face, individual one-on-one interaction and training. In addition, a number of special projects to support the work of the Provost’s Office and other institutional offices were completed. The following goals have been identified for the 2016–2017 academic year to build on the foundation established during the 2015–2016 academic year:
1. Maintain the level and variety in opportunities made available for faculty in 2015–2016.
2. Develop and implement new opportunities for professional development to expand on the opportunities available in 2015–2016.
3. Increase the adoption of Echo Engagement Tools and/or Turning Point as a way to increase interaction in large group lecture-based classes. Work to increase the current number of active faculty accounts by 10%.
4. Support all uses of Echo Engagement Tools during the conversion to the latest platform.
5. Create modules addressing basic concepts in curriculum design that can be used for independent self-study by faculty.
6. Promote the use of the Student Observer Program as a way for faculty to obtain feedback on their teaching.
7. Explore the feasibility of the creation of a general purpose active learning space.
8. Develop and implement strategies to maintain communication and follow-up with individual faculty who have requested UTC assistance or participated in initial training sessions (e.g., TechTalks, CDI, Innovations in Teaching) to provide ongoing support and potentially increase the adoption of active learning strategies and evidence-based teaching methods.
9. Develop and expand strategies to monitor attendance and usage of various opportunities and resources to better track the growth and impact of the UTC programming on faculty behavior.
universityteachingcenter@utoledo.edu