Teaching News

May 13, 2021

   
Colleagues, 
 
The Office of the Provost is thrilled to announce its first Provost’s Fellows. 

  • Anita Chari and Alison Gash, both associate professors of political science, are Teaching Fellows, who will help UO develop a pervasive culture of inclusive and anti-oppressive teaching across policy and practice. 

  • Emily Simnitt, senior instructor of English, is the Leadership Fellow, who will help launch a faculty peer leadership development program and support an audit of leadership practices and opportunities across campus. 

  • Maile Hutterer, associate professor in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, is the Mentorship Fellow, who will work to help deepen a rich, culturally competent mentorship culture across campus. 

Learn more about the new fellowship program. 

We highlight, too, that we extended the deadline to apply for one of the UO Summer Teaching Institute's stipended ($1K) pathways: Teaching about Difference and Inequality, Teaching Online, Mixed Modalities, and Designing New Approaches to Assessment. The 2021 Institute is July 12-16 and will be hosted remotely. Applications will be due Monday, May 17. This opportunity is for both tenure-related and career faculty. Learn about the pathways and apply.  
 
Finally, we know that many of you are thinking about how to draw this extraordinary year to a close with your students.  Read ideas from TEP, the UO Career Center, and faculty colleagues for ending remote courses in ways that invite students to reflect on the full range of what they’ve learned, including relevant career readiness and resilience skills. 
 

Invitations 

NEW: Video Assignments and Video Feedback 
Wednesday, May 19, 2-2:30 p.m. 
Register here.  

To engage students in remote learning, many instructors turned to new, creative practices, many of which can carry forward as we transition back to in-person classrooms. In this quick “popup” workshop, Philip Matern, Senior Instructor of Human Physiology, will introduce how to create student video assignments and how to use video to provide students with feedback.  Use of video assignments can promote more creative student contributions, build important skills, and stimulate more lively class engagement.  Use of video by instructors can personalize feedback, build more direct relationships with students, and streamline the grading and feedback process. 
 

Reading and Demonstration Group Drop-Ins

Learning from Pandemic Teaching Experiences  
hosted by the Science Teaching Journal Club  
Thursdays at 9 a.m.   
Drop in via Zoom: https://uoregon.zoom.us/j/369256082  
See our schedule of readings and demonstrations. 

On May 20, Shannon Boettcher, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will discuss his experiences teaching in the HyFlex mode this year. HyFlex classes present students the choice of attending face-to-face or via a synchronous remote Zoom meeting. 

‘Research-Informed’ Reading Group: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Online Courses  
Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m.  
Drop in via Zoom: https://uoregon.zoom.us/j/94975804093  
See our schedule of readings. 

On May 19, we will discuss high-tech and high-touch strategies to incorporate into online courses to improve student success and retention and address equity gaps.  
 

May is Mental Health Month 

Mental Health Month (MHM) is nationally recognized every May. The purpose of MHM is to raise awareness of the importance of mental health, provide educational opportunities and coping strategies to the campus community, and reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses and help-seeking. 

University Counseling Services (UCS) encourages and invites all UO students, faculty, and staff to participate in MHM by completing the online, evidence-based, 45-minute Kognito training module. Kognito increases knowledge of mental health, uses simulated conversations to practice supporting students in real-life situations, and increases awareness of campus resources. You can learn more about Kognito and access the modules here. UCS can also offer a Kognito Debrief with your department to review content learned from the module, answer any questions, and share specific campus resources. UO students, faculty, and staff who complete a Kognito module this month will automatically be entered into a drawing to win 1 of 50 gift cards to a vendor of their choice in the amount of $20. 

UCS provides clinical services to students and consultations for faculty and staff about how to support students. Wellbeing-related teaching ideas, information about referring students to a range of supports, and resources for instructors’ own wellbeing are available here. 
 

Consultations

TEP and UO Online are here to support you in your teaching. Request an individual consultation.