Teaching News

Dear colleagues,

We hope you’ve had a happy beginning to spring term!  

The Office of the Provost is delighted to announce that applications are open through April 15for its second cohort of Provost Fellows. It seeks promoted career and tenure-related faculty members to serve as: 

  • The Teaching fellow will help UO think strategically about ways that newer teaching methods can support student access and success across degree programs. The recipient will receive either two course releases or a $20,000 stipend distributed across the 12 months.
  • The Mentorship fellow will help the UO develop a rich, culturally responsive mentorship culture across campus. The recipient will receive either two course releases or a $20,000 stipend distributed across the 12 months.
  • The Leadership fellow will expand the reach of the UO Leadership Academy and strengthen a culture of transformational and inclusive leadership. The recipient will receive either two course releases or a $20,00 stipend distributed across the 12 months. 
  • The Academic Freedom fellow will help further hone the UO's response to threats to academic freedom. The recipient will receive either a single course release or an $8,000 stipend distributed across the 12 months. 

For more information and to apply, visit the Provost Fellows Program website. 

New Dashboards Make Faculty and Student Demographic Data, Student Outcomes Data Widely Available 

New dashboards created by Academic Data Analytics offer a dynamic and interactive tool to study institutional makeup and broad outcomes, and how they change over time. The student dashboards provide updated information on undergraduate student demographics, as well as their retention and graduation outcomes, for 12 historical cohorts. Employee dashboards provide annual census information on faculty and staff demographics starting from 2015.

Welcome to Canvas Commons

Canvas Commons at UO is a platform for us to highlight how we teach and a place to draw inspiration from colleagues. Learn more about how to use and add to this archive of colleague-created instructional materials — which includes sample policy statements, a course welcome module, and significant study skills and student wellbeing resources — by visiting our new introductory resource.

Faculty Excellence in Universal Design Award: Nominations due April 24 

The Accessible Education Center invites nominations for the annual University of Oregon Faculty Excellence in Universal Design Award. 

Excellence in Universal Design involves the development of flexible curriculum and instruction to ensure equity and access for all learners. The definition of excellence in universal design can be viewed on AEC’s Universal Design for Learning page. The award recipient will receive $1,000. 

Faculty, students, staff, and officers of administration are welcome to nominate instructors of record who exemplify excellence in the execution of universal design principles in the classroom (no self-nominations, please). 

Student Transition to UOmail, with Summer Option 

The mandatory student transition from Webmail to UOmail continues this spring and summer. If you teach juniors, seniors, or grad students, please remind your students about this transition and mention the summer deferment option. You can share this new slide in class or post it in Canvas.  

Students scheduled to transition to UOmail this spring will receive a link to the summer deferment request form by email. Students can also opt in to UOmail to choose their own timing. For tech support, please refer students to the Technology Service Desk.

ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE DESIGN WORKSHOP SERIES

This term-long series features practices to create more accessible and inclusive classes for all students, particularly students with disabilities and/or neurodivergent students. It is a collaboration between TEP, AEC, UO Online, and the Library and it centers the needs and recommendations students themselves have identified.

  • When? Wednesdays from 1-2 p.m. (with one additional workshop from 2-3).  
  • Where? On Zoom: see individual sessions for links. 
  • Who? You! It is enthusiastically open to faculty, students, and staff at any existing level of knowledge, and is meant to be a co-learning experience.

Upcoming dates and topics include: 

  • Apr 6: Captioning Videos 
  • Apr 13: Accessible Documents Part 1, Creating New Documents
  • Apr 13: Accessible Documents Part 2, Remediating Existing Documents
  • Apr 20: Developing & Revising Assignments with Universal Design for Learning
  • Apr 27: Using Open Educational Resources 
  • May 4: Rethinking “Participation” with UDL 
  • May 11:  Canvas Accessibility with Pope Tech 
  • May 18: Centering Neurodivergent Learners

Find out more about each session and register for any you are interested in by visiting our webpage.

SCIENCE TEACHING JOURNAL CLUB: Helping students succeed in your course

Join us to examine ways to help students reinforce the content knowledge and skills they need for your course and to employ effective learning techniques so they can use their time as efficiently as possible. We will also explore interdisciplinary introductory science courses and consider whether they might be a good idea for UO. All are welcome to participate every week or drop in for selected conversations.

Thinking about bolstering students’ college knowledge and study skills? Check out the Student Success Teaching Toolkit.

EMBODIED PRACTICES FOR INCLUSIVE AND ANTI-OPPRESSIVE TEACHING

with Professor Anita Chari

GRADUATE RESEARCH FORUM & UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

Encourage your students to share their discoveries! Proposals for the Graduate Research Forum are due on April 10 and the Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 11.