October 2014  Faculty News & Training

2014 SALUTE TO FACULTY EXCELLENCE WEEK PECHA KUCHA BREAKFAST

To kick-off our 2014 Salute to Faculty Excellence Week, Distinguished Teaching Professors and other award-winning faculty presented Pecha Kucha sessions on this theme: "When did the light go on and what did you see?" Pecha Kucha is Japanese for "chit-chat" and describes a presentation format using 20 slides which advance automatically in 20 second intervals.  Our presenters used this format to share a personal story based on our theme. Feedback from the 125+ attendees indicated the program was "funspiring" - both fun and inspiring.  View The Presentations 
UPCOMING TRAINING
Clicker Technology Clickers and TurningPoint Upcoming Training (UA15TP)
FALL 2014      CHILTON 245
   
First hour: Learn about one of TurningPoint's polling options with experienced trainers from Turning Technologies.  Laptops will be available for you to test drive the software!

Second hour: Variable and flexible topis from extra hands-on practice to advanced polling options in TurningPoint, including demographics, statistics and team activity functions.  Ask questions, get answers, get clicking!
 
November 7th        #1101                  1:00pm - 3:00pm          Chilton 245  
November 21st      #1102                  1:00pm - 3:00pm          Chilton 245 
December 5th         #1201                 1:00pm - 3:00pm          Chilton 245   
 
Click here to register for the event!
Using Item Analysis in Blackboard - Webinar
NOVEMBER 5th  12:00pm-1:00pm   ONLINE

The key functions of the Item Analysis option for tests will be covered in this class.  You will learn how Item Analysis works along with suggestions for why you might want to use this tool.


Blackboard Open Lab
FRIDAYS  1:00pm - 4:00pm 
Chilton 112K (UNT - Denton Campus / Faculty) 

No Registration Required!  Feel free to come by our open labs every Friday from 1pm-4pm to receive some one-on-one Blackboard assistance from our instructional support team.

For faculty or teaching assistants who are new to Blackboard Learn, we recommend scheduling an appointment with an instructional consultant ( http://clear.unt.edu/consulting).

Check out our self-help guides and tips on the Blackboard Faculty Support Site or view our training sessions on the CLEAR calendar (Blackboard Open Labs Dates)
INFORMATION ON CLEAR INITIATIVES
GSTEP
FALL 2014

clear.unt.edu/gstep 

 

The Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Program (GSTEP), provided by the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment, and Redesign (CLEAR) with support from the Office of the Provost, is a free program for graduate students at the University of North Texas.  The goal of the program is to prepare graduate students for teaching roles in higher education by equipping them with teaching skills, knowledge about teaching strategies, and peer support.  Activities include classroom teaching experiences, online training modules, and peer mentoring.  Upon completion of the program, students will receive a letter of recommendation for future faculty interviews.

    

Why should graduate students participate?

  • Improve their teaching skills
  • Jump start their teaching career
  • Empower their careers as future faculty members

November 12th     Seminar 2  3:30pm-5:30pm     Open Lab  4:30pm-6:00pm

November 13th     Seminar 2  3:30pm-5:30pm     Open Lab  4:30pm-6:00pm

November 14th     Seminar 2  All Day                      Open Lab  4:30pm-6:00pm  

November 19th     Seminar 2  3:30pm-5:30pm     Open Lab  4:30pm-6:00pm


Click here to enroll in GSTEP's Introductory program for Fall 2014 right now!
Thank A Teacher - october 2012
Thank A Teacher Update
The Fall 2014 Thank A Teacher program is running September 22nd - December 5th.  Students have a way to say thanks to their exceptional teachers through the Thank a Teacher program here at UNT.  Students complete the form and share their appreciation with their teachers.  After final grades have been submitted, their notes are sent to their teachers as part of a formal letter of recognition from the Office of the Provost.

Contact Rena Mammen or Nancy Fire with your questions. 
More Information

Teaching Excellence Seminar
January 15, 2015    8:00am - 11:30am
Gateway Center Ballroom 

The Teaching Excellence Seminar is held at the beginning of every long semester and is intended to educate and inform new instructors on UNT policies and best practices in teaching and learning. The seminar is mandatory for all new TAs and TFs, and all other UNT instructors are encouraged to attend.

Contact Rena Mammen or Nancy Fire with your questions.
Helpful UNT Teaching and Learning Resources

Register Here!  

New Initiative Launched!
Teaching Resources for Engaged Educators (TREE)

 

Want to maximize your impact on student learning?  Do you look for ways to connect with other committed educators?  Are you looking for ways to document your efforts to improve your teaching?  If so, the Teaching Resources for Engaged Educators (TREE) initiative, developed by CLEAR, is for you.  TREE leverages online training modules focused on 10 important teaching proficiencies (e.g., engaged learning, assessment, course design) that allow you to move at your own pace through three levels of proficiency (introductory, intermediate, and advanced). The TREE program will appear in your list of Blackboard courses and is available for everyone who teaches at UNT.  To participate, simply select the course and then the modules you would like to complete.  You will receive badges for completing each module and a Certificate of Teaching Distinction when successfully completing all three levels of a proficiency.  For more information, please refer to the CLEAR website:
http: clear.unt.edu/tree. 
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT - Topic
NextGen Senior Faculty Fellows
Laura Walker and Kim Baker

Laura Walker and  Kim Baker  were presenters at the Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) Annual Assessment Institute, Oct. 19-21:  Title: A Quasi-Experimental Study Comparing Student Attainment of Learning Outcomes for a Treatment and Control Group with Laura presenting at the session.

 

NextGen  
Senior Faculty Fellow 
Laura Walker
(College of Education) 
NextGen 
Senior Faculty Fellow 
Kim Baker
(College of Education)
RECENT AWARDS & ACTIVITIES
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CLEAR Presentations

Dr. Ron Carriveaurecent presentations: 

North Texas Community College Consortium, Annual Outcomes and Assessment Conference, Oct. 17:  Title: Obtaining and using course-level outcome-attainment measures

 

Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) Annual Assessment Institute, Oct. 19-21:  Title: Optimizing the value and use of course-level outcome-attainment measures.

Faculty/Staff Group Subscriptions offered by CLEAR
FREE ACCESS
Online Learning Consortium

CLEAR provides Free Access (through a group subscription) to Online Learning Consortium (formerly Sloan-C) http://onlinelearningconsortium.org.  

 

The University of North Texas is a member of the Online Learning Consortium.  As a member, you will receive OLC's workshop, conference and publications discounts, research, and interaction with other members.  To receive account set-up and login instructions, please contact  Amber Bryant at Amber.Bryant@unt.edu.

 

Membership includes workshop membership pricing.  Visit http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/institute/workshops/2014/upcoming-by-date for the list of 2014 workshops. Additional workshops are added throughout the year, so please make sure to check the schedule often. The member price for a workshop is $169. Non-member pricing is $269. If you and your faculty have set up your accounts or affiliated your existing accounts properly, you will automatically see the member price.

 

 OLC Membership Resources include:

  • Webinars
  • Conference Discounts  
  • Publications Discounts  
  • Website Resources 
  • Monthly Newsletters
CLEAR Group Subscriptions
Teaching Professor
FREE ACCESS
The Teaching Professor &
Online Classroom

CLEAR provides Free Access (through a group subscription) to The Teaching Online Classroom Professor and Online Classroom.  These electronic newsletters provide the information faculty, deans, chairs, and other academic decision-makers use for effective leadership within their colleges or departments as they fulfill their institution's mission of teaching and scholarship. 

  
To subscribe, go to www.magnapubs.com/group and select the publication of choice. If logging in from an on-campus computer, you will not need to enter a password.   

If you wish to access these publications from off campus or if you would like to receive an email message each time a new issue is posted, you will need to register and enter a campus voucher code and pin number. Please email  Amber Bryant to obtain this information.  

CLEAR Group Subscriptions
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