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Dear Evergreen Colleagues,
As we collectively “gear-up” for teaching and supporting students in an environment none of us imagined, we at the Learning and Teaching Commons want you to know that we are here to support you! This academic year the Learning and Teaching Commons will focus programming and support in two areas - (1) effective remote and hybrid teaching and (2) inclusive teaching practices. Please help guide our planning this year by completing a short survey indicating your preferences.
We’ve purposely packed this newsletter with gobs of information and resources with the goal of collecting what you need in one place. So sit back, pour yourself a cup of tea and dig in!
JuliA Metzker, Director & Rachel Homchick, Assistant Director
Learning and Teaching Commons
~hosted by the Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education
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Summer highlights
What have we been up to this summer? Between summer institutes, COVID-19 safety planning, preparing for remote teaching, and the New Academic Directions (NAD) project, there is a lot to report. Some highlights include …
- Remarkable faculty and staff participation in nearly 50 virtual summer institutes. Thanks to the Institute conveners for their impressive work designing and facilitating for our learning community - and embracing the virtual format. If you missed the chance to attend one, please reach out to the convener to request access to materials or the Canvas site. Consult the 2020 Evergreen Summer Institute Program for a list of institutes and conveners.
- There has been a flurry of activity in the New Academic Directions Initiatives in developing new curriculum proposals, exploring certificates and capstones, puzzling through implementation issues, prototyping models for new schools, and developing a plan for holistic advising. Catch up with the progress by reading the Initial Summary Report released on August 24th and/or attending the Academic Retreat on September 27th. If you are interested in getting involved in any aspect of this project, send an email to bigbets@evergreen.edu
- There has been much work done on safety planning for COVID-19. You’ll find important policies and guidelines at https://sites.evergreen.edu/covid19/, including protocols for making visits to campus for those of us working remotely. If you have any questions or concerns about in-person activities, please contact your dean or COVID-19 supervisor.
- The #EvergreenEverywhere summer institute series focused on remote learning concluded yesterday, with an institute convened by the Hybrid Learning faculty and staff cohort. This cohort has been working with a consultant over the summer to develop a template for Canvas and develop skills in translating Evergreen’s impactful teaching model into a virtual modality.
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Students work together in the rotunda of Purce Hall
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Preparing to teach
After the quick pivot to remote teaching in the spring, you all have engaged in many hours of training and development opportunities to design meaningful and engaging online and hybrid offerings. Together, we’ve been learning how to build strong communities and translate Evergreen’s high impact, experiential teaching model into online and hybrid teaching, including seminars, small group discussions and activities, simulated hands-on lessons, remote data analysis, and independent hands-on work in home studios and at the kitchen table. As you continue to prepare for the coming academic year and build out your syllabus, you might find the following resources useful.
- Teaching at Evergreen Canvas site has support and resources for teaching remotely.
- Download these tip sheets to kickstart your planning process.
- The “core four" digital tools you need to teach online (pdf).
- Twelve pedagogical teaching tips to consider for effective online teaching (pdf).
- Fifteen tips for making the most of Canvas (pdf).
- Seven tips for effectively using zoom (pdf).
- The Commons hosts several learning and teaching guides to support effective and inclusive practice including the wonderful compendium written by Evergreen faculty, Welcoming Students to Inclusive Learning Spaces.
- We will continue sending newsletters throughout the quarter to share resources and keep you informed. These newsletters will arrive in your inbox every other Friday of the quarter - look for the first installment on Friday, October 2 (Week 1).
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Inclusive Teaching Tip
The Inclusion by Design syllabus analysis tool developed by Ed Brantmeier, Andreas Broscheid, and Carl Moore provides a comprehensive framework to review your syllabus for inclusive teaching practices. This pragmatic tool guides reflection on frame and tone, learning objectives, assessments, learning activities, content, and subtext. The tool is extensive! Start by picking one part of the tool that you are particularly interested in evaluating and start there. Or grab some colleagues and evaluate each other’s syllabi.
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Meet the Commons Faculty Scholar
Interested in serving as a Faculty Scholar? We will soon be recruiting. Contact us.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS Did you miss something? Visit the Commons website for “recasts” of important communications.
Commons Advisory Council
- advise on current and future Commons programming.
- provide diverse perspectives of the needs of students, faculty, and staff.
- develop strategic future directions for the Learning and Teaching Commons.
- solicit and review summer institute proposals.
Name the newsletter!
The Learning and Teaching Commons is thrilled to launch a regular newsletter featuring will feature teaching tips, resources, announcements and short essays. We’ve come up short in finding a creative name but fortunately, we know that Evergreen faculty and staff are wonderfully clever. Please send your suggestions to learningandteaching@evergreen.edu by September 25th.
Communities of Practice
The Learning and Teaching Commons will be launching several new communities of practice (CoPs). CoPs support professional learning by bringing together groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly - an approach to professional learning that affirms Evergreen’s commitment to learning communities. If you are interested in joining one of the following or would like to sponsor your own, please contact us.
- Inclusive Teaching Practices
- Building Anti-racist Learning Communities
- Wise practices in Online and Hybrid Teaching
Equity and inclusion professional development
If you’ve participated in an equity-focused summer institute or workshop, please report your learning using the online reporting form. The 2017 MOU describes this annual faculty requirement.
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TEACHING RESOURCES The Commons Canvas site gets a new name and a new look!
In preparation for teaching remotely this fall, the Learning and Teaching Commons has given the "Keep Teaching" canvas site an overhaul! Now called Teaching at Evergreen, this site will be a place where you can find support and resources for teaching. When you visit, you'll notice that the overwhelming list of remote teaching resources has been replaced with two curated modules that offer advice on remote teaching strategies, help with technology, discussion boards and more.
Request a consultation
Do you have a teaching puzzle? Is there an activity you are struggling to translate to remote teaching? Do you need some help designing asynchronous activities?
The Learning and Teaching Commons offers individual and small group remote teaching consultations. Consultations provide an opportunity to get direct feedback on your teaching puzzles. Click here for details.
Course Materials
The Bookstore and Copy Center staff are on campus serving faculty and students. If you haven’t placed a book order, please make this a top priority. Send your questions about textbook orders to textbooks@evergreen.edu. For printing and scanning, contact copycenter@evergreen.edu.
Academic Statement
Fall quarter full-time programs should include at least 6-hours of academic statement programming. Academic statements can be a powerful tool to help students reflect upon their academic journeys and bring coherence to the curriculum through structured reflection. Visit the Academic Statement Canvas page for resources and workshop materials.
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STUDENT RESOURCES
These individuals and offices are eager to support students remotely. Keep this list handy when advising students or reach out to schedule a visit to your program or course.
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SEPTEMBER DATES - 07: Labor Day (campus closed)
- 14-16: Faculty furlough days
- 17: Faculty start date
- 17: Academic retreat | all day
- 21: Academic retreat | afternoon
- 23: Academic retreat | afternoon
- 21-27: Fall orientation (O-Week)
- 25: Common Read Virtual Panel (Oly Day) | 10-11:30pm
- 25: Faculty-student Workshops (Oly Day) | 1-3pm
- 26: Common Read Virtual Panel (EWS) | 10-11:30
- 25: Faculty-student Workshops (EWS) | 1-3pm
- 28: First day of quarter & Yom Kippur (no classes)
- 29: Fall classes start
- 30: Curriculum planning time | 1-5pm
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