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CITL Teaching and Learning News: November 6, 2020

Nov 10, 2020, 11:51 AM
CITL Teaching and Learning News: November 6, 2020
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Instructor Stories
 
 
 
Maria Hadjipolycarpou  
 

The Power of Story in Cultivating Emotional Competence
Maria Hadjipolycarpou, Lecturer in Modern Greek Studies

In many Classics courses, emotional engagement plays a secondary role in literary text-based analysis. Instructors of literature shy away from engaging in emotional levels of understanding because teaching this way is sometimes at odds with traditional methods of scholarship. In Maria’s course, “Storytelling and Transformation: Narratives of Self from Homer to Arianna Huffington” (CLCV 120), students study epic and tragic works of classical Greek literature, as well as philosophical ideas of self and soul by modern writers and philosophers. Her students explore the journey of transmission and transformation through the medium of stories and storytelling, including what makes a story worthy and why stories have shaped human civilization from past to present. Through a series of hands-on activities that include digital tools for collaboration and close reading, students cultivate emotional literacy as well as empathy. One of their assignments is to write a pitch for The Moth and record a true story to perform in front of an audience. 

Maria is passionate about the power of stories to foster emotional competence. “Storytellers are the greatest reformers, transformers, and transmitters of human civilization,” she says. “Students deserve not only to experience literature cognitively and intellectually, but to engage with these texts intuitively and emotionally.”

  
 
 
Announcements
 
 
 

We Want to Hear From You!  Faculty Input Session - Wednesday, November 11

Are you ready for Spring 2021? We want to help you prepare. Technology Services, ATLAS, and CITL are hosting a 90-minute Faculty Input Session on November 11, at 11:30 am-1 pm. Illinois faculty are invited to share their challenges both in the classroom and with remote learning. Join us for this open forum where you can ask questions and make recommendations to help make Spring 2021 the best it can be. For the Zoom link, please register here. You can drop in anytime during the session to share your thoughts and questions.

Can't make it to this online session, please share your input using this anonymous form.

How do I Replicate an Engaging Faculty Presentation Online?

I recently attended a College-level faculty event where the guest speaker, Michael Wesch, used some pretty amazing graphic effects for his Zoom presentation, and all while he interacted with them! I think this would help with engagement in my online lectures. Is it possible to do this for my course?

Check out our latest Dear A/V Column to see the response from our media experts.

TechHub Open Hours

Visit CITL's TechHub during open hours! Held twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursday from 12pm - 3pm. Experience 3D printing, Virtual Reality, Laser Cutting and more. Activities are free! Please wear a mask and note that only 3 visitors are allowed in the space at a time. For more information go to Visit CITL Spaces

  
 
 
CITL Events & Workshops
 
 
 

Friday, November 6
Come Together: Teaching for Inclusion
2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M., register to receive Zoom link
Speaker: Luzmarina Garcia, CITL Grad Affiliate
 
Wednesday, November 11
Faculty Input Session
11:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M., register to receive Zoom link
Moderators: Emily Knox (iSchool) & Lawrence Angrave (CS)
 
Wednesday, November 11
Big and Small: Online Tools for All Class Sizes
12:00 P.M. - 12:50 P.M., register to receive Zoom link
Speakers: Ava Wolf & Leanna Duncan
 
Thursday, November 12
Compass 2g Test Settings
12:00 P.M. via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Speakers: CITL's Instructional Support & Training
 
 
  
 
 
Teaching Tips
 
 
 

A Generation Defined by the Pandemic

(From Inside Higher Ed) A new survey about student experiences during the fall semester and the coronavirus pandemic found that stress, anxiety and loneliness were their overriding concern. The data are representative of the real-life challenges and uncertainty that students say they face. Uncertainty, instability and self-doubt have been common themes in the lives of college students during 2020 as their education and career plans shift due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

These were the general feelings expressed by about 450 college students and recent alumni who responded to a small, open-ended survey conducted by a pair of 2020 graduates, and reiterated on a larger scale in a new nationally representative survey of 4,000 undergraduates by the Strada Education Network. The various responses show that heightened stress and anxiety -- whether about achieving academic success, finding future employment or paying for the next meal -- is currently dominating the student psyche. Uncertainty, instability and self-doubt have been common themes in the lives of college students during 2020 as their education and career plans shift due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Cinderella Deadlines: Reconsidering Timelines for Student Work

(From Faculty Focus) In preparation for the coming semester, a faculty member recently asked me how to change deadlines on the LMS to midnight on a given day. After helping the professor, I started thinking about why we might need to reconsider this option, both for our own good and for our students. Before electronic submissions for papers were an option, students often had to turn in written assignments for professors during class—a practice some professors still employ. The general idea around these deadlines, whether at the beginning or end of class, largely centers on a shared schedule and the convenience of being in the same place at the same time. However, with more and more professors using electronic communication and accepting work through services like Turnitin, email, drop boxes, and LMS forums, the ease of shared proximity has become less relevant, and the range of possible deadlines has grown. The advent of digital submissions should offer us a chance to think about deadlines in new ways and to reflect on our deadline policies. As Maryellen Weimer points out, “It’s useful to look at the policies as a whole and ask what kind of climate they collectively create. What’s their relationship to learning? How do they promote it, individually and collectively?” There are more questions we could ask ourselves about deadlines.

See More Teaching Tips Here

  
 

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