News

CITL Teaching and Learning News: April 15, 2021

Apr 20, 2021, 16:58 PM


Announcements

Teach Access Curriculum Development Award

To accelerate the creation and delivery of accessibility-infused college curricula, Teach Access will be providing direct awards to full-time, part-time, adjunct faculty, or instructional staff at US-based institutions of higher education (community colleges, two-year colleges/universities, and four-year universities). Awards of $5,000 each will be given to faculty to develop modules, presentations, exercises or curriculum enhancements or changes that introduce the fundamental concepts and skills of accessible design and development into their existing courses.

Proposals due Friday, April 16th, Winners announced publicly on Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 20). For more information, see Teach Access Curriculum Development Award.

Last Chance to Register for April 16 Webinar

The Breaking New Ground webinar, brought to you by the Reimagining the Classroom Symposium committee, is your chance to get a first look at two new buildings on campus: Siebel Center for Design and the new Campus Instructional Facility. Video tours of the buildings, remarks from the Provost, a Keynote presentation on the benefits of active learning classrooms, plus campus trivia, prizes, and breakout conversations are sure to make this a fun and engaging webinar. Let’s reimagine a post-pandemic classroom and prepare for good things ahead. Free for faculty and staff. Register today.

eText@Illinois Development Grants

Beginning May 17, 2021, The Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (CITL) will award a limited number of $8,000 grants to University of Illinois faculty and instructors toward developing locally produced course materials as required reading for classes on the Urbana campus. Grant recipients will receive support in transforming assigned textbooks, workbooks, or readings for Fall 2021 courses into the award-winning eText@Illinois platform created at, and for, the University of Illinois. While all instructor-authors are eligible, those interested in creating required resources for large undergraduate enrollment classes (greater than 300 seats annually) are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Grants may be awarded, by arrangement with Department chair and business office, as summer salary, service-in-excess appointments, or as stipends. This grant is being offered in recognition of the amount of work involved in developing course content.  Deadline for proposal submissions is April 30, 2021. Please review RFP for more details.


CITL Events & Workshops 


Friday, April 16
Breaking New Ground Webinar: First Look at New Instructional Spaces
9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. via Zoom, check calendar listing for registration link
Presenter: Reimagining the Classroom Symposium

Monday, April 19
Quick Solutions to Common Compass Problems
1:00 P.M. - 1:50 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Presenter: CITL Instructional Support and Training

Tuesday, April 20
CITL Innovation Spaces Virtual Office Hours
10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link. Repeats every Tuesday from 10-11 A.M. and Wednesday from 1-2 P.M.
Moderators: Jamie Nelson & Megan Baird

Tuesday, April 20
Designing Jewelry for Laster Cutting
11:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M., via Zoom, check calendar listing for Zoom link
Presenter: Megan Baird

Friday, April 23
Friday Forum: Tips for Teaching in IFLEX Class
12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. via Zoom, check calendar listing for registration link
Presenter: Ava Wolf

Monday April 26
Ensuring the Compass Grade Center Reflects Your Syllabus
1:00 P.M. - 1:50 P.M. via Zoom. Check calendar listing for Zoom link.
Presenters: CITL Instructional Support and Training


See our calendar for a full list of upcoming events.

Teaching Tips

Stop Giving Them Answers: Make Them Think!

(from Faculty Focus) Higher education has recently changed in faster and more dynamic ways than anticipated. COVID-19 is an immediate factor, but the access to information is more prevalent now than 15 years ago. Many students’ learning habits do not include long nights in the library reading through textbooks or searching through library stacks. Information is at students’ fingertips, and the desire for immediate access to information is only growing. There is a real sense in which students want answers now, and as educators, we are tasked with cultivating the intellect, which is a laborious process. “Learning is deeper and more durable when it’s effortful” (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014). In other words, deep learning is hard work. We know this, and we are faced with convincing students that deep learning is meaningful and rewarding.

Consequently, we are charged with developing and refining our students into professional learners who are efficient at thinking critically, completing tasks, and ready to enter the “real world.” As Nagro et al. (2018) stated, accomplishing this means structuring our classrooms to emphasize student choice and allowing authentic learning through individual and group activities.

The Feynman Technique: The Best Way to Learn Anything

(from Pocket Worthy) There are two types of knowledge and most of us focus on the wrong one. The first type of knowledge focuses on knowing the name of something. The second focuses on knowing something. These are not the same thing. The famous Nobel winning physicist Richard Feynman understood the difference between knowing something and knowing the name of something and it’s one of the most important reasons for his success. In fact, he created a formula for learning that ensured he understood something better than everyone else. There are four simple steps to the Feynman Technique: 1) Choose a Concept, 2) Teach it to a Toddler, 3) Identify Gaps and Go Back to The Source Material, 4) Review and Simplify (optional). 

See More Teaching Tips Here


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