Critical Reading Strategy to Engage Online Students

Engaging online students poses distinct challenges, especially with the emergence of GenAI. Traditionally, discussion boards have been the go-to for summarizing readings and starting peer conversations, but these learning experiences can be compromised by GenAI. It is even trickier when teaching an advanced composition class asynchronously online. Yvaine Neyhard, a graduate teaching assistant at the Department of English embraced this challenge head-on. She successfully converted a 16-week in-person class into an engaging 8-week online experience. Through the innovative use of document annotation on Canvas, she crafted a safe and personalized learning space for students to critically engage with readings and the instructor. 

Dive into the details of the course revamping journey in our recent interview with Yvaine and discover the strategies she used in navigating the dynamic shift from teaching in person to teaching online. 

New Office of Online Learning 

Launching soon, the Office of Online Learning will promote excellence in online education and develop just, equitable, and accessible educational opportunities to enrich and improve the lives of learners; gather campus-wide feedback on issues related to online learning; develop policies and practices that foster online student success; assist units/faculty in the development of online undergraduate degrees, certificates, and courses; and more.

Watch for the new Office of Online Learning website and resources in the coming weeks. For more information contact Lisa Anderson, visiting director of the Office of Online Learning.

CITL Workshop, Course Design - Foundations

Designing a new course or redesigning an existing one can seem like a long and winding journey. Principles of good course design can provide you with a roadmap to chart your course and know that you are on the right path. Join us online on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 from 5 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Register for this workshop here to explore best practices in course design and perhaps spark your interest to explore these topics more deeply.

This workshop counts towards the requirements of the Graduate Teacher Certificate, the Certificate in Foundations of Teaching, or the Certificate in Technology-Enhanced Teaching. 

Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar, Experiential Learning

Please join us for this month’s Art of Teaching Seminar “Experiential Learning” on Thursday, December 7 at 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. via Zoom. Justine Karduck and Toni Gist (award-winning faculty from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition) will share about student-peer mentorship, internships/externships, student-run campus fairs, converting a course for study abroad, and James Scholar experiences. Now more than ever, students seek meaningful connections with their peers. This discussion will showcase tips and tricks for implementing new practices in your class to keep students engaged and connected, with time to idea share. Register here to join our conversation.

Teaching Writing Assignments in the Age of Generative AI

Join us for a discussion on the challenges and benefits of incorporating artificial intelligence into your writing assignments in a range of disciplines. This interactive presentation, led by Rhetoric Program faculty, will focus on generative writing technologies like ChatGPT. We'll provide recommendations for talking about these tools with students, for handling instances of potential unauthorized usage, and for modeling responsible activities and assignments to introduce GenAI literacy to your students. 

Mark your calendar for Friday December 8, 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. Registration required.

Final Exams: Exam Services Extended Hours

Exam Services will be open during the following hours during final exam week to process exams administered with Scantrons:

• Friday, December 8: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Monday, December 11 through Friday, December 15: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

We will remain open over the lunch hour from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Please note that we have moved to room 151A on the first floor of the Armory. Contact us at 217-244-3839 or exams@illinois.edu.

Generative AI Training and Consultations
Recurring: every Monday and Tuesday, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Location: CITL Innovation Studio, Room 182, Armory Building
Walk-ins and appointments
Host: CITL (provides easy access to the latest versions of key GenAI tools and consultations)

Canvas Open Office Hours
Recurring: every Thursday, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Zoom
Host: CITL Instructional Support Team

Course Design - Foundations
Wednesday, November 29, 5 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Location: Online
Registration Link
Host: David Favre (CITL)

Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series
Thursday, December 7, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Location: Online
Registration Required
Host: Jordan Leising (CITL)

Stay tuned for this semester's events! Bookmark the CITL Event Calendar for all upcoming workshops and the Training Services (formerly FAST3) Calendar for additional training opportunities. 

On the Value of Making Mistakes

Mistakes usually conjure up negative feelings. We’re programmed to succeed and making a mistake suggests just the opposite—failure. Our students certainly feel this when they see their score lowered from mistakes they made on a test.

But what if we flipped this way of thinking and expanded our ideas about mistake-making beyond right or wrong answers? What if we celebrated mistakes by seeing them as creative steps in problem-solving, iteration, and paths to innovation and learning?

Sunni Brown and Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera, designers and futurists, promote the benefits of following the Japanese concept of shoshaku jushaku: living life as one continuous mistake. They explain that prototyping, artwork, career paths, and learning all involve making and recovering from mistakes. Brown describes a state of productive discomfort where, with the right thought process, we can productively analyze mistakes and learn to see past our discomfort to the potential for betterment through iteration. 

Of course there are right and wrong answers, and cases where being 100% correct really matters, but there are also times when exploring mistakes will uncover happy accidents and valuable insights into our behaviors and thinking processes. This is a big part of what Carol Dweck calls the Growth Mindset, and John Maxwell calls Failing Forward.

Brown offers a neat little game we can try with our students. Have them work alone or in groups to write down a recent personal or professional mistake. Then ask them to answer three questions: 1) what could I learn from this; 2) what would I say to a friend who did this; and 3) what positive outcomes might come from this? With practice, students can learn to categorize missteps and reframe their learning in deeper and more effective ways. The game can unfold in rounds or be used as a 15-minute small group activity plus time for debriefing. A practice called Exam Wrappers as described by Shelly Schmidt (FSHN) shows how students can use this similar process to reflect on mistakes made on exams. 

Vulnerability and self-discovery are two sides of the same coin. When we allow ourselves to fail, we also allow ourselves to grow.