Category: Teaching News

Dedicated to news and announcements for the CELT community.

CELT Restructuring Update (Teaching Tip)

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People working on a project together

As the rhythm of the fall semester takes hold, we wanted to share a CELT restructuring update with you.

As you know, Iowa State developed a comprehensive strategy for online education – Iowa State Online – that brings together talented staff from across campus (and beyond) to create a seamless unit focused on quality online instruction and student experience, as well as online program growth and innovation. This new structure, which is embedded in CELT, will help promote a consistently high level of quality across all course modalities.

Where are we today?
Much of the work since announcing the CELT expansion with the formation of Iowa State Online has focused on bringing everyone together into a (much larger) CELT family in preparation for the full launch on January 3, 2023.

Key leaders have been identified for the primary functional areas of the unit:

  • Susan Arendt, Director for Iowa State Online
  • Matt Carver, Senior Manager for Enterprise Instructional Technology
  • Clark Coffman, Interim Director for Instructor Development
  • Lesya Hassall, Senior Manager for Course Design and Quality

We’re also still hiring, with several positions available.

What’s happening now?
The CELT leadership team continues gathering important information from key stakeholders and diligently works on operational and logistical details. Be on the watch for a CELT survey or town-hall style meeting soon to gather your input and feedback.

What happens next?
You’re probably wondering how things may change in January, or even now as you prepare for your spring classes.

  • If you are planning your winter session or spring semester classes, continue working with the same person and office you have in the past.
  • Iowa State Online will take a strategic approach to program offerings with decisions made as an institution. We will continue to offer robust instructor development and support for instructors across all modalities.
  • Programs and services such as the Miller Faculty Fellowship, #CyThx, consultation and observation services, Online Learning Community, and programming will continue with little change – but more people to support this work!
  • Further details about CELT’s services are forthcoming and will be well-publicized within the CELT teaching tip, Inside Iowa State, and through college communications.

And, of course, if you have never taught online but are ready to jump in or are looking to optimize your current or future classes, please email celt@iastate.edu or call 515-294-5357. We’re ready to help and have the expertise and resources you need to succeed.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Assistant Provost and Executive Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: CELT Restructuring Update (October 13, 2022).

Prefer a Print Version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for October 13, 2022 (PDF).

Join the “Teaching with AI” Course to Explore the Impact of AI on Teaching and Learning (PDF)

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What’s all the buzz about ChatGPT and other generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)? What should instructors know about the pedagogical and ethical implications of teaching with AI? How are students using AI, and what do such uses mean for our classrooms?

You are invited to join the “Teaching with AI” Canvas course (designed by Auburn University) and promoted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. CELT obtained a license for Iowa State University instructors to explore the impact of AI on teaching, learning, and course design.

About the Course

The “Teaching with AI” Canvas course includes the following modules:

  • Module 1: What do I need to know about IA?
  • Module 2: What are the ethical considerations of AI in our higher ed context?
  • Module 3: What is learning, and how will AI tools affect the courses I teach?
  • Module 4: How are students using AI tools and how can I partner with my students?
  • Module 5: What do I need to rethink in terms of the exams, papers, or projects I assign?
  • Module 6: How do I (re)design courses in the wake of the AI disruption?
  • What other AI tools or capabilities are coming and how do I design for them?
  • What conversations need to happen in my department or discipline, and what is my role?

Engagement

We are offering this course self-paced or a hybrid teaching and learning cohort:

  • Self-Paced: You have until June 1, 2024, to finish all modules, which should take approximately 20 hours.
  • Teaching and Learning Community Cohort: We will host two synchronous meetings during the 2023-24 academic year to foster active participation and lively discussion among the cohort. During the initial meeting, we will focus on the first four modules completed, and at the final meeting, we will discuss the rest of them.
    • Cohort Meeting 1, Thursday, November 16, 2023 (2-3:30 p.m., online)
    • Cohort Meeting 2, Thursday, February 29, 2024 (2-3:30 p.m., online)

It will take approximately 20 hours to complete all modules and attend the two online synchronous meetings (each meeting is 90 min long).

Also, consider attending the upcoming Teaching with AI Talks and explore the CELT AI in Teaching page.

Instructions for Registration

Use your iastate email to access the Teaching with AI Course Registration MS form (button below), indicate your preferred modality, and submit. (Note: Your name and iastate email will be recorded automatically upon completion).

Teaching with AI Course Registration MS form

Important Things to Know: Participation is limited to ISU Net ID holders. The first 100 registrants will be considered and will receive access to the course within one week of registration. You will be put on a waiting list if all registrations are claimed. Access to the “Teaching with AI” Auburn University course will only be available until June 30, 2024.

Questions? Please email us at celt-help@iastate.edu.

Download the Teaching with AI Course flyer (PDF).

Learn About the Tech in Your Classroom (Fall 2023)

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If you’re teaching in a general University classroom* this fall, as you prepare your course, check to see what technology will be available to you in the room. 

Information Technology Services (ITS) has compiled resources for the audiovisual equipment available in the general classrooms across the University. If you want to check your classroom(s), ITS recommends the following:

  1. Check to see if your classroom is a Level 1 or Level 2 classroom
  2. Watch a tutorial video to discover effective practices for your classroom: 
  3. (Optional) Visit your classroom before the start of the semester to practice with the technology. 

Questions or Issues? Please contact the ITS Audiovisual Technology Team through the Solution Center at 515-294-4000 or email solution@iastate.edu. 

*Teaching labs and seminar rooms are not considered general university classrooms. Please reference the in-room instructions for support information in those locations.

Seeking student feedback (Teaching Tip)

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We often ask, how well are your students learning? What tweaks could be made to improve your teaching and enhance student learning?

The Plus/Delta tool is an easy way to seek valuable feedback from your students. It has students focus on advancing their learning in the course and what could be improved by the instructor and the student. It helps students think about their responsibility to the course and what they should continue doing to learn (PLUS) and what they need to change for the course to improve for them (DELTA) (Helminski & Koberna, 1995).

Students can complete the plus delta online using Canvas, or other anonymous survey software by responding to these four open-ended questions:
Plus

  • What is helping me to learn in this class?
  • What am I doing to improve my learning in the course?

Delta

  • What changes are needed in this course to improve learning?
  • What do I need to do to improve my learning in this course?

Once the students complete the plus delta, you collect the information and summarize it to report each category’s themes back to your class in the next session. The feedback loop creates the opportunity to discuss the shared responsibility for teaching and learning in your course. You may further specify what modifications will (or will not) implement based on their feedback. To learn more, visit CELT’s Using a PLUS/DELTA Assessment Technique webpage.
With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Helminski, L. & Koberna, S. (1995). Total quality in instruction: A systems approach. In H. V. Roberts (Ed.), Academic initiatives in total quality for higher education (pp. 309-362). Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press.

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Seeking student feedback (September 10, 2020 – Constant Contact) page.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for September 10, 2020 (PDF).

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