Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Creating accessible word-based documents for your courses
2022-09-15 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | ZOOM
Virtual Workshop

These meetings will focus on “Plus-One Strategies” – an approach to inclusive teaching that involves making small changes to your course to include one more learner. The workshops will show how to proactively design course components that meet the varied needs of our increasingly diverse body of students. Each workshop will be designed with 30 minutes of learning on a specific strategy and 30 minutes of practice and Q&A to allow you to explore these strategies in your teaching context.
Register for this event (opens in a new window).

FOR NEW TAs! Teaching Tips and Techniques (TTT)
2022-09-16 12:00 - 13:30, 2022-09-30 12:00 - 13:30, 2022-10-14 12:00 - 13:30, 2022-10-28 12:00 - 13:30 | CITL – 1st Floor of Fernald Hall, 102 Fernald Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, United States
In-person
The TTT is a learning community where new TAs will learn teaching tips and techniques to support their teaching as well as form relationships with other first-time TAs. This is a community, not a course.
Our core meetings will be every other Friday from 12:00-1:30 pm starting September 2nd.
*Note* We also have an optional kick-off meeting for new TAs, Friday, August 26th from 8-10 am, if you register for the TTT you will be invited to attend this optional meeting as well.
Learn more and apply here.

Teaching & Learning Book Discussion: Small Teaching
2022-09-20 09:00 - 10:00, 2022-10-04 09:00 - 10:00, 2022-10-18 09:00 - 10:00, 2022-11-01 09:00 - 10:00 | 102 Fernald Hall, 102 Fernald Hall, Orono, 04469
James Lang’s second edition of Small Teaching brings with it new evidence-based practices to improve student learning in bite-size pieces. The book connects powerful new research from cognitive theory with practical strategies for deploying these insights in a modern classroom. Lang sets out to use research from the learning sciences to offer faculty small, practical changes they can make to their courses in order to improve students’ learning. Books will be provided.
Learn more and register here (opens in a new window).

Engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Community of Practice
2022-09-21 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-10-05 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-10-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid (In-person or virtual)
Hybrid (in-person but can accommodate remote participants)
Alternate Wednesdays at 10:00am starting September 7th; opposite Wednesday can be reserved for asynchronous work

Innovation in teaching provides exciting opportunities for research and scholarship on teaching practices.
In this CoP, we will engage with peer mentoring and feedback as we:

explore the fundamentals of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,
identify a relevant research question for your course,
find entry points into SoTL literature,
generate background research,
design your study,
and perhaps draft an IRB application

Part learning community, part working group, the aim of this group will be to dedicate time to work and learn together about initiating SoTL research in your classrooms. Novice to skilled SoTL practitioners are welcome to attend.
This CoP will continue into the spring semester where we will continue drafting an IRB, explore collecting and analyzing data and dissemination of results.
Register here for this event (opens in a new window)
“Changing the status of the problem in teaching from terminal remediation to ongoing investigation is precisely what the movement for a scholarship of teaching is all about.” – Randy Bass; The Scholarship of Teaching: What’s the Problem

Considering alternative assessment strategies
2022-09-22 12:00 - 13:30 | 102 Fernald Hall, 102 Fernald Hall, Orono, 04469
In-person workshop
The way that instructors assess student performance has a profound effect on how students experience learning and how instructors spend their time inside and outside of class. In this discussion, participants will explore three alternatives to traditional grading that attempt to ameliorate the learning experience and make better use of instructors’ limited resources: Mastery Grading, Contract Grading, and Ungrading. Participants will reflect upon their current grading methods, explore the use of alternative assessment practices, and consider how they might implement them in their teaching context. Special attention will be given to how alternative grading methods can help instructors practice equity-focused teaching.
This workshop has been postponed for a later date.

F22 Digital Equity and E-Inclusion Community of Practice
2022-09-22 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-10-06 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-10-20 15:00 - 16:00
The Digital Equity & E-Inclusion Community of Practice (DECoP) will bring together faculty interested in supporting, exploring, and cultivating a digital equity practice. Over the semester, participants will work on an aspect of their course to address through the lens of digital equity. Participants commit to the semester long program when you register (opens in a new window)
Meeting Dates and Topics
September 8th – Introduction & What is UDL?
September 22nd – Personas and how we use them.
October 6th – Your syllabus as a teaching tool.
October 20th – Integrating and applying UDL/UDI to content.
November 3rd – Integrating and applying UDL/UDI to assessments and activities.
November 17th – Transparency for your students.
December 1st – Feedback and iteration.
December 15th – Faculty presentations and peer review.

Equity-Fostering Syllabus Working Group
2022-09-23 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-10-07 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-10-21 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid (In-person or virtual)
Hybrid, Biweekly, Fridays from 10:00-11:00am
This is a collaborative, faculty-led, practically-oriented community focusing on fostering equity through developing our syllabi and engaging them meaningfully in class. The group will focus not only on “how-to” craft an inclusive/equity-centering syllabus, but how to continue to engage the syllabus throughout the semester toward fostering equity in the classroom and institutionally. Meetings are intended to be conversational and collaborative workshops, with attendees co-facilitating as/if needed, and sharing and discussing syllabus elements, engagement strategies, successes, and conundrums. We will also work with and be informed by literature on critical pedagogies, social justice education, and equity, as these become relevant in the group.
In Fall 2022, the syllabus working group will continue to develop a sharable “equity starter pack” for syllabi to include suggested language, organizational structures, and ways to present and engage the syllabus throughout the semester.
For questions or to get the Zoom link, contact the conveners: Lily Herakova, Communication and Journalism/WGS (liliana.herakova@maine.edu) and Kevin Roberge, Mathematics/WGS (kevin.roberge@maine.edu).
Dates: September 9th, September 23rd, October 7th, October 21st, November 4th, November 18th, & December 2nd

Fall 2022 Teaching Gradually Book Club
2022-09-23 12:00 - 13:00, 2022-10-07 12:00 - 13:00, 2022-10-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual Location
Virtual meetings (via Zoom)

Teaching Gradually: Practical Pedagogy and Classroom Strategies for Graduate Students provides tools, methods, and insights that are useful in teaching today’s students but are often not explicitly covered in graduate training. Written by graduate teaching assistants, each chapter features topics and approaches in the classroom provided by graduate teaching assistants. Meetings will discuss 1-2 chapters/topics to be chosen by participants. Books will be provided.
Learn more and register here (opens in a new window).

Friday afternoons from 12:00-1:00 pm for five meetings throughout the semester.

September 23rd, Chapters
October 7th,
October 21st,
November 18th,
December 9th,

New Faculty Community of Practice on Teaching at UMaine
2022-09-27 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-10-11 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-10-25 09:00 - 10:30 | Hybrid (In-person or virtual)
Hybrid (In-person or virtual)
Together, explore and learn about UMaine’s students, policies, and develop a strong foundation of teaching skills through the exploration of case studies and actual scenarios from the classroom. In parallel we will work on developing your teaching development plan to help guide your teaching goals at UMaine. A great way to meet colleagues and learn more about UMaine, teaching, and your own professional development. Participants will also engage in reading from the newly released “The New College Classroom (opens in a new window)” by Cathy N. Davidson and Christina Katopodis. (Books will be provided to registered participants)
Learn more and register here (opens in a new window).

Politics in our classrooms
2022-10-12 12:00 - 13:00 | 102 Fernald Hall, 102 Fernald Hall, Orono, 04469
In-person program at Fernald Hall
With the approaching November elections, conversations will likely arise in your classrooms centered around politics, political views, or politicized topics. When and how should faculty navigate these situations? Should you try to remain politically neutral or share an informed point of view? Can you create space for multiple political perspectives in your classrooms without rancor? Join a panel of political science faculty in a discussion around these challenging topics.
Panelists:
Mark Brewer, Professor of Political Science and Department Chair
Ryan LaRochelle, Lecturer, Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service
Richard Powell, Professor of Political Science & Founding Director of the William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service.
This event has been canceled, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Learning in the landscape: Teaching and learning at Hirundo Wildlife Refuge
2022-10-13 13:00 - 14:00 | CITL – 1st Floor of Fernald Hall, 102 Fernald Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, United States
In-person program
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge is 2,460 acres of conserved woodlands and wetlands just west of UMaine dedicated to preserving nature while providing educational, and recreational opportunities to the public. Over the years, faculty from anthropology and business to wildlife ecology have worked with Hirundo staff to extend learning beyond the walls of the classroom. CITL and the Hirundo staff are now partnering to increase support for faculty seeking ways to utilize this amazing, living resource in their teaching. During this panel discussion, students, faculty, and Hirundo staff will share their teaching and learning experiences and discuss opportunities for ways other faculty could extend students’ learning in the landscape.
Panelists
Elizabeth (Liz) Brennan, Wildlife Ecology & Honors student
Allison Gardner, Biology and Ecology
Nory Jones, Maine Business School
Melissa Ladenheim, Honors College
William Manion, Engineering Technology
Bonnie Newsom, Anthropology
Lindsay Seward, Wildlife Ecology
Register for this even here (opens in a Google Form)

Making your visuals accessible: “alt text” and visual descriptions
2022-10-13 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual Location
Virtual Training

These hands-on workshops provide an approach to inclusive teaching that involves making small changes to your course to include one more learner – “Plus-one strategies”. These workshops will show how to proactively design course components that meet the varied needs of our increasingly diverse body of students. Each workshop will be designed with 40 minutes of learning on a specific strategy and 20 minutes of practice and Q&A to allow you to explore these strategies in your teaching context.
Register for this event (opens in a new window)

Geospatial learning across disciplines
2022-10-17 12:00 - 13:00 | ZOOM
Virtual program
You’re invited to attend a workshop for University of Maine System faculty from any discipline to learn how to integrate cutting-edge geospatial technologies into courses. No prior experience is required!
What are geospatial technologies/ geographic information systems (GIS)? It’s all about connecting. GIS connects different kinds of data to a map, providing a foundation for analysis that is used in just about every discipline. GIS helps people discover patterns and relationships in a geographic context. Right now, faculty are asking their students to explore socio-cultural issues in health care, environmental topics in basic biology, applications in digital humanities, and much more.
The Geospatial Learning Across Disciplines workshop will also provide a pathway for faculty to apply for competitive stipends of up to $1,500* to include discipline-appropriate geospatial teaching and learning activities in climate-change-related courses.
Learn more and register now.

Make it at UMaine: The IMRC Center and the Hackerspace
2022-10-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Hackerspace, Memorial Union Building
In-person program at the Hackerspace – Memorial Union Building
The Hackerspace and the IMRC Center are digital makerspaces available to all UMaine faculty and students. Students can stop in or faculty can reserve the facilities for ad hoc labs associated with classes. In this session faculty from a variety of disciplines will describe how they supported students’ experiential learning by having students design solutions to problems or gather information to answer questions. Students might explore creating wearable tech or environmental sensors or 3D printed models.
Register for this program (opens in a new window)
