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In anticipation of Ijeoma Oluo’s virtual visit to BC this spring, the CTE is partnering with CSON and Intersections to organize a reading group to discuss her book, So You Want to Talk About Race.
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A Note of Thanks
As we come to the end of the semester, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to all of the instructors who have crossed the CTE’s virtual doorstep these past months. Confronted with what were sometimes overwhelming pedagogical challenges, you rose to the occasion with creativity and compassion. Your dedication has helped sustain us in the CTE even on our most exhausted days, and we are grateful for the chance to partner with you in furthering BC’s educational mission. I wish you a restful break, and we look forward to continuing our work together in the new year.
-Stacy Grooters, Executive Director |
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Troubleshooting During Finals
If you run into any last questions about Canvas Quizzes as you prepare your final exams, we’ve recently updated our Canvas Quiz resource, which also highlights options that can support academic integrity and student accommodations. We’ll be holding Assessments & Grading Drop-Ins this month where staff will be available to answer your questions. Plus, you’re always welcome to contact us at centerforteaching@bc.edu to request an individual consultation.
If you or your students encounter any issues during an exam proctored with Proctorio, the quickest way to get help is to visit https://proctorio.com/support and scroll down to Start Live Chat, available 24/7. Our Proctorio guide walks you through the steps of setting up the tool and suggests strategies for introducing Proctorio to students. For assistance with Respondus, please email canvas@bc.edu.
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Register Now for Course Prep Retreat
We’re excited to launch a new Course Preparation Retreat being held January 11-14, 2021. This four-day virtual retreat will provide a structured opportunity for instructors to work on preparing their courses in conversation with colleagues. The majority of time each day will be dedicated to independent work by participants, bookended by gatherings over Zoom to share ideas and get feedback.
All BC faculty and Teaching Fellows are welcome to participate, whether they are preparing courses for fully remote, fully in-person, or some combination of in-person and remote contexts. Additional details and registration information can be found on the CTE website. Space is limited, so please sign up soon!
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Additional Support This January
To help you gear up for the new semester, we will be offering a variety of workshops and other supports throughout January that build on the insights you’ve shared with us about teaching this fall. Full schedule details will be posted shortly to the CTE website and will also be included in our early January newsletter.
For those of you who didn’t teach this fall, or who would like a refresher on BC’s instructional technologies, we’ll be kicking off January with sessions on the essentials. See the links below for further details and registration information:
- Introduction to Canvas on Tuesday, January 5th, 10:00 - 11:30
- Assignments and Grading on Wednesday, January 6th, 1:00 - 2:30
- Assessments with Canvas Quizzes on Thursday, January 7th, 11:00 - 12:30
- Recording in Panopto on Thursday, January 7th, 2:00 - 3:30
- Introduction to Zoom on Friday, January 8th, 9:00 - 10:30
In addition, our Canvas courses for Adaptable Blended Instruction (ABI) and Adaptable Remote Instruction (ARI) provide step-by-step guidance for preparing to teach either on campus or remotely. If you haven’t already, it’s a one-step process to self-enroll in the ABI course or self-enroll in the ARI course.
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Oluo Reading Group
CSON, CTE, and Intersections are happy to partner in offering a special Faculty Reading Group on Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race. Open to all faculty, this program is ideal for those who are interested in examining their own formation in structural racism and its manifestation in their personal and professional lives. Join Julianna González-McLean (CSON), Kim Humphrey (CTE), and colleagues from across the university for wide-ranging conversations that are attentive to opportunities to promote change as teachers, scholars, and colleagues.
Recognizing that we all have work to do, but that it often looks different depending on who we are, faculty of color will have a chance to indicate if they would like to discuss the text in a group with other people of color when expressing interest in the program.
Participants who can commit to attending all six 60-minute meetings will receive a copy of the book, a $500 stipend, and will have a chance to meet Oluo in a small group during her virtual visit in March. Space is limited, so please express your interest by January 8!
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TA/TF Teaching Award Nominations
The Donald J. White Teaching Excellence Awards were established to celebrate the teaching excellence of graduate Teaching Fellows and Teaching Assistants at Boston College. Each department and school facilitates their own selection process and will notify the CTE of their chosen awardees by March 12th, 2021. For more details on your department or school’s selection process for the White Awards, please refer to your Graduate Program Director.
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Spring ACT Schedule
We are pleased to announce that registration is open for the Apprenticeship in College Teaching Program’s spring semester workshops, which will be held in remote format via Zoom. The program is open to all graduate students and postdocs at BC, who are welcome to sign up at any time. ACT is a free, non-credit-bearing program that prepares graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for teaching careers in higher education. For more information, visit the ACT Program requirements page, or send questions to the Graduate Programs Coordinator.
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CTE Staff Present at ASHE Conference
Stacy Grooters and Kimberly Humphrey recently joined Andrés Castro Samayoa and Heather Rowan-Kenyon (both faculty in Educational Leadership & Higher Education) to present at the annual ASHE conference on their project “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Faculty’s Literacy of Institutional Power through Pedagogy Seminars.” Funded through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation, their project examined faculty’s perceptions of their roles as institutional change agents following their participation in programs focused on inclusion and social justice.
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