Summer 2022

Summer Faculty Book Group – Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It

Register by Friday, May 27 (end of day) to receive a free copy of the book

Tuesdays June 7, 21 and July 12: 11:00 am – Noon Central/Noon – 1:00 pm Eastern on Zoom
With Erin Laverick and Elizabeth Evans

Why is it so hard to get students to pay attention? The answer is not just to eliminate distractions, but to “rethink the practice of teaching.” This book by James N Lang, reveals “how educators can structure their classrooms less as distraction-free zones and more as environments where they can actively cultivate students’ attention. Brimming with ideas and grounded in new research, Distracted offers an innovative plan for the most important lesson of all: how to learn.”

Improve Your Spring Course Workshop

Wednesday May 18, 9:00 – 11:00 am Central/10:00 – Noon Eastern on Zoom

Presenters: Kate Robertson and Elizabeth Evans

Whew! Congrats! You finished the whirlwind known as the end of the semester. This is the perfect time to review one of your courses and plan improvements for next time. Bring your “student results” (your outputs) and your syllabus and your course “inputs” to this session. What does your course look like from the student’s POV? How did the course results align with your hopes/ goals? How did your organization, delivery of content, communication, evaluation strategies and instructional strategies make for effective learning? After review of a course, participants will identify changes to make for next time. You can use the plan developed here as an example of your continuous improvement in your upcoming annual faculty evaluation in June. Discussion and workshop time are included. This workshop fits any course delivery, including online.

Learn to use Voicethread for Student Engagement on Blackboard

Thursday May 19, 10:00 – 11:00 am Central/11:00 am – 12:00 pm Eastern on Zoom

Presenters: Susan Gallanis, Janice Weisenbach

Faculty will learn how to use Voicethread, a tool in Blackboard that takes the idea of an online discussion board to a new level of engagement. Participants will learn how to narrate media such as a PowerPoint, then share with students. Students can add audio, video, or text-based comments. We will also show how to create a Voicethread that can be graded in Blackboard.

Learn to Use Panopto

Thursday May 19, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern

Presenter: Justin Frisque

This session for faculty focuses on using Panopto for recording content on a laptop. Participants will learn how to record and share a Panopto recording, do basic video editing, share a video link, and add Panopto to your Blackboard course. Also covered is how to upload a Zoom recording to Panopto and set up a Blackboard Assignment (drop box) for students to submit their Panopto video assignment.

Concordia Faculty Seminar –Hannah Baker and Anne Martin – Recent Doctorates

Wednesday June 1, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Please plan to join us on Zoom to learn about the research conducted by two colleagues who recently completed their doctoral degrees:

• Anne Martin (Occupational Therapy, Mequon) recently completed her post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Creighton University with a project entitled “Occupational Therapy Practitioners’ Use of Standardized Assessments in Acute Care.”
• Hannah Baker (Physical Therapy, Mequon) recently defended her dissertation towards the Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from Northern Illinois University. Her dissertation was entitled Exploring the Intersection of Nursing Home Culture, Improvement, and Documentation-Related Attitudes.

Concordia Faculty Seminars are informal interactive presentations and conversations on faculty and staff projects including grants, research, and service designed to promote scholarship, spark new ideas, provide opportunities for meaningful discussion, and increase collaboration. Faculty, staff and students are welcome at attend.

Ally Information Sessions

Friday May 20, 12:30 – 1:00 pm Central/1:30 – 2:00 pm Eastern. 
Thursday June 2, 1:00 – 1:30 pm Central/2:00 – 2:30 pm Eastern.
Monday June 13, 11:00 – 11:30 am Central/Noon – 12:30 pm Eastern.
Wednesday June 29, 9:00 – 9:30 am Central/10:00 – 10:30 am Eastern.
Tuesday July 19, 3:00 – 3:30 pm Central/4:00 – 4:30 pm Eastern.

Ally is a tool in Blackboard to help instructors make their content more accessible. Your class is full of diverse students with unique learning abilities, needs and devices. Course content created with this in mind can benefit not only your students with disclosed disabilities such as visual impairments and dyslexia, but improve the learning experience for all of your students.

During this information session, we will show the Ally accessibility indicators, explain Ally instructor feedback report including the built-in instructions to improve the content accessibility.

Behind the Screens: Engagement and Retention in Virtual and Online Classes

Wednesday July 20, 6:00 – 7:00 pm Central/7:00 – 8:00 pm Eastern via Zoom
Presenters: Diana Belscamper, Sandra Jahns, Kate Robertson

Target Audience: Faculty who teach non-traditional courses (fully online, virtual, accelerated), but all faculty are welcome to attend. Keeping students engaged and motivated is one of the challenges of teaching across distance – asynchronous online or virtually via Zoom. Many of our faculty and students experience screen fatigue, especially in the past few years. This interactive session will provide an opportunity to share your own best practices, and will highlight theories and methods for engaging students, including

• how to effectively plan a long Zoom session;
• adapting face-to-face methods to the online environment;
• ways to provide thoughtful and constructive feedback efficiently.

Document Improvement Days

Two dates to choose from; Attend on Zoom or in Rincker 213 (Mequon Campus only)
Thursday July 21, 10:00 am – Noon Central/11:00 am – 1:00 pm Eastern
Wednesday July 27, 3:00 – 4:00 pm Central/4:00 – 5:00 pm Eastern

Presenter: CELT Staff

Faculty can get help with making your course content more accessible by attending a Document Improvement Day session. CELT staff will be available to help you edit your documents using Ally. We can also help with and demonstrate some of the common fixes that are included in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

After submitting your registration, the CELT Student Worker will send you an Outlook invitation for this event. Please accept this invitation as you will not receive a separate email confirmation. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Gallanis.

Universal Design for Learning

Tuesday July 26, 1:00 – 2:00 Central/2:00 – 3:00 Eastern via Zoom

Presenters: Janis Chapman, Kathleen Hoppa-Grady, Taylor Richards, Susan Gallanis

During this session for faculty, we will provide an overview of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), explain who it benefits and how UDL looks in higher education. We will share and faculty will discover UDL practices that they already use. We will also share resources and tips for expanding UDL principles when working with students.

After submitting your registration, you will receive a registration confirmation, the Zoom meeting link, and the option to add this event to your calendar. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Gallanis.

New and Returning Faculty Development Day

Wednesday August 10, 8:15 – 4:00 Central/9:15 – 5:00 Eastern

Session descriptions are below. Register for all that you are able to attend.  After submitting your registration, the CELT Student Worker will send you an Outlook invitation for each session you registered for and it will include the Zoom link. Please accept the invitation(s) as you will not receive a separate email confirmation. The day before the event, we will send an email reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Evans.

Designing/Refreshing Your Course and Syllabus – Kate Robertson and Elizabeth Evans
8:15 – 9:45 am Central/9:15 – 10:45 am Eastern
Learn about and incorporate best practices in course design, and syllabus development. Discussion includes how to improve your objectives, align course objectives with assessments, the Concordia University syllabus template latest revision, and how to connect to program and Global Learning Outcomes.

Blackboard Basics – Susan Gallanis
10:00 – 11:30 am Central/11:00 am – 12:30 pm Eastern
Learn how to add content, Blackboard Assignments (“dropboxes”) and set up the gradebook for a Fall course! This is an ideal session for faculty new to using Blackboard. Session is for those who set up their own Blackboard courses.

Engaging Your Learners – Susan Gallanis, Kate Robertson, and Diana Belscamper
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Central/12:45 – 1:45 pm Eastern
Effective teaching fosters learning; students need to be engaged for learning to happen. This session introduces strategies to engage students in multiple instructional modes.

Blackboard Tests and Respondus LockDown Browser with Monitor – Susan Gallanis
1:00 – 2:30 pm Central/2:00 – 3:30 pm Eastern
The first half of this session will show how faculty can create Blackboard Tests using three commonly used question types. The second half of the session will cover Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor. Faculty will learn the difference between LockDown Browser and Monitor, and how to enable the appropriate settings based on where students take the test.

Faculty Resources – Elizabeth Evans, Susan Gallanis, and Wayne Thompson (primarily for full-time faculty)
3:00 – 4:00 pm Central/4:00 – 5:00 pm Eastern
Learn what resources are available to you as faculty, including research/scholarship support, where to find them, and who to contact if you need more help.

Learn Ally and Tips for Improve Your Course Documents

Thursday August 11, 9:30 – 11:00 am Central/10:30 am – Noon Eastern via Zoom

Presenters: Susan Gallanis, Taylor Richards

Ally is a tool in Blackboard to help instructors make their content more accessible. Your class is full of diverse students with unique learning abilities, needs and devices. Course content created with this in mind can benefit not only your students with disclosed disabilities such as visual impairments and dyslexia, but improve the learning experience for all of your students.

During this information session, we will show the Ally accessibility indicators and Ally instructor feedback report. We will also demonstrate common fixes in Microsoft Word that can help make your content more accessible for all students.

After submitting your registration, you will receive a registration confirmation, the Zoom meeting link, and the option to add this event to your calendar. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Gallanis.

Voicethread for Newbies

Friday August 12, 10:00 – 11:00 am Central/11:00 am – Noon Eastern via Zoom

Presenters: Susan Gallanis, Jan Weisenbach

Voicethread is a tool in Blackboard that takes the idea of an online discussion board to a new level of engagement. Participants will learn how to access and navigate the Voicethread options, create a basic instructor introduction, comment on a Voicethread using audio, video or text, and set up a graded Voicethread assignment.

After submitting your registration, you will receive a registration confirmation, the Zoom meeting link, and the option to add this event to your calendar. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Gallanis.

Practices and Processes: Building an Effective Curriculum

Friday August 12, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Presenter: Elizabeth Evans

This interactive session for faculty leaders, department chairs, and program directors suggests strategies for development of effective curricula for academic programs. These strategies could be applied to new programs or to improve and refresh existing programs.

After submitting your registration, you will receive a registration confirmation, the Zoom meeting link, and the option to add this event to your calendar. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Evans.

Blackboard Online Discussions

Wednesday August 17, 1:00 – 2:00 pm Central/2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Presenter: Susan Gallanis

Faculty will learn how to create, engage in, and grade Blackboard online discussion boards.

After submitting your registration, you will receive a registration confirmation, the Zoom meeting link, and the option to add this event to your calendar. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Gallanis.

Mequon Traditional Adjunct Orientation

Wednesday August 17, 5:00 – 6:45 pm

Presenters: Elizabeth Evans, Diana Belscamper, Dan Paavola, Susan Gallanis, Jan Chapman, Andrew Wahl

Are you ready for teaching the fall semester beginning August 29? This session for Mequon traditional adjuncts teaching in-person points you to vital information, including effective first session strategies, finding policies and resources, Academic Resource Center (ARC) services, taking attendance, Faith and Learning, classroom AV resources, and what is required in Blackboard/how to find Blackboard Resources.

After submitting your registration, you will receive a registration confirmation, the Zoom meeting link, and the option to add this event to your calendar. The day before the event, we will send a reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Evans.

Fall 2022

Fall 2022 Mequon Faculty Book Group – In Person on Mequon Campus

Four meetings on Thursdays, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
September 15 in RP 201; October 6, October 27, November 10 in the Lakeshore Room
Led by: Catherine (Kate) Robertson and Holly Griskell

Book is included. Maximum participants: 16. Registration deadline: Friday, September 2.

The book: Cavanaugh, S.R. (2016). The spark of learning: Energizing the college classroom with the science of emotion. West Virginia University Press.

How do students’ emotions impact their learning? In The Spark of Learning, Sarah Rose Cavanagh explains how college faculty can leverage students’ emotions and personal experiences to improve attention and learning in the classroom. This book contains a blend of practical applications, research evidence, and classroom activities for energizing and engaging students, while also supporting students’ mental and emotional well-being. This session is in person on the Mequon campus.

Reading Assignments: September 15: Preface, Intro, and Chapters 1 & 2, October 6: Chapter 3, October 27: Chapters 4 & 5, November 10: Chapter 6 and conclusion.

Practices and Processes: The Successful Department Chair/Academic Program Director

Friday September 9, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Presenter: Leah Dvorak

The audience for this program is Department Chairs and Program Directors. What are the expectations for the role of Department Chair or Academic Program Director? An effective chair or academic program director manages faculty, staff, programs, courses, and processes vital to student success. The effective chair also fosters a healthy departmental culture and establishes efficient, collaborative decision-making processes. A strong department chair or program director uses both management skills and leadership skills to create and sustain a successful department in which faculty and staff feel engaged and energized.

Concordia Faculty Seminar: Steve Hendrix and Josh Locklair – Recent Doctorates

Thursday, September 15, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Please plan to join us on Zoom to learn about the research conducted by two Arts and Science colleagues who recently completed their doctoral degrees: Steve Hendrix (Ann Arbor) and Josh Locklair (Mequon).

• Steve Hendrix, Assistant Professor of Political Science at our Ann Arbor campus, successfully defended his dissertation, A Road Less-Traveled? A Qualitative Study of Personal Characteristics and Formative Experiences Leading College and University Graduates Into Public Sector Service Careers in April at the University of Oklahoma, where he received a Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership and Academic Design with a concentration in Political Education.
• Josh Locklair, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Mequon campus, has completed his Ph.D. in Information Technology at Capella University. His dissertation title is Undergraduates’ Behavioral Intentions Toward Mobile Learning in the United States: A Quantitative Study.

Concordia Faculty Seminars are informal interactive presentations and conversations on faculty and staff projects including grants, research, and service designed to promote scholarship, spark new ideas, provide opportunities for meaningful discussion, and increase collaboration. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend.

Faculty Discussions of Academic Freedom Policies

Choose from four options

• Mequon (in person): Monday September 19, 2:00 – 3:30 pm in the Friends of Concordia Room
• Mequon (in person): Tuesday September 20, 1:00 – 2:30 pm in the Lakeshore Room
• Zoom for Both Campuses: Wednesday September 21, 10:00 – 11:30 am Central/11:00 am – 12:30 pm Eastern
• Ann Arbor (in person): Tuesday September 27, 2:00 – 3:30 pm in the Music Lecture Hall

With Jordan Beck and the Academic Freedom Task Force

In this session, members of the academic freedom task force will facilitate discussions of the newly proposed academic freedom policies. We will take a case study approach where we attempt to apply the policies to topics and actual cases of interest to our faculty. There will be time allotted for open discussion where faculty can raise concerns about academic freedom challenges within their disciplines.

Academic Freedom Book Group: The Coddling of the American Mind

Led by Jordan Beck at Mequon and Josh Kittleman at Ann Arbor
Deadline to Register: Monday September 26.

Three options:

• Option 1: In-person Mequon in the Lakeshore Room, Tuesdays 2:00 – 3:00 pm Central: October 11, October 25, November 8, November 22.
• Option 2: Zoom both campuses, Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00 pm Central/2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern: October 12, October 26, November 9, November 30.
• Option 3: In-person Ann Arbor in Science 101, Tuesdays 3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern: October 11, October 25, November 8, November 22.

The Academic Freedom Task Force is pleased to invite you to a book club to discuss The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt (https://www.thecoddling.com/). A free copy of the book will be provided to the first 30 people to register thanks to a grant from FIRE.

Over the course of four sessions, we will work our way through The Coddling of the American Mind, with collegial discussions of our agreements and disagreements of the arguments presented by the authors; please read these sections prior to each session.
Session 1: Intro & Part I: Three Bad Ideas
Session 2: Part II: Bad Ideas in Action
Session 3: Part III: How Did We Get Here?
Session 4: Part IV: Wising Up

The first session kicks off the discussion with three “untruths” presented in Part I: the untruth of fragility, the untruth of emotional reasoning, and the untruth of ‘us versus them’. The second and third sessions focus on the consequences of these untruths on campuses across the US and the forces that led to these consequences. Finally, in the last session, we will discuss the authors’ suggestions for “Wising Up” (Part IV).

The Task Force encourages you to register if you are interested in current trends of campus culture, specifically related to issues of academic freedom and free expression. We want to have a wide range of opinions and experiences expressed during these book club discussions. So, we want you to register!

Fix Your Content Fast: Universal Design for Learning Basics

Friday September 16, Noon – 12:30 pm Central/1:00 – 1:30 pm Eastern on Zoom

With Taylor Richards and Susan Gallanis

During this 30-minute session, faculty will learn several fast, easy fixes to their documents that can make content more accessible for all students.

Practices & Processes: Classroom Observation of Faculty

Friday, September 23, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Presenters: Susan Gallanis and Catherine (Kate) Robertson

The audience for this program is Department Chairs, Program Directors, and Deans. During this session, we will review and discuss the teaching observation process and form used for summative faculty observations, whether for in-person, blended, or online courses. We will also share effective strategies for the observation itself and the post-observation discussion. Best practices for sharing constructive feedback, and tips on how to use the form for formative, peer observations will also be shared.

Trying to Leap Buildings in a Single Bound? You Need Scaffolding!

Friday September 30, Noon – 12:30 pm Central/1:00 – 1:30 pm Eastern

Presented by Taylor Richards and Susan Gallanis

Are you surprised by the poor quality of work you are seeing from students? High expectations are still possible when you provide adequate scaffolding. Spend 30 minutes with CELT and learn how you can help students raise their quality of work. This is especially relevant at the start of the school year when students are adjusting to new courses, new challenges, and higher expectations. Scaffolding assignments is a principle of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Practices and Processes: Academic Timeline, Program and Continuing Education Approval Frameworks

Friday October 7, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

With Brooke Johnson, Tammy Ferry and Sarah Pecor

The annual academic timeline/schedule of operational activities and our internal change processes are important planning tools for all academic leaders. Have you wondered . . .How and when do I make changes to my program? Which changes require approval? How do I initiate a continuing education program? The role of the Academic Program Support Team (APST) will be included. This program is for Program Directors, Department Chairs, Academic Administrative Assistants, and interested faculty from Mequon and Ann Arbor.

Practices & Processes: Hiring and Orienting Full-time Faculty

Friday October 14, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 Eastern via Zoom

With Leah Dvorak and Erin Laverick

This session covers how to request a position, develop the job description, position posting and screening, the interview and vetting process, and negotiating the hire. In addition, learn about our new three-year orientation process which begins this year. Audience: Department Chairs, Program Directors, Academic Administrative Assistants, Deans.

New! Convert Your Blackboard Test to a Word Document

Wednesday October 19, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern

During this session, Susan Gallanis will demonstrate how to retrieve a Blackboard Test and convert it to a Word document. The process uses the software Respondus 4.0 (test builder) and is now available to all Concordia faculty. Participants will also learn how to troubleshoot the most common errors.

Concordia Faculty Seminar – Chris Cunningham

Wednesday October 26, 12:10 – 1:00 pm in the Lakeshore Room

Concordia’s Chris Cunningham is teaming with a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in a grant recently awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate a pharmaceutical product that could ameliorate withdrawal symptoms from prolonged use of opioids. Dr. Chris Cunningham is Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Science and Director of Concordia’s Center for Structure-Based Drug Design & Development. Chris will be introduced by Tonya Bartoletti of the Office of Sponsored Research (ORSP).

Concordia Faculty Seminars are informal interactive presentations and conversations on faculty and staff projects including grants, research, and service designed to promote scholarship, spark new ideas, provide opportunities for meaningful discussion, and increase collaboration. Faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend.

UDL Small Bites: Choice Assignments

Friday October 28, Noon – 12:30 pm Central/1:00 – 1:30 pm Eastern
With Taylor Richards and Susan Gallanis

It is often inappropriate to provide choice of a learning objective itself, but it is often appropriate to offer choices in how that objective can be reached. Offering learners choices can develop self-determination, pride in accomplishment, and increase the degree to which they feel connected to their learning. Spend 30 minutes with CELT and learn how to construct choice assignments that are interesting, rigorous, and easy to grade.

UDL (Universal Design for Learning) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how people learn.

Modular Lesson Planning Lunch n’ Learn [CUAA Only]

Wednesday November 2, Noon—1:00 pm Eastern
With Erin Laverick

Faculty are invited to attend a CELT Lunch n’ Learn about modular lesson planning.  The session will begin promptly at 12:00.  Faculty are welcome to go through the cafeteria line and bring their lunches to the CMAX for this session.

Faith and Learning Lunch n’ Learn: Top Ten Faculty [CUW Only]

Wednesday November 9, 12:10 – 1:00 pm Central in the Lakeshore Room (Mequon campus)

Facilitated by Sandra Jahns

Colleagues from among the Top Ten faculty, as rated by students, share their strategies and methods for connecting faith and learning in the classroom. Liz Paly (Physical Therapy), Stacy Stolzman (Physical Therapy), Heather Fortuine (Rehab Science), Carol Lueders Bolwerk (Undergrad Nursing), and Steven Witt (Graduate Education) are joined by facilitator Sandra Jahns (Communication).

Joining the Conversation – How to Generate Connections in the Multi-Generational Classroom

Tuesday November 15, 6:00 – 7:00 pm Central/7:00 – 8:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

With Diana Belscamper, Sandra Jahns, Kate Robertson and Special Guests

As trends in higher education continue to change, we find more learning environments – whether face-to-face, virtual, or online – now have multiple generations in the same classes. “Traditional” students are not necessarily just young adults, and “non-traditional” students may not be only working adults. Technology, schedule flexibility, cost, and location availability have allowed or required students to find various options for their learning. Differences in life stages, work experiences, and general knowledge can pose challenges for collaborative learning.

Join us for this engaging, activity-based session to learn how to improve connections and communication among various generations in your classes. We will practice facilitation of discussions and engaging students from various age groups into relatable, thought-provoking dialogue. Conversation and fellowship among your colleagues will kick off the session!

This session is primarily for those teaching in face-to-face and virtual learning environments, but online faculty and anyone else interested are welcome!

Practices and Processes: Course Scheduling for 2023-2024 with Allison Wolf, Registrar’s Office

Tuesday, November 22, 1:00 – 2:00 pm Central/2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Our Registrar’s Office will share information about how to review course offerings from previous academic years to prepare for scheduling for 2023-2024. We will also review the new academic calendar, deadlines for submitting schedule information for 2023-2024 scheduling, and how to submit a change to your schedule after it is finalized. The instructions for completion will have been sent out a few days before this session, so after you read those, bring your questions.

This session is for those managing schedules for academic courses, including department chairs, program directors and academic administrative assistants. Deans and faculty may also be interested.

Spring 2023

Faculty Workshops with the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

Thursday January 5, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm Central/10:00 am – 3:30 pm Central via Zoom

Sessions led by: Janessa Doucette, Tonya Bartoletti, and Wayne Thompson
Audience: Full-time faculty on both campuses

9:00 – 10:00 am Central/10:00 – 11:00 am Eastern: How to Get The Most Out Of Your ORSP
In this introductory session, you will learn about all the things the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs offers to faculty, including: our new Service Request Portal, assistance with everything from IRBs to grant proposals, and unconditional love and support.

10:15 am – 12:15pm Central/11:15 am – 1:15 pm Eastern: Using Design Thinking to Chart Your Research Course
You can walk away from this session with shiny new things: research questions, a timeline and plan, project collaborators, and more. We will practice a creative approach to project planning and rekindle the research twinkle in your eye.

12:15 – 1:00 pm Central/1:15 – 2:00 Eastern: Break for Lunch. ORSP will be online for relaxed Q&A

1:00 – 2:30 pm Central/2:00 – 3:30 Eastern: What to Do with All That Data
In this session, you will get to explore the new features we are using on Qualtrics. We will analyze a real dataset together, talk about analysis strategies, and learn how to make reports and dashboards to show off our beautiful analysis. Our methodologist Wayne Thompson will be on hand to answer statistics and project design questions.

Evaluating Programs Through Collaborative Faculty Assessment of Student Learning

Friday January 6, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom
With Elizabeth Evans and Susan Gallanis

This session will highlight effective practices for assessment of student learning at the program level at Concordia. This session is part of our leadership development series for department chairs and program directors.

New and Returning Faculty Development Day January 2023

Wednesday January 11, 2023
8:15 – 4:00 Central/9:15 – 5:00 Eastern. All sessions are via Zoom

Five sessions offered throughout the day. Register for each session you are planning to attend.

After submitting your registration, the CELT Student Worker will send you an Outlook invitation for each session you registered for, and it will include the Zoom link. Please accept the invitation(s) as you will not receive a separate email confirmation. The day before the event, we will send an email reminder. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Evans.

Designing/Refreshing Your Course and Syllabus – Kate Robertson and Elizabeth Evans
8:15 – 9:45 am Central/9:15 – 10:45 am Eastern

Review and incorporate best practices in course design and syllabus development to ready your syllabi for this semester, including how to write/improve your objectives, align teaching activities and assignments with course learning objectives, use the Concordia University syllabus template and resources, and align your course with the “big picture” of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), Global Learning Outcomes (GLOs), and University Liberal Arts Outcomes (ULAOs).

Blackboard Basics – Susan Gallanis
10:00 – 11:30 am Central/11:00 am – 12:30 pm Eastern

Learn how to add content, Blackboard Assignments (“dropboxes”) and set up the gradebook for a Spring course! This is an ideal session for faculty new to using Blackboard. Session is for those who set up their own Blackboard courses.

Engaging Your Learners – Susan Gallanis, Kate Robertson, and Diana Belscamper
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Central/12:45 – 1:45 pm Eastern

Effective teaching fosters learning; students need to be engaged for learning to happen. This session introduces strategies to engage students in multiple instructional modes.

Blackboard Tests and Respondus LockDown Browser with Monitor – Susan Gallanis
1:00 – 2:30 pm Central/2:00 – 3:30 pm Eastern

The first half of this session will show how faculty can create Blackboard Tests using three commonly used question types. The second half of the session will cover Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor. Faculty will learn the difference between LockDown Browser and Monitor, and how to enable the appropriate settings based on where students take the test.

Faculty Resources – Elizabeth Evans, Susan Gallanis, and Wayne Thompson (primarily for full-time faculty)
3:00 – 4:00 pm Central/4:00 – 5:00 pm Eastern

Learn what resources are available to you as faculty, including research/scholarship support, where to find them, and who to contact if you need more help.

Practices and Processes: Online Programs, Courses and Faculty

Friday January 13, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom
With Madelyn Kempen, Susan Gallanis and Diana Belscamper of the CELT

Audience: Department Chairs and Program Directors, Deans, Academic Administrative Assistants

This session features the current practices used in most programs for planning, development and support for online programs, courses and faculty by the CELT and departments, including the development and deployment of master courses; responsibilities of department or program staff (for hiring, textbook examination copies, and pay); faculty development for teaching online; and faculty responsibilities and support during the online course. This session provides updates to the many changed institutional practices related to online instruction after the implementation of FLAC, the move of the Instructional Design Team to the CELT, and the move of Blackboard Support to the HELP Desk.

Respondus 4.0 Test Builder

Tuesday January 17, 2:00 – 3:00 pm Central/3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern via Zoom
Led by Susan Gallanis

Respondus 4.0 Test Builder software is available to CUAA faculty to create and manage tests offline. Tests can be printed to paper or published to Blackboard. During this session participants will learn how to retrieve a Blackboard exam and convert it to an MS Word document. We will also demonstrate how to import test questions from an MS Word document into Respondus, then upload to your Blackboard course.

Copyright for Faculty

Wednesday January 18, 11:00 am – Noon Central/Noon – 1:00 pm Eastern via Zoom
Led by Maria Becker (CUW Library) and Susan Gallanis (CELT)

During this session, the presenters will provide a brief overview of copyright and fair use. We will discuss how this applies to content shared with students both in the classroom and in your Blackboard course.

Using Rubrics for Assessment and for Better Teaching with Kyle Chuhran [CUAA Only]

Wednesday January 18, 10:00 – 11:00 am Eastern in SB 101 

In this session, we will discuss the use of rubrics for both formative and summative assessment.  We will explore ways to create valid and reliable tools to make evaluation and grading accurate, purposeful, and unbiased.  We will also consider how rubrics can help you to monitor students’ progress and to make instructional decisions that promote learning. 

Preparing for your First Week of Class with Erin Laverick [CUAA Only]

Wednesday January 18, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm Eastern in SB 101 

Kathleen Gabriel (2009) has argued that the first week of class is the most important week of the semester for our students and us.  It’s our time to set expectations, get students excited about learning, and engage, engage, engage.  In this session, we will discuss best practices for creating an engaging first week of classes.  Participants are asked to bring syllabi, assignments, lesson plans, and anything else applicable to the first week of class. 

Designing and Implementing Formative Assessments with Sara Clemm Von Hohenberg [CUAA Only]

Thursday January 19, 11:45 am – 12:45 pm Eastern in SB 101 

Join Sara as she shares various learning strategies and formative assessments found to be effective with our students.  Take away engaging tools just in time for the new semester! 

ARC Services Q & A with Kim Bentley [CUAA Only]

Thursday January 19, 1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern in SB 101 

Join Kim Bentley, assistant director of the ARC, to learn about how to best serve students with accommodations.  This session will be an informal Q & A, so please bring a list of questions. 

Spring 2023 Mequon Faculty Book Group – In Person on Mequon Campus 

Four meetings on Thursdays, Noon – 1:00 pm in PH 205 (bring your own lunch) 

February 2, February 23, March 9 and March 30 

Led by: Adam Paape 

Book is included. Maximum participants: 16. Registration deadline: Friday, January 20. 

The book: Badley, K. (2023). Engaging college and university students. Routledge. 

What makes an engaging lesson? In this captivating book, Ken Badley provides professors with a vast toolkit of methods to engage their learners. Reading this book will help teachers in higher education as they work with curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Badley writes with wit, wisdom, and humor. This incredibly practical book is based on Ken’s extensive experiences in the world of teaching and learning.  This session is in person on the Mequon campus. 

Leadership Challenges: Uncomfortable Conversations

With Leah Dvorak
Friday February 17, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom.
Audience: Department Chairs and Program Directors

Effective leaders balance building positive relationships with delivering challenging information that needs to be communicated. When change is needed in individual performance or in the way a group works together, uncomfortable conversations may follow. This session provides department chairs and program directors with specific strategies for managing uncomfortable conversations while maintaining positive relationships with their faculty and staff.

Universal Design for Learning

Led by Janis Chapman, Director of Accessibility Resource Center
Monday February 20, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Expand your understanding of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how it looks in higher education. Incorporating UDL principles can benefit all students, not only those with a disability.

UDL Small Bites: Scaffolding Part 2, Practical Examples and Q&A

With Taylor Richards
Thursday February 23, 2:00 – 3:00 pm Central/3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

This is a continuation from the Scaffolding session held Fall 2022. All are welcome even if you could not attend part 1! Scaffolding assignments helps students raise the quality of their work. During this session we will have some hands-on exploration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Scaffolding IRL (in real life) as the kids say! Bring your questions and examples. We’ll have some examples to share as well.

Flipping the Classroom and Time Management Strategies

Led by Diana Belscamper, Catherine (Kate) Robertson and Sandra Jahns
Thursday February 23, 6:00 – 7:00 pm Central/7:00 – 8:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Join our conversation regarding a creative and effective way to increase engagement with students, while maximizing class time: “flipping the classroom.” We will discuss what this means, and how best to implement it in our longer virtual and face-to-face classes. In addition, we will share strategies for efficient grading and substantive feedback on assignments in Blackboard. Attention will be given to the balance necessary for adjunct faculty who might find short grading turnaround challenging, while also maintaining a full-time job. Our target audience is virtual and face-to-face faculty, but all are welcome. Come with your questions and suggestions and join in collaborative learning with your peers!

ChatGPT: Threat or Opportunity?

With Elizabeth Evans and various faculty
Monday February 27, 3:00 – 4:00 pm Central/4:00 – 5:00 pm Eastern on Zoom

AI is now able to write essays and pass exams. As faculty members, we need to learn about and address this new development. Do we ban it or embrace it? Please come to learn more about ChatGPT, to share your thoughts and experiences, and to help develop suggestions about how we might deal with this in our teaching, individually, and collaboratively.

• How do we build effective assignments in light of new AI?
• Should we develop a standard statement for syllabi?
• Does our Academic Integrity Policy address this?

Leadership Challenges: Models and Measures of Teaching Effectiveness

With Elizabeth Evans, Susan Gallanis and Kate Robertson of CELT
Friday March 3, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Audience: Department Chairs and Program Directors

In order to support our faculty, CELT has investigated and used multiple models of teaching effectiveness which frame evaluation and feedback to faculty on their teaching. Learn about models in use, where we can obtain data on elements of these models, and how you can provide challenge and support through feedback to faculty through the teaching observation process and reviewing syllabi and courses. Future reports from Blackboard Learn will also be discussed.

Time Management for Efficient Grading

Led by Diana Belscamper
Wednesday March 8, Noon – 12:30 pm Central/1:00 – 1:30 pm Eastern via Zoom

Our discussion will focus primarily on strategies for efficient grading and substantive feedback in asynchronous online classes. Attention will be given to the balance necessary for adjunct faculty who might find short grading turnaround challenging, while also maintaining a full-time job. Our target audience is online instructors, but all are welcome. Come with your questions, suggestions, and best practices to share with your peers!

UDL Small Bites: Learn More about Ally and Document Remediation

With Taylor Richards and Susan Gallanis
Thursday March 30, 2:00 – 3:00 pm Central/3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern via Zoom

Ally is a tool to help instructors make content more accessible and has been used at CUWAA since July, 2022. This session includes a brief overview of Ally where we will highlight new features including a Course Accessibility Report. We will also demonstrate additional ways instructors can format documents using best practices of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Leadership Challenges: Faculty Effectiveness and Evaluation with Leah Dvorak

Wednesday April 19, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom
Audience: Department Chairs and Program Directors with full-time faculty

This session will review CUWAA’s full-time faculty annual evaluation form, process and timeline. We will discuss sources of evidence used to ensure that our faculty are effective teachers addressing the mission of Concordia, productive scholars, and contribute service to the university, church, community and/or profession. We will also cover the many resources CUWAA provides to help faculty achieve their goals, including the CELT (for teaching), and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (for research, grants and scholarship), the full-time faculty onboarding process, and how department chairs/program directors can (and should) be involved in observing, mentoring and supporting their faculty

Assessing the Impact of Optional Enrichment Materials on Students’ Exam Performance 

Thursday April 20, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom 

Presented by Faculty Laureate Michael Brown, Pharmacy 

The pharmacy law course at Concordia University was rebuilt from scratch for the Fall 2022 semester.  Content, assessments, and enrichment questions were developed to align with the competencies for the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) pharmacist licensure exam.  Required course elements included lectures, post-lecture assignments and five exams.  Optional enrichment included more than 450 lectures/MPJE Competency-aligned Jeopardy-style practice questions. Enrichment also included the ability to repeat archived assignments after their due dates before exams dates.  This session will describe the methods used to develop and deliver the course, as well as share the data assessing the impact of the optional enrichment materials on students’ exam performance. 

UDL Small Bites: Student Feedback and Universal Design for Learning 

Thursday April 27, Noon – 1:00 pm Central/1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern via Zoom 

With Taylor Richards 

Not sure where to begin with incorporating UDL principles into your course? Student feedback is a great place to start! During this session we will discuss how student feedback can guide your UDL practices.  

Copy Your Blackboard Course 

Wednesday May 17, 11:00 – 11:30 am Central/12:00 – 12:30 pm Eastern via Zoom 

Presenter: Susan Gallanis 

This session is for faculty who build and edit their own course in Blackboard (example: traditional face-to-face courses). We will walk through the steps of a course copy, including common errors made and critical adjustments that must be done after the course copy is complete. 

Improve Your Spring Course Workshop 

Wednesday May 17, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Central/12:30 – 2:00 pm Eastern on Zoom 

Facilitators: Kate Robertson and Elizabeth Evans 

Whew! Your grades are in and you’ve finished the whirlwind of the semester. This is the perfect time to review and reflect on one of your courses and plan improvements for next time.  Bring your reflections captured throughout the course, your “student results,” your syllabus and your course materials, teaching strategies and assignments to this session. 

What does your course look like from the student’s POV? How did the course results align with your hopes/ goals?   

How did your organization, delivery of content, communication, evaluation strategies and instructional strategies make for effective learning?  

After review of your course, you will develop at least three actionable changes to improve the student learning experience next time.  You can use the plan as an example of your continuous improvement for your upcoming annual faculty evaluation in June. Discussion and workshop time are included. This workshop fits any course delivery, including online. 

Assessment Tools, Resources, Support 

Thursday May 18, 2:00 – 3:00 pm Central/3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern via Zoom 

With Elizabeth Evans, Susan Gallanis and Kate Robertson 

This year the university is focusing on the continuous improvement process for learning in your program connected to your Program Learning Outcome aligned with GLO #6 Analytical Fluency.  This session is for anyone who wants information on the tools, resources and support available for this work. We will also highlight the instructions for this year’s reporting focusing on GLO #6 due no later than 10-01-2023, and plans for next year (2023-2024) program assessment focusing on GLO#3 and GLO #1.