Kaneb Center Newsletter: Helping your students make the most of mini-breaks and more

[Kristi Rudenga]

Home      About      Blog Resilient Teaching Website The Kaneb Center is pleased to invite you to take part in all of our activities this semester. This week's email includes information about PGA applications, the TAs and Graduate Instructors of Color Learning Community, upcoming workshops, and a blog post on encouraging students to take advantage of Mini-breaks. Graduate Students and Postdocs, Join the Kaneb Center Team! The ND Learning | Kaneb Center seeks graduate students and postdocs with interest and experience in teaching to serve as Kaneb Center Postdoctoral and Graduate Associates (PGAs) for the 2021-2022 academic year. PGAs facilitate workshops on effective teaching, develop teaching resources, and contribute to other activities to help graduate students and postdocs grow as teachers. This position is an excellent opportunity to develop as an instructor, a professional, and a leader. See the attached flyer for details about the position and application process. Applications are due on Friday, April 9. For more information, contact Kristi Rudenga at krud...@nd.edu. TAs and Graduate Instructors of Color Learning Community The TA & Graduate Instructors of Color Learning Community will meet on Wednesday April 14, 3 - 4:30 pm on Zoom.  At this meeting we will share strategies for time management and work/life balance.  Zoom links will be sent directly to participants. Please email Dominique Vargas ( dvar...@nd.edu) for more information.  In this intellectual community of peers we support each other's formations as teacher-scholars by listening to and affirming classroom experiences, discovering and sharing skills, and learning from diverse pedagogical perspectives. This program is co-sponsored by The Graduate School.  You do not have to attend all meetings to be a part of the group! Meetings are scheduled for a variety of times/dates to accommodate as many of our schedules as possible. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Dominique for more information.  Spring Workshops We invite you to sign up for any of the following pedagogy workshops this spring. All workshops will be held virtually in Zoom. For more information and to register, click here. Facilitating Effective Discussions in Social Sciences and Humanities Classroom discussion can make or break a course. Done well, it's the linchpin for meaningful classroom engagement; done poorly, even the best-planned course material can fall flat. In this workshop, participants will explore strategies for sparking effective discussions and generating inclusive student interactions. We will also brainstorm how to turn those strategies into concrete action in social sciences and humanities classrooms by practicing a range of discussion techniques. Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 Time: 11:10 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. Presenter(s):     Alex Oxner, Assistant Program Director for Inclusive Pedagogy and  Emily Donahoe, Graduate Associate, ND Learning | Kaneb Center Using Open Educational Resources In Your Class Open Educational Resources (OERs) are free educational materials that are publicly available (usually online) for use in the classroom. In this workshop, we’ll explain some of the advantages of using OERs (as opposed to traditional textbooks or other course materials), give multiple examples of OERs and illustrate how they’ve been incorporated into classes, and detail strategies for finding and incorporating these resources into your own course. Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 Time: 3:30-4:45pm Presenter(s):  Paul Blaschko, Philosophy, Assistant Director of Research & Outreach at NDIAS,  Kathryn Mulholland, Associate,  Catlin Schalk, Graduate Associate, ND Learning | Kaneb Center Designing Effective Short Courses This workshop will focus on the initial steps involved in planning a compressed course. Participants will be guided through a simplified design process with time to work directly on course components. Workshop deliverables will include tangible items to implement in upcoming summer session courses. Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021 Time: 11:10 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. Presenter(s): Judy Lewandowski, Director, Learning Design and Brianna Stines, Learning Designer, ND Learning | Office of Digital Learning Designing Alternative Assessments to Support Student Learning Thursday, April 22  Alternatives to Traditional Grading Tuesday, April 27 Decolonizing your Curriculum Wednesday, April 28  New Blog Post Making Time for Wellness: How to Encourage Students to Take Advantage of Mini-breaks by Emily Donahoe "In lieu of a spring break this year, Notre Dame has opted for a series of mini-breaks to provide a brief mental respite for students and instructors. But what if your students are reluctant to put down their work and relax for 24 hours? Below are a few ways you can encourage students to take advantage of the downtime provided by mini-breaks..." Useful resources Teaching Certificates Striving for Excellence in Teaching Advanced Teaching Scholar Collaborative Teaching & Learning Individual Consultation Gathering Student Feedback Campus Resources for Teaching and Learning Contact Information 353 DeBartolo Classroom Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Phone (574) 631-9146 ka...@nd.edu To unsubscribe from this list, please send a blank email to kctl-announce-l...@nd.edu.