Are you looking to add diverse perspectives into your course curriculum? Then don't miss the professional development webinar set for February 22 at 1:00 pm. This NISOD webinar, titled Are Your Students Global Citizens? How to Teach Diversity to the Leaders of Tomorrow, is a great first step. The webinar information notes that teaching diversity requires strong relationships that encourage dialogue and action so today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders. Confederation College has embedded Indigenous knowledge into classrooms since 2010 through specially developed Indigenous Learning Outcomes (ILO). The infusion of ILOs into program-specific courses throughout the college provides all students with opportunities to develop an understanding of Indigenous Knowledge through diverse world views and cultural frameworks in relation to their chosen career field. The concept of embedding diverse perspectives into the curriculum is a transferable skill. This webinar presents the ILOs as a case study while encouraging participants to adapt the model to fit their own curriculum. This webinar also demonstrates how embedding diverse perspectives into the classroom leads to a better understanding of cultural frameworks and how incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into the curriculum can improve critical-thinking skills.
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BRCC AS AN AGENT OF CHANGE
The Mid-Day Musings gathering today was wonderful, filled with terrific insight and words of wisdom. As we began to grapple with the idea of race relations and social movements, an idea emerged about BRCC being the agent of change in our community. Because of the racial and economic diversity at our college, we have a unique opportunity to effect change. The participants discussed and suggested methods that could be used in the classroom to start the process. One of the main ideas was that each of us as faculty should do something that asks our students to confront their racial and cultural biases. We should cause them to think about the baggage they arrive with and how that effects their lives and their community. Another idea that found support concerned the mission of BRCC. Many of the participants have embraced the idea that we are here to build a viable middle-class. There was also discussion about the concept of what middle-class means in this time. The participants spent a considerable amount of time on the issue that class has become just as important as race in many of our social experiences. At the end of the gathering, many of the participants felt that this topic should be revisited. Mid-Day Musings is one of the many faculty development programs sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center. The next Mid-Day Musings will take place on Wednesday, October 8 at noon. Look for the topic in your email on October 6 and feel free to send your ideas for topics to pourciaut@mybrcc.edu. In case you missed it, here are some of the articles we used to frame our discussion (Diversity Matters, Pronoun Preference, College Presidents, Colorblind Notion)

TEACHING WRITING IN YOUR CLASS
Join us tomorrow for Writing Center Specialist Natalie Smith's faculty development workshop on writing across the curriculum. Based on your requests, she will present her approaches that lead to student success. She will also share information about the student success resources offered by the Writing Center and the Academic Learning Center. There is still time to register for the workshop that begins at 1:00 p.m. in 311 Magnolia. This faculty development workshop is sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center. For more information, contact Natalie Smith at smithn@mybrcc.edu or Academic Support Specialist Barbara Linder at linderb@mybrcc.edu.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE STUDENT SUCCESS
If you enjoyed the Tech Tuesday Tip you received in your email yesterday, you will want to register for the faculty development workshop set for Tuesday, September 30. eLearning Program Manager Susan Nealy will be joined by Innovative Learning and Academic Support Dean Todd Pourciau and a representative from Blackboard to share what is coming in the next version. We will also be discussing more active learning interventions like the tip from yesterday. This professional development workshop is sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center and will be held in the Louisiana Building's Boardroom. Registration is open now.

Culturally Responsive Teaching Increases Student Engagement

It has been great to hear from some of you about how you integrated things you heard from our convocation speaker Dr. Jennifer Waldeck into your classes. Her presentation was filled with so many things but one of the important topics she covered was how to be culturally responsive with your students. That ties in nicely with today's Faculty Focus article. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) has been defined as a philosophy of education that centers students’ cultural backgrounds as essential to their learning by Gloria Ladson-Billings in 1995. Dr. Gwen Bass and Michael Lawrence-Riddell propose integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with CRT to create "a powerful tool for preparing [students] for today’s professional environment, which increasingly acknowledges diversity as integral to success." They go on to note, "While educators need not be experts on every culture, they should make efforts to ensure that their students’ experience their own learning styles and their own cultures in the teaching and learning process." One of the ways they suggest we can do this is by giving students the opportunity to understand their own identities and to feel that they are honored in the class through identity mapping. They conclude by writing, "Simply providing choice for students in terms of the input of information, or their own output, is a step toward a culturally responsive classroom, as is inherent in the guiding principles of UDL—providing multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement."

The future of teaching at BRCC.

NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION
The Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support was thrilled to host the new faculty orientation on Wednesday. The program provided information on a diversity of topics including the scholarship of teaching and learning, how to help our student succeed, using library resources effectively, strategies for testing and assessment, using Blackboard effectively, and integrating college success skills into every course. Expert presenters included Dean Joanie Chavis, Testing Specialist Tressa Landry, Manager Susan Nealy, Dean Todd Pourciau, Director Jeanne Stacy, Dean Sandra Williams, and Executive Dean Elaine Vallette. The new faculty participants including: Catherine Doyle, Vinetta Frie, Belvin Givens, Emily Graves, Cyndy Giachetti, Jessie Herubrock, Loretta Jarrell, Jennifer Knapp, Albertha Lawson, Kristen Pasquier, Asoka Sekharan, and Bridget Sonnier-Hillis. Active learning and student engagement dominated the conversation. The future looks bright for teaching and learning at BRCC.

WHAT IS UP WITH THOSE GREEN SHIRTS
The Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support team donned peaceful green shirts on Wednesday to kick off this year's theme of Keep Calm and Be Engaged. As we mentioned previously, BRCC is stepping up its efforts on student engagement. The shirts are a humorous reminder that we are all part of our students success. By the end of the day, some members of the team were receiving some outrageous financial offers for their shirts but no one wanted to part with them. Look for the shirts to reappear as we celebrate learning throughout the coming academic year. Who knows, maybe you too will be lucky enough to be recognized for engagement excellence and receive a coveted green shirt.

Anderson, Linder, and Harris join BRCC

BRCC WELCOMES NEW EMPLOYEES FROM CATC
We are very excited to announce the addition of some new team members in the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support. Barbara Linder has joined us as an Academic Support Specialist. Wanda Anderson and Karen Harris have joined us as Testing Center Specialists. The addition of new staff means that we can respond more effectively to the many requests we are receiving from faculty and students in the areas of testing, assessment, and pedagogy. There is a bit of sad news from the Testing Center as we are losing Tressa Landry, who is following her husband to Lake Charles. The good news is that in addition to our newest team members, Debbie Johnson remains with the Testing Center. Look for expanded hours coming soon to better meet your testing needs.

What do employers look for when making a hire? It is something we as faculty should be asking. It actually isn't very difficult to find the answer. There are a number of surveys that provide us with the data.  Here are a few. A poll by USA Today reveals that grades still matter but there are ways to  get an interview despite a lower GPA. NACE's Job Outlook 2016 survey, tells us that employers are looking for leaders who can work as part of a team. More than 80 percent of responding employers said they look for evidence of leadership skills on the candidate's resume, and nearly as many seek out indications that the candidate is able to work in a team. Employers also cited written communication skills, problem-solving skills, verbal communication skills, and a strong work ethic as important candidate attributes. Monster tells us that critical thinking is one of the five things employers are looking for and not finding in college graduates. That may not make sense. We know that in order to be a successful student, students must learn how to learn. Being a critical thinker means that you can solve problems. You know where to go to find the different approaches that will allow you to come up with solutions. But in this complex world, being a critical thinker has to be paired with being able to work on teams. That means our students should be able to work with a diversity of people. They must also be able to have frank and open discussions where differences will be explored. Being able to hold a civil discussion is becoming a lost art. Students are very likely to mimic what is happening on their televisions (or even on the streets now) and resort to attacking the speaker rather than the idea, using a slippery slope argument, or resort to begging (for example). These are all logic fallacies that students need to be exposed to if there are to be productive in the work world. That is why the Center for Teaching+Learning Enhancement is offering three professional development sessions about the active learning method of using debate in your classrooms to help them develop critical thinking skills. Join us to add your voice to this important topic.

STUDENT RETENTION STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN USE
Dr. Patrick O'Keefee's research focuses on student retention issues. His article A Sense of Belonging: Improving Student Retention provides a number of strategies that are easily implementable. He notes, "With student attrition rates reaching between 30 and 50 per cent in the United States,the inability of higher education institutions to retain their students is a significant issue. This paper cites key risk factors which place students at risk of non-completion, which include mental health issues, disability, socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Furthermore, first year students and higher degree by research students are susceptible to attrition. The capacity of a student to develop a sense of belonging within the higher education institution is recognized by this paper as a being a critical factor determining student retention. The creation of a caring, supportive and welcoming environment within the university is critical in creating a sense of belonging. This can be achieved by the development of positive student/faculty relationships, the presence of a well resourced counseling center and the encouragement of diversity and difference."

ADAPTIVE LEARNING MAY BE FOR YOU
As the adoption of adaptive learning strategies has spread, the uses have become more common to address issues like under-prepared students and developmental education. The Online Learning Consortium, of which we are a member, has some good information about how continuous adaptive learning can help solve college readiness problems. As the research emerges about adaptive learning, some interesting strategies have surfaced. Dr. Tseng and colleagues suggest an innovative adaptive learning approach that is based upon two main sources of personalization information, that is, learning behavior and personal learning style. Campus Technology interviewed several administrators and faculty members who have worked on adaptive projects about their experience. If you are interested in trying this strategy in your classes, please know that I am here to help.

FREE TEXTBOOKS FOR STUDENTS
Students have indicated that the high cost of textbooks in some subjects prevent them from purchasing this important resource. Did you know that in some instances there are free textbooks available online? The books are part of the Open Educational Resources or OER. In fact, some faculty members are creating their own textbooks to use in their classes. You can browse for available resources at the OER Commons website. Additional help is available from the BRCC Library faculty, with Peter Klubek leading the initiative.

ASKED AND ANSWERED
Elizabeth Barkley's book Student Engagement Techniques: A handbook for college faculty, is quickly becoming a classic in the student engagement arena. Noticing that a gap existed in the BRCC Library's collection, the T+LC asked that this book be purchased. We are excited to tell you that it is now available for circulation (LB 2342.92 B34). Special thanks to Associate Dean Jacqueline Jones who facilitated the purchase. Barkley's book is full of terrific ideas that you can implement in your course immediately. It should quickly join Ken Bain's book, which is frequently referenced on this blog, as one of the most circulated resources from the faculty development section.

EMBRACE THE RUBRIC MATRIX
A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents the instructor's performance expectations for an assignment or a piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component parts and provides clear descriptions of different levels of quality associated with each component. Rubrics can be used for a wide array of assignments: papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic performances, group projects, and so on. Rubrics can be used as scoring or grading guides, and to provide formative feedback to support and guide ongoing learning efforts. Using a rubric provides several advantages to both instructors and students. Grading according to an explicit and descriptive set of criteria helps to ensure that the instructor's grading standards remain consistent across a given assignment. Rubrics can be constructed by the instructor or even have input from the students. The key for full effectiveness is to distribute the rubric to your students when you make the assignment. There are a number of good websites that can get you started building a strong rubric including one from Blackboard and the University of Colorado-Denver.

COLLEGE 101
While you are visiting the Library, you might want to pick up a copy of Upcraft, Gardner and Barefoot's book Challenging and Supporting the First-Year Student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (LB 2343.3 U63). The chapter entitled Inside the First-Year Classroom offers some sage advice for those looking to improve student learning. "What once appeared as the most effective and efficient way to teach and learn--the research university model of faculty who create knowledge and deliver it to students through lectures--falters under today's learning demands and with today's students. While practically it may be too cost-effective an instructional method to abandon totally, the diversity of students in background and learning style, their developmental position, and what we know about human learning all argue for using classroom strategies that actively involve students." They go on to list a number of active learning methods you can use in place of strictly lecturing to your students.

ADDING RUNGS TO THE LADDER
"The certificate is the odd man out in the debate over college completion. But the rarely discussed and little-understood certificate is the fastest-growing form of college credential, and a key component of work force development and the completion agenda." Paul Fain shared that and other bits of information in a column he wrote earlier this year about a report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, that found that certificates make up 22 percent of all college awards, up from 6 percent in 1980. Certificates are earned through seat time in a classroom, the study notes, with more than half taking less than a year to complete. Industry-based certifications, which are often confused with certificates, are typically awarded based on tests.

Student Success Starts With Communication

If you were able to make the faculty development session yesterday delivered by Dr. Jennifer Waldeck, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. This event occurred because of the support of VCASA Laura Younger, who provided the funding. Speaking of VC Younger, she mentioned that not only did several people stop her on the way out to indicate their pleasure at the quality of the speaker but several of you called her as well. What a great way to kick off the 2020 spring semester. One of the resources referenced by Dr. Waldeck during her talk was an article that appeared in Inside Higher Ed written by Jane E. Dmochowsk. I had posted the link on the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement's events calendar but the link was broken and has been repaired. Looking back on the tweets that I sent during yesterday's event, I wanted to share three that stood out in my mind. The first is "inclusion and celebrating diversity builds credibility and promotes engagement." The second is "the fear of communication is very real for some of our students" (this goes to class participation and meeting with you privately). The third is "student to student interaction is critical to their learning experience." I hope you have a terrific semester. If you are looking for ways to get started on the first day of class, here are some things you can try.