The Center for Teaching & Learning

Hello, friends and colleagues. It’s one week out from spring break, a time that, even in the most tranquil of geopolitical times, can make a teacher feel a bit squirrely. This is the time in the teaching cycle where I start to think about how I could approach things differently during the next teaching cycle; depending on how the semester’s going, this can range from creating fun new lesson plans to questioning the entire structure of the library’s instruction program.

In any case, midway through this semester, a semester that has presented a tidal wave of unique challenges in higher education, we all probably need to get out there, touch a little grass, and lean on each other. I know that the more stressed and overburdened I feel, the more I tend to hunker down. But our strength is in our community, and all of the expertise, support, creativity, and courage within it. I might sound like a broken record, but I think that the primary role of Hood’s CTL is to bring all us all together in a room (or in a newsletter!) to share ideas and support each other.

On that note, this newsletter is chock full of creative ideas and practical approaches to teaching. I’ll highlight a couple of community events and opportunities below, and then I’ll step aside to let my colleagues shine.

Wednesday, March 5, 1-2 PM, Coblentz Dining Hall

Teaching Information Literacy Community of Practice

Join librarians and disciplinary instructors in a conversation about inquiry-based assignments and AI. Free lunch! Email Jessica Hammack to join.

Wednesday, March 5, 2:50-5 PM, Library 2020

Faculty Writing Group

Research and write in community. Free snacks! Email Kristen Tzoc to join.

Thursday, March 6, 1-2 PM, Apple 2

Academic Innovation Grant Awardees: Where Are They Now?

Former AIG awardees Sangeeta Gupta, Amy Kilpatrick, and Tricia Strickland will share details about their grant work. CTL Director Jessica Hammack and members of the CTL Board will discuss updates to the grant application, which now includes funding for instructors wanting to transition to OER course materials. Lunch provided. RSVP here.

Tuesday, March 18: SPIRES proposals due.

Wednesday, March 19, 2:50-5 PM, Library 2020

Faculty Writing Group

Monday, March 24: Academic Innovation Grant applications due.

Fill out this form to get a calendar reminder.

Wednesday, March 26, 2:50-5 PM, Library 2020

Faculty Writing Group

Academic Innovation Grant Awardees: Where Are They Now?

Thursday, March 6, 1-2 PM; Apple Room 2

RSVP here: https://bit.ly/ctlrsvp

Since its inception, Hood's Academic Innovation Grant has supported creative and far-reaching initiatives in teaching and learning. Last year, Dr. Sangeeta Gupta was awarded a grant for a project that engaged students as co-creators of open educational materials; two years ago, Drs. Amy Kilpatrick and Tricia Strickland were awarded AIGs for their collaborative redesign of five special education courses. Join us as we learn more about the impact these projects have had on students, as well as the successes and challenges of their implementation. Though this session is open for anyone interested in teaching and learning, it will be particularly helpful for folks interested in applying for Academic Innovation Grants this cycle.

Software Palooza

Friday, April 11, 2:50-5 PM (with additional sessions throughout the day); Beneficial-Hodson Library

RSVP here: https://bit.ly/ctlrsvp

"APP"-Y HOUR IS BACK! Enjoy drinks and appetizers while you get hands-on experience with emerging educational technology.

The Academic Innovation Grant funds creative teaching and learning projects related to one or more of the following initiatives:

• Accessibility & Universal Design for Learning;
• High Impact Practices;
• Inclusive Teaching;
• Open Pedagogy and Open Educational Materials; and
• Innovative Use of Technology.

Former Academic Innovation Grant recipients have created libraries of instructional videos, collaborated with students to create course materials, and developed unique ways to engage students who are learning remotely.

Successful applicants will receive up to $2500 in sponsorship of their project. Review the Academic Innovation Grant page for more details and the link to apply. The application deadline is March 24, 2025.

If you would like a calendar reminder for the Academic Innovation Grant deadline, follow the link!

The modern college student is dealing with a lot. In addition to class assignments, developing a social life, and the pressures and anxieties derived from social media use, some students are employed more than part-time not only to pay their own college-related expenses, but to support family members as well. Many are helping care for younger siblings and elderly parents and grandparents. Some act as translators in homes where English is not the primary language. And this is all on top of also dealing with more systemic invisible mental strains including poverty, racism, and other forms of social marginalization. Never were we all reminded of these strains more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January of 2018, I attended the annual meetings of the Association of American Colleges and Universities where I wandered into a session that looked interesting. It was a workshop associated with a newly released book: Bandwidth Recovery by Cia Verschelden. It turns out she just released a second edition of the book in 2024, along with a second book aimed at the same issues in K-12. Verschelden explores how systemic issues like poverty and racism diminish students' cognitive resources, impacting their academic success. She emphasizes the concept of "bandwidth," which refers to the mental capacity available for learning and engagement. By addressing the "bandwidth tax" imposed by societal challenges, the author aims to empower all students to thrive academically despite their circumstances. She provides a series of suggestions for addressing this tax including:

1. Fostering a growth mindset by encouraging students to view intelligence and abilities as developable rather than fixed,
2. Designing course syllabi with high standards and high support, including scaffolded assignments and grace periods for late work,
3. Promoting a sense of belonging by developing supportive learning environments that foster community and inclusion, &
4. Implementing restorative practices such as using non-punitive approaches to address problematic behavior.

So what does bandwidth recovery look like in my classes? Initially, I would provide every student with a “bandwidth coupon” that allowed for a 24-hour extension on anything that wasn’t a quiz or exam. No questions asked. More recently, I have moved to a blanket 24-hour grace period for assignments. Anyone who needs more than that just has to communicate that with me. But for any student who turns everything in on time, without the grace period, they get a small bonus of 20 extra credit points at the end of the semester. These strategies are in keeping with non-punitive approaches to deadlines and late work.

When it comes to promoting a sense of belonging by developing supportive learning environments that foster community and inclusion, I include an “Inclusivity Statement” on all of my syllabi that I make sure to read out loud on the first day of class. By all means, please feel free to use, share, and modify as you see fit as I have done the same:

Every student in this class, regardless of background, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, class, political affiliation, physical or mental ability, or any identity category, is a valued and equal member of the group. We all bring different experiences to this class and no one experience has more value or import than another. In fact, it is our different experiences that will enrich the course content. I encourage every student to share their own experiences as they are relevant to the course, but I also stress that no student is ever presumed to speak for anything or anyone more than their own experience or point of view. Furthermore, in this classroom, you have the right to determine your own identity. You have the right to be called by whatever name you wish, and for that name to be pronounced correctly. You have the right to be referred to by whatever pronoun you identify. You have the right to adjust those things at any point. If there are aspects of the instruction of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or a sense of alienation from the course content, please contact me privately without fear of reprisal. If you feel uncomfortable contacting me, please contact the Office of the Dean of Students.

I then work intentionally to make sure that all students can see themselves in the course materials, the authors and speakers, and the imagery I use on PowerPoint slides. These are just a few of the ways I try to implement the lessons learned from this book.

There may have been a time when we would have suggested to many of these bandwidth-taxed students that they postpone college until they had more bandwidth to devote to college. But the reality is that for many of them, getting a college degree is the mechanism that will give them more bandwidth in the future.

If you’re thinking about an alternative to a traditional final exam in one (or all!!) of your classes, consider a short video project as an option! Being able to effectively present material to others is something all of our students need to do, regardless of their chosen career path. A short video is perfect way to help students distill complex ideas and present them in a concise, direct, and personable way … and in the era of smartphones and Zoom, anyone can make a half-decent video (obvs I don’t teach video production, ha!).

If you’re interested in this idea but aren’t sure where to begin, here’s a general overview of the whats, hows, and whys of my video projects.

Lately, my favorite video project is to ask students to create a 20x20 presentation: that’s 20 images, each of which is projected for 20 seconds along with narration, for a final presentation that’s 400 seconds (or 6:40) long. No bullet points, no “death by powerpoint”: just a person talking about a topic with some awesome visuals to help tell the story. This format is used across the globe and is also known as a “PechaKucha” (pronounced peh-chach-kuh ) which means “chit chat” in Japanese.

Here are all of the project details from one of my classes. If you’d like to see samples of my students’ 20x20 presentations, just let me know – I have examples that students are happy to share!

This January, I attended the Best Practices in University Teaching (BPUT) workshop at Johns Hopkins University, along with Joanna Eaton (Program Director; Nutrition Science). The workshop was an enlightening experience, giving us an opportunity to learn about effective pedagogical approaches and share our own experiences with colleagues across several Maryland colleges and an array of academic disciplines. Across two days, workshops for attendees included topics such as strategic course design, assessments, evidence-based teaching strategies, inclusive pedagogy, grading, and classroom communication. With gratitude for the opportunity to attend this great workshop – and in the hope that other Hood faculty may be interested in attending the next one in January 2026 – I wanted to share an overview of the workshop content.

The strategic course design session emphasized the importance of scaffolding lesson plans, ensuring that students are building upon existing knowledge while continuously reinforcing foundational course concepts. The workshop discussants encouraged attendees to employ backwards design in their courses. Meaning, the instructor begins designing a course with a clear set of learning objectives, followed by designing assessments to help meet those objectives. Finally, instructors select materials and align teaching practices to set students up for success in meeting those specific objectives.

In our session on assessments, the discussants highlighted the significance of both formative and summative evaluations. In balancing these two forms of assessment, instructors can monitor student learning and track their progress towards meeting course learning objectives. Discussions between attendees often highlighted the tense balance between increasingly anxious students requesting greater frequency of instructor feedback via assessments and being cognizant not to exceed our own bandwidth by offering too many assessments in need of feedback.

The evidence-based teaching strategy session was very insightful. The guest speaker provided practical tips for enhancing student engagement, including the implementation of flipped classrooms and a reduction of assigned readings in favor of student-led discussions or co-teaching opportunities. These strategies foster a more interactive and participatory learning environment, which enhances student performance and information retention.

Pursuing equity in the classroom was the key theme of the inclusive pedagogy workshop. The discussants offered valuable advice, including the importance of recognizing and addressing unconscious instructor bias, deliberately structuring group work and discussions to ensure all voices are heard, and incorporating a diverse range of researchers in course reading lists. These practices contribute to creating a more inclusive and representative academic environment.

The grading session introduced alternative assessment strategies, such as ungrading and community agreements. These innovative approaches challenge traditional grading methods and encourage a more collaborative, reflective, and student-centric evaluation process.

Finally, the communication segment provided practical advice on conveying confidence and authority in the classroom. This session equipped instructors with tools to enhance their presence and effectively engage with students, including breathing techniques, speech practice, and strategic phrasing within lectures to retain student attention.

Overall, the two-day BPUT workshop was a great opportunity to converse and collaborate with instructors at a number of other institutions. This valuable seminar provided a wealth of knowledge and practical strategies for enhancing teaching effectiveness. The workshop is offered every January, and presents a great opportunity for faculty to share their expertise and refine their pedagogical skills in line with current best practices in college teaching.

Sometimes it’s hard to read the room. It might be even more so this spring with emotions and uncertainty running high. Even with years of experience teaching there can be classroom dynamics that you have not encountered before. We are never crossing the same river. So, it can be a good thing to ask your students how things are going. The worst-case scenario is that you only confirm what you already suspect. The best-case scenario is that students feel heard and after your adjustments they get far more out of your course.

You might not want to make dramatic changes mid-semester, especially when revising all of your syllabi over spring break doesn’t sound exciting. And why consider making dramatic changes based on feedback from tired mid-semester students? Small course corrections can avoid future disasters. An advantage of a mid-semester evaluation is that it gives you an opportunity to make small but meaningful changes that help you reach course goals with this particular set of students. If you aren’t sure what to ask your students for a mid-semester evaluation you can find examples from the University of Maryland, The University of Texas at Austin, and Inside Higher Ed.

An idea for a quick and engaging way to collect feedback is to have students complete a mid-semester evaluation in real time using Mentimeter.com or one of the similar websites that allow for anonymous, real-time feedback. Live feedback can be useful for you but also can be self-regulating for the students. If a student realizes they are the only one in the classroom having a particular concern, they may be more interested in addressing it, either with you directly or with Student Success. If several other students also share the same concerns, then the student will feel more assured in their ability to assess the classroom environment. Advocating for yourself is difficult under the best situations and can be quite challenging in classroom situations when there is a significant imbalance in power. Feeling less alone in your concerns can be empowering.

If your mid-semester evaluations prove you are awesome, the CTL would love to hear about it and celebrate with you! If your mid-semester evaluations suggest some adjustments are needed, the CTL would love to work with you to help find ways for you to meet your students’ needs without overextending yourself or undermining your educational goals for the semester. CTL is here for you so let us know how we can help!

This Fall 2025, all new course sites in the Blackboard system will use the Ultra style course site theme. So the question on your mind should be…What is an Ultra Course site and why are we switching to them in Fall 2025?

For a number of years Blackboard has been supporting two course themes called Original and Ultra. Hood has been using variations of the Original course theme over the last 24 years with the familiar left hand oriented and customizable menu area. In Ultra the user interface has been enhanced with a unified modern look that benefits students and has added many rich content management tools and features for faculty. Blackboard has fully embraced Ultra as its default course theme and has only provided new features and improvements over the last two years to this version of Blackboard course sites. Original courses have not seen any new additional features or systemic improvements in over two years. Blackboard has effectively abandoned Original courses and put that style of course in maintenance mode only. We want our Blackboard community to have the best user interface available and start enjoying the benefits of all that Ultra courses have to offer. This decision to move to Ultra courses in the Fall of 2025 was carefully made in consultation with the Academic Technology Group, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Online Program Leadership Council and the Provost. These groups that represent faculty as it relates to academic technologies all agree that Ultra course modernization in Fall 2025 is the right next step with our Blackboard Learning Management System.

We understand that shifting from Original to Ultra Courses is going to be a significant change for all faculty. Students will have a smaller learning curve, as the uniformity of Ultra courses and the modern interface lend themselves to ease of use over Original courses. Whether you are a faculty user or a student user, Ultra will not be totally unfamiliar to our Hood Community. You may not have noticed that many of the features found in Ultra courses are already part of your day to day Blackboard lives. Since 2018 the Ultra style and functionality themes have been appearing in our Blackboard system in various ways for both Faculty and Students. Ultra’s look was first captured in the Blackboard mobile app and that theme has been the persistent user interface since 2018. In the Summer of 2022, Hood shifted to the Ultra Base Navigation style for our Blackboard Institution Page. This Ultra infused base navigation theme has many stylistic features that you will see in Ultra courses and it unifies the look and feel of Blackboard from the initial entry point to course site level. Ultra features have also appeared in areas like the Attendance tool and in iterations of the content textbox editor over the last few years. We think you will find that Hood Blackboard Ultra course sites will retain many of the familiar Blackboard features faculty and students are already accustomed to.

As mentioned there are so many advantages with Ultra courses to look forward to as follows:

• A Common user interface for all course sites
• Ultra was designed to improve student interaction with Blackboard and data shows that with peer institutions who have already made the change in their Blackboard systems
• Ultra has modern responsive technology for viewing course content on multiple devices
• Streamlined course content creation and management tools make adding, editing and finding content so much better
• Typical uploaded content file formats like Word, Power Point and PDF files all appear inline on screen with download options that faculty can control

Blackboard Ultra offers extensive new tools and features only found in Ultra courses:

• New Announcements Tool gives visibility to faculty on student views and allows deployment controls
• New look for the Grade Center as the new “Gradebook” gives faculty vastly improved grading tools
• New Messages tool keeps course communications inside Blackboard and still provides email notifications
• New Analytics tool helps faculty track student performance in their course
• New Search Course Content tool gives students and faculty keyword search options for locating content
• New Batch Edit tool allows faculty to edit content in bulk
• New Progress Tracking feature allows more situational awareness of when students interact with course content
• New AI Course Design Assistant provides suggestions for content creation based on faculty input prompts
• New AI Conversations options for student Socratic Questioning or Role Playing prompt activities
• New Print to paper or PDF Assignment and Test options
• New Content Designer provides more flexibility to display content in various layouts

If you are wondering if Original Course content and assessments can be copied to or imported into Ultra Courses, Blackboard has that covered. As of the most recent Blackboard release, over 95% of content, features and tools from Original courses can be re-used in Ultra courses. Some nuisance circumstances exist, but in testing IT has found that most Original content comes over in a 1:1 ratio for the majority of course sites. All third party integrations for Zoom, Panopto, Portfolio Assignments, Respondus, ThinkingStorm and Text Book Publishers are also supported in Ultra Courses.

To help faculty acclimate and learn the new Ultra course interface. IT will be offering multiple options for self-paced learning/exploration, technical/instructional office hours and traditional training opportunities. Faculty can pick from these options starting in March 2025:

• All current faculty will be enrolled in an individualized Ultra Sandbox site, to learn and explore options with an Ultra course of their own
• Faculty can create a support ticket in the IT Helpdesk Support Portal to request access to the Ultra Preview in an existing course site that is inactive. This allows you to temporarily look at how your Original course site is going to convert to and Ultra course.
• IT will host Ultra Office hours to take any questions or discuss content transition concerns. These office hours will be offered at various times starting in March on Zoom. Please visit the Academic Technology Training Blackboard site Calendar area for more information and to register.
• IT will host Ultra training opportunities on a variety of topics starting in March and continuing through August of 2025. These trainings will be offered at various times starting in March on Zoom. Please visit the Academic Technology Training Blackboard site Calendar area for more information and to register for upcoming training.
• IT will provide self-paced tutorials, training recordings and Blackboard Ultra help resources through the Academic Technology Training Blackboard site

To learn more about Ultra Modernization and what it has to offer the Hood Community. Please take a look at these excellent resources to get started on your Ultra learning journey:

• Ultra Course quick look video
• Ultra Course Theme Overview
• Original to Ultra Course Terminology
• What’s New in Blackboard
• Blackboard Product Roadmap

We look forward to sharing with you more about what Ultra Modernization has to offer our Hood Community in the future.

In February's faculty meeting, student representatives from SGA presented their findings from a survey they conducted about Hood undergraduate students' experiences with textbook costs. Students identified several areas of friction, including communication about course material requirements and high costs of commercial textbooks.

If you'd like to think through alternatives to conventional commercial textbooks, get in touch with your liaison librarian. You can also review the library's course material purchasing policy, which aims to make course materials more accessible to all students.

Interested in switching to OER? Consider applying for an Academic Innovation Grant.

"Cultivating well-being among faculty and staff should be part of a campus’s strategic plan, just like student well-being."

Beth McMurtrie explains in "What Keeps Stressed-Out Faculty Members Going? Their Students" that there are many factors that contribute to faculty burnout but teaching itself is usually not one of them. Teaching might be the one thing that allows faculty to keep going.

Appalachian State University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Student Success has information regarding faculty self evaluations and suggestions for gathering student feedback named the Teaching Quality Framework.

"The red card, as it is known by its bearers, lists a collection of practical tips and legal rights for immigrants who might find themselves targeted by federal agents."

You can learn a little more about red cards from The New York Times article "For Fearful Immigrants, It’s the Card They All Want Right Now." If you would like to print your own or some to share they are available in several different languages on the ILRC website.

Here are three ways to help your body during stressful times:

Go touch grass

Drink some water

Breath deeply

Communities of practice are groups of practitioners who share a common interest or knowledge who meet regularly to learn, grow, and build community.

The Center for Teaching and Learning wants to support your working groups, book discussion groups, teaching observation circles, and more. If you've got an idea that contributes to CTL's mission, then CTL wants to contribute to your idea.

During the times your community of practice meets, you can charge a lunch at the dining hall or snacks from the library café to the Center for Teaching and Learning. Here's how:

• Join an existing CTL community of practice below. If you're interested in joining a CoP, email the coordinator to learn more.
• Start your own CTL community of practice by completing and submitting the CTL CoP form. All communities of practice must be open to all faculty and staff and contribute to the mission of Hood's Center for Teaching and Learning.

Questions? Email ctl@hood.edu.

Faculty Writing Group

Meeting time: Wednesdays at 2:50-5 PM in the Beneficial-Hodson Library

Coordinator: Kristen Tzoc (tzoc@hood.edu)

Join the Spring '25 faculty writing group every Wednesday from 2:30-5pm in Room 2020 of the Beneficial-Hodson Library! We meet weekly to create a shared sense of community, build accountability partnerships, and encourage and motivate one another as we work on our articles, grant proposals, conference applications, syllabi, reviews, and other writing-related tasks. If you'd like to join the group, please email Kristen Tzoc (tzoc@hood.edu) for the Outlook Calendar invite. Snacks provided!

Teaching Information Literacy

Meeting times: First Wednesday of each month from 1-2 PM; Coblentz Dining Hall

Coordinator: Jessica Hammack (hammack@hood.edu)

No matter what discipline you teach, you're teaching information literacy. It's in your reading assignments, your research assignments, your classroom discussions. It's in the scrolling your students are doing during your classroom discussions. Join librarians and disciplinary instructors in conversations about best practices in teaching information literacy: from crafting inquiry-based assignments to helping students engage critically in an information environment that is increasingly questionable.

This CoP is connected to the "Teaching Information Literacy at Ohio State" virtual workshops. Participation in the virtual workshops is optional, but conversations will center around the content of the previous month's workshops.

The annual SPIRE Symposium is likely already blocked off on your calendar for Monday, April 21st. If you’d like to present your work in the form of a poster/panel/presentation/performance as a Hood faculty or staff member, you are also welcome to participate!

• 9:00-10:00: Poster Presentations

• 10:00-10:45: Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Session 1

• 10:55-11:40: Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Session 2

• 11:50-12:35: Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Session 3

• 1:00-2:00: Poster Presentations

• 5:30-7:00: Poster Presentations

To submit your proposal, please complete this form by March 18th.

The Center for Teaching and Learning condemns all forms of systemic racism, bias, and aggression against Black people, indigenous peoples, people of color, and those of marginalized genders and other marginalized identities. We understand that excellence in teaching, by definition, must reflect our shared humanity and promote inclusive practices such as:

• being conscious of biases, racial abuse, micro-aggressions, and those who are minimized or left out;
• understanding and supporting those underrepresented in our Hood community; and
• promoting ways to actively foster equity, diversity and inclusion in our classrooms, research, and publications.

The CTL advisory board is committed to raising awareness of all those who have been systematically oppressed, and we call upon Hood faculty and staff to join us in this commitment to create a more inclusive world.

Want to read about some of the topics CTL is covering? Find CTL on Zotero.

View the CTL Library: https://www.zotero.org/groups/5620207/hood_ctl/library

Help us build the CTL library! Email ctl@hood.edu to be added as a contributor.

Want unlimited access The Chronicle of Higher Education? Access it through the library.

The library also has a section of books dedicated to teaching on the second floor.

• Jessica Hammack, Head of Research and Instruction, CTL Director
• April Boulton, Associate Professor of Biology, Associate Provost, Dean of the Graduate School
• Cathy Breneman, Assistant Professor of Social Work
• Ashley Coen, Assistant Professor of Education
• Sangeeta Gupta, Assistant Professor of Psychology
• Bridget Humphries, Director of Accessibility Services
• Beth Kiester, Associate Professor of Sociology
• Jessica McManus, Associate Professor of Psychology
• Heather Mitchell-Buck, Associate Professor of English, Coordinator of Digital Learning
• Nicole Pulichene, Libman Professor of Humanities
• Adelmar Ramirez, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature
• Kathryn Ryberg, Research & Instruction Librarian
• Sandra Thomas-Lalmansingh, Assistant Professor of Nursing
• Kristen Tzoc, Assistant Professor of Sociology
• Jeff Welsh, Director of Instructional Technology in the IT division
• Kelly Esposito, CTL Graduate Assistant

Email: CTL@hood.edu
Website: www.hood.edu/CTL
Location: Hood College, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD
Phone: (301) 696-3397