Graduate students: come learn and connect with other graduate students and CTL staff this fall!
Graduate students: welcome back! Come learn and connect with other grad students and CTL staff this fall. Here are some of the ways you can get involved: attend a workshop on Lesson Planning; join a Learning Community, co-facilitated by PDPA, on inclusive teaching in STEM courses; and work with us through the Graduate Assistant program. We look forward to […]
Safety, Curiosity, and the Joy of Learning
A recent webinar, “What Students Need This Academic Year,” hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, reminded us that “normal” is a relative and transitory feeling and space. Malik Singleton, a student speaker from Harris-Stowe State University, noted that he wants to “take charge of my own normal.” With that advice in mind, we wish […]
“Just-in-time” Resources to Prep for Fall 2021: Part 3—First Days of Class, Trauma-informed Teaching
In this final pre-semester post, we turn to the nitty-gritty, rubber-meets-road tasks to be done before classes begin. What exactly will you do in class on the first day, the second day, and the third? How can those activities set you up for a productive and enjoyable semester? To help think through these questions, we […]
“Just-in-time” Resources to Prep for Fall 2021: Part 2—Blackboard
Blackboard—now part of the pedagogical landscape at BU—can help organize course content, communicate with students, and act as an assignment portal (see its key features here). It can also act as a centralized location for students to find the most up-to-date information about their course. In the second part of this series, we present two […]
“Just-in-time” Resources to Prep for Fall 2021: Part 1
Ready to welcome students to your classroom(s)? Fall 2021 will present its own unique challenges, so we have pulled together a series of quick resources to support faculty as they make their last preparations for teaching. In this first post, we are pleased to offer the following: (1) final checklists for in-person teaching and syllabi; […]
First week of class: Welcoming the Community!
Contributed by CTL staff (2 minute read) As you meet your students online or in person this week, we recommend you have an intentional and purposeful approach for welcoming your students to the learning environment and building community in your classroom. When students feel that they are welcomed members of a group and part of […]
Getting Ready for Your First Day of Class
Contributed by Jean Otsuki (2 minute read) Unsure how to prepare for your summer term course? Teaching a remote or hybrid course introduces new considerations about what technology you’ll use to engage students, how you’ll help students to get to know each other, etc.
Supporting Students in the First Weeks of the Semester
Notes from the Virtual Hub & Pub (2 minute read) At the recent Virtual Hub & Pub (February 2, 2021), facilitated by the CTL-Hub Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellows (Kaytlin Eldred, Sophie Godley, Joseph Harris, Irit Kleiman, and Benjamin Siegel), discussion centered on the importance of developing class community early in the semester. Participants reflected on […]