September

Good teaching involves planning, lots of it and at every level. This online, self-directed workshop, open to all new instructors at Penn State, is offered at the start of each semester through Canvas, Penn State’s learning management system.

Moderated by Cindy Decker Raynak, Senior Instructional Designer, this self directed workshop will provide you with a brief introduction to the resources and strategies that are crucial to good teaching and planning.

Registered participants will receive a registration confirmation immediately,  followed by an email within two business days with Canvas access instructions.

The last day to register is noon, Wednesday, September 25, 2019. All assignments must be uploaded by 11:59 p.m. Friday, September 27, 2019.

More Information

Additional details will be posted soon

Students and instructors all bring unique personal histories to the classroom. One of our responsibilities as teachers is to make sure that our classes are places where all students—regardless of their backgrounds or identities—feel welcome to learn.
   
In this workshop, facilitated by Chas Brua and Sara Cavallo, we'll talk about practical strategies for teaching inclusively.
   
This workshop satisfies a requirement for the Instructional Foundations Series for new instructors.

This workshop is especially for international students who plan to teach or work as teaching assistants during their time at Penn State. We'll explore U.S. attitudes related to college, and we'll discuss practical ways to create a productive learning environment and to communicate with undergraduate students.

In the built environment, Universal Design enables each of us to gain unimpeded access to a particular place, regardless of our need for accommodation. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) applies a similar set of brain-based, research-backed principles that reduce barriers to student learning. Participants will engage in UDL-based activities and leave with exemplar UDL-inspired assignments to spark ideas for their own courses. 

This is a closed presentation customized for the requesting department.

If you are interested in a similar Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

This series of talks will highlight interesting teaching innovations at Penn State. The goals is to help further build a community of instructors who are interested in improving learning by their students. All are welcome. The Schreyer Institute will provide lunch for pre-registered Mann Assembly room attendees.   

Many teachers use carrots and sticks to influence student behavior.  Extrinsic rewards work for a while, but what do they teach students about the value of learning? What makes students want to learn and want to become better learners? This interactive session explores three mechanisms critical to developing self-directed learners: curiosity (zest), growth mindset and persistence (grit), and an understanding that long-lasting learning requires sustained effort (sweat). Join us as we identify instructional strategies and practices that promote self-directed learning.

For those unable to attend in person, the talk will be available via Zoom at: https://psu.zoom.us/j/155547331 

For faculty and members of the learning design community who are interested in integrating critical pedagogical techniques and new elements of social justice, diversity, and inclusion into their classrooms by utilizing primary sources as a tool for meeting critical learning outcomes. Instructors new and practiced in critical pedagogy are welcome to attend. Participants will discover the pedagogical potential of primary resources in archives and special collections libraries and experiment with primary source analysis in order to analyze its usefulness as a critical pedagogical technique.

This is a closed presentation customized for the requesting department.

If you are interested in a similar Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu. 

Members of the 2019-20 University Park New Faculty Colleagues Group will meet in Rider 315 to have lunch and hear from experienced faculty about their first year at Penn State. 

This is a closed presentation for members of the University Park New Faculty Colleagues Group. 

What we do -- or don't do -- as instructors or TAs will have a big impact on our students' motivation for learning and their engagement with course material. In this interactive workshop, faciliated by Chas Brua and Adam Smith, we'll discuss research-based methods you can use to help your students value what they're learning and to keep them actively involved in their courses.
   
This workshop fulfills a requirement for the Instructional Foundations Series.

This is a closed event customized for the requesting department. If you are interested in a Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

Successful students are motivated to engage in their own learning, both in and outside of their classrooms. Online and adult learners, in particular, face a number of challenges that may limit or impede their ability to keep pace with their peers, which can prompt them to give up. Applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help advisors to identify those challenges, thereby addressing barriers to learning and enhancing opportunities for engagement and retention for all students.
   
This event is a part of the Division of Undergraduate Studies Conference on Innovative Academic Advising (https://dus.psu.edu/2019-dus-conference).

If you are interested in a Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

This is a closed presentation customized for the requesting department.

If you are interested in a similar Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu. 

In the built environment, Universal Design enables each of us to gain unimpeded access to a particular place, whether or not we require some form of accommodation. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) applies a similar set of brain-based, research-backed principles to the learning environment. This free, non-credit, entirely asynchronous online course begins on Monday, September 30 and ends on Friday, November 1.
   
This course provides an opportunity for faculty from all disciplines and members of the learning design community to explore and apply UDL principles. It includes three recorded presentations by Allison Posey, CAST Curriculum and Design Specialist, and discussion and practice based on information drawn from teaching and learning literature on UDL, as well as from the experiences of individual participants.
   
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to identify, select, and apply UDL principles that are appropriate to their individual courses. Participants may be invited to submit the results of their course work as exemplars for inclusion in SITE’s Tools & Resources web page.