Blog
Self-Care for You and Your Students
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL The second half of fall semester is bound to be a stressful time both for you and your students. For students, major assignments start to pile up and they begin to feel...
Using Starfish to Help your Students Succeed
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Starfish is one of Valpo’s primary retention tools. Used properly, it lets both students and advisors know early on when a student is struggling in your class. Yet many faculty don’t use...
Simplify Your Grading with Blackboard
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Are you using Blackboard Grade Center to its full capacity? If not, you may be missing out on ways to simplify your grading. In this article, some of your VU colleagues share...
VU Faculty Test-drive Simple Syllabus
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) This summer several VU faculty piloted Simple Syllabus, a new tool that ensures students can, with a single click, get to the most important parts of your syllabus. In...
Helping All Your Students with Universal Design for Learning
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) Many of our students are struggling right now. Some are hampered by two years of lockdown and missed learning. Others have learning disabilities, whether diagnosed or not. How can...
The Green Campus and Eco-Pedagogy
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) Would you like to see VU become more sustainable? Then read on to learn about some green initiatives on campus. Alberto López Martín (WLC), VU’s first Faculty Development...
Helping Your Students Write Better
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL We all know that VU’s Writing Center exists to help students become better writers. But faculty often do not make full use of this splendid resource. In the following article, student...
Beyond Exams: Other Ways to Measure Student Learning
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Do you ever wonder whether your tests, exams, and assignments are really developing the skills you want your students to learn? What would you like them to retain five minutes after your...
Getting Students to Read for Class by Using Perusall
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Like many of you, I have struggled to get my students to read for class. I have tried daily reading quizzes, group presentations, even assigning questions for each reading. But nothing...
Using Student Groups Effectively
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Putting students in groups during class improves engagement, retention of knowledge, and deep learning according to several studies (see list of further resources at the end of this article). Students learn better...