Blog
The Humane Syllabus
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Valparaiso Institute for Teaching and Learning (CITAL) As we know all too well, both faculty and students have been worn down by the pandemic. In particular, the mental health of our students has suffered. Even before...
Getting Feedback on Your Teaching
Classroom Observations by Jen Gregory and Cynthia Rutz Teaching can be an isolating activity. It is hard to know whether things you are trying in the classroom are working well or not. Would you like some friendly feedback on your...
Tech Tools to Aid in Class and Group Communications
by Kevin Steele, Director of Instructional Technology, Design and Assessment, CITAL Communicating with students outside of class can be a challenge in our current time. Do you use social media, apps, text messaging, email, and the list goes on. There...
Write More by Joining the Faculty Writing Circle
by Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Dear Colleagues: Would you like to get more writing done this semester? A great way to help you achieve your writing goals is to join the Faculty Writing Circle facilitated by CITAL...
Skip “Syllabus Day” – Make Day #1 Count
by Kevin Steele, Director of Instructional Technology, Design and Assessment, CITAL “SYLLABUS DAY: The first day of an academic term at most high schools and colleges. On this day, a typical class lasts no more than twenty minutes and involves...
Six Strategies to Creating an Engaging Syllabus
By Kevin Steele, Director of Instructional Technology, Design & Assessment It is a pleasure to join CITAL! It is that time of the year where we begin to plan our semester ahead and that usually begins with the syllabus. Below...
Faculty Learning Community on Mentoring
CITAL Guest Bloggers: Mindy Capaldi, Melissa Desjarlais, Jon-Paul McCool, Nancy Scannell, Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo During the past school year our group of Valpo faculty met to share resources and learn more about best practices in mentoring students. We met approximately fortnightly...
Free Alternatives to Textbooks: Open Educational Resources
CITAL Guest Blogger: Jon Bull, Assistant Professor of Library Services and Scholarly Communication Services Librarian The next academic year is already approaching with many of us submitting textbook orders and developing curricula we will need for the upcoming semester. However,...
Preventing Faculty Burnout
Have you been reading or hearing about burnout lately? It may be because of this BuzzFeed article on “How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation,” which went viral earlier this month: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work This piece touched a nerve with millennials, many of...
Faculty Development Opportunities for You this Fall
by Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development Faculty groups are now forming on campus that could help you achieve your teaching or writing goals in a collegial, supportive atmosphere. Which one is for you? That depends on your goals for...