In this week’s deeper dive, Dr. May Mei, Mathematics, shares ideas from the two-page article Critical Learning Communities: Top Five Principles to Guide Your First Month by Kristen Luschen and Becky Wai-Ling Packard. May gives practical suggestions on how to make midterm course adjustments to ensure a smoother and more productive finish to our semester.
CfLT Newsletter
The posts below are from the CfLT newsletter which includes curated, research-based digital resources to support ongoing faculty development and pedagogical engagement. As of August 2025, CfLT Director Karen Spierling oversees the content. Posts from July 2020-May 2025 were compiled by previous Director Lew Ludwig.
Tidbit – Catch our Breath
With our scheduled no-class days this week, it is not only an opportunity for our students to catch their breaths, but for us as well. This Chronicle piece by James Lang gives us three resources with strategies to consider to help us refresh and refocus:
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- In Praise of Walking
- How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.
Tech – Google 2.0
Many of us have really leveraged tools offered by Google to help organize our classes, communicate with students, and conduct small groups. This article from Faculty Focus covers some other applications of Google Docs and Slides for things such as collaborative note-taking or the jigsaw teaching strategy that some of us use with in-person classes. The article also introduces Google Drawings, similar to Jamboards, but with a much larger range of drawing and graphical abilities.
Teaching – What to do with Midterm Feedback
Last week, we shared several midterm course feedback forms. Now, what to do with all that feedback?
- Make a brief list of comments to respond to during the next class.
- Focus on major themes.
- Discuss things you are willing to adjust, but also explain why you will maintain certain practices. Your students value transparency.
Tidbit – Teaching about Race and Racism
This week the New York Times published a collection of resources for teaching about race and racism with The New York Times. The post offers a list of more than 75 writing prompts, lesson plans, graphs, short films and more, to help teachers explore these important topics with students. It also includes suggestions and strategies by four educators on how to facilitate these critical, yet sometimes challenging, conversations.
Tech – What we’ve learned-Studio Arts
This semester, the Center will explore new ideas and approaches to teaching that Denison faculty have learned over the last year. This week, Professor Sheilah Restack shares how the Studio Arts used Zoom to create a thriving visiting artist program.
Tech – Pump up the Jamboard
Have you seen videos or heard from other Denison faculty members about Jamboard, but are still unsure if it’s for you? ETS has this new blog post that explores why and how to use Jamboard with your classes. It also includes a video series titled “Easy, sticky, engaging learning with Google Jamboard” by Matt Miller from Ditch that Textbook that is worth watching.
Teaching – Midterm Course Feedback
Nearing the half-way point, time to get some feedback from students on how our classes are going. Here are three templates to consider (feel free to edit as your own):
- This form from Dr. Annabel Edwards, Chemistry, that we shared last year. Uses a number of Likert scales.
- A newer form from Annabel based on some suggestions for The Chronicle.
Faculty Development Resources
The Center for Learning and Teaching can provide resources and information to support faculty development programs and faculty, administrators, and governance groups that address learning and teaching.
Classroom Teaching Observation and Formative Evaluation of Teaching
Early Career Faculty Learning
This seminar is designed for all first-year or new faculty. The goals are to build community and engagement among new faculty, provide substantive discussions about processes of learning and teaching, and generate collaborative support regarding teaching practices that best suit each individual’s courses, discipline, and goals.