Category Archives: News

Insights from the Innovation Fellows Reunion 2016

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Thanks to all of the innovation fellows who joined us for the reunion yesterday. Each table had a lively discussion about what they found valuable about the fellowship (especially from the perspective of time) and what they want to try next. We asked each table to share just two insights from that discussion. Here is what we heard:

Benefits of the Innovation Fellowship included:

  • Dedicated space and time to think about teaching
  • Discussion with colleagues devoted specifically to teaching, and even more so with structure and guidance.
  • Collective knowledge of SEU faculty
  • Better understanding of risk in the classroom and strategies for helping students feel more secure by managing their expectations
  • Value of discussing your pedagogical project repeatedly with colleagues and support staff who can help you realize your idea

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Sign-Ups Now Open to All SEU Faculty and Staff for Innovation Institute Workshops

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As part of the Innovation Institute, Innovation Fellows will participate in their choice of three of five workshops that will provide more focused resources related to the fellow’s project.  These workshops will also be open to others in the St. Edward’s University community, and fellows may participate in additional workshops if desired. To see the list of available workshops and sign up, please visit the Workshops 2016 page.  Workshops begin Wednesday, May 18 and continue through Tuesday, May 24.

Announcing Innovation and Global Innovation Fellows 2016-2017

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We are pleased to announce the Innovation Fellowship and Global Innovation Fellowship recipients for 2016-2017.  This fellowship supports faculty with the resources and expertise needed to experiment with the pedagogy in a course. We consider this fellowship a marker of significant potential and achievement; these fellows are not only pursuing valuable pedagogical innovation but also are contributing in significant ways to the university’s mission and goals.  Please join us in congratulating the 2016-2017 fellows:

Shannon Baley, Visiting Assistant Professor, University Studies
Innovation Fellow | American Dilemmas/ Living Newspaper

Patricia J. Baynham, Professor, Biology
Global Innovation Fellow | Embedding Australia into Biology 1305

Lisa M. Goering, Professor, Biology
Global Innovation Fellow | Evolution Down Under, Capstone with Australia topics

Jennifer Jefferson, Visiting Assistant Professor, University Studies
Innovation Fellow | The American Experience

Katherine Lopez, Assistant Professor, Accounting
Innovation Fellow | Intermediate Accounting

Jack Musselman, Associate Professor, Philosophy
Innovation Fellow | Legal Ethics

Georgia Seminet, Associate Professor, Spanish
Innovation Fellow | Mexican Literature of the XXth and XXIst Centuries

Amy Nathan Wright, Visiting Assistant Professor, University Studies
Diversity Innovation Fellow | Domestic Academic Travel Experience

See the Innovation Fellowship Blog for the full list of fellows with abstracts of their proposed course redesigns.

We received many excellent submissions this year.  The Innovations in Teaching Committee (composed of a faculty representative from each school), as well as the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Director of Munday Library, and the Director of Instructional and Emerging Technology reviewed all proposals, ranked them by selection criteria–significance of innovation; connection to the Holy Cross mission and strategic goals of the university; feasibility of the proposed experiment; potential impact on student learning; and planned public dissemination and potential for scholarship and publication based on this experiment–and made recommendations as to which proposals should be accepted.

All Fellows will participate in the Innovation Institute, currently scheduled for May 16-27, 2016, offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Munday Library, and the Office of Instructional Technology.

We thank everyone who submitted a proposal and are looking forward to seeing the courses develop.  Fellows (both past and present) share their projects with the faculty via the Innovation Fellowship Blog as well as through events organized by the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Instructional Technology.

 

Deadline Extended: Proposals for 2016-2017 Innovation Fellowships and TLTR Pilots due February 8, 2016

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finger touching tablet and releasing learningThe deadline has been extended for Innovation Fellowships and TLTR Pilots (aka Technology for Innovative Learning & Teaching Pilot Project Grants).

CFPs are available online for both the 2016-2017 Innovation Fellowships and the 2016 Technology for Innovative Learning & Teaching Pilot Project Grants. Proposals for each are due Monday, February 8, 2016. There is an abbreviated TLTR form for those submitting combined proposals.

These opportunities are open to both tenure-track and non-tenure-track (including adjunct) faculty. You may apply for one or both of these opportunities, even if you have already applied for and received a Presidential Excellence Award for the summer of 2016.

More Information is available online:

Select Innovation Institute sessions open to all faculty: May 20, 22, 26, and 27

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The Center for Teaching Excellence, Department of Instructional Technology, and Munday Library invite all faculty to join us for select sessions from this year’s Innovation Institute.

Although most of the Institute’s sessions are only open to the 2015-16 Innovation Fellows, this year we are opening up five workshops to any interested St. Edward’s faculty member (full-time, part-time or adjunct, and staff who teach). The open workshops are listed below.  If you wish to attend any (or all!) of them, please sign up so that we can anticipate attendance.  To learn more about the workshops and register please see the full workshop listing. Continue reading →

Announcing Innovation Fellows for 2015-2016

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The Offices of Academic Affairs and Instructional Techonology, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Munday Library are pleased to announce the Innovation Fellowship and Global Innovation Fellowship recipients for 2015-2015. Please join us in congratulating the 2015-2016 fellows, Richard Bautch, Mary Kopecki-Fjetland, Katherine Lopez, Jimmy Luu, Christopher Micklethwait, Rachael Neal, Kristin Cheyenne Riggs, Alexandra Robinson, Jason Rosenblum, and Gary Slater. See the 2015-2016 Fellows page on this blog for more information about these fellows with abstracts of their proposed course redesigns.

This fellowship supports faculty with the resources and expertise needed to experiment with the pedagogy in a course. We consider this fellowship a marker of significant potential and achievement; these fellows are not only pursuing valuable pedagogical innovation but also are contributing in significant ways to the university’s mission and goals.

The Innovations in Teaching Committee (composed of a faculty representative from each school), as well as the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Director of Munday Library, and the Director of Instructional and Emerging Technology reviewed all proposals, ranked them by selection criteria–significance of innovation; connection to the Holy Cross mission and strategic goals of the university; feasibility of the proposed experiment; potential impact on student learning; and planned public dissemination and potential for scholarship and publication based on this experiment–and made recommendations as to which proposals should be accepted.

All Fellows will participate in the Innovation Institute, May 18-29, 2015, offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Munday Library, and the Office of Instructional Technology.

Going 100% Digital with the iPad

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Coffee and iPadMary Boyd, Vice President of Academic Affairs at St. Edward’s University has made the commitment to go digital. As she explains on her new blog, #100percentdigital:

I’ve committed to moving to a 100% digital workflow and practice.  That decision required a lot of persuasion by colleagues, who convinced me that I could do everything I do now, but better, in a completely digital process.

To encourage Mary’s commitment and get the community involved in helping her go digital, I’m offering a little incentive. I’ll buy coffee (or an equivalent beverage) for anyone who catches Mary using paper instead of her iPad. There are a few conditions:

  • It has to be paper she provides. It doesn’t count if you bring her paper in a meeting.
  • You have to tweet your picture to the hashtag #100percentdigital and to me @frostdavis
  • I reserve the right to stop this incentive program if Mary is using too much paper (and I’m buying too much coffee)!