Strategy/Project Name:
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Momentum Support
Momentum Area:
Purpose
Mindset
Change Management
Category:
Strategy/Project Description:
- Roadrunner Faculty Academy: This is a year-long cohort program for all new full-time faculty joining Dalton State regardless of any previous teaching experience. Monthly meetings focus on evidence-based teaching techniques centered on creating an inclusive and engaging classroom experience for all students. Several aspects of this program work to support the needs of first-year students including transparency in learning and teaching, holding equitable classroom discussions, classroom assessment techniques, use of teaching and learning technologies, and inclusive course design.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence Teaching Fellows Program: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant leadership team designed an Inclusive Teaching Fellows program for STEM faculty during the 2023-2024 academic year. The fellows will work to create an action plan to modify the content and delivery of introductory STEM courses to improve student success for first-year students in gateway courses. To support this initiative our HHMI grant will support one Assistant CETL Director to participate in the national Institute for New Educational Developers to help build sustainability for our CETL programming focused on student success. In addition, the HHMI grant will support one of the HHMI Leadership team to participate in the national AAC&U Project Kaleidoscope Future STEM Summer Leadership Institute to assist in leading the work of this grant, the CETL Fellows program, and STEM-focused curricular innovations.
- CETL Fellows Program: Faculty fellows offer programing to promote student success for all students on campus. Programs include workshops, faculty learning communities, online development opportunities, and peer observations.
- Culture & Belonging at Dalton State. This project currently led by a CETL Fellow and a Culture & Belonging committee will work to capture the stories and experiences of our students at Dalton State to explore how our culture as a community informs teaching and learning. The goal of the project is to identify and describe barriers that students face here in being successful and allow us to create development opportunities around this as well as initiatives like the Relentless Welcome in future.
Activity Status:
Evaluation/Assessment plan:
Evaluation Plan and measures:
- Roadrunner Faculty Academy: Engagement, Reflections.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence Teaching Fellows:
- Number of faculty participating in Inclusive Excellence Programming.
- Status of completion of action plans to include best practices for inclusive education for STEM faculty teaching gateway courses
- In the longer term beyond the 2023-2024 academic year, assessment of this program will include a reduction in the DFWI rates for the gateway STEM courses that are redesigned.
- CETL Fellows:
- Year-end report detailing their contributions and reflections on the outcomes for faculty.
- Developing a plan for implementing a Relentless Welcome on Dalton State’s Campus.
KPIs:
- Faculty participating in Faculty Academy
- Faculty participating in HHMI faculty development
- Faculty stepping up to offer faculty development programming as a fellow
- Plan developed by May 2024 and attempts to fund the program made
Baseline measure (for each KPI):
- Roadrunner Faculty Academy: 87% participation in 2021-2022, 100% in 2022-2023.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence Teaching Fellows: 28 faculty participated the first year, 24 the second.
- CETL Fellows: Six fellows participating this year, covering the following areas: inclusive excellence, high impact practices, justice, equity, and diversity, rubrics and assessment, faculty resources, and teacher appreciation.
- Development of a plan for a Relentless Welcome.
Current/most recent data (for each KPI):
- Faculty Academy. Began in August with seven participants. 6 out of the 7 are participating because one was hired after the dates and times were scheduled and this faculty member is teaching.
- HHMI Teaching: Currently 12 faculty are participating on one group and 13 in another.
- CETL Fellows: Six fellows were selected from applicants and began offering program beginning August 2023
- CETL Committee formed in Sept 2023 to work on potential opportunities with this program.
Goal or targets (for each KPI):
- Roadrunner Faculty Academy: 100% participation.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence Teaching Fellows: Number of faculty participating will increase by a minimum of 10% or 30 faculty participating in the 2023-2024 academic year.
- CETL Fellows: Six fellows will be selected and participate during the 2023-2024 academic year, offering different areas and types of faculty development programming. Faculty participation targets will be set once baseline data are determined.
- Feasibility for implementation of a similar program to the Relentless Welcome at Dalton State will be established.
Time period/duration:
- Roadrunner Faculty Academy: Ongoing with yearly evaluation.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence Teaching Fellows: Ongoing with yearly evaluation for the remaining 4 years of this grant funding.
- CETL Fellows: Ongoing with yearly evaluation.
- Exploration in the 2023-2024 academic year with intended implementation in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Progress and Adjustments:
- Roadrunner Faculty Academy. 8 New Faculty were oriented in August 2023 and so far participation is consistent with the goals and measures set in place previously.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence 3 Grant: Two of our leaders were supported A learning community led by one of our previous facilitators is currently underway and contains 11 STEM faculty exploring external curated resources centered around effective course design for those STEM faculty who participated in the first learning community and would like to take a deeper dive. In addition, we are running majors events in STEM to help with feelings of belonging, a course redesign institute, and exploring curriculum mapping in STEM. In addition, books are being purchased with funds in support of CETL. We have run two Biology majors fairs to support feelings of belonging and inclusion to their major and provide information on all of the opportunities particularly the experiential learning we offer to them, and potential internships. These have been hugely successful and popular events and we are expanding them to STEM majors as a whole.
- CETL Fellows. Two CETL Fellows are being supported by the IE3 grant this year focused on Inclusive Excellence and Culture & Belonging.
Culture & Belonging at Dalton State: This project has expanded to include a project to capture the stories and experiences of our students at Dalton State to capture our culture and explore how it impacts teaching and learning. The goal is that this will describe barriers that students face here in being successful and allow us to create development opportunities around this as well as initiatives like the Relentless Welcome in future. Currently we do not have capacity to carry out the Relentless Welcome initiative but we are exploring ways to make that feasible. We have launched a ‘Culture of T&L at Dalton State’ committee to work on both of these, headed by a CETL Fellow and supported by the President’s office.
Plan for the Year Ahead:
- Roadrunner New Faculty Academy: Continuing between now and May as planned.
- HHMI Inclusive Excellence 3 Grant: A learning community led by one of our previous facilitators is currently underway and contains 11 STEM faculty exploring external curated resources centered around effective course design for those STEM faculty who participated in the first learning community and would like to take a deeper dive. Planning for the course redesign and curriculum mapping events in May is underway.
Challenges and Support:
Challenges:
Insufficient funding for CETL and a need for dedicated administrative support to relieve someone who currently supports all of academic affairs and some of the President’s office activities. Currently we are supplementing CETL work with HHMI-IE3 grant funds.
Primary Contact:
Dr. Marina Smitherman, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
