OFD Newsletter: April 26, 2021

OFD’s Unplugged Summer Reading Event

Registration is open now through May 7 for OFD’s Unplugged Summer Reading Event.

Our selection is Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) edited by Susan D. Blum with a foreword by Alfie Kohn (West Virginia University Press, 2020, 288 pages).

The NC State University Libraries provide unlimited ebook access to Ungrading. For this special summer unplugged event, OFD will mail paper copies upon request so that you can step away from your devices and read wherever you’d like.

There will be three online, synchronous meetings via Zoom. When registering, please select your preferred meeting dates/time:

• Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m.: May 25, June 8, June 22
• Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m.: May 25, June 15, July 6
• Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m.: May 26, June 9, June 23
• Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m.: May 26, June 16, July 7
• Thursdays, 9:00 a.m.: July 1, July 15, July 29
• Thursdays, 10:00 a.m.: May 27, June 17, July 8

Register Here

Too much of a good thing: Avoiding toxic positivity

Today on Faculty Forum, Lisa Paciulli and Maria Gallardo-Williams discuss toxic positivity. Toxic positivity is the idea of responding to everything with a positive attitude, and how that may not always be appreciated (Scully, 2020). Replying in a positive manner sounds like a good modus operandi because being positive is better than being negative, right? Well, not always, and especially not now during a pandemic. READ MORE.

Faculty Conversation Series: Addressing mis/disinformation through systems awareness and information literacy

The next installment of this semester’s Faculty Conversation Series, Addressing mis/disinformation through systems awareness and information literacy, will be held Wednesday, May 5 (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.). Join special guests Anne Burke and Hannah Rainey (NC State University Libraries) for a discussion on critical approaches to understanding mis/disinformation, which were developed for an Honors course. Participants will be invited to share their experiences and challenges with these topics, and collectively brainstorm strategies and methods for addressing them across disciplines.

For each session of the Conversation Series, faculty will read a relevant article/paper about the topic (optional), receive question prompts, engage in conversation around the topic with other faculty members, and reflect on how the conversation may have changed thinking on the topic. Conversations are facilitated by Dr. Maria Gallardo Williams, OFD SoTL Faculty Fellow.

Register Here

|RED| Applications Open: Core Teaching Certification and Inclusive Teaching Certification (Due May 14)

Applications for the Summer 2021 online cohorts of the Core Teaching Certification |CTC| and Inclusive Teaching Certification |ITC| are being accepted through May 14.

• To learn more about the Core Teaching Certification and apply, please visit go.ncsu.edu/red-ctc
• To learn more about the Inclusive Teaching Certification and apply, please visit go.ncsu.edu/red-itc.

Leveraging GPS Analytics for Faculty-Led Projects on Student Success

April 27, 2021, 2:00- 3:00 p.m.
The Division of Academic and Student Affairs embarked on a new initiative to offer one-time funding opportunities to faculty interested in analyzing and leveraging data related to undergraduate student success. The main goal of the initiative was to encourage faculty-led, focused institutional research that supports data-informed decision making through the use of Institution Reports in the Student Success GPS platform.

This showcase will highlight several of our GPS Analytics award recipients’ findings from their projects and the ways in which they hope to address identified barriers to student success. Come learn about the great work of our colleagues and consider ways that you could similarly use GPS Analytics to support student success in your program. Our award recipients for this showcase include:

• Dr. Kimberly Bush, Teaching Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs- Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources
• Dr. Daniel Gruehn, Associate Professor and DUP, & Dr. Dana Kotter-Gruehn, Associate Teaching Professor- Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Dr. Alice Lee, Teaching Assistant Professor-Biological Sciences College of Sciences
• Dr. Dmitri Mitin, Assistant Teaching Professor- Political Science, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Dana Thomas, Academic Advisor and Teaching Coordinator- Biological Sciences, College of Sciences

Workshop Objectives

• Participants will describe how NC State faculty have used the GPS Analytics platform to inform program and advising changes across campus.
• Participants will identify strategies for using GPS Analytics and institutional data to support student success outcomes in their own programs.
• Participants will identify resources on campus to support use of the GPS Analytics platform.

Click here to register via Reporter.

Upcoming Events for Faculty

Tuesday, April 27

• Leveraging GPS Analytics for Faculty-Led Projects on Student Success, 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 29

• Open Cafe Express: Marking Affordable Courses, 10:00, a.m.
• Panopto Advanced Training, 1:00 p.m.

Friday, April 30

• Faculty Chat Café, 9:00 a.m.

Monday, May 3

• Mindful Mondays, 9:00 a.m.