Book Clubs & Workshops – Spring 2023
Book Clubs | Workshops | The Great Upheaval Book Groups | STLR Sessions | TL Conference | Collegium | On Demand Sessions | Additional Opportunities
BOOK CLUBS – Click Here to Register!
The fine print: Books are provided for first 10 UCO registrants, faculty are provided only one book per semester (unless we have extras), and registrants are requested to attend all sessions for their enrolled group. To be eligible for 21CPI Recognitions, learning artifacts must be submitted to the facilitator and must show evidence of meeting a Faculty Learning Outcome (FLO). Review the 21CPI homepage for more details.
Course Design Formula: How to Teach Anything to Anyone Online
The Course Design Formula: How to Teach Anything to Anyone Online book will help guide participants as they learn how to use different technology tools to reach the very diverse population of students they have in their classrooms. This book has something to offer to all faculty. So, if you are a novice at technology integration or a pro this book will help you create engaging lessons by using different technology tools. This book also provides a solid foundation for technological pedagogy.
Date(s)/Time(s): Tuesdays, 11am-12pm; 1/24; 1/31; 2/7; 2/14; 2/21;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Michelle Robertson; Tara Dalinger;
FLO(s): Course Design (#1); Active Learning Strategies (#2); Learning Ecosystems (#4);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education
In partnership with 21CPI, the Center for Neuroeducation and Embodied Learning (CNEL) brings you this wonderful book group. Teachers are brain changers. Thus it would seem obvious that an understanding of the brain – the organ of learning – would be critical to a teacher’s readiness to work with students. Unfortunately, in traditional public, public-charter, private, parochial, and home schools across the country, most teachers lack an understanding of how the brain receives, filters, consolidates, and applies learning for both the short and long term. Neuroteach was therefore written to help solve the problem teachers and school leaders have in knowing how to bring the growing body of educational neuroscience research into the design of their schools, classrooms, and work with each individual student. It is our hope, that Neuroteach will help ensure that one day, every student –regardless of zip code or school type—will learn and develop with the guidance of a teacher who knows the research behind how his or her brain works and learns.
Date(s)/Time(s): Tuesdays 10-11a; 2/7, 2/21, 3/7, 3/21;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Center for Neuroeducation and Embodied Learning (CNEL)
FLO(s): Active Learning Strategies (#2); Learning Ecosystems (#4);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
The Sustainability Mindset Principles: A Guide to Developing a Mindset for a Better World
Educators shape the world. What is our role in the face of climate chaos? Surveys show that 76% of college students premise career choices on environmental considerations. Around 42% said they are likely to pursue a career that actively engages in issues related to climate change. Written for professors and professionals, The Sustainability Mindset Principles: A Guide to Developing a Mindset for a Better World by Isabel Rimanoczy introduces 12 perspectives touching on beliefs, values, assumptions, mental processes, and paradigms that apply across disciplines and transform the learning environment. The broader issues of perception and understanding are undergirded with applications, tools, checklists, tips, and examples that move readers from theoreticians to practitioners. This book was chosen by UCO’s Central Oklahoma Sustainability Collaborative.
Date(s)/Time(s): Mondays 2-3pm; 1/30; 2/27; 3/27; 4/24;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Elizabeth Overman; Mark Walvoord; Ed Cunliff;
FLO(s): Course Design (#1); Active Learning Strategies (#2);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
Communicate for a change: Revitalizing Conversations for Higher Education
For nearly a decade, distinguished scholars Lori Carrell and Robert Zemsky have been having frank conversations with each other—and with colleagues and friends—about the state of higher education. In Communicate for a Change, they bring together nine of their most insightful conversations to explore difficult questions that today’s administrators, trustees, and faculty members too frequently avoid. Grounded in the real, as opposed to the rhetorical, importance of community in making change, these revealing conversations also explore: why the public no longer sees faculty as heroes and experts; how to overcome the academy’s fondness for slogans; how money talks; why curricular change doesn’t (usually) happen; the students we hardly know and how we might come to know them better; how to constructively approach differences of race and gender; and much more.
Date(s)/Time(s): Fridays, 11a-12p; 2/3, 3/24, 4/28;
Location(s): In-Person [Contact Facilitator for Location]
Facilitator(s): Elizabeth Maier;
FLO(s): Academic Professionalism (#5);
Open to Non-UCO: No
Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes
This book outlines practical and feasible applications of theoretical principles to help your online students learn. It includes current best practices around educational technologies, strategies to build community and collaboration, and minor changes you can make in your online teaching practice, small but impactful adjustments that result in significant learning gains. Explains how you can support your online students; Helps your students find success in this non-traditional learning environment; Covers online and blended learning; Addresses specific challenges that online instructors face in higher education. Small Teaching Online presents research-based teaching techniques from an online instructional design expert, Flower Darby and the bestselling author of Small Teaching, James Lang.
Date(s)/Time(s): Wednesdays, 12-1:15pm; 2/8, 2/22, 3/1, 3/8;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Lora Benson Pezzell;
FLO(s): Active Learning Strategies (#2);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
Transformative Learning in Practice: Insights from Community, Workplace, and Higher Education
The leading authorities in the field produced this comprehensive resource, which provides strategies and methods for fostering Transformative Learning (TL) practice in a wide variety of higher and adult education settings. The book answers relevant questions such as: What are effective practices for promoting TL in the classroom? What is it about TL that is most helpful in informing practice? How does the teaching setting shape the practice of TL? What are the successes, strengths, and outcomes of fostering TL? What are the risks and challenges when practicing TL in the classroom?
Date(s)/Time(s): Mondays, 2-3pm; 2/20, 3/6, 3/20, 4/3;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Eric Kyle & Brenton Wimmer;
FLO(s): Course Design (#1); Active Learning Strategies (#2);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
On Being a Mentor: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty
Scholars have long identified mentorship as integral to student persistence and success. Students’ relationships with their primary advisor or mentor contributes to how they perceive the quality of their experience (Woolston, 2017). Positive mentoring relationships also have direct effects on retention and completion for historically marginalized groups, such as racial/ethnic minorities, women, and folks who identify as LGBTQ+, amongst others (Brown II, Davis, & McClendon, 2010). Some of these trends are similar to recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and staff, as well. This book club will explore aspects of mentorship – for students, for junior faculty, and across difference. This book club can be done alone or as a companion to the Culturally-Competent Mentorship Workshop.
Date(s)/Time(s): Fridays, 10am-12pm; 2/24, 3/24, 4/21;
Location(s): In-Person & Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Location & Link]
Facilitator(s): Alyssa Provencio;
FLO(s): Learning Ecosystems (#4);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
GENERAL WORKSHOPS – Click Here to Register!
The fine print: To be eligible for 21CPI Recognitions, learning artifacts must be submitted to the facilitator and must show evidence of meeting a Faculty Learning Outcome (FLO). Review the 21CPI homepage for more details.
STLR Community of Practice
STLR-trained faculty/staff come together to discuss current or past STLR assignments/activities to provide ideas for other colleagues; discuss a-ha moments from implementing; share student success stories; discuss challenges; share and discuss their critical reflection prompts with colleagues.
Date(s)/Time(s): Thursdays, 12:30-1:30p; 2/2, 3/2, 4/6;
Location(s): In Person (capped at 12 participants) & Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Location/Link]
Facilitator(s): STLR Staff
FLO(s): Course Design (#1); Learning Assessment (#3);
Open to Non-UCO: No
[Image Source: https://www.nomensa.com/blog/researching-meaning-making-sense-of-behaviour]
Critical Reflection: How to Create Embodied Prompts that Help Students Move from Basic Summaries Towards Deeper Internalization and Transformation (Beginner Level)
By the end of the session, participants will be able to summarize what critical reflection is and what it can do for students; analyze and compare disembodied prompts often used in higher education with reworked embodied prompts through case scenario activities with examples; and work on creating or adapting your own reflection prompts by discussing with colleagues during the session. Content includes an introduction to other reflection models and critical reflection, including these resources: Basic Guidelines for Creating Integrative and Embodied Reflection Prompts handout (Peet & Farrell Kilbourne, 2017) and sample reflection prompts for STLR tenets. Participants should bring to the workshop a learning activity of their own they would like to adapt, modify, or add critical reflection prompts. Note: This is the same workshop offered by the STLR Team in the past.
Date(s)/Time(s): Friday, 1:30-3:30p, 2/3 [Capped at 12 participants]
Location(s): In-Person [Contact Facilitator for Location]
Facilitator(s): Camille Farrell
FLO(s): Course Design (#1); Learning Assessment (#3);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
[Image Source: https://www.sfcollege.edu/sotl/]
Peer Writing and Research Workshop
These workshops are open to ALL faculty at UCO who are working on a research project of some kind or who are writing a grant. This means SoTL, TL, general research on classroom management or design, IRB writing, and grant writing for helping with any of the above concepts. In these workshops, you can: Bounce your ideas off of other members of the group; Ask questions about your research questions; Get help figuring out the IRB process or how to make requested changes; Discuss speed bumps in your work.
Date(s)/Time(s): Fridays, 11:30-12:30 p.m., 2/3, 3/3, 4/7, 5/5;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Laura Dumin;
FLO(s): Academic Professionalism (#5);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
[Image Source: https://www.traliant.com/courses/cultural-competency-training/]
Culturally-Competent Mentorship
Scholars have long identified mentorship as integral to student persistence and success. Students’ relationships with their primary advisor or mentor contributes to how they perceive the quality of their experience (Woolston, 2017). Positive mentoring relationships also have direct effects on retention and completion for historically marginalized groups, such as racial/ethnic minorities, women, and folks who identify as LGBTQ+, amongst others (Brown II, Davis, & McClendon, 2010). This workshop, a culmination of a year-long project on mentoring for graduate students of color, is intended for anyone who wants to improve their mentorship skills (for undergraduate or graduates, or even junior faculty or staff). We will discuss the importance of culturally competent mentorship, offer strategies to enhance student success, and provide a brave space to discuss challenges and obstacles.
Date(s)/Time(s): Friday, 10a-12p; 3/10; [Registration Cap at 20 participants]
Location(s): In-Person [Contact Facilitator for Location]
Facilitator(s): Alyssa Provencio;
FLO(s): Learning Ecosystems (#4);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
[Image Source: https://neaedjustice.org/supporting-lgbtq-youth/]
Successfully Supporting BGLTQ+ Students: An Interactive Student Panel
Participants will gather ideas for improving their interactions with BGLTQ+ students, learn to better offer support and learn what resources to suggest to better help our students learn and thrive.
Date(s)/Time(s): Wednesday, 11:30a-1pm; 2/22;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Suzanne Clinton, Lindsey Churchill, and Abbie Lambert
FLO(s): Learning Ecosystem (#4); Academic Professionalism (#5);
Open to Non-UCO: No
[Image Source: https://blog.brain-friendly.com/]
Brain Friendly from the Get Go
Our brains do an amazing job of balancing comfort patterns and attending to the unique and different. Think of primitive humans finding patterns in the night skies while also listening for the prowling saber toothed tiger. The alert system directs energy to threats. When threats are present, we are not able to learn. For students, fears and anxieties are often present during the first few class sessions specifically. Concerns about their capability as a student, the difficulty of a class, the social identities of those around them all can create anxiety in a student. The impact of COVID continues to create uncertainty and worry within higher education as well. Our team will present some key neuroscience elements we can to help holistically set the classroom climate early on in order to create positive learning environment.
Date(s)/Time(s): POSTPONED: TBD;
Location(s): In-Person [Contact Facilitator for Location]
Facilitator(s): Trevor Cox; Kristen Gregory; Ed Cunliff;
FLO(s): Learning Ecosystems (#4);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
[Image Source: https://www.engadget.com/openai-chatgpt-professional-paid-chatbot-143004442.html]
Have humans become obsolete?!: A ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence (AI) Panel Discussion:
Have humans become obsolete?! From explaining complex concepts to generating new art, articles, computer code, and much more, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence software with powerful uses. Come and learn more about these emerging AI technologies and discuss some of its implications for teaching, learning, and policy-making in Higher Education. The same workshop will be offered on two different dates and times.
Date(s)/Time(s): Tuesday, March 21, 12:30-2p; Wednesday, March 22, 9:30-11a;
Location(s): Hybrid [Register today to receive more info]
Facilitator(s): Lora Benson Pezzell; Laura Dumin; Eric Eitrheim; John Gillmore; Amanda Keesee; Eric Kyle; Kaitlin Logan Wimmer; Cole Stanley;
FLO(s): Learning Ecosystem (#4); Course Design (#1);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
Online Teaching Strategies, Best Practices, Challenges and Success Stories: An Interactive Workshop
Participants will gather ideas for improving their online teaching practices, discuss engagement strategies, discover online classroom management techniques, and share their own challenges and successes.
Date(s)/Time(s): Tuesday, 2-3:30p; 4/4;
Location(s): Virtual [Contact Facilitator for Link]
Facilitator(s): Suzanne Clinton, Abbie Lambert and Melody Edwards
FLO(s): Course Design (#1);
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
[Image Source: https://www.clipartmax.com/middle/m2i8H7i8b1d3G6Z5_community-learning-connections-community-circle/]
Community Connection Circle: Strategies for Building Inclusive Communities
21CPI and Inclusive Community invite faculty and staff to participate in a Community Connection Circle. A Community Connection Circle is a type of restorative approach that works to build community, especially when there is a divide. It allows members of a community to visualize a more unified future, to practice empathy, and build understanding. This circle will include faculty and staff. The aim is to understand each other’s ideas of what an inclusive community at UCO might look like and/or how we get there. This will also allow these two factions of UCO to better understand each other and realize we share similar goals. Additionally, by participating in this circle faculty and staff will learn what a Community Connection Circle is and how they might implement one in their classroom and/or department to build more effective and trusting communities among their students and colleagues. Using a Community Connection Circle especially comes in handy when a topic needing discussed is potentially polarizing as the Circle reduces the likelihood of personal attacks and interruptions while requiring active listening to understand.
Date(s)/Time(s): Friday, 10-11am; 4/7; [Registration is capped at 15 participants]
Location(s): In Person [Contact Facilitator for Location]; CTL Building, TBD;
Facilitator(s): Cristi Moore; Eric Kyle;
FLO(s): Learning Ecosystem (#4);
Open to Non-UCO: No
Please Register via for this event via the following link: https://uco.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eXJmfd8slzs6K0e
THE GREAT UPHEAVAL BOOK GROUPS – Click Here to Register!
Supported by the Office of the President, UCO will host campus-wide reading and discussion groups for the book, The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future, by Drs. Arthur Levine and Scott Van Pelt. Staff and faculty will meet over several sessions to discuss portions of this text in preparation for Dr. Levine’s on-campus visit on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. We are expecting as many as 150 people to participate in this initiative and we’ll be forming small groups of 4-8 participants. These groups will begin as early as September and end as late as just before Dr. Levine’s visit in March. Groups will typically meet for 4 sessions.
The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future
In The Great Upheaval, Arthur Levine and Scott Van Pelt examine higher and postsecondary education to see how it has changed to become what it is today—and how it might be refitted for an uncertain future. Taking a unique historical, cross-industry perspective, Levine and Van Pelt perform a 360-degree survey of American higher education. The book is neither an attempt to advocate for a particular future direction nor a warning about that future. Rather, it looks objectively at the contexts in which higher education has operated—and will continue to operate. It also seeks to identify likely developments that will aid those involved in steering higher education forward, as well as the many millions of Americans who have a stake in its future.
If you would like to register for one of these groups, please complete the Great Upheaval Registration Form.
Date(s)/Time(s): There are several opportunities – click on the registration link to sign-up for the group that works best for you
Location(s): Several
Facilitator(s): Several
FLO(s): Academic Professionalism (#5);
Open to Non-UCO: No
STLR TRAINING
Login to the Learning Center at https://learningcenter.uco.edu, search for “STLR” then register for the session
STLR: Module 1, Tagging & Assessing Activities (Faculty/Staff)
Thursday, January 12, 2023, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM; Friday, February 10, 2023, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM; Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM;
Open to Non-UCO: No
STLR: Module 2, Tagging & Assessing Activities (Faculty/Staff) [prerequisite is Module 1]
Thursday, January 12, 2023, 1:30 PM-3:30 PM; Friday, February 10, 2023,2:00 PM-4:00 PM; Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM;
Open to Non-UCO: No
STLR: Refresher Session (Faculty/Staff) [prerequisite is Module 2]
Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 1:00 PM-2:30 PM; Friday, February 24, 2023, 9:00 AM-10:30 AM; Thursday, April 13, 2023, 3:00 PM-4:30 PM;
Open to Non-UCO: No
13th Annual Transformative Learning Conference
March 30-31, 2023, Reed Conference Center in Midwest City, OK, USA
2023 Featured Speakers
Dr. Peter Doolittle of Virginia Tech
Dr. Christine Harrington of New Jersey City University
About the Conference
The Transformative Learning (TL) Conference, hosted by the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), focuses on the design, application, and measurement of TL for student learning. One of the most significant conferences on the implementation of TL in higher education, the gathering has become a nexus for practitioner conversations and networking. It melds outstanding presentations, workshops, posters, and discussions about TL in action with a good time in Oklahoma. Annual post-conference surveys consistently refer to the sense of community at the conference as one of its greatest strengths.
For more information and to register, visit: https://cvent.me/Ok4eEg
2023 ANNUAL COLLEGIUM
Wednesday, August 16, 2023, 8:30am – 3:00pm
UCO Liberal Arts Building
This 23rd Annual Collegium will feature a thoughtful keynote, dynamic breakout sessions, celebratory teaching awards, a satisfying lunch, an engaging afternoon workshop, cool prizes, and much, much more! Let us join as a community for a wonderful day of focusing on the craft of teaching and learning as we work together to improve the quality of education on our campus.
For more information, visit the Collegium site. This site will be updated throughout the spring as more information becomes available.
Open to Non-UCO: Yes
Qedex – On Demand Faculty Development – Register Here
UCO’s Center for Excellence in Transformative Teaching & Learning will be offering 140 licenses for online, professional faculty development modules offered through QEDEX, https://www.qedex.org for 21CPI credit. Explore the myriad options, find something that interests you, and sign up for one of these limited licenses! For more information, and to request a license, please visit: https://blogs.uco.edu/tts/qedex-on-demand-learning/
Open to Non-UCO: No
Additional Faculty Development Opportunities
We regularly receive information about other faculty development opportunities that our UCO community might be interested in. Some of these are facilitated by other UCO departments while others are hosted by colleagues from other organizations. Between our own programs and these additional ones, we hope that you will find ample opportunities to support your growth as a professional educator.
To find the latest offerings, please visit the following site: https://blogs.uco.edu/tts/additional-opportunities/
As a unit of the Unversity of Central Oklahoma, we acknowledge the tribal lands on which we are guests. Read UCO’s Land Acknowledgement here: https://www.uco.edu/offices/people-culture/inclusive-community/uco-land-acknowledgement