Open discussions of current issues in teaching.

The Teaching Roundtables series started in 2022 as a forum for faculty and staff to share opportunities, challenges, and ideas around teaching.  Sessions are informal, interactive, and varied in perspective.  Please feel free to join in!  If you'd like to suggest a topic, or offer to host a session, please contact Lara Pacifici or George Hess.

Making your Digital Course Materials ADA Compliant

Rebecca Sitton (NCSU Digital Accessibility Coordinator)

Sarah Corica, Tamara Pandolfo, Alexis Lee (and more, we think)

Monday 9 March 3:00-4:15P in 1214 Jordan Addition

Rebecca Sitton leads the University's effort to ensure compliance with the latest requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  After a few brief opening remarks from Rebecca, she will be joined by several others with a variety of expertise to help you move forward - your courses, your needs, hands on!  Bring your laptop and be ready to go!!

To help make the roundtable as productive as possible, please complete this short Google form by W 03.04. 

Using Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

Kristy Borda (Research Librarian) & Kerri Brown Parker (Assistant Director of Instructional Technology & Training)

M 09.29 3:00-4:15P   1214 Jordan Hall Addition

Kristi Borda and Kerri Brown Parker have their finger on the pulse of AI advances, which seem to be moving at light speed.  They will share resources available through the university, DELTA, and library, and discuss the capabilities, drawbacks, and restrictions of each. They will also help us update or create classroom activities or assignments that harness opportunities presented by AI while navigating associated challenges.  

To help make the roundtable as productive as possible, please complete this Google form by M 09.22.

Supporting handout at http://go.ncsu.edu/AI-Roundtable-Forestry

Incorporating Media into Activities & Assignments

Colin Nickels, Lead Librarian for Experiential Learning Services, NC State Libraries

M 09.09 3-4:15P   1214 Jordan Addition

Incorporating digital media, making, gaming or virtual reality into assignments can help our students' work reach an audience beyond the classroom, build media literacy and critical thinking skills, and help develop practical skills.  It can also become a barrier to learning, instilling worry about technical aspects of creating that inhibit students' research and analysis.  We will discuss the opportunities and challenges of assignments with these components, how to consider the impact - both on the student's and instructor's time and on the possibility of wider distribution - of the assignment, and what resources - from the libraries and elsewhere - can help make the assignments successful.

Internal Funding for Teaching and Learning Innovations 

Th 05.02 12:30 - 1:45   1214 Jordan Addition

Do you have ideas to up your teaching game, but could use help finding funding or developing a proposal?  We'll hear from colleagues who received funding from DELTA, Office of Faculty Excellence, Office of Undergraduate Research, and the Sustainability Office to support innovative efforts in the classroom.  We will also have time to work in small groups to begin development of ideas you have for future projects.

Link to Resources

Creative Uses of Artifical Intelligence in Teaching & Mentoring

Roy Schwartzman & Kirsti Cole, NCSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences

Th   11.02 08:30-09:45   1214 Jordan Addition

With coffee, juice, bagels, and fruit

When we proposed this topic, Erin Sills reminded us about Wikipedia.  Remember when Wikipedia arrived on the scene?  Remember how we went from worrying about cheating and banning its use to teaching students how to write Wikipedia entries and use the platform to get started on a new topic?  The same thing seems to be happening with artificial intelligence (AI) platforms.  In this Roundtable, we're going to leapfrog the cheating discussion and focus on how we can use AI in positive ways in our classrooms and when mentoring graduate students.  For example, last semester one team of students in my class used AI to explore the kinds of questions they might ask with the data they were collecting, and the kinds of questions they __should__ ask about water quality in a local stream. 

Link to Slide Deck

Motivating Engagement & Success

Laura Garey & Kaly Wall

W 04.26  09:30-10:45A   1214 Jordan Addition

What can motivate a student to be engaged and successful in and out of the classroom? We'll discuss general themes around motivation and how to build in assignments and topics that can increase students' motivation. 

Link to Resources

Grappling with Group Work

Megan Lupek

Tu 03.21 11:45A-1:00P    1214 Jordan Addition

We'll talk about different options for forming and assessing teams for group projects, including factors that can set students up for success. Participants will have the opportunity to share what has worked well for them in their own classrooms. 

Link to Resources

Citizen Science in the Classroom

Caren Cooper, Zakiya Leggett, & Porche' Spence (NC A&T)

F 10.14    09:30-11:00A    3214 Jordan Hall Addition

During this teaching roundtable, we’ll share resources and tips for leveraging citizen science projects into course assignments to meet a wide variety of learning objectives. We’ll also discuss opportunities for collaborative assessment of student experiences and share details about other ways to participate in our Citizen Science Campus activities.

Revisiting Late Policies, Zeros, & (Un)Grading

George Hess & Jason Delborne

Tu 12.06    01:30-3:00P    3214 Jordan Hall Addition

During today's teaching roundtable, we'll share thoughts about alternatives to strict late policies (e.g., getting work done in a timely manner), the arithmetic effect of zeros on grades (is a 5/10 more reasonable?), and approaches to grading that include student reflection, self-evaluation, and negotiation.

Link to resources