CTL & ASSETT Newsletter - March 2025

"When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization."听

鈥 Pat Wadors

鉁 Mid-Semester Check-In:听

Resources, Feedback & Support for Success

Newsletter March

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The CTL/ASSETT staff are here to support all campus educators through听free consultations, online teaching resources, workshops, and other programs! We invite you to email our team with any questions related to teaching or to learn more at CTL@colorado.edu.

馃帀 Celebrate 5 Years of CTL 鈥 Share Your Experience! 馃帀

As CTL approaches its 5-year anniversary, we鈥檇 love to feature testimonials from past participants like you in our annual report and other communications. If CTL consultations, workshops, or events have made a difference for you, please consider sharing your experience through our .

Thank you for being part of our community!

馃挰 Using Student Feedback to Strengthen Teaching听

Turning Feedback Into Action: Small Changes, Big Impact

Student feedback shouldn鈥檛 wait until end-of-semester evaluations. Getting input earlier can help you make changes while it still counts. Here鈥檚 how:听

  • Quick Surveys: Use Canvas to send out short surveys about what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not. It鈥檚 easy and anonymous. .
  • Class Check-Ins: Try exit tickets or short reflections at the end of class to see what stuck and what didn鈥檛. Click here to find out more
  • Mid-Semester Surveys: Go a bit deeper halfway through the semester and show students you鈥檙e listening by making adjustments where you can. Click here for more tips.
  • Informal Chats: Sometimes just asking students during class can spark helpful insights.听

Need Tools? Check out our听Reflection Resources for templates and ideas. Or set up a听consultation听to talk through a feedback plan that fits your class.听

馃挕听Building a Culture of Support: Student, Faculty & Staff Resources

Mid-semester is a crucial time to ensure that students, faculty, and staff have access to the resources they need to succeed.听Supporting students doesn鈥檛 have to be overwhelming鈥攆aculty and staff should know that they鈥檙e not alone.听CU 麻豆影院 offers a wide range of resources to help students thrive while allowing faculty and staff to maintain their balance. In this edition, we鈥檝e compiled a list of key campus resources to connect students with the support they need while also highlighting services available to faculty and staff. Whether you're looking for tutoring options, tech support, or faculty-and-staff-focused programs, these resources are here to help you navigate the rest of the semester with confidence.

Student Support:
Faculty & Staff Support:

馃摎听Recommended Readings of the Month:听

听by R. N. Sherwood, Gwen D. , Ph. D., Sara Horton-Deutsch听

This volume explores how reflection fosters critical questioning to enhance quality and safety in learning. With a learner-centered focus, it offers adaptable exercises for group work and individual reflection, supporting mentorship and professional growth.

听by Harriet L. Schwartz听

Harriet Schwartz argues that the role of teachers and administrators is as important as ever and is evolving profoundly. She stresses that the relationships faculty and staff have with individual students and with classes and cohorts are the essential driver of teaching and learning.

by Richard Kadison & Theresa Foy DiGeronimo听

College of the Overwhelmed explores the mental health crisis on college campuses, offering insights, student stories, and practical strategies for managing stress. It examines common stressors like identity, relationships, academics, and cultural challenges while identifying warning signs of issues such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

馃専 Buff Spotlight: Students as Partners鈥擱edefining Teaching & Learning

Students as partners

At CU 麻豆影院,听Students as Partners is more than a concept鈥攊t鈥檚 a transformative approach that redefines the traditional roles of faculty and students. By creating collaborative partnerships, this initiative empowers students to co-create learning experiences, shaping curricula, assessment strategies, and classroom practices.听Over the past three semesters, ASSETT has embraced this framework through the听Students as Pedagogical Partners program, where students work alongside faculty to enhance teaching and learning for the College of Arts & Sciences. This semester, ASSETT officially launched the听Students as Pedagogical Partners program, campus-wide, bringing together faculty-student pairs to explore curricular design, assessment strategies, and project-based learning.

Leading this initiative are听Jacie Moriyama, 础厂厂贰罢罢鈥檚 Student Services Manager,听Rachana Bhave, Equitable Assessment Specialist,听and听Rebecca Lee, Student Initiatives Coordinator, who are dedicated to strengthening student-faculty collaboration and ensuring the program鈥檚 success. Through their leadership, ASSETT & the CTL continues to elevate student voices in meaningful, equitable, and innovative ways.听By challenging traditional hierarchies and building reciprocal learning experiences,听Students as Partners is creating a more inclusive and dynamic educational experience at CU 麻豆影院. Learn more about this concept by attending the Students as Partners Showcase on Friday, April 4, 3:30-5:00 pm in CASE E-390!听听

馃搮 What鈥檚 Ahead: Events & Announcements:

  • Friday, March 7, 2025 CU 麻豆影院鈥檚听Data Science & Humanities Symposium featuring speakers听,听,听,听and听.听Click here for more details!
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  • There鈥檚 still time to request 础厂厂贰罢罢鈥檚 Visualizing Instructional Practices (VIP) classroom observation service! Visit the听VIP website to learn more or email听sarah.andrews-1@colorado.edu to schedule your consultation by听Tuesday, March 11th for spring 2025 observations!
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  • Nominate a faculty member for 础厂厂贰罢罢鈥檚 Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award听-听Each year, ASSETT recognizes a faculty member, of any rank, who has a record of excellence in teaching with technology, as well as demonstrated commitment and leadership in furthering ASSETT's mission of advancing teaching and learning within CU's College of Arts & Sciences.听 To nominate an individual, please fill out the online form no later than 11:59 pm on April 4, 2025. Peers and students are encouraged to submit nominations; nominations of early-career faculty members are especially welcome.
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  • Need help building your website, portfolio, blog, or digital project? The听BuffsCreate team is here to support you! Book an appointment for one-on-one guidance鈥攃hoose in-person or online. BuffsCreate.net is your space to experiment, learn, and showcase your work. The only limit is your imagination!听.
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  • 础厂厂贰罢罢鈥檚 Educational Technology Research Assistants听are excited to announce the launch of a survey听to understand CU 麻豆影院 undergraduates鈥 perspectives on and use of听generative AI!听Please encourage students in your class to take the survey by sharing this flier听with your classes. We are also seeking partnerships with instructors who are willing to offer extra credit听to their students听for taking the survey. 听Reach out to the research team at etra@colorado.edu if you are willing to partner with us! 听
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  • We invite you to join us for our听Lecturers Mixer听on听Wednesday, March 5听from听4:00-5:00 p.m. for the Lecturer's Mixer. Enjoy light refreshments, mingle with colleagues, and meet with our staff.听Our goal is to hear from you about your experiences as lecturers and adjuncts on our campus. What have you found meaningful and/or challenging? What kinds of resources and opportunities would be useful for you?

  • Please join us for our new series on Pedagogical Conversations on March 12 &13 from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm. Join our community of practice and engage in conversations about faculty well-being and resilience. Our theme for this month will be mindfulness. Kristina Eklund from the CALM Center and Annie Margaret, PhD, from the ATLAS Institute, who will share valuable meditation practices and resources to support your well-being and resilience. Lunch will be provided!
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  • As we transition from the shorter days of winter to longer days in the spring, it is important for us to take pause, reflect, and reset. Let鈥檚 take this opportunity to celebrate the hard work all of you have put into this semester! Join us on for the Spring Break Send-Off on March 19 from 3:00 pm-5:00 pm. We鈥檒l provide refreshments, raffle prizes, and opportunities to connect with your peers.
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  • Attend the CAAAS Graduate Fellows Keynote with Rachel Harding 鈥 Join the University Libraries and CAAAS for a special keynote with Rachel Elizabeth Harding, a poet, historian, and scholar of Afro-Atlantic diaspora religions. Dr. Harding, associate professor emeritus and former chair of Ethnic Studies at CU Denver, will explore the connections between history, spirituality, and social justice. Monday, March 10, 12:00 鈥 2:00 p.m., Norlin Library, Room M549. Registration required鈥攕ign up .
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  • Join the Office of Academic and Learning Innovation for 麻豆影院Talks on Thursday, March 20, featuring two sessions on AI and education. From 4鈥5 PM, Dr. Tawnya Means will explore how generative AI enhances creativity, streamlines workflows, and drives innovation. From 1:30鈥2:30 PM, a faculty workshop will provide hands-on strategies for using AI to boost student engagement and learning outcomes (limited to 50 participants鈥擱SVP required!). Free and open to the public. Register here.

Join Us for Other Upcoming Events!

Fri, Mar 7, 12:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m., Data Science & Humanities听Daytime Symposium - Open to CU 麻豆影院 Only

Fri, Mar 7, 5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m., Data Science & Humanities Evening Symposium - Open to Public

- lunch provided by Illegal Pete鈥檚 Taco Bar

- lunch provided by Illegal Pete鈥檚 Taco Bar

- lunch provided by Ali Baba Grill 麻豆影院

- lunch provided by Illegal Pete鈥檚 Taco Bar

馃帗 InspirED鉁忥笍馃摎 Finding Motivation in Mid-Semester Moments

At this point in the semester, it鈥檚 easy to focus on what鈥檚 left to do鈥攂ut don鈥檛 forget to recognize the progress you and your students have made. Take a moment to reflect on a class discussion that sparked great engagement, a student who showed improvement, or a lesson that went especially well. Consider sharing these moments with colleagues or jotting them down as a reminder of your impact. Finding small wins can reenergize your teaching and keep you motivated through the rest of the semester.

Learn More 麻豆影院鈥

听听Programs & Services

听听Consultations & Classroom Observations

听听Teaching Resources

听听Upcoming Events

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Forward this newsletter to someone you think might be interested in signing up. Our newsletter is published monthly during the academic year and includes timely teaching strategies and resources, updates, and upcoming events of interest to the campus teaching community.听