Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning

Tag: Credential

Workshop: (Re)Designing Syllabi for Inclusive Classrooms that Support Learners & Instructors

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

Are you ready to align your courses with university commitments to inclusive teaching? Or are you developing a new course or submitting an existing one for the new university-wide tags (like Mason Core)? In this workshop, we will work to advance our understanding of inclusive course design and how to improve syllabi to be more inclusive for everyone in the space (including instructors!). During the session, we will have specific discussion time to focus on connecting these ideas with your course and your discipline. At the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a greater understanding of the potential considerations for designing and redesigning inclusive course syllabi and aligning with broader institutional initiatives and expectations.

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Canceled: Mini Course: Syllabus Design

January 8 – January 18

Asynchronous| Register Here | Facilitators: Crystal Anderson and Laina Lockett

Do you want your syllabus to promote student success and engagement? Do you want to make your goals and assignments clear and relevant for students? In this self-paced, 10-hour asynchronous mini course, you will learn how to create a syllabus that aligns your learning goals with your assignments, organizes course content to maximize student learning and makes use of SyllaBright, George Mason’s course design assistant.

Registered participants will be added to the course January 8-12. The registration deadline for the course Monday, January 12 at 8:00 a.m.

Upon completion of the course, participants will earn the Level 2 Credential for Teaching Competencies as part of the Continuing Professional Development program.

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Workshop: Solving the Puzzle: Engaging Non-Majors in Mason Core Courses

Register here | Facilitator: Laura Poms (Mason Core)

How could teaching a Mason Core course possibly be any different from teaching a major course? There are an array of reasons, resulting in some interesting instructional challenges. By definition, the majority of students in Mason Core courses are non-majors. What does this mean for student engagement, course content coverage, scaffolding, assignment design and even student support? This workshop focuses on the differences between teaching a major course and one with the broader learning outcomes associated with a Mason Core course. Whether this is your first time teaching a Mason Core course or you are a seasoned veteran, this workshop will help you develop new strategies for increasing student engagement and success while better managing the additional workload that often comes with teaching a general education course. By completing this workshop in addition to other faculty development programming from the Stearns Center, you can earn the Level 1: Certified Mason Core Instructor Certification.

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Accelerated AIEM-Teach Level 2: Part 2

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

These sessions have been canceled. 

Would you like to earn the AIEM – Teach Level 2 credential?  Is it difficult to find time in your schedule and keep track of different workshops?  Consider joining this accelerated session, where participants engage with the full suite to earn the level 2 credential in a shortened timeframe.  Come build community and earn a recognized teaching professional development credential! Filling out this form registers you for attending both days.

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Accelerated AIEM-Teach Level 2: Part 1

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

These sessions have been canceled. 

Would you like to earn the AIEM – Teach Level 2 credential?  Is it difficult to find time in your schedule and keep track of different workshops?  Consider joining this accelerated session, where participants engage with the full suite to earn the level 2 credential in a shortened timeframe.  Come build community and earn a recognized teaching professional development credential! Filling out this form registers you for attending both days.

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Workshop: Supporting Student Learning through Self-Awareness and Reflection to Navigate a Complex, Global Society

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

Are you interested in incorporating techniques to help students develop their own self-awareness and navigate a complex, global society in your field, discipline, and course?  Or are you (re-)developing a course for one of the new Mason Core designations of Just Societies or Global Contexts?  This workshop is designed to support your teaching around helping students develop their self-awareness, particularly related to your discipline.  This workshop includes the concepts of positionality and intersectionality broadly, but particularly for the new Core areas. At the end of the workshop, we will have explored the concepts and applied them to potential activities and assignments in our courses. 

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Workshop: Feel Better, Teach Better:  Strategies for Supporting Faculty Mental Health

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

Teaching is difficult and often an isolating experience.  There are many mental health issues in academia, particularly related to the situation and the work.  Yet, only student mental health is well studied and discussed.  In this workshop, we explore faculty mental health, strategies for improving the environment, and address barriers to addressing concerns.  Please note that this is not a self-help or “yoga your way out of stress” workshop and does have discussions of mental health issues and self-harm.  While university resources are shared, this is an academic and professional development workshop, not medical or mental health advice.  Join us to create community and talk about one of the most prevalent, but under-discussed, issues in academia!

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Workshop: Surviving to Thriving: Incorporating Trauma-Informed Instructional Practices

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

This workshop has been postponed.

Whether individual or collective, trauma can have a significant impact on lives and how students (and instructors) show up and are able to engage in the classroom.  In this workshop, we will explore the concept of trauma and how it applies to the classroom, recognize a few common trauma responses, investigate several educational best practices, expand our thinking with resilient pedagogy, and begin to apply these concepts to our own teaching.  Together we will move beyond minimum legal requirements or accommodations to design and implement evidence-based instructional strategies in university education. 

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Workshop: Helping Students Learn in Difficult Classroom Conversations and Situations

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

This event has been postponed; please check back for a future offering.

Are you ready to take your next steps in engaging successfully in difficult classroom conversations and situations?  In this leveled-up workshop, we will explore the elements of free speech in an educational context, investigate types of disruptions and situationally appropriate teaching responses, and analyze scenarios with colleagues. This workshop is applicable to instructors across all disciplines for facilitating important conversations, whether or not their designed course topics include socially pressing issues (like race, gender, religion, politics).  Please note, this is the third in a four-part workshop series on important conversations. Participants are encouraged – but not required – to engage with parts 1 and 2 before joining this session. 

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.

Workshop: How to Handle Difficult Classroom Discussions and Situations in the Moment

Register here | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

Are you prepared to handle difficult discussions and charged situations in the classroom in the moment? Do you usually think of things later that you wish you would have said or done?  In this workshop, we will prepare and practice how to handle important and potentially tense classroom conversations in the moment.  Our focus will be on how to support everyone in the classroom – including yourself – during tense times.  We will discuss and practice several teaching approaches.  This workshop is applicable to instructors across all disciplines for facilitating important conversations, whether or not their designed course topics include socially pressing issues (like race, gender, religion, politics).  Please note, this is the second in a two-part workshop series on important conversations.  However, participants are welcome and encouraged to attend this session even if they were not able to attend part one. 

*Adding to your calendar will not register you for the event; please register using the link above.