Teaching Underprepared Students and The Hidden Curriculum

By Tiffany Kolba (Math & Stats), Jenna Van Sickle (Lilly Fellows), Jesse Sestito (ME), & Lauren Sestito (ME) This academic year, fifteen Valpo faculty and staff members met biweekly for a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on “Teaching Underprepared Students and The Hidden Curriculum.” During the fall semester, we focused on reading two books: Teaching Unprepared […]

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What Faculty Learning Communities Can Do for You

By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Some of your faculty colleagues have been meeting regularly this year to explore a teaching topic that interests them and then making positive changes in their classrooms. That is what our Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) do. In the following article, Abbie Thompson (Psychology) talks about what she […]

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Take the Pain Out of Testing

By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Everyone hates tests. For students, test anxiety has long been on the rise. Faculty dread both writing exams and the tedium of grading them. Three of your VU colleagues have found a way to take some of the pain out of testing. Musa Pinar (Business) draws on […]

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Self-Care for You and Your Students

By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL The second half of fall semester is bound to be a stressful time both for you and your students. For students, major assignments start to pile up and they begin to feel that they can’t stay on top of things. For faculty, keeping up with grading becomes […]

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Using Starfish to Help your Students Succeed

By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL Starfish is one of Valpo’s primary retention tools. Used properly, it lets both students and advisors know early on when a student is struggling in your class. Yet many faculty don’t use Starfish at all or don’t take full advantage of its features. In this article, student […]

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Simplify Your Grading with Blackboard

By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL   Are you using Blackboard Grade Center to its full capacity? If not, you may be missing out on ways to simplify your grading. In this article, some of your VU colleagues share their favorite features of Blackboard Grade Center .  Dan Maguire (ECE) talks about using […]

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