Events

Route

Hello everyone,
This message is from Mike Lancina, the new director-in-waiting of the CTL. If you're like me one of the few benefits of the abrupt switch to online classes last semester was the opportunity to decompress between classes with a walk around the block. On these first few warm days after the long Detroit winter, I find these walks especially rejuvenating. With this and the forecast in mind, we at the CTL would like to invite all available faculty to join us for a walk around campus Tuesday, March 9, 2021, between 12 and 12:30.

The proposed route will start on the quad in front of the Engineering Dean's office where light prepackaged snacks will be available for pickup. We will proceed to the 10-mile bike path and take it past the athletic fields to the newly completed bike path and bridge along Northwestern Hwy, which we will take back to campus. At a moderate pace this circuit should take about 15-20 minutes, but if you don't have quite that much time feel free to still say hi, grab a snack, and do a shorter route. A map of the route is attached below.

Please remember to wear your mask and maintain social distancing on the path.

I hope to see you Tuesday!    

Thank you,

Mike Lancina, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Valentina Tobos, Acting CTL Director

Authentic Presence: A Key Element of Resilience

Dr. Suzanne Cleere

When: Friday, February 26, 2021

Time: 4:00 PM; arrive a few minutes early to meet the presenter

Presenter: Dr. Suzanne Cleere, DNP, MSBA, RN, Caritas Coach, Assistant Professor of Nursing, College of Arts and Sciences

This session will explore the components of authentic presence, of mindfulness and attuning in building relationships and resilience in self and others. Caring theories will provide the foundation for the discussion. If you are not able to join, access to recordings will be available through Canvas, following the date of the presentation. 

 These sessions are sponsored by Lawrence Tech's Dean of Students office, in consultation with the office of the Provost, the Faculty Senate and the CTL advisory board. 

Mindfulness

When: Tuesday, December 8

Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m. ET

Presenter: Laurie Andries

Resilience, leading balanced and successful lives, mindfulness; during this series of webinars, you are invited to participate in presentations tailored to Lawrence Tech faculty and offered by experts at Morneau Shepell consulting and technology company.  The organization "has deep, broad, and long-standing expertise in workplace mental health. They have the largest clinical network to support employees, their families, and their organizations in North America." If you are not able to join, access to recordings will be available through Canvas, following the date of the presentation.

 These sessions are sponsored by Lawrence Tech's Dean of Students office, in consultation with the office of the Provost, the Faculty Senate and the CTL advisory board. 

Through the Looking Glass: Thriving in the New Normal

When: Tuesday, December 1 

Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m. ET

Presenter: Chris Walchuk

Resilience, leading balanced and successful lives, mindfulness; during this series of webinars, you are invited to participate in presentations tailored to Lawrence Tech faculty and offered by experts at Morneau Shepell consulting and technology company.  The organization "has deep, broad, and long-standing expertise in workplace mental health. They have the largest clinical network to support employees, their families, and their organizations in North America." If you are not able to join, access to recordings will be available through Canvas, following the date of the presentation. 

 These sessions are sponsored by Lawrence Tech's Dean of Students office, in consultation with the office of the Provost, the Faculty Senate and the CTL advisory board. 

Balance and Burnout: Unplugging during challenging times

When: Tuesday November 17

Time: 11:30–12:30 p.m. ET

Presenter: Ralf Shirg

Resilience, leading balanced and successful lives, mindfulness; during this series of webinars, you are invited to participate in presentations tailored to Lawrence Tech faculty and offered by experts at Morneau Shepell consulting and technology company.  The organization "has deep, broad, and long-standing expertise in workplace mental health. They have the largest clinical network to support employees, their families, and their organizations in North America." If you are not able to join, access to recordings will be available through Canvas, following the date of the presentation. 

 These sessions are sponsored by Lawrence Tech's Dean of Students office, in consultation with the office of the Provost, the Faculty Senate and the CTL advisory board. 

Meet Dr. Caryn Reed-Hendon, the director of the newly created Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office at Lawrence Technological University

When: Friday, November 13

Time: 1:30 p.m. EST

Where: Zoom meeting

Register: vtobos@ltu.edu

Dr. Reed-Hendon will share with us her action plan. Join with questions, share ideas.

Building Resilience in Uncertain Times (COVID-19)

Date: Tuesday November 10

Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m. ET

Presenter: Chris Walchuk

Resilience, leading balanced and successful lives, mindfulness; during this series of webinars, you are invited to participate in presentations tailored to Lawrence Tech faculty and offered by experts at Morneau Shepell consulting and technology company.  The organization "has deep, broad, and long-standing expertise in workplace mental health. They have the largest clinical network to support employees, their families, and their organizations in North America." If you are not able to join, access to recordings will be available through Canvas, following the date of the presentation. 

 These sessions are sponsored by Lawrence Tech's Dean of Students office, in consultation with the office of the Provost, the Faculty Senate and the CTL advisory board. 

Help! I’m Moving My Course Online!"– Practical Advice for New Online Instructors

When: Thursday, August 13, 2020

Time: 2 p.m. EST; 1 p.m. CST; 12 p.m. MST; 11 a.m. PST

Where: Online

Register: Visit the registration page or email support@magnapubs.com. 

This webinar is free and does not require a coupon code. 

Whether you’re assigned to teach a class online at the last minute or just need to quickly transition to online teaching because of a campus closure or personal situation, there's no need to panic!

Registration for the live version of this seminar closes at 9 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, August 13. Registering after that time will give you access to the on-demand version of the seminar which you will receive within one business day after the live seminar ends.

New Faculty Workshop: Dr. Andrew Geihart, Dr. Lynn Miller-Wietecha, and Dr. Valentina Tobos

When: Thursday, August 13, 2020

Time: 1:30–3 p.m. EST

Where: Virtual Zoom session

Cancelled due to COVID

Cancelled due to COVID

UTLC 429 – Lear Auditorium
1:30–4 p.m.
Snacks and beverages available.

RSVP

The cognitive resources for learning of many of our students have been and are being diminished by the negative effects of persistent economic insecurity and discrimination and hostility against non-majority groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, and other aspects of difference. Recognizing that these students are no different than their peers in terms of cognitive capacity, we can implement strategies and interventions – in and outside the classroom – that show promise in helping students regain the cognitive resources to be successful in college.

Participants will understand that:

• Multitasking isn’t a thing: attentional resources.
• Persistent economic insecurity – scarcity – depletes mental bandwidth.
• There are many other kinds of scarcity – respect, dignity, safety, belonging, etc.
• Psycho-social underminers, including stereotype/identity threat, belongingness uncertainty, microaggressions, vicarious racism, and adverse childhood experiences, result in diminished bandwidth for our students.

We will learn about and practice several interventions designed to help students recover bandwidth, beginning with a strengths perspective about what skills and abilities they are bringing to the table – “funds of knowledge.” The interventions include values affirmation, connecting the known to the unknown, growth mindset and neurobics, and high-hope syllabi.

Participants will:

• Understand that students have “funds of knowledge” and that beginning with those strengths will help them recover bandwidth and increase the likelihood of academic success.
• Understand that there are evidence-based interventions that show promise in helping students regain bandwidth.
• Practice interventions and reflect on them related to their potential use in the classroom and in other settings with students.

Guest Presenter: Cia Verschelden
Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Malcolm X College, City Colleges of Chicago

Cia Verscheldenwas the executive director of Institutional Assessment at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO).  At UCO, she taught in sociology and in the first-year program. At Kansas State University, where she was on the faculty for 21 years, she taught social welfare and social policy, women’s studies, and nonviolence studies. Dr. Verschelden has a B.S. in psychology from Kansas State University, an M.S.W. from the University of Connecticut, and an Ed.D. from Harvard University. She was also involved with the Higher Learning Commission as an assessment mentor and a visiting scholar and senior officer of the Office of Assessment Initiatives and Services.  

Her book, “Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism, and Social Marginalization”, was published, in association with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), in 2017.

Event: Lifelong Learners by Example; Technology Tools Across Campus and Lunch (Live)

When: Friday, January 24, 2020

Where: Room M218 in the Buell Building, Building 5

Schedule:

11 a.m.           Bhujyo Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor of Physics; CoAS

"Computational Essays in the Intro Physics Classroom"

Computation is ubiquitous: no matter the technical challenge, use of computers for problem solving is today's way of life. I will briefly describe the role of computer code in visualizing simple physics principles, while simultaneously expressing one's experiences and understanding in words. Using this unique platform, called a "computational essay," I will demonstrate how my students go beyond curriculum in the intro physics classroom, explore their own ideas, and find ways to test hypotheses.

If you wish to interact with the technology you will need: Your laptop, a browser (preferably chrome), and a FREE account at wolframcloud.com; Otherwise you may simply show up and listen to me talk.

11:30 a.m.           Scott Schneider, Associate Professor of Physics; CoAS

"New Gradebook in Canvas and New Quizzes"

The New Gradebook brings some new features that *might* be very useful (and you don't have to use them - so there isn't a sea change happening - it "looks" the same-ish.) I'll go over some of the Views and Filters that can be used (with mixed success), assigning automatic points (nice), applying a grading scheme (old gradebook could do this). Another feature added with the gradebook is NEW QUIZZES - this allows for quiz banks - sharable to your sections *and* other professors! I will also have recorded some "flipped" videos that go over these ideas - so that you can refer back as needed (and skip the ones you don't need).

12 p.m.           Keith Kowalkowski, PhD, PE, CE, Associate Professor and Assistant Chair; CoE

"Use of Technology: Essential to the Evolution of Engineering Education"

Technology is used extensively in engineering practice. It is critical to ensure that instructors are utilizing tools and encouraging students to use them as well. This education will formally prep them for industry and make them more attractive to prospective employers. This presentation will highlight alternative teaching formats for the students, software used by the structural engineering profession and other useful techniques that can be adopted to engage student learning. 

12:30 p.m.           Eric Meyer, PhD, Associate Professor Biomedical Engineering; Director, Experimental Biomechanics Laboratory; CoE

"Using Industry 4.0 Technologies to Reinforce Course Topics Through Hands-on Skill Modules"

What is the maker movement? How can active / collaborative learning (ACL) pedagogies use these hands-on skills and creativity to encourage student interest in STEM areas? How does an instructor develop both the content and resources for these modules that are related to their course objectives as well as real-world technology trends."

We developed many hands-on modules for "Wearable Technology Design Studio" and Biomedical Engineering courses. This workshop will provide materials and suggestions for other faculty to use new technologies, such as; open electronics, 3D printing, smart/connected sensors and devices, VR/AR, and others. Specifically, the Circuit Playground Arduino platform offers the most options at a reasonable price ~25$ per kit, with easy to setup programming and great tutorials. ACL modules can be tailored to relevant math/computer science topics or broadly for scientific/engineering disciplines and even non-technical areas. 

1:10 p.m.             Dongwoo Jason Yeom, Assistant Professor; CoAD

"A Technological Experiment-based Learning Experience and Enhancing Students’ Interactions in the Team Project"

In this talk, two building-systems courses of Architecture will be introduced to share how research-based technological features were implemented into the learning experiences. Additionally, these courses used Canvas to increase the students’ participation and receive feedback for the team project, which will be also shared in the talk.

1:40 p.m.             Eric A. Ward, AIA, NCARB, College Professor | Professional Practice, Construction Systems; CoAD

"Information Modeling and Simulation: Introducing programming and Simulation to Early-stage Designers"

Programming frequently seems foreign to young designers, who often relate more readily to concrete physical artifacts. Insights developed in a recent CoAD second-year course allowed early-stage designers to rapidly forge conceptual linkages between abstract coding relationships and their understanding of physical form-manipulation. Coding exercises were extended to simulation applications, which will increase iterative simulation-based work in CoAD’s design-studio and technical course sequences. 

2:10 p.m.             Massood Omrani, Participating Faculty; CoB&IT and Marija Franetovic, Course Developer and New Media Specialist; eLearning

"Videos in an Online Course: Conversational, Comprehensive, Varied and Practice-based"

How is content presented online in an innovative way? This was a collaborative effort between faculty, an instructional designer and the media production team. Topics include:

• What does it mean to co-create comprehensive, varied and practice-based videos
• Beyond the textbook
• Transitioning to Canvas opportunity
• Various methods of communication/material to maximize the benefit to students
• Two subject matter experts - both theoretical and practical strategic management approaches
• Positive student feedback - a tremendous help in student understanding of the material for this course 

2:40 p.m.            Matt L. Cole, Associate Professor; CoBIT

"Use of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to Teach LTU Students How to Ask Questions"

Students are agents of curiosity, and they should be asking their own questions, rather than only responding to questions the educator asks.  Question formulation is essential for cognitive development and how people learn from others. Nevertheless, question formulation is a skill that is rarely developed in classrooms as educators typically ask substantially more questions than students. In the traditional classroom dynamic, Socrates’ model has been sustained for millennia – the teacher asks the questions, and the students reply to the questions, wherever they may lead. While teachers’ questions are important, teachers also need to nurture student curiosity by developing their ability to ask questions. The QFT is a straightforward, step-by-step, rigorous process that mixes easily with current lesson plans.

This presentation makes four simple arguments:
1. All students should learn how to ask questions.
2. All faculty can easily teach this skill as part of their regular pedagogy.
3. Adding the QFT to your course will create opportunities for students to ask questions.
4. Any class can easily meet LTU’s pedagogical model of theory and practice by adding a QFT module.

The presentation will conclude with a mini QFT activity using the Question Focus "Technology in the classroom" as a springboard to stimulate attendees to generate their own questions.