Video of the Week - Rerun
Things are heating up now: The first OER Champions were selected and are eager to begin their work. Adding OER to TWU courses is a vital part of student success.  As we welcome students from all economic backgrounds, the need for low/no cost textbooks increases.
Please (re-)watch  Dr. Feyten’s announcement and stay tuned for more info on how to get involved as this important initiative unfolds.

Bonus:  Fantastically Free WIZARD SHOW!
There is going to be a special event for young and old: Garon the Wizard and the Mistress of Potions will perform wizardly chemical feats while teaching a surprising amount of science to those attending.
Thursday, January 30, 5-6 pm in the Ann Stuart Science Complex, ASSC 259. 

​Please mark your calendars for these upcoming fabulous opportunities in Spring 2020.
More info and application/registration links will follow after the break.

The CFE Reading Club:
CFE Coordinator Jameelah Ra’oof will facilitate a guided reading and discussion of The Slow Professor by Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber. Starts in early February. We’ll supply the books and lunch, you supply the insights.
 
SENCER SCI-Southwest Spring 2020 Regional Symposium:
On Jan 31, 2020 the SENCER Symposium “Citizen Science: The Impact on our Communities by Plastics in Our Environment”  will focus on the global crisis of plastic from multidisciplinary views including the science, environmental, economic, policies, and health related impacts of plastics. The event is free but please register in order to assist us with planning food events. Registration is now open at: https://ncsce.wildapricot.org/event-3650442.  If you have any questions, please contact: Dr. Nasrin Kohan at nmirsalehkohan@twu.edu.
 
Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom:
The CFE will form a cohort group to participate in the Spring 2020 Cornell EdX certification course (tentatively scheduled for February 17 - March 23, 2020). The course is administered online so you can work when it fits into your schedule, but the cohort will meet face-to-face in the first and the last week for lunch and discussion of the content matter. Jameelah and Dr. Jörg are already certified and will help you navigate the terrain.
 
Mental Health First Aid:
Friday, February 28, 2020 from 8:30am to 4:30pm. A workshop designed to teach educators how to assist someone experiencing mental health concerns, addiction challenges, or other crisis situations. Learn about common mental health challenges in young adults and how to react and help in challenging situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including ADHD), and eating disorders. Participants will receive a certificate. CEUs will be available for LPCs, LMSWs, and LMFTs.
 
This workshop is offered in collaboration with the Health and Well-Being Initiative and taught through Denton County MHMR. A healthy lunch and snacks will be provided. Registration info and the exact location will be available in early January.  If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Kelly-Reeves at mreeves@twu.edu.    -- https://twu.edu/wellbeing --
 
TAA Writing Workshop: 
On Friday, March 6 we will have our 5th (!) intensive writing retreat. Jot down the date now, then take a look at our Writing Portal to relive what happened at our former events. More info to follow.
 
Faculty of Color (FoC) Writing Camp:
From May 11 to 15 the CFE will host and support the FoC Writing Camp. More info and application forms will be available in January, questions may be directed at Gabrielle Smith, GSmith13@twu.edu.
 
And last but not least: 
The latest installment of Jameelah’s Blog is available, pointing out that “while we are smack in the middle of the finals countdown, it’s good to stay mindful about the advice we both give and receive.”

​​Adding OER to TWU courses is a vital part of student success.  As we welcome students from all economic backgrounds, the need for low/no cost textbooks increases. This initiative began with a challenge by Dr. Feyten and is driven by our incredible faculty and staff.
Please watch Dr. Feyten’s announcement and stay tuned for more info on how to get involved as we embark on this important initiative.

In this article from the TAA Blog, Caroline Eisner encourages us to reframe how we teach writing and how we define and discuss plagiarism: “I categorically do not like Web-based, commercial, plagiarism detection services that perpetuate an obsession with finding plagiarism and, in the process, destroys the trust between teacher and student because students are guilty until the service labels them not guilty.”  Instead of policing, it might be better to help writers understand how different genres, contexts, and disciplines use citation practices to situate our own work within the good work of those who have written and researched before us. (Read more…)

​Holiday Cheer galore!
Next Tuesday, Dec 10, from 11 am to 1 pm in Stoddard Hall 308 (Denton), the CFE wants to  celebrate the end of another successful year with you. Bring a colleague: the more, the merrier! Fabulous company, tasty nibbles, some nice door-prices/give-aways, a video-station, and so much more.  Get a break from finals and grading -- We hope to see y’all on Tuesday!!

​Dr. Debra Mollen, Faculty Fellow - Center for Faculty Excellence
on Thursday, November 21st - 2:30-4:00 PM
Denton MCL 505, Houston IHSH 5305, and Dallas IHSD 8201

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Join us to learn more about the Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative at TWU and celebrate our award-winning faculty who adopted OER in their classrooms. Also:  find out how to become a part of the OER Course Redesign Cohort – which will offer support (incl. a small stipend) to TWU faculty who are teaching core curriculum courses at TWU and are eager to redesign their course(s) to incorporate OER.
 
Thursday – November 21, 2019 - 1 pm to 2 pm
Location: TWU Blagg-Huey Library (Living Room)
 
The session will also be live streamed at  https://livestream.com/TWUDenton/OER  for those of you who cannot attend in person.

​CFE Travel Assistance Monies (Spring 2020)
Announcing the second round of our Travel Assistance Fund for events taking place in Spring 2020.
 
This CFE program is set up to support professional development opportunities with a clear emphasis on pedagogy You will find all the instructions, eligibility rules, and more detailed guidelines on our website under CFE Travel Grants.
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If you are unsure whether your project or event fits CFE criteria, you are encouraged to contact Dr. Jörg Waltje for advice or clarification before submitting your application.

​Volunteers Sought
Fall 2019 is coming to a close, and in keeping with another TWU tradition, University Housing & Dining in partnership with Pioneer Kitchen will host Finals Feast on Monday, Dec. 2 from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. in the Dining Hall in Denton:  

• Serve food and/or welcome students into the event area and building during this time. 
• Meet at 8:30 p.m. at the Bell Avenue entrance to the Dining Hall.
• Wear a Finals Feast t-shirt. (New volunteering faculty and staff who sign up will receive a Finals Feast t-shirt; 2018-2019 volunteers who have a shirt, please wear it! If you don’t have a Finals Feast t-shirt, please let us know when you contact us.)
• Receive two (2) complimentary meals in either the Dining Hall, Oakland Café or the Tiny House, which will open in Spring 2020. 

To reserve your space as a volunteer, please RSVP to Jennifer Mulkey, Housing & Dining administrative assistant, by noon on Friday, Nov. 22.  (Trust me, it’s a lot of fun – jw)

​Dallas Colleagues:  Dr. Jörg will be on the Dallas campus on Monday, Nov. 18.

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Remember that as a TWU employee you have *free* access to Linkedin Learning, which offers you a plethora of self-guided online training courses. Log in by using you regular TWU credentials from any campus computer or go here to find off-campus access instructions.

​Please mark your calendar!
OER panel & awards ceremony -- Thursday, November 21st - 1:00-2:00PM – Blagg-Huey Library Living Room. We will celebrate the winners of last year’s Departmental Award for Textbook Cost Savings and introduce a new, exciting initiative:
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The OER Course Redesign Cohort – offering support TWU faculty members teaching core curriculum courses at TWU who wish to redesign their course to incorporate OER and offer a stipend to those faculty to encourage the substitution of OER for traditional textbooks.

​10 Practical Approaches to Teaching
Students from different walks of life converge in a classroom for learning. They have different capabilities and personalities, adding to the diversity that comes with learning institutions. If you want to be an effective teacher, you need to formulate and implement creative and innovative strategies that are practical and meet the needs of students. This applies to all teachers despite the duration they have been teaching.

However, it can be difficult to know what works best with your students and what won’t work. You cannot apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Scott Rios provides some practical teaching tips for educators.
Read more at  https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/practical-approaches-to-teaching

 
Have an excellent week!

​Leadership vs. other obligations
The article “Chairs as Scholars” provides some great advice for chairs (and most everyone else!) on carving out time needed to do the long term important activities. It is by Walter H. Gmelch and recently appeared in The Department Chair: A Resource for Academic Administrators, October 1, 2019, Vol. 30, No. 2. Copyright © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

 
Have an excellent week!

​In response to numerous faculty requests, CAPS is hosting a session on suicide risk, warning signs, and prevention:
Friday, November 1, 2 – 4 p.m
Denton ACT 301 | Dallas IHSD 3510 | Houston IHSH 3322
For more info please contact CAPS at 940-898-3801.

 
Have an excellent week!

Delivering an Engaging Presentation
When you are accepted to present at a conference, face-to-face or online, your presentation will likely be viewed (synchronously or asynchronously) by hundreds of higher education professionals. Whether your session is 15 minutes or a full day, preparation is the single most important part of making a successful presentation.
Educause put together a fine Presenter Concierge site, giving helpful tips that apply to any scholarly/professional presentation, no matter where it occurs. Take a look and learn about best practices for timing, visuals, interaction, inclusion, and other facets of presenting well and effectively.

​Accessability Cheatsheets – Series

​CFE, TLT, DSS and other campus units are charged with developing a plan to help faculty and  instructors make their instructional resources more accessible and inclusive. The CFE newsletter will start by distributing a number of one-page accessibility resources, or “cheat-sheets,” that have been developed to assist anyone who is creating accessible content. These free resources were created to get less-technical individuals started on the right track.
 
Please take a look at the attached document, the first in a series of several cheat-sheets, and save it in a folder for future reference. Transitioning to more accessible resources will become easy when done in incremental steps! We are here to assist.

  
Mark your calendars:
Houston Colleagues:  The next CFE visit will be on Monday, Oct. 21
 
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Have an excellent week!
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