CITI BEAT November 2024

FALL WORKSHOPS ARE HERE

CITI is pleased to present its Fall Faculty Development workshop schedule. Please access our complete workshop schedule below and mark your calendar.

WHO ARE WE?

WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU WIN

We are a supportive and collaborative common area for faculty, staff, and administrators to pursue innovation and transformation in higher education teaching and learning.

WE ARE COVERING THE FIELD

Flyers, like the one shown below, are showing up all over campus to get the word out.

OUR RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

1. Faculty report increases in student evaluations and overall teaching efficacy
2. We reached over 100 faculty last year to develop innovative strategies to support WSSU learners
3. We led the ACUE initiative, certifying 122 faculty in the Effective Practice Teaching Framework
4. We designed a Media Production Lab to expand digital literacy initiatives across the curriculum

WE ARE CITI

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING....

....IN YOUR CITI

1. Upcoming Workshops

*The November 13 workshop, "Good Data Matters..." is cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.

2. Community Service

The CITI team, in conjunction with other faculty development staff in the UNC-System, answered the call to assist UNCA as they worked to regroup after Hurricane Helene.

3. Quality Assurance: Online Course Reviews

Starting with the Summer I session of this year, courses taught by faculty who had not had the benefit of completing an ACUE or UNC Effective Online Teaching Institute cohort were reviewed for quality assurance using an internal rubric created from evidence-based best practices. During the Fall, thirty-one courses asynchronous courses were reviewed and workshops were designed to address best practices in asynchronous course design.

4. Technology and Online Teaching Courses

As the University continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology, CITI is honored to partner with faculty to assist in this endeavor. Sixty faculty are currently completing the AI QuickStudy course, sponsored by the Thurgood Marshall College fund. The self-paced, four module course ends May 2025. Twenty-four faculty are completing the Effective Online Teaching Practices (EOTP) course.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT

CITI is excited to launch our new initiative that celebrates faculty for what they do best...teaching. "Caught in the Act" recognizes WSSU faculty who are "caught" teaching in new, fun, innovative and transformative ways. CITI then acknowledges these faculty in three ways:

• In our CITI Beat newsletter, as seen here
• At the end of the year at our ACUE Awards Banquet or Adobe Bash Faculty Festival
• With a small gift

We are pleased to celebrate Dr. Lisandra Estevez, Chairperson and Professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Visual Studies, as our inaugural faculty member who was "caught in the act" of teaching in O'Kelly Library by Dr. Wanda White Walker, who snapped the pics below:

"I brought my section of Art 1301-01 (Intro to Art) to view the John and James Biggers Murals in the atrium of O'Kelly Library. The students in Art 1301 are working on a brief visual analysis (or "project") of the murals. But they first complete a homework assignment that helps them get started. I have attached the guidelines for these assignments to this email. This class lets them get close to the murals to hone their observational skills.

Part of this class also entails library instruction on research resources using the state-of-the-art lib-guide that Ms. AlTonya Washington, who teaches part of the class, directs students to specific scholarly sources. I bring the students to the library to utilize the rich resources available there, including art, technology, and research tools/references. This experience is designed to familiarize them with the library for research purposes, a crucial aspect of the project."

To acknowledge a colleague or yourself for "Caught in the Act of Teaching", simply send a photo, a description of their (or your) innovative approach and the class ID to Dr. Michele Leverett at leveretmr@wssu.edu.

DID YOU MISS US?

Did you miss one of the CITI workshops last month? If so, we are happy to share resources to support the learning environment in your courses.

CITI BLOGS

The CITI Blog is a collaborative space to explore innovative instructional techniques, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), course design, and instructional technology. This month, Dr. Wanda White-Walker, Director in the Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction, discusses the future of Generative AI in higher education.

Click below to read an account by Dr. White-Walker on Generative AI's future and the role CITI will play in it.

OUTSIDE THE CITI LIMITS

This special segment of CITIBeat is dedicated to showing how the team enjoys time away from campus. As shown below, we are thrilled to expand this section to show moments when our team captures other Ramily members outside of WSSU.

DON'T FEAR...WE'RE HERE!

The Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction (CITI) is a supportive and collaborative common area for faculty, staff and administrators to pursue innovation and transformation in higher education teaching and learning, including the scholarship of teaching & learning (SoTL).​ CITI will keep you updated on the latest innovative and transformative instructional methods and technologies.​ CITI Team personnel are all experienced college faculty with a strong background in teaching and learning, course design, instructional technology, and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). ​