Teaching Circles Program
A teaching circle is a small group of faculty and/or teaching staff (6-10 members are ideal) who come together—with the support of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)—for at least one term to discuss a teaching and learning topic that they can delve deeply into during group discussions.
Unlike a typical course or workshop, in a teaching circle people collaborate together to develop expertise rather than being taught by someone who already has more expertise.
Propose a Teaching Circle for Fall 2024
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is seeking RIT faculty and/or teaching staff (full-time and part-time, visiting, lecturer, academic support specialist, tenured, tenure-track, adjunct, etc.) who are interested in proposing a topic and facilitating a teaching circle in Fall semester 2024. Facilitators may offer their teaching circle in an on-campus space, via Zoom, or a combination of these modes. The number of circles meetings over one semester typically ranges from 3-4 on the low end to 6-7 on the high end.
Please submit your Qualtrics proposal form as early as possible but no later than August 13, 2024. Applicants will be notified on a rolling basis.
CTL will announce the roster of Fall teaching circle facilitators and topics to the RIT community on August 20 and 27, 2024. Interested participants will be strongly encouraged to contact circle facilitator(s) as early as possible but no later than September 3, 2024.
If you have questions, email Michael Starenko, Senior Teaching and Learning Consultant, CTL.
Overview
Each Fall and Spring semester, CTL will release a call to form a teaching circle approximately six weeks prior to the start of the semester. An individual or small group of faculty/teaching staff who want to explore a specific topic will make a brief proposal. After facilitators and topics have been confirmed, CTL will release a call to join a teaching circle approximately two weeks prior to the start of the semester; the call will list the respective facilitators, titles, and descriptions of every circle offered that semester. Prospective participants should directly contact facilitators of their interest prior to the end of Week 2 of the semester. Circles typically hold their first meeting around Week 3.
Topics and Activities
Teaching circles can be about just about anything you wish, so long as it is related to teaching and learning. For example, some teaching circles might focus on interdisciplinary work (e.g., Technology/Art/Design, Sustainable Development, or methods to encourage interdisciplinary undergraduate research), while others may focus on a single academic discipline (e.g., Packaging Science faculty sharing materials and ideas they’ve developed for their own classes). Some groups may explore relatively narrow pedagogical topics (e.g., discussing contemporary books on teaching, using case-study teaching techniques, or sharing ideas and strategies to foster student-generated media), while other circles may select broader topics (e.g., fostering inclusive learning or the scholarship of teaching and learning).
Teaching circle meetings and other activities can take a variety of forms to stimulate conversation and help members investigate teaching/learning topics. Teaching circle members may make use of one or more methods for sharing knowledge, including, but not limited to:
- Guided discussion: Members come prepared to discuss an item (article, chapter, video, etc.) or issue selected by the group.
- Round-robins: Members share personal experience and knowledge on a topic of interest to the group.
- Ask the expert: An “expert” (or expert panel) is invited to share insights on a topic. This can include an outside guest speaker or bringing in experts from across our own campus.
- “Progress” reports: Members report on experiments they have conducted with new ways of teaching. This can be especially helpful as a support mechanism while trying a new teaching style or project.
- Peer tutoring: Members of the group take responsibility for learning different aspects of the topic being explored by the group. At each meeting, one or two members report back on the material they have researched.
- Open discussion: Meetings can be occasions for informal conversations about the Circle’s general topic. There is no set agenda. Participants bring in issues, questions, and/or problems that are of interest to them.
Organization
Each teaching circle will be organized by one or more facilitators drawn from the RIT community, with support from the CTL. The facilitator(s) is more of a champion of the circle topic than a leader with specialized knowledge. Once formed, circles should devote sufficient time to discuss and establish their collective goals, participant responsibilities, sharing of findings, and organizational structure. Circles are intended to be egalitarian with all members playing an equal role in their success.
Expectations
Circles can be as large as 10-15 members (though 6-10 is ideal), including the facilitator(s). If more people are interested, the circle can be split into two circles. Members are expected to attend and contribute to the majority of meetings. Circles may decide to produce a brief final report or other output on what the group discussed and found that could be shared with the RIT community.
Support from the CTL
CTL supports teaching circle facilitators and participants in many ways, including:
- Assisting circle facilitators in the development of titles, descriptions, and meeting options for their circles
- Matching circle facilitators/topics with prospective circle members through RIT-wide communication channels
- Orienting and advising facilitators on group communications and logistics (e.g., scheduling, appropriate and available on-campus or virtual meeting spaces, circle activities)
- The CTL will also consider facilitating the purchase of supporting materials (e.g., books) on a per-request basis
Contact
For more information about current circles, the call to form future circles, or the teaching circles program, contact Michael Starenko, Senior Teaching and Learning Consultant, CTL.
Spring 2024 Teaching Circles
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is pleased to announce five teaching circles for Spring semester 2024. To see which circle(s) may be of interest to you, click the expand button from the list of titles below, read the full description of the circle, and email the designated circle facilitator as early as possible but no later than January 22, 2024. Unless otherwise noted, circles typically hold their first meeting in the third week of the semester.
Facilitated by Jessamy Comer, Department of Psychology, CLA
"My mom has been sick in the hospital. Can I have an extension on this assignment?" "I didn't know you couldn't write something word-for-word off the internet and put it in your paper without citing the source! No one ever told me that!" "My groupmates are all lazy- no one is doing the work but me!" One of the most difficult parts of being a teacher is handling difficult student situations like these with grace and fairness.
In this teaching circle, we will discuss different types of challenges we face when working with students and how to develop effective strategies for handling them. The format of the circle will entail informal discussions of these topics via one-hour Zoom meetings once per month, with days and times determined by poll. If you would like to join this circle, email Jessamy Comer.
Facilitated by Ashish Agrawal, Dean's Office, CET; and Sarah Brownell, Dean's Office, KGCOE
Are you curious about how social justice interacts with the various fields of engineering? Do you want to explore how to integrate engineering social justice topics into your courses? Technology has been a major contributor to and can perhaps be a crucial aid in addressing pressing global issues such as climate change, environmental racism, urban poverty, migration, bias and militarization in policing, privacy infringement, surveillance, proliferation of weapons, fake news, health disparities, economic inequity, declining ecosystems, exploitation of natural resources, species extinction, distrust of institutions, child labor, slavery, and more.
We invite you to join this learning group guided by "Critical Pedagogy" where everyone is both a learner and a teacher as we explore how education can develop critical awareness among students by helping them situate engineering solutions in the current global, societal, economic, and environmental contexts. Faculty from all disciplines and ranks are welcome to participate! We will meet approximately every other week in-person and on-campus, the time to be determined by survey of the interested group. We will explore topics of interest to the group taken from current events, syllabi and readings from other universities, and whatever participants bring to the table! If you would like to join this circle, email Sarah Brownell.
Facilitated by Lisa Hermsen, Department of English, CLA
Dennis Baronhow, in A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution (2009), poses questions about "how we learn to trust a new technology and the new and strange sorts of texts that it produces; how we expand the notion of who can write and who can’t; and how we free our readers and writers while at the same time trying to regulate their activities." The inquiry is as important now, if not more so, as it was over 10 years ago.
This circle will briefly review the history of OpenAI and follow theories for the future of Generative AI. Avoiding utopian/dystopian views, we will consider other possibilities. Generative AI will continue to be pervasive, almost ubiquitous; it will limp along with diminishing returns; it will collapse under the weight of the infrastructure supporting it. The purpose of the circle is to move from these discussions to think deliberately about how Generative AI is working and will continue to work in our classrooms. Is it possible to disallow or detect? Would version history be useful? How can we engage students with the new complexities of copyright? Might we teach expert prompting? How will students respond to questionable-use ethics? What will this technology do for human expression?
Participants may take a position, try out an assignment, or experiment with their own writing, and can opt in or out of using OpenAI on their computers (though we will check out Bing and other silent authoring technologies). We will be meeting in Zoom, 12:00-1:00 pm, on the following Mondays: January 29, February 12 and 26, March 18, and April TBD. If you would like to join this circle, email Lisa Hermsen.
Facilitated by David Yockel, Jr., University Writing Program, SOIS
This teaching circle will center on the “threshold concepts” (Meyer & Land, 2003) theoretical framework for instructors seeking to align their curriculum and pedagogy with course-specific student learning outcomes and disciplinary knowledge.
In a series of hour-long online sessions, we will focus on discussing and developing ways in which instructors can make the tacit and often more troublesome characteristics of their discipline’s knowledge more transparent, accessible, and useable for our students. Participants will engage in write-to-learn exercises to identify the guiding principles of their respective disciplines. Participants will also discuss how explicit these principles (or “threshold concepts”) are in their assignment design and think about how these types of writing-to-learn activities can be adapted for students in their classes.
We will meet three times in Zoom from 8:00-9:00 am (EST) on a day of the week and month to be collectively determined. If you would like to join this circle, email David Yockel, Jr.
Facilitated by Garret Arcoraci, School of Information, GCCIS
In this hybrid-mode teaching circle, we will explore how to integrate innovative platforms like Kritik into our teaching practices. Our goal is to enhance active learning strategies and improve instructional efficiency. In this era of rapidly evolving educational technology, Kritic and similar platforms provide unique affordances for student engagement and peer assessment and review, while addressing the ever-present challenge of instructor workload.
Our teaching circle is envisioned as a collaborative space for educators across disciplines to share experiences, discuss problems and opportunities, and develop practical solutions. In bringing together diverse perspectives, we intend to create a repository of resources and effective practices that can be applied across various educational contexts. This initiative is not only about exploring a specific tool and learning strategy; it's also about fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation in our teaching that will benefit our students and the entire RIT community.
We will adopt a hybrid model for our meetings, combining in-person and virtual Zoom sessions, and collectively establish a regular but flexible schedule responsive to the group's availability and preferences. If you would like to join this circle, email Garret Arcoraci.
Previous Topics and Facilitators
Anti-Walled Garden: Get to Know Other RIT Colleges and Majors, Samuel Malachowsky (Software Engineering, GCCI)
Has RIT lost its bricks? - Teaching in the SHED/Wallace Complex, Sandi Connelly (School of Life Sciences, COS; Center for Teaching and Learning, Academic Affairs)
How Might Generative AI Change the Marketplace and Therefore Our Teaching of Software Technology?, Keith Weber (Management Information Systems, SCOB),
Implementing Generative AI in STEM Courses to Enhance Student Learning, Amanda Bao (Civil Engineering Technology and Environmental Management and Safety, CET)
"Active Learning - Party of ____?"
Sandi Connelly (Center for Teaching and Learning, Academic Affairs; and School of Life Sciences, COS)
Decoding Teamwork
Alex Lobos (Industrial Design, CAD)
Implementing Intentional Low-Stakes Writing Exercises and Effective Feedback Practices
David Yockel, Jr. (University Writing Program, SOIS)
Student Engagement Techniques in the Modern College Classroom
Amanda Bao (Civil Engineering Technology and Environmental Management and Safety, CET) and Michelle Chabot (School of Physics and Astronomy, COS)
Ungrading: What Is It and Should We Try It?
Michael Starenko (Center for Teaching and Learning, Academic Affairs)
Computer Aided Design: The Original CAD
Kate Leipold (Mechanical Engineering, KGCOE)
Easy-to-Implement Online Teaching Strategies for NTID Faculty
Austin Gehret (Science & Mathematics, NTID) and Rebecca Carpenter (Office of the Associate Dean for Research, NTID)
Focusing on the Flip
Michelle Chabot and Kristina Driscoll (School of Physics and Astronomy, COS)
Integrate Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Grand Challenges and the Sustainable Development Goals in Your Courses!
Sarah Brownell (Dean’s Office, KGCOE)
Interrupting Passive Classrooms – 5 Minutes at a Time
Sandi Connelly (Center for Teaching and Learning, Academic Affairs; and School of Life Sciences, COS)
Active Teaching and Learning in Large Classes
Jessamy Comer, Stephanie Godleski, Rebecca Houston, and Tina Sutton (Psychology Department, CLA)
Review: Active Learning in Large Classes: A Teaching Circle Report
Being the Best NTID Tutors We Can Be
Karen Tobin and Sarah Sarchet (Science and Mathematics Department, NTID)
Capstone Connections
Beth DeBartolo (Multidisciplinary Senior Design Program, KGCOE)
Exploring Extended Reality (XR) and Immersive Learning
Susan Lakin (School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, CAD; Director, Frameless Labs, RIT Magic Center)
Fostering Active Learning in Advanced Graduate Courses in the Physical Sciences
Michael Zemcov (School of Physics and Astronomy, COS)
Making Great Writing Assignments with Threshold Concepts and Backward Design
Luke Daly, Xia Wu, and David Yockel, Jr. (University Writing Program, CLA)
Pre-Tenure and Pre-Promotion Accountability Buddy Group
Kierstin Muroski (ASLIE Department, NTID)
What Makes an NTID Faculty Member an Effective Online Educator?
Austin Gehret (Science and Mathematics Department, NTID) and Rebecca Carpenter (Office of the Associate Dean for Research, NTID)
Integrating Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Grand Challenges into Course Activities
Sarah Brownell (Grand Challenges Scholars Program, Engineering Leadership, KGCOE)
Effective Teaching in Large Classes
Jessamy Comer, Stephanie Godleski, Rebecca Houston, and Tina Sutton (Psychology Department, CLA)
Fostering Augmented Reality at RIT Through Interdisciplinary Conversations and Collaborations
Susan Lakin (School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, CAD; Director, Frameless Labs, RIT Magic Center)
Metacognition, Critical Thinking, and Social Annotation Tools: Developing Instructional Models
Rebecca Johnson (Innovative Learning Institute, Academic Affairs)
Problem Solving Studio in Action
Patti Cyr and Robin Borkholder (Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, KGCE)
Success Strategies for Women Faculty
Betsy Dell (Director of AdvanceRIT and Senior Faculty Associate for Women Faculty) and Sarah Sarchet (Faculty Associate for Non-Tenure Track Faculty)
Teaching a Writing Intensive Course
Gretchen Wainwright (Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety; CET)
Flexing into the Future: Creating Flexible Courses for Students
Joseph Lanzafame (School of Chemistry and Materials Science, COS)
Fostering Applied Critical Thinking (ACT) Across the Disciplines
Jennifer Schneider (Fram Chair, Academic Affairs, and Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety, CET)
How Am I Doing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)? – Towards a Social Justice Curriculum
Elisabetta D’Amanda (Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, CLA)
Lean In, Listen & Learn: Developing as Allies for Women of Color
Betsy Dell (AdvanceRIT and Department of Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology, CET)
Promoting a Community of Inquiry in Online Teaching and Learning
Bridgette Yaxley (University Writing Program, CLA)
Threshold Concepts of Writing Assignments Across the Curriculum
Luke Daly and David Yockel, Jr. (University Writing Program, CLA)
Exploring Games for Teaching and Learning
David Simkins (School of Interactive Games and Media, GCCIS)
Success Strategies for Women Faculty
Betsy Dell (AdvanceRIT and Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology, CET)
Inclusive Pedagogy
Taj Smith (Division of Diversity and Inclusion, Diversity Education)
Infusing the Entrepreneurial Mindset Among Our Students
Beth DeBartolo (Multidisciplinary Design, KGCOE) and Jen O’Neil (Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology, CET)
Integrating Jupyter Content into STEM Courses
Tony Wong, (School of Mathematical Sciences, COS); John Whelan, (School of Mathematical Sciences, COS); and Ben Zwickl, (School of Physics and Astronomy, COS).
Teaching Online and Hybrid Psychology Courses
Alan Smerbeck (Department of Psychology, CLA)
Breaking Down the Ivory Tower: Getting to Know Our Students/Getting Our Students to Know Us
Kristin Kant-Byers (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, CLA)
Enhancing English Language Learners’ Educational Experience: Teaching and Supporting ELL Students
Kari Cameron (School of Communication, CLA)
Facilitating Classroom Dialogue Through Self-Authorship
Linda Pratt (Student Life, Academic Support Center)
Inclusive Pedagogy
Taj Smith (Division of Diversity and Inclusion, Diversity Education)
Place-Based Education
Lisa Hermsen (Department of English, CLA), Kristoffer Whitney (Department of Science, Technology, and Society; CLA), and Rebekah Walker (Reference Librarian Group, Wallace Library)
Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing
Marcos Esterman (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, KGCE) and Sonia Lopez Alarcon (Department of Computer Engineering, KGCE)
Supporting Male Students
Rebecca Charry Roje, (Department of English, RIT Croatia-Dubrovnik Campus)
The Learning Development of RIT Students
Cha Ron Sattler-LeBlanc (Student Life, Academic Success Center) and Melodie Kolmetz (Physician Assistant Program, CHS)
Threshold Concepts of Writing across the Curriculum
Luke Daly (University Writing Program, CLA)
Infusing the Entrepreneurial Mindset Among Our Students
Beth DeBartolo (Multidisciplinary Design, KGCOE) and Jen O’Neil (Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology, CET)
Use Writing to Improve Student Learning and Engagement
David Martins (University Writing Program, CLA)
Inclusive Pedagogy
Taj Smith (Division of Diversity and Inclusion, Office for Diversity and Inclusion)
Teaching English with Second Language Learners
Kari Cameron (School of Communication, CLA)
Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing
Marcos Esterman (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, KGCE) and Margaret Bailey (Department of Mechanical Engineering, KGCE)
Place-Based Education
Lisa Hermsen (Department of English, CLA), Kristoffer Whitney (Department of Science, Technology, and Society; CLA), and Rebekah Walker (Reference Librarian Group, Wallace Library)
Infusing the Entrepreneurial Mindset into the Undergraduate Curriculum
Beth DeBartolo (Multidisciplinary Design, KGCOE) and Jen O’Neil (Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology, CET)
Defining Mentoring and its Application / Value for Today’s College Student
Barry Strauber (School of Communication, CLA)
Teaching in a World of Extroverts
Suzanne O’Handley (School of Chemistry and Materials Science, COS)
Fostering Social Impact Design and Engagement Opportunities for Students
Rob Stevents (Mechanical Engineering, KGCOE), Sarah Brownell (Multidisciplinary Design, KGCOE), and Ann Howard (Science, Technology, and Society; CLA)
Best Practices in Modern Languages
Elisabetta Sanino D’Amanda (Modern Languages and Cultures, CLA)
Integrating Research into Classroom Teaching
Kaitlin Stack Whitney (Science, Technology, and Society; CLA)
Defining Mentoring and its Application
Barry Strauber (School of Communication, CLA)
Teaching in a World of Extroverts
Suzanne O’Handley (School of Chemistry and Materials Science, COS)
The Importance of Metacognition/Learning About Learning
Melodie Kolmetz (Physician Assistant Program, CHS)
Fostering Social Design and Engagement Opportunities for Students
Rob Stevents (Mechanical Engineering, KGCOE), Sarah Brownell (Multidisciplinary Design, KGCOE), and Ann Howard (Science, Technology, and Society; CLA)
Best Practices in Teaching Modern Languages
Elisabetta Sanino D’Amanda (Modern Languages and Cultures, CLA)
Using Active Learning to Foster Critical Thinking
Melodie Kolmetz (Physician Assistant Program, CHS)
Using Imagery to Help Stimulate Critical Thinking
Colin Mathers (Philosophy Department, CLA)
Put the WOW back in STEM
Sandi Connelly (School of Life Sciences, COS), Jeff Mills (School of Chemistry and Materials Science, COS), and Paul Craig (School of Chemistry and Materials Science, COS)