Welcome to the Faculty Development Center!
We look forward to learning with you during our sessions soon!
The Faculty Development Center provides opportunities for ongoing discussions about pedagogy and instructional design. These are accomplished in one-on-one and group settings through faculty consultations, classroom visits, faculty learning communities, workshops, and conferences. We collaborate with people and programs on Murray State’s campus and beyond to support the advancement of engaging pedagogy and effective instructional design. We support the university’s core mission of teaching excellence by helping cultivate an institutional climate that values, promotes and rewards teaching excellence at Murray State University.
SoTL BOOK GROUP - ENHANCING LEARNING THROUGH THE SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: THE CHALLENGES AND JOYS OF JUGGLING
Are you interested in enhancing student learning through the scholarship of teaching and learning while navigating the challenges and embracing the joys of academic inquiry?
Join Dr. Firm Faith Watson, Director of the Faculty Development Center and MSU faculty from disciplines for an enlightening book group experience centered on "The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)."
Participants will have a safe intellectual space to explore topics that include but are not limited to the following:
Join us as we delve into the transformative potential of SoTL and empower you to excel in teaching and scholarship.
Facilitator: Dr. Firm Faith Watson, Director, Faculty Development Center
When: Tuesdays: June 4, 11, 18, 25; July 2; 16 (Lightning Session); 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where: Online Via Zoom
Register to receive a calendar invite: https://forms.gle/
WRITING GROUP CHALLENGE
Spring and Summer are great times to work on your publications or other writing projects. Are you interested in joining other faculty to work consistently toward your writing goals in a quiet virtual space.
Consider joining the FDC's Writing Group Challenge to get your important work done in a space with like-minded individuals! Whether you need to work on your articles, books, grants, book chapters, or other writing projects, you will be challenged to commit to your most important goals and receive encouragement, accountability, and much more along the way.
Facilitator: Dr. Firm Faith Watson, Director, Faculty Development Center
When: Wednesdays: June 5, 12, 19, 26; July 3; 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Online Via Zoom
Register to receive a calendar invite: https://forms.gle/
VIRTUAL GRANT WRITING CHALLENGE
Are you interested in knowing the keys to writing a successful grant while improving your research productivity? Do you need step-by-step guidance to help you to systematically achieve your grant writing goals?
We are pleased to invite you to observe or participate in a Virtual Grant Writing Challenge that includes weekly meetings via Zoom and learning modules in Canvas!
What’s in it for you? During the Challenge, participants will receive practical help to do the following:
Review the fundamentals of grant writing
Conceptualize your proposal idea
Write the narrative for your grant proposal
Develop your budget, including writing the narrative
Submit your grant proposal to a relevant funding agency
Participants who complete the challenge will write at least one grant proposal, and receive a certificate of achievement that may be included in their annual performance appraisal!
View Schedule:
Get a New Challenge on Mondays: June 17, 24; July 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 10:30 - 11:30 am (via Zoom) View Big-Picture Schedule
Access Learning Modules in Canvas
Attend Group Consultation on Thursdays: June 20, 27, July 3, 11,18, 25; 10:30 - 11:30 am via Zoom (Optional)
Participate in a Virtual Grant Proposal Showcase: Monday, July 29 at 10:30 am
Facilitator: Dr. Laura Bennett, Director, Sponsored Program
Where: Online Via Zoom
Register to receive a calendar invite: Virtual Grant Writing Challenge, June - July, 2024
To help you design or redesign your course with the flexibility to facilitate it in various formats, (including face-to-face, hybrid, hyflex, or online) you are invited to observe or participate in a Virtual Course Design Challenge that includes weekly meetings via Zoom and learning modules in Canvas.
What’s in it for you? During the Challenge, participants will receive practical help to plan their course, write measurable learning objectives, develop assessments, select appropriate learning materials and technologies, design learner interaction and engagement in various modalities, and more. Participants will be challenged to design at least one learning module in Canvas, and a certificate will be awarded that may be included in their annual performance appraisal.
View Schedule: July to August, 2024
Get a New Challenge on Mondays: July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and August 5, 2024
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm (via Zoom) View the Big-Picture Schedule
Access Learning Modules in Canvas
Attend Group Consultation on Wednesday July 3, Thursdays: July 11, 18, 25, and August 1, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm via Zoom (Optional)
Participate in a Virtual Course Design Showcase: Wednesday, August 7 at 1:30 pm
Facilitator: Dr. Firm Faith Watson, Director, Faculty Development Center
Where: Online Via Zoom
Register to receive a calendar invite: https://forms.gle/okFRSrGH7C31hnQ46
THE FACULTY DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY
Good news! We have organized the Faculty Development Academy (FDA), a virtual space (via Canvas) for you to access on-demand professional development resources in areas that include, but are not limited to, the following: Strategies for Teaching and Learning, Teaching Well With Technology, Scholarly Activities, Promotion and Tenure, Leadership, Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance.
What else is in this FDA for me?
In this self-paced academy, you have opportunities to do the following:
Access on-demand resources (e.g., session recordings and handouts)
Reflect on your learning (including personal application or plans to apply what you learned), and earn badges and certificates
Access the FDA featured sessions and more by self-enrolling in the FDA via Canvas: https://murraystate.instructure.com/enroll/WTGYHH
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Are you interested in learning about being a Canvas Certified Educator (CCE)? Do you need additional help to make your course stronger and amp up your instructional techniques?
Good news! Our very own Dr. Melony Shemberger is a Canvas Certified Educator! She now helps facilitate courses in the CCE program and can help you!
Contact: Dr. Melony Shemberger
Department of Journalism and Mass Communications
211 Wilson Hall
270-809-6874
mshemberger@murraystate.edu
How would you evaluate the quality of a student's work? If you were to judge a chocolate chip cookie contest, how would you determine the winning cookie?
Most likely, you would be given a rubric to help you. Just as a rubric is important in deciding the best cookie, a rubric also can be instrumental in assessing a student's work. This micro-learning training will guide you through the main parts of a rubric and how to create a rubric in Canvas.
Session Objectives:
Presenter: Dr. Melony Shemberger, Associate Professor, Mass Communication
When: This is a self-paced multimedia video.
Where: This micro-learning opportunity was created in Adobe Captivate and uploaded in a Canvas course for participants to self-enroll at this link: https://murraystate.instructure.com/enroll/7G3KMT.
ACCESSIBILITY AND USABILITY RESOURCE SITE
Murray State subscribes to Quality Matters (QM), a non-profit organization that is focused on helping faculty with continuous improvement of online and blended courses.
QM created a research-based rubric to help faculty determine the quality of their online and blended course design.
The QM rubric standard number 8 indicates that "The course design reflects a
commitment to accessibility and usability for all learners."
To help you meet this standard, the QM community built the Accessibility & Usability Resource Site that addresses key accessibility and usability concerns such as:
The resource also includes forums that provide you with the opportunity to connect directly with accessibility experts. It also includes videos with step-by-step guidance to help you increase the accessibility of your course.
If you do not yet have a QM account, please follow the steps below.
FDC OPPORTUNITIES, RESOURCES AND SERVICES
Murray State University has subscribed to Quality Matters (QM), a non-profit organization focused on helping faculty with continuous improvement of online and blended courses.
Quality Matters created a research-based rubric to help faculty determine the quality of their online and blended course design.
Subscription Benefits includes (but are not limited to):
Access the QM Automated Rubric Tool
Faculty may conduct self-reviews of their online courses using the QM’s self-review tool. These reviews will be seen by only the faculty who conducts the self-reviews (unless the faculty decides to share the reviews). There is no limit on the number of self-reviews that each faculty may conduct. To access the self-review tool, complete the following steps:
SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTIONAL FEEDBACK (SGIF)
Need feedback to improve your students’ learning experiences and potentially improve your end-of-course ratings?
You might be interested in participating in the FDC's Small Group Instructional Feedback (SGIF).
About SGIF: SGIF provides the opportunity for faculty to work with a facilitator to gather feedback from groups of student in their course (for about 25-30 minutes) about what is helping them learn and what could be improved. It also places extremes student opinions in context which, in turn, increases the validity of students' feedback and improve students' motivation.
Facilitator: Firm Faith Watson, Director, Faculty Development Center
When: Midway in the semester
Register: https://tinyurl.com/SGIF-Registration
View Flier: https://tinyurl.com/SGIF-Flyer
1-on-1 Consultations
Do you need individual help (e.g., to design your face-to-face, online or blended courses)?
Please reach out to Dr. Firm Faith Watson to arrange one-on-one virtual consultations at fwatson2@murraystate.edu.
Does your department have a need that the FDC could help you to meet?
The Faculty Development Center offers customized sessions that cater directly to your department's needs. Contact Dr. Firm Faith Watson at fwatson2@murraystate.edu to make arrangements.
