In This Issue...

• Director's Welcome
• Devotional: Live Grateful
• Fall 2023 Faculty Book Studies
• Focus on Faculty: Dan Berkenkemper
• Incorporating Course Design Best Practices
• Wednesday Webinars
• August and September Event Calendar
• Video Resource: Cooking Up Community in the Classroom
• 5 PowerPoint Shortcuts to Use While Presenting for Teachers
• Campus Services Spotlight: Office of Disability Accommodation and Support
• Canvas Corner: How to Use the Comment Library in SpeedGrader
• Great Expectations: Email Communications

Director's Welcome

Welcome to this month’s edition of the CTE newsletter. It contains valuable information, designed to enhance and fine-tune the craft of teaching. I pray that you use this information to grow yourself and to better prepare His future champions.

We have been busy planning an exciting semester of professional development for our residential and online faculty. Opportunities include faculty book studies, weekly webinars, and various workshops on teaching, technology, faith-learning integration, and university resources. Challenge yourself to take advantage of these offerings. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another…” Prov. 27:17.

Besides formal professional development workshops and trainings, CTE offers one-on-one consultations, observations, and mid-semester teaching polls. Please know that you are not alone. Reach out if we can help.

This year’s theme for faculty is “Live Grateful”. We certainly have much to be thankful for. Contemplate how you can express your gratitude for all the blessings that He has bestowed upon you. View any obstacles as opportunities to persevere and show others that you are living gratefully. We have extra complimentary theme stickers if anyone is interested.

Please know that we pray for our faculty by name each year (1 Cor. 1:9). You are in great hands- His. Godspeed.

Shawn M. Bielicki, Ed.D.

Director of Teaching Excellence

DEVOTIONAL

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is

God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV

I Thessalonians 5:18

In every season of life, God calls us to be people of gratitude. It is easy to thank God when things are going well, our health is good, our families are thriving, or when we have achieved some degree of success in our profession. The challenge is maintaining that same degree of gratitude when facing various obstacles or battles that oppose us in life.

Regardless of the season we find ourselves in, we must always keep in mind, our gratitude isn't determined by our conditions but grounded in God's unchanging character. Gratitude is a proclamation of a believer's faith that God is always at work on our behalf, even if we can't see it yet. It's not because all circumstances are good, but because God is perpetually good.

Dear Lord, as we begin the new academic year, we acknowledge that You are aware of every event, every high and low, and every struggle and victory that comes our way. Would You increase our faith and remind us that in each circumstance, You are with us and You are for us? May we respond to You with a heart of thankfulness in all things.

Amen.

Fall 2023

Faculty Book Studies

email: cte@liberty.edu to register

online study

Thrive Online:

A New Approach to Building Expertise and Confidence

as an Online Educator

Select Thursdays, noon-1 p.m. (ET)

Aug. 31, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 30 -MS Teams

in-person study

Practicing Thankfulness:

Cultivating a Grateful Heart in All Circumstances

Select Tuesdays, 10-11 a.m. (ET)

Sept. 5, Oct. 3, Oct. 31 - DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

CEUs available to participants

Dan Berkenkemper

Assistant Professor, College of Applied Studies and Academic Success (CASAS)

Years of Service: 12 years

Favorite Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-3

Dan Berkenkemper

Dan Berkenkemper serves as Residential Chair and an Assistant Professor in Liberty University's College of Applied Studies and Academic Success. His service of over a decade reflects his unwavering commitment to fostering academic success and leadership.

As Lead Faculty for Eagle Scholars, Dan's exceptional approach to teaching and mentorship garners admiration from colleagues and students alike. Dr. Dwayne Melton, Associate Dean of CASAS, notes, "Due to [Berkenkemper's] ability to gain trust from students through workshops, classes, and other interactions, students meet with him frequently for his mentorship and accountability."

Students echo this sentiment: "He cares about our studies and how we are doing in his class and others. He adjusts his lessons to start off heavier in the year, so they can become lighter as other classes pile on heavily. If we're having trouble staying on top of work, he will meet with us to help us develop a plan that can help us get back on track." Dan's commitment to student success and overall well-being, coupled with his unwavering dedication to higher education, underline his invaluable role at Liberty University.

Incorporating Course Design Best Practices

Alexandra Barnett, Ed.D.

Assistant Director & Teaching Consultant,

Center for Teaching Excellence

How can we incorporate course design best practices into any course? Creating an excellent course design begins with thoughtful planning. Luke 14:28 supports this approach, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?”

An easy starting point for a well-designed course is adhering to an established template for consistency and clarity (Scutelnicu, et al., 2019). The Liberty template in Canvas, for instance, includes consistent areas where content can be located, like “Learn” for items students need to study, and “Apply" for assignments. This provides a familiar structure, enabling students to focus on learning rather than locating materials.

Another way to include best design practices is to incorporate real-world application by creating project-based assignments (Rohm et al., 2021). Students could, for instance, create a virtual or physical museum exhibit for a history class.

Well-designed courses also incorporate multimedia content such as videos or graphics to enhance written course content or lectures.

Lastly, including low-stakes, formative assessments like practice quizzes or reflective journals is a best practice that allows faculty to monitor student progress and provide remediation as needed (Morris et al., 2021).

Wednesday Webinars

New Series for Residential and Online Faculty

Each series is designed to instruct and inspire you in strengthening your teaching practices. Participants may attend single Wednesday Webinars or earn CEUs by completing a full series.

Register for workshops/webinars via the Course Registration tool in myLU (Subject Code: PDCT)

Email cte@liberty.edu with questions. For workshops/webinars held via Microsoft Teams, links will be sent to registered participants in advance.

Tackling Top Hat (for New and Nearly New Users); Monday, Aug. 14

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Setting Up Your Teams Meetings for the Semester; Tuesday, Aug. 15

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Podium Proficiency; Wednesday, Aug. 16

10:30-11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Classroom Management for New and Seasoned Faculty; Thursday, Aug. 17

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Recording with Microsoft Teams While Lecturing; Friday, Aug. 18

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Editing Your Concourse Syllabus; Monday, Aug. 21

10:30-11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066 and MS Teams

Facilitating Meaningful Discussions; Wednesday, Aug. 30

Noon–12:45 p.m.; MS Teams

Online Book Study: Thrive Online (Meeting 1 of 4); Thursday, Aug. 31

Noon–1 p.m.; MS Teams

Register for workshops/webinars via the Course Registration tool in myLU (Subject Code: PDCT)

Email cte@liberty.edu with questions. For workshops/webinars held via Microsoft Teams, links will be sent to registered participants in advance.

Building Interactive Presentations with Adobe Express Page; Friday, Sept. 1

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066 and MS Teams

Creating Practice Quizzes with Top Hat; Monday, Sept. 4

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

In-Person Book Study: Practicing Thankfulness (Meeting 1 of 3); Tuesday, Sept. 5

10–11 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Providing Assignment Feedback; Wednesday, Sept. 6

Noon–12:45 p.m.; MS Teams

Tips for Grading Efficiently Using Canvas Features; Friday, Sept. 8

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066 and MS Teams

Creating Tests and Quizzes in Canvas; Monday, Sept. 11

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066 and MS Teams

Building Community Through Video; Wednesday, Sept. 13

Noon–12:45 p.m.; MS Teams

Faith Across the Disciplines with Scotty Curlee (School of Communication & the Arts);

Thursday, Sept. 14; 8:15–9:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Creating High-Impact Visuals with Canva; Friday, Sept. 15

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Setting Up Group Assignments in Canvas; Monday, Sept. 18

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066 and MS Teams

Class/Group Meetings with Microsoft Teams; Wednesday, Sept. 20

Noon–12:45 p.m.; MS Teams

Updating Your RESDEV and the Course Copy Process; Friday, Sept. 22

10:30-11:15 a.m. DeMossHall, Room 3066

Interpreting New Analytics in Canvas; Monday, Sept. 25

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066 and MS Teams

Services Spotlight: Meet IT Services; Wednesday, Sept. 27

Noon–12:45 p.m.; MS Teams

Online Book Study: Thrive Online (Meeting 2 of 4); Thursday, Sept. 28

Noon–1 p.m.; MS Teams

Ensuring Your Courses Align with Liberty's Canvas Template; Friday, Sept. 29

10:30–11:15 a.m.; DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

Video Resource

Cooking Up Community in the Classroom

Tom Doss, DWS

Teaching Consultant,

Center for Teaching Excellence

This month's video addresses the importance of building community in the classroom. Using four keying ingredients—Respect, Activities, Communication, and Time—you can cook up a winning recipe that will have your students saying, "Would eat here again."

Running Time 3:15

Liberty University's Office of Disability Accommodation Support (ODAS) ensures equal educational access for students with disabilities in compliance with key legislation. By interpreting disability documentation, ODAS provides tailored accommodations to level the educational playing field. They also guide students to additional campus resources and professor office hours.

Beyond student support, ODAS partners with faculty, equipping them to facilitate student accommodations effectively. They also develop materials to help faculty better understand various disabilities, thus enhancing classroom inclusivity.

The work of ODAS, though less visible, significantly contributes to student success. By fostering accessibility, inclusion, and equal opportunities, they’re making a lasting impact on our community.

For more information regarding ODAS visit, https://www.liberty.edu/disability-support/. For LUO ODAS visit, https://www.liberty.edu/online/online-disability-accommodation-support/.

Canvas Corner:

How to Use the Comment Library in SpeedGrader

Are there times in grading where you find yourself providing the same feedback comments to multiple students? The Comment Library in SpeedGrader may be a great time-saving tool for you. This brief video, brought to us by our friends in IT Services, demonstrates how the Comment Library in SpeedGrader saves time and allows you to provide meaningful feedback to your students.

Running Time: 1:00

Great

EXPECTATIONS

Email Communications:

Faculty are expected to respond to all student communications within 36 hours of receipt.

Often, students are reaching out with questions regarding assignments. A timely response is not only courteous, it also allows students as much time as possible to implement any suggestions for improvement that you provide.

We're here for you!

DeMoss Hall, Room 3066

434-582-3032

www.Liberty.edu/CTE

cte@liberty.edu