Scaling Success for Community College Students in Ohio

Community college teachers across Ohio will hone their online teaching skills in 2021, thanks to a collaboration between the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) and ACUE.

“Our mission is to support Ohio’s community colleges, ensure students get the education they need to ensure rewarding, successful future careers,” said Laura Rittner, executive director of the Success Center for Ohio Community Colleges. "To that end, we face an urgent need to prepare our faculty through professional development in online instruction. The response to our call for program applications was so strong that we expanded the program to offer more seats.”

168 faculty members from 22 Ohio community colleges began earlier this month ACUE's 25-week program in Effective Online Teaching Practices, through which they are learning about and implementing a comprehensive body of evidence-based teaching practices shown to improve student achievement and close equity gaps.

New for 2021: Inclusive Teaching Microcredential Course

What’s it like to teach an online class with 1,500 students?

For Steven Mintz, a leading educational innovator and award-winning teacher and author, it takes a coordinated team of well-trained teaching assistants and interactive courseware that he’s been developing for years. The transition to online learning in Mintz’s self-described “mega class”—an introduction to history at the University of Texas at Austin–came with many challenges, and also some silver linings.

“The great irony is that the change to online allowed us to do things that we couldn’t do in the past,” Mintz said. 

In this interview, Mintz also shares why teachers should think of themselves as “learning architects”, and the significance of teaching history in unprecedented times.

Resources for Faculty: Toolkits and Webinar Recordings

We hope you find these resources timely as a new semester begins.

• Online Teaching Toolkit
• Webinars: Online Teaching
• Inclusive Teaching Practices Toolkit
• Webinars: Inclusive Online Teaching Practices

Start Fresh in 2021 with ACUE

Tea for Teaching Podcast: Preparing for Spring 2021

On episode #170 of Tea for Teaching, ACUE's Carmen Macharaschwili joins John Kane to explore strategies that faculty might use to prepare for and manage the challenges of the spring 2021 semester.

Campus Reflections: Purdue University Northwest

News in Brief

A Failure to Educate
“The only protection against demagoguery is education,” says Andrew Delbanco. According to Delbanco, the humanities can help people grapple with the experiences of others. Lynn Pasquerella agrees, saying liberal education helps citizens discern the truth. Viji Sathy believes the riots at the capitol are about “every level” of education, while Alex Chevrin Venet wonders, “How can we work together instead of feeling hopeless in our individual silos?” (Inside Higher Ed)

Teaching in the Age of Disinformation
With disinformation “flourishing,” colleges have a unique challenge, according to Beth McMurtrie. Faculty, she writes, cite barriers like disengaged students and heightened emotions and employ different tools to combat them. Jennifer Mercieca, for example, teaches students about the nature of propaganda, rather than evaluating the veracity of statements. Meanwhile, Michael Caulfield suggests that instructors spend more time explaining how their disciplines function. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

10 Insights From Students About the Quality of Education
The Gallup State of the Student Experience: Fall 2020 Report reveals that most students described their learning experiences in fall 2020 as “excellent” or “very good.” Still, roughly one-third are considering withdrawing, while half are worried about completing their degree. Additionally, Black and first-generation students were “the least likely to say their school offers many of the services designed to combat the impact of COVID-19 and other challenges.” (University Business)

What Makes Students More Likely to Return to School in Spring 2021?
Students still prefer in-person to online learning, but those who believe their instructor made an effort to understand their goals, interests, and challenges and actively engage them in the learning experience are most likely to return this semester the Top Hat Field Report: Higher Ed Students Grade the Fall 2020 Semester. Among other insights, it also revealed that students who were well-equipped and provided with tools to stay in touch with instructors are more motivated. (eCampus News)

How Higher Ed Can Help Repair Our Democracy
Goldie Blumenstyk believes Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, a report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, offers ideas for bridging chasms in our nation. According to the report, a key piece of the solution is to help people build skills to participate in democracy. One of the 31 recommendations, according to Blumenstyk, calls for investments in civic educators and civic education. (The Chronicle of Higher Education Teaching Newsletter)

How Colleges Can Spring Forward
As colleges begin spring semester, David Wippman and Glenn C. Altschuler offer lessons learned from the fall 2020 semester of pandemic teaching. For example, they write that cultivating a culture of compliance and engaging students as partners is the best approach for keeping the community safe. (Inside Higher Ed)