Over the course of the next few short videos you will be introduced to a small sampling of the excellent university teaching resources available to you as a graduate student and how you can use them this semester. If you’re curious as to the services available, but just don’t have the time to walk through the videos and text below. CLICK HERE for the Crib Notes, complete with a short description and link to each campus resource this page will discuss.
Before we begin, stop to think about your own experience as an educator and work through the four questions below. Then, as you walk through this page, think about how you might employ the resources discussed to tackle that needed improvement you’ve just identified. Or, how you might innovate further in an area of instruction at which you’re already excelling.
- What aspect of your teaching do you think is particularly strong?
- What aspect of your teaching do you think most needs improvement?
- What innovation in the classroom are you proudest of?
- What classroom innovation fell completely flat?
All set? Wonderful!
Let’s get started.
Section One: Connect to other Educators, Evolve your Teaching
UW Teaching Academy
The Teaching Academy works to promote, recognize, and support teaching and learning excellence in the UW-Madison community. The academy brings together instructors from around campus and facilitates meaningful collaboration in effective instruction via their workshops and symposiums held throughout the year. Watch the video to learn more about their programming and general coolness.
Section Two: Create Amazing Assignments and Perfect your Syllabi
Library Services
So, you’re assigning a research assignment and want your students to use sources beyond Wikipedia? Well, check out Library Services. Library Services will provide customized instructional workshops to familiarize your students with the research material available at the university. The library will also build customized webpages for course materials, help with syllabus creation, and so much more. Sound amazing? Check the video to have your mind completely blown.
Writing Center & Writing Across the Curriculum
The UW Writing Center helps undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines become more effective, more confident writers. The Writing Center features regular workshops, online tools, dissertation boot camps, writing retreats, and one-on-one writing consultations from graduate students.
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is part of the UW Writing Center and is available to instructors across campus. WAC endeavors to help instructors think about creative and effective ways to incorporate writing and speaking assignments into their courses at all levels and in all disciplines. Their robust website offers a near complete guide to writing assignment creation. Check it out and watch the video!
Design Lab
Design Lab will help students design smart media such as video essays, theory comix, scientific posters, and presentations. It is basically the writing center of digital media. The Design Lab is a free service, supports 21st century communication tools, and offers a whole host of additional workshops and resources. But, how will this help you as an instructor? Watch the video and then go explore their website!
Section Three: Thoughtfully Employ Technology in the Classroom
Learning Support Services
LSS is an open and free resource dedicated to helping instructors in the College of Letters and Sciences use technology more thoughtfully and effectively. LSS provides up-to-date facilities, equipment, materials, training, and consulting to L&S faculty and graduate students. Check out their website to reserve classroom equipment, schedule a one-on-one consultation, browse their collection of thousands of videos, or even digitize a movie for use in your course.
DoIT AT
While DoIT provides software and IT support, DoIT likewise serves an invaluable pedagogical function for the entire campus. DoIT Academic Technology is the pedagogical wing of DoIT and provides one-on-one support for assignment creation, course design, and deployment of technology in the classroom. DoIT-AT works with faculty, staff and students to help them wisely apply technology to current and future academic environments.
To find out more about both LSS and DoIT-AT, check out the final video below!
Conclusion
I hoped you found this online review of campus teaching resources useful. While we’ve covered a number of the amazing organizations who provide help with assignment and course creation. This list is in now way exhaustive. Furthermore, one of the best teaching resources available anywhere are those you see every day of class – your students! Many of the great innovations on this and any other campus occur because instructors had the foresight to simply ask their students if they had any suggestions for improving the class. But if you never ask, you’ll never know.
Good luck, and happy teaching!
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to address them to Lane Sunwall at sunwall@wisc.edu.
Videos created using Kaltura and Prezi. Both applications are available free of charge to UW-Madison instructors, staff, and students.
Created by: Lane Sunwall