Faculty Spotlight: Elizabeth Johnson-Young
We turned the tables on CfT’s Associate Director and put her in our December Faculty Spotlight! Learn about Elizabeth’s work in CfT, how her influence is extending beyond UMW, and her favorite place to fill all the travel mugs she carries around campus.
Wine and Refine: Tuesday, December 10th (RSVP form)
LAMW Competency of the Month: Digital Fluency
Our students demonstrate Digital Fluency when they:
- gain experience with the tools of digital creation
- practice creating content and using digital tools ethically and effectively
- recognize how what you do online impacts your online identity
We can help our students develop their Digital Fluency by:
- incorporating class projects that allow students to build websites, create podcasts, record videos, and design graphics to represent their learning
- engaging in discussions about the ethical uses of digital tools and platforms, such as AI
- offering feedback on how digital content best addresses audiences and how it contributes to larger storytelling perspectives
- reflecting on the impact of digital content on personal and professional identities
For more classroom-specific ideas, check out these resources:
- Digital Learning Support (DLS) Supported Toolbox guides (including excellent resource pages for digital-specific assignments under the Workshop section)
- UMW Learn Artificial Intelligence Resource Page
- ReFocus Online (UMW’s response to online teaching during Covid–the ideas and resources are still relevant today!)
Writers’ Retreat: Wednesday, December 18th (RSVP form)
Join the Book Author’s Group for a Writers’ Retreat on Wednesday, December 18th from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM in Seacobeck Hall!
Work among other writers in Seacobeck 151 or utilize a reserved small study space in the center of the building for individual and small group private writing sessions. Seacobeck’s Dome Room will serve as our ‘break room’, offering coffee, tea, juice, and water as well as an assortment of snacks all day.
ALL writers and writing projects are welcome! Come and go as your schedule permits. Contact Brenta Blevins or Zach Whalen if you have any questions.
Provost AI Learning Excellence Grant: Reminder and FAQs
If you plan to submit an activity or assignment for the Provost’s AI Learning Excellence Grant, please complete your participation survey by Friday, December 13th. We currently have 35 faculty signed up!
We have fielded several questions about the AI Grant program since its announcement last month…
Is the grant only open to tenure track faculty?
No! All teaching faculty may participate.
Can we work in teams to develop one assignment?
Yes, however teams are limited to 4 faculty members. All team members will receive the full stipend. We encourage faculty sharing course sections or who teach a similar curriculum-specific course (e.g., FSEM, WI, etc.) to collaborate on common assignment templates. The team approach is also a great way to include adjunct faculty members as departments and programs develop their approaches to AI.
What if I don’t have an assignment in mind–can I still participate?
Yes! This initiative is designed specifically for anyone who has not fully worked out how to best integrate AI into a course. You will have time to think through issues, see different approaches, and design an assignment.
What is required to receive the stipend?
Three requirements must be met to receive the grant stipend:
- Attend a Getting Started Session the first week of classes (multiple virtual sessions will be offered throughout the week)
- Receive feedback on your draft assignment/activity in March-April
- Submit your assignment/activity with cover sheet by Friday, April 25th
My schedule is bananas–what if I can’t attend workshops during the spring semester?
Workshops are optional. Each month, content-focused virtual workshops will focus on AI integration with one of three LAMW competencies: Communication, Teamwork & Collaboration, and Critical Thinking. Content workshops will be recorded and uploaded to the grant’s Canvas site. All participants will be invited into the Canvas site by December 18th.
In addition, we will offer monthly in-person and virtual ‘lab’ sessions for project brainstorming and feedback. These sessions will be great for teams and discipline-based faculty to work together. Lab sessions will be set after surveying the cohort in January. Lab sessions will not be recorded.
Please reach out to the Center for Teaching with any questions you have about the grant program. The slide deck from Monday’s information session contains additional details.
January Preweek AI Virtual Workshops (Registration form)
Join us as we kick off the Provost’s AI Learning Excellence Grant with a short series of virtual workshops and meetups January 7-10th. Workshops will focus on foundational AI skill development and effective uses for specific learning outcomes. Check out the session descriptions and be sure to register by Monday, January 6th at noon.
Spring AI workshops will be announced in January–stay tuned!
DLS January Preweek Sessions
Join DLS during January Preweek for some less AI-centric digital learning sessions. If you rely on Canvas quizzes or want to explore digital assignment design, be sure to review the offerings below.
Transitioning to Canvas New Quizzes (Registration form)
Tuesday, January 7th, 11:00 – 11:50 AM via Zoom
Time is running out! Canvas has introduced a new quizzing system called “New Quizzes,” which will replace the current “Classic Quizzes” within the next year. If you have quizzes in the Classic format that you wish to continue using, they must be migrated to New Quizzes before Classic Quizzes are phased out. This workshop will guide you through the features of New Quizzes and provide step-by-step instructions on how to convert and migrate your existing Classic Quizzes.
Digital Assignment Jam, Including AI! (Registration form)
Craft A Project You Can Implement Spring Semester (or later… no pressure!)
Tuesday, January 7th, 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM in HCC 410
Workshop is capped at 15; Boxed lunch provided to those that register by December 17th
This open work session will provide instructors with an opportunity to bring their digital assignment ideas and develop them for implementation into a course. We will also be exploring AI tools that could be incorporated into these assignments. Time will be allotted for faculty to bounce ideas off one-another, as well as members of Digital Learning Support and the Digital Knowledge Center. We will work through ideas, provide guidance, and explore the many ways we can support your project. The session will be informal, but we hope that by the end of it you’ll have an assignment ready to go for the semester.
Looking Ahead: Spring 2025 Faculty Pedagogy Colloquium (RSVP form)
Faculty Pedagogy Colloquium is a forum for faculty to share strategies and innovations in their classrooms with the larger UMW community. After presenters offer an overview of their teaching strategies or research, the audience engages in a Q&A. Due to limited seating, participants are asked to RSVP. Lunch or an afternoon snack is offered.
We are pleased to share our Spring 2025 presenters–join us to hear about great teaching across campus.
“Minecrafting the Past: Sandbox Games and Historical Exploration” with Susan Fernsebner, Professor-History and American Studies
Monday, January 27th
12:00-1:00 PM in Seacobeck 139
How might we make the best use of digital play spaces and sandbox games as a site for exploring history? This talk will introduce the ways in which Minecraft has been used in a recent History course focused on lived architectures of 19th and early 20th century China. We’ll explore approaches to group work, digital environments, and crafting a 3-D vision of the past as a form of exhibition.
“The ‘Elements’ of Success: Building Comfort and Skill in Mathematics for Future Science Courses” with Leanna Giancarlo, Associate Professor-Chemistry & Physics and Kelly Perkins, Senior Lecturer-Mathematics
Wednesday, February 12th
3:00 – 4:00 PM in Seacobeck 139
This presentation will discuss supporting students interested in science careers in terms of their math and science preparation by providing more options for a first course (pathway) in science/math. In particular, we will describe the implementation of changes in the MATH 120 curriculum to correlate with preparing future science majors for their General Chemistry coursework. Strategies employed in MATH 120 and CHEM 101, an existing pathway course, will be compared in terms of the potential for successful trajectories to later science courses.
“Creating a Sustainable Gene Editing Module for Genetics” with April Wynn, Associate Professor-Biological Sciences and Ginny Morriss, Assistant Professor-Biological Sciences
Monday, March 31st
3:30 – 4:30 PM in Seacobeck 151
Gene editing technology is rapidly changing the landscape of scientific research and having a firm grasp on this technology can position UMW students to be competitive and successful After Mary Washington. CRISPR-Cas9, can be used to efficiently and selectively edit genes in living organisms. The best way for students to understand this technology and to fully grasp its power is to work with the technology itself. Our project was to significantly revise the General Genetics Laboratory to introduce a sustainable CRISPR/Cas9 laboratory module to our students as a foundational experience.