Later this month, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology begins two seminar series designed to further important conversations on the Illinois State University campus. Registration is free and open to faculty, staff, and graduate students, who are invited to sign up for as many or as few sessions as they desire. All sessions will be held at CTLT’s facility at 301 S. Main St., Normal.
Literacy in the College Classroom
CTLT’s Literacy in the College Classroom series, beginning February 15, continues conversations from the 2018 University-Wide Teaching & Learning Symposium. Join with colleagues to discover the unique ways students discover and create new knowledge, while learning how to help them develop the literacies necessary to your discipline.
Understanding Disciplinary Literacies in the College Classroom
(New date!) Tuesday, February 20 • 2 to 3:30 p.m.
One of the biggest concerns faculty have about their students’ learning is that students don’t read for class. In this session, we will discuss the challenges of the reading materials and the reading skills required in college courses. We will also explore what it means to “read deeply” and how we want students to read in our specific content areas. Registration is required.
Text Complexity and Academic Language
Thursday, March 8 • 2 to 3:30 p.m.
As experts in our fields, we are familiar with the reading practices of our disciplines. Students, however, may not be. Examine the specific complexities of the texts we require (or desire) students to read. We will analyze our texts for text demands and reading purposes. We will also discuss academic language and strategies for helping our students understand and use it. Bring a copy of reading materials you use in a course. Registration is required.
But I’m Not a Reading Teacher: Strategies for Supporting Students’ Disciplinary Reading
Thursday, April 12 • 2 to 3:30 p.m.
How can we support our students as they develop disciplinary literacies? Share and develop strategies that will encourage and support students as they learn to read the texts of our disciplines. Identify the demands of the texts you use and how students are expected to use the information. Share before, during, and after reading strategies that will help students navigate those texts. Registration is required.
Foundations of Diversity
CTLT’s Foundations of Diversity series, beginning February 16, explores challenging questions involving culture, identity, and responsive teaching in a friendly, non-threatening environment. This seminar series can give faculty and staff an essential start in understanding issues that aren’t always easy to talk about.
Bias, Stereotypes, and Discrimination
Friday, February 16 • Noon to 1:15 p.m.
Bias and discrimination come in many forms and persist on many levels in our society, despite efforts to promote inclusion and enact civil rights legislation. Whether subtle or overt, these issues continue to impact race relations in our country…and the experience of students of color in our classrooms. This seminar will help you better define concepts like bias, prejudice, and discrimination. You’ll explore the nature of implicit bias and stereotype threat, and discover tools to minimize bias in the classroom and in the workplace. Participants are welcome to bring a lunch to this discussion. Registration is required.
Microaggression
Friday, March 2 • Noon to 1:15 p.m.
Microaggressions are small acts with potentially big effects—little behaviors that communicate hostile or derogatory slights towards a person or a group of people. These acts may be intentional or unintentional. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to identify microaggressions and explore the role they play on our campus. You’ll leave this seminar with a better understanding of the psychological impact these types of communications can have on others and how best to respond when a microaggression occurs. Participants are welcome to bring a lunch to this discussion. Registration is required.
Privilege and Power
Friday, April 6 • Noon to 1:15 p.m.
How do privilege and power function through society, and how does it affect you, personally? By reflecting on this, you can identify strategies to become more inclusive in your teaching and in the workplace. This seminar will help you better understand your own multiple identities and the presence and absence of privileges based on your identities. By the end of the workshop, you will be able to analyze how privilege and power exist and function in U.S. culture and how they impact your view of the world. Participants are welcome to bring a lunch to this discussion. Registration is required.
Questions?
Email CTLT@ilstu.edu. If you need a special accommodation to fully participate in a CTLT event, please call the main desk at (309) 438-2542.
