iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (2/22/2016)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA). 

20 Minute Online Professional Development: How Can I Write Engaging Threaded Discussion Questions?
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of February 22nd is How Can I Write Engaging Threaded Discussion Questions? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at http://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-do-i-create-engaging-threaded-discussion-questions-3114-1.html. The complete spring schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2015/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Teaching Circles. We currently have three options for Teaching Circles. Please let Chris Bednar know if you are interested in participating in any of the groups so that we can connect group members and generate a stipend list.
• Peter Balakian Lecture--Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies. Faculty and students are welcome to attend a free event sponsored by the Salem State University's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Morse Auditorium, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Professor Peter Balakian will read excerpts from his memoir, Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past, and discuss his experience growing up in a suburban family haunted by memories of the Armenian Genocide. The memoir won the 1998 PEN/Martha Albrand Prize for the Art of the Memoir, and was selected a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Publisher’s Weekly. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance at http://www.salemstate.edu/peter-balakian/. The lecture is part of the CHGS Sonia Schreiber Weitz Series and is generously supported by the Cummings Foundation.
• Save the Date - Advancing Student Learning Conference. The MA Department of Higher Education is part of the AAC&U Faculty Collaboratives project funded by a Lumina Foundation Grant. As part of this project, the Department is sponsoring a conference titled Advancing Student Learning. It will be held on March 4th in Southbridge, MA. This is a wonderful (and free!) inter-state, cross-institution professional development opportunity for both faculty and professional staff. The conference includes sessions on AAC&U proficiency initiatives that are targeted at improving and deepening student learning. Registration information will be forthcoming.
• HHMI BioInteractive Workshops. MassBay has extended an invitation to all NSCC faculty to join them on Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24 for Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) BioInteractive workshops (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive) at the Wellesley Hills campus of the Massachusetts Bay Community College. RSVP at https://goo.gl/H4Hb6o.  

Resources

• How To Write Engaging Questions for Online Forums
  http://facdevblog.niu.edu/how-to-write-engaging-questions-for-online-forums
• How to Foster Critical Thinking, Student Engagement in Online Discussions
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/how-to-foster-critical-thinking-student-engagement-in-online-discussions/
• Coaching Strategies to Enhance Online Discussions
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/coaching-strategies-to-enhance-online-discussions/
• You’re Asking the Wrong Question
  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/youre-asking-the-wrong-question/

Share your Teaching Strategies
What strategies do you use to foster critical thinking and engagement in online discussions? Are there any other great resources that you would like to share with faculty on this topic? Send an email with your teaching strategies, best practices, or resources to itd@northshore.edu and we will share them in the next few issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
Instructional Technology and Design and the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment