Tool Kit – CETL

What Is Accessbility?

Posted on March 12, 2024 (March 12, 2024) by Erin Bell

Accessibility in higher education refers to creating an inclusive environment that allows all individuals to fully participate in educational opportunities. It involves removing barriers and providing accommodations to ensure that students, faculty, staff, and visitors with diverse needs have equal access to educational resources, facilities, programs, and activities. Key Considerations When Making Education Accessible: 1. […]

Accessibility and Design Resources

Posted on March 11, 2024 (March 26, 2024) by Erin Bell

Instructors must ensure course materials (including course documents such as PDF and MS Word documents) are accessible to all learners. To check materials for accessibility, instructors can utilize resources and tools including those posted below. […]

Prompt Construction for Generative AI: Getting Started

Posted on February 5, 2024 (February 7, 2024) by Erin Bell

An effective way to understand how to utilize technology such as Chat-GPT or Google Bard is to engage in experiential, hands-on exploration of the tools. The CETL has provided some guidelines to help instructors explore and effectively utilize generative AI. One of the critical components of using generative AI is effectively writing prompts. To begin […]

Course Content and Curriculum: Encouraging Belonging

Posted on October 6, 2023 (January 18, 2024) by Erin Bell

Fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom (whether online or in person) begins with the syllabus and the behaviors of the instructor in the first course meetings. The continued welcoming behaviors by the educator, such as the provision of open and safe classroom spaces, the opportunities for student voices to be heard, and the […]

Utilizing the Syllabus to Reinforce Belonging

Posted on September 22, 2023 (January 18, 2024) by Erin Bell

First impressions matter. The syllabus is often a student’s first introduction to the instructor and their course. Students may be anxious or uncertain about what to expect, especially if they are part of an often marginalized group. Likewise, it is important that instructors use language that models respect and normalizes challenges and the use of […]

Creating a Sense of Student Belonging: A Quick-Start Guide

Posted on September 19, 2023 (January 18, 2024) by Erin Bell

Part of creating a sense of student belonging is recognizing that all of us come from different backgrounds, filled with cultural mores, commonalities, expectations, and more. Instructors can establish norms for classroom behavior while honoring the individuality of each participant and their backgrounds. Listed below are some quick-start steps to set the stage for a […]

Tool Kit – Student Belonging

Fostering a sense of belonging for students within the collegiate community is essential to student success, retention, and academic performance (Allen, et al 2018; Quin, 2017 ). Although some may assume that colleagues working in marketing, student life, clubs, and athletics are responsible for cultivating student belonging, instructors play a critical role in fostering a […]

Resources Regarding Growth Mindset

Posted on September 12, 2023 (September 12, 2023) by Erin Bell

Additional Resources about Mindsets and Learning Dweck, Carol S. (2016). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Updated edition Ballantine Books Trade Paperback ed., Ballantine Books, Permalink: https://dalnet-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/d9s986/01DAL_UDM_ALMA2193729970003254 Here, Dweck explores the concept of mindset and its impact on personal and professional development. Dweck argues that individuals can possess either a fixed mindset or a growth […]

Reinforcing Growth Mindset Throughout the Semester

Posted on September 12, 2023 (January 18, 2024) by Erin Bell

There are numerous occasions for instructors to underscore the growth mindset sensibility in all that they accomplish throughout the semester. While growth mindset language should be included in the syllabus (as explored in additional resources in this toolkit) instructors can also highlight growth mindset concepts during their very first course sessions as they map out […]

Tool Kit – Growth Mindset

According to Carol Dweck, in her 2016 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, a growth mindset is a belief that one’s abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, learning, and perseverance. This is contrasted with the fixed mindset, which is the belief that one’s abilities, intelligence, and talents are fixed traits that […]