November 6

In this issue:

Creating & holding meaningful space for students
Call for Faculty Curriculum Committee Members
1-1 Meetings with Students
Absent students
Engagement/Attendance
Giving student feedback
Big 10 assessment feedback reminder!

10/26 Newsletter

10/11 Newsletter

9/26 Newsletter

Message from the Provost

“When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.” Heather Plett

At College Unbound, all faculty are called to be in the lives of students in a very special way. We have both the opportunity and the privilege of creating and holding space for students in a manner that allows them to show up in such meaningful ways. While we remain committed to ensuring that students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully obtain their degrees through our courses, we know that deep learning occurs most powerfully in the context of care and community.

At CU, teaching is all about holding space, and holding space stems from a conscious decision to put our own agenda aside so that we can be fully present with our students. It is about centering students and making space for their experiences without judgment, focusing on our opinions, or the desire to “fix” a situation. Holding space allows students to be “fully seen, heard and held.” It is in this kind of space that supports students in making meaning of their experiences, discover their power to work through challenges, and come to trust that they are not alone in their journey.

Here are some things to consider as you create sacred space for your students:

Create an Open Environment - While we can never really promise to provide a “safe” space for others, we can create an open and accepting space for students by practicing unconditional positive regard and honoring where students are.
Truly Listen - Listen not only with your ears but with your heart. Listen for what isn’t being said.
Accept All of the Feelings - Create a space where students are able to feel all of “feels.” This shows that we honor all of who they are, even when they are struggling.
Don’t Be a Savior - Resist the urge to swoop in and solve students’ problems. Instead, you can accompany students and/or partner with students. This supports them in restoring their sense of control and power as they find their own way forward. From this place, a sense of personal empowerment can grow rather than dependency.
Check-in on Yourself - You can’t show up for others, if you aren’t creating space for yourself. Tend to your own needs so you can truly show up for your students..

(Adapted from Holistic Wellness Practices by Brooke Riley (2023) and What Does It Mean to Hold Space? Learn the Art of "Holding Space" for People in Your Life by Gary Drevitch (2023)

--Sylvia Spears

Announcements

Call for Faculty Curriculum Committee Members

College Unbound values the involvement and engagement of faculty in the life of the College. We think it's critically important for faculty to play a role in guiding key decisions related to the academic life of the College, including the curriculum, courses, as well as academic policies.

We are inviting faculty who are interested in becoming members of the Faculty Curriculum Committee to notify us of their interest in serving on the committee by completing the Faculty Curriculum Committee Self-Nomination Form. Faculty Curriculum Committee members must have taught at College Unbound for a minimum of two semesters, have a record of effective teaching, and be committed to active engage with the Committee.

In addition, if you know of a CU faculty member who you think could bring relevant knowledge, experience, and expertise to this work, please complete the Faculty Curriculum Committee Nomination Form.

Nominations must be submitted by Monday, November 13th for full consideration.

Faculty Curriculum Committee Scope of Work (formerly the Academic Affairs & Technology Committee)

The Faculty Curriculum Committee (FCC) is responsible for ensuring and preserving the academic integrity of curriculum and the quality of all courses and programs offered by College Unbound. The Committee’s primary responsibilities are in five major areas, including the review and approval of new courses, substantive curricular changes, changes to degree and pathway requirements, revision of grading policies, and curriculum program development programs.

Membership of the Curriculum Committee shall include the Provost, the Assistant Provost, and Assistant Dean for Curriculum Integration as non-voting members, along with CU faculty members (Lab Faculty and Instructional Faculty). Ideally, faculty members will serve at least one academic year, subject to renewal. The Assistant Dean of Curriculum Integration serves as the staff liaison to the committee. The FCC meets monthly Sept through May, and may meet periodically in special meetings that require a deeper dive into the work.

If you are interested in supporting CU's important curricular work or know of a CU faculty member who you think would be great in this role, please let us know by submitting a nomination form.

Teaching & Innovation

1-1 Meetings with Students

If you have missed your 1-1 meetings with your students, then be sure to reach out to the student and Lab Faculty ASAP. To locate a student’s Lab Faculty, look at the student’s contact information in Campus Cafe.

Missing Students?

If a student has had no or little contact with you at this point and the Lab faculty member doesn’t have any updates or context, reach out to studentservices@collegeunbound.edu with a description of what has been going on.

Attendance/Engagement

Thank you for everyone that’s consistently completing the Engagement feature in Moodle–it’s extremely helpful and important. We also wanted to elevate the fact that you can go back and edit past entries. For instance, if a student had an unexcused absence in Week 1 but you discovered something in week 2; you can go back and change that or add notes.

Timely Feedback & Tone

Our students are adults with complex lives and also, many students have negative experiences with traditional education. This means we need to take care in how we give feedback. Moodle gives us the opportunity to give textual, audio, and video feedback as well as help students see more clearly what they need to do (This 2:44 minute video shows how to give video/audio feedback).

In supporting student learning, we should be using an asset-based approach that recognizes their contributions and guides them to improve through resubmissions and conversation. When giving feedback–especially, textual feedback–it’s important to think about and anticipate the “worst possible interpretation” of feedback and how that might be experienced.

When providing feedback, we must think about what it means to evaluate students in terms of what is actually helpful to their learning and progress. Please take care when delivering feedback, listen to student responses to feedback, be conscientious of tone in written feedback, and avoid punitive approaches that can detract from student motivation.

Timely Feedback

It’s important to give timely feedback to students. It can be contextual within the course but in general, students should have feedback (both commentary and grades) within a week of when they submit. Sooner feedback on prior work is necessary with scaffolded assignments. For instance, it’s important to give feedback on Week 2’s discussion before the half-way point into Week 3’s discussion (otherwise, students’ don’t have the chance to course correct).

Videos that may be helpful in structuring and giving feedback to students:

Where to Grade and Provide Feedback for Activities (4:52 min)
Submitting Google Docs for Assignments in Moodle (6:35 min)
For students: How to Share a Google Doc (6:18 min)
How to Provide Feedback in Assignments in Moodle (13:09 min)
How to Create a Marking Guide (7:13 min)
How to Create a Rubric (6:13 min)
How to Make a Grade Column for things outside of Moodle (4:52 min)
Creating Assignments & Delivering Feedback (48:27 min)

--Lance Eaton

LIP Office

Big 10 Assessor Feedback

All Big 10 assessors should provide at least three sentences of written feedback to acknowledge students’ work. Check out the Big 10 Resource page on Digication for rubrics, and guidance.

For questions or additional support, contact our Big 10 Associate: April Samuels.