Because every student deserves good teaching

The fall semester has started with an enthusiasm that is palpable as you walk across campus! The important institutional initiatives that you are part of bring excitement as we have the opportunity to look toward the future and carry out the vision of what ETSU will look like in the future.

My role as Associate Provost for Faculty in the Office of the Provost offers the opportunity to play a supportive role in helping faculty across ETSU to thrive as they engage in the work to help the institution excel. A few of the key responsibilities of my position include:

1. Faculty Development: Collaborate with the Center for Teaching Excellence to provide resources, support, and opportunities to enhance teaching.
2. Policy and Procedure Implementation: Participate in shared governance to review and revise current policies and procedures related to Academic Affairs, especially those that impact faculty and students, as well as to consider new policies to ensure equitable action across the divisions of the institution.
3. Faculty Support: Work with a variety of units across campus to implement programs that aim to bring positive awareness and opportunity to celebrate the incredible work that faculty carry out on a day-to-day basis. I assist in planning Faculty Convocation, the Tenure and Promotion Celebration, and the Great Lecture Series. I also represent the Office of the Provost at all Faculty Senate and SGA meetings.
4. Strategic Planning: Contribute to the efforts to carry out goals and strategies identified by the Provost that help the institution carry out the academic mission. This year I am working on coordinating activities related to the Campus Read and highlighting ways that faculty are using the themes of the book in their teaching.

I believe faculty hold a unique position within the institution, in that they play a pivotal role in student success. I am so proud of the faculty at ETSU and the work you are doing in teaching, research, and service. I am humbled to serve in this role in the Office of the Provost, where we hold faculty support and development as one our top priorities. I look forward to collaborating with you to enhance the lives of the people of this region and the world. If you need my assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out.

“[It would help] if the professors would stop using so many different websites for each class. I have ADHD; trying to keep track of each website and assignments on them is very hard. Even using D2L to post EVERY assignment due would help tremendously.”

– Whitney Short (2nd year Undergraduate, Psychology)

With teaching and committee work on top of all the other things that take up faculty time, online learning systems from major book publishers can be very attractive. Most of them are plug-and-play: The student gets an access code when they buy their book (or they have to buy the access code separately) and the instructor has access to all kinds of pre-made questions banks and enrichment activities.

Unfortunately, pre-fab online materials are also problematic on a number of counts. First, they are often part of a very expensive textbook from a major for-profit publisher, or they require students to spend even more on top of their already expensive texts. Second, as the student's comment above illustrates, they can be frustrating and confusing to a large number of students. Third, they are usually behind a password that only the instructor of the class knows, so that if anything happens to the instructor, a large portion (or sometimes all) of a student’s graded work is inaccessible to anyone else.

The staff at the CTE can assist you in creating your own activities and the good folks in Academic Technology Services can help you integrate them into your existing D2L course. If you must use an outside learning system, try to put links to it within your D2L site and include due dates in your D2L calendar. Your students will thank you.

Artificial intelligence machines, such as ChatGPT, have taken the world by storm and are already changing the conversation in higher education around issues of academic integrity and critical thinking for students. The CTE has been sponsoring workshops to help faculty think through these issues. But there are also creative ways teachers can use AI to make their jobs easier. Here are a few good ideas that have come up in conversations this semester. Try asking AI to...

• Summarize main themes in student submissions to a discussion board, feedback on a project, or SAIs.
• Create dynamic student groups by gathering a bit of information from students such as strengths, personality types, and schedules. Ask the AI to assemble groups of individuals that may mesh well together.
• Write practice quiz questions and study guides. Also ask students to create -- and critique -- their own.

Dr. Laurie Schroder

College of Clinical Rehabilitative Health Sciences

Dr. Laurie Schroder is a physical therapist who holds three doctoral degrees: a clinical doctorate in physical therapy, an EdD, and a Doctor of Ministry. She has been a PT since 1995 and has taught full-time in higher education since 2008.

She has served as a clinical instructor, full time faculty member, and program director for a PTA Program. She currently teaches in the ETSU DPT Program and frequently presents teaching-related content at conferences and meetings.



Her scholarly interests include adult learning, teaching of complex material, and the creation of open-access educational resources. She has been married for over 37 years and has two adult children and two grandchildren. Her hobbies include beekeeping, gardening, reading, and travel.

We also welcome new Faculty Affiliates:

Lana Becker, Department of Accountancy, College of Business and Technology

Betsy Weems, Literature & Language, College of Arts and Sciences

See all our Associates and Affiliates and learn how they can help you!

The Center for Teaching Excellence had another successful year in August with its 6^th annual Conference for High-Impact Instructional Practices, featuring invited keynote speaker Dr. Jessamyn Neuhaus, Director of the SUNY, Plattsburgh’s Center for Teaching Excellence. We hosted a record number of attendees [107!] for this event at the Carnegie Hotel, with representation from every college at ETSU. Attendees enjoyed the keynote address, several concurrent sessions, and a workshop at the end of the day led by Dr. Neuhaus.

See information above about our mid-year, online mini-conference (Micro-CHIIPs) and our January Teaching Retreat!

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