Syllabus

Transforming Learning Through Teaching (TLTT)

Lansing Community College Center for Teaching Excellence

Meeting Times

This course is online and includes required ORT (Online Real-Time) sessions. A tentative schedule is provided at the end of this document. Weekly activities & materials are available on Wednesday mornings (if not before). There will be materials to explore each week and then we will have discussions on weekly topics. In addition to weekly discussions and reflections, there are three assignments to be completed in this course.

Contact Information

Name: Megan Lin

E-mail Address: linm1@star.lcc.edu

Office: TLC 3210 in the Center for Teaching Excellence. I am happy to talk with you via phone, email, live chat, WebEx, and/or in person. Please email or call me to set up an appointment.

Phone: Office 517-483-1408

I will email my cell phone number to you as this is a public site.

NOTE: I will respond to your emails, phone calls as quickly as I can. Please expect a response within 24 hours M-F, regular business hours.

Accommodations/Disability Statement

Participants who believe that they may need accommodations in this course are encouraged to contact the Center for Student Access, Gannon Building, StarZone (https://internal.lcc.edu/accessibility/) or call 517-483-1924 (TTY 517-483-1207) as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

In addition, please let your facilitator know so they can help to make proper arrangements.

Communication Policy

• • • The best way to reach me is via email- listed above.
    • Also,  you can call my office 517-483-1408 or the CTE office 517-483-1680.
    • I will respond to your emails/calls within 24 business hours M-F, if not sooner.

Course Description

This is a pass/fail course that will require weekly activities, discussions, assignments, and some Online Real-Time meetings. The intention of this course is to explore, experience, and reflect upon current teaching and learning practices. The facilitators use a collaborative approach, and every effort is made to model the various teaching and learning strategies and concepts presented in the course.  While the strategies modeled are research-based, the focus of this course is the application of the techniques to the learning environment. This course counts as 36 hours of professional development. While this course is online, it is not self-paced. NOTE: Feel free to adapt materials in this course for your courses.

Teaching Philosophy and Methods

The following anonymous quote best illustrates our teaching philosophy: “If we don’t model what we teach, we are teaching something else.”  In addition, the terms collaboration, discovery, and community come to mind when we consider good teaching.  In other words, we learn best when we are part of a community and when we experience and discover new learning for ourselves.  Additionally, this course is based on the concept of deliberate practice in which class time is spent applying what is learned in structured small and large group activities and discussions, while the absorption of information is left for outside work and assignments.

Prerequisites

Department Approval and currently teaching at Lansing Community College

Outcomes

Explore pedagogical philosophies, methodologies, teaching practices, and educational technology to apply in discipline-specific courses. Components include:

• • • Techniques for getting off to a good start
    • Inclusive Classrooms & Effective Assessments
    • Accessibility, Accommodations & Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
    • Characteristics of community college students
    • Open Learning Lab, Open Educational Resources, and Scholarship
    • Educational Technology
    • Classroom Management
    • Establishing ethical practices in the teaching and learning environment
      based on LCC policies and best practices

Course Goals

1. Support faculty as reflective practitioners
2. Model inclusive practices through accessible course materials, multiple modes of interaction, and student-centered reflection.

Materials

Readings, videos and other materials and media are provided in each weekly unit of this course.

Software:*

• • • Internet access
    • Web browser
    • Word-processing software
    • Adobe Reader, up-to-date virus protection as needed
    • Access to WebEx
    • Web camera and Microphone- on your computer or phone
    • Flip Grid is a video communication platform at https://info.flipgrid.com/. We will use this for some class discussions, but you will not need to make an account. You can access it on your computer or phone.

Technical skills:

• • • Basic computer skills
    • Basic D2L knowledge, including how to post a thread in a discussion forum and submit assignments
    • Ability to access WebEx and join Webex meetings
    • Ability to access and create video in FlipGrid (on phone or computer)

Evaluation Criteria

This course is graded on the P/Z grading system. P=70%  and is a passing grade.  Z=No Credit.

A participant will receive a “P” when all of the following are completed on or before the assigned due dates:

• • • Discussions and Reflections
    • Attendance & participation in all ORT WebEx sessions
    • Learning from Each Other Assignment
    • 400 Word Essay

Class Participation Expectations

You are expected to view all materials in each weekly folder, complete the discussions, reflections, assignments on or before the due dates and attend the Online Real-Time sessions.

Your facilitator will provide feedback as necessary. Work that is submitted after the due date will be given feedback/scoring as the facilitator’s schedule permits.

For some assignments and activities, feedback will be provided by your small or large group members.

Late Assignments

You are expected to complete and submit all assignments, and participate in learning activities.  It is your responsibility to contact the facilitator if you must miss a due date and to submit a new proposal for a due date(s) for the facilitator’s approval. Missing a scheduled activity does not relieve the participant of the responsibility for completing all work assigned.

Netiquette

Netiquette (or network etiquette) is commonly defined as a set of principles developed to express courtesy and help people communicate appropriately while sending e-mail and using the Internet. Facilitator and course participants alike will demonstrate netiquette and civility whenever interacting with each other.

Consider anything said in the public forums (Web-based applications explored in this course, our discussion forums, and when giving feedback to other participants) to be public information. Do not post comments that may be considered controversial, abrasive, in poor taste, or may reveal too much personal information – protect your privacy.

Please familiarize yourself with this Course Code of Conduct and also feel free to use and/or modify it for your own courses.

For more suggestions, see Tips for Communicating Online/ Netiquette.

Attendance/Withdrawal Policy

If you are unable to complete an assignment, discussion or you are unable to attend a live session, please let your facilitator know.

If a participant does not participate and is not participating fully to meet the necessary to requirements of the course, they will receive notification from the facilitator. A mutual discussion will ensue to determine whether or not the participant will remain in the course. If deemed necessary by the facilitator or the Director of the CTE, the participant may be removed from the TLTT course site. No further work will be accepted. A “withdrawal” will be noted in the CTE database and the participant will be required to reapply to take this course at a future offering of the course.

If a participant decides (for whatever reason they deem necessary) that they cannot meet the requirements of the course, the participant will notify the facilitator, and he/she will be removed from the TLTT course site. No further work will be accepted. A “withdrawal” will be noted in the CTE database and the participant will be required to reapply to take this course at a future offering of the course.