Showing posts with label Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2016

Prof. Periman Participated in 2016 Tech Fellow Intensive through UAA Academic Innovations and eLearning

Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Legal Studies Program Coordinator in the Justice Center, recently participated in the Academic Innovations and eLearning 2016 Technology Fellows faculty intensive. She was one of 9 faculty designated as a 2016 Technology Fellow.

This year marks the first time the annual Tech Fellows program has partnered with CAFÉ’s Making Learning Visible initiative to support faculty in a two-year project involving technological innovation and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The tech fellows will design and/or redesign an online course based on their training from Academic Innovations and eLearning.  Over the new two years the faculty members will study the impact of the change on student learning, and will publish their findings in UAA’s Making Learning Visible ePortfolio Community.  Professors Deb Periman and Elizabeth Predeger are the faculty facilitators for UAA’s Making Learning Visible Initiative.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Dr. Barnes attends CAFE program series focusing on team-based learning facilitation skills

Dr. Allan Barnes, Justice faculty, has been attending the Team-Based Learning (TBL) Facilitation Skills program series presented by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE)  this semester.  The most recent session was designed for those faculty who already have some background in TBL and allowed faculty to discuss the modules they have been developing or implementing and to share ideas and strategies.

This TBL series focuses on developing and implementing a team-based learning (TBL) module for a course.  Dr. Barnes is using TBL in his course, JUST 330 - Justice and Society.


Team-based learning (TBL) is an increasingly-popular form of small group learning with four components: 1) permanent teams, 2) readiness assurance, 3) application activities, and 4) peer evaluation.

TBL teachers report high levels of student attendance, preparation, participation and critical thinking, and TBL students report being more motivated and enjoying class more, even when the subject is not in their major. 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Prof. Periman and Dr. Magen co-present at new faculty orientation about Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence programs

L to r: Prof. Periman and Dr. Magen talk to new faculty
about the Making Learning Visible program.
Dr. Randy Magen, School of Social Work, and Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Legal Studies Program Coordinator in the Justice Center, co-presented at the new faculty orientation held at the beginning of the fall 2014 semester and sponsored by the Center for Adevancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). They introduced new faculty to the Making Learning Visible - the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Faculty Learning Community at UAA.

Prof. Periman also presented an overview of the Center for Community Engagement and Learning (CCEL) and faculty resources available to support service learning at UAA.


Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, new Justice faculty, at the orientation.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Dr. Barnes attends CAFE's Team-Based Learning Intensive

Dr. Allan Barnes, Justice faculty, attended the May 8 "Team-Based Learning Intensive," presented by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).

The session is one in a series focused on developing and implementing a team-based learning (TBL) module for a course.  Additional sessions will be held in the fall. Dr. Barnes will be using TBL in his course, JUST 330 - Justice and Society.

Team-based learning (TBL) is an increasingly-popular form of small group learning with four components: 1) permanent teams, 2) readiness assurance, 3) application activities, and 4) peer evaluation.

TBL teachers report high levels of student attendance, preparation, participation and critical thinking, and TBL students report being more motivated and enjoying class more, even when the subject is not in their major. 

Monday, April 28, 2014

Prof. Periman presents at CAFE faculty development appreciation award breakfast April 11

Standing l to r: Prof. Deb Periman and Prof. Brannon discuss the results of their course revisions.
 Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, and justice library liaison Prof. Page Brannon presented at the Center for Academic Excellence (CAFE) 6th Annual Faculty Development Appreciation Award Breakfast on April 11. The event highlighted the many faculty development initiatives taking place in the UAA system.

Provost "Bear" Baker (at podium) welcomes the group.
One of these initiatives is the Embedding Information Literacy into the Curriculum Program, a partnership with CAFE and the UAA/APU Consortium Library.  Mini-grants were awarded to faculty to assist them in embedding information literacy into a course. 

Prof. Periman was awarded a mini-grant and collaborated with justice library liaison Prof. Page Brannon, on revisions to the course "Legal Ethics and the Role of the Legal Paraprofessional."  They spoke to the group about the results of these revisions. The revisions included an emphasis on library-related student research and focused on allowing students to learn, reinforce, and master information literacy skills relevant to the course level.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Justice faculty present on embedding information literacy in courses

L to r: Prof. Deb Periman and Prof. Page Brannon
explain how the revised course increased student
engagement with technology and library resources.
Dr. Marny Rivera and Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, recently presented the results of embedding information literacy into a course to increase students' understanding of technology. The faculty members had each received a Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) Information Literacy minigrant to assist them in revising a course to be taught in the 2013-2014 academic year with the goal of embedding the use of technology resources.

Another objective of the process was to encourage collaboration between discipline faculty and library faculty. Dr. Rivera revised her JUST 200 Research Methods course and Prof. Periman focused on her LEGL Legal Ethics & the Role of the Legal Professional course in partnership with Prof. Page Brannon, Justice Librarian.  The presentations were made on April 11 at the UAA/APU Consortium Library.

 Both Justice faculty working on information literacy are also program coordinators. Dr. Rivera is the Justice Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Prof. Periman is the Legal Studies Program Coordinator.

L to r: Dr. Marny Rivera and Prof. Page Brannon discuss how they determined
the best ways to include technology resources in the course curriculum.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Prof. Periman and Dr. Everett ramp up Making Learning Visible for spring 2014 semester

L to r: Paul Wasko, Academic Innovations & eLearning; Prof. Periman; Prof. Terry Nelson, College of Business &
Public Policy; Dr. Everett; and Prof. Deborah Mole, Consortium Library, discuss strategies to use in the classroom.

Prof. Periman, J.D., and Dr. Ron Everett, Justice faculty, met recently with the Spring 2014 UAA faculty participants in the Making Learning Visible project.  This project of the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) is UAA’s venture into the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

The January 17 program focused on "Jumping into Scholarly Teaching." Participants are part of a book group where faculty from diverse fields gather and engage in a discussion around a common book of case studies on the scholarship of teaching.

Another aspect of the project involves a portfolio group where faculty engage in a scholarship of teaching project in their own classrooms.

The outcome of these efforts is increased evidence of teaching effectiveness, and  faculty members who have evidence beyond the student course evaluation form (IDEA form) of what is working (or not) in their classroom.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Prof. Periman joins colleagues in presenting on mindfulness in higher education

Dr. Elizabeth Predeger, School of Nursing; Dr. Mary Dallas Allen, School of Social Work; and Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, co-presented a session titled "Mindfulness in Higher Education?" on Friday, November 15, 2013 for the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).

Faculty are on a treadmill of constant activity---with meetings to attend, papers to read (write), rubrics to create, courses to develop, curriculum to revise, and scholarship projects to complete. Is there time for contemplation as well?

Dr. Predeger, Dr.  Allen, and Prof. Periman facilitated a dialogue on how to integrate mindfulness into higher education and provided evidence-based resources on mindfulness and cognition.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Dr. Everett and Prof. Periman discuss developing and assessing critical thinking at CAFE program

L to r: Dr. Ghulam, Dr. Everett, Prof. Periman, J.D.  Panelists and participants listen as |
Prof. Periman discusses material from the Lilly West Conference.

Dr. Ron Everett, Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, and Dr. Ghulam Bham, School of Engineering, were the panelists at the November 1st Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) program, "Developing and Assessing Critical Thinking in Face to Face and Online Classrooms."

This program highlighted information presented at the 2013 Lilly West Conference on College and University Teaching about how faculty can develop and assess student critical thinking in face to face and online classrooms. The use of authentic assignments fosters deeper and more connected student learning. The final segment focused on how these principles can be applied in Engineering programs.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Prof. Knudsen joins faculty response panel for debate on state's obligation to prevent climate change

L to r: Prof. Ray Anthony, Prof. Paul Ongtooguk, and Toby Schwoerer,
listen to Prof. Knudsen's response to the debate.
Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., Justice faculty, was a member of the faculty response panel for the  Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence & the UAA/APU Difficult Dialogues Initiative sponsored debate on: "Does the state have an obligation to act to prevent climate change?"  

The event featured the award-winning UAA Speech and Debate Team, a faculty response panel, and a facilitated public discussion.  Members of the faculty response panel included Prof. Knudsen; Toby Schwoerer, Institute for Social and Economic Research; Prof. Paul Ongtooguk, School of Education; and Prof. Ray Anthony, Philosophy Department.

This program is part of a series of debates and discussions sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence since 2003 to offer the Anchorage community access to university resources as a basis for discussions of policies and issues affecting its future.

For more information on these events, contact eroderick@uaa.alaska.edu or 786-4605.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Prof. Knudsen is faculty responder for CAFE debate October 30 on the state's obligation to prevent climate change

Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., Justice faculty, will be a member of the faculty response panel for the  Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence & the UAA/APU Difficult Dialogues Initiative sponsored debate on: "Does the state have an obligation to act to prevent climate change?"  The UAA Speech and Debate Team will argue this issue.


Day: Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: UAA/APU Consortium Library, LIB 307
Free and open to the public

The State of Alaska is an oil-exporting state, and one which is experiencing the effects of climate change more severely than most.
  • Does it have an obligation to take actions to prevent the effects of climate change on its own citizens?  
  • On citizens elsewhere? 
 The event features the award-winning UAA Speech and Debate Team, a faculty response panel, and a facilitated public discussion.  Members of the faculty response panel include Prof. Knudsen; Toby Schwoerer, Institute for Social and Economic Research; Paul Ongtooguk, School of Education; and Ray Anthony, Philosophy Department.

This program is part of a series of debates and discussions sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence since 2003 to offer the Anchorage community access to university resources as a basis for discussions of policies and issues affecting its future.

For more information, contact eroderick@uaa.alaska.edu or 786-4605.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Justice faculty present at new faculty orientation for fall 2013


Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., and Dr. Cory R. Lepage, Justice faculty, made presentations at the August 13 New Faculty Orientation sponsored by the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).


Prof. Periman and Dr. Randy Magen, School of Social Work, discussed "Making Learning Visible (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)."

Far right: Dr. Magen, and Prof. Periman (left of Dr. Magen) presenting
at a "Making Learning Visible" workshop at UAA.

Dr. Lepage co-presented with Dr. Caroline Wilson, WWAMI School of Medical Education, and Prof. Shawnalee Whitney, Communication & Discourse Studies, on "Team-Based Learning."

The key elements of Team-Based Learning (TBL).


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Justice faculty participate in iTeach intensive at UAA

Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., and Dr. Ron Everett, Justice faculty, were selected to participate in this week's iTeach at UAA. The program is a five-day intensive hands-on clinic for UAA instructors, offered by the Instructional Design Team at the UAA Faculty Technology Center. 

The iTeach intensive assists faculty in:
L to r: Prof. Periman; Sarah Frick, FTC Instructional
Designer (standing); Dr. Everett (foreground) take
a break during the iTeach intensive.
  • designing courses that are fun, possess academic integrity and meet UAA's academic guidelines; 
  • joining a community of like-minded iTeach participants who care about course quality; 
  • gathering and managing their own research; 
  • creating course schedules that work for them and their students;  
  • building and manageing online learning communities; and 
  • developing pedagogically sound face-to-face or online courses. 
 UAA is collaborating with UAF eLearning and Distance Education to adopt the iTeach training framework. Many instructors within the UA system have taken advantage of this exceptional professional development opportunity over the last several years.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Dr. Lepage presents on team-based learning at new faculty orientation in August

Dr. Cory Lepage, Justice faculty, and Dr. Caroline Wilson, Biological Sciences, have been invited to give presentations at the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) New Faculty Orientation in August.  They will be discussing team-based learning  (TBL) and the TBL faculty learning community at UAA.

New faculty will be introduced to the concept of team-based learning, TBL-related resources at UAA, and the TBL learning communities sessions that are scheduled for 2013 -2014.

Team-based learning (TBL) is an increasingly-popular form of small group learning with four components: 1) permanent teams, 2) readiness assurance, 3) application activities, and 4) peer evaluation.

TBL teachers report high levels of student attendance, preparation, participation and critical thinking, and TBL students report being more motivated and enjoying class more, even when the subject is not in their major. 

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Two Justice Center faculty selected for CAFE curriculum partnership awards

Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., and Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, have been awarded mini-grants by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) Library/Embedding Information Literacy into the Curriculum Partnership Program. This project is a partnership with CAFE and the UAA/APU Consortium Library.

Prof. Periman will be working with Prof. Page Brannon, Justice Library Liaison, on revisions to the course "Legal Ethics and the Role of the Legal Paraprofessional."  The revisions will include an emphasis on library-related student research and focus on allowing students to learn, reinforce, and master information literacy skills relevant to the course level.

Dr. Rivera will also be working with Prof. Brannon on revising a course, "Introduction to Research Methods," to include embedding information literacy assignments and activities. 

As part of this partnership program, both Justice faculty members will receive iPad minis to assist with the development of their course revisions. They will also create course guides to be published on the Consortium Library website, document and assess their projects, and make a presentation to UAA faculty about their work in Spring 2014. 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Dr. Myrstol invited to be UAA Difficult Dialogues Fellow

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice faculty, has been invited to be a UAA "Difficult Dialogues" Fellow for the 2013-2014 academic year.  He and other Fellows will be leading and facilitating discussion among faculty from UAA, satellite campuses, and UAA's partner in this initiative, APU.

Discussions focus on "Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education" which explores productive ways to engage difficult dialogues in the classroom and other academic settings.

For more information on UAA/APU Difficult Dialogues Initiatives, visit the website. Dr. Myrstol also served as a Difficult Dialogues Fellow for 2012-2013.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

2013 CAFE-Oh-Wow awards presented at faculty appreciation lunch on April 5

Golden CAFE-Oh-Wow Award
Prof. Deb Periman, Legal Studies Program Coordinator, was among the recipients of a 2013 CAFE-Oh-Wow award for her service to the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). Prof. Periman has been a Ford Foundation Fellow in the Difficult Dialogues Initiative, and the Alaska Ways of Teaching and Knowing Initiative, and has been involved in numerous other CAFE-sponsored programs. She is currently the faculty facilitator for the Making Learning Visible series, "Jumping into Scholarly Teaching."

The Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence promotes excellence in teaching, service, community engagement, creative activity, and research in an atmosphere of collegiality.

The Center is designed to support faculty at the University of Alaska Anchorage, including its Community Campuses, in order to showcase and promote innovations in teaching and research and advance a community of scholars. CAFE offers a wide spectrum of workshops, forums and assistance to faculty in teaching excellence, research, assessment, civic engagement, classroom success, student retention, and special support for new and adjunct faculty.

Prof. Periman accepts her award.



2013 CAFE-Oh-Wow award recipients with Provost "Bear" Baker. L to r: John Dede, Shawnalee Whitney, Deb Periman,
Provost Baker, Heather Caldwell, Heather Nash.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Drs. Myrstol and Jenkins speak about "Difficult Dialogues" at new faculty orientation

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice faculty, and Dr. Patricia Jenkins, Department of English, described the "Difficult Dialogues" project at the new faculty orientation on August 13, 2012, sponsored by the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). The focus was on "Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education" which explores productive ways to engage difficult dialogues in the classroom and other academic settings.

Far left: Dr. Brad Myrstol and Dr. Patricia Jenkins share strategies with new faculty.
Far right: Prof. Ryan Fortson, new Justice faculty.

Dr. Myrstol and Dr. Jenkins discussed strategies to encourage students to get involved in investigating controversial topics. They examined such issues as academic freedom, classroom safety, and rhetoric and debate.

Left to right: Libby Roderick, Associate Director of CAFE; new faculty member Sam Siewert;
Dr. Brad Myrstol; and Dr. Patricia Jenkins.
This program is part of the Ford Foundation's "Difficult Dialogues" national initiative.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Dr. Magen and Prof. Periman highlight UAA faculty learning communities at 2012 new faculty orientation

Dr. Randy Magen, School of Social Work, and Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, discussed UAA learning communities at the new faculty orientation on August 14 sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).

Standing l to r: Dr. Magen and Prof. Periman describe the Making Learning Visible project.


Making Learning Visible

Dr. Magen and Prof. Periman outlined activities of the "Making Learning Visible" Project for the upcoming academic year. The goal of this project is to provide resources and a supportive community of colleagues to faculty as they strive to self-evaluate and improve their teaching skills.

Activities for faculty include a series of sessions centered on the book, Inquiry into the College Classroom: A Journey Toward Scholarly Teaching, and working groups to assist faculty in developing a web-based portfolio for public dissemination and for inclusion in their faculty review file, that documents efforts to improve teaching and student learning.

UAA/APU Books of the Year

At podium: Prof. Periman outlines Books of the Year events.
Prof. Periman also described the "UAA/APU Books of the Year" program, part of the Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues Project.  The program encourages faculty to integrate into their curriculum books selected for their relevance and timeliness. The Big Short by Michael Lewis and The Working Poor by David K. Shipler were selected by a faculty committee for the 2011 through 2013 academic years.  The program's website provides faculty with materials and ideas for weaving themes from the books into their classes and creating a community conversation.

David Shipler
David Shipler will visit the UAA and APU campuses and Anchorage community as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow on September 24 - 28, 2012, and will speak at a series of events.  He will give a public lecture on Thursday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. (location tba) and a campus talk for APU and UAA on the APU campus Friday, September 28 from 10:00 a.m. - 12 noon. He will also be working directly with students in the classroom.

Mr. Shipler has worked as a journalist for "The New York Times," and has written for "The New Yorker," "The Washington Post," and the "Los Angeles Times."  He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book, Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land, and has taught at Princeton University, American University in Washington, D.C., and at Darmouth College.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Dr. Magen and Prof. Periman present to technology fellows on scholarship of teaching and learning

Standing l to r: Lee Henrikson, Instructional Designer; Dr. Randy Magen; and Prof. Deb Periman
introduce the the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to the Tech Fellows.
Prof. Deb Periman, J.D, Justice faculty, and Dr. Randy Magen, School of Social Work, co-presented to the 2012 Technology Fellows Program for UAA faculty on May 18.  Their presentation on "The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning" is part of the Making Learning Visible Project sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).  They presented strategies for connecting intentional course design and planning to the demonstration of improved student learning, approaches to reflecting on teaching to fully develop the craft of teaching, and suggestions for collaborating and sharing with peers and colleagues about teaching as a way to strengthen and improve student learning.

Tech Fellows discussing topic in small groups.
Faculty members applied to be a Tech Fellow and 14 were selected for the week-long intensive held May 14 - 18. Using information from the intensive, participants are to improve and offer one course in the coming academic year that incorporates technology. The focus is to increase collaboration among students and with professors that leads to enhanced learning.  Tech Fellows will also participate in online discussions during the academic year, and report progress and outcomes to colleagues in spring 2013.  Lee Henrikson and Sarah Frick, instructional designers with the Faculty Technology Center, designed and taught the intensive.