Have you ever had a student approach you and ask, “Dr. Reeves, what do I need to do to get an A in your course?” I have. I often suggest reviewing the syllabus and the percentage points associated with each grade category. I suggest reviewing the rubrics, planning ahead for upcoming due dates, and working with a partner to stay motivated and in conversation about course topics. While these are useful suggestions, they don’t necessarily address the quality or quantity of work students must create or give them the autonomy and choice they crave to build the knowledge and skills necessary to take their thinking to the next level. One way to better answer this familiar question and increase student motivation, autonomy, and responsibility (Hiller and Heitapelto, 2001; Strong et al. 2004; Danielewicz and Elbow, 2009; Bonner 2016; Litterio 2018) may be to adopt contract grading. Though many of the contract grading studies have been designed for and implemented in courses with a writing component, the models are easily adapted for other types of courses, as well. If you’re interested in exploring some examples of contract grading, check out the 3 models below.
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Winter Break Wellness: You Deserve It
After an equally rewarding and challenging semester, unexpectedly interrupted by a hurricane that many in our communities are still suffering from, we hope you’ll find some downtime for yourselves over the winter break. Whether you’re traveling or staying local, check out the resources below if you’re looking for the perfect, lowkey escape to unwind and relax.
Continue reading “Winter Break Wellness: You Deserve It”Blackboard Day 2025: Reaching Greater Heights with AI and Universal Design
Join us for our 5th Annual Blackboard Day in the College of Arts & Sciences Building, by accessing Zoom in the CAIFS PD Course, or by using the Zoom Link!
9 am to 9:30 am
Welcome and Blackboard Learn Ultra Updates
Join the Blackboard Support Team to learn what is new in the Blackboard Learn Ultra Road Map for Spring-Fall 2025.
Look for new release conditions, AI Debates, Achievements, Competency-Based Learning, and much more!
9:45 am to 10:30 am
Blackboard Learn Ultra Instructional Materials
Let’s dive into Ultra and learn our way around the updated content design options. Use blocks to place media and text side-by-side. Or explore Knowledge Check features that can keep students engaged with course content. Facilitator: Jennifer Bland, Learning Experience Designer.
10:45 am to 11:30 am
Grading and Plagiarism Checking in Blackboard Learn Ultra
Looking for your Needs Grading list or how to drop the lowest quiz grade? In this session, we’ll get to know the Ultra Gradebook and where to find all the features you need. We’ll also explore a range of question analytics, plagiarism reports, and student support features for accommodations, extensions, and exemptions in the Ultra Gradebook. Facilitator: Celena Kusch, Executive Director, Academic Innovation & Faculty Support.
11:45 am to 12:30 pm
Using Activity Reports for Student Success
This presentation will look at the Blackboard Ultra features, like progress checking and activity reports, that allow faculty to easily monitor student engagement and performance in real-time. By regularly reviewing student course participation and performance and communicating with students about how they’re doing, instructors have a strong opportunity to foster student success and persistence. Facilitator: Lillian Reeves, Director of Transformative and Inclusive Pedagogy.
12:30 pm to 1:15 pm
Lunch
Take a break, and drop by CASB, Room 117, with your laptop for lunch, brainstorming and troubleshooting within your course.
Do you need a sandbox course for playing around in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View? Email academicinnovation@uscupstate.edu.
1:15 pm to 2:00 pm
Course Design in a GenAI Learning Environment
Anthology, Blackboard’s parent company, has partnered with Microsoft Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop easy-to-use tools enhanced by generative artificial intelligence and large language models. In this session, we will go over several key AI Design Assist tools and AI-based assignment options. Facilitator: Yamil Ernesto Ruiz, Director of Online Learning and Program Support
2:15 pm to 3:00 pm
Let’s Talk Teaching: Blackboard Course Design Q&A
Share your question, ideas, and course design dreams. How can the USC Upstate Syllabus Template help you streamline your course setup and conversion to a new term?
Motivation After the Midterm
When students feel motivated to learn (University of Buffalo, UW-Whitewater, Kennesaw State), we’re likely to see increases in effort, energy, curiosity, and creativity. We might notice they come to class more, are better prepared, and generally seem open to tackling challenging content or leading a group project. Sometimes, though, even the most motivated students can show a dip in their engagement after midterms, and everyone can use a pick me up to push through the second part of the semester. If you’ve noticed this happening in your classes, try these evidence-based practices to reenergize yourself and your students for the next part of the semester!
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Kickstart Your Writing Agenda with SoTL
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, or SoTL (pronounced “sō-tul”), is an area of research dedicated to documenting, exploring, and sharing what’s effective in our classrooms. And by effective, I mean the work we do to improve our teaching and to improve student learning. Let’s say, for example, you went to a conference during spring semester and attended a session that was equally devoted to content and pedagogy. Feeling inspired, you decided to try out some of the strategies, assessments, or content delivery methods you heard about. Teaching two sections of the same course this fall, you decide to use the new methods in one section and continue doing what you’ve always done in the other section with the goal of comparing student persistence or academic success. Making a shift like this in your teaching, documenting what happens, and sharing it with the rest of us is the exact kind of work that comprises SoTL.
Continue reading “Kickstart Your Writing Agenda with SoTL”Getting the Most from Your Learning Evaluation Survey Data
As the semester closes out and we move into summer, I like to set aside some time to wade into the student learning evaluations for my classes. Despite the efforts to make student learning meaningful and enduring each semester, I still find myself filled with a certain familiar sense of angst as I click the reports and dig in. I wonder if they got what they needed from my courses, if I could have done more or taught differently, or if they had big moments of discovery and affirmation.
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