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Building a Safe Classroom Enviroment

By Kristen Stevenson The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework promotes synergies among teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence to achieve learning in courses. Your teaching presence sets the tone of the classroom (both face-to-face and virtual) for students to safely and successfully interact with both the content and one another. While college classrooms often … Continue reading Building a Safe Classroom Enviroment

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Using Social-Emotional Learning to Improve Student Career Readiness

By Kristen Stevenson The USC Upstate Moving UP QEP focuses on preparing career-ready students who can “identify and articulate their knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences, and other characteristics as relevant to desired career goals; and explore identify, and address areas necessary for professional growth and success.” It is important for us as instructors to reflect on … Continue reading Using Social-Emotional Learning to Improve Student Career Readiness

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Are We There Yet? Keeping our Sanity in an Ongoing Pandemic

By Kristen Stevenson It is Blursday of the 21st month of the Covid-19 pandemic and...We. Are. Over. It. We are deep in the midst of burnout, the “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration” (Merriam-Webster, 2021). We keep thinking that the pandemic is almost over … Continue reading Are We There Yet? Keeping our Sanity in an Ongoing Pandemic

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Strategies for Improving Faculty Well-Being

By Kristen Stevenson Let’s face it: teaching is hard. It is emotional, it is exhausting, and it can make you burn the candle on both ends. It is also rewarding, exhilarating, and worth the effort. Teaching requires emotional labor, “the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display” as we see … Continue reading Strategies for Improving Faculty Well-Being

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Using Technology Wisely: The New Tech “Normal”

Image from Ars Technia's "How to make the best of iOS6's Do Not Disturb Feature" By Kristen Stevenson We are reminded everywhere we turn that these are not, well, normal times. It’s broadcast from the rooftops, on media and social media, in journal articles, and in conversations. We don’t need reminders to know that education … Continue reading Using Technology Wisely: The New Tech “Normal”

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Supporting the Whole Student: Starting the Semester with SEL Principles

By Kristen Stevenson Social-and-Emotional Learning (SEL) uses Emotional Intelligence principles that can be incorporated into classrooms from kindergarten to graduate school. SEL focuses on students using their strengths to develop their academic and career skills rather than focusing on their faults. Mays Imad, Ph.D., is a professor of Genetics, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Pima Community … Continue reading Supporting the Whole Student: Starting the Semester with SEL Principles