This Week for Faculty: Wrapping up the Spring Semester / Thank You!

by Columbia CTL | May 2, 2022

We Appreciate You and Your Passion for Teaching

Wrapping up the Spring Semester

We would like to acknowledge the work of our Columbia teaching community this Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2–6). Thank you for the work you do all year to educate Columbia students!

We want to make sure every Columbia instructor and TA knows how appreciated they are. Columbia students are encouraged to submit thank you messages through our Thank-a-Professor | Thank-a-TA initiative.

Our Annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium showcases the innovative teaching taking place at Columbia. In case you missed our 2022 Symposium, explore the recordings, posters, and online gallery submissions.

In Case You Missed It: Understanding and Doing Antiracist Classroom Assessment

On April 27, 2022, Dr. Asao Inoue presented “Understanding and Doing Antiracist Classroom Assessment” for the Columbia community, drawing on his work: Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies. Teaching and Assessing Writing for a Socially Just Future (2015). Learn more by exploring the session handout. Dr. Inoue guided participants through a reflective process in which they explored their antiracist assessment ecologies. Reflection questions included: What antiracist purpose might you articulate for an important assessment in one of your courses? How can your students be involved in the assessment process? Instructors were encouraged to map their ecologies and redesign with an anti-racist purpose. During the Q&A, participants expressed interest in learning more about labor-based grading and Dr. Inoue shared the labor-based grading resources available on his blog.

New to this pedagogical approach? Explore Anti-Racist Pedagogy In Action: First Steps.

Manage Final Assessment and Grading

The CTL offers on-demand resources on assessing student learning that you can access from anywhere and anytime. Receive assistance during our office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm or through our consultation services.

Get the support you and your students need
The end of the semester can be a stressful time for your and your students. Share well-being resources with your students, know who to contact when you are concerned about a student, and connect with the resources you need to complete the semester (see the CTL’s Teaching in Times of Stress and Challenge for a list of resources).

Collect the best possible feedback from students
Encourage your students to fill out the end of course evaluation surveys. Let your students know that their feedback matters. Explain to them how you use the information they provide to help improve the course. For free-response comments, ask students to provide specific examples of what would improve the learning experience.

Need assistance interpreting and using the feedback received? The CTL offers confidential consultations. Please contact Faculty Programs and Services at: CTLfaculty@columbia.edu.

Services

Office Hours
Join us for office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm to have your questions answered about teaching with instructional technology.

Consultations
Schedule an in-person or virtual consultation to discuss any teaching and learning need by emailing ctlfaculty@columbia.edu or email the CTL Learning Designer assigned to your school or department.