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NSU educators will develop honest, fair, and consistent instructional practices that encourage freedom of inquiry.

NSU educators will:

• Exercise their best professional judgement in every aspect of their roles as educators.
• Commit to transparency and fairness in instructional practices (e.g., using appropriate assessments, giving specific feedback, and communicating grades in a timely manner).
• Model and foster values of integrity (e.g., honesty, responsibility, respect, fairness, trustworthiness, transparency, compassion) inside and outside the classroom.

The following sessions are intended to support NSU educators in developing honest, fair, and consistent instructional practices that encourage freedom of inquiry.

INTG – Acting with Integrity 
BEDI – Embracing BEDI 
LCTR – Creating Learner-Centered Environments
DSGN – Designing Effective Learning Experiences 
TECH – Using Innovative Teaching Strategies and Technology

Copyright in the Classroom (INTG)
Copyright at times can be incredibly simple, such as the fact that everything is protected by copyright the moment it is created. Others, like how long the copyrights last, can be very complicated. And as to the question of “is this fair use,” even Federal Judges have trouble with the concept. This session will help you understand the basics, and some of the more complicated questions, when applied to a classroom setting. 

Introduction to Universal Design for Learning (INTG, BEDI)
Universal Design builds on the notion that what is essential for some is often good for everybody. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) applies this notion to learning, providing a framework to support diverse students in a way that is beneficial for everyone. In this session, Dr. Orellana will introduce the UDL framework and principles, and present resources and examples to get started with UDL.

Plagiarism and Using Turnitin for your Online Course (INTG, LCTR, TECH, INTG)
If you have writing assignments in your course, then you already know that plagiarism can be a problem. This workshop will present the tool, Turnitin, which helps identify instances of potential plagiarism. During the workshop, you will learn about the various ways in which Turnitin can be used in your Canvas course, so that you can begin screening writing assignments for plagiarism, as well as grammatical errors.

Foundations of Teaching Online: Humanizing Approaches to Teaching with Technology (INTG, LCTR, TECH, BEDI)
Education is a caring practice. As such, it is important to consider the effectiveness of the technologies we use for promoting productivity, supporting student engagement, and facilitating a student’s acquisition of disciplinary knowledge, skills, and attitudes. In this session we define a pedagogy of care, discuss humanizing approaches to teaching with technology, and explore ways to integrate these approaches into current teaching and learning practices.

Foundations of Teaching Online: Accessible and Inclusive Instructional Design (INTG, BEDI)
In this workshop, we will explore strategies for making online courses more accessible and inclusive. All students can benefit from intentional course design.

Inclusive Courses in Canvas According to Universal Design for Learning: Practical Design Ideas (INTG, TECH, BEDI)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)-based instruction promotes inclusive learning that meets the diverse needs of all students. Three UDL principles, nine guidelines, and 31 checkpoints guide the creation of instructional environment, lessons, and curricula. However, given the myriad of pedagogical and technological options, where and how do we start implementing UDL in an online course? What are some practices or tips to get started in Canvas? In this session, Dr. Orellana will share and discuss with participants practical implementation ideas to design Canvas courses according to UDL.

Connecting Faculty and Student (Re-)Engagement with Relationship-Rich Education: Opportunities for Fall 2022 (INTG, LCTR,BEDI)
This conversation will provide participants with an overview of relationship-rich education (Felton and Lambert, 2020) and how it can have a positive impact on faculty and student (re-)engagement this fall. This workshop is being offered only for undergraduate department chairs and faculty developers at this time.

Did You Know? Canvas Rubrics (INTG, LCTR, TECH)
Rubrics are a valuable tool for both instructors and students. They are especially useful for written assignments and projects where quality may be hard to define, and grading can be interpreted as being subjective. For instructors, rubrics help to clarify expectations and components for an assignment. They also help to assess assignments consistently from one student to another and they cut down time spent on grading. For students, rubrics let them know ahead of time what is expected and provide meaningful feedback that helps them understand why they received a particular grade. This session will focus on rubrics in Canvas.

ChatGPT, Caktus, and Other AI Essay Generators: How Should We Respond? (INTG, LCTR, TECH)
This panel will provide participants with an overview of AI essay generators, specifically ChatGPT and Caktus, and how they might affect the teaching of writing across the university. Panelists from a variety of disciplines will share their perspectives on AI essay generators, including discussions they are having with students about essay generators, adjustments they have made to writing assignments, and how they might use essay generators as pedagogical tools. A discussion period will follow the presentation.

Beyond Plagiarism Detection: Cultivating Ethical AI Engagement in Student Projects (INTG, DSGN, TECH)
Generative AI is fast becoming an interesting student-facing tool to explore for coursework. There are many creative ways to engage students and provide learning opportunities using tools such as ChatGPT and Bing’s Image Creator. In this session, faculty at NSU who have been using generative AI for coursework, will share their experiences so far. The panel will share what worked well and what they learned for future experiences. The session will provide insights for other faculty members who are considering, or already using, generative AI in their courses.

Technical Consideration of Artificial Intelligence, Learning Design, and Cognition (INTG, LCTR, DSGN, TECH)
This session will cover the potential/current impact of artificial intelligence on cognitive load, learning design, and student development. We will explore the intersection of how students learn, the capabilities of AI in mitigating and minimizing unnecessary cognitive load which can foster student development and achievement while highlighting the ethical and academic implications of the future of education and machine learning. 

Starting the Journey to Excellence with a College Faculty Onboarding Program (INTG, BEDI)
The journey to engaged, excellent teaching requires support and preparation for those doing the teaching! In this session, we describe a college Faculty Onboarding Program we developed in 2023 to introduce our new faculty to NSU and provide them with the resources and information needed to succeed in their new role—driven by the belief that effective onboarding will lead to higher job satisfaction, better job performance, greater organizational commitment, and reduction in stress. Informed by feedback from recently hired faculty, we identified support strategies to help new faculty thrive by proactively removing barriers and minimizing guesswork, rather than fixing issues in a reactive fashion.
Attendees will have access to program resources they can adapt for their own use, such as checklists to guide new faculty during their first day, week, term, and year. They will see the non-CRN Faculty Onboarding Canvas Site we created as a virtual learning community; it houses modules on everything from how to get a Shark Card, how to handle grade disputes, to the process for faculty contract review. The program also includes in-person and Zoom activities, such as a college New Faculty Orientation, Onboarding Open Houses, Canvas Support Sessions, a Teaching Workshop Series, and social gatherings with the Dean. We also expanded our Faculty Peer Mentor program and provided additional support to the Peer Mentors. We hope that attendees will gain inspiration and practical ideas for engaging faculty in their own colleges in a manner that supports excellence in teaching and learning across the university.