Center for Teaching Excellence

Center for Teaching Excellence News

Enhance Your Teaching Practices at Oktoberbest 2024

Enhance your teaching practices at Oktoberbest: A Symposium on Teaching on Friday, October 25, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the University Conference Center, 1705 College St., Columbia, SC. Featuring a keynote by Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh from Simmons University, this event will offer insights on emotions, motivation, and learning, along with strategies to combat burnout and support mental health. Join us for professional development sessions, innovative teaching practices, meaningful connections, and a celebration of teaching excellence.

New Faculty Insights: New Faculty Orientation 2024

New Faculty Orientation (NFO) is an important opportunity for new full-time faculty to connect with colleagues and university leaders while gaining insights into resources for teaching, research, and professional development. NFO 2024 includes Benefits Day, which was held on August 19 and featured key benefits presentations, and Orientation Day on September 6, with a networking breakfast, resource overview, and interactive teaching workshop.

Ask USC: Answering Your Questions About Supporting Students

The Office of Student Advocacy is the primary resource for students, family members, and faculty needing help with university policies. Their Ask USC initiative, launched in March 2024, provides support through in-person, phone, email, and online chat. They assist with policy questions, conflict resolution, and verifying student absences. We collaborate with the Office of Student Advocacy to support faculty development and foster a positive learning environment across USC.

Empowering Inclusion and Accessibility with USC's Digital Accessibility Network

The USC Digital Accessibility Network, launched in spring 2024, is dedicated to improving digital accessibility for the USC community, especially those with disabilities. Key achievements include a Digital Accessibility listserv and training videos. Future plans include launching a Digital Accessibility certificate of completion, a mentorship program, and expanding membership. As one of our partners, the Network contributes to advancing digital inclusivity across USC.

University-wide Graduate Student Teaching Award Winners for 2023-2024

The CTE is excited to celebrate the recognition of teaching excellence awarded to 16 graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and graduate instructional assistants (GIAs) from the past academic year. These graduate student instructors play a crucial role in student learning at the university, and their achievements have been acknowledged by the Graduate School and various departments and schools.

Elevate Your Teaching: Join Our Fall Foundations of Learning Webinar Series

Enhance your teaching by joining our Fall Foundations of Learning Webinar Series! This fall, we are offering four webinars focused on essential foundational skills for educators. Topics include creating equitable teaching environments, applying constructivist and connectivist theories, engaging students through active learning strategies, and leveraging motivation to enhance learning.

Reflective Teaching Practices for Medical Educators Expands in Its Fourth Year

This summer, the Reflective Teaching Practices for Medical Educators (RTPforME) program concluded its fourth year, expanding to include the College of Pharmacy. Collaborating with the Schools of Medicine and Prisma Health, the program offered live webinars, asynchronous modules, and personalized projects. Over six weeks, 21 faculty enhanced their teaching through reflection, application of adult learning theories, and active learning strategies, resulting in significant improvements in their instructional practices.

Unlock the Power of Generative AI in Education with an Insightful Webinar Series

Discover the potential of Generative AI in education with our webinar series, "Teaching and Learning with Generative Artificial Intelligence." Gain practical strategies to integrate AI into your teaching, creating dynamic learning environments. Attend individual webinars or complete the entire series for a certificate and digital badge. Topics include responsible AI use, crafting engaging content, designing AI-powered activities, reimagining assessments, and updating teaching philosophies.

Fostering Innovation: Recognizing Innovative Faculty

The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) proudly recognizes Khalid Ballouli, Augustus Fountain, Katherine Ryker, Scott Smith, and Sarah Williams as recipients of the 2024 Garnet Apple Award for their innovative teaching. Don't miss the opportunity to honor their achievements at the 2024 Oktoberbest: A Symposium on Teaching on October 25.

Preparing Future Faculty Program Recognizes Outstanding Graduate Student Achievements

The CTE congratulates 36 graduate students recognized by the Preparing Future Faculty Program (PFF) for their commitment to excellence in academia and beyond, highlighting a significant milestone in their professional journey at USC.

Zoom and Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) Inspire Educational Innovation

Discover enhanced educational tools with Zoom and Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) at USC. Zoom offers seamless video conferencing, integrated with Blackboard, while UCV provides enhanced features. Fall 2024 courses in UCV are now available. Training sessions for UCV are provided by the CTE and eLearning Services to support educators in utilizing these tools for enhanced teaching and learning experiences.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Opportunities and Resources

Ten faculty from various departments across the University were chosen by the Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) for the Provost's Inaugural AI Teaching Fellowship. Over 12 months, they'll integrate GenAI into course design, assess its impact on learning, and share findings. The CTE recommends including a GenAI policy in course syllabi to foster transparency, academic integrity, and student preparedness.

Symposium Promotes First-Generation Student Success

The 2nd Annual Focus on First-Generation Symposium, held on March 15, 2024, featured Dr. Darris R. Means discussing strategies to support USC's first-generation students, supported by initiatives promoting their academic success and well-being.

GTA/IA Grantees' Teaching Resources Provide New and Innovative Ways of Learning

Supported by a teaching resource development grant, GTA/IAs develop teaching resources that enhance the quality and depth of undergraduate student learning at the University of South Carolina.

Cultivating Excellence in Medical Education: The RTPforME Program

Teaching in a medical school requires a unique set of skills and an ongoing commitment to excellence. The Reflective Teaching Practices for Medical Educators (RTPforME) program is designed to engage medical school faculty members in a transformative journey of reflective teaching practices.

Innovative Pedagogy Grantees Purpose Engaging Learning Experiences

CTE awards faculty Innovative Pedagogy grants for the revision or development of exemplary courses as an invest in the improvement of courses taught by faculty who provide students with exemplary, highly engaging learning experiences, offered either in an online, blended, or traditional format.

GTA/IAs Develop Resources to Enhance Quality of Undergraduate Student Learning

Graduate students awarded grants for the development of instructional materials, modules, cross-curriculum assessments, or other resources that will enhance the quality and depth of undergraduate student learning

Six Garnet Apple Awardees Enhance Student Learning at USC

Six recipients received the Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation which honors exceptional faculty at USC who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to best teaching practices and a record of developing innovative strategies to enhance student learning.

Thank a Teacher Program Recognizes Teachers Who Challenge and Inspire

As a way of recognizing instructors who go the extra mile, challenge and inspire students, the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) launched the Thank a Teacher Program in the fall of 2022.

A Single Platform for Creating and Managing Video Content

Panopto is a single platform for instructors to create and manage their video content. After an extensive trial and testing period in December of 2021, UofSC purchased full licensing for Panopto. On August 10, 2022, it was made available for all UofSC instructors. Panopto is a very robust system for creating videos, editing them, and providing the instructors with the ability to store the videos and to link the videos directly into their Blackboard core.

New Comprehensive, Student-Centered Quality Standards for Developing and Revising Online Courses Launched

The Quality Standards for Online Courses (QSOC) were developed to provide UofSC faculty, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), and support staff a new set of quality standards for the design, revision, and review of online courses. As a result of the new standards, faculty and instructional designers have access to an instrument that can be used as a starting point when designing and revising quality online courses.

Five GTA/IAs Awarded Teaching Resource Development Grants

Five Graduate Teaching and Instructional Assistants (GTA/IAs) awarded grants for the development of instructional materials, modules, cross-curriculum assessments, online learning innovations, or other resources that will enhance the quality and depth of undergraduate student learning at the University of South Carolina.

Grantees Integrate Virtual Reality Technology into Exemplary Courses

3 Faculty awarded grants for the revision or development of exemplary courses to integrate virtual environments technology (virtual reality, augmented reality, and/or 360-degree video)

Faculty Win Grants for Development of Exemplary Undergraduate Online Courses

Grants for the development or revision of exemplary undergraduate online courses for Winter Session 2023.

5 Faculty Honored with 2022 Garnet Apple Innovative Teaching Award

The Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation honors UofSC's most exceptional faculty who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to best teaching practices and an ongoing record of developing innovative strategies to enhance student learning in their courses. 5 recipients received this year's award and are to be commended for their accomplishments.

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