Book Circles - Fall 2023
The CTLT hosts book circles every academic quarter and during summers. They are open to all Cal Poly educators. Selected books draw from a broad array of thoughtful and inspiring educational literature. These are opportunities to enrich your knowledge about timely and significant topics related to higher education while engaging with colleagues from across campus. Themes for book circle selections include: Mindful Educators, Mastery Teaching, Inclusive Educators, Navigating Academia, Sustainability Educators, and Writing Educators. Participants receive a complimentary copy of the selected book with the expectation that they will engage in three or more discussion sessions.
NOTE: Our cumulative Book Circles list of titles is available on the CTLT's Book Circle archival webpage.
Promoting Belonging, Growth Mindset, and Resilience to Foster Student Success
By Amy Baldwin, bryce bunting, Doug Daugherty, latoya lewis, and Tim Steenbergh
The most effective educators are masters at motivating all learners. An essential element of well-known models of motivation is a supportive environment. Educators who convey to their students that they belong, who encourage adoption of a growth mindset, and who teach them how to be resilient when engaging challenges are more likely to see greater student success. When your students know that you care about their success, that you believe in their capacity to meet high expectations, and that you will help when needed, they are more likely to persist through the uncertainties and hard work required for deep learning. This book is a rich compilation of research-grounded ideas and recommendations that can nurture a supportive environment in your classes and greatly enhance your students' engagement and their persistence.
The book is available for free download through Kennedy Library.
- Dates: Wednesdays, Oct 11, 18, 25 and Nov 1
- Time: 9:10-10 am
- Location: Chase Hall Room 104 (CTLT's new home) and concurrently online in Zoom (link will be sent to registrants)
- Facilitator: Dr. Patrick O'Sullivan (CTLT)
A "mastery Teaching" selection
An "inclusive educator" selection
REGISTER FOR FALL 2023 BOOK CIRCLES
Grading for Growth: A Guide To Alternative Grading Practices That Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education
by David Clark and Robert Talbert
For many faculty, grades (and specifically the grading process) represent some of the most challenging aspects of being a college instructor. An increasing number of thoughtful educators are scrutinizing common assumptions and typical grading practices. Collectively they make a compelling case that grading traditions are often deeply flawed and counterproductive to learning.
This book is an opportunity to examine approaches that could transform your experiences as a grader and your students' experiences as learners. The authors offer several promising alternatives to traditional grading practices that better promote authentic learning. They detail variants such as standard-based grading and specifications grading (and combinations) and they describe strategies for implementation in large lectures and labs as well as partial implementations. The final section is an alternative grading workbook that guides you through the process of designing an assessment plan and grading system, resulting in a draft ready to apply to your course(s).
This book is available for free download through Kennedy Library.
- Dates: Tuesdays, Oct 10, 17, 24 and 31
- Time: 9:10 am-10:00 pm
- Location: Chase Hall Room 104 (CTLT's new home) and concurrently online in Zoom (link will be sent to registrants)
- Facilitators: Dr. Stefanee Maurice (KINE) and Dr. Patrick O'Sullivan (CTLT)
A "mastery teaching" selection
An "inclusive Educator" selectin
