Sharing Communities

A program for instructors to discuss a topic
In this Section
Light bulb in circle with sharing community banner

The NTLC's Sharing Communities typically consist of groups of 6-10 instructors (sometimes more) who agree to meet at least three to four times during a semester to investigate a topic, issue or problem related to teaching and learning. The conversations are lively, thought-provoking, and beneficial.

 

2024-2025 Sharing Community 

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) Sharing Community

TILT is a project that focuses on two strategies to promote success for all students and reduce inequitable outcomes in higher education. The two strategies are: 1. “Promoting students’ conscious understanding of how they learn.” 2. “Enabling faculty to gather, share and promptly benefit form current data about students’ learning by coordinating their efforts across disciplines, institutions and countries.” (Winkelmes, 2023).
 
The NTLC is sponsoring a TILT project in 2024-25 that includes an introduction to TILT by founder Mary-Ann Winkelmes (May), support and mentoring by NTLC for TILTing 1-2 assignments (June-August), optional development of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) proposals, implementation of TILTed assignments in the 2024-25 academic year, and assessment of student outcomes.
 
Join Sylvia Tiala in this introduction to the TILT Project that will discuss:
I.  Three levels of participation, requirements and incentives
II.  Meeting dates and project timelines
III.  Resources to explore

 

Date: Friday, March 29, 2024
Start Time: 3:30 PM
End Time:
Location: ONLINE

 

Please email Sylvia Tiala (tialas@uwstout.edu) with questions or if you are interested in TILT but can't make this introductory meeting time work for you.

Registration button

 

 

 

Teaching the Adult Learner & Online Instruction, Matt Simoneau

Join Matt Simoneau for this online sharing community discussing online teaching and learning with an emphasis on the adult learner. This sharing community will be informed by literature (Brocket, Brookfield, Knowles) that defines the unique needs of the adult learner. The discussions  center around best practices for teaching adult learners as well as providing a forum for sharing online teaching experiences. This sharing community will be appropriate for both general education and program faculty. 

Meeting times are scheduled online for (days TBD) from (times TBD) on the following dates:

TBDTBDTBD
TBDTBDTBD
TBDTBDTBD

Themes for discussion are not limited to:

  • Overview of stout online students
  • What is an adult learner
  • Establishing relationships
  • Engaging online learners
  • Developing creditibility

Please contact Matt Simoneau (simoneaum@uwstout.edu) with questions.

Registration button

 

 

2023 - 2024 Sharing Communities

EDI and Math /CS/Stats/CNIT . . ., Andrei Ghenciu and Chris Bendel

Join Andrei Ghenciu and Chris Bendel in a series of discussion among Math. Statistic, and Computer Science . . .  instructors who will explore ways to integrate inclusivity, diversity, and equity examples into their courses and assignments.  One of the goals of the sharing community will be to identify resources that are available.  Attempts will be made to alter at least one assignment to better address EDI issues.   

2022 - 2023 Sharing Communities

All Students Must Thrive . . . , Danny Gissing, Anthony Goettl & Hannah Lammer

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join Hannah Lammer, Danny Gissing, and Anthony Goettl in a sharing community that will engage with Howard's celebrated text "All Students Must Thrive:  Transforming Schools to Combat Toxic Stressors and Cultivate Critical Wellness".  Through the intersecting lens of critical pedagogy and wellness, this sharing community will collaborate to interweave theoretical and historical perspectives with practical guidance and application – offering micro and macro level tips and perspectives that will help staff and faculty alike nurture student well-being and more inclusive educational spaces. 
 

EDI and Math /CS/Stats/CNIT . . ., Andrei Ghenciu and Chris Bendel

Join Andrei Ghenciu and Chris Bendel in a series of discussion among Math. Statistic, and Computer Science . . .  instructors who will explore ways to integrate inclusivity, diversity, and equity examples into their courses and assignments.  One of the goals of the sharing community will be to identify resources that are available.  Attempts will be made to alter at least one assignment to better address EDI issues.   

Experience with Hypothes.is, Dana Wanzer

Join Dana Wanzer for an informal sharing community through the NTLC to discuss our experiences using Hypothesis. 

Immersive Learning and Ethics for VR in the Classroom

Join Jamison Patrick and Darcy Hannen as they lead a sharing community of up to 10 participants in 5 meetings and interact with virtual reality (VR) equipment and VR environments. Training on equipment is included in the experience. The sharing community will investigate ethical considerations, human safety measures, and potential impacts of incorporating VR environment experiences into our college classes, using the work of Nonny de la Peña as examples. Through environment testing, discussions, and a guest speaker, we will collectively determine how to best manage and deliver VR experience to our students. Further, we will use the method of immersive learning as a starting point as our framework, lens, and guide in this exploration. The sharing community will have a total of 5 meetings. 4 of the meetings will be “discussion” meetings (October, November, February, March), which will be 1 hour in length. The fifth meeting will be a “guest speaker” meeting (January), which will be 1 ½ - 2 hours in length. Further, sharing community participants will act on their own to meet with ID Program staff to view and interact with certain VR environments in advance of all discussion meetings.

Teaching the Adult Learner & Online Instruction, Matt Simoneau and Amy Gullixson

Join  Matt Simoneau and Amy Gullixson for this online sharing community discussing online teaching and learning with an emphasis on the adult learner. This sharing community will be informed by literature (Brocket, Brookfield, Knowles) that defines the unique needs of the adult learner. The discussions  center around best practices for teaching adult learners as well as providing a forum for sharing online teaching experiences. This sharing community will be appropriate for both general education and program faculty. 

Themes for discussion are not limited to:

  • Overview of stout online students
  • What is an adult learner
  • Establishing relationships
  • Engaging online learners
  • Developing creditibility
2021 - 2022 Sharing Communities

2021-2022 Sharing Communities 

Alternative Grading Systems, Dana Wanzer

Join Dana Wanzer for a year-long sharing community examining alternative grading practices. If you are interested in learning more about this sharing community or getting involved, please come to this session! All folks interested in alternative grading systems are welcome. 

Please contact Dana Wanzer (wanzerd@uwstout.edu) with questions 

 

EDI and Math /CS/Stats/CNIT . . ., Andrei Ghenciu and Chris Bendel

Join Andrei Ghenciu and Chris Bendel in a series of discussion among Math. Statistic, and Computer Science . . .  instructors who will explore ways to integrate inclusivity, diversity, and equity examples into their courses and assignments.  One of the goals of the sharing community will be to identify resources that are available.  Attempts will be made to alter at least one assignment to better address EDI issues.   

High Impact Practices (HIPs), Jeff Sweat

Does your teaching help engage all students?  Are you working to help students integrate and transfer knowledge across disciplines?  Are you working to make your learning equitable?  Many instructors include experiential and work-based learning, service learning, community engagement, undergraduate research and the like in their courses. Jeff Sweat leads this sharing community in discussions that reach beyond the 11 identified high impact practices to explore and discuss the attributes of high impact practices and identify those practices, in a Covid-19/post Covid-19 era, at UW-Stout.

Meeting times will be determined by participants after registration ends at 5 PM on Wednesday, September 15th.

Please contact Jeff Sweat (sweatj@uwstout.edu) with questions

 

Reflecting on RES/GLP, Rickie-Ann Legleitner

Join Rickie-Ann Legleitner in this  online sharing community that provides a space for faculty who teach RES/GLP courses to share ideas, experiences, lessons, pitfalls, resources, etc. so that we can learn from each other and strengthen our work together. 

Meeting times will be determined by participants after registration ends at 5 PM on Wednesday, September 15th.  

Please contact Rickie Ann Legleitner (legleitnerr@uwstout.edu) with questions

 

Reflective Practice with PERTS' Co-Pilot Ascend, Sylvia Tiala

It's everyone's job to recruit and retain students but how do we do that?  What strategies can instructors use to to make sure their students feel welcome safe and have a feeling of belonging?  This sharing community will be a safe space where instructors will assess and respond to students' feelings of belonging, identity safety, institutional growth mindsets, self-efficacy, social belongingness, social connectedness, as well as trust and fairness.  Instructors will use resources from the Project for Education Research That Scales (PERTS) and the Student Experience Project as they survey their students, review student feedback, learn about relevant practices for improvement, and track improvement through repeated cycles.  Participants are able to explore and share experiences a safe space that allows for robust discussions related to how students experience courses.  This sharing community will be led by Sylvia Tiala - Director of the Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center.

Requirement:  A willingness to use PERT's Co-Pilot Ascend/Student Experience Project's surveys and resources.

Meeting times and delivery format will be determined by participants after registration ends at 5 PM on Wednesday, September 15th.  

Please contact Sylvia Tiala (tialas@uwstout.edu) with questions

 

Teaching the Adult Learner & Mentoring for Online Instructors, Matt Simoneau and Amy Gullixson

The topic for this online sharing community is about teaching the adult learner. Matt Simoneau  and Amy Gullixson lead this sharing community with discussion utilizing literature (Brookfield, Knowles) that defines the unique needs of the adult learner. The discussions  center around best practices for teaching adult learners as well as providing a forum for sharing online teaching experiences. This sharing community will be appropriate for both general education and program faculty. 

Meeting times are scheduled online for Mondays at 3:45 - 4:30 on the following days:

September - 20October - 4 & 18November -  ! & 15
December - 13 January - TBDFebruary - 7 & 21
March - & & 21April - 4 & 18?May - 2 & 16

Themes addressed:

- Survey says (Stout Online data and student surveys)

- I'm 18.  Am I an adult learner?

- Relationships, relationships, relationships

- Street creds

- Course structures - tips & tricks

- Assessing the adulty learner - did they get it?

- Is it them or me?  Becoming a critically reflective practitioner.  

- Bringing it all back home.

Please contact Matt Simoneau (simoneaum@uwstout.edu) with questions.

 

Town and Gown, Kate Edenborg

Kate Edenborg leads online discussions on the concept of “town and gown." While UW-Stout sits in the center of downtown Menomonie, many in the community feel distanced from the university. This group would have the opportunity to discuss this distance and sometimes tension between the town and the college. While could also highlight the connections and the collaborations, the discussion would focus on getting a sense of what the relationship is like now and what could be done to change it. A few texts provide examples of case studies of other campuses and cities and that would be the starting point. There's also UW Community Engagement Colleagues Network that could contribute to the conversation.

Meeting times will be determined by participants after registration ends at 5 PM on Wednesday, September 15th.  

Please contact Kate Edenborg (edenborgk@uwstout.edu) with questions.

2020 - 2021 Sharing Communities

Teaching in 2020:  Applied Ethics on Campus/Canvas 

It might be hard to remember that we had a few months of normalcy at the start of 2020. But before we knew it, not only did all faculty have to quickly adjust to teaching all of our courses online we also had many other uncertainties surrounding our lives. This Sharing Community will start out by taking a look back at issues that arose in spring and we will discuss what we would have done differently. We will use some ethical decision-making processes to frame our conversations. At the start of fall, the group will talk about some specific online teaching concerns, such as academic misconduct, course/program integrity and related topics. Later in fall we’ll start to take a closer look at present day situations we and our students are facing. We will start to tackle larger issues that delve into faculty and student interactions and processes. Participants will start thinking about ways we can address timely, yet controversial, topics, such as protests and elections, in our classrooms.

Kate Edenborg, interim director of the Center for Applied Ethics, will facilitate this Sharing Community. The first meeting will be held on in Microsoft Teams. We will plan to meet at least once a month after that. Times and dates will be determined at the first meeting. Contact Kate at edenborgk@uwstout.edu or ext. 1483 if you want to know more.

 

“Me” and White Supremacy Discussions – Sharing Community

This group will use discussion, self-reflection, and the first 83 pages of Layla Saad’s book, me and white supremacy, to explore topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion. With this sharing community as a safe space, we will examine ideas of white privilege, white fragility, tone policing, color blindness, and more. These discussions support Stout’s goals of recruitment and retention of more diverse employees, as well as individuals’ personal and professional goals of improving teaching effectiveness and interactions with students and colleagues outside of the classroom. Books will be provided by NTLC.  Space is limited so please register early at:  

Meeting schedule:  Thursdays: 2:30 - 3:25

  • September 24 - My identities & white privilege presentation
  • October 8 - My identities & white privilege discussion
  • October 22 - White fragility presentation
  • November 5 - White fragility discussion
  • November 19 - Tone policing presentation
  • December 3 - Tone policing discussion
  • December 17 - White silence
  • January 14 - White silence discussion
  • January 28  - White superiority presentation
  • February 11 - White superiority discussion
  • February 25 - White exceptionalism
  • March 11 - White exceptionalism discussion
  • March 25 - Color blindness
  • April 8 - Color blindness discussion
  • April 22 - IDI (tentative) & reflection 
  • May 13 - Debriefing & Next Steps 

Note: the content of some sessions and discussions can be difficult to consider, such as white privilege, paradigms about race,  and identity-based discrimination and harassment. This sharing community is designed to be a place where people engage bravely, honestly, and thoughtfully with challenging ideas.

 

 

Small Teaching Online – Sharing Community

As a group, we will share ideas, expertise and questions related to enhancing our knowledge and skills for effectively teaching courses with a full or partially distance-delivered model. We will use Darby’s book Small Teaching Online as a guide for applying learning science in online environments.  The book will be provided by NTLC. 

Sylvia Tiala of the Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center will facilitate this Sharing Community/Community of Practice.  The first meeting will be held  in Microsoft Teams. We will plan to meet twice a month after that. Times and dates will be determined at the first meeting.  Contact Sylvia Tiala  at tialas@uwstout.edu or ext. 5196 for more information.

Sharing Community Topics:

  • October - Designing for Learning
    • Backward Design
    • Engagement
    • Media & Technology Tools
  • November - Teaching Humans
    • Building Community
    • Giving Feedback
    • Fostering Student Success
  • December
    • Creating Autonomy
    • Making Connections
    • Developing as an Online Instructor

 

 

2019-2020 Sharing Communities

Table of Knowledge

Jill Klefstad, School of Education, is continuing to offer this Sharing Community and to provide instructional and non-instructional staff a laid-back, safe and comfortable gathering place to dialogue and share issues related to teaching, learning, and professionalism in higher education. Examples include engaging students, mindfulness, building collaboration across campus, and much more.

Replace Learning Technology Services with this title: Canvas Best Practice Discussion:

Learning Technology Services is working with NTLC to offer a Sharing Community designed to support instructors in advancing their understanding of how to more effectively use Canvas tools. The NTLC Sharing Community encourages faculty to go beyond the basics of Canvas by learning from campus faculty in monthly discussions that showcase how they have creatively designed a course in Canvas and what tools they are using to enhance student understanding. Instructors are learning how to use Canvas in unique ways!

2018-2019 Sharing Communities

Table of Knowledge

Jill Klefstad, School of Education, facilitated the bimonthly conversations to provide instructional and non-instructional staff a laid-back, safe and comfortable gathering place to dialogue and share issues related to teaching, learning, and professionalism in higher education. Examples included engaged students, mindfulness, building collaboration across campus, and much more.

Online Teaching Pedagogy

Marya Wilson, Operations and Management, facilitated the Online Teaching Pedagogy Sharing Community for the academic year. The group met once a month via Skype for Business. This was a very casual one-hour conversation about ways to be more effective online teachers. This was an important campus discussion given our LSM conversion. 

2017-2018 Sharing Communities

Table of Knowledge

Jill Klefstad, School of Education, facilitated the bimonthly conversations to provide instructional and non-instructional staff a laid-back, safe and comfortable gathering place to dialogue and share issues related to teaching, learning, and professionalism in higher education. Examples included engaged students, mindfulness, building collaboration across campus, and much more.

Table of Knowledge Flyer

2016-2017 Sharing Communities

Online Pedagogy Conversations in Higher Education

Marya Wilson, Operations and Management, facilitated the Online Teaching Pedagogy Sharing Community for the academic year. The group met once a month via Skype for Business. This was a very casual one-hour conversation about ways to be more effective online teachers. This was an important campus discussion given our LSM conversion.

Table of Knowledge

Jill Klefstad, School of Education, facilitated the bimonthly conversations to provide instructional and non-instructional staff a laid-back, safe and comfortable gathering place to dialogue and share issues related to teaching, learning, and professionalism in higher education. Examples included engaged students, mindfulness, building collaboration across campus, and much more.

Teaching and Learning with Geo-spatial Information Systems and Technologies

Innisfree Mckinnon, Social Sciences, served as the facilitator. Information

2015-2016 Sharing Communities

Online Pedagogy in Higher Education

Marya Wilson, Operations and Management, facilitated the Online Teaching Pedagogy Sharing Community for the academic year. The group met once a month via Skype for Business. This was a very casual one-hour conversation about ways to be more effective online teachers. This was an important campus discussion given our LSM conversion.

2014-2015 Sharing Communities

Online Pedagogy in Higher Education

Marya Wilson, Operations and Management, facilitated the Online Teaching Pedagogy Sharing Community for the academic year. The group met once a month via Skype for Business. This was a very casual one-hour conversation about ways to be more effective online teachers. This was an important campus discussion given our LSM conversion.

2012-2013 Sharing Communities

Exploring Racism, Colonialism and Empire

Virginia Lea, School of Education, facilitated a group dialogue for faculty and instructional staff to generate ideas that were used to develop a new course design to enhance Stout students' critical awareness of impact of racism, colonialism and empire on socioeconomic, political, cultural and educational arrangements worldwide - particularly on the lives of current and historically displaced and exiled young people and their families.

Teaching Strategies: Even More Ways to Engage Students and Assess Learning

Deanna Schultz, School of Education, facilitated the group.

2011-2012 Sharing Communities

Brochure of Sharing Communities

Critical Friends: A Collegial Review of Each Other’s Assignments

This community was inspired by an article that appeared in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, entitled, "Critical Friends." The author, Deborah Bambino, wrote about how she and a group of her colleagues met monthly to examine student work and their own work. Their intentions, through working and supporting each other, was to improve the day-to-day learning of their students and to enhance their teaching excellence. Lorraine Mitchel, English and Philosophy, facilitated discussions with colleagues at UW-Stout with an active exchange of feedback and a supportive culture.

Learning Objectives Based Assessment (LOBA)

Todd Zimmerman, Physics, facilitated group discussions for people interested in finding out more as well as those who had started to implement the shift of focus from having students acquire enough points to get an "A" to getting students to become proficient in learning the course subject matter. A key component of this concept was to allow students to reassess on learning objectives at a later date to give an incentive to learn the material they may not have mastered earlier on.

Teaching Circle

Georgios Loizides, Social Sciences, facilitated a community for faculty members to discuss issues relating to teaching and learning in general. A few topics the group discussed in the past included ways to increase student engagement, successful strategies for the use of laptops in the classroom, and matching teaching schedules to instructor personality.

Exploring Racism, Colonialism and Empire

Virginia Lea, School of Education, facilitated a group dialogue for faculty and instructional staff to generate ideas that were used to develop a new course design to enhance Stout students' critical awareness of impact of racism, colonialism and empire on socioeconomic, political, cultural and educational arrangements worldwide - particularly on the lives of current and historically displaced and exiled young people and their families.

2010-2011 Sharing Communities

Mothers and Academia

In 2010, the Mothers and Academic Sharing Community began. This community allowed mothers who were in academics share their experiences and learn strategies to balance their demanding roles. Participants read articles, watched documentaries, listened to speakers and discussed issues that were impacting their daily lives. Maleka (Polly) Hashmi facilitated the group, which helped members create a nurturing environment that encouraged women across the campus to openly discuss topics they were concerned about. Lopa Basu, English and Philosophy, Glendali Rodriguez, Construction, Glenda Jones, English and Philosophy, and Julie Watts, English and Philosophy, served as co-facilitators.

Teaching Circle

Georgios Loizides, Social Sciences, facilitated a community for faculty members to discuss issues relating to teaching and learning in general.