February Workshops

2/24

Tech it Out

Academy: Post-Pandemic Student Assessment: Continuity and Change

Academy: Collective Trauma – Developing Resilience in the Aftermath

Academy: Discovering Pathways for Digital Storytelling in Your Instruction

2/28

The Fours C’s of Good Writing: Commas, Clarity, Coherence, and Conciseness

2/1

11-12 p.m.

Unpacking the Experiential Learning Luggage

Instructor: Angela Lanier

Given MC’s recent focus on Experiential Learning, it is important for faculty and staff to understand what it means and what it looks like in action. This workshop will give an overview of Experiential Learning, including possible course activities, benefits to students, and tips for career planning.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define experiential learning
• Identify ways to promote experiential learning and career connection
• Evaluate experiential learning activities and evaluate relevance across courses and disciplines

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2/3

1:30-4:45 p.m.

Knowing Your Influencing Style

Instructor: John Egan

Description: Effectiveness in an organizational setting requires agreement on goals and processes, and your ability to influence others is crucial to your success. Influence success begins with self-awareness, knowing your influencing style and when that style is most effective, as well as possessing the skill and flexibility to use different influencing strategies as situations change. Complete a self-assessment that introduces nine influencing strategies, indicates your degree of comfort/discomfort with each, and discusses when each strategy is most and least effective.

This class is part of the Communication and Conflict Learning Pathway.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish nine strategies and apply the strategy most effective in each situation
• Influence others without having direct control or authority
• Identify and align with the goals and motivations of others
• Develop an action plan to transfer class learning to the “real world”

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2/6

7-8:30 p.m.

Tips and Tricks for Creating College-Level Learners

Instructor: Tom Cantu

This session will present a number of strategies for increasing student productivity ranging from ensuring that students are connected to the professor and their fellow students, monitoring student progress, and teaching students to improve their skills in time management, reading, notetaking, studying, and preparing for exams. Participants will have opportunities to share their own tips.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify your students’ weakest areas as college-level learners.
• Select one or more strategies you can use to help students become college-level learners.

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2/7

6-7 p.m.

Discover the Intelligent Features of PowerPoint 365

Instructor:  Gloria Barron

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2/7

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Introductory Workshop – Activating Annotation in Blackboard

Instructors: Gloria Barron, Christie DeCarolis (hypothesis)

In this session, the hypothesis team will discuss how collaborative annotation with Hypothesis can make student reading visible, active, and social. In addition to sharing pedagogical best practices for collaborative annotation, they will demonstrate how Hypothesis can be used with course readings. Participants can expect to come away from this session with a clear idea about how they can start incorporating collaborative annotation into their courses to improve student success.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. explain why social annotation may be useful in their course and explore potential social annotation assignment types.
2. create a Hypothesis-enabled reading in Blackboard.

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2/7

2:30-3:30 p.m.

Page Turners for Management Learners: “Great at Work” A book discussion for MC Management Alumni

Instructor: Cynthia Lee D. Mauris

Description: As a manager, you need to be at the top of your game.  Sometimes you are not, though.  Why do some people perform better at work than others?  The author researched this question, and after studying more than 5,000 managers and employees, he concluded there are “seven work smarter practices” you can apply to maximize your time and optimize your performance.

How to participate:  Purchase the book (or obtain it from a library), read it before February 7, and attend the book discussion.  You will be able to be reimbursed upon completion of the class; reimbursement will be limited to the price listed on Amazon.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the seven work practices that can help you to work smarter
• Reflect on the class conversations as they relate to your efforts of keeping up to the demands you have

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2/8

1-4 p.m.

Microsoft Outlook Essentials

Instructor: Megan Calvert

This hands-on, small group workshop will provide a solid foundation in the use of Microsoft Outlook. Whether you want an overview of the basics, are looking to become more efficient, or have used Outlook for years and just want to update your knowledge of newer features, this course is for you. Even experienced users can benefit from valuable tips, tricks, and timesavers along the way.

Workshop outcomes are flexible and may be adjusted based on a survey of participant needs. Outcomes may include:

• Access your email via Outlook 2019 (or the Microsoft 365 desktop app), mobile app, and Microsoft 365 web app
• Identify best uses for Outlook
• Navigate and customize the latest Outlook environment
• Create, send, forward, and reply to emails
• Format text and appearance of emails
• Create an email signature in accordance with Montgomery College guidelines
• Send, receive, and collaborate on attachments
• Set up an auto-reply (out of office)
• Search and filter email
• Ignore email conversations
• Clean up your inbox
• Set categories, flags, reminders, or colors to organize your inbox
• Organize mail using folders
• Add and organize contacts
• Use the Montgomery College global address book
• Create tasks and manage a to-do list using To Do
• Navigate and customize the calendar
• Schedule appointments and meetings
• Search for calendar items

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 2/9

8:45 am – 12 p.m.

Mindset for Wellness – with Coaching – Theme 3

Facilitator: Nathalie Thompson

Description: Human communications can be tough emotional labor. Learn to manage stress, recognize internalized negativity, and enhance wellness and productivity through mindfulness insights and techniques. Each session will have a predefined theme from which participants will be able to gain insight into their own issues through group coaching sessions.

Through a Group Coaching class design, we will explore a greater range of the kind of mental, emotional, and physical capabilities, skills, and self-care practices that we are currently experiencing.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

•  Acquire a wide understanding of wellness and resilience in yourself and others
• Experience coaching sessions that get participants to examine and apply “The resilience Triangle”: Mindset, Energy, Action
• Gain a better understanding of the mental, emotional, and physiological responses to stressors that exist across jobs and people at the college
• Develop the skill set of emotional and self-awareness (thoughts, triggers, feelings) and have tools to care for ourselves in that moment and a group environment.

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2/10

8:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Mindset for Wellness – with Coaching – Theme 4

Facilitator: Nathalie Thompson

Human communications can be tough emotional labor. Learn to manage stress, recognize internalized negativity, and enhance wellness and productivity through mindfulness insights and techniques. Each session will have a predefined theme from which participants will be able to gain insight into their own issues through group coaching sessions.

Through a Group Coaching class design, we will explore a greater range of the kind of mental, emotional, and physical capabilities, skills, and self-care practices that we are currently experiencing.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Acquire a wide understanding of wellness and resilience in yourself and others
• Experience coaching sessions that get participants to examine and apply “The resilience Triangle”: Mindset, Energy, Action
• Gain a better understanding of the mental, emotional, and physiological responses to stressors that exist across jobs and people at the college
• Develop the skill set of emotional and self-awareness (thoughts, triggers, feelings) and have tools to care for ourselves in that moment and a group environment.

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2/13

3-4:30 p.m.

Critical Thinking—An Overview (For LDI and MC Management Alumni)

Instructor: John Egan

Description: Critical thinking is hard work. The mind, left on its own, can ignore logic, refuse to look at the facts, generate ludicrous ideas, and be overwhelmed with emotion when quality thinking is needed the most. It is often just easier to rely upon past patterns and habits. Yet, to think critically and think well is essential for your personal and organizational success. It is at the root of all that you do well, other than relying upon luck and serendipity.  So, what is critical thinking?

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• be aware that critical thinking is a process, not an adjective.
• identify foundational elements of critical thinking and common barriers that hinder its use
• gain insights that enable you to apply critical thinking to daily situations and decision-making

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2/14

1-4 p.m.

Microsoft PowerPoint Essentials

Instructor: Megan Calvert

This hands-on, small group workshop will provide a solid foundation in the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. Whether you want an overview of the basics, are looking to become more efficient, or have used PowerPoint for years and just want to update your knowledge of newer features, this course is for you. Even experienced users can benefit from valuable tips, tricks, and timesavers along the way.

Workshop outcomes are flexible and may be adjusted based on a survey of participant needs.

Outcomes may include:

• Access PowerPoint via the desktop application and via Microsoft 365 (prior to the workshop)
• Identify the best uses for PowerPoint
• Navigate and customize the latest PowerPoint environment
  Create blank presentations and presentations from templates, including Montgomery College templates
• Save, organize, locate, and open presentations both locally and on the cloud
• Share and collaborate on presentations in real time using the cloud
• Insert and modify slides
• Cut, copy, paste, and format text
• Add bulleted and numbered lists
• Use themes to change the design of a presentation
• Insert and modify images
• Use intelligent design features to change the design of a presentation
• Apply transitions between slides
• Manage slides (change view, add notes, add sections)
• Check spelling, grammar, and accessibility
• Print your slides and customize printing
• Present your slideshow

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2/14

10-11 a.m.

Maslow Before Bloom in the College Classroom: Ensuring Basic Needs Are Met Before Academic Concerns Are Addressed

Instructor: Philip Bonner

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Bloom’s Taxonomy are staples for educators. The first addresses personal needs, while the latter outlines levels of thinking and learning. When students lack basic needs, such as access to food or a feeling of security, learning outcomes suffer. By helping students access resources and building a supportive learning environment, instructors promote student success. By putting Maslow before Bloom, instructors promote a social justice orientation in their classes.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to

• identify and explain Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Bloom’s Taxonomy.
• explain how to assist students in getting their basic needs met.
• explain why building a supportive and welcoming classroom encourages learning.

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2/16

4-5 p.m.

Using Hypothesis with Small Groups

When teaching a large class, it can be challenging to engage every student and ensure that no one feels invisible. Using Hypothesis for social annotation in small groups can help you make more meaningful and collaborative connections with your students. One of our most frequent requests is for the ability to segment large classes. This workshop focuses on the options for using Hypothesis in small groups, and it will cover how social annotation can be used to create a more collaborative learning environment.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• explain different use cases for using the Hypothesis small groups feature in their Blackboard course site.
• create a Hypothesis-enabled reading in their Blackboard course site with small groups enabled.

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2/16

2-3 p.m.

Democratizing Classroom Participation: Narrowing the Opportunity Gap

Instructor: Carolien Annink

In this presentation, we will look at the existing success rates of minoritized students at MC. We will follow Hogan & Sathy (2022)’s example of Inclusive Teaching by focusing on innovative, evidence-based teaching that will lead to greater success for all MC students, especially underrepresented students.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the difference in educational success across MC students from different ethnic groups
• Compare and contrast traditional college teaching with teaching for collaborative and active learning
• Design at least one Think-Pair-Share classroom activity for the current courses that they teach

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2/17

10-11 a.m.

Pedagogical Discussion # 4: Exploring Critical Race Theory (CRT):  Articulating Learning Outcomes with a CRT Perspective 

Instructor: Philip Bonner & Carolien Annink

After an introduction of MC’s mission and a summary of the different domains of learning, we will focus on the articulation of participants’ course student learning outcomes (SLOs). We will discuss the links between the SLOs and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to

• Compare and contrast their courses’ learning outcomes with outcomes for multicultural and anti-racism teaching
• Examine their own ideas on CRT-informed SLOs along with ideas from their colleagues
• List one or two consequences for the student-faculty relationship

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2/21

1:15-4:30 p.m.

Reflective Listening: How to Hear and Be Heard for Successful Conversations

Instructor: James Boyle

This class is part of the Communication and Conflict Learning Pathway.

Use reflective listening for success and as body armor in difficult conversations. Learn the proven formula for successful listening to really hear and be heard, explore the use of open-ended questions, and understand how to get a “that’s right!” from the person on the other side of the table.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Use the reflective listening formula for any interaction
• Use reflective listening as body armor for difficult conversations
• Use open-ended questions to gain clarity and mutual understanding in your conversations
• Get a “that’s right!” from the person across the table

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2/21

3-4 p.m.

Reading and Writing to Learn with Hypothesis

Instructor: Chip Gladson & WID Coordinators

Help your students develop reading skills and prepare to write papers in response to readings. Increase their engagement with course materials. This hands-on workshop will help you to discover a more collaborative approach to reading complex texts while building community with Hypothesis in Blackboard.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• identify reading and writing-to-learn goals appropriate to course content
• create a social annotation assignment using the Hypothesis tool in Blackboard
• grade Hypothesis assignments

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2/23

3-4 p.m. 

Inclusive Instruction: A Discussion of What Inclusive Instructors Do

Instructor: Philip Bonner

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to

• Define what inclusive teaching is. 
• Describe good inclusive teaching practices. 
• Explain how to maintain an inclusive environment in their classroom.

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2/23

4-5 p.m.

Using Multimedia and Tags in Annotations

Instructor: Gloria Barron and Christie DeCarolis (hypothesis)

Whether you’re having students reply to your syllabus with funny GIFs or asking them to create videos in response to a current-events article, Hypothesis provides a text editor that allows you to include links, images, text, and videos in your and your students’ annotations. Tags can also be added to annotations to categorize and organize annotations. This workshop will walk you through how to add multimedia and tags in annotations and offer ideas for using these features to increase engagement in your course readings.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• explore and list 2-3 strategies to incorporate multimedia and tags into their social annotation assignments.
• explain why multimedia and tags may be beneficial to incorporate into their social annotation assignments.
• add images, videos, links, and tags to annotations.

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2/24

2-2:45 p.m.

Tech it Out

Instructor: Michele Knight

Tech it out is your opportunity to learn about new technology with a vibrant community of practitioners. During this 45-minute tech it out, participants will have the opportunity to choose from the following brief ten-minute awareness sessions for a quick overview of a technical topic.

• Hyperdoc: A tool you can use to create digital lesson plans for students.
• Notion: A college-sponsored resource for uploading videos similar to YouTube for faculty and staff use in Blackboard courses and other projects where video resources are needed
• Respondus Quiz Editor: If you have many quizzes you have created in Microsoft Word, use this tool to help you convert the quizzes into a format that can be imported into Blackboard.

For the last thirty-five minutes of tech-it-out, we will have open discussion and sharing of things that the group is already using or that look interesting in the world of educational technology.

We welcome you to sign up for this session!

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Develop an awareness of a technical topic
• Participate in a “free-form” technical community of practice discussion

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2/24

2-4 p.m.

Academy: Post-Pandemic Student Assessment: Continuity and Change

Instructors: Carolien Annink & Sara Kalifa

In this new Academy 3-workshop series, we will discuss how emergency-remote teaching during the pandemic awakened us all to the reality and the many advantages of teaching in the digital age. During the pandemic, many of us came to recognize that we “inherited a system designed for students from a different time and with different assumptions and capabilities” and that students of this age have “different aims and live in a world with different technology” (Bowen, 2017, p. xxi). We will examine how the pandemic both temporarily and permanently changed our course design, in particular, our design of assessment activities (exams) for student learning.

PARTICIPANTS MUST COMPLETE ALL THREE SESSIONS TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE WORKSHOP SERIES.

February 24, March 24, and April 28

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Compare and contrast their pre- and post-pandemic assessment practices
• Describe some different ways colleagues have experienced the shift in thinking about assessment
• Summarize 5-7 new assessment techniques that work for post-pandemic college teaching
• Design, deliver and evaluate 3-5 innovative assessment techniques for their own current courses
• Connect the use of innovative assessment with the creation of an inclusive classroom

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2/24

2-4 p.m.

Academy: Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning

Instructor: Megan Calvert

Whether due to the collective loss and disruption of the pandemic, shared experiences of broad inequities, or individual experiences, our classrooms at Montgomery College are undoubtedly impacted by trauma. This workshop series will allow educators to better understand what that means for themselves and their learners, reflect on their current teaching strategies through a trauma-informed lens, and implement new approaches and practices in a supportive learning environment.

PARTICIPANTS MUST COMPLETE ALL THREE SESSIONS TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE WORKSHOP SERIES.

February 24, March 24, and April 28

Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:

• Define trauma and ways that it can manifest
• Explain how trauma impacts the brain and learning
• Identify core principles of trauma-informed pedagogy
• Put principles of trauma-informed pedagogy into action in the classroom

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2/24

2-4 p.m.

Academy: Discovering Pathways for Digital Storytelling in Your Instruction

Instructor: Matthew Decker

In this workshop series, participants will be introduced to the vast and dynamic world of Digital Storytelling, an innovative pedagogy established by StoryCenter in California and later implemented by artists, activists, and educators across the globe. Montgomery College already boasts an active Community of Practice in Digital Storytelling that is supported by the Digital Storytelling Internship. For faculty members interested in designing a rewarding assignment for students that blends written communication, collaboration, and technology literacy, this workshop series will introduce the process for scaffolding a Digital Story project in any class. Participants will learn more about Digital Storytelling as a high-impact practice, create their own digital stories using multiple video editing platforms, and develop strategies for incorporating this unique assignment into their courses.

PARTICIPANTS MUST COMPLETE ALL THREE SESSIONS TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE WORKSHOP SERIES.

February 24, March 24, and April 28

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop series, participants will be able to:

• Define and describe what makes a Digital Story and contextualize its value as a high-impact, innovative pedagogy
• Develop strategies for incorporating a Digital Story assignment into a course: Design, implement and evaluate the assignment.
• Create a Digital Story, beginning with a script and concluding with a video edit.
• Navigate and utilize video editing platforms, including Adobe Spark and WeVideo.
• Identify and access resources beyond this workshop series for further support.

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2/28

8:45 a.m.-12

The Fours C’s of Good Writing: Commas, Clarity, Coherence, and Conciseness

Instructor: Philip Bonner

Writing well is a skill anyone can develop. In this 12-hour class over four sessions, learn to edit common grammar errors and explore how to make your writing clearer, better organized, and more concise. Practice improving weak writing samples in small group exercises and learn with and from each other.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• identify and correct common grammar errors, including sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and dangling modifiers
• distinguish commonly confused words, e.g., than and then and it’s and its.
• edit for clarity, coherence, and conciseness.

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