UB TaLCK

Teaching is stressful, so we've created a group to address that concern. UBTaLCK, which is an acronym for UB Teaching and Learning Community of Knowledge, is a Community of Practice aimed to assist faculty with best pedagogical practices and classroom strategies.

Our Community of Practice meets via Zoom once per week to address teaching concerns, discuss classroom strategies and share resources along with best classroom strategies and practices suggested by you, for you. What better way to improve your teaching skills than by learning from fellow educators who have the same experiences as you. Utilizing resources found at UB always proves helpful, therefore our group invites and welcomes collaboration throughout UB.

A sampling of topics from our community of practice:

  • Course evaluations: the many levels of importance they play, and what can be done to improve them
  • Gamification in the classroom: pros and cons
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion strategies
  • Rubrics, other grading design and alternate grading styles tips and tricks
  • Peer evaluation: how to provide better feedback
  • Academic integrity: working with our campus resources

when:

Wednesdays, Noon - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom

Proposed fall 2022 schedule of topics:

9/14/22 Monitoring student progress - day one to last class
9/21/22 New Learning Management System
9/28/22 Incorporating current events into lessons.
10/5/22 Addressing controversial topics in the classroom (e.g., war in Ukraine, school shootings, suicide of college students on campus).
10/12/22 Working effectively with guest lecturers (e.g., how many is too many, how do you prep them for your class, what do you ask of students to keep them engaged).
10/19/22 Student motivation
10/26/22 Grants and funding opportunities
11/2/22 Effective use of video and media
11/9/22 VR/AR 
11/16/22 How to thrive and not just survive while navigating the transition from Blackboard to Brightspace. Tips on refreshing a course.
11/23/22 Break
11/30/22 Break
12/7/22 Land acknowledgements and how to be diversity focused from the beginning of the semester.
12/14/22 End of semester wrap up tips and strategies.
12/21/22 Break for winter break

Founders:

Maggie Grady, Learning Designer
Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation

Jessica Kruger, Ph.D., MCHES®
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior
Director of Teaching Innovation and Excellence in the School of Public Health and Health Professions

Join our community