“If we want educational environments that support all students, it is clear that we actually have to involve them in creating those environments - to structure their voices into them.” Elena Marcovici (Student Contributor, )

Are you an undergraduate student who is curious about disruptive pedagogies, has an interest in or experience with , and is dependable and organized? The ASSETT group and the Center for Teaching and Learning are creating a team of undergraduate student consultants to partner with faculty to improve the teaching and learning experience through the “Students as Pedagogical Partners” initiative. This initiative positions students as collaborators with faculty, staff, and peers in transforming the educational experience. Through interdependent partnerships, undergraduate students and faculty collaborate to develop, revise, or co-create course content, develop strategies to make learning more accessible, and co-design projects. 

Through this year-long appointment, the consultants gain experience in:

• Contributing a student’s perspective through collaborative partnerships;
• Negotiating conflict and differences in perspectives;
• Collecting data, compiling artifacts, and providing formative and summative feedback on their experiences.

This is an ideal experience for those who are self-starters, feel comfortable working on emergent projects, and desire to exercise self-advocacy, autonomy, and agency.

Consultant Benefits

Consultants will also receive: 

• Pedagogical training about the Students as Partners framework, course design, Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity in the classroom, and Equitable teaching. 
• Guidance on exercising interdependence, communication, and analytical skillsets.  
• Experience in project collaboration, curriculum design, peer-to-peer engagement, and other marketable post-graduation skills

Consultants will be paid $18.00/hr and work 5-10 hours a week. To express interest in this opportunity, submit a one-page statement addressing your interest, previous experiences, and explanation of how this will help in your future career to Rebecca Lee at Rebecca.Lee@colorado.edu. Three applications will be selected and preference will be given to those who can fulfill a one-year commitment. Applications for these positions will be accepted until February 1, 2025.

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ASSETT is pleased to continue our Students as Partners program! During fall 2024, faculty and student partners will attend a seminar, engage with topics around student and faculty partnerships, and work interdependently on a student-centered project. The call for faculty participation is open through December 31, 2024 (there will be a separate call for interested students). 

What is Students as Partners

Students as Partners is a collaborative pedagogical approach that pairs faculty and students to improve teaching and learning. Bovill, Cook-Sather and Felten define student-faculty partnership as a “reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same ways, to curricular or pedagogical conceptualization, decision-making, implementation, investigation, or analysis” (2014, p. 6-7). 

In spring 2024, ASSETT launched its inaugural Students as Partners pilot program. This pilot partnered an equity-minded undergraduate student with a faculty member who sought to improve their teaching and their student’s learning. Through this one-semester partnership, pairs worked together to incorporate the student perspective into a course, assignment, or project design. Each pair determined how frequently they met and what the expectations were for each meeting. They also met as a large cohort throughout the semester to engage in pedagogical discussions and community building.

Program Compensation & Commitment

Faculty participants receive a $500 professional development award. Student partners will be compensated as an hourly employee for the hours they contribute to their project. 

A cohort of up to 5 pairs will be invited to participate. We will meet 4 times throughout the semester as a cohort for 1.5 hours. The schedule will be determined by the participant's availability and preference for in-person or synchronously on Zoom. Pairs will be expected to meet and work outside of the cohort meetings.  In addition to meeting with their student partner, faculty will also be expected to work on course or project development that results from the partnership work.

If you have already identified a student you would like to partner with, please indicate this on the application form.  If not, ASSETT will provide you with a student partner.

Program Goals

The goals of this program are to:

• Improve teaching and learning through a shared partnership.
• Challenge deeply held beliefs about the traditional roles of teachers and learners.
• Provide spaces for equity-seeking individuals to improve teaching and learning. 

Interested faculty should be reassured that the purpose of engaging students as partners is not to cede “power” to students nor is it to invite students to tell them what they are doing “wrong.”  Rather it is a dialogic process where faculty (who are subject matter experts) and students (who are experts at being learners) work together interdependently, bringing their strengths to create a student-centric product.

No one partnership is the same, as the nature of each project differs from its objectives and outcomes. The Students as Partners framework encourages each project to have its own personality, objectives, and outcomes - with the goal of the final product being more student-focused. 

Who Should Apply?

Ideal candidates have a desire to create an inclusive and equitable educational experience for their students, increase engagement in their classrooms, and engage with a diverse community of scholars. We also seek candidates who have an interest and commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. If this is you (or who you want to be), we encourage you to ! 

How to Apply?

To apply, no later than December 31, 2024. Further details and instructions will come soon.

Questions about the program or the application process may be directed to Jacie Moriyama, ASSETT’s Student Initiatives Program Manager or Rebecca Lee, ASSETT’s Student Initiatives Coordinator.

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Each year, ASSETT, the Arts & Sciences Support of Education Through Technology, awards a faculty member with the Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award. After reviewing recommendations from peers and students, ASSETT recognized Dr. Sangbok Kim as the 2024 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award for his development and implementation of a language learning program in his Korean classes and for his exceptional use of other technologies in his courses.

Sangbok is a senior instructor and a Korean Language Coordinator at the University of ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ at Boulder. Dr. Kim teaches beginner to advanced levels in the Korean language and has experience teaching at several universities. He also conducts research in linguistics, Korean and English language acquisition, and education. Dr. Kim has published several papers throughout his career. 

As an instructor dedicated to enhancing language learning experiences, Dr. Kim's impact extends far beyond traditional classroom walls. His innovative spirit is evident in the creation of PIP Lang, or Pronunciation - Interpretation - Performance Language. PIP Lang streamlines language acquisition by offering students a unique opportunity to practice their Korean oral skills from the comfort of their homes. PIP Lang transcends typical language barriers and fosters a deeper connection to the language. Dr. Kim's dedication to harnessing technology for educational advancement shines brightly, illuminating the path forward for educators interested in incorporating technology into the classroom. 

PIP Lang is a web platform that works in conjunction with Kim’s Anytime Korean textbook series. These textbooks have about 4-5 semester's worth of content. This connection between the software and textbooks creates an immediate application in the classroom. Dr. Kim explains that “it allows [students] to practice one-on-one conversations with virtual Korean speakers… [and] it is equipped with AI that automatically grades learners’ pronunciation during these virtual interactions.” Active oral production is crucial when building language skills. Using AI speech recognition, PIP Lang provides real-time feedback to students. Through Dr. Kim’s research on the benefits and effectiveness of using PIP Lang, students reported conversing with confidence, gaining insights into Korean expressions, and improving their pronunciation, oral production and interactions. 

Dr. Kim developed PIP Lang to expand his capacity as the only native speaker in the classroom. “This limitation also hinders [students’] ability to receive immediate pronunciation feedback. Furthermore, students engage in conversation with peers throughout the entire class, and since these peers are also learning Korean, there’s a risk of reinforcing incorrect pronunciations and developing a skewed perception of the target language due to shared non-native accents and errors.” Dr. Kim describes PIP Lang as a virtual TA, offering real-time feedback, pronunciation corrections, autonomous speaking practice, and a flexible learning environment.

When asked about his use of technology in the classroom, Dr. Kim said, “I have always placed a strong emphasis on technology in my language classroom. In addition to PIP Lang, Dr. Kim actively uses many other technologies in his courses such as iSpring, Quizlet, and Gemini for their effectiveness in language learning. He also emphasizes the importance of platforms like YouTube for cultural exploration, and he integrates organizational systems in Canvas and OneDrive to share materials and host discussions.  

Instructional technology is particularly beneficial for language learning because it caters to learners' perspectives and offers diverse teaching methods.” This is undoubtedly evident in his students’ reflections on their classes with Dr. Kim, noting how his use of technology has helped in their individual learning as well as their collaboration with classmates. One student writes, “Personally, this has helped me a lot with my learning, and I believe that his methods will also continue to improve over time and help many more students in the future.”

Dr. Kim recommends three steps for technology-curious instructors: “(1) Focus on maximizing in-person interaction, (2) use technology to enhance, not replace, instructions, and (3) explore and experiment to find the right fit,” he explains. “By strategically utilizing these tools outside of class time, you can free up valuable classroom minutes for interactive and engaging activities… Don't be afraid to experiment and see what works best for you and your students.” 

Congratulations again to Dr. Sangbok Kim! Thank you for continuously working to improve your students’ learning experiences through innovative technology use. 

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This event will take place in the CASE building at the Center for Teaching & Learning on the third floor in room E390.

Join us on Tuesday, May 21 from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. MT, 

The rapid popularization of generative AI tools has created new challenges and opportunities for educators while raising complex questions about how we can best prepare our students to work with AI responsibly and ethically in their future professional, personal, and civic lives. Please join us in the unfolding experience of understanding this emergent technology at Summer Studio 2024: Teaching & Learning with AI. This full-day event features invited speakers and hands-on work time. This event is open to the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Community. (This is an in-person event with a hybrid option for those with barriers to physical attendance.)

8:30-9:00 a.m. Doors open, check-in, light breakfast snacks with coffee + tea service

9:00-9:30 a.m. Welcome, Purpose + Grounding, Overview of day

9:30-9:45 a.m. Transition + participant mingle

9:45-10:45 a.m. Speaker #1- Maha Bali

10:45-11:00 a.m. Transition + participant mingle

11:00-12:00 p.m. In-person, Hands on work session: AI Literacy In Action with Lee Frankel-Goldwater

Online, Participant Round Table Discussion: Critical AI Literacy

12:00-12:30 p.m. Break & Grab lunch (Boxed lunches will be provided for in-person participants)

12:30–1:30 p.m. Speaker #2 - Marc Watkins

1:30-1:45 p.m. Transition & Coffee/Tea break

1:45-2:45 p.m. In-person, Hands on work session: Teaching and learning to co-write ethically with generative AI with Diane Sieber

Online, Participant Round Table Discussion: Using a framework to guide student's  use of AI

2:45- 3:00 p.m. Closure + Departure

4:00-6:00 p.m. Meet us at Junkyard Social for our

Speaker:

Maha Bali

Maha Bali is a professor of practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at The American University in Cairo (AUC). She has a PhD in education from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. She co-founded , a grassroots movement that challenges academic gatekeeping at conferences. Also, Bali is a co-facilitator of ; an equity-focused, open, connected intercultural learning curriculum, which has also branched into academic community activities. Such activities are Continuity with Care, Socially Just Academia, a collaboration with OneHE: and , an innovative three-month professional learning journey.

Mark Watkins

Mark Watkins is an Academic Innovation Fellow, Lecturer of Writing and Rhetoric, and serves as the Director of the AI Summer Institute for Teachers of Writing at the University of Mississippi. He cochairs the AI working group within his department and serves as a liaison with other departments on campus, exploring generative AI’s impact on teaching and learning. In addition to being awarded a Pushcart Prize, Marc has been awarded a 2018 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Teaching and Learning, a WOW Fellowship, and a Sarah ISOM Fellowship. His research includes OER, open pedagogy, creative writing, digital humanities, AI in education, and grant writing.

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Each year, ASSETT awards the Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award to a faculty member who was nominated by their peers and students for their commitment to teaching with technology. In 2023, Bethany Wilcox was recognized for her use of technology to help students engage with course materials in meaningful ways that further their abilities to visualize the complexities of physics while simultaneously building their confidence as learners and leaders in the classroom.

Bethany is an assistant professor in the Physics department and a member of the Physics Education Research Group. Her responsibilities include researching, serving on university committees, and, most notably, teaching ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ's aspiring scientists in Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering. Along with her teaching, she also conducts research mainly focused on studying Physics Education Research, which delves into understanding students' abilities to problem solve in advanced Physics courses, measuring students' learning to ensure that curriculum and course development decisions are determined and grounded in data.

In Bethany’s nomination letter, her nominee mentioned that she is a pioneer at ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ for integrating technology in the classroom through her use of a Microsoft tablet that allows her to seamlessly transition between slides, i-clicker software, and other simulations that display complex concepts within Physics. While tablets are common within higher education, Bethany optimizes her use of this device by writing on and annotating slides in real-time during lectures. Through meticulous planning (and hours of pre-lecture prep), she drafts the details of every slide.  She uses different colored pens over a black background to explain concepts. And, because she’s sketched out every slide, Bethany can strategically place images on her screen that support her content without interfering with her text. This teaching method enables her to integrate technologies into her lectures that engage students' connections with the course on a much deeper level. Bethany also uses this technique to teach some of the most complex topics in Physics so students not only perform well in her course, but also internalize these concepts - like Quantum Mechanics:

“Quantum Mechanics can be very abstract because it is about the very small world. You cannot see electrons and quantities like spin, which are difficult to visualize because they don't have any classical analogs.”

Quantum Mechanics is a difficult concept. For some students, this hampers their ability to connect with the course material and instills anxiety. Bethany recognizes this sentiment and incorporates simulations, or sims, in her lectures to help students engage with these abstract concepts. During class, students experiment with these sims to understand these difficult and abstract concepts. Bethany often assigns a homework assignment where she has them use these sims to complete question sets. Bethany believes that her use of technology in and out of the classroom helps ground Physics so that students can truly grasp broader terms that are often hard or even impossible to visualize. By creating these exploratory processes, students engage with difficult concepts, further enhance their ability to understand the course material, and discover new aspects of Physics and themselves as learners.

One of the most vital parts of Bethany's research and her integration of technology in the classroom is its ability to instill confidence in students. Bethany creates courses emphasizing "exploration and learning" through tutorials that help create building blocks for students' foundational understanding of Physics. These tutorials are inclusively designed to support and engage the learner with material that enhances and harnesses their understanding of core concepts. Bethany believes this pedagogical approach greatly assists in her students’ ability to engage with and learn more advanced concepts in the future. 

Bethany clearly emphasizes that her teaching techniques and use of technology disregard normative teaching structures focused on correctness and speed. Instead her teaching approach encourages students to explore the Physics world, allowing students to build their confidence. All of Bethany’s course lectures and content are available for students to review what they’ve learned from previous class sessions. Bethany believes that providing previous class content aids in her students' abilities to "come to class feeling engaged and relaxed," without worrying about the previous week's concepts.

When asked about what advice she had for others, Bethany pragmatically responded, "Practice and have a plan. Don't try to wing it with technology because Murphy's law applies. Have a plan for what you will do if the technology fails so that you can smoothly transition when things inevitably go wrong. And, above all, check in with the students to ensure everything is going well, and be prepared to change your approach if they have concerns or suggestions." 

Bethany shows us that Physics is not only about speed and correctness but also how we can use education and technology to explore, build confidence, and learn what makes us passionate. She is an exemplary educator whose work further enlightens us about how, as learners, we constantly find new ways to shape how we learn and engage with the world around us. We can not be more excited to congratulate Behtnay Wilcox on all of her achievements, and we look forward to continuing to watch her help shape the future of education.

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Date: Monday, Sep 25, 2023
Time: 4:00-6:30 p.m.
Location: CTL CASE E390

Join us for an evening of excellence in teaching with technology on September 25 from 4-6:30 pm in the Center for Teaching & Learning (CASE E390). Learn about different ways your peers use technology in their teaching. The keynote address will be presented by Bethany Wilcox (PHYS), the recipient of both the Best Should Teach and ASSETT’s Excellence in Teaching with Technology Awards! And, in the spirit of celebrating, nominees for the Excellence in Teaching with Technology award will share how they engage their students through technology. Light refreshments and appetizers will be served. 

The Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award is presented to an Arts & Sciences faculty member nominated by their peers and/or students. Nominees have a record of excellence in teaching with technology and demonstrate commitment and leadership in furthering ASSETT's mission of advancing teaching and learning within ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ's College of Arts & Sciences.

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This fall, three newly funded teams composed of faculty, staff and students kick-off a three-year cycle (2023-26) of the innovation incubator to iterate their novel ideas for improving the undergraduate experience through teaching and learning with technology. The new cohort joins the second cycle of the innovation incubator which was originally piloted in 2019-22 with such success that it was adopted as a permanent program of ASSETT.

The current teams participated in an open idea submission process prompted by the question, “How might we radically transform the undergraduate learning experience by engaging Arts & Sciences students in active learning with technology?” Among the eight teams that applied for funding, three were selected for incubator funding by a committee of faculty, undergraduate students, and staff from the College of Arts & Sciences and from the Office of Information Technology. Submitted ideas were evaluated based on criteria of being student centered, boundary breaking, actionable, and scalable. 

Meet the 2023-26 ASSETT Innovation Incubator Teams!

Team Members: Laura Conway, Michelle Ellsworth, Charlie McCain, Angelica Lawson, Emilie Upczak

Give Us the Camera or GUT-C is a mentoring initiative for underrepresented students in the media arts field that addresses inequality at the student level through community building, technical workshops, and professional development opportunities. The Me Too movement made clear how difficult working in the media industry is for women, LGBTQ individuals, and BIPOC folks. GUT-C directly addresses underrepresentation in technical positions such as a camera operator, lighting designer, lead editor, and director of photography — a systemic issue mirrored in higher education. Funding and human resource support from the Innovation Incubator will enable GUT-C to develop its technical training, mutual aid, and mentorship model. 

Team Members: Kristin A. Moore and Jian Wei Tay

In partnership with student collaborators, this team will develop virtual laboratories that simulate scientific experiments. Virtual laboratories are interactive computer applications which will allow students to perform activities and actions that mimic working in a physical laboratory. New researchers require time to learn skills before they can contribute meaningfully. This is often compounded by the fact that students must maintain their academic standing, reducing their availability during the semester. Finding sufficient faculty mentors can also be challenging due to cost, resulting in many students initially participating in unpaid internships. However, this practice greatly disadvantages under-resourced students who may need to financially support themselves. Funding and human resource support from the Innovation Incubator will enable this team to develop curriculum while employing student developers and testers to design and build the virtual labs.

Team Members: Sage Dobby, Sydney Kowalchuk, Hannah Van Meveren, Jihye Park

The Womenexus team is creating a virtual community of women to help guide and support one another with their academic and career goals. In a challenging and rigorous college environment where, for example, women are more likely than men to leave a pre-med track, and 50% of women feel isolated, making meaningful connections can be difficult. Womenexus will provide a platform for women to build friendships and mentorships while navigating college, whether it be prior to arriving on campus or while in the middle of their studies. This may include guidance in pre-professional pathways, along with connection to shadowing and internship opportunities. Funding and human resource support from the Innovation Incubator will enable this team to compensate recent alumna and student project manager roles, as well as to employ the student-run, to develop their proposed app.

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Let's give a round of applause to Drs. Chelsea Hackett, Beth Osnes (Theater & Dance), Shawhin Roudbari (Environmental Design), and Rebecca Safran (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) for their recent NSF grant on Advancing Informal STEM Learning: “Side by Side: Youth-Authored Art-Science Exhibits to Broaden Participation in Climate Communication''! This project seeks to engage diverse youth as critical and informed climate communicators, generate clear pathways into STEM learning for diverse learners, and empower K-4th grade youth from historically marginalized communities to see themselves represented in STEM spaces. Through this work, female-identifying and gender expansive high school aged youth from historically marginalized communities in the Denver Metro Area will generate bilingual (Spanish/English), interactive art-science exhibits centered around humanity’s relationship with birds.These exhibits will be shared with underrepresented K-4th grade learners and distributed broadly. High school aged participants will be mentored by first-generation and culturally diverse undergraduate students from the Miramontes Arts and Science Program (MASP). Youth participants, undergraduate MASP student mentors, and graduate student mentors/researchers will all be involved in participatory aspects of the study, aiding in research design and analysis, and building their research capacities. Partners in this project include the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Denver Botanic Gardens, Environment for the Americas, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Learn more at the  (opens in new tab).

[Photo by Kylie Clarke]

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ASSETT is hiring students for three undergraduate positions: (3) Pedagogical Partner Consultants, a Student Videographer & Editor, and (3) Student Technology Consultants! Read the job descriptions and apply below!

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We are happy to announce the Active Learning Academy will continue for another year! This program is NSF-funded, faculty-driven, and supported by ASSETT and the CTL. The Active Learning Academy offers STEM faculty professional development (PD) opportunities to learn and apply research-based instructional strategies and course design principles to an undergraduate STEM course of their choosing. These strategies and principles are straightforward to implement and known to enhance student learning. They are also aligned with ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder's current efforts to have a “common student-centered approach to learning [PDF]” and to be a “T1 at the R1” [PDF].

The academy offers a series of three semester-long PD programs that build from one to the next: Learning by Design, Follow-up Mentoring, and Course Re/Design. Participants who successfully complete the first program are eligible but not required to participate in the second program. Those who successfully complete the first and second program are eligible but not required to complete the third program. Faculty who complete any of these programs can claim them in their annual performance. They will also receive additional recognition in the form of a faculty development award, a certificate, and a letter for their reappointment, promotion, and tenure file.

The programs offered through the Active Learning Academy are currently scheduled as follows:

Learning by Design: Fall 2024
Eight meetings per semester, once every other week
Award: $1500

Follow-up Peer Mentoring: Spring 2025
Two meetings per academic year (kick-off and wrap-up) and five meetings with a peer mentor
Award: $500

Course Re/Design: Summer/Fall 2025
One symposium presentation and numerous meetings to (re)design a course  
Award: $1500 (two awards per cycle)

Tenure-stream and teaching professor ranks are eligible to participate. We are currently accepting applications for the fall 2023 Learning by Design cohort. The first program meeting will be held during the third week of instruction. Lunch will be provided at all meetings.

Space is limited! Cohort size is limited to 8. Preference will be given to pairs of faculty members from the same department who partner to complete Learning by Design together.

Submit your application by May 28, 2024. Send questions to Amanda.McAndrew@colorado.edu, Karen.Crouch@colorado.edu, Kalpana.Gupta@colorado.edu, or Leilani.Arthurs@colorado.edu

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