[Plsfaculty] SPLS Instruction Newsletter

[Orchard, Samantha - (orchard)]

[A mural called The Cactus Comet Rides Again by                 artist Danny Martin]
SPLS instruction newsletter

Dear SPLS faculty,

I'm writing to provide some information relevant to our instruction program ahead of the new academic year, with a special focus on syllabi.

New SPLS Student Support Coordinator

[A person wearing glasses and a striped sweater  Description automatically generated]

I'm excited to welcome Keenia (ken-yuh) Shinagawa<mailto:kshinagawa at arizona.edu>, M.Ed., as our new Student Support Coordinator. She is replacing Amanda Armendariz in both the Graduate Coordinator role and in being our School's link between instructors and Room and Course Scheduling (and Curricular Affairs, for new courses and programs). We hired Keenia from outside the UA so it will take her a little while to get up and running on all the University systems, but she has a wealth of education and academic coordinator experience and a great ability to anticipate issues and plan ahead so I believe she will do very well in this position. Her office is Forbes 317.

Spring 2024 teaching: action needed

If you normally teach in the Spring, or otherwise plan to teach in Spring 2024, please check your schedule in the UAccess<https://uaccess.arizona.edu/> Instructor Center ASAP and report any issues with missing courses, course modality, enrollment cap, meeting times/days, or assigned classroom to Keenia Shinagawa<mailto:kshinagawa at arizona.edu> and cc me<mailto:orchard at arizona.edu>. I will work with Keenia to request the changes.

Additional syllabus statement required starting Fall 2023

The University recently began requiring<https://uaatwork.arizona.edu/uannounce/updated-syllabus-templates-and-final-exam-schedule-fall-2023> a new statement about campus safety in syllabi for courses with in-person meetings. You can either:

1. Copy and paste the statement into your existing syllabus/syllabi [you can find the statement under "Safety on Campus and in the Classroom" on the syllabus policy website<https://catalog.arizona.edu/syllabus-policies>] or...

2. [My recommendation for efficiency] Replace quite a few of your University-required policy statements with this link to the required syllabus policy statements<https://catalog.arizona.edu/syllabus-policies>. If you do this, you will not have to edit your syllabus/syllabi each time the University updates the language of any of the listed policies, since the wording in the linked website will be centrally-updated.

"Efficiency is intelligent laziness." - David Dunham

Technology borrowing program

If you require your students to bring a laptop to class, or to have an external microphone or other specific accessory, consider advertising the UA's free technology borrowing program<https://lib.arizona.edu/borrow/tech> in your syllabus. Faculty can borrow cameras, projectors, 3D scanners, and more, too!

Templates for creating a new syllabus

Please always start with the University-provided templates for undergraduate<https://policy.arizona.edu/faculty-affairs-and-academics/course-syllabus-policy-undergraduate-template> and graduate<https://grad.arizona.edu/policies/academic-policies/graduate-college-syllabus-policy> courses when you create a new syllabus, especially if you are proposing a new course; using the templates will help prevent issues during the mandatory reviews by Curricular Affairs and the SPLS and CALS Curriculum Committees.

Syllabus Work Week and other professional development opportunities

UCATT<https://ucatt.arizona.edu/> (fka OIA+ODL) is hosting 3 webinars the week of August 14 to help you create a learner-centered syllabus. See the Syllabus Work Week website<https://ucatt.arizona.edu/events/syllabus-work-week-august-2023> for more information and to register. You can see the full, evolving list of these and other upcoming UCATT professional development offerings on their events calendar<https://ucatt.arizona.edu/events/events-calendar>.

What is a learner-centered syllabus?

"A learner-centered syllabus requires that you shift from what you, the instructor, are going to cover in your course to a concern for what information and tools you can provide for your students to promote learning and intellectual development." - Diamond 1997<https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/evot53/01UA_ALMA21476176880003843>

Why should you create a learner-centered syllabus?

These types of syllabi help empower students to take charge of their learning and foster a sense of belonging/community in a class. When students are empowered as learners, they often perform better, and when they feel the belong to a community, they often persist better in a course and in college. [See a summary in this research article<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0098628318816129#bibr28-0098628318816129>]

Wondering how learner-focused your syllabus already is?

This article<https://arizona-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1h28lag/TN_cdi_informaworld_taylorfrancis_310_1080_02602930801956018> (via UA libraries) includes a rubric that you can use to score your syllabus and read about the traits that make a syllabus learner-focused. Or try the self-assessment in Figure 2 of this paper<https://ideacontent.blob.core.windows.net/content/sites/2/2020/01/PaperIDEA_60.pdf>.

CALES Faculty Teaching Awards

The Bart Cardon Academy for Teaching Excellence is currently accepting nominations for its three ~annual faculty teaching awards<https://compass.arizona.edu/faculty/awards>. Nominations are due September 15th. If you would like to self-nominate or suggest another person for nomination for one of the awards, please consider contacting Alex Bucksch<mailto:bucksch at arizona.edu>, incoming Chair of the SPLS Awards Committee.
-Samantha

[cid:image002.png at 01D9CB6E.4EA9EB20]
Samantha Orchard, Ph.D. she/her
Associate Professor of Practice (Biotechnology<https://biotech.arizona.edu/>)
Associate Director for Academic Programs
School of Plant Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Marley, 541D
PO Box 210036 | Tucson, AZ 85721
Office: 520-621-3969 | orchard at arizona.edu<mailto:orchard at arizona.edu>
cals.arizona.edu/spls<https://cals.arizona.edu/spls> | biotech.arizona.edu<https://biotech.arizona.edu/>
facebook<https://www.facebook.com/UASchoolofPlantSciences> | twitter<https://twitter.com/UAPlantSciences> | instagram<https://www.instagram.com/uarizona> | linkedin<https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-university-of-arizona>


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