Summary of P3 & ACUE Partnership: 2017-2023

Background

The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) partnered with the P3 Spring 2017 through Spring 2023 to deliver high quality pedagogical training to Rutgers - Newark faculty, staff, and graduate students. ACUE and the P3 Collaboratory continue to share a mission of supporting faculty, staff, and future faculty/staff in deepening their skills in and understanding of teaching and learning. ACUE “equips faculty and staff with evidence-based teaching practices shown to increase student retention, strengthen belonging and achievement, and close equity gaps. Through stackable microcredentials and expert facilitation, educators learn practices that can be implemented with students right away.” The P3 facilitated 27 ACUE cohorts over the partnership period, the last of which concluded in Spring 2023. 11 of the RU-N ACUE Cohorts were enrolled in the Effective Teaching Practices (ETP) certificate program, while 16 were enrolled in stackable microcredential course described below in the ‘Four Course Pathway to Certification. Over the duration of the program, 125 full certificates and 8 advanced certificates were awarded to Rutgers-Newark faculty and graduate students.

Courses

The P3 delivered the following courses:

• One-course Pathway to Certification 

  • Effective Teaching Practices (ETP) - 25 Modules worth of training content

    • Unit 1: Designing an Effective Course and Class

    • Unit 2: Establishing a Productive Learning Environment

    • Unit 3: Using Active Learning Techniques

    • Unit 4: Promoting Higher Order Thinking

    • Unit 5: Assessing to Inform Instruction and Promote Learning

• Four-course Pathway to Certification (includes online and in-person focused course iterations) 

  • Creating an Inclusive and Supportive [Online] Learning Environment [LE]

  • Promoting Active Learning [Online] (AL) 

  • Inspiring Inquiry and Lifelong Learning in Your [Online] Course (LL) 

  • Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses (DC) 

RU-N course participants reported “finding the course engaging and relevant to their work,”  improving “knowledge of evidence-based teaching practices,” and implementing those practices. Faculty increased independent research to improve best practices in teaching and creating community around teaching amongst their colleagues by discussing such practices. ACUE reported increased confidence that faculty “can influence how students perceive their intelligence” and that “all students can be successful in their course.”

Colleague Reflections

“This week, I tried guiding students to clarify or correct their responses. This practice really fits into my teaching philosophy, and I feel it helps the students get involved with what we’re doing. In my lecture-based classes, I usually use slides. I tried using this to my advantage, focusing the class on examples and asking the students to elaborate or integrate the topic we were talking about with the example I had laid out. They loved it! I got most of them to participate willingly, the all wanted to take a crack at explaining the various examples. I think that this practice helps the students feel confident with their answers, there is no negative reinforcement, and that helps them shed anxieties they may have when talking to the class. I definitely will try to design more of classes with this method in mind. I really liked how it got my students to participate, and I feel that refining my implementation of this tool will only make me a more effective teacher.”

Participant reflection from Module LE6, “Checking for Student Understanding” 

“I am in the process of adjusting my teaching approach towards ungrading and similar alternative assessment strategies that are meant to do a few things: 1) minimize the threat of a grade, 2) encourage students to reflect on their relationship with grades and 3) improve the relationship between student and instructor to one of conversation not conflict. I basically made the objectives from what I have students do in the course. I do spend a lot of time thinking about why and what work I ask students to engage in when I redesign something. The hard part was tying in the specificity to the LO. I can check myself on if I am meeting the LOs and am I designing assessments that will allow students to demonstrate [their learning].”

Participant reflection from Modules DC1, DC2, DC3, “Course Design”

“I selected to offer a choice of assignment to increase equity. To implement this I would come up with two assignments that meet the same assessment criteria and offer students options. I selected this practice because I think it’s important to give students options in case one student thinks one assignment is better suited for them. I think this would impact students by making them feel more comfortable with assignments/assessments and make the learning more accessible to them. I [want to] refine this by having more assignments to choose from depending on how hard the concept or assignment is. I think the harder the assignment/concept is, the more ways there are for students to learn it, and I’d want them to learn in whatever way felt comfortable.”

Participant reflection from Module DC2, “Designing Aligned Assessments and Assignments” 

“The practice I implemented is “Use activities that develop students’ questioning skills. I selected this practice because I want to ensure that students are engaged in class and have the tools to ask question that add to their as well as their classmate’s comprehension and understanding. The use of this practice engaged students in higher level thinking; thus, increasing their willingness to participate in class discussions and be confident in their responses. This impact took place because when students are engaged, heard, and are prepared they are more likely to participate in discussions.”

Participant reflection from LL5, “Using Advanced Questioning Techniques”

​

Reporting​​

• Students Earn Higher Grades, Have Higher​ Completion Rates with ACUE Credentialed Faculty at Rutgers University-Newark

• A Study of ACUE Professional Development at Rutgers University-Newark​

P3 Collaboratory Report Coming!