Author: Sean Davis

Antiracism: The Conversation – A S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach Special Podcast Event

Hello, Campus Community! 
The S.A.F.E. Topics Podcast is back for Season 2! In our season premiere, we teamed up with Bruce Hoskins and his (Re)Teach podcast to bring you a special conversation on “Antiracism.” As a campus, we are reading books on talking about race and the concept of “antiracism.” We brought together some dynamic folks to provide their perspectives. 
This episode is broken up into 3 parts

  1. The Talk
  2. The Work
  3. Our Hope 

Be sure to listen to these in order. 
Many ways to listen

  1. Re(Teach) – Buzzsprout
  2. Podbean Website – S.A.F.E. Topics – Season 2, Episode 1 
  3. S.A.F.E. Topics Spotify – Episode 11
  4. Apple Podcasts – Search for “safe topics” and/or “(Re)Teach”

Here are the details

Antiracism: A one-word conversation with faculty 

For the start of its second season, the first episode of The S.A.F.E. Topics podcast is an exciting one! Hosts Sean and curry are joined by Dr. Bruce Hoskins, host of the (Re)Teach podcast in a collaborative conversation with faculty about antiracism. We are joined by Rachel Hastings (Communication Studies), Oswaldo Ramirez (Counseling), Chad Tsuyuki (Letters), and Denise Stephenson (Writing Center) in an unscripted conversation about issues related to one word, “antiracism.”  

What to listen for

  • Antiracism, nothing new, but how do we start with ourselves? 
  • Looking inward while being surrounded by the normalcy of white supremacy. 
  • Antiracism is not equity.  
  • To be antiracist, it is a daily self-assessment of looking at “normal” spaces. 
  • Language at the root of performance and culture. 
  • “Walking the walk.” – Bringing race to the forefront. 
  • How often are you asked to talk about your own experiences? 
  • We have been socialized to perform, but we need to be action oriented. 
  • Political correctness and getting to ignore talking about race. 
  • Having a fear of saying anything wrong. 
  • Speaking about race will not be a comfortable conversation.  
  • Acknowledging white fragility, but not making it the centerpiece of attention. 
  • Where are our students left out? 
  • Having antiracism integrated into everything we talk about.  
  • Reflections on the NCHEA equity workshop. 
  • The baseball metaphor of antiracism. 
  • Acknowledging the Black Alliance group on campus.  
  • Shifting the conversation from equity to race.  
  • We must focus on what we’re good at as educators. 
  • Asking each of our guests the question: what are we feeling hopeful about? 

    You can connect with the S.A.F.E. Topics podcast on Instagram: @safetopics_podcast and share this podcast with this link.  

The S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach Teams

Bruce Hoskins – Faculty, Sociology (Co-Host)
curry mitchell – Faculty, Letters (Co-host)
Sean Davis – Faculty, Sociology (Co-host)
Kelly Barnett – Intern and Music Technology Student (Audio Editor)
James Garcia – Associate Faculty, Sociology (Show Notes)

(Re) Teach. Equity-Inspired Community College Teaching.
SAFE Topics - Dangerous Discussions Need a Safe Space

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Week Five!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

It is not you – the world is really weird right now…

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1. Black Students Matter Training on Canvas (self-enroll by using this link)

A new training at MiraCosta focuses on the experiences of Black students and gives us direction on how to better serve this community. 

Here is a message from one of the facilitators, Dr. Bruce Hoskins – 

I know y’all are busy surviving, but we need to create the space to live, grow and get better.  I created this Black Students Matter course for exactly that purpose. Shout out to Edwina Williams and Shawntae Mitchum for developing the material and doing the research for this project!  I will hit you with Working While Black later this semester (November-ish) and Anti-White Supremacy Teaching will be our spring project.

You will receive a certificate and #Blackstudentsmatter sticker on the successful completion of the course.  The class will close by December 10, but feel free to complete this course as quickly as you can.  I will reopen this class in spring if you do not get a chance to complete it this Fall.  Just a heads up, I put in deadlines to help give people a pace, but don’t worry, I ALWAYS take late work!  So just get the course completed by December 10 and you will receive full credit 🙂

  1. PROJECT Online Faculty Mentor Program

Are you struggling with online instruction? Or do you just want a colleague to work with on your courses to help you develop and implement new ideas? We have a team of folks who are ready and willing to be at your side! 

We have 12 faculty members on the team who are ready to work with you on your online courses – synchronous and asynchronous classes. Our mentors work in non-credit and credit in disciplines across all ACPs (Academic and Career Pathways.

If you want to connect with and be assigned a mentor, please complete the following form so we can assess your needs and know how to best pair you with a member of the team: PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program.

  1. OpenStax – Webinars (both live and recorded, archived sessions)

OpenStax is a nonprofit charitable corporation that is housed at Rice University. They offer Open Education Resources (OER) in the way of textbooks, supplemental learning materials, and webinars focused on teaching and learning. You can register for these free webinars or watch the archived webinars by using the title link. Be sure to check out their textbook offerings as well. You might find an OER solution for a course that you teach! 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

  1. Creating Extra Credit Assignments in Canvas

Canvas does not have a default extra credit option. So, if you are offering extra credit in your class, you will have to create extra credit opportunities as you would any other assignment with the key caveat of assigning a zero point value to the assignment. 

  1. Using “Moderate” to Set Accommodations for Individual Students 

Do you have students who need extra time on your quizzes and exams? Maybe you have students whose accommodations require extra attempts. Well, you can use the Moderate panel to make these accommodations and more. 

(1) Question

What do we need to let go of to be more effective and useful in the long-term? 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Week Four!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

Do your students need help? Do you need help? Let’s get everyone what they need! 

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1. MiraCosta Online Tutoring Services – Tons of support for our students…
    1. TASC – Free online support for ACCT, CSIT, ECON, MAT, Music, PLSC, PSYC, SOC, foreign languages, and CLC students.
    2. MLC – Free online support for all math and statistics courses, including CLC students.
    3. Writing Center – Free online writing feedback and speech support. We can help with grammar, reading, and scholarship/transfer statements.
    4. Language Resource Center – Free online support for Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Japanese.
    5. Student Help Desk – Free online support for passwords, technical issues & information about online portals.
    6. STEM Learning Center – Free online support for all science courses (Bio, Chem, CS, and Physical Sciences).
  2. The Distance Learning Playbook for College & University InstructionThis resource was sent to me by Dean Mike Fino. Thanks, Mike! The Distance Learning Playbook covers a wide array of pedagogical concerns and topics and can be useful for us as we continue this online adventure. Some of the topics explored in the book include – faculty-student relationships from a distance, teacher credibility from a distance, teacher clarity from a distance, engaging tasks from a distance, Planning learning experiences from a distance, feedback, assessment, and grading from a distance, keeping the focus on learning, from a distance or otherwise.

    As you can tell, they emphasize the “distance.” Maybe they can also help us close the distance…

    ***You can read the book for free using the title link above.
  3. Student Support Guide and Reshaping Your School Schedule During Remote Instruction (Canvas modules available to plug into your courses)At the start of each term, Our Vice President of Student Services, Alketa Wojcik, sends out a PDF version of the Student Support Guide that outlines many of the support resources that are available to our students. This Fall’s version also provides a guide – Reshaping Your School Schedule During Remote Instruction. Thanks to our guest CE Instructional Designer, Liesl Madrona, these two resources are now available in the Canvas Commons for you to upload into your Canvas Classes. The modules are very user-friendly and include iFrames embedded in the pages that allow students to explore the resources on our campus website without ever leaving your Canvas course! (2) Online Tips and Tricks

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

  1. New Quizzes vs. Classic Quizzes in Canvas – What you need to knowWhen creating a quiz in Canvas, do we go with Classic Quizzes or New Quizzes? Well, it depends on what we are trying to accomplish with the quiz and how we want the quiz to work. Check out this resource that includes an in-depth look at the similarities and differences between these two Canvas tools.  

    *Important note – New Quizzes are set to replace Classic quizzes July 2021
  2. Adding Prerequisites to Modules Are you into scaffolding? Do you want to make sure students have read or reviewed a page before moving on to the next activity? Add prerequisites in Canvas to help your students build-up to the next course item by ensuring they have been exposed to what will help them make the most of a deeper learning experience. 

(1) Question

Are our automated processes freeing up our time, or are they enabling us to commit to more busyness?

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

Launch of the PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program

Hello, Faculty Community!

We are very happy to announce the launch of the PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program! 

Project Online Faculty Mentorship Program logo

We know that folks are still adapting to our shift to distance education this Fall. Today, our President Dr. Sunny Cooke, announced that we will be continuing in our current modality for Spring 2021. Are you in need of assistance with your online course design and teaching? Are you looking to learn more ways to engage your students and help them better navigate your classes? Do you want help implementing more equity practices in your online course offerings? 

We have 12 faculty members on the team who are ready to work with you on your online courses – both synchronous and asynchronous classes. Our mentors work in non-credit and credit in disciplines that span across all ACPs (Academic and Career Pathways)

If you want to connect with and be assigned a mentor, please complete the following form so we can assess your needs and know how to best pair you with a member of the team: PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program

For more information, feel free to contact us! 

Sean Davis (sdavis@miracosta.edu)

Jim Julius (jjulius@miracosta.edu) 

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Week Three!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

There are lots of people doing many cool things. I am grateful to work with so many talented and driven folks! Yes, you. 

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1. Engage Your Students in the Spartan Experience!*Special thanks to Denise Stephenson (Faculty Director of the Writing Center for connecting me with Kathy Rodriguez (Interim Program Manager for Student Life and Leadership) for this resource. Here is what Kathy shared with us for us to share with our students – Check out MiraCosta.edu/Engage to learn more about upcoming events, virtual programming, clubs, and request your Spartan Pass ID Card.  Click here for a tutorial on how to use Engage.To schedule a class presentation about Engage, please contact Omar Jimenez ojimenez@miracosta.edu.   
    Engage https://miracosta.campuslabs.com/engage
    Engage Tutorial https://youtu.be/mb4O8BYO9oA
    Student Life & Leadership https://miracosta.edu/student-services/student-life/index.html
  2. The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning – “Effective Teaching is Anti-Racist Teaching This one covers A LOT. There is an example of how a STEM professor integrates inclusivity and examining bias into their course objectives and goals. Moreover, these resources include ideas and considerations for inclusive class content, discussions, assessment, and reflection. Be sure to scroll to the bottom – the references are excellent, and it is worth checking out those that POP for you! 
  3. Association of American Colleges & Universities – Creating and Assessing Learning in a Digital Classroom CommunityThis resource is another recommendation from Dean Jonathan Fohrman. Thanks, Jonathan, for being a regular contributor to the C3-2-1 newsletter! This post helps us think of the various ways we can deliver content. Additionally, it provides examples of how we can employ different strategies for student engagement. Further, the authors offer instructors suggestions for alternative submission options for students to demonstrate learning by developing learning opportunities that are relevant and realistic. 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

  1. Numbering Class Announcements – This tip comes from Chad Tsuyuki (Faculty, Letters). Thanks, Chad! This simple tip might help with class emails this semester. I included the following paragraph in a recent reminder email:

    “You’ll notice that my subject line for this email included ‘#1.’ This semester I’m going to number my emails so that they’re easier to follow and reference at times. Later this semester, I might need to reference a previous email. This numbering system will allow me to say something like ‘Check out email #4 for additional details.’ And you won’t have to dig through your emails. All you’ll need to do is click on the Canvas ‘Announcements’ tab on the homepage, and you’ll be able to locate the email announcement quickly. Pretty cool, right?”
  2. Undeleting things in Canvas If you have ever deleted something from your course and want it back, this is the trick for you! I mean, the title says it all, right? Check it out – it is worth knowing how to do this. 

(1) Question

Are we trying to get back to “normal” or are going to take this opportunity to move into something better?

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

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