Campus Visit to Fond du Lac

I had the pleasure of meeting with 14 faculty members in a teaching circle on October 7, at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet. These energetic faculty and I discussed the topic of classroom management. Through the discussion they identified the most important factors challenging them in their face-to-face and online courses. Together we examined a variety of solutions. The answers always seem to come from one another, as it is nice to hear what works in other courses and disciplines. It is also great to know that as faculty, we are not alone in the challenges that students provide. Our discussion needed more than the hour to cover the wide variety of ideas to meet those challenges.

CTL Leader Patricia Grace, CAO Anna Fellegy, and I met to discuss the focus of the work taking place on campus and how CTL could support their efforts. Fond du Lac is working on two major areas in which CTL can play a role. The first is assessment. This fall they are working intensely to complete their redesign of the following:
- program goals and outcomes
- development of 4 competency areas
- general education rubrics for the competency areas
- a 3-5 year assessment plan
As we discussed Webinars, I told them that CTL was interested in developing some assessment Webinars, based loosely on the credentialing course I was teaching again this spring. They volunteered to test-drive the workshops in person before they were presented online this spring.

Another area of focus that they requested help from CTL in was in the area of D2L as and tool and online pedagogy. They would appreciate in basic instruction showing how to use D2L, intermediate instruction that takes them to the next level of the tools, and advanced pedagogical instruction in using it to set up groups, especially in hybrid courses. Anna also expressed an interest in having some faculty development in the area of setting up classrooms for instruction which focus on both the facilities and the classroom environment. This would include managing technologies in the classroom.

In all, I had a very productive day as I got to SEE the working of teaching and learning on the Fond du Lac campus!