Join our Circle: International students make up an increasing proportion of Clarkson’s student body. Yet, faculty and staff are often unaware of the emotional, intellectual, and practical needs of this important segment of our students. Please join hosts Catherine Sajna, Tess Casler, and Sumona Mondal at a series of upcoming teaching circles where we will discuss this vital issue.
Teaching Circle: Supporting International Students
We hope that you will join us in a Teaching Circle held on Wednesdays in November, where experts will help us understand the challenges and opportunities that we face in this environment.
Wednesday, November 1, 11:00 am: Catherine Sajna will present the results of the September 8th Walsh mini-conference on supporting international students, with an additional emphasis on supporting student ESL, writing and presenting skills. A big question is how translation software and generative AI may change the game
Wednesday, November 8, 11:00 am: Tess Casler will present on assisting Clarkson faculty / staff advisors in navigating the often complicated world of international student advising. Specifically – assist with common questions and problems international students face while pursuing their degree at CU related to online courses – employment – and – status maintenance.
Wednesday, November 15, 11:00 am: Sumona Mondal will discuss her experiences as an international student, her current efforts to recruit and retain international questions, and answer questions about her very rich history in this important endeavor.
Supported by Clarkson University Institute for STEM Education (STEM Ed)
Where: We meet on Zoom.
Register Here for Zoom Link and Add to your calendar
About Teaching Circles:
Teaching circles are intentional communities at Clarkson who share concerns and interests related to teaching. They are safe spaces in which colleagues (1) generate and share developments related to teaching, (2) ideate innovations or interventions designed to enhance student learning, (3) seek scholarly research and resources to inform and support implementation of trials.
Suggest a circle topic or start your own: Our aim is to grow the number of circles based on topics and interest from within the Clarkson community. You can help shape this program with your willingness to get involved. Suggest a topic, facilitate a circle or contribute suggestions. More on this in Moodle.
When applicable, teaching circles will contribute to Clarkson’s greater community of teaching and learning through presentations/publication of findings to colleagues.
Teaching Circles are coordinated by the Faculty Support and Development Task Force. Participation is open to any faculty, staff, and graduate teaching assistants.
What to expect:
- Each circle will be theme or topic focused and is guided by a facilitator or co-facilitators. Facilitators are responsible for organizing circle meetings, posting to circle’s online forum, circle goal setting & check ins, facilitate discussions, arranging for outside expertise (speakers, guest contributors, etc) and encouraging members to contribute fully. Facilitators volunteer in this leadership role for professional development and exploration of topics of interest.
- Circle Rules:
- Join as many circles as you like
- Drop out of a circle at any time
- Participate actively
- Be respectful and inclusive
- Teaching circle members will engage in active discussion and contribution is encouraged. Circles meet via Zoom for bi-weekly discussions and will have a home in a Moodle course, as a platform for hosting/sharing resources, facilitating online discussion.
Have an idea for a Teaching Circle? Great! Contact Alexander Cohen (acohen@clarkson.edu), Associate Director of Faculty Support, to pitch your idea.
Facilitators are required to:
- Hold meetings in a way that allows attendance and participation from all campuses. If Zoom is not appropriate, producing a recording is.
- Ensure that attendance is logged. This is easily automated through Zoom logs, but alternate means are acceptable if Zoom is not utilized.
- Create, in collaboration with Alexander Cohen or Laura Perry, a standing section on the Teaching Circles Moodle site to provide an archive of programming and a forum for ongoing discussion and collaboration.
Facilitators are encouraged to:
- Post to circle’s forum a greeting, and introduction
- Other suggested posts: relevant experience on the topic, resource review, questions for circle to explore, and comments of interest on the topic
- Moderate forum discussion
How to Join Teaching Circles:
Click to enroll in the Teaching Circles course in Moodle.
For questions, contact a Faculty Support and Development Task Force:
Alexander Cohen, acohen@clarkson.edu
Kathleen Kavanagh, kkavanag@clarkson.edu
Laura Perry, lperry@clarkson.edu
Christopher Robinson, crobinso@clarkson.edu
Erin Blauvelt, eblauvel@clarkson.edu
Tom Langen, tlangen@clarkson.edu
Kathleen Issen, kissen@clarkson.edu
Loretta Driskel, ldriskel@clarkson.edu
Jan DeWaters, jdewater@clarkson.edu
