A message from the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning
Skidmore College
Center for Leadership, Teaching and Learning (CLTL)

Welcome Back

CLTL programming kicked off in early January by teaming up with the Assistant VP of Student Affairs and Director of Athletics, Gail Cummings-Danson to offer a suicide intervention and prevention training, called SAFE Talk, for coaches in the Athletic Department. Staff from the New York State Office of Health delivered the training and were joined by Director of the Counseling Center, Dr. Robert Cardom and Case Management Consultant, Dr. Elizabeth Green. The training generated important conversations around how to support students struggling with mental health amidst other life challenges. 

‌

‌Last fall, 10 faculty and staff members joined the AI Think Tank, a collaboration between CLTL and LEDS, to learn more about how AI can be of service to the work we do across units, departments, and divisions at the college. You will see the fruits of this labor throughout the spring as AI Think Tank members facilitate a variety of conversations/events targeting various constituencies in academics, student life, advancement, the library, and beyond. If you would like to learn more about AI as it intersects with your professional duties, check out the call for compensated participation in an AI Think Tank this spring. 

‌

‌The CLTL has a rich array of new programming focused on affordable course materials, Universal Design for Learning, and, of course, AI in the service of student learning. There are also our ongoing initiatives — Scholarly/Creative Endeavors Work Groups, Teaching Support Network, Racial Justice Learning Communities, Book Clubs, a Research Salon, and the AI Think Tank — slated for the spring. We hope to see you soon!

Announcements

Support Services for Students 

‌In addition to the in-person services provided by the Counseling Center, Skidmore provides teletherapy services offered through BetterMynd. Students have up to 12 sessions of teletherapy per academic year. In addition, students will be able to access up to three group skill-building workshops per year, and the Student Assessment and Intervention Group (SAIG) remains a resource to share non-emergency concerns about your students (e.g., attendance). You may find the SAIG form here. 

‌

‌Support for AI in Higher Education 

‌You are likely thinking about how AI will impact teaching in higher education — specifically what an AI statement on your syllabus might look like. CLTL and LEDS have teamed up to create a page of sample syllabus statements supplied by your colleagues across campus. Don’t forget that Skidmore is an institutional member of the NCFDD, through which you have FREE access to many excellent professional development tools. You may utilize this and more with a free individual membership account by visiting this website, selecting our institution, and creating and activating a new membership. Check out forthcoming webinars on AI in academia, such as one on teaching challenges and opportunities and a panel on discussing current challenges for faculty. 

‌

‌LGBTQIA+ Resources 

‌Last spring, the CLTL Team worked with Phoenix Goldenberg ’25, president of Skidmore Pride Alliance, to develop instructional materials for students, staff, and faculty on how to be an ally to LGBTQIA+ folks. Goldenberg took the lead and interviewed students and faculty across departments and programs to design materials (e.g., questionnaires for the classroom, a list of appropriate terminology, best practices for making LGBTQIA+ folks feel a sense of belonging on campus, web resources, and a fun video featuring our students). 

‌

‌The Weller Room and Lending Library (LIB 212) 

‌This space devoted to CLTL events is also available for (quiet) workspace each weekday morning from 9 a.m. to noon. Folks participating in the Scholarly/Creative Endeavors (SCE) work groups are especially encouraged to use this space before meeting for lunch. The space is stocked with coffee, tea, condiments, cleaning supplies, and paper products. All faculty have swipe access to the space; if you are participating in SCE work groups and you do not have access, you may contact Darlene LeBaron to activate your ID. If you wish to reserve the space for events that advance the CLTL mission, you may submit a request online here. The Weller Room also has a lending library with relevant texts on critical pedagogical studies, navigating higher education, DEIJAB in the classroom, and universal design for learning pedagogies. To use the lending library:  

  1. ‌Select the book you want from our wonderful selection. 
  2. ‌Fill out the form here. 
  3. ‌Enjoy your read and return to Weller Room (LIB 212) when finished!

Get Engaged!

Scholarly and Creative Endeavors (SCE) work groups resume this semester. Spring sessions will run from Jan. 29 through May 3, except for the week of spring break. Here are the details should you wish to participate:  

  • ‌Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m. Facilitated by Eileen Sperry. Come eat lunch with folks in the Dining Hall. 
  • ‌Thursdays, 1 to 2 p.m. Facilitated by Erin Giffin. Come eat lunch with folks over Zoom (a link and passcode will be circulated via email).  
  • ‌Fridays, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Facilitated by Charlie Bettigole. Come eat lunch with folks in the Dining Hall. 

‌

‌Teaching Support Network 

‌The Teaching Support Network pairs faculty for one semester to engage in activities focused on pedagogical development. This could be peer observations, exchanging course syllabi, reading and discussing pedagogical scholarship (check out our lending library), sharing strategies for handling challenges in the classroom, assisting with course development, and so on. All efforts will be made to pair you with someone whose teaching schedule does not conflict with yours and whose pedagogical development activities align with your own. If you are interested in participating in the coming semester, please complete this form on the CLTL website by Friday, Jan. 26. 

‌

‌The CLTL director will match faculty and invite all participating faculty to gather for a kick-off meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, in the Weller Room of the library (Lib 212). During the semester, participants should make time to meet with their co-mentor two to three times. The CLTL will provide lunch tickets to subsidize one of those meetings. A final wrap-up session will be held at the conclusion of the semester. 

‌

‌Mellon Funded Racial Justice Learning Communities 

Two learning communities (LC) will run this spring in conjunction with the “Africana Studies and the Humanities at Skidmore: Transnational Explorations in Social Justice” grant from the Mellon Foundation. One LC will examine the ways U.S. jails and prisons control access to information and the information needs of the incarcerated. Another will use theories of Black and decolonial ecologies to examine environmental racism. Please review the options available on the CLTL Learning Communities page and, if interested, contact the respective facilitators directly by Friday, Jan. 26. Each LC begins the week of Feb. 5 and runs through the week of April 29. Each LC will have commitments of approximately two hours weekly during the semester, except for the week of spring break. Faculty/staff who participate in a learning community will be compensated $750. 

‌

‌AI Think Tank 

‌Once again, the CLTL and Learning Experience Design & Digital Scholarship Support (LEDS) are teaming up to facilitate a semester-long AI Think Tank devoted to exploring more about generative AI within their respective disciplines/fields/services. Interested parties will parlay those findings into campus programming next fall, focusing on educating other faculty and staff about best practices for working with AI relative to their scope of practice. All faculty and staff are eligible, and participants will receive $600 in compensation! This is a valuable incubation period to develop programming and instruction for other faculty and staff. To learn more about this opportunity visit the CLTL Learning Communities page.

Spring Programming

Affordable Course Materials Panel Discussion 

  • ‌Date: Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Murray Aikins (second floor of the Dining Hall) 
  • ‌Description: The cost of textbooks and other course materials can present a significant barrier for college students. In what ways are Skidmore students impacted by these costs? And what can we do to lower these barriers on our campus? This panel discussion will explain the ways in which the costs of course materials play out on our campus, identify what our campus is already doing to address course materials costs, and explore ways we can do more together to lower barriers for Skidmore students. There will be hearty nibbles! For more information, go to the CLTL Programming page. 

‌

‌Fear Not, for AI am With You: Strategies for Teaching Writing in the AI Age 

  • ‌‌Date: Friday, Feb. 2, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the Weller Room (Lib 212)
  • ‌‌Description: Writing Center Director Caitlin Jorgensen will help faculty move past AI anxiety and improve their writing pedagogy in an age of AI. The wide availability of generative AI has many faculty feeling overwhelmed, and it’s natural to worry about how your students’ use of AI may negatively affect their learning. But writing literacy remains a crucial skill for critical thinking and intellectual growth, and AI is an important part of that skill set. While we can’t promise to “AI-proof” your pedagogy, this one-hour lunch session will give you concrete strategies for teaching writing in the AI age. Lunch will be provided! Please RSVP here by Monday, Jan. 29. 

‌

‌Spring Book Club: New College Classroom 

  • ‌Date: In order to make this accessible to as many folks as possible, there are TWO sessions available on Thursday, Feb. 22. Join me from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 12:45 to 2 p.m. in the Test Kitchen of the Dining Hall. 
  • ‌Description: New College Classroom uses the latest research in learning science to discuss easily implemented strategies for active learning across disciplines (Harvard UP, 2022). If faculty and staff are interested in participating in one of the two discussions about this book, please email Beck Krefting to specify the preferred lunch time and receive a copy of the book prior to the event. There is space for up to 12 folks to participate in each discussion — first come, first served. You may only request a copy if you know you can commit to attending. Lunch tickets will be distributed in the Atrium prior to each event. 

‌

‌More AI Stuff… 

Skidmore College

 815 North Broadway

 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

 518-580-5000