Northern State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning was founded a few short months before the COVID-19 pandemic closed K-12 schools and college campuses.
Educators found themselves suddenly pivoting toward online learning as students completed coursework from home. But the scenario proved to be a learning opportunity for teachers and gave the center for excellence an immediate purpose.
Erin Fouberg, Northern’s associate vice president for academic affairs, said the idea for the center came through the strategic planning process for the College of Arts and Sciences. It was established in January 2020 for the benefit of all on campus and the teaching community.
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“Once the idea was hatched, we hired a director and they shaped the program from there,” Fouberg said.
While many of the programs are directed toward educators, there are some that are open to the public. A Monday, Jan. 27 presentation by Jacqueline Edmondson, president of the University of Southern Maine, at the Johnson Fine Arts Center was one of them. She spoke about the urban and rural divide.
Edmondson said little research has been done about what it means to be a rural student attending college, but as someone with that perspective, she said, it’s important to be intentional about how universities value rural life.
“As a student, I had no idea how college would transform me,” she said.
Edmondson was a first-generation college student who bucked her parents’ wishes and pursued a college education, though she suspects she was never successful in “finding her people” on campus.
She said there are challenges for rural students when they arrive on a college campus, like adjusting to traffic signals in a larger city or how to use public transportation. There are also some who don’t realize how rural they are until they get to college. Those students, she said, might have had a graduating class of 30, but it was still the largest class in the area.
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Though there are differences between students who come from rural and urban settings, she said, it’s important to help them understand they have similarities, too. That, she said, comes from creating an environment where students can share their stories, build trust and foster dialogue.
Universities need to recognize that students value the places they come from, Edmondson said. Helping them advance their careers so they can find their way back home to better their communities is also important, she said.
2020 pandemic leads to discussion about HyFlex teaching
Northern’s Center for Excellence has already provided a way to tackle timely topics like remote learning and artificial intelligence.
As COVID-19 sent students home in spring 2020, the center’s first director, Ben Harley, immediately started collecting data to determine how many faculty members had experience teaching online courses. The total was 86%.
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Fouberg said that from there, the center looked at ways teachers could engage students and improve classes.
The center also started looking at HyFlex teaching and learning. That’s the idea that teachers can provide instruction in person and online either at the same time or separately.
“We needed to lead,” Fouberg said. “HyFlex was a big focus that first couple years.”
Programming was focused on helping not only university professors, but also K-12 teachers.
Instructors also have other resources available through the center for excellence, including instructional designer Angela Hermanson. She helps faculty develop new ways teachers can lead their classes, Fouberg said.
Northern also created a lab in which faculty can test out equipment used in the classroom.
Artificial intelligence also a big topic
Two years ago, artificial intelligence emerged as a new topic.
That’s when the center for excellence organized a panel discussion on the ethical use of AI and ways to teach with and use it.
Liz Sills has been director of the center since 2023, and one prime focus is to embrace disruptions. Her goal, she said, has been to look at Northern’s students and understand the barriers there might be.
Sills said each student brings with them a different background and upbringing. She recalled a conversation between two students — one from the Midwest and another from a different country. They talked about a variety of things, including their diet, when the Midwest student had an epiphany.
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“You mean everyone doesn’t eat knoephla soup?” the Midwesterner asked, referring to the popular German dumpling soup.
Much like students come with different regional perspectives, Fouberg said, differences also exist among generations. Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha each have different motivations when it comes to learning, she said.
The center’s programs have provided immediate support for new faculty, Fouberg said. A summer reading program has led to connections among faculty who otherwise wouldn’t necessarily meet, she said.
Last summer, faculty discussed the book “Belonging” by Geoffrey Cohen. It’s about the science of creating connection and bridging divides and looks at the psychological mechanism that helps people connect to place. There were 40 voluntary participants who were divided into small discussion groups, Fouberg said.
Next summer’s book is “College Success for Students on the Autism Spectrum” by S. Jay Kuder, Amy Accardo and John Woodruff.
“We need to be more aware of neurodivergence as students become aware of theirs,” Sills said.
