First Impressions: Organizing Your Brightspace Course to Support Student Success
Thoughtful course organization is a powerful pedagogical tool: clear structure reduces cognitive load, supports self-regulation, and helps students feel oriented, confident, and ready to engage from day one. In this session, we will explore evidence-based strategies for designing a clear, engaging course with Brightspace tools and templates. We will create a "Welcome" module and consider strategies to set expectations and foster a sense of belonging. Ideal for all faculty--no prior Brightspace experience required.
This virtual program will be offered twice: Wednesday, February 4, 2:00-3:00pm and Thursday, April 9, 1:00-2:00pm.
Supporting Student Self-Assessment in Brightspace
Self-assessment activities give students the chance to practice, reflect, and monitor their own learning progress. Research on formative assessment shows that students who engage in self-evaluation develop stronger metacognitive skills, persist through challenges, and achieve deep, sustained learning. This Zoom workshop introduces several Brightspace tools that support these practices, such as Self-Assessments, Practices, and ungraded assignments. Participants will have hands-on time to build sample activities and consider how these approaches can be integrated into their own course design.
This virtual program will be offered twice: Thursday, February 19, 1:00-2:00pm and Wednesday, April 15, 10:30-11:30am.
Multimodal Feedback: Brightspace Tools for Meaningful Response to Student Work
How do intentional feedback practices promote student growth and engagement? In this session, we will examine research-informed feedback practices and explore Brightspace tools that make it easier to respond to student work efficiently and effectively. We will apply these principles by creating an assignment and practicing the use of text, audio, and video feedback to promote student growth and engagement.
This virtual program will be offered twice: Thursday, March 12, 10:00-11:00am and Monday, April 27, 2:00-3:00pm.