Quick Tips for Teaching Success continues this summer!  The series will run from May 25-June 22, Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m.  The live presentations are open only to Porterville College faculty, but the recorded presentations are available for any educator who might benefit from them.  

This page is updated after each presentation.

A Deep Dive into Reflecting on Reflecting

May 25, 2022

The end of the semester is a wonderful time for reflection and self-evaluation. Join a conversation hosted by the Quick Tips team while we, as a community, discuss how we process our previous semester, how we decide what to change, and what remains a permanent fixture.

Quick Tips for Backward Design

April 27, 2022

“Backward Design” is an important principle that can apply to all aspects of instruction – from assignments and assessments to courses and even whole programs – but sometimes requires a shift in thinking about what we do and why.  By starting with the intended goals or objectives of each thing we do in teaching, we can “design with the end in mind”, and in doing so re-think some of our approaches to education.  The ‘Quick Tips’ team this week will share stories of how we have used the concept of ‘backward design’ in our own work, and have found value through it to help create that link between our choices and our students.

A Deep Dive into PC Culture

March 30, 2022

We’ve been through an unprecedented and challenging time, but what happens now?  Have we changed?  Have our classes changed?  Have our students changed?  What impact will this have for the culture of Porterville College?  What is the culture of Porterville College?  In our latest webinar, the ‘Quick Tips’ team share their experiences and reflections on where we are now and where we might be in the future.  Join us today at noon to learn more, and remember that after the team shares their thoughts, we’ll open things up with the chat portion to hear your questions and reflections too.  So come watch, get inspired, and join the discussion as we share and learn with familiar faces, finding ways to improve our teaching and our students’ success together.

Quick Tips for Incorporating Research into Your Class

March 9, 2022

Research assignments are familiar to many of us, but new studies have fine-tuned our understanding of what techniques help ensure student engagement and skills development.  So what are the most effective ways to use research methods in your classes and your areas of expertise?  In our latest webinar, the ‘Quick Tips’ teams shares their experiences with incorporating research assignments into their classes, and how their approaches have evolved. Join us today to learn more, and remember that after the team shares their ‘quick tips’, we’ll open things up with the chat portion to hear your questions and reflections too.  So come watch, get inspired, and join the discussion as we share and learn with familiar faces, finding ways to improve our teaching and our students’ success together.

Quick Tips for How to Be HIP: Using High-Impact
​Practices to Engage Your Students

February 9, 2022

We all have our individual tool kits of teaching methods, but research has shown that some methods are ‘high impact’ – they are associated with deeper learning and greater student engagement.  In our latest ‘Quick Tips,' the team will look at some of these ‘HIP’s and describe their experiences with them.  Which do you use?  Which are new to you?  Which might fit in your classroom?  Join us today to learn more, and remember that after the team shares their ‘quick tips,' we’ll open things up with the chat portion to hear your questions and reflections too.  So come watch, get inspired, and join the discussion as we share and learn with familiar faces, finding ways to improve our teaching and our students’ success together.

The Quick Tips Team Is the Fraud Squad!

November 10, 2021

With a spike in student financial aid fraud coinciding with the shift to more online instruction, many teachers have found their rosters filled with suspicious enrollments, and may feel unsure what their responsibility is in identifying the problem or how to handle it.  In the final ‘Quick Tips’ of the fall semester, we’ll look back at what happened this year – and what you can do in the future to help ‘bot proof’ your class, engage your students early and often, and make sure those classroom seats are there for real students there to really learn.

Project Quick Tips

October 27, 2021

All teachers find times when they want to try new things – but may be unsure how to do it.  Wouldn’t it be great to have a trusted colleague experienced in that area who could help you?  The ‘Quick Tips’ team feels that we are a stronger campus when we work together, support each other, and share our expertise.  In this webinar, you’ll see how some of us recently have felt inspired to try new things, and sought the help of another team member in designing something new for our classes.  Can we make it work?  Join us today and find out what happened, and remember that after the team shares how their experiences went, we’ll open things up with the chat portion to hear your questions and reflections too.  So come watch, get inspired, and join the discussion as we share and learn with familiar faces, finding ways to improve our teaching and our students’ success together. 

Quick Tips for Sneaky Strategies
​to Improve Student Success

October 13, 2021

Have you ever found that your students seemed to lack certain essential skills needed to succeed in your course?  Do you have expectations or unspoken rules in your teaching that they don’t seem to be aware of?  If you have struggled to find ways to teach them those skills, strategies, and unspoken rules, in addition to the content of your specific course, your Quick Tips team has been there too.  Each of us has developed our own unique strategies to sneak in those desirable student success skills into our class structure and pedagogy.  Join us this Wednesday for our latest exciting webinar, and remember that after our facilitators share their reflections, we’ll also open things up with the chat portion to hear your questions and reflections too.  So come watch, get inspired, and join the discussion as we share and learn with familiar faces, finding ways to improve our teaching and our students’ success together.

A Deep Dive into Teaching Controversial Issues

September 29, 2021

Do you teach a course with subject matter some consider controversial?  Do you wonder how to best ensure students learn about sensitive topics without getting lost in heated emotions or a refusal consider other views with an open mind?  Have you ever found a class got off track when something controversial inadvertently entered the conversation?  The ‘Quick Tips’ team has, and we’ll share our stories, experiences, and techniques for managing these delicate situations while ensuring students learn new ideas and perspectives and remain respectful to others in the classroom – and the world around them.  Join us today at noon for our latest exciting webinar, and remember that after our facilitators share their reflections, we’ll also open things up with the chat portion to hear your questions and reflections too.  So come watch, get inspired, and join the discussion as we share and learn with familiar faces, finding ways to improve our teaching and our college together. 

A Deep Dive into Surviving High (Academic) Anxiety

July 28, 2021

After more than a year of working from home, teaching online, and adapting to changing and uncertain conditions, you may be looking ahead to the fall semester and feeling some anxiety – you’re not alone, and the ‘Quick Tips’ team is going to share some of their anxieties as well as their ideas for how to support your students and the anxieties they may be feeling while preparing for your fall semester classes.  In this final ‘Quick Tips’ webinar of the summer, let’s all talk about what we’re doing to get ready for the coming school year.  Join us this Wednesday for our latest exciting webinar – and you’ll be sure to leave with some ideas to consider for yourself and your students! 

Quick Tips for Getting Hired!

July 21, 2021

Whether you are an adjunct or full-time instructor, new to teaching or with years of classroom experience, you might be looking at job listings in higher education, considering applying for a new position, and have questions - or wish you had more insight into the process and what the people who decide whom to hire are thinking.  This week our ‘Quick Tips’ team looks at the hiring process in higher education, providing some tips to avoid common mistakes, improve your chances with your application materials, with committees and initial interviews, and what you can do to prepare for that all-important final interview – and we might have a special guest joining us who will provide some tips of their own (hint: it’s not a faculty member!)

A Deep Dive into Professional Development

July 14, 2021

Other colleges have reaped the benefits that come with ongoing professional development, such as faculty engagement and increased student success, but Porterville College currently lacks a consistent institutional and cultural tradition for this.  Next week our webinar takes a ‘deep dive’ into this issue of what our college – and we as faculty – could do to create opportunities for and support of faculty professional development.  What form would it take?  Who would organize and lead it?  How can we incentivize participation in it?  How can we pay for it?

A Deep Dive into Being a Professor

July 7, 2021

We all have ideas about what it means to be a professor – but why do we have those ideas?  What were our formative experiences in becoming a professor?  Who helped us, and how do we help others?  Knowing what we know now, what would we have done differently earlier in our teaching careers?  What do we want to do in the future?  What do we need from each other to succeed?  What kind of campus culture do we want to have, and how can we as professors work to support it?  
​
Your ‘Quick Tips’ team will engage in a ‘deep dive’ round-table discussion of what it means to be a professor in higher education today, and at our college specifically.  Join us this Wednesday for our latest exciting webinar – and you’ll be sure to leave with some ideas to consider as you think about your own role!

A Deep Dive into Addressing Learning Loss

April 21, 2021

During this unprecedented time of disruption, confusion, and adaptation, many educators have expressed concerns about the phenomenon of ‘learning loss’ on the current generation of students.  This week your ‘Quick Tips’ team will engage in a ‘deep dive’ round-table discussion of learning loss and its impact this year – and how it might affect our students in the future - and our planning for next year’s classes.  So join us this Wednesday for our latest exciting webinar – and you’ll be sure to leave with some ideas to consider as you plan your own classes! 

A Quick Tips for Open Educational Resources

April 7, 2021

Although there is an enormous amount of educational material available to us online now, you may not have the time to review it all to find what is relevant to your subject area or your style of teaching.  Don’t worry, your Quick Tips Team will share with you some of their favorite Online Educational Resources (OER) and how they use them in their online classes!  So join us today for our latest exciting webinar – and you’ll be sure to leave with some creative solutions to incorporate into your own online classes! 

A Quick Tips Special: Comfort Zone Challenge

March 24, 2021

Do you find that you avoid certain instructional approaches because you aren’t comfortable with them, think they don't fit your teaching style, or have just found reasons to avoid learning how to use them in your classes?  Do you enjoy watching colleagues do things that make them uncomfortable?  Then you will love our next ‘Quick Tips’ webinar: the Quick Tips ‘Comfort Zone Challenge’!   

​Having worked together now for several months, our Quick Tips team has learned the preferences and habits of each other’s teaching, and we’ve come up with a way to force each other to push our own boundaries – our teammates have challenged each other to do the things they have avoided their whole careers.  You’ll get to learn what the challenge was, and how each team member rose (or attempted to rise) to the challenge!  Did they succeed?  Did they regret agreeing to participate in this?  Did they learn to loathe each other?  Find out on this Wednesday as you join our latest exciting webinar – and you’ll be sure to leave with some creative solutions to incorporate into your own online classes! 

Quick Tips for Saving Time

March 3, 2021

As you have shifted to online instruction you may find that many aspects of teaching are even more time-consuming, and that managing your time well has become even more essential – you may even feel overwhelmed by it all or have been forced to cut corners to meet deadlines.  This week our ‘Quick Tips’ team shares their secrets to saving time, and how they ensure the quality of instruction while avoiding burnout.  So join our latest exciting webinar – and you’ll be sure to leave with some creative solutions to incorporate into your own online classes!

A Deep Dive for Ensuring Learning

February 17, 2021

When we teach, how do we know are students are learning?  When we teach online, how do we have to adapt our teaching strategies to ensure learning is taking place?  If you have questions about this, or thoughts to share, then join our latest exciting webinar for something new – a roundtable ‘deep dive’ discussion among our panelists about this topic so central to the nature of education – and you’ll be sure to leave with some creative solutions to incorporate into your own online classes!  

Quick Tips for Old Problems in a New Format

February 3, 2021

Are you finding that despite moving classes from a face-to-face to an online format, you continue to have familiar problems?  Those old problems may require new solutions online, and our ‘Quick Tips’ team will share with you some of the ideas we have used.  So join us for our first ‘Quick Tips’ webinar of the semester – and you’ll be sure to leave with some creative solutions to incorporate into your own online classes! 

Flex Presentation Spring 2021
​Resources

January 15, 2021

Quick Tips for Course Creation

November 18, 2020

Have you struggled with how to make your online course fit your Canvas shell, how to organize your material, and how to achieve the look and feel you want?  Our ‘Quick Tips’ experts will share examples with you of some of the ways in which you might design your online course to ensure it has that look and feel, is easy for students to navigate, and meets all of the requirements for online instruction.  So join us for our final ‘Quick Tips’ webinar of the semester – and you’ll be sure to leave with some new ideas to incorporate into your own online classes!

Quick Tips for Collaborative Classrooms

November 4, 2020

Having a class with successful student collaborations isn’t just important to show ‘student-to-student interaction’, it’s important for teaching them valuable skills they will use throughout their life.  That’s challenging enough in a traditional classroom, but doing it in an online classroom is even more so.  So this week our ‘Quick Tips’ team shares their strategies and philosophies for creating more collaborative classrooms, and teaching students about shared responsibilities, working in different kinds of groups, and helping each other.  So join us for an important ‘Quick Tips’ webinar and maybe you’ll leave with some new ideas to incorporate into your own online classes!

Choosing Online Formats: A Quick Tips Discussion

October 21, 2020

This week our ‘Quick Tips’ team discusses the pros and cons of online class formats – synchronous vs. asynchronous, flexible vs. scheduled, live vs. self-paced, or whatever your preferred terms, the issue is the same: how should you set up your class?  What is best for your students? What is best for your teaching pedagogy?  What works best with your Learning Management System and available technology?  What best fits your current online instruction skills?  The answer might be different for each instructor, but your Quick Tips teams wants to share their experiences to help you decide what will work best for the online classroom experience you want to create.  So join us for this ‘Quick Tips’ webinar debate and maybe you’ll leave with some new ideas of things to incorporate into your own classes!

Quick Tips for Academic Accountability

October 7, 2020

Do you worry students in your online class are cheating?  Are you struggling to adapt your assignments to an online format in a way that maintains academic accountability and rigor?  If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone – but there are tools and strategies to help, and we want to share with you some of the ones we’ve found to be most effective in both reducing opportunities to cheat and increasing incentives that encourage honesty and integrity in student work.

Quick Tips with a Few of Our Favorite Things

September 16, 2020

As you continue to explore teaching online, you may be looking for useful resources – and there is so much out there it can seem overwhelming.  In this ‘Quick Tips’ webinar, each of our presenters will share some of their favorite resources and how they use them to keep their classes fresh and get inspiration and new ideas.  Come join us to hear all of our presenters share ‘a few of their favorite things’ – and maybe these resources will become favorites of your own!

Quick Tips for Staying Current & Connected

September 2, 2020

You’re working long hours online from home, and maybe feeling a little isolated – so how do you stay current in your field, and feel connected to colleagues here - and around the world?  Join Melissa, Rebecca, Joy, and Ian as they share some ‘quick tips’ from the strategies they and others have used to stay ‘current and connected’ while working online through useful academic websites, webinars, courses, podcasts, social networking sites and apps, and more! 

Quick Tips for Adding Fun

August 12, 2020

As you adapt to online instruction, are you finding it hard to keep things fun?  Well, you’re not alone, so join Melissa, Ian, and Joy as they share some ‘quick tips’ from the strategies they have developed and used in their own virtual classrooms.  By sharing your own sense of fun and encouraging your students’ ideas and role in the process, together you can make the online experience more engaging, collaborative, creative, and memorable.

Quick Tips for Meaningful Interaction

August 5, 2020

Join Melissa, Joy, Dustin, and Rebecca as they share some ‘quick tips’ for strategies focusing on meaningful interaction with students.  They will share their examples of the ways in which they maintain an online presence, communicate with students, provide feedback, show empathy, define boundaries, and personalize the experience of the virtual classroom. 

Quick Tips for Student-Centered Learning

July 29, 2020

Join Melissa, Elisa, and Ian as they share some ‘quick tips’ for strategies focusing on student-centered learning.  They will share examples of how in a virtual environment, they have kept the focus on students through the use of methods such as student presentations, student-led discussions, and interactive assignments.

Quick Tips for Creating Engaging Videos

July 22, 2020

Join Melissa, Dustin, and Elisa as they share some ‘quick tips’ for using videos in your online classes that will keep student interest, be memorable, effective, and personal.  You’ll hear about some of their technical suggestions for making your videos, but also fun ideas for imparting content and generating participation.  Learn also their tips for what not to worry about and how to embrace imperfection.

Quick Tips for Creating Community

July 15, 2020

Join Melissa, Rebecca, Ian, and Elisa as they share some ‘quick tips’ for effective forms of creating community in an online environment -– and how to overcome the challenge of developing a virtual classroom ‘culture’ that encourages enthusiasm, participation, and inclusivity, while creating connections that last throughout the duration of your course.  After our facilitators each share a few of their ‘quick tips,’ they will take questions from the webinar chat as well.  Come watch and get inspired and excited for the upcoming school year with familiar faces -– and fun!

Quick Tips for Student-to-Student Interaction

July 8, 2020

Join Melissa, Dustin, Rebecca, and Joy as they share some ‘quick tips’ for effective forms of student-to-student interaction – including how they use techniques such as Discussion Boards, Q&As, Icebreakers, Role Playing, Peer Reviews, Small Groups, and Social Media.  After each of our facilitators shares a few of their own ‘quick tips,’ they will take questions from the webinar chat as well.  Come watch and get inspired and excited for the upcoming school year with familiar faces -– and fun!
Quick Tips for Online Success
A Webinar-Style Series from Porterville College Faculty
Questions?  Contact Melissa Long