ESF Open Academy
Teaching and Learning Center

The TLC can help with all types of pedagogy questions, concerns, and curiosity. Whether you are interested in a new form of assessment, flipping your classroom, or want feedback on activities, the TLC can help.

The TLC runs a number of workshops and other events around during the year. See the events section below for upcoming events, as well as signature events that we help support every year. If you have suggestions for workshop topics, or if you have something around teaching and learning that you would like to share with the community, please contact the TLC staff.

Using technology in your learning environment can be exciting, confusing, and even, sometimes, frustrating. The TLC staff can work with you to implement technology in the best way to support learning, and assist in matching available institutionally supported technology to your needs.

1. Log in to report.esf.edu and click on the FacultyReportsWebOnly icon
2. Log in with your ESF credentials.
3. Open the faculty folder on the left-hand column.
4. Open the “My_Grading_Template” link on the right.
5. Select the semester of interest.
6. Select the individual course of interest or all courses at once.
7. Click on reports in the top task bar and select “My_Grading_Template”.
8. Click on “My_Class_Roster” and “My_Grading_Template”.
9. On the next tab on the right, click “Run”.

If using Blackboard to hold student grades, you need to download those grades to get them into Banner. Grades must be in letter form (e.g. B+), not GPA or other numerical value. Number to letter conversions can be done in Blackboard or externally in a spreadsheet. Consult the Teaching and Learning Center for help on this.

10. From Blackboard, go into “Grade Center” then “Full grade center”.
11. Go to the top right corner and click on “work offline”, then click “download”.
12. In the Data section, select the Full grade Center radio button or the Select Column and choose the field containing the grade.
13. Click “submit” followed by “Download” to download a csv file of student grades.

14. Use your preferred method to convert numerical grades to letter grades if needed.
15. Open the “My_Grading_Template” csv file downloaded from report.esf.edu
16. Open the csv file downloaded from Blackboard Grade Center
17. Use the “XLOOKUP” function in the “Final Grade” column.
18. Type “=xlookup(“, in the first blank cell in the “Midterm Grade” or “Final Grade” column.
19. Click on the SUID of the student you are trying to lookup, there should be a box that stays on the cell while working on this function, then put a comma.
20. Switch to the downloaded csv file from Blackboard. Highlight all the cells in the “Student ID” column, then insert a comma.
21. Click and drag down on the “Letter Grade” column that is in the csv file from Blackboard, insert a comma, hit enter. A letter grade should appear for the student.
22. Copy down by clicking, holding, and dragging the right bottom corner of the cell with the lookup function in it all the way down.
23. Replace the values obtained by formula with non-referenced values. Use copy and “paste special as values”.
24. If you matched grades as directed above or directly entered them in the template, this template can be used to upload to Banner.
25. Save this as an Excel workbook with xls or xlsx extension. Banner will not accept csv files.

26. Go into Banner and select “Faculty Grade entry”.
27. Inside “Faculty Grade Entry”, find the course you want to enter grades for.
28. Click on the gear on the top right corner and click “Import” and from there click the browse window and click on the file you just uploaded the grades too.
29. Click “Upload” then “Continue”.
30. Verify that all grades correspond properly with you own records then click “Continue”.
31. Ensure that all columns correspond to the systems in the “Map” Section of import, then click “Continue”.
32. Once completed, click “Finish”.

• 8/23 Graduate Assistant Colloquium on Teaching and Learning- Moon Library
• 8/24 1-2:30 Blackboard Crash Course for new TAs- 310 Baker Lab
• 8/25 9-10 Blackboard Crash Course for new TAs- Zoom
• 8/24 1:30-2:30 Blackboard Crash Course for new TAs- Zoom
• 10/3 3:30-4:30 PM Graduate TAs Skills Workshop - Socratic questioning to support student learning and success - 240 Gateway Center. Please RSVP using the link.
   Aley O'Mara, Coordinator of Academic Success, will lead this workshop for Graduate Teaching Assistants on the use of Socratic questioning to help students learn. Socratic questioning is an educational method where questions are used to help clarify student thinking, probe underlying assumptions, reasoning, and evidence, and/or consider alternative perspectives. It can be applied in a variety of situations, such as creating active learning situations during instruction, and it is also a very useful skill for more less-structured situations such as office hours, going over assignments or quizzes, recitations, review sessions, or checking-ins with students during field or lab activities. Socratic questioning can be particularly effective in helping students learn because the questions guide the students to do the cognitive work themselves as opposed to just "giving them the answer," and the questions can also help identify knowledge gaps and misunderstandings. The workshop will include guidance on using Socratic questioning and provide opportunity to practice.
• 10/6 11:40 AM - 12:35 PM ESF Midterm Grades Workshop - Banner and Blackboard- 310 Baker Lab Please RSVP using the link. This workshop for faculty will go over the process for the bulk upload  of student midterm (and final) grades through the Faculty/Staff Banner portal system. Additional time will be spent on how the Blackboard Grade Center can be set up to calculate Midterm grades.
• 10/12 2-3 PM Teaching and Learning Center Studio Open House - 237 Gateway Center
  Drop by to see and learn how to use the Lightboard and One Button studios, available for use by faculty, staff, and students. Some examples of how the the studio has been used include recording a lecture for a planned absence, creating supplemental video resources on a difficult topic, working through a problem that a lot of students struggled with, and students recording a presentation for a class assignment.
• 10/20 11:40 AM - 12:35 PM Graduate TAs Skills Workshop - Providing useful feedback to students on assignments- Writing Center 13 Moon Library. Please RSVP using the link.
  Jacob Gedetsis, Coordinator of the Writing Center, will lead this workshop for Graduate Teaching Assistants on prioritizing the focus of grading and feedback when looking at larger written assignments such as projects or lab reports. The workshop will focus on identifying the expectations of students, identifying a few key takeaways from an assignment, and prioritizing high level concerns when giving feedback during grading. The session will include opportunities to practice with analyzing some different assignments.
• 10/25 2:15-3:15 PM Creating and Using Rubrics in Assessment - 237 Gateway/Zoom Hybrid
  Please register via zoom for both the in person and online option. This session will introduce the main categories of rubrics and then focus primarily on good practices in developing and implementing analytic rubrics for assignments and other class activities. 
• 12/13 10-11 AM Blackboard Ultra Transition Information Session - 110 Moon Library
  Please join the Teaching and Learning Center and Computing and Network Service (CNS), as we welcome staff from Syracuse University ITS to demonstrate and discuss the future of the Blackboard Learning Management System at ESF and SU: Blackboard Learn Ultra. This transformation, which will be complete for the fall of 2024, will touch all ESF courses that are part of the SU Blackboard ecosystem. Please join us in this important discussion about the future of this technology on campus.

• 1/10 9 - 3:30 Hardy Shirley Faculty Mentoring Colloquium- Supporting Student Academic Engagement and Success
  Materials are archived in the Teaching and Learning Center Resource Library. Sign-in with ESFID credentials may be required for access.
• 2/7 2:00-3:00 PM Advanced Blackboard Grade Center Workshop- hybrid: Baker 434 or Zoom.
  This workshop for faculty and graduate teaching assistants will cover advanced features in the Blackboard Grade Center that can help streamline navigation, working with large sections, and grade calculations. Planned topics include creating smart views to filter the grade center by activity type or groups of students such as with merged sections; creating calculation and weighted columns to calculate final grades; creating Grading Periods for mid-semester progress calculations; and Importing and Exporting the grade center data to work offline.
• 2/15 2:15-3:15 PM TLC Open Studio- 237 Gateway
  Drop by to learn about and how to use the Lightboard and One Button video recording studios.
• 2/23 2-3 PM TLC Journal Club- hybrid: 237 Gateway or Zoom. Please register via zoom for either format.
  Come discuss a teaching and learning journal article with your colleagues. For this meeting we will be discussing the paper, Hsu, J., Rowland-Goldsmith, M., & Schwartz, E. (2022). Student Motivations and Barriers toward Online and In-Person Office Hours in STEM Courses. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 21:4.
• 2/28 9:30-10:15 AM Creating Accessible Documents: Word Docs- Online via zoom.
  This short workshop will go over the key practices for creating and checking Word documents for digital accessibility.
• 3/7 2-3:20 PM Online Course Design Workshop- hybrid: Baker 434 or Zoom. Recording available in the TLC Resource Library.
  If you are planning to teach an online course over the summer or in the coming semesters, this workshop will go over some the best practices for online course design. It will cover the design process, along with introducing you to resources that are available as you design and develop, or refresh your course.
• 3/8-3/10 SUNY Online Summit-
  The SUNY Online Summit is an annual SUNY-wide conference focused on online education, teaching, and administration. This year the conference is back in person, and will be taking place in Syracuse. There is a registration fee for in-person attendance, but sessions will also be broadcast live and virtual attendance is free. Registration is required for both in-person or virtual attendance. Follow the link in the title for information on the program and registration.
• 3/22 3:45-4:30 PM Creating Accessible Documents: Powerpoint- Online via zoom.
  This short workshop will go over the key practices for creating and checking Powerpoint documents for digital accessibility.
• 4/5 10:30-11:30 AM TLC Open Studio- 237 Gateway
  Drop by to learn about and how to use the Lightboard and One Button video recording studios.
• 4/6 1-2 PM SUNY FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Webinar Series: What is inclusive teaching- 237 Gateway
  The SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT2) task group on Inclusive Teaching will be presenting on their findings regarding inclusive teaching best practices in this 4 part webinar series. The TLC will be hosting in-person watch sessions for anybody who wishes to drop in. You can also register and watch the Inclusive Teaching series on your own. The linked page also contains more detailed information about each webinar's content.
• 4/11 2:00-3:20 PM Introduction to Generative AI in Education- Online via Zoom. Recording and materials available in the TLC Resource Library.
  Are you curious about all the attention generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT is getting in the Higher Ed news sphere? Do you have academic integrity considerations and ethical concerns surrounding the use of generative AI? Are you already utilizing generative AI in some aspect of your work? The Teaching and Learning Center and Division of Student Affairs have partnered to kickstart more campus wide discussions around this emerging technology. We will provide a brief introduction to generative AI and its potential applications in teaching, including a discussion of two notable examples: ChatGPT and Midjourney. We will explore how these tools can and are being used to support learning and teaching activities, as well as potential ethical concerns when using generative AI in teaching. There will be at least one example of how generative AI is already being used on campus and we invite others to come share their own examples.
• 4/13 1-2 PM SUNY FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Webinar Series: Setting the Tone- 237 Gateway
• 4/20 1-2 PM SUNY FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Webinar Series: Creating a Welcoming Environment- 237 Gateway
• 4/21 9:30-10:15 AM Creating Accessible Documents: PDFs- Online via zoom.
  This short workshop will go over the key practices for creating and checking PDF documents for digital accessibility using Adobe Acrobat Pro.
• 4/27 1-2 PM SUNY FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Webinar Series: Giving the Students Tools for Success- 237 Gateway

• 9/9 10:35-11:30 AM New Faculty Group 240 Gateway
  Come meet the TLC staff and your fellow new colleagues to discuss your courses.
• 9/15 2-3 PM Graduate Teaching Assistants Group
  Spend some time with and learn from other Graduate Teaching Assistants.
• 9/20 10:00-11:30 AM Mobile TLC Help Hours: Bray/Walters- 217 Bray
  Ashley will be available in Bray or Walters Hall for consultations and help.
• 9/28 9:00-10:25 AM Mobile TLC Help Hours: Baker/Jahn Lab
  Brandon will be available in a Baker computer lab for consultations and help.
• 10/4 9:30-10:30 AM Journal Club - Online via Zoom
  Come discuss a teaching and learning journal article with your colleagues. For this meeting we will be discussing the paper, Gouvea, J., Appleby, L., Fu, L., & Wagh, A. (2022). Motivating and Shaping Scientific Argumentation in Lab Reports. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 21:4.
• 10/14 9:30-10:30 AM Mobile Help Hours - 141 Baker Lab
  Ashley will be available Baker Lab for consultations and help.
• 10/19 2:15-3:45 PM Mobile Help Hours - 8 Illick Hall
  Brandon will be available in Illick Hall for consultations and help.
• Week of 10/24 Advising Week- No scheduled programming but Brandon and Ashley are still available for consultations.
• 11/10 9:30-10:50 AM Graduate Teaching Assistants Group - Uncomfortable Conversations - 240 Gateway
  Spend some time with and learn from other Graduate Teaching Assistants. ESF Women's Caucus is partnering with the Teaching & Learning Center to view vignettes, debrief, and discuss "what would you do?"™ Vignettes are courtesy of Dr. Mara Sapon-Shevin, Professor of Inclusive Education at SU. Recordings were created with the support of Syracuse University's School of Education, The Newhouse School of Public Communications, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor.
• 11/18 2:15-3:15 PM New Faculty Group - 240 Gateway
  Check in with the TLC staff and your fellow new colleagues to discuss your courses and semester.
• 11/28 2:00 - 3:00 PM New Open Academy Studio Open House - 237 Gateway
  Come see the two new One Button Studio setups that allow for simple self-service recording of high-quality videos. The studio is available for faculty, staff, and students to use.
• 11/30 9:30-10:30 AM Journal Club - Online via Zoom
  Come discuss a teaching and learning journal article with your colleagues. For this meeting we'll be discussing Hacisalihoglu, G., et al. (2020). Enhancing Undergraduate Student Success in STEM Fields through Growth-Mindset and Grit. Education Sciences, 10(10), 1s+.

• 1/20 9 AM - 3 PM Hardy Shirley Faculty Mentoring Colloquium- Enhancing research excellence at ESF: This year's Colloquium was developed in partnership with the AG Committee on Research and Scholarship and the Vice President for Research, and focused on supporting and expanding research at ESF. The agenda, along with an archive of slide decks shared by presenters. The meeting was not recorded. Topics included:
  • Federal funding growth areas and trends provided by program managers
  • Collaboration opportunities with Upstate and Syracuse University
  • Discussion on the Federal Build Back Better Act
  • Presentation by our graduate students on research development ideas
  • Provost Mukasa's vision on research
• 2/3 2 PM - 3PM Tools & technology for teaching: Zoom. There will be 2 different levels offered, please register for the session you wish to attend using the linked title.
  • Zoom Basics: We will go through setting up your Zoom account and some of the different options available to you in the settings.
  • Advance Zoom Features: We will go through some advanced settings and uses of zoom, including: using automatic captioning and transcription, presetting breakout rooms groups, and deploying cloud recordings into a Blackboard course using the Kaltura mashup.
• 2/9 12:45 PM - 1:40 PM Journal Club: Join your colleagues for a teaching and learning journal club. Each month, we will discuss a different article on research around teaching and learning. Please read the article in advance. Attend any sessions that interest you, each session is independent of the others.
  • Cope, M.P., Mikhailova, E.A., Post, C.J., Schlautman, M.A., & Carbajales-Dale, P. (2018). Developing and evaluating an Esri Story Map as an educational tool. Natural Science Education, 47(1), 1-9.
• 2/15 12:45 - 1:45 PM Implicit/Unconscious Bias - Level 1 (Diversity), in partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Overcome Unconscious Bias: Break Down Barriers to Equity and Inclusion for Students, Faculty and Administrators. "Implicit bias" affects overall systems, daily interactions, and are barriers to equity and inclusion which impact overall retention efforts, student and staff satisfaction and graduation rates. Everyone harbors unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups. Unpack the ways identity layers interact - be it gender, race, economic status or other demographic variables so you can cultivate strategies and activities that can impact inclusion.
• 2/15 2 PM - 3 PM Tools & Technology for Teaching: Learning Management Systems Best Practices. Come and learn ways to implement basic best practices for using the learning management system. This workshop will build upon the Best Practices document developed in support of the Undergrad Student Survey presented at Academic Governance in December 2021.
• 2/16 12:45 - 1:45 PM Implicit/Unconscious Bias - Level 1 (Diversity), in partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Overcome Unconscious Bias: Break Down Barriers to Equity and Inclusion for Students, Faculty and Administrators. "Implicit bias" affects overall systems, daily interactions, and are barriers to equity and inclusion which impact overall retention efforts, student and staff satisfaction and graduation rates. Everyone harbors unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups. Unpack the ways identity layers interact - be it gender, race, economic status or other demographic variables so you can cultivate strategies and activities that can impact inclusion.
• 2/17 2 PM - 3 PM Alternative Grading and Assessment Methods Support Group. Interested in different types of grading and assessment methods? Curious about things like specifications grading but not sure where to start? Come join your colleagues to discuss different options in the grading and assessment, design new assessment and grading schemes that work for you and your students, and discuss challenges and opportunities for change!
• 2/24 2 PM - 3 PM Flipped and Flopped classrooms support group. Flipped your classroom and looking for support and advice? Haven't yet flipped your class but want to hear about what others have done? This group is for you! Come join your colleagues to discuss how they have flipped their classroom, successes you've had, and the flops that have happened as well. Please join us!
• 3/2 12:45 PM - 1:40 PM Journal Club: Join your colleagues for a teaching and learning journal club. Each month, we will discuss a different article on research around teaching and learning. Please read the article in advance. Attend any sessions that interest you, each session is independent of the others.
  • Waldeyer, Julia et al. "Can Generative Learning Tasks Be Optimized by Incorporation of Retrieval Practice?" Journal of applied research in memory and cognition 9.3 (2020): 355-369. This study looks at the effects of closed book, open book, and closed/open book switching activities on student learning and retention.
• 3/10 12:30-1:40 Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Course Design. If you are planning to teach an online course over the summer or in the coming semesters, come join the Teaching and Learning Center for a workshop on asynchronous and synchronous online course design. We will cover the design process, along with introducing you to resources that are available to you as you design and develop.
• 3/23 12:45 - 1:45 PM Implicit/Unconscious Bias - Level 2 (Inclusion), in partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Addressing Intersectionality: How to Encourage Belonging on Campus for Individuals with Multiple Identities. Unpack the ways identity layers interact - be it gender, race, economic status or other demographic variable - so you can cultivate strategies and activities that can impact inclusion You must be able to address intersectionality in dialogue about diversity and inclusion so you can dismantle barriers to equity.
• 3/24 2 PM - 3 PM Alternative Grading and Assessment Methods Support Group.
• 3/29 12:45 - 1:45 PM (Cancelled) Implicit/Unconscious Bias - Level 2 (Inclusion), in partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Addressing Intersectionality. We have unfortunately had to postpone this series for the remainder of the spring semester, we will likely be offering it again in the fall.
• 3/31 2 PM - 3 PM Flipped and Flopped classrooms support group.
• 4/7 1 PM - 2 PM FACT2 Innovative Assessment Symposium Webinars: Ways to Assess Students Using Multiple Pathways through a Course. Drop in to watch 240 Gateway, or register to watch on your own. These assessments use non-traditional methods that allow students multiple ways to progress through the course depending on their preferred learning methods or assessments. The group identified four main groups of methods for allowing students to do this: 1) Specifications Grading, 2) Contract Grading, 3) Gamification, and 4) Adaptive Learning.
• 4/12 12:45 - 1:45 PM (Cancelled) Implicit/Unconscious Bias - Level 3 (Equity), in partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Sustaining an Inclusive Organization. We have unfortunately had to postpone this series for the remainder of the spring semester, we will likely be offering it again in the fall.
• 4/13 12:45 PM - 1:40 PM Journal Club: Join your colleagues for a teaching and learning journal club. Each month, we will discuss a different article on research around teaching and learning. Please read the article in advance. Attend any sessions that interest you, each session is independent of the others.
  • Katzman, Hurst-Kennedy, J., Barrera, A., Talley, J., Javazon, E., Diaz, M., & Anzovino, M. E. (2021). The Effect of Specifications Grading on Students' Learning and Attitudes in an Undergraduate-Level Cell Biology Course. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 22(3).
• 4/14 1 PM - 2 PM FACT2 Innovative Assessment Symposium Webinars: What Can Real World Assessment Look Like? Drop in to watch 240 Gateway, or register to watch on your own. Authentic assessments is when students create or compose something that is intended for a real audience for a real purpose in a real forum and that receives real feedback from a real audience outside the classroom (so the student gets feedback from a person or people other than the teacher and other students in the class). The teacher and other students may also offer feedback and assessment at any point during the creation or composition process, but the outside audience's feedback is required and is taken into account in the grade, even if the teacher disagrees with the judgments of the real audience.
• 4/20 12:45 - 1:45 PM (Cancelled) Implicit/Unconscious Bias - Level 3 (Equity), in partnership with the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Sustaining an Inclusive Organization. We have unfortunately had to postpone this series for the remainder of the spring semester, we will likely be offering it again in the fall.
• 4/21 1 PM - 2 PM FACT2 Innovative Assessment Symposium Webinars: Strategies for Creating Socially Just Assessments. Drop in to watch 240 Gateway, or register to watch on your own. Social justice assessment considers factors such as race, culture, language proficiency, socioeconomic status, and ability while working to dismantle systems of power, bias, and oppression in evaluation of student learning. Symposium participants will learn specific approaches, including equitable assessment, labor-based grading, and ungrading, in addition to strategies for applying these best practices in their courses.
• 4/21 2 PM - 3 PM Alternative Grading and Assessment Methods Support Group.
• 4/28 1 PM - 2 PM FACT2 Innovative Assessment Symposium Webinars: Re-examining Assessing Classroom Learning using E-portfolios. Drop in to watch 240 Gateway, or register to watch on your own. Learning Recognition is the process by which learning, regardless of source, is acknowledged, validated and credentialed. Individuals continue to learn through work, life experiences, and personal study. Some of this learning can be recognized, regardless of the source of learning or the method by which that learning is evaluated, verifiable learning is valid learning. By recognizing learning acquired by all students, we provide more opportunities that enable students to be successful within the classroom.
• 4/28 2 PM - 3 PM Flipped and Flopped classrooms support group.