Sessions and Series

Apple Tree Society promotes sessions and series that focus on teaching and learning. Additional series are planned throughout the year to highlight current trends in teaching and learning at MUSC. 

Included on this page:

Brown Bag Sessions

Apple Tree sponsors various Brown Bag sessions throughout the year that focus on teaching, learning, technology, and research. These sessions may be a single session or a series. Everyone is invited to attend and participate in these sessions. 

Some past topics include: challenging students, finding and using multimedia, teaching millennials, endnote, instructional design, augmented reality, copyright, social media, innovative teaching, significance and p-values, teaching writing, healthy lifestyles, and more!

Foundations in Teaching and Learning

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Begins February 27th, 2023.		  Vector icon of blue person with + mark

Target Audience  

Foundations in Teaching and Learning is designed for instructors,
learning designers and academic support staff who teach and support instruction in a didactic setting.
This can include both classroom and online learning.

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Time Commitment

1.5 hours a week 

  • 1 hour asynchronous content 
  • 45 minute synchronous meeting (see dates)
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Synchronous  Virtual  Meeting  Requirement

  • March 1st, 15th and 29th from 12:00-12:45 PM. 

Overall Summary 

The Foundations in Teaching and Learning course will explore current and future methodologies and topics in pedagogy from a critical perspective. Each course topic is designed to provide participants with opportunities to explore and think critically about their role as an instructor and discover how to apply various instructional strategies and ideas to their learning environment. This course will look back even as it looks forward as we invite participants to examine their current teaching practices while being mindful of how these will evolve in the future.

In this course, we will: 

  • Work to understand various topics that will lay the foundation for thinking critically about teaching and learning.  
  • Think about teaching and learning and how to apply instructional practices to your specific course context.  
  • Discover and identify ways that different learners experience educational situations and experiences.  
  • Engage together as a community to support and discuss the topics outlined and encourage critical review and thought processes related to them.  
  • Have epiphanies.

Certificate  Completion

  • Attend two of the three synchronous virtual meetings
  • Complete one of the two Micro-Challenges for each topic

Topic Outline

  1. "Syllabus Day"
  2. Reach all, Teach all 
  3. The Innovative Teacher's Curriculum Design
  4. Learner-centered Teaching Methods
  5. Alternative Assessments
  6. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

 

Foundations of Quality Online Instruction

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Dates

TBA (Fall 2023)

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Target Audience

Foundations in Quality Online Instruction
is designed for instructors, learning designers
and academic support staff who have experience
with or are new to teaching and supporting
instruction in a didactic setting online. 
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Time Commitment

5-10 hours over 4 weeks 

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Synchronous Virtual Meeting Options

None required, virtual office hours offered

 

Overall Summary

Foundations of Quality Online Instruction is a 6-week self-paced course hosted in Brightspace that is designed to introduce best practices, tools and theories related to online instruction. This includes background on how online learning differs from in person, an introduction to designing both online content and interactive activities as well as the various tools that can be implemented to support all learners.

In this course, you will:

  • understand the importance of relating to the online learner and how to design content specifically for this type of instruction.
  • explore best practices for online instruction related to the theories and tools that support them.
  • evaluate the different types of supported technologies that enhance online learning.
  • explore various strategies for meeting the needs and preferences of all learners within an online platform.

Certificate Completion

To receive a certificate for this course, participants will need to complete the Foundations in Quality Online Teaching Course Template at the end of the course. The template includes the five module topics from this course. You will be asked to create two goals for each module topic and a timeline for implementation your goals.

Topic Outline

  1. Understanding the Online Learner
  2. The Instructors Role in Planning and Designing Online Content
  3. Supported Instructional Technologies and Tools
  4. Creating Effective Online Activities
  5. Inclusion and Motivation for All Learners

Fundamentals of Digital Accessibility

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Dates

February 13th-March 19th, 2023

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Target Audience

All MUSC employees who create digital content with a focus on academic content
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Time Commitment

15-18 hours over 6 weeks

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Synchronous Virtual Meeting Options

None

Overall Summary

The Fundamentals of Digital Accessibility course is designed to introduce the foundations of digital accessibility. This includes background on why this initiative is important and how to create and implement digitally accessible materials into your everyday work.

In this course, you will:

  • understand the importance of digital accessibility why it is necessary.
  • understand the different types of assistive technologies and appreciate how they impact individuals with disabilities.
  • apply best practices for accessibility by learning about the different requirements for making items accessible.
  • investigate various resources for digital accessibility and how to apply them to your work.

Digital Badge Completion

  • The digital badge completion includes engaging with the course through the videos, readings, interactive activities, all discussion forums and creating digitally accessible files for review by a course facilitator. The badge completion also includes 4 hours of Diversity and Inclusion credit.

Topic Outline

  1. Getting to know Digital Accessibility
  2. Introduction to Universal Design for Learning
  3. Types of Barriers and Assistive Technologies
  4. Best Practices for General Formatting
  5. Accessible Work Documents
  6. Accessible PowerPoint Documents
  7. Accessible Excel Workbooks
  8. Accessible PDF
  9. Captions, Subtitles and Transcripts
  10. Accessible Outlook Emails
  11. Accessibility in Brightspace
  12. Library Resources in Brightspace