Professional Development Programs

The Malone Center for Excellence in Teaching sponsors a number of professional development programs designed to support faculty in the use of evidence-based instructional approaches, to promote the integration of innovative instructional technologies, and to foster students’ academic success. Information about these programs can be found below.

Did you miss a workshop that you were interested in? Resources from workshops prior to Spring 2020 can be accessed on the Past Professional Development Workshops page. Recordings of and handouts from workshops after Spring 2020 are available in the Malone Center’s Instructional Resources Canvas course. If you do not have access to this Canvas course, please email the Malone Center and request access.

Faculty Activity Report Tools Training

December 8, 2023, 12:30-1:30PM. January 5, 2024, 10AM- 12PM

Faculty are invited to attend one or both live training and consultation sessions to learn how to use Canvas Folio for annual activity reporting, promotion journey-mapping, and personal professional artifacts archiving. In these sessions, Faculty will learn how to set up their Folio profile and portfolio pages, create sections to suit disciplinary and/or program standards, and create networks of related activities across evaluation areas taking advantage of Folio’s options for connecting entries and artifacts. Participants in both sessions should familiarize themselves with their department or program Tenure and Promotion guidelines, January participants will need to bring their own laptop computer. Self-directed instructional materials will be available to Faculty through the Instructional Resources Canvas site, and those wanting to seek feedback and advice on their specific archiving needs are welcome to contact Emily Gill to make an appointment for an individual consultation. Register here:

Toolbox Talks

Toolbox Talks are the primary professional development series for the Malone Center. These monthly lunch workshops present a how-to guide and hands-on demonstration of an innovative instructional tool or pedagogical theme. Lunch will be provided for in-person participants who register by 8 am the Monday prior to the workshop. Toolbox Talks are the second Wednesday of the month during the regular academic year, 12:00-1:00 p.m.

If you know you want to watch a recording of an event, you may register and select that modality, and we will send you a link to the recording as soon as it is available.

Upcoming workshops:

November 15, 2023: The Scholarship of College Night: Lunch and Learn Panel

UM’s Homecoming Tradition is full of scholarship opportunities for any discipline. Come discuss the possibilities with a panel of four former College Night Leaders – Jeff Walker, Karen Kelly, Marion Brown, and Abigail Heuton over lunch. Members of the College Night Committee will also be in attendance to answer all your questions. If you’ve ever wondered how College Night works and how you and students might learn from it, then RSVP at the link below to reserve your seat and a plate from a buffet lunch provided by Taziki’s.

Session is November 15, from 12 noon to 1PM in Wills Hall room 200. RSVP before 11/9 at 5PM for lunch, walk-ins welcome after the RSVP date. All Toolbox Talks are posted to the Instructional Resources Canvas course for UM Faculty once captioning and video editing is completed.

November 20 and 21, 2023, Special Extra Sessions: AI Work-Play-Learn Sessions

Location: Hill House Fireside Lounge and Collaborative Discussion Space

As the AI tools market expands and new opportunities for instructional benefits develop, these sessions will provide faculty with beginning and intermediate familiarity with AI with time and guidelines to play with available generative AI tools to learn how AI tools can affect their assignments and learning outcomes achievement metrics. Session 1 from 12-2PM on November 20 will focus on text generators like ChatGPT, Claude, and Bard. Session 2 from 11AM to 1PM on November 21 Faculty will have an opportunity to learn about research and organizational assistant AI tools, like search engine plug-ins and list makers, to solve common student study and course performance challenges. Walk-in attendance welcome, but those wishing to pre-register and fill out a topic survey prior to the event and those who will need to reserve a Malone Center-provided laptop or other device please, click the button(s) below for your chosen session to access the registration survey form. If you are interested in this topic, but cannot make either session, please contact Emily Gill at gille@montevallo.edu to set up alternative access to the information.

AI Work-Play-Learn Session 1: Text Generators

AI Work-Play-Learn Session 2: Research and Organization Tools

January 17, 2024: Best Practices and New Tools for Video Content Creation

In this session, revisit the Malone Center provided resources, continuing and new, for creating and editing rich video content that is accessible, engaging, and effective. Topics covered include: how to provide the best raw material for captioning, planning your script/storyboard, length choices, editing software tools and tips, and also the latest information on Artificial Intelligence tools for instructors and students to use to maximize time and study efficiency.

Session is January 17, 2024 from 12 noon to 1PM, H2 Studio in Hill House, our new classroom training space. Options for Faculty to participate: live attendance with provided lunch for those registering before 10AM on Monday, January 15; synchronous remote access via Zoom; and registration until 5PM Tuesday January 16 for anyone wanting live attendance and no lunch. All Toolbox Talks are posted to the Instructional Resources Canvas course for UM Faculty once captioning and video editing is completed.

February 21, 2024: Canva Websites for Students (and others!)

The Canva website creation tool offers quick web-hosted options for information posting needs- from conference programs, to online access text supplements, to image portfolios, and more. In this Work-Play-Learn style session, attendees will have an opportunity to learn some basic skills before getting a chance to play with the options Canva offers for creating websites. Attendees will be asked to come with an assignment or application in mind to use as their test case, although as the demonstration progresses, everyone is free to change their plan depending on what they learn.

Session is February 21, 2024 from 12 noon to 1PM, H2 Studio in Hill House, our new classroom training space. Options for Faculty to participate: live attendance with provided lunch for those registering before 10AM on Monday, February 19 synchronous remote access via Zoom (you will need to have a Canva login set up and adequate computing access); and registration until 5PM Tuesday February 20 for anyone wanting live attendance and no lunch. All Toolbox Talks are posted to the Instructional Resources Canvas course for UM Faculty once captioning and video editing is completed.

March 13, 2024: LinkedIn Learning for Life-long Learning

Faculty and Staff are invited to join us for a session walking through the offerings and resources provided by the University-provided subscription to LinkedIn Learning. Those with UM accounts have access to the complete library of technology, software, professional skills, and other valuable certifications.

Session is March 13, 2024 from 12 noon to 1PM, H2 Studio in Hill House, our new classroom training space. Those wishing to “play along” with the demonstration are welcome to bring their own laptop. Options to participate: live attendance with provided lunch for those registering before 10AM on Monday March 11, synchronous remote access via Zoom; and registration until 5PM Tuesday February 20 for anyone wanting live attendance and no lunch. All Toolbox Talks are posted to the Instructional Resources Canvas course for UM Faculty once captioning and video editing is completed.

April 10, 2024: Generative AI Check-in

A sharing session for Faculty who have engaged with generative AI in their courses, assignments, research work, or other areas, as well as those looking for guidance on how and where to start to make adjustments to accommodate the presence of AI in our learning spaces. Come connect with colleagues and share resources, results, and questions to inspire and support each other. Also included, previews of upcoming professional development opportunities and other timely generative AI-related information as we start to plan for the 2024-2025 Academic Year.

Session is April 10, 2024 from 12 noon to 1PM, H2 Studio in Hill House, our new classroom training space. Options for Faculty to participate: live attendance with provided lunch for those registering before 10AM on Monday, April 8 synchronous remote access via Zoom; and registration until 5PM Tuesday April 9 for anyone wanting live attendance and no lunch. All Toolbox Talks are posted to the Instructional Resources Canvas course for UM Faculty once captioning and video editing is completed.

Faculty Book Club

Spring 2024: The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Facilitator: Ms. Emily Gill, MFA, Director Malone Center, EDCP Experience Designer, Assoc. Professor of Theatre

UM takes pride in providing a unique, person-to-person, meaningful learning mentorship through all modalities. In this book study/shared learning experience, participants will revisit the structure of designing gatherings (or different versions of gatherings) to facilitate active, inclusive, and brave spaces for students and colleagues to learn from each other.

Dates and times of meetings TBD in Spring semester of 2024. All who are interested in the topic are encouraged to register. Hint: there may be alternative GATHERINGS to suit various schedules.

If you have book suggestions, please email them to Emily Gill at gille@montevallo.edu.

Foundations of Online Instruction

The Foundations of Online Instruction training is designed to familiarize instructors with the fundamental principles of quality distance education in order to prepare them for a variety of distance modalities including fully online, hybrid, and hyflex courses.

The training course consists of three instructional modules:

Module 1: Best Practices contains an overview of best practices in distance education, including pedagogical strategies and course accessibility.
Module 2: Policies provides an introduction to the policies put forth by SACSCOC, ACHE, and others to regulate online and distance courses.
Module 3: Building Your Distance Course introduces you to the instructional design process and allows you to practice applying what you learned in the first two modules to develop materials for a course of your choosing (or modify previously developed materials).

If you are planning to teach a distance education course at the University of Montevallo and you have not already completed Foundations of Online Instruction or the previously offered Teaching Effectively Online, you can register for Foundations of Online Instruction through the following link.

Faculty Research and Teaching Symposium

During this event, we highlight accomplishments of UM faculty in teaching and creative endeavor. The day will feature keynote addresses from the 2023 Outstanding Commitment to Teaching awardee and the 2022-2023 University Scholar as well as short oral presentations, artistic demonstrations, and posters. The event’s schedule will be organized around the University’s class schedule to allow faculty, staff, and students to come and go as needed. Please submit proposals below. For any questions about format or available presentation amenities, please see this Information Sheet or you can contact Emily Gill at gille@montevallo.edu.

2023 Faculty Research and Teaching Symposium
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
J. A. Brown Room, Carmichael Library

View the 2023 Schedule of Events

Save the date for the 2024 Faculty Research and Teaching Symposium: Wednesday, October 9, 2024

New Faculty Orientation and Resources

The Malone Center for Excellence in Teaching hosts a two-day new faculty orientation each fall, which is required for all first year faculty. New faculty orientation introduces participants to the University’s policies and procedures that are pertinent to teaching faculty. This orientation is followed by regular meetings throughout the first academic year to better acquaint our newest faculty to the UM campus and culture.