20 Minute Mentor Commons

Through our membership in the OLC, faculty can access online workshops.

Apply for workshop registration and learn about other member benefits here.

Faculty and staff now have access to a new online professional development resource. The 20 Minute Mentor Commons is a growing library of video-based programs to help you address teaching opportunities and challenges. Each video is 20 minutes in length and is accompanied by PDF handouts and a transcript.

Topics include:

What are the three worst mistakes to make in the classroom?
How can I promote deep, lasting student learning?
How can I connect students' interests to course content?
How can I build community in my classroom?
How do I create engaging threaded discussion questions?
How do I get more students to participate in class?
In blended courses, what should students do online?

This link is a document that lists all programs in 20-Minute Mentor Commons, sorted by category, with direct links to each one: 20-Minute Mentor Commons.

To activate your 20 Minute Mentor Commons subscription, contact us at ftlc@gvsu.edu and we will send you the GVSU activation code.

Quality Matters

Through our institutional membership, faculty have access to the Quality Members rubric, a set of eight research-based standards that can be used to guide online/hybrid course development. Currently, the Quality Matters rubric is used in the Foundations of Online/Hybrid Course Development and QM Teaching Circles.

Sampling of 20 Minute Mentor Commons Programs

Program Title	Category
How Do I Convert a F2F Course to a Hybrid Course?	Blended Learning
In Blended Courses, What Should Students Do Online?	Blended Learning
Should I Use ADDIE as a Design Map for My Blended Course?	Blended Learning
What Is Blended Learning?	Blended Learning
What Three Things Could I Do to Improve My Blended Course?	Blended Learning
How Can I Learn Student Names?	Classroom Management
How Do I Address Teasing and Bullying Behavior in the Classroom?	Classroom Management
How Do I Discuss Academic Integrity During the First Class?	Classroom Management
How Do I Stay Calm When Students Push My Buttons?	Classroom Management
How Should I Handle Pushy Parents?	Classroom Management
Is There a Solution to Students Multitasking in Class?	Classroom Management
Should I Take Attendance?	Classroom Management
What Do I Need to Know About Referring Students for Help?	Classroom Management
What Should I Do When a Student Challenges my Authority?	Classroom Management
What Should I Do When a Student Cheats?	Classroom Management
Is Your Syllabus Sending the Wrong Message?	Course Design
Can Service-Learning Work in My Discipline?	Course Design
How Can Backward Design Make My Courses More Accessible?	Course Design
How Can I Improve Lessons with a 4-step Plan?	Course Design
How Can I Incorporate a Group Poster Session into my Class?	Course Design
How Can I Make My Course Content More Accessible?	Course Design
How Can I Make the Activities in My Course More Inclusive?	Course Design
How Do I Design Courses to Enhance Student Veterans' Success?	Course Design
How Do I Develop a High-Impact Capstone Course?	Course Design
How Do I Get Started with Service-Learning?	Course Design
What Are Five Tips for Writing Effective Learning Outcomes?	Course Design
How Can I Be an Effective Mentor?	Faculty Development
How Can I Best Learn from My Mentor?	Faculty Development
How Can I Measure My Faculty Development Center’s Impact?	Faculty Development
How Can I Use Student Feedback to Improve My Teaching?	Faculty Development
How Do I Create a Successful Faculty Mentoring Program?	Faculty Development
How Do I Prepare a SoTL Article for Publication?	Faculty Development
What Can I Do about Feeling Tired, Stressed, and Burned Out?	Faculty Development
What Can I Learn From Student Ratings?	Faculty Development
How Can I Build a Successful Faculty Development Program?	Faculty Support
How Do I Motivate an Unmotivated Colleague?	Faculty Support
How Should I Coach an Underperforming Colleague?	Faculty Support
What Steps Can I Take to Foster a Collegial Department?	Faculty Support
How Can I Structure a Flipped Lesson?	Flipped Courses
What Are 5 FAQs About Faculty Roles in the Flipped Class?	Flipped Courses
What Is Storyboarding and How Can It Help You Flip Your Class?	Flipped Courses
Where Can I Find Flippable Moments in My Classes?	Flipped Courses
Are Group Exams a Viable Testing Option?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Create Meaningful Assignments for My Students?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Make My Exams More about Learning, Less about Grades?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Make My Exams More Accessible?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Make My Multiple Choice Tests More Effective?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Transform My Tests into Learning Tools?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Use a Total Point System to Clarify Grading?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Use Frequent Student Feedback to Improve My Courses?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Use Informal Writing as Part of a Low-stakes Grading Strategy?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Use Low-stakes Quizzing to Enhance Learning?	Grading and Feedback
How Can Rubrics Make Grading Easier and Faster?	Grading and Feedback
How Do I Give Feedback that Improves Student Writing?	Grading and Feedback
What Is the Best Way to Grade Participation?	Grading and Feedback
How Do I Use FLCs to Strengthen Institutional Assessment?	Institutional Assessment
How Should I Manage Conflict Within My Department?	Leadership Skills
How Can I Design Copyright-Compliant Courses?	Online Copyright Policy
Linking, Embedding & Streaming: What’s Legal? What’s Not?	Online Copyright Policy
What Does Copyright Ownership Mean to Me?	Online Copyright Policy
How Can I Get Started With the Virtual Classroom?	Online Course Design
How Do I Choose Between Synchronous & Asynchronous Activities?	Online Course Design
How Do I Set Students Up for Success in Online Courses?	Online Course Design
What Do Students Want in Online Courses?	Online Course Design
What Are the Communication 'Musts' in an Online Class?	Online Course Facilitation
How Can I Set Time Management Priorities in Online Teaching?	Online Course Management
How Should I Manage My Online Course?	Online Course Management
I’m Teaching Online Next Term. What Do I Have to Know?	Online Course Management
How Can I Use Technology to Create Custom Automated Feedback?	Online Grading and Feedback
How Can I Enhance the Impact of Feedback in Online Classes?	Online Grading and Feedback
How Can I Use Voice Feedback to Improve Student Learning?	Online Grading and Feedback
How Do I Create Engaging Threaded Discussion Questions?	Online Student Engagement
How Can I Better Manage Difficult Conversations with Faculty?	Personnel Issues
How Can I Help Student Veterans Transition to Campus?	Specific Student Populations
How Do I Accommodate Student Veterans with Disabilities?	Specific Student Populations
How Flexible Should I Be with Nontraditional Students?	Specific Student Populations
What Do I Do If I Suspect a Student Has Asperger’s Disorder?	Specific Student Populations
What Learning Activities Help Student Veterans Succeed?	Specific Student Populations
How Can I Capture Students’ Interest in the First 5 Minutes?	Student Engagement
How Can I Connect Students’ Interests to Course Content?	Student Engagement
How Can I Enhance Class Using Story, Popular Media and Objects?	Student Engagement
How Can I Enhance Students’ Self-Regulated Learning Skills?	Student Engagement
How Can I Get Students to Take Responsibility for Their Own Learning?	Student Engagement
How Can I Improve My PowerPoint Presentation Skills?	Student Engagement
How Can I Reduce Student Apathy and Increase Motivation?	Student Engagement
How Can I Use Icebreakers to Connect with Students?	Student Engagement
How Can Objects and Analogies Improve my Teaching?	Student Engagement
How Do I Build Community in My Classroom?	Student Engagement
How Do I Create a Climate for Learning in My Classroom?	Student Engagement
How Do I Get More Students to Participate in Class?	Student Engagement
How Do I Get Students to Read Their Assignments Before Class?	Student Engagement
How Do I Include Introverts in Class Discussions?	Student Engagement
What Kinds of Questions Encourage Student Interaction?	Student Engagement
How Can I Give Negative Peer Feedback that Leads to Change?	Teaching Strategies
How Can I Help Students Develop Critical Thinking Skills?	Teaching Strategies
How Can I Minimize Cheating in the Classroom?	Teaching Strategies
How Can I Promote Deep Learning through Critical Reflection?	Teaching Strategies
How Can I Teach Critical Reflection in STEM Courses?	Teaching Strategies
How Can I Use Discussion to Facilitate Learning?	Teaching Strategies
How Do I Assign Students to Groups?	Teaching Strategies
How Should I Respond to Wrong (or Not Very Good) Answers?	Teaching Strategies
Is Team Teaching Right for Me?	Teaching Strategies
Learner-Centered Teaching - Where Should I Start?	Teaching Strategies
Should I Encourage Experiential Learning During Class? How?	Teaching Strategies
What Are the Three Worst Mistakes to Make in the Classroom?	Teaching Strategies
What Can I Do to Increase Student Retention?	Teaching Strategies
What if a Student Asks a Question I Can't Answer?	Teaching Strategies
How Do I Use VoiceThread for Online Student Discussion?	Technology in Online Courses
Where Can I Find Free Tools for Holding Online Office Hours?	Technology in Online Courses
Can I Safely Send Group Text Messages to Students for Free?	Technology in the Classroom
Can I Safely Use Facebook with Students for Class Interaction?	Technology in the Classroom
How Can Document Sharing Tools Help Students Collaborate?	Technology in the Classroom
How Can Google Docs Help Foster Productive Collaboration?	Technology in the Classroom
How Can I Create Effective Mini-lectures?	Technology in the Classroom
How Can I Use Technology to Improve Learning?	Technology in the Classroom
How Can I Use Twitter to Improve Teaching and Learning?	Technology in the Classroom
What Works and What Doesn't When Teaching Large Classes?	Technology in the Classroom
Peer Reviews of Online Teaching: What Works Best?	Working with Online Faculty
How Can I Use Student Feedback to Improve My Teaching?	Grading and Feedback
How Can I Better Manage Difficult Conversations with Faculty?	Grading and Feedback
How Do I Get More Students to Participate in Class?	Grading and Feedback
What Can I Learn From Student Ratings?	Grading and Feedback

Page last modified March 15, 2021

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