In this essay, Barbara Rodriguez, Ph.D. shares reflections on ACUE’s partnership with North Carolina A&T University and insights from attending this month’s ACUE Pinning Ceremony. 

I’m still on cloud nine after attending North Carolina A&T University’s pinning ceremony to recognize and celebrate faculty who earned ACUE Certificates in Effective College Instruction. In addition to being a top-flight research university recognized for multidisciplinary excellence, North Carolina A&T is the largest historically black university (HBCU) in the country. 

Pioneering educators at North Carolina A&T

The 23 faculty honored at the event were part of North Carolina A&T’s inaugural ACUE cohort. Our partnership began less than a year ago, but the success and enthusiasm of these pioneering educators have paved the way for many more faculty to have the opportunity to join ACUE. 

Dr. Tonya Smith-Jackson, interim provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, delivers opening remarks to ACUE faculty at North Carolina A&T.

Earlier this year, North Carolina A&T launched three more cohorts as part of a national study to expand higher education’s understanding of how Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Pell-eligible students enrolled in gateway courses can benefit from evidence-based teaching. North Carolina A&T is one of 13 institutions participating in the study, supported by a $1.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation.

Putting students at the center 

North Carolina A&T’s Center for Teaching Excellence, deserves a lot of credit for the success of this partnership. From day one, Dr. Audrey Dentith, the center’s director, and her team have shown a commitment to putting students at the center of teaching. With support from institutional leadership, including Dr. Tonya Smith-Jackson, interim provost and vice-chancellor of academic affairs, ACUE is helping to scale these efforts.

Under Dr. Dentith’s leadership, newly ACUE credentialed faculty will now take active roles in working to grow the community of educators to support one another in the future. Many of the ideas that these ACUE faculty will be implementing were inspired by their work in “What’s Next Reports” provided in the ACUE course. 

Stories of impact 

My favorite part about attending ACUE pinning ceremonies is hearing directly from educators about the changes and impact that came from their participation in ACUE.

The author snaps a selfie during a break in the pinning.

Dr. Marissa Dick, an ACUE Certified adjunct lecturer, shared one that showed how small tweaks to the way we ask students for feedback can lead to bigger changes. 

In the module on Using Student Achievement and Feedback to Improve Your Teaching, one of the practices that Marrissa decided to implement was the Stop-Start-Continue exercise, which she used to collect anonymous feedback from her students about how the course is going. She noticed that multiple students asked her to stop writing the learning objectives on the board in cursive. 

Marrissa was shocked. She had been writing in cursive for years, yet no student had brought it to her attention. When she asked her students why they hadn’t mentioned it earlier, they told her they didn’t feel comfortable saying anything. The Start-Stop-Continue exercise changed that. 

The small fix was that Marrissa began typing up the learning objectives. To ensure the learning objectives remained a prominent presence during classes, she invited students to write them out on the board. She said students enjoyed writing on the board, and it resulted in several students “wanting a turn” to write on the board.

Marrissa’s story is one of the many reasons it has been a pleasure to support this partnership.

Dr. Barbara Rodriguez is the Regional Director for Academic Programs for ACUE.

By Cindy Blackwell

I love my ACUE pin.  

Now, I realize that using the word “love” for a pin may seem a bit overblown, but given all my ACUE pin connects me to, love is a completely appropriate term.  

My ACUE pin is a connection to my commitment to teaching and student success. It represents the hard work I put into the ACUE Effective Teaching Practices course, which I completed during the 2016–2017 academic year. It is also a reminder of the relationships I developed with extraordinary colleagues at The University of Southern Mississippi who were in the course with me.  

A Symbol of My Academic and Professional Journey  

Like diplomas and regalia, pins and pinning ceremonies have a long and distinguished history dating to the 12th century, when the Maltese Cross of Service was worn by hospitaller knights during the Crusades. This symbol eventually evolved into the nursing pin, which was first awarded to Florence Nightingale in 1856 by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria for Nightingale’s service during the Crimean War. For nurses, receiving their pin is a rite of passage signifying that the wearer is ready to enter the highly distinguished and most trusted profession.  

The same is true for the ACUE pin. Those who earn the ACUE certification and pin have demonstrated the comprehensive knowledge and skills necessary to deliver instruction that improves student engagement, closes equity gaps, and increases student persistence.

“A Labor of Love”  

To earn it, however, you have to do the work. As anyone who has been through the course knows, ACUE is a labor of love.  

Its evidence-based learning design means all 25 modules guide faculty through high-quality and demanding learning experiences. Working from foundational knowledge through higher-order learning, faculty implement at least one proven teaching practice and critically reflect on it with feedback from expert reviewers. The quality and comprehensiveness of course content make it relevant to novice and advanced instructors alike. In addition, ACUE’s research-based Effective Practice Framework, organized around five core competencies, is built on a body of interrelated research that ties together all components of the course.

The Next Generation of ACUE-Certified Faculty

The ACUE pin is also like the nursing pin in that it has evolved — but only in design.

Recently, ACUE’s pins and certificate were updated to reflect ACUE’s new branding. They honor ACUE’s historic student success mission while representing the next generation of ACUE-certified faculty. While I am proud to wear the first-generation ACUE pin, which shows I was among the first pioneering faculty to earn this national distinction, I am even more excited for the next generation of faculty who will be working to make teaching a central part of student success in higher education.

What has not changed is the standard of excellence behind the ACUE pin, no matter which generation of ACUE pin you earn. I love my first-generation ACUE pin and look forward to connecting with and celebrating those who are earning the new ACUE pin, knowing they are keeping the ACUE movement moving forward.

Dr. Cindy Blackwell is an Academic Director at ACUE. 

Home

“Effective teaching is inclusive teaching,” said Penny MacCormack, ACUE’s Chief Academic Officer, in her opening remarks at Texas A&M University System’s (TAMUS) DEI Summit in early April. ACUE’s microcredential, Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning, was a central topic of discussion at the summit.

The session underscored TAMUS’ deepening investment in quality teaching systemwide through its Scaling Instructional Excellence for Student Success initiative, launched in 2020 alongside the National Association of System Heads (NASH). After a successful first year of partnership, TAMUS leaders announced a three-year continuation of its partnership with ACUE.

MacCormack and Carmen Macharaschwili, ACUE Academic Strategist, were joined by LaShondra Manning, Assistant Professor of Counseling at Tarleton State University, and Alvin Johnson, Director of Academic Advising at Prairie View A&M University who participated in a panel discussion. 

Manning and Johnson earned their ITEL microcredentials last semester, learning new practices for creating a more inclusive classroom. Meanwhile, Cindy Blackwell, ACUE Academic Director, shared insights from her experience overseeing the partnership.

Confronting our own biases

Manning and Johnson shared how through the ACUE program, they discovered new facets of themselves and their own teaching — not just insights about their students.

Manning, who said she had previously made assumptions about students’ knowledge, learned that she had to develop new ways to account for her own biases. She went on to explain that she had unconsciously expected students to be perfectionists like her, never realizing that her traditional educational background didn’t coincide. Through ACUE, she grew to understand how important it was to get to know students.

“ACUE shifted my perspective,” she said. “When I lifted my bias, that helped me connect better with my students. I needed to stop making assumptions.”

Johnson came to the ACUE program with a unique perspective. He and his team’s roles are to ensure they support teaching philosophies and strategies.

“We forget that our students come with so many gifts and tools,” he said. “I constantly remind students that they have power and agency.”

Coping with imposter phenomenon

Both Manning and Johnson underscored how prevalent imposter phenomenon, a feeling of not belonging in an academic setting, is in the classroom and beyond. 

“Imposter syndrome sets in quickly,” Johnson said. “We have to change the conversations and vocabulary because students start mimicking that.”

Manning agreed, adding that she has worked hard to build an environment that welcomes all student’s perspectives.

Blackwell noted that faculty and staff can encounter imposter phenomenon anywhere on campus. “No matter where you are, a campus is a learning environment,” she explained. She shared how she recently read a reflection from the admissions staff, who had a first-generation student struggling to fill out the FAFSA. 

“She didn’t feel like she belonged,” Blackwell said. “How many students feel that way?” This, she explained, is one of the reasons why all sectors of academic life should be equipped with inclusive teaching practices, from the residence halls to advising.

Microaggressions and inclusive teaching

Microaggressions were another important topic of conversation, one the Inclusive Teaching microcredential focuses on deeply.

“ACUE gave us permission to confront microaggressions,” said Manning, who noted that she had experienced them herself. The program, however, equipped her with the skills to talk to students about their experiences and use them as teachable moments. Now, she has taken strides to encourage other faculty to confront microaggressions, such as by preparing a statement for the faculty retreat and inviting students to talk about their experiences.

“There are people who use microaggressions and don’t know they’re wounding people,” Johnson said. “A lot of time students come to us because they don’t know how to address it with faculty. The problem comes with the power differential.”

Through ACUE, Johnson also realized that he was not immune to perpetuating these slights. “My blackness and queerness do not eliminate me from privilege,” he said.

Blackwell added that she has heard faculty say they had never heard the term “microaggression” but have experienced and seen them. “So many students don’t even know what they’re saying,” she said. “We’ve got to teach them [about microaggressions] in this environment so they don’t go out and perpetuate it in other environments.”

“These are difficult topics and conversations,” Johnson added. “My biggest takeaway is that for years I’ve avoided training that has to do with DEI [as a Black and gay man]. But I was also unintentionally replicating the harm that was done to me. I realized these are opportunities to learn, and ACUE has made this training approachable.”

To learn more about ACUE’s Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning microcredential and other programs, visit https://acue.org/programs/catalog/.

ACUE Certified Faculty at Bennett College, an HBCU for women, Are Empowering the Next Generation of Women Leaders 

At Bennett College, a historically black liberal arts college (HBCU) for women, recognizing the crucial role of faculty in student success is a critical component of the institution’s new strategic direction. As the college’s leaders developed a blueprint for radical transformation over the past 18 months, they have increasingly focused on equipping faculty with evidence-based teaching practices shown to improve student engagement, close equity gaps, and increase persistence. 

A Micro College Mindset: ‘Our Smallness is Our Strength’ 

One of only two HBCUs for women in the nation, Bennett’s mission is to prepare women of color through a transformative liberal arts education. The college’s unique characteristics and small size—it serves just over 300 students—were defining factors in the institution’s search for a new accreditor, which culminated last year. 

Part of the process included hiring a new president to help guide the development of Bennett’s new strategic direction. That person was Suzanne Walsh, who joined the college in 2019 and immediately saw it as a fertile ground for innovation. 

In the immediate term, Bennett is embracing a ‘micro college’ model for students. From students’ first days on campus, when President Walsh meets with and greets each new student, to curriculum and extracurriculars, the school prides itself on designing and delivering highly-personalized, curated experiences to meet individual student needs. 

“Our smallness is our strength,” President Walsh likes to say, a mantra that the college has rallied around. 

At the core of Bennett College’s strategic priorities is the role of faculty in preparing the next generation of women leaders. Since Bennett launched a partnership with ACUE in 2020, three out of four full-time faculty have earned full Certificates in Effective College Instruction endorsed by the American Council on Education. The partnership has “brought excitement back to the classroom,” said Santiba Campbell, an associate professor of psychology and Faculty Senate President. 

ACUE is proud to work with dozens of HBCUs around the country. Last year, ACUE and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), with support from Bank of America, the Education Finance Institute, and the ECMC Foundation, announced a new national initiative that launched in the 2021-22 academic year. The “Excellence in Online Instruction” initiative will equip more than 660 faculty with evidence-based online teaching practices, ultimately reaching tens of thousands of students.

‘Empowered as a Black Woman to Speak for Myself.’

Current students and alumnae say that faculty have served as mentors and motivators. 

One student said that Dr. Campbell relentlessly pushed her and her peers to believe in themselves. 

“In her class, I felt empowered as a Black woman to speak for myself,” Breonna Martin, a student of Dr. Campbell, said in a video interview last year. “She would literally say to us, ‘Y’all got this.’ Even if you don’t think you do, she would say, ‘I think you do.’”

For Walsh, who joined the inaugural pinning ceremony for ACUE certified faculty last year, hearing directly from students is an important validation. 

“There is no better way to explain the value of the role of faculty in the lives of students than to hear it from a student,” she commented on LinkedIn last year. “[I’m] so incredibly thankful to our faculty who take students on these journeys with full support and encouragement.”

‘Describe What a Scientist Looks Like.’

Dr. Campbell’s disciplinary expertise is featured in ACUE’s effective online teaching practices courses and inclusive teaching for equitable learning microcredential. As a featured expert, Dr. Campbell addresses topics such as implicit bias, microaggressions and stereotype threat. In one video, she describes a discussion prompt in which students have to describe a scientist. Initially, she says, student responses tend to depict an old white man who vaguely resembles Albert Einstein. 

“The scientist image was always male, and they always gave me this crazy old guy description,” Campbell recalled. “So one of the things I decided to start doing in my class was to bring in female scientists from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. I wanted them to understand that research was conducted by a lot of different types of scientists. What better way to do that than bring in women who look like them to understand the process?”

‘Learning for the Future’

With Women’s History Month underway, Campbell said that Bennett College’s future plans are rooted in its legacy, which dates back to since 1926, of educating women of color. Campbell said that will continue to be a guiding force. 

But the ACUE partnership, Campbell said, is a nod to the fact that teaching methodologies have advanced in significant ways in recent decades. It is incumbent on Bennett College students and faculty to keep pace. 

“We all have to keep learning for the future,” Campbell said. “What ACUE did for us is reinvigorate an excitement for learning about teaching, while enhancing our pedagogy.”