Category: News

Full hybrid here we come!

As mentioned in a previous post, UMass recently dropped its mask mandate. My goal is, as always, to have as many students feel comfortable in my class as possible. In this case, that means offering a way for those who may not wish (for whatever reason) to be in a large class of unmasked folks to participate. As such, I have finally taken the plunge to offer a fully hybrid option for Physics 132 for the second half of the semester. Students will now be able to participate in one of three ways:

  1. Attend class in the “old-school” way.
  2. Engage asynchronously via watching recordings of class which have been chunked into smaller pieces by my undergraduate video editor.
  3. Attend class remotely and synchronously via Zoom.

We will see how this goes!

Toggerson Awarded Commonwealth-wide award for work on OER

Brokk Toggerson has been awarded 3rd Place (Bronze) / $500 prize from the first-ever Department of Higher Education Open Educational Resources Olympics for his work on the Physics 131: Forces, Energy, Entropy and Physics 132: What is an Electron? What is Light? open-source textbooks. These awards were established to honor the extensive accomplishments of of public higher educators statewide. Winners were selected by a sub-committee of the OER Advisory Coucil. The first and second place winners were from community colleges meaning that Brokk Toggerson was the only awardee from a research university.

Brokk Toggerson contributes to ACUE Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning Micro-credential

Brokk Toggerson was recommended by the UMass Amherst Center for Teaching and Learning to contribute to a micro-credential on Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning developed by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Brokk participated in an in-depth interview on a variety of questions. Ultimately, ACUE selected a section on developing effective teams for incorporation into their lesson.

Continue reading Brokk Toggerson contributes to ACUE Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning Micro-credential

Toggerson Presenting at Perusall Exchange 2021

Starting May 17th, Brokk Toggerson will have a presentation on the 2021 Perusall Exchange about the use of Perusall in a Graduate Student TA-training & Professional Development Course.

Abstract: Graduate students face several important transitions: becoming a researcher, a teacher, and a colleague. These transitions require specific skills: reading research, giving presentations, and navigating issues of diversity in the workplace. At UMass-Amherst incoming physics Ph.D. students begin developing these skills in a dedicated seminar through the lens of TA training. Students read journal articles about physics education in Perusall: simultaneously honing students’ ability to read research articles and introducing them to teaching best-practices.

Check it out!