Category: News

Brokk Toggerson featured in the Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty Successes page

Brokk Toggerson’s end-of-semester activities for Physics 132 were profiled in the Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty Successes page. What are some ways to conclude your semester and leave students with a lasting and positive impression? As the end of the semester is approaching, plan some meaningful activities to use during your last class session(s) to wrap up the semester strong. Often students struggle to remember even the most important course content that they learned throughout the semester. 

Check it out!

https://www.umass.edu/ctl/wrapping-semester-strong

Conference paper on AI in answering student forum post done in collaboration with Chemistry and the College of Information Sciences Published

Zylich, Brian, Adam Viola, Brokk Toggerson, Lara Al-Hariri, and Andrew Lan. “Exploring Automated Question Answering Methods for Teaching Assistance.” In Artificial Intelligence in Education, edited by Ig Ibert Bittencourt, Mutlu Cukurova, Kasia Muldner, Rose Luckin, and Eva Millán, 610–22. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52237-7_49.

Continue reading Conference paper on AI in answering student forum post done in collaboration with Chemistry and the College of Information Sciences Published

Toggerson’s Syllabus Used as Example of Inclusive Syllabus

Kirsten Helmer of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Teaching and Learning has developed a asynchronous webinar on inclusive syllabus design at: https://www.umass.edu/ctl/inclusive-syllabus-design. I was exposed to similar content as part of my TIDE (Teaching for Inclusion Diversity and Equity) Fellowship and found it to be quite transformative. I highly recommend anyone designing a syllabus to give it a look. I am honored that my syllabi (both pre- and post-transition to remote) are given as examples.

Brokk Toggerson Selected as ADVANCE Faculty Fellow

Brokk Toggerson has been selected as a UMass ADVANCE Faculty Fellow for the 2020-2021 Academic Year. ADVANCE Faculty Fellows partner with the ADVANCE-IT Team, providing recommendations and feedback about ADVANCE programming and resources, and promoting ADVANCE program efforts in their departments. There is one faculty member from each department for a twelve-month term.

Through the power of collaboration, UMass ADVANCE transforms the campus by cultivating faculty equity, inclusion and success. ADVANCE provides the resources, recognition and relationship building that are critical to equitable and successful collaboration in the 21st century academy.

UMass ADVANCE is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is advancing women faculty, including women faculty of color, in science and engineering.

For 2020-21, ADVANCE’s focus will be on inclusion, particularly with an emphasis on “Inclusion and Covid-19,” since the pandemic has had a differential effect on faculty members. Brokk will be invited to take part in meetings for ADVANCE Faculty Fellows in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, and will also be a link in desseminating information to the physics department.