Teaching Center

The Nashville State Community College Teaching Center supports all faculty in pursuit of instructional excellence. With a focus on enriching student learning experiences, The Teaching Center creates and curates training opportunities, promotes professional development opportunities, and shares information that positively impacts the classroom.

Nashville State Community College: Upcoming Events & News

📅 Event Calendar: Spring 2026

Date	Time	Event	Type	Location/ Link	Details
Mon, April 13	9:00am - noon	The Teaching Center Faculty Appreciation	Informal Gathering	White Bridge Road Campus (W78) or virtually Session Link Zoom Passcode: Spring2026	See Session Description Here Hosts: The Teaching Center Fellows
Fri, April 17	9:00am-9:50am	Using AI Ethically Sandbox	Open Forum	Session Link Zoom Passcode: Spring2026	See Session Description Here Presenter: Kurstin Bush Assistant Professor of Education and Teaching Center Fellow
Fri, April 17	11:00am-11:50am	Ignite Your Semester: Collaborative Goal-Setting Workshop (and PLC)	Workshop	Session Link Zoom Passcode: Spring2026	See Session Description Here Presenter: Audrey Cross, Assistant Professor of Learning Support and English/Teaching Center Fellow
Fri, April 17	Noon-12:50pm	Shifting from an Age of Achievement to an Age of Agency	Lunch & Learn	Session Link Zoom Passcode: Spring2026	See Session Description Here Presenter: Kurstin Bush Assistant Professor of Education and Teaching Center Fellow
Fri, April 17	1:00pm-1:50pm	An Introduction to HIPS and Taxonomies with a Focus on Undergraduate Research	Presentation	Session Link Zoom Passcode: Spring2026	See Session Description Here Presenters: Dr. Shane A. McCoy, Instructor of English and Dr. Shreya Nagar, Instructor of Biology
Fri, April 24	1:00pm-1:50pm	Using Creator+ in D2L for Interactive Learning Experiences	Workshop	Session Link Zoom Passcode: Spring2026	See Session Description Here Presenters: Hannah Hurdle, Instructional Designer in The Office of Online Learning and Maryellen Nash, Instructional Designer in The Office of Online Learning

📢 Important Action Items & Deadlines

Call for Proposals: Fall 2026 Early Return Conference

The Teaching Center is looking ahead to our fall semester. We invite proposals to present at the Fall 2026 Faculty Return Conference. This semester kickoff event is a forum to discuss and share effective teaching practices and professional development strategies that enhance teaching and learning.

Proposal Deadline: Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Proposal Guidelines: Submit your proposal here.
Submissions should propose Zoom sessions that are 25-50 minutes long. We welcome proposals that address (but are not limited to) topics such as:

Effective Teaching Strategies

Student Engagement Strategies

Effective Assessment and Evaluation Techniques

Impact of Curriculum Design or Redesign

Challenges or Opportunities in Teaching

We look forward to your contributions and to engaging sessions that advance faculty development and teaching excellence.

📰 News & Resources

Faculty Appreciation Gathering

Thanks to all of you who joined us for The Teaching Center Faculty Appreciation gathering! It was so wonderful to see you and spend time with you.

Congratulations to our door prize winners! Look for an email about how to collect your prize.

Mike Knapp

Mitchell Furtner

Howard Doty

Fred Jordan

Halley Andrews

2026 ATD Virtual Teaching & Learning Summit: Future-Ready Pedagogy (April 24, 2026)

As community colleges work to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the imperative is not just to adopt new tools but to embrace a pedagogy that is inclusive, student-centered, and responsive in real time. This complimentary half-day virtual summit invites faculty, instructional designers, librarians, and academic leaders to explore what it means to teach and lead in a time shaped by intelligent technologies, open education, and learner agency.

A plenary session will ground the day in big-picture thinking about the future of digital learning, followed by two focused tracks:
- Designing Authentic Assessments for AI-Enhanced Learning: Explores how to design assignments, assessments, and learning activities that authentically measure student learning when AI tools are readily available, including the evolving role of Open Educational Resources
- Building Student Agency Through Self-Directed Learning (SDL): Examines the evidenced-based strategies of belonging, planning, and self-efficacy to support students taking ownership of their learning, featuring the Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative’s SDL instructional model

Participants will come together to engage in critical discourse and inquiry while offering insights about the state of digital pedagogy in 2026. Together, these sessions will explore how we might evolve our digital pedagogy to better serve today’s students — intentionally, ethically, and for the benefit of all learners.

NSCC Faculty & Staff Mini-Grants

The Faculty & Staff Mini-Grant Program is designed to support innovative, student-centered projects that align with Nashville State Community College’s priorities. Learn more here.

Contact theteachingcenter@nscc.edu for support in brainstorming ideas for this exciting initiative.

TBR Newsletter

Check out the TBR’s “Monday Minute” newsletter, published by the Center for Innovation for Teaching and Learning.

HIP Connection Calls

HIP Ambassadors offer monthly connection calls that are open to all faculty, staff, and administrators across the TBR System. The calls will highlight ways to implement HIPs with quality and fidelity to facilitate student success in academic coursework.
https://www.tbr.edu/sites/default/files/media/2026/02/Spring%202026_HIP%20Connection%20Call%20Flyer.pdf