Winter Recharge: Teaching Pathways for Student Success

Dr. Derrick Wheatley, Business and Legal Studies Department
Head, prepares attendees for the new semester during his “Are
You Ready: Preparing for Day One” presentation during the
2025 Winter Recharge.

Southwest faculty kicked off the 2025 Spring Semester during the sixth annual Winter Recharge, a two-day professional development session on Jan. 13 and 14 featuring three innovative pathways designed to help faculty align their professional learning with specific areas of interest. Sessions were conducted on the Macon Cove Campus and virtually.

Attendees could choose among 26 tracts as part of three teaching pathways. Pathway 1: Utilizing Technology in Multi-Modal Classrooms focused on leveraging educational technologies and offering faculty tools and strategies to deliver engaging student learning experiences for multiple modalities, in-person, hybrid, paired, and remote classes. Topics included “Artificial Intelligence in Education”, “Gamification in Teaching” and an overview of “Adobe Express: The Swiss Army Knife of Presentation Tools.”

Pathway 2: Strengthening Connections with Today’s Learners centered on understanding and addressing the diverse needs of students through empathy, connection and inclusive teaching practices aimed to bridge gaps between students and faculty and fostering connections to effectively “meet students where they are.” Topics included “How to Increase Instructor Presence” and “Supporting Students through Peer Mentors and Success Coaches.”

Pathway 3: Supporting Holistic Student Success aligned with the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to foster student engagement, develop impactful teaching practices, and provide information about support structures to ensure holistic student success. Topics included “Cultivating Empathy: Understanding and Supporting the Diverse Needs of Southwest Students” and “The ART of 21st Century Advising.”

Sessions were recorded and are available on the Winter Recharge webpage.

Faculty celebrated completing the ACUE certification
process. Thirty-three completed the course in 2024.

“This is the start of Focus 2030 as we begin to develop a new strategic plan for the College,” said Dr. Carol Ash, vice president of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development. “That process involves things such as focus groups, reviewing credentials, and professional learning opportunities.”
Faculty celebrated completing the ACUE certification process. Thirty-three completed the course in 2024.

Thirty-three faculty received certification from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) for completing four courses consisting of 25 modules since starting the course in March 2024. The ACUE provides higher education’s only nationally recognized teaching certification through its Effective Teaching Practices Framework course. Honorees are among more than 1,600 faculty from 560 colleges across the United States who’ve completed the course to make a difference in the education of 16 million students.

Southwest faculty participation resulted in a 95 percent completion rate for the course compared to the national rate of 80 percent. Funding for participation in the ACUE program was provided by a Title III grant.