WPCC Center for Teaching and Learning

09/22/2026

Our CTL Director, Dr. John Kiser, was honored to be a Co-Host for the West Teaching and Learning Hub’s Professional Learning Leader meeting at McDowell Technical Community College last week. The group had round table and brainstorming sessions to develop professional development activities for community college faculty and staff for the upcoming year. In addition, we had three excellent sessions on changing how we think about change, improving professional development, and leadership building activities (Featuring WPCC's very own Katharine Wright!) . We had 13 professional learning leaders from 11 community colleges in Western NC present at the meeting.

09/16/2026

A double post day! While Robert and Cathy were leading on-campus professional development; CTL staff John and Debbie were attending off-campus professional development. They traveled to Catawba Valley Community College for a Canvas roadshow day. They attended sessions on strategic leadership, Canvas administration, instructional design, and course building. John and Debbie appreciate CVCC for hosting the roadshow and for the Canvas team for providing useful information.

09/16/2026

A shout out of appreciation to Robert Vasile and Cathy Huffman! Yesterday, they led us in three back-to-back PD sessions on AI you can trust, AI powered email with Copilot, and maximizing Microsoft Calendar efficiency. We appreciate them sharing their enthusiasm and expertise with other WPCC faculty and staff.

09/14/2026

Our CTL Director, Dr. John Kiser, was recently able to honor Dr. Elizabeth Braun (Catawba Valley CC) and Dr. Natasha Harris (Wilkes CC) for their dedication to PD leadership in Western NC. Drs. Braun and Harris were longtime leaders of the West Teaching and Learning Hub. We are much appreciative of their service and dedication to developing PD leaders in Western NC, and we look forward on building on the tremendous foundations for PD that they have laid.

08/27/2026

Have you noticed we've been a little quiet on social media lately?
Since faculty returned on August 10th, the CTL team has been kept busy! We've been working behind the scenes and alongside our colleagues to support teaching, learning, and faculty and student success across the college.

Over the past few weeks, we have:

✅ Supported the Academic Affairs & Workforce Development Kick-off and shared updates on professional development opportunities and LMS transitions.
✅ Welcomed new and adjunct faculty with Moodle training and a redesigned orientation experience focused on student support and success.
✅ Created three new support courses for adjunct faculty.
✅ Delivered educational technology training on Turnitin and Honorlock.
✅ Assisted with New Student Orientation by helping new students with technology, passwords, and Moodle access.
✅ Consulted with a variety faculty on instructional design, online teaching strategies, and technology integrations.
✅ Helped ensure a smooth LMS launch for approximately 250 courses and nearly 2,000 students.
✅ Continued planning and preparation for the future transition from Moodle to Canvas.
✅ Collaborated with the Belk Center and supported teaching and learning and leadership initiatives through the West Teaching and Learning Hub.
✅ Prepared our new CTL location with furniture and technology upgrades.

With so much happening, we haven't had many opportunities to stop and take photos. However, we're excited to give you a sneak peek at our new CTL space. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the semester!

07/12/2026

In addition to providing faculty and staff professional development and LMS support, the Center for Teaching and Learning also provides curriculum and instructional design services. This summer, the CTL has been working on the following projects:

Redesign and updating WPCC's new student "Orientation to Online Learning and Moodle" online course.
Redesigning and updating WPCC's "5 Low Hanging Fruits of Accessibility" online course for new and returning faculty.
Designing new courses in "Classroom Administrative Management" and "Introduction to Moodle" for new and returning faculty.
Working with a faculty member to integrate web conferencing tools in her online class.
Helping an instructor convert a seated course to an online course.
Improving appearance and accessibility in an online course.
Collaborating with Academic Affairs, Compliance and Quality, to improve our Adjunct Faculty Orientation.

The CTL is here to help and support students, faculty, and staff in their in-person and online course experiences!

Facebook followers, do you recognize any of the books that the CTL has been using in curriculum and instructional design?

07/01/2026

We're excited to announce a stronger partnership with NC State Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. WPCC will be serving as one of the two co-host colleges, along with Isothermal CC, for the West Teaching and Learning Hub. Our CTL Director, Dr. John Kiser, will also be serving as a co-director of the West Hub, alongside Karen Taylor from Isothermal.

Last week, John completed co-director orientation with the Belk Center. Starting this summer, John will be working with other CTL Directors and Professional Learning Leaders at community colleges west of Interstate 77 and statewide to develop faculty-driven and research based professional development focused on faculty and student success.

For more information about the Teaching and Learning Hubs, check out the link below.

https://belk-center.ced.ncsu.edu/leadership-and-learning/teaching-and-learning-hubs/

And while it may seem like a quiet week with most faculty and students on a well-deserved break, the CTL has been active behind the scenes. Check back next with for some projects we've been working on during the summer.

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06/24/2026

Another road trip for the CTL! Last week, we were in Mount Airy, NC, at the beautiful Cross Creek Country Club for the annual NCCCS Virtual Learning Community Summit. Director Dr. John Kiser and Digital Learning Specialist Debbie Pennington attended the summit. The summit agenda consisted of 3 days of learning about academic branding, online course development tools, AI applications, online test integrity and security, digital accessibility and compliance, online resources to identify and help at-risk students, online course quality metrics, legal and policy issues related to out-of-state online students, and the basics of Canvas LMS.

The fun doesn't stop - check back next week for an exciting partnership with the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research.

06/18/2026

What has the CTL been up to lately? Our Director, Dr. John Kiser, served on the planning team for the North Carolina Community College Chemistry Consortium (NC5) meeting held recently in Fayetteville NC. John also served as a presenter about "Challenge Labs" in General Chemistry 1 and 2 and as a facilitator for discussions about chemistry courses in an 8-week format.

More information about another exciting conference is coming up soon!

06/01/2026

WPCC’s summer semester is off to a strong start! ☀️ With nearly 100 curriculum courses, 700+ students, and 50 dedicated full-time and adjunct faculty, it’s shaping up to be a busy and exciting season. The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) team is here to support it all—through Moodle, educational technology, and beyond!

So what’s on the CTL agenda this summer?
🔹 Updating the Advisor Training Course.
🔹 Enhancing our adjunct faculty fall orientation.
🔹 Planning fall professional development aligned with college initiatives like NC Reconnect and our Strategic Plan.
🔹 Attending statewide conferences on online teaching and learning.
🔹 Coaching faculty to strengthen online course design.
🔹 Exploring new tech to support academic integrity and navigate AI challenges.
🔹 Improving data tools to better identify and support students.
🔹 Strengthening statewide partnerships with the Belk Center for Community College Teaching and Research.
🔹 Saving the biggest for last —planning for the upcoming Canvas transition!

Wishing everyone a fun, productive, and successful summer!