Summer 2005 Newsletter

n o t e s&NEWS Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology

Volume 7, Issue 1 • August 2005

New Faculty Conference This year’s New Faculty Conference on August 11 and 12 was a wonderful success. The conference drew 36 faculty who are either new to the university or who have recently moved into a tenure-track or more permanent teaching position at BG. Faculty participating in the conference commented on how much they valued the opportunity to network with other faculty and administrators, and how they participated in interactive sessions that allowed them to discuss issues related to the scholarship of teaching and engagement. There were over 20 different facilitators, including Dr. Sidney Ribeau and Dr. John Folkins who presented at the conference.

A glimpse of the conference sessions reveals the variety of topics we covered on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning:

• Balancing Acts: Starting Your BGSU Career • It’s All About Learning • Performance: Teaching as Communication • The University Context: Linking Classes & Student Affairs • Knowledge Management

Evolution of CTLT Learning Communities Learning Communities, both “Cohort” and “Topic” based, have been supported by CTLT for the past four years, but more recently the number of learning communities supported

by CTLT and some other areas has grown significantly. This year, for example, CTLT will sponsor or co-sponsor 12 different learning communities. These Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) and Graduate Learning Communities (GLC) meet twice a month to share and discuss ideas related to the scholarship of teaching and learning, research scholarship and the scholarship of engagement. This academic year, there will be over 100 faculty involved in FLCs and over 20 graduate students involved in GLCs. The following is a list of this years learning communities.

• Engagement Initiative • Tools for Learning & Living in a Digital World • Students as Researchers: Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom

• New Faculty Learning Community

• Publication and Performance

• Life Sciences

• Research & Teaching

• Reflective Practice

• Digital Technologies

• Leaders in Learning (co-sponsored with the Provost’s Office)

• Grant Writing

• Mentoring & E-Portfolios (co-sponsored with Graduate College)

• Arts (co-sponsored with the College of Music) • Cosmos Research (co-sponsored with COSMOS)

To learn more about CTLT’s learning communities, visit our web site at bgsu.edu/ctlt.

staf f MEMBER

Amy Bentley is an Interpersonal Communications student and has been with CTLT throughout the summer and will continue this fall.

While at CTLT Amy assists with the folowing: • • • •

Database input Newsletter Managing workshop schedule Assisting CTLT staff in miscellaneous projects

amy bentley 201 University Hall • (419) 372-6898 • http://bgsu.edu/ctlt

workshop

CTLT Workshop Offerings Threaded Workshops to Improve Student Learning These inter-dependent workshops of 60–90 minutes/session will allow participants to make meaningful connections, explore effective pedagogy and thereby foster increased student learning.

Participants attend the entire series of 3–6 sessions in order to “weave the threads” of the inter-connected sessions into their classroom practice.

Here are some new Threaded Workshops for the 2005–2006 academic year: • “What Do Students REALLY Know?” (Classroom Assessment Techniques Series)

HIGHLIGHT

“What Do Students REALLY Know?”

Classroom Assessment Techniques Threaded Series Fall 2005 So... does your students’ head nodding mean they understand or that they just need more sleep???

Join us in learning practical ways to assess what your students know, both before and after you teach each lesson.

• “More Than Words Can Say” (Visual Tools for Learning Series) • “Silence is Not Golden” (Communication & Collaboration in the Classroom Series)

Runs September through November—Tuesdays from 2:003:30 and Wednesdays from 9:00-10:30.

Topics include: • Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) – high, low, and no technology options • Formative, Embedded & Summative Assessments • Rubrics – analytical, holistic & primary/multiple trait • Concept Maps & Graphic Organizers as Assessment Tools • Classroom/Student Response Systems (“clickers”)

Just-In-Time Workshops for Improving Students Learning Developed for the professional “on the go”, these tool-based workshops are brief 30-45 minute workshops that offer an introduction or overview to a particular topic or tool. They are offered repeatedly throughout each semester, and new topics will be added based on interest.

Here are some new Just-In-Time (JIT) Workshops for the 2005– 2006 academic year: • Start Your Own Classroom Blog or Wiki (Internet writing tools) • Using RSS (real simple syndication) for Course Content • Podcasting 101 • An Introduction to the Latest Technologies & Tools for Faculty • Interactive Microsoft Excel Uses in the Classroom

Tenure & Promotion Workshops Return Fall 2005 dates and times TBA. This fall, CTLT will again offer faculty workshops on the topic of Tenure and Promotion Portfolios. Faculty going up for 3rd year review will want to register for the 3rd Year Review workshop.

Faculty who are going up for associate or full professor should register for the Associate/Full Professor T&P workshop.

• Portfolios and ePortfolios Move beyond traditional tests, quizzes, papers and presentations to discover new methods for uncovering student understanding (or lack thereof)! Throughout this interactive and collaborative series, you will explore classroom assessments (both “hi-tech” and “low or no-tech” alternatives) that can be utilized immediately in any setting to highlight levels of student understanding and to guide your instruction.

Custom Workshops We offer “Custom Workshops” for units, schools, and colleges across Bowling Green State University.

Please call (419-372-6898) or email CTLT (ksautte@bgsu.edu) to set up a time to discuss your ideas for a workshop in your area.

For dates and times of workshops go to : http://www.bgsu.edu/ctlt/page11755. html.

Published by The Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology