Moving from Effective Teaching to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

Facilitator: Karl Smith, Cooperative Learning Professor of Engineering Education, Purdue University and Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota

Thursday, September 10, 8:45 a.m. - Noon, Kellogg Center, Michigamme Room
(Registration at 8:45 a.m.; program begins at 9:00 a.m.)

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), which promotes teaching as a scholarly endeavor and a worthy subject for research, has received increased attention in higher education as many faculty embrace more scholarly approaches to teaching and learning. In this seminar, participants will explore the Hutchings and Shulman (1999) SoTL continuum and learn strategies to progress from effective teachers to scholarly teachers who root their instructional decisions on the research on teaching and learning to teachers who advance the scholarship of teaching and learning. Participants are encouraged to read the Hutchings and Shulman (1999) article, which can be accessed at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/publications/sub.asp?key=452&subkey=613, prior to this session.

Design and Implementation of Active and Cooperative Learning*

Facilitator: Karl Smith, Cooperative Learning Professor of Engineering Education, Purdue University and Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota

Thursday, September 10, 12:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Kellogg Center, Michigamme Room
(Registration at 12:45 p.m.; program begins at 1:00 p.m.)

An ongoing challenge for faculty in the classroom is developing effective strategies that engage students with one another and with the instructor. In this seminar, participants will explore various designs of student-student and student-faculty interaction that ensure enhanced learning. Participants will learn more about their role in designing, structuring, and implementing active and cooperative learning activities, the outcome of which will result in higher achievement and greater productivity by all students.

*Denotes topics preferred on the 2009 Needs Assessment Surveys.

Will This Be on The Test? Using Critical Thinking Concepts to Engage Students Deeply in Thinking of the Discipline*

Facilitator: Patricia Payette, Executive Director, “Ideas to Action,” and Associate Director, Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Louisville

Wednesday, September 30, 8:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Kellogg Center, Room 106
(Registration at 8:45 a.m.; program begins at 9:00 a.m.)

In this program, participants will examine strategies to infuse critical thinking concepts into their teaching, based on the scholarship of Dr. Gerald Nosich. Participants will study critical thinking, not as something additional to content, but rather as skills, insights, and values integral to understanding and internalizing content. Through a series of interactive exercises, participants will examine and articulate the concepts and questions that “live inside” courses and assignments, but which often seem elusive to students. Participants will practice thinking about teaching activities as avenues for deepening students’ ability to work with disciplinary concepts, to engage in original inquiry, and to think critically. All participants will receive a copy of The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools. Bring a course syllabus to this session.

*Denotes topics preferred on the 2009 Needs Assessment Surveys.

Effective Grading and Assessment: Strategies to Enhance Student Learning*

Facilitator: Virginia Anderson, Professor, Biological Sciences, Towson University

Thursday, October 8, 8:45 a.m. - Noon, MSU Union, Gold Room B
(Registration at 8:45 a.m.; program begins at 9:00 a.m.)

In this introductory session, participants across the disciplines will gain hands-on experience in (1) identifying the kinds of learning that they want to take place in the classroom, (2) constructing assessments that test those kinds of learning, (3) setting standards and developing explicit criteria for grading, (4) communicating with students about grades and saving time in the grading process, (5), using rubrics and test blueprinting to extract meaningful student data, (6) implementing changes in teaching strategies based on assessment data, and (7) “closing the loop,” using data to enhance student learning, faculty satisfaction, and institutional success in this interactive practical assessment seminar.

*Denotes topics preferred on the 2009 Needs Assessment Surveys.

Assessment Theory into Action!*

Facilitator: Virginia Anderson, Professor, Biological Sciences, Towson University

Thursday, October 8, 12:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. MSU Union, Gold Room B
(Registration at 12:45 p.m.; program begins at 1:00 p.m.)

In this advanced session, participants will examine how to conduct effective assessments at the classroom, department, or program level, while examining critical questions, such as (1) What do instructors want students, employees, grant participants, colleagues in workshops, etc. to be able to know and do? (2) What will they do to learn these things? (3) How will instructors assess if they have learned these things? (4) How will instructors use the information that they receive from those assessments? Participants will then decide how and when to use, construct, collect data from, and “close the loop” with rubrics for written work, group work, posters, and performances. Also, participants will explore the use of test blueprints, behavioral checklists, and student reflections. Finally, participants will address their ability to collect and act on data-driven information. (Participants are invited to attend both assessment seminars. Please note that there may be some overlap of content from the morning session.)

*Denotes topics preferred on the 2009 Needs Assessment Surveys.

Creating and Assessing Effective Writing Assignments Across the Curriculum*

Facilitator: Trixie Smith, Director, The Writing Center at MSU

Tuesday, November 10, 8:45 a.m. - Noon, MSU Union, Gold Room B
(Registration at 8:45 a.m.; program begins at 9:00 a.m.)

In this session, participants will examine the idea of the writing assignment—Why do instructors use them? What do they look like? What could they look like? What makes one assignment more effective than another? Are there other ways of using writing assignments? How are they affected by factors such as class size, student preparedness, or course content? This examination of effective writing assignments will lead to a discussion of expectations, feedback, and assessment, including the use of low-risk writing, peer response, and rubrics. Participants will leave this seminar with new assignment ideas as well as assignment and rubric models. Bring a prior writing assignment to this seminar.

*Denotes topics preferred on the 2009 Needs Assessment Surveys.