Thank you, Keri. This gives faculty who have not
attended one of the Midwest Faculty Seminars a good
idea of the kind of experience it offers.
There will be one more MFS seminar this year to
which we will be selecting SAU faculty to attend. It
will be on April 26-28 in Chicago on the topic of
Epidemics in the Era of Globalization." It sounds
like it might be of interest to faculty in the
biological sciences and the health sciences. I'll be
sending more information on this seminar as we draw
nearer to its date.
Three faculty have been nominated to attend the MF
seminar on John Rawls' A Theory of Justice
(March 1-3).
There are several things you can do to help students
listen to and remember what you say.
First, highlight important points before you speak.
You can do so simply by saying “This is important”
or “Listen, you’ll need to remember this.”
Second, lower and raise your voice on key points.
Third, stop for a few seconds before and after a big
point to help the message take hold in the minds of
students and encourage note taking.
Remember these three actions, and you’ll be a more
effective communicator, whether you’re speaking to
one student or an entire class.
PUBLICATION RECEIVED
THE TEACHING PROFESSOR (21:2) will be in the wall
pockets soon. This number contains articles on:
Understanding What You See Happening in Class, what
teachers learn when they take classes, the benefits
and risks of problem-based learning, more positive
outcomes from group quizzes, helping students take
stock of their learning, pairing versus small
groups: a model for analytical collaboration, and
humor: getting a handle on what's appropriate.
This publication is available in the 3 wall pocket
locations on campus as well as in the College of
Business (per Allison Ambrose) or at the ACCEL
Center (per Neala McCarthy). Enjoy.
TEACHING CIRCLES
The Teaching Circle,
“Alternatives to Lecturing”, will meet on Wednesday,
February 21st from 3 to 4 pm in Hayes
111. Refreshments will be provided. We will continue
discussing questions that were raised last fall. The
general topic will be, “Is lecturing a refuge?”
Other areas of discussion may be: When and how do
students need to be refocused during a lecture? What
do you do? How long is too long to lecture? How do
we build relationships with students so they can
learn outside of a lecture format? Please bring your
ideas and questions to the teaching circle. Examples
from your experiences regarding the above mentioned
topics are welcome. All persons from the St. Ambrose
Community are welcome to attend. Please contact
Carol Lyon, Secondary Education Department, at
LyonCarolR@sau.edu or Jessica Gosnell, Philosophy
Department, at GosnellJessica@sau.edu if you have
further ideas or questions
The Strongest
Link teaching circle
will meet on Monday, February 26, 2007 at NOON
in the Faculty Dining Room.
We continue to discuss different classroom
management, teaching/learning strategies and
assessment. We’ve been using Cross & Angelo’s text:
Classroom Assessment Techniques. If you’ve not been
to our teaching circle and would like to get a copy
of this text, please contact me prior to the next
circle and plan to join us.
We’ve also been considering the work of Delaney
Kirk. Her book Taking Back the Classroom: Tips
for the College Professor on Becoming a More
Effective Teacher. We’ve considered managing
difficult students, and managing exams. This
semester we will be considering her work in the text
on Becoming a More Effective Teacher. Please plan to
join us for a lively discussion on talking about
teaching! For more information on Delaney Kirk,
please visit her website at:
http://www.delaneykirk.com/2007/02/note_please_tur.html
Hope to see you on Monday 2/26 at Noon, everyone is
welcome!
Other meetings this semester are scheduled for:
Monday, March 19, 2007 at NOON – Faculty Dining
Room
Monday, April 16, 2007 at NOON – Faculty Dining Room
Maureen Baldwin has begun discussions regarding
starting a teaching circle about learning
communities. If anyone has an interest in
participating in such a circle please get in touch
with Maureen
NEW PROGRAM FROM THE CENTER
In recent discussions, the advisory committee of the
Center has suggested that the CTE underwrite the
cost of having speakers come to campus to work with
individual departments or clusters of departments
who are interested in reviewing and (perhaps)
modifying their teaching strategies. The first of
these "teaching in the disciplines" seminars was
held on January 11 when the three departments of
Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Nursing
welcomed Kelly Sass of the University of Iowa for a
seminar on teaching using the case method,
especially in health-related fields. The program was
a great success with faculty from the nursing, OT
and PT as well as several faculty from other areas.
The next CTE-sponsored presenter on teaching in the
disciplines will be Bill Warren, Ambrose alumnus and
professor of history who will be speaking on
strategies for teaching history at the university
level. More information on this event as we get
closer to the date.
The advisory board wants every
department to be aware of this new programming
thrust being undertaken by the Center. THINK about
how your department or program might best make use
of this opportunity to invite a presenter to campus
to work with your faculty on alternatives to your
current teaching styles and approaches.
Talk to any member of the advisory committee about
your questions, ideas and suggestions for this
program. The Center is planning to commit between
$500 and $1,000 to each presentation or consultancy.
CENTER'S
BOOK AND PERIODICAL COLLECTION RELOCATED
The center's book and periodical collection
has been moved to the first floor of O'Keefe Library
and is in process of being catalogued as part of the
by the general collection. As soon as the
cataloguing is complete they will be available by
searching the library catalogue. This will make the
Center's collection (the books especially) easier to
find and use than ever before. Mary Heinzman, the
library director, has informed me that the shelves
from the Ambrose Room are now in the first floor
reading area near the newspapers. The materials are
available any time that the library is open and
comfortable chairs are nearby.
Our goal in thise project is to make the materials
collected by the Center most easily available to
faculty--both in terms of where they are stored and
in terms of how information about them is available
electronically.
CTE PERIODICAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE
The Center subscribes to College Teaching
and CHANGE: The Magazine of Higher Learning.
Back issues of both of these publications are in the
shelves in the reading area on the first floor
(northwest corner) of the library. Enjoy a beautiful
view of campus and gorgeous sunsets as you peruse
the back issues of the Center's publications.
Three other publications subscribed to by the Center
are available in several places on campus. The
Teaching Professor, The Professor in the
Classroom and the National Teaching and
Learning Forum are available as they arrive in
three wall pocket locations: in the old snack bar
area in Ambrose Hall, in the Cosgrove Hall private
dining room near the drink dispenser, and in the
coffee shop on Harrison St.-- as well as in ACCEL
and through Allison Ambrose in the College of
Business.
Back issues of these publications are CURRENTLY kept
in the shelves in the Library on the first floor,
northwest corner (along with the Center's book
collection). All of the Center's subscription
materials are available during the hours O'Keefe
Library is open. Soon the entire Center's book
collection will be integrated into the general
library collection.
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