TEACHING CIRCLE ON THE COURAGE TO TEACH

The teaching circle on Parker Palmer's book, The Courage to Teach, co-facilitated by Brenda Peters and Terry Schlabach, will meet next on this coming Wednesday, November 12 at 3:00 p.m. in the Cosgrove Hall Private Dining Room.   Discussion topics will include:

1)      There are times in which “performing” in the classroom is necessary—to illustrate a point or maintain your professionalism.  When is it appropriate to “perform” and when does it create barriers between you and the students?

2) How do you connect with students who are struggling or who don’t participate in class?  What are some strategies that have been useful for you? 

3) How do we create unity within groups?  What are some examples of how you have dealt with dysfunctional groups in your classes? 

4) How do we individualize teaching with a group of 30?  What are some strategies that you have employed?

WORKSHOP ON THE NEW FACULTY/COURSE RATING FORM -- THANK YOU!

Thank you to Dr. Paul Koch for the repeat of his workshop on the new form for the evaluation of teaching at St. Ambrose (on Friday, Nov. 7.  Thank you also to Dr. Owen Rogal who spoke briefly about the role that the rating of teaching plays in the faculty evaluation process conducted by the Promotion, Tenure and Standards Committee.  Paul presented his analysis of the new form from Educational Testing Services (the SIR II) that is being used for course ratings at St. Ambrose beginning this semester.

PUBLICATION RECEIVED

The Professor in the Classroom, 15:6 arrived this week and will be in the wall pockets soon.  It's entitled "When Students Come to You for Help" and suggests five actions that help to make the best use of their (and our) time, create a positive learning experience and set the stage for meaningful future interactions.  My favorite is: "Remember that the student came to you and therefore your focus should be on the student's needs and desires first."  A little probing about the reasons for the student dropping in help set the stage for a more effective visit.  

 THANK YOU TO JIM VAN SPEYBROECK 

 Many thanks to Jim Van Speybroeck for donating a copy of a book he has recently reviewed: Opening Up Education: The Collective Advancement of Education through Open Technology, Open Content, and Open ?Knowledge, edited by Iiyoshi and Kumar (MIT PRESS, 2008).  It should show up in the CTE bookcase in the Library very soon.  It includes about 30 articles on the opening up of education by making educational materials freely available online.  Some of the contributors are very well known in higher education, including Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings.  Jim may provide a copy of his review to pass along to you in the near future. 

 EXCELLENCE IN COLLEGE TEACHING CERTIFICATE--FACULTY SELECTED

 St. Ambrose University recently became a member of the Quad-City Professional Development Network.  This consortium offers seminars open to SAU faculty on a limited basis.  The consortium offers a certificate program in "Excellence in College Teaching" and its first offering will be held at Black Hawk College on Nov. 8 from 8:30 to 3:00.  Six SAU faculty members were selected to attend this first workshop, selected from the pool of those who applied by the closing date.  The SAU faculty selected are: Bill Hitchings, Elisa Huff, Christine Urish, John Madsen, Susan Weir and Sandra Quinn.  Ask them how they enjoyed the program and see if you might be interested in attending the next one. 

Full information about the program and the consortium is available at the consortium website:  http://www.qcpdn.org .    Member institutions include Black Hawk, Eastern Iowa CCD, Palmer C. C., Western Illinois U. and St. Ambrose.  

It is expected that the workshops in this series will be repeated  on, perhaps, a yearly basis. 

CTE PERIODICAL SUBSCRIPTIONS ALWAYS AVAILABLE