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15 SURVIVAL STRATEGIES FOR NEW COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS (transcript)

Magna Publications (publisher of The Teaching Professor, among other higher education teaching journals) also offers some very practical on-line seminars. Some of their past seminars are available as transcripts which include copies of the Powerpoint slides from the original presentation. Their most recent transcript arrived recently and is available to any faculty member who would like to go through it. It is entitled: "15 Survival Strategies for New College Instructors." I've looked through it quickly and it looks very good--and NOT only appropriate for new faculty. It also includes selections from the question and answer session (my favorites: "How can we encourage students to ask questions? and "Methods for assigning students to teams") AND an excellent article by Peter Saunders on "Educational Paradigm Shift--What It Means for Faculty." If you would like to see this transcripts, please get in touch with Paul Jacobson and request it. There are some excellent suggestions here that are usable right away.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED

National Teaching and Learning FORUM (17:6 for Oct. 2008) should already be in the wall pockets. It includes articles on facing Facebook, online course assessment, how to bring faculty development to the students, and a piece on community in the classroom (harnessing interest in the cause of learning).

The Teaching Professor (22:9) is also in the wall pockets. It includes entries about the role of summary in course design, the amount of publicly available resources on the internet and how to make use of some of them, reciprocal interviews on the first day of class, some reminders for guiding class discussion, using "MySpace" to build community in college, and a very interesting back page article on a creative use of walking out of a class and letting the students work out a solution about a controversial issue on their own. The last article is particularly interesting since it identifies a strategy that was used in a mathematics class to surprisingly good effect.

The Professor in the Classroom, (15:6) arrived last week and is in the wall pockets. It's entitled "When Students Come to You for Help" and suggests five actions that help to make the best use of their (and your) 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 helps set the stage for a more effective visit.

BOOK RECEIVED --Opening Up Education :

A propos of the Teaching Professor article mentioned above, the Center recently received a contributed book from Jim Van Speybroeck that concerns "the collective advancement of education through open technology, open content and open knowledge." It's entitled Opening Up Education (by Toru Iiyoshi and M.S. Vijay Kumar) and will be in the CTE library soon. If you would like to peruse it before it goes to the library contact Paul Jacobson and have it routed to you prior to being sent to the library.

For more on the book, see the description and endorsements on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Education-Collective-Advancement-Technology/dp/0262033712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227633729&sr=8-1

EXCELLENCE IN COLLEGE TEACHING CERTIFICATE--FACULTY COMPLETE SEMINAR

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 was held at Black Hawk College on Nov. 8. Six SAU faculty members attended the first workshop. The SAU faculty 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. I hope to have a report soon from some of those who attended the certificate seminar

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.

THE PROFESSOR IN THE CLASSROOM TIP ON COMMUNICATION SKILLS
We have to give students input, advice, and feedback often. Therefore, be aware that any time you can give input, advice, and feedback to students without being judgmental, you’ll be much more effective in shifting the responsibility for performance to the student. And any time a student accepts the responsibility for his or her own performance, half the job of guiding students to better achievement has been accomplished.

Therefore, when talking to students, instead of saying “Your report is wrong or incomplete,” say “Add ‘this or that’ to your report’s table of contents—or focus more on this specific area.” Then, you’ll find students more receptive to your advice.

CTE PERIODICAL SUBSCRIPTIONS ALWAYS AVAILABLE

The Center subscribes to College Teaching and CHANGE. Back issues of these publications are in the latice-doored 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 Stingers, near the elevator, ground level), in the Cosgrove Hall private dining room near the drink dispenser, and in the coffee shop on Harrison St.-- as well as at ACCEL with Neala McCarthy and through Allison Ambrose in the College of Business.

Back issues of these publications are 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 the St. Ambrose Library is open. Most of the Center's book collection has been catalogued into the general library collection but it is still kept in the latice-doored shelves.