Contents:

Director's Corner
Center Scholars Announced
Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Wisconsin Teaching Scholars
CIPD launches new publication in teaching and learning...
"Intro to Academic Life" Course
Approaching OPID Grant Program Deadlines
Teaching Tips and Resources

Tony Ciccone	Director's Corner

 

I’ve always felt that you can tell what an institution really values by the time and effort it spends defining, evaluating, and rewarding “worthwhile” activities. So I was not surprised by presentations last spring by Divisional Committee chairs to new faculty on what it takes to get tenure at UWM. Each was quite eloquent in describing a “trajectory” of research activity: recommended journals, suggested number of publications, progression of work, etc. It was disconcerting, however, that none offered a similar “trajectory” in teaching. The usual clichés were proffered: teach with enthusiasm, teach what your department needs, avoid large lectures, get good student evaluations. Clearly, not the same depth of definition. The cynical among us might begin to question the reality of the “teaching, research, service” criteria. Recent email traffic expressing fears about “engagement” is further evidence that we may simply be paying lip service to our stated “traditional” criteria. 

This got me thinking. And our redesigned orientation for new faculty and staff provided the impetus to do something. Associate Vice Chancellor Sona Andrews challenged CIPD/LTC to present some “guiding principles for valuing teaching and learning at UWM” as a way to explain our work as teachers to our new colleagues. If new colleagues asked you how to approach teaching responsibilities, what would you say? Would you tell them not to be too good because that would take too much time? Would you tell them to avoid innovation? 

Here’s what I said. At UWM, we value:

• Attention to student learning, that is, a willingness to investigate and improve our understanding of how students learn, within our discipline and in general, and to base our pedagogy on the results of this improved understanding
  
• Attention to pedagogy, that is, an understanding of a variety of instructional practices and their particular advantages and disadvantages
• Attention to the acquisition of “habits of mind” by students, that is, to read critically, problem-solve and produce/manage information, construct arguments, etc. within discipline-specific contexts
• Attention to the development of a learning community based on civil discourse and an attitude of inquiry
• A commitment to assessing learning and the effectiveness of instructional practices
• An understanding of the diversity of student learning styles and a commitment to meeting the needs of all learners
• A personal sense of professional development that emphasizes life-long learning as a teacher and scholar
• A sense of collegiality in curriculum development and peer review of teaching
• Student responsibility for learning, through active learning and engagement

 
Now, new faculty members are not naïve. Several of them asked me if these were real or ideal. Would they hear the same thing in their department? I responded that, in some departments, they would.  
 
Are these values as real as the values expressed in the Research Investment Plan? Of course not. Are they every bit as worthwhile? You tell me. Do we want new faculty to believe them? Put another way, how does an engaged, urban, research institution define its responsibilities to students?  
 
Are these your values in teaching and learning?  

Center Scholars Announced

The 2001-2002 Center Scholars in Teaching and Learning will work individually and collaboratively to examine important issues in teaching and student learning from both disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The Center Scholars program represents UWM’s commitment to advancing what the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching describes as the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOT&L).  
 
Renee Meyers is Professor and chair of the Department of Communication with a lengthy research record in the area of group communication and collaborative learning. Her experience with groups has led her to wonder, “What are students doing, communicatively, in groups to help everyone learn the material?” For this project she will examine “if, and how, various communication strategies contribute to, or inhibit, student learning in group discussion formats.”  
 
“Does one need extensive prior application to understand a concept theoretically, or does one first need thorough theoretical understanding in order to apply an idea competently?” This is the question that puzzles Kathryn Olson, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication. And the upcoming transition of a Communication seminar from a one-credit to a three-credit course provides an opportunity to investigate this question.  
 
Amy Otis-Wilborn, Associate Professor in the Department of Exceptional Education, plans to explore the question “How can instruction be delivered using distance education that matches, and possibly enhances, the quality of face-to-face instruction?” By systematically comparing student achievement in two teaching methods courses, one taught face-to-face and the other a hybrid course, she intends to develop a framework for course development that will ensure high quality instruction in both formats.  
 
For Helena Pycior, Professor in the Department of History, teaching a Freshman Seminar showed her the value of listening to and engaging students when revising courses to enhance their learning. It is this understanding that has led her to wonder how students experience her large lecture course, “History of Race, Science, and Medicine in the  
U.S.,” which, like other “service courses,” attracts a diverse student body. By leading two discussion sessions for this course, Pycior plans to develop a narrative record that describes and analyzes the students’ experiences with her course.  
 
“Changing conceptions of both teaching and scholarship contingent upon emerging technologies are forcing teaching and scholarship together in important ways,” observes Peter Sands, Assistant Professor in the Department of English. For example, putting course materials online makes them a form of publication available for others to review and critique. Sands’ project focuses on the development of a course as an E-zine production (a website that is a “magazine”). What effect will this course design have on student learning? What might motivate other faculty to use this instructional approach?  
 
These Center Scholar projects are underway and will continue through the 2001-02 academic year. In the same spirit as Carnegie’s efforts, Center Scholars will make their study of teaching and learning public, open to critical review, and usable by colleagues.  

Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Wisconsin Teaching Scholars

Starting this semester, CIPD will publish Occasional Papers in Teaching and Learning, highlighting the work of UWM faculty who have done significant work in the areas of course redesign, assessment of student learning, and instructional practice. Submissions should be 700-800 words and should address especially the reflective process involved, i.e., why did you undertake this issue or problem, why this response, what were the results, what lessons for others emerged. Email submissions encouraged (ciccone@uwm.edu).

"Intro to Academic Life" Course

The Graduate School will once again offer “Introduction to Academic Life” (426-801) during the Spring 2002 semester. This 1-credit course (Wednesdays, 3-4:15 p.m.) open to all graduate students is designed specifically to address issues relevant to their futures as faculty members.

Approaching OPID Grant Program Deadlines

 

Teaching Tips and Resources 

 updated 11/28/01