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of the Center for
Instructional and
Professional
Development
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Update on Teaching
September 1999
Contents:
From the Director...
Preparing Future Faculty
Program
New Digs for
the LTC
PFF
Conference Announcement
dot.edu
dot.edu Workshops
Project 101
Introducing the Institute for Service Learning
CIPD Stuff: Mark Your Calendar!
From
the Director...
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Tony Ciccone |
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If your experience
is like mine, you're regularly astonished by the misconceptions students
can harbor of the key concepts, and even the purposes, of your
discipline. You're even more likely to be flabbergasted by the
misunderstandings they manage to concoct, often within minutes of your
perfectly clear explanations.
Depending on your
pedagogical philosophy, you could conclude that students aren't what
they used to be, that they don't study hard enough, that television has
ruined their ability to listen, that they can't hold in memory anything
longer than a simple declarative sentence (unless it comes with pictures
and sound). Or you could conclude, as most of us do, that the
remedy is more and better explanation. "If I keep saying it
differently, or more often, or even louder," you think,
"they'll finally get it."
Well, there's some
interesting research that suggests that both conclusions may be
wrong. Treating students as defective, or simply slow learners who
need more of the same, or even better, explanations to understand
important concepts or to develop better intellectual stills won't
necessarily lead to improved student learning.
One reason for this is
that students, like all human beings are essentially
"meaning-makers," and thus, that they have already spent
eighteen or more years making sense of the world, developing
"private theories" of how things work. These private
theories, it turns out, are extremely resistant to change, particularly
to change through instruction. Learners, therefore, are not simple
"empty vessels" waiting to be filled with knowledge only we
can supply. Instead, they bring a raft of truths and half-truths,
examined and unexamined beliefs, to the learning process. What we
present may be brought on board, but if it isn't deemed useful or
meaningful, it'll be tossed overboard, to surface only for the exam, if
we're lucky.
A brief example from
second language acquisition theory might be useful here. We now
know that second language learners extrapolate from their innate sense
of linguistic structure in general and their intuition about the target
language in particular to attempt communication which is often beyond
their current level and thus may contain errors. We used to think
that these errors were the result of inadequate understanding or poor
study habits; it turns out that they are just as likely signs of
intelligent system-building and hypothesis testing. Indeed,
certain errors indicate a higher level of linguistic competence than
simpler, "perfect" sentences. Teaching these learners,
then, requires less "drill and kill" and more opportunities to
test their current beliefs about how language works, receive positive
and negative feedback, and thus reformulate their theories.
How can we use this
information about what students bring to the learning process to our
mutual benefit? Our placement tests and prerequisites supposedly
tell us what students already know. Clearly, however, we could do
better in this area, perhaps by beginning each course with a survey of
what students do indeed know about key concepts. I did this in my
Freshman Seminar course on comedy by asking students to define comedy
and laughter the first day. We returned to these definitions
throughout the course as we added more examples and critical theories,
and ultimately produced elaborate, and personal, statements.
Two other areas may be
even more important. Almost all of us would like our students to
become "critical thinkers." In order to do this,
however, we need to construct ways for students to examine their own
thinking, to engage in the metacognition that we take for granted.
Moving students beyond facts and information will only happen if we can
help them learn how knowledge is created in our disciplines and how
their thinking can mirror that process. This can only happen if we
"show our work" as well, and not give the impression that our
discipline is a collection of isolated facts to be handed out,
memorized, and repeated.
Finally, many of our
courses directly confront what students have been brought up to know and
value. Many students would believe the advice my mother offered me
after my first college semester: "Remember, you didn't go away to
college to change." Fortunately, I did, but it was only
because y teachers continually asked me to examine my beliefs, to
explain them to others, to understand how there could be other
defensible points of view. And they had the courage to change as well.
Before we tell students
what they need to know, let's find out first what and how they think.
Following on the heels of the most successful PFF season,
this year's group of grant awardees is equally impressive. Dr. Carol Haertlein is leading
a team of nine graduate students in the Occupational Therapy Program. This group will
explore the many issues involved in developing a course of study for OTs who want to
become teaching professionals. Dr. Alice Gillam of the Department of English and graduate
student Jami Carlacio are engaged in a project concerning teaching with technology in the
writing classroom. Dr. Patrice Petro, the Director of the Joint Center for International
Studies, returns once more to the PFF program and is working with a graduate student on
curriculum development in Film Studies. Finally, Dr. Eleanor Miller is pairing with a
graduate student in Sociology to work on a project entitled, "Linking Graduate-level
Curricular Development and Faculty Production in Sociology to the Teaching of the
Discipline at the Secondary Level in Wisconsin." We anticipate a terrific year with
these PFF participants.
The PFF grant program still has room to consider more project proposals. If interested,
please contact Ben Schneider at x6638 or <terrapin@uwm.edu>.
You can access the PFF Call for Proposals at <http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIPD/activities/PFF/PFFgeneralCFP99.htm>.
The Learning
Technology Center has moved! We are still in the east wing of Golda Meir, but now in
E-175. We have a much expanded facility, including many more computer stations and a far
more extensive multimedia component for scanning, video editing, and streaming, including
both Mac and PC platforms. Our phone number remains x4319, and our email is ltc@uwm.edu.
This Fall the LTC will offer an entirely new approach to our workshops, tailored to meet
the relatively brief segments of uncommitted time available to the majority of faculty on
any given day. We have devised approximately twenty 50-minute pedagogical design workshops
specifically focused on how technology may shape our teaching, and in turn how best to
design our teaching to take advantage of available technologies.
Our mini-workshop topics include the use of online Web sites for undergraduate research,
the management of virtual chat rooms and online forums, and the development of Web-based
lessons that deepen students' understanding of topics covered in class. These workshops
will be kept small to allow more individual attention, and will be offered frequently, at
least one or two each week. Watch for our announcement - both online and via campus mail
-- of the schedules for these new programs!
At the LTC, we are also adopting a variety of other arrangements to make ourselves readily
available for consultation with faculty. Again, watch for announcements online and in
campus mail:
* "House calls" arranged by individual appointment to help faculty at their
convenience in the privacy of their own office.
* Special drop-in hours when faculty can come to E-175 to pursue, on an individualized
basis, topics that otherwise would be covered only in a workshop.
* The "askus" LTC Help Desk, which comprises a forum for anonymous queries about
teaching with technology, scheduled virtual office hours via a chat facility, and links to
major reflectors focused on Web-based learning strategies.
As always, of course, the LTC remains generally available throughout the week for faculty,
teaching assistants, and teaching academic staff to use our equipment and get advice, as
needed and requested, on how best to integrate technology with classroom teaching.
This Fall the LTC will once again be offering an array of Brown Bag presentations, with an
emphasis on hearing from undergraduate and graduate students who have become involved in
using technology to complement classroom-based learning.
During the academic year 1999-2000, the LTC continues to coordinate its UW-System grant
program, the Faculty/TA Collaborative Web Project (see http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/LTC for
details and a progress report), which involves more than fifty faculty and teaching
assistants at UWM and on the Rock, Waukesha, Washington, Sheboygan, and Manitowoc UW
College campuses. We will dedicate a Brown Bag to this program in early Fall.
The LTC is also exploring, in partnership with CIPD, a program specifically designed for
the training of teaching assistants and new faculty in the use of technology in the
classroom. Further information about this program will be forthcoming as soon as the new
semester begins.
Training and technical support for Web Course in a Box, our immensely popular Web course
development tool, are now being provided by dot.edu, a new System-supported Utility housed
at UWM. dot.edu provides training and technical support for faculty and teaching staff at
all UW campuses interested in using WCB and a newly adopted Web course development tool,
BlackBoard's CourseInfo (see pg 5).
Look for announcements soon on dot.edu's workshops on WCB and BlackBoard's CouseInfo and
their support services. dot.edu has its own quarters in E-177. Their phone number is x5066
and their email is: dotedu@uwm.edu
The LTC will continue to provide workshops and individual consultation on how the Web and
these Web course development tools can best be used for teaching and learning.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee &
Marquette University
6th Annual Preparing Future Faculty Conference
The Scholarship of Teaching
Friday, November 5, 1999
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Keynote Speaker:
Brian P. Coppola, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan, faculty
associate at the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, and
Pew Scholar of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
The one-day conference will feature papers, panels, and workshops investigating various
aspects of scholarship and teaching. Topics to be discussed include:
* Discovery Teaching and Learning
* Utilizing Research in the
Classroom
* How Scholarship Affects Teaching
* How Teaching Affects Scholarship
* Teaching, Scholarship, and the
Internet
* On Being a Teaching Scholar
* Understanding and Valuing
Teaching as Intellectual Work
This year's conference will be held in the University Center for Continuing Education
(UCCE) located in downtown Milwaukee, above Grand Avenue Mall. The registration fee is $15
for the conference events and lunch on Friday. Please include payment with the
registration form below. For more information, please contact Ben Schneider at (414)
229-6638 or <terrapin@uwm.edu>.
A detailed program of papers, panels, and workshops along with directions to the
conference location will be available at the beginning of October. Registration deadline:
October 27, 1999.
In cooperation with the UWM Center for Instructional and Professional Development, the
Center for International Studies sponsors a Small Grant Awards competition. Grants are
awarded to support the development of new
courses or the enhancement of existing courses with international studies content.
A broad range of activities designed to improve,
enhance, or expand international and foreign area studies and foreign language instruction
at UWM is eligible for funding. Collaborative projects between departments or between
schools and colleges are especially encouraged. Funded projects must fall within the scope
of the Center for International Studies' mission under its grant from the US Department of
Education.
Proposals will be judged on their potential for enhancing
teaching and learning in international studies. Preference will be given to those
projects that will most likely make a permanent contribution to UWM's instructional
program. Please contact CIPD for an application at x6638.
The Wisconsin Web-based Learning System (WWBLS) provides
support to all UW faculty and staff for web-based and/or web-enhanced course delivery.
Four products are currently offered through WWBLS, hosted online by the campus shown:
1. Learning Spaces by UW-Eau Claire
2. Web Course in a Box by UW-Milwaukee
3. WebCT by UW-Madison
4. Blackboard CourseInfo by UW-Milwaukee
Hosts offer the following services:
* Access to licensed, web-based course delivery software
* A reliable production server environment
* Support resources
* Training for faculty/course designers
dot.edu (Digital Online Technology.Educational Design Utility), the hosting service at
UW-Milwaukee, supports synchronous and asynchronous course delivery throughout the UW
System, PK-12, CESAs, technical schools, and non-UW System colleges and universities. This
Utility provides training and support for the products Web Course in a Box and Blackboard
CourseInfo.
Below is a description of the training workshops to be held at UW-Milwaukee for these two
product suites. These workshops are open to all UW System campuses. Workshops are
conducted throughout the semester. Because space is limited, we strongly suggest that you
register early. We also suggest that when you attend a workshop, you bring your course
materials with you (either in electronic format or a paper copy) so you can actually start
building your online course.
If you are interested in using the WebCT or Learning Spaces product suites, please contact
UWM's WWBLS Campus Administrator, Charlene Douglas (douglasc@uwm.edu,
ext. 5066).
INTRO TO ONLINE EDUCATION
Are you interested in putting your course materials online, but don't know where to start?
In this class, we will discuss reasons for putting your course online (either
synchronously or asynchronously), what it takes to do it, and we will introduce some of
the products available to you. Various features and benefits of WCB and Bb will be
compared and discussed. 1 hour, limit 15 participants.
BLACKBOARD COURSEINFO
Getting Started: In this class you will begin to create your course using Blackboard
CourseInfo. We will introduce instructional design issues to consider when creating a
web-enhanced course, and then move into course creation on Blackboard CourseInfo. Page
Editors, User Management and Site Management will be taught during this session. 2 hours,
limit 10 participants.
More Bb: Additional Bb topics will be covered in this session. We will focus on
Assessments and the Communications Center area plus instructional design issues relating
to these topics. 2 hours, limit 10 participants.
WEB COURSE IN A BOX
Getting Started: In this class you will begin to create your course using Web Course in a
Box. We will introduce instructional design issues to consider when creating a
web-enhanced course, and then move into course creation on Web Course in a Box. Create
Course, Preferences, Class Info, Schedule, Announcements, Calendar, and Course
Customization will all be taught during this session. 2 hours, limit 10 participants.
More WCB: WCB topics to be covered in this session include: File Uploading, Learning
Links, Discussion Forums, Quizzes, Utilities, Student Uploading and instructional design
issues relating to these topics. If time permits, we will cover Faculty Homepage
development. 2 hours, limit 10 participants.
Even More WCB: Gradebook, Lesson Builder and the Student Project page will be covered in
this session. 1.5 hours, limit 15 participants.
As part of UWM's participation in the Carnegie Teaching
Academy Scholarship of Teaching Initiative, Center Associate Professor Rene Gratz and the
CIPD staff would like to invite you to participate in an exciting new campus conversation,
Project 101.
Project 101 will bring together those instructors across campus who have responsibility
for teaching or supervising introductory courses in order to explore the challenges and
opportunities these courses offer. Introductory courses are particularly interesting
contexts for examining teaching and learning issues, and the scholarship of teaching
perspective provides a useful way to examine these issues, implement and assess
strategies, and disseminate results.
Project 101 will use a variety of formats to initiate and continue this conversation:
* a series of five brown bag discussions (see insert for dates and times)
* a listserv
* a special workshop, featuring Greg Valde, Professor of Educational Foundations at
UW-Whitewater
* special interest groups
Issues will be determined by the participants. The following are some possibilities:
* Purposes: What are the goals of the introductory course? Are they a gateway to a
discipline or profession, intro to college-level scholarship, survey course, intro to the
methods and key concepts of the discipline, general education?
* Problems: How do we connect with freshmen with a variety of abilities (esp. in writing
and math)? How are teaching and learning different in intro courses?
* Potential: How do we inspire further study of the field?
* Preparation: How can we learn successful lecturing techniques, strategies for making the
lecture hall "smaller"?
* Perceptions: How can we change student attitudes toward attendance, preparatory reading,
note-taking?
* Performance: How can we use informal, ungraded assessment to check student
understanding, design and grade effective assignments, and develop good tests and
test-taking procedures?
Come to any or all of the Brown Bag Conversations to discuss these and other issues.
As a highlight to the Project 101 program, we have invited Greg Valde, Professor of
Educational Foundations at UW-Whitewater, to present the luncheon workshop, Making
Connections Between Values and Teaching: The Madness Behind Our Methods.
This entertaining and enlightening presentation will explore the relationship between our
educational values and our approaches to teaching and learning. Valde will examine six
philosophies of education and invite us to consider "competing" priorities in
our teaching methods. Subsequent discussion will illuminate the conflicts between
departments and faculty, between faculty and students, and perhaps within oneself over
educational philosophy and pedagogical practice. The result will be a better understanding
of how we can make our instructional practice connect more directly to our vision of
"why" we teach they way we do.
PROJECT 101
Come to One, Come to All!
Brown Bag Conversations:
September 22 (Wed) 12:00-1:00pm
Union 307
September 24 (Fri) 12:00-1:00pm
Union 260
September 28 (Tues) 2:30-3:30pm
Union Mke Room
October 7 (Thurs) 2:30-3:30pm Union 309
October 11 (Mon) 12:00-1:00pm Union 260
Making Connections Between Values and Teaching: The Madness Behind Our Methods
Greg Valde Workshop:
Wednesday, October 27
11:30am-2:30pm
Library Conference Center
Lunch provided (FREE)
Register by email for these events
cipd@uwm.edu
CIPD is pleased to provide information on the Institute for
Service Learning - and welcomes the opportunity to work with its Director, Dean Pribbenow,
on designing faculty development activities. Aimed at supporting and enriching the UWM
teaching and learning environment, the Institute works with faculty, staff, students, and
the community to facilitate the integration of community-based service experiences with
the academic curriculum. By connecting classroom learning and service beyond the
classroom, students link knowledge and action while engaging in meaningful service in the
community. The success of this emerging pedagogical approach depends heavily on faculty
and teaching staff who build service learning components into their courses.
When community service is integrated with the curriculum-and when opportunities for
structured reflection are provided-students demonstrate enhanced learning of course
content. Service learning also opens students to new ways of viewing diversity and social
issues, builds critical thinking skills, and fosters civic participation.
In addition, many faculty and staff who use service learning in their classes report
closer connections to students, to colleagues, and with the community, as well as a
greater sense of effectiveness in the classroom. Likewise, the community benefits by
partnering with students to meet identified community needs and by bringing their assets
to the teaching and learning process.
There are many examples of how faculty and staff have integrated service learning in their
disciplines. Psychology students work with a mental health associate to develop a
self-esteem program for local youth; students in a composition course work with a Hispanic
community organization to create a newsletter and to write research papers on related
topics; and geology students plan and present hands-on, interactive demonstrations for
elementary students in a science class.
The Institute for Service Learning aims to build upon UWM's rich tradition of
mission-based work by supporting faculty and staff's efforts to design, implement, and
assess service learning experiences.
In addition, the following resources are provided:
* faculty and staff development workshops
* assistance in securing community placements for students
* workshops to prepare students for entering the community
* support for monitoring service activities and facilitating reflection on the service.
The Institute also maintains a library of service learning resource guides, research, and
course syllabi.
For more information, please contact Dean A. Pribbenow, Director of the Institute for
Service Learning, at x3702 or by e-mail at pribbeno@uwm.edu.
September
22 P101 Brown Bag
24 P101 Brown Bag
28 P101 Brown Bag
October
7 P101 Brown Bag
11 P101 Brown Bag
25 UTIG proposals due to CIPD
27 Valde Workshop
November
5 PFF Conference
19 UTIC Teaching Fellows
nominations due
22 UTIG proposals due - System
January
10-13 Freshman Seminar Retreat
March
30-4/1 UTIC Spring Conference
April
7 UTIC Faculty College
nominations due
May
22-25 Freshman Seminar Retreat
June
1-4 Faculty College
July
24-8/4 Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Summer
Institute |