Center for Teaching and Learning

What's Coming Up at the CTL and Elsewhere?

T@MUM: Digital Showcase 3:30-4:30, Room: TBA

The CTL will host the second annual "T@MUM: Digital Showcase" at 3:30 p.m. As per our usual, we'll serve high tea, and we'll have on hand faculty and students to show off their digital work. If you're curious, stop in and see some of the creative ways our faculty employ digital media creation in their teaching, and some of the awesome projects our students have completed during the year. If what you see piques your interest, feel free to contact Laruel Gilber at gilberlm@muohio.edu and consider joining a second Multimedia Pilot Program next year with the CTL. We'll all have learned that much more.

Conversation: Renew U: What do "U" do to recharge/inspire your teaching? What do "U" do when you're not at Miami? 12:30-2:30 Room JHN 13

As the semester charges toward the finish line, many of us may be thinking of having a bit more time soon to play, to create, to reconnect to those other selves who may often be on the sidelines during the academic year. This year, especially, we find ourselves in the midst of change and uncertainty. How do we take care of ourselves and flourish, even in the midst of change?

We invite you to take some time from your end-of-the-semester work and join the CTL for refreshing food and talk. Let us know how you stay inspired and charged up, whether throughout the year or especially between semesters. Feel free to bring something that renews you (or a symbol of it!) to this drop-in session. Come for as long as you're able and stay as long as you'd like!

Why U?: The Relevance of the University Today

The beginning of the 2011 academic year invites the continuing conversation about the purpose of a university education for citizens of the twenty-first century. Every year, more and more students enroll in our classes and programs, hoping a college education will bring them financial success. Traditionally, a college education does translate into greater earning power, it’s true; but what other reasons are there for students and teachers alike to become part of a university community?

This year, the Center for Teaching & Learning examines the relevance of the university for today’s students and teachers, and considers what skill sets complement the curriculum of a university education to meet the needs of twenty-first century learners. Our focus is two-fold: on the one hand, a college-educated citizen must be competent in using twenty-first century tools to communicate, collaborate and create. During 2011-12, the CTL will focus on supporting faculty and students in experimenting with new technologies and digital-media production, both in and out of the classroom, so that we become more competent communicators and researchers in today’s fast-paced, media-saturated world. On the other hand, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of our humanity. Twenty-first century learning and teaching includes how the learner contextualizes himself or herself within the cacophony of modern life. CTL Conversations this year will address how students and faculty can develop inner resources to more fully engage with one another and the learning process.