This year’s conversation series asks faculty, staff, and students to what degree it is important for them to consider ways their work intersects with the broader conversations and changes at Miami University.  Conversation sessions might focus on such topics as the principles and practices of liberal education, global learning, the Bachelor of Integrative Studies, the Honors Program, and regionalization and will ask how our work directly or indirectly relates to these big picture conversations and their shifting perspectives:

Do we, can we, should we facilitate the development of these broader conversations? 

Does our work in anyway curtail, challenge, or offer ideas for change to these broader conversations?

Do these broader conversations enhance or impede our work (and our well-being)?

And, collectively, how do these broader conversations and their intersections with our daily work contribute to teaching and learning on our campus?

Each session runs from 12:00 – 1:00 in JH 136/137.  Specific topics will be announced.

 

If you have ideas for topics related to this theme, and/or would like to lead one of this year’s conversations yourself, or have any other ideas for sessions related to teaching and learning, please contact John Tassoni (tassonjp@muohio.edu):

 

April 5

Conversation: Regionalization 12:00-1:00 p.m. JHN 136/137

April 6

Special: Developing Information Literacy: Librarians’ Perspective on Faculty Research Assignments for Students 12:00-1:00 p.m. JHN 136/137

Based on national findings and data published by Project Information Literacy Progress Reports in 2010, the Gardner-Harvey Librarians will speak to perceptions on faculty and student research behavior. More specifically John Burke, Jessie Long, and Beth Tumbleson will discuss faculty research assignment handouts and implications for research assignment redesign to promote students’ information literacy. In this way, students might develop 21st century information literacy skills as part of the research process rather than only focus on the end product: whether paper, presentation, or project.

April 18

Special: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction 11:00-Noon Room TBA   A No Stress, No Food Event

Suzanne Klatt, a Miami University Hamilton faculty member in Family Studies & Social Work, will introduce Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Learning to be in the moment reduces everyday stress that educators may experience. The Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program was first developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center by Jon Kabat-Zinn who works with patients facing major illness and chronic pain. Through daily mindfulness meditation and activities, individuals are able to live more fully. Ms. Klatt is a clinical social worker who received training from Dr. Kabat-Zinn and practices mindfulness personally. If there is interest, she will offer an 8 week course in the fall.

March 2

Conversation: Reflection Across the Curriculum: The Honors Model 12:00-1:00 p.m. JHN 136/137

As an alternative to completing liberal education goals via the Miami Plan, University Honors Students document their meeting of liberal education objectives through the construction of a portfolio that reflects upon their developing competencies. This shifts the focus of the responsibility for liberal education to the learner. During this CTL Conversation you will be introduced to the rubrics designed to assess a student’s progress toward meeting the liberal education learning objectives and practice assessing a reflection. We will then discuss how faculty and students may use similar pedagogical principles in their own teaching and learning outside of the honors program.

March 16

Special: A (Virtual) World of Teaching Possibilities 12:00-1:00 p.m. JHN 136/137

Looking for new ways to engage your students and enhance their learning? Universities all over the globe have been using virtual-world platforms successfully for years to do just that. Join us to see and hear about the (mis)adventures of Miami University’s Second Life faculty learning community, which has been exploring the possibilities for teaching and learning in Second Life, a free virtual world platform used by over a million people worldwide.

March 30

Special: TOP 25’s Implications for the Regionals   Wednesday, March 30 1 – 2 pm 142 Johnston (This room is reserved until 2:30 if our conversation runs over.)

A panel of faculty involved in the “Top 25” curriculum project will summarize the basic differences in curricular development and learning outcomes in these revised courses. Join us for a conversation about how we see this type of curricular change working with our regional students. We especially invite those teaching “top 25” courses, whether or not they are using the revised curriculum and pedagogy.

February 22

Special: Dutifully Burning-Out?: New Challenges to Open-Access Education 12:00-1:00 p.m. (Star Lounge 2, Gardner Harvey Library, Main Level)

While most faculty and staff and students on the regional campuses will acknowledge that educational access relies on our community’s skills in accommodating various life circumstances and levels of academic preparation, this acknowledgement does not always lead to effective practices. This CTL special uses Mike Rose’s recent (and very short) essay on “Working with Working-Class Students” and Casey Wiley’s (just about as short) “Ghost Students” (both attached in this single file!) to weigh the rewards of teaching and learning at open-access campuses against the degrees of burnout that faculty, staff, and students might experience as they negotiate the individual interests and concerns that shape classroom life. In particular, this discussion will explore ways that our historical moment, shaped by such phenomena as rapid technological innovation, by globalization, by “No Child Left Behind,” and by steep economic recession can shape our community’s ability and willingness to teach and learn.

 

December 6

Special: T@MUM: Teatime Discussions about Technology in the Classroom 4:00-5:15 p.m. Classroom 15 Johnston Hall (computer lab).

Looking for a free word processing or spreadsheet utility? Looking for a way to encourage student collaboration? Need a quick and easy way to create online forms? Google Docs offers this and more! Come to this session and learn more about what Google Docs has to offer and how you can use it to support teaching and learning in your classroom. Join Andrea Han as she presents this hands-on session. T@MUM: Teatime Discussions about Technology in the Classroom Monday, December 6 4:00 – 5:15 15 Johnston It’s teatime: Tea and cookies will be provided!

December 1

Our Well-Being Is Part of the Conversation: Composed of student, staff, and faculty members, this panel will facilitate discussion about ways our work in academia can affect our physical and emotional health and will help participants explore ways to pursue a more balanced approach to our work and our lives outside of work. This CTL conversation looks at ways our responses to institutional contexts (pressure to do more with less, accountability issues, long hours, etc.) can push our lives out of balance. Panelists will help us to examine the degree to which our intentional pursuit of personal well-being can be seen not only as a force resistant to broader conversations that shape our labor, but also as a way of improving our work for the betterment of the institution as well as our lives as a whole. The Conversation is set for Wednesday, Dec. 1, 12:00 – 1:00 in JH 136/137. Free lunch available for the first 20 participants.

November 22

Special: What Is Integrative Studies Teaching Us about 21 st-Century Learning? 3:00-4:00 p.m. in 136 JHN.

In this CTL-sponsored special, faculty from Spanish, History, and English report on conversations they are having with their students and with colleagues from here and around the world through and about integrative learning. We invite faculty, students, and staff to join us in exploring how the emergence of integrative studies is aligned with a paradigm shift in educational purposes and practices in the 21 st century. We hope to hear your reflections on shifts in your own purposes and practices as you teach and learn in a rapidly changing, complex world

November 8

Special: T@MUM: Teatime Discussions about Technology in the Classroom 4:00-5:15 p.m. Classroom 15 Johnston Hall (computer lab).

We’ll showcase some sample digital media assignments by MUM instructors, share examples of student work (completed & in progress), and have hands-on demonstrations of the multimedia authoring tools available for check-out & use on MUM campus.

November 4

“Challenging the Coursecentric Curriculum?: Your Course and Liberal Education” The CTL Conversation asks participants to examine ways their individual courses intersect liberal education aims and to explore how teachers might best introduce students to these intersections. Participants will consider various ways these aims are presented to Miami students, reflect on the liberal education goals that inform their classes, and discuss degrees to which curricula might affirm, challenge, curtail, or extend notions of liberal education at Miami. Overall, this session is designed to help us identify the roles our individual might courses might play in the broader story that is liberal education and how this story might better reflect the work we do in our courses. The Conversation is set for Thursday, November 4, from 12:00-1:00 in JH 136/137. Free lunch available for the first 20 participants.

October 19

Special: Chinese Names: For this CTL Special, Felice Marcus, English as Second Language Instructor in the English Department, and Zhenghong Zhou, Outreach Coordinator at Miami’s Confucius Institute, will cover the basics of pronouncing Chinese names sufficiently so that non-Chinese faculty, students, and staff can address students comfortably and correctly. The session will also cover cultural and personal issues around students' adoption of "American names." What identity issues are behind their using American names? Do the students embrace English names to feel more culturally integrated? Or do they feel compelled to go by a different name to be more accepted and for the convenience of faculty, staff, and classmates? Should the Miami University community use the native or American name, or does it depend on circumstances? on Oct 19, from 1:00 - 2:00, in Johnston 136/137.

To see a list of the events the CTL sponsored during the 2009-2010 academic year, click here.