For 2009-2010, the CTL is sponsoring a series of monthly conversations about teaching under the them of “The Symphony of Learning.” The phrase is derived from Daniel Pink’s inclusion of “symphony” as one of his six essential skills for students to learn in his book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule in the Future. Pink defines symphony as “the ability to put together the pieces”; synthesizing information, forming relationships between seemingly disparate fields, noticing broad patterns, and creating something new and unexpected.
We hope that the conversations we hold this year will stimulate your sense of symphony and help you connect the topics discussed with your teaching to form unforeseen and successful teaching experiences. Our series will carry the metaphor of symphony a bit further by designating our conversations with the movements found in the modern musical symphony. Here are our first three offerings for the year:
First Movement: Allegro (quick, lively, brisk, cheerful): “Have You ‘Thiagi-ed’ Lately?” – Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Second Movement: Slow (pause to reflect): “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Learning Community” – Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Third Movement: Scherzo (playful in triple time): “Using Clickers” – Thursday, December 3, 2009
All of our conversations are held from 12:00-1:00 in Room 136/137 JHN.
October
October 6: Conversation: “ Have You ‘Thiagi-ed’ Lately?” 12:00-1:00 p.m. (JHN 136/137) What better way to kick of this year’s CTL Conversations than to reflect on interactive learning techniques? In this Conversation, you can share your experiences of using the interactive learning exercises that Thiagi introduced to us at our opening workshop. You will also have the opportunity to experience a few more of Thiagi's exercises. Don’t forget that you can find 100s of interactive games and exercises on the Thiagi website at www.thiagi.com. As always with our Conversations, lunch will be served to the first twenty attendees. All interested faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend!
October 12: Special Let’s Talk: Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Student-Faculty Dialogues. When? Monday October 12, 2009,
11:30am-12:30pm Where?
201 or 202 JHN
Mel Cohen, Helane Androne, Beth Uhler, and James Janik will discuss their Faculty-Student Dialogues, ongoing discussions between faculty and students on teaching and learning. These faculty have been meeting with students on a regular basis to discuss teaching and learning from both sides of the ex-perience; they have been doing so with the goals of sharing and improving the learning experiences of students here at Miami Middletown. The four will discuss the development and organization of their series of dialogues as well as the educational benefits which occur when students and faculty seriously discuss their assumptions and perceptions as well as their challenges and opportunities. The CTL sponsors such groups and hopes to encourage more such series. Pizza will be provided.
October 30: Internationally Minded Opportunity
Developing Productive Relationships with Chinese Students - In and Out of the Classroom Service Learning Seminars
9-10:30 a.m. 200 Wilks Conference Center - Hamilton Campus
Presented by :
Ms. Chen Zhao, Instructor in Decision Science and MAngaement Systems and Sr. Amin Wang, Educational Psychology
Ms. Zhao and Dr. Wang have presented this workshop to various groups on the Oxford Campus. They have graciouslyagreed to share it with us as we prepare for the first group of Chines exchange students next semester.
November
November 2: Service Learning Seminars
Service Learning Seminars
12:00-1:00; 136 Johnston Hall
Monday, November 2
Co-sponsored by MUM's CTL and Office of Community Engagement and Service, these two seminars will provide curious faculty with the information they need to understand service learning better. The first seminar will feature a panel of faculty who will share their experiences teaching service learning courses, information on service learning (including the S course designation, course release time, and more), and discussion of the challenges and opportunities of service learning. The second seminar will feature a panel of representatives from local community agencies who will share their experiences as partners in service learning projects, and give attendees the opportunity to see how individual courses they plan to teach in the next year might look with a service learning component. Faculty will also have the opportunity to brainstorm potential service learning projects with the community agency reps. Lunch will be provided at both seminars to the first 20 participants.
November 3: Another Internationally Minded Opportunity
Workshop on the Fullbright Program for Faculty and Professionals
Tuesday, November 3
2-3 p.m. 137 Johnston Hall
Presented by
Maria Bettua, Assistant Director of the Europe Unit of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars in Washington, D.C.
Learn about lecturing and research opportunities in 150 countries; get advice on which country to apply to and how to make contacts abroad; learn how to prepare the Fulbright application; and explore how you can host visiting Fulbright scholars. Interested faculty and professionals are urged to attend.
Thanks to our Hamilton colleagues (Mary Bausano, Dave Berg, and Chen Ferguson in particular) for doing the groundwork to make these workshops happen and sharing with us the opportunity to participate in them.
November 4:
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Learning Community", Wednesday, November 4, 2009,
12:00-1:00, 136/137 JHN
Presented by: Catherine Bishop-Clark, Computer & Information Technology, Miami University Middletown and Beth Dietz Uhler, Psychology, Miami University Middletown.
In this session we will showcase a SoTL faculty learning community. The community was co-facilitated by two faculty members who have over 30 years combined experience doing SoTL work. The session will have both a practical and philosophical orientation. We will discuss the challenges and benefits of such a community, the reflective nature of SoTL work, and the benefits of a SoTL learning community to the faculty. The session will be facilitated by both facilitators of the learning community and one of the "graduates" of that community.
Cathy Bishop-Clark is a professor of Computer and Information Technology as well as an Associate Dean at the Middletown campus. She has conducted SoTL research since beginning at Miami University and has published and presented papers ranging from personality and computer programming to teaching in a mixed age classroom. Beth Uhler is Professor of Psychology. She has actively pursued the scholarship of teaching and learning for 12 years in the areas of the use of technology in teaching and learning, the effectiveness of online learning, and student-centered learning.
This conversation is co-sponsored by CTL and CELTUA in Oxford.
November 16: Service Learning Seminars
Service Learning Seminars
12:00-1:00; 136 Johnston Hall
Monday, November 16
Co-sponsored by MUM's CTL and Office of Community Engagement and Service, these two seminars will provide curious faculty with the information they need to understand service learning better. The first seminar will feature a panel of faculty who will share their experiences teaching service learning courses, information on service learning (including the S course designation, course release time, and more), and discussion of the challenges and opportunities of service learning. The second seminar will feature a panel of representatives from local community agencies who will share their experiences as partners in service learning projects, and give attendees the opportunity to see how individual courses they plan to teach in the next year might look with a service learning component. Faculty will also have the opportunity to brainstorm potential service learning projects with the community agency reps. Lunch will be provided at both seminars to the first 20 participants.
November 17: "Pixton: Make Your Own Web Comics!"
"Pixton: Make Your Own Web Comics!"
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
11:00-12:00, 118 JHN
Presented by Eric Luczaj, Computer and Information Technology, Miami University Middletown
In this session, Eric Luczaj will demonstrate a free, web-based tool called Pixton. Participants will be able to try their hands at creating their own online comic strips (even if an individual cannot draw). Pixton is a great way to communicate ideas graphically in a multimedia rich environment and then share them in email and social networks like Facebook. Experiment with using images and storytelling to share class material with your students.
December
January
February
March
April
To see a list of past events the CTL has sponsored, click here.
