November 6: Conversations on Connectivity: Cultural Connections in the Classroom. How students learn to perceive, understand, think, create meaning, feel, and act are integrally connected to their cultural orientation. Too often, as teachers we tend to think about learning in ethno-centric ways, or in ways that are specific to our own preferences and experiences. Please join Marty Petrone as she facilitates this interactive session designed to help us connect with our own cultural conditioning and in turn be more welcoming to the variety of diverse cultural perspectives we encounter in our classrooms. Noon-1 p.m. 137 JHN (Community Center). Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

December 4: Conversations on Connectivity: What We Can Learn About Our Students From Our Staff . Faculty members often get to know students well, but almost always the interaction is rooted in a course the student took or is taking. There are many people on campus who deal regularly with students outside of the classroom context, however, and this Conversation is meant to make connections between these different perspectives to see how it might help us to better understand MUM students. Debbie Boston (Computer Center), Daphne Eldridge (Bookstore), Tonia Hyllengren (Student Services), and Brenda Wilson (Records and Registration) have agreed to help us get the discussion started. Please join us for a chance to gain and share insights on our students. Noon-1 p.m. 137 JHN (Community Center). Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

December 10: CTL Open House and CTL Special . Join us in the CTL (room 11 JHN) for snacks and conversations from 10 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.. At noon, Angela Yesh will lead a discussion on First Day Activities to build community in our classrooms. Come on in!

January 23: Dialogues on Digital Literacy Series - "Generation Next: What Do They Really Know?" As an outgrowth of a TLTR subcommittee, Ellenmarie Wahlrab, Brad Farr, and John Burke surveyed 571 students in sections of ENG 007, 111, and 112 this past fall. This survey, the Technology Fluency Assessment Questionnaire (TFAQ), provided interesting and surprising results about students’ technical ability and access to technology. We will share the highlights of our findings from the TFAQ. Come and discuss the implications for our teaching and for technology support. The CTL, TLTR, and the ETC are pleased to launch a new series of dialogues on digital literacy. Different from the "hands-on" technology skill-building workshops, these discussions will be focused on the pedagogical issues involving technology. The second workshop in the series is scheduled for Wednesday, January 23 from 12:00-1:00 in 137 Johnston. Please join us for pizza and a great discussion.

 

February 5: Conversations on Connectivity "Conversations on Connectivity: Experiences, Education, and Equity - A Discussion on the Struggling Student" with LeAlan Jones. LeAlan Jones is co-author of Our America: Life and Death on the Southside of Chicago, a book that grew out of a radio documentary he began as part of an NPR radio documentary when he was 13 years old. Today, at age 26, he is working as a freelance journalist, lecturer and community advocate on behalf of disenfranchised people. Co-sponsored by MUM Office of Student Affairs. Noon-1 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center). Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

February 5: AURCO 2009 Conference Brainstorming Session. Immediately following the Conversation with LeAlan Jones, the CTL LC invites you to stay for a brainstorming session for planning the AURCO 2009 Conference that MUM will host in April 2009. AURCO (Association for University Regional Campuses in Ohio) will be celebrating its 15th year in 2009. 1:00-2:45 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center).

February 7: CTL Special: Conversation about the new Miami Plan with Liberal Education Council Representatives. Representatives from the Liberal Education Council will be on hand to discuss proposed changes to the Miami Plan that are designed to globalize the liberal education program. After University-wide discussions, the LEC will be making final recommendations to Senate for a globally oriented Miami Plan.  Please see www.muohio.edu/led for a one-page summary of the proposal. Noon - 1 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center). Lunch Provided.

February 19: CTL Special: Connecting With Students of Color with Dr. Pamela Safisha Nzingha Hill.Dr. Pamela Safisha Nzingha Hill is Director of Education for an independent African-centered school, Scholars Academy, an extension of The Act of Change, Inc., Institute of Cultural Arts located in Dallas, Texas. She has 18 years of experience in higher education, working specifically with students of color, and is a lifelong student of Africana Studies. Co-sponsored by MUM Office of Student Affairs. Noon - 1 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center). Please join us for pizza and a great discussion.

February 29: Deadline for Excellence in Teaching Award nominations. For more information, click here.

March 4: Conversations on Connectivity: Campus Community Connection with Eric Melbye. Whether you are a faculty member, staff, or student, the activities you engage in on campus can be enriched if you can find ways to extend them beyond the campus. Eric Melbye (ENG) will facilitate this session that will explore the value of connecting your academic activities with the community, and introduce some new resources and opportunities to help you get you started at the Campus-Community Connection, and Miami Middletown Downtown . Noon - 1 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center). Noon-1 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center). Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

March 13: CTL Special: Dual Credit Program with Cathy Bishop-Clark. The Dual Credit Program allows students to take a college level course and earn both high school and college credit. The partnership between MUM and the Miami University Middletown and the Miami Valley Career Technology Center is now in its third semester and faculty members with experience in the program will provide an update on its past accomplishment and future possibilities. Noon-1 p.m. 136-137 JHN (Community Center). Please join us for pizza and a great discussion.

 

THURSDAY, April 3: Conversations on Connectivity: The BIS Program with the BIS Task Force. (Note change from Tuesday). Members of the BIS task force groups will lead an informational session and conversation about the proposed Bachelor of Integrative Studies degree program. They will provide a brief overview of the proposed degree and a description of the three new BIS seminar courses, but most of the session will be devoted to conversation (and not presentation) about the new degree program. Additionally, we hope to generate interest in teaching the BIS seminars and announce a new learning community that will support the faculty who will be doing so. Noon to 1 p.m., JHN 136-137 (Community Center). Lunch provided to first 20 participants. (A similar session on the Hamilton campus from noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, on the Hamilton Campus in the Harriet Taylor Room, 560 Mosler; faculty are invited to attend either or both).


Wednesday, April 9: CTL Special: Inviting Wallflowers to Dance: Using CAC to Engage Students in Active Learning. Members of the 2007-2008 Communication Across the Curriculum Faculty Learning Community share their experiences developing teaching projects aimed and promoting student engagement. Presenters will include Tammy Allen (SPN), Bob Elkin (GLG), Selcuk Misirlioglu (ECO), and Sunitha Narayanan (EDL). Noon to 1 p.m. JHN 120. Lunch provided.

Thursday, April 17: CTL Special: Student Evaluation of Teaching (co-sponsored with CELT). Theodore C. Wagenaar, MU professor of sociology, will present a session that will review the literature on student evaluations and distill the lessons they can offer for improving your teaching. Wagenaar is a 1999-2000 Carnegie Teaching Scholar. He has served as editor of Teaching Sociology and has published instructors' manuals and student workbooks in introductory sociology and research methods. He has led numerous workshops on curriculum development, evaluating teaching, and effective teaching method, and this particular workshop has filled up three times on the Oxford campus this year. The session is being co-sponsored with CELT (the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching) in Oxford. Noon - 12:50. JHN 136-137 (Community Center). Lunch for the first 20 participants.

Wednesday, April 23 : Dialogues on Digital Literacy Series: Privacy, Identity, and Ownership in the (Increasingly) Virtual World. The once physical world is rapidly transitioning to a virtual environment. Online communication has become an assumed component of (post)modern life where physical presence is no longer necessary for interactions to take place. In this increasingly virtual world, how do the concepts of privacy, identity and ownership change? What are the postmodern challenges to these concepts and how do we address them? This session, the third in this series for the academic year, will initiate an exploration of both personal and academic applications of these questions. Noon – 1 p.m. JHN 136-137 (Community Center). Pizza provided.

Tuesday, April 29 : CTL Special: Reflections on Student Life (from Real Students). Have you ever wished you could just talk with our students about what they experience while here? Come hear students from EDL 110 discuss their reflections on various aspects of student life and their advice to incoming students. This class represents both MUM and Oxford students at various points in their college careers. 1-1:50 p.m. JHN 13. Pizza provided.

To see a list of the events the CTL sponsored during the 2006-2007 academic year, click here.