November 7: Conversations about Teaching — “Community Learning for Access and Empowerment.” This CTL Conversation focuses on ways teachers might involve their students in community projects related to their course work. Facilitators Cathy Bishop-Clark, Mira Smith, and Eric Melbye will describe particular projects as well as organizations at Miami Middletown, such as the MRDD project, Career Services, and CCE, designed to help students and teachers engage sites beyond campus. We will discuss ways community learning projects might benefit students and teachers, as well as surrounding areas and academic disciplines, and we will reflect on the meaning of such engagement in terms of our mission as an open-access institution. Noon-1 p.m. JHN 120. Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

November 15: CTL Special — "Miami Middletown and MRDD: A New Partnership." In this session, we will explore a new partnership with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) organization of Butler County. We are modeling this relationship after a similar program, Passion Works (www.passionworks.org) at Ohio University, which supports collaborations amongst artists with and without developmental disabilities. There are opportunities for every discipline (Engineering, Art, Business, you name it) to partner in some way. Come to this session and help us explore some new possibilities. Noon-1 p.m. JHN 135 (community center). Free pizza to first 20 participants.

December 7: Conversations about Teaching — “Universal Design for Learning.” Presenters Jean Lynch and Cindy Lewiecki-Wilson will lead a one-hour, interactive workshop on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL grew out of the accessibility movement and adapts the architectural philosophy of planning for diverse users to the classroom. UDL encourages a teaching philosophy that anticipates diversity in the classroom as an ordinary and everyday occurrence. UDL principles encourage instructors to develop flexible teaching practices so as to make courses accessible to a range of diverse learners who may have different learning needs and preferences, rather than only making adjustments in response to student with disabilities. This workshop will provide participants with information about UDL, practical examples of UDL adaptations, and the opportunity to redesign a favorite classroom assignment. Participants will share their redesigns and discuss planning a class for diverse users. Noon-1 p.m. JHN 120. Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

January 9: Conversations about Teaching — “Online Learning and Access to Education.” In this interactive session, Beth Uhler, Andrea Han, Amy Fisher, Janet Hurn will lead discussion on the barriers we have faced and our students currently face in our pursuit of education. We will explore the ways MUM has attempted to dissolve these barriers, paying specific attention to how online technologies (e.g., email, Blackboard, iPods, online lectures) have been and can be used to improve access to education. We will also discuss how online technologies can inhibit access to education and whether this should impact teachers' use of these technologies. Noon-1 p.m. JHN 120. Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

January 17: CTL Panoply of Problems and Pizza — “Laptops, Late Arrivals and Lollipops: Course Policy Issues.” Facilitator Mel Cohen writes of this session: “At a Campus Senate meeting earlier this year, the topic of laptops in the classroom was casually mentioned. What followed was a brief and lively exchange indicating to me that a variety of perspectives existed on the appropriateness of laptops. In the weeks that followed I began to think about this and other course policy issues such as attendance policies and food in the classroom. I kept bringing these issues to members of CTL until it dawned on them, and me, that a CTL session was an appropriate first step in further discussing these issues. We all face course policy issues and what is decided and how it is decided may say a great deal about our views of learning and how we view role in the classroom. I welcome you to share your thoughts in what I expect will be a highly interactive session.” Noon-1 p.m. JHN 136. Free pizza for the first 20 participants.

January 19: Deadlines for self-nominations to the CTL Leadership Collaborative. For more information on the LC and its selection process, click here.

February 5-6: Open House for Part-Time Faculty Oasis. The CTL is hosting four open house events to welcome part-time faculty to their new office space in JHN 7/9 and Thesken 110A/110C. Sessions are scheduled 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Feb. 5 in Thesken; 5 - 7 p.m. Feb. 5 in Johnston; 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Feb. 6 in Johnston and 5 - 7 p.m. Feb. 6 in Thesken. For more information click here. Note: The last of these sessions was canceled becuse of bad weather.

February 8: Conversations about Teaching — “Derek Bok’s Our Underachieving Colleges vs. Miami Middletown: A Book Discussion with President David Hodge.” As part of the CTL’s ongoing series on issues in educational access and empowerment, President David Hodge will join students, staff, and faculty in a discussion of Derek Bok’s Our Underachieving Colleges. On his initial visit to the Middletown campus in Spring 2006, Dr. Hodge cited Bok's book as the one text he wished every member of the Miami community would read. Bok’s text contains a review of the history of American colleges and debates concerning purposes of higher education. He posits eight outcomes as central to these purposes (communication skills, critical thinking, development of moral reasoning, an appreciation of diversity, preparation for citizenship, preparation for living in a global society, cultivation of a wide range of interests, and preparation for a career) and explores various policies and practices that might help schools achieve these goals (as well as policies and practices currently inhibiting these aims). Whether you’ve read Our Underachieving Colleges or not, this discussion should prove useful to all members of our community and help us define with Dr. Hodge his vision of the University and the role our campus might play. Community Center, JHN 142. It’s too late to reserve a lunch, but you are still welcome to attend. Please note this session is scheduled to run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday rather than 12 to 1 on Tuesday as with others in the "Conversations" series.

February 26: CTL Open House. Visit the new location of the CTL, and share conversation with colleagues, learn about teaching initiatives sponsored by the CTL, and enjoy some good food. Bring your CTL mug for some coffee or tea (or pick one up of you haven’t already). 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. JHN 11.

February 28: Deadline for Excellence in Teaching Award nominations. For more information, click here.

March 6: Conversations about Teaching — “Advising as Teaching for Access and Empowerment.” Presented by Susan Brown, MUM academic advisor. We often think about teaching as it occurs in the classroom. One extension of classroom teaching (and learning) is that of academic advising, whether it’s in a formal, advisor-to-advisee setting, or a casual conversation with a student interested in a particular profession. Even faculty members who don’t have official advising duties provide academic advising within these informal interactions with students. According to the National Academic Advising Association, academic advisors need to understand the concepts of advising, the information pertinent to their profession and institutional requirements, and the ways to relate to their advisees. How similar are these content areas to those you need to know to teach well in the classroom? What kind of support do new advisors need to develop advising skills? Come to discuss these and other questions fundamental to all of us as we do the work of advising. Noon-1 p.m. JHN 120. Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

March 7: CTL Roundtable — “The Post SGID Classroom.” Facilitated by Marianne Cotungo (ENG). In this session, we will explore how faculty have imagined, shaped, and experienced the post-SGID classroom. The following questions will (hopefully) provide entry points for more concrete discussions: how might the use of SGIDs affect our students' sense of themselves in the classroom?; how can/do teachers and students respond to the use of SGID results in the classroom?; by incorporating SGIDs into our classes, how are we conceptualizing the classroom as a space?; what changes, if any, have teachers/students experienced in a post-SGID classroom? Attendees will leave with a renewed sense of the value of SGIDs as well as concrete strategies for the Post-SGID Classroom. Noon-1 p.m. Community Center, JHN 136. Free pizza for the first 20 participants.

For more information about SGIDs, click here.

March 28: CTL Roundtable — “Bringing Your Classroom to Life with Co-curricular Programming.” Facilitated by Tracy Brown, MUM coordinator of student success. The well rounded learner has different opportunities and venues for learning inside and outside the classroom. In this session, we will discuss how to come up with ideas for co-curricular programs, what activities have been done in other classrooms, and how they might be adapted to your own. Noon-1 p.m. Community Center, JHN 136. Free pizza for the first 20 participants. Note: This session was postponed from February because of bad weather.

April 4: Conversations about Teaching — “Understanding Black Male Youth in Public Education: Shaping Theory to Praxis.” Darius Prier and Jim Ewers will facilitate. When we consider the challenges facing Black males in schools and society, both social and political, what questions should we ask that will inform both understanding and liberation of their existence? How are Black males making meaning of their lives given inequitable material realities that disproportionately confront them? How might this contingency between self and society inform the ways in which Black males are disengaged in education and schooling? This session will explore a conceptual framework that will heighten the scholar-practitioner’s understanding of how Black males themselves make sense and meaning of their societal challenges. In understanding through narratives what shapes Black males’ perceptions of how they experience education, educators will gain better knowledge of workable programs, curricula, and pedagogies that are relevant and meaningful to the lives of these students. Noon-1 p.m. in JHN 120. Free lunch to the first 20 participants.

April 6: CTL/CELT Workshop — “Approaching Teaching from a Scholarly Perspective.” Beth Dietz-Uhler (PSY) and Cathy Bishop-Clark (CIT) will facilitate. The purpose of this workshop is to motivate attendees to approach teaching from a scholarly perspective. In this workshop, participants will receive background information about the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL), including its history, purpose, and outlets. We will then share several individual and collaborative SOTL projects that we have designed and published, including case studies, classroom activities, and experiments. Finally, we will work with participants to design a SoTL project that can be completed in one or more of their courses. We will provide participants with basic research background to be able to successfully complete a SOTL project. Participants will also be provided with SOTL references and resources. Noon-1:30 p.m. in JHN 120. Please RSVP to MUMCTL@muohio.edu.

April 10: CTL Special — “The Power of CACCESS.” Five brief presentations on how improved communications helped make our classes better. Offered by participants in the 2006-2007 Communication Across the Curriculum Faculty Learning Community: Marianne Cotugno (ENG), Susan Joyce (MUS), Carolyn Mason (NSG), Chris Metcalf (ACC), and Howard Vail (CHM). Noon to 1 p.m. in JHN 120. Free lunch for the first 20 participants.

April 18: CTL Drop-In Session — “Working with Students in Emotional Distress.” At this time of year, it is common for faculty to be faced with students who are in tears, overwhelmed, or extremely anxious. End-of-semester stressors can exacerbate the personal problems that many of our students already face. Nancy Ferguson, Coordinator of Counseling and Disability Services, will be in the CTL for two drop-in sessions to talk about working with stressed students. Please bring your questions and/or examples of difficult situations you have experienced. Our goal will be to help MUM faculty become more confident about their ability to appropriately manage students in crisis. You're welcome to drop in for a bit or stay the whole session. 10:30 a.m. - noon in JHN 11 (CTL). Free Italian cookies and tea.

April 23: Movie premiere: “Outside the House of English: ‘Developmental’ Students and their Instructors Explore ‘Student Success,’” as documentary by Gail Tayko (English). Co-sponsored by the CTL and English Coordinatorship. This film features Miami University Middletown students and English faculty exploring what it means to be “successful” in English composition courses and college overall. The film runs approximately an hour and will be followed by discussion with filmmaker Gail Tayko and other English faculty, led by Ellenmarie Wahlrab. All are welcome to the film viewing and to the conversation following. 5:30 p.m. JHN 136 (Community Center). Popcorn and pizza provided.

April 24: CTL Drop-In Session — “Working with Students in Emotional Distress.” Nancy Ferguson, Coordinator of Counseling and Disability Services, will be in the CTL for the second of her drop-in sessions to talk about working with stressed students (see information above for April 18 session). 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in JHN 11 (CTL). Free Italian cookies and tea. Note: Have a more pressing or private concern you would like to discuss? Please feel free to telephone Nancy at 727-3431, e-mail her at fergusna@muohio.edu, or stop by her office in Room 1 Johnston Hall.

To see a list of the events the CTL sponsored during the 2005-2006 academic year, click here.