Workshops for all Faculty and Instructional Staff

Course and Syllabus Design for Significant Learning

Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:00-3:30pm

Terrace Lounge

How do you want students to be different at the end of the semester from how they were at the beginning? What kinds of learning experiences in your course are likely to induce those changes? How will you know if the targeted changes actually occur? In this session participants will zero in on factors that contribute to development of student thinking, knowledge, and know-how. Workshop activities and discussion will address issues such as shaping goals in order to motivate students; coordinating design of assignments with an effective evaluation strategy; and expressing policies to simplify course and classroom management. By the end of the workshop participants will have a plan that allows them to revise an existing course in ways that promote stronger student engagement with the materials, as well as greater student mastery of disciplinary thinking.

Creating Substantive Discussions

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 3:00-4:30pm

Terrace Lounge

When we encourage students to become more active learners, great things can happen in the classroom. We all want our students to become independent thinkers, but structuring meaningful activities to achieve this end can be challenging. This practical workshop will demonstrate several techniques to help encourage student engagement and ultimately enhance student learning.

You "Taught" It; How Do You Know if They Got It?

Thursday, February 28, 2008 2:00-3:30pm

Terrace Lounge

If you've ever had the experience of grading a student's test, quiz or paper that seemed to have nothing to do with what you imagined students were learning, this session is designed for you. Ditto if your students' unexpectedly poor performance on an exam ever caught you completely by surprise. Effective assessment, evaluation and measurement of student learning occur when they are strategically interwoven with other learning activities. In this session participants will reflect on their current evaluation practices, and consider the power of using CATs (classroom assessment techniques) to improve student learning.