Weekly News and Tip, September 20, 2007

Tip – Punctuated Lectures
It's important that students think periodically about what they are learning. One way to help students do this is to give "punctuated lectures," that is, pausing during class time to ask students, for example, what they expect to come next in the class materials and why. For more on punctuated lectures, see:
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingtips/tip21.html

Announcements - WebCT GOLD and Other Sessions Coming Up
Brown-Bag Discussion: "Do ethics classes improve ethics?" with Clark Ford, Associate Professor, FSHN; John Mayfield, Professor, GDCB; Alex Tuckness, Associate Professor, Political Science; and Clark Wolf, Associate Professor, Philosophy, Friday, Oct. 5, 12:10-1 p.m., Memorial Union Room 3512.

For the following events, register through AccessPlus
(go to Employee > HRS Training > Continue > Courses).

• Second Life Show and Tell, on academic use of the social software platform Second Life, Monday, September 24, 1-3 p.m., 1230 Communications
• PowerPoint Workshop, Tuesday, September 25, 1-3 p.m., 1230 Communications
• WebCT GOLD: Communication Tools and Strategies, Thursday, September 27, 10-11:30 a.m., 1230 Communications
• Learning Connections and Student Learning, Wednesday, October 3, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Parks Library Learning Connections Center (first floor, Parks Library)
• Managing Course Content in WebCT GOLD (re-scheduled from Sept. 12), Wednesday, October 3, 2-3:30 p.m., 1230 Communications
• Graduate Student Programming: Preparing for Academic Interviews, Thursday, October 4, 3:30-5 p.m., Pearson 1115

FYI - Campus Talks of Interest

• "Designing Humanity," Hamilton Cravens, professor of history at Iowa State and Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Distinguished Scholar for 2007, Thursday, September 27, 8:00 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room.
• "It's the end of the world as we know it..." with Adrian Sannier, University Technology Officer at Arizona State University and former ISU Professor of Interdisciplinary Engineering and associate director, Virtual Reality Applications Center, Wednesday, October 3, 6 p.m., Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall.
• "A Dialogue with Albert Paley," lecture by Mark Engelbrecht, Thursday, October 4, 7 p.m. at the Christian Petersen Art Museum, Morrill Hall.

Weekly News and Tip, Sept. 13, 2007

Tip - Teaching for Creativity
Creativity in teaching and learning is our topic of the week, with CELT's Faculty Forum, Student Innovation: Inventing to Learn with Ed Sobey coming up Tuesday, Sept. 18 and Richard Florida speaking on "The Rise of the Creative Class" Wednesday, Sept. 19. For ideas on creativity techniques and on how to teach for creative thinking and problem solving, see:
http://fod.msu.edu/OIR/TeachingMethods/creativity.asp

Times and places for these events:

• Ed Sobey, Student Innovation: Inventing to Learn, CELT Faculty Forum, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 12:10-1:30 p.m., Gallery Room, Memorial Union. Bring your lunch; beverages and desserts provided. Register via AccessPlus.
• Richard Florida, "The Rise of the Creative Class," public lecture, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 8 p.m., Stephens Auditorium.

Announcements - Many More Events

• Emerging Worlds: Transformative Technologies for Teaching and Learning, ELI Web Seminar, Monday, Sept. 17, 12-1 p.m., 1230 Communications Building. Presenter Bryan Alexander researches and develops programs on advanced uses of information technology in liberal arts contexts. His research interests include mobile and wireless computing, digital gaming, and social software. No registration needed.
  For the following events, register through AccessPlus (go to Employee > HRS Training > Continue > Courses).
• Clicker Pedagogy Discussion, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 12-1 p.m., 1230 Communications.
• WebCT GOLD: Quizzes, Surveys & Self-Tests, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2-4 p.m., 1230 Communications. Required: Introduction to WebCT GOLD or some familiarity with WebCT.
• Richard Florida and the "Creative Class": Implications for Teaching, Friday, Sept. 21, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Morrill 2030. Register for readings.
• PowerPoint Workshop, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 1-3 p.m., 1230 Communications
• WebCT GOLD: Communication Tools and Strategies. Thursday, Sept. 27, 10-11:30 a.m., 1230 Communications

FYI - News of Note

• CELT is again sponsoring TEACH Grants of up to $1,250 for faculty development related to learning and teaching at the departmental level. Applications for 2007–2008 TEACH grants must be submitted to the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, 3024 Morrill Hall, on or before October 15, 2007. For more information, see:
  http://www.celt.iastate.edu/grants_awards/grants.html
• Professional development opportunity: Project LEA/RN is hosting a workshop on "Introduction to Learning-Centered College Classrooms." For ISU faculty and staff who work with students, this is an excellent opportunity to discuss student learning with colleagues and walk away with practical strategies to improve student learning. For details, see:
  http://www.nrem.iastate.edu/LEARNWorkshop.pdf

Weekly News and Tip, September 6, 2007

Tip - Prepared Students, A Success Story
A colleague at Purdue reports great success in class by requiring students to prepare study notes, some of which will be graded, for assigned readings. Since the assignment pushes the students to read, they are prepared for class and respond well to the simple question, "What did you learn from the reading?" The students share the key points of the reading, freeing the instructor to go into detail, use practical examples, and clarify difficult points.

For more on encouraging students to read, see "Strategies for Teaching Critical Reading" at:
http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/critread.html
and (not only for TAs!), "Teaching Tips for TAs: When Students Haven't Done the Reading" at:
http://www.oic.id.ucsb.edu/TA/tips/read.html

Announcements - Upcoming CELT Programming
Register for CELT events via AccessPlus (go to the Employee tab, then to HRS Training > Continue > Courses).

• WebCT GOLD: Managing Course Content, Wednesday, September 12, 2-3:30 p.m., 1230 Communications. Learn how to use WebCT GOLD to organize and present course material in an online or blended learning environment. Participants will review methods of converting existing course materials for online delivery and organizing them into a Learning Module. We will also look at options for using other tools such as the Media Library. Required: Introduction to WebCT GOLD or some familiarity with WebCT.
• Faculty Forum: Student Innovation: Inventing to Learn, Tuesday, September 18, 12:10-1:30 p.m. in the Gallery Room, Memorial Union. Educator Ed Sobey, widely known for his work in creativity in education, will discuss how faculty can engage students in learning. He will also discuss the psychology of innovation as well as how to manage open-ended classroom projects. Bring your lunch; beverages and desserts provided.
• Clicker Pedagogy Discussion, Wednesday, September 19, 12-1 p.m., 1230 Communications. An informal discussion on how “clicker” technology is being used in teaching. Everyone is encouraged to share effective practices. Pizza provided.
• WebCT GOLD: Quizzes, Surveys & Self-Tests, Wednesday, September 19, 2-4 p.m., 1230 Communications. This hands-on workshop will review WebCT GOLD’s Assessments tool and its ability to administer quizzes, surveys and self-tests. Required: Introduction to WebCT GOLD or some familiarity with WebCT.

FYI - Special Events for Richard Florida Visit
Richard Florida, one of the world's leading public intellectuals on economic competitiveness, demographic trends, and cultural and technological innovation, will speak on "The Rise of the Creative Class" Wednesday, September 19, at 8 p.m. in Stephens Auditorium.
CELT offers two lunchtime discussions before and after this event:

• Richard Florida and the "Creative Class": An Introduction, Friday, September 14, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Morrill 2030. Brief background readings on Florida's ideas will be sent to all who register.
• Richard Florida and the "Creative Class": Implications for Teaching, Friday, September 21, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Morrill 2030. In this follow-up brown bag, participants will discuss Florida's campus lecture and its implications for college and university teaching.

Register for one or both sessions via AccessPlus.

Your suggestions for the CELT Weekly News and Tip are welcome. Send them to syager@iastate.edu . To subscribe to this weekly e-mail or unsubscribe, celt@iastate.edu .

Weekly News and Tip, August 30, 2007

Tip - Use the Campus as Your Classroom
You may have seen students outdoors on campus, examining flora or sketching buildings, or your colleagues pointing out properties of a tree or extending student's vocabulary in a new language. These are some of many ways to use ISU's beautiful campus as a classroom. For ideas on "Campus-Based Learning," see:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/campusbased/index.html
For further examples of campus-based learning at ISU, see:
http://www.museums.iastate.edu/TESTS/AOC.htm
and
http://www.nrem.iastate.edu/elwood/about.html

Announcements

• WebCT GOLD: Managing Students & Grades, Thursday, Sept. 6, 10-11:30 a.m., 1230 Communications. Learn to use the WebCT gradebook, Group Manager, and the Tracking and Reporting functions. You need to have had Introduction to WebCT GOLD or some familiarity with WebCT. Register through AccessPlus (go to Employee > HRS Training > Continue > Courses).
• Outcomes Center for problem-solving/critical thinking. Faculty members interested in student skills in areas (such as communication, problem-solving, ethics, visual aesthetics, and creativity) that cut across traditional departments are working on outcomes centers to explore common interests in these areas. Several of these groups will be meeting this semester. Interested faculty are invited to the initial meeting of the problem-solving/critical thinking outcome center on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 12-1:30 p.m. in 2030 Morrill. For more information, contact Craig Ogilvie, associate professor, Physics, at mailto:cogilvie@iastate.edu

FYI - Beloit Describes First-Years' World View
Once again this year, Beloit College has produced a "Mindset List" about traditional-age beginning college students, most of whom, this year, were born in 1989. For example, in their experience Nelson Mandela has always been free and Wal-Mart has always been a larger retailer than Sears. For more thoughts on the perspective of the class of 2011, see:
http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/2011.php

Your suggestions for the CELT Weekly News and Tip are welcome. Send them to syager@iastate.edu . To subscribe to this weekly e-mail or unsubscribe, celt@iastate.edu .

Invigorate Your Classes with Interactive Activities and WebCT

You can enhance large lecture classes by incorporating small-group interactive activities to supplement your instruction and energize students. Dr. Jim Colbert, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, aims to provide one or two such activities per class.

Watch the 12-minute clip to see Dr. Colbert lead an interactive small group activity in Biology 202.

See how the activity boosts student involvement, while helping the students develop critical thinking and teamwork skills.

Also learn how to take the discovery process one step further by using WebCT to share students' ideas with the larger group, and to acknowledge and reward participation.

Note: You will need RealPlayer to view these video clips. If you do not have RealPlayer, you can get a free download at www.real.com.

If RealPlayer does not automatically launch these clips, they may have been downloaded to your desktop.

Group Quizzes

You can enhance large lecture classes by incorporating small-group interactive activities to supplement your instruction and energize students. Dr. Jim Colbert, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, aims to provide one or two such activities per class.

Watch the Group Quiz Clip

See how the activity boosts student involvement, while helping the students develop critical thinking and teamwork skills.

Also learn how to take the discovery process one step further by using WebCT to share students' ideas with the larger group, and to acknowledge and reward participation.

Note: You will need RealPlayer to view these video clips. If you do not have RealPlayer, you can get a free download at www.real.com.
If RealPlayer does not automatically launch these clips, they may have been downloaded to your desktop.