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Preparing Future Faculty Seminars and Workshop
Spring 2013
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Seminar on Course Design
Thursday, April 4th, 1:30PM – 4:30PM | Gates-Blake 133
Wednesday, April 10th, 2:00PM – 5:00PM | Gates-Blake 133
This seminar is a pre-requisite for our other programs, so we strongly encourage you to take this seminar several quarters before you plan to go on the job market. The Seminar on Course Design examines the foundational concepts in teaching and learning and how to apply these ideas in a course plan that will support student learning and provide evidence of student learning. During the seminar, participants will create a plan for learning in the course, explaining to the other participants how this learning is linked to the final graded project, regardless of whether the course is their own or one institutionally prescribed. They will also begin to analyze their teaching goals and consider how to align those goals with student, program and/or institutional needs.
Since this seminar also interrogates ways of determining whether and how a course might be improved, it serves as a critical piece of learning for advanced graduate students who are preparing teaching documents for prospective employers. As such, this workshop is required before graduate students may enroll in either the Workshop on Teaching Portfolios and the Workshop on Philosophy of Teaching Statements. After completing the seminar, we highly suggest you take “Creating Assignments to Structure Your Course” before taking the Workshop on Course Design.
Eat. Teach. Talk. Run!
Wednesday, April 10th, 12:30-1:30 | Classics 110
Please RSVP (Pre-registration is not required, so feel free to bring friends the day of! We are just trying to get a sense of how much food to order.)
EAT
Frozen yogurt and banh mi sandwiches!
TEACH
Hear 4-minute flashtalks on new ideas in teaching presented by other grad students.
TALK
Consider – in small groups – which of the ideas presented deserves the “best idea” award
RUN
Return to Lab/Library/Classroom!
Seminar on Teaching Portfolios
Wednesday, April 17th , 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Gates-Blake 133
The Seminar on Teaching Portfolios is available only to students who have taken the Seminar on Course Design first. Assembling a Teaching Portfolio allows graduate students to think, talk and write about teaching with precision and sophistication. Teaching Portfolios function both as heuristics for critically analyzing one’s teaching successes and failures and as a way for graduate students to practice presenting themselves as knowledgeable, confident and reflective classroom instructors. This Seminar describes and evaluates potential components of the Teaching Portfolio and involves participants in critical exercises around the construction of the Portfolio.
Grad Student Luncheon with Liberal Arts College Faculty
Thursday, April 18, 12:15-1:30pm | Bartlett Lounge (5640 S. University Ave.)
Space is limited, please RSVP here
At this luncheon, students will be given the opportunity to speak with faculty from liberal arts colleges across the Midwest about various institutional models and their careers in academia. Faculty will include:
Jenny Barker-Devine, History, Illinois College
Hale Ekinci, Art, North Central College
Harry Brown, English, DePauw University
Laura Hartman, Religion, Augustana College
Christie Manning, Psychology and Environmental Studies, Macalester College
Barbara Whitten, Physics, Environmental Science, Feminism and Gender Studies, Colorado College
Making Learning Visible with “Clickers”
Tuesday, April 30th, 12-1pm, Techb@r, Regenstein Library Room 160
Please RSVP to Chelsie@uchicago.edu
Imagine facing a class of 50 students, and being able to instantly know what they have learned and are struggling to learn. Imagine motivating every student to join the conversation and analysis in a non-threatening way.
In recent years, faculty at UofC and elsewhere have begun to take advantage of “Clickers” or Remote Student Response Systems, to increase student interaction, and get instant feedback to help tailor teaching methods to student needs.
Please join faculty member Saul Levmore, who has been using Clickers in his UChicago law school classes, and support staff from the Center for Teaching and Learning and Academic Technologies for a roundtable discussion and demonstration on using clickers in the classroom.
Creating Assignments to Structure Your Course
Thursday, May 9th, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Gates-Blake 133
RSVP Required (Registrants will be emailed once the date is selected)
*Pre-requisite: Seminar on Course Design
This workshop provides students with an opportunity to develop assignments that motivate student learning and allow them to develop skills and knowledge in alignment with your course goals.
While not a requirement for the certificate, we highly recommend graduate student instructors take this between the Seminar and Workshop on Course Design or after completing both. In the Seminar on Course Design, we learned how to plan our own courses using the principle of 'backwards design' -- generating learning goals and final assignments by answering the question, 'What knowledge, concepts, skills or values do I want students to gain from taking my course?' In this follow-up workshop, we continue the process by planning out the major assignments that will both structure and motivate students' learning throughout the term. We will generate and discuss an assignment-centered 'course skeleton' by answering the question, 'What will students need to do in order to meet the learning goals for my course?' In addition to having attended the seminar on course design, attendees must bring in a set of three to five learning goals and a final assignment description to use in generating their assignment-centered course skeletons.
Led by: Brandon Cline (New Testament and Early Christian Literature), developed in collaboration with Borja Sotomayor (Computer Science)
Technology and Collaborative Learning
Friday, May 17th, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Gates-Blake 133
Technology such as discussion boards, blogs, and wikis, when used appropriately, can foster and bridge collaborative learning between class meetings. In this workshop, we will explore how teaching technologies can be used to help students achieve learning goals. We will consider the characteristics of these three types of collaborative technologies (all available in Chalk), what type of assignments they are useful for and how to use them effectively. We will examine a few examples of effective use of these technology and we will do a small group hands-on exercise to develop an assignment using one of these technologies.
Led by: Cecilia Lo (Music and IT Services)
Designing Assignments that Use the Library
Wednesday, May 22nd, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Gates-Blake 133
Have you found that your students aren’t using the academic sources you expect for their assignments? Do your students seem to lack basic library research skills? In this program, University of Chicago librarians will highlight ways you can integrate library research instruction into your courses to promote the acquisition of the skills necessary to complete research assignments. We’ll demonstrate ready-to-go online tools that can be integrated into your Chalk site, and discuss the different types of in-class instruction the Library can provide. At the end of the session, we’ll work together to create some sample assignments designed to help students learn how to use the Library’s collections and online resources.
Presenters:
Julia Gardner, Head of Reader Services, The Special Collections Research Center
Rebecca Starkey, Librarian for College Instruction and Outreach, Regenstein Library
Debra Werner, Librarian for Science Instruction and Outreach, Crerar Library
Questions about the program may be directed to Rebecca Starkey, rstarkey@uchicago.edu.
Eat. Teach. Talk. Run!
Wednesday, May 22, 12:30-1:30 | Gates-Blake 133
Please RSVP (Pre-registration is not required, so feel free to bring friends the day of! We are just trying to get a sense of how much food to order.)
EAT
Frozen yogurt and banh mi sandwiches!
TEACH
Hear 4-minute flashtalks on new ideas in teaching presented by other grad students.
TALK
Consider – in small groups – which of the ideas presented deserves the “best idea” award
RUN
Return to Lab/Library/Classroom!
Winners of the Excellence in Course Design Award Discuss Their Courses
Monday, May 20th at 12:30-1:30 | Reynold’s Club South Lounge (2nd Floor)
You taught your own course for the first time and it was awesome!
Apply for the Excellence in Course Design Award. And get advice from last year’s winners on how they presented their experiences with their course.
Or just come to find out what innovative things your fellow graduate students are doing in their classrooms.
Drinks and cookies will be provided. Please feel free to bring a lunch.
For more information about applying for the award, visit:
http://teaching.uchicago.edu/?graduate-instructors/excellence-in-course-design-award.html
Workshop on Course Design
Thursday, June 6th (reading period), 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Gates-Blake 133
ONLY students who have participated in the Seminar on Course Design within the previous 12 months may register for the Workshop. The Workshop on Course Design continues to critically examine ways the course syllabus can improve both classroom teaching and learning. Graduate Student participants will be expected to submit a draft of a syllabus two days before the workshop via chalk.
Workshop on Teaching Portfolios
Monday, June 10th (finals week), 1:30 PM- 4:30 PM | Gates-Blake 133
The Workshop on Teaching Portfolios is ONLY open to students who have completed the Seminar on Course Design AND the Seminar on Teaching Portfolios within the past 12 months. Workshop discussion and activity revolve around portfolios submitted by participants. Each participant will present a draft of two documents from his/her Teaching Portfolio two days before the workshop, and will receive feedback from the group.