Take a look at the picture on the left to see your colleagues engaged in an active learning environment. The faculty development seminar, Active Learning Methods Revealed, held yesterday in the Teaching+Learning Center was both active and filled with learning opportunities. The participants learned from the presenters Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael and from each other. Although the subject matter used to illustrate the process was about life science (specifically diabetes), the methods employed could be implemented by anyone in any sort of course. Hackney and McMichael used their classroom experiences and lessons learned from the Gulf Coast Summer Institute they attended earlier this year to illustrate the effectiveness of using active learning experiences to enhance student learning. Your next opportunity for faculty development comes on November 28 at 3:00PM when Lisa Hibner presents Integrating Career Activities in the Classroom. The event will be held in the T+LC (311 Magnolia Building).
BENEFITS OF MENTORING
Have you ever offered to mentor a new colleague? Organized mentoring programs are beginning to gain traction as a proven method for providing the assistance necessary to help new faculty succeed in the academic arena. Research shows than an organized mentoring program promotes faculty productivity, advocates collegiality, and advances a broader goal of attracting, retaining, and advancing faculty members (Perna, Learner, & Yura, Journal of Education). Mentoring supports professional growth and renewal, which in turn empowers faculty as individuals and colleagues (Luna & Cullen, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports). It also serves to reduce the chances that a newcomer will experience isolation or job dissatisfaction (Boyle & Boice, Innovative Higher Education). Stress is also lessened for the new faculty member when there is a reliable mentor to address the initial uneasiness or potential impediments. An effective mentoring program promotes collaborative liaisons between junior and senior faculty and is generally felt to have a positive impact on building community within and among a campus population.
THRIVING IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM
In their book The Adjunct Professors Guide to Success (LB1778.2.L96), Lyons, Kysilka and Pawlas distill their research findings into useful nuggets of information. For instance, they describe what college students want and expect from college instructors in a straightforward and concise manner. Specifically, they note that students need the following: expectations of their performance that is reasonable in quantity and quality and consistently communicated; sensitivity to the diverse demands on them and reasonable flexibility in accommodating them; effective use of class time; a classroom demeanor that includes humor and spontaneity; exams that address issues properly covered in and outside of class, are appropriate to the level of the majority of students in the course, are punctually scored and returned, and are used fairly to determine final class grades; and, consistent positive treatment of individual students, including a willingness to spend extra time before or after class to provide additional support. The flip-side of this is what the teacher expects of the student. Our premise is that the education process is a 50/50 partnership that requires our students to take ownership for their academic career. As you develop your expectations, it is important to consider both sides and to communicate those to your students.
BAD TEACHING OR VALUABLE DATA
CourseSmart, the digital textbook provider that is partnered with five major publishers, recently announced the launch of CourseSmart Analytics. The Program, which is currently being piloted at three colleges, tracks students' engagement with their e-textbooks and provides and allows professors and colleges to evaluate the usefulness of learning materials and to track student work. The debate now begins. John Warner blogs that he thinks it is a bad idea. Alexandra Tilsley is mostly positive in this news article.
