FACULTY DEVELOPMENT KICKOFF
Mark your calendars for the BRCC Teaching+Learning Center's faculty professional development opening event of the Spring 2014 semester. Dr. Mary Clement, professor of education and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Berry College, will facilitate three sessions on Friday, January 17 in the Louisiana Building Board Room. Dr. Clement holds a doctorate in education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a specialist in curriculum and instruction and secondary teacher education. The theme for the day is Keys for a Successful Spring 2014. Sessions include Who are These Students and How Do I Engage Them on the First Day and Beyond? (8:30AM), Teaching with a Four-Step Lesson Plan (10:00 AM), and Using Student Feedback Throughout the Semester (11:30 AM). Registration begins at 8:00 AM in the adjoining lobby.

DO YOU TWEET
The Teaching+Learning Center has added a Twitter account in addition to this blog and the main website to insure that we are providing information to you in multiple ways. You can find the Twitter feed at @brcctlc. If you have a Twitter account, I encourage you to become a follower. In that way, you will get updates as soon as they are posted. You can simply view it without becoming a follower as well.

FIRST DAY OF THE SEMESTER
Vice Chancellor Monique Cross gave a great presentation this morning on the topic of retention. One of the many things she stressed was letting the first day of class set the tone for what is to come. Students build their future expectations on our actions. Dr. Mary Clement, in her book First Time in the College Classroom, says "Give them a mini-lesson or mini-lecture" on the first day of class. "Let's face it," she continues "students are in college to learn, and learning should happen on the first day. Plan to give a short mini-lesson about the first reading, or to present 10 fun facts about the subject matter. Teach in a style that gets the students to see who you are and how you teach."