Fall 2016 Program

1:00-2:00 PM

Lightning Strikes! (LIB 305)

A lightning series of 10-minute presentations will provide overviews of programs, initiatives and technologies happening around campus. Faculty presenters have been invited to talk about open source textbooks, the campus theme, using multimedia to engage students, and teaching apps.

Presenters: Mary Jane Cedar Face, Dan Morris, Prakash Chenjeri, Shawn Foster, and Mike Rousell.

Increasing Student “Ownership” of Their Learning (LIB 352)

How can we encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning, that is, claim their education rather than just receiving it? Join us to discuss this challenge and share your insights, techniques and strategies for encouraging students to be active learners. Building self-confidence and helping to demonstrate the long-term value of work undertaken are the first steps in changing students’ perceptions of their ability to thrive in the university environment.

Discussion Leaders: Craig Stillwell and Ellen Siem, Curriculum Design Academy faculty. Convener: Bill Bateman.

2:00-3:00 PM

Interactive Lectures (LIB 305)

With an average attention span of only 15 minutes, students have been shown to retain 70% of what they hear during the first 10 minutes of lecture… but only 20% of the last 10 minutes. Join the Psychology faculty participating in the Curriculum Design Academy project for a lively discussion about strategies for enhancing lectures with “brainy breaks” that help students process and retain information more effectively. Potential challenges in the use of interactive lectures will also be discussed.

Discussion Leaders: Mark Krause, John Taylor and Cody Christopherson. Convener: Vicki Suter

Flipped Is No Flop! (LIB 352)

Stats don’t lie — students in Larry Shrewsbury’s MTH 243 Intro to Statistics course have better results when he “flips” the classroom. Rather than lecturing for most of the class period and sending students off to do their homework, Larry provides videos explaining key concepts that students watch as homework and oversees students working on problems during class time. Find out what he’s learned so far and hear about plans to expand the flipped classroom approach to other sections of MTH 243 as part of the Curriculum Design Academy project.

Discussion Leader: Larry Shrewsbury. Convener: Hart Wilson

How Can I Design Critical Thinking into My Course? (LIB 329)

This session will explore general and discipline-specific critical thinking skills and how to turn these skills into successful student learning outcomes. Learn to define critical thinking when designing or redesigning courses and identify the type of content conducive to practicing critical thinking. We’ll be premiering a new CIS resource from the Magna video library to kick off the discussion.

Facilitator: Bill Bateman

3:00-4:00 PM

Teaching the First Year Student (LIB 305)

Last June, 20 faculty teaching courses with a significant number of first-year students met to discuss challenges and strategies. This session provides the opportunity for all interested faculty to continue the discussion about the challenges of teaching first-year students, share successful strategies, and explore helpful resources for addressing the hard-to-solve dilemmas of teaching first-year students — managing expectations, engaging students, negotiating a wide range of skills and knowledge, and supporting underprepared students. Participants will also learn about the Re-Imagining the First Year project in which SOU is involved along with 43 other universities.

Facilitator: Rachel Jochem

Creating Significant Learning Experiences (LIB 352)

What’s your “big dream” for your students? What would you like to be true about students who have taken your course that would distinguish them from students who haven’t? These are just some of the many questions we’ve been considering as part of the Curriculum Design Academy project. Learn about how your colleagues are applying L. Dee Fink’s approach to course design and see what kinds of answers you come up with to these thought-provoking questions. Opportunities to participate in this year’s round of course redesigns will also be described.

Facilitator: Hart Wilson

Writing Assignment Strategies for (Large) Classes (LIB 329)

Assigning writing doesn’t mean you have to plan your life around grading papers. Faculty teaching University Studies courses — sometimes with 50 or more students — are often challenged to meet foundational outcomes (communicating effectively — Strand A, critical thinking — Strand B, and information literacy — Strand C). The goal of this session is to explore strategies that would scale to large classes and would engage students and advance their understanding of course content. The Center will be working with faculty from different departments on a project this year, Writing Assignment Strategies for (Large) Classes.

Facilitator: Bill Bateman

4:00-5:00 PM

Wine & Cheese Social Hour (LIB 305)