SoCTL News
Summer reading is always a pleasure, but before I got to the beach books, I spent some time re-reading a book that became a quick favorite last year. What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain is a study about best teachers and best teaching practices, and in it Bain worked with colleagues and their students. He talked with people across a number of disciplines to obtain varying viewpoints. Their observations are paired with Bain’s recommendations on how, through the rigors of the academic year, college instructors can best prepare and evaluate themselves and their students. The ideas are inspiring, and lead to an analysis of one's own teaching.
One of the best aspects of the book is a subject central to the success of any college instructor: a discussion of deep learning. Relative to this topic is my favorite line in the book, wherein Bain addresses instructors who simply scare students into doing well on exams and writes "Any teacher who causes students to hate the subject has certainly violated our principle of 'do no harm.'" (p 8)
Bain, Ken. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Harvard University Press.
— Martin Springborg, CTL Faculty Development Coordinator
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Dates
to Remember
SEP 14-15: DISTANCE COUNSELING
Discipline Workshop Location: Century College, White Bear Lake
Sponsors: Center for Teaching & Learning, Minnesota Online, and Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 State Leadership Funds
SEP 21-22: FIELD RESEARCH PROJECTS: Meeting the Environment in Your Courses
Discipline Workshop Location: Rainy River Community College and Voyager's National Park. Registration closes September 19.
Sponsors: Center for Teaching & Learning and Rainy River Community College
SEP 28-29: FINDING THE PULSE: Reading the Student
Discipline Workshop Location: Ruttger's Sugar Lake Lodge, Grand Rapids. Registration closes September 8.
Sponsors: Center for Teaching & Learning and Minnesota Association of Developmental Education (MNADE)
SEP 28-29: 5TH ANNUAL BEYOND BOUNDARIES: Integrating Technology into Teaching & Learning Conference
Location: University of North Dakota, Memorial Union, Grand Forks, North Dakota. Conference Information.
Sponsor: University of North Dakota
DATES FOR YOUR SPRING CALENDARS:
MARCH 1-3, 2007: RSP/ITEACH CONFERENCE
The annual Realizing Student Potential and ITeach: Best Practices in Teaching with Technology conferences have combined!
RSP + ITEACH = ONE GREAT EVENT!
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Teaching Tip
of the Week
"Start the class by telling your students where you're going."
Sure, your syllabus does that, but do you map out each class session? Here's an idea. "Some instructors like to write the main points of their outline on the board, off to the side." It helps the students' organization to see that you are covering the things on your syllabus. Feel free to check off the points or goals as you have covered them in discussion, activities, labs, or lecture. This visible checking can be used by the students to make sure they have comprehended the material and to ask questions if they haven't.
Source: Magnan, Robert. (1990). 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Professors. Atwood Publishing.
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CTL News
Our newsletter has a new look! The Weekly Update underwent a change this summer. It is our hope to provide an update that will inform you of CTL programs, events and services in a visually appealing way.
Since we are all about teaching and learning, we will supply teaching tips that help you as instructors to work with the challenges of today’s students. The tips may be new, affirm the great work you are doing, or remind you of some of the things you have forgotten over the years.
We are also including literature reviews on the scholarship of teaching and learning. Feel free to send us reviews of reading material you discovered this summer. We welcome guest authors!
Finally, we will feature special announcements and include the details for upcoming events that appear on the CTL Web site so you can register for faculty development opportunities.
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