Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) -- University of Michigan
Seminars for Graduate Students & GSIs (Winter 2006)
Tuesday, January 31, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
Many faculty members are using cooperative learning (or some other form of active student engagement) in large-enrollment courses to encourage students to be active participants in their learning. But how do we structure these experiences to ensure that they lead to enhanced learning? How can faculty help facilitate powerful connections among students, between students and faculty, and among all of us and our subject matter? This hands-on, interactive workshop focuses on the professor’s role in designing and structuring cooperative learning. It includes hands-on exercises and video examples from actual classes as well as the supporting theory and research.
Karl Smith, Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor; Professor, Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota
Wednesday, February 15, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
Are you considering applying for a position that requires familiarity with a course-managment system, such as Blackboard or Angel? Would you be interested in working for an online institution like the University of Phoenix? This workshop provides an introduction to online and web-enhanced teaching and learning, including special considerations for course design, communication strategies, and assessment tools. A portion of the workshop will be conducted online, to give participants the perspective of an online learner. This workshop is limited to 30 [computer room capacity].
Mary Wright, Coordinator of GSI Initiatives, CRLT
Erping Zhu, Coordinator of Instructional Technology, CRLT
Thursday, March 9, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
This session will present numerous ways to frame video clips so that students learn to see what the instructor is showing them. Examples will emphasize materials with complex social implications such as issues of social justice, cross-cultural representations, historically specific contexts. Clips shown in the session will be from documentaries, popular films, art films, and videos of performance art. Strategies will help students follow instructors’ analyses of videographic materials, do close readings of their own, and discuss video clips. The session will also cover ways of linking lecture presentations and film screenings with section discussions.
Crisca Bierwert, Assistant Director, CRLT
Thursday, February 2, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
The ability to teach with effortless authority in the classroom is something you can develop -- and the effort is worthwhile because students learn more from instructors they see as credible. This session offers you the opportunity to 1) identify challenges instructors face in terms of establishing authority and credibility in the classroom, 2) discuss factors influencing classroom credibility, 3) assess your own classroom credibility, and 4) identify areas in which you can improve. You will learn simple techniques for enhancing credibility along three classic dimensions: dynamism, competence, and character. Thoughts will be offered on what it means to move from surface credibility, based on behavioral techniques, to deep credibility, a fundamental way of being.
Anne Harrington, Director, Business School Instructional Development Program; Lecturer, School of Business Administration
Wednesday, February 8, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
Faced with a pile of papers to grade? Unsure of how to assess your students’ written work? Do you spend a lot of time trying to explain to your students how you graded their papers and exams? This seminar will focus on the conceptual and practical aspects of evaluating student writing. After tackling the big questions (What is the purpose of grading? What are the links between learning and assessment?), we will discuss how to make the actual process more efficient and effective.
Paul Barron, Lecturer, Sweetland Writing Center
Deborah Meizlish, Coordinator of Social Science Faculty Development, CRLT
Monday, March 20, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Forum Hall, 4th Floor, Palmer Commons
Students in every course vary in terms of ability, preparation, and motivation with regards to the subject. When this variation is large, instructors are challenged to pick content and teaching methods that will maximize the learning of all students. In this workshop participants will practice a variety of methods for dealing with heterogeneous student ability in their classes. Topics will include assessing student preparation, effective remediation, designing flexible curricula, and using student diversity as a tool for better learning.
Chris O'Neal, Coordinator of STEM Faculty Development, CRLT
Tuesday, February 7, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
How do you respond when a student presents a faith-based interpretation of course material? When issues of faith arise in class discussion, how do you maintain an inclusive and comfortable learning environment for all students? How do you manage the relation between course requirements and religious holidays, and other ways in which academic requirements and religious commitments intersect? In this session, faculty speakers will address these issues and more, and there will be time for discussion and exchange of strategies among participants.
Linda Chatters, Professor, School of Public Health; Associate Professor, School of Social Work
David Mindell, Curator, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology; Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ralph Williams, Professor, English Language and Literature
Crash, Thursday, February 9,
Screening: 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.; Discussion: 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
My Son the Fanatic, Tuesday, March 14
Screening:3:00 - 5:00 p.m.; Discussion: 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Before the Rain, Friday, March 31
Screening:2:00 - 4:00 p.m.; Discussion: 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
Feature films can provide provocative insight into many layers of multicultural and intercultural dynamics. This series will include three films, Crash (race and class), My Son the Fanatic (religion and immigration), and Before the Rain (ethnic conflict and war). Participants will discuss the films themselves, the use of full-length films as classroom texts, and effective pedagogical strategies for handling provocative subject matter. The discussions will assume that participants have seen the film (there will be optional screenings of the films just prior to the sessions). Attend as many or as few of the sessions as you are able.
A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Teaching and Learning at CRLT
Tuesday, March 28, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons
This session is designed for instructors of 2006-2007 theme semester courses as well as those interested in integrating theme semester resources into their courses. The session has two objectives: To provide an overview of events planned for the theme semester and to create an opportunity to share and reflect on pedagogical practices that foster active citizenship and civic engagement.
A.T. Miller, Coordinator of Multicultural Teaching and Learning at CRLT