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Seminars for Graduate Student Instructors & Postdocs
(Winter 2012)

CRLT’s seminars provide a forum for graduate students and postdocs to explore topics in teaching with colleagues from across campus. Each term, CRLT offers seminars on a variety of topics. All seminars are interactive, solidly grounded in the research on teaching and learning, and designed to offer practical suggestions that can be incorporated into classrooms.

Click on the seminar title to link to the description.

To register for the CRLT Seminars below, click here.

For programs offered by CRLT in Engineering, click here.

CRLT is prepared to provide necessary physical accommodations for seminar participants with advance notice. Please call CRLT at 764-0505.

Check MarkSeminars that Satisfy U-M Graduate Teacher Certificate Requirement B1

Multicultural Teaching & Learning

Preparing Future Faculty

Best Practices

Special Topics

Multicultural Teaching & Learning

A Multicultural Strategy for Engaging Students in Courses with Extensive Readings

Monday, February 13, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons

In many courses students are required to do extensive reading outside of class. In-class discussion is richer and more focused when students have not only done the reading, but considered their own response in advance. One method for encouraging reading and previewing their response is based on the study of text in several cultures and relies on placing students in “reading pairs.” Join us to explore the history of this approach, the process of using it and how posting to a forum on C-Tools allows instructors to better understand what questions students have about the texts we select.

Margaret Noori, Director, Comprehensive Studies Program, LSA

The Role of Authority and Identity in Teaching

Wednesday, February 8, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons

Although this seminar is open to men and women, it is designed primarily for women interested in exploring issues related to establishing and maintaining authority in the classroom. Questions to be addressed include: What is authority in the classroom and why is it important to teaching? To what extent does gender play a role in classroom authority and challenges to authority? What do women report about their experiences with challenges to their authority that seem unique? How can challenges to authority be prevented or managed? The ability to teach with authority in the classroom is something that you develop, and the effort is worthwhile because you will have a more satisfying teaching experience and your students will learn more.

Sara Crider, Graduate Teaching Consultant, CRLT

 

Preparing Future Faculty

What's It Like to Work at a Liberal Arts College?

Friday, January 20, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Biomedical Science Research Building, Rooms ABC

Interested in teaching at a liberal arts college? A faculty panel from liberal arts colleges will discuss job search strategies and faculty worklife. In addition, participants will learn about the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships at Oberlin and Kalamazoo Colleges for University of Michigan Ph.D.s.
Panelists include:

Dr. Yona Stamatis, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Department of Music, Kalamazoo College
Dr. Lisa Lewis, Associate Provost and Professor, Department of Chemistry, Albion College
Dr. Clayton Koppes, Professor, Department of History, Oberlin College
Dr. Andy Mozina, Department of English, Kalamazoo College

http://www.rackham.umich.edu/postdoctoral/opportunities/exchange_program/

 

Best Practices

Facilitating Classroom Discussions in the Social Sciences and Humanities

Tuesday, January 24, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons

How can I heighten student participation in my sections? What are different ways I can plan a discussion and ask questions of students? How can I enhance students’ critical thinking skills? This seminar will provide GSIs in social science and humanities disciplines with effective active learning discussion strategies, including activities like brainstorming, minute papers, think-pair-share, case studies, and a jigsaw discussion. Seminar participants will learn and practice active learning techniques for facilitating discussions, managing common discussion challenges, asking effective questions, and enhancing and evaluating student participation.

Laura Schram, Instructional Consultant, CRLT

Designing and Managing Student Presentations

Wednesday, February 1, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Koessler Room, 3rd Floor, Michigan League

In this seminar, we will apply general principles of assignment design to the specific circumstances of student presentations. In doing so, we will address several related questions: What kinds of pedagogical goals can be met through student presentations? How can assignments be structured and evaluated to ensure effective student presentations, either from groups or individuals? What roles can the class and instructor play during student presentations? Along the way we will explore multiple formats and evaluation schema for student presentations, giving participants a range of examples to build on in their own instructional practice.

Deborah Meizlish, Assistant Director, CRLT

Now That I Have It, What Grade Should I Give It? Evaluating Student Writing

Thursday, February 23, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Great Lakes North, 4th Floor, Palmer Commons

Faced with a pile of papers to grade? Unsure 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.

Naomi Silver, Associate Director, Sweetland Center for Writing, LSA
Laura Schram, Instructional Consultant, CRLT

High Impact Practices: Collaboration and Team Work

Wednesday, March 14, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Hussey Room, 2nd Floor, Michigan League

The American Association of Colleges and Universities includes group work as one of ten high impact practices that promotes deep-level learning in the college classroom. Research shows that this instructional strategy is beneficial for all students, and can be particularly effective for students from underrepresented groups. This workshop will present research highlighting the benefits of group work and will provide strategies for designing such learning experiences. Common challenges associated with group work and ways to address these issues will also be discussed.

Allyson Bregman, Postdoctoral Research Associate, CRLT
Chad Hershock, Assistant Director, CRLT

Special Topics

LSA Theme Semester on Language: Roundtable on Less Commonly Taught Languages

Tuesday, March 6, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons

While universities have begun to incorporate less commonly taught languages into their course offerings, instructors for these languages frequently have had to develop original instructional materials and lesson plans in order to facilitate learning and to accommodate institutional expectations. In this roundtable, a panel of faculty will share their approaches to creating a curriculum for less commonly taught languages and then invite all participants to discuss some of the challenges they've faced and some of the innovations they've used.

Margaret Noori, Director, Comprehensive Studies Program, LSA
Barbra Meek, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, LSA

Blogging in the Classroom- Co-sponsored by the Sweetland Center for Writing

Friday, March 9,10:00 a.m-12:00 .p.m.
Great Lakes North, 4th Floor, Palmer Commons

Many U-M faculty have found blogging to be a powerful tool for engaging students with course content, increasing the amount of student writing in their courses, and promoting interactive and reflective pedagogy. In this hands-on workshop, faculty from three departments — Brian Porter-Szücs (History), Bill Currie (SNRE), and Naomi Silver (Sweetland) — will share their experiences with classroom blogging. After discussion, participants will have the opportunity to brainstorm their own blog-focused activity, assignment, or lesson plan. Topics covered will include adapting blogs to fit established learning goals, designing new blog assignments, grading blog posts, and student perspectives on classroom blogging.

Naomi Silver, Associate Director, Sweetland Center for Writing, LSA

.PDF of Session Presentation and Materials
Slides will only be available through the end of the Winter 2012 term.

 

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