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best view in ie
First Annual Rensselaer Colloquium
on Teaching & Learning
May 7- 8, 2001
Agenda
May 7
Day 1
Welcome & Introduction 4050 CII
Gary Gabriele, Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Morning Keynote Address & Workshops (ID# M1) 4050 CII
Jose Mestre, Professor of Physics, University of Massachusetts-Amherst "Using Learning Research to Transform the Way We Teach"
In 1999 the National Research Council released a report entitled "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School." This report not only synthesizes learning research from the last 25 years, but also presents exemplars of how this research can be applied to classroom teaching. In this talk, I will begin by summarizing the salient findings from the report as they apply to student learning and problem solving. I will then, through an audience participation activity, model how learning research can be applied to teach in a way that actively engages the learner. I will conclude by discussing the implications of learning research for higher education.Break
Morning Workshops Continued (ID# M1) 4050 CII
Bill Gerace, Professor of Physics,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
"Improving problem solving by emphasizing
reasoning, analysis, and knowledge structuring"
Professor Gerace will introduce a framework for understanding how novices and experts acquire, store, and use knowledge for reasoning, communication, analysis, and problem solving. The workshop will provide examples of activities that encourage students to engage in cognitive processes that enhance their critical thinking and help them make the associations and generalizations critical for organizing and structuring knowledge. The contents of this workshop are appropriate for instructors in all disciplines.Lunch
Afternoon Address and Workshop (ID# M2) 4201 JEC
Dan Budny, Director, Freshman Programs &
Professor of Engineering, U. of Pittsburgh.
"Cooperative Learning and Learning Styles"
A growing body of research suggests that learning gains can be achieved when instruction is designed with learning styles in mind. In this interactive workshop, the research base for teaching to learning styles will be outlined. An overview of Cooperative Learning and learning style models will be provided and the basic elements for cooperative learning described. In addition, the Kolb Learning Style Model, as utilized with undergraduates, will be discussed. Assessments will be administered during the workshop that allow participants to identify their own learning styles. Specific examples of teaching and learning strategies based on learning styles will be shared, with emphasis on science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. Central to each strategy is an increased motivation to learn, with associated enhancement of learning gains, when learning style preferences are accommodatedMay 8
Day 2
Track 1: Improving Web-based Learning
Track 1: Improving Web-based Learning
Unleashing the power of WebCT:
Three ways to improve your course web site. (ID#T1) 3112 CII
Harry Roy, Badri Roysam, Guido Slangen, and Don Bell.
In this workshop, RPI faculty will discuss how they are using WebCT to improve their courses Implementing these techniques in the new version of WebCT (3.1) that will be implemented this coming Fall will also be covered.Lunch
Next Generation Studio:
Connecting web & classroom learning (ID# T2) 3206 CII
Brad Lister, Bill Siegmann and Doug Baxter
Next Generation Studio courses combine the power of web-based learning with the known benefits of studio teaching. This workshop will introduce the concepts and techniques of integrating course web sites with classroom teaching. Participants will conduct hands-on exercises and experience interactive online learning in exemplary NGS courses including Studio Ecology, Web-based Differential Equations, and Engineering Graphics & CAD.
Track 2: Improving Classroom Learning
Improving classroom learning:
Addressing differences in learning styles @RPI (ID# T3) 3206 CII
Michael Danchak, Linda McCloskey and Brad Lister
Participants in this workshop will (1) learn about new research projects at RPI that are attempting to redesign pilot courses by addressing differences in learning styles, and (2) gain a better understanding of their own learning and communications styles and personality type. Hands-on exercises will introduce the theory and practical aspects of measuring and then teaching to different styles. Diagnostics covered will include Meyers-Briggs, the Kolb LSI and the Cognitive Styles Analysis.Lunch
What do they learn?:
New techniques for formative assessment (ID# T4) 3112 CII
Karen Cummings, Debbie Kaminski
Formative assessment is central to understanding the learning outcomes of new teaching methods and technologies and hence to the ongoing improvement of education at RPI. This workshop will provide a hands-on introduction to the construction and implementation of diagnostic exams that assess conceptual understanding and shed new light on the question of how much our students actually learn.top
best view in ie
The Lois J. & Harlan E. Anderson Center
for Innovation in Undergraduate Education
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
CIUE 3119 CII
110 8th Street
Troy, NY 12180-3590
518.276.4831
518.276.4852 (fax)
http://ciue.rpi.edu