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Third Annual Rensselaer Colloquium
on Teaching & Learning

May 12 - 13, 2003

The Provost's Office again sponsored an end-of-year colloquium on teaching and learning on May 12-13, 2003. The two-day event followed the same format that we have had in the past two years. The first day featured a morning keynote session with speakers from outside Rensselaer who were selected for their innovation in teaching and learning, with an afternoon workshop. The second day was devoted to panels and workshops organized to highlight teaching innovations at Rensselaer.

Agenda

Day 1

May 12

8:45 - 9:00

Refreshments available

9:00 - 9:15

Welcome & Introduction    4050 CII

Gary Gabriele, Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Brad Lister, Director Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education

 
Morning Keynotes  (ID# M1)

9:15 - 10:30

Dr. Eric Mazur

"Understanding or Memorization
Are We Teaching the Right Thing?"

Professor Mazur holds a triple appointment as Harvard College Professor, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics, and Professor of Physics at Harvard University. An internationally recognized teacher and scientist, he leads a vigorous research program in physics education as well as in optical physics. Over the past several years he developed the widely used methodology of Peer Teaching. In 2001 he was honored with one of the first National Science Foundation (NSF) Director's Distinguished Teaching Scholar awards, the highest distinction conferred by the NSF.

10:30 - 10:45

Break

10:45 - 12:00

Dr. Diane Ebert-May

"Disciplinary Research Strategies for Assessment of Learning "

Diane Ebert-May has been a leader in the ongoing effort to improve education in the biological and environmental sciences. She is director of FIRST II, a National Dissemination Project funded by The National Science Foundation to provide opportunities for faculty and future faculty throughout the country to improve their teaching of science. She is also the PI on the NSF Assessment of Student Achievement project "Creating visual TOOLS to SEE student-learning" which has developed automated concept mapping tools for science education. Until recently she also directed the Lyman Briggs School at MSU, a residential learning community devoted to studying the natural sciences and their impact on society.

12:00 - 1:30

Lunch - BBQ on the Quad

1:30 - 4:00

Afternoon Workshop (ID# M2)
Forum on the Freshman Year   4201 JEC

Gary Gabriele / Lisa Trahan

This interactive forum is designed for all faculty involved in first-year courses, and those interested in teaching first-year students. The forum will focus on academic and student development issues related to the freshman year. The session will be moderated by Gary Gabriel, Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Lisa Trahan, Dean of the First Year Experience. Panelists will include student and faculty representatives, as well as staff from the Counseling Center and the Archer Center. The format will encourage a dynamic exchange between the panel and faculty and staff participants.

Day 2

May 13

Morning Speakers:    4050 CII
Innovations in Teaching and Learning at RPI

9:00 - 10:00

Valerie Oropallo / Catherine Persoon (ID# T2)
Archer Center Educators

Dealing with Style:
Strategies for Engaging Students in the Classroom

How do you teach to a diversity of learning styles? We will discuss ways to recognize student preferences in knowledge acquisition, how to incorporate this information into each lesson, and how to engage challenging students. This workshop will utilize information from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a framework to arrive at solutions to some of the problems educators face. Data on Rensselaer students will be presented and discussed.

10:00 - 11:00

Michael Danchak, Clinical Professor, CS (ID# T3)

Designing for the Changing Role
of the Instructor in Blended Learning

The introduction of educational technology is having a profound, but perhaps stealthy, impact on the way we teach. In pre-WebCT days we lectured, had office hours, and graded homework. Today we post notes on the web, use email extensively, have electronic drop-boxes and so on. Blended learning has been described as a mixture of learning opportunities presented to students. How we choose what to present is an interesting issue. Typically the technology drives the decision -- here’s a new feature, let's use it! However, it would be better to ask "here's what I want to do, what technology will help."

This workshop is a case study of how one course has evolved over the years; presenting the lessons learned and changes made at each stage, along with the rationale for those changes. In effect, it describes how I went from being the "Sage on the Stage" to being the "Sage in the Cage," to being the "Guide on the Slide" to finally being the "Guide on the Side." Or at least, I think that's where I am. I hope that sharing these experiences will save other faculty time, effort, and ego in changing their style to accommodate the learners of the 21st Century.

11:00 - 12:00

John Kolb, Rensselaer CIO (ID#T1)

Technology in the Classroom:
What Students Bring to Class
and What They Can Do With It

The ever changing world of technology has had a profound influence on our pedagogy and the classroom in which we teach. What are the educational goals of our various programs?

• Mastering content
• Problem solving skills
• Teamwork/ Leadership skills - group projects
• Critical thinking
• Information literacy
• Communication skills
• Hands on experience
• Ethics
• Etc.

Our students (and faculty) have an array of technology available to them including laptops, cell phones, networks - wired and wireless, course management tools, electronic reserves, classroom A/V equipment, and the web. The challenge is to remain focused on learning outcomes and ensure that the technology is used as a tool to enhance the learning process.

This talk will explore:

How the various technologies support the learning activities of our students; How do we work with our students so that they can leverage the positive benefits of the tool usage so that they can be successful; and How do we mitigate the risks inherent in tools being used inappropriately?

12:00 - 12:30

Lunch - Great Hall, DCC

 
Afternoon Workshops

12:30 - 3:30

Tools for Teaching:
How to organize your course (ID# T4)    Lally 102

Nadeen Thompson, Asst. Director for Course Development (PDE)
Marie-Pierre Huguet, Course Developer (PDE)
John Hughes, Course Developer (PDE)

This workshop is an overview of tools (ie. timesaving and effective processes procedures and resources) to aid you in course creation and organization.

You will be introduced to a planning model and then use a set of organizing tools to focus your thinking on everything from content identification to tools that help in selecting appropriate student activities and delivery modes. Tools that help you connect evaluation to objectives, view templates and design more effective visuals.

This is an overview of many tools and you are encouraged to bring course content to make direct application of these organizing tools.

12:30 - 3:30

Teaching at Rensselaer
as a New Faculty Member (ID# T5)    3112 CII

Teresa Hubscher-Younger, Asst. Professor LL&C

This panel discussion involves faculty who have been appointed over the last few years and addresses their experiences and what can be done to help new faculty members transition from either a different institution or a graduate-student role into teaching at RPI. The panel will focus on issues of classroom dynamics, course planning, class performance expectations, and student-teacher interaction.

12:30 - 3:30

Visions and Pedagogic Innovations
in the H&SS First Year Studies Program (ID# T6)    3206 CII

The H&SS First Year Studies Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute offers incoming first year students one of the nation's most innovative programs for introducing the humanities and social sciences to aspiring engineers, scientists, and technical professionals. Established nearly twenty years ago, the First Year Studies program has delivered rich and challenging material that brings our students to engage more deeply with the social world in which they live, and in which they will carry out their professional lives. At the heart of the program is a transdisciplinary approach that allows students to examine social phenomena such as world religions, economic globalization, human identity, and the culture of technology from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

In this session, we will be providing the larger Rensselaer community with an introduction to the First Year Studies Program, including its future visions and pedagogic innovations. Discussion will also include the program's early plans for implementing a responsible system of outcomes-based assessments that can help ensure the quality of course offerings in the program.

The Plans and Visions of the First Year Studies Program

Integrating Pedagogic Strategies into a FYS Course: Experiences from Varieties of Religious Experience

Tamar Gordon
Associate Professor, LL&C

Values, Critical Thinking, and Concept Mapping: (Or, Just What is the First Year Studies Cloud Diagram Anyway, and How Do I Try to Implement it in Minds and Machines?)

Implementing Outcomes Assessment in the First Year Studies Program

Atsushi Akera
Assistant Professor, STS

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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