|
Faculty Explore Excellence in Teaching As a follow-up to faculty discussions in the fall semester regarding effective practices in teaching large lecture classes, a faculty team organized the first Exploring Excellence in Teaching Week, held last month. (See related article in Jan. 20 Dialog.) The faculty team, with support from the Center for Teaching and Learning, University Libraries, and the Faculty Resource Center, organized a series of eleven workshops and discussion groups that were open to all faculty and graduate teaching assistants.
Exploring Excellence in Teaching included sessions on Race, Class, and Gender in the Classroom; Effectively Teaching Large Lecture Classes; Using Library Assignments to Teach Critical Thinking Skills, Teaching with Web-Supplemented Materials, and Using Classroom Surveys and Student Teams to Improve Classroom Teaching. Workshops were organized to discuss publishing opportunities in the Scholarship of Teaching and to explore the possibility of establishing an Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching at The University of Alabama.
Students in New College participated in a discussion with faculty regarding faculty and student responsibilities toward learning, and the Student Government Association organized a panel of students to share their perspectives on teaching methods that make great classes and encourage student learning. The series of workshops concluded with a panel discussion of faculty from promotion committees from several different colleges who discussed what teaching does (and should) mean in terms of tenure and promotion. Plans have already started for an expanded Exploring Excellence in Teaching Week for the spring semester of 2004. Faculty interested in helping with the planning of this event, or would like to host a workshop or panel that shares effective practices with your peers, contact John Dew in the CQI Office at 348-9831 or at jdew@aalan.ua.edu. |
