Faculty Development Day
Spring 2013

Saturday, March 23th
8:30 am - 2:00 pm

New Castle Campus
Doberstein Admissions & Classroom Center (DAC)
Auditorium

Attend F2F or Online!

Due to high demand, registration has ended.

If you wish to attend, please contact Taquana Woodard by e-mail at taquana.c.woodards@wilmu.edu.

The spring 2013 Faculty Development Day will focus on how instructors can use the iDEA student evaluations to improve or maintain their teaching excellence and presence in the online and traditional classrooms.

Dr. Ernie Linsay, former Director of Faculty Development & Support at Wilmington University, will open the event with basic information about the iDEA Center's Diagnostic Report (your student's evaluation results).  These reports can be confusing and finding recommended methods for teaching improvement or continued teaching excellent may not be easy or clear.  Dr. Linsay's presentation will guide you through the report's results and the information they can provide to help with your teaching. 

Bring your latest evaluation results so you can get the most from the discussion. Can't find your evaluation results, check with your College's administrative assistant for a copy.  If you don't have a report yet, a sample report will be available for use during the presentations and workshops.

Following Dr. Linsay's presentation, will be workshops addressing the 5 key categories related to the iDEA teaching methods and styles.

Before registering for the event, review page 3 of your most recent iDEA evaluation.  On the far right side of the report, you will see an area titled Suggested Action.  In this column you will see one of two suggested actions-Strength to Retain or Consider Increasing Use next to each teaching method and style. Strength to Retain means that you are doing well in this area, so you may want to work on the areas labeled Consider Increasing Use.  Each teaching method and style listed corresponds to one of the following five topics:

• Stimulating Student Interest
• Structuring Classroom Experiences
• Establishing Rapport
• Encouraging Student Involvement
• Fostering Student Collaboration

On the registration form, the five workshop topics will be listed-select two workshops from the list.

Individual Development and Education Assessment

WORKSHOP ABSTRACTS (www.theideacenter.org)

ON THE REGISTRATION FORM, SELECT TWO (2)

Workshop Topic 1: Stimulating Student Interest

One of the most important approaches to teacher excellence, as defined by the iDEA Center, is Stimulating Student Interest.  Research shows that instructors who "stimulated students to intellectual effort beyond that required by most courses" helped students make significant gains in learning.  The iDEA Center defines the term "stimulating ideas" as not only the ideas themselves, but the application and interconnection of these ideas to learners' experiences and understandings and to real life situations where the value of the ideas becomes apparent.  This workshop will review the topics within this main area and provide techniques to use to increase your students' interest, including technology use and assessment practices.

As you consider the strategies related to this subject, pay particular attention to your scores on IDEA items #8 (stimulated students to intellectual efforts beyond that required by most courses), #13 (introduced stimulating ideas about the subject), #15 (inspiring students to set and reach challenging goals), and #4 (demonstrated the importance and significance of the subject matter).

Workshop Topic 2:  Structuring Classroom Experiences

How can the teacher's breadth and depth of knowledge be translated into language, terms, concepts, and applications that students can grasp? One way to consider this question is to first identify the kinds of knowledge that teachers possess and to compare it to the knowledge students possess. Lee Shulman (1986) outlined three kinds of knowledge: 1) content knowledge – knowledge of one's discipline; 2) pedagogical content knowledge – knowledge of teaching and its application to one's field; and 3) curricular knowledge – knowledge of both kinds accompanied by a repertoire of strategies and understandings that allow the most effective teaching and learning to take place. All college teachers possess content knowledge, but curricular knowledge is the province of the master teacher and takes years to develop. iDEA Center research shows that when teachers make clear how topics fit, they help students to construct accurate schemas and they clarify the structure of the discipline. The result is better student learning and increased student satisfaction because that learning becomes more apparent.

Additional information provided by the iDEA Center indicates the importance of explaining course content so that students understand the material taught is critical to effective learning. Another important are of Structuring Classroom Experiences is giving tests, projects, etc. that cover the most important parts of the course. Some research suggests that student learning will improve if students have a deeper understanding of the value and importance of the work they are asked to do. If students see tests and assignments as learning tools, rather than threats or busy work, they will see more value in both of these activities as well as the course as a whole.

As you consider the strategies related to this subject, pay particular attention to your scores on IDEA items #6 (made it clear how each topic fit into the course), #10 (explained the course material clearly and concisely), #12 (gave tests, projects, etc. that covered the most important parts of the class), #3 (scheduled course work (class activities, tests, projects) in ways which encouraged students to stay up-to-date in their work), and #17 (provided timely and frequent feedback on tests, reports, projects, etc. to help students improve).

Workshop Topic 3:  Establishing Rapport

Establishing rapport is an important piece of the Teacher Excellence rating by the iDEA Center (student evaluations).  It is important to display a personal interest in your students and their learning, as well as finding ways to help students answer their own questions.

The information on the iDEA website indicates that several areas of research demonstrate that displaying a personal interest in students is not only nice, but necessary for real learning. Additionally, teachers who find ways to help students answer their own questions first help students to formulate good questions, and then guide students to answer these questions through inquiry and problem-solving. Active learning techniques can be employed in both forming and answering questions, thus fostering students' sense of curiosity and empowering them to engage in a process of discovery, rather than one of rote memorization or application of known formulas. Inquiry-based methods, such as the case-study approach, debates, role-playing activities, and simulations promote active learning. According to constructivist theories of learning, students who are actively engaged in the discovery process are building their own understanding of the world through experience and reflection upon that experience. Finally, timely feedback to students is also necessary to maintain a relationship with students. Critiquing and grading take time so it is necessary to make sure that feedback provided is clear and meets your established grading criteria.

As you consider the strategies related to this subject, pay particular attention to your scores on IDEA items #2 (found ways to help students answer their own questions), #7 (explained the reasons for criticisms of students' academic performance), #1 (displayed a personal interest in students and their learning), and #20 (encouraged student-faculty interaction outside of class (office visits, phone calls, emails, etc.).

Workshop Topic 4: Encouraging Student Involvement

Background information provided by the iDEA Center about this topic indicated that according to the contemporary theories of learning, students construct new ideas and concepts through an active process of engagement. Further, knowledge is highly context dependent, acquired through experience and involvement in real-world situations.

Another key point made indicated that while teachers put careful thought into how to fill the available time in a course, they sometimes do not consider or accurately estimate the amount of time that students will need to complete the assigned work. It seems important then, that teachers provide structures and models of effective work that encourage students to carefully balance their course work and other obligations. Another important factor in students' success in college is interaction with their teachers (1). Student-faculty interaction outside of class can take many forms: office hours either in-person or on-line (2), e-mail exchanges, serving as an advisor for a club, volunteer opportunities, and small group gatherings are just a few examples.

As you consider the strategies related to this subject, pay particular attention to your scores on IDEA items #1 (displaying interest in students), #2 (helping students to answer their own questions), #13 (introducing stimulating ideas), #15 (inspiring students to set and reach challenging goals), and #18 (asking students to help each other). Item #20 correlates closely with these areas and with IDEA learning objective items #23 (learning to apply course material), #24 (developing specific professional skills), #29 (learning how to find and use resources), and #32 (acquiring an interest in learning more). 

Workshop Topic 5:  Fostering Student Collaboration

The iDEA Center's research indicates that the process of students helping other students learn is a powerful classroom technique. It is important for instructors to encourage the interchange of differing viewpoints among students, while creating a safe environment for doing so.  Class and homework activities that require sharing ideas and experiences with others of different backgrounds facilitate educational outcomes that students appreciate as useful for success in a multicultural society. With student diversity in college classrooms increasing, teachers must make assignments diversity-effective – the chances that students will learn with classmates of varying ethnicities and preferences increase every term. This is a teaching strategy students say they want, and the strategy produces multiple benefits, such as clear increases in understanding and academic success as well as decreases in prejudicial attitudes.

As you consider the strategies related to this subject, pay particular attention to your scores on IDEA items #18 (asked students to share ideas and experiences with others whose backgrounds and viewpoints differ from their own), #16 (asked students to help each other understand ideas or concepts), #5 (formed "teams" or "discussions groups" to facilitate learning).

Can't decide which to attend, no problem!  All workshops will be taped and archived using the Collaborate tool in Blackboard and will be available for viewing after March 31st.