ISSUE
08
May
2010
NTLC Reports
Nakatani Teaching
& Learning Center
at UW-Stout
z
Collaborating Faculty at UW-Stout...
Richard Tafalla – C-Nerve Community
C-NERVE, Cognitive Neuroscience Education and Research-Valued
Experience, is an interdisciplinary, immersive undergraduate program at UWStout. Students and faculty work together in a lab-based learning community on
a weekly basis, and are devoted to helping students foster their interest in
Cognitive Neuroscience and develop research skills. “The great thing about this
sharing community is the collaboration of faculty from many different
disciplines, as well as the student interest,” Richard Tafalla reported.
Students involved in C-NERVE take courses in Cognitive Neuroscience and
related fields, work on research projects, and are encouraged to present those
projects at conferences around the nation. The faculty in the community provide
students with both academic and career mentoring, with the ultimate goal of
“helping students get into Graduate School and pursue their interest in Cognitive
Neuropsychology. C-NERVE provides students with skills that they can directly
apply to the real world, including a future career,” Tafalla reported.
NTLC Vision
Statement . . .
The Nakatani Teaching and
Learning Center nourishes a
campus culture of learning and
teaching characterized by
discovery, curiosity, innovation,
collaboration and research.
NTLC Mission
Statement . . .
The mission of the Nakatani
Teaching and Learning Center is
to share and value teaching and
learning. Programs sponsored by
the NTLC will especially
support the University’s
priorities, its Enduring Goals,
and the mission of the NTLC.
This sharing community has also worked on and successfully created a Cognitve
Neuroscience minor for students at UW-Stout, although taking on the minor is
not required to be a member of the community. The faculty recently received
Regents approval for a B.S. in Cognitive Science.
Georgios Loizides – Laptops in Class
This sharing community has been exploring various challenges and
opportunities involving technology in the classroom, specifically focusing on
laptop use. Initially, a questionnaire was distributed to instructors and a student
focus group was organized—both addressed laptop use in the classroom.
Findings indicated that students had positive attitudes towards laptop use.
Instructors also had positive attitudes toward laptops in the classroom; however,
they were more skeptical. “The main challenge,” Georgios Loizides said, “are
the temptations students are presented with when their laptops are in front of
them. It is easy to become distracted by everything the Internet has to offer.”
To combat this challenge, faculty has determined that it is more productive to
find ways to enhance student engagement rather than attempt to repress the
temptations of the Internet. Loizides reported “It is our job to keep students
interested in the lecture material, interested enough that they forget about their
email and Facebook, and engage in the course content. Rather than be seen as an
enforcer, I want to be seen as a mentor and maintain a fruitful relationship with
my students.”
Laptop use in the classroom will continue to be a challenge for instructors, but
Loizides commented that “Technology is here to stay. So, our goal and
challenge now is to determine how we can incorporate technology in the
classroom in a way that enhances teaching and learning.”
Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center • U W‐Stout • tlcenter@uwstout.edu • 715‐232‐5196 or 715‐232‐1131 http://www3.uwstout.edu/ntlc/ 2010 May Newsletter
University of Wisconsin-Stout
News from Doc…
Doc, I am frustrated
with organizing my
research references.
Do you have any
suggestions?
Have you heard
of Zotero.com?
It is a free
program that
works with
Mozilla Firefox.
It collects,
organizes,
and creates
citations in
APA, MLA
& other
styles!
Anne Hoel – Inquiry-based Learning
The concept of inquiry-based learning suggests that student
involvement leads to a deeper understanding of content areas.
Members of this community of practice have been collaborating
and experimenting with ways to enhance students’ abilities in
posing critical questions which prompt inquiry, and authentically
engage student voices in the classroom. An example of how to
initiate inquiry-based learning, according to Anne Hoel, is “asking
students to take 10 minutes to write about a significant learning
experience, one that elicits positive memories, then discussing the
experiences in groups to look for patterns.”
“We are exploring how students can ask questions in a way that
will provide meaningful answers, and encourages reaching sound
conclusions to identified issues,” Hoel adds.
The goal is to acknowledge the value of both teacher and learner
inquiries, and to highlight ways this collaborative effort enhances
learning. “In this community of practice” said Hoel, “ultimately
we are trying to help students see that their voices matter!”
Mandy Little – Undergraduate Research
This sharing community’s focus is to assist faculty with
undergraduate research in their courses. The community has
focused on clarifying the logistics of undergraduate research, as
well as how to share research and get recognized for it. The main
goal of this community, Mandy Little reported, is “giving faculty
assistance and motivation to move to the next step of teaching
research, as well as getting the undergraduate students to
experience what real research encompasses.”
Members of this community share the struggles and strengths
They have had integrating research into their courses. Members
provide students with solid examples of quality research, and
discuss how to determine the level of independence to give to
students as they work. Little note that “In order to conduct
student-driven research that remains focused on your learning
goals for the course, have the students generate ideas. Discuss the
ideas with the class, and then filter them through the course
objectives so that, in the end, you present the class with focused
research questions that the students have had a role in generating.”
Zotero offers many
intriguing applications
that you can customize
to meet your
specific needs.
Using Twitter in Class…
Twitter. You have either heard of
it, use it and love it, or vow to
never create an account. This
social networking and
“microblogging” website allows users to send and
read tweets (messages) that users post. According
to twitter.com, “Twitter is a real-time information
network powered by people all around the world
that lets you share and discover what’s happening
now.”
So, does Twitter have a place in an educational
setting? Although there are many ways to use
Twitter, one simple way to incorporate it into the
classroom would be to create a Twitter Group.
This group can be used as a communication tool
during lecture, allowing followers (or your
students, in this case) to have access to a live
stream of information, called a backchannel, while
they are listening to your lecture. This form of
discussion can create inclusiveness and belonging,
and allow students to ask questions about the
lecture, and get a response immediately from
another classmate or the instructor.
To ensure that only students are following in your
Twitter group, you are given the option to create a
private profile. This allows only your followers to
view your updates and posts, and reply to those
posts, ensuring the privacy of content discussed
within the group.
For more information visit: www.twitter.com UW‐Stout Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center • 715‐232‐5196 or 715‐232‐1131 • http://www3.uwstout.edu/ntlc/