March 2015
TEACH UNI, PROJECT PRESENTATION
Tuesday, March 3, 3:30-4:30, LIB
378 Using Puzzles in Online
Teaching and Content-Rich BINGO in a Face-to-Face Class
Audrey Rule (Curriculum &
Instruction) Dr. Rule will be
presenting her Teach UNI project
which stems from a claim in José
Bowen’s book, Teaching Naked,
that using games/puzzles to teach
course content and skills can be an
effective way enhance student
engagement and learning. In her
presentation, Dr. Rule will show
how she incorporated games and
puzzles into her courses, and
discuss how they affected student
learning in her classes.
How Your Colleagues are Flipping and Blending
their Courses
Last summer, a number of UNI faculty spent a week learning about
“flipping” and “blending” their courses using different kinds of
technology. Each of the two sessions will feature three faculty
members who will share their experiences.
Friday, March 6, 2:00, LIB 378 Brian Warby (Political Science) will
be discussing how he’s integrating flipped and blended exercises into
his courses. Roberta Roth (Management) will be discussing how she
structured flipped lessons and their effectiveness in three MIS
courses. Kim Cline-Brown (Biology) will discuss pre-class mini
lectures/podcasts. She’ll also discuss lessons learned from trying to
flip a class of 80-120 students.
Monday, March 30, 3:00, LIB 378 Marek Sliwinski (Biology) will
highlight how he’s flipped student presentations and other course
materials in his Genetics class. Mark Fienup (Computer Science)
will talk about how he’s blended his Computer Organization course,
including how the blended schedule works, how he’s used Panopto,
and how students have responded to the course. Siobahn Morgan
(Earth Science) will discuss her experience of semi-flipping and
semi-blending her Honors Astronomy course.
Friday, March 6, 7:30-9:00am, University
Room “Academic Leadership for Women:
Paths to Success” Breakfast The Office of the
Provost and Executive Vice President, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and
Learning, and Women's and Gender Studies
have partnered to begin a series on academic
leadership for women. There will be a panel
presentation followed by questions, answers
and discussion. Panelists will be Brenda Bass,
Dean of the CSBS, Nancy Cobb, Assoc. Provost
for Faculty Affairs, Patricia Geadelmann,
Special Asst. to the President for Board and
Govt. Relations, and Vickie Robinson, Head of
the Dept. of Ed. Leadership and PostSecondary Ed. Please RSVP by filling out this
form: http://goo.gl/forms/IwpNevZIMr
Tuesday, March 24, 12:30-1:30, LIB 378 Preparing Students for the Future: Integrating Academic Rigor with Career Planning Career preparation and academic rigor have often been seen as
incompatible: academic rigor is the purview of
academic departments, while career preparation is
the purview of Career Services. So, why should
faculty be concerned about career preparedness?
Because it helps to give our students an edge in
the job market and improve the reputation of our
programs. This session focuses on multiple
approaches that integrate academic rigor and
career preparation for UNI undergrads. Panelists:
Jennifer Becker (Social Work), Bill Henninger
(Fam. Studies), Gayle Rhineberger-Dunn (Crim.),
Kim MacLin (Psych.), Libby Vanderwall, (Career
Services).
Monday, March 9, noon-1:00 pm, LIB 378 Wakonse Teaching Conference Information Session
Wakonse is a conference on college teaching that takes place at Camp Miniwanca on Lake Michigan
in Shelby, MI, May 21-26, 2015. "Wakonse," a Lakota word that means “to teach, to inspire” is a
yearly “professor camp” sponsored by the University of Missouri. Last year, a group of UNI faculty
attended the conference, and had a wonderful, edifying time! This session brings together faculty
who attended the conference last year to describe their experience at the conference and answer
questions from those who may be interested in attending this year’s conference.
Turn over for more information about the conference!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wakonse Teaching Conference, May 21-26, 2015
Here’s what Wakonse’s website says about the camp: “Take everyone away from campus, from their
phones, from offices and professional obligations. Prepare them for full days of workshop activities
exploring teaching through highly interactive large and small group presentations, discussion
groups and hands-on experiential sessions. Many informal opportunities for support and networking occur as participants become acquainted and share their talents and experiences with each other. The Wakonse Fellowship brings together faculty, teaching and learning professionals from the
institutions who recognize and are devoted to the inspirational aspect of the teaching and learning
process. Wakonse is an organization of individuals dedicated to promoting and sharing with colleagues the excitement and satisfaction of teaching in higher education."
The CETL will bring up to 10 UNI faculty to Wakonse this year. The CETL will pay $600 toward registration for each participant and provide transportation via UNI van to MI. Your expenses will be
minimal--$100 of the $700 registration and meals to and from Michigan. Should you choose to travel on your own, you will be responsible for travel expenses. Please take a look at the Wakonse website (wakonse.org) to see if the conference is something you're interested in, and fill out this form by
Monday, March 23 if you’re interested—first come, first served.
Working with Small Group Dynamics in the Classroom, Saturday, April 11, 10-noon, Bartlett
1043 (CAT Classroom)
Facilitated by Dr. Alison Bianchi (University of Iowa). Alison Bianchi’s research focuses on how social inequalities at the societal level – especially those general axes of inequality including race,
class and gender – create structural inequalities at the small group level. Knowing how these processes can emerge, how do we form small groups of students so that all can freely participate, be
included and learn? How might we even begin the conversation with students about such sensitive
topics? What about group conflict within student study groups – how do you deal with that? Alison
will present snippets of her theory-driven research, as well as practical interventions that ameliorate
structural inequalities, based on the research. Her approach: well-intentioned intervention strategies often fail to break the structures of group-level inequality. Interventions based on supported
theory really work! Let’s explore your options, so that YOU are empowered to combat the deleterious
effects of cultural belief systems that advantage some, and disadvantage others. Register online by
clicking here or by going to the CETL website and clicking “Register Here”.
2015 Statewide Teaching and Learning Conference at Hawkeye, April 8-10th
This event seeks to improve the educational practices of Iowa teaching faculty in community colleges and other higher education institutions in the state by sharing and advancing the scholarship of
teaching and learning. The keynote speaker will be Paul Stacey, Associate Director of Global Learning for Creative Commons. Registration is now open here. You can also find this link on the CETL
website.
Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGIDS)
Interested in having a mid-semester evaluation done for your class? Please fill
out the form by Wednesday, March 4, and we’ll be in touch! More information
and the request form can be found on the CETL homepage.
For more information visit our website at
http://www.uni.edu/provost/cetl