Assessing Student Learning, Lorraine Gregory: (Sessions: 2,3 L114-Learning Center Area)
“Assessment of student academic achievement is fundamental for all organizations that place student
learning at the center of their educational endeavors.” (HLC Statement on Assessment of Student
Learning) Assessment is an ongoing process of establishing outcomes for student learning; ensuring that
students have sufficient opportunities to achieve those outcomes; gathering, analyzing, and interpreting
evidence to determine how well student learning matches the expectations; and using the information to
understand and improve student learning both at the course and at the program level. The purpose of this
session will be to examine the connections between outcomes, assessment, grading, and using assessment
data to explore teaching effectiveness.
Assessment Workshop, Mary Been: (Sessions 1,3 L251-small ITV room)
Linking assessment to outcomes is not as hard as it looks, but it does take departmental consensus,
conversation, and time. This workshop offers a couple quick methods for starting those conversations and
helping you think through the methods of assessment that will work best for your area. This workshop
will be part demonstration by the workshop leader and part hands-on by workshop attendees. Please bring
copies of your departmental outcomes/objectives as they currently exist to get ideas on how to develop
assessments that connect to those outcomes.
Let’s Talk Teaching, Greg Zimmerman: (Sessions 1,3 L126-Career Services Area)
"Last spring semester, a group of LSSU faculty came together to organize a series of peer discussions on
teaching. Three such campus-wide discussions were held and were well received. We are planning to
continue the series. Come bring your ideas for discussion topics and help set the agenda for the coming
academic year's "Let's Talk Teaching" series."
Problem Based Learning: (Sessions 2, L251, Session 3, L203)
Benefits and Potential Pitfalls in Undergraduate Instruction, H. Russell Searight:
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a small-group pedagogical technique widely used in fields such as
business, medicine, engineering, life science and architecture. In PBL, pre-written cases are used to teach
core course content. PBL advocates assert that course content is more likely to be retained and applied
when presented as cases reflecting "real life" applications of class material. However, rather than
traditional lecture-discussion, PBL encourages student autonomy in analyzing cases, with the instructor
serving initially as a structuring facilitator before gradually becoming less active as students take more
responsibility for their learning. As students proceed through each case, they address four dimensions: 1.
What they know, 2.What they want to know, 3. Possible causal hypotheses, and 4. Questions that can be
answered through library research. Participants will “work through” sections of a PBL case written by
the presenter which are used for the undergraduate course "Psychology of the Exceptional Child,”
Students in the course typically include psychology, special education, and human service majors who
have positively evaluated this technique as a teaching tool.
Shared Governance, Linda Schmitigal: (Sessions 2,3 Library 278 large lecture)
A cross section of LSSU employees and the BOT met for 1½ days in July and developed a
comprehensive set of seven goals that support the mission and vision of LSSU. The Strategic Planning &
Budget Advisory Committee is working to solidify those goals by developing 7-12 realistic action plans
for each goal. The committee will be meeting with representatives from all of LSSU’s constituencies
during the next 4-6 months to create the action plans, identify how the action plans will be measured, and
determine which areas across campus will have responsibilities to ensure the action plans are carried out
as planned. The entire process will be completed by February 15, 2011 with open review periods planned
for public comment and input. Come to this session to learn more about Shared Governance, meet
members of the Shared Governance Oversight Committee, and hear about the activities that are planned
for this year.
HLC Self-Study, Morrie Walworth: (Sessions 1,2 L203-by Library Entrance)
LSSU’s 10 year reaccreditation visit will take place in the fall of 2011. In order to prepare, we are in the
process of writing our self-study. Do you have any questions about the self-study or the accreditation
process? Would you like to become more involved in the process? Come to this session if you’d like a
brief update on activities or more information on the HLC reaccreditation effort. A detailed timeline of
events leading up to the visit will be presented.
Best Practices for Risk Management in Experiential and Service Learning,
Michelle Thalacker: (Sessions 1,2 L362 Marine Room)
As colleges and universities provide more opportunities for students to gain practical knowledge outside
the classroom, we find ourselves facing potential lawsuits for failure to protect. Learn about some recent
court cases and join an open discussion on how to mitigate the risks in experiential and service learning at
LSSU
===================================================================
Session 1 – 09:00 – 09:50
Session 2 – 10:00 – 10:50
Session 3 – 11:00 – 11:50
Start in L278 (Large Lecture room – by Cappuccino Corner)
Approximate Room size
L278 – 150
L203 – 85
L251 – 30
L114 – 40
L126 – 25
L362 – 18 (Marine Room)
All areas have projectors except 126