SOTL Archives August 2013
August 12th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Syllabus
For the Fall 2013 semester, SoTL in 10 minutes will dive into a different topic each week.
Two articles are attached for you to consider as you begin/edit/finalize your course syllabi
The Many Purposes of Course Syllabi: Which are Essential and Useful?
SB Fink
Syllabus 1:1 (2012)
Despite the almost universal agreement on the need for a syllabus in college courses, what actually
constitutes a syllabus – content, format, and function – remains unclear. This lack of consensus may
derive from the need of the syllabus to fulfill multiple purposes and to satisfy multiple constituents.
(Doolittle & Siudzinsla, 2010, p. 30)
The Two-Purpose Syllabus: A Blueprint for Faculty and Students
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State
Normally, we think of a syllabus as the document that contains all of the information pertaining to our
course. However, the syllabus can actually serve two purposes: A blueprint for you as you plan your
course and a blueprint for your students that can act as an advanced organizer and means of
communication containing the course objectives, schedule of topics, assignments, assessments, and the
grading policy for the course. Regardless of the function, a syllabus should reflect a conversational tone
as it shows the students and others how the course and its material are relevant.
August 13th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Syllabus
How to write a syllabus?
For many of you, cut and paste works just fine – don’t forget to change the date. But consider starting
from scratch, review syllabi from other sources, follow the link below and shake things up a bit. Your
syllabus doesn’t need to be all the things outlined in the link below – but when was the last time you
evaluated what your syllabus did need to be for you and your students?
Carnegie Mellon
Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/syllabus/index.html
August 14th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Syllabus
I couldn’t decide which would be more helpful first – yesterday’s “How to write a syllabus” or today’s
link “Evaluating your syllabus”. Either way, consider NOT taking the easy way out and upgrade your
syllabi for this fall.
Penn State
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/Evaluating_a_syllabus.pdf
August 15th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Syllabus
Some important information for your students – consider putting it in your syllabus and/or on your
course Bb page.
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Mid-term grading, October 9-16
Last day to drop, Friday 8/23
Last day to withdraw, Friday 11/1
o Do your student know the difference between drop and withdraw?
 Counseling center – Chapel, x7180
 ADA compliance – Dr. Kristi Gover, 3rd floor DSC, x7067
 Advising Center – 1st floor Howard, x7170
 Athletic advising – Chris Johnson, x7794
 Learning Resource Center – 3rd floor Swisher library, x7717
 Student Solutions Center – 2nd floor DSC, x7700
 Writing Center – Council 143, x7353
Don’t forget about your academic advisor, coach, professor you like, mom and dad.
August 16th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Syllabus
It is the first day of class and you have spent a lot of time updating your syllabus for student
success. You could stand at the front of the room and read the document AT them. OR:
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Get them into groups and have them identify questions they have about the course. Candy for
novel questions not actually addressed in your syllabus.
Turn your syllabus into a game of Jeopardy or other quiz show – again, candy for correct
answers.
o http://jeopardylabs.com/
o http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/ppt-games/
Please review the attached article for more first day ideas:
Here’s your syllabus, see you next week: A review of the first day practices of outstanding professors
Iannarelli, Bardsley and Foote
The Journal of Effective Teaching
10(2): 29-41, 2010
August 19th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Syllabus
It is the first day of class and you have spent a lot of time updating your syllabus for student
success. You could stand at the front of the room and read the document AT them. OR:


Get them into groups and have them identify questions they have about the course. Candy for
novel questions not actually addressed in your syllabus.
Turn your syllabus into a game of Jeopardy or other quiz show – again, candy for correct
answers.
o http://jeopardylabs.com/
o http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/ppt-games/
Please review the attached article for more first day ideas:
Here’s your syllabus, see you next week: A review of the first day practices of outstanding professors
Iannarelli, Bardsley and Foote
The Journal of Effective Teaching
10(2): 29-41, 2010
August 19th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
The First Day, Setting the Tone
Who are you?
It is important on the first day, for that first impression, for students to get the best sense of who you
are. This is especially important for first semester freshmen as they begin their new chapter in
life. Start their education with letting them get to know their professor, both philosophically (difference
between a teacher and a professor) and personally (are you married, hobbies, research interests).
Enjoy this blog post by John Warner
Thinking Context: Professors and Teachers
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/thinking-context-professors-and-teachers
August 20th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
The First Day, Setting the Tone
Who are your students?
As important as it is for your students to quickly get to know you, you need to know your students –
their hopes, dreams, aspirations and especially their challenges. Appreciate them as complete
individuals. I distribute the attached “Student Information Sheet” and read them a couple of times over
the first couple of weeks of class. Below, the first bullet is a bunch of ice breaker ideas – learning basic
personal facts. The second bullet provides for activities to help understand what kind of students they
are.
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http://www.icebreakers.ws/large-group
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/first-day-of-class-activities-thatcreate-a-climate-for-learning/
And some other really good ideas in the comments as well.
August 21st…
SoTL in 10 minutes
The First Day, Setting the Tone
CATs
Classroom Assessment Techniques
Some of use CATs throughout the semester as a way to check what is getting through clearly and what
topics might need a do-over. But consider using them on the first day. What do they think they know
about this course? What misunderstandings or misconceptions do they bring?
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Background quiz
Minute paper
Muddiest point
What’s the principle
For a brief description of each, and more, see http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teachingguides/assessment/cats/
Additionally, the CTL has the following books in its library on CATs
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TA Angelo and KP Cross, Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers,
2nd ed., 1993. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
L Suskie, Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide, 2004. Anker Publishing, San
Francisco.
SA Ambrose et al., How Learning Works: 7 Research Based Principles for Smart Teaching,
2010. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
SD Brookfield, Teaching for Critical Thinking: Tools and Techniques to Help Students Question
Their Assumptions, 2012. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
August 22nd…
SoTL in 10 minutes
The First Day, Setting the Tone
Think the first day doesn’t matter, these professors from Georgia State would disagree.
The First Day of Class Affects Student Motivation: An Experimental Study
JH Wilson and SB Wilson
Teaching of Psychology 34(4):226-30 , 2007
August 23rd…
SoTL in 10 minutes
The First Day, Setting the Tone
The title says it all:
“What not to do on your first day of class”
Joan E. Strassmann
08/31/12
August 26th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Academic Integrity
Expectations of academic integrity begin on day 1. As we each have our own unique nuances to what is
and what is not academic dishonesty, it is vital that we educate our students about both the big picture
and the nuances. Please review JU’s statement of academic dishonesty
(http://www.ju.edu/cc1314/ccAcademicInfo/Pages/Academic-Honesty.aspx) and discuss it with your
students.
The following link provides links to similar statements from other universities, academic integrity forms
and classroom handouts to facilitate such discussions.
http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/resources-4.php
August 27th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Academic Integrity
For those who missed the Academic Integrity workshop last week, today and tomorrow will feature
resources for faculty (to reduce instances of academic misconduct) and students (to educate and
empower), respectively.
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Preventing Plagiarism – Dalhousie University
Encouraging Academic Integrity – UC Berkeley
Reference Guide to Academic Integrity – U of Delaware
Dealing with Cheating – U of Illinois at U-C
Academic Integrity: Classroom Activities – U of Missouri
Case Studies in designing better assignments – University of Kent
Attached, please find PowerPoints from Leslie Myers, the keynote speaker.
August 28th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Academic Integrity
For those who missed the Academic Integrity workshop last week, yesterday and today features
resources for faculty (to reduce instances of academic misconduct) and students (to educate and
empower), respectively.
• Reference Guide to Academic Integrity – U of Delaware
• How to avoid plagiarism – U of Maryland UC
• Plagiarism: What every student needs to know – Clark College
• Plagiarism tutorial – University of S Mississippi
• Plagiarism quiz – Wayne State U
Thank you to Andy Ouellette for several of these resources
August 29th…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Academic Integrity
Actions speak louder than words. It is important that we model good academic integrity for our
students. One very visible way to do this is in our use of copyrighted materials.
Stanford University has an overview of Copyright and Fair Use. Do also make use of the expertise and
resources our library and librarians have to offer in this area.
Please find attached the PowerPoint from the fall conference workshop entitled “CTL Technology
Round-up”.
August 30…
SoTL in 10 minutes
Academic Integrity
Discussion with the Deans and Chairs this summer revealed an interest and desire to have a campus
wide discussion about Academic Integrity. To that end, the CTL has/will offer workshops, this week’s
theme of SoTL in 10 emails and this fall a Faculty Learning Community on this topic.
Faculty Learning Community – Academic Integrity
Thursday 9/5 at 12:30 in the CTL
This is FLC is not designed to be a “complaint desk” about how your students behave. Rather it will be a
series of guided discussions to help you define what your academic standards are, convey those
expectations to your students, and design assignments, papers and other assessment to be more
“cheat-proof”.
Beverages and light snacks will be provided, please RSVP to slantz@ju.edu