Preparing your syllabus for the spring semester? Drop in to run your syllabus and your ideas by consultants from TLC, Instructional (Technology) Support Center (ISC), and the Library. TLC consultants can help you fine-tune a course so that all elements "add up" to student learning. Staff from ISC can help you integrate instructional technology, and librarians are happy to work with you to design research assignments and prepare students for research. Come talk to one consultant or all three. No appointment necessary.

Date: Monday, January 9
Drop-in clinic hours: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: TECH 107
TLC consultant: Stephanie Fiore, Associate Director & Associate Professor of Italian
ISC consultant: Johanna Inman, Senior Instructional Support Specialist, ISC
Library consultants: Krystal Lewis Coordinator of Information Literacy and Reference and Rick Lezenby, Reference Librarian
Audience: Faculty

TLC Conference speaker Dr. Linda Nilson and Dr. Steven N. Pyser, J.D. (Assistant Professor, Human Resource Management) will explain how a graphic syllabus clearly communicates the work, organization, planning and concepts that inform your course organization. Learn how this field-tested approach removes student confusion and their course apprehension learning blocks while engaging students and promoting learning. This event is co-sponsored by TLC and Fox's Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning

Date: Tuesday, January 10
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Alter Hall, Room 605
Facilitators: Dr. Linda Nilson and Steven N. Pyser, J.D
Audience: Faculty

In this TLC workshop we will discuss how advising, like teaching, is a shared and reciprocal responsibility between students and their professor advisors. We will address how advising as a teaching and learning process is critical to students' academic and personal development and success, as professors guide students to identify realistic academic and career goals, integrate their learning and see its relevance to their lives. Participants will be introduced to the advising syllabus as a tool that can clarify the shared expectations and responsibilities of the professor advisors and students in the advising-as-teaching equation.

Date: Friday, January 13
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: TECH 107
Facilitators: Jayne Drake, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Liberal Arts
Audience: Faculty and Administrators

The first day of class can shape the classroom atmosphere and set the tone for student-teacher relationships for the rest of the semester. It is therefore a particularly important class. This session addresses how TAs can use the first day of class to establish a classroom environment conducive to learning and teaching. Through interactive exercises, we will explore strategies for reducing student and teacher uncertainties while capturing students' interest and strengthening their confidence. The session will further offer you practical advice about setting ground rules and getting started with icebreakers for your first day of class.

Date: Monday, January 16
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Liv Raddatz
Audience: TAs

There is a difference between teaching content and teaching students in all of their intellectual, social, and emotional complexity. In this session we will use theater techniques to explore effective ways teachers can foster students' emotional and intellectual development.

Date: Tuesday, January 17
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitators: Eli Goldblatt, Professor of English and Director of First-Year Writing
Audience: Faculty

Join colleagues from across the university to discuss how to establish an atmosphere of trust and collaboration in courses that address issues of race and diversity. This is a monthly series; we meet the third Wednesday of every month.

Date: Wednesday, January 18
Time: 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitators: Pamela Barnett, Associate Vice Provost and Director, TLC & Donna Marie Peters, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Audience: Faculty

Learning needs vary for college students no matter how diverse or homogeneous the student group. With this in mind, teachers are charged with diversifying their pedagogical approaches. In this interactive workshop, participants will both practice and participate in Universal Design Learning (UDL). UDL is an educational construct that frees both learning and teaching from barriers that obstruct those with learning differences. If you would like to add strategies to your teaching toolkit that will situate you as a more inclusive teacher, this TLC workshop is for you. Come learn how to 'universally design your classroom' with multiple means of representation, action/expression and engagement.

Date: Friday, January 20
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitators: Carl Moore, Director of Student Success Initiatives, Community College of Philadelphia
Audience: Faculty

Join TLC for lunch as we host the 2010-2011 recipients of Temple University's Great Teacher Award. These outstanding faculty members, recognized by the university for their excellence in teaching, will reflect upon their own development as teachers and then facilitate a conversation on teaching. Prof. Brian Goldstein is a Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders who is interested in helping students make connections between research, theory and practical application. Prof. Joan Poliner Shapiro is a professor of Educational Administration in the College of Education with an interest in ethics in education and gender in education. Space is limited, so register now.

Date: Monday, January 30
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 111
Facilitator: Brian Goldstein, Professor, Communication Sciences & Disorders and Associate Dean for Faculty & Academic Affairs, College of Health Professions & Social Work; Joan Poliner Shapiro, Professor, Educational Administration in the College of Education
Audience: Faculty

Research shows that students learn more, both quantitatively and qualitatively, if they learn actively (Fink, 2003). Fink's holistic view of active learning includes information and ideas, reflection, and experiences. In this TLC workshop, participants will gain an understanding of the holistic view of active learning, learn about various teaching strategies that promote active learning, and develop their own activities that promote active learning.

Date: Thursday, February 2
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: A. Baris Gunersel, Assistant Director, TLC
Audience: Faculty

The Teaching & Learning Center invites departmental teams to work with us this spring to develop strong peer review of teaching processes and instruments. Peer review encourages reflection on teaching, creates more intentional teaching behaviors and thus improves effectiveness. It builds departmental community as colleagues offer each other ideas and feedback, and combats potential over-reliance on student evaluations as measures of good teaching.

In four meetings, teams will get concrete guidance on how to set up a process, learn about some good Temple University models, get hands-on time to discuss and develop processes and review instruments, and an opportunity to test instruments by evaluating a video class meeting.

Date: Monday, Feb 6, March 12, April 9, and May 7
Time: 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: TECH 111
Facilitators: Pamela Barnett, Associate Vice Provost and Director, TLC and Stephanie Fiore Associate Director, TLC; Associate Professor of Italian
Audience: Deans and Department Chairs

Research on learning strongly indicates that when students actively engage content—by discussing, arguing, connecting, contrasting, applying, evaluating, questioning, integrating, etc.—they learn more, and, importantly, it sticks! This session focuses on tried-and-true strategies for designing learning activities that engage students while explaining the basic principles and rationale for these methods. You will leave this session with ready-to-use strategies to make your classroom an active, engaged and effective learning environment.

Date: Wednesday, February 8
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Bradley Bergey, TLC GT Fellow
Audience: TAs

Our traditional "Great Teacher" teaches by telling, inspiring students through eloquent, passionate oration. In Teaching with Your Mouth Shut, Finkel proposes an alternative vision of teaching – one that is deeply democratic in its implications. The idea of "teaching with your mouth shut" is explored, exemplified, and varied to such an extent that it ultimately specifies a comprehensible approach to teaching – along with a host of concrete teaching possibilities. In the end, not only will your notion of good teaching be transformed, but so too your sense of what may be signified by the word "teaching" itself. (Heinemann)

Registrants will receive a free copy of Teaching With Your Mouth Shut (by Donald Finkel) and will commit to reading the book and attending both meetings of the group.

Date: Fridays, February 10 and 17
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: TECH 107
Facilitators: A. Baris Gunersel, Assistant Director, TLC
Audience: Faculty

Health professionals strive to meet their responsibilities to patients and society. In these times of discussion about the direction of our healthcare system, faculty are challenged to inculcate the values and practices of professionalism in the next generation: responsibility for patient welfare and safeguarding of patient autonomy, commitment to professional competence, effective communication and appropriate relations, and quality of care. Using a case studies approach, faculty from across the HSC will consider how to best teach professionalism in both the explicit curriculum and the "hidden" curriculum that emerges in the clinical setting.

Date: Tuesday, February 14
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Medical Education Research Building 217
Facilitator: TLC Team
Audience: Faculty

Research shows that learners who receive effective feedback learn faster, perform significantly better than their peers and show more advanced professional judgment. Since health science professionals begin their "apprenticeship" as students in the clinic, it is essential that they receive feedback that will stimulate their learning in this setting. In this session, participants will draw on their own experiences both as students and as clinical instructors to address best practices in providing feedback.

Date: Wednesday, February 15
Time: 8:30 p.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Medical Education Research Building 317
Facilitator: TLC Team
Audience: Faculty

How can we promote the retention and success of students who are underrepresented in higher ed, especially in the STEM disciplines? Join this group of faculty who meet the third Wednesday of every month to discuss how to best teach race and diversity in our courses. All are welcome!

Date: Wednesday, February 15
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Pamela Barnett, Associate Vice Provost and Director, TLC
Audience: Faculty

In this article, the authors ask a fundamental question: "How do we help transform our research universities so that the teaching of science and scientific research are seen more broadly as equally valuable and mutually reinforcing?" and they respond with seven initiatives that they see as essential to create a culture that values the teaching of science. Come join your colleagues and Dean Dai in a discussion of this thought-provoking article.

Registrants will commit to reading the article in advance and to attending the scheduled discussion, facilitated by Dean Hai Lung Dai.
Click here to read the article

Date: Monday, Febuary 20
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Biology-Life Sciences Building, room 423
Facilitator: Dean Hai Lung Dai, CST
Audience: Faculty

Bruce Alberts serves as Editor-in-Chief of Science and as one of President Obama's first three Science Envoys. Alberts is also Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, to which he returned after serving two six-year terms as the president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

During his tenure at the NAS, Alberts was instrumental in developing the landmark National Science Education standards that have been implemented in school systems nationwide. The type of "science as inquiry" teaching we need, says Alberts, emphasizes "logical, hands-on problem solving, and it insists on having evidence for claims that can be confirmed by others. It requires work in cooperative groups, where those with different types of talents can discover them — developing self confidence and an ability to communicate effectively with others."

Co-sponsored by the Colleges of Education, Engineering, and Science and Technology.

Date: Wednesday, Febuary 22
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Engineering 126
Facilitator: Dr. Bruce Alberts, Editor-in-Chief of Science
Audience: Faculty and TAs

In this TLC workshop, participants will discuss strategies to manage the demands of grading well and fairly while leaving time for graduate work and life obligations.

Date: Tuesday, February 28
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: David Crider, TLC GT Fellow
Audience: TAs

Student learning portfolios are dossiers of student work that encourage students to reflect on their learning and that help them take responsibility for assessing their own learning. Research shows that portfolios help students to identify, connect, synthesize and demonstrate knowledge and skills (Peet et al.). They are also a valuable window into student learning and progress for faculty and even departments. Join the TLC for this workshop on how to effectively use portfolios to provide feedback to students, help students learn important self-assessment skills, and to evaluate student progress in a class, series of classes or a curriculum.

Date: Wednesday, February 29
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Ina Calligaro, Associate Dean of Pharmacy
Audience: Faculty

"What is it like to be a college student in the digital age?" This report of preliminary findings and analysis from student discussion groups held on 7 U.S. campuses in Fall 2008 as part of Project Information Literacy suggests that conducting research is particularly challenging. In particular, students' cited their lack of "contexts" for "backgrounding" topics and for figuring out how to traverse complex information landscapes as a particular challenge. The findings also suggest that students create effective methods for conducting research by using traditional methods, such as libraries, and self-taught, creative workarounds, such as "presearch" and Wikipedia. Interesting reading as we consider how to help our students successfully complete research projects in our courses.
Click here to read the article

Date: Thursday, March 1
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Ambler Campus, Learning Center Room 302
Facilitator: Stephanie Fiore Associate Director, TLC; Associate Professor of Italian
Audience: Faculty

Please join us for a hands-on workshop on designing questions that your students will perceive as fair and meaningful. The questions we design will assess your students' deeper, conceptual understanding of the course material. We will discuss how to utilize item-analysis feedback from MARC in order to construct multiple choice exams that assess learning outcomes in a valid and defensible manner.

Date: Thursday, March 1
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Robert Pred, TLC Faculty Fellow & Associate Professor of Statistics and David Griffith, Manager of Testing and Operations, Measurement and Research Center
Audience: Faculty

Preparing assessments for the second half of the semester? Drop in to run your ideas by consultants from the TLC. We can help you fine-tune an exam, a writing assignment, a project or other assessments so that they both measure and create student learning. No appointment necessary.

Date: Monday, March 5
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Stephanie Fiore Associate Director, TLC; Associate Professor of Italian
Audience: Faculty

Inspired College Teaching by Maryellen Weimer challenges teachers to be responsible for their professional growth and development as an ongoing, career-long quest. Written by an experienced college teacher and editor of The Teaching Professor newsletter, this source explores the journey and growth of college teachers. This resource provides goals best positioned for beginning, mid-career, and senior faculty as well as activities faculty can use to ignite intellectual curiosity from both students and themselves. This book presents a way for faculty to obtain and sustain teaching excellence throughout their career. (Jossey-Bass)

Registrants will receive a free copy of Inspired College Teaching (by Maryellen Weimer) and will commit to reading the book and attending both meetings of the group.

Date: Wednesday, March 14 and 21
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: TECH 107
Facilitator: Stephanie Fiore Associate Director, TLC; Associate Professor of Italian
Audience: Faculty

Do you find your students' engagement and interest flagging at mid-semester? Is it more difficult to get them to do the reading, participate in class or even show up? In this TLC workshop, we'll discuss strategies for re-energizing your students (and you!). Participants will come away with concrete ideas to implement immediately in their classrooms. Jump-start the second half of the semester!

Date: Friday, March 16
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Tyler Architecture, Room 203
(The entrance for the new Architecture building is across the street from Tomlinson Theater on 13th Street.)
Facilitator: Gerard Brown, Assistant Professor, Tyler Foundations Program
Audience: Faculty

UCLA's James Stigler will present data on community college developmental mathematics students, then consider the role that teaching might have both in explaining their level of mathematical understanding, and in improving their understanding. He will draw on cross-cultural studies of teaching to provide context for his conclusions.

Sponsored by TILES

Date: Tuesday, March 20
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Location: Hamilton Library, Weiss Hall
Facilitator: James W. Stigler is Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at UCLA
Audience: Faculty and TAs

All Temple students are required to take a course in Race and Diversity. As with all required courses, student motivation can be an issue. Join faculty from across the university to discuss strategies for inspiring students to engage fully with course material and with their peers.

Date: Wednesday, March 21
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Pamela Barnett, Associate Vice Provost and Director, TLC & Donna Marie Peters, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Audience: Faculty

In 'How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching' (Ambrose et al.), the authors identify a set of key principles underlying student learning. This chapter explains the factors that affect student motivation — environment, vale and expectancies — and some concrete strategies to increase student motivation to learn. Join your colleagues in discussing this stimulating reading and how it might help you to help your students.
Click here to read the article

Date: Thursday, March 22
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Mary Hickert Herring, TLC Advisory Board Member
Audience: Faculty

What do you want your students to learn or be able to do as a result of taking your course? This is an opportunity to learn about best practices in course design so that you may build courses that are designed, in every aspect, to get your students where you want them to go. Whether you're just starting to plan your fall courses or you're revising ones from the past, this TLC workshop is for you.

Date: Tuesday, May 1
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Catherine Schifter, Associate Professor Psychological Studies in Education
Audience: Faculty

Join the TLC for coffee and an informal roundtable discussion of best teaching practices. Share with your colleagues what has worked well, and perhaps not so well during the semester. This is a great opportunity to critically reflect over the semester and look ahead to new ideas for the coming semester.

Date: Thursday, May 3
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Tech Center, Room 107
Facilitator: Bernie Newman, Associate Professor, Social Work
Audience: Faculty