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| Millennial
Learning: April
16-17, 2009
Barbara J. Millis, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at the University of Texas at San Antonio, received her Ph.D. in English literature from Florida State University. The former Director of the Excellence in Teaching Program at the University of Nevada, Reno, she frequently offers workshops at professional conferences (e.g., Teaching Professor Conference, Lilly Teaching Conferences, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Council of Independent Colleges) and for over 300 colleges and universities. She publishes articles on a variety of faculty development topics such as cooperative learning, peer classroom observations the teaching portfolio, microteaching, syllabus construction, classroom assessment/research, critical thinking, writing for publication, focus groups, writing across the curriculum, academic games, and course redesign. The IDEA paper series published Enhancing Learning—and More!—through Cooperative Learning (http://www.idea.ksu.edu/papers/Idea_Paper_38.pdf.) She is the co-author of three books: (1) with Philip Cottell, Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty (1998); (2) Using Simulations to Enhance Learning in Higher Education (2002), co-authored with John Hertel; (3) a revision of Judith Grunert’s The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach (2008), co-authored with Margaret Cohen. While at USAFA, Barbara won both a teaching award and a research award. In 2002 Barbara loved being a Visiting Scholar at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. Session 1: Promoting Critical Thinking through Writing Higher order thinking can occur when faculty deliberately structure tasks to capitalize on active learning and students' peer coaching and interactions where they encounter the alternative viewpoints that challenge existing beliefs and assumptions. This workshop will model writing-to-learn activities embedded in course objectives that involve peer responses, an audience beyond the faculty member, and relevant, meaningful activities. It will emphasize student accountability: coming to class with the knowledge base needed to foster deep learning. Session 2: Using Interactive Focus Groups to Assess Courses and Programs and to Strengthen Teaching Co-presented with Emeka Ovuegbe and Lijie Zhang, University of Texas at San Antonio Focus groups provide in-depth data on courses, programs and conferences. This model uses new tools: an index-card activity resulting in Excel histograms displaying satisfaction levels and a Roundtable/Ranking activity leading to color-coded Word tables showing strengths and weaknesses. The tools can be used alone for a Quick Course Diagnosis. This session will prepare participants to conduct efficient interactive focus groups using two new interactive tools: Index cards and a structured Roundtable/Ranking worksheet. The session leaders will model these approaches by actually assessing the Lilly East Conference! We will discuss practical issues such as transcribing sessions, interpreting data, and sharing feedback constructively. Faculty developers can use a shorter 15-minute version of this model, called a “Quick Course Diagnostic,” using only the two tools. This highly flexible model, in use since 1996, has been used for focus groups with students, alumni and employers. It has impressed US accrediting bodies, such as ABET and AACSB.
Emeka H. Ovuegbe is a doctoral candidate in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. After many years of both public service and private practice overseas, Emeka returned and earned his master’s degree from UTSA in 2005 in Civil Engineering with a specialty in Environmental Engineering. His research interests center on stream health and contaminant remediation; water, wastewater processes and environmental issues. Emeka’s current research is on the reported contaminant concerns and impairments at Geronimo creek (a Texas watershed) with a view to proffering sustainable solutions. Emeka is a Master Teaching Fellow with the UTSA’s Teaching and Learning Center. His appointment reflects his multiple areas of talents and skills. He has demonstrated leadership in his capacity as a graduate research and teaching assistant and hopes to become a fulfilling college teacher to boot. He is a soccer coach and a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) referee. Lijie Zhang, a Ph.D candidate with the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio, received a Masters Degree at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China. Her research interests include databases, data mining, data privacy and security, and social networking. She actively participates in the 2008-2009 Master Teaching Fellows Program at UTSA, and is interested in exploring teaching methods to assist learning for students in computer science majors. |
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