Brown Bag Archives - Faculty Center - Westfield State College

Guided-Discovery, Cooperative Learning, and Other Radical Tools to Inspire Masses of Disinterested Core Students

Wednesday, April 24, 2002, 3:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Discussion leader: Julian Fleron (Mathematics)

"The focus of my ongoing sabbatical is the development of guided discovery curricular materials for WSC's mathematics for liberal arts course MA0110 - Mathematical Explorations. I have used this and similar material to develop a highly non-traditional mathematics classroom where there is no lecturing, the dominant form of exploration is guided discovery, and the dominant form of communication is cooperative learning. Although most students arrive in the course hating mathematics, offered in this way the course has been quite successful.

I would like to share some of these materials with colleagues and give them a sense for how different such a core course can be by going through a 15-minute mock class. I hope that we can use this experience as a springboard to consider how we can use alternative methods of teaching, assessment, and classroom management to inspire students in our core courses. In addition to the curricular materials I have developed, I will bring ideas on posters as a learning tool, different forms of notebook quizzes for assessment, etc., and hope that other colleagues will bring their own ideas to share as well."

Using Fast Food Nation in the Classroom
Thursday, September 26, 2002 at 11:30 a.m
George Layng
Teaching Ideas

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, the Campus Book for the 2002-2003 school year, provides some food for thought that is tasty and healthy. Serving this best-selling study of America's obsession with fast food to your students, though, might not be a simple matter. This discussion can provide you with some suggestions. Prof. George Layng of the English Department, who serves as the coordinator for the Campus Book Committee, will discuss some ways to use the book in a variety of disciplines and for a variety of assignments.
Follow-up Information: Fast Food Nation Teaching Ideas

Poster Idea Swap
Thursday, October 17, 2002 11:30 a.m.
Vanessa Holford Diana, Julian Fleron, Frank Giuliano
Follow-up Information

Curious about how poster presentations can be successfully integrated into your classes? Interested in hearing about different approaches to assessing posters in large classes? Do you have experiences using posters that you would like to share? Come join us for this brown bag discussion to generate ideas about all aspects of using poster presentations as part of class assignments. We have used posters as required assignments in our classes and will be sharing our experiences, our assignments, our assessment strategies, grading rubrics, display ideas, and student reactions. We hope that you will come share some of your ideas.

From Julian Fleron:

The Poster Project: Using Visual Means to Challenge Stereotypes

http://www.math.sunysb.edu/posterproject/www/index.html

Math Poster Assignment (PDF file)
Poster Assessment Form (PDF)

From Frank J. Giuliano:

Many thanks to Vanessa and Julian for sharing all of their great ideas for using and assessing posters in our courses. We discussed assessment of posters, and I wanted to follow-up our conversation with a few Web sites that have scoring rubrics for posters. I think the first site is the best one, but they all offer different ways to go about taking some of the subjectivity out of gradingthese kinds of projects.

Poster Assessment

http://www.infj.ulst.ac.uk/~cdmx23/PosterAssessment.htm

Poster Assessment

http://ltsn.mathstore.ac.uk/workshops/assess2001/KH-poster.pdf

Performance Task Assessment List Poster

http://www.bcpl.net/~sullivan/modules/tips/rubrics_sec/poster.html

Plagiarism Revisited
Thursday, November 7, 2002 11:30 a.m.
Ricki Kantrowitz, Corinne Ebbs, Robert Martin
Follow-up Information

Join administrators and faculty to continue the discussion about the problem of plagiarism at WSC. How effective is the current policy on academic dishonesty? What changes would you like to see instituted? Hear about current episodes of plagiarism, including faculty and administrative action and inaction. Who advocates for faculty? Who advocates for students?

Handout: Avoiding Plagiarism (requires adobe acrobat to read)
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/Plagiarism.PDF
This two page handout gives clear guidelines to students about when and how to give appropriate credit for information used in papers. This handout was condensed from Purdue University's Writing Lab guide.

Testing Wrong Theories
Tuesday, November 19, 2002 12:30 p.m.
Rick Rees
Class Exercises

Critical thinking requires the challenging of ideas. Unless, however, the student can conclude that at least some challenged ideas are wrong, the true power of critical thinking has not been grasped. This is particularly important in the sciences, whose strength is in the ability to reject wrong theories, but other disciplines can benefit from this approach as well. This discussion will explore ways in which this can be used in our classes. As specific examples from my classes, I offer the following: a Physics laboratory exercise in which students experimentally test several concepts of Aristotelian physics, and an Astronomy classroomexercise where students test newspaper horoscopes by attempting to identify their(unlabeled) horoscopes for the previous day.

From Rick Rees: The following pdf files are class exercises for testing theories.

A Trip to Iraq
Wednesday, Jan.29, 2003 11:30 a.m.
John Paulmann (Communication)
Notes from Baghdad

Communications Professor John Paulman recently returned from a four-day trip to Iraq. Join him in the Faculty Center for atimely discussion of his trip. [If you missed John's presentation, see his summary "Notes from Baghdad" linked above. See also pictures from his trip.

Follow-up Information:

From John Paulman (Communications)

Notes from Baghdad
John's Pictures

Using and Evaluating Group Presentations
Tuesday March 18, 2003 12:45 p.m.

Erika Pilver (Political Science) and Kathleen McIntosh (Foreign Languages)

Curious about how group presentationscan be successfully integrated into your classes? Interested in hearing about different approaches to assessing group presentations? Do you have experience using group presentations that you would like to share? Come join us. This brown bag will generate ideas about all aspects of using group presentations as part of class assignments. We have used group presentations in our classes and will be sharing our experiences, assignments, assessment strategies, grading rubrics, and student reactions to these assignments. We hope you will come to share some of your ideas.

Follow-up Information:

From Rob Bristow (Geography & Regional Planning)

Group Presentation Evaluation Form (pdf file: Requires Adobe Acrobat)

From Corinne Ebbs (Library)

Cooperative and Collaborative Learning: Using Groups Effectively (University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center) This link provides "chapters" on many issues related to group projects.

Can Faculty at a Small State College Compete Successfully for Fellowships & Grants? YES!
Wednesday March 26, 2003 11:30 a.m.
Ricki Kantrowitz (Psychology), Marsha Marotta (Political Science),
Ruth Ohayan (Foreign Languages), and Robert Ziomek (Development Office)

Faculty who have received grant moneyand have participated in programs such as NEH, Fulbright, and Fulbright-Hays will describe their experiences with the application process. Faculty who have been reviewers of applications will provide helpful hints. Robert Ziomek, Executive Director of the WSC Foundation, will be available to answer questions about applying for grants. Please join us to learn about opportunities, as well as to share your stories (successes as well as failures) with your colleagues. Bring your lunch!

Keeping Old Classes Fresh
Monday April 7, 2003 11:30 a.m.
Emily Todd (English), Mike Engel (Political Science),
Steve Sossaman (English), Mike Young (Physical Sciences)

In a rut? Just been assignedtwo sections of the class you've taught every semester for the last 10 years? Discuss with your colleagues (senior and junior) ways to keep your and your students' interest high when you teach the same courses.

Mara Dodge on Researching and Writing Her New Book, Whores and Thieves of the Worst Kind: A Study of Women, Crime, and Prisons, 1835-2000.

Tuesday, April 8, 2003, 3:45 p.m.- 4:45 p.m.
Discussion Leader: Mara Dodge (History)

Mara Dodge will discuss the challenges involved in both the research and writing stages of her new book, Whores and Thieves of the Worst Kind: A Study of Women, Crime, and Prisons, 1835-2000 (Northern Illinois University Press). She will focus on dilemmas and issues of interest to researchers in a variety of disciplines, and she'll offer some general advice about writing an academic book.

Using and Evaluating Advocacy and Community Learning Projects
Wednesday April 16, 2003 12:30 p.m.
Diana Schwartz (Movement Science), Robert Hayes (Psychology), Mara Dodge (History)

"The college seeks to instill among members of its community a sense of social responsibility and citizenship" (College Mission Statement). Curious about how your colleagues have used advocacy and community service learning projects in their classes? Interested in hearing about different approaches to assessing these projects? Do you have experience with either advocacy or CSL projects that you would like to share? Please join us, and bring copies of your materials that are relevant.

"The Star Cluster NGC 6397: Where has it Been? Where is it Going?"

Tuesday, April 29th, 2003, at 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Discussion Leader: Rick Rees (Physical Sciences)

The Milky Way Galaxy contains about 150 globular star clusters. These clusters, which contain around 100,000 stars each, are the oldest known objects in the universe. Comparison of century-old photographs of these clusters to modern photographs enables the determination of the cluster's motion through space, the separation of cluster member stars from "field" stars that just lie in the line of sight to the cluster, and an exploration of the cluster's internal dynamics. This is a status report of such a study of NGC 6397. Of particular interest is the discovery that the cluster has recently passed through the disk of the Milky Way, an event that may have stripped several stars from the cluster. For a summary of Rick's presentation on this subject at the 199th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Washington, DC, in January 2002, see
"The Recent Disk Passage of the Globular Cluster NGC 6397".

Teaching Life of Pi: 0r How to Teach a Novel When You’re Not an English Professor
Tuesday Sept. 16, 2003 at 11:30 a.m.
George Layng, English
Teaching Ideas

Life of Pi, the novel by Yann Martel, weaves philosophy, psychology, culture and adventure to tell the tale of an Indian boy’s struggles in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. The prizewinning story, which is the Campus Book at Westfield State for the 2003-2004 school year, is a bestseller across the country and in particular on college campuses.But how useful is the novel if you don’t teach English? And more generally, how can fiction and other imaginative writing be brought into classes that depend on the hard realities of numbers, scientific studies, historical facts and so on? Join us to discuss.

Diversity at WSC: The Dialogue Continues
Thursday, October 2, 2003 12:30 p.m.
Ruth Ohayon, Foreign Languages
Follow-up Information

Students perceive some faculty and staff at the college as insensitive to diversity and difference. We need to pursue a dialogue on the topic, especially at such a crucial time when we are selecting a new college president. Should embracing diversity and difference be a top priority for faculty, staff, and administrators? Should the college devise and enforce concrete policies on this topic? Come debate the issue.

Focus Series Even: Information Literacy at
Westfield State College

Wednesday Oct. 8, 2003 at 3 p.m.
Presenter: Corinne Ebbs, Associate Librarian

What information literacy and computer skills do your first year students come to college knowing? Can they interpret a basic citation? Do they know every library has a catalog and what it does? Are they aware thatmost Internet pages have no quality control? This session will provide a brief overview of the concept of Information Literacy, and the results of a survey administered last June to a third of WSC’s incoming first-year students. Discuss how these results could be used when developing course work and research assignments.

Follow-up Information:

From Session:

Information Literacy Definitions and List of Competencies
Overview of IL Assessment results (Incoming First Year Students, Summer 2003)

Related Articles and Information:

Association of College and Research Libraries' Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
In March 1998 the National Forum on Information Literacy issued: A Progress Report on Information Literacy: An Update on the American Library Association Presidential Committee on InformationLiteracy: Final Report.

http://www.infolit.org/documents/progress.html

Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America's Research Universities. http://notes.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/

Is Big Brother Watching Us?
Wednesday Oct. 15, 2003 at 12:30 p.m.
Larry Griffith, Computer Science
Follow-upInformation

We have recently received memos about our computer usage. Is our privacy being compromised? Are we being watched? Join in a dialogue with administration and computer staff to see if our concerns are legitimate.

Guest Lecture Series: Good Teaching and Learning: How Do You Know? Mary Deane Sorcinelli
Thursday October 24, 2003 4:00 pm, Scanlon Banquet Hall B

In this interactive session, participants explored the research based dimensions of good teaching--teaching that promotes student learning. Drawing from this information, we identified personal teaching strengths and areas for improvement and shared some favorite techniques for getting started in assessing student learning and our teaching. Click on the Center for Teaching at UMass for more of Mary Deane Sorcinelli's work.

What Do You Do When a Class Turns South?
Thursday Oct. 30, 2003 at 12:30 p.m.
Phil Hotchkiss, Mathematics

At some point in our careers most of us have had a class that starts out well, but then the class dynamic changes and the class begins to fall apart. How do we fix things so that the class doesn’t become a complete disaster? What resources are available to us? Join us to share your experiences and hear what others have done.

Teaching at a Time of Declining Resources
Wednesday Nov. 12, 2003 at noon
Jack Loughney, Philosophy

What will the college look like if its faculty, staff, and administrators continue to be subjected to: 1) periodic early retirementpackages,2) annual reduced state support, 3) annually increasing studentfees, 4) increasing student enrollments generally, and in most classes, 5) external and in-system demands for performance evaluations, and other demands to define the institution's value? Come join a discussion on these questions.

Sojourner Truth
December 3, 2003 at 4 p.m.
Presenter: Jacqueline Sheehan, Director, Counseling Center

Jacqueline Sheehan will discuss her new novel, Truth, which is based on the life of Sojourner Truth, the nineteenth centuryabolitionist and human rights activist. Truth began life as a slave in upstate New York, speaking Dutch as her original language. The novel examines the nature of resilience in the human spirit. The author will talk about using history and psychology as a springboard to fiction.

Advising WSC Students for Graduate School
Thursday, January 29, 2004 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Maureen McCartney, Career Services; Russ Leary, DGCE; Bill Bennett, Geography and Regional Planning

Admit it! For many of us it's been (quite) awhile since we were in graduate school. What's new? What's changed? (Did you take GRE's back in the days when pencils were used?) What information about the graduateschool process should faculty know to be effective advisors? What are some of the difficulties our students typically have? Where have our students gone to graduate school? What resources are available on campus? Join Maureen McCartney, Russ Leary, Bill Bennett (who has offered a number of graduate school workshops for students), and others to discuss this important issue.

Follow-up Materials: From Maureen McCartney (Career Services)
Office of Career Services: Student Information and Resources
Click on Graduate Study on the left-hand frame to access links to materials relating to graduate school.

Using Writing to Help Students Learn:
Writing as High Stakes and Low Stakes.
Peter Elbow

Wednesday February 4, 2004 3:00 to 5:00pm, Scanlon Living Room. Refreshments will be served.

Peter Elbow, author of Writing with Power : Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process (Oxford), and Everyone Can Write: Essays Toward a Hopeful Theory of Writing and Teaching Writing (Oxford), and a nationally recognized composition specialist, led a workshop on how we can most effectively use writing in our teaching. His workshop was designed to help faculty members across disciplines.

Peter Elbow Contributions posted with permission of the author:

High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing
Specific Uses and Benefits of Low Stakes Writing
From Grades to Grids: Responding to Writing with Criteria

Tax Issues for Professors
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Follow-up Sources

It's that time of year again. How are your taxes coming along? Do you have questions or advice to pass along? If so, please come to this Brown Bag Lunch to either share your expertise and experiences or to learn more about the tax issues that effect us as faculty.

Follow-up Information:

From Chris Irujo (Management & Economics)

IRS Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals (Publication 17)
IRS "Business Deduction for Work Related Education"
Massachusetts Department of Revenue http://www.mass.gov/dor
Taxation and Accounting Sites Directory http://www.taxsites.com/
U.S Code http://www.fourmilab.ch/uscode/26usc/
The Motley Fool http://www.fool.com/taxes/taxcenter/taxcenter.htm?source=LN
MSN Money http://moneycentral.msn.com/tax/home.asp
Riley Associates, P.C. http://www.cpa-services.com

From Jack Loughney (Philosophy)

In the Faculty Center:

"Tax and Financial Guide for College Teachers" (1997, Academic Information Service, Inc.)

From Corinne Ebbs (Library)

Miscellaneous Deductions Checklist (Quicken Turbotax)

Guest Lecture Series: Adventure in the Classroom. Project Adventure
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 3:30 - 5:30pm, Third World Room.

This was a customized training workshop to introduce faculty to the Adventure in the Classroom model. Workshop participants experienced the use of challenge and adventure in building an effective learning community. Check out Project Adventure's web site: http://www.wsc.ma.edu/facultycenter/www.pa.org

Efficient Grading Practices
Wednesday, March 3, 2004 11:30 - 12:30
Phil Hotchkiss, Mathematics

Grading is a huge problem for many of us. We all struggle with balancing our need to give our students a lot of feedback with our desire to not be overwhelmed by massive amounts of grading. Join us and share your experiences, both good and bad, in finding ways to efficiently grade assignments and give students the necessary feedback.

Disruptive Students Revisited
Thursday, April 1, 2004 12:30 - 1:30
Suzanna Adams, Counseling Center; Jack Szpiler, Psychology; and Jack Loughney, Philosophy

We will discuss concerns about common kinds of disruptive behavior in the classroom and we’ll share ideas about how best to handle disruptive students.

Better Teaching Through Mentoring and Student Evaluation
Thursday, April 15, 2004 12:30 - 1:30
Emily Todd, English; Kathleen Itterly, Education

Come to a brown bag lunch to generate ideas about how to make effective use of students’ and colleagues’ responses to our teaching. First, we will share ideas about designing our own end-of-the-semester student evaluations. What questions and formats elicit useful feedback about our courses and our instruction? How can we use these self-designed student evaluations to improve our teaching? (We’ll have sample evaluations available for review.) Second, we will discuss how we can make use of colleagues’ mentoring advice in becoming better teachers. How could mentoring be improved in general at Westfield State College? Emily Todd (English) and Kathleen Itterly (Education) will help to lead the discussion. Please come share your ideas!

Strategies for Writing Letters of Recommendation
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 12:30 - 1:30
Julian Fleron, Mathematics

Come share ideas about ways to write effective letters of reference--efficiently! We will share organizational strategies and discuss some of the common challenges we face in writing these letters.

College Governance: Who is Really in Charge?
Wednesday, September 15, 2004, 11:30-12:30 p.m.
Larry Griffith (Computer Science and Chair of ACC)

Larry Griffith, chair of ACC (All College Committee), will describe the college's committee structure, opportunities for faculty involvement, and the kinds of issues that get raised. Learn what items are currently being considered. Did you know that there is a suggestion to keep one hour per week totally unscheduled to make it easier to find time for meetings? What's happening to upper-level courses in the core? How soon will outcome assessments be required for all departments? Should you run for a position on a committee next year? Come ask questions and join the discussion.

College Governance--Who Is Really In Charge?
WSC All College Committee http://www.wsc.ma.edu/allcollege/

Keeping the Campus Safe/Keeping the Campus Informed
Wednesday, October 6, 2004, 11:30-12:30
Paul Scannell (Director of Public Safety); Dr. Arthur Jackson (Vice President, Student Affairs);
along with representatives of the college newspaper

An alleged rape off campus, the college newspaper's attempt to report the incident, and resulting thefts of copies of the newspaper promoted much discussion and rumor last year. Should the college community be informed when students commit or are affected by crimes off campus? What about on-campus crime? How safe is our campus for faculty and students? Join and other faculty and staff to discuss this important issue.

Is It Too Late to Teach Our Students to Think?
Thursday, October 28, 2004, 12:30-1:30
Katy Milford, (Education & Reading and Writing Center Writing Consultant); Joan Rasool, (Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs); George Layng, (English & Reading and Writing Center Director)

Critical thinking is a key strategy for our students as they tackle analysis of a wide range of academic materials. But what impact is the pressure of standardized testing having on how high school students learn to think? With high school teaching focusing on the MCAS and the new SAT essay writing test rather than on the development of such critical thinking skills, what can we at WSC do to help students function more effectively in our own classrooms? How is the high school focus on MCAS affecting our students and their learning, and how can we as instructors introduce and integrate critical thinking into our subject matter and our teaching? Join other faculty and staff to discuss this timely and important topic. We will share ideas and provide suggestions, strategies, and exercises that faculty members can implement in their classrooms.

Creating a Positive Learning Environment in the Classroom
Wednesday, November 10, 2004, 12:30 - 1:30
Diana Schwartz (Movement Science)
Follow-Up Information (Requires PowerPoint Viewer)

Student learning can be enhanced through challenge, optimism, positive emotion, and a strengths-based approach. Learn strategies to maximize the classroom experience for you and your students. Join us to discuss the use of positive psychology. Be ready to share your ideas.

Follow-up Information:
Creating a Positive Learning Environment
Positive Psychology (Requires PowerPoint Viewer)http://www.wsc.ma.edu/facultycenter/PPTSchwartz.ppt

Academic Experiences in the Community:

Internships, Practica, Co-ops, and Service Learning Projects

Wednesday February 9, 2005 12:30-1:30

The mission statement of WSC refers to the importance of community-based learning in enriching our students’ education and lives. What is community-based learning at WSC? Who is eligible for an internship, practicum, co-op, Community Service Learning Project, or the Washington Center Program? What are the academic requirements? How many credits are earned and how many hours at the site are required? Are there class meetings at the college and site visits by the WSC instructor? How are grades determined? What happens if the agency has problems with the student, or if the student has problems with the agency? Join internship, practicum, and co-op coordinators from many departments to discuss the answers to these questions, to learn what programs are appropriate for your students, and to exchange ideas with colleagues about building internship programs at the college.

Strategies for Working with Students with Learning Differences: ADD to Visual Learners, Asperger’s to Tourette’s, and Everything In Between

Monday February 28, 2005 11:30 to 12:30

Discussion Leaders: Katy Milford (Reading and Writing Center), Jacqueline Sheehan (Counseling Center), and Joe Shinn (Tutoring Center)

Westfield State College is well-known and respected for the support it offers to students with different learning styles and with learning disabilities. But what strategies can you develop as a professor to work most effectively with these students? What’s the best way to find out about your students’ learning differences in the first place? And once you know, how can you adapt your classroom practices and assignments to reach a range of students? What are the legalities involved in working with students with learning disabilities? What help can you get from the Tutoring Center, the Counseling Center, the Reading and Writing Center, and other resources on campus? Come to the Faculty Center to explore these issues, to ask questions of your own, and to share your own classroom strategies with colleagues.

Supporting the Arts at WSC: A Discussion of Frankenstein and its Author
Thursday March 31, 2005 11:30-12:30pm

(WSC production of Frankenstein to be performed Wednesday,
April 27 through Sunday, May 1)

Join Jack Shea and Glen Brewster to discuss the context for the novel Frankenstein, for the play, and for understanding Mary Shelley as one of the most important writers of the 19th century. Mary Shelley, who published the book anonymously in 1818, was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, feminist writer, and William Godwin, radical philosopher. We consider this brown bag lunch to be an unofficial event in the Month Celebrating Women. Jack Shea, Theatre Program Director and adaptor and director of the WSC production of the play Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, will discuss the artistic choices involved in bringing the novel to life on the stage. Glen Brewster, Chair of the English department and student of British Romanticism, will summarize the context of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s first novel and describe its transformations from novel to stage to film and to cultural icon. Come with your questions about Frankenstein and its author, learn about this upcoming theatre production, and show support for the arts at WSC.

Defining Teaching Success: Evaluating and Improving Teaching

April 20, 2005 12:30-1:30pm

Discussion leaders: Rod Francis (Geography and Regional Planning), Kathy Itterly (Education), Jack Loughney (Philosophy), and Tim Parshall (Biology)

At a time when many outside constitutiencies are demanding professors "assess and evaluate" our students' performances, what does classroom success for professors in 2005 require? This session will feature informal sharing of perspectives, models, and methods employed to achieve good results in WSC courses. Topics may include new strategies in response to the changing demographics of students in major or core courses, by the sheer increase in numbers in some sections, by new major requirements of accrediting groups, etc. Come join the discussion and share your ideas and perspectives!

Hurricane Katrina
Teaching and Helping:

Developing a Coordinated Effort on Campus
Thursday September 15, 2005, 12:30-1:30 p.m

Join colleagues from throughout campus to discuss the impact of Katrina on our teaching, on our lives, and on the lives of our students. Learn about what is being done at WSC, both in and out of the classroom. Give suggestions to those who are developing further programs, such as a teach-in being organized for next week. Come and help coordinate and support humanitarian efforts on campus.

How to Make Sabbaticals Useful and Rejuvenating

Wednesday September 28, 2005 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Dreaming about your next sabbatical? Whether you are planning your first or your fourth sabbatical, this discussion will give you ideas about how to develop a proposal that will meet your needs, while also meeting the requirements of the college. Talk to colleagues who have had meaningful and rejuvenating sabbaticals, and to those who wish they had used their time in different ways. We have invited colleagues who have had sabbaticals several years ago, those who just returned and still have a "sabbatical glow," and those who are currently on sabbatical to discuss the application process and their sabbatical experiences.

Adjuncts Are Not Second Class Citizens!"

Wednesday October 12, 2005 12:30-1:30

Adjuncts are a fact of life and they are playing an increasingly important role in the integrity and success of the college. How can we, as faculty, enhance fellowship with our adjuncts and full time temporary employees? Integration into their department and support by the faculty can help create a stronger community for adjuncts and for all of us at WSC. By providing professional support and encouragement, full time faculty can help adjuncts become more invested in their department and in their classes. Please invite the adjuncts in your department to attend. Come join us for a discussion on how we can work together to achieve these goals. Glen Brewster, from the English department, will be on hand to facilitate the discussion.

Curious About The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?

Tuesday November 8, 2005 12:30-1:30 p.m.

This year’s Campus Book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an award-winning novel by Mark Haddon, tells the story of Christopher, a bright, autistic boy, who attempts to solve the mystery of who killed a neighbor’s dog. A cross between a murder mystery and a coming-of-age story, the work raises matters of concern to such areas as psychology, mathematics, criminal justice, education, sociology, women’s studies, and English, but its moving story makes it appealing to those in all fields.

Curious about what you would do if a student like Christopher showed up in one of YOUR classes?

If you are interested in learning more about the novel, exploring ways to use the novel in your class or teaching high functioning college students on the autistic spectrum, then please bring your lunch and join George Layng (English) and Jane Mildred (Social Work) at the next Faculty Center brown bag lunch on Tuesday, November 8th, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Keeping Afloat in a Sea of Grading
Tuesday, November 29, 2005, 11:30 am-12:30 pm

Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the enormity of the assessment and evaluation process? Do you wonder if there is truly an iron-bound correlation between the difficulty of grading and the style meaningfulness of assignments? What do you do when astudent challenges the grade you assigned? Do you have suggestions or techniques that you could share with colleagues? Come to our next Brown Bag lunch to discuss the joys and frustrations of grading. Facilitators: Tom Masterson (Economics) and Buzz Hoagland (Biology).

YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Academic Support Services at WSC

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

As the semester began, many were wondering how they would meet the diverse academic needs of students in their classes. During this session, answers to questions such as “ style="font-style: italic">What happens to the progress reports I fill out?” were addressed. The man behind the "Joe Shinn program" was introduced. Here was a chance to meet Joe, as well as representatives from the Tutoring Center, Academic Achievement Center, Reading and Writing Center, Urban Education program, and Student Support Services. We started this brown bag lunch at noon so that faculty could attend for the entire time or for shorter periods in-between classes. Discussion focused on places and services on campus where students can receive academic support. It was a good opportunity to learn how to work with these programs to help students reach their potential.

How Do You Make Group Projects Work?
Thursday, February 9, 2006 12:45 to 1:45, Parenzo 215

We know that students benefit from assignments that require collaboration, but these group projects and presentations can sometimes spell trouble: groups can’t find a time to meet or don’t get along, one or two students do the bulk of the preparation, and sometimes the resulting presentation is a disappointment. But when these presentations do work, they can be excellent learning experiences for students style="COLOR: black">as well as valuable preparation for collaboration in the workplace. At their most successful, group projects can transform a classroom of individuals into a community of learners. During this brown bag lunch discussion, strategies were shared with colleagues about designing successful group project assignments. Vanessa Diana (English), Tery Griffin (Communication), Melissa Roti (Movement Science), and Emily Todd (English) led the discussion.

Forever Touched
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 12:45 to 1:45pm

Life will never be the same for those who survived last year's devastating hurricane season. In addition, first responders and volunteers have described being "forever touched" by their experiences. During this Brown Bag Lunch we heard from colleagues who visited the Gulf States recently. This was an opportunity to learn about the the challenges and the obstacles that face the many people who have had their lives changed as a result of the natural disaster. Our speakers discussed what they saw, as well as how the experience affected them. Our conversation facilitators were Catherine Lilly, Phil Hotchkiss, Stephanie Kelley, and Kathy Itterly. The informative and personal presentation/conversation was welcomed and sobering.

Valuing the Differences: Gender Dynamics in the Classroom
Wednesday, March 22 2006 at 1 pm

Elizabeth Stassinos (Criminal Justice) has recently completed research on the gender content in 101 textbooks for Criminal Justice, Policing and Corrections, and she shared her findings about the various kinds of "othering" of difference (especially of gender and GLBT issues) in these texts. She opened upa general discussion about gender dynamics between professor and students, students and students, and students and texts. Topics included the impact of gender imbalance on classroom climate, approaches to teaching emotionally-charged topics, and addressing sexism in the classroom. This special Faculty Center/Month Celebrating Women brown bag lunch discussion included faculty, and staff.

The Faculty Center sponsoring a talk with Theatre Arts faculty about The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, this semester's theatre production. The play, directed by Jack Shea (who facilitated the discussion), opened the evening of the 26th.

The last of Chekhov's four masterpieces, The Cherry Orchard is often considered his greatest work. A tragicomedy set on the Ranyevskaya estate in rural Russia, it is the story of a bankrupt family coming to grips with the loss of their ancestral home and the destruction of their beloved cherry orchard, renowned throughout the land for its beauty and its size. A family, a way of life, and a country are in a state of transition and an uncertain future awaits.

This play, first produced in 1904, is surprisingly relevant to today. Dealing with such complex issues as identity, dislocation brought about by social and economic change, disintegration of family, and land development, the play challenges us to examine the lives we lead, and the need for change at the expense of irretrievable loss. This discussion helped all become more knowledgeable about Chekhov and gave greater depth to the performances, April 26 through April 29, in the Ely Studio Theatre.

Although there is no one way to put together tenure, promotion, and post-tenure review applications, this session on assembling materials for tenure provided general guidelines and ideas. From 3:30 to 4:15, Joan Rasool (Sr. Vice Presidcnt of Academic Affairs) and Gerry Tetrault (MSCA Chapter President) shared their perspectives. From 4:15 to 5:00, faculty members who have extensive experience with our tenure and promotion process (including Kim Tobin, Carl Grobe, Phil Ettman, John Jones, Corinne Ebbs, Julian Fleron, among others) answered questions and offered suggestions about how to prepare materials. With evaluations a part of life throughout our teaching careers, this workshop was helpful for all faculty, pre- and post-tenure.

Have you fielded a call from a parent about a student’s grade or an advisee’s course schedule? Are you finding that parents are becoming more involved in your students’ academic and social lives? Across the country (and at WSC), college officials refer to these hovering parents as Helicopter Parents; they keep in constant contact with students through instant messaging and cell phones and are ready to rescue their college-age children at a moment’s notice. At this brown bag lunch, faculty learned more about the characteristicsand implications of these Helicopter Parents. They had a chance to describe their own experiences, asked questions about the college’s policies for working with parents, and shared ideas about this new generation of students appearing in our classes. Many representatives from Academic Achievement, Residential Life, Student Affairs, and the Tutoring Center attended the discussion and shared their insights.

Have you heard about using portfolios as a grading method but you're not sure how to introduce them in your classes? Or have you already used portfolios and would like to share ideas with other faculty members who are also requiring them? Recently, many departments on campus have begun to use portfolios to assess students and programs, and people have been reporting successes, as well asacknowledging some difficulties with the portfolio system. Come debate the pros and cons of portfolio assessment at this brown bag lunch. We'll talk about different types of portfolios, share ideas about how to help students develop portfolios, and discuss challenges in evaluating them.vFaculty members from across the subject spectrum will share their experiences. Bring your lunch and join the discussion!

Thanks to all your hard work, your courses have gotten off to a great start. It’s now approaching the middle of the semester. What can you do to keep the momentum going? Come to hear stories and ideas from colleagues who have developed strategies that immerse students in active learning. They will also offer suggestions for those times when nothing seems to be working. This promises to be a lively Brown Bag featuring input from the following professors: Julian Fleron (Mathematics), Frank Giuliano (Physical Science), Kathy Itterly (Education), John Paulmann (Communication), and Jack Szpiler (Psychology). Bring your lunch and join the discussion!

Are you curious about how to make better use of web pages and the Internet in your teaching? Come tothe next Faculty Center brown bag lunch discussion to hear Buzz Hoagland speak about the web pages he has designed especially for his classes, and to get information from and ask questions of Chris Hirtle about the resources the college can provide. We will also share ideas about using various Internet sites in our courses and talk generally about effective uses of technology in classroom teaching. Bring your lunch and join the discussion!

Guest Lecture Series: Mentoring: Reflection, Regeneration, and Retention.
Dr. Karen Cardozo, Amherst College
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 from 3:15 to 4:45pm, Faculty Center.

Informed by her research on diversity, mentoring models and feminist practice, Dr. Karen Cardozo will inspire new and senior faculty to seek and provide the mentoring we need across campus and in our professional communities. She will share strategies for viewing mentoring a) as part of our ongoing development as teachers and researchers, b) as reflection and development of our teaching and learning, and c) as part of our ongoing efforts to diversify our faculty.

The Review of the Common Core Committee (ROCCC) and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning is co-sponsoring a brown bag lunch during which we will explore this question: "What Does It Mean to Be College Educated?" To allow as many people as possible to attend the discussion, we will schedule the lunch twice: once on Monday, December 11, from 11:45 to 1:15 and again on Tuesday, December 12, from 11:45 to 1:15. Our hope is that these brown bags will bring together people from different departments to continue the discussions about the common core and undergraduate education that ROCCC began during visits to individual departments this semester. Please try to attend some portion of one of these lunchtime discussions. We're eager to hear from as many people as possible and look forward to a lively discussion.

As the year comes to an end, we know many of you are beginning to think about compiling your materials as part of the Tenure/Promotion/Post-Tenure Review process. To aid you in this endeavor, the Faculty Center is sponsoring a question and answer style Focus Series event. Dr. Joan Rasool (Vice President, Academic Affairs) and a MSCA representative will be on hand to provide suggestions and answer questions. They will be followed by a panel of faculty members, including Julian Fleron (Chair, Promotions Committee) and Cheryl Stanley (Member, Promotions Committee), who will provide further expertise and guidance. We are looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Games and gaming principles can be utilized in and out of the classroom not only to generate energy, interaction, and fun, but also to meet a variety of educational objectives. For example, games can be used to review for exams, introduce or reinforce important concepts, or create metaphors to enhance understanding. Please join us at this Faculty Center workshop to discuss game design. We will share a variety of examples, along with tips on how to develop games specific to your needs.