From Search to Applications: Google's Impact on Academia

Tuesday, March 23, 1 pm to 2 pm
Discussion facilitated by Amy Chapman (Library) and Teri Shiel (Library)

Only using Google for searching? Come participate in a discussion with two librarians about some of the ways that students and faculty are using a variety of Google tools for scholarly purposes. Share your thoughts about Google's place in an academic context. Bring your lunch and join the discussion!

Providing Effective and Efficient Feedback to
Student Writing in an Online Course

A panel discussion with Connie Daniel (Business), David Smailes (Political Science), and Lynn Zayac (CIT), moderated by Catherine Savini (Writing Liaison Committee, English)
Wednesday, March 10th
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

According to a recent survey of full-time and adjunct faculty, many Westfield instructors worry that online courses risk alienating students from their instructors and peers. How then can instructors of online courses ensure that students are engaged? One way that instructors can connect with students in an online environment is to provide thoughtful feedback to student writing. Please join us for a panel discussion of strategies, both pedagogical and technological, for providing effective and efficient feedback to student writing. The panel will address the following questions: What challenges do instructors of online courses face when it comes to responding to student writing? What kinds of feedback can instructors provide to keep students engaged in the learning process? How can instructors provide effective feedback without increasing our workload? What technologies are available to help instructors provide effective and efficient feedback? Please come with your questions and your ideas!

Spotlight:
The Feminist Teaching Portfolio: Gendered Aspects of Teaching Evaluations, Students' Qualitative Comments, and Course Content

Tuesday, March 9, 3:30 to 5:00
Workshop facilitated by Tamara Smith (Sociology)

This workshop, held in conjunction with the Month Celebrating Women, will focus on strategies for addressing feminist discourse in teaching statements, syllabi and activities. A discussion on the gendered aspects of teaching evaluations, and strategies for addressing these disparities, will take place. Finally, the types of qualitative comments in teaching evaluations often used to disparage feminist discourse will be explored.. 

Faculty Center Discussion: Dialogue about Plagiarism in Higher Education
with Margaret Price (Spelman College) and
Jennifer DiGrazia (Composition Coordinator, WSC)

Tuesday, March 9, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

This session will open with a dialogue between English faculty member Jennifer DiGrazia and visiting consultant Margaret Price.  In their dialogue, Jen and Margaret will address questions that arose during Monday’s workshop and share stories about plagiarism from their own experiences of working in a wide variety of schools.  The main focus of the event will be questions brought by Westfield State faculty.  Although we will attempt to come to some conclusions together, the primary aim of this session will be to generate ideas and begin a discussion about plagiarism which can be continued by the faculty and administration of Westfield State.  RSVP to Emily Todd (etodd@wsc.ma.edu).

Faculty Center Workshop: Plagiarism, Remix, and Web 2.0: Theoretical Considerations and Pedagogical Strategies

with Margaret Price* (Spelman College)

Monday, March 8. 2:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m.

This workshop will focus on the complex questions surrounding plagiarism in the 21st century.  We will consider the following questions:  How is plagiarism defined in various contexts?  Why is it such a prevalent problem today, and does the profile of the “millennial student” have anything to do with its recent resurgence?  In a world that appears dominated by open-source software, file sharing, and “pirated” information, how can we communicate with our students about what plagiarism means and how they can avoid it?  Although we will spend some time on the theoretical questions surrounding plagiarism, the focus of this workshop will be practical:  how to teach in ways that help students understand and avoid plagiarism, and how to address cases of plagiarism in ways that are most productive for students and faculty alike.  RSVP to Emily Todd: etodd@wsc.ma.edu.
 
 
*Dr. Margaret Price is an assistant professor of writing and rhetoric at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.  Her articles on plagiarism, teaching with technology, and disability studies have appeared in College Composition and Communication, Across the Disciplines, Profession, and Campus Technology.  Her book, titled Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life, is forthcoming from the University of Michigan Press later this year.  She teaches courses ranging from First-Year Composition to Rhetorics of Advertising, and has been awarded a Mellon Fellowship and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  Margaret is an avid knitter and likes really tiny dogs.

The Art of the Class Discussion

Thursday, March 4
2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Discussion facilitated by Frank Giuliano (Physical Science) and Leah Nielsen (English)

We've probably all had this experience: we try to start a class discussion, but no one talks!  Come to this brown bag lunch to share ideas about how to inspire worthwhile class discussions.   The facilitators will talk about techniques (including pair-and-share exercises) that help to build students' class participation confidence and encourage them to take responsibility for leading discussion.   Please bring your own ideas about how to get good class discussions going and about how to de-center the professor's role while still guiding students through topics that need to be covered. 

Faculty Center Online Seminar
Co-sponsored by the Faculty Center and Student Affairs

How to Help Students Build Resiliency
and Overcome Their Obstacles
Monday, February 22
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Using positive psychology and a resiliency model of helping, co-presenters Dr. Brian Van Brunt and Dr. Perry Francis will help you break from the mindset of medicating and pathologizing. You’ll instead focus on students’ strengths, helping them live a life in balance and build personal relationships.

You'll discover the therapeutic power of allowing a student's natural strength and resiliency to shine through. You’ll learn how to help your students improve their mental toughness and fortitude in a crisis. In addition, you’ll see how to better manage campus risk and align yourself with those that are struggling–rather than being seen as an obstacle to their success.

Through this online seminar, you’ll learn:

 *   Seven ways to help students build resilience
 *   How you can help students by practicing optimism and by reframing the way they view their stories
 *   What real-world examples of success look like through five detailed case studies
 *   What practical skills will help translate these theories to real-life situations
 *   How to build community and peer support, two cornerstones of positive psychology

Sponsored by the Faculty Center and the Writing Liaison Committee
Providing Effective and Efficient Feedback to Student Writing in an Online Course

A panel discussion with Connie Daniel (Business), David Smailes (Political Science), and Lynn Zayac (CIT), moderated by Catherine Savini (Writing Liaison Committee, English)

Wednesday, February 17th
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

According to a recent survey of full-time and adjunct faculty, many Westfield instructors worry that online courses risk alienating students from their instructors and peers. How then can instructors of online courses ensure that students are engaged? One way that instructors can connect with students in an online environment is to provide thoughtful feedback to student writing.

Please join us for a panel discussion of strategies, both pedagogical and technological, for providing effective and efficient feedback to student writing. The panel will address the following questions: What challenges do instructors of online courses face when it comes to responding to student writing? What kinds of feedback can instructors provide to keep students engaged in the learning process? How can instructors provide effective feedback without increasing our workload? What technologies are available to help instructors provide effective and efficient feedback?

Online Strategies, Alumni Relations, and Your Academic Department

Tuesday, February 2
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Facilitated by Kathi Bradford (Administrative Fellow in Alumni Relations), Kelly Galanis (Administrative Fellow in Alumni Programs), Bob Ziomek (Assistant VP for Division of Advancement and College Relations [ACR]), and Kim Rafferty (Advancement Services Manager)

What’s the best way to stay in touch with your department’s alums and get the word out about happenings in your department?  Come to this brown bag lunch discussion (with free pizza) to learn about the Division of Advancement and College Relations’ current online strategies for reaching alums and the ACR’s recent successes with social media and online giving.  In particular, the facilitators will talk about how all these new efforts can help out departments that want to reconnect with alums, help current students network with graduates, and advertise campus events.   We hope someone from every department will be able to make it.  If you are planning to come, RSVP to Emily Todd (etodd@wsc.ma.edu) to make sure we have enough pizza.  But come anyway, even if you forget to RSVP.

Here are more specific details:

Kathi Bradford, Administrative Fellow in Alumni Relations, will talk about the upswing in online communication, including our success with Facebook, our email communications and our future plans.

Kelly Galanis, Administrative Fellow in Alumni Programs, will talk about Twitter, Linked In and I-Modules, the interactive alumni software used in our office that can assist you with programming efforts.

Bob Ziomek, Assistant Vice President of ACR, will share information about our On-line Giving program and how that can help your department create more opportunities for interaction.

Kim Raftery, Advancement Services Manager, will provide information about data collection, access and ways to make sure you are getting the information for programs and activities you are doing.

Haiti in Crisis: Teaching Strategies, Resources, and
Future Campus Event Planning
Wednesday, January 27
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Discussion facilitated by Jennifer Cannon (Multicultural Education), Connie Daniel (Economics and Management), Mara Dodge (History), John Evans, Carlton Pickron (Multicultural Affairs), and Tarin Weiss (Physical Science), among others

Many of you have already shared resources about Haiti over e-mail.  This brown bag lunch gives faculty and staff the chance to continue the conversation in person and to discuss ways to teach our students about the unfolding crisis in Haiti.  Come hear about resources and teaching strategies you might use to incorporate Haiti into your classes.  We will also discuss future teach-ins on campus and fundraising planning already underway on campus.  Bring your lunch and join the discussion!

Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Gain Control
of an Academic Life

Workshop with Dr. Meggin McIntosh
Friday, January 15, 2010
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.*

We juggle many different responsibilities as academics at Westfield—a heavy teaching load, an intense advising schedule (for many), scholarship and involvement in professional societies, and both departmental and college service. But, of course, our time, energy, and attention are available only in limited quantities, and all these competing demands make it difficult to find time for everything we need to do, both professionally and personally. This workshop, with Dr. Meggin McIntosh (Professor Emerita of the University of Nevada-Reno and former director of that institution’s Excellence in Teaching Program), is designed to give us all specific strategies to help manage our time as academics. In particular, Dr. McIntosh will introduce specific tools that we can implement right away to gain control over the various activities that make up an academic life. She will give strategies for managing email, electronic files, teaching, writing, research, and service, and she will also share ideas for handling interruptions, organizing work space, and scheduling our days.

We have invited Dr. McIntosh to campus on the recommendation of Dr. Mary Deane Sorcinelli (Associate Provost for Faculty Development at UMass, founder of their Center for Teaching, and an alumna of WSC). When Dr. McIntosh presented at UMass in 2008, faculty raved about her workshop, saying that she gave “excellent practical advice” and that it was “the most useful workshop [the participant had] attended in the past few years.”

Space is limited for this workshop, so I urge you to RSVP to me (Emily Todd at etodd@wsc.ma.edu) as soon as possible and preferably no later than Friday, January 8, if you plan to attend. We will serve lunch during the workshop, so please also let me know if you have any dietary restrictions. Hope many of you will be able to attend!

*Note: If you need to leave early, please let me know. We are hopeful that everyone will be able to stay the whole time—and we’ve heard from Mary Deane Sorcinelli that the longer workshop is preferable. But it’s fine to leave slightly early if you can’t stay until 2 p.m.