University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center








		*Monday, January 12, 2009* Brought to you by the Teaching Resource Center As you prepare for the Spring semester, make plans to attend the January Teaching Workshop. This half-day workshop is a great forum to discuss innovative ways to approach common teaching concerns and to connect with colleagues throughout the University. All sessions will take place in Clark Hall. We regret that budget cuts mean we will be unable to provide printed programs or lunch. 8:30-9:00 CHECK-IN AND ON-SITE REGISTRATION 9:00-9:45 PLENARY SESSION Using Psychology to Teach Anything Jonathan Haidt, Associate Professor of Psychology; SCHE Virginia, Outstanding Faculty Award (2004) Clark Hall, Room 107 Psychology has been studying learning for over a hundred years, and some of its findings can make you a better teacher. This session will present specific tips from cognitive psychology about how memory and attention work and how you can work with them to optimize learning. Most of this interactive talk will focus on findings from social psychology, which can help create a social context in which students are engaged and open-minded. Topics will include the importance of norms, emotions, self-disclosure, trust, performance feedback, and moments of moral inspiration. 9:50-11:05 CONCURRENT SESSIONS Guiding Undergraduate Research Panelists: Louis Nelson, Associate Professor of Architectural History, University Teaching Fellow (2003-4) Brent Gunnoe, Professor of Chemistry Moderator: Lucy Russell, Director, Center for Undergraduate Excellence Clark Hall, Room 107 Teaching undergraduates to do research can be one of the most exciting and rewarding teacher-student interactions; however, balancing the demands of mentoring with your own research agenda can seem daunting. How can you engage undergraduates in research in ways that work for you and the students? Panelists from a variety of disciplines will discuss why and how they motivate and teach undergraduate researchers in ways that benefit students and faculty. This discussion will focus on practical strategies for guiding student researchers—in and out of the classroom. Students as Speakers: Developing Oral Skills Judith Reagan, TRC Associate Director; Drama Clark Hall, Room 102 Although college graduates are improving in some areas, employers are reporting a decline in speaking ability. Many students themselves express a lack of confidence about speaking cogently to groups. This session will consider how you can reinforce students’ learning and confidence with oral exercises and reports. We’ll discuss ways to create a variety of targeted, time-efficient speaking assignments, to adapt these to your own courses, and to develop rubrics for grading them. How to Hack Wikipedia; or, Technologies for Student Collaboration Paul Fyfe, PhD Candidate in English; Teaching + Technology Support Partner Clark Hall, Room 101 If students learn better when they reprocess information, several simple Web 2.0 technologies can powerfully aid in the effort. In this session on digital pedagogy, we will investigate how to transform web technologies into tools for active learning. Examples will include collaborative online note-taking, student-generated maps and timelines, and Wikipedia term papers (not what you think). Our focus will be on tools which are free and easy for anyone to use; our goal will be to avoid the pitfalls of “tech for tech’s sake” by subordinating these tools to pedagogical strategies that put students’ collaborative and applied experiences first. After an overview and discussion of specific strategies, we’ll conclude with a hands-on workshop to develop these strategies more specifically to certain disciplines. 11:15-12:45 CONCURRENT SESSIONS How to Use Powerpoint without Powerpoint Using You Barry T. Hinton, Professor of Cell Biology Clark Hall, Room 107 Slideware such as Powerpoint and Keynote can be used with imagination, creativity and innovation to keep your audience—whether students or colleagues—fully engaged. But how? In this session, we will examine ways to improve the design of your slides in order to tell a story that promotes learning and engagement. In addition, we will discuss the virtues and vices of presentation software: When is slideware appropriate for your presentation and when does it promote “Death by Powerpoint”? Come prepared to be an active participant in the discussions. The Learning Portfolio: Promoting Intentional and Purposeful Learning Dorothe Bach, TRC Faculty Consultant; German Clark Hall, Room 102 The learning portfolio is a rich tool for reflecting on and assessing the learning process. By documenting and contemplating their work within a course or a curriculum, students develop awareness about themselves and others, their personal priorities, and the purpose of their education. In this workshop, we will consider various uses, formats, and benefits of learning portfolios, and discuss the nuts and bolts of creating effective assignments and grading rubrics. Participants will then review samples of successful assignments and student portfolios and work in groups to develop assignments that reflect their particular course goals. Responding Student Writing in the Humanities: Myths, Strategies, and Tactics Greg Colomb, Professor of English; Director, Academic & Professional Writing Clark Hall, Room 101 Most of us work hard to grade and mark student writing. However, many of us make this work more difficult (and less effective) than it should—and can—be. Why? Because we subscribe to several common myths about writing assignments, student error, and effective response. In this interactive workshop, we'll explore some common obstacles to effective writing response in the humanities. Along the way, we'll share some proven strategies and tactics that will make your responses more accurate, more pointed, and more useful to students--and help you get through a set of papers faster.

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