Primarily Education-Focused Sessions and Resources

20 Minute Monday Morning Mentor (Week of November 30th)

Date: Available November 30th – December 6th
Session Title: In Blended Courses, What Should Students Do Online?
Presenter: Ike Shibley, Ph.D. (Associate Professor – Penn State Berks); Timothy Wilson, Ph.D. (Associate Professor – The University of Western Ontario)

Overview:

A 2009 meta-analysis of Department of Education data found that blended courses, mixing online learning and classroom instruction, resulted in better student performance than either delivery format independently. For university instructors interested in exploring blended learning, deciding which course elements to teach face-to-face and which to address through online technology can be a major stumbling block.
Learn a framework for making those essential educational judgment calls from Tim Wilson, Ph.D., associate professor at The University of Western Ontario, and Ike Shibley, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry at Penn State Berks.

Learning Outcomes

This fast and focused professional development session will help you make the most of the opportunities presented by blended learning.  Drawing from Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning, the presenters recommend:
•    Using online technology for the lowest-level learning, before class
•    Emphasizing student engagement during face-to-face teaching, building on the facts and focusing on mid-level learning skills (application and analysis)
•    Pursuing your highest-level learning objectives through online activities, after class.

After following their step-by-step approach, you’ll be able to:

•    Determine which of your lower-level cognitive tasks should be completed before class
•    Describe activities suitable for drawing students into mid-level learning during face-to-face instruction
•    Identify after-class online activities exercising the highest levels of cognitive function

View this Magna 20-Minute Mentor program in order to be confident that your selection of which materials to present online and which to present in the classroom will provide the best learning experience for your students.

The session link and login information to the November 30th 20 Minute Monday Morning Mentor is available in the announcements section of the Professional Development course within Blackboard. Enrollment instructions for the Professional Development course are located at http://tinyurl.com/profdevenroll.

National Distance Learning Week Session – Virtual Presence: Inspire and Engage in the Virtual Classroom and Beyond

Date: Session was held November 11, 2015 

Archive Now Available – To view the recording from this session go to https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/nativeplayback.jnlp?sid=vclass&psid=2015-11-11.1019.D.308112D489929081EC574F1603EF5C.vcr

UTHSC celebrated National Distance Learning Week (NDLW)by hosting a campus viewing of a live webinar provided by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) on November 11th. 

Overview of November 11th Session:

In the virtual medium, great content can easily be sabotaged by a presenter’s low energy, irritating vocal qualities or general inability to engage and excite their audience. Whether presenting online to hundreds via webinar, facilitating a small virtual classroom workshop, or phone conferencing with team members and direct reports, the most effective training leaders and facilitators harness their virtual presence to authentically connect with the hearts and minds of others for maximum impact. 

To view archived recordings from all NDLW sessions please go to: https://www.usdla.org/events/ndlw/

Who Am I When I Teach? Understanding Teaching Persona

Date: Session was held November 3, 2015 

Archive Now Available for 30 Days After the Live Presentation Date – Links to the recording and handouts are available in the Announcements section of the Professional Development course within Blackboard. Enrollment instructions for the Professional Development course are located at http://tinyurl.com/profdevenroll.

Overview:

The learning environment we seek to spark begins with who we are when we teach. Our teaching persona can ignite or impede our engagement at the same time it can ignite or impede students’ engagement as they pursue new ideas.

The teaching persona we bring to our work can set a tone for a productive dynamic, lead us to communicate with clarity, and invite a joy for learning. Too often educators are told, “be natural, be yourself,” without being given any real guidance as to how to develop an authentic teaching identity that can serve to embolden our teaching and spark student commitment to learning.

Through case studies, questions for self-reflection, options for follow-up activities, and resources for continuing understanding and application, this online seminar will provide you with the tools to gain insights into your teaching persona’s role as a catalyst in the development of an engaging teaching and learning environment.

During this seminar, you will:

• Discover key features of your own teaching identity
• Develop an awareness of the choices and influences those features generate in the learning environment
• Expand your repertoire of teaching capabilities through critical reflection on the relationships among teaching identity, learning environment, expectations, and engagement
• Activate catalysts for the continuing growth of your teaching identity to bring ongoing meaning and accomplishment to your work

The presenter, Linda Shadiow, Ph.D., brings 27 years of teaching at Northern Arizona University, including nearly a decade directing their faculty professional development program. Tap in to the understanding she brings to explore the choices inherent in honing and communicating a teaching persona that can become a conduit for purposeful and energized teaching and learning. 

Did you know….

You can apply credit received for professional development outside the university to your faculty training records? Simply complete the HR Request for Additional Training Credit form found at http://www.uthsc.edu/hrtraining/pdfs/additional_training_credit_form.pdf and forward it, along with a copy of the program’s agenda, to the HR Training Department at 910 Madison, Suite 727.

Why do this? The University of TN believes that professional development and training of its employees are central to the university’s mission, vision, and values. Having credit received elsewhere to your UTHSC training records is very useful to your department and college – for things such as annual reviews and program accreditations.