* from the archive *

The CSU Institute for Teaching and Learning

June 25-27, 2001 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Workshop 5

Mathematics in Other Disciplines: Developing Quantitative Reasoning in Courses Outside the Math Department

Students need to apply and enhance their math and quantitative skills to succeed in many courses outside the math department—e.g., in science courses, social sciences, and pre-professional programs—but often seem not up to the task. Don Pierce will share workable solutions to this problem, strategies for faculty outside of mathematics who want their students to use and sharpen their quantitative reasoning skills.

Donald Pierce is professor and director of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences and Applications at CSU Monterey Bay. He is author of Mathematics for Life: A Foundation Course for Quantitative Literacy and has written and presented numerous workshops on quantitative literacy, connecting math with other disciplines, math anxiety, and combining cooperative/active learning and technology in mathematics. Other publications (e.g., Range Decompositions and Generalized Square Roots of Positive Semi-definite Matrices) would be of interest to our most math-literate faculty.

Workshop 6 FULL

Engaging Students in the Humanities Classroom

Two CSU Outstanding Professors (Michael Flachmann, English, and Jackie Kegley, Philosophy) will model and describe an array of teaching strategies to engage students in the humanities classroom. Put aside those lecture notes and put on your seatbelts because you're going to have fun discussing political cartoons, interviewing Hamlet and Ophelia, participating in psychodrama, and becoming a line of iambic pentameter. You will also engage in some creative critical thinking, based on current and historical events, and role play solutions to ethical dilemmas.

Michael Flachmann, Professor of English and Director of University Honors Programs at California State University, Bakersfield, was a CSU Outstanding Professor in 1993, a Carnegie Foundation U.S. Professor of the Year in 1999, and a Wang Family Excellence Award winner in 1999/2000. An internationally-recognized teacher, scholar, and Shakespearean dramaturg he has published eight books and over fifty articles in such journals as Shakespeare Quarterly and Studies in English Literature. He has worked for many years in professional theatre, serving as dramaturg for over eighty Shakespearean productions, including shows at the Oregon and Utah Shakespearean Festivals. Flachmann's unique blend of literary expertise and professional theatre knowledge has made him a popular, creative teacher and frequent participant in high school and college workshops throughout the nation. Michael also is a fourth degree black belt in Judo and has taught Judo at CSUB for almost three decades, so expect to be engaged in active learning!

Jackie Kegley, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Bakersfield, was a CSU Outstanding Professor in 1989 and a Wang Family Excellence Award winner in 2000-2001, and CSUB has honored her with Outstanding Professor and Community Service awards. Active in campus and system-wide governance, she currently serves as the Chair of the CSU Academic Senate. Her field of specialization is ethical considerations concerning technology and genetics. She has lectured on related topics throughout the world and currently is involved in an international project for Ethics in Medical Education. A prolific writer, Jackie has published in many venues, and she has received a variety of grants, including a million-dollar, three-year grant to infuse ethics, political science, and economics into the nursing curriculum. She has experience with a wide range of teaching approaches, including ITV and Web-enhanced courses and 15 years experience team-teaching a course on "Self, Brain and Person" with a colleague in psychology. Expect to be challenged by Jackie’s engaging, supportive teaching style.

Workshop 7 FULL

Publishing the Scholarship of Teaching

Ever since the Carnegie Foundation’s publication of Scholarship Reconsidered (Boyer, 1990), faculty, administrators, and faculty development professionals have worked to understand and to encourage investigations of teaching and learning in CSU classes and programs. An important element of the scholarship of teaching involves "going public" with the results, sharing the scholarship with professional colleagues through presentation or publication. In this workshop Laurie Richlin will help participants learn how to prepare their scholarship of teaching projects and submit them for presentation or publication. Participants will learn about investigating the relevant literature, identifying the appropriate venue for presentation and publication, and developing and revising their manuscript. They will learn how to tailor work for different presentation and publication audiences, and they will learn about publication opportunities in a variety of media, including the CSU e-journal, Exchanges. Participants will review sample abstracts and manuscripts and practice revising them and responding to editorial concerns. Participants who are planning or who are engaged in a scholarship of teaching project are invited to bring their drafts and ideas for group discussion and feedback.

Laurie Richlin is Director of the Claremont Graduate University’s Preparing Future Faculty Program, Director of the regional Lilly Conferences on College and University Teaching, Executive Editor of the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, and President of the International Alliance of Teacher Scholars. She received her doctorate in higher education from the Claremont Graduate University, and her dissertation research on alternative faculty scholarship received the national Gratzke award from the American Association of University Administrators. She developed and implemented the Teaching Assistant Development Program at the University of California, Riverside; was "Educator in Residence" at four small colleges in Kentucky and Indiana under a FIPSE grant; and served as Director of the Office of Faculty Development at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to California in 1998. Laurie is widely published, including articles and book chapters on the scholarship of teaching, faculty development, classroom assessment, and teaching portfolios.

Workshop 8 FULL

Grading Effectively: New Ideas and Options for a Long-Standing Challenge

Grading can be accomplished in many ways and can serve many purposes. In this session we will explore how to integrate grading into course planning, how to use grading to encourage learning, how grading can be tied to outcomes assessment, how to reduce the burdens of grading, and a variety of new ideas in grading (e.g., "authentic" grading, student portfolios, scoring rubrics, and grading collaborative/cooperative projects and activities). Participants will consider a variety of grading components for their own courses and draft exam questions, assignments, and rubrics for use in their teaching. We will discuss options, practice skills, and learn from each other in this one-day, practical workshop.

Mary Allen is Director of the Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, Director of Assessment, and Professor of Psychology at CSU Bakersfield. She holds a master’s in statistics and Ph.D. in psychology from U.C., Berkeley, and she has published texts on psychometrics and research methods. She has been grading and assessing student work for nearly three decades, and she has offered well-received assessment workshops to faculty throughout the system. Her workshop goal is to help faculty expand their repertoires, so participants will learn about a variety of approaches and how to use them well. Expect to try out and reflect on new ideas in a supportive, collegial environment.