SPRING 2011 WORKSHOP SERIES

THE LECTURE I: “Integrating Student-Centered Activities Into a Lecture Format”

Prof. Stephanie Jensen-Moulton (Music); Prof. Brian Sowers (Classics)

Presenters share their approach and experiences in student-centered activities in lectures including efforts used to activate students in the Core Music course; and exercises introduced in the Core Classics course to enhance students’ study skills and development as writers.

Thursday, March 3                  

Library Room 411                               

12:30 - 2:30pm

Faculty Interest Groups (FIGS)

Have you been looking for people at Brooklyn College with similar academic / interdisciplinary interests but haven’t found them yet? Better than Facebook, we’ll provide the venue and refreshments for such meetings to occur. All you need to do is come with some ideas of what you are interested in.

Monday, March 14                             

2420 Boylan                                           

4:00 - 6:00pm

Academic Integrity

Philip Gallagher (History); Amy Hughes (Theater); Patrick Kavanagh (Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies) &  Nicola Masciandaro (English)

At this workshop, Professors and Administrators discuss the state of academic integrity at the college as well as the policies and processes in place to ensure it. Faculty will learn how to use tools on Blackboard, such as SafeAssign (plagiarism-detection software) and online quizzes, to help students avoid common mistakes and pitfalls.

Wednesday, March 30

Library Room 411

1:00 – 3:00pm

THE LECTURE II: “The Art and Science of the Lecture”

Tim Gura (Speech); John Van Sickle (Classics)

At this workshop, Professors discuss the art of the lecture, the science of how people learn and what cognitive science can tell us about the most effective teaching methods. Faculty will discuss techniques and experiences in the art and science of “reaching students” in medium to large lectures.

Wednesday, April 6

Library Room 411

12:30 – 2:30pm

Teaching with Poetry

Jared Harel (Centenary College, NJ)

This workshop is designed for Liberal Arts Faculty members (both English and non-English) who are looking to utilize creative writing as a fun and challenging way to develop their students' abilities to analyze, articulate, and debate. In Practical Poetry, attendees will be discussing poems and writing their own. This workshop will also offer faculty members numerous creative writing exercises to employ in their own classes.

Wednesday, April 13

2420 Boylan

12:30 – 2:30pm

SAKAI

Carlos Cruz (AIT) & Lee Jay Favors (Continuing Education)

Wednesday, April 27

2420 Boylan

12:30 – 2:30pm

Hybrid Teaching/Research Classes: Early Research Experience for Undergraduates

Rafael Ovalle (Biology)

A new educational program sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is recruiting freshmen and sophomores to search for viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophages) and publish their results. The underlying hypothesis is that if STEM undergraduates participate in an authentic research experience early in their academic careers, they will be more motivated to graduate within their major and pursue advanced degrees. Thus far participants of a one-year demonstration program at Brooklyn College, (ten undergrads and two grads) isolated twelve viruses, eight of which are now being sequenced. Six of those students attended advanced classes in biology. Teaching/research classes can bring the research experiences to large groups of students. Students benefit by publishing early in their careers. Professors get highly motivated students with writing experience to staff their research programs.

Thursday, April 28

2420 Boylan

12:30 – 2:00pm

NY Times

Walter Barleycorn (NY Times)

The workshop will cover specific ways to integrate The New York Times newspaper into your course and introduce the wealth of online resources The Times provides to you and your students. The workshop will show you how to utilize The Times as a classroom resource.  You will also be introduced to the library of instructional strategies offered by The New York Times in Higher Education.

LUNCH WILL BE SERVED

Wednesday, May 4

2420 Boylan

12:30 – 2:30pm

“How to Teach Almost any Subject more Effectively using Digital Libraries and Other Online Resources”

Joseph Vaisman (Polytechnic Institute of NYU)

At this workshop, the presenter will share his experiences and teaching methodology for making the teaching process more effective for students’ benefit.  Discussion will focus on how students can use web-based tools and resources (especially digital libraries) to learn and develop skills in problem-solving.      

Wednesday, May 11

2420 Boylan

12:30 – 2:30pm