Second annual Sunshine State Teaching and Learning Conference Jan 31-Feb 2

The second annual Sunshine State Teaching and Learning Conference will be held Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2018, at the Sirata Beach Resort at St. Pete Beach (Tampa Bay, Florida). The historic average high temperature for winter at this location is about 72 degrees! 

This event promises to be exciting and valuable for faculty members and faculty developers in all sectors of higher education. The event is co-hosted by the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida, and we are thrilled to have Michelle Miller, author of the book “Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology” and director of Northern Arizona University’s First Year Learning Initiative, as our keynote speaker.

More info: https://sunshineteaching.org/2018-conference  
Submit a proposal by Oct. 31: http://bit.ly/sunshineteaching2018

Participants from all sectors of higher education in and beyond the state of Florida are encouraged to submit proposals for presentations, workshops, and posters related to contemporary challenges in college teaching. Topics may include technologies for active learning, engaging students in online environments, ensuring accessibility for all students, teaching in politically and socially complicated moments, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and exploring the role/s of faculty in promoting and assessing student success.

• Research sessions will feature panels of presenters sharing research findings on related topics
• Application sessions will include short presentations and conversations on programming and class activities
• Poster sessions will feature visual presentations on both research and programming topics

All attendees and presenters are required to pay the full conference registration, which helped support the cost of meeting rooms and catering. Early-bird registration is $250/person. This rate is valid until December 1, 2017 only. Registration will open in late October. Regular registration (after December 1) will be $325/person.

Located directly on the white sand beach, the Sirata Beach Resort enjoys unparalleled views of the Gulf of Mexico (see http://www.sirata.com/). The group rate for our rooms will be $139/night for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1–this is a significant discount from the usual rate! Participants may also book rooms at this same promotional rate for three days before the conference, and rooms may be booked for the same special rate for three days after the conference. Parking will be free, but resort fees and taxes will apply.



 

Teaching and Learning Links of the Week: April 21, 2017

A roundup of four intriguing posts and articles from around the Internet

They're Not All Introverts

It is not uncommon to assume that students who do not participate are introverts. This blog post identifies numerous additional reasons why a student might not participate in discussions and suggests that fostering participation first requires recognition of all the various reasons students might be hesitant to speak up in front of the class.

http://scholarlyteacher.com/2017/04/13/students-who-dont-participate-in-class-discussions-they-are-not-all-introverts/

Mastering the Boring Basics

In the never ending quest to improve our teaching, it is all too easy to focus on "big" things like adopting the latest innovative teaching technique or developing a truly pioneering new activity or assessment. This article briefly summarizes James M. Lang's idea of "small teaching", which highlights how little, everyday, seemingly mundane changes to teaching--like arriving to class just a few minutes earlier--can have a big impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1769-mastering-the-boring-basics

Anyone Can Establish Rapport

Establishing rapport with students is important for learning, but some instructors might feel that they don't have a personality naturally conducive to establishing strong rapport. This article describes research suggesting that rapport is based only in part on the personal characteristics of the teacher. It also relies heavily on what the teacher does to demonstrate commitment to teaching and care for students' learning. Any instructor can establish strong rapport within the constraints of their own personality and comfort.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/building-rapport-moving-beyond-teacher-characteristics-to-actions-that-promote-learning/

Open Educational Resources (OER) FAQ

Have any general questions about open educational resources (OER)? This recently published FAQ from EdTech Strategies might be able to help.

https://www.edtechstrategies.com/oer/

Teaching & Learning Links of the Week: March 24, 2017

Teaching & Learning Links to See This Week

A roundup of four intriguing or informative posts and articles from the around the internet:

"Why Won't They Ask Us for Help"

The results of a survey of students indicate some of the biggest reasons (including student, environmental, and instructor factors) as to why students do not seek out the help they need from instructors. 

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/wont-ask-us-help/ 

"5 Ways College Teachers Can Improve Their Instruction"

Author Norman Eng offers pedagogical tips from a K-12 and marketing perspective.

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/teaching-college/ 

"How to Teach Students How to Read on Screens, And Why You Might Want To"

Digital literacy skills are becoming increasingly essential for all students to be successful in college. This article shares some helpful strategies for both instructors and students.

http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/how-to-teach-students-how-to-read-on-screens-and-why-you-might-want-to/63789 

"When Students Self-Segregate"

One professor shares his thoughts and observations as he wrestles with the question of how to handle (if at all) situations in which students students self-segregate in the classroom.

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2017/03/24/professor-explores-why-his-students-self-segregate-essay 

Do you know of an interesting article that you would like to share with the ATLE community? Let us know! Email atle@usf.edu

Teaching & Learning Links of the Week: March 17, 2017

A roundup of four intriguing posts and articles from around the Internet

The Distracted Classroom

Every teacher is eventually confronted with the distractions posed by digital devices in the classroom. This article offers an interesting take on this ubiquitous problem and how teachers can approach it, all based on a new book detailing the cognitive neuroscience of distraction.

http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Distracted-Classroom/239446?cid=FEATUREDNAV

Doing "Participation Points" Right

Awarding points for participating in class discussions is a common tactic for extrinsically motivating students to take an active role in their learning. This article offers helpful advice for implementing a participation points system and provides an "engagement rubric" that can be used to score student participation and, perhaps more importantly, to communication to students what they should do to be an active learner.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/participation-points-making-student-engagement-visible/

Measuring Active Learning in the Classroom?

Many teachers strive to promote active learning in their classrooms, but how can they know how active their classroom really is? This article describes an app named Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART), which analyzes classroom speech patterns to provide a rough measure of how "active" a classroom is. This article highlights the broader question: How can active learning be measured?

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/07/study-details-tool-help-professors-measure-amount-active-learning-happening-their

From Virtual Reality Consumption to Creation

Virtual reality is beginning to find its place in certain educational settings, but as of now creating virtual reality content seems out of reach for the typical teacher or student. This article describes efforts to make possible virtual reality content creation for education.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-03-14-the-minecraft-effect-educators-hope-to-move-students-from-vr-consumption-to-creation

Teaching & Learning Links of the Week: February 10, 2017

A roundup of four intriguing posts and articles from around the Internet.

Lowering the Stakes With Online Writing

Engaging students in introductory composition courses can be challenging. This post details one instructor's success in increasing students' engagement (and performance) through the use of low-stakes writing assignments on Tumblr.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/lowering-stakes-online-writing-case-study

Assessment Strategies for the Flipped Classroom

Successfully teaching a flipped class requires regular use of assessment to gauge the degree to which students are prepared to engage in in-class learning experiences. This article provides four strategies for conducting assessment in the flipped classroom.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/resources/blended-and-flipped/grading-feedback/four-strategies-effective-assessment-flipped-learning-environment/

Designing a Humanities Lab

Who says scientific disciplines are the only ones that can or should have laboratories? This post discusses the formation of a lab in the humanities and the positive impact the lab has had on students' learning and engagement.

http://www.chronicle.com/article/Designing-a-Lab-in-the/239132

Two Myths About Teaching and Learning

This brief blog post discusses two elements of "common knowledge" about teaching and learning that, while commonly believed, are not supported by empirical evidence. It includes links to additional information for those interested.

http://teachinginhighered.com/2017/02/01/2-persistent-myths-teaching-learning/