Adjunct Kickstart Syllabus Workshop

Syllabus Kickstarter 
Workshop for Adjunct Professors 
Saturday, August 22, 2015
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon 
Building 58W, Student Union, Room 3804 This hands-on workshop will provide tools and information to craft a well-organized and focused syllabus with the necessary components for university compliance. Attendees should bring his/her syllabus and laptop.
Breakfast will be provided.
RSVP to ofe@unf.edu

Lilly Conference on Teaching and Learning Call for Proposals

The Lilly Conference on Teaching and Learning has supported the scholarship of teaching and learning for over 30 years. Participants share ideas and evidence regarding effective teaching practices and demonstrated student learning outcomes. See the call for applications below. 

The 35th Annual Original Lilly Conference on College Teaching will be on November 19-22, 2015, and for the 35^th consecutive year will be held on the beautiful campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. 

To submit a contributed paper proposal for the Conference, go to http://www.units.miamioh.edu/lillycon/guidelines/

The deadline for submitting a paper proposal is
Monday, June 15, 2015

This year’s Conference features plenary sessions by Robbie Melton, Tennessee Board of Regents, Jim Sibley, University of British Columbia, and Dennis Cheatham, Miami University.

Visit the Conference website at http://www.units.miamioh.edu/lillycon/reg_info.php to register for the Conference (register by October 1 and receive the $50 early registration discount).

Summer Faculty Writing Circles Available

Many faculty members find it difficult to find focused time to write grants and write for academic publication because they feel challenged by teaching loads and administrative duties.
Faculty Writing Circles are designed to facilitate academic writing for faculty who are faced with these challenges. The goal of the Writing Circle is to set an atmosphere of trust within which scholars feel comfortable sharing their work, receiving formative feedback, and revising their work for publication, grant submissions, and other professional forums. The ultimate goal of the Writing Circle is the development of writing and editing skills within the Writing-Circle participant that leads to the recognized distribution of scholarly work.

Registration for UNF Faculty Writing Circles is available online.
http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5pxjDkkpjwoaZJb
The deadline for registration is May 1st.

Frankly Friday: The Soul of Higher Education

The Soul of Higher Education
Friday, April 10th, 2015, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Faculty Lounge, Building 16, Room 4201
RSVP to ofe@unf.edu

In 2011, the Governor Rick Scott called on institutions of Higher Education in Florida to focus on producing more graduates in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and said that the State probably did not need more Anthropology majors. The stated goal of this reform was to produce students who have degrees where jobs are available. The increased emphasis on the college degree serving to provide job opportunities for graduates is a national trend. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Dan Berret reviews evidence that college students increasingly view the college degree as an avenue to financial success and consider less and less that a college degree serves to develop a meaningful philosophy of life. As the Florida Board of Governors focuses more on performance metrics to determine State funding, the university system has increased its focus on producing graduates with jobs. These trends challenge traditional notions of universities providing a broad liberal education for students. Come and discuss the implications of these trends and how they might affect UNF. The Office of Faculty Enhancement will provide coffee and breakfast items.
Friday, April 10th, 2015, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Faculty Lounge, Building 16, Room 4201
RSVP to ofe@unf.edu

Beyond the ISQ: New Models, New Methods

Beyond the ISQ: New Models, New Methods
12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m., Friday, April 10, 2015
Building 12, Room 2405
RSVP to ofe@unf.edu
Admission is free. Lunch provided for those who RSVP

Instructional Satisfaction Questionnaires (ISQ) are used ubiquitously in evaluating teaching effectiveness, yet may people question the validity and usefulness of such instruments in assessing quality teaching and learning. Moreover, in the Fall of 2013, UNF moved to a fully online ISQ process. The online administration of the ISQ raised concerns about response rates and the validity of this form of administration. In this session, the Office of Faculty Enhancement (OFE) will present evidence from a comparison of online administration to face-to-face administration of the ISQ. In addition, faculty will discuss different ways to demonstrate teaching effectiveness and student learning that go beyond the use of the ISQ. Topics will include quantitative approaches to learning data, pre-post strategies, and qualitative assessment of evidence of student learning. Participants will be encouraged to find strategies that will work in their own courses to demonstrate teaching effectiveness and provide assessment of student learning. Faculty are encouraged to come and join the discussion. Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP to  ofe@unf.edu.
12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m., Friday, April 10, 2015
Building 2, Room 2002
RSVP to ofe@unf.edu
Admission is free. Lunch provided for those who RSVP

Call for Proposals - Transforming STEM Education Conference

STEM Education has experienced a resurgence of interest, especially in the State of Florida, as Governor Rick Scott has made jobs in STEM fields a priority.  The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) have been leading STEM education reform for over 10 years. AAC&U has issues a call for applications to an upcoming conference on transforming STEM education. See the details below.

Crossing Boundaries—Transforming STEM Education

A Network for Academic Renewal Conference
Conference Date: November 12-14, 2015
Location: Seattle, Washington


Proposals Due March 18, 2015

The Association of American Colleges and Universities and ProjectKaleidoscope are pleased to announce their Call for Proposals for the 2015 AAC&U conference Crossing Boundaries—Transforming STEM Education.  Proposals are invited and encouraged to showcase evidence-based practices that reflect any of the themes below, and that can be adapted readily to a wide range of institution types, including community colleges and minority-serving institutions.  
We look forward to your proposals in the context of the four themes listed below.

Theme I:  Integrative Undergraduate STEM Teaching and Learning
This theme invites proposals for sessions that describe cross-disciplinary, innovative approaches for enhancing undergraduate STEM learning.  Proposals should represent research and/or practices from any disciplines that focus on achieving core STEM learning outcomes and/or development of research skills.

Theme II:  Inclusive Excellence/Broadening Participation in STEM Higher Education
This theme invites proposals for sessions that highlight theory driven models and innovations directed toward the recruitment, retention, and persistence of students from historically underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines.  A focus on the career advancement of underrepresented STEM faculty is also appropriate.

Theme III: Supporting, Rewarding, and Building Capacity of STEM Faculty
This theme will focus on specific faculty development initiatives that are easily transferable to a diverse group of faculty and/or diverse institutions of higher education. Proposals that emphasize innovative reward systems for STEM faculty are encouraged, including rewards for work in online, hybrid, or blended venues.

Theme IV: Institutional Transformation for Undergraduate STEM Education Reform
This theme invites proposals for sessions related to campus-wide institutional change efforts designed to achieve undergraduate STEM education transformation for both faculty and students.  Proposals addressing how college is training K-12 STEM teachers to prepare students for college STEM courses and curricula are encouraged.

Visit the Call for Proposals to find out how to submit a proposal to share your work at this conference.

For more information, please call 202.387.3760, or write to Siah Annand at network@aacu.org.

Call for Proposals - Active Learning Forum

Active learning captures the best aspects of student learning by prompting students to become active learners rather than passive recipients of information. See the call for proposals below from the National Forum on Active Learning Classrooms. 
Deadline for submissions is April 1, 2015.

The third National Forum on Active Learning Classrooms will take place on August 5-7, 2015 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

Held in Robert H. Bruininks Hall—the largest SCALE-UP installation in the world—the Forum builds on the success of previous events with an expanded set of preconference workshops, demonstrations, posters, roundtables, and paper presentations.

Take a look at our website below for registration and for additional details about the Forum. Paper, demonstration, roundtable, and poster submission deadlines are April 1, 2015. We encourage you to send along this note and website to any of your colleagues who may be interested in attending or presenting.

Website: z.umn.edu/nfalc

For more information, contact:
David Langley, Ph.D
Center for Educational Innovation
Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
University Office Plaza Suite 400
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-625-3343