Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference - Call for Proposals

Please see the announcement and call for proposals below about the upcoming Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Commons Conference held in Savannah, GA in March 2014. 

The deadline for proposals is December 1st, 2013.

The submission period for the 7th annual SoTL Commons Conference is open till December 1, 2013. Information on submitting proposals and registration is available at http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons

All proposals will go through a blind, peer-review process by the SoTL Commons Review Board consisting of faculty located at various colleges and universities around the world who are knowledgeable about the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The 7th annual SoTL Commons Conference will be held March 26-28, 2014 in Savannah, Georgia (USA).  The conference brings together people engaging in SoTL and anyone wanting to improve student learning outcomes in higher education today. The conference epitomizes that college teaching is intellectual work that is enhanced both by disciplinary scholarship and the scholarship on teaching the disciplines.

Please contact the Conference Program Chair, Dr. Diana Sturges, at sotlcommons@georgiasouthern.edu with any questions.

Start your own SelectedWorks to get more readership http://works.bepress.com/sw_user_setup.cgi

Helping Students Cheat? - Frankly Fridays Discussion

Frankly Fridays

Frank Conversation about Faculty Issues

Friday, October 18^th, 9:30-10:30 AM, Osprey Commons Faculty Lounge (Building 16, 4^th Floor)

Topic: Helping Students Cheat?
Let us know you will be there: ofe@unf.edu

As the stakes become higher for college graduates to find jobs and make a living, and as employers are demanding that employees have college degrees, students are finding ways to accomplish this requirement without extreme effort or challenge. In fact, e-commerce has responded to this need and provided websites where students can hire others to take their classes for them (http://www.wetakeyourclass.com/). As institutions of higher education are pressured to demonstrate that students learn important skills from their college experience, the challenge of ensuring that the appropriate students receive the appropriate recognition for their work is becoming increasingly difficult.

In two essays, Chronicle contributor, James Lang, provides some perspective and advice about how faculty at institutions of higher education might be implementing procedures that make student cheating more likely (Part I, Part II, Part III). In this Frankly Friday session, we will discuss the current state of cheating at UNF and some ways to address the issue.

Come discuss how these issues impact UNF and faculty across the U.S.
We will meet in the Faculty Lounge on the 4^th floor of the new dining facility, Osprey Commons.
OFE will provide the coffee and pastries.

Let us know you will be there: ofe@unf.edu

Best regards,

Dan Richard

Export Control Expert on Campus Oct 29th

In order to control top priority research and innovations, the Federal Government has provided laws that limit the flow of information and technology across boarders. The details of these laws can be quite complex. Faculty with good intentions can inadvertantly break these laws and put sensitive data at risk. Please see then notice below from Provost Earle Traynham regarding an expert in Export Control laws who will be on the UNF campus in October.  

We are pleased to host Mr. Steve Brotherton, our outside counsel for export control, on Tuesday, October 29 for his annual visit. Export control laws and regulations are complex, especially in the University setting.  Steve is one of the leading export control attorneys in the country and we are fortunate that he is willing to share his knowledge of this ever changing field of law with us. 

Such laws and regulations impose restrictions on the release or transfer of certain kinds of information, technology and physical items to foreign nationals, even when the release occurs entirely within the United States.  The laws and regulations also address issues involving international travel, international shipping, and the hiring of foreign nationals.  Since many of you are either directly or indirectly involved in one or more of these areas, your participation in this workshop is encouraged.  

It is especially important that faculty and staff whose assignment includes work on a sponsored project (i.e., a contract or grant), and your supervisor(s), become familiar with these issues because penalties for violation of export control laws are significant, and apply not only to UNF administrators but also to individual faculty and staff members. 

Please join us on Tuesday, October 29 from 9:00-10:30 in Room 3804 of the Student Union for our conversation with Steve.  Hope to see you there. 

Thanks

Earle

The Path to Promotion and Tenure

For the past several years, OFE has hosted a Promotion and Tenure Panel in the Spring semester. This year,

we will be hosting two sessions, one in the Fall and one in the Spring.

The session this Fall will focus on the Promotion and Tenure process. This workshop will be especially helpful to faculty who will be submitting their dossiers for tenure in the coming years.

The Path to Promotion and Tenure 

Thursday, October 10, 2013, 1:00-2:30 p.m.

Student Union Building 58W, Room 3806

RSVP to ofe@unf.edu

 The awarding of Tenure and Promotion (P&T) is a culmination of a multi-year process of preparation and professional distinction. In this panel discussion, faculty at different stages of the process will discuss the steps in the P&T process, the criteria for demonstrating professional excellence, and the multiple pathways toward promotion and tenure at UNF.  This session will be especially helpful for new faculty and faculty who will apply for promotion and tenure in the coming years.

AAC&U Targets Scientific Thinking and Integrative Reasoning

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has provided funding for and has invited The deadline for applications is January 6, 2014.
proposals from scholars who are interested in becoming college campus thought and action leaders around scientific thinking and integrated reasoning. See the information below regarding the award program.



Call for Applications: 2014-2015 STIRS Scholars

As part of its ScientificThinking and Integrative Reasoning Skills (STIRS) Initiative, AAC&U will select as many as six faculty members to serve as STIRS Scholars. STIRS seeks to improve the capacity of undergraduate students to use evidence to solve problems and make decisions. Such capacities are foundational to general education and are critical for all students in all areas of study—the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities—if they are to become engaged and productive citizens.
During their term (2014-2015), STIRS Scholars will: 

• Develop the first generation of STIRS case studies (See the Call for Applications).
• Provide valuable faculty and campus perspectives on STIRS strategies for curricular change and for wider efforts to increase attention to evidence-based reasoning in the undergraduate experience.
• Form a leadership cohort within an emerging community of practice comprising colleagues committed to improving evidence-based reasoning and decision making as an outcome of undergraduate liberal education.
• Help select and mentor a second cohort of STIRS Scholars chosen to begin in early 2015.

Deadline for Application: Monday, January 6, 2014
Announcement of Selections: Friday, January 17, 2014
Faculty members teaching in any undergraduate field at any AAC&U member institution are eligible.

See the callfor applications for more information about the STIRS scholars and about how to apply.

Questions? Contact Kevin Hovland, Senior Director for Global Learning and Curricular Change, at hovland@aacu.org.