View the CITL Teaching & Learning Newsletter October 13 Issue. 

Announcements

Continuing the Conversation on Reimagining the Classroom

Close to 200 people attended the recent Symposium on Reimagining the Classroom for a day of presentations and roundtable discussions about the variety of factors involved in changing classrooms, and classroom teaching, on this campus. Let’s keep the conversation going! You do not need to have attended the Symposium to participate. Graduate Students and Instructors who are interested in discussions or activities related to flexible classrooms are invited to visit the Flexible Classrooms page on the new CITL website. When you Request a Consult someone will contact you directly about discussion groups that are forming around campus. 

FAST3 Provides Technology Training for Faculty and Staff

FAST3, a technology training service provided through Webstore, offers convenient workshops on a variety of common software programs including Adobe Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. Or, choose from Microsoft applications such as Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. Most workshops are available at no charge to University faculty and staff. For more information, to register, or see a complete list of workshops visit the FAST3 website.

CITL Events & Workshops

Workshops

Monday, Oct 17
Make 'Em Laugh (and you should): Using Humor in the Classroom
6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M., room 428 Armory Building
Speaker: Lucas Anderson (CITL)
 
Wednesday, Oct 19 
Jr. Faculty Fall 2016 Seminar Series: #5: Creating a Promising Syllabus to Motivate Learning
11:30 P.M. - 1:00 P.M., room 428 Armory Building
Speaker: Cheelan Bo-Linn (CITL)
 
EPI Workshop Series for International Graduate Students, Fall 2016: #2. Using clarification and negotiation strategies for effective communication
5:30 P.M. - 6:30 P.M., room 428 Armory Building
Speaker: Jeff Arrigo (Linguistics)
  
Thursday, Oct 20
Finding a Job in Academia: Undergraduate Institutions (A CTEN panel)
5:30 P.M. - 6:30 P.M., room 223 Gregory Hall
Speaker: Donovan Bisbee (CITL)
 
Monday, Oct 24
EPI Workshop Series for International Graduate Students, Fall 2016: #4. EPI practice. Setting goals. Resources.
5:30 P.M. - 6:30 P.M., room 428 Armory Building
Speaker: Jeff Arrigo (Linguistics)
 
Wednesday, Oct 26 
Jr. Faculty Fall 2016 Seminar Series: #6: Maximizing Learning Opportunities in a Multi-Cultural Classroom
11:30 P.M. - 1:00 P.M., room 428 Armory Building
Speaker: Cheelan Bo-Linn (CITL) 
 

Training Opportunities Across Campus

Friday, Oct 17
InDesign CC - Level 2
1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M., room 27 Illini Hall
Speaker: FAST3 / Webstore Training Services
 
Monday, Oct 24 - 26
Illustrator CC - Level 1
1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M., room 27 Illini Hall
Speaker: Judy Geistlinger (Fast3/Webstore Training Services) 
 
Wednesday, Oct 26
Newsletter in a Day
1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M., room 27 Illini Hall
Speaker: Judy Geistlinger (Fast3/Webstore Training Services) 
 

Teaching Tips

A Simple Invitation - Please See Me.  It all began with a simple message that I wrote on the tests or assignments of students who were struggling: “Please see me so we can discuss your performance on the test (or assignment). Let’s see what we can do to improve your grade.” Although initially I was not collecting data on the effectiveness of my “invitation,” I soon realized that most students—about 80 percent—responded to it. Notably, those who met with me began to do better on future tests; their assignments improved as well.

An Innovative Learning Strategy for Exams: 2-Stage Exams and 2-Stage Reviews. Students take an exam individually. Once they complete the exam they turn it in and get into a group with 3 other students. The students then take the identical test but this time they work together on the questions. There is one answer sheet for the group so they all have to come to agreement on each answer. Listening to their peers and arguing for their case helps them to understand the answer better, even if they had gotten the question correct on their individual test. This also works well for a review when students begin a new class and the instructor wants to review the prerequisite material.  Directions for this strategy for taking and review the exam are here.