PROMOTING DEEP LEARNING:
Cultivating Intellectual Curiosity, Creativity, and Engagement in College

November 16-17, 2007
Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Bloomington, Minnesota

OPENING SESSION Friday, 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

what the best college teachers do Ken Bain Vice Provost for Instruction and Director of the Teaching and Learning Center Montclair State University   What do the best teachers do to captivate and motivate students and help them reach unusually high levels of accomplishment? There is no simple answer, no formula for great teaching. To foster deep learning requires deep thought about what it means to learn, how people learn, all of the social forces that can influence learning, and how educators and their students can best come to understand the nature and progress of their learning. It requires what Ken Bain calls a Natural Critical Learning Environment. His book, What the Best College Teachers Do, published in 2004 by Harvard University Press, has been translated into eight languages and has been one of the most widely discussed books in higher education over the last three years. At the heart of that discussion has been an exploration of the meaning and contours of a rich learning environment. This highly interactive session will explore and use findings from an award-winning fifteen-year inquiry into the practices and insights of highly successful educators, those people with phenomenal success in helping their students achieve remarkable learning results. Ken Bain, Ph.D., is Vice Provost for Instruction, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center, and Professor of History at Montclair State University. Recognized for his insights into teaching and learning, he has also been the founding director of four major teaching and learning centers, including the Center for Teaching Excellence at New York University, the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence at Northwestern University, and the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University. He has received awards from the Harry S Truman Library, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the International Studies Association, among others. Bain’s historical scholarship centers on the history of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and he is currently completing his third book on that subject.

CLOSING SESSION: Saturday, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO DEVELOP ON INTELLECTUAL AND PERSONAL LEVELS Jeanette Norden, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Vanderbilt University Deep learning implies a fundamental change in a student’s knowledge base or in her underlying understanding of a subject. Such change is the result of intellectual, and often personal, development. Of interest to educators is how to motivate students to want to develop on these levels. In clinical education, there is an additional moral imperative to help students achieve deeper levels of understanding, because achieving these levels is necessary for the competent and humane treatment of clients. This session will focus on what the presenter has found is especially effective in captivating the student’s interest, and in creating an atmosphere in which the student is motivated to develop on both intellectual and personal levels. Concrete examples will be used to demonstrate how such development can be promoted regardless of class format, course level, or specific discipline. Jeanette Norden is Professor and Director of Medical Education in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in the School of Medicine and Professor of Neurosciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at Vanderbilt University. In 2004, she was highlighted as one of the most effective teachers in America in What the Best College Teachers Do (K. Bain, Harvard University Press, 2004). Norden is considered a maverick in medical education for integrating “humanity” into basic science courses, and has been recognized at Vanderbilt and nationally for this approach. She is a two-time recipient of the Shovel, an award made by the graduating class to the faculty member who has had the most positive influence; a six-time recipient of the Jack Davies Award for teaching excellence in the basic sciences; and a four-time recipient of the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. She was also awarded the first Chair of Teaching Excellence at Vanderbilt University. In 2000, Norden was the recipient of the Robert J. Glaser Award, a national teaching award from the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society of the American Medical Association.

STEWART BELLMAN AWARD FOR EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP Friday, 5:00-6:00 p.m. PROMOTING THE SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ON YOUR CAMPUS Join us in honoring the first recipient of the Stewart Bellman Award for Exemplary Leadership for the Advancement of College Teaching and Learning at our gala reception with a short program, delicious appetizers, music, and a cash bar. Connect with friends and colleagues in this relaxed, enjoyable setting.

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FACULTY DEVELOPERS' BREAKFAST SESSION Saturday, 7:30-9:15 a.m. -- Separate registration required. PROMOTING THE SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ON YOUR CAMPUS Marion Larson, Professor and Director, Honors Program Bethel University Stewart Ross, Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Minnesota State University–Mankato Faculty developers, join your colleagues for an informal discussion on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Learn more about resources and strategies that you as faculty developers can use to help faculty on your campus who hope to connect their scholarly and teaching lives.  This session will also include time to share your own experiences and develop next steps that best meet your campus needs.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE
Tim Barrett The Collaboration	Peter Kjeer Bethany Lutheran College
Lesley K. Cafarelli The Collaboration	Marion Larson Bethel University
Deb Dusek North Dakota State College of Science	Kevin D. Thompson University of Minnesota-Crookston
Margo Keys Chippewa Valley Technical College

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CONCURRENT SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

IA  BUILDING THE "PERFECT" COURSE ONE LESSON AT A TIME Joy Becker, Associate Professor Petre Ghenciu, Assistant Professor Matthew Horak, Assistant Professor Helen Schroeder, Assistant Professor Math, Stats, and Computer Science Department University of Wisconsin–Stout A lesson study project investigates how students think and respond to instruction by focusing on creating a single lesson and revising it in light of classroom observations. By analyzing the difficulties and problems students experience in the classroom, faculty members can improve their understanding of how teaching affects student learning. The presenters will summarize a project from the 2006–07 year to introduce the lesson study process. The session will include an activity during which participants break into small groups and model the lesson study process to brainstorm possible lesson study projects in their own departments. Resources will be available for participants interested in starting a lesson study project of their own.

IB CURIOSITY: Without It, Deep Learning Doesn't Happen Velma Lashbrook, Assessment Consultant, Center for Teaching and Learning Augsburg College This interactive session focuses on how to use questioning and storytelling to arouse curiosity in a way that fosters deep learning. Curiosity is sparked by the desire to reduce the pain of ignorance or to seek the pleasure of knowing. Whether people are motivated to reduce pain or gain pleasure, arousing the desire to learn is the first step in deep learning. This session explores how individuals come to be curious and what learning facilitators can do to stimulate curiosity. Participants will learn what the literature says and leave with two specific strategies for arousing curiosity—asking powerful questions and telling stories about how their own curiosity was aroused. During the session, participants will have the opportunity to apply these strategies and obtain feedback from others. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IC FOSTERING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH DISCUSSIONS AND JOURNALING Rebecca Anderson, First-Year Student, Exploring Program Susie Lubbers, Visiting Assistant Instructor, Department of English Nancy Perrin, First-Year Student, Department of Education Leslie Werden, Assistant Professor and Director of First-Year Studies, Department of English Morningside College The First-Year Program at Morningside College is committed to working with students who are learning how to learn and believe a strong foundation in critical thinking is the key to their success. If critical thinking can be encouraged through open discussion and journal writing, first-year students will develop the skills necessary to be successful in future academic courses and in life beyond college. During this session, participants will be motivated to re-invigorate their classrooms with the proposed critical thinking techniques.

ID NO MORE DANCING ON THE DESK: Creating Ideas that Stick Brandon Claycomb, Division Chair, Arts and Humanities Department Mary Gross, Assistant Professor, History Department Aaron Smith, Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department Marian College of Fond du Lac And so I asked them, “Why would a king want to have absolute power over the government?”  A mesmerist could not have induced a greater trance-like state in 30 students. Had they not read the assignment? Was I in the right classroom? Do I have to dance on the desk to get them to acknowledge my presence and respond to my questions? The ideas from Chip and Dan Heath’s book, Made to Stick, can help solve the problem of disengaged students. “Sticky” ideas stimulate curiosity, foster discussion, and encourage creativity. This panel will provide specific techniques to cultivate the “sticky” classroom. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF CLASSROOM CONCEPTS FOR REAL-WORLD CLIENTS Kenneth Johnson, Instructor, Business Marketing and Management, Business Department Kevin Thompson, Associate Professor, Communication, Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Department University of Minnesota–Crookston Are you struggling to design projects and assignments that engage students, connect with course objectives, and prepare students for future success? This session focuses on providing participants with examples of successfully implemented projects and assignments that incorporate practical application of classroom concepts, integrate technology, and utilize client involvement to provide students with valuable real-world learning experiences. The interactive session will allow presenters and participants an opportunity to share information, discuss the framework and logistics of successful implementation, discuss important “how to’s” and “lessons learned,” and describe evaluation techniques to understand the value of such projects. Participants will walk away from this session with an expanded understanding and appreciation of instructional activities that they can bring back to their classrooms.

IF PROMOTING DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSITY ISSUES THROUGH ACTIVE LEARNING Kathy Book, Assistant Professor, Department of Education Tammy Faux, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work Becky Gleason, Third-Year Student, Departments of Spanish and Elementary Education Liz Fernstrum, Third-Year Student, Department of Social Work Emily Wieneke, Third-Year Student, Departments of Business Administration and Accounting Chris Wood, Third-Year Student, Department of Communication Arts Wartburg College This session details how deep learning was fostered in a required course on diversity at a private liberal arts college. Students in the course were encouraged to engage with real-world poverty issues through a service-learning assignment that connected to a research assignment. This culminated in the development of a possible “solution” to the problem they researched and encountered, which was presented to the class. The presenters will demonstrate how service-learning, creative assignments, and multiple references to earlier readings help students to learn in a required course and integrate new concepts about “other” into their own knowledge base. Session participants will identify options for using active learning strategies that promote personal engagement and deep learning in other challenging courses. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IG Utilizing Multiple Intelligences Pedagogy to Promote Deep Learning—Part I Kirsten Dauphinais, Assistant Professor, Law Department University of North Dakota–Grand Forks This double session workshop will further explore the use of Harvard educational psychologist Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) to promote deep learning in classrooms and throughout the curricula. In the first session, the presenter will begin by reviewing Gardner’s nine identified intelligences by modeling teaching techniques inspired by them. In the second session, participants will then break into small groups, with each group developing a lesson plan to teach a concept through a technique inspired by MI theory, then delivering the lesson to the larger group. Finally, participants will reflect on the experience and brainstorm as to how they can use MI pedagogy when they return to their classrooms, and whether MI is useful is inspiring more global curricular reform in the programs in which they teach.

IIA Cultivating Engagement through the Development of Creativity in Academic Writing Claudio D’Amato, Third–year Student, Department of English and Department of Philosophy Lois Trachte, Pathways Associate for the Writing, Reading, and Speaking Lab Christian Mueller, Fourth-Year Student, Departments of Philosophy and German Wartburg College What can we do to encourage students to think and write creatively while still meeting academic requirements? The presenters will share diverse viewpoints through student paper samples and student and faculty video interviews. They will share the suggestions submitted to their faculty to foster creative expression and include creativity in grading rubrics. Critical feedback during small- and large-group discussions will focus on using and refining the proposals. Participants will be encouraged to share their own ideas and experiences concerning the place for creativity in academic-level writing. The presenters will provide a creativity guide for students, a faculty guide for encouraging creativity, a sample grading rubric for faculty, and a form for evaluating success. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IIB Engaging Students Beyond the Blackboard Dianne Del Giorno, Instructor, English Department Michele Neaton, Active Learning Advocate, Center for Teaching and Learning Century College The black (or white) board can be more than just a surface for chalk or dry-erase markers. With magnetic instructional tools, educators can turn a metal-backed black (or white) board into a dynamic learning space that engages students in hands-on, collaborative learning. Participants will find out how college faculty are incorporating magnetic learning tools in classroom instruction. They will discuss and analyze how such tools can engage multiple intelligences, empower learners, enhance formative assessment methods, and provide engaging strategies for reviewing material. Participants will try out these tools in sample group learning activities and explore ways they could be used in their own teaching. Sample lesson plans using magnetic tools will be provided.

IIC Improving Critical Thinking in the Community College Student: Results of a Collaborative Cross-Content-Areas Research Project Becky Davis, Instructor, English Department Jane Greathouse, Instructor, Psychology Department Lynn Grenz, Instructor, Child Development Cassandra LaBairon, Instructor, English Department Patricia Linehan, English and Psychology Instructor, Department of Psychology Jay Wendelberger, Instructor, History Department South Central College Many complain: “My students can’t think!” Once, we would have agreed. But we set out to change that. The South Central College faculty in this session report on a semester-long action research project undertaken in history, child development (technical program), psychology, literature, and composition to incorporate explicit best-practices critical thinking instruction within their classes. The quasi-experimental pre-post design also tested several variables in relation to critical thinking: formal operational thought, need for cognition, conceptions of ability, and ASAP scores. Critical thinking was assessed in pre-and post-surveys, and treatment and control groups were compared for growth. Participants will try out active learning activities and be provided with detailed handouts. The presenters will discuss their findings and challenges and provide recommendations for improving critical thinking across the curriculum. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IID Moving Away from Lecturing: Creating Student Centered Classrooms Mary Hadley, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Geology Jeffrey Pribyl, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry and Geology Minnesota State University–Mankato In this session participants will see that there are viable options to lecturing in large classrooms. Using Problem-Based Learning and guided inquiry learning, the presenters will demonstrate how they changed the culture of their classrooms from instructor-centered to student-centered. While the two activities they present will be from chemistry classrooms, no chemistry background is required. In fact, the presenters believe that participants will not only learn how they use these student-centered activities in their classrooms, but will also learn some chemistry. Participants will develop a plan for implementation of a student-centered activity into their classrooms.

IIE TEAM-BASED LEARNING: Engaging Active Learning While Promoting Critical Thinking Sarah Fuchs, Instructor Mona Klose, Assistant Professor Noelle Riehl, Third-Year Student Sarah Westlake, Third-Year Student Department of Nursing Jamestown College Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an active classroom teaching and learning strategy using peer-to-peer learning and focused activities and exercises to help students learn more effectively. The primary objective of a TBL course is to help students learn how to apply course concepts and practice critical thinking skills rather than simply recall content. In addition, TBL courses foster student and faculty collaboration and peer support. Team-Based Learning can easily by incorporated into any area of study. Participants will experience a mock TBL session, obtain valuable resources in order to implement TBL, and learn to create a challenging but supportive learning environment that stimulates intellectual curiosity and creativity. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IIF UNDERSTANDING ENGAGED LEARNING: A Grounded-Theory Exploration Eileen Hulme, Associate Professor, Doctoral Studies in Higher Education; Executive Director, Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education Azusa Pacific University Michelle Louis, Adjunct Faculty Bethel University Gary Pritchard, Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching, Newport School of Art, Media and Design University of Wales at Newport This session will share the results of a multi-institutional grounded-theory study aimed at illuminating the intricacies of student engagement, a construct that is widely researched and yet often poorly understood. Educators seeking to develop stimulating, captivating environments in which deep learning flourishes must first gain a solid appreciation of the multi-faceted nature of student engagement and its implications for educational practice. Faculty and administrators will gain a more comprehensive understanding of student engagement and will consider ways to utilize these research findings to promote meaningful, engaged learning in students during this interactive session.

IIG UTILIZING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES PEDAGOGY TO PROMOTE DEEP LEARNING—Part II Kirsten Dauphinais, Assistant Professor, Law Department University of North Dakota–Grand Forks This double session workshop will further explore the use of Harvard educational psychologist Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) to promote deep learning in classrooms and throughout the curricula. In the first session, the presenter will begin by reviewing Gardner’s nine identified intelligences by modeling teaching techniques inspired by them. In the second session, participants will then break into small groups, with each group developing a lesson plan to teach a concept through a technique inspired by MI theory, then delivering the lesson to the larger group. Finally, participants will reflect on the experience and brainstorm as to how they can use MI pedagogy when they return to their classrooms, and whether MI is useful is inspiring more global curricular reform in the programs in which they teach. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IIIA Bodies, Space, AND Action: Fostering Community and Collaboration through Creative Expression Darcey Engen, Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre Jen Janda, Fourth–Year Student, Department of Art Merilee Klemp, Associate Professor, Department of Music Charlotte Scheuneman, Fourth–Year Student, Department of Art Tara Sweeney, Assistant Professor, Department of Art Janis Weller, Director, Eliason Institute Augsburg College Creative building blocks of the fine arts—material, space, inspiration, action, and audience—will be used in an introductory, collaborative, small-group exercise to explore the role of creativity in building collaboration and understanding community in an internationally diverse population. The presenters will coach participants to use bodies, a single prop, ideas, movement, and space to create a multi-sensory performance of a single-word concept using perspectives from visual arts, theatre, and music. Handouts for structure and facilitation of the exercise will be provided. Participants will discuss and suggest modifications of the exercise for their respective organizational needs.

IIIB Communal Inquiry: The Power of Philosophical Concepts to Enhance Reasonableness—Part I Adam Alexander, Second-Year Student, Department of Education William Z. Buros, Third-Year Student, Department of Education Jason Howard, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Richard Morehouse, Professor of Psychology Viterbo University The purpose of this double session is to demonstrate how a communal (class) inquiry into contentious philosophical concepts can cultivate intellectual curiosity and improve reasoning skills. After a brief introduction to the approach, participants will break into small groups and complete a number of exercises designed to generate a discussion of specific “philosophical” concepts. The exercises are designed to demonstrate a) that individuals do not need to study abstruse philosophical texts in order to engage in meaningful philosophical discussion; b) that the open-ended nature of philosophical dialogue improves reasoning capacities in demonstrable ways; and c) that communal inquiry of philosophical concepts is an activity that is cross disciplinary and can be pursued in a wide variety of learning environments. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IIIC CONVERSATION WITH KEN BAIN AND JEANETTE NORDEN Join us for an informal conversation with our major speakers during this concurrent session. Bring your questions and comments to contribute to this discussion.

IIID Faculty-Student Collaborative Projects: Making Them a Reality in Your Classroom Lynda Pavek, Fourth-Year Student, Department of Art University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Martin Springborg, Faculty Coordinator, Center for Teaching and Learning Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Faculty-student collaborative projects offer a way for faculty to bring their research or other projects into the classroom. Research shows that working with students on such projects fosters a deep connection to the subject matter as well as the institution. In this session, students and faculty will present a successful faculty-student collaborative project. The session will provide an introduction to the research on faculty-student interaction, as well as detail the process of administering and participating in a collaborative photographic essay on the lives of students and faculty at a local community college. Throughout the session, participants will experience the process of planning for and develop their own faculty-student collaborative projects. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IIIE Learning to Transform: Engaging Students and Institutions through Self-Authorship Carl Brandt, Director, Career and Community Learning Center, College of Liberal Arts Chris Kearns, Assistant Dean, Student Services, College of Liberal Arts LeeAnn Melin, Associate Director, Student Engagement and Learning June Nobbe, Director, Student Affairs–Leadership Program University of Minnesota–Twin Cities This session will examine how two key ideas—student engagement and the developmental model of self-authoring—can help faculty, advisors, counselors, and administrators plan all levels of their work in support of deep learning, including collaborative programming and partnerships within and across the institution. Participants will learn what the developmental model of self-authorship is, some of its salient implications, how it has been applied at the University of Minnesota, and how it might be applied to articulate, plan, and achieve educational outcomes and institutional change at the participants’ home institutions.

IIIF PROMOTING ENGAGEMENT THROUGH USEFUL FEEDBACK Lenore Kinne, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Health and Educational Foundations Department Northern Kentucky University If students are to develop their intellectual curiosity, engagement in college is critical. The feedback instructors provide is an important factor in student engagement. Feedback can send some students a message that encourages their intellectual curiosity and self-efficacy. Yet other students may interpret feedback to mean that the instructor does not like their work or, worse, that they are not very smart, without understanding that the work exhibits a particular misunderstanding or shortcoming. Based on Grant Wiggins’ definitions of praise, factual feedback, and guidance, this session will focus on giving feedback that promotes students’ ownership of their work, self-assessment skills, and depth of engagement while avoiding feedback that may be counter-productive. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IVA Active Learning in Library Instruction Sessions: Befriending Your Librarian Christopher Gilbert, Professor, Political Science Department Julie Gilbert, Assistant Professor, Library Department Gustavus Adolphus College Tired of seeing students zone out during library instruction sessions? Wondering how to help students develop better research skills? Interested in exploring active learning in the library? This presentation highlights collaborative efforts between a librarian and a classroom faculty member as they creatively respond to the challenges of teaching library skills to undergraduates. The solutions presented include small group work, student empowerment, multiple instruction sessions, and learning objectives defined by both instructors. The presenters will also emphasize the assessment methods they use to measure student learning. Session participants will design hands-on research exercises and brainstorm ideas for further collaboration between librarians and classroom faculty to strengthen the information literacy skills of students.

IVB COMMUNAL INQUIRY: The Power of Philosophical Concepts to Enhance Reasonableness—Part II Adam Alexander, Second-Year Student, Department of Education William Z. Buros, Third-Year Student, Department of Education Jason Howard, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Richard Morehouse, Professor of Psychology Viterbo University The purpose of this double session is to demonstrate how a communal (class) inquiry into contentious philosophical concepts can cultivate intellectual curiosity and improve reasoning skills. After a brief introduction to the approach, participants will break into small groups and complete a number of exercises designed to generate a discussion of specific “philosophical” concepts. The exercises are designed to demonstrate a) that individuals do not need to study abstruse philosophical texts in order to engage in meaningful philosophical discussion; b) that the open-ended nature of philosophical dialogue improves reasoning capacities in demonstrable ways; and c) that communal inquiry of philosophical concepts is an activity that is cross disciplinary and can be pursued in a wide variety of learning environments. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IVC THE EXPERT NOVICE: Encouraging Deep Learning through Freshmen Interdisciplinary Collaboration Mimi Czarnik, Associate Professor and Chair of English Richard Runkel, Professor and Chair of Theatre Alverno College The presenters have been experimenting with models of creating shared, interdisciplinary experiences among students in their general education courses. In these collaborative experiences, the freshmen become “experts,” teaching students in another class the strategies they are learning in the humanities and fine arts. The goals for collaboration include strengthening students’ connection to the college, increasing student engagement with the arts and the humanities, and encouraging students to see connections among their beginning courses and learning experiences. In this session, the presenters will provide an overview of these models and engage the participants in a series of learning activities that draw from arts and humanities disciplines. The presenters will end with a discussion of ways to help students develop as experts through interdisciplinary collaboration.

IVD INTERNSHIPS AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUILDING SKILLS IN REFLECTION AND METACOGNITION Mary Brakke, Education Specialist, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics Steve Simmons, Professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics University of Minnesota–Twin Cities This session will explore the learning environment of internships and focus on strategies for developing students’ abilities to learn deeply in unstructured, experiential situations. Participants will learn about ways to build student communities that enhance learning during internships. They will become acquainted with the Learning Map (Moon, 1999) and how the presenters used it to build understanding of the learning process and encourage metacognition. Participants will become acquainted with strategies for stimulating and guiding student reflection that enhances learning from experience. Assessment results will provide participants with ideas on how they might assess their own efforts. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IVE NO LEARNER LEFT BEHIND: Problem-Based Learning Adapted for Online Classes Milton Luoma, Assistant Professor, Information and Computer Sciences Department Metropolitan State University Vicki Luoma, Assistant Professor, Accounting and Business Law Department Minnesota State University–Mankato This presentation examines Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in an online context. PBL is a learner-centered method specifically designed to emphasize critical thinking skills that foster confidence in dealing with real problems in a given field of study. These problems are used to engage students’ curiosity and initiate learning the subject matter. It is an instructional method that challenges students to “learn to learn” by working cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real-world problems. This presentation focuses on strategies and tactics to adapt this highly acclaimed pedagogical method to the online classroom. It will include a step-by-step design to implement this method in a distance-learning environment.

IVF The Promising Syllabus Ken Bain Vice Provost for Instruction and Director of the Teaching and Learning Center Montclair State University Ken Bain studied teachers who have enormous success in helping and encouraging their students to achieve remarkable learning and found that they usually produce a certain kind of syllabus. If the syllabus didn't exist and instructors wanted to invent one based on what they think they know about human motivation and learning, what kind of syllabus would they produce? Answer: The same kind that very successful teachers already use. Ken calls it a “Promising Syllabus”, and in this highly interactive workshop, participants will have an opportunity to build such a syllabus for one of their courses. Back to Concurrent Sessions

IVG THINKING AND CLICKING IN THE CLASSROOM! Zala Fashant, Assistant Director for Programs and Services, Center for Teaching and Learning Yvonne Shafer, Faculty Coordinator, Center for Teaching and Learning Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System This interactive session explains how more clicking in the classroom can encourage more thinking in the “brainroom.” Clickers provide an environment whereby all students are actively engaged and immediate feedback is provided to instructors and to students—even within a large lecture class. This particular teaching technology can be used within any discipline and is an effective way to turn passive learning into an interactive exchange resulting in deeper learning. Personal response systems—usually called clickers—will be used throughout the session, and examples will be given for how these clickers can be used in different settings to reinforce learning and conduct formative assessments. Participants will develop questions and responses that encourage discussion and critical analysis of subject content. Back to Concurrent Sessions