Upcoming Faculty Advancement Series:Using Active Learning Strategiesto Enhance Student Learning

Please join the CTLE for the following upcoming Faculty Advancement Series event:

Using Active Learning Strategies
to Enhance Student Learning

Tuesday, 17 Nov 2009   ·   11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.   ·   STT 590

Dr. André Oberlé (CTLE)

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Tradition has it that Confucius said:

Tell me, and I will forget.
Show me, and I may remember.
Let me do it, and I will understand.

Modern educational research has proven what we always knew instinctively: Active students are better learners. This workshop examines how instructors can nurture student learning by incorporating active learning techniques into their lectures and seminars. They will see that even small modifications to the way material is treated in class can make a huge difference in the quality of student learning. A light lunch will be served.

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Upcoming Faculty Advancement Series:The Effectiveness of Peer Tutoring on Student Achievement at the University Level

Please join the CTLE for the following upcoming Faculty Advancement Series event:

The Effectiveness of Peer Tutoring on Student Achievement at the University Level

Friday, 13 Nov 2009   ·   1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.   ·   STT 590

Vincent G. Munley, Ph.D (Lehigh Univ., Dept. of Economics)

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Peer tutoring is a commonly employed strategy at universities in economic education as well as other disciplines where developing problem solving skills is a key element in mastering the subject matter. While there appears to be a general consensus that peer tutoring is a successful learning technique, and its practice is supported by multiple professional organizations, little direct evidence has been gathered about the quantitative magnitude of its effectiveness.

In this presentation, Dr. Munley will examine the evidence at Lehigh University. The results suggest that the peer tutoring program has a positive and significant impact, though in order for the program to improve the expected letter grade, a student need participate in the program on average for about one hour per week over a fourteen-week semester.

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Improving Teaching Effectiveness and Student Learning Through Low-Stakes and Informal Writing Activities

Please join the CTLE for the following upcoming Faculty Advancement Series event:

Improving Teaching Effectiveness and Student Learning Through Low-Stakes and Informal Writing Activities

Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009   ·   11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.   ·   STT 590

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Active learning is self-reflexive, process-oriented, and personal, and should provide students the opportunity to assess their own learning. Such learning also creates the chance for teachers to become learners themselves: about the material, about students, and about teaching & learning. How can we create such self-reflexive learning experiences?

One simple and adaptable method is by using low-stakes, informal writing. This interactive workshop will serve as a primer to the benefits of using informal writing as a tool to enhance student learning and to the many options for designing such assignments. Such informal (often non-graded or evaluated) writing assignments can improve student learning across all levels and abilities, in a variety of courses (seminar, large lecture, lab/studio), and in any discipline.

A light lunch will be served.

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Really Simple Steps for Managing the Web: An Introduction to RSS

Coming up in the new faculty and staff advancement series, Technology on Your Own Terms,

Really Simple Steps for Managing the Web:
An Introduction to RSS

Tuesday, 13 Oct 2009   ·   12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.   ·   WML 306

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This workshop will explain how RSS feeds and RSS readers can help you manage the abundance of information available on the web. You’ll create a Google Reader account and will learn to import, organize, search, and share up-to-date content from your favorite websites. (Taught by Kristen Yarmey-Tylutki, Library)

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Technology on Your Own Terms

The Weinberg Memorial Library and the CTLE are proud to announce a new faculty and staff advancement series, Technology on Your Own Terms. The series will introduce University faculty and staff to emerging technologies in a hands-on environment, in order to encourage innovation in the workplace and in the classroom.

Technology on Your Own Terms will begin Fall 2009 with four sessions. Descriptions of these events can be found here.

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Upcoming Faculty Advancement Series: Teaching with the Case Method and Problem-Based Learning

Please join the CTLE for a workshop presented by Dr. Linda Nilson (Clemson University) on

Wednesday, 16 Sept 2009
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
STT 590

Both the case method and problem-based learning (PBL) are proven powerful methods for engaging students in the subject matter, getting them to analyze situations, and giving them practice in applying the course material to solve real-world problems.

These methods are well suited to disciplines that have a context for application or use. These include business, law, medicine, nursing, public health, all engineering specialties, education, philosophy (e.g., ethics), economics (e.g., macro, legal aspects), political science (e.g., policy analysis, public administration, constitutional law) sociology (e.g., social problems, criminal justice, organizations), psychology (e.g., clinical, abnormal, organizational behavior), biology (e.g., resource management, ecology, DNA testing, genetics), physics, chemistry, and research methods in general (e.g., hypothesis formulation, research study design). These methods have even been used in music history and art history.

Refreshments will be served.

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The Writing Center: Fall 2009We're Open for Business

The Writing Center is now open for business. Visit our home page for information on how to meet with our writing consultants, our Fall 2009 hours of operation, and more.

Visit the Writing Center home page →

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Drop-in Tutoring, Fall 2009 Now Available

No appointment needed! Drop-in tutoring services are available in Math, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Accounting, and Finance.

View current schedule →

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Online Education Getting Better, Way Better

In the frantic days leading to the first day of classes, I missed a New York Times article about a recent report commissioned by the Department of Education that found, “on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”

The report is a meta-analysis of 99 research studies conducted between 1996 and 2008. Unlike previous studies that found no significant differences between online and face-to-face instruction, the current report concluded that students in the online environment would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, while students in the traditional classroom would rank in the 50th percentile – a statistically significant difference.

To see the full 93-page report, visit Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Education: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. The article from the New York Times can be accessed here.

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CTLE Has New Technology for Faculty Use: Podcasting and Pen-Based Technology

The CTLE has recently acquired technology that will be available for faculty to borrow for classroom projects. Faculty will be required to complete the “Proposal for Classroom Project Using Learning Technologies” form.

The DigiMemo L20 pad (pen-based technology) allows you to immediately get both a digital record and a hardcopy duplicate of handwritten notes without scanning. It is as easy as writing/printing or drawing on this tablet, then connecting it to a computer via a USB port and voila, the notes appear on the screen ready for editing in MS Word. The resulting file can also be uploaded to ANGEL courses for students to access.

Create a Podcast very easily by taking a digital voice recorder into your classroom and recording your lecture. The recorder saves audio in MP3 format which can then be uploaded to ANGEL, iTunes or a website for students to download.

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