Teaching Excellence Series
The
Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology’s Teaching Excellence
Series is designed for faculty who want to explore a teaching-related
topic more deeply than is possible in a single workshop. Each series
consists of four related workshops, each designed to function individually
or as a part of the series. Everyone who teaches at Illinois State University
is welcome to attend as many or as few of the workshops as they choose.
Those who attend three or more workshops in a single series receive certificates
of participation suitable for inclusion in a teaching portfolio or other
ASPT documentation.
Series I: If Not Us, Then Who?: Promoting Political Engagement Among
Students
Series Facilitator: Dr. Steve Hunt, School
of Communication
In his keynote address at the 2007 Teaching & Learning Symposium,
Dr. George Mehaffy asked this question, “Whose job is it to prepare
the next generation of Americans to be active, informed, and engaged
citizens?” He answered it with the words of singer/songwriter Jerry
Garcia, “Someone has to do something, and it’s just incredibly
pathetic that it has to be us!” This series is designed for those
who are open to the proposition that it is part of our civic duty to
ensure that ISU students are not only prepared to live as engaged citizens
in a democracy, but feel compelled to do so.
Co-Sponsored
by ISU’s American Democracy Project, which will provide each participant
with a copy of Educating for Democracy: Preparing Undergraduates for
Responsible Political Engagement (Jossey-Bass, 2007)
- Why Me?!: Establishing the Need for the Pedagogy of Political
Engagement
Wednesday, January 30; 12:00-1:00 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource
Commons
This workshop provides an overview of the Political Engagement Project
(PEP) at ISU and develops the rationale for pedagogy of political
engagement by addressing the following questions:
- What is PEP and why is it important?
- What are the goals of PEP at ISU and why should ISU instructors
integrate pedagogy for political engagement in their courses?
Presenters: Members, ISU’s Political Engagement
Project Team
- Fighting Apathy: Strategies for Motivating Students to Become
Politically Engaged
Wednesday, February 20; 12:00-1:00 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource
Commons
This workshop explores strategies for motivating student interest
in political engagement including:
- What can instructors do to motivate students about politics
and what barriers do instructors face?
- Is political engagement for all students?
Presenters: Michelle Altieri, School of Communication;
Joe Zompetti, School of Communication; Jason Nippa, SGA
- Avoiding Political Bias: Teaching them How to Think, Not
What to Think
Wednesday, March 19; 12:00-1:00 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource
Commons
One of the reasons instructors shy away from political issues may
stem from their concern about political bias. This workshop will explore
strategies for avoiding political bias when addressing political engagement.
Presenters: Bob Bradley, Politics and Government;
Jennifer Silva McDade, School of Communication; Andrew Matthews, School
of Communication
- Teaching Strategies for Facilitating Political Engagement
Wednesday, April 2; 12:00-1:00 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource Commons
This workshop will explore a variety of teaching strategies for promoting
political engagement.
Presenters: Carlye Kalianov, University College;
Harriet Steinbach and Yvonne Pena, Leadership and Service Unit; Megan
Houge, School of Communication
Series II: But I’m Not a Counselor! Teaching in Times of Crisis
Series Facilitator: Dr. Sandy Colbs, Director,
Student Counseling Services
Do you have a teaching crisis plan? Most of us don’t, but sooner
or later all of us will find ourselves teaching in a time of crisis.
Whether the crisis is national (a terrorist attack), local (the death
of a classmate), or individual (a student in distress), we will need
to cope not only with our own feelings but also with those of our students.
The goal of this series is to help each of us answer the questions: “How
will I teach when tragedy strikes?” “Is it really my responsibility
to help my students cope?” and “How can I best manage these
difficult—sometimes frightening--situations?”
- “What I Did When . . . ”: An Open Conversation
Thursday, February 7; 3:00-4:30 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource
Commons
Come share your stories. What did you do in class on September 11,
2001? How have you responded to the loss of a student? Did the shootings
at Virginia Tech affect your class—or was it “business
as usual”? Have you ever feared for your own safety—or
that of your students? How do you cope with students in crisis? If
you don’t have a story to share; just come to listen and learn.
- What the Research Says: A Read Around
Thursday, February 21; 3:00-4:30 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource
Commons
Join us as we read and discuss some of the research that addresses
what scholars have learned about effective faculty responses to tragedy.
Resources will be available online at www.teachtech.ilstu.edu two
weeks in advance, but we’ll also have time to read during the
session.
Co-Facilitator: Dr. Claire Lamonica, CTLT
- Campus Crisis Response Systems: An Introduction
Thursday, March 20; 3:00-4:30 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource Commons
Do you know what mechanisms ISU has in place to handle campus crises?
Do you know how to get help if you need it? In this session, a panel
of campus experts will provide information about the Student Behavioral
Intervention Team, the Critical Incident Response Team, Community
Rights and Responsibilities, and Student Counseling Services.
Panelists: Jan Paterson, Dean of Students; Brent
Paterson, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs; Anne Newman,
Coordinator, Office of the Dean of Students
- Faculty on the Front Lines: The QPR Suicide Prevention Program
Thursday, April 3; 3:00-4:30 p.m.; CTLT Instructional Resource Commons
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer. Just as people trained
in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each
year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs
of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone
for help. This 90 minute session will provide you with the skills
to act—not as a counselor, but as a concerned member of the
ISU community.
Co-Facilitators: QPR Trainers
