Focus on Teaching: Spring 2010
Addressing Evolving Teaching and Learning Styles

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Lake Shore Campus - Information Commons

Agenda

8:30-8:55 Check-In          
 
8:55-9:00 Welcome: Provost Christine Wiseman
 
9:00-10:15 Keynote: Dr. Christopher Dede, Harvard University’s Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, will speak on how student learning styles are evolving and the impact this change has on teaching and learning in higher education.

10:15-10:30 Break 

10:30-11:30 Breakout I (4 concurrent sessions)

• Does the Use of a Blog in a Writing-Intensive Nursing Course Enhance Student Reflection?
  Gail Hanson, Monique Ridosh, P. Ann Solari-Twadell, School of Nursing. Sarah Brittain, Office of Learning Technologies and Assessment, Moderator. Freshman students in the School of Nursing have participated in a writing- intensive one credit course focused on nursing as service. This session will: Discuss the use of blog in a writing-intensive class, review results of a research project that grew out of the use of the blog, identify learning that resulted from the use of the blog and research project.
• Individual Reflective Practice and Evidence-Based Learning: Three Applications of Short Projects. Anne Reilly, Quinlan School of Business. This session reviews three examples of reflective practice assignments that have contributed to evidence-based learning in the domain of organizational management.
• Attracting and Retaining an Expanded and Diverse Student Body in Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing. Ronald Greenberg, Andrew Harrington, Computer Science. This session will focus on ways to attract more students to STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and pedagogical innovations that can help maintain interest and success.
• The Group Critique in Art Classes: Focusing on the Viewer. Vesna Jovanovic, Department of Fine and Performing Arts. In this session, the discussion will steer the focus away from the artist to the viewer/learner. The approach is much more constructive; it builds confidence and curiosity in the artist.

11:45-12:45 Lunch

1:00-2:00 Cracker Barrel Session: Campus Support Needs

2:00-2:15 Break

2:15-3:15 Breakout III (3 concurrent sessions)

• (Non-) Use of Textbooks Along with Online Learning. Gezinus Hidding and Ron Kizior, Quinlan School of Business; Bruce Montes, Academic Technology Services. We will present the results of a brief study we administered to students in our Information Systems Intro class. Our brief study is an instance of research into effective ways of combining online learning and studying from an accompanying textbook. There will also be a discussion of using online materials, in conjunction with a textbook,  to supplement a face-to-face graduate course.
• Interdisciplinary Partnership as a Strategy to Strengthen the Service-Learning Experience. Mary Margaret Sharp-Pucci, Mary Dominiak, C.B. Clarke, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. Christopher A. Skrable Center for Experiential Learning. We describe a service-learning model designed to provide an effective experiential-learning experience in the Undergraduate Health Systems Management (UHSM) program. The UHSM experience can serve as a model for transforming service learning from a fragmented component of a larger curriculum to a cohesive program philosophy.
• What the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Tells Us about Student Learning. Kristin Espinosa and Rick Hurst, Office of Institutional Research. The NSSE provides a range of information on students' self-reported learning activities and behaviors. This session will focus on two areas of NSSE questions and results: Active and Collaborative Learning and on Enriching Educational Experiences.

3:30-4:30 Wine and Cheese gathering; poster contest winners; door prize drawings

Break sessions--drop-in sessions conducted during break times designed for short questions on a variety of topics, including:

• Blackboard Questions - ATS and LTA Staff
• iTunes U Questions
• Symplicity e-Portfolio Questions

 
Focus on Teaching is sponsored by: Academic Technology Services, The Center for Faculty Professional Development, The Graduate School, Loyola University Chicago Libraries and The Office of Learning Technologies & Assessment.