teaching arts lunches Archive
spring 2012
Fall 2011
spring 2011
fall 2010
spring 2012
January 27
Interpreting the New Course Evaluations
Nancy Whittier (Sociology)
This Teaching Arts Lunch will focus on how to interpret the new course evaluations, particularly the qualitative portion. Bring your questions, bring your evaluations if you like, and we'll talk about how to make sense of the comments, look at examples, and consider how to summarize them.
February 3, 2012
Student Perspective on Classroom Discussion
Barbara Brehm-Curtis (Exercise and Sport Studies)
Floyd Cheung (English)
Jessica Bacal (Center for Work & Life)
When the Center for Work & Life advertised a workshop designed to help students feel more comfortable speaking in class, fifty students registered. During this presentation, we will share what we learned from reviewing current research on this topic and talking to students who attended the workshop. We will then facilitate a conversation about strategies that you have used to encourage students' speaking and engagement in class.
Cognitive Restructuring Exercise by Patty DiBartolo
GROUPTHINK: The Brainstorming Myth by Jonah Lehrer
The New Yorker, January 30, 2012
What's the Problem With Quiet Students? Anyone? Anyone? by Mary M. Reda
The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 5, 2010
Shyness: Evolutionary Tactic? by Susan Cain
The New York Times, June 25, 2011
February 24
Transitioning to a Workshop Format in Introductory Physics
Joyce Palmer-Fortune (Physics)
Gary Felder (Physics)
Over the next two years Smith Physics will be doing away with separate labs and lectures in Introductory Physics, moving to an integrated model where students go back and forth between doing experiments, discussing the results, and solving problems. We will discuss our plans for making this transition and the open questions we are still working on in that process.
March 9
Mind in the Making
Ellen Galinsky, President and Co-Founder, Families and Work Institute
For almost a decade, Ellen Galinksy worked with top researchers from across the country, filming their experiments and studying their results about how we learn best. In her acclaimed book, Mind in the Making (Harper Collins 2010), she identifies seven life skills that are essential to success in school, in the workforce and in life. They are: focus and self control, perspective taking, communicating, making connections, critical thinking, taking on challenges, and self-directed engaged learning. In this presentation, Ellen will discuss her research and how it may be applied to work with college students.
March 30
Smith College Alumnae Outcomes
Cate Rowen (Institutional Research)
Minh Ly (Institutional Research)
What happens to our students after they graduate? What jobs do they hold? Do they complete advanced degrees? How do they compare to alumnae from peer institutions? What do they think about their Smith experience? Minh Ly and Cate Rowen from Institutional Research will present findings from Smith's alumnae survey, followed by a discussion about what we measure and what really matters in life after Smith.
April 6
Contemplative Pedagogy in Higher Education
Bernadine Mellis (Film Studies)
Jennifer Cannon (UMass)
For thousands of years, people have practiced mindfulness meditation to reduce suffering and cultivate peace. Contemporary Western research reveals that mindfulness also enhances learning and attention. Many educational institutions, including UCLA, Stanford, UCSF, and PENN have embraced mindfulness as an educational intervention by introducing it into their curricula and conducting research in the field. Bernadine Mellis, Five College Visiting Artist in Film & Video Production and Jennifer Cannon, PhD Candidate at UMASS, will introduce some of the basic ideas behind contemplative pedagogy. They will also lead participants in brief contemplative practices designed for the classroom.
What Are Contemplative Practices?
The Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education (ACHME)
April 20
Mentoring Underrepresented Students
Gita Bosch, Academic & Educational Consultant
A key to student success is mentoring. This is especially true for underrepresented minority (URM) students who may not have the social structure that provides role models and intellectual and emotional supports that students need to succeed. Mentoring can provide this infrastructure and fill in gaps in knowledge and access to available resources which many URM students need. Peer mentoring is critical for student success, but it has to be supported with faculty mentoring for optimal effectiveness. Many non-minority faculty are wary about taking on the role of mentor for URM students. This is usually not because they do not want to but rather it is usually because they are concerned that they do not know how. The discussion will focus on how faculty mentors can overcome the barriers and gain awareness, insight and strategies on mentoring URM students to increase the chances for their future success professionally and personally.
Science Mentoring: Strongest Advocate, Strongest Critic - A Guide to Mentoring
nature.com, July 2, 2012
BACK TO TOP
Fall 2011
September 23
Collaborative Online Writing Assignments
Richard Olivo (Biological Sciences)
Collaborative writing assignments, where students draft and edit a document collectively, can increase the amount of writing in a course without increasing the amount of grading. We will discuss the practicalities of working with two online collaborative environments, PBWorks (a wiki) and Google Docs. We will also hear about how Smith students reacted to working in assigned teams – Richard Olivo, Biological Sciences and Neuroscience, Smith College; and former Associate Director, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University
Richard Olivo's Collaborative Online Assignment for BIO330
Oakley, Barbara et al. (2004) Turning Student Groups into Effective Teams. Journal of Student Centered Learning 2, (1): 9-34.
North, South, East, and West: Compass Points
An Exercise in Understanding Preferences in Group Work
October 7
The Bechtel Environmental Classroom at the Ada & Archibald MacLeish Field Station: What can a building teach you?
Reid Bertone-Johnson (Center for the Environment)
October 21
The CMU Open Learning Initiative and Smith: Integrating pedagogies and technologies
Nick Horton (Mathematics and Statistics)
TED Talks - Salman Khan:
Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education
Project Mosaic
Bryn Mawr Next Generation Learning
October 28
Skyping the French: A weekly intercultural conversation with a school in Paris
Christiane Metral (French Studies)
November 4
The Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning: Our first two years and plans for the future
Kevin Shea (Sherrerd Center Director, Chemistry)
November 18
Assessment of Deep Learning in the Methods of Psychological Science
Patty DiBartolo (Psychology)
December 2
Teaching Circles: Finding kindred spirits to support your work in the classroom
Borjana Mikic (Engineering)
Susan Van Dyne (Study of Women and Gender)
One of the main tenets of the Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning is the notion that teaching is always a work in a progress, and is always improvable. When we consider new approaches to our work in the classroom, however, the barriers to adopting new pedagogical strategies can often seem formidable. Teaching Circles provide an opportunity for faculty to learn from colleagues who are exploring similar pedagogical themes or approaches by engaging with one another in conversation about shared interests. In this Teaching Arts Lunch, Susan and Borjana will discuss two on-going Teaching Circles: one related to teaching with the archives, the other related to creativity and design. Although the focus of these two groups is quite different, we will explore several common themes as we invite you to join the conversation.
Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
BACK TO TOP
Spring 2011
March 4
Beyond Access: How Jacobson Center Services Develop Autonomous Learning
Julio Alves (Jacobson Center)
Gail Thomas (Jacobson Center)
March 11
Ability Matters: Students with Learning Disabilities Talk with Us about Teaching Strategies That Work
Laura Rauscher (Disability Services)
March 25
Liberal Arts Advising: A Report from the First Year Pilot
Kate Queeney (Chemistry)
April 1
Mobile Technology: A Survey of Applications for Teaching and Learning
Tom Laughner (Educational Technology Services)
Nat Fortune (Physics)
April 8
Transfer Maps: Identifying Transferable Knowledge and Skills from a Capstone Course
Susannah Howe (Engineering)
Mary Moriarty (Engineering)
April 15
The Value (and Privilege) of One-on-One Teaching in the Performing Arts
Judith Gordon (Music) and Friends
April 22
Supporting Good Classroom Talk Using Knowledge Forum
Patty DiBartolo (Psychology)
Glenn Ellis (Engineering)
Randy Frost (Psychology)
Al Rudnitsky (Education & Child Study)
BACK TO TOP
FALL 2010
September 17
What's New With Smith's Educational Technology Services (ETS) Group?
Tom Laughner (Education Technology Services)
Aisha Gabriel (Education Technology Services)
September 24
Active Learning
Richard Felder
Rebecca Brent
Active Learning: An Introduction (PDF)
October1
Achieving Excellence in Math, Engineering and Science: The AEMES Program
Peter de Villiers (Psychology)
Adam Hall (Biological Sciences)
Kate Queeney (Chemistry)
October 22
Report on Critical Thinking Assessment Test
Minh Ly (Institutional Research)
October 29
Educational Inequalities and Impacts on Entering Smith Students
Tina Wildhagen (Sociology)
November 5, 2010
Updates From Conferences on Teaching and Learning
Joyce Fortune (Physics)
Beth Powell (Psychology)
Kevin Shea (Sherrerd Center Director, Chemistry)
Teaching Arts Luncheon (PDF)
There's No "Laughter" in School (PPT)
November 19
Incorporating Current Topics in Classes: Gulf Oil Spill Teaching Circle
Drew Guswa (Engineering)
Teaching Arts Luncheon (PDF)
December 3
Helping Underserved Students Succeed at Smith. Perspectives from the Founder of the Pathways to College Program
Judith Berry Griffin, Woodrow Wilson Fellow
