From Talk to Action: Let's Integrate the Core! Faculty Development Day Workshop May 3, 2007

Agenda for the afternoon 1:00 – 1:15 = Welcome and form home teams 1:15 – 2:00 = Content integration: Sharing knowledge across disciplines 2:00 – 2:10 =Pedagogy integration: How we learn at Fairfield 2:15 – 2:35 =Pedagogy “Jigsaws”, round I 2:35 – 2:50 = Break 2:50 – 3:10 = Pegadogy “Jigsaws,” round II Group members share 3:15 – 3:45 =Report back to home teams 3:50 – 4:00 = Groups report out; evaluation

Two broad categories for integration: Content – students see a variety of faculty talking about related topics, concepts, or ways of thinking, sometimes in one another’s classes Pedagogy – students experience a variety of teaching and learning strategies being employed in many of their courses, creating an integrative culture

Content: Speakers Bureau Faculty develop 30-minute “killer” lectures or classroom activities on topics of their choosing These titles with brief explanations will be listed on the core website Anyone who is looking for a colleague to provide support in a course can invite from the list Each speaker will receive a $50 stipend per classroom visit (up to 4 lectures per academic year)

Your turn! 1. Come up with a title and a brief description of a “killer” class presentation or activity you’d be willing to share. Discuss these within your groups. Use your group laptop to record ideas. 2. Come up with 2 places in your courses where you believe you could benefit from some outside expertise. Use your group laptop to record ideas.

Pedagogy: Creating an integrative atmosphere We have 5 leaders presenting 5 different sets of pedagogical activities in “jigsaw” rounds Home team members each choose 2 different “jigsaws” they’ll join After both rounds, return to home teams / groups and share what you learned Result: Everyone tries 2 new sets of activities, and learns of all 5

Pedagogy Jigsaws Listen now for your home team / group number [Read off last names] Get in your home teams / groups [2 minutes] At least 2 members go to each of the following 5 jigsaws

Using prompts for reflective writing (Kathy Nantz) Reflective writing assignments ask students to think about their relationship to some aspect of the course Requires students to interrogate their own assumptions about some aspect of their learning or some content in the course Reward is the better understanding of their own learning and progress that students get

Integration through Inquiry (Ramona Islam) Forum Theater: informed by rigorous research, students negotiate a controversial issue through theater. Research Partnerships: students swap topics and conduct secondary research for one another. Socratic Circles: within 2 concentric circles, students examine texts through inquisitive dialogue.

Giving students voice (Larry Miners) One minute papers Write, pair, share The most salient point

The Five Stages of Revision (Aaron Perkus) Write: can be an open or targeted prompt Limit: look for where the center of gravity is, the seam in the baseball, the square peg, deus ex machina Add: Mull, Mull, Mull Switch: time/place/gender/age/race/ethnicity/class/sexual preference/epoch/zeitgeist/time/tense/purpose/audie nce/speaker Transform: screenplay/article/transcript/interview/story/conferen ce abstract/letter to the editor/ linear note/ blog One minute papers to 3-5 page essays

Visual Integration (Roben Torosyan) Concept Drawing: students sketch a concept visually as a T-shirt design Concept Mapping / Mind-mapping: students group and link ideas all over a page (a nonlinear alternative to outlining) Found object illustration: students use found objects to illustrate a concept

Pedagogy Jigsaws At least 2 members go to each jigsaw Round 1 & 2 jigsaw breakout locations: Reflective writing, Kathy Nantz: Rm 109 Inquiry, Ramona Islam: Rm 111 Giving voice, Larry Miners: Rm 112 Revision, Aaron Perkus: Rm 110A Visual int, Roben Torosyan: Rm 110B

Pedagogy Sharing with Home Teams After completing 2 rounds, share with home teams in breakout locations: #1: Rm 109 #2: Rm 111 #3: Rm 112 #4: Rm 110A #5: Rm 110B 20 minutes total: Appoint Facilitator: Help people report only key take-aways; limit folks to 1-minute “elevator presentations” to leave time to discuss and clarify End by 3:45 to all report out in Rm 110 A & B

Integrative Learning through Content and Pedagogy: Insights