The below is our original proposal to Brian Conniff, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Scranton. We had previously discussed the idea of creating this group with him, and he was in general support of it from the start. We list below our plans for the group from its first inception.<\/p>\n
————<\/p>\n
Dr. Brian Conniff
\nDean of the College of Arts and Sciences
\nThe University of Scranton
\nScranton, PA 18510<\/p>\n
Re: Creation of a transformative pedagogy cohort<\/p>\n
Dear Dr. Conniff<\/p>\n
At an institution like The University of Scranton, teaching and pedagogy takes the highest priority for members of the faculty. \u00a0Our university is driven and sustained by quality education delivered to quality students. \u00a0In order to capitalize and build upon that priority, a number of faculty (the undersigned) are seeking resources to enhance the classroom experience for both faculty and student. \u00a0Below, we list some of the things that we feel are important to improving that experience, as well as some of the goals that our cohort expects to achieve by the start of the Fall 2012 academic semester.<\/p>\n
Regular Pedagogy Lunch Meetings<\/strong> External Speakers<\/strong> Peer Classroom Evaluation<\/strong> Videotaped Class Sessions for Evaluative Purposes<\/strong> Conference Attendance<\/strong> Books and other Pedagogy Resources<\/strong> Resource List\/Wiki<\/strong> Produce a Usable Classroom Product<\/strong> Implementation and Evaluation of the Novel Pedagogy<\/strong> 2011-2012 Budget Estimate<\/strong> Sincerely,<\/p>\n Jeremy Sepinsky The below is our original proposal to Brian Conniff, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Scranton. We had previously discussed the idea of creating this group with him, and he was in general … Continue reading
\nOne of the most valuable parts of a cohort such as this is the free-sharing of ideas. \u00a0We would like to have lunch meetings once or twice a month to discuss our experiences, experiments, and ideas regarding pedagogy. \u00a0At these meetings, we will also plan the group\u2019s activities and check on each other\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n
\nWe would like to bring in experienced pedagogy researchers who are studying methods that we will consider incorporating in our classes. \u00a0We would be interested in working with the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) in making these events open to the university community.<\/p>\n
\nWe feel that one of the most useful things to improve our teaching is honest, constructive, peer evaluation of our classroom performance. \u00a0We plan to arrange regular classroom visits from other cohort members to evaluate our teaching methods.<\/p>\n
\nSimilar to the peer evaluations above, we would like to evaluate our own teaching styles from a third-person perspective. \u00a0We plan to record at least one lecture per group member each semester and view it as a group to provide constructive criticism.<\/p>\n
\nThere are a number of conferences available which focus specifically on teaching and learning. \u00a0We hope that each member can attend at least one conference focusing on novel teaching methods during the 2011-2012 academic year.<\/p>\n
\nThere are a number of physical, electronic, and\/or technological resources that can be used to transform the classroom into a more interactive and useful learning environment. \u00a0We are seeking support in each of these ways for materials that would be guided by our conference attendance and pedagogy research.<\/p>\n
\nWe feel it is important to document our progress and will be creating a wiki or similar resource page to make it available to any other interested persons in the university community.<\/p>\n
\nWe expect each member of the cohort to create usable course materials. \u00a0To have the greatest impact on the teaching and learning culture of the university, we plan to focus on some part of the core requirements taught by our respective departments. \u00a0By creating a course (or module for said course) based on a novel pedagogy, we can share that with other individuals for evaluations and\/or implementation.<\/p>\n
\nBy the start of the 2012-2013 academic year, we expect to have course materials developed for implementation. \u00a0Before we can finalize our classroom product and give it to other members of our departments for use, we need to evaluate it properly. \u00a0We intend to collaboratively evaluate each other\u2019s classroom product upon implementation during the 2012-2013 academic year.<\/p>\n
\nConference Travel $XXXX<\/del><\/strong>
\nSpeakers Travel $XXXX<\/del><\/strong>
\nSpeakers Honoraria $XXXX<\/del><\/strong>
\nLunch for cohort $XXXX<\/del><\/strong>
\nBooks for cohort $XXXX<\/del><\/strong>
\nTotal $XXXX<\/del><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nTara Fay
\nKathryn Shively Meier
\nPatrick Clark
\nJessica Nolan
\nJennifer Cutsforth<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"