'Back to School' Before Going Back to School

8/22/2011

With only three semesters' experience, I know there's so much more to learn about teaching journalism to college students. Fortunately, Marquette's Center for Teaching and Learning provided a great deal of help during its two-day "Back to School Faculty Summer Institute" last week. I attended six of the eight sessions. Very glad I did.

Focused on content, structure and setting the tone for the semester during the "Syllabus Tune-Up" session and being sure to develop my inner lawyer and to "link, link, link" in the "Copyright and Plagiarism" workshop. Definitely got a lot out of the "First Day of Classes" primer – especially the nugget that how students view the initial 45 minutes of meeting an instructor establishes how they will likely perceive the course and instructor the rest of the semester.

We got our first look at the upgraded D2L, or Desire2Learn, the university's learning management system that connects teachers and students. The next session, "Having Difficult Conversations," will help us better address troublesome comments or subjects in our classrooms so they become learning opportunities. The last workshop involved "Teaching Millennials" and understanding what makes today's college students unique and promoting tactics for communicating with them based on their contexts and expectations.

Kudos to the center's new director, Shaun Longstreet, and all of the speakers for producing a wonderful and insightful program. I look forward to applying what I learned during the new semester. It begins next week. OMG!

12 Comments

Eric

8/30/2011 11:34:07 am

I enjoyed this post almost as thoroughly as I did the last post. You once again opened with the personal statement. Which in my opinion also opens up the rest of the blog statement for the summary of the classes you took at the University's teaching workshop. Overall, I felt that you were very excited about the workshop, and were looking forward to applying it to your upcoming classes.

Sarah

8/31/2011 02:07:16 am

I really like this post, as knowing my professors are going to school themselves never fails to amuse me. But I also think it's great that the post stresses how it's important to keep teachers as well as their teaching methods up to date.

Becca French

8/31/2011 05:32:23 am

It's very reassuring to know that your professors take as much interest in a subject as you do, especially so much so that they go back to school! There is also that level of comfort in the classroom when your professor is as aware of the programs, such as D2L, as you are expected to be. Overall, I find that when the teachers are comfortable in the classroom, it makes me feel comfortable to participate and be active in the class, and it's wonderful to hear that is something which Marquette is working to achieve.

Kyle

8/31/2011 07:03:01 am

Some colleges probably don't do this kind of professor preparation like Marquette does, so consider yourself fortunate. Each school year brings new challenges, so I'm happy that Marquette is giving its faculty an orientation of its own.

Ben Sheehan

8/31/2011 07:10:22 am

A teacher at his best will bring the best out of us students, so it's nice to read about the steps you took this summer to prepare for your classes and keep the material updated. Knowing that you are investing that time and energy in this class reinforces for me what you said in class yesterday about how you care about us.

Alec Brooks

8/31/2011 08:40:07 am

As Becca pointed out, its encouraging to see professors hit the books themselves. This post outlines the courses quickly, focusing on the most interesting tidbits.

Erin Caughey

8/31/2011 01:41:46 pm

In my opinion, a professor who enjoys learning something new is a great asset to students. It is difficult, as a student, relating to the majority of professors on a professional level. Knowing that you are making an effort to learn in order to help students is reassuring.

Ben Stanley

8/31/2011 03:21:35 pm

It is nice to have a professor who cares enough about his students to learn about them and how to prepare them for such a turbulent world. I know some may say that we "Millenials" are entitled and rude, but you might be pleased with our work ethic and adaptability.

Ryan Ellerbusch

9/1/2011 01:29:59 am

I am excited for this upcoming sememester and all the tools that you learned to help us become better journalists. The most interesting piece of information I got from this blog post was, "how students view the initial 45 minutes of meeting an instructor establishes how they will likely perceive the course and instructor the rest of the semester." Looks like I will be intimidated all semester long by the lengthy syllabus.

Heather Ronaldson

9/1/2011 04:00:29 am

This training session sounds both informational and enjoyable. How cool that professors are as on-board as students with advancements in digital education. I also believe that every difficult question or troublesome subject in a classroom can instigate a learning opportunity rather than frustration among peers. Kudos to your commitment to stay current!

Marissa Evans

9/14/2011 10:16:51 pm

This particular post was unique to me as a student as it gives me a sigh of relief that other professors are not waiting around to get training on D2L. It is unfortunate the amount of professors who almost seem to resist change and technology in general for that matter. I was especially pleased that there was something taught about how to better communicate with college students –– it's definitely not a black and white type of communication; especially with different learning styles.

Erica Breunlin

9/20/2011 03:00:48 pm

"How students view the initial 45 minutes of meeting an instructor establishes how they will likely perceive the course and instructor the rest of the semester."

Considering the fact that the initial 45 minutes of our meeting were spent trying to decide whether there was a mouse in your room at Mashuda, you should feel lucky we're still on good terms. I still remember how panicky and jumpy you were when you came down to the RA duty room to ask me for my assistance...

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'Back to School' Before Going Back to School

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