Notes from the Teaching Breakfast of Sept. 9, 2004

Present:

C. Haessig, J. Tan, D. Li, K. Joest, Z. McKay, J. Mills, W. Benedict, H. Mi,
R. Jagels, R. Rothenberg, J. Fleisher, K. Stearns, P. Conway, J. Greenberg

This meeting focused on what topics the group would like to talk about in
this academic year. Many excellent ideas were presented and discussed
including:

* Better and more ways to address the impact globalization is having on our
students in all disciplines.
* Freshmen retention.  Contact Craig Bielert  and ask him to join us for a
discussion of how retention is really a  by-product of the quality of the
educational experience.  Self-assessment for students,  especially freshman,
is also a key component of this issue.   We should ask some students  to
attend this session.  Issues such as time management, study skills, and
survival skills  are part of this issue.
* How to make connections with students.  Faculty tend to agree that
students who make connections with their  professors often do better.  How
can we create a climate in our classes and at the college where  more
students make connections with teachers.  What do you do that works?
* What are your reading and writing expectations for students?  Invite a
C.A.D.E. person to  this.  What do you expect of  your students with respect
to reading and writing? How do you assess  (grade) their work?  Give
concrete examples.  What  assignments do you give?  How  to you grade them?
* What inspires students?  What do  you do to inspire your students?
* What do you do about the "sponge syndrome"?  That is, students often are
just looking for the right  answer and not thinking.  They  have trouble
with ambiguity, vagueness and trying to move towards an idea  that is
complex.  What do you  do to address this?
* Plagiarism continues to be an issue.  What do you do to deal with this?
Does anyone use Turnitin?  How?  Does  it work?  What is your  experience
with it?
* What can we do to give our students more field experiences (in all
disciplines)?  What are the  issues?  Time, resources,  opportunities?  What
might the  College do to make more opportunities for students to have
internships or  field experiences?  For  example, getting a van is
difficult.


The next teaching breakfast will be Oct. 7 at 8 am in Morris Hall 103.
Craig Bielert will join us to discuss freshmen retention.


Mr. James B. Greenberg
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Milne Library
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, New York 13820

email: [log in to unmask]
phone: 607-436-2701
fax:   607-436-3081
IM:  oneontatltc

"Ignorance is curable, stupidity lasts forever"