CTL Spring 2015
“Show Me the Learning!”
Great teachers develop keen instincts about what will and won’t help their students learn. But, as academics, wouldn’t we like to base our conclusions on evidence, as well as instinct? What can the science of human learning tell us to validate or challenge our habits of teaching? And wouldn’t it be nice—in a profession in which we often wonder whether the things we teach “sink in”—to have ways of knowing whether students are actually learning in our classes? This year, the Center for Teaching and Learning’s campus-wide programs showcase research and discussion on how people learn. Following our fall speakers’ consideration of learning in theory, we now explore ways of observing student learning in practice. Our spring-semester programs adapt the Japanese practice of “lesson study” to videotaped glimpses of selected First-Year Seminars at Trinity.
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Lesson-Study in the First-Year Seminar
“Translated literally as ‘lesson study,’ jugyokenkyu is a bucket of practices that Japanese teachers use to hone their craft, from observing each other at work to discussing the lesson afterward to studying curriculum materials with colleagues. The practice is so pervasive in Japanese schools that . . . asking if schools had jugyokenkyu in America would be like asking if they had students”
—Elizabeth Green, Building a Better Teacher (Norton, 2014)
Last summer, CTL asked selected First-Year Seminar instructors to join us in an experiment: to record part of their seminars and make the resulting short videos the subject of a lesson-study-style discussion. These videos aren’t mini-MOOCs; they aren’t recordings of professors talking. Instead, they capture students at work in the classroom—they show us the learning—and offer faculty and students alike a novel opportunity to see and discuss how student learning happens.
We invite the whole campus to these very special Common-Hour events in which we will premiere the videos, invite students from the seminars to reflect on their own learning experiences, and have an open discussion about what these glimpses into other classrooms can show us about student learning. Across two sessions, we will view and discuss elements from three Fall 2014 First-Year Seminars: Rachael Barlow’s “Dangerous Decisions,” Dario del Puppo and Johannes Evelein’s “Cycling, Sustainability, and the City of Hartford,” and David Reuman’s “Understanding and Reversing Prejudice and Discrimination.”
Tuesday, March 10 and Thursday, March 12 — Common Hour — North Wing, Hallden Hall
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CTL Fellows Final Presentations
The CTL Fellows program supports full-time faculty undertaking a project of innovation in their teaching. The Fellows sustain a wide-ranging conversation about pedagogy, meeting once per in a colloquium to discuss their projects. They will present the results of their year-long teaching projects to the Trinity community at the end of this semester. Join us at 12:15 pm on Tuesday, April 14, to learn more about the work they have done.
Stefanie Chambers, associate professor of Political Science
“Building Leadership Capacity”
Dario Del Puppo, professor of Language and Culture Studies
“Life Writing and Intellectual Sustainability”
Scott Gac, associate professor of History and American Studies
“Attentive Lectures”
David Reuman, associate professor of Psychology
“Effective Visual Display of Quantitative Information”
Abigail Fisher Williamson, assistant professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Law
“The Case Method and Urban Engagement”
Apply to be a CTL Fellow in 2015-16! Watch for a full Call for Proposals in February. Applications will be due in March with notifications in early April. If you have questions about the program, contact dina.anselmi@trincoll.edu or christopher.hager@trincoll.edu.
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Junior Faculty Workshop
Wednesday, March 4, 4:15 – 5:45 pm — North Wing, Hallden Hall
CTL invites all tenure-track assistant professors to a session devoted to major milestones in their careers at Trinity. The workshop will feature a former member of the Appointments & Promotions Committee as well as seasoned younger faculty speaking on three key topics:
• Preparing for your 3rd-year Review
• Making the Most of your Junior Faculty Leave
• Preparing for your Tenure Review
Also ongoing for first-year tenure-track faculty: the New Faculty Seminars, designed to help facilitate incoming faculty members’ transition to life at Trinity College. A centerpiece of the center’s efforts, the seminars cover a wide range of topics and provide a safe space for new faculty to share ideas and concerns about teaching. The center also invites veteran faculty from previous years to be part of the group and provide the perspective of more seasoned junior faculty. This year’s returning second-year mentors are Beth Casserly, assistant professor of psychology, and Josh Stillwagon, assistant professor of economics