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869. Design with Learning in Mind

May 08, 2008

In the classroom when you give encouraging words to one student, you are simultaneously giving positive feedback to all the students. But online students never hear these words to other students. Nor do they hear you say "good morning" and see a smile from you each class period. None of those cues are available to students in Web-based courses. Instead, for online students, everything becomes verbal; it takes lots of verbal positive reinforcement to replace all those visual cues that are not happening.

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Posted by markep on May 8, 2008

868. Conflict Management and Problem Solving as Chair

"We believe that basic conflict resolution and problem-solving tenets go hand in hand when dealing with the human condition. For example, let's look at some basic premises behind dealing with the eclectic members of academic departments. They may all be in the same discipline but higher education by its very nature promotes and encourages the individual. How best to live and work together as a group becomes the primary question. This is a huge challenge for department chairs, and for all administrators as well."

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Posted by markep on May 8, 2008

867. Characterizing the Bully Culture

April 24, 2008

"With all the funny business going on, I requested to see my personnel file. The HR guy went into a state of panic and stalled me. After I returned from leave, I asked the HR guy for my folder again, and he said he would ask the VP if I could see my file. I wanted to see what was in there.-Ben"

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Posted by markep on April 24, 2008

866. Help New Faculty Become Oriented

"It is a full orientation session. It pays off. They don't remember= everything, but it gives them a chance to ask questions and raise issues= and to get a feel for the fact that they're going to be supported by their= colleagues, their chair, and other personnel."

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Posted by markep on April 24, 2008

865. Tenure as a Tarnished Brass Ring

April 18, 2008

"So why would Potter recently have approached her provost to inquire about the possibility of trading in tenure for a renewable contract? "

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Posted by markep on April 18, 2008

864. Parallel Journaling: Students and Teachers in a Classroom Assessment Experiment

In the (Parallel Journal Project) PJP, both I and selected students kept a journal throughout the quarter wherein we reflected on the teaching and learning experience. These journals were discussed regularly, and then aggregated at the end of the quarter to create a collective teaching/learning journal.

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Posted by markep on April 18, 2008

863. Can Technology Keep an Old Academic in the Game?

April 10, 2008

My physician's insistence that I am "normal," and do not have Alzheimers, provides only subdued comfort: the "senior moments" are real, they affect my productivity, and they bring me face-to-face with the chilling prospect that I may someday find myself unable to do the work that is my life's calling.

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Posted by markep on April 10, 2008

862. Activities That Foster Intellectual Communities

"A department with a healthy intellectual community is marked by the level to which students are engaged in all of the activities of the department: serving on committees, hosting outside scholars, planning events, mentoring more junior students, and shaping policy. "

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Posted by markep on April 10, 2008

861 College Unranked, and Remaking the American University - Review

April 02, 2008

"Of course, the world has changed since 1945 and rankings, not research issues, now appear to dominate policy considerations at many of the most highly selective colleges and universities."

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Posted by markep on April 2, 2008

860. Post-Tenure Faculty Review and Renewal

"Do not expect peers to be comfortable with this type of review or administrators to possess the necessary evaluation and development skills. The review process is only as effective as those given the responsibility to implement it. Comfort, commitment, and skill will vary. Results will vary. This is to be expected. Experience will enhance comfort and skill; commitment must always be reinforced."

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Posted by markep on April 2, 2008

859. Making the First-Year Classroom Conducive to Learning

March 27, 2008

"Traditionally, writing assignments assess what students have learned. Writing-to-learn serves a different purpose. In these exercises, students write to and for themselves in order to collect their thoughts and get them down on paper, where they can be examined and revised. Typically, writing-to-learn exercises are short: a few sentences, perhaps a paragraph or two. Although faculty often collect and skim what students have written in order to see what they are thinking, writing-to-learn exercises are usually not graded."

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Posted by markep on March 27, 2008

858. Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning

"Four panelists were invited to respond to one or more of the following questions: What is interdisciplinary thinking? How does interdisciplinary research inform teaching? What kind of student work does interdisciplinary teaching and learning produce? What are the pressing questions for you or for Stanford?"

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Posted by markep on March 27, 2008