This seminar series is held during the spring semester and is offered to postdoctoral scholars and graduate students, on various topics in teaching and learning. These sessions cover everything from engaging and motivating students to developing a teaching philosophy statement for academic job applications. The first seven sessions of the 2024 seminar series will be held in 209 O'Brian Hall, University at Buffalo North Campus. The two Teaching Philosophy Statement workshop sessions will be virtual, hosted via Zoom.
Name | Department | Date | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
James Jensen | Department of Engineering Education | Feb. 7 3-4 p.m. | Essential Elements of Effective University Teaching | This session will provide an overview of how college students learn and what college teachers should do to support their learning. Essential issues include engagement and motivation, learning goals and strategies, creating learner-centered environments, understanding learning processes, and designing active learning tasks. |
| Cathleen Morreale | Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation | Feb. 14 3-4 p.m. | The Syllabus: A Contract Between Faculty and Students | A good syllabus will help your students understand the course's goals and objectives, what they will do in your class to progress towards achieving those goals, and the assessments you use to evaluate their progress and improve your teaching effectiveness. In this seminar, we will discuss how to develop good learning objectives, how to develop objectives appropriate for the level of the students, and how to assess student achievement. |
Roberta Schlehr and Kristen D'Alessandro Merii | Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation | Feb. 21 3-4 p.m. | Active Learning | This introductory workshop will give an overview of active learning and discuss barriers to adoption. Participants will learn the definition of active learning and the rationale for incorporating active learning activities into instruction. |
Margaret Grady | Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation | Feb. 28 3-4 p.m. | Facilitating Effective Group Work | Group work can effectively mimic the professional environment that includes team- and project-based work. However, most students' class experiences with it are frustrating and inefficient. In this workshop, you will get an overview of tools and techniques you as a facilitator can use to create a better group work learning experience. |
Michelle Connolly and Jacqueline Conroy | Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation | March 6 3-4 p.m. | The Benefits of Inclusive Teaching | University at Buffalo is a highly diverse learning institute. As an instructor, you will work with students from every walk of life, each coming in with varied knowledge, abilities and skill levels. In this workshop, we will be examining how our pedagogy and practices affect student learning. We can reach more students through inclusive teaching and differentiated instruction practices and ensure they feel welcomed, secure, and comfortable in any learning environment. By the end of our discussion you will be able to (1) define inclusive teaching and differentiated instruction, (2) identify the benefits of diversity in the college classroom, and (3) recognize and incorporate different inclusive teaching methods into your practice. |
Kristin Muller | Office of Postdoctoral Scholars | March 13 3-4 p.m. | Teaching to Reduce Test Anxiety | Although test anxiety is a common concern for students and their instructors, it is a complex topic. The complexity of test anxiety shows itself in the diverse ways it is experienced by students, conceptualized by researchers, the variety of intervention practices applied, and how instructors respond to this student challenge. This session will provide an overview of these complexities as presented in the literature, focusing on the conclusion that there are different kinds of test anxiety and, therefore, not a universal intervention. With this in mind, we will discuss approaches for teaching to reduce test anxiety. |
| Loretta Frankovitch | Office of Academic Integrity | March 27 3-4 p.m. | Handling Academic Integrity Matters | This session will review the fundamental role of academic integrity in learning. Ensuring that students submit original work is critical for all instructors to guarantee real learning and fair evaluation. In this workshop, we will discuss (1) prevalent causes of academic dishonesty, (2) common cheating scenarios, (3) UB’s Policy and Procedures for handling incidents, and (4) helpful tips to prevent cheating in your classroom. |
| Kristin Muller & Kristen Ashare | Office of Postdoctoral Scholars | April 3 3-4:30 p.m. | Teaching Philosophy Statement (Session 1 of 2) | In this two-part online workshop, participants will draft and edit a teaching statement, often required for U.S. academic job applications. We will discuss elements of teaching statements, evidence of effective teaching tailored for different academic jobs, and strategies to get started or polish existing teaching statements. Participants from all disciplines will become better equipped and prepared to communicate their teaching practice through this workshop's collaborative peer-review process.
Please commit to attending BOTH workshop sessions. |
April 10 3-5 p.m. | Teaching Philosophy Statement (Session 2 of 2) |