Genteels’ seminar to address assessment

Program assessment, a key aspect of the Middle States reaccreditation process currently under way at UB, will be the topic of the 2012 Genteels’ Excellence in Teaching Seminar, to be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 19 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.

The seminar, “Are They Really Learning What We are Teaching Them? Using Assessment to Enhance Teaching Effectiveness and Measure Student Learning,” is sponsored by the Teaching & Learning Center (TLC), the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of University Accreditation and Assessment, the School of Public Health and Health Professions, the School of Nursing, and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Michael Ryan, director of university accreditation, notes that much of the recent emphasis on assessment in higher education is a direct result of calls for greater accountability.

“Assessment is very important for ensuring that an institution is achieving its mission and that students are leaving the institution with the knowledge and skills required to be successful in the 21st century,” Ryan says, adding that this assurance is important not only to the students and faculty, but to external constituents as well, most notably parents, taxpayers and lawmakers.

“At UB, we are committed to academic excellence and providing a transformative educational experience. Program assessment helps us achieve those goals by fostering a culture of data-driven improvement,” he says.

Ryan calls the Genteels’ seminar “an important professional development opportunity for faculty.”

The seminar aims to:

• Examine several promising programs for developing and implementing program and classroom-based outcome assessment systems
• Discuss the latest research on student-learning assessment
• Provide participants with tools, tips and strategies for conducting meaningful, authentic assessment in their respective courses.

It will be conducted by Jason Adsit, associate provost for academic administration at the University of Rochester and former director of UB’s Teaching and Learning Center.

The seminar is free for faculty and staff from the sponsoring academic units, $25 for other UB faculty and staff, and $35 for the public.

More details about the seminar and registration information is available on the Teaching and Learning Center’s website.

The annual Genteels’ Excellence in Teaching Seminar is presented through an endowment by Ron Gentile and Kay Johnson Gentile. Ron Gentile is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus in the UB Graduate School of Education; Kay Johnson Gentile taught for many years in the elementary education and reading department at Buffalo State College. They both are recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The pair performed as professional musicians for many years under the stage name The Genteels and conducted workshops for teachers on how to integrate music into elementary school curricula.