Faculty Luncheon Seminar Series, Fall 2008
All seminars are at 12:15-1:30 in the Center for Teaching and Learning, Suite 540, 10 Park Place Building
To reserve a place, email ctl@gsu.edu

New F aculty--Thursday, September 11
This seminar will focus on issues of particular importance to those in their first year at GSU. Topics include: What special challenges does our student body present? How much time should faculty devote to class preparation? What is a reasonable balance to strike between teaching and other (e.g., research) responsibilities? How can the GSU community be more welcoming?

Seminar Teaching--Wednesday, September 24
Teaching seminars involves striking a balance between directing a discussion and letting it go where students want to take it. Are there effective ways to achieve both objectives, and, failing that, is it better to err to one side than the other? And how does the group dynamic affect discussion? Presuming some groups work better together than others, are there steps instructors can take to insure a good chemistry – one that will foster a safe and vibrant discussion?

The Class From Hell--Tuesday, October 7
What do you do when, with eight long weeks to go, you realize that you have the class from hell – one you dread walking into? What did you do? What made it the class from hell? Was it the disruptive student, the one whose every word offended half the class? Was it the sleeping students? Was it the student whose long-winded comments put the sleeping students to sleep? Was it the eating students? The late students? Was it you ?

Technology--Wednesday, October 22
Is technology a savior, a fetish, or a crutch for bad teaching? Is it all of the above? What types of technology seem to work in the classroom? What types don't? Do certain teaching environments lend themselves to certain technologies? Are there, for instance, classes that are best kept low-tech?

Sexual Orientation in the Classroom--Thursday, November 6
Does your classroom create a welcoming environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered students? Would you know? Might your perceptions of such issues be different from the perceptions of your students? And if there is room for improvement, what might you do? Should this even be a concern? Finally, is sexual orientation a factor to ignore – approaching students from a sex-blind perspective – or one on which to focus? For instance, should gay faculty members come out to their students, or should they – and their straight colleagues – leave their sexual orientation outside the classroom?

Grading--Wednesday, November 1
The assessment of student learning is an integral aspect of teaching, yet the questions behind that assessment are often overlooked. Why, for instance, do we grade? What are we attempting to accomplish with a grade? Is it strictly a tool to measure learning, or can it be a tool to motivate it as well? Should it be done on a scale? In what ways do grades reflect teaching?

The Class from Heaven--Tuesday, December 2
Have you ever had a dream class; one that could do no wrong and that met your every expectation? Do you know how it happened? Was it just a lucky grouping of students with the right chemistry, or was it something you did in your preparation? Is it possible to have it again, or do they just come around once a career? ( We run “The class from hell” seminar every semester and it is always oversubscribed, so we thought we'd see who – anyone? – shows up to this one.)

For registrations email ctl@gsu.edu