People have recently asked me what I do on Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays when Teaching THURSDAY is not available to stimulate, inspire, annoy, and critique.
So, I told them that there were plenty of opportunities to talk about teaching here at the University of North Dakota without having to wait until Thursday (although, we all accepted that Thursday was the BEST day to talk about teaching). To highlight one particularly exciting time to think about not just teaching but the balance between teaching, research, service, and life outside of the university (if such a thing exists), I strongly recommend spending some quality time at the Graduate School’s 2012 Scholarly Forum. This is the only major forum for research from across the entire campus.
In particular, I recommend one of the first panels on the Monday February 27th will focus on “The Publish or Perish Syndrome”. It’s a 8:50 am in the Badlands Room, but it will TOTALLY be worth it. He’s the description of the panel and short biographies of the contributors:
The Publish or Perish Syndrome: Setting Realistic Goals, Finding Balance and Success in Scholarly Writing
The “Publish or Perish Syndrome” continues to put demands especially on tenure seeking faculty that ultimately affects their overall productivity as well as the quality of work for the graduate students they advise, teach, or mentor in various research projects. The panelists will make brief presentations and field audience questions pertaining to overcoming this writing syndrome. Key writing issues that the panelist will explore include: Best strategies for increasing writing efficiency, setting realistic goals in scholarly writing, monitoring progress toward personal writing goals, creating and supporting a community of scholarly writers, and sharing tips/techniques for a healthy work and life balance to ensure success in writing for publication.
About the Panelists:
Drs Sagini Keengwe, Rick Van Eck, Robert Stupnisky (Teaching and Learning Department) and Dr Cynthia Prescott (History Department) are all prolific writers in their areas of specialization. They have authored and/or edited scholarly books/book chapters, and several journals articles in different refereed journals. Drs Keengwe, Van Eck, and Prescott are North Dakota Spirit Faculty Achievement Award Past Recipients.
Sagini Keengwe is an associate professor of education at UND. His research focuses on computer technology integration into classroom instruction, diversity issues in teacher education programs, and constructivist pedagogy in teaching and learning. His current work examines Online Professional Development Practices in K-12 and Higher Education.
Rick Van Eck is an associate professor of Instructional Technology at UND and directs the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) graduate program. His research focuses primarily on simulations and games for learning, including the design of learning games and the integration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) games in K-12 classrooms.
Cynthia Prescott is an assistant professor of History at UND. Her book, “Gender and Generation on the Far Western Frontier” traces changes in gender roles and ideology among the first two generations of white settlers in Oregon. Her current project examines representations of frontier life in pioneer monuments erected throughout the American West from 1900 to the present.
Robert Stupnisky has been an assistant professor of Higher Education at UND since August 2010. He teaches courses on research, scholarly writing, statistics, and college student motivation. Dr Stupnisky’s research focuses on the psychosocial factors affecting individuals transitioning into new post-secondary educational settings, such as their first-year of college and newly hired faculty.
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But, what if you can’t come to the panel a week from Monday? Or you still need more thoughtful conversations about teaching?
Well, first, you should check our Twitter Feed regularly and go and check out who we follow.
Next, be sure the check out these great teaching related website:
ProfHacker and Casting Out Nines from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Open Education covers a wide range of topics.
The Teaching Professor blog at Faculty Focus.
TCU’s Teaching Technology blog is fantastic for those who teach online or want to add some technology to their blog.
Bryn Mawr College’s Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education is new and exciting.
UND’s own Mark Grabbe offers regular insights into teaching on his beautiful blog Learning Aloud.
Check out the Scholarly Forum and surf the web for teaching related comment!
And keep Teaching Thursday in mind as an outlet for brilliant teaching ideas from any field!
