PARTICIPATE | FTAD EVENTS 
Throughout the year, FTAD facilitates workshops, forums, and seminars on a variety of issues concerning college teaching and learning. A calendar of university-wide events is also published in our quarterly Events on Teaching newsletter. Register online.
College Teaching Series
The College Teaching Series continues this spring with spring sessions on teaching issues. Each session in this series has been designed primarily for novice TAs and faculty. However, all instructors are invited to attend and will find useful information about improving teaching. Sessions will provide some techniques and ideas, help create awareness about teaching issues, and suggest resources for further information. These session will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in 150 Younkin Success Center
How Understanding Learning Styles can Improve Teaching and Learning
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Knowing how your students learn is key to helping you design and conduct a successful class. You will explore differences in learning and teaching styles, how to determine appropriate classroom approaches based on those styles, and how to help motivate students. Register online.
Managing the Classroom
Thursday, April 17, 2008
This session will explore ways you can promote civility in the classroom through the use of effective classroom management skills. You will also develop strategies for handling common student complaints. Register online.
Why Use Technology in Your Teaching? Or Why Not?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Technology in the classroom can take various forms--such as overhead projectors, presentation software, electronic mail, the World Wide Web, or even chalk. This session will help you decide which forms of technology—if any—can best help you achieve your learning objectives. Register online.
Spring Events on Teaching
Decoding the Disciplines
Monday, April 7
3:30-4:30 p.m.
300 Younkin Success Center
George Rehrey, Assistant Director of Indiana University's Office of Campus Instructional Consulting
Decoding the Disciplines is a model developed in conjunction with the Freshman Learning Project at Indiana University. Based upon Scholarship of Teaching and Learning research that concerns disciplinary ways of knowing as it builds upon current literature about how people learn. What we now know is that Professors generally operate within frameworks specific to their discipline, transparent to other experts in their field and yet often times inaccessible to their students. Through an interview process Decoding the Disciplines uncovers this type of thinking and helps teachers make explicit the steps required of students to understand and use such disciplinary frameworks in their class. During this presentation we will view videotaped examples of faculty describing their disciplinary ways of knowing as they participate in the Decoding process. Examples of different types of disciplinary ways of knowing will also be shared along with a complete description of the seven step process, which culminates when teachers conduct their own classroom research, gather evidence of student learning and publish their scholarly results. Register online.
Get Help with Grading Student Writing
Monday, May 5, 2008
11:30–1:00 p.m.
300 Younkin Success Center
Chris Manion, Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing
Are you buried under a stack of student papers? Do you worry about grading objectively? In this session, we will discuss ways to develop effective grading rubrics for your classes, talk about how you can negotiate common grading criteria with your colleagues, and give you time saving tips to help you manage your work efficiently and effectively. Register online.
Critical Thinking: What Is It? How Do We Get Our Students To Do It?
Friday, May 9, 2008
1:00–4:30 p.m.
150 Younkin Success Center
Kathryn Plank and Stephanie Rohdieck, Faculty & TA Development
Have you ever been frustrated that your students don't think critically in the ways that you want them to? If so, you're facing one of the universal challenges of teaching. In this session we will discuss what we mean by "critical thinking" and how cognitive development theories and research help us better understand our students' intellectual and ethical development. We will also explore teaching strategies to help us better serve a wide range of students. We've scheduled a longer session than usual to allow time to thoroughly explore these challenging issues and work on practical applications for our own classes. Register online.
Making Ordinary Writing Assignments Extraordinary: A Hands-on Workshop
Monday, May 12, 2008
11:30–1:00 p.m.
300 Younkin Success Center
Chris Manion, Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing
Are you unsatisfied with how students are responding to major research assignment prompts? Tired of receiving the same bland papers from students? Bring one of your "tried-and-true" writing assignments to the workshop and learn how to revamp it into a sequence of new assignments that your students will want to write and you will want to read. Register online.
Grammar 102: Helping International Students with Surface Errors in Writing
Monday, May 19, 2008
11:30–1:00 p.m.
300 Younkin Success Center
Chris Manion, Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing
In this workshop, we will discuss some of the most common ESL writing issues in the college level and explore possible writing pedagogies that introduce ESL students with discipline-specific writing rules and conventions. As part of this discussion, we will work with two academic papers written by international students from different countries of origin. Register online.
InterACT Diversity Players—Disruptive and Distressed Students
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
3:30-5:00 p.m.
150 Younkin Success Center
Behavior that interferes with other students, faculty or staff and their access to an appropriate educational or work environment is considered disruptive behavior. In this session, we will explore the differences between disruptive and distressed students, how to respond to such students in both instances, and how to determine if the response includes new classroom management approaches or intervention. Register online.
InterACT Diversity Players—A Matter of Faith
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
3:30-5:00 p.m.
150 Younkin Success Center
This session will focus on some of the issues and problems students and faculty face that are directly related to their faith and or religious beliefs. Register online.
For additional seminars, workshops, conferences, and training about integrating learning technologies into teaching and learning, please visit Technopoli for a current calendar of state-wide professional development opportunities.