Seminar on University Teaching and Learning
Do you want to know more about the culture of undergraduate and graduate teaching in the United States?
Do you want to understand best practices in teaching and the research on how students learn?
Do you want to improve your own teaching skills?
If so, please join us in Davis, California, USA, from Monday, August 30, to Friday, September 3, 2010, for an informative and interactive retreat on college teaching in the US.
In this interactive course, we will use activities, discussions, and readings to help you develop essential skills for designing, delivering, and evaluating effective college-level courses in the American higher-education style. Along the way, we will explore a variety of topics, including examining how students learn, developing course objectives, linking teaching and learning activities to course objectives, designing meaningful forms of testing and assessment, using tools and techniques to improve communication, creating a productive learning environment in the classroom, considering ethical issues in teaching and learning, and developing ways to promote life-long learning. Depending on participant interest, we may also focus on incorporating teaching technologies into your course.
In addition, you will have the opportunity to begin to develop or revise on a course of your choice using the methods discussed in the course.
By the end of the intensive week-long seminar, you will have had the opportunity to discuss the goals and practices of higher education in the US, identify and debate key issues in higher education, and compare US higher education teaching practices with the teaching practices in your home country. In addition, you will have dedicated time to developing aspects of your own course in the American higher education style as well as presenting information from your course for peer critique (if you wish).
This course is designed to be interactive, enjoyable, and challenging. Each faculty attendee will be able to participate to his/her desired level, with ongoing support from the instructors and their peer participants.