CTAAR Newsletter
Dec 4 - DCEO eCollege Conference on Online and Hybrid courses
The Division of Continuous Education and Outreach (DCEO) is sponsoring a conference on courses that are fully online or "hybrid" (mixed between online and in-person coursework).
From the DCEO announcement:
The conference will be held on Friday, December 4, 2009 and will take place on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus at the Douglass Campus Center, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The conference will focus on Best Practices and Creative Design for Effective Teaching and Engaged Learning in Hybrid and Fully Online Courses.
We have a terrific program planned, beginning with a keynote address by nationally recognized e-learning expert, Jeff Borden, and a wide variety of concurrent workshops.
There is no fee but registration is required. Lunch is provided and space is limited.
To review the details for the conference and to register, please visit:
http://ecollegeconference.rutgers.edu
Any questions about the conference should be directed to Richard Novak, Associate Vice President for Continuous Education and Distance Learning, 732-932-0613 rnovak@brokenemail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenemail" with rutgers.edu
July 16: Obama to Speak [UPDATE - venue change]
President Obama will not speak at the Rutgers campus. The location was changed to the PNC Arts Center due to the number of people asking for tickets.
Information is available at Corzine's campaign web site.
Information about the Republican candidate appearance schedule is available on the Christie campaign web site.
April 15 - Detecting Plagiarism and Cheating
Detecting Plagiarism and Cheating
April 15, 2009
11:30 am to 1:00 pm, Luncheon and Discussion
Busch Student Center
Meeting Room 117
Topics include:
Overview of the Rutgers Interim Policy on Academic Integrity
Detection of certain types of plagiarism
Tools to prevent and detect plagiarism and cheating
Use of the Internet to gather proof of a violation
Turnitin as a prevention and detection
Effective ways to communicate the importance of Academic Integrity
Ways to mitigate cheating
Please register by email to: info@brokenemail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenemail" with ctaar.rutgers.edu
Space is limited, please RSVP
March 3 - Workshop by Richard Keeling
Richard Keeling, of Keeling and Associates, gave a presentation in New Brunswick last November on learning outcome assessment that was very well attended and very well received. Many attendees asked that we arrange for a day long workshop with Dr. Keeling and his team, and we have done so.
When: March 3, 2009, from 8:30 am to 5 pm.
Where: College Avenue Student Center Multipurpose Room
Format: The workshop will be conducted in a team format. Teams will be accepted from schools, academic departments, or professional staff offices. The optimal team size is four members, but larger teams are acceptable.
Registration Deadline: February 23, 2009.
Below is an outline of the workshop, as prepared by Dr. Keeling:
- Review current knowledge from multiple disciplines about the nature, characteristics, and processes of learning -- especially, transformative learning -- and how to link the science of learning to the assessment of student learning.
- Explore the intellectual foundations of the assessment of learning.
- Explain the role of assessment in improving both teaching and learning.
- Clarify differences between operational, or process, effectiveness and mission-centered, or outcome, effectiveness -- and between operational indicators and student learning outcomes.
- Differentiate levels of student learning outcomes -- institutional, divisional, departmental, and program/activity.
- Prepare participants to create meaningful student learning outcomes and basic assessment and evaluation plans, including methods, metrics, and processes with which to evaluate the effectiveness of learning experiences inside or outside the classroom.
- Describe the uses of assessment in program improvement.
The deadline for teams to sign up for the conference is February 23, 2009. You can sign up by sending an email to Monica Devanas at devanas@brokenmail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenmail" with ctaar.rutgers.edu. Please list your team members names and email addresses in your email. There is a limit on the number of attendees, so please don't delay.
March 25 - Teaching and Technology
When: March 25, 2009 from 9 am to noon.
Where: College Avenue Student Center, Room 411
Format: There will be three short presentations followed by discussions on innovations in teaching lead by three faculty members. Lunch will be served at noon.
Terry McGuire, Genetics will present on 'just enough' technology
Neil Sheflin, Economics will present on Would Socrates use clickers?
Carolyn Williams, English will present on Writers House
Please register by sending an email to devanas@brokenmail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenmail" with ctaar.rutgers.edu.
--CLA Exam - Seniors earn $30
Seniors can earn $30
Rutgers University is conducting a self-study to assess learning outcomes. During the Spring semester, 100 seniors take the CLA Exam, the anonymized results are compared to SAT scores and to first-year students who took the exam in the Fall.
Only graduating seniors are eligible. The CLA is limited to 100 graduating seniors on a first-come, first-serve basis. Seniors who complete the exam will receive a $30 RUExpress card. The CLA takes 90 minutes or less to complete.
For more information or to register, go to http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/students/cla.
Jan 28 - Workshop Canceled
Due to snow and local public school closings, we are canceling today's workshop "Online Gradebook and Communication".
Online SIRS, Nov 19 through Dec 10
The Fall 2008 SIRS process is underway. Most courses will continue to receive packets in campus mail with the scannable survey forms. However, some courses will use our new online SIRS system. All School of Engineering courses are using the online surveys, as are a small number of sections in Psychology, Life Sciences, and the Writing Program.
The online version of SIRS will begin at 12:01 a.m. on November 19 and end at 11:59 p.m. on December 10.
Please see our Online SIRS page for more information about how the new system works. For general information, refer to our Student Instructional Rating Survey pages.
Visit of Dr. Richard Keeling, Nov 17
Register for the Keeling talk.
We are fortunate to have the opportunity for Richard Keeling to visit us in New Brunswick. Here is a link for a short bio.
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~scientia/keelingbio.htm
On November 17, 2008, from 11 am to 1 pm in Meeting Room B of the Douglass Campus Center, Dr. Keeling will make a presentation on Assessment Reconsidered: Institutional Effectiveness for Student Success, the title of his new book. Lunch will be served in Meeting Room C afterwards.
Here is a short blurb on Dr. Keeling's new book:
Assessment Reconsidered: Institutional Effectiveness for Student Success
Richard Keeling, Andrew Wall, Ric Underhile & Gwen Dungy
Assessment Reconsidered: Institutional Effectiveness for Student Success promotes the shared ownership of assessment planning among faculty, student affairs educators, administrators, and students. As a project of the International Center for Student Success & Institutional Accountability (ICSSIA), Assessment Reconsidered focuses on the collaborative use of all campus resources in promoting student success. This illuminating work helps both student affairs professionals and faculty members address internal and public questions about the functioning of postsecondary institutions by reconsidering assessment policies, patterns, and practices in colleges and universities.
Lecture by George Kuh, Oct 31
Vice President Blimling has invited George Kuh, the Chancellor's Professor of Higher Education at Indiana University, to visit Rutgers and give a lecture. Dr. Kuh will deliver this lecture, titled, "Student Success in College" in the Busch Campus Center on Friday, October 31 at 9:00 am. (Refreshments served at 8:30 am) (See George Kuh Announcement flyer)
Dr. Kuh is best known as the founder of the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), and his work is exemplary of the scholarship of teaching and learning As stated on the NSSE web site:
This proposed data collection initiative, now known as the National Survey of Student Engagement, is designed to query undergraduates directly about their educational experiences. An extensive research literature relates particular classroom activities and specific faculty and peer practices to high-quality undergraduate student outcomes. For example, we know that level of challenge and time on task are positively related to persistence and subsequent success in college. Another conclusion of this body of research is that the degree to which students are engaged in their studies impacts directly on the quality of student learning and their overall educational experience. As such, characteristics of student engagement can serve as a proxy for quality. At least as important, calling attention to the presence or absence of such practices can highlight specific things that individual colleges can do something about and provide information that external constituencies will readily understand. If technically sound and broadly representative, a national survey focused on such practices can begin to focus current quality debates around the right questions rather than falling back upon traditional reputational answers.
Students: Looking to Register for the CLA Exam?
Students looking to register for the CLA Exam should click this link for the CLA registration page.
The CLA is a voluntary exam that helps the university assess the quality of its educational efforts. More information about the exam and the university's participation is available on the registration page above.
2008 Faculty Conference on Undergraduate Teaching
The 2008 New Brunswick Faculty Conference on Undergraduate Teaching will be held on September 26, 2008 in the Douglass Campus Center.
More information and the online registration form are available at http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/council/index.html.
New Media 2008 Summer Conference, Princeton University
The New Media Consortium of educational institutions, museums, and technology companies held its annual summer conference this year at Princeton University from June 11-14.
Please visit our wikis for conference programs, streaming video and audio keynote addresses, notes, session information, and other great links:
Joe's conference wiki
Marcie's conference wiki
New Media Conference, Princeton, June, 2008
The New Media Consortium of educational institutions, museums, and technology companies held its annual summer conference this year at Princeton University from June 11-14.
Please visit our wikis for conference programs, streaming video and audio keynote addresses, notes, session information, and other great links:
Joe's conference wiki
Marcie's conference wiki
NEW Office 2007 Workshops
CTAAR is now offering workshops in Office 2007 for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. (Access 2007 will follow) New Office 2007 features will be demonstrated, including the new "ribbon" interface. Additionally, we will discuss the new file formats and compatibility with prior versions. These workshops will be held at the new Davidson Hall PC Lab on Busch Campus, room 172-A. Please visit the CTAAR workshop calendar to register and view detailed workshop descriptions.
"Designing and Assessing Core Curriculum" December 4, 2007
"Designing and Assessing Core Curriculum" will be the topic for luncheon discussion on Tuesday, December 4 in room 411 Rutgers Student Center with Bobbi Owen, Professor of Dramatic Art, Senior Associate Dean of the Office of Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Please join us for lunch and discussion!
Register at: http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/council/register
Dean Owen oversees a range of academic programs, scholarships, and services for undergraduate students. Among them are Academic Advising, Academic Services, the Honors Program and the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, First Year Seminars, Student Academic Counseling, Undergraduate Curriculum, and Undergraduate Research. These programs involve all aspects of undergraduate academic-based life at Carolina including:
* the new general education requirements that were effective for entering first year students beginning in Fall 2006
* orientation for new students, efforts to improve retention and increase the graduate rate at UNC-Chapel Hill
* the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan)
* Making Critical Connections, that was developed as part of the recent reaffirmation of accreditation process.
"Designing and Assessing Core Curriculum" December 4, 2007
"Designing and Assessing Core Curriculum" will be the topic for luncheon discussion on Tuesday, December 4 in room 411 Rutgers Student Center with Bobbi Owen, Professor of Dramatic Art, Senior Associate Dean of the Office of Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Please join us for lunch and discussion!
Register at: http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/council/register
Dean Owen oversees a range of academic programs, scholarships, and services for undergraduate students. Among them are Academic Advising, Academic Services, the Honors Program and the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, First Year Seminars, Student Academic Counseling, Undergraduate Curriculum, and Undergraduate Research. These programs involve all aspects of undergraduate academic-based life at Carolina including:
* the new general education requirements that were effective for entering first year students beginning in Fall 2006
* orientation for new students, efforts to improve retention and increase the graduate rate at UNC-Chapel Hill
* the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan)
* Making Critical Connections, that was developed as part of the recent reaffirmation of accreditation process.
CAAP Exam Registration
Selected first-year and senior students have been invited to participate in the voluntary CAAP examination to assess the university's progress towards student learning goals.
There are two registration pages:
- For Seniors, http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/students/seniorCAAP.html
- For First-year students, http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/students/firstyearCAAP.html
The exam takes place on Wednesday, October 24 at 8:45 A.M., in Lucy Stone and Beck auditoriums.
Faculty Conference on Undergraduate Teaching, Oct 12, 2007
The 2007 New Brunswick Faculty Council's annual Conference on Undegraduate Teaching will be held on Friday, October 12 in Trayes Hall on the Douglass Campus.
Registration, the schedule and additional information are available now at http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/council/.
For more information e-mail info@brokenmail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenmail" with ctaar.rutgers.edu
Assessing First Year Programs, web seminar - Sept 21
The Center of Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research has arranged to participate in a web seminar,
Assessing First Year Programs
* Assessment defined
* Multiple lenses of assessment
* Astin's value-added framework
* Application to first-year seminars
* Direct vs. indirect measures
* Challenges with value added approach
* Creating learning outcomes
* Sharing and using the results
The web seminar will take place on Friday, September 21 from 1:00 PM to 2:45 PM. If you are interested in joining us, please write to info@brokenmail.rutgers.edu please replace "brokenmail" with ctaar.rutgers.edu for the location and other details.
A second part to this seminar, titled "Improving the First Year Student Experience" will take place on November 8, the location is still to be determined.
More information about the seminar is available at the following web site:
https://www.academicimpressions.com/web_conferences/0907-first-year-programs.php
Learning Portfolios - April 13
Learning Portfolios: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning
John Zubizarreta
Professor of English
Director of Honors Program and Faculty Development
Columbia College
Columbia, SC, USA
April 13, 2007 workshop 9 am to 12 noon, repeated 1:30 to 4:30 pm
The learning portfolio— grounded in a process of reflection, evidence, and collaboration— is a rich, flexible document that engages students in continuous, thoughtful analysis of their learning.
Abstract
Interested in discovering or sharing an alternative or complementary approach to improving and assessing student learning? Wondering how reflection, collaboration, and evidence promote higher-level learning? Come find out about the benefits and challenges of learning portfolios, the value of reflective practice in enhancing learning, and the diverse applications of student portfolios. Bring your experiences and your varied models for active conversation, for sharing of ideas and resources on learning portfolios, and for writing a plan for implementation of a learning portfolio in a course or for a program.
Tools and Strategies to Assess Student Learning - March 14
March 14, 2007 Rutgers Student Center Atrium Room (in the food court)
1:00 to 2:30 pm
Webinar by Magna Publishers with Linda Suskie of Middle States.
http://www.magnapubs.com/calendar/118.html
"What kinds of assessment tools give the most “bang for the buck”: the most information in proportion to the time spent developing and using them? In this fast-paced session, you’ll learn about the four key characteristics of effective assessment tools and strategies and how students’ assignments, tests, and self-reflection can provide helpful information on student learning with a minimum of extra work."
Developing Learning Goals - March 8
March 8, 2007 Rutgers Student Center College Avenue
There will be two opportunities to participate
Morning - 9 am to 12 noon
Afternoon - 1 pm to 4 pm
Lion Gardiner, Chair of the Graduate School Assessment Advisory Committee in Newark, will facilitate an interactive workshop on Learning Goals: issues, process, development and assessments.
Lion is a consultant to colleges and universities on student learning and assessment, defining and assessing student learning outcomes, and faculty professional development.
Both sessions will be held in Room 413. Please choose the session that best fits your schedule and reply to Monica Devanas (devanas@bademail.rutgers.edu cat.rutgers.edu). Additional details will be provided before the workshop.
Developing Learning Goals - March 8
March 8, 2007 Rutgers Student Center College Avenue
There will be two opportunities to participate
Morning - 9 am to 12 noon
Afternoon - 1 pm to 4 pm
Lion Gardiner, Chair of the Graduate School Assessment Advisory Committee in Newark, will facilitate an interactive workshop on Learning Goals: issues, process, development and assessments.
Lion is a consultant to colleges and universities on student learning and assessment, defining and assessing student learning outcomes, and faculty professional development.
Both sessions will be held in Room 413. Please choose the session that best fits your schedule and reply to Monica Devanas (devanas@bademail.rutgers.edu cat.rutgers.edu). Additional details will be provided before the workshop.
Conference Video Available
The presentations and discussion from the 2006 Faculty Conference on Undergraduate Teaching are now available, as Quicktime movies. The accompanying presentations are also available as powerpoint or PDF documents.
You will find the links to the movies and presentations on the 2006 Faculty Conference Video page.
2006 Faculty Conference
The 2006 Faculty Conference on Undergraduate Teaching will be held on September 22, 2006 in the Cook Campus Center, starting at 8:30 A.M.
More information and registration is available at http://cat.rutgers.edu/council/ and you can register for the conference online.
Apple Podcasting Seminar
OIRT is in the processing of finalizing an agreement with Apple Computer to use their "iTunes University" service. As part of that process, Apple Computer has scheduled a half-day seminar on what their service provides and how it has been used at other schools.
Podcasting on Campus (Apple Computer)
May 23, 2006
8:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
Rutgers Student Center, Room 411
CAC
View the brochure (PDF)
To register, go to this page:
http://seminars.apple.com/goToEvent.html?id=47032
This event is open to all New Jersey educators, however seating is limited.
Feedback Devices in Effective Pedagogy
We are hosting the next in our series of web seminars, Feedback Devices in Effective Pedagogy, on February 2, 2006 from 1:00 P.M. to 2:30. Anyone who uses "PRS" or "clicker" devices for student feedback in the classroom or wants to know more about them is welcome to attend.
Please register online if interested.
More information is available on our events page.
Educational Gaming
The Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) invites all faculty and instructors to a two-day video conference hosted by the New Media Consortium on "Educational Gaming" on Wednesday, December 7, from 12 noon to 5 pm at the Kreeger Center computer lab on the College Avenue Campus and Thursday, December 8, from 12 noon to 5 pm at Rutgers Student Center Room 407. Space is limited. Register online at http://cat.rutgers.edu/events/webconferences.html, by contacting the CAT at 732/932-7466, or curiosity at CAT.rutgers.edu
Full details on the conference program can be found at http://www.nmc.org/events/2005fall_online_conf/program.shtml. Additional information about the conference can be found at http://www.nmc.org/events/2005fall_online_conf/