Volume III Number 1
September 1996
The 1996-97 Faculty Center Advisory Board represents a range of departments, including Art, Behavioral Science, Business, Communication, Developmental Education, Information Science, Language & Literature, Library, Science, and Social Science. Members also include both full time and adjunct faculty members. All told, twenty eight faculty members responded to the invitation to to participate on this year's Advisory Board. The full list is on page 2 of this newsletter. Because of the wonderful turnout and the high level of enthusiasm of the membership, this group plans to accomplish a great deal.
Over the summer, members of the Faculty Center Advisory Board, under the leadership of Chairperson, Michael Schwartz, met to plan activities for the 1996-97 academic year. This year the Center will offer several series of programs. In the past, the Center has sponsored introductions to a variety of topics. This year, the Board has decided to select fewer topics, but to extend discussion on those offered, providing an opportunity for greater depth on the issues under consideration. Possible topics include research on learning styles and learning theory, and (en)countering fear and loathing of and through technology.
We will continue the faculty-only workshop series on using the Internet introduced last year by Arta Szathmary and Jean Konkel. We plan to fill in gaps (for example, a review of e-mail basics) and to move forward (workshops on citing electronic sources and on applying principles of critical thinking to what is available in cyberspace). Watch your mailbox for your brochure.
The Advisory Board welcomes you to join us in all programs, to drop in for lunch or a late afternoon moment to relax, to schedule meetings, to use the computer workstations, and to learn from each other in the Faculty Center. For further information, contact Maureen McCreadie at extension 8055.
This is the first year since the Faculty Center has been in operation that we are opening the year in the Cooper Homestead with all the pieces in place. Stop in to visit. You'll see the Center is now quite functional.
Two computer workstations are available for faculty use. One station is a Power Mac. The other is a Windows-based pentium station. Both are now connected to the Vax for e-mail and other services and both offer access to the Internet using Netscape, the graphic browser that allows you explore the world wide web.
Our conference area, complete with appropriate table and chairs, is upstairs in the loft and is available for meetings. Our programs and workshops make full use of the first floor with its permanent seating and stackable chairs, allowing us to accommodate up to thirty participants in a session.
Café tables and kitchen services on the first floor make the Faculty Center an ideal place to bring lunch and meet a friend or two. We ask only that you clean up after yourself.
Every week the schedule of events and programs scheduled in the Faculty Center will be distributed in the Echo.
If you have any questions about the schedule or would like to suggest additional ideas for programs, please contact any member of the Advisory Board or contact Maureen McCreadie at extension 8055. The Advisory Board welcomes your comments and suggestions.
Last spring the Advisory Board invited faculty members to submit proposals for resource faculty projects. Several interesting proposals were submitted, from which the Advisory Board selected three for implementation this year.
Two projects will be carried out this fall and one in the spring. Proposals from Joan Weiss of the Business Department and Tom O'Keefe of Social Sciences were funded for this semester. Kay Mengers's proposal will be funded in the spring.
Faculty Idea Exchange
Joan Weiss's project aims to foster individual and professional growth and to facilitate an exchange of ideas among faculty members, working toward establishing an environment of sharing.
Joan plans to begin by conducting a survey of the faculty to identify programming and scheduling needs the Center might meet. She then intends to develop a marketing plan for the Faculty Center to enhance future participation.
Once her research is completed, Joan will initiate a faculty idea exchange to facilitate the exchange of ideas, questions, and experience with the aim of providing suggestions for enhancing teaching.
Some sessions will include interaction with students. This component, initiated last year and sponsored by SIFE, led to lively discussions and to constructive airing and consideration of issues affecting both students and faculty.
Study Skills Research Project
Research indicates that study skills influence student success. Tom O'Keefe plans to identify efficient learners in given disciplines and courses as a first step toward investigating what it means to have good study skills for a few particular disciplines or courses.
Tom plans to collaborate with faculty members in disciplines that volunteer to work with him to examine what specific skills and techniques successful students use. Once the skills and techniques are identified, Tom will continue to work with the self-selected faculty groups to determine how best to share or implement their findings. Depending on the sense of the group, Tom might develop a booklet customized for the discipline or course, or a workshop or series of tutorials for students, instructional assistants, and peer tutors in the Learning Center.
To volunteer your discipline or course for this project, please contact Tom O'Keefe at extension 8263.
Experiential Approaches to Stress Reduction
Stress has been a common topic of conversation on campus from time to time. In the spring semester Kay Mengers will offer weekly sessions combining Hatha Yoga, meditation, Feldenkrais, and stress reduction. If participants wish to include a discussion aspect on stress-related behavior, that is an additional option.
As Kay explains, "We are all more than our minds and being able to bring a calmer more unstressed self to the workplace each day during these times of difficult negotiations and unsettled divisions, would be a clear benefit for many." Look for further details on this project in the spring.
Ed. Note: The following report is from Jean Konkel who, along with Arta Szathmary, developed and implemented an extensive year-long project in which more than one hundred faculty members participated directly, and from which many more have benefitted or will benefit. Thank you, Jean and Arta!
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a Resource Faculty at the Faculty Center this year (1995-96). During the past two terms I have had the opportunity to work with many members of the College community. This has been an exciting and enriching experience for me both professionally and personally.
The Faculty Center Advisory Board was courageous last spring when they funded the World Wide Web proposal. Not only was the proposal based on a new technology but it was offered by a new faculty member. The project idea involved two components; to establish a World Wide Web presence for the College and to educate College faculty to navigate the web and to create web pages.
During the summer months, work was focused on the technical requirements of setting up a web server and the link to the internet. By mid-September, with the support of Matt Moore, the web site was linked to the Internet. Once our presence was established, the training sessions began.
During the course of the fall term ten training sessions were offered. The next level classes were designed so the participant could create web pages. During the spring term, the series began again and twelve sessions were scheduled. These sessions were exciting for a number of reasons. Faculty got to learn a new skill that we could bring to our classrooms. But aside from the training topic, members of the group had the opportunity to learn about other areas of the College and projects faculty were pursuing. As a result of this a number of cross disciplinary projects were initiated.
There were a great many benefits to the World Wide Web Project including:
In closing, I would like to thank the many people who made this project a success. Maureen's support made what at times seemed impossible possible. Without Matt Moore's technical expertise this project would not have been possible. Thanks also to Doug Burak, who was always ready to offer technical support; to Jon Alley, whose artistic vision made the Bucks site what it is today.; to the anonymous donor who made this project financially possible; to Dean Conn, for her support and encouragement for innovations in education; to Barbara Korb, for her support and enthusiasm; to Arta Szathmary, my partner in this project whose level head and even temperament got us through this challenging project; to the Faculty Center Advisory Board for taking a chance; and to the faculty members who had the vision to make the www another teaching tool.
A subcommittee of the Advisory Board of the Faculty Center has been planning a special event for Thursday, November 14, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The idea is to highlight some of the remarkable teaching that our faculty members offer. The subcommittee, led by Lyn Allison, plans to offer a sampling of faculty accomplishments related to instruction.
A number of faculty members will present ten-minute demonstrations of techniques or approaches to teaching they and their students have found to be helpful. Refreshments will also be part of the event.Any faculty member who would like to participate as a presenter may contact Lyn Allison at extension 8611 or by e-mail at allisone. All faculty members are invited to participate. The only stipulation is that the presentation must be related to instruction.
The Advisory Board invites the entire College community to attend this event.
Thanks to help from Warren Horrocks in Security, access to the Faculty Center is becoming progressively easier. Any faculty member who wants a key to the Center may have one. The only requirement is participation in a Faculty Center event. The individual to whom a key is issued will be responsible for its safekeeping. Use of the keys generates a record of the individual's having entered the Center.
To request a key to the Center, contact Maureen McCreadie at extension 8055 or use e-mail (mccreadiem).
Last year the Advisory Board of the Faculty Center submitted a proposal to the College's Strategic Initiative process. The proposal included a request for portable multi-media workstations and for two faculty release-time positions to focus on professional development. Last May we learned that the proposal was funded.
With support in place, the Advisory Board invited applications for two new positions to further professional development. One position focuses on grant seeking and planning for professional development. The Advisory Board selected Jean Konkel for this position. The other position aims to continue to assist and guide faculty members in developing technological skills and in incorporating technology in the teaching/learning process as deemed appropriate by the individual faculty member. Arta Szathmary was the Advisory Board's choice for this position. Watch for future announcements of opportunities made possible through these positions.
All faculty members are welcome to schedule the Center for meetings or special events. Committee or department meetings, curriculum planning groups, brainstorming sessions--all are welcome in the Faculty Center. To meet informally, use your key and drop in at the Center. To reserve the Center for a meeting, contact Maureen McCreadie (extension 8055 or via e-mail at mccreadi) to coordinate scheduling.
Anyone interested in the Integration of Knowledge courses is encouraged to attend this roundtable discussion. It will be the ideal opportunity to connect with other faculty members who are interested in developing themes for additional Integration of Knowledge courses and for finding out how current courses are operating. All experienced INTG faculty members are invited and will be available to answer questions. Barbara Korb will provide procedural guidance. This meeting is open to all faculty members.
Advisory Board Meeting (Michael Schwartz)
Thursday, October 3, 12:30 - 1:30 pm in the Faculty Center
Workshop: Student Academic Performance--Report from the Kellogg Institute (Mary Ann Klicka)
This will be the first in a series of programs in which Mary Ann Klicka will pass along what she learned at this year's Kellogg Institute. Student Academic Performance is analyzed and explained in a way that can make it easier for students to learn and make your teaching more effective for students.
Faculty Showcase
This evening celebrates what our faculty do best--teach! Join us as an attendee or as a presenter. Each presenter will offer a ten-minute sample of techniques that have proven successful in the classroom or of approaches that other faculty members might try out. All faculty members are welcome to present. If you are interested, please contact Lyn Allison, who is chairing the Advisory Boards subcommittee on this event.