Letter from the
Director
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a restful summer as we head into a new academic year. At CELT we have been working hard to put together a stimulating and informative series of programming to help you get your teaching off to a great start this semester. Check out our "upcoming events" below to see this fall's programming schedule.
This summer I've been looking at some of the new books that have been released about higher education teaching and learning. Cognitive science, technology, and diversity are only a few of the topics. Many of the new books are thought provoking and a few were rather surprising. So please come by and explore our library or join one of our book groups to enter the conversation.
There is no one singular road to teaching excellence, but by coming together and sharing the journey we are all enriched.
Have a good start to the semester!
Donna
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Teaching With Technology
Check out the latest
from ESTS / UIT.
Veterinary Mini-symposium Blended Learning Tuesday, October 16 9-1:00 pm Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Grafton
Upcoming Webinar: iPad Uses in the Classroom Thursday, September 271 - 2:30 pm Austin Room, Medford
For more information or to register for ESTS / UIT programs you can contact
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Welcome New Faculty!
We would like to introduce you to the Tufts Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). Please check out our website and read today's newsletter to learn about CELT programs and services, designed to support your teaching and learning. Feel free to contact us with any questions, comments or suggestions. We look forward to seeing you at upcoming CELT events and
wish you a productive and smooth first semester at Tufts!
CELT | 108 Bromfield Road, Somerville, MA 02144 | (617) 627-4000 | email: celt@tufts.edu
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Do Your Students Actually DO the Assigned Reading?
As you begin the semester and have brushed off your course reading lists - perhaps added a few recent articles or a book, it seems logical to consider whether your students are actually going to read your carefully chosen texts. If you believe that the reading you assign is essential to student learning, then understanding more about their engagement with the reading seems important.
In a recent piece in an online journal called Faculty Focus, the editor reviewed an article by an English Professor, Mary Hoeft, from the University of Wisconsin who surveyed her large freshman class to find out the answer to a number of her own questions about whether they read, how much they read, how they chose what they read and how well they understood the reading. Hoeft includes the surveys she used in the article, and you may find some of her questions interesting to reflect upon in your own teaching. Do you know how many of your students are doing the reading? How much time do they spend doing it? When do they do the reading? What types of reading are challenging for them? How well are they understanding what they're reading? What do they see as the relationship between content in the reading and content covered in class? For the full article, click on the link below! Reference: Hoeft, M. E. (2012). Why university students don't read: What professors can do to increase compliance. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6 (2).
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UPCOMING EVENTS
CELT Book Discussion Groups
Come spend time with your colleagues, enjoy lunch, and participate in a lively discussion about teaching and learning! We supply lunch and the book - all you need to do is read and show up.
Tuesday, October 30 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Generation Me by Jean Twenge
In this book, the author explores some of the conceptions we hold about today's generation of students, what has shaped them and what the implications are for how we teach.
There are a limited number of spaces available, so sign up now by emailing celt@tufts.edu
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Afternoon Teas
Afternoon Teas were developed in response to faculty requests for informal discussion groups on topics of teaching and learning. This fall the Teas will be:
Tuesday, September 25, 3 - 4:30 pm Topic: "My students are not all the same..."
Tuesday, October 30, 3 - 4:30 pm Topic: "Mid term feedback - discovering student learning..." Wednesday, November 28, from 3- 4:30 pm Topic: "Working in teams" All teas are held in the CELT conference room, 108 Bromfield Road, Somerville - please register by emailing celt@tufts.edu
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HOLD THE DATE!
The Annual University-wide Conference on Teaching and Learning will be held on the Boston Campus on Wednesday, December 12. More details to come!
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CELT News and Notes
We thank those who have graciously agreed to serve on the first CELT advisory board. We are looking forward to the guidance, support and fresh ideas that you will bring to our work!
Congratulations to the new CELT Faculty Fellows. As always, we have a talented and enthusiastic group from across the three Tufts campuses, and we anticipate many lively discussions this fall!
29 CELT Faculty Fellows received Significant Impact Nominations from last year's senior class!
A special shout out to Ben Hescott, a former CELT Faculty Fellow, for receiving TWO teaching awards this past spring: The Lillian and Joseph Leibner Award for outstanding teaching and advising, and The Henry and Madeline Fischer Award awarded by graduating seniors to the outstanding "engineering teacher of the year."
And congratulations our colleague and close collaborator to Travis Brown from the Center for STEM Diversity, for being awarded the Gerald R. Gill Distinguished Service Award.
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