Committee for the Support of Teaching to hold workshop

The Committee for the Support of Teaching will hold a workshop called “Case Studies, Debates, Peer Instruction, and Other Interactive Classroom Activities”
on Wednesday, Feb. 16, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Shapiro Campus Center, Room 313. All faculty and graduate students are invited to attend.
 
Among topics that will be discussed include:

•    Strategies faculty is employing to increase classroom interactions in large and small courses

•    How case studies and debates can be utilized in a variety of disciplines

“The overall goals of the CST is to provide opportunities for faculty and graduate students to discuss their teaching, learn best practices from one another, and improve the teaching and learning experience for both students and faculty,” said Elaine Wong, senior dean of arts and sciences, who also staffs the workshops.

This workshop will include presentations from Alfonso F. Canella, senior lecturer in International Business; Judith Herzfeld, professor of biophysical chemistry, and Kate Moran, assistant professor of philosophy.

“We all need to rethink how we teach from time to time,” said Herzfeld. “This is partly to stay fresh, partly to be open to new possibilities, and partly to be responsive to changes in the student population.”

Canella said that he’s always open to new ideas and strategies to keep his students going.

“The cross-pollination of people's ideas and processes is the way that universities should work,” said Canella. “I’m looking forward to providing a view from an industry practitioner - that does not have a Ph.D. - on what works and doesn't work in the real world.”

RSVP to Kristen Caporiccio, Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, at (781) 736-3477 by Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. A cold buffet lunch will be served.

The CST has been offering workshops for over 25 years. Last year’s topics included “Increasing Meaningful Faculty/Student Interaction in the First Year” and “Strategies for Assisting International and/or ESL Students Enrolled in Your Courses.”

In addition to developing policy and procedural recommendations to support the teaching mission of the university, the CST initiates faculty development programs to improve the quality of teaching at Brandeis, and advises on the administration of the Course Evaluation Instrument. The CST has also developed the format for reporting the results of teaching evaluations surveys, which are used by tenure and promotion review committees, initiated the University Prize Instructorships program, and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.