Provost's Lecture Series

Upcoming Lecture's by Noted International Scholars in Teaching and Learning

Raoul A. Arreola: What More Than 80 Years of Research Tell Us About Student Ratings

Dr. Arreola will be speaking on Wednesday, September 24, 2008, in the Eccles Science Learning Center Room 130 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Dr. Arreola's best-selling book Developing a Comprehensive Faculty Evaluation System (1995, 2000, 2007, Jossey-Bass) is widely used in designing faculty evaluation programs. He visited the USU campus in 2007 to engage department heads in a meaningful discussion of student ratings of faculty. He has been invited back to speak to the USU community as a whole. Even if you receive perfect teacher ratings, his message about their reliability and validity is one you'll not want to miss.

The Past Lectures

Promoting Faculty Careers for Women

On June 17, 2008, Inside Higher Ed presented an audio conference entitled Promoting Faculty Careers for Women. The audio conference was lead by Maike Ingrid Philipsen, Professor of the Social Foundations of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University, who recently completed a major study on female faculty members and how colleges can promote their careers. She presented the latest research and ideas on:

1. Early career challenges and their long-term impact - how colleges can start careers in the right direction
2. The "two body" problem - how colleges can help academic couples and the particular burden this issue places on women
3. How women handle tenure bids and how institutions can be supportive
4. Mid-life/mid-career issues as faculty women juggle workload with outside lives (or try to) - key ways to help
5. "Sandwich generation" and later career issues - extending a supportive environment through retirement.

Handouts:
Audio Recording of the Conference
PowerPoint Presentation

New York Times: How to Use The New York Times in the Classroom

On April 22, 2008, Jan Gilboy from The New York Times hosted a luncheon/workshop focused on encouraging citizen-scholarship through the use of national newspapers in lecture and classroom activities. Each weekday, over 400 copies are delivered to campus. Distribution locations are listed on the tenth slide of the PowerPoint presentation. Additional classroom resources are available to faculty members through their website at http://www.nytimes.com/college/.

Handouts:
PowerPoint Presentation
25 Ideas for Using Newspapers in the College Classroom
Serendipity by Prof. William McKeen
Sample Sociology Syllabus
Sample New York Times Assignments

Dr. Neil Browne: Bringing Students to Life through Critical Thinking Questions

On March 20, 2008, Professor Neil Browne, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Economics at Bowling Green State University, is a nationally-recognized educational expert and consultant whose work focuses extensively on critical thinking. He has authored several books on this topic, including Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (Prentice Hall 2009, 9th ed.). Click here to view resume.

Handouts:
The Seven Sins of Modern Students
What Critical Thinking Is Not
All Questions Are Not Equal
Students Are Too Important to be Treated as Customers
Prayer

Click here for video

Dr. Dan Pratt: Scholarly Teaching: What is it and what makes it 'scholarly'?

Professor of Adult and Higher Education in the Department of Educational Studies
University of British Columbia

On March 4, 2008, Dr. Pratt discussed three fundamental questions in his presentation on Scholarly teaching:

1. What is the difference between 'teaching' and 'scholarly teaching';
2. How does one move from teaching to 'scholarly teaching'; and
3. How might the pursuit of teaching as a scholarly activity respect differences in personal, disciplinary, and cultural views of knowledge and learning?

Click here for video

Dr. Mark McDaniel: Applying Cognition to Education: Lessons from Basic Memory Principles

Professor of Psychology in Arts and Sciences
Washington University, St. Louis.

On February 14, 2008, Dr. McDaniel discussed how memory principles derived from laboratory work can be transferred to the classroom context. Topics included the desirability of rereading to enhance memory retention; use of elaborative learning activities in the classroom; memory and metamemory consequences of selected study strategies; and use of quizzes to promote learning.

Click here for PowerPoint Presentation: Applying Cognition to Education
Click here for video

Dr. Ken Bain's Lecture at Utah State University

Lecture was September 28, 2007