Positive Student-Faculty Relationships and the SoTL Conference

Hello all! Here is a great article from Tomorrow's Professor regarding how to develop positive student-faculty relationships. It suggests four major components necessary for establishing positive relationships.

Also don't forget the John Burns Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference this Friday at the TLTC. The conference will feature Dr. Melvin D. George, President Emeritus of the University of Missouri, President Emeritus of St. Olaf College, and Professor Emeritus Mathematics, University of Missouri-Columbia. There will be two sessions, a morning session from 10:00-12:00 and an afternoon session from 12:30-3:00. We'd love to see you all there for one or both sessions, this is a great opportunity for you to fulfill some of your workshop credits! Just be sure to sign-up so we know you're coming!

Reminder: Beginning-of-Year Survey

If you haven't yet completed the TEACH Beginning-of-Year survey, please take a moment to do so. Many of you have already completed it. Thank you! Those few who haven't can simply click on the link below to begin the survey. The deadline for completion is Friday, September 28.

http://tyr.tltc.ttu.edu/surveys/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=34L4o4LMlplMK

Student Discussion and This Week's Workshops

Hello all! There are some great workshops going on this week and we'd love to see you there! On Wednesday at 12:00 Dr. Mario Beruvides and Dr. Bob McDonald are presenting at The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Spotlight. And on Thursday at 12:00 several past TEACH fellows (Steve Rosscoe, Mary Fehr, and Ayanna Jackson) will be presenting Talk to Me...Please! Engaging Students in Discussion. These sessions will both be very informative, so please sign-up and come if you can!

Hopefully all of your classes are going well and your students are beginning to feel comfortable participating in class activities and discussion. Here are some suggestions from University of Southern California's Teaching Toolbox for Getting More out of Classroom Discussion. They offer some great advice on discussion topics ranging from Effective Questioning Strategies to Pitfalls to Avoid.

The TEACH Manual and Writing Tests

Hello! I hope that everyone's classes are off to a great start! Observations are already underway, and it looks as if this is going to be a great semester for everyone! We've all had our initial consultations, so you know that if you have any questions we're glad to help in any way we can.

Several of you had not had the chance to check the TEACH manual when we had our initial meetings. Be sure that you read it over so that you will be prepared for your observations and other responsibilities. Also, let us know if you are unclear about anything.

Now that the semester is officially going, it is time to start writing and giving tests. The IDEA Center from Kansas State University has some great advice for Improving Multiple Choice Tests, Improving Essay Tests, and Matching Instructional Objectives, Subject Matter, Tests, and Score Interpretations. To find these papers please go to the IDEA Center Resource Page, select the link for IDEA Papers, and then find Papers #16, 17, and 18.