Here are just a few notes about upcoming events and projects at DCAL and other items of interest to teachers. Navigate the site's resources at the right. For more news, see DCAL News. PDF versions of the current DCAL newsletter and DCALendar now available.
This seminar will feature Professor Robert Lue from Harvard, who has spearheaded the development of a new interdisciplinary curriculum in the life sciences. Pre-medical education (or, for that matter, required curricula for students interested in any health profession) is undergoing some scrutiny nationally, The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) & the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) have formed a committee that is charged with making recommendations for revision of course requirements for medical school admission. The conclusions are likely to change significantly the requirements in chemistry, physics, math and biology, which will impact the curricular offerings of several undergraduate depts, given the high overall interest in the health professions among Dartmouth undergraduates. The topic is also the subject of a recent piece in the New England Journal of Medicine & report of a working group at Harvard Medical School and of two articles and extensive blogs in the Wall Street Journal, all worth reviewing in preparation for these meetings.
The Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE) was formed in January 1992 as a unique resource for professional development. Interactive theatre combines live theatre and audience participation to create a resource for education and training on a wide variety of workplace issues. CITE presentations have been designed and implemented for corporations, professional groups, conferences, government agencies, hospitals and academic institutions. Participants leave CITE presentations with a deeper understanding of the dynamics of problematic situations in the workplace, with a visceral impression of the impact such problems can have on members in a workplace community, and with strategies for managing and preventing such problems. The two sessions presented will be as follows:
“Hang in there and be tough!” 9:30-11:30 AM- In this scenario we meet Maia as she stops by the office of her advisor, Harold, to discuss her experiences in the classroom of Professor John Clark, one of Harold's research partners. In the course of their conversation, Maia reveals her perception that, because she is a woman of color, she is experiencing behaviors in John Clark's class that are demeaning and hostile. While Harold's style of response is supportive in tone, his behavior subtly suggests that he may harbor doubts about Maia's perception of the situation. As the scenario ends, Harold urges Maia to "hang in there and be tough." Maia leaves disheartened by Harold's inability to understand the seriousness of her dilemma and his apparent unwillingness to actively help her deal with the situation.
“It depends on the lens” 1:30-3:30 PM- In this workshop, participants watch a DVD scenario of a search committee meeting about to choose the final candidates for its short list, then have the opportunity to ask two of the characters questions about the situation they have just witnessed. A facilitator conducts a guided discussion of the search committee meeting, the question and answer session with the characters and the audience’s response. This discussion is followed by a research talk on unconscious bias, describing the studies used to develop the interactions depicted in the scenario.
DCAL will make grants of up to $1000 to support attendance at conferences and programs devoted to teaching and learning. These may be special panels organized by your professional organizations at their annual meeting, or by the Educause Learning Initiative or Tomorrow's Professor, or similar events. If you want to attend such a meeting or present on such a panel, DCAL will help you pay for it; we may be able to cover the entire expense! These funds are for travel, lodging, registration and other costs of participation. Direct your inquiries to Elaine Livingston.
We have a diversely talented teaching faculty at Dartmouth and we can learn a great deal from each other. DCAL started this informal network by setting up a system for visiting colleagues' classes, not for evaluation of course, but for sharing and learning from each other. Comments and suggestions are shared only with each other, not with the larger group and certainly not with any chairs, supervisors or deans. This is often referred to as formative, rather than summative, evaluation. DCAL helps the process by hosting the initial meeting of those interested in joining the network, supplying guidelines and helpful forms, and finally by hosting a de-briefing at the end of term. For more details see the Class Visits page of this website. Please sign up on our workshops and events sign-up page or with Elaine Livingston.
The Dartmouth Centers Forum is pleased to announce that the theme for 2008-2009 will be Conflict and Reconciliation. Conflict is seemingly endemic to society and rightly deserves our attention. Yet often efforts to resolve conflict focus on causes, the mitigation of conflict impact upon its victims and place great emphasis on the prevention of future conflicts through structural or policy change. The focus of the Dartmouth Center's Forum theme is to emphasize the role of reconciliation as a method to resolve conflicts no matter what their causes. Conflicts permeate our personal and social relations, and may be internal, local, national or international. Reconciliation, viewed as a process of coming to terms with what is, accepting, forgiving and compromising, and encompasses all the fields of human endeavor. As such it is fertile ground for discussions such as, what makes reconciliation a successful conclusion to conflict? Are there universal processes of reconciliation? Is there a distinction between disputes and conflicts? Are there conflicts within which parties cannot be reconciled? What methods might be employed in the promotion of reconciliation for conflicts, be they personal, societal and global?
A syllabus template is now available on the DCAL website. We hope that this template will give you some ideas and make developing a syllabus for your course a bit easier. Please modify the template as needed to make your own personal syllabus and let us know if you have comments/additions.
This new DCAL seminar formed on October 25th 2007 as an ongoing forum for informed discussion of teaching and learning languages and cultural competencies. Anyone at Dartmouth interested in these topics is welcome to join us; simply e-mail Tom Luxon, Doug Moody or Nancy Canepa. Our inaugural discussion focused on the May 2007 MLA report entitled "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World." Future plans include invited speakers, discussion of literature on the subject of language learning and cultural competency and discussion of possible innovations at Dartmouth.
Please e-mail Doug Moody and Nancy Canepa with suggestions for future meetings!
Reducingstereotypethreat.org was created by two social psychologists and professors who sought to offer a resource for faculty, staff, and students regarding stereotype threat. This website offers summaries of research on this topic and discusses unresolved issues and controversies in the research literature on the phenomenon. Included are some research-based suggestions for ameliorating negative consequences of stereotyping, particularly in academic settings.
An excerpt from "Using the 'Beauties of Physics' to Conquer Science Illiteracy": A Conversation with Professor Eric Mazur of Harvard University (New York Times July 17).
Q. When you teach Physics 1b, do you give "fantastic performances?"
A. You know I've come to think of professional charisma as dangerous. I used to get fantastic evaluations because of charisma, not understanding. I'd have students give me high marks, but then say, "physics sucks." Today, by having the students work out the physics problems with each other, the learning gets done. I've moved from being "the sage on the stage" to "the guide on the side."
