Useful Resources for Faculty
AUR Documents
- Syllabus Template
- Generic Level Descriptors (Levels 100 to 400)
- Guidelines for Appropriate Prerequisites
- Grading Rubrics
AUR TLC Faculty Development Workshops
2011 - October 17th: Roundtable Discussion on Effective Teaching
This seminar invited faculty from all disciplines to join in on a discusion and share their ideas about effective teaching techniques.The discussion included topics such as encouraging class participation, grading group projects, and writing effective lectures.
Also at issue was what, if anything, to do with those quiet students in the back row that we have on occasion.
Resources:
2011 - October 6th: Testing Online to Enhance Student Learning
Presented by Professor of Physics and Astronomy Alvise Mattei
This seminar examines the various uses of testing student learning with the use of online course management systems. Though online testing is limited in what it can test and its uses vary widely depending on disciplines, it can be an effective tool in monitoring students’ mastery of fundamental concepts. Additionally, requiring students to self-test can enhance comprehension and reinforce classroom learning.
AUR TLC Publications
- A Guide to Writing Course Learning Objectives and Program Goals (2008). Available in hard copy from the TLC.
Useful Links
- Berkeley Teaching Resources
- Dalhousie University Center for Learning and Teaching
- General Teaching Resources from Illinois State University
- Harvard: Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
- Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning
- Teaching and Learning Centers in the United States
- Teaching and Learning Resources (Faculty Development Associates)
Useful Publications
Reports
- College Learning for the New Global Century (January 2007 and later editions) AAC&U. Appendix A contains a useful Guide to Effective Educational Practices (pp.53-54). Available from AUR TLC. Further details from http://www.aacu.org/ (Publications)
- Liberal Education Outcomes: A Preliminary Report on Student Achievement in College (2005) AAC&U. The report gives an overview of national data on the importance of liberal education outcomes and how well college students are achieving these outcomes. It is designed to generate dialogue and spur implementation of more systematic ways to measure student learning outcomes across the curriculum and at incoming, milestone, and capstone levels. Available from AUR TLC. Further details from http://www.aacu.org/ (Publications)
- Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College (2002) AAC&U. This report of the Greater Expectations National Panel calls for a new focus on excellence to better prepare students for the 21st century world. The report recommends the creation of a New Academy characterized by high expectations, a focus on learning, commitment to demonstrated achievement, intentional practices, and an engaged, practical liberal education for all students. Available from AUR TLC. Further details from http://www.aacu.org/ (Publications)
- Contemporary Understandings of Liberal Education (1998) AAC&U. Examines the emergence of broad agreement on what students ought to learn from a liberal education and finds a strong trend toward pluralistic, collaborative, experiential, and integrative modes of learning. Also contends that outdated structures, practices, and reward systems frustrate higher education’s ability to reap the benefits of new directions in student learning. Available from AUR TLC. Further details from http://www.aacu.org/ (Publications)
- Assessment in Cycles of Improvement: Faculty Designs for Essential Learning Outcomes, Ross Miller (2007) AAC&U. This publication features a series of reports on how selected colleges and universities foster and assess student learning in twelve liberal education outcome areas, including writing, quantitative literacy, critical thinking, ethics, intercultural knowledge, and information literacy. Moving from goals to experiences, assessments, and improvements driven by assessment data, each institutional story illustrates how complex learning can be shaped over time and across programs to bring students to higher levels of achievement of these important outcomes.
* Report descriptions taken from the AAC&U web site.
Periodicals
Peer Review provides a quarterly briefing on emerging trends and key debates in undergraduate liberal education. Each issue is focused on a specific topic, provides comprehensive analysis, and highlights changing practice on diverse campuses. Back numbers available from AUR TLC. Further details from http://www.aacu.org/ (Publications)
Books
- How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research, Volume 2, Ernest T. Pascarella, Patrick T. Terenzini (2005) Available from AUR TLC.
- Assessing General Education Programs, Mary J. Allen (2006) Anker, Bolton, Massachusetts Available from AUR TLC.
- Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide, Linda Suskie (2004) Anker, Bolton, Massachusetts Available from AUR TLC.
- Effective Grading: a Tool for Learning and Assessment , Barabara E. Walvoord and Virginia Johnson Anderson (1998) Jossey-Bass Available from AUR TLC
- A Guide to Outcomes Assessment in Education Abroad, Mell C. Bolen (ed.) (200&), The Forum on Education Abroad, Dickinson College. Available from AUR TLC
