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Recent Presentation - 4/15/07
ERIC MAZUR, Harvard Physics Department, gave a Blue
Room Lecture co-sponsored by the TLC and Phi Beta Kappa, entitled, "The
Scientific Approach to Teaching: Research as a Basis for Course Design." A
group of about 50 faculty members from across Claremont, from both sciences
and non-science departments, came to hear Mazur, a famous proponent of
active learning and the scientific study of how students learn. He talked
about three topics: gender in science courses, lecture-demonstrations, and
confusion. He showed data demonstrating a huge effect of culture of origin
on the discrepancy between male and female performance on physics
examinations. Then he told us about an experiment using more interactive
lectures and other experiments and seeing how that impacted on the success
of learning for men and women. Under the most interactive conditions, there
was little gender difference, while under standard lecturing, there was a
10% deficit of the women. This difference persisted even if corrected for
previous experience with physics. He turned to lecture-demonstrations,
showing us convincing data that having students hypothesize about
experiments before showing the demonstration and discuss it after the
demonstration greatly enhanced their ability to see the same principle at
work in different problems on later physics examinations. Finally, he
showed convincing evidence that students in physics who SAY they’re confused
often have learned more than those who say they’re not. Confusion seems to
indicate engagement with the material, some students are totally unaware of
their underlying confusion. He told us that all of his (and his
colleagues’) publications on teaching experiments could be found by checking
his web site (http://mazur-www.harvard.edu.)
When you go to this site, you’ll be offered a chance to view materials on a
variety of topics in education, including Peer Instruction, Gender and
Physics, Classroom demonstrations, and Technology and education.
Presentation - 11/19/07
Panel Chair, Peggy Waller. Leading the discussion representing Division I:
Konstantine Kliouchkine, Ger/Rus Lang & Lit, Division II: Dan O’Leary,
Chemistry, Division III: Gilda Ochoa, Sociology. Dan explained that in
chemistry, there’s an ongoing debate between pure lecturers and more
interactive lecturers. Konstantine told us that he must break down the
barriers between professor and students and has evolved several methods to
do that, including humor and admitting he does not have all the answers. He
advocated mini-lectures, but not at the beginning of the class or all
discussion is stultified. Gilda focused on the power dimension in classes
and how she uses meta discussion of the progress of the class to re-address
this issue during the semester. Several references were offered and they are
provided below. (Reported by Laura Hoopes, Teaching-Learning Committee chair
for 08-09).
“The View from the Front”
(Department of Chemistry, Franklin and Marshall)
“How to Create
Memorable Lectures” produced by Stanford’s Center for Teaching and
Learning
Polly Fassinger, "Professors' and Students' Perceptions of Why Students
Participate in Class," Teaching Sociology 24 (1995): 25-33.
Angela T. Haddad and Leonard Lierberman, "From Student Resistance to
Embracing the Sociological Imagination: Unmasking Privilege, Social
Conventions, and Racism," Teaching Sociology 30 (2002): 328-341.
Margaret L. Hunter and Kimberly D. Nettles, "What About the White Women?
Racial Politics in a Women's Studies Classroom," Teaching Sociology
27 (1999): 385-397.
Gilda Laura Ochoa and Enrique C. Ochoa, "Education for Social
Transformation: The Intersections of Chicana/o and Latin American Studies
and Community Struggles," Latin American Perspectives 31:1 (2004):
59-80.
[1]Ira Shor, Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Seabury Press,
1970).
Bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
(New York: Routledge, 1994:178). |
ID1
Faculty Coordinator:
Dara Rossman Regaignon
The TLC co-sponsors a three-day workshop in May, the
Wednesday through Friday after graduation, for all faculty
teaching ID1 the following fall. (Workshop dates for 2006
are May 17-19.) This workshop is a unique opportunity for
faculty from across the college to come together to discuss
pedagogical issues. For more information, please see
Resources for Teaching ID1.
Faculty Auditing Program
The Dean's office offers a limited number of $500
grants to assist Pomona faculty members who wish to audit a
course.
For more information, contact Assistant
Dean Kris Fossum.
Writing Fellows
For information about the undergraduate Writing Fellows and
ID1 Interns, please see the
Writing Center web site.
Instructional
Technology Assistance
The Teaching and Learning Center and ITS Instructional
Services work closely together to provide a range of
services to faculty to foster the sound integration of
technology in teaching. Among other services, Instructional
Services offers:
- Consultation with faculty to make the best use of
course management systems Sakai (http://sakai.claremont.edu)
or Moodle (http://moodle.pomona.edu/).
- Workshops on using technology to meet your teaching
goals.
- Videotaping services for individual faculty for the
purpose of assessing their teaching. Requests will be
honored as resources permit.
- Assistance to faculty in learning new technologies and
developing skills with an existing technology.
- Developing curricular projects such as digital video
production, large scale image digitization projects,
specialized web sites describing faculty-student research
and custom web based applications for teaching
- Resources and news on instructional technologies in
use at Pomona.
To learn more about these topics, or to set up an
individual consultation, please contact:
Contact people
ITS Instructional Services
Mary McMahon
Director of Instructional Services x78774
Videotaping
Joe Brennan
Director of Media Services x77355
Curricular Development Grants
A number of grants, usually ranging from $500 to $2,000, are
awarded by the Teaching & Learning Committee for the
development of new or substantially revised courses. These
grants are meant to reimburse faculty for items such as
books, videos, and software (up to $500), student assistants
(up to $1000), field trips (up to $1000), travel (up to
$750), and conference or workshop registration fees related
to preparation of a course. Preference will be given to
faculty who have not received Wig funds for course
development in the preceding two years.
The deadline for applications is April 4, 2008. Applications
should include a course description and a detailed, itemized
budget. The applicant should also indicate if she or he has
received a Wig grant in the past two years and, if so, the
amount and the curricular results. Submit proposals to
Kristin Fossum, Assistant Dean of the College. The Teaching
& Learning Committee will review the proposals and make
funding recommendations by the end of April. Awards will
become effective July 1, 2008, and must be spent by June 30,
2009.
Teaching Innovation Grants
Small grants (up to $500) are available throughout the year
to enhance the teaching of a particular course. This fund is
meant to cover curricular needs that are unexpected and that
therefore cannot be met within a departmental budget or
through application for a Curriculum Development Grant.
Items that have been funded in the past include books,
honoraria/meals/lodging for speakers, videos, computer
software, and student assistants.
Requests are to be made in writing, with a complete budget,
including other sources of funding if any, and a short
description of the relevance of the items to a particular
course. Submit requests to Kristin Fossum, Assistant Dean of
the College. Assessment Help
Video taping (see above, Technology Assistance)
Mid
course evaluation template for faculty 
Mid
course evaluation template for faculty 
TLC Room Use
Faculty groups have priority access to the newly-refurbished
TLC room. To reserve the room, contact
blenda_long@pomona.edu, TLC assistant.
TLC Library
The TLC (Smith 212) houses a growing library of books,
journals, and videos related to teaching. To check out
materials, contact
blenda_long@pomona.edu, TLC assistant.
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