The Center for Teaching and Learning kicks off the fall semester with a series of workshops for new and current faculty, a slate of nationally renowned speakers and a film night for the university community.
In August and September the CTL offers a Faculty Development Series for any faculty interested in or currently teaching a First-Year Odyssey Seminar course. First-Year Odyssey Seminars are required one-hour credit courses that allow first-year students to get to know UGA and a faculty member in a small class setting.
The Pedagogy and Practice Series—workshops and lectures that run throughout the semester—focuses on engaging students through technology and high-impact teaching practices.
Topics include improving student success through ePortfolios and blogs, open educational resources, learning activities for flipped and SCALE-UP classrooms, and experiential learning.
The CTL fall schedule also includes a National Speaker Series that begins Aug. 31 with Todd Zakrajsek, who is a nationally recognized expert in student learning. An associate professor in the family medicine department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Zakrajsek will present two faculty lectures. The first, “Motivating and Engaging Your Students: Strategies for Teaching From the Psychology of Learning,” will start at 10:30 a.m. in the special collections libraries.
The second lecture, “Learning-Centered Teaching: Coordinating Evidence-based Teaching With Evidence-based Learning,” will start at 2 p.m. in Room 201 of the Pharmacy South building. Zakrajsek also will present a lecture to students based on his book The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain. The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center.
Other award-winning and national speakers will focus on high-impact strategies for teaching and engaging students. Speakers include Bret Eynon from LaGuardia Community College; Dr. Cynthia Ward, a professor of internal medicine and chief medical officer for UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine; Terry Rhodes of the American Association of Colleges and Universities; Andrew Owsiak, an assistant professor of international affairs in UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs; and Jill C. Sible of Virginia Tech.
CTL is sponsoring a campus-wide Fall Film Night. Most Likely to Succeed will be screened Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Cine in downtown Athens. The feature-length documentary explores new approaches aimed at revolutionizing teaching. Immediately following the screening, a panel of UGA researchers will discuss the film’s portrayal of education in America and field questions from the audience.