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Office of Teaching & Learning (OTL)

The Office of Teaching and Learning is dedicated to providing opportunities for professional development in teaching that enable student learning and build communities of teaching and learning among departments, programs and schools.

What's new at the Office of Teaching and Learning?

A warm welcome to the new Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Roben Torosyan. Dr. Torosyan began his service as Director on August 2, 2012. He comes to us from Fairfield University, where he served as Associate Director of the Center for Academic Excellence, an entity dedicated to faculty development regarding teaching. He has over a decade of faculty development programming experience, considerable background in external grant funding, and an impressive record of publication and presentation in the scholarship of teaching and learning. His interest in service learning, diversity, faculty learning communities, and contemplative pedagogy make him an outstanding fit for Bridgewater. He earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Education and a M. Phil. in Cultural Studies and Education, both from Columbia University, and an M.A. in Philosophy and a B.A. in Art History from New York University. His first official act as OTL Director will be hosting the 3rd annual Teacher Scholar Summer Institute, August 20 -24. Welcome and good luck, Roben!

The theme of student success is guiding offerings for 2012-2013. Look for announcements of relevant events.

Meet our OTL Faculty Fellows: John Kucich (English, term beginning fall 2011) and Karen Richardson (MAHPLS, term beginning spring 2011), Thomas Kling, (Physics, term beginning spring 2012)!

Congratulations to the nine recipients of the 2012 Teacher Scholar Grant:

Joyce Rain Anderson, English: "Deeper Into Digital Media."

Bill Devlin, Philosophy: "Logically Reasoning Across Contexts: A New Way to Teach Foundations of Logical Reasoning (FLR)"

Diana Fox, Anthropology: "The Visual Vanguard: Visual Anthropology (ANTH 420) in a Transnational World"

Steve Kaczmarek, Geological Sciences: "Writing Quantitatively: Integrating Scientific Writing in a Data Intensive, Upper-Level Geology Course"

Tom Kling and Jeff Williams, Physics: "Development of Inquiry-Based Physics 243 and 244 Materials"

Chifuru Noda, Chemistry: "Adaptation of Studio-Style Experiments into the 'Principles of Chemistry' Laboratory."

Matthew Salomone, Mathematics and Computer Science: "Educating the Whole Person: A Holistic Approach to Developmental Algebra."

Michelle Mamberg, Psychology: "Creation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Psychotherapists in Training."

Nikki Freeburg, Counselor Education: "Technology as a Vehicle to Increase Conceptualization Skills."

Faculty Development Calendar: Having trouble keeping track of all the development events on campus? Visit the Faculty Development Calendar. The calendar will help you stay on top of faculty development workshops, meetings and information sessions at BSU. If you have a development event you'd like to see posted on the calendar, contact Roben Torosyan (x2435) or Lori Benson (x2694).

Contact Roben Torosyan with questions about any of these development opportunities.

Dr. Karen (Pagnano) Richardson
Teaching Fellow

Associate Professor and

Physical Education and Health Graduate Coordinator
Tinsley Center, Room 223

508-531-2067
karen.richardson@bridgew.edu

Karen Richardson joined the MAHPLS department in 2003 in the area of physical education pedagogy. She currently teaches classes in physical education methods, instructional strategies and curriculum. Education - Dr. Richardson earned her B.S. in Physical Education from Springfield College in 1988 and then taught physical education and health in a Maine high school for 10 years. In 1998 she earned her M.S. in Physical Education at Indiana State University. In 2004 she earned her Ed. D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is excited about the opportunity to serve as a Teaching Fellow:

I feel fortunate to work on a campus with resources devoted to improving teaching and learning and look forward to making a contribution to this effort. I care deeply about engaging all students in the learning process and supporting college faculty as they embrace new approaches to teaching. My teaching is grounded in constructivist theories, which holds students as active participants in their own learning process, both from a cognitive and socio-cultural perspective. Critical for learning is the need for relevance within the context in which subject matter content is framed. I feel that working as a Teaching Fellow is a unique opportunity to work with BSU faculty who are committed to improving teaching and learning in our college community. I hope to create a community of practice among faculty who are engaged in efforts to improve their own teaching and learning with the recognition that each faculty member will bring to the classroom a unique and diverse set of experiences and skills.

I would enjoy talking with you about teaching, sharing quick and easy ways to assess your students, watching you teach, or even helping you design a study about teaching/learning in your classroom. I am always willing to do a walking or running meeting as well, so if time is tight, we can meet and go for a walk or a run while we talk!

Dr. John Kucich
      Teaching Fellow
Associate Professor of English
Tillinghast Hall, Room 314
        508-531-2722
    jkucich@bridgew.edu

In my dozen years of teaching at the college and secondary school level, I've been continually fascinated watching how literature opens up the world for me and for my students. Literature jolts us out of our familiar assumptions and understandings, forcing us to confront the world anew. As a teacher, my focus has always been on giving my students the tools to refashion their understanding of the world, helping them attend to the nuances of language and the complicated cultural forces in which literature takes shape. My research in American literature has focused on how people have used writing to reshape their own environments, both natural and social, particularly across cultural lines, and I've brought the same perspective to the classroom. I use literature to challenge students (and teachers of students) to confront the limits of their assumptions and to wrestle with worlds of difference literature embodies.

Dr. Thomas P. Kling
     Teaching Fellow
Associate Professor of Physics
Conant Science and Mathematics Center,
          Room 214
      508-531-2895
   tkling@bridgew.edu
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/tkling

I have been very lucky to have learned how to be a college professor from engaging, knowledgeable, dedicated, and thoughtful faculty from across Bridgewater and elsewhere. Without the insights I have drawn from others, I am sure I would not be very effective today. What I hope to do as a faculty fellow in the OTL is to continue to share what has been shared with me.

As a professor, three things are important to my identity: that I am a physicist, that I am the product of a broad and deep liberal arts education, and that I want to engage with my students in intellectual pursuits they find meaningful. Physicists are analytic pragmatists; we think hard to define a problem and solve it as best one can with the tools available. Bridgewater is a special place in that while we are not small, we feel like a liberal arts college to me. My professional life is so much richer because I have met so many faculty who teach interesting courses and pursue fascinating research. Finally, my teaching philosophy is that my job is to create a structure in which students learn (mostly) physics, using the most engaging methods suited to the material I can find. This has led me to combine WAC ideas with physics-specific pedagogy with inquiry methods with technology with . . .

As part of my duties in the Office of Teaching and Learning, I want to help faculty define their expectations of and roles in student success: defined primarily in terms of undergraduate degree attainment. Through the Project Compass and STREAMS grants, Bridgewater now possesses strong data analysis skills to help faculty understand the nexus of student preparation, classroom pedagogies, and other challenges that lead to students failing to graduate. I want to move forward a conversation about what faculty can do to help students be more successful.

Last Modified: October 19, 2012