Hearing Every Voice

11 DECEMBER 2009 (Reading Day) 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Burnell Cafeteria

Our theme and title for the day gives us the opportunity to reflect holistically on the classroom practices that invite all of our students, with all of their strengths, gifts, and vulnerabilities to speak up and be heard by their classmates, by us, and by the world beyond campus.  We will look concretely at interactive pedagogies that support teaching the skills of speaking—including designing and evaluating the speaking-centered assignment and supporting students as they work on it. And, more philosophically, we will have the chance to focus on the complexity of truly listening to our students, hearing them as they articulate (and don’t) their ideas, their concerns, their goals, their challenges amidst the noise of the rest of the teaching work in a semester. Please note: different from last year, this year’s major faculty development day will take place this December. A smaller opportunity for faculty development will be offered in spring.

Workshop Leaders:

Dr. Patricia R. Palmerton comes from the Department of Theatre Arts and Communication Studies at Hamline University. She will be running a morning workshop on the speaking intensive activities and assignments, from design to implementation to assessment.

Dr. Mathew L. Ouellett, is the Director of the Center for Teaching at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He will be leading the afternoon workshop on culturally inclusive pedagogies

Additionally, faculty will have the opportunity to work with representatives of all the other major initiatives during lunch roundtables.  Topics for these tables will include but are not limited to

·         Writing Across the Curriculum

·         Issues in teaching first year writers and readers

·         Women’s and Gender Studies in the Classroom

·         Undergraduate Research, Presentation, and the Speaking Intensive Assignment