Information Update - Fall 2009

Report from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

 
The summer months may be down time to some, but not to the folks at the CTLE. In fact, June, July, and the early part of August are some of our busiest times. In a flurry of activities, we are updating our brochures and designing new ones, we are offering ANGEL workshops, we are assisting a lot of faculty on a one-on-one basis to ensure that they get the effects in their online courses they wish to achieve. We are scheduling the workshops for the Faculty Advancement Events for the coming year and are securing the outside facilitators. We revised the Part-Time Faculty Guide and made it available at www.scranton.edu/ctle. In addition to all these activities, we are also preparing a Newsletter for publication in August. The Faculty Liaisons, Dr. Marian Farrell and Dr. Anthony Ferzola have been investing much of their time in planning the program for the first-year faculty mentorship program 2009-10.
 
The CTLE held its annual retreat on May 26th. This event was devoted to evaluating our performance last year and to set new goals and timelines to achieve them during the coming year. Here are some of our accomplishments:
 
In order to improve our services to the University community, the Writing Center has conducted a self-study. A University-wide committee is currently in the process of evaluating the Writing Center. In the meantime, we have introduced a number of initiatives including an online referral form (http://academic.scranton.edu/department/ctle/writing/referralform.shtml) which allows faculty members to refer students to the Writing Center with the request for assistance in specific writing skills.
 
During the spring semester, we ran a special program for international students and exchange students with ESL (English as a second language) needs. Dr. Bonnie Alco and Mary Ellen Pichiarello, our Learning Enrichment Specialist, collaborated in finding conversation partners for students with ESL needs to enable them to improve their English.
 
At the end of the academic year, various units in the University collaborated with the CTLE to bring internationally renowned writer, trainer and speaker, Denise Bissonnette back to the University of Scranton campus. In the morning session, Denise presented to a crowd of 50 faculty and staff members in the Moskovitz Theater in the DeNaples Center. Denise's message was inspirational and reflective as she spoke of finding purpose, integrity and celebration in life through work. In the afternoon, she also presented a session entitled "The Art of Creating Opportunity" for students in which she admonished them to be proactive in seeking job opportunities and showed them how they might want to market themselves.
 
The reading specialist, James Muniz, worked in conjunction with the Nursing Department to provide help for nursing students preparing to take their national licensing exam. He met individually with 21 nursing students to develop test taking strategies.
 
The reading specialist has been collaborating with the advising center for the College of Professional Studies on possible approaches to meeting the literacy needs of incoming freshmen.
 
Together with the Weinberg Memorial Library staff, we have revised the Tutorial on Academic Integrity. The CTLE technical staff has been collaborating with the Library's technical staff in preparation of a series of workshops during spring 2010 on "how to use cool technology in teaching and learning". Workshops will include the use of technology in areas such as digital photography, audio, video, communication, organization and social networking and will be open to both faculty and staff.
 
In other news, Dr. André Oberlé, the Director of the CTLE was admitted, honoris causa, to Fellowship in United College (one of the founding colleges of the University of Winnipeg in Canada). Prior to coming to the University of Scranton in 2005, Dr. Oberlé had served the University of Winnipeg for 37 years in various capacities-as a German professor, Department Chair, Consultant for Learning Technologies, Associate Dean of Arts and Science (curriculum, faculty development, and student appeals), Mediator, and Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Fellowship in United College is the highest award the University of Winnipeg may offer to a retired faculty member.
André Oberlé
Pride, Passion, Promise: Experience Our Jesuit Tradition