I just posted an article on http://vilberg.com that I think is worth your time. It is a short interview with L. Dee Fink that talks about opportunities to improve teaching (and learning) in higher education. If you have about five minutes, please go to http://vilberg.com and check it out. This article makes no mention of technology, although technology can play a part in many of the points that he makes.
The Instructional Advancement Center has become an academic technology center over the last few years. Our primary activities are managing and supporting faculty use of the Blackboard learning management system and the technology in the 80 or so general purpose classrooms on campus. I am excited that we are now (as of Ocober 1) part of Information Technology at UM and I am reporting directly to Steve Cawley, our new CIO. This change opens lots of wonderful possibilities for us and should provide improved services to you.
At the same time I worry that the advancement of teaching and learning, non-technology related, might be neglected. To continue my efforts in that area I will continue to post material on vilberg.com and send information to the ed-tech list as I come across it. If you are interested in any specific material, let me know and I will do what I can to assist you in pursuing your interests, whether they be purely teaching and learning based or technology related.
Now, that you have read this far, don't forget that this message is about the L. Dee Fink article, not about our organizational change. Please go back and read the article. How would you measure up on his four areas of evaluating teaching? Which of his six categories in the taxonomy of significant learning do you explicitly include in your classes? Which fundamental the fundamental tasks of teaching would you like to develop in your repertoire? How might you participate in or lead a bottom-up improvement in teaching at UM? This short article has a lot of things to think about.
Best day,
Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255
http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more
