at Armstrong Atlantic State University
To promote and support scholarship of teaching activities on Armstrong's campus
To provide peer review and feedback on scholarship of teaching projects
To support faculty in their efforts to balance teaching and scholarship responsibilities
To foster interdisciplinary collaboration and collegiality
At the first round table meeting, members proposed the following criterion for scholarship of teaching activities:
It requires the intent to enhance teaching and learning.
It involves identifying, acting upon, and reconsidering a challenge or question regarding teaching and learning.
It involves reflection on the question or challenge.
It requires an encounter with literature related to that challenge or question.
It follows a specific method and produces data, which are documented.
The documentation is submitted to the critique of peers.
It is assessed. Part of that assessment may include the critique of one's peers, listed above.
Although all members at the first meeting agreed on the above listed criteria, there was some discussion about other possible criteria of teaching scholarship. For instance, should scholarship of teaching produce empirical answers? What kind of data does scholarship of teaching require? Should it should develop new theory or apply existing theory? By the meeting's end participants agreed that although there may be some differences of opinions as to the specific criteria of scholarship of teaching, the above listed general criteria provide a suitable framework.
In February, Greg Anderson, director of AASU's advisement center, led a lively conversation about the university's learning communities. Armstrong has scheduled one semester of learning communities courses in hopes to boost student success and retention. Representatives from all three colleges came to the meeting. Attending were faculty who have taught learning communities in the past as well as those planning to teaching them next fall. All attendees shared their experiences and concerns, and the conversation gave everyone much to consider as Armstrong plans its next cohort of learning communities for Fall 2003.
Our final meeting for the 2002-2003 academic year will be on April 1, 2003. Again, the meeting will be at noon in the faculty dining room. The discussion will be "Being Nutty Professors: Using Humor in the Classroom." Jill Miller and Nancy Remler will lead this discussion. Those planning to attend are encouraged to download and read Weaver and Cotrell's "Ten Specific Techniques for Developing Humor in the Classroom." This is a .pdf file; you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it.
We've enjoyed some tasty meals at our round table meetings. Now recipes from those lunches are available via our web site! Browse these recipes and try them at home.
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Armstrong Atlantic State University
Savannah, GA 31419
(912) 921-5692
last updated March 13, 2003