Faculty Luncheon Seminar Series, Spring, 2009
All seminars are at 12:15-1:30 in the Center for Teaching and Learning, Suite 540, 10 Park Place Building
To reserve a place, email ctl@gsu.edu

Meet the New GSU President
Dr. Mark Becker recently became GSU's 7 th president. Join Dr. Becker for a conversation on education and the role of teaching at a research university. Wednesday, January 28

 

Assessment of Teaching
Every year, faculty members are assessed on their teaching. How is that assessment done? How should it be done? Does the current system reward good teaching or stifle innovation? Does it promote uniform academic and pedagogical standards or does it curtail academic freedom? Is it a necessary process or a waste of time? Presuming assessment will always be done, what are the most effective ways for faculty to navigate the process?
Tuesday, February 10

 

Education and the Law Is your classroom legal? What would that mean? What, for instance, are the copyright restrictions on the course materials you use? What are the limits of your freedom of expression in the classroom? How does the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) limit what you can say – and to whom you can say it – about students? What information about you is legally available to others? Join University attorney Kerry Heyward for a discussion of these and other questions. Wednesday, February 25

 

Is Intelligent Design Science? This session will focus on Thomas Nagel's article, “Public Education and Intelligent Design” ( Philosophy & Public Affairs , Vol. 36, Issue 2). Nagel, a distinguished philosopher (and an atheist) argues that, in contrast to creationism, ID theories meet the standards of science. Is he correct? What are the standards of science? As a pedagogical matter, where does the boundary lie between what should and what should not be taught in a science classroom?
Tuesday, March 17

Nontenure-Track Faculty Nontenure-track instructors teach 49% of the more than 1.5 million undergraduate courses offered at public colleges and universities. They comprise nearly 70% of the professoriate. What are the challenges unique to these positions? What are the rewards? Are there, for instance, special concerns with regard to the balancing of teaching and service activities? Should the role of nontenure-track instructors be expanded or diminished?
Wednesday, April 1

 

Online Teaching The movement to online teaching is growing rapidly, and not simply at proprietary institutions like Phoenix University, but at established public and private universities and colleges. Is this a good thing? Are these classes pedagogically sound or are they an affront to education? In either case, what pedagogical techniques can help to make online classes as valuable a learning experience as possible? If you've taught such a class, what has worked – or not – for you?
Thursday, April 16

For registrations email ctl@gsu.edu