“Creating this new partnership with international TAs is an extension of the hub-and-spoke model that CTL created with the Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows and the Graduate Teaching Fellows,” said Joyce Weinsheimer, director of CTL. “We hope this initiative will strengthen the voices of ITAs in our campus conversations, and give greater visibility to the diversity and contributions they bring to our campus. I'm excited about this new connection between CTL, the ITAs, and the colleges.”
The spring 2021 cohort of ITA Liaisons represents five colleges (the colleges of design, computing, engineering, liberal arts, sciences), seven schools, and a variety of national cultures. In addition, each ITA Liaison has completed “CETL 8802: Special Topics in ITA Development” and has already successfully served as a TA in their respective school. Sarah Kegley, ITA program manager for CTL, is facilitating the pilot program.
Along with collaborating with the rest the cohort, ITA Liaisons will engage as leaders in their own schools. How? By designing a framework developed from individual experience, each member of the cohort is working on something significant to them and addressing a need they choose to highlight.
“We're excited to work together in this initiative; we can support each other and incoming ITAs in distinctive ways that may not occur to others,” said Ximena Pizarro, one of the program participants and a Public Policy Ph.D. student.
Mohammad Nikbakht, another participant and an Electrochemical Engineering Ph.D. student, feels similarly.
“If I'd known then what I know now! I think we can help incoming ITAs with this experience,” Nikbakht added.
In addition to Nikbakht and Pizarro, the following students were selected for the program:
Center for Teaching and Learning
]]>This year, CTL also introduced a new “Honor Roll” in order to expand recognition of excellence in teaching at Tech. Selection for the Honor Roll is based on the same criteria as the Class of 1934 CIOS Award.
“Faculty who receive the award often remark about what an honor it is, and the same is true of the faculty who are listed on the new Honor Roll,” said Joyce Weinsheimer, director of CTL. “Teaching during the pandemic has required everyone to pivot to new ways of teaching, and faculty appreciate hearing that students value their efforts."
The Class of 1934 CIOS Award, previously known as the Class of 1940 Course Survey Teaching Effectiveness Award, is one of a number of annual CTL recognition initiatives to honor outstanding teaching.
Specifically, the award recognizes faculty members with exceptional scores and response rates on the Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS). The CIOS is completed by students at the end of each semester to provide feedback to instructors about the learning experience in their respective courses.
Open to full-time instructors of both small (15-30 students) and large classes (at least 40 students), recipients were selected based on the sum of the following three CIOS items: #16 instructor’s respect and concern for students; #17 instructor’s level of enthusiasm about teaching the course; #18 instructor’s ability to stimulate my interest in the subject matter. Ties were broken by response rate.
The new Honor Roll will be compiled at the end of each semester. Then, at the end of each calendar year, the Honor Roll recipients with the 40 highest rankings and at least an 85% CIOS response rate will be awarded the Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Award.
Click here for a list of the 2020 recipients of the Class of 1934 CIOS Award and here for a list of the members of the Fall 2020 CIOS Honor Roll.
]]>Center for Teaching and Learning
]]>“After an extensive search, we’re so glad to welcome Dawn to our team,” said Bonnie Ferri, vice provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development. “Her enthusiasm as well as her years of experience when it comes to supporting faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and students make Dawn an important asset who will help our office as we put Georgia Tech’s new strategic plan into action within our unit.”
Since 2020, Baunach has served as the interim associate dean for Faculty/Student Development and Strategic Initiatives in the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kennesaw State University.
Baunach came to Kennesaw in 2016 to serve as a professor of Sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. During her time at the university, Baunach received Kennesaw’s Teresa M. Joyce Presidential Diversity Award and served as diversity fellow for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
She also established a College Diversity Council and Makerspace Advisory Board within the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and created a New Faculty Series to support new college faculty in their first year.
Prior to 2016, Baunach spent 20 years serving in roles ranging from director of Graduate Studies to interim chair in the Department of Sociology at Georgia State University. In these positions, her accomplishments included creating an alumni advisory board, developing a faculty affiliate program for scholars internal and external to the university, increasing graduate student enrollment by 50%, and doubling funding levels for graduate teaching and research assistants.
Baunach earned a bachelor’s in sociology from Duke University, and a master’s and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia.
“I’m thrilled to join Georgia Tech's community of world-class faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars, and am looking forward to helping them grow and succeed,” Baunach said. “Plus, I’m especially excited about collaborating with my colleagues in Graduate Education and Faculty Development on initiatives that support leaders in technology — leaders who can use their skills to ultimately improve the human condition. This position feels like a perfect fit for where I’m at in my career.”
]]>“When campus closed, the focus was on transitioning to remote instruction,” said Bonnie Ferri, vice provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development. “And as the semester progressed, we realized that students doing research remotely had their own set of problems.”
In response, the Graduate Faculty Council, an advisory group made up of faculty that supports the Office of Graduate Studies, decided to take action.
“We realized that while there are many resources on mentorship in research, we found very little on the topic of how to mentor those completing research remotely,” Ferri said. “So, we crowdsourced advice for both advisors and the students they support, with particular focus on strategies to help with research productivity and student well-being.”
The team worked with members of the Graduate Student Government Association, other grad students, members of the Office of Student Life, and others to pull together a list of tips and resources to promote well-being and minimize negative impact on both advisors and advisees.
Check out this brief video for the student-focused advice, and read on for all of the strategies and supports.
Tips for Advisors
Resources for Advisors and Advisees
Tips for Students (Check out this brief video for the student-focused advice.)
Resources for Students
“As I reviewed the nomination packets for the awards, I was impressed by the quality of teaching that our TAs bring to Georgia Tech students,” said Joyce Weinsheimer, director of CTL. “Our TAs want students to learn, and they bring both vitality and commitment to their teaching. The results are noteworthy!"
The following students received institutewide TA awards, which include $500 prizes sponsored by the Tech alumni classes of 1957 and 1972:
Undergraduate TA of the Year
Graduate TA of the Year
Graduate Student Instructor of the Year
In addition, 45 students received school-level awards, and 169 graduate students received Thank-a-Teacher notes.
]]>This award, previously known as the Class of 1940 Course Survey Teaching Effectiveness Award, is one of a number of annual recognition initiatives from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to honor outstanding teaching.
Specifically, the award recognizes faculty members with exceptional scores and response rates on the Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS). The CIOS is completed by students at the end of each semester to provide feedback to instructors about the learning experience in their respective courses.
Open to full-time instructors of both small (15-30 students) and large classes (at least 40 students), recipients were selected based on the sum of the following three CIOS items: #16 instructor’s respect and concern for students; #17 instructor’s level of enthusiasm about teaching the course; #18 instructor’s ability to stimulate my interest in the subject matter. Ties were broken by response rate.
“Faculty who receive the award often remark what an honor it is, especially since it’s based on students’ feedback about their work in the course,” said Joyce Weinsheimer, director of CTL. “At least 85 percent of their students have taken the time to complete CIOS, and these students highly value the instruction they received. There’s definitely consensus among the students that this person has helped them learn — and that’s always great to hear.”
Congratulations to the following individuals:
The 18-member advisory search committee is comprised of faculty and staff, as well as students from the undergraduate and graduate student government associations. The committee will be co-chaired by Charles Isbell, dean of the College of Computing and Susan Lozier, dean of the College of Sciences.
Two town halls are scheduled for students, faculty, and staff to hear about the search process and provide feedback on the candidate considerations:
Additional town halls are planned for later in the semester as the search progresses.
The full search committee includes:
Georgia Tech will be assisted by Jackie Zavitz, Ellen Landers, and Kaley Palanjian of Heidrick & Struggles. Nominations and applications should be directed to GTProvost@heidrick.com.
Once finalized, an application link will be provided, as well as ongoing search updates, via the search site.
]]>IVAN ALLEN COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
The PTLF cohort from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts will address the challenge of teaching the liberal arts at a technology-focused school. In the spring, the fellows hosted a panel discussion titled “Controversial Topics in Contentious Times: Teaching the Humanities & Social Sciences at Georgia Tech.” Moving forward, each fellow will develop a separate project to address the challenge. Associate Professor Narin Hassan in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication will explore strategies to create a more mindful, empathetic, and just environment in which to discuss social justice issues. Associate Professor Carla Gerona in the School of History and Sociology will write an essay that analyzes the pedagogies of digital history. Associate Professor Gordon Kingsley in the School of Public Policy will focus on the integration of online education into the liberal arts.
In addition, here are the goals for the other respective colleges at the Institute:
SCHELLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
The PTLF cohort from the Scheller College of Business will explore opportunities to apply a blended-learning approach to courses. The group is examining how peer business schools, as well as other colleges within Georgia Tech, have incorporated digital platforms into their courses. A second focus area will look at ways to integrate more leadership topics into the curriculum, in addition to the leadership programs already offered. Toward this end, the fellows have gradually begun to infuse leadership topics into their own courses.
For example, D.J. Wu, professor and Ernest Scheller Jr. Chair in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Commercialization, recently invited Lalit Dhingra, founder and CEO of EnSignis, to address leadership in his course on Electronic Commerce (MGT 4056). The fellows also participate in the Dean’s Advisory Board, where they contribute to discussions about other ways to integrate leadership into the curriculum.
COLLEGE OF COMPUTING
The PTLF cohort from the College of Computing set a goal to enrich the graduate computer science curriculum by offering crosscutting courses with topics that integrate multiple areas of research. Associate Professor Santosh Pande in the School of Computer Science is part of the current cohort and shared thoughts on addressing issues through such an approach.
“While cutting-edge research in the field requires the expertise of experts from multiple areas, graduate students traditionally focus on building expertise in one primary area,” said Pande. “These crosscutting courses will enhance graduate education in the College of Computing by helping graduate students see how they can use their area of expertise to contribute to these emerging research topics.”
The courses will be team taught by multiple professors with expertise in different research areas. In the spring, the fellows hosted an event at which those who have taught crosscutting courses discussed how to make these types of courses most effective. Several faculty members interested in the initiative have been identified to foster dialogue as they plan and teach courses next academic year.
COLLEGE OF DESIGN
The College of Design’s PTLF cohort plans to increase awareness of excellence in teaching within its college through a teaching award. Specifically, it plans to collaborate with student organizations within each school in the College of Design to select and honor the winning faculty member at an annual event. This award will be funded by the dean, but winners will be chosen by students.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
The PTLF cohort within the College of Engineering found that its increasing enrollment numbers have made student experiences in lab courses more difficult. For example, students are not getting enough hands-on experience with the experimental platforms that are representative of realistic and complex engineering systems because there is simply not enough equipment to go around. The College of Engineering cohort of fellows plans to address this problem in the coming academic year through the integration of an augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) platform into select courses.
COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
The PTLF fellows from the College of Sciences will identify opportunities to improve the professional development of teaching assistants (TAs) to help them become effective teachers in today’s learning environment. To do this, the cohorts are collecting information about teaching resources offered by the Institute, what is currently being done for TA professional development in other institutions, and surveying graduate TAs on what they believe could be added to improve TA training. They will use this data to develop a TA competency model to set a clearer standard of performance for training students to be teaching assistants.
During the 2019-20 academic year, the Center for Teaching and Learning will partner with the cohorts to support their initiative and update the campus community on the progress of these efforts.
Learn more about the 2018-20 Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows.
This story has been edited from the initial story, which was prepared by Georgia Tech's Office of the Provost.
]]>“As a Provost Teaching and Learning Fellow, I needed to create a project related to my work at Tech,” said Dhongde, an associate professor in Economics. “When I was talking to the dean of Ivan Allen College about possible projects, I mentioned my worry that larger classes in the School of Economics meant a greater need for graduate teaching assistants who had less experience — especially those from other countries. From that conversation, came my idea to create this program.”
The Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows (PTLF) program brings together a group of 17 professors interested in improving Georgia Tech’s teaching community.
Fellows serve a two-year term and meet monthly to discuss new projects. (Faculty members can apply to the program or be nominated by their deans, and all participants receive an annual stipend during the fellowship.)
Dhongde was part of the first group of fellows in 2017. Read on to learn more about her and the work she’s done to help students transition into teachers.
Did you always want to go into teaching, or was it a career you came across later in life?
I worked as a graduate teaching assistant when I was at the University of California. The university's program for teaching assistants (TAs) was very structured. But, during my first section, I remember thinking that I really enjoyed this, and that maybe I wasn’t bad at it.
What I enjoyed most of all was that the students could connect a lot better with graduate students as their TAs, so I felt really comfortable with them. And the students seemed so excited. It didn’t feel like teaching the same course over and over, because every class approached it in a new way. That connection helped me decide that this was where I wanted to be.
What brought you to Tech?
Since Tech is known for its engineering program, the economics program is slightly smaller here. But, I worked in a similar situation at another university, and I really liked that the students could work well with numbers. Economics is like math and physics in that it uses a lot of quantities, and I knew students here would be well trained in that.
What do you enjoy most about teaching at Tech?
I enjoy interacting with students. The students here are very smart; they take interest in any challenging problem, regardless of their major. I remember a few years ago, I was teaching a master’s class in economics, and I had one graduate student from Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) who was very close to finishing his Ph.D. He was taking the course because he was interested in economics, but he became so excited about the subject by the end of the semester. Later in the year, he told me that he'd decided to go for another degree — in economics (after finishing his degree in ECE). I was surprised that he wanted to go for another Ph.D., but it felt great to have this connection with a student.
Something like that won’t happen every time, but it was great to see an engineering student who has this interest in social topics, who actually decided to use it. A lot of my students here come up and ask if they can do something beyond what the class requires them to do. I’ve even had some students present their papers at undergraduate research conferences on their own. I enjoy seeing that initiative in our students.
What are some of the challenges that international students face when they transition from students to teachers?
International students aren’t always familiar with the undergraduate class structure, especially how undergraduate students at Tech approach the class and the instructor. For example, many students in our program are from different countries in Asia, so a couple of them have had to adjust to students being very direct in their questions to the professor. Another thing our international students struggle with is confidence in the language. Usually, they are very good at reading and speaking English, but they lack confidence in their presentations.
Tell us more about what the program you’ve created for international students entails.
As part of the program, students go through CTL’s Teaching Assistant Orientation and Tech to Teaching program. We included these components to help students think more scientifically about the art of teaching and help international students learn about classroom structures in the United States. Students then move on to a teaching capstone where they teach a course by themselves or with a mentor.
The program generally lasts two semesters. So far, we’ve had 11 students participate. Any graduate student can join, but we tend to see the most interest from international students looking to gain more expertise in teaching in this country. We’re building a website for the program. But, for now, visit the Tech to Teaching page for more information about the required courses.
How have students benefited from participating?
The participants have a chance to learn specific teaching skills in the CTL classes or from their mentors, such as how to write syllabi well and how to give presentations.
One of the most beneficial parts is the capstone where they teach a course with a mentor. The student that I mentored last semester got to see the process of building a course over time and observe lectures, and even got to give some lectures herself. She was able to observe how professors deal with things like student questions and if you run out of copies of something — all the things that can happen in a classroom. The program also helped her in getting feedback from students regarding things like projecting her voice so they could hear her. Students also get a Tech to Teaching certificate and a letter of recommendation from CTL.
Going forward, what are a few of your goals for your program?
We’re working to institutionalize the program within Economics and share it with other schools at Tech. I’m glad that Laura Taylor, the new chair of Economics, has recognized the importance of this initiative and has been very supportive in helping it grow.
Why would you recommend that other faculty members participate in the PTLF?
The program provides the opportunity to think creatively about teaching. It’s an opportunity to learn what you’re doing well and what you can improve about your methods. We as faculty rarely share our classroom experiences and our thoughts on teaching with each other, even though teaching is an important part of our lives. The PTLF program helped me make these conversations with colleagues across campus happen.
For more information about the Provost Teaching and Learning Fellowship, visit ctl.gatech.edu/faculty/groups/PTLF.
]]>Center for Teaching and Learning
]]>“When you’re working on a Ph.D., you don’t typically get to connect with undergraduate students, because you’re always doing research,” said Al Kurdi, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry. “I became a TA because I wanted to interact with students and challenge myself to be a better teacher.”
Al Kurdi took home both a Thank A Teacher award and the Graduate TA of the Year award for Chemistry and Biochemistry at the 2019 TA and Future Faculty Awards Day, which was held in April.
The annual event is sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning, and celebrates students and postdoctoral scholars who have contributed to the learning environment at Georgia Tech.
This year, 51 students received school-level TA Awards, and 91 students received Thank A Teacher awards. Also, 34 Tech to Teaching participants and 48 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) members received teaching certificates.
“It was exciting to win these awards, because it shows my work is paying off and that my students care enough to take the time to express that they appreciate my teaching,” Al Kurdi added.
During the event, the following individuals also received institutewide TA of the Year awards, which include $500 prizes sponsored by the Georgia Tech alumni classes of 1957 and 1972:
Undergraduate TA of the Year
Graduate TA of the Year
Graduate Student Instructor of the Year
]]>
“I got my offer letter pretty close to the start of the semester,” said Nguyen, a master’s student in Mechanical Engineering. “So, it was like, I’m a TA now — what do I do?”
But, thanks to the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Teaching Assistant Orientation (TAO), Nguyen wasn’t left wondering for long.
If you are a new TA who could use some insight into topics such as interacting with students and tips for grading, you can choose from two upcoming TAO sessions on Jan. 8 in the Peachtree Room, Student Center Commons, and on Jan. 23 in the Piedmont Room, Student Center. Both sessions will occur from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
A special orientation session for international TAs will be held on Jan. 25 from 10:30 a.m.-noon. Here, students who are new to the United States will learn about the culture, students, and teaching techniques typically used in the American college classroom.
TAOs are led by a team of eight experienced Graduate Teaching Fellows who present interactive sessions that help new TAs understand their roles and how to do them well.
“I definitely recommend attending TAO,” Nguyen said. “The sessions will help you learn the basics of what it means to teach at Tech, such as how to grade effectively and consistently, as well as how to help students learn vs. just talking at them. You’ll also learn about the numerous resources you can use beyond what you pick up at orientation.”
Register for TAO and International TAO.
]]>Center for Teaching and Learning
]]>“It was time to make the switch because the vendor of the prior clicker — PRS — discontinued the product,” said Clay Fenlason, director of educational technology. “We also learned that the PRS clicker wouldn’t work with more recent versions of Microsoft Office, so an alternative needed to be found in fairly short order.”
Clickers are devices that allow faculty members to gauge student knowledge and engagement during class. For example, a professor might ask a question, students would respond by pressing a button on their device and the professor could measure response.
At Tech, clickers are used primarily in chemistry, physics, biology, math, computing and management courses, with around 3,000 students using them each semester, Fenlason said.
A faculty-led task force was organized to review four products based on features, support, pricing, technical reliability and T-Square integration. In the end, the unanimous choice was the TurningPoint system.
Benefits of the new system include the following:
“A couple of classes are piloting the new clickers this summer to help pave the way and identify last-minute issues,” Fenlason said. “The bookstore should begin to stock the new clickers later this summer, and they should be the sole, supported clicker beginning in the fall.”
Faculty will receive a free instructor kit, which includes a receiver and a clicker, and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) will offer training on the devices for faculty and teaching assistants at the beginning of each semester. Online tutorials are also available here.
The price that students will pay has yet to be determined by Barnes & Noble @ Georgia Tech, which will sell the devices.
Contact Chaohua Ou in CETL at to obtain your system and to learn more about training opportunities.
]]>"CTL’s programming is designed to create time and space for faculty to engage with a community of their peers, focusing on specific themes, projects, initiatives, new ideas, old ideas, evidence-based teaching practices, and more,” said Ruth Poproski, assistant director of Faculty Teaching and Learning Initiatives. “Whether it be a practical issue that needs attention or the intellectual curiosity that leads you to question the grounding of various teaching practices, our goal is to help you move forward in your work as educators.”
Read on to find out if one of these opportunities is a fit for you:
For more information, about any of the options mentioned, email Poproski.
]]>“Plagiarism cases make up 38 percent of all cases we process, and we know there are some cases we never hear,” said Bonnie Weston, director of the Office of Student Integrity (OSI).
Tech’s policy on plagiarism is straightforward. It states that all cases need to be reported to OSI, and then students who want to challenge the accusation may do so.
But that’s where the simplicity ends. So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we’ve asked Weston and a few of your Tech colleagues for some insight into how they’ve dealt with plagiarism on campus. Read on for their strategies.
Why Do Students Plagiarize?
At Tech, there are two primary reasons for plagiarizing. Some students do it because they consider the class unimportant, as it isn’t one of their core classes. The other major reason is lack of time.
“Most of the students I see plagiarizing are trying to get everything done within their packed schedules,” said Andy Frazee, associate director of the Writing and Communication Program in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication. “They’re stressed, tired, and think they can’t get it done in time, so they copy someone else’s work.”
David Smith, senior lecturer in the College of Computing, noted that non-computer science students often view his classes as a formality, and some fail to learn anything because of this. These students copy work done by others or ask others for help with their programming assignments and fail to learn the programming skills they need to succeed.
“Every semester, I’ll get students whose failure to do their own work causes them to have to come back and retake my class,” Smith said. “I had one student have to repeat my class several times, because he refused to do his own homework, and had no idea how to solve the problems placed before him on the tests.”
How Do You Spot It?
According to Frazee, the first question any professor should ask himself when presented with suspicious work is, “Does this answer the question I’ve asked?” Plagiarizers often take their material from sources where the question answered doesn’t match the one being asked by the professor. So, a paper or answer that fails to fit the question is a warning sign of plagiarism, Frazee added.
Another sign is sudden changes in the spacing or fonts in a student’s work. So, for example, if the font size or type isn’t consistent, this can indicate that information was copied and pasted from another document, Frazee said.
Many professors use plagiarism checking software, such as Turnitin, especially when it comes to work submitted online. These “cheat catchers” — a term that Smith uses to describe the software — will let professors know if portions of essays or homework were copied. However, Smith acknowledges the limitations of these services.
“We first introduced a cheat catcher in our computer science classes in 2000,” Smith said. “But, the result was that students progressively learned how to get around the program. They weren’t learning anything, and those we caught faced severe academic penalties.”
What Can You Do to Prevent It?
Just one instance of plagiarism can have a tremendous impact on a student’s academic career. For example, it’s unlikely that the student will ever be able find teaching assistant positions or internships on campus, Smith said. For this reason, he does all he can to try and prevent plagiarism from occurring.
One way he accomplishes this is by basing his tests (worth 45 percent of his grades) off his homework, which is only worth 15 percent. Students who cheat on the homework usually fail his courses as a result.
“Just waiting for plagiarizers to get caught and then punishing them doesn’t work,” Smith said. “I advocate a two-pronged approach, dissuading people from cheating through incentives, as well as punishing plagiarizers after they’re caught. There’s no room for negotiation once a student is caught, so it’s essential to keep as many students as possible from trying in the first place.”
Weston reminds all professors to include a copy of the Student Honor Code at the beginning of their syllabi and to go over the correct formatting for citations and references. It is her hope that this clarification can prevent cases of ignorant plagiarism and prevent many of the cases that come to OSI.
And to help mitigate the dangers of time crunches, Frazee has a solution.
“You have to be willing to be a little flexible,” Frazee said. “While setting deadlines is important, you should make it clear to your students that you can be approached if work is piling up. If you’re willing to give an extra day or two to complete an assignment, it can encourage students to write their own work.”
For more information about dealing with plagiarism at Tech, visit http://osi.gatech.edu. Also, in an effort to safeguard academic integrity and prevent plagiarism, the Office of Graduate Studies now offers a limited number of iThenticate plagiarism detection licenses for use by dissertation advisors. For details, visit http://www.grad.gatech.edu/iThenticate.
]]>Shatakshee Dhongde is looking forward to sharing what she’s learned over the past 10 years in higher education — not about sharing what she teaches, but about how she teaches.
“Typically, faculty discuss teaching only when there is a problem, and they need to fix it,” said Dhongde, an assistant professor of Economics. “I think the big challenge is to encourage faculty to spend more time talking about what works or not in classrooms, and to think of ways in which they can help their colleagues become good teachers.”
Dhongde is one of 17 faculty selected for the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) new Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows program. The program is a partnership between CTL and the faculty of each of the colleges, with participants nominated by deans and department heads.
Phil Ackerman, Greg Blekherman, and Tamara Bogdanovic are the inaugural fellows from the College of Sciences.
“The fellows have a proven track record of being effective problem solvers within their own educational field,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “By fostering communication among these professionals, we hope to facilitate intercollege collaboration and find innovative best practices directly from the experience of these faculty members.”
Each college has a minimum of two fellows, with additional fellows available for the larger colleges. These scholars will meet once a month over the next two years to discuss teaching and learning needs, mentorship, and dissemination of teaching and learning lessons, and techniques for wider use. Individual fellows will work closely with CTL to develop college-specific initiatives to address issues raised at the wider meetings.
“Faculty approaches to teaching tend to be discipline-specific,” said Joyce Weinsheimer, director of CTL. "If the Center for Teaching and Learning wants to have an impact on the quality of the learning environment at Georgia Tech, we must connect with our disciplinary colleagues. The Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows program has opened the door for such partnerships."
Congratulations to the following members of the inaugural class:
College of Computing
College of Design
College of Engineering
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
College of Sciences
Scheller College of Buisness
“Typically, faculty discuss teaching only when there is a problem, and they need to fix it,” said Dhongde, an assistant professor of Economics. “I think the big challenge is to encourage faculty to spend more time talking about what works or not in classrooms, and to think of ways in which they can help their colleagues become good teachers.”
Dhongde is one of 17 faculty selected for the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) new Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows program. The program is a partnership between CTL and the faculty of each of the colleges, with participants nominated by deans and department heads.
“The fellows have a proven track record of being effective problem solvers within their own educational field,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “By fostering communication among these professionals, we hope to facilitate intercollege collaboration and find innovative best practices directly from the experience of these faculty members.”
Each college has a minimum of two fellows, with additional fellows available for the larger colleges. These scholars will meet once a month over the next two years to discuss teaching and learning needs, mentorship, and dissemination of teaching and learning lessons, and techniques for wider use. Individual fellows will work closely with CTL to develop college-specific initiatives to address issues raised at the wider meetings.
“Faculty approaches to teaching tend to be discipline-specific,” said Joyce Weinsheimer, director of CTL. "If the Center for Teaching and Learning wants to have an impact on the quality of the learning environment at Georgia Tech, we must connect with our disciplinary colleagues. The Provost Teaching and Learning Fellows program has opened the door for such partnerships."
Congratulations to the following members of the inaugural class:
College of Computing
College of Design
College of Engineering
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
College of Sciences
Scheller College of Buisness
“After more than 40 years in education, I thought it might be time to retire,” said Weinsheimer, who is now director of CTL. “But, the opportunity to create a culture at this university that promotes and rewards excellence in teaching — something I’ve always been passionate about — presented itself. And I couldn’t say ‘no’ to the challenge.”
Recently, Weinsheimer shared her thoughts on CTL’s new name, other changes, and more about why she’s excited about her new role. Read on to find out more.
So, why change the center’s name?
We wanted our emphasis to be on teaching and learning. When newcomers read “the enhancement of” in our name, they thought our focus was on fixing poor teaching. We sent out a survey to faculty and administrators, and 90 percent thought the change to Center for Teaching and Learning was a good idea.
Who can use CTL's services?
Anyone teaching at Georgia Tech — whether the person is a faculty member, a temporary/part-time instructor, a postdoctoral scholar, a graduate student, an undergraduate who serves as a teaching assistant (TA) or tutor, or a staff member who teaches GT 1000. There are a lot of different teaching roles on our campus, and CTL connects with them all.
What are some of the challenges that instructors at Georgia Tech face, and how can CTL help?
Having enough time to do everything well is difficult. This especially can pose a challenge to those who want to excel in both teaching and research. So, CTL provides a variety of ways to explore best teaching practices. Those who choose to invest just a little time can attend a workshop, consult about a particular class, or join our book club. Those who want to go into more depth can participate in a faculty learning community on a topic of their choice or participate in the future faculty program.
What are you looking forward to most about your work as director?
As I’ve mentioned, I’m really passionate about creating a culture at Tech that promotes and rewards excellence in teaching. I want our students to have an educational experience that energizes them and prepares them for the future. We have instructors here who are using innovative strategies that engage students in the hard work of learning. As CTL’s director, I want to highlight what these folks are doing and help more of our instructional staff use evidence-based practices that enhance student learning. In addition, I enjoy working with my campus colleagues on “Creating the Next” in teaching and learning. How will we respond to the challenges that are emerging? What bold actions will we take to ensure that the educational experience we offer is worthwhile? I like being part of the “next” and helping it take shape at Tech.
Are there any new additions to the CTL staff?
I’ve changed the structure of CTL a bit this year. David Lawrence is now associate director, and we have organized CTL into three areas: learning and technology initiatives, TA development and future faculty initiatives, and faculty teaching and learning initiatives. We’ve welcomed two new staff members — Kate Williams and Tammy McCoy — both of which will work with our TA development and future faculty initiatives. We also hope to have a postdoctoral fellow join us soon.
What changes will CTL make in the next few months?
I want to lead us into a new era of collaboration among administrators, instructional staff, and support units to maximize student learning on this campus. We have two new important partnerships underway:
What are some of the highlights of CTL’s recently redesigned website? How is it more useful to the campus community?
There was just so much information to digest on the old site. Now, whether you’re a faculty member, a postdoc, or a student, the information is easier to find. Also, our events page breaks out teaching and learning-related events according to audience. Best of all, the homepage now features news and information related to teaching and learning for the whole campus — so, it’s easier to know what’s happening at Tech.
Can you share a few new publications that you’d recommend to instructors trying to learn more about best practices?
Right now our book club is looking at Are You Smart Enough? by Alexander W. Astin. Next, we’re reading Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology by Michelle D. Miller. We’ll discuss this book during the Oct. 28, and Nov. 11 meetings — so stop by CTL to pick up a book, then join us in book club for a glass of wine and a great discussion!
To learn more about CTL, visit ctl.gatech.edu
]]>Teaching at Georgia Tech: A Handbook for Faculty, Instructors, and Teaching Assistants
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