Learning and Teaching Conference Features Nature Preserve Tour, Outstanding Teacher Lecture and More than Forty Workshops
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2003
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Learning and Teaching Conference Features Nature Preserve Tour, Outstanding Teacher Lecture and More than Forty Workshops
California State University, Chico’s ninth annual Conference on Excellence in Learning and Teaching will be held on campus Thursday, Sept. 18, and Friday, Sept. 19.
More than 40 workshops and the 2002 Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Adviser awards presentations and lectures are part of this year’s offerings for area educators and CSU, Chico teachers, administrators and students.
Among Thursday’s sessions are “The Butte Creek Ecological Reserve-A Resource for the Whole Community”; “Building a Positive Learning Environment: Using Online Quizzes and Other WebCT Tools”; “Overseas Education Fosters Cross-Cultural Acceptance”; and “Pedagogy by the Oppressed: Minority Professors/White students, Examining the Politics of Power.”
Friday’s sessions include “Constructing Online Test Questions for High-Quality Learning”; “Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum”; “Making Connections: Crossing Classrooms and Content through Service Learning”; and “Hard Looks and Hard Books: Teaching difficult texts to Reluctant Learners.”
Awards will be presented to 2002-2003 Outstanding Teacher Eddie Vela and Outstanding Adviser Mark Morlock at 12:30 p.m. in the BMU Ballroom. Each will present a 30-minute lecture following the presentations.
Vela’s expertise is in cognitive psychology and perception. His publications include co-authorship with Ted Singelis, Department of Psychology, of “Study Guide for Culture’s Influence on Behavior” (2000) and journal articles such as “Emotion in the Classroom” in Teaching Excellence (2001). Vela describes himself as a “learning partner” with students. He uses multiple teaching strategies to reach students who learn in different ways and pays close attention to student behavior so that he knows whether he is reaching them or not.
Morlock was the director of the Social Science Program from 1996 through Aug. 2002. He received the award for his commitment to students, his skill at guiding 180 students through a complex set of combinations of courses, his communication and compassion for students.
The conference is a major program of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), which is operated by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. CELT is also responsible for awarding grants and sponsoring other conferences.
The mission statement of CELT is “We recognize that teaching effectiveness is the first, minimum, and indispensable requirement for faculty on this campus. Effective teaching is inseparable from a quality learning environment. Seeking to enhance the quality of our academic environment, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at California State University, Chico is committed to rewarding and promoting the ability of our faculty to teach well, to finding ways to improve the learning process, and to providing support, training, and mentoring.”
For more information about the conference, check the CELT Web page or contact the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at 898-6101.
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