Fall 2015 Professional Development Day

Refreshments & Informal Networking
Williams Center Multi-purpose Room

8:00 – 9:00 am

Yoga with Lindsey Bauza  
Dods Hall Gym

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Visioning Session: Fredonia as an Engaged Community

9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Facilitated by BethMarie Ward & Constance Foster, Regenerate Group, LCC (click for facilitator bios)
S204 A & B, Williams Center

What should Fredonia look like as an engaged community? In this facilitated planning workshop, participants will have the opportunity to discuss campus engagement activities in order to develop a successful and sustainable model for the future. Through this participatory experience, members of the campus community will have the opportunity to focus intention into actionable plans. Please consider attending if you have an interest applied learning strategies such as: internships, service learning, community service, civic engagement, entrepreneurship, field experiences, and study abroad.

This event is sponsored in partnership by the Division of Economic Engagement and the Office of the Provost.

Breakout Sessions:

Balancing Priorities: How to Successfully Manage Tasks, Deadlines, and Expectations
Presented by Christopher Taverna
Williams Center
9:00 am – 10:50 am

In our increasingly competitive world, we all need to be more productive than ever. Not only must we do our jobs in less time and with fewer resources, we often work for more than one boss and on more than one team. As a result, we may face conflicting tasks, deadlines, and expectations, making it difficult to identify what’s most important. Furthermore, the transformations in our workplaces brought about by technology have, in addition to the many benefits, increased the speed and complexity of our work.

This workshop will enable you to properly prioritize your obligations, allowing you to improve performance and productivity. As a result, you’ll also achieve a better work/life balance, minimize the stress related to managing your tasks efficiently, and, ultimately, improve working relationships.

Effective Communication and Team Building
Presented by Sue Murphy, EAP Coordinator
10:00 – 11:50 am

This activity is designed to spark reflection about how groups communicate with each other, varying perspectives, leadership, how participants deal with frustration and what roles they take on in the group.

Rethinking Assessment through the Tuning Project: Lessons from a Faculty-Led Initiative
Presented by David Kinkela, Associate Professor, History
Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 11:00 am – 11:50 am

The American Historical Association's Tuning Project is is a national effort to define what history majors should know upon graduating from college. Funded by the Lumina Foundation, this project does not aim to standardize curricula in history, but seeks to frame common goals-and reference points for measuring progress toward those goals-for post-secondary history education. Tuning is a faculty-led project that attempts to draw on the unique strength of individual programs and departments across the nation. Yet, tuning is not specific to history and can be incorporated within any discipline.

This workshop will underscore the potential for tuning to recast assessment into a process that is meaningful and faculty-led. As one of the sixty participants in the Tuning Project, I have spearheaded our department's efforts to "tune" our program. At its core, tuning can help departments better define themselves to various constituents and stakeholders within the beyond the academy and can led to meaningful faculty-led assessment. This session will be used to share what we have learned (and continue to learn) about tuning to our campus community. It will define "tuning" to participants unfamiliar with the process and will highlight the value of participating in this faculty-led initiative.

Learning objectives: - define Tuning and to recognize its potential impact on assessment - identify key characteristics within their own program that draws on the tuning processes

Ditching the Dull - Dynamic Design Strategies For Teamwork in the Classroom
A PDC Associates Series Workshop
Monday, March 23, 2015, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Presented by Roslin Smith, Assistant Professor, Communication
PDC Bonsai Room, 120 Reed Library

In this interactive workshop participants will examine team dynamics and explore several ways to incorporate teamwork in the classroom. Sample activities will be modeled and attendees are encouraged to have fun while engaging in short teamwork exercises.

Learning objectives: 1) To explore various team building activities that encourage learning processes 2) How to use teamwork in the evaluation process

Lunchtime Offerings:

Lunch will be provided for faculty & staff registered for a 12:00 – 1:00 pm session.

Advising Study Abroad Students

Studying abroad is a fantastic growth opportunity that affects students cognitively and personally. As a faculty advisor, what is the best way to advise and support Fredonia students that have study abroad in their academic plan? Erin Willis, Assistant Director of Study Abroad & Exchange Programs, will lead a discussion for advisors to learn:

1. Basic advisement/Academic mapping

2. Helping students find coursework

3. Academic approval process

4. Supporting students when they return

Preferred Name Policy
Presented by Jennifer Hildebrand members of the Preferred Name Taskforce

In multicultural education course, we discuss many controversial, often times, uncomfortable issues, such as racism, white privileges, and gender orientation etc. In order to engage students in learning such issues and actively embracing diversity, I use positive thinking as an anticipatory activity for each class. Positive thinking is one of the components of positive psychology, which “explores the factors that make life worth living, such as happiness, through the study of positive emotions, positive character strengths, and positive institutions” (Lyson, 2009). Research suggests that positive emotion reduces at least some racial biases (Johnson & Fredrickson, 2005). The opening exercises we do at the beginning of each class include: 1) say a positive comment about yourself, your peers, or your instructor; and 2) tell me something new and exciting. What I found was that by practicing positive thinking my students were more open and comfortable to discuss controversial issues.

Student Engagement & High Impact Teaching Practices

In multicultural education course, we discuss many controversial, often times, uncomfortable issues, such as racism, white privileges, and gender orientation etc. In order to engage students in learning such issues and actively embracing diversity, I use positive thinking as an anticipatory activity for each class. Positive thinking is one of the components of positive psychology, which “explores the factors that make life worth living, such as happiness, through the study of positive emotions, positive character strengths, and positive institutions” (Lyson, 2009). Research suggests that positive emotion reduces at least some racial biases (Johnson & Fredrickson, 2005). The opening exercises we do at the beginning of each class include: 1) say a positive comment about yourself, your peers, or your instructor; and 2) tell me something new and exciting. What I found was that by practicing positive thinking my students were more open and comfortable to discuss controversial issues.

Travel & Procurement Card Procedures with Sandy Noble

Health & Wellness:

Campus Walk with Sue Murphy (12:30 – 1:00 pm, lunch available from 12:00 – 12:30 for those who pre-register)