Advice to new faculty

Earlier this summer, the Center for Faculty Development asked assistant professors to provide advice for their incoming tenure-track faculty colleagues. The questions they were asked to respond to touched on numerous topics relevant to a new faculty member, including teaching Metro State students, succeeding with a 12-credit hour teaching load, balancing academic and family/personal life, and fitting into one's department.

You can read all of the unfiltered responses in the mentoring area of the Center for Faculty Development Web site. Some highlights include:

It is important to meet students where they are yet to set clear expectations and guidelines for the course.

Let your curriculum inform your scholarly activities and your service so you are not creating new work all of the time.

Be very organized in planning the semester so you don't end up trying to grade projects and papers all at the same time. Stagger the scheduling for exams as well.

Learn to set limits. One weekend day each week is a "sacred" day when I won't work. There is no way you can be at an A+ level at everything that is required of a faculty member. Set priorities, and if you have perfectionist tendencies, let them go!

We will be sharing more highlights in a handout at orientation for new faculty. We expect that the new faculty will appreciate hearing from the lived experience of their (not so) senior colleagues. Many, many thanks to all who contributed their advice.

Inquiry and Critical Thinking Using Primary Sources

Workshop: Friday September 9, 9am-2pm, Jackson Enhanced Learning Center (Auraria Library)

Co-sponsored by Teaching With Primary Sources-Colorado and the Center for Faculty Development, this workshop will offer participants hands-on experience with the process of searching, identifying, and integrating into their courses primary sources from the Library of Congress. Participants will:

• Explain what primary sources are and understand their value in teaching.
• Examine inquiry learning models and methods.
• Explore the connection between primary sources and 21st century learning skills and habits.
• Access, save and present primary sources from the Library of Congress website that fit instructional needs.

Registration is limited to 25. Please visit the Faculty Development Events Calendar to register. TPS-Colorado will provide a box lunch to participants. Also, TPS-Colorado will provide incentives: Attend the entire workshop and receive a $50 gift certificate, redeemable at TPS-Colorado, to prepare and print primary sources from the Library of Congress collection; follow up the workshop by developing and documenting an inquiry learning activity that uses primary sources and write reflection and receive an iPod Touch.

Questions? contact mscd-tpscolorado@mscd.edu.

Prepare, Produce, and Present First-Rate Handouts

Webinar: Thursday July 14, 4-5:30pm, NC 1324.

In this 90-minute Webinar led by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., learn how to design handouts using Word and PowerPoint . You'll find out how to create handouts that look as if they were produced specifically for a workshop or class, learn to polish and refine handouts that you've used in the past so that they are current and fresh and how to modify your materials so that they have a sharper, crisper look. You will also learn how to make sure your handouts are set up in such a way that they enhance the learning. If you are a professor, speaker, workshop leader, teacher, manager, consultant, school administrator, or other professional who prepares handouts for others to use in learning situations, and you want those handouts to be top-of-the-line & first-rate & professional-quality learning materials, then make plans to be part of this Webinar.

The Center for Faculty Development is arranging to "air" this Webinar live. Please register by visiting the Faculty Development Events Calendar.

Welcome (back) to this blog space

As part of a revised plan for communicating to the Metro State community, this space will be devoted to making available up-to-date and pertinent information from the Center for Faculty Development to faculty and staff. The Center for Faculty Development will strive to minimize its "email blasts" and instead drive traffic to this site by using targeted emails and monthly electronic newsletters.

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