|
|
||||
|
|
Learning by Inquiry in Science & Mathematics June 26, 2009: Making a Geology Course More Engaging for Students: incorporating more interactive assignments and activities to promote critical thinking and reflection
Presented by: Linda Lee Davis
As an educator, if you can capture and hold the attention of your students, they are much more likely to learn and retain the information you are attempting to share. Sheer force of personality helps, but so does a set of exercises that have been tested and discussed by like-minded faculty. The intent of this workshop is to introduce faculty to a more engaging way of presenting material and teaching concepts and to share ideas and successful practices. More importantly, the workshop will illustrate the benefits of engaged, interactive sessions and attempt to convince you that this style of teaching outweighs a more traditional approach where most of the material in the textbook is covered in lecture format. To have an engaged, interactive course may mean covering less material, and it may mean using creative and non-traditional methods of assessment. Thus, the syllabus/itinerary must be very carefully crafted in order to insure that appropriate amounts of time are allowed for the interactions, for reflection on the interactions. Additionally, this may mean that you can only deal with the most important topics in the syllabus, so you will have to plan for a way to enforce/encourage reading outside of class, as an integral part of the course.
***This workshop will be hosted from 1pm -5pm. Lunch will still be served.***
Linda Lee Davis, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Geology at Grand Valley State University and her primary research focuses is the petrology of Cenozoic, potassic igneous rocks in the western US. She has served many interesting positions with universities and teaches a wide variety of courses. July 17, 2009: Learning Biology through Guided Inquiry
Presented by: Stephen Burton
Research points to the fact that students need to be actively engaged with concepts in order for deep learning to occur. Engaging students can be easier when the lecture or lab includes inquiry components that allow students to use the nature of science to learn science concepts. In this workshop, I will present examples of guided inquiry for a biology lab and lecture that moves students from the recipients of knowledge to the authors of their own knowledge. Further, I will give examples and resources that can be used in lecture or lab classes that can actively engage the students with concepts.
Dr. Stephen Burton is an Associate Professor of Biology at Grand Valley State University. If you visit Dr. Burton's classes, you see he is a strong proponent of active learning in general and inquiry learning in particular. His workshops teach the strategies using the same active engagement strategies that he uses in his classroom.
August 12, 2009: A Hands-On Workshop on Inquiry-Based Learning in Mathematics
Presented by: John Hodge
In this interactive workshop, we will discuss key features of inquiry-based learning in mathematics, and we will gain experience constructing and critiquing inquiry-based lessons for a variety of topics at the secondary and post-secondary level. Consistent with the goals of inquiry-based learning, most of our time will be spent in collaborative groups designing and analyzing activities that promote student engagement and discovery in mathematics. We will learn from each other, and we will learn by doing. Participants at all levels of education and experience are welcome to attend. Each workshop will be presented in a single session format. The presenter will meet with no more than 24 participants for 4 hours, plus 1 hour of lunch and discussion. All workshops will be held from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm (with lunch and discussion to follow) in the Learn Lab at GVSU’s Meijer Honor’s College. There is no fee for the workshop. Breakfast and lunch will be served at no charge. |
|||
| Last Modified Date: June 10, 2009 | ||||
| Copyright © 1995 - 2009 | Grand Valley State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution | |||
