Only Connect... Actively Engaging All Students

Wednesday, August 20, 2014
8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Conference Center, Robert C. Pew Campus Grand Rapids

In the essay "Only Connect": The Goals of a Liberal Education, William Cronon lists ten qualities associated with a liberally educated person:

• They listen and they hear
• They read and they understand
• They can talk with anyone
• They can write clearly and persuasively and movingly
• They can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems
• They respect rigor not so much for its own sake but as a way of seeking truths
• They practice humility, tolerance, and self-criticism
• They understand how to get things done in the world
• They nurture and empower the people around them
• They follow E.M. Forster's injunction from Howard's End: "Only connect…"

At the start of the 2014-15 academic year, as we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall Conference on Teaching and Learning at Grand Valley, I encourage you to pause and reflect on this list of qualities in relation to your own teaching practice.

This year, we are offering a refreshed conference format that has been designed to offer you the chance to connect with colleagues, share approaches, celebrate accomplishments, and find ways to stretch your thinking and innovate.

The conference theme this year was chosen not only to reflect the grounding of GVSU in a liberal education tradition, but also to highlight three specific areas in which we can connect with and engage our students in learning. The three thematic threads noted above embody the ways our ideals come to life.

We respectfully request that you register by Friday, August 15. Register Here.

What's New This Year?

The opening session will feature a multimedia presentation, exploring the conference theme in more depth and three thematic threads. Stories of teaching and learning successes at Grand Valley will also be highlighted and space created for meaningful dialogue. A Faculty Resource Exhibition will highlight various offices, services and opportunities across campus that can help faculty in their teaching endeavors. Attendees will have the opportunity to sign up for fall Pew FTLC offerings and learn more about new initiatives. Afternoon table discussions will replace more formal breakout sessions with in-depth conversations among small groups of faculty and will offer takeaway materials for discussion participants as well as those unable to join us in person on August 20th.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about the conference at [email protected].

Book Raffle

Below is a list of books being raffled at this years Fall Teaching Conference Book Raffle. Winners will be announced at lunch.

• Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform Teaching & Learning, Daniel Barbezat & Mirabai Bush, 2013
• Presentation Zen, 2nd Ed, Garr Reynolds, 2012
• Making Scientists: Six Principles for Effective College Teaching, Gregory Light & Marina Micari, 2013
• Why Teach? Mark Edmundson, 2013
• College (Un)bound, Jeffrey Selingo, 2013
• Collaborative Learning Techniques, 2nd Ed, Elizabeth Barkley, Claire Howell Major, & K. Patricia Cross, 2014 
• Creating Self-Regulated Learners, Linda Nilson, 2012
• Facilitating Seven Ways of Learning: A Resource for More Purposeful, Effective, and Enjoyable College Teaching, James Davis & Bridget Arend, 2013
• Scientific Teaching, Jo Handelsman, Sarah Miller, & Christine Pfund, 2006 
• Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice, 2nd Ed, Maryellen Weimer, 2013
• Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, Peter Brown, Henry Roediger III, & Mark McDaniel, 2014
• Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning, José Bowen, 2012
• Generation on a Tightrope, Arthur Levine & Diane Dean, 2012