Faculty members new to Iowa State are reminded to reserve Aug. 20-21 for university-sponsored training that will help jump-start their careers. "New" in this case isn't limited to "brand new;" it includes all who have arrived on campus since last September.
The teaching seminar, to be held Tuesday, Aug. 20 (8 a.m.-4 p.m., Memorial Union), is coordinated by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and targets all new teaching faculty, whether tenured, tenure-track or non-tenure eligible – an estimated group of 100. Approximately 300 new teaching assistants also are included. The new faculty orientation, to be held Wednesday, Aug. 21 (7:45 a.m.-4 p.m., Reiman Gardens), is organized by the provost's office for new tenured or tenure-eligible faculty.
Registration for both events is free and can be completed online. Department chairs and/or department secretaries have been asked to remind their new faculty to participate.
Aug. 20: University Teaching Seminar
"We've made a great effort to give our new faculty a lot of information in this one event," said CELT associate director Holly Bender. "Our intent is to give them things they can use right away in their classrooms."
During the morning, faculty and teaching assistants will attend separate sessions. The faculty session will include overviews of:
- Iowa State's student population
- How students learn
- Active learning
- Programs and resources available through CELT
The morning also will feature a summary of university policies and procedures that teaching faculty should know to manage their classrooms well, including ethical and legal considerations.
Register online
Registration for both new faculty events is free and online.
The afternoon schedule, for both faculty and TAs, will be structured around three breakout sessions. For each session, participants will choose from three or four topics, as varied as classroom learning technologies, writing good exams, introducing communication skills to your students, making the most of the first week of class, grading students and teaching large-enrollment classes. There will be a session on engaging international students, and a session for new international faculty on the American classroom.
"The teaching seminar is highly encouraged for all new faculty," Bender said.
Aug. 21: New Faculty Orientation
This summer's faculty orientation is being coordinated by geological and atmospheric sciences professor Cinzia Cervato, who in May was appointed to a two-year, part-time fellowship in the office of the senior vice president and provost. Cervato's fellowship will focus on faculty development, particularly getting incoming faculty off to a good start.
"The idea behind this day is to provide a variety of resources to new faculty – in an efficient way -- that gives them a sense of being at Iowa State and living in Ames," Cervato said. "It's a lot of information, but the idea is to get them started."
Participants will meet key people, including senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert and their dean, with whom they'll have a roundtable discussion about their college. They'll learn more about expectations for them, assistance available to them and some best practices for success from other faculty. They'll learn about opportunities in Ames for both single professionals and faculty who arrive with families.
Cervato said a first-of-its-kind orientation event for Iowa State's 525-plus non-tenure eligible faculty members is planned for Sept. 13, also at Reiman Gardens. Details will be shared as they become available.
