First-day-of-college jitters aren't unusual. They're expected when you're a first-year student getting acclimated to campus.
But what if you're a new instructor? Students expect you to know answers to their questions, and guide them gallantly through the first week of classes. But you're new, too; you're not even sure how to pay your ticket in the Memorial Union parking ramp!
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) invites new Iowa State faculty and teaching assistants to two events next week that should help alleviate some of that first-day anxiety.
CELT Teaching Symposium
The CELT Teaching Symposium is Aug. 18 (7:30 a.m.-noon, Scheman Building) and registration is open through Aug. 14. This half-day event is geared toward new faculty and teaching assistants. Attendees will:
- Learn policies, practices and resources that affect teaching and learning at ISU
- Become familiar with common student issues and successful outcomes, and be able to guide students to various campus resources
- Discover CELT services, resources and development opportunities
Separate sessions for faculty and teaching assistants will run concurrently; agendas are online. There also is a new twist to this year's symposium. As proponents of the flipped classroom, CELT decided to "walk the talk" and give symposium participants an active-learning experience. All participants are asked to review several short, online learning modules prior to the event. Each module, accessible through Blackboard, includes a 7-minute video (on average), quizzes and surveys, and supplemental resources. Attendees will break into small teams during the symposium and use information from the modules to discuss different student and classroom scenarios.
"We're trying to model the active-learning process, trying to make the symposium active, fun and useful," said Holly Bender, associate director of CELT.
Participants will need to use their Net-IDs (the first part of your ISU email address, prior to @iastate.edu) to access the modules in Blackboard. If you have any problems logging in with your Net-ID, contact the Solution Center at 294-4000.
New Faculty Orientation
New Faculty Orientation, planned for Aug. 19 (7:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Scheman Building), is open to all new faculty, whether tenured, tenure-eligible or non-tenure eligible. This includes assistant, associate or full professors; lecturers; clinicians and adjuncts hired since September 2014. Registration is open through Aug. 14.
This daylong event gives new faculty members an opportunity to meet each other and mingle with senior Iowa State administrators, including senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert and the deans of the colleges. Participants will:
- Hear both early-career and experienced faculty share their insights for having a successful Iowa State career
- Learn about ISU's culture, land-grant mission and the university's commitment to shared governance
- Attend break-out sessions about the Ames community, flexible faculty policies, research funding, mentoring and other topics
Information on building a successful research program and small group discussions with the college deans take place in the afternoon. The day concludes with a networking social event.
