Pierre Laclede Honors College Colloquies on Small Group Teaching

Fall Semester, 2006
Co Sponsors: The Provost's Office and the Center for Teaching and Learning

Small-group teaching is a concern of every unit at UMSL, where the average class size is 16.6, and all undergraduate programs have small classes designed as capstones or keystones to the major. Clearly we place high architectural value on small groups, and these colloquies focus on them as part of UMSL’s wider campus conversations on teaching and learning.

This fall, faculty from all colleges are invited to two “Small Group” Colloquies in the Honors College Common Room, Provincial House, South Campus. Light mid-morning refreshments will be served.

RSVP to Carla Corbett at x5243 or corbettca@umsl.edu

Colloquy I. From Survey to Seminar Friday, October 13, 10:30-12:00N.
How do we best fit “small group seminars” taught by individual faculty into larger curricular goals? This general problem is an explicit objective of PLHC’s Freshman Year, where “Cultural Traditions I and II” (fall and spring semesters) frame more specific, specialized seminars on western traditions, non-western traditions, and American traditions. How should such framings work? What are the likely gains for students? For instructors?

Please bring your own seminar syllabi to our Colloquy. Facilitators are Birgit Noll and Bob Bliss.

Colloquy II. Designing Writing Assignments (and Grading Them), Friday, November 17, 10:30 to 12:00N.
Most of us can remember "perfect" writing assignments we have given to a class, and some of us can remember those we would rather forget. What makes one writing assignment flourish and another flop? How can we make a writing assignment produce something that is unique to our class, and in doing so, offer our students the potential to produce effective, interesting papers? Are there any assignments that lessen the temptation for students to simply mimic or even worse, plagiarize? And then, once we have the perfect writing assignment, how do we evaluate it? Share your shortcuts, tricks or advice on the grading process. Join us to pose, and discuss, these and other questions.

Please bring your favorite writing assignments and your most pressing questions about assignment designs to our Colloquy. Facilitators are Kimberly Baldus, Daniel Gerth, and Nancy Gleason.