VITAL – the Villanova Institute for Teaching and Learning – is continuing to offer lunch discussions during the Spring 2013 semester. Each month’s topic is offered on two different days so that you have a choice that accommodates your teaching schedule. As always, there will be no structured presentations or "experts." Instead, you’ll have a chance to exchange ideas with colleagues from across the campus.

Bring your lunch, your experiences, your ideas, and your problems. VITAL will provide the venue, dessert, and beverages. Come any time between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and stay as long as you wish. If you have any questions, please contact VITAL at Ext. 9-5627 or email ramona.kuczewski@villanova.edu

Schedule for Spring 2013

CONNELLY CENTER MEETING ROOMS (see below)
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30 – Rosemont Room      or         THURSDAY, JAN. 31 --Mawr Room

FACILITATING PRODUCTIVE CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS -- Despite our best intentions, classroom discussions sometimes wind up with students looking blankly at each other (or worse--discussing their weekend plans).  Come to explore approaches for making sure that discussions become effective and engaging learning experiences for our students.

TUESDAY, FEB. 19 – Rosemont Room             or         WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20 – Rosemont Room

ARE “THE TWO CULTURES” STILL RELEVANT? – Fifty-four years ago, physicist and novelist C.P. Snow expressed concern about the widening chasm of misunderstanding between scientists and non-scientists.  Discussions around university campuses half a century later suggest that the issues he raised are still with us. Parallel concerns also could be raised about the relationships between the liberal arts and the professional disciplines. Join us for a conversation about how we can address these issues at Villanova.

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 13 - Rosemont Room        or         THURSDAY, MAR. 14 - Bryn Mawr Room

THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM (aka THE INVERTED CLASSROOM) – What is a flipped classroom, and how does it differ from an “unflipped” one? In the flipped classroom, the usual lecture and homework elements are reversed. Students do work ahead of time, freeing up class time to be spent on review, clarification, and deeper explorations of the course concepts.  Does this format indeed help students learn more effectively?   Michael Posner, Associate Professor of Statistics, received a VITAL Minigrant to implement this approach in one of his courses. He will be present to share his experiences.

TUESDAY, APR. 16 - Rosemont Room          or            WEDNESDAY, APR. 17 - Rosemont Room

FOR BETTER OR WORSE: GRADING STUDENTS’ WORK – Coming up with a fair way to evaluate the quality of students’ work can be difficult.  Add to that the challenge of communicating our evaluations to students in ways that are both equitable and instructive, and it’s not surprising that many of us anguish over the grading process.  If you find yourself struggling with grading issues and /or if you have ideas for grading strategies that have proven useful, please join us.