McGraw Center Short Course: Critical Thinking | The Scholar as Teacher | Master Class on Lecturing |Becoming a Colleague: Thinking Like a Pro |Prof 101: Entering the Professoriate

Spring 2008 Programs

McGraw Center Short Course

We frequently say that we strive to enable our students to “think critically,” but what exactly do we mean by this phrase?  In the first session of this short course we will define the intellectual work that critical thinking entails and specify how it is carried out in disciplinary courses.  In the second session, participants will design their own plans for facilitating critical thinking among their students across a range of teaching moments, such as precept discussions, labs, problem sets, and writing, and among students with diverse learning styles.  In this short course, participants will strengthen their language for describing learning goals for their students and develop specific plans for teaching students to achieve them.

Participants are expected to attend both sessions of this short course. Lunch will be provided.
Tuesdays, February 12 and 19, 12:15-1:30 pm in 328 Frist
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The Scholar as Teacher

In this series, faculty members distinguished for their teaching offer reflections on their development and practice as teachers. Lunch will be provided.
Wednesday, February 13, 12:15-1:30 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Lex Smits, MAE
Thursday, February 21, 12:15-1:30 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Larry Danson, ENG
Thursday, March 13, 12:15-1:30 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Deborah Yashar, POL
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Master Class on Lecturing

In this master class, virtuoso teachers from various Princeton departments will discuss the craft of lecturing and provide individual feedback to class members. After the introductory session, each session will include an opening presentation (1 hour) and the Master Class Workshop (1 hour). Master Class Workshop membership will be limited to 12 participants in order to provide the individual attention that is the hallmark of a master class. These participants commit to attend all sessions and to prepare and deliver one 10-minute "micro-lecture." They receive feedback from faculty and fellow participants, as well as a videotape of the micro-lecture for later viewing.
Wednesday, February 6, 3:00-5:00 pm in 328 Frist: McGraw Center Directors
Wednesday, February 13, 3:00-5:00 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Danny Oppenheimer, PSY
Wednesday, February 20, 3:00-5:00 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Lynn Enquist, MOL
Wednesday, February 27, 3:00-5:00 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Bill Jordan, HIS
Wednesday, March 5, 3:00-5:00 pm in 328 Frist: Prof. Clancey Rowley, MAE
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We’ve all heard the saying that you don’t fully understand a subject until you teach it.  We’ll explore that idea in this workshop, but we will also try turning it around:  What can we discover about teaching and learning by examining our knowledge?  By carefully reflecting on some of the implicit and explicit processes of acquiring and producing knowledge in our disciplines, we will design teaching goals and strategies that will enable our undergraduates to achieve the quality of thinking we want to facilitate in our courses.  The objective of this session is to enrich the connections between the thinking we do in our scholarship and the thinking we want to teach our students to do so that we can reinforce the multiple facets of our work as professionals in academia.
Thursday, March 6, 3:30-5:00 pm in 328 Frist
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Prof 101: Entering the Professoriate

This seminar, for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows beginning faculty appointments in 2007, provides an introduction to professional skills and information that new faculty members need. Topics include getting off to a good start in the promotion and tenure process, balancing teaching and research, understanding how students learn, and preparing a syllabus and course. Participants are asked to attend all sessions.
Mondays, May 5, 12, and 19 from 3:00-5:00 pm in 328 Frist
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Special Event Co-Sponsored with the Council on Science and Technology

Lunch/Discussion with Professor Philip Uri Treisman

Philip Uri Treisman is professor of mathematics and of public affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and executive Director of the Charles A. Dana Center. He is actively engaged in designing programs that strengthen the teaching and learning of mathematics and science from elementary to graduate school.
Monday, March 31, 12-1:30 pm, Friend Convocation Room
Please RSVP to Carol Prevost, at 8- 4316 or cprevost@Princeton.EDU.
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