Lee Shulman gave the keynote presentation for the 2010 Teaching and Learning Conference at DePaul.The theme of this year’s conference focused on challenging ourselves and challenging our students by setting high standards and using innovative teaching practices. We encouraged presenters and attendees to reflect on how we can better challenge our students to be engaged in course material, and therefore, challenge ourselves to improve our own teaching. What other challenges do our students face in learning and what challenges do we face in our teaching?
Keynote Presentation: The Quest for Engagement in Teaching and Learning: Where Routine and Surprise Collide
Drawing on more than a decade of research at the Carnegie Foundation on the special character of instruction in professional education-law, medicine, the clergy, engineering, nursing and teaching-the conception of "signature pedagogies" has developed as a prototype for teaching in a highly engaged manner. This conception will be discussed with special reference to its implications for teaching and learning in the arts and sciences. Connections with opportunities for faculty scholarship on teaching and learning, as well as implications for assessment and accountability in higher education will be addressed.
About the Keynote Speaker
This year's keynote speaker was Dr. Lee Shulman, author of The Wisdom of Practice: Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Learning to Teach, president emeritus of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and past president of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Shulman has spent his professional life advocating for the importance of teaching at all levels, from kindergarten through graduate school, and is well known for his efforts to promote the scholarship of teaching in higher education.
To learn more about Dr. Lee Shulman’s history and career, you can read his This I Believe essay “Just Like Pastrami.”
Pre-Conference Workshop
This workshop focused on how one can become a more creative teacher. We explored a range of questions related to creativity including: What does it mean to be creative? How can creativity be developed and nurtured? What does the creative process look like? What is the relationship between creativity, play and humor? (In other words, do creative people have more fun?) How can we become more creative in teaching? What is the role of technology in this process?
A critical part of becoming creative is being able to play-to play with ideas, with tools, and with pedagogical techniques. In this workshop participant engaged in an interactive series of activities, with different technological tools, that allowed them to explore the meaning of creativity-how it is defined-and explore some strategies for developing, nurturing and supporting creativity, particularly in their teaching. This workshop provided multiple hands-on and minds-on opportunities for discussion and exploration. Each of the issues/topics were also be illustrated with multiple examples from the world of education, psychology, and business, interspersed with games and puzzles connected to the ideas being discussed. A key part of the workshop was helping participants develop a creative solution to a key problem of practice all instructors face.
About the Workshop Presenter
Dr. Punya Mishra is associate professor of Educational Technology at Michigan State University. His research has focused on the theoretical, cognitive and social aspects related to the design and use of computer based learning environments. He is internationally recognized as the co-developer of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework for teacher knowledge for technology integration. His research has been supported by over $4 million in grants from national and international agencies. Dr. Mishra is a gifted, creative and engaging public speaker, having made multiple keynote and invited presentations for associations and conferences nationally and internationally. He has taught courses and conducted workshops on creativity, innovation and design for educators and business leaders. He has received many accolades for his teaching, including the AT&T-MSU award for Instructional Technology. He is also an accomplished visual artist whose work has been featured in international design and puzzle magazines and websites. You can find out more about him by going to http://punyamishra.com/.
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