Kendall Center NewsletterNovember 1, 2018

Innovative Teaching Award

The John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning and the Provost’s Office have created the Innovative Teaching Award to recognize faculty who are engaged in innovative teaching (e.g., new uses of instructional technology, new ways to engage students in the learning process, new approaches to student collaboration, or new methods for improving student learning outcomes) and to encourage the dissemination of effective practices by sharing promising innovations with faculty more broadly. The Innovative Teaching Award that includes campus-wide recognition as well as a monetary prize. Nominations must be received by 5 pm on Monday, November 12. Please click here for details.

Teaching Retreat

The Kendall Center is sponsoring its first teaching retreat in January 2019! It will focus on “Course (Re)design.” Are you planning to design a new course, redesign an existing one, or adapt a course that someone else has taught in the past? Are you hoping to create or modify a course so it addresses Challenge Curriculum goals? Does that job seem overwhelming or fraught with unforeseen perils? It doesn't have to be (really!). Join us for a workshop series that walks through a manageable approach to course design, using a set of tools designed by SERC (the Science Education Resource Center) to get your new or existing course on track. This course design tool was originally developed for science instruction, but SERC has adapted it to be flexible and applicable to a variety of disciplines. Start January with a few ideas or an existing syllabus and finish J-term with a redesigned syllabus and a toolbox of approaches to get the course off the ground. Contact Julie Bartley with questions. To guarantee its effectiveness, the retreat will have a cap of 20. Participants will meet for two workshops on January 9 and January 16 from 1:00 to 5:00 and a follow up lunch on February 1. If you are interested in participating, please let Cathy Blaukat know by November 15.

Faculty Writing Retreats at Gustavus and ASI

The Kendall Center is hosting monthly Writing Retreats at Gustavus and at ASI. November Writing Retreats will be held on Saturday, November 10 at ASI and at Gustavus (Board Room). Faculty can sign up for a full day 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. devoted to writing. We’ll provide breakfast and lunch. Please see attached or visit the Kendall Center website for upcoming dates and info. Please reserve a space with Cathy Blaukat (cblauka@gustavus.edu) for one or all of the writing retreats.

Faculty Shop Talk

Phil Bryant (Professor in English and African Studies) will present at Faculty Shop Talk on Friday, November 2. His talk " After Stomping at the Grand Terrace: American Poetry in the Time of Trump" will be presented at 4:30 p.m. in the Interpretive Center. Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed here.

Teachers Talking

Please join us on Thursday, November 8 for Teachers Talking. Join Career Development Specialists, Faculty Members and Employer Partners for a discussion on connecting Career Readiness to the Liberal Arts Classroom. Career Development will review the NACE Career Readiness Competencies and share examples of using these competencies within the classroom. Together, we are eager to learn from each other, share best practices and hear how you are assisting our students with career readiness, vocation, and professionalism. Program is at 11:30 am and 12:30 pm. Free lunch at Three Crowns buffet, then meet in the Heritage Room.

New Faculty Orientation Session

Join us on Thursday, November 15 for a New Faculty Orientation Session. Topic: On-campus Grant Opportunities. Learn about internal and external grant opportunities: scope of each grant, timing, budgets, and how to apply. Free lunch at the Three Crowns Buffet, then meet in the St Peter Room, 12:30 to 1:20 p.m

Faculty Shop Talk

Kathy Lund Dean (Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Ethics and Professor of Management in Economics and Management ) will present at Faculty Shop Talk on Friday, November 16. Her talk " I never thought about it that way: Ethical issues in teaching" will be presented at 4:30 p.m. in the Interpretive Center. Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed here.

Teachers Talking

Please join us on Tuesday, November 27 for Teachers Talking. Topic: Digital Projects for Engaged Pedagogy. Join us for lunch and conversation as we explore some of the digital tools available for use in the classroom and see how faculty have incorporated digital projects into their courses. We'll discuss both the benefits and frustrations of working with students on digital projects, the pros and cons of creating public-facing student scholarship, and what kinds of support faculty would like to have when they develop new assignments with a digital component. These conversations grow out of our previous Mellon grant and will help librarians explore ways to provide support for digital scholarship across the curriculum. Program is at 11:30 am and 12:30 pm. Free lunch at Three Crowns buffet, then meet in the Heritage Room.

Kendall Center Writing Space

The Kendall Center Conference Room (Anderson 303) is available for faculty writing. The space is quiet, stocked with tea and coffee, and can be accessed with your faculty ID. A few Kendall Center research and teaching groups are meeting there, so check the calendar before coming over (https://gustavus.edu/kendallcenter/roomschedule.php).