Are you a faculty member, instructor, or graduate student teaching at USC? Would accent reduction help you communicate more effectively with your students and colleagues? Join us for a two hour session designed to assist non-native speakers of English in accent reduction.  View

The responsibilities of a GTA/IA typically include grading student work. However, grading objectively involves certain strategies and considerations, of which TAs are often not informed by their course professor. Grading should be recognized and treated as a type of constructive feedback to students. In this workshop, how to provide this feedback, along with grading different types of assessment styles, use of rubrics, and common student complaints, will be discussed.  View

In almost every course we teach, there is a potential for controversial subjects to be part of the classroom discussion. Tension in the discussion may help challenge student beliefs and contribute to learning, but must be managed such that disrespect of opinions does not make learning difficult for everyone. This workshop addresses how to convey the meaning of respect to students.  View

Reducing instances of academic dishonesty before they happen can make your life easier. What can Teaching Assistants do to promote academic integrity in their classes? This workshop examines current issues of cheating and plagiarism on campus, including strategies used by students.  View

Active learning is a student-centered approach in which planned activities are used to engage the student as an active participant in their learning. However, active learning strategies can be difficult for new teaching assistants to implement because they require preparation and skills in guiding and moderating the learning activity. This workshop examines the planning system necessary to incorporate such activities.  View

Research tells us that when students write frequently in a course, they learn more and feel more engaged with the material. Yet for instructors, knowing how to effectively respond to, and evaluate student papers can be a challenge. This workshop presents several strategies for effectively responding to student writing, drawn from current research and best practices in the field.  View

The best way to get good teaching evaluations from students is to be a good teacher. Good teaching involves both content mastery and interpersonal rapport. Jed Lyons will share responses from veteran faculty about how to maintain rigor in course content in such a way that the students are educated as well as engaged. Required and suggested methods for student feedback on instruction will also be discussed.  View

Abundant research demonstrates that learning takes place when the student's mind actively engages in the material. The major problem is determining how to increase that activity. Within the discipline of human memory, learning, and cognition exists a vast body of literature dealing specifically with this issue. Participants will leave this workshop with an understanding of the basic concepts in human learning, how to present information so that students most effectively encode it into long-term memory, and how to help students know when they know.  View

Critical reflection is the powerful process of making meaning out of a purposeful combination of experiences and academic content. Reflection is critical when it is carefully and intentionally designed to generate learning by applying theory to practice, examining causality and raising questions. It can deepen learning by challenging a priori assumptions, resisting simplistic conclusions, and comparing different perspectives. Critical reflection can also document student learning by producing evidence of learning for assessment. This workshop will cover the concept and practice of critical reflection and examples of how it can enrich learning across disciplines.  View

Good teaching is more than just presenting information. We want students to engage and get excited about what they are learning. Like an actor on stage, an instructor with a strong, dynamic voice in the classroom communicates information in an engaging way that excites students to learn. In this interactive workshop, learn practical exercises in order to better your breathing, projection and vocal dynamics.  View

Low student satisfaction or poor performance in a course or activity may be misinterpreted as lack of knowledge or ability, when it is actually difficulty with a particular style of learning. This presentation addresses five leading learning-style frameworks: Gardner's Multiple Intelligences; the Felder-Silverman Index of Learning Styles (ILS); Fleming and Mills' VARK model; Kolb's Learning Styles Model and Experiential Learning Theory (ELT); and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). You will learn how these models vary in their utility, validity, and reliability, making some more fruitful than others, and what common ground they share, suggesting a partial integration of the frameworks. The styles that emerge from the synthesis have practical implications for teaching and learning, and you will leave with a list of activities, learning aids, study techniques, and assignments that facilitate learning for each style.  View

"Teaching is a gift. The importance and relevance of content will be intuitively obvious to students. Teach the class you'd like to take." Such assumptions are mistaken and can make it difficult to teach effectively. Join us to discuss these and other assumptions and get on the right track for teaching excellence.  View

The seminar provides an overview of techniques used by an engineering professor who has been teaching at the University of South Carolina for the last 27 years. Some of the topics covered in the seminar include: how to rouse the students' curiosity and interest in the subject matter and how to engage the students in the classroom so that most of the learning will take place in the classroom.  View

What can instructors do to facilitate learning when they encounter students who seem uninterested and even apathetic toward course content and assignments? Part of the responsibility for learning belongs to students, but as faculty, we can find new ways to motivate, inspire, and maybe even cajole students to learn. This workshop demonstrates and explains how instructors can make classroom learning, perhaps one of the most artificial learning settings, a more meaningful experience for students.  View

Do you want to move to electronic presentations for lectures? Have you struggled with making professional quality PowerPoint presentations? Are you looking for a few new ideas on how to present content using PowerPoint? Join us for a discussion on a variety of topics, including basic suggestions for PowerPoint lecture presentations, innovative ideas for content beyond bullet point lists and an introduction to PowerPoint drawing and animation tools.  View

News of threatening and tragic events involving college students and campuses may lead us to wonder how we would respond in a similar situation. Clearly, response to an active shooter is one of the most dynamic situations that anyone might ever face, and would be dictated by the specific circumstances of the encounter. This seminar is designed to provide guidance to individuals on what to do in a shooting incident, how to be prepared, how to think safely, and how to recognize a potential problem, specifically in campus and classroom contexts.  View

What makes a teacher excellent? Why do some of us inspire students to work hard, while others inspire students to skip class? This seminar will engage the 2012 winners of the Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award in a panel discussion about good teaching. Through this interdisciplinary conversation, attendees will explore varied approaches for engaging and motivating students. The intent is to learn as much from the differences in our teaching practices as from the similarities.  View

Teaching portfolios are commonly used by graduate students to demonstrate teaching effectiveness. In a competitive academic job market, portfolios can be as valuable as a good resume. Learn how to recognize important activities and to make connections between teaching, research and service to establish career definition and to represent yourself successfully for the unique needs of academic employers. Participants are invited to bring personal examples of their work for discussion and modified application.  View

In a global information environment, is answer-finding still the best approach for students to learn? The ability to think critically, applying strategies across situations, is more important than ever before. Teaching critical thinking requires students to explore topics that may not be clearly defined. Such activities require continual synthesis (inductive) and analysis (deductive) practice using many variables. Successful instruction in this context requires association between hierarchal learning theory and instructional practice. Come join the discussion relating theory to practice in teaching critical thinking.  View

Did you know that you can use your existing Word files to create tests and surveys? Learn how to use a test generator to speed up test creation. Also, learn how to work with test pools and existing tests to create new tests. We will also discuss how to add images to test questions and answer choices, and how to create a variety of question types including those in which students submit files. Learning these simple strategies will aid in the creation of tests and exams, and help make them more effective at measuring student learning.  View

In terms of classroom conduct, no two classes are ever the same. The material may be identical, but class dynamics change from one section to another, making it difficult to engage students using strategies that may have worked flawlessly just an hour prior. Learning how to build a relationship with students, and adapt to these differences, is key in successfully reaching course goals. Discussion will include understanding class dynamics, working with, not against, technology in the classroom, and balancing authority and approachability.  View 

Teaching Assistants and Instructors confront a variety of issues, from the day-to-day necessities of teaching to making decisions about pedagogical approaches and course goals. This workshop will discuss methods for engaging students in the classroom, reaching course goals and learning outcomes, and presenting course material to make it relevant to students' lives. The workshop will also address balancing teaching with scholarship and other academic demands. Developing a "teaching portfolio" for graduate students preparing for the job market will also be discussed.  View

This workshop will provide practical advice and techniques for Teaching Assistants, instructors, and others on preparing syllabi, selecting course texts and supplemental materials, developing engaging lectures and classroom discussions, reaching course goals and learning outcomes as well as obtaining excellent student evaluations. The workshop will also provide guidance in handling specific student-related issues including scheduling office hours, interacting with students as a graduate student in an era of social networking and other issues specific to graduate student teachers.  View

Teaching Assistants confront a variety of issues, from the day-to-day necessities of teaching to making decisions about pedagogical approaches and course goals. This presentation gives an overview of the lecture planning process and discusses methods for engaging students in the classroom, and presenting course material to make it relevant to students' lives. The facilitator also addresses balancing teaching with scholarship and other academic demands.  View

Are you prepared to handle a disruptive student in your classroom? Verbal Judo is a process of using one's words to prevent, de-escalate, or end an attempted disruption. Verbal Judo can prepare you for every verbal conflict and help prevent verbal disruption and maintain safety. In a classroom situation, this could involve techniques such as remaining under emotional control during disagreements, avoiding language that expresses personal feelings during conflicts, employing empathy to stay engaged with people while maintaining self-control, and safely taking action when words fail. All who teach are invited to this introduction to Verbal Judo for classroom situations.  View

Robert Duke explains that changes in the functional capacities of learners are visible manifestations of changes in the physical structure of the brain.  View