Working on a paper about attention deficit trait or information overload has prompted me to explore the other alternatives in this scenario. Some researchers are arguing that information overload may not be the problem at all but could be more fundamentally work overload. There may simply be too much to do, too much activity, or too many diverse duties and expectations. Having a balanced work-life load is essential to our mental well being. Our quality of life and attitude effect everything that we do. Solutions to information overload require us to take control of our information environment. Allowing the information to control us brings feelings of powerlessness and anxiety. Dr. Edward Hallowell offers the following tips: get adequate sleep; watch what you eat; exercise; and, take a daily supplement. Sounds like things your parents told you to do. In addition, he says you should: have a friendly face-to-face talk with a person you like every four to six hours; break large tasks into smaller ones; keep a section of your space free of clutter; reserve some "think-time" each day; and, slow down, move around and ask for help. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin where tragedy struck yesterday. Colton Tooley, a nineteen year old student, was described by fellow students who knew him as intelligent and incapable of hurting anyone. A U.S. Department of Education sponsored research report claims that the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading standards demand higher levels of cognitive complexity than do the ACT or American Diploma Project (ADP) national college readiness standards sets.

Did you know there is an organization focused on making our region an economic powerhouse? Leadership Southeast Texas (LSET) has brought together 70-80 of the region's citizens each year for the last two decades. The task at hand is to brainstorm ideas on how to improve the region, build the programming, market it internally and externally and work to ensure that the places we call home are sustained. The regional approach is so smart as we try to "compete" with mega-cities like Houston just 80 miles to our west. LU is an economic driver for the nine-county Southeast Texas Region (SETX). In this model, the mission of CTLE becomes even more important. LU is producing the workforce of tomorrow. Our students are critical thinkers who know how to work as part of a team or assume the leadership position. The task at hand for LSET is to harness this brainpower and funnel it to the communities that comprise SETX. Of course we are not alone in this quest. Eric Suder provides a good example of how we can get involved. Switching gears, there is now evidence that you can improve retention, and the University of Illinois at Springfield has done so by assigning staff members to serve as informal advisers and advocates for online students, says Ray Schroeder, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service. Do you have your students work in small groups? Are your colleagues utilizing the same active teaching method? Research by Hillyard, Gillespie, and Littig, show that student needs to understand and experience the benefits of learning in small groups but it cannot be happening in isolation. It requires campus initiatives and interdepartmental coordination for maximum effectiveness. Why not start a conversation with your colleagues about a sustained effort to utilize small group learning in your department.

Want to be evaluated as an excellent teacher by your students? Research by Thomas Sherman and colleagues reveals there are five characteristics that are regularly and consistently attributed to college instructors selected as excellent: enthusiasm, clarity, preparation/organization, stimulating, and love of knowledge. They also report that in addition to these five characteristics, experience appears to be an important component of excellence. But what do you do the first time around? Being honest with your students is always a good policy. Realizing that you are in a learning environment and relaxing also helps. You will not have all of the answers all of the time. Letting your students know that you will find the answer and then making sure to follow up and come to the next class (preferably) with the answer is crucial. In addition, it is always good to ask the other students to participate by providing the answer. An active engagement would include having the students provide at least part of the answer themselves. Are you using your Inbox as a to do list? I heard that loud yes so let me offer you some help. Taskforce is a browser plug-in that interacts with your Google Mail or Google Apps account to help you get those pending items out of your inbox and onto a to-do list where they belong. Taskforce is still in beta, and thus you may run into some surprises as you use it.

I am anxious to get a copy of a new novel by first time author Alex Kudera, who has written about a day in the life of an adjunct professor who teaches at four urban universities. Bringing a comedic slant to what we do is sure to be a crowd pleaser on campuses around the world. Looking forward to October 8. That is when the Writing Across the Curriculum Teaching and Learning Circle will gather to discuss Elizabeth Wardle's excellent article "Understanding ‘Transfer’ from FYC: Preliminary Results of a Longitudinal Study." There is still time to join by simply contacting Circle Facilitator Melissa Hudler at melissa.hudler@lamar.edu. I hope you received the email yesterday announcing the upcoming workshop on students with disabilities to be delivered by Callie Trahan. The resources available for helping students overcome challenges have never been better. LU is blessed to have a diverse population of students and this workshop promises to be very beneficial.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about how the brain works. It has also exposed me to several articles on educational games. The one that is really intriguing to me is Democracy, a government simulation game where the player must introduce and alter policies in seven areas - tax, economy, welfare, foreign policy, transport, law and order and public services. I could see obvious uses in political science but also think it would be interesting to have students in philosophy, accounting, social work, and civil engineering play the game as well. Let me know if you have used this type of teaching resource or have played it yourself. The Southern Regional Faculty and Instructional Development Consortium (SRFIDC) is currently accepting proposals (due December 13) for their annual conference to be held March 25-29. They are looking for proposals that focus on strategies, tools, pedagogies, or technologies related to this year's theme: Reflecting on the Past, Building for the Future. All sessions should include a strong and practical element of audience involvement. If you are interested in online course design, I would recommend this short (11 minute) podcast by Dr. Robin Smith.

Richard Sennett (1976) defined civility as "the activity which protects people from each other and yet allows them to enjoy each others company." He also noted that it may require a facade in order to maintain civility. Although that sounds like he is encouraging in-authenticity, I actually think he is saying that we need to be polite and respectful even in disagreement. As faculty, civility is part of our culture. We experience it in many ways throughout our academic careers. I found it very interesting the first time I attended a professional conference. It seemed at first blush that the "discussant" was being overly critical to the presenters. I soon realized it was part of the process when I saw the entire group at the head of the room gather together after the session. They were smiling and thanking each other for the feedback. It was definitely a lesson in civility. I am hoping to learn more from the Sandy Harris workshop on Thursday about this important topic. There was a nice article on the value of libraries that I wanted to share with you. I would also recommend an interesting article on the benefits of team-based learning and how it promotes student accountability that appeared in New Directions for Teaching and Learning.

We are accepting reservations for the conflict workshop on Thursday. In addition, you might want to check out Jeff Davidson's Complete Idiot's Guide to Assertiveness as well as Patrick Lencioni's Leadership Fable from the Library before the event. Defending Collegiality by Michael Fischer is also recommended reading. Tom Matthews is looking for a few more members for the Test Scanning, Scoring and Item Analysis Teaching and Learning Circle. Contact him at tom.matthews@lamar.edu. I wanted to remind you of a funding opportunity that we have had up on the Center's website for awhile now. The NEH Enduring Questions grant program supports the development of a new course that will foster intellectual community through the study of an enduring question. The grant deadline is September 15, 2010. Let us know if we can help.

The inaugural Lunch and Learn was a rousing success with 20 participants and a nice mix from business, education, engineering, as well as administrative units. So what did we learn? Critical thinking is a very important skill that is complex to measure but we are committed to helping our students acquire the ability and assured that they are fully capable of becoming "good" thinkers. It was a great opportunity for building community as well. We spent some time talking about the use of technology to enhance teaching which prompted an interesting discussion about digital versus immigrant natives (a term attributed to Marc Prensky) as it relates to technology. Daryl Ann Borel, Department of Educational Leadership Adjunct Assistant Professor, recommended a Teacher Tube video that sets the stage for engaged learning. There was also discussion about the need for faculty to get to know their students and to be deeply involved in their education. The idea of a learner-centered/oriented university emerged as the target for LU. Steve Busar, Director of the Southeast Texas P-16 Council, recommended a witty video that illustrates the predominance of technology in our lives. The conversation about critical thinking is to be continued.

We are in the final stages of preparation for the inaugural Lunch and Learn. The first session, focused on the concept of critical thinking, will take place in room 101 of the Dining Hall tomorrow from 12:00 noon until 1:00 p.m. Registration begins at 11:45 a.m. Critical thinking is one of the attributes that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has identified as a required outcome for all core courses taught at LU. If you attended Dean Brenda Nichols session at the 2010 Faculty Professional Development Symposium, you are well aware of what a complex topic this promises to be for all concerned. This Lunch and Learn will only be the beginning of an ongoing discussion that will eventually need to include our students. The top article in The Chronicle of Higher Education today, Why Teaching Is Not Priority No. 1, focuses on a topic at the heart of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Happy to report that Colin Mumbach has joined the Center for Teaching and Learning as a graduate assistant. Colin is pursuing a master's degree in the Department of Art and holds a bachelor's degree in communication from LU. He joins Olivia Macon, the Center's original graduate assistant, who is pursuing an Ed.D. in educational leadership and holds a bachelor's and master's degree from Ole Miss.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is embarking on an interesting journey. Over the next few months, they will explore the issue of quality as it relates to universities. Should be an interesting study. James Lang has an interesting take on the topic of writing your teaching philosophy which is worth reading. It is a topic that I hope rises to the top of the conversation about teaching and learning at LU. Please remember that there are currently two Teaching and Learning Circles in the formation phase but there is always room for more. If you have an idea about a topic that you would like to explore, let us know and we will try to find a few others that are also interested. We have two requests from your colleagues who are looking to form a Circle exploring the use of blogs in the classroom. If you are interested, send us an email (omacon@lamar.edu). Time management is always a big issue and can be very costly for faculty. If you have not heard of the 80/20 rule, take a look at this podcast and try it out for yourself.