The votes are in and the list of potential Faculty Learning Communities went from 20 to nine. We are currently recruiting advocates for each of the remaining FLC. The advocates will lobby and recruit members for the FLC at an Expo and the top four will move forward for AY 2011-12. The Expo date and time will be announced shortly. In the meantime, visit the CT+LE website and take a look at the nine FLC still in the running. You can contact one of the advocates or CT+LE staff if you have questions before the Expo. The FLC still standing include: Active Learning Unleashed, Active Research and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Arts Across Lamar, Classroom Design for 21st Century Learners, Creating an Online Course of Substance, High School to College Transition, New Faculty, One Book/One Community, and Sustainability Across the Curriculum. Have you heard about Texas House Bill 33? Authored by state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas and sponsored in the upper chamber by Senate Higher Education Chairwoman Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, House Bill 33 passed, was signed by Gov. Rick Perry, and will technically take effect on September 1. Basically, the bill requires universities to provide a list of the retail price, authors, publishers and copyright date of all required and recommended texts for each course and disseminate them to students at least a month before the semester starts, allowing students time to find the best deals. You might recall in an earlier post we discussed the growth of e-textbooks. It is another good way of lowering the cost of support material for our students. Have you implemented a service learning component into your course? Sherril B. Gelmon is a professor of public health at Portland State University and this year's recipient of the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award. She says, "Sometimes you have to push your students. They say the course is a lot of work, and I say, well, this is the real world, and these are real and difficult issues that take a lot of work to solve." If you are planning to attend the group discussion on Using Clickers in your Classroom tomorrow, you might want to take a look at this Educause article. The use of open-ended student response systems, like Clickers, is a good way to actively engage your students and provides immediate formative assessment to gauge student learning in a low-stakes environment.

As we conclude week one of the Fall semester at LU, it is a good time to do some critical reflection. Many of you are participating in the journaling program. Many of you have signed up for the next session so that you can learn about the program. Even more encouraging is that some of you are having your students journal as part of your classes. What a terrific active learning method. It will be one of the most beneficial things that you ask them to do and it will serve them well as a life-skill should they choose to make it a habit. The votes are still pouring in for the Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) proposals. We are accepting your ballots through August 28. Look for more information about the upcoming FLC Expo next week. Bruce Krajewski wrote a humorous piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education about the mind set of faculty to compliment the annual list released on students. See if he included any of your favorites on his list.

Dan Berrett wrote a really interesting article entitled Want to Be a Good Researcher? Try Teaching that deserves a read. Graduate students who both taught and conducted research demonstrate significantly greater improvement in their abilities to generate testable hypotheses and design valid experiments according to Dr. David F. Feldon, lead author of the study. The most significant aspect of Feldon's findings, according to Dr. Mark Connolly who is a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and heard an early presentation about the study, is that they are based on data that track the development of actual research skills instead of those that are self-reported. "They're looking at demonstrated competency," he says. "It gets away from these assumptions that teaching is inimical to research. In fact, they're complementary." The response has been fairly solid so far to the Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) email survey. Trends are already beginning to emerge but all of that could change based on the ballots yet to be returned. Faculty are reminded that CT+LE is accepting responses through August 28. The responses will be tallied and the FLC receiving the most support will be featured in an Expo to be held on August 31. More details to follow soon. The first week of class is always hectic but we want to remind you to take some time to do some critical reflection. Figuring out what works best and why takes time and you owe it to yourself to make the effort. Critical refection has been proven to reduce stress and improve student evaluations. Are you using Clickers in your classroom? If so, you might want to join a group of your colleagues who will gather on September 1 to discuss best practices. Did you notice that one of the outstanding citizens of Beaumont was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve on the Texas Higher Education Education Coordinating Board? Dr. David Teuscher, a partner at the Beaumont Bone and Joint Institute and team orthopedist for Lamar University's men's and women's NCAA teams, will assume the position September 1.

The Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) survey was emailed to all faculty at LU today. If you did not receive your email survey, contact CT+LE at 8426. We did have a number of you sign up to participate at the Blastoff session. In addition, a number of you have already returned your surveys. All of which indicates that this could be a very successful program launch. Remember that you have until August 28 to return your survey via email or to the CT+LE P.O. Box 10302. We will tally the votes and the top FLC will be presenting at an Expo planned for August 31. We are also currently recruiting facilitators and co-facilitators for all of the proposed FLC. Research proves that self-reflection on a sustained and consistent basis is the best way to grow and improve as a classroom teacher. Critical inquiry and reflective writing provide the best opportunities to think critically about what we do and why. LU is implementing a journaling program for AY 2011-12. If you are committed to growing as a teacher, you are encouraged to attend the Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher seminar on September 9 at 1:00 p.m. in room 622 MJGL. RSVP now by calling x8426. Participants, each of whom will receive a free journal, will learn how journaling can keep you on track to realizing personal and professional growth. In addition, those who participated in the journaling session at the Blastoff should plan to attend the first discussion session set for September 2 at noon in the Dining Hall private dining room. Are you currently using Clickers as an active learning enhancement method? Have you thought about using Clickers but wanted to know more about them? There will be a discussion group meeting on September 1 at 2:00 p.m. in room 622 MJGL for anyone currently using Clickers or inquirers. Finally, don't forget that Dr. Linda Nilson will be visiting LU on September 27 and 28 to deliver three interactive sessions.

Many thanks to the more than 100 participants at the Blastoff held Tuesday. All of the sessions proved to be popular and the feedback on the evaluations has been very useful as we look to complete the programming for the 2011-12 Academic Year. If you did not return your evaluation form, you can send it in now to CT+LE at P.O. Box 10302. We were able to capture three of the sessions on video and will have those available very soon. As we mentioned in the session that introduced the Faculty Learning Communities program, we will be sending out a survey via email next week. We are asking you to review the FLC that have been proposed so far and to select three that you think you would like to join. Once we gather the responses and tally the votes, we will hold a FLC Expo on August 31 at CT+LE in 621 and 622 Mary and John Gray Library (MJGL). We are currently accepting proposals for FLC and would be happy to talk with you about the opportunity to facilitate or co-facilitate a FLC. Some of the most positive comments we have received about Blastoff sessions have been directed at the ACES Fellows presentations. Dr. Jeremy Shelton and Cecil Johnson, ACES Fellow Alums, shared their experiences about their course redesign projects. Cohort 3 continues to prepare for their own journey as Fellows and the ideas we have seen for their course redesign are absolutely astounding. Our students are in for some cutting edge teaching and learning if they have enrolled in one of the ACES Fellows classes. The LU journaling project continues to gather steam. We had a good number of folks who signed up to participate at the Blastoff session. We will be holding more information sessions very soon as well as scheduling discussion meetings. The Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making (JCEDM), an official publication of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, is currently soliciting for research articles. JCEDM examines how people engage in cognitive work in real-world settings and how that work can be supported through the design of technologies, operating concepts and operating procedures, decision-making strategies, teams and organizations, and training protocols. Thus, the journal publishes rigorous approaches to the observation, modeling, analysis, and design of complex work domains in which human expertise is paramount and multiple aspects of the work environment may drive performance.

The Blastoff begins tomorrow morning at 8:30 with registration and continental breakfast. All of the sessions (faculty and department chair) are being held in the Galloway Building. Spent some time this morning with five of the newest members of our faculty. Talking with them before the orientation session started, I found them to be very enthusiastic. LU is indeed lucky to have them and I hope they find our campus as welcoming as I did just over a year ago. For those of you have have spent your summer away from Beaumont and the LU campus, I want to invite you over for a visit to the CT+LE. We are settled into our new space on the sixth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library (MJGL). Come by for a tour and free coffee. While you are here, check out the recommended reading selections on the faculty development bookshelves located adjacent to the CT+LE. The Chronicle of Higher Education has a very interesting collection of articles centered on the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Sensing that many of you will use this event as a teaching opportunity in your course this fall, we recommend that you take a look at what a number of influential thinkers had to say about the upcoming memorial. Echoing the theme of retention mentioned in President Jimmy Simmons Convocation remarks this morning, Yorke and Thomas in their article Improving the Retention of Students from Lower Socio-economic Groups note that among other things, retention can be improved by: an emphasis on formative assessment in the early phase of programs; a recognition of the importance of the social dimension in learning activities; and recognition that the pattern of students’ engagement in higher education was changing, and a preparedness to respond positively to this in various ways; and, above all, a deep commitment running through the institution, which seeks to maximise the success of its students.

Did you know that eighty percent of all decisions at a university are made at the department level (Sarros, et. al., 1999)? That is why leadership from the chairperson is so crucial. New to the Blastoff for 2011 is a track of sessions just for department chairs. All the basics are covered including budget (10:00 a.m.) and institutional effectiveness (11:00 a.m.) with a special session on leadership from Dr. Vicky Farrow, who held the department chair position until May and will share her personal insights at the 9:00 a.m. session in 138 Galloway Hall. It all begins with registration and continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in Galloway. Along with the twelve sessions offered for faculty development, the Blastoff is the largest event of this kind ever held at LU and promises to be outstanding. Make plans now to attend. By the way, if you have been struggling with how to improve the delivery of electronic resources for your classes via Blackboard, take a look at the three sessions planned for the Blastoff. These sessions, delivered by the outstanding staff in our Center for Distance Education, will be packed with valuable information to make your teaching more efficient. We received a few new topics for potential Faculty Learning Communities but are still accepting suggestions. If you have an idea, send them to us at the CT+LE today. We have noticed that a few of you have ventured up to the sixth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library (MJGL) to take a look at the new quarters for the CT+LE or to peruse the special bookshelves containing our recommended books on various faculty development issues. We hope to see more of you as the fall semester moves into full swing. Peter Eubanks has written an interesting op-ed piece on grade inflation for Inside Higher Ed. He notes that "while institutions are increasingly taking measures to combat grade inflation, there are several key pressures faculty members face when assigning grades, and these may cause us to feel uneasy or hesitant about immediately subscribing to a strict regimen of grade deflation." Interestingly enough, Jeffrey R. Young with the Chronicle of Higher Education, also has a story about grade inflation that involves the Western Governors University.

The original posters advertising the Active and Collaborative Engagement for Students (ACES) program are still up all over our campus. This program was created to be the Quality Enhancement Plan, a requirement of SACS that all institutions must implement in the current accreditation process. You have also seen the words active learning used countless times by now. If you are still wondering what all of this means, we invite you to attend one or both sessions to be given by ACES Fellow alums at the Faculty Development Fall 2011 Blastoff on August 16. Dr. Jeremy Shelton (2010-11) and Cecil Johnson (2009-10) will each have a session describing the lessons they learned during their year-long course redesign project. These are just two of the 12 sessions planned for the Blastoff. Look for an email in your box this week about more sessions including times and rooms. It all begins at 8:30 a.m. in Galloway. Did you know that Lamar University participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) along with hundreds of other colleges and universities across the U.S.? NSSE measures student opinion on a number of benchmarks. The CT+LE staff are currently in discussion with several faculty about the creation of a new program that will promote continual improvement in our students' cognitive and personal development. The program will provide a unique opportunity for faculty and students to come together in an informal setting to discuss current issues impacting the world. The program, if successful, will address several key NSSE benchmarks including: the degree to which our students work collaboratively with their peers inside and outside of class, the frequency with which our students interact with faculty members and advisers and discuss their ideas with faculty members outside of class, the frequency with which our students interact with those of different racial or ethnic backgrounds and assist those of different ethnicities in coping with nonacademic responsibilities and issues, the rate of opportunity for our students to interact with fellow students of differing values or political opinions, and the degree to which our students promote supportive student-to-student, student-to-faculty, and student-to-administration relations. If you are interested in participating on the steering committee or want more information, contact us at CT+LE.