Several people, including our Provost Steve Doblin, found the article Note to Faculty: Don't Be Such a Know-it-all to be very interesting. Despite the provocative title it really drives home the points we have repeated over and over again about student-centered teaching. In order for students to be successful they must take ownership of their learning by "trying-failing-persisting." A fixed mind-set reflects the belief that intelligence is a static trait. People who think this way tend to avoid challenges, give up easily, and see effort as fruitless. They also feel threatened by the success of others. "I think a lot of what we do in the K-12 arena gets students thinking this particular way," said Archie L. Holmes, Jr, a engineering professor at the University of Virginia. Two of the four Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) have already met in 2012. The participants are raving that the FLC format has created new opportunities for collaboration and has removed the feeling of isolation some our colleagues had felt in the past. We will be soliciting new ideas for 2012-13 FLC later this semester. Have you been looking to attend a teaching and learning conference but only have a small amount of travel funds available? The Teaching and Learning Technology Conference 2012 might fit the bill as this event is free to all attendees. There are no registration fees and all food is provided on both days of the event. Attendees are still responsible for travel and lodging to the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. By the way, one easy way to access travel funds is by attending the various faculty development programs throughout the academic year. The Faculty Development Program provides all of the details. Contact a staff member of CT+LE for more information. Save the dates of March 8 and 9 and April 19 and 20 during the Spring 2012 semester. We will have some very exciting faculty development events on those days with guest speakers that will challenge and surprise you. Jim Kouzes, one of the nation's best researchers on the topic of leadership, offers the following bit of advice for those looking to become a better leader. "It's really two words: deliberate practice. The whole notion of talent has been highly overrated and will only get you so far. The rest is about hard work and deliberate practice. Carve out at least two hours every day to use as a learning experience of deliberate practice. That means developing a plan for improvement. Set a goal and engage in designed learning activities to help you achieve that goal. Make sure you pay as much attention to technique as outcome. Get some feedback on how well you're doing and then, based on that, reset your goals."