Reception and Common Hour Lecture Kick Off Events

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Center for Teaching and Learning, which is working to promote more effective teaching on campus, launched its second year of programming Thursday with a Common Hour lecture by Greg Colomb of the University of Virginia and a reception at the Smith House hosted by coordinators Dina Anselmi and Gary Reger.

One of the Center’s additions this year is a library in the Smith House that will not only house books, journals, DVDs and other materials primarily related to teaching techniques, but will serve as a central space for professors to congregate and share ideas about teaching and pedagogy.

“This [event] doesn’t mark the beginning of a conversation,” said Anselmi, an associate professor of psychology. “It’s the continuation and evolution of a grassroots institutional effort.”

The Center, which will sponsor brown bag lunches, a faculty seminar series and a yearlong series of workshops focusing on the topic, “Argument and Evidence across the Disciplines,” is being financed by a $365,000, four-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The day’s activities began with Colomb’s speech to students, faculty and staff about “Critical Thinking in an Argument Culture” in which he stressed the strong connection between writing and critical thinking, and how students can use writing as a tool to develop their critical thinking techniques.

Colomb, who is a professor of English and literature and director of writing programs at the University of Virginia, has written several books on The Craft of Argument and has spent about 30 years involved in the discipline of critical thinking.

One of his first examples of literally challenging students to “think out of the box” was to present them with a dilemma: You have a box of thumbtacks, a candle and a matchbook. How do you attach the candle to the wall and light up the room? The not-so-obvious answer: Tack the box to the wall, place the candle in the box and set the candle aflame.

Colomb said it’s always easier to “generalize and fixate on one solution,” but that’s not necessarily the best approach. Expert problem solvers always have a deep repertoire of solutions in mind. Another trick is to slow down and not settle for the first thing that pops into your head.

“When you do nothing but first-draft writing,” Colomb said, “you get nothing but first-draft thinking.”

Colomb was on hand for the formal opening of the Center later Thursday, where faculty members helped themselves to finger foods and beverages.

In addition to Colomb’s lecture earlier in the day, the yearlong examination of “Argument and Evidence across the Disciplines,” featured a workshop Friday on “Fair Argument as a Classroom Tool;” an Oct. 12 workshop on “Formulating a Question;” and a Nov. 18 workshop on “Evidence.” Other workshops – with the dates and times to be determined – will center on “The Aesthetics of Argument;” “Designing and Assessing Assignments;” and “Bringing It Into the Public Sphere.”

The faculty seminars, which will be held once a month during the fall and spring semesters, will cover topics such as: Power In and Out of the Classroom; Mid-Semester Check-Up; Active Learning; Faculty Culture; Grading: Best Practices and Alternatives; Technology and Teaching; Designing Your Course for Higher-Level Learning; Balancing Teaching, Research and Service; Syllabus Workshop; Using Writing as a Tool for Learning; Objectives-Based Learning; Stereotype Threat; and Learning Styles.

There will be three brown bag lunch discussions during the fall semester. The first is Sept. 30 on plagiarism, and the facilitators will be Jeffrey Bayliss of the history department and John Mertens of the engineering department. The second lunch will be Oct. 21 and the final one will be Dec. 2. The topics have yet to be determined.

“I can’t think of anything better than to be a young faculty member and to have so many role models,” said President James F. Jones, Jr., in congratulating Anselmi and Reger, a professor of history, for their efforts in designing the programming and establishing the Center as a force on campus.

Any faculty member who would like to facilitate a topic should contact Anselmi at dina.anselmi@trincoll.edu, Reger at gary.reger@trincoll.edu or Jennifer MacDonald at jennifer.macdonald@trincoll.edu.

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