The Center for Teaching Excellence will sponsor three seminars during the spring semester. The seminars are:

--Teaching Our Students Seminar, "Using Breeze for Assessment and Research Collaboration;" 2-3:30 p.m. Feb. 9; Tena Crews, College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management, presenter; Moore School of Business, Room 203.

This seminar will provide an overview of how Breeze is being used not only to provide content and an online forum for students but also to provide the instructor with a tool for assessment. Using Breeze as an assessment tool allows for specific, individual feedback for students. Using Breeze as a tool for research collaboration with colleagues (in-state, out-of-state, or internationally) will also be discussed.  Recorded Breeze assessments and research collaborative efforts will be shown as examples.

Crews received an Ed.D. in business education from the University of Georgia and is an associate professor in the Technology Support and Training Management Program in the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management. Her teaching and research interests include online learning design, development, and pedagogy. Crews is active in professional and academic organizations and recently received the 2006 National Business Education Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year Award.

--Teaching our Students Seminar, "Motivational Techniques for Interactive Classes: What Works;" 2-3:30 p.m. March 23; T.S. Sudarshan, electrical engineering, presenter; Moore School of Business, Room 203.

This seminar will provide an overview of techniques used by an engineering professor who has been teaching at USC for the last 27 years. Some of the topics will 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.

Sudarshan, who holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada, is chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Information Technology. His research group in the Silicon Carbide Research Lab emphasizes novel techniques of growth of silicon carbide (SiC) bulk and epitaxial films and device/defect correlations. In spring 2006, Sudarshan was awarded the Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor the Year award, USC's highest award for teaching excellence; and in winter of 2006, he was presented the Governor's Distinguished Professor Award by the Commission on Higher Education. He is a Carolina Distinguished Professor and has held that appointment since 1986.

--Teaching Our Students Seminar: "Out of the Classroom and Onto the Site: Active Observation of Complex Systems;" 2-3:30 p.m. April 20; Liv Haselbach, civil and environmental engineering, and Michelle Maher, educational leadership and policies, presenters; Moore School of Business, Room 203.

This seminar will examine ways to get students out of the classroom and involved in the real and complex systems they study with a combined observation and journal technique. The exercise is applicable to many disciplines and diverse areas of study and can be incorporated into local, readily accessible destinations. The method can serve as the foundation for dynamic class discussions, small group activities or solo reflections and has been well received by student participants.

Haselbach comes from a long career in construction and engineering. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and teaches Autocad, air pollution control engineering, land development, and sustainable construction. Current research includes projects in green construction, best management practices, and the use of pervious concrete.

Maher is an assistant professor in the Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs Program. She has written numerous articles on college teaching and learning and is particularly interested in issues associated with graduate student and also complex system learning.

For more information, contact Jed Lyons, faculty director, CTE, or Doris Stephens, program director, CTE, at cte@gwm.sc.edu or 7-8322.

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