IU symposia to address scholarship of teaching, learning and engagement

By Jayne Spencer

Light

The second annual Scholarship of Engagement Conference is scheduled Friday, Feb. 22, on the IUPUI campus, with a keynote address by Lorilee Sandmann, a scholar in the area of continuing education and public outreach.

The 20th annual Spring Symposium of the IU Bloomington offices of the vice chancellor for academic affairs and of the vice chancellor for student affairs is scheduled Wednesday, April 17, with a theme of “Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds.” Proposals for 15-minute investigative presentations on the subject of student learning behaviors are due by Friday, Feb. 15. Richard Light of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and the Kennedy School of Government will be the keynote speaker, and the theme is taken from his book title, which won the Harvard University Press' Stone Prize for an outstanding book on education and society.

The Scholarship of Engagement Conference this month will highlight the scholarship and practice of service learning, civic engagement and campus-community partnership programs. This year's conference will be hosted by the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning.

Sandmann, the associate vice president for public service and outreach and executive director of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education at the University of Georgia, is known for her leadership in higher education, public outreach and the scholarship associated with this work. In collaboration with Amy Driscoll, Sandmann coordinates the National Review Board for the Scholarship of Engagement, which provides external peer review and evaluation of faculty scholarship of engagement.

Morning breakout sessions will provide the opportunity for faculty and staff to share current research and scholarship associated with service learning, civic engagement, participatory action research and campus-community partnerships. The breakout sessions will highlight good practice and stimulate further ideas for the scholarship of engagement. Lunch will be provided, and during lunchtime, each campus will display information on programs and resources for good practice. The afternoon will feature workshops to provide faculty, staff and administrators with practical tools to improve the practice and assessment of service learning and civic engagement.

For registration materials and call-for-presenter forms, contact Patti Hair, telephone 317-278-2662; E-mail phair@iupui.edu.

Proposals for 15-minute presentations on student learning behaviors, and conventional teaching practices and innovations should be sent to Suzanne Phillips, assistant dean of students, Franklin Hall 206, IU Bloomington. Questions may be sent via E-mail to Phillips at philli@indiana.edu.

Updates on plans for the April symposium may be found on the Internet at the Web site below. Registration materials will be available March 1.

http://campuslife.indiana.edu/symposium

'Making the Most of College'

Richard Light's book, Making the Most of College, was written after two Harvard presidents invited him and colleagues to explore issues regarding student success during the course of a decade of interviews with 1,600 Harvard students. The book contains advice on choosing classes, talking productively with advisers, improving academic and research skills, and connecting learning inside the classroom with the rest of life, as well as anecdotal stories related to both successes and frustrations of the collegiate experience.