Announcements – Wisconsin Week

Peer Review of Teaching Workshop
A free peer review of teaching workshop for untenured faculty and their mentors is Oct. 11, 1-4 p.m., at the Pyle Center.

All divisions require peer review as part of showing evidence of good teaching at the UW. A group of faculty from across campus has worked for several years to create a resource for faculty and staff to learn more about the many ways to help colleagues improve their teaching, and how to gather information about teaching for tenure. This workshop will include a brief overview of the menu of options for peer review, with examples of some of the most popular techniques, followed by breakout sessions to help untenured faculty design individualized plans for peer review, in collaboration with their mentors. Trained reviewers will be on hand to work with faculty whose mentors are not available on that date.

The workshop includes a panel discussion with members of each of the four divisional committees describing the process of evaluating evidence gathered about teaching. Ways in which a department can foster conversations in teaching and formal/informal peer review also will be explored.

This is an opportunity to make a plan for yourself to enhance your teaching and show evidence of it. For information about this workshop, contact Chris Carlson-Dakes, cgcarlso@facstaff.wisc.edu. To register, visit the online registration page: www.wisc.edu/provost/ccae/MOO/register.html.

Parker Palmer-Creating Community in Higher Education
Creating a Collaborative Academic Environment, the General Library System, Learning Technology and Distance Education, and the Teaching Academy are proud to sponsor a daylong visit to campus by Parker Palmer on Nov. 29. Palmer is an educational activist who has been called a “master teacher,” and a writer whose books include “The Promise of Paradox,” “The Company of Strangers,” “To Know As We Are Known,” “The Active Life,” “The Courage To Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life” and “Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation.”

Palmer will give a workshop in the morning and lecture in the afternoon Registration is required for the workshop. Contact Chris Carlson-Dakes, 263-4259, to register. From 3-4 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater, Palmer will speak on creating community in higher education. Registration not required. Information about Palmer can be found at www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/palmer.htm#bio.

Tobacco Quit Line Calls Top 10,000
Calls to the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line numbered more than 10,000 during its first three months of operation, according to the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, which manages the free, telephone counseling service. Although calls have leveled off from a high of 150 a day the first month, they are still averaging more than 75 a day.

About 5,000 Wisconsin residents have received some form of smoking cessation treatment through the Quit Line. Other callers include friends, relatives, health-care providers and others wanting tobacco information. Callers come from all age groups, including adolescents. The Quit Line links smokers to cessation specialists, who provide in-depth, personalized help to smokers during the quitting process. Up to four telephone counseling sessions in a year are offered to people wanting to quit tobacco use.

The Quit Line is part of the state’s plan to reduce smoking in Wisconsin by 20 percent by 2005. Funding comes from the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board and is part of the multi-million-dollar master settlement agreement with the tobacco companies.

The Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, part of the UW Medical School, has provided cessation and prevention services in Wisconsin since 1992 and is a nationally recognized research center.

Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment
Faculty and academic instructional staff are invited to participate in a yearlong professional development program, Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment, designed to help explore the learning process in depth with a cross-disciplinary team of colleagues. Throughout the year, participants will discuss

theories of learning and teaching, and work on a group project to explore how learning takes place. From the insights and perspectives individuals develop, new opportunities for teaching are found. CCLE is voluntary, runs for an academic year, and requires 90 minutes per week. Scheduling is based upon team members’ availability. New teams start each fall. For information or to register, contact Chris Carlson-Dakes, cgcarlso@facstaff.wisc.edu, or visit http://www.wisc.edu/provost/ccae/ccle.

Service-Learning Course Identification
The Provost’s Office and the Morgridge Center for Public Service have initiated a process to identify service-learning courses taught on campus. Beginning with the spring semester, all courses that carry a community-service or community-based research component, required or optional, will be footnoted in the Timetable. Each department’s Timetable representative will be contacting instructional staff to capture this information by Monday, Sept. 17. Questions regarding this process may be addressed to Mary Rouse, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service, at mkrouse@facstaff.wisc.edu or 262-0787.

Exercise Study for Women
Lisa Sanborn, kinesiology, is seeking volunteers for an exercise study looking at physical fitness and physical activity levels. The study involves three visits to the UW Sports Medicine Fitness Center and includes a diagnostic ECG exercise test. Participants should be 50-69 years of age, post-menopausal, free from heart disease, free from any orthopedic problems. 263-0854, lsanborn@education.wisc.edu.