by Gina Merys, Associate Director, Reinert Center This past weekend (March 18-19), the Reinert Center co-hosted our annual Academic Portfolio Retreat. Over a two day period, invited facilitator, Dr. Marilyn Miller led 25 faculty members through writing a beginning draft of each of the sections of their academic portfolio for tenure and/or promotion. Attending this… Continue reading Portfolios as Tools for Reflection
Creative Thought in Philosophy
by Luís Pinto de Sá, Graduate Student, Philosophy At a sufficient level of generality, creative thought in philosophy does not differ much from creative thought in other fields. I suppose that by “creative” we mean both new and interesting. If so, no creative thinker can afford to ignore the work of those that preceded her.… Continue reading Creative Thought in Philosophy
Fostering Self-Reflection at Mid-Term
by Debie Lohe, Director, Reinert Center Mid-term can be a powerful time for reflection – reflection for you on how you’re experiencing your teaching, reflection for students on how they’re experiencing their learning. For students who have found course content challenging during the first half of the semester, it can be a time when the… Continue reading Fostering Self-Reflection at Mid-Term
Upcoming Events: March 2016
Teaching with Technology: Effective Practices for Lecture/Lesson Capture March 3, 3:00-4:00 p.m., Des Peres 213 Ignatian Pedagogy Institute March 10, Il Monastero, St. Louise Room During this day-long institute, participants will increase and deepen their knowledge of Ignatian Pedagogy as an extension of Ignatian spirituality using the lens of imagination. Through multiple interactive sessions, participants will engage in… Continue reading Upcoming Events: March 2016
Designing Effective Lesson Plans
by Kelly McEnerney, Graduate Assistant, Reinert Center Imagine you will be teaching a class next week without textbook-prescribed course modules, chapters, and PowerPoint slides that dictate what students should know and how learning should take place. In such a case, what would you use to structure class time? In the absence of the textbook script,… Continue reading Designing Effective Lesson Plans
Is Your Flip Flopping?
by Sandy Gambill, Sr. Instructional Developer, Reinert Center Have you put in countless hours recording lectures for a flipped classroom, only to find the model isn’t working as well as you had hoped? Perhaps the students don’t seem engaged during classtime or are complaining about the amount of work expected outside of class. Technology is… Continue reading Is Your Flip Flopping?
Divergent Thinking as a Path to Creative Problem-Solving
by Gina Merys, Associate Director, Reinert Center Much of the learning students are called to do in academic courses, especially at the introductory level, focuses on convergent thinking—thinking that aims to identify one right answer. At its best, this process requires students to learn how to use logic, analyze choices, and make decisions; in essence,… Continue reading Divergent Thinking as a Path to Creative Problem-Solving
Reinert Center Fellowships
The Paul C. Reinert, S.J. Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning is currently accepting applications for two fellowship opportunities for 2016-2017: the Reinert Center Fellowship and the Innovative Teaching Fellowship. Both are available to full-time, permanent teaching faculty at the University. Reinert Center Fellows work on specific faculty development projects (that they propose); projects focus… Continue reading Reinert Center Fellowships
2016 Winter Institute Reflection
What does it mean to think critically and creatively about teaching? The invitation to do instructional development at the intersection of these two concepts is what guided my participation in the Reinert Center’s Winter Institute on January 7. As each presenter facilitated discussion on a variety of teaching-related topics, I noticed two themes begin to… Continue reading 2016 Winter Institute Reflection
How Do You Teach Creative Thinking?
by Debie Lohe, Director, Reinert Center As we welcome you back to campus, we’re reminding you of our theme for the year: Thinking Critically, Thinking Creatively. As I explained here, back in the fall, we’re spending this year examining what it means to think critically and/or creatively and how we teach students to do it. … Continue reading How Do You Teach Creative Thinking?
The Notebook 