1998 Mary Scott Lecture Series Explores Teaching and Learning

Note to Editors: Photos of James Wilkinson are available for reporters. If interested in attending the series or interviewing speakers, contact June Greist, university relations, (970) 491-6432.

Educators, students, parents and community members are invited to attend Colorado State University’s 1998 Mary Scott Lecture Series titled "Teaching and Learning-Challenging Assumptions and Exploring Alternatives."

The Nov. 16 conference is designed to address the growing interest in quality education from elementary school through higher education. Colorado State faculty will be joined by colleagues from Front Range Community College, Poudre School District and others to host the one-day event at the Lory Student Center on the Colorado State campus. The conference features 19 concurrent sessions that will focus on issues including educational standards, diversity, technology, parenting and innovative teaching methods.

"This event is an opportunity for anyone involved with education to take a fresh look at what we are doing and think about new possibilities," said Bill Timpson, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Colorado State. "In particular, we want to consider challenges to various assumptions which guide our work with young people and explore creative alternatives. For example, how can technology revolutionize instruction? Which students are at risk in our current systems and what can we do differently? How can teachers better address the diversity among students? What are the innovators doing? This one-day conference should prove stimulating, informative and provocative for everyone attending."

James Wilkinson, director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, will deliver the keynote address titled "Testing and Tuning the Instructional Paradigm: What Are Our Students Learning and How Would We Know?" Wilkinson is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Research Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of European history. He is the author of many publications, including "The Art and Craft of Teaching" and "Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier: Technology, Libraries, and Learning." He has lectured and conducted teaching workshops at many institutions in the United States and abroad.

This year’s Mary Scott Lecture Series is sponsored by Colorado State’s College of Applied Human Sciences and the Center for Teaching and Learning in conjunction with Front Range Community College and Poudre School District.

Cost for full registration is $50 if registration is postmarked before Nov. 4. After Nov. 4, registration is $60. Participants also can register for partial attendance for a smaller fee. Registration fees are kept low through sponsor support and an endowment by the late Mary Scott, a Timnath native who established a trust for the college to hold a series of lectures on topics of interest to area residents.

For more information on registration or a brochure on the series, contact Janell Prussman in the College of Applied Human Sciences at (970) 491-5182.

The following is a schedule for this year’s conference.

Welcome Remarks, 8:45-9 a.m.

  • Nancy Hartley, dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences at Colorado State; and William Timpson, Center for Teaching and Learning at Colorado State.

Opening session, 9-10 a.m.

  • "Student Voices: The Highs and Lows." Students from elementary through post-secondary levels share their own stories about extraordinary learning experiences and painful classroom memories.

First Breakout Session, 10:15-11 a.m.

  • "Teachers and Time: Ideal and Real" by Sally Bomotti, School of Education, Research and Development Center for the Advancement of Student Learning, Colorado State; and Ann Foster, Research and Development Center, Poudre School District.
  • "Project Based Learning: Redefining Instruction" by Karen Schertz, Front Range Community College; and Garry Bjorklund, Front Range Community College.
  • "Using the Web" by Jamie Bethel, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State; Lauri Herrmann-Ginsberg, College of Applied Human Sciences and College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State; Craig Spooner, Office of Instructional Services, Colorado State; and Orlando Griego, School of Education, Colorado State.
  • "Innovative Mathematics and Science Teaching" by Barb Nelson, School of Education, Colorado State.

Second Breakout Session, 11:15 a.m.-noon

  • "Technology: Does It Promote or Detract from Content Learning?" by Judy MacDonald, Poudre School District.
  • "New Directions in Student Assessment" by Linda Berry, Front Range Community College.
  • "Anger Management" by Bob Fetsch, department of human development and family studies, Colorado State.
  • "Small Groups in Large Lecture Classes" by Steve Shulman, department of economics, Colorado State; and Erica Suchman, department of microbiology, Colorado State.
  • "Curriculum Infusion Project" by Stephanie Clemons, department of design, merchandising and consumer sciences, Colorado State.

Luncheon Session

  • "At-Risk Students or At-Risk Programs" by Paul Shang, HELP/Success Center, Colorado State; Eric Larsen, Centennial High School; and Gailmarie Kimmel, School of Education, Colorado State.

Third Breakout Session, 2-2:45 p.m.

  • "Gimmicks and Tricks in Teaching" by Barb Patterson, Front Range Community College.
  • "Standards: A Complex Educational Reform" by Sandra Sorrell, director of Assessment and Curriculum, Poudre School District; and a panel of Poudre School District educators.
  • "Adapting Technology to Enhance Post-secondary Instruction" by Dennis Middlemist, department of management, College of Business, Colorado State; and Melanie Middlemist, department of accounting, College of Business, Colorado State.
  • "Inclusiveness: The Child with Different Needs" by Sherri Malloy, licensed clinical psychologist, Ackerman & Associates; and Zeynep Biringin, department of human development and family studies, Colorado State.

Fourth Breakout Sessions, 3-3:45 p.m.

  • "Inclusiveness: Can We Honor Individual Differences and Teach to Standards?" by a panel of Poudre School District educators.
  • "Professional Development Schools" by Dave Whaley, School of Education, Colorado State.
  • "Gender Equity/Parenting: Implications for Schools" by Toni Zimmerman, department of human development and family studies, Colorado State.
  • "Two-Way Interactive Teaching at a Distance" by Tim Davies, School of Education, Colorado State.
  • "Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning (K-16)" by Robert Richburg, School of Education, Colorado State.
  • "Inclusiveness: Leading Scholars on the Best of Multicultural Education" by Angie Paccione, School of Education, Colorado State.

Afternoon Keynote, 4-5 p.m.

  • "Testing and Tuning the Instructional Paradigm: What Are Our Students Learning and How Would We Know?" by James Wilkinson, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University.