2006 News Archive

Steven W. Leslie appointed Executive Vice President and Provost posted January 2007

Steven W. Leslie, dean of the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin since 1998, has been named provost of the university. Leslie's appointment is effective January 15. [more]

DIIA Teaching and Learning Colloquium scheduled for January 10-11 posted December 2006

Save the dates January 10-11 for the 2007 Teaching and Learning Colloquium: Teaching that Inspires Learning. Colloquium sessions will be stand-alone, and faculty and staff are welcome to attend a session of particular interest or to join us for its entirety of two half-days. Stay tuned for more details on registration and session offerings. [more]

DIIA Director Ashcroft Appointed Dean of Continuing Education posted November 2006

Stephen A. Monti, interim executive vice president and provost, has announced that DIIA director Judy Ashcroft will assume the deanship of the Division of Continuing Education on February 1, 2007, when current dean Thomas Hatfield moves to the Center for American History as a senior research fellow. [more]

Call for Entries, Tenth Anniversary IITAP Awards, Spring 2007
$10,000 in Awards for Innovative Instructional Technology posted November 2006

Submit your project for recognition at the Tenth Anniversary IITAP Awards next spring and for a portion of the $10,000 to be awarded for innovative use of instructional technology in UT Austin courses. The Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment is pleased to administer IITAP, the provost's program to encourage, support, and reward instructional innovation by UT Austin faculty and staff. Visit the IITAP Web site for guidelines and entry forms before the entry deadline, January 22, 2007. [more]

Dee Silverthorn garners Burnt Orange Apple Award for outstanding teaching posted November 2006

Dee U. Silverthorn, senior lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, has been presented the Marilla D. Svinicki Burnt Orange Apple Award in recognition of her leadership in advancing teaching and learning and her commitment to UT Austin students. The award was initiated by Dr. Svinicki, a professor in educational psychology, to recognize faculty members whose teaching has positively impacted the lives of their students. [more]

New Faculty Instructional Development Series Dates posted October 2006

Register now to ensure your place in the exciting new Faculty Instructional Development Series brought to you by DIIA’s Teaching and Learning Group. November’s session is entitled “Effective Lectures for Student Learning,” and takes place Monday, November 13 in FAC 327 from 1-2:15 p.m. The session will explore how students learn from lectures and how you can help that process occur by turning any lecture from a passive to an active learning experience. [more]

2006 Graduate Student Instructor Colloquium, September 16 posted August 2006

DIIA's Graduate Student Instructor Program, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Graduate Studies invite you to the third annual Graduate Student Instructor Colloquium.  This one-day, free event helps graduate students build instructional skills, and introduces GSIs to expectations for teaching at UT Austin.  The special emphasis for 2006 is "Reflecting: Using Discussion, Writing, and Technology to Encourage Student-Centered Learning." [more]

Graduate Instructor Brings Passion for Teaching to Peers posted August 2006

With a quiet intensity, Luke Winslow, AI in the Department of Communication Studies says, "It’s too easy to just get by as a teacher in a university that emphasizes research. The larger challenge is to balance the research demands in a Tier 1 institution with teaching that actually makes a difference, knowing that you are personally responsible for setting the standard of excellence in your own classroom to ensure that your students are actually learning." [more]

Teaching and Learning Group Introduces New Faculty Development Series for Fall 2006 posted August 2006

DIIA’s commitment to ongoing faculty development is expanding in fall of 2006 with the addition of a new series titled "Designing courses: Beginning with the end in mind." Join DIIA and faculty colleagues for monthly in-depth pedagogical instruction and hands-on experiences—this is an opportunity for you to learn new techniques, ask questions, and build classroom instructional materials that work. [more]

New Faculty Teaching, Learning, and Orientation Seminar, August 22–25 posted July 2006

The University welcomes new faculty and invites them to register for the 26th Annual New Faculty Teaching, Learning, and Orientation Seminar, hosted August 22–25, 2006. During four morning sessions, participants and presenters will share advice on successful teaching and research. Additionally, over twenty University centers and offices will come together to help orient newcomers to the campus. [more]

UTOPIA Summer Institute 2006 posted June 2006

The training lab in the FAC fills with the sound of tapping keyboards as participants in the invitational UTOPIA Summer Institute 2006 prepare lesson plans in mathematics and language arts for the 2006-2007 academic year. These top educators, chosen from K-12 schools across Texas, focus their undivided attention on generating over 420 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) aligned lesson plans which will be available on the UTOPIA Web site to help fellow teachers across the state to enhance their classroom instruction. [more]

Innovative Instructional Technology Awards Program (IITAP) Showcase 2006 posted June 2006

Awards in the areas of Teaching with Technology and Resource Development were awarded to six outstanding exemplars at the 2006 IITAP Showcase. A Special Recognition Award was created for the Texas Politics project, from the Department of Government and a development team from the Liberal Arts Information Technology Services (LAITS). Awards totaling $8500 were presented to the six exemplary faculty members, and each winning team received an iPod donated by Apple Computer, Inc. [more]

DIIA Staff Leads Statewide Implementation of Senate Bill 111 posted June 2006

DIIA team members Dawn Zimmaro, Connie Williams, and Mellanie Patterson from Instructional Assessment and Evaluation and Student Services recently developed an implementation plan for UT Austin to administer Texas State Senate Bill 111, which regulates the evaluation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, noted for its depth, challenging curriculum, and rigorous assessment. [more]

Course Placement and Credit by Examination Dates Released posted May 2006

The Instructional Assessment and Evaluation (IAE) Team has released the dates for the Course Placement and Credit by Examination summer testing period.  The IAE Team is available during summer orientation to provide and coordinate pre-registration testing services.  Supplemented by the University New Student Services and temporary professional hires, Connie Williams and her staff guide students through the advising, registration, administration and scoring process to determine correct placement in foreign language, math, chemistry, computer proficiency, and writing classes. [more]

Course-Instructor Survey (CIS) Policy Information posted May 2006

In order to clarify the Course Instructor Survey (CIS) policy in the context of open records and protected privacy Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson has distributed helpful guidelines for faculty members. Learn more about the university’s primary tool for soliciting feedback from students about their courses and the faculty who teach them. [more]

Dates for 2006 New Faculty Teaching, Learning and Orientation Seminar Announced posted May 2006

The 2006 New Faculty Teaching, Learning and Orientation Seminar will be held on August 22-25 in the Avaya Auditorium of the ACES Building. Tuesday through Thursday will feature half-day sessions with technology workshops offered in the afternoons, with a full day of sessions on Friday. More information and registration will be available late June. For further information, please contact Lynn Jones Eaton. [more]

IT Showcase 2006 Calling All UT IT(-shirt) Staff posted May 2006

Artists and designers: have a great idea for a creative T-shirt illustration or graphic depicting instructional technology? This is THE opportunity of the year for all UT Austin IT staff to show off your work with faculty to promote technology in the classroom. Get your IT Showcase 2006 designs in by May 14 and you may go down in IT-shirt history! All IT Showcase participants are invited to vote on submitted designs May 15-18, and the winning design will be available to wear at the May 31 showcase. Contact Coco Kishi for information, and check out the specifications to enter your winning design! Event takes place Wednesday, May 31 from 1:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the CBA Special Events Room (CBA 3.304).  We’ll bring the pizza. [more]

GSI Colloquium Adds New Feature For 2006 posted May 2006

DIIA’s Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Program will hold the third annual colloquium for graduate students on Saturday, September 16, 2006. As a new feature this year, the GSI Colloquium invites students to submit proposals for sessions to be presented in the colloquium that feature research, best practices, and hands-on workshops using the latest appropriate teaching techniques in their field of study. [more]

Podcasting Palooza Packs a Punch posted May 2006

Learn to create and publish digital content on the Web quickly and easily in "Podcast Palooza," streaming video featuring Apple Computer's Maria Henderson and the DIIA Podcast Project Team in a knockout presentation that highlights new educational podcasting features in iLife '06. See how using these innovative options can expand and enhance learning in the UT Austin classroom. [more]

ASPECTS Figures Reflect Growth and Success of Program posted April 2006

The Graduate Student Instructor Program has shown significant growth in their Advancing Students Professional Excellence with Certificates in Teaching Series (ASPECTS) program. [more]

Collaborative for Instructional Impact Meets April 11, 2006 posted April 2006

The Collaborative for Instructional Impact (CII) offers an informal venue for instructors to stay abreast of the instructional practices of their colleagues across the UT Austin campus. The topic for April's session is Technological Innovations for Your Teaching. [more]

IITAP Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 4 posted March 2006

Innovative Instructional Technology Awards Program (IITAP) celebrates and rewards faculty efforts to incorporate technology in their teaching. The 2006 awards, offered by the Office of the Provost and administered by DIIA, will be hosted Thursday, May 4 in MAI 212. [more]

Assessment Showcase on March 23, 2006 posted February 2006

DIIA invites you to attend the first Assessment Showcase, a unique opportunity to see UT faculty and staff demonstrate examples of assessment best practices, tools, and techniques used to evaluate various aspects related to classroom instruction. [more]

Collaborative for Instructional Impact Announces Spring 2006 Seminars posted February 2006

The Collaborative for Instructional Impact (CII) offers an informal venue for instructors to stay abreast of the instructional practices of their colleagues across the UT Austin campus. All sessions are from noon - 1:00 p.m. in the Texas Union Sinclair Suite. [more]

Collaborative for Instructional Impact Meets February 14, 2006 posted January 2006

Collaborative for Instructional Impact (CII) offers an informal venue for instructors to stay abreast of the instructional practices of their colleagues across the UT Austin campus. The topic for February's session is Outcomes-Based Assessment at UT Austin. [more]

Patrick Davis Receives First DIIA Excellence in Teaching Award posted January 2006

Associate Dean of the College of Pharmacy Patrick J. Davis, center, became the inaugural recipient of the DIIA Excellence in Teaching Award, bestowed during the 2006 Teaching and Learning Colloquium. DIIA established the award to honor faculty who exemplify excellence in teaching. DIIA Director Judy Ashcroft, left, and Executive Vice President and Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson, right, congratulated Dr. Davis. [more]

Faculty Library Seminar posted January 2006

On Thursday, January 12, 2006, the University of Texas Libraries is sponsoring a series of sessions about library resources and services to support research and teaching. See the Faculty Library Seminar schedule for times and locations. [more]