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last updated: Aug 13 2009
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The University of Texas at Austin

Executive Vice President and Provost

Program

UT Austin Faculty Orientation Seminar

Helping You Succeed at UT Austin

August 18 – 21, 2009

Avaya Auditorium, ACES Building

Tuesday, August 18
8:00

Registration, Campus Resource Fair & Continental Breakfast
sponsored by University Federal Credit Union

8:30

We're Glad You're Here!

Judy C. Ashcroft, Dean, Continuing and Innovative Education

8:45

Welcome to UT Austin

William C. Powers, President of UT Austin

9:00

Why Students Don't Learn What We Think We Teach

Robert Duke, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Butler School of Music

9:50

Break (Visit the Technology See & Touch in ACES 2.402 and the Resource Fair in ACES Connector Lobby)

10:10

Why Teaching Matters

Steven W. Leslie, Executive Vice-President and Provost

10:25

Faculty Panel: What I Wish I Had Known

  • Robert Bruce, Associate Dean, DIIA (Moderator)
  • Jennifer Juergens, Assistant Professor, Business
  • Angela Littwin, Assistant Professor, Law
  • Stephen Trent, Associate Professor, Natural Sciences

This panel of faculty from the “class of 2008” will discuss some of the things that helped them and some things they wish they had known when they started teaching at UT Austin.

11:10

Break (Visit the Technology See & Touch in ACES 2.402 and the Resource Fair in the ACES Connector Lobby)

11:30

Supporting Teaching & Research:
Important Information for Faculty New to UT Asutin

  • Michele Ostrow, UT Libraries Instruction Services
  • Janelle Hedstrom, UT Libraries
12:00

Meet Your Vice Provosts

  • Neal Armstrong
  • Gretchen Ritter
  • Janet Ellzey
  • Fred Heath
  • William Sage
12:30

Lunch
sponsored by the the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center and the Campus Club

Afternoon technology workshops are available. Workshops will continue on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and periodically throughout the semester. Registration is strongly advised due to the hands-on nature of the sessions. Seating is limited.

2:00

Teaching with PowerPoint – GSB 2.130

As PowerPoint has become the standard presentation software used at UT Austin, many students find the presentations boring and accuse some teachers of becoming note-dependent while using it. We will demonstrate effective ways to use PowerPoint, covering techniques for increasing student participation, maintaining students’ attention, and branching presentations to enable student interaction. Providing images, slides, or graphics during class helps students link content with the “big picture” of the course and with their prior knowledge about the topic. Visual materials can also serve as memory cues for later recall and may also pique the interest of students in exploring content further.

Enroll in Teaching with PowerPoint

Wednesday, August 19
8:00

Registration, Campus Resource Fair & Continental Breakfast
sponsored by University Federal Credit Union

8:30

Welcome

Robert Bruce, Associate Dean, DIIA

8:45

Undergraduate Studies at UT Austin

Paul Woodruff, Dean of Undergraduate Studies

9:00

Diversity & Community Engagement at UT Austin

Gregory Vincent, Vice President for Diversity & Community Engagement

9:15

Student Panel: What Makes a Good Class?

  • Juan Gonzalez, VP for Student Affairs (Moderator)
  • Timi Komonibo,Natural Sciences
  • Erica Brody, Business Honors
  • Tava Bingham, Liberal Arts
  • Louis Armendariz, Liberal Arts
  • Shara Ma,Student Government VP, Business
  • Liam O’Rourke, Student Government President

This undergraduate student panel will share their insights about the environment, strategies, and teaching techniques that facilitate their learning.

10:00

Break (Visit the Technology See & Touch in ACES 2.402 and the Resource Fair in the ACES Connector Lobby)

10:20

The Syllabus: Course Design and a Contract With Your Students

  • Karron Lewis, DIIA
  • Diana DiNitto, Professor, Social Work

Designing your course is a creative act–it is an expression of what you desire for your students before you ever meet them. Good course design involves more than just what “content to cover,” it involves careful thought about what you want your students to be able to do with the content and how you plan to give them practice doing it. In this session, we’ll discuss some practical course design strategies, as well as ways to write your syllabus and build your class around it as a living, information-rich resource. Important information that should be in every UT Austin syllabus will be provided.

11:10

Break (Visit the Technology See & Touch in ACES 2.402 and the Resource Fair in the ACES Connector Lobby)

11:30

Using Feedback to Improve Teaching and Learning

  • Dawn Zimmaro, DIIA
  • Mihran Aroian, Lecturer, Business
  • Shan Evans, DIIA
  • Kyung Huh, DIIA

At some point, you may ask yourself, “Are my students really learning? Does my teaching help them to meet the learning goals and objectives that I have for them?” The use of practical assessments in teaching and learning can be extremely helpful in the quest to answer such questions. This session will introduce various techniques and tools to help you find the answers throughout the entire semester, and not just at the end of class with the Course Instructor Survey. 

12:30

Lunch (Walk to the Games Room in Gregory Gym)
sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs

Afternoon technology workshops are available. Workshops will continue on Thursday of this week and throughout the semester. Registration is strongly advised due to the hands-on nature of the sessions. Seating is limited.

2:00

Blackboard: An Introduction for Faculty New to UT – Welch 2.306

Blackboard enables educators to enhance in-class instruction by providing Web access to course materials along with a variety of tools to ease course management. In this introductory course, you can learn the basic skills to manage a Blackboard course site by uploading course documents, posting assignments, managing the gradebook, and using the communication tools.

Enroll in Blackboard: An Introduction for Faculty New to UT

3:30

Blackboard: Enhancing Communication – Welch 2.306

This hands-on session will focus on the effective uses of Blackboard's communication tools to connect instructors with students outside the classroom. We will learn how to use, facilitate, and manage these tools to elevate class communication online.

Tools include:

  • Email
  • Discussion board
  • Chat
  • Announcements

Enroll in Blackboard: Enhancing Communication

Thursday, August 20
8:00

Registration, Campus Resource Fair, & Continental Breakfast
sponsored by University Federal Credit Union

8:30

Welcome

Robert Bruce, Associate Dean, DIIA

8:45

Information Technology Services at UT Austin

Bradley Englert, Interim Chief Operating Officer, Information Technology Services

9:00

Panel Session: Protecting and Running Your Research Data

  • Susanna Herndon, DIIA (Moderator)
  • Cam Beasley, Information Security Officer, ITS
  • Mia Markey, Associate Professor, Engineering
  • Jay Boisseau, Director, Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

Cyber security has become increasingly more important in the 21st Century. Protecting your valuable data and research, as well as knowing there is access to resources for you to securely run large data sets, should be a top concern. This session will focus on what you can do to protect both.

9:45

Break (Visit the Technology See & Touch in ACES 2.402 and the Resource Fair in the ACES Connector Lobby or tour the Visualization Lab)

10:05

Faculty Panel: Planning for Promotion and Tenure Today

  • Lynn Jones Eaton, DIIA (Moderator)
  • Daniel Knopf, Associate Professor, Natural Sciences
  • Jennifer Wilks, Associate Professor, Liberal Arts
  • Steven Gilbert, Professor, Business Renee Wallace, Associate Vice President, Office of the Provost

Preparation for promotion and tenure should begin as soon as you arrive at UT Austin. This diverse panel of recently promoted faculty will share their insights on what they found especially helpful during their quest and how they overcame challenges to earn their place here at UT-Austin.

10:50

Break (Visit the Technology See & Touch in ACES 2.402 and the Resource Fair in the ACES Connector Lobby or tour the Visualization Lab)

11:10

Enhancing Your Teaching Repertoire

  • Michael Sweet, DIIA
  • Karron Lewis, DIIA
  • Jorge G. Zornberg, Associate Professor, Cockrell School of Engineering
  • Megan Crowhurst, Associate Professor, Dept of Linguistics

Instructors focus on their teaching for several reasons. Reasons often include the desire to learn new teaching strategies, to affirm presently used strategies, to improve student-teacher rapport, and to prevent burnout. This session will focus on opportunities available to faculty to support their teaching and student learning.

12:15

Faculty Council Initiatives at UT Austin

Janet Staiger, Faculty Council Chair and Communication

12:30

Lunch (on site)
sponsored by the University Federal Credit Union

Afternoon technology workshops are available. Workshops will be held throughout the semester. Registration is strongly advised due to the hands-on nature of the sessions. Seating is limited.

2:00

Blackboard: An Introduction for Faculty New to U T – Welch 2.306

Blackboard enables educators to enhance in-class instruction by providing Web access to course materials along with a variety of tools to ease course management. In this introductory course, you can learn the basic skills to manage a Blackboard course site by uploading course documents, posting assignments, managing the gradebook, and using the communication tools.

Enroll in Blackboard: An Introduction for Faculty New to UT

3:30

Teaching with Wikis and Blogs – Welch 2.306

Have you heard of wikis and blogs, but aren’t sure where to begin searching for more information? This is the workshop for you! A wiki is a real-time, collaborative, Web page writing and editing tool, in which any number of people can participate. Blogging-a contraction of "Web logging"-is a method of posting information to an on-line diary. This hands-on session will focus on wikis and blogs available at UT and how to use them effectively in your class.

Enroll in Teaching with Wikis and Blogs

Friday, August 21
8:00

Registration and Continental Breakfast
sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research

8:30

Overview of the Office of the Vice President for Research, Ethics and Research, Technology Commercialization

Robert Peterson, Associate Vice President for Reseach

9:00

Research Support and Opportunities

Beth Dishman, Assistant Vice President for Research

9:15

Research Recognition

Julian Vasquez Heilig, Educational Administration, Winner Best Research Paper Award 2008-09

9:35

Faculty Development Program

Dr. Marvin Hackert , Associate Dean, The Graduate School

9:55

Break

10:15

Support for Scientific and Scholarly Research

John Ekerdt, Associate Dean for Research, Cockrell School of Engineering

10:35

Office of Research Support

Wayne Patterson, Associate Vice President for Research, and Director of the Office of Research Support

10:55

Office of Sponsored Projects and Contracts and Grants Accounting

Susan Sedwick, Associate Vice President for Research & Director of the Office of Sponsored Projects

11:30

Lunch (on-site)
sponsored by Optional Retirement Program vendors

12:15

Optional Retirement Program Fair (ACES Connector Lobby)

  • TIAA-CREF
  • Fidelity
  • ING
  • Lincoln
  • MetLife
  • VALIC

 

1:30

What Insurance Do I Need?

3:30

Benefits Resource Fair continues with ORP and UT Insurance (ACES Connector Lobby)

  • Human Resource Services
  • TIAA-CREF
  • Fidelity
  • ING
  • Lincoln
  • MetLife
  • VALIC
4:00

Adjourn