Faculty will have the opportunity to hear noted educator and author Ken Bain during one of two keynote sessions when their spring 2012 semester gets under way Monday, Jan. 9, with Academics Day at Trinity River Campus.
Bain, author of What the Best College Teachers Do, is provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at the University of the District of Columbia. Bain’s book won the 2004 Virginia and Warren Stone Prize for an outstanding book on education and society. It has been one of the top selling books on higher education and has been translated into 11 languages.
Attendees had the opportunity to attend the first keynote session from 9 to 11 a.m. and participate in breakout sessions 3 and 4 or attend breakout sessions 1 and 2 before attending the second keynote session from noon to 2 p.m. They were able to choose from more than 50 topics, some offered multiple times, during the four breakout sessions available from 9 to 9:45 a.m., 10 to 10:45 a.m., noon to 12:45 p.m. and 1 to 1:45 p.m.
Topics included “Are We Taking the Learning Journey Alone?” “Breathing Room: Handling Hot Topics in the Classroom,” “Chi Exercises & Stress Relief,” “Digital Spaces for Student Success: E-Portfolios, Facebook, Google and Twitter,” “Pitfalls to Avoid During Your First Year of Teaching” and “The Use of Humor in the Classroom, Learning While Laughing.”
Other Academic Day events include discipline meetings from 2 to 4 p.m., the Department Chair Institute from 3 to 5 p.m. and the District Senate meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. Academics Day is organized by the Joint Consultation Committee, comprised of the presidents and presidents-elect of the Faculty Association on each campus. The location rotates among campuses with the next one scheduled for Northwest Campus.