MCC Daily Tribune
Announcing the Teaching and Creativity Center's Theme for 2018-19
Last year, the Teaching and Creativity Center's theme was Navigating Changing Environments, and our programming highlighted some of the ways in which the landscape of higher education (from public perception to policy to pedagogy) is ever-shifting, both positively and negatively.
One sub-theme that surfaced during these conversations and workshops at both campuses was this: The work we do is hard. Sometimes extremely, excruciatingly hard. Even in the smoothest of landscapes, things take their toll. A pebble gets in one's shoe. Dust accumulates. Sometimes our best intentions are thwarted in dozens of small (or large) ways.
It is in the spirit of validating our hard work, and creating the time and space to reflect on it, that we present this year's TCC theme: Teaching with Purpose. We are approaching this theme with two senses of the word "purpose" in mind, and thus from two directions: 1) An inward turn: purpose as personal motivation and meaning, and 2) An outward turn: purpose as intentional action to improve one's pedagogy and the classroom experience for all learners. We know that the latter cannot happen without the former. In a recent study, for example, researchers found that professors are most likely to adopt effective teaching practices if they are intrinsically motivated to do so. Not surprisingly, external pressure, or guilt, are not positive motivators when it comes to pedagogy.
Please join us this year for a series of Conversations on the Brighton campus; the Fall Forum at the Downtown Campus, and the 2019 June Teaching & Learning Conference (details for which will be announced at a later date). All faculty and staff are welcome.
Brighton Campus (all events in 12-201)
Fall 2018
Monday, Sept. 17, 12:00 PM: What Motivates You?
Monday, Oct. 15, 12:00 PM: What Impedes You?
Monday, Nov. 19, 12:00 PM: Recovering From Faculty Burnout
Spring 2019
Monday, Feb. 4, 12:00 PM: Purposeful Classroom Climate
Monday, Mar. 19, 12:00 PM: Purposeful Inclusivity in Course Materials
Mon., Apr. 30, 12:00 PM: Purposefully Examining Our Successes
Downtown Campus
Fall 2018
Fall Forum
Fri., Oct. 12, 12:00-3:30 PM: [Location: High Falls A & B]
12:00: Registration
12:30: Opening Session - Round table discussion: Why did you get into teaching?
1:10: Session 1A - Sustainability in Teaching: Avoiding Burnout
Session 1B - Forward Thinking Reflective Practice Group
2:10: Session 2A - Sustainability and Maintaining Your Purpose Reflective Practice Group
Session 2B - Mindfulness: Focusing on Our Purpose
3:10-3:30: Informal Debrief
See the Trib and check the calendar for separate announcements for all programming.
For questions, please contact your TCC Faculty Chairs
Brighton Campus: Amy L. Burtner (aburtner@monroecc.edu)
Downtown Campus: Erin Nelson (enelson13@monroecc.edu)
Additional Resources:
- "Professors Want Intellectual Community. If Only They Had the Time" [article will unlock if you access it on MCC network]
- "The Case for Inclusive Teaching"
- "Developing a Learning Culture"
Amy Burtner
Teaching and Creativity Center
09/06/2018