Minutes of the Committee on Teaching & Learning
for December 14, 2001

Present: Lynn Carlson, Fay Akindes, Laura Gellott, Jerry Greenfield, Mary Power
Excused: Penny Lyter, Nicole Palkowski, Skelly Warren. Guests: Bill Blanchard, Al Crist.

The meeting started at 1 p.m. Minutes from the Nov. 27 meeting were approved as submitted.

Members volunteered their involvement with future COTL projects:

High School/Parkside Teacher Conversations - Jerry, Penny

"First Friday" Brown-Bag Sessions for Faculty/Staff - Mary, Laura

Carnegie Scholar Lendol Calder - Fay

Spring Mini-Conference - Fri, 3/1/02 - Jerry , Penny + COTL

Video Production of Teacher-Student Performances - Jerry, Skelly

Standardized Academic Expectations of Students & Teachers - Mary

Lynn Carlson volunteered to be a "floating staff."
COTL members should consider ideas for planning and organizing these events and report back to the committee at the next meeting.

All COTL members will be involved in planning and organizing the Spring Mini-Conference on Friday, March 1, 2002. A Call for "Best Practices" Proposals will be circulated to Parkside faculty/staff. Possible categories, suggested at the Fall Mini-Conference, are: alternative assessment, community engagement, and maximizing class time. Possible structure: 10-minute "teasers" followed by break-out sessions that incorporate active applications to participants' teaching.

The Committee spent some time discussing draft policies shared by Bill Blanchard. Concern was shared regarding the tone of the document. Members agreed that the document should consist of "Academic Expectations" of students and teachers. The video production (produced by Jerry and Skelly) will dramatize scenarios suggested by these expectations.

New business

Al Crist invited comments to goals and objectives for improving enrollment and retention that implicate the Committee on Teaching and Learning, and budgetary needs to support the COTL. Jerry stated that the central concern of the committee is enhancing teaching and learning at Parkside. Adequate budget support for faculty development should be endorsed at the administrative level.

The next meeting will be scheduled via email.

The meeting was adjourned at 2 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Fay Yokomizo Akindes