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What are the ITOW Workshops? |
There are two kinds of ITOW workshops. One is a facilitated workshop
for faculty who are interested in learning more about the learning
environment; we'll refer to this as the "faculty workshop".
The other is for persons who wish to become facilitators who can
facilitate the ITOW faculty workshop just mentioned; we'll refer to
this workshop as the "facilitator workshop".
What are the objectives of the "Faculty Workshop"?
During the faculty workshop, trained facilitators work with faculty
to:
- raise awareness about the learning environment and its impact
- engender discussion about the learning environment
- generate and discuss known strategies for improving the
learning environment, and
- provide a log of workshop discussion topics to faculty group
leaders in order to enable future actions on this topic
Learn more about the ITOW Faculty Workshop
What are the objectives of the "Facilitator
Workshop"?
During the facilitator workshop, participants will:
- reach an understanding of what the learning environment is,
how it impacts learning, and how to productively address this
topic with faculty members
- learn a method for conducting the ITOW faculty workshop
- learn the methodology
on which the video production is based
- practice facilitating the workshop
- receive copies of all materials necessary to conduct the ITOW
workshop
Learn more about the ITOW Facilitator
Workshop
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How do I find out about setting up an ITOW
workshop? |
How do I set up a Facilitator Workshop?
If you wish to set up a facilitator workshop, send an email to itow@engr.psu.edu. Include your name, institutional affiliation and
your specific interests.
How do I set up a Faculty Workshop?
In order to facilitate an ITOW Faculty workshop at your
institution, you must either become a trained facilitator, or
contact a trained facilitator to conduct the workshop. Click here to
find out about becoming a trained facilitator. Send email to itow@engr.psu.edu
to inquire about a trained facilitator coming to your institution to
conduct a workshop.
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How can I obtain a copy of the ITOW
workshop supporting materials? |
How can I obtain a copy of the ITOW video?
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the ITOW video, send
email to itow@engr.psu.edu explaining your request. There will be a
charge for materials, shipping and handling.
Where can I obtain workshop supporting materials?
All workshop supporting materials are
available on Resources web page.
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What is the ITOW Faculty workshop? |
The ITOW faculty workshop is a one-hour workshop centered around the
ITOW video. The workshop is designed to engender discussion, thought
and action among faculty members about the learning environment in
and beyond engineering classrooms. Through the video-based workshop
participants can identify and address "underground"
climate issues, creating an open discussion about the experience of
underrepresented students within the context of the overall learning
environment.
ITOW raises issues about the experiences of all engineering students
in the classroom, about what responsibility faculty members and
students have for learning, and about how faculty can positively
impact the learning environment.
What will I learn as part of this workshop?
During the faculty workshop, trained facilitators work with faculty
to:
- raise awareness about the learning environment and its impact
- engender discussion about the learning environment
- generate and discuss known strategies for improving the
learning environment
- provide a log of workshop discussion topics to faculty group
leaders in order to enable future actions on this topic
Who is the intended audience?
The ITOW Faculty workshop is intended for engineering faculty
members from all types of institutions. Graduate students who teach
undergraduate engineering students may also benefit from the
workshop. We recognize that other members of academic institutions,
such as staff, also impact the learning environment however this
workshop was specifically designed for faculty members and does not
work well for staff.
What is the format?
The workshop is conducted in approximately a one-hour time period,
making them easy to incorporate into a regular faculty meeting. The
workshop is centered around a 14-minute video where students face
the camera to tell their story directly to workshop participants,
providing the opportunity to see the classroom, lab and
outside-the-class activities a these students experience it.
- Workshops begin with a clear statement of the underlying
premise -- that a poor learning environment can get in the way
of even the best teaching and that a positive learning
environment can allow all types of students to achieve maximally
- Facilitators explain the methodology
used to develop the video to participants
- The video is divided into three segments. Participants view
each segment, and then participate in facilitated discussion
after each section.
- Discussion focuses on issues raised by the video and sharing
strategies for improving the learning environment.
- Facilitators conclude the workshop by summarizing the
discussions, distributing a tips sheet of
strategies for improving the learning environment, and
conducting a workshop evaluation.
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What is the ITOW Facilitator workshop? |
The ITOW Facilitator's workshop trains individuals and institutional
teams to facilitate the ITOW Faculty
workshop. The workshop will expose participants to
"In Their Own Words", a video-based workshop developed by
the ECSEL coalition at
Penn State, targeted toward
engineering faculty and designed to enhance the overall learning
environment.
What will I learn as part of this workshop?
During the facilitator workshop, participants will:
- reach an understanding of what the learning environment is,
how it impacts learning, and how to productively address this
topic with faculty members
- learn a method for conducting the ITOW faculty workshop
- learn the methodology on which the
video production is based
- practice facilitating the workshop
- receive copies of all materials necessary to conduct the ITOW
workshop
How long is the workshop?
The workshop can be conducted in a minimum of four hours and is
enhanced in a six hour version.
Who should attend?
The target audience for this workshop is engineering faculty members
and administrators who would be your institution's facilitation team
for the ITOW Faculty workshop.
You'll be most successful if you send a team of two to three
potential facilitators.
What is the workshop format?
Participants don't just sit and listen! They work in small teams to
participate in practice facilitation sessions with the ITOW video
and other workshop materials.
They also have an opportunity to develop an implementation plan for
this workshop for their own institutions.
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