The 2008 Annual Faculty Retreat January 31, 2008 The goals of the Faculty Retreats are to build on our collective knowledge about teaching and learning, to share innovative ideas and approaches to enhance teaching and learning, and to develop relationships within the campus community. The theme of the 2008 Annual Faculty Retreat is “Using the Science of Instruction to Foster Learning.” We are pleased to announce Peter E. Doolittle as our keynote speaker. He is currently the Director of the Educational Psychology Research Program in the Department of Learning Sciences and Technology at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. He is also the Executive Editor of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (IJTLHE). His academic background includes 20 years teaching K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students, in public schools and private schools, using traditional and online formats, across several subject areas including mathematics, computer science, statistics, and educational psychology. He is an invited speaker nationally and internationally on learning, motivation, and the educational usage of technology. His current research focus includes the investigation of learning efficacy in multimedia learning environments. Dr. Doolittle will be presenting two keynote talks. The morning address will be “Bogus & Beneficial Pedagogical Concepts: From Common Sense to Common Science.” Abstract: The contenders...can you identify the bogus from the beneficial? Cone of Experience Cooperative Learning Discovery Learning Learning Styles Constructivism Direct Instruction Educational folk psychology constitutes the beliefs, working hypotheses, and assumptions about teaching that result in teachers' everyday understanding of what it means to teach and learn. Within the scholarship of teaching and learning, however, this educational folk psychology must, or at least should, compete against the science of human learning and instruction. Unfortunately, the "science of human learning has never had a large influence on the practice of education" (Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1999, p. 227). We can change that by examining our common sense understandings of teaching and learning in light of the science of human learning and instruction. Where does common sense about teaching and learning end and common science about teaching and learning begin? This presentation will actively address the research supporting, or not supporting, several pedagogical concepts in order to determine if they are bogus or beneficial. His afternoon address will be “Multimedia Learning: The Science of Instruction in a Multimedia World.” Abstract: We now live in a multimedia world--a world of multimedia software (e.g., simulations, animations, 3D immersion), hardware (e.g., iPods, laptops, game consoles), and messageware (e.g., YouTube, video email, video podcasts). What are the implications of this multimedia world for education and how can we leverage multimedia for learning and instruction? Within higher education we must foster "a subtle shift of attention from what can be done with the technology to what should be done in order to design meaningful instructional applications" (Rouet, Levonen, & Biardeau, 2001, p. 1). This shift, however, requires that we develop multimedia instructional environments based on scientific evidence within cognitive science and educational technology. This presentation will focus on and demonstrate five principles that can be leveraged at the nexus of instruction and multimedia for the purpose of fostering student learning Registration for 2008 Faculty Retreat To register for the 2008 Annual Faculty Retreat, please click here (http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/facultyretreat) or call Conferences & Institutes at 217-333-2880 to register by phone (8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Central Standard Time). We urge you to register early, as we typically reach capacity. Click here to see the “Proposal Description and Submission”   Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching Excellence University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

November 28, 2007