Barbara J. Millis

The following are consulting opportunities in this category:

About Barbara J. Millis

Barbara J. Millis became the second Director of the UNR Excellence in Teaching Program (ETP) on July 1, 2004 after serving for nine years as the Director of Faculty Development at the US Air Force Academy. Prior to that—beginning in 1982—she worked in faculty development at the University of Maryland University College. Barbara received her Ph.D. in English literature from Florida State University.

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Writing for Publication

with Barbara J. Millis

Writer's block got you down? Worried that your journal article will be given short shrift because you don’t have ‘big name’ in your field? In this workshop faculty members will learn basic writing, editing, and targeting strategies to help their work reach a wider audience. This workshop will deal with issues such as getting started, selecting appropriate journals, and soliciting assistance. Participants will be encouraged to share "works in progress" with the idea that this initial meeting may be only the beginning of supportive help from colleagues. The workshop will include targeting journals related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

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Preparing a Portfolio for Professional Growth or Promotion and Tenure

with Barbara J. Millis

A professional portfolio typically consists of reflective commentary followed by appendices that contain the “artifacts" of teaching, research, and service. The reflective section of your portfolio will often contain (a) a summary of responsibilities; (b) a statement of teaching philosophy, plus other thoughts on research and service; (c) future goals and plans, plus a paragraph or two discussing each appendices. This workshop will address practical issues such as selecting and organizing the material, maximizing the intended effect, and receiving feedback from others. It will also explore issues such as time constraints, candor, and appropriate evaluation.

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Creating a Syllabus to Educate and Motivate

with Barbara J. Millis

A syllabus can fulfill a number of functions. It can offer basic course information (a "roadmap" or a "contract"), but it can also inspire students to excel in your course. Core data is essential—course objectives, the schedule of assignments, evaluation requirements, etc.—but a well-thought-out syllabus will also shape the nature of the learning experience. This experiential workshop will look beyond the essential components of a syllabus—whether paper produced or a "syllaweb"—to more sophisticated issues that will do more than "protect" you: they will also "promote" you and your learning objectives.

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Course Redesign Revitalization

with Barbara J. Millis

In this highly interactive workshop, faculty will apply principles of "backwards design" (goals, assessment, and then activities and assignments) to re-envision their courses so that students become more actively involved in their own learning. Learning to teach more effectively also means teaching more efficiently. Participants will review and apply research on learning; they will find out how to use a variety of teaching methods, assessment/evaluation approaches, technology, and other tools to create engaged learning environments. Without critical reflection and analysis, teachers tend to teach as they were taught. This workshop focuses on breaking this cycle by helping faculty gain the knowledge and skills to help them create courses that challenge and support students in their learning.

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Using Cooperative Writing Activities To Promote Critical Thinking

with Barbara J. Millis

Students engaged in higher order thinking typically manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform their meaning and implications, such as when students combine facts and ideas in order to synthesize, generalize, explain, hypothesize, or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation. Manipulating information and ideas through these processes allows students to solve problems and discover new (for them) meanings and understandings. Such higher order thinking occurs when faculty deliberately structure tasks to capitalize on student peer coaching and interactions where they encounter the alternative viewpoints that challenge existing beliefs and assumptions. Writing-to-learn activities embedded in course objectives involve peer responses, an audience beyond the faculty member, and relevant, meaningful activities. In this workshop, faculty will experience at least three specific activities that promote higher order thinking.

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Linking Cooperative Learning to the Research on How Students Learn

with Barbara J. Millis

Both scientists and teachers have been increasingly aware of the research related to the biological basis of learning and its impact on teaching and learning in higher education. This workshop will explore some of that research, discuss its implications for teaching and learning, and then model some specific practices that will enhance the learning process. This highly interactive workshop will draw eclectically from practices also associated with classroom assessment, cooperative learning, and writing across the curriculum. Participants will become familiar with the tenets of cooperative learning and its power to enhance learning—and more!—when it is carefully sequenced to promote deep learning.

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Using Groups and Academic Games for Learning and Assessment

with Barbara J. Millis

Games can be an effective way to motivate students to learn course material; to encourage them to come to class prepared; and to assess student learning. However, few books or articles on games emphasize and model their genuine academic value. Too often games are merely “icebreakers” or “team building” activities. All the group activities and games modeled during this interactive workshop are focused squarely on academic content and formative assessment. An emphasis will be on student “ownership” of the games’ answers and on responsible group learning.

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Using Interactive Student Focus Groups to Assess and Strengthen Teaching

with Barbara J. Millis

Barr and Tagg's influential article, "From teaching to learning—A new paradigm for undergraduate education," states: "The place to start the assessment of learning outcomes is in the conventional classroom: from there, let the practice grow to the program and institutional levels." As individuals, departments, and institutions become more accountable, faculty are increasingly involved with assessment activities. This workshop will train participants to conduct interactive focus groups. The model uses three structured activities as well as open-ended questions, capturing a large amount of data in an hour or less. The workshop will emphasize practical issues such as transcribing sessions, interpreting data, and sharing feedback constructively. Enormously popular at the United States Air Force Academy (over 30 a semester), focus groups have been used by individual faculty members for teaching improvement, but as importantly, carried out over time, they have impressed accrediting bodies such as NCA, ABET, AACSB, etc.

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Conducting Effective Classroom Observations

with Barbara Millis

Issues of quality and accountability in higher education have fueled a general movement for education reform, particularly in undergraduate teaching. Genuine reform, however, is unlikely to occur unless faculty and administrators are convinced that teaching quality is tied to meaningful assessment and the reward system. The teaching portfolio movement and a general impetus to open classroom doors have spurred renewed interest in classroom visits as an effective way—although not the only way—to document teaching expertise.

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Using Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) to Promote Student Learning

with Barbara J. Millis

J. Patricia Cross and Thomas Angelo have popularized some critical ideas: checking the pulse of student learners as a course progresses and embedding assessment in the learning process. This experiential workshop will explore some practical methods for finding out what you think students are learning. It will broaden the definition of CATs to provide a deeper view of assessment and to share some specific techniques, such as knowledge surveys, not commonly addressed. In particular, the presenter will link CATs to the emerging research on how students learn.

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