Get Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades: Teach them HOW to Learn!

Friday, September 15, 2006 from 1:30-3:30pm in the MBSC Dodge Room
Presented by Saundra McGuire, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Academic Success (CAS), Louisiana State University
Sponsored by a National Science Foundation STEP Grant awarded jointly to UNO and MCC and by the UNO Center for Faculty Development.

Today’s students come to college with widely varying academic skills, interests, and motivation levels. Faculty often lament that students are focused on achieving high grades, but do not want to spend time learning. Most students think that memorizing information before an examination is tantamount to learning the material, and spend considerably less time studying than is commensurate with their grade expectations. This interactive workshop will introduce participants to cognitive science findings that can be used to improve teaching and learning. This workshop will also provide a variety of strategies that can be used to help all students experience meaningful, transferable learning.

To register or for more details contact the UNO Center for Faculty Development (ASH 220) at extension 4-2427 or facdev@unomaha.edu. For more information about the UNO/MCC STEP Grant go to http://www.unomaha.edu/step/index.shtml

Bio Sketch: Saundra McGuire earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Southern University; a Master of Arts in Teaching in Chemistry from Cornell University; and a Ph.D. in Chemical Education from the University of Tennessee. As a chemical educator and Director of the Center for Academic Success at Louisiana State University, Saundra McGuire is interested in ways in which instruction in the chemical sciences can be more effectively presented to students, as well as in mechanisms whereby student learning can be increased.

Currently, at the Center for Academic Success, efforts involve engaging students in active learning in order to facilitate learning. In 2004 the center was recognized as "Outstanding Learning Center in the Nation" by the National College Learning Center Association. Her work with faculty involves the development of pedagogical techniques that facilitate mastery learning. This involves helping faculty understand the characteristics of today's undergraduate student population, identifying common misconceptions that inhibit learning, and helping them implement specific pedagogical techniques that maximize student learning outcomes.

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