Center helps undergraduate teaching shine

New screening line helps identify problem drinking

Fun in the sun at the family day picnic

Center helps undergraduate teaching shine Created to make the undergraduate teaching experience the best that it can be, the Instructional Advancement Center (IAC) has been making significant strides in that arena. Established in 1993 by John Masterson, vice provost for undergraduate affairs, and founding director Diane Millete, the center began as a skeletal operation. After the IAC had proved itself in a number of ways, about three years ago Masterson and Provost Luis Glaser decided the center was ready for a new dimension, with more influence and visibility. That's when they brought Ron Newman on board. Chosen for his teaching, administrative, and scholarly credentials, he assumed a newly created position, assistant provost for faculty development. Even though it reports to and is funded directly from the provost's office, the IAC functions largely through faculty committees. The two major committees supported by the IAC are the Committee on Excellence in Teaching Awards and the Committee on Instructional Grants. The Spring Symposium was also created in the center's early stages, and has consistently boasted prominent speakers. One of the IAC's roles is to screen international teaching assistants (ITAs). The ITAs must take a test administered by Intensive English and Continuing Studies. Once those results are in, anyone who hasn't passed is required to follow several probationary steps in order to bring their English skills up to par. The IAC oversees this procedure. The IAC also administers mid-semester feedback, sending a professional into the classroom for the last 15 minutes of class at the teacher's request. The teacher then leaves, and the students are put into focus groups and asked what's working, what isn't, and how they would recommend things could be changed. The teacher then receives the results, called an SGID (small group instructional diagnosis). "It's a very good way to make mid-course corrections," says Newman. "The results are kept absolutely confidential. In conjunction with the SGID, the IAC will also videotape a lecture if the teacher asks." One of the things Newman insisted on when he joined the center was ten times the office space and a location central to campus, which he received. (The center is located at 249 Merrick.) "It was a matter of symbolism and a matter of convenience," says Newman. "It's important for people to know that the unit dedicated to teaching really has emerged." The hiring of Bill Vilberg, instructional technology support coordinator, was another key factor in advancing the IAC. His mission is to encourage and support the faculty in appropriate uses of technology to enhance undergraduate instruction. In his first year he implemented the Ed-Tech Lunch and Learn series, and this summer he will put the IAC's CourseInfo academic web server on-line, making it easy for faculty to create web sites to support their classes. Vilberg also trains and assigns student assistants to help faculty incorporate technology into their teaching, if they wish. "The center itself is trying to model appropriate uses of technology," says Vilberg. "This is being done through activities such as electronic announcements, a New Faculty Frequently Asked Questions list (the NewFacFAQ), and the posting of all the materials from the Ed-Tech Lunch and Learn series." Work-studies also are being trained to help tutor students at writing in courses throughout the curriculum. For those faculty willing to make their course writing intensive, the IAC will assign to them a carefully trained undergraduate. The IAC recently established a teaching certification program for TAs and will soon kick off a faculty mentoring initiative in the fall. "Though various mentoring arrangements exist informally, we are urging departments to have a system in place that automatically assigns a new professor a mentor," says Newman. "There are many different options to help teachers mature professionally and learn from more experienced colleagues in a collegial way."

New screening line helps identify problem drinking Afraid you might have a drinking problem or know somebody else who does? Now there is a free and confidential telephone screening program for individuals with alcohol-related problems or concerns. Any University employee or family member can call the toll-free number at 800-984-9197, any time day or night. Callers to the line will be asked pre-recorded questions about their drinking patterns, such as when and how much they drink, or how they feel about their drinking. "In other words, is your usual amount or the frequency (of the drinking) too much, unsafe, or bad for you in some way," says Sally Philips, director for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). "There is a standardized questionnaire that asks ten questions requiring a 'sometimes,' 'always,' or 'never' response." Callers use their Touch-Tone telephone to answer the closed-ended questions. Once all the questions have been answered, the participants are given immediate feedback. Then, depending on the particular score the caller receives, more information may be provided-such as the telephone number of a local health care provider or how to contact the EAP office. The telephone survey takes an estimated four minutes to complete. Not only is the screening quick and easy, all calls are completely confidential. "Nobody knows who is calling, and the nice thing is, even if you call from your desk, since it's an 800 number, no one will get billed for the call," says Philips. "We are hopeful that not only will employees try it out, but also they will encourage their teenagers, spouses, and significant others to try it as well." The telephone screening line was launched last month in conjunction with Alcohol Awareness Month and is conducted through the National Screening Project, a nationwide service that provides screenings for such conditions as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. The program conducted through EAP also included lunch time seminars, highlighting topics such as use of alcohol and its potential impact. One of the topics dealt with alcohol-related problems at the workplace caused by casual drinking-someone who has a couple of cocktails at a party or drinks too much every once in a while, says Philips. "There are enough people in the casual-drinker category so that whenever one of them is under the weather due to drinking the night before, it manifests into a workplace problem-double the amount of mistakes, ab-sences, irritations-as contrasted to chronic alcoholics, who have many more incidents and problems but are a much smaller group." These brown bag presentations not only touched upon how alcohol affects the workplace but also discussed why people tend to minimize alcohol's harmful effects, how alcohol affects boating and driving, and ways to determine if your own drinking is risky. The seminars were conducted in early April at all three campuses and included a lecture, videotape, handouts, and a discussion session. For more information about alcohol and its impact on lives, call your EAP at 284-6604 or 243-7676.

Fun in the sun at the family day picnic Mary Nor, second from right, senior staff assistant for University Communication, cools off at the Annual University of Miami Family Day Picnic with her children, from left, Miriam, Glen, and Catherine.

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