BA 9200 - Seminar on University Teaching

Fall 2020 Syllabus

 

Instructor: Dr. Satish Nargundkar 
Office: 727 College of Business 
Phone: 678–644-6838 (Cell)
E-Mail: snargundkar@gmail.com

Office Hours:  By appointment 
Website: http://nargund.com/gsu   

CRN: 81564

12:30 – 5:30 PM Fridays      ALC 107

Welcome to BA 9200, Seminar on University Teaching. This course will provide you with practical teaching tips to help you become more effective in the classroom. It will also provide you with frameworks, theories, and teaching models that will help you continually improve your teaching throughout your career.

Suggested Texts/Resources (optional):

1.      Lowman, Mastering the Techniques of Teaching, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995.

2.      Bain, Ken, What the best college teachers do, Harvard University Press, 2004.

3.      Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Georgia State University

4.      Online material – check links on course schedule page.

Attendance/Class Participation:

You are expected to attend all classes, come prepared, and participate in the class to maximize your learning. As the instructor, I too am responsible for coming to each class prepared to accomplish the objectives listed in the syllabus.

Grading:

You will earn a grade of S if you attend all classes, participate adequately, and complete assignments on time. You will obtain a grade of U if you have any unexcused absences or do not participate in class.  You contribution is essential to making the seminar a successful one.

Typical Class Session

1.      Lecture/discussion 1 for the week

2.      BREAK 1

3.      Lecture/discussion 2 for the week

4.      BREAK 2

5.      Lecture/discussion 3 for the week.

All lectures will be interactive. In addition, cases, videos, games and student presentations will be part of the teaching modes used.

 

 

Course Objectives:

 

Upon completion of the course, you should be able to:

1.      Identify the critical factors that affect student learning.

2.      Write cognitive objectives at the rote, meaningful-integrated, and critical thinking levels.

3.      Design effective presentations based on your knowledge of how students learn best.

4.      Form and run effective groups to achieve higher-level learning.

5.      Design and present an effective interactive lecture (opening application, introduction, body, summary).

6.      Design effective structured essay, short answer, and multiple-choice questions at the rote and meaningful-integrated levels.

7.      Achieve greater consistency in your grading.

8.      Apply teaching tips provided in your classes to address difficult classroom situations.

9.      Evaluate the different forms of technology used in the learning process.

10.  Create a short video segment and post online.

11.  Develop a course proposal.

12.  Begin to develop a statement of teaching philosophy.

General Policies:

  1. Students are expected to attend each class (who knows, you may actually enjoy the class!), arrive on time and participate in class discussions. As the instructor, I am responsible for coming to class prepared.
  2. For face-to-face meetings, wearing a mask is mandatory.
  3. Use electronic devices wisely, only for class purposes.
  4. Treat the instructor and each other with courtesy.

 

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes for the entire duration. Some sessions may meet on Zoom or WebEx. Invitations will be sent to all of you sometime before the meeting time via email. Given the compressed nature of the semester and the fact that there will be hands-on work as well as discussion, it makes sense for you to attend each session. Please notify me if you must miss a class. In any case, you are responsible for keeping up with anything you might have missed due to an absence.  

 

Course Assessment:

Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take the time to fill out the online course evaluation.

 

Ethics and Academic Honesty:

I encourage you to share your work and knowledge, but draw the line at plagiarism and copying the work of others.  Work with other students or seek assistance from another person only is specifically allowed.  If you are allowed to work with another student (or anyone) on an assignment, acknowledge the collaboration.  Never copy another student’s work or allow another student to copy your work.  Do not use any prohibited materials.

We take issues of academic honesty very seriously. Students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity in all work. The university assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. The University policy on academic dishonesty is spelled out in Section 1350 of the Graduate Catalog.

The following are instances of academic dishonesty:

Ř  plagiarism (see course and GSU website for specific examples of what constitutes plagiarism),

Ř  cheating on examinations,

Ř  unauthorized collaboration with others

            falsification of materials,

Ř  multiple submissions (i.e., submitting the same work for credit in more than one class).

 

Lack of knowledge is not an acceptable defense to any charge of academic dishonesty. Infractions will result, at a minimum, in a zero for the assignment and can result in expulsion from the university.

 

Other Policies

 

Special Needs

Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought.

Students with special needs should then make an appointment with me during the first week of class to discuss any accommodations that need to be made.

 

FERPA

In keeping with USG and university policy, this course website will make every effort to maintain the privacy and accuracy of your personal information. Specifically, unless otherwise noted, it will not actively share personal information gathered from the site with anyone except university employees whose responsibilities require access to said records. However, some information collected from the site may be subject to the Georgia Open Records Act. This means that while we do not actively share information, in some cases we may be compelled by law to release information gathered from the site. Also, the site will be managed in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits the release of education records without student permission.

 

Sexual Harassment

In instances of sexual misconduct, the present instructor(s) and teaching assistants, are designated as Responsible Employees who are required to share with administrative officials all reports of sexual misconduct for university review. If you wish to disclose an incident of sexual misconduct confidentially, there are options on campus for you do so.  For more information on this policy, please refer to the Sexual Misconduct Policy which is included in the Georgia State University Student Code of Conduct.

 

Basic Needs Statement

Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, please notify the professor if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable us to provide resources that we may possess. The Embark program at GSU provides resources for students facing homelessness.