Volume 7
Introduction To The Seventh Volume
The co-editors and Editorial Board of Issues in Teaching and Learning (ITL) are pleased to bring you the latest issue of RIC's online journal. Things have changed a bit since the last issue, almost two years ago. First, the make-up of the ITL editorial team has changed. We'd like to thank Paul Saucier and Roger Clark for their contributions to ITL and we'd like to announce Mike Michaud (English) as co-editor with Joe Zornado of volume seven. Second, we've created an entirely new format for ITL which allows us to deliver this new issue right to your virtual mailbox.
We hope the seventh volume of ITL captures a timely snapshot of a few of the key issues effecting Rhode Island College right now. The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) director Joe Zornado kicks off this issue with a commentary on the FCTL, General Education, and reflections on teaching Core 4. Joe is followed by Maureen Reddy (English) who provides an excellent overview of how the General Education Task Force facilitated the first major overhaul of the General Education program in nearly twenty years. A Symposium on The Teaching of Writing follows, featuring a series of short interviews with faculty around issues related to the teaching writing. Mike Michaud's piece focuses on the experiences of faculty who participated in the FCTL's 2011 Summer Seminar for the Teaching of Writing at RIC. Following Mike is Claudine Griggs (Writing Center), who profiles three RIC faculty who discuss their work to create a culture of writing at RIC. Mike and Claudine's pieces are followed by two interviews that focus on writing and science, the first by Chris Marco (Psychology) and the second by Karen Almeida (Chemistry). Following the Symposium on The Teaching of Writing, we shift towards the topic of teaching and technology. Tish Brennan (Adams Library) has penned a piece on trends in online learning and Chris Kunkel (Educational Leadership) shares her reflections on her participation in this past summer's teaching with technology workshop. Susan Gracia (Education) rounds out this volume with a timely discussion of assessment in higher education.
Volume seven covers a lot of ground. We hope you find the reading engaging and thought-provoking and we welcome your feedback at FCTL@ric.edu. Or, join the iTeach@ric.edu distribution list and continue the conversation there. If you'd like to join the distribution list, send an email to that effect to cmarco@ric.edu.
A final note: we are excited to announce plans for volume eight of ITL, due out in late spring 2012, a special-theme issue called "Generations." We would like to invite junior, mid-career, and senior RIC faculty to contribute to this volume. If you are interested in sharing your reflections on your professional experiences as a teacher and your thoughts on current issues of teaching and learning in higher education, please send an email to FCTL@ric.edu by no later than January 27, 2012. We hope to hear from you.
In closing, on behalf of the entire ITL Editorial Board, we would like to wish you a warm and restful holiday season.
Co-Editors –
J. Zornado
Mike Michaud
