Dee Fink Interviewed by International HETL Association
On September 9, 2011, Dee Fink was interviewed by the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association. The text of the interview can be viewed here: http://hetl.org/2011/10/03/significant-learning-experiences/.
New Course Designs Added to Examples Page
Recently, a number of different instructors were kind enough to prepare examples of their course designs based on the learning philosophies of this site. We have a new example of an Information Technology course, an education course, an elementary education course, and a theatre course.
You can view the new course designs on the Examples Page.
L’Orient-Le Jour Interview with Dee Fink
Recently, Dee Fink traveled to Beirut, Lebanon to give a workshop. While he was there, he was interviewed by the French language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour about his learning and teaching philosophies. Below are links to French and English (Translated by Google) versions of the interview.
English Language Version (Auto-Translated by Google)
Spanish Language Version (Auto-Translated French to English by Google)
Dee Fink to Invited to Speak at Kirkwood Community College
Dee Fink has been invited to lead two sessions at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at their Fall Professional Day, August 16, 2011. He will lead a workshop on “Integrated Course Design” and make a presentation on “The Joy & Responsibility of Teaching Well.”
Here is a short (3.5 min.) video that they asked him to make, about his upcoming visit there.
Dee Fink Interviewed on Lebanon’s OTV
Dee Fink recently traveled to Beirut, Lebanon to give a workshop at the American University Of Technology. While he was there, he was interviewed by OTV. That interview is embedded below for your enjoyment.
Dee Fink Completes 5-Week World Tour
Dee working with the Academic Council members at Universidad El Bosque, in Bogota, Colombia
Dee Fink recently completed a 5-week “World Tour,” doing workshops on course design at 7 universities in 5 countries in 3 regions of the world.
The ideas of Integrated Course Design and the Taxonomy of Significant Learning are attracting attention all over the world.
South America: Universidad El Bosque, in Bogota, COLOMBIA, is embarking on a remarkable effort of institutional transformation. The rector, Carlos Escobar, likes the concept and the taxonomy of Significant Learning and is using this as the focus of his change effort.
Lynn Sorenson, an Associate with “Dee Fink & Associates”, led a two-day workshop last August for the whole faculty (N ≈ 280) – in Spanish! Dee followed her activities in late September to work with the faculty as well as senior and middle-level administrators on how to provide the necessary institutional support.
This will be an exciting project to watch!
Middle East: During 2 days in SAUDI ARABIA, Dee re-visited King Fahd University in Dammam to lead some faculty workshops, and led another at the University of Dammam Medical School, the only kind of university in Saudi Arabia where men and women faculty members can be in the same room at the same time.
He then visited the American University of Technology in LEBANON where he has been several times before. After attending a meeting of their Board of Trustees, he led some workshops for faculty member and high school teachers in the vicinity.
Dee leading a faculty workshop on course design at Universität Bielefeld, in Germany.
Europe: In GERMANY, Dee revisited Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and visited Universität Bielefeld to lead faculty workshops on course design. In-between, he visited with senior administrators at the Academy of Economics in Poznan, POLAND.
In both countries, he learned how it is not the administrators nor the full set of faculty members, but the high-ranking professors who have almost full power over the major institutional decisions. This seems to be making the change process quite challenging.
Workshop for Course Design at the ICED 2010 Conference
Lynn Sorenson and Dee Fink, two members of Dee Fink and Associates, led a workshop for the design of courses at the ICED 2010 Conference, from June 28 to 30, in Barcelona, Spain.
ICED is an international consortium of teachers or networks for the development of education, We also exhibited multi-language materials on the design of courses at the conference, ie several translations of Fink’s free and the “Self-Directed Guide .. . “.
For more information about the ICED Conference, visit: https://congresos.ultramarexpressevents.com/congress/en/iced-2010/inicio/
IEEE Journal
Inter-Disciplinary Project Using the Taxonomy of Significant Learning
Professors from the University of Oklahoma in Engineering, Geosciences, and Meteorology recently created a set of inter-disciplinary courses that (a) taught computer engineers about the applications of their computer programs and (b) taught students in the geosciences and meteorology about the data collection and computer processing behind the data they use in their professions. When creating these courses, they used the Taxonomy of Significant Learning to formulate their learning goals. They also emphasized active learning with numerous hands-on exercises for the five main themes of the program: data collection, data processing, data display, data interpretation, and radar system design.
Source: The August 2010 issue (Vol. 53, No. 3) of IEEE Transactions on Education, pp. 504-515.
“Change Magazine” Article Describes Successful Large Course Redesigns
A number of universities are discovering that the best strategy for widespread improvements in student learning is to re-design their courses. One of those is the University of North Texas. During the past six years, their Next Generation Course Redesign Project (NGen) has focused on the redesign of several large general education courses. Using both intensive faculty development and incorporating important organizational development features, faculty (often adjuncts) have created new learning goals, assessment that is better integrated with the learning goals, and used more experiential learning and instructional technology. Results? Far more successful students in the large classes, along with better student attitudes toward the subject – all at lower per-student instructional costs.
Partial Text: http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/November-December%202009/abstract-next-gen.html
(Full text requires subscription)
Source: “Next Generation Course Redesign”, by P.M. Turner in Change Magazine, Nov-Dec 2009, pp. 10-16.