Teaching Matters Program
Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Conference and Workshop Reports
Association for Graduate Liberal Studies Conference Teaching Students with Special Needs Lessons from Experienced Faculty


Stuart Charmé, Association for Graduate Liberal Studies Conference, 6-8 October 2005:

The Association for Graduate Liberal Studies Programs held its annual national conference in Minneapolis from October 6-8.   The conference included a day-long workshop on the nuts and bolts of teaching classes and running programs in liberal studies as well as a day of presentations related to the conference theme of innovation and creativity.   There were several recurring themes that pervaded the conference and which can be generalized to the activity of college teaching as a whole.

First, there was a good deal of discussion about the need to be very clear not only about the specific goals of teaching particular classes but also about how success in reaching these goals can be measured.   It is common to hear faculty talk about "core competencies" that a program should impart, but it is less obvious how to do pre/post evaluation to see how much mastery of "critical thinking," "sensitivity to diversity and multiculturalism," "college level research and writing skills," or other educational goals has actually occurred.   In some schools subject matter specialists team up with instructional design specialists to discuss goals, target audiences, learning outcomes, and evaluation strategies. 

 Second, there was a great deal of discussion about emerging new paradigms for university education, particularly in regard to the issue of interdisciplinarity.   The traditional paradigm for university education is over a century old and corresponded to the emergence of the present set of academic disciplines which produced the current university structure of academic majors and minors.   Lecture is the primary mode of teaching in this model, based on the transfer of  knowledge from experts to novices.   Presenters at the conference emphasized the challenges to the traditional paradigm as disciplinary boundaries are weakening and academic methodology increasingly crosses disciplines.   In addition, as more knowledge has been developed about the ways that people learn most effectively, alternative strategies that more actively engage the student have developed.  Students need to be encouraged and supported to experience the academic process of posing questions and discovering answers rather than just being passive recipients of expert answers.   For students in graduate liberal studies programs, this is one of the most exciting parts of their education.

Teaching Students with Special Needs -- a Teaching Matters Workshop:

The Teaching Matters Program held its first workshop for the 2005-2006 academic year on Friday, October 7.  The topic of the workshop was “Teaching Students with Special Needs: Resources, Strategies, and Responsibilities”, and we were fortunate to have Patricia Grove, from the Learning Resource Center in New Brunswick, and Tom Pignone, from the Learning Resource Center in Camden, to lead the workshop.

Two key points of general interest emerged from the discussion.  First, all instructors should be aware that Rutgers has a process in place for determining the specific accommodations, if any, that should be made for a student, and instructors should use this process.  No student is entitled to an accommodation of any sort unless he or she has submitted a request and the request has been approved.  Requests for accommodation can be submitted to the Tom Pignone or other staff at the Learning Resource Center, but the review of the request and its supporting documentation is done by a central committee in New Brunswick.

Second, the relation of institutional obligation and student needs is different for students in the pre-college educational environment (K-12) and in the collegiate environment.  Pat Grove expressed the difference as a contrast between a guarantee of success in K-12 education versus a guarantee of access in collegiate education.  That is, students with special needs in K-12 are given an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) and every effort is made (with some efforts mandated by law) to insure that the students succeeds in completing his or her education.  Parents are often very involved in this process.  In contrast, students with special needs in college must provide evidence to support particular accommodations of their needs, and effort is only made to provide access to educational opportunity.  If the student, given access, does not succeed, no special effort is made to remedy the lack of success.  Parents, however much they may wish to be involved, have no legal standing to be involved in this process.

According to Pat and others at the workshop who have familiarity with K-12 education, the sharp change in focus between K-12 and collegiate education is a difficult transition for many families.  It may also create unusual problems for instructors in college who encounter students that feel as though they are entitled to pass a course, regardless of whether or not the student has taken responsibility and complied with the guidelines for the course.
Lessons from Experienced Faculty -- Teaching Matters Workshop

The Teaching Matters Program held its second workshop of the 2005-2006 academic year on Friday, November 4.  The topic of the workshop was "Lessons from Experienced Faculty;"  panelists included Georgia Arbuckle-Keil, Professor of Chemistry; Marie Cornelia, Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies; Bob Ryan, Professor of English; and Bill Whitlow, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Teaching Matters Program.  The panel discussed several topics, including how their teaching has changed over the course of their careers and their favorite moments in teaching at Rutgers-Camden.  They also offered advice for those early in their careers.

Bob Ryan reminded the audience that their students don't know, and don't need to know, everything you do.  Bill Whitlow added, "they don't need to be experts."  The pane's love of teaching shone through the discussion.  "They say teaching is like acting," said Bob Ryan, but it's even better.  In the theater, the audience doesn't talk back." 

Marie Cornelia encouraged seeking out opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary teaching.  "I've never in my life wanted to be anything but a teacher," she explained.  "I love being in the classroom.  Each of us tries to convey the excitement that is inherent in our discipline."  Georgia Arbuckle advised trying new things and creating new courses, noting "it lets you keep on learning,"  Added Bill Whitlow, "find delight in being surprised."