Here’s the specialannounce email we recently received (I made some modifications to the format) followed by my comments:
June 27, 2011
Dear Colleagues:
We are busy preparing for the annual Faculty Development Week. This year we’ll be hosting a 2-day event, scheduled for August 8th and 9th at Malcolm X College (1900 W. VanBuren). Attendance is mandatory for all full time faculty members. So put those dates on your calendar.
Faculty Development Week will feature several interesting and enlightening concurrent breakout sessions. This is where we need your help.
Call for Submissions:
Academic Affairs is calling for submissions for general sessions during faculty development week. All faculty and staff are encouraged to submit a session by filling out the following form: http://www.tfaforms.com/206667
Submissions will be reviewed, accepted, and scheduled by a committee of faculty and administrators in early July.
Deadline for session descriptions: 5:00 PM, Sunday, July 3rd.
Several interesting submissions have come in already, and we are excited about having a broad palette for offering professional development. Sessions may include information on pedagogy, technology, tenure projects, lab activities, and safety, to name just a few. As always, we look forward to the start of another academic year together. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.
Mike Davis
Associate Vice Chancellor for STEM
My comments:
It may sound like I’m splittin’ hairs, but I’ve got to say what I’ve got to say.
Who’s deciding on the topics? I ask ’cause, to be honest, I didn’t hear good things ’bout last year’s sessions and I’d like to know the rationale for pickin’ this year’s selections. No offense, but planning could have been better last year and I’d like for us to learn from our mistakes, rather than repeat’ ’em. IMHO, looks like we might be headin’ towads the latter than the former. Bein’ honest, while I drink out of my half-full cup.
I know seminars I’ve attended in the past plan their sessions without my input, but this is different. We are being asked to help. Says so in the email. I just think the askin’ should have come sooner. This is suppose to be OUR development week (well, two days). It’s either going to be a spectacular two days at MX, or we’re going to have faculty running for the (out)doors. Again. (Peeps gave a new meaning to the word breakout. HA!)
Speakin’ of peeps, what do ya’ll think? What are you interested in learning during these first two days of FDW? What kind of sessions do you look forward to attending? What’s going to keep you inside the building rather than outside? What would you consider to be a waste of your time? What would be worth your time? What say you?
Give Mike (a former peep) some input.
The Harold Lounge 
In the CAST surveys that we have done, the majority of folks were interested in “using technology to facilitate learning” and
“online classes/hybrid classes”.
The next 3 favorite topics were “learning communities/thematic curriculum”
“assessment of student learning”, and
“field specific scholarship in teaching and learning”.
Thanks Cnepstad!
I don’t remember the survey and totally blame myself for that (perhaps I failed to open an email).
If that’s what we’re interested in, then I hope it is reflected in the sessions scheduled for DWFDW2 (The “2” can stand for second annual, or “take two” on the mishap that was last year OR, “it’s only TWO days!”)
May your words make it to Mike’s eyes.
Sorry for my delay in replying to this post. I wish I knew who made the final call for sessions at DWFDW. We do have a local portion of FDW as well from Wed-Fri. I’m working on the programming for that as we speak. Look out for a separate post once the details are finalized.
From what I know, some faculty input has been solicited, and I know there are some volunteers from FC4 on the session selection committee. Well, I know they volunteered – see, the posting entitled “Your Faculty Council at Work.”
I’ll seek more information on what’s been happening with the selections, etc.
Some of this is coming from FC4: we wanted faculty to be able to participate in a robust manner different from last year. (We’ll see if that happens.)
FC4 executive members and the local FAculty Council presidents are meeting with Mike Davis on Wednesday, July 6th and one of the agenda items is the faculty development. I volunteered to help with the screening but i haven’t heard anything yet.
Feel free to contact me with quesitons or ideas…
Polly Hoover, FC4 President
Hello Prhoover!
Thank you very much for the update.
It’s good to have this level of transparency as we prepare for DWFDW2.
After the meeting, feel free to send me an email and I will post an update for all to read. My not-CCC email is chicagorealist@yahoo.com
You could also wait and post via Tabula Rasa Sunday (a regular feature during the summer).
Either way good, to be talkin’ with ya!