All sessions will be held in the Curris Center Small Ballroom.

"Forum at a Glance" schedule is also available.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

8:30–9:15 Changing Faculty/Resistant Students: Lessons from an Experiment. Meg Brown (Modern Languages), Peggy Schrock (Art), Staci Stone (English & Philosophy), Terry Strieter (History).

In this session faculty will discuss an interdisciplinary course in which they made fundamental structural changes. They met resistance from students in ways that surprised them.

9:30–10:45 Changing teaching styles to reflect changing populations. Paul Naberezny (Counseling and Testing), Ricky Cox (Chemistry), Margie Boldt (Accounting), Joy Navan.

Understanding how to reach today’s student can be more complex than converting overhead slides to PowerPoint presentations. These faculty will describe techniques they have tried, and discuss what worked and what did not.

11:00–12:00 What do they want from us? Gina Winchester (Career Services), Paula Hulick (Student Affairs), Ross Meloan (Career Services), Scott Gordon (School Relations).

Those who interact with students in non-academic situations encounter a dimension of our students not obvious in the classroom. This session will look at our students from this perspective.

12:00–12:30 Hearty Snacks

12:30–1:15 Meeting new student research needs: Student relationships with the library and research. Jen Schatz (Library), Linda Bartnik (Library), Laura Ewald (Library)

One of the biggest challenges of today is the changing nature of information retrieval. Research assignments structured 10, 5 or even 3 years ago may not be relevant to today’s student needs. Panelists will (1) discuss class assignments that fully utilize the library’s resources and increase the likelihood of exposing students to today’s tools of research; and (2) provide information on their experience offering direct one-on-one research assistance to students in courses via Blackboard.

1:15–1:45 Coffee Break. Open Discussion of Library Databases and Services. Do you know what the library can offer? Don’t miss out on services and resources that have been added since your last visit. Library staff will be here to demonstrate and discuss new services. They want to hear what resources/services you’d like to see.

2:00–3:00 The Students Speak! Student Attitudes and Behaviors toward Plagiarism, Copyright, and Intellectual Property. Mark Masthay (Chemistry), Student panel: Andrew Hill, Michael McCann, Josh Rose.

Wonder what students are thinking? Listen to them! In this panel discussion, students will discuss issues from downloading music to academic honesty. As a demonstration, students will take a sample assignment and demonstrate alternative ways of responding to it.

3:15–4:15 Changing Student Demographics; How Does the University Change to Meet it? Sandra Jordan (Interim Assistant Provost, Dean Humanities and Fine Arts), Renae Duncan (Psychology), Sue Sroda (English and Philosophy).

This panel discussion will examine social and attitudinal trends that bear directly on student success, campus life and learning. Most importantly, the panel will go beyond the reporting of these trends and projections to extrapolate meaning and make recommendations about the types of learning environments, technological engagement, and social support that our students require.

4:30–5:30 We say “Thank You”, they say “TY”. How do they communicate with each other? How can we communicate with them? Squire Babcock (English and Philosophy), Barbara Malinauskas (Organizational Communications), Bonnie McNeely (Management, Marketing and Business Administration), Fred Miller (Management, Marketing and Business Administration).

Students communicate differently than a generation ago. Cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging and email have placed a premium on communication forms that are short, informal and immediate. This can create frustration and bewilderment to faculty who expect communications that are more polished, formal and infrequent. The panel will discuss this communication gap.

Wednesday, October 22

7:30–8:15 The Technology Divide, between and among faculty, between and among students. Paradigm shifts to meet the challenges. Pam Brewer (English and Philosophy), Sue Sroda (English and Philosophy), Latricia Trites (English and Philosophy), Marcie Johnson (English and Philosophy), Tom Lough (Education).

Technology has created massive changes in the ways that students interact with each other and with academic content. This has serious implications for those on the other side of the gap –students as well as faculty. In this discussion panelists will consider these issues and some possible strategies and solutions they present for higher education.

8:30–9:20 The Students Speak! What are they up to now? Blogs, Mobbing, IM, Ultima Online Wayne Hamaker Jr. (CTLT), Student Panel: Andrew Hill, Michael McCann, Julie Hoffman, Josh Rose, Garrett Wheatley.

“Are your students Blogging..Should You?” “No Goods, No services, No nothing but they are making money selling it!” “Should you be afraid of a Smart Mob?” “Will text messaging replace email?” Hear from our students as they describe new communication forms that are revolutionizing what they do and how they talk about it.

9:30–10:20 It’s all in the Zeitgeist: Connecting to the Millennials (those born in the 80’s and beyond) John Dillon (Journalism, Mass Communication), Roger Schoenfeldt (Management, Marketing and Business Administration), Bob Lochte (Journalism, Mass Communication), Ken Wolf (History), Larry Guin (Economics and Finance).

Our students are different than those of a generation ago. In many cases they are different than those of 5 years ago. In this panel discussion faculty will discuss these characteristics in the context of earlier generations and discuss ways of connecting to them.

10:30–11:20 Beyond the Classroom: Mentoring to Engage Today’s Students in Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activities. John Mateja (URSA Office), Terry Derting (Biological Sciences), Staci Stone (English & Philosophy), Paula Waddill (Psychology), Renee Campoy (Educational Studies, Leadership, & Counseling), Student Panel: Mary Alice Bighinatti, Christina Bayens, Richard Blalock.

Research has repeatedly indicated that students respond best to learning environments that provide opportunities for interaction with faculty. In this panel, faculty and students will discuss their experiences with mentoring that have provided active engagement in academic work beyond the classroom.

11:20 Faculty Luncheon. They are Coming, MSU. Are you ready? Dr. Louvenia Peavie (Guidance Counselor, Ft. Campbell High School), Ms. Susan Williams (Guidance Counselor, Calloway County High School), Ms. Regena Parham (Guidance Counselor, Ft. Campbell Middle School).

The dinner speakers will present their observations of characteristics of students who will be entering higher education within the next 1–5 years. Contact CTLT at tlt@murraystate.edu to reserve your seat at the luncheon.