Communication is defined as the exchange of thoughts, opinions, and information through speech, writing, or signs. Effective communication occurs when two or more people are able to share thoughts, ideas, or opinions and perceive the same message. The two main types of communication are nonverbal and verbal, and each is important when communicating with others.

Tuesday Talk continues on May 1 at 12:15 p.m. in the Professional Development Center (E. H. Butler Library 181B); strategies will be shared. Bring your lunch. Snacks and drinks provided.

The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogues and conversations.

Instructors, please feel free to announce this to your classes where appropriate. This course is open to the college community. Students do not need to be education majors. The course will cover second-language acquisition philosophy and learners as well as tutoring strategies. We will use the SIOP model (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol), which is a research-based training program and is the same content that the Buffalo Public Schools use to train the regular classroom teachers.  

This is excellent training for tutors regardless of major. Hands-on experience through field placement is part of the class.

Don't miss the premiere of a short video featuring students and faculty mentors talking about research opportunities at Buffalo State and the impact of undergraduate research. The video, filmed by Kraig Adams, a Buffalo State undergraduate majoring in television and film arts, will be shown during the opening reception of the Student Research and Creativity Celebration on Friday, April 27, in E. H. Butler Library. After its premiere, the video will be available on the Undergraduate Research website. The opening reception also showcases works of art created during the Year of the Arts.

The complete schedule and program for the celebration is now available on the Undergraduate Research website (pdf format; use the link in the upper-right corner).

This year's event includes more than 375 presentations, performances, and art exhibitions featuring the work of more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students. Encourage your students to attend the celebration and see what great things their talented classmates are doing!

The Pedagogical Institute is a series of professional development workshops for faculty and staff that will be held May 14–24. The showcase event will feature Paul Hanstedt, a former Fulbright scholar who serves as a consultant on liberal education, writing pedagogies, course design, and general education in the United States and abroad.

His interactive presentation, “Critical Thinking in General Education and Beyond: Developing Effective Assignments and Pedagogies,” will ask faculty members to explore how critical thinking changes from field to field and how they can design assignments to assess the extent to which students have acquired this skill. To register and to see a full schedule, please visit the Professional Development website. The Pedagogical Institute is a collaboration between the assistant dean for intellectual foundations ahd first-year programs and the Professional Development Office.

Have you ever wanted more class time for students to apply their knowledge? Would you like students to spend class time discussing and tackling difficult problems, researching, collaborating, or creating? Then why not explore a variety of approaches requiring students to learn course content before coming to class? This session will present an overview of pedagogical approaches such as team-based learning, peer instruction, problem-based learning, lecture capture, just-in-time teaching, and group quizzes with immediate feedback. All these methods involve flipping the classroom to various degrees, thus providing class time for students to deepen and apply their learning. The demonstrated pedagogies range from high-tech to low-tech, but they all shift more responsibility for learning to the student and provide them with additional opportunities for active and collaborative work as they learn.

Presented by Sue McMillen as part of the 2012 Pedagogical Institute on Wednesday, May 23, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Bacon Hall 117.

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2834.

Engage in an exploration of six characteristics that make ideas more likely to be remembered by students. Reflect on how to integrate these traits into your teaching to make it both more memorable and more engaging. Come with a concept or topic in mind and actively apply the six principles to it. Presented by Sue McMillen and Val Ahmeti as part of the 2012 Pedagogical Institute on Monday, May 21, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in E. H. Butler Library 181B.

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2824.

This presentation will review three free and easy ways to blend a bit of online “face time” into your courses. We will review using VYou as an FAQ section, VoiceThread as a substitute for written discussions, and Google Picasa slide shows as an icebreaker. Additionally, we will explore account creation, maintenance, limitations, and accessibility. Presented by Beth Burns as part of the 2012 Pedagogical Institute on Tuesday, May 22, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., in E. H. Butler Library 316.

"The way you see people is the way you treat them." — Zig Ziglar

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2822.

This workshop will provide an introduction to R, a flexible and powerful open source statistical programming language with an ever-expanding set of data analytic and visualization capabilities. A general overview of R’s command line syntax and data structures will be provided. Participants will have an opportunity to obtain hands-on experience loading, manipulating, analyzing, and visualizing data in the R environment. This workshop on Tuesday, May 22, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in E. H. Butler Library 316 is part of the 2012 Pedagogical Institute.

Presented by Daniel P. Gaile, assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University at Buffalo, Jim Java, biostatistician with the Gynecologic Oncology Group, and Lori A. Kirchgraber, bioinformatics programmer-analyst at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2833.

Explore the use of case studies to engage students in active learning at this workshop on Wednesday, May 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 181B. Learn about different types of case studies and participate in example cases as a learner. Spend time searching a national case study database and identify cases that you would be interested in using. Discuss how to use case studies to make students responsible for their own learning, how to hold them accountable for preparing before class, and how to manage the use of case studies in the classroom. Presented by Sue McMillen as part of the 2012 Pedagogical Institute. Lunch provided.

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2826.

Regardless of the classes you teach or your position on campus, you are likely to face a moment in which a student makes a statement or disclosure about sexual harassment or assault. These moments can be tense and awkward, especially if they occur in front of other students; however, they also provide valuable opportunities for learning to occur. We will discuss productive responses to statements about sexual harassment and assault in this session on Thursday, May 24, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 181B. Participants will be invited to submit descriptions of experiences that they would like to discuss. Facilitated by Liz McGough, Scott Johnson, and Jenn Hunt as part of the 2012 Pedagogical Institute.

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2845.