Fifth Annual Mini–Conference on Excellence in Teaching

Mini-Conference

The Fifth Annual Mini-Conference was held at the Younkin Success Center on Friday, May 6, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This year’s free mini-conference was titled “Globalizing the Curriculum.” Participants from across campus joined us for exciting presentations about incorporating international contexts into higher education, an international lunch buffet, the unveiling of the latest version of Talking About Teachingand the chance to connect with fellow educators from across our university.

Visit the UCAT blog to see pictures from the mini-conference.

Conference Schedule

8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast and Check-In
9:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks
9:10 a.m.

Global Outreach and Education through Videoconferencing:
Forging New Partnerships and Career Paths

Venkat Gopalan, Department of Biochemistry

10:00 a.m.

Globalizing the Learning Experience Here and Abroad

Dieter Wanner, Department of Spanish and Portuguese,
Associate Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs

10:50 a.m.

Seeking, Seeing, Sharing: Teaching and Learning Design in a Global Context

Brian Stone, Department of Design

11:40 a.m.

Internationalizing Majors and Minors: A Pilot Project

Jennie R. Babcock, College of Social Work
Michael Bisesi, College of Public Health
Theresa Early, College of Social Work
Jennifer Nakayama, College of Social Work

12:30 p.m.

International Lunch Buffet and Poster Session

with world music performances

Session Descriptions

Global Outreach and Education through Videoconferencing 
9:10 a.m.
Venkat Gopalan, Department of Biochemistry

Following a brief preamble on the need for a multi-pronged strategy to internationalize higher education, this presentation will focus largely on insights derived from a course entitled Genomics, Proteomics and Bioethics. Offered in 2009 and 2010 to OSU students and their peers in two or three different cities in India, the use of video-conferencing in this course enabled an international discussion on (i) how technology drives the pace and scale of scientific discovery in life sciences, and (ii) some of the ethical issues in the practice of biological research. During this seminar, a live question and answer session with faculty and students at OSU and Anna University, Chennai, INDIA, will permit them to share their views on the international dialogue afforded by the course (in which they participated). Concluding remarks will include an analysis of the necessity and scope of these outreach activities, which are critical to build new academic networks and enrich the educational experience in a fast-changing world where fulfilling careers might depend on acting locally and thinking globally.

Globalizing the Learning Experience Here and Abroad
10:00 a.m.
Dieter Wanner, Associate Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs

A meaningful international educational experience for our students requires the convergence of multiple efforts to produce a lasting impact. Approaching the task from the point of view of critical skills enhancement is a way to make these efforts cohere. Study Abroad is the most visible and indispensable component (experience of the Other). The major curriculum will provide courses with significant international content (expertise in the subject matter as well as on global issues), while the student is also engaged in learning a foreign language enabling direct communication and connecting the more abstract materials with on-the-ground realities. Assessing the outcomes enables the student to develop into an internationally competent member of the community and the work force. A comprehensive curricular enhancement packet, the Global Option, will attest to the student’s global proficiency.

Download the Presentation >>>

Seeking, Seeing, Sharing: Teaching and Learning Design in a Global Context
10:50 a.m.
Brian Stone, Department of Design

Design is a creative process that gives form to products, interiors, and visual communication. Its goal is to satisfy the functional, psychological, and aesthetic needs of a particular audience. Teaching students to be well versed in technical and form-giving ability will not adequately prepare them for the challenges they will face in professional practice. Instructors must be able to encourage students to seek out new design opportunities. They must impart the importance of self-criticism and concept evaluation. Instructors must also present design in a holistic and globalized context that requires them to share experiences, insight, and values. Of utmost benefit is the encouragement of empathy for the international audiences they will partner with. Professor Stone will share his philosophy, insights, and strategies when teaching abroad. He will also discuss ideas around preparing domestic students for international design experiences. His goal is to instill in students new ideas, establish an appreciation for different environments and cultures, and embrace the idea of globalization.

Download the Presentation >>>

Internationalizing Majors and Minors: A Pilot Project
11:40 a.m.
Jennie BabockTheresa EarlyJennifer Nakayama, College of Social Work
Michael Bisesi, College of Public Health

Presenters will describe their participation in the Autumn 2010 Pilot Project facilitated by the Office of International Affairs/UCAT. The purpose of the project was to document the existing international components of the curriculum and to investigate ways to further internationalize the undergraduate learning experience in order to achieve the goals of an internationalized education articulated by OSU: (1) Expand and develop knowledge of self and other people, places and issues in a global context; (2) Develop and refine skills needed to (a) adapt to diverse cultures, perceptions, and approaches, (b) communicate effectively across cultural and linguistic boundaries, and (c) integrate and apply knowledge to work effectively in international settings; and (3) Develop and assimilate perspectives to (a) interpret past and contemporary world cultures, events, and issues and (b) comprehend the international dimensions of one’s field of study.

Three units participated in the program: the Department of Geography, the College of Public Health, and the College of Social Work. Participants from the Colleges of Public Health and Social Work will discuss their programs, the benefits and challenges of internationalization, and plans for future development.

Download Social Work’s Presentation >>>

International Lunch Buffet and Poster Session

We have infused the flavors of our Gateway countries—China, India, and Brazil—into the menu of our buffet lunch. In the spirit of the event, we invite participants to bring a dish that represents their own ethnic heritages to share with the other participants. To accompany lunch, we are proud to present a variety of world music performances.

Posters reflecting the conference theme will be on display outside room 150 over the course of the day. During lunch, we invite participants to browse the posters to see what other globalizing efforts are being made at The Ohio State University. If you are interested in sharing your own poster, please email academy@osu.edu.

Download the Program >>>

Presenter Bios

Jennie Babcock, College of Social Work

Jennie Babcock, MSW, LISW-S, holds a B.A. in English and a Masters in Social Work from The Ohio State University. She has practice experience in hospital, community mental health, and juvenile court settings. She joined the College of Social Work in 2004 as a field education coordinator, and is currently the Undergraduate Studies Director. Jennie also teaches for the college in the areas of generalist practice and ethics.

Michael BisesiCollege of Public Health

Dr. Michael Bisesi has over twenty-years of experience as a scientist and academic administrator at four different universities. He has been at the OSU College of Public Health since July 2009 and is currently the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of the Center for Public Health Practice, and Associate Professor of Environmental Health Science. His experience as a scientist includes field/lab research, teaching, and service in the health and medical basic and applied sciences. Experiences as both scientist and administrator have been within colleges of health science, medicine, and public health. He has served as principal and co-investigator on numerous research and program grants and contracts. Michael has several published journal articles, chapters and books.

Theresa Early, College of Social Work

Theresa Early holds the MSW and Ph.D. in social work from the University of Kansas. She has practice experience in hospital and community mental health settings and has conducted research and evaluation projects in Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, and North Carolina during almost 20 years as a mental health researcher. She has held academic positions in Kentucky and Nevada prior to joining the OSU faculty in 1997. Dr. Early is currently the director of doctoral and international programs in the College of Social Work. She teaches international social work and dissertation proposal development and leads study abroad programs to Mexico and India. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Garcia-Robles fellowship to Mexico for the coming year, where she will join colleagues at the Autonomous University of Mexico’s National School of Social Work in conducting research with youth in Mexico City.

Venkat Gopalan, Department of Biochemistry

Venkat Gopalan obtained a B.Sc. (Chemistry) from University of Madras, India, before coming to the US in 1986 to pursue graduate studies. Under the guidance of Prof. Robert H. Glew, he received a Ph.D. (Biochemistry) from the University of New Mexico in 1991 for his work on biochemical characterization of two mammalian betaglucosidases, one of which is involved in Gaucher disease. He then began his postdoctoral work in the group of Prof. Sidney Altman at Yale University, where he was supported by fellowships from the Catherine and Weldon Donaghue Foundation and the Anna Fuller Cancer Research Fund to study RNA-protein interactions in bacterial RNase P, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that is unique among cellular catalysts for employing an RNA as the catalytic moiety. During this period, he was also a visiting scholar in the group of Prof. Aaron Klug, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England. Since coming to the OSU Department of Biochemistry in 1998 as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Gopalan has assembled a team to characterize archaeal/eukaryal RNase P enzymes that have more protein subunits than their bacterial counterparts. Understanding these more complex enzymes is expected to address the overarching question of why the extant cell, which relies almost solely on proteins for catalytic and structural roles, uses RNA-mediated catalysis in vital macromolecular machines such as RNase P and has even retained these evolutionary vestiges from a hypothetical RNA world. His laboratory is also exploring the potential of RNase P as a tool to control gene expression in plants and animals. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003 and to Professor in 2010. He is a member of various life sciences graduate programs at OSU.

Dr. Gopalan has taught various undergraduate and graduate courses at OSU, including a course on metabolism that is taken by Biochemistry majors and first-year graduate students from different biochemistry-related disciplines. Dr. Gopalan was the founding advisor to the Biochemistry Undergraduate Club and was actively involved in developing BS/MS and MS (Biotechnology) programs.

Jennifer NakayamaCollege of Social Work

Jennifer Nakayama has masters degrees in Comparative Studies and East Asian Languages and Literatures (Japanese) from The Ohio State University as well as an undergraduate degree in Journalism from Bowling Green State University. She has spent a number of years in Japan – assisting with her husband, Dr. Mineharu Nakayama’s Kobe program, as a Japan Foundation grant recipient, an English teacher and an exchange student. She has participated in OSU study abroad programs to England (Higher Education) and Poland (Social Work). She currently works as a program coordinator for the PhD Program in Social Work and international programs in Social Work. She also worked a number of years as an academic advisor for undergraduate students.

Brian Stone, Department of Design

R. Brian Stone is a design educator, researcher, and practitioner in the area of interaction design, information design, user experience, and communication through motion. He teaches Visual Communication in the Department of Design at The Ohio State University and his work has garnered numerous awards for design excellence, usability, and user satisfaction. He is the author of several articles on the subjects of interactive experiences, usability, information visualization, and kinetic typographic messages. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and universities and has held visiting appointments at the National University of Singapore, Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial (ESDI) in Brasil, and HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.

Apple Computer has recognized Professor Stone as one of the top educational technology leaders in the U.S. with the Apple Distinguished Educator award. He is also a recipient of the 2002 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching from The Ohio State University and the 2005 Order of Omega Faculty Recognition Award.

Prior to joining the faculty at OSU, he taught at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He has also held staff positions at Nationwide Insurance, Surgical Laser Technologies, Orthovita, Noel Mayo Associates, and the Bailey Design Group.

Dieter Wanner, Associate Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs
Professor of Spanish and Linguistics

Dieter Wanner has served as associate provost responsible for the operations of the Office of International Affairs since 2007 with the charge to help redefine the institutional commitment to globalization and international engagement. As a professor of Spanish and Linguistics, he is the author of several books and numerous articles. He is also an expert on topics of current focus in international education, from international student mobility to the conceptualization of international degree-granting programs and the crafting of institutional agreements. He is a member of leading professional organizations. Associate Provost Wanner received a doctorate in Romance Philology from the University of Zürich. He held a position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining Ohio State in 1988.

Primary responsibilities:

• Direction of the Office of International Affairs
• Leadership for planning and facilitating international opportunities for Ohio State’s students, faculty and staff
• Oversight of international partnerships through visits and formal agreements
• Support for the Vice Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs in carrying out globalization and internationalization at the institutional level