Minutes of the TLC Section

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			2007 \| 2006 \| 2005 \| 2004 \| 2003 Minutes July 29 , 2007 AAEA Teaching, Learning and Communications Section. Minutes from the Annual Section Meeting Sunday, July 29, 2007 Portland, Oregon Members in attendance: Jay Akridge, Andrew Barkley, Jim Bereilien, Mike Boland, Gary Cooper, Cheryl DeVuyst, Frank Dooley, Molly Espy, Marshall Fraiser, Mike Gunderson, Cole Gustafson, Lisa House, Aaron Johnson, Conrad Lyford, Mary Marchant, Leah Greden Mathews, Rich Sexton, John Siebert, Clark Springfield, Matt Stockton, Michael Wetzstein, Christine Wilson, Al Wysocki Co-chair Christine Wilson called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. Minutes from the 2006 Annual meeting were approved as read Membership was reported to be 86 members in 2007 The section is in a financially secure position, so it was agreed that no change in dues was needed AAEA Board Representative Richard Sexton reported to the membership Lisa House will replace him as Board Representative beginning next year A process of votes on a name change are upcoming Agriculture will stay in the name American is too constricting and will be removed Words like Food, Natural Resources, and Applied are under consideration to be added The entirety of the AAEA management will soon be under Executive Directors Inc. The transition has been mostly smooth The transition saved the Association from investing in new computers for the main office The meetings will continue to delegate a great deal of authority and autonomy to sections for the content of tracks The board rejected funding for the Young Professional Teaching Academy due to rules that deny Foundation Funding for pre-conference workshops Two applications for senior co-chair were distributed. Dixie Watts Reaves was elected senior co-chair elect, she will serve as senior co-chair for 2008-2010 Mike Gunderson was elected secretary Mike Boland will serve as the section representative to the AAEA Nominating Committee Program Track for 2008 The 2007 TLS Section Track was highlighted on page 108 of the program The following ideas were given for 2008 sessions: Distance education, website design, scholarship of teaching, course design, ‘I survived my first year of teaching,’ experiments in the classroom, graduate student teaching/webinar, managing advising roles with extracurricular activities, service learning, accreditation Those considering organizing a track were reminded that partnerships with other sections are encouraged Chair Wilson thanked those that had helped with 2007 sessions and encouraged members to be responsive to requests to participate in 2008 sessions Cheryl DeVuyst will organize the section track for this next year Young Professional Teaching Academy (YPTA) Chair Wilson thanked Drs. Boland and Wilson for organizing the YPTA this year There were 22 attendees at the YPTA this year; they were a good mix of Ph.D. students and new assistant professors There were three speakers, Molly Espy, Andrew Barkley, and Mary Marchant It was suggested that next year the organizers consider having some concurrent sessions to appeal to a broader crowd and possibly include some tips about graduate student teaching/publishing Due to the intended permanent nature of the YPTA, the section will look to promote it as such rather than as a pre-conference workshop Due to the financial stability of the section, the section agreed to allow a small honorarium be paid to attract a speaker to the YPTA Other Topics The membership agreed to Dr. Mariah Tanner Ehmke using the section listserve to solicit responses to a survey Meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Mike Gunderson return to top Minutes July 23 , 2006 Minutes from the Annual Section Meeting Sunday, July 23, 2006 Long Beach, California Approximately 11 members of the section were present, including the AAEA Executive Board representative, Richard Sexton (UC-Davis). Paul Wilson (U of Arizona) called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Discussion – A. Elections – An election was held to determine the new co-chair to replace Paul Wilson (U of Arizona). The two candidates, Cheryl DeVuyst (North Dakota State) and Christiane Schroeter (Arkansas State University) were discussed briefly followed by a vote. Cheryl DeVuyst was elected as co-chair elect, to serve 2006-2008. B. Updates a. Minutes from the 2005 meeting were discussed and approved. b. Membership increased from 81 in 2005 to 93 in 2006. c. By-Law proposals were all approved and are to be forwarded and made. d. The section is solvent but continues to look for new funding sources. e. Board Report : by Richard Sexton i. Cancellation of Wednesday activities at future AAEA meetings to cut cost and increase attendance at other sessions. ii. Reduce the number of selected papers and increase the number of posters. iii. Change of RAE editors, low submissions are a problem iv. Possible upcoming discussion on a name change for the association. v. Choices will no longer be funded at the end of the current editorial cycle. vi. Reduced number of tracks for meetings in the future vii. Eliminate page charges for those publishing in the journal. C. Program Track for 2007 a. 2006 tracks were well accepted. b. 2007 ideas for tracks: everyone is encouraged to come up with ideas, some of the ideas were teaching in extension and in government agencies, learning matrices or rubrics, materials update, and distance learning. c. 2007 track organizer will be Christine Wilson (Purdue). D. 2006 Young Professional Teaching Academy a. A very active and successful event, 51 registered participants. b. Funding has been hard to get since we were trying to pay an honorarium. c. Mike Boland (Kansas State) and Cheryl DeVuyst (NDSU) are organizing the 2007 teaching academy. d. Possible topics for next year: i. Teaching resource economics ii. Behavior problems iii. Evaluations iv. Advising v. Lab teaching E. Other Topics, Concerns and /or Issues a. Revise business model of the academy b. Look for other funding sources for the academy Meeting was adjourned at 6:10 pm. Respectfully submitted by Matt Stockton (Nebraska) Secretary/Treasurer (2005-2007) return to top Minutes July 24 , 2005 Minutes from Section Meeting Sunday, July 24, 2005 Providence, Rhode Island Approximately 20 members of the section were in attendance, including the AAEA Executive Board representative, Richard Sexton (UC-Davis). Leah Greden Mathews (UNC-Asheville) called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. Key Issues Discussed A. Elections a. Stimulated by the unexpected but understandable resignation of one of the Co-Chair Elects (Cynda Clary, New Mexico State), early discussion centered on revising the Section’s bylaws so there would be more continuity in the Section’s leadership. Molly Espey (Clemson) made the motion that the bylaws be revised so that Co-Chairs serve two-year overlapping terms. Gary Fairchild (Florida) seconded the motion. The group unanimously voted to change the bylaws so Co-Chairs would be elected for a two-year term, with one new Co-Chair Elect being elected each year. The bylaws will be revised to reflect this decision and submitted to the AAEA Executive Board for approval. b. In order to initiate this new policy immediately, Paul Wilson (U. of Arizona, 2004-2005) agreed to serve another year (2005-2006) as Co-Chair with Christine Wilson (Purdue, 2005-2007). c. Mike Boland (Kansas State) was elected as Co-Chair Elect, serving as Co-Chair for 2006-2008. d. Matt Stockton (Nebraska, 2005-2007) was elected Secretary-Treasurer. B. TLC Membership and Recruitment a. Leah reported that the TLC Section currently has 79 members. b. Richard Sexton reported that the AAEA is monitoring section membership and may not want to support sections with less than 40-50 members. c. Recruitment ideas discussed included: i. A newsletter ii. TLC recruitment messages at the Graduate Student Section meeting iii. A promotional announcement at all TLC track sessions The general tone of the remarks was that the section must produce value for the membership—“What does the AAEA member receive for being a member of the TLC section?” C. TLC Website Update Paul Wilson gave an update on the TLC website that is accessible through the AAEA website. Paul appealed to the group for more feedback on the site. It was suggested that the PowerPoint slides from the TLC track sessions be placed on the site. Another suggestion was to use the site as an electronic repository for teaching materials. Mike Boland may be able to share his data base of syllabi so this information would be accessible to the profession through the TLC website. Finally, the suggestion was made to set up the TLC listserve so colleagues could ask teaching questions through this tool. Paul agreed to take action on these ideas within his time constraints. D. Young Professional Teaching Workshop a. Paul Wilson presented the draft proposal to sponsor every year a teaching workshop at the AAEA meeting, specifically directed at Ph.D. students with an academic career goal. The proposal was favorably received. The following people volunteered to help with finalizing and implementing the proposal: Jim Beierlein (Penn State), Frank Dooley (Purdue), Chris McIntosh (Idaho), Eluned Jones (Texas A&M), and Molly Espey (Clemson). b. The decision was made to move forward with this proposal for the Long Beach meetings in 2006. E. Program Track for 2006 a. Leah Greden Mathews volunteered to organize the TLC track for 2006. All ideas for sessions should be submitted to her. b. There was general discussion on possible sessions. One topic of common interest was to have a session discussing learning outcomes and how the profession should respond to administration directives in this area. F. Pre-Conference Workshop The group decided that there will be no TLC-sponsored pre-conference workshop in 2006. G. CWAE Tracking Survey The members present agreed that the TLC should cooperate with this survey if asked to share the TLC mailing list with the researchers. Leah Greden Mathews adjourned the meeting at 4 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Paul Wilson in the absence of Conrad Lyford (Texas Tech, Secretary-Treasurer, 2004-2005). return to top Minutes August 1, 2004 Approximately 20 members of the section as well as the AAEA board representative (Richard Sexton) and acting executive director (Betty Elkebrecht) attended the meeting. Chris McIntosh (Section Co-Chair) called the meeting to order. Key Issues Discussed: A. Nov. 1 Track Proposals One of the main efforts of the Section is to develop a track proposal that outlines a set of proposed sessions (or track) at the AAEA meetings. This serves to guarantee content of interest to section members. 1. It was requested that the deadline for the track proposals (currently at Nov. 1) be extended to a later time to allow more time for development. Richard Sexton (AAEA board rep) indicated that he would explore this possibility with the board. 2. The track coordinator for the 2005 AAEA meetings (who will put together the track proposals) will be Leah Matthews. 3. Ideas provided by members for sessions at the next meeting include: a) manage groups and team work b) write more while I grade less c) teaching strategy courses, d) diversity e) leadership f) case learning and writing B. Pre-conference for 2005? One of the ongoing efforts of the section has been to sponsor or co-sponsor pre-conferences at the meetings. There was some discussion about what we might do in the upcoming year. Chris McIntosh and Molly Espey will coordinate this effort. Ideas included: 1. Problem-based learning 2. Calibrated Peer Review Writing — John Beam’s book Engaging Ideas 3. Putting Critical Thinking into Action — Wyoming Conference Proceedings (email David Schweikhardt to get) — Make your students write more while you grade less C. Website Development Currently, we are the only section without a website. It would be useful to develop a website with such topics as: a) teaching tips b) section membership c) pedagogy d) profile of teaching award winners e) links to online teaching newsletters f) publication of teaching articles g) links and/or a repository of information/syllabi on classes of some interest h) academic integrity i) online courses. Send ideas on the website to Paul Wilson D. Membership & Growth of the Section A topic of some discussion focused on how to expand membership in the section. It was viewed that if we provided direct benefits to membership then membership would increase substantially. Ideas discussed: • Developing a newsletter for members of the section. • Providing a free membership in the section to each teaching institution. The membership could be allocated by the department head at each institution. This would be especially targeted at institutions without membership in the section. • Raffle a free preconference • Forward to members, the list of members in the section E. New Leadership 2005-2006 New Co-Chairs of the section • Cynda Clary • Christine Wilson return to top July 27, 2003 1. Approved changes to By-Laws by a 12-0 vote: a. Article III. Section 3.b. is to be replaced in its entirety by the following: “If one Section co-chair fails to perform the duties, such duties shall be assumed by the other co-chair.” b. Article IV. Section 4: Strike “two (2)” and replace with “three (3)” c. A new section is to be added to Article VII. Fiscal: “Annual dues may be changed by a 2/3 vote of members present at any annual business meeting of the Section at which a quorum is present or by a majority vote of members of the Section returning ballots by mail or email.” 2. Elected officers: Nominations were made by Arlo Beirle and Al Wysocki and approved by voice vote. Co-Chairs 2003-2004 Chris McIntosh and Frank Dooley Co-Chairs 2004-2005 Paul Wilson and Leah Greden-Matthews Secretary Treasurer 2003-2006 Conrad Lyford 3. Pre-Conference Workshops: Jay Akridge and Mike Boland presented a proposal for a pre-conference workshop on Agribusiness curricula across the country, including changes and needs assessment. Much supportive discussion ensued and the members agreed that the TLC Section should co-sponsor this proposed workshop for next year’s meeting. A repeat performance by Charles Bonwell on Active Learning (previously XXXX year) was proposed for 2005 and a repeat performance by this year’s workshop leader Larry Michaelson on Team-Based Learning was also proposed for some time in the near future. Gary Fairchild proposed alternating between teaching improvement workshops such as this year’s and broader issues such as next year’s proposal. Gary also suggested a theme for a workshop or session of “Is Good Teaching Bad For You?” George McDowell from Virginia Tech and Bill Bogus from Oregon State University were mentioned as possible organizers/discussants. No formal motions were made other than that to support the Akridge and Boland proposal. 4. Track Sessions for 2004: Per the new By-Laws for the Section, the co-chairs will develop the Section’s program sessions for the next annual meeting. 5. Recruitment: Many ideas were proposed with the idea that this will be a continuing project. These include: a. Develop a web site to link to the AAEA. Al Wysocki agreed to take charge of this. b. Develop a newsletter. c. Targeted mailing, for example, to young faculty and chairs to explain what we have to offer and seek assistance in recruiting new members. Molly Espey agreed to contact the AAEA regarding the possibility of obtaining a Section membership list delineated by university (or other affiliation) so current members and chairs can more easily determine the membership status of their colleagues and aid in recruitment. d. Broader reach – much discussion addressed the need to appeal to a broader audience within the AAEA and incorporating some special sessions to serve such a purpose into the Section Track Sessions at the annual meeting. e. Development of a teaching journal. It was proposed to research the possibility of developing a journal devoted to teaching within agricultural economics. Molly Espey mentioned the proposal to be voted on by the Review of Agricultural Economics editorial board to replace the “Case Studies” section in the RAE with a “Teaching and Learning” section and that this may fulfill this interest, and in a more efficient manner than initiating a new journal. f. Other ideas discussed to increase the exposure of the TLC section within our profession included: 1) Sessions relating to presentation tips 2) Panels with new teachers sharing their experiences 3) Additional focus on the quality and cost of instruction (the Chronicle of Higher Education was mentioned here) 4) Understanding the increasing use “Lecturer” positions set against the increasing need for grantsmanship. return to top
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