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Consulting ServicesThe Center offers consultations for faculty and graduate students in the following areas: Individual Teaching Consultations, Departmental Micro-Teaching Consultations, Presentation Consultations, Grant Consultations and Course Consultations. To sign up, email Sheridan_Center@brown.edu
Individual Teaching ConsultationsThe Individual Teaching Consultation provides an opportunity for faculty and graduate teaching assistants to review the learning experience of their undergraduate students in the classroom. Upon request, the Sheridan Center will provide two trained Teaching Consultants to observe, with optional videotape, a class or presentation and to provide feedback on their observations. The person requesting the consultation (observee) submits a written account of the pedagogical goals for the specific class to be observed and their relationship to the pedagogical goals for the course as a whole. The consultants evaluate how effectively the observee meets his or her stated goals. The consultants prepare an ITC Final Report on their observations that they discuss with the observee in a follow-up meeting. The ITC Report is completely confidential and drafted exclusively for the use of the observee. For details, see ITC procedure below. The Teaching Consultants are selected from the Brown teaching community, both faculty and graduate students. All consultants have participated in a special Sheridan Center training session to learn about productive techniques for helping observees recognize and implement pedagogical innovations and improvements in their classrooms. The Teaching Consultants continue to meet throughout the year to discuss the program and to respond to observee suggestions. All consultants are selected from a pool of previous ITC observees or faculty with a demonstrated commitment to teaching and constructive pedagogical exchange. ITC Procedures1. Contact the Sheridan Center to make an appointment two (2) weeks in advance so that we can arrange for consultants to visit your class. Please note that we cannot guarantee that your consultation request will be met unless you sign up at least two weeks prior to your requested consultation date. The optimal way to do this is via the ITC Sign-up form on this web site. Give yourself more time if you can't use the form, and need to contact the Center either by e-mail or telephone. PLEASE NOTE - You must register from an ON-CAMPUS computer (either Brown or RISD). 2. The Observee Form: It is your responsibility to let the consultants know what you wish to accomplish in the session they are to observe. As the consultants are not experts in your specific field, you need to clearly explain how (pedagogy) you plan to teach, not what (content) you plan to teach. The consultants also need to know the context for this session, its relationship to the course as a whole. PLEASE fill in the form fully and if you have questions, please contact the Center ASAP. 3. The Observation: Two consultants will observe and videotape the session. We recommend videotaping so that you can see what your students see. Please advise your students in advance that the class will be observed for your benefit, not for evaluating student performance in the class. Consultants will remain for one hour of any session. The consultants will leave the tape with you for your private viewing. 4. Meeting: You and the consultants will arrange a meeting within two weeks of the session to discuss their observations and recommendations which will be included in the ITC Report. 5. ITC Report: An official copy of the ITC Report will be sent to you by the Sheridan Center. This report is for your own records and your own use. It will not be sent to your department. We do not recommend that these be submitted to any form of University review board (such as TPA). A confidential copy will be kept on file at the Center. 6. Follow-up Questionnaire: The Center will send you a feedback form via e-mail to help us assess your experience. Please return it to the Center as soon as possible. N.B. If you have any questions, please contact the Sheridan Center. We hope that you will find this a useful and constructive experience. Departmental Micro-Teaching ConsultationsOrganized by the departmental Faculty Liaison, Micro-Teaching sessions offer an opportunity to do a practice-teaching session and get feedback from colleagues within a specific discipline, as well as general feedback from a Sheridan Center staff member. In a micro-teaching session, each participant gives a five-minute mock teaching lesson on a chosen subject with explicit pedagogical goals and then receives feedback on his/her teaching style in general and his/her effectiveness in achieving the stated goals. These sessions are usually conducted in a small group (~four presenters) from within a department. Each participant has an opportunity to see how others perceive his/her teaching style, to observe and evaluate a variety of teaching approaches, and to learn how to share observations constructively with others. The sessions must be attended by at least one departmental faculty member (usually the departmental Faculty Liaison) and a Sheridan Center staff member. In addition, the department's Graduate Student Liaison is expected to attend. For additional information, please see the Micro-Teaching Group Session Guidelines. Click here for the Micro-Teaching Group Session Feedback Sheet. Click here to access the Micro-Teaching Sign-Up Form. (NB: Only Faculty Liaisons and Graduate Student Liaisons may request departmental Micro-Teaching Sessions.) Presentation/Conference Paper ConsultationsThe Presentation/Conference Paper Consultation provides an opportunity for a faculty member, graduate or undergraduate student to practice an oral presentation before appearing in public.
Presentation/Conference Paper Consultations can help undergraduates prepare for:
For further information, see the Presentation/Conference Paper Consultation Guidelines. Click here to access the Presentation/Conference Paper Consultation Sign-Up Form. Grant ConsultationsThe Sheridan Center staff, including its four Faculty Teaching Fellows, is available to review sections of grant proposals pertaining to teaching innovations and instructional technology. The Center can also help faculty develop strategies to assess the effectiveness of proposed pedagogical innovations. After consultation, the Center may be cited in the grant as part of ongoing pedagogical support offered by Brown. For more information, or to sign-up for a grant consultation, Course ConsultationsThe Sheridan Center staff is available to help members of the Brown teaching community design, implement and revise courses. Upon request, Center staff will meet individually with interested instructors to review selected aspects of their courses, such as: syllabi, the use of artifacts, and the implementation and utilizaton of course web pages, on-line discussion boards, and other instructional technology. For more information, or to sign-up for a course consultation, Preparing for the Academic Job MarketThe Sheridan Center offers a variety of resources for graduate students and post docs who are preparing to enter the academic job market. More information on these resources can be found at the links below.
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