"BOOT CAMP for PROFS®" is a unique week-long program dedicated to celebrating and enhancing college teaching. This event, set in one of the most beautiful areas of the Rocky Mountains, is one of growth and renewal. It is attended by professors at every career stage and from every conceivable kind of institution.The program has achieved outstanding reviews from attendants, be they new professors looking to begin their faculty careers or established professors seeking to strengthen skills and renew enthusiasm. Over the fourteen years that it has existed, the most common response from attendants is "life-changing."

The original Boot Camp started in 1993 as a solution to an serious problem: "How can teaching skills truly be enhanced, given existing faculty commitments of time during the normal, busy school term?" The early Boot Camps began as a special summer week when faculty could concentrate solely on university - level teaching and career survival skills. The week provided a series of workshops that were based upon producing products for one's own courses. In some years, we ran two to four camps. The early camps now seem primitive compared with what we do now. The Boot Camp has evolved from a series of excellent but loosely connected workshops to a coordinated program of development designed with central unification to produce an effective higher education professional.

Boot Camp in its middle years increasingly concentrated on the concept of one's personal "teaching system" in the context of what fits best for each of us and for our careers within our specific institutions. A "teaching system" addresses practice by building upon a few central, unifying concepts. These concepts are developed and expressed within a document that can be considered as a blueprint for practice—a "teaching philosophy." This document addresses: (1) our core aspirations and values that we become aware of through self introspection in which we reflect on our personal growth, satisfaction and professional improvement; (2) content learning outcomes we want for students; (3) teaching in the forms of making informed choices about pedagogical approaches that match our learning outcomes and will produce the best kinds of experiences to help students to learn; (4) thinking in terms of addressing the most appropriate stages of intellectual and ethical development; (5) rubrics that will insure that high level challenges of critical thinking will be met by high level responses from students and (6) student self assessment, about their learning and their learning process, which is the correlative to our own introspection. Over time, we found that this integrated approach was more effective in producing permanent career success than were any series of workshops.

In recent years, we took this approach one step farther to stress how these six areas can take one beyond individual success to build strong curricula through unit-level development. We began to realize that no matter how good a single teacher may be, no matter how many accolades from students or how many teaching awards one individual might have, students don't become educated in one course nor from one professor. High level thinking, as a particular outcome, is not produced in any sixteen-week course alone. Literature shows that an effort needs to be sustained across several semesters to produce such thinking, and that departments or institutions that want to get this result need to produce curricula that sustain planned efforts over a required time. This leads to recognition that the most effective "teaching system" is not simply an individual development effort to improve courses and student ratings. Rather it results from individuals' efforts informed by research, made with awareness of responsibilities to an effort larger than oneself. This requires planning and colleagues' working together. Thus, when we teach with well-constructed lessons and well-planned courses, we must keep in mind that one educates best when one aligns such efforts with a planned larger vision. One has to be aware of particularly aware of efforts and effects at different scales that range from the individual lesson to the institutional degree.

The patterns seen within educational institutions and the patterns of events in time that occur in the process of becoming educated that best seem to depict effective use of teaching systems are fractal patterns. The Boot Camp program thus evolved through over a decade to its present form with an emphasis described in recent years by "Educating in Fractal Patterns." The utility of fractals to explain many phenomena in higher education has been described in about twenty columns in "National Teaching and Learning Forum" and in a 2007 paper in POD's peer reviewed journal, "To Improve the Academy." To date, the fractal form has proven to be a strong unifying model for design and practice.

Fractals constitute the geometry of most natural forms (including neural networks in the brain that form during learning), and patterns of events in time of many natural phenomena. Such forms appear complex and maybe even random, until one realizes that these forms are constructed from recursive constructions of a simple form called a generator. Because the brain is a fractal neural network, our actions, our products of mind—what our brain does—can be expected to have fractal qualities. By recognizing the nature of fractals, we can understand how to better succeed in what at first appear to be immensely complex endeavors.

For example, if one looks at a tree in winter, it at first looks complex, and intimidatingly difficult to describe in any quantitative or concrete terms, until one recognizes that the branching pattern results from a recursive construction from a simple "Y" shape. An example of a recursive operation another is to replace each of the upper two branching lines in the "Y" with another "Y." Soon, a very complex branching pattern is built from the recursive assemblage of "Y" shapes. Being able to perceive the "Y" generator suddenly brings order to what appears to be an extremely complex form. Teaching too is a complex activity. But, like the tree, it has order and is not "random." If a teacher can operate from a mental generator that isn't deficient, then the resulting product of educated students with high level thinking abilities is much akin to the product of a healthy tree arising from repeated branching forms. The "generator" of an individual teacher can be made visible in a teaching philosophy. Such a philosophy is a blueprint to practice that accommodates one's individual aspirations and ineffable spirit. It becomes a strong and sophisticated philosophy only when built with the best knowledge available about one's content area, about teaching practices that best serve adult learners, about the nature of learning, and about mentoring students toward higher levels of thinking. Once the essence of teaching, learning and thinking in the context of one's aspirations is informed and clear, the kinds of course products and educational experiences that are effective and contribute strongly to a larger effort begin to emerge in practice. Success results from practice of our philosophy and communication that clearly conveys to students and peer reviewers specifics about the choices we have made.

With a fractal system, assessment, the sometimes maligned "A-word," is never an added-on summative chore. If a sophisticated teaching philosophy is a road map to practice, assessment is the necessary consultation with that map to insure that we can answer: "Where are we now? Where do we need to go next?" Assessment is simply monitoring of practice that insures all participants accomplish what they set out to do. In analogy to the figure above, assessment helps assure that the "tree" grows into the desired form rather than leaving the form to build from random chance. Assessment permits disparate aspects of practice to thrive together but to nevertheless produce the desired results. Instead of merely drafting documents such as syllabi, tests, or supplementary materials based on prescriptive methods, we draft such documents based upon our core philosophy. When one has true alignment, then a student or a peer will know your core teaching philosophy from reading your syllabus or your tests. Consistent alignment of your efforts to do what you most want to do enables students to achieve what you most want them to achieve. When faculty are not satisfied with student outcomes, either with respect to learning or to students evaluation of satisfaction with the course experience, it is surprising how often this occurs because faculty are not actually doing what they most want to do.

There is no universal "best" teaching system, but there is a best system for you—namely the system that most effectively helps you and your program to achieve the outcomes that you desire and that matches what your program has promised to students to address those particular students' needs. Discovering your personal system, and how that fits into some larger educational picture is much of what "Boot Camp" is about. The extremely supportive environment present in this program helps in this discovery. Outcomes of this program speak for themselves. Some attendants in "career terminating situations" later find themselves in the situation of recipients of best teaching awards. Others have founded faculty development centers at their own campuses.

The "Camp" is small. We prefer to work with a group of about twenty faculty. Other distinguishing characteristics for "Boot camp 2007" include: (1) workshops that result in attendants preparing actual materials for their own classes on - site, (2) receipt of a personal library of acclaimed resource books and (3) an emphasis on how to become increasingly successful in each passing future year. In addition to teaching, emphasis is also given to more rarely considered aspects of career success such as becoming a better colleague and becoming a better advisor for students.

The camp experience will introduce you to a body of literature that is seldom encountered within academic disciplines. It is immensely useful, and familiarity with it is gradually becoming indispensable to success in today's universities. Materials you will receive in the 2007 "BOOT CAMP for PROFS®" include a very thick and useful set of working notes plus nine books—likely those below. Sections of these will be used during the week, and they will serve you for many years as good reference sources. If you were to found your own office of faculty development, these would constitute a solid set of resources.
 

Angelo, T. A., and Cross, K. P., 1993, Classroom Assessment Techniques (2^nd ed.): San Francisco, Jossey - Bass, 427 p.

Bain, K., 2004, What the Best College Teachers Do: Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 207 p.

Cooper, J. L., Robinson, P. & Ball, D. (Eds), 2003, Small Group Instruction in Higher Education: Lessons from the Past, Visions of the Future: Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Jones, Thomas B., 2005, The Missing Professor: Sterling, VA, Stylus, 144 p.

King, P. M., and Kitchener, K. S., 1994, Developing Reflective Judgment: San Francisco, Jossey - Bass, 323 p.

Leamnson, R., 1999, Thinking About Teaching and Learning - Developing Habits of Learning With First Year College and University Students: Sterling, VA, Stylus, 169p.

Loacker, G (ed.)., 2000, Self Assessment at Alverno College: Milwaukee, WI, Alverno College, 162 p.

Nuhfer, E. B., and others, 2006, A Handbook for Student Management Teams: Camarillo, CA, California State University of the Channel Islands, 60 p.

Stevens, D. D., and Levi, A. J., 2005, Introduction to Rubrics: Sterling, VA: Stylus, 169p.

Zander, R. S., and Zander, B., 2000, The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life: Harvard Business School Press, 210 p.

Zull, J. E., 2002, The Art of Changing the Brain: Sterling, VA. Stylus, 169p.

THINGS TO BRING TO "CAMP"

GENERAL

The surest way to exhaust attendants in an extensive experience and to prevent needed reflection and thought is to schedule every moment of attendants' time right into the night. At Boot Camp, we build in free time from lunch until 2:30 in the afternoon on all full workdays, and evenings are free other than for one optional workshop (Tuesday evening contains the optional session on evaluation and assessment.) when attendance is truly voluntary. Most attendants value use of this time to network with attendants from other universities, and to draft products for their own classes based on the workshops. To be able to use this free time to its best, bring texts, notes or syllabi that you would likely employ in one (1) upcoming course. Also, bring quizzes, review questions, mid term and final exams you may have constructed for this course. Bring some of your class notes and, particularly, syllabi and drafts of your teaching philosophy on a computer or flash drive You will have access to computers at Colorado Mountain College (CMC), but it will be very helpful to have your own laptop. The dorm rooms have ethernet connections. Try to remember to bring your own ethernet cable. Alternately, you can place files online in your own e-mail sent to yourself as attachments and you can retrieve these at Leadville through CMC's computers. Because this is a golden opportunity to produce some excellent class materials, consider the course that you think will be most difficult to teach next term.

You can expect to prepare a portfolio at camp that will include (a) a revised teaching philosophy, (b) a revised syllabus, (c) a knowledge survey for your course, and (d) class lessons constructed to take advantage of newly acquired skills and knowledge for your own courses.

Bring to the first day's session (requires some preparation before arrival)

(1) Five copies of a one - page (maximum!) teaching philosophy (click here) that includes at least a summary of your teaching goals, as they exist today. Two of these copies should be printed without your name or that of your institution on it. You can consider these as preliminary because we will refine this document throughout the week. You will receive a file online after you register which will help to guide you in the initial introspection needed to begin to produce a sophisticated philosophy.

(2) Two copies of a course syllabus from any course that you teach or aspire to teach.

(3) Completed self reflection exercise (click here) Part of this self reflection will involve doing a Teaching Goals Inventory for one of your courses and printing out your results; visiting the ILS questionnaire found through the web pages of Dr. Richard Felder at http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html and getting a diagnosis of your own learning style (print it out) and finally viewing of "A Private Universe" so you will know what it is when we refer to that during camp.

All attendants should have received a copy of Leamnson's and Bain's books a couple of weeks prior to the Boot Camp. These are used in the Friday morning book discussion groups. When packing, it is easy to forget to bring these, so here is a reminder to pack those with you.

DRESS

Dress is very informal - summer recreational wear works very well for this entire week.

COST

The $1000 fee includes the workshops, materials, lodging, and most meals. Materials furnished include texts, bound notes, on - site Xeroxing and computer disks. Meals include breakfast/brunches and lunches Sunday - through - Saturday, a get - acquainted barbecue Sunday evening, and a banquet on the final Friday evening. Not included are Wednesday's supper (on your own) and the cost of Wednesday afternoon's recreational activity that you choose such as white water rafting or horseback riding.

Paying for Camp

For those paying by check, or those whose institutions are paying by check: Make those checks out to Boot Camp for Profs® and send them to attention Ed Nuhfer, 1224 Hancock Place, Pocatello, ID 83201.

For those paying by credit card--personal or institutional(see note below): DO NOT email your Credit Card Number. Instead, print the form below and phone it to Edward Nuhfer at 208 241 5029 or fax it to Edward Nuhfer c/o Cindy Haddon at 208 282 5361.

If your institution is paying for your registration for individuals or teams from your campus, provide the information in this web page to the persons responsible for handling that paperwork. They can choose to pay out of this fiscal year's money before June 30 or pay after camp out of next year's after July 1. We do ask this year that arrangements for all payments be clarified by June 15. We will have no facilities at Boot Camp itself through which to process credit cards.

ACADEMIC CREDIT OPTION

Attendants have the option to earn three hours of graduate credit through Idaho State University.

Credit registrants need to attend all sessions, and complete and turn in a portfolio by November 30, 2007. If and when it becomes clear you can register for academic credit, call ISU's Academic Outreach Office at (208) 282-4545 or 4599, and request registration for ACAD-598P, College Teaching and Learning. The credit option has cost about $50 per credit, in addition to the regular Bootcamp fee. The payment for credits is done directly through the ISU Outreach Office and is not mixed with any account handled by Boot Camp for Profs®. Drs. Ed Nuhfer (CSUCI) and Steve Adkison (ISU) will be the listed instructors. When you phone to register for credit, be sure to inform the ISU person on the other end of the phone that you have already paid the Boot Camp fee.

Those who receive graduate credit must (A) Register for Credit as ACAD-598P as described above; (B) Attend the full week-long resident program and (C) submit the following products as a portfolio.

1. One copy of current teaching philosophy
2. One course syllabus
3. A representative knowledge survey that is designed for at least a month's coverage in a course. (If you have a whole-course survey, you can submit it, but for credit we only ask you to design a small one to get the experience of producing it.)
4. One lesson plan that makes use of an alternative learning method other than lecture. It can be cooperative learning, case study, writing, or any other instruction that is not primarily lecture-based.
We prefer that you actually finish these documents in a reflective way after camp so that your efforts result in products actually used and tested by you. For this reason, we do not try to cram completion of these products into the week in residence at the camp. Deadline for submission of these is November 30, 2007. Electronic submissions are fine.

GETTING TO CAMP and LEADVILLE

All activities will take place at Colorado Mountain Colleges' Timberline Campus on 901 South Highway 24 in Leadville, Colorado. Housing is in the new dormitories at this campus. Each attendant has his/her own room and bathroom. Attendants may drive to Leadville via Interstate 70 and exit on either Highway 24 (Exit 171) or Highway 91 (Exit 195). The closest airport is Denver International Airport, which is about 135 miles (three hours driving time) from Leadville. Weekly rates on rental cars in summer are good, and probably provide the most economical connection from Denver to Leadville. The schedule for Camp follows below on these web pages.

Leadville is at an elevation of a bit above 10,000 ft with cool evenings and warm sun during days. For those engaging in white water rafting (a mid - week option) bring clothing that can (1) be doused with water without care and (2) can offer protection from excessive sun exposure. Those engaging in horseback riding (also a mid - week option) should bring long pants such a blue jeans. The area around Leadville has wonderful hiking trails and scenic biking. A newly completed bike trail lies adjacent to the campus. If you drive to the camp, vring a bicycle. The town hosts a mining museum, an antique train that carries one to incredible vistas near Climax, and other recreational attractions.

Because Leadville sits at an altitude above 10,000 feet, a few tips on dealing with the altitude will be useful to those coming from out-of-state. Common inconveniences of acclimating to this altitude include difficulty sleeping and headaches for the first day or so. Drink plenty of water, because these effects usually are exacerbated by dehydration. The air is cool and thin, so you won't feel the usual heat accompanied by dehydration. Sunburns occur easily at this altitude for the same reason. Use sunscreen or dress in long sleeves when spending a lot of time outdoors. For those who use Wednesday afternoon to go whitewater rafting, sunscreen is a must.

PROGRAM

Starting on Monday morning through Friday, participants have the option to attend morning yoga classes hosted by our instructor, Margie Krest, who is a certified yoga instructor as well as a professor.

June 24, Sunday  --    FOUNDATIONS of SUCCESS - INTROSPECTION The Tree Trunk

BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:00 A.M.

Convene 9:30 a.m.              Bring to these Sunday sessions:

(a) 1 - page teaching philosophy written as a narrative (5 copies - click here)

(b) Your syllabus of a course you have taught (two copies)

(c) Your completed introspection exercises - click here.

9:40 - 11:00--"No one gets in to see the Wizard - not no how, not no way!" Ed Nuhfer, Margie Krest, Mitch Handelsman, Carl Pletsch

11:00-11:20 Break

11:20 - noon Preparation for tomorrow's session Learning through writing your philosophy — Margie Krest

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch

1:30 - 3:30 Let's Go to the Movies! —"The Teacher in the Movies" created and presented by James Rhem

3:30-3:50 Snack Break

3:50 - 5:15 A Fractal Dawning for Teaching and Learning-- Ed "F F" Nuhfer

6:00 Dinner Opening Night - Bar - B - Que

June 25, Monday   --  TEACHING, LEARNING, and our PHILOSOPHIES—Patterns in the Branches

BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:00 A.M.

Convene 9:00 a.m.

9:00 - noon --Linking Cooperative Learning to the Research on How Students Learn. Barbara Millis (contains 20 minute Snack Break)

noon - 1:00 Lunch Break

Open work time until sessions start at 2:30

2:30 - 4:40 Learning through Writing - Your Teaching Philosophy - Margie Krest (Contains 20-minute snack Break)

Bring to this session:

(a) your current teaching philosophy written as a narrative

(b) your written responses to your group members' philosophy statements

5:00 - 6:00 Dinner

June 26, Tuesday   -- MYSTERY, WRONGDOING, and OVERDOING: Growing Healthy Leaves and Branches

BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:00 A.M.

Convene 9:00 a.m.

9:00 - 10:10 - Morning Mystery Theatre—Opening Act with Tom Jones. Bring with you The Missing Professor

20 minute Snack Break

10:30 - noon Positive Ethics and Positive Teaching — Mitch Handelsman

noon - 1:00 Lunch Break

1:15 Mystery Playhouse Scene 2- The Perils of Nicole—Optional after-lunch discussion outdoors, weather permitting, with Tom Jones and Carl Pletsch on The Missing Professor. Further gatherings to make use of the lessons in this wonderful case book/mystery novel are possible. Simply arrange with Tom and Carl.

Snack Break - 20 minutes

2:30 - 4:30 -- Getting Caught in the Over-teaching Trap--Bob Noyd

5:00 - 6:00 Dinner

7:15 Optional Evening Workshop — Applied Evaluation and Consultation: A Fractal Thinker Looks at Student Evaluations, Ed Nuhfer and participants

June 27, Wednesday -- MORE BRANCHES—CONTENT LEARNING AND STUDENT AWARENESS

BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:00 A.M.

Convene 9:00 a.m.

9:00 - 12:00 (includes 20 minute break ) 9:00 - 12:00 Blueprints and Tools: Instruments to Assure Learning Happens—Rubrics, Knowledge Surveys and Learning Documents—Ed Nuhfer and Karl Wirth

noon - Sack Lunch--Available for Taking on Recreational Outings

Afternoon - Evening RECREATION Options - Horseback riding, biking, hiking white water rafting, are a few of many possible options. You may want to use this for your own personal R & R break - your free choice! Costs of recreational events are borne out - of - pocket by participants, and rates for each option will be furnished on opening day of camp.

Dinner - out on your own in Leadville or elsewhere, possibly with your recreational group, but again, your personal option.

June 28, Thursday -- THINKING?? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' THINKIN'! Getting into the treetop

BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:00 A.M. 

Convene at 9:00 a.m.

9:00 - 12:00 (includes 20 minute break ) 9:00 - 12:00 Mentoring Students to High Level Thinking — Mike Pavelich

Noon - 1:00 Lunch Break Join your "syllabus buddy."

Unstructured work time--if needed with your "Syllabus Buddy" until sessions start at 2:30 

2:30 - 3:30 A Philosophy Enacted: Timeline Exercises and The First Day of Class — Carl Pletsch

Snack Break 20 Minutes

3:50 - 5:00 The Affective Domain and Metacognition: Essential Parts for "the Better Mousetrap"—Ed Nuhfer, Mitch Handelsman and others

5:00 - 6:00 Dinner

June 29, Friday -- PULL IT ALL TOGETHER DAY—READING, DISCUSSING, GUIDING, WRITING & CELEBRATING—from Seed to Sturdy Sapling

BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:00 A.M.

Convene 9:00 a.m.

9:00 - 10:00 Book Discussion Groups - your choice of Leamnson, R., 1999, Thinking About Teaching and Learning or Bain, K., 2004, What the Best College Teachers Do

Snack Break - 20 minutes

10:20 - noon --Being All You can Be --Tara Gray

2:30 --5:30 Your sophisticated teaching philosophy-a capstone summary workshop. Krest and Staff

6:30 BANQUET - BOOT CAMP CELEBRATION! - Please Inform us whether you are leaving for home at the end of the banquet or if you are staying overnight in the dorms. Most adjourn to town for one final party after the banquet.

June 30, Saturday — No sessions or meals- campus closes down. Campers staying Friday night may wish to gather for final goodbyes at a breakfast spot of choice in Leadville before heading home.