Roben Torosyan, Director

Office of Teaching & Learning

Maxwell Library

508-531-2435

roben.torosyan@bridgew.edu

 Dr. Torosyan began service on August 2, 2012, coming to us from Fairfield University, where he helped lead faculty development and taught courses in philosophy and education.  He has sixteen years of faculty development experience, has helped win external grant funding, and his work includes chapters on The Daily Show and a book in progress entitled Teaching for Transformation.  His interests in service learning, diversity, faculty learning communities, and contemplative pedagogy make him an outstanding fit for Bridgewater. He earned a Ph.D. and M. Phil. in Philosophy and Education from Teachers College Columbia University, and an M.A. and B.A. in Cultural Studies from New York University. His personal passions include time with his partner and daughters, racing triathlons, playing classical piano, yoga and meditation.

The fellows work with the OTL director to achieve the mission of her office, which is to support faculty as they work to improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning on the BSU campus.  Toward that end, the fellows conduct outreach to academic departments, programs and individual faculty members to learn their teaching concerns and interests and develop programming (such as workshops, speakers, brownbag and discussion groups) around those issues.  They are also available to work one-on-one with faculty members seeking to strengthen and reflect on their own teaching.  This includes (but is not limited to) confidential class visits and assistance with syllabus, assignment, and course design.  Lastly, the fellowship is a professional development opportunity to reflect on their own practice, research ways to improve their effectiveness, and share their knowledge, ideas and ongoing questions with the BSU community.

Karen Richardson,

Teaching Fellow

Associate Professor and Physical Education and Health Graduate Coordinator
Tinsley Center, Room 223

508-531-2067

karen.richardson@bridgew.edu

Dr. Karen (Pagnano) Richardson

Karen Richardson joined the MAHPLS department in 2003 in the area of physical education pedagogy. She currently teaches classes in physical education methods, instructional strategies and curriculum. Education - Dr. Richardson earned her B.S. in Physical Education from Springfield College in 1988 and then taught physical education and health in a Maine high school for 10 years. In 1998 she earned her M.S. in Physical Education at Indiana State University. In 2004 she earned her Ed. D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is excited about the opportunity to serve as a Teaching Fellow:

I feel fortunate to work on a campus with resources devoted to improving teaching and learning and look forward to making a contribution to this effort. I care deeply about engaging all students in the learning process and supporting college faculty as they embrace new approaches to teaching. My teaching is grounded in constructivist theories, which holds students as active participants in their own learning process, both from a cognitive and socio-cultural perspective. Critical for learning is the need for relevance within the context in which subject matter content is framed. I feel that working as a Teaching Fellow is a unique opportunity to work with BSU faculty who are committed to improving teaching and learning in our college community. I hope to create a “community of practice” among faculty who are engaged in efforts to improve their own teaching and learning with the recognition that each faculty member will bring to the classroom a unique and diverse set of experiences and skills.

I would enjoy talking with you about teaching, sharing quick and easy ways to assess your students, watching you teach, or even helping you design a study about teaching/learning in your classroom. I am always willing to do a walking or running meeting as well, so if time is tight, we can meet and go for a walk or a run while we talk!

John Kucich,

Teaching Fellow

Associate Professor of English
Tillinghast Hall, Room 314

508-531-2722

jkucich@bridgew.edu

Dr. John Kucich

In my dozen years of teaching at the college and secondary school level,  I've been continually fascinated watching how literature opens up the world for me and for my students. Literature jolts us out of our familiar assumptions and understandings, forcing us to confront the world anew. As a teacher, my focus has always been on giving my students the tools to refashion their understanding of the world, helping them attend to the nuances of language and the complicated cultural forces in which literature takes shape. My research in American literature has focused on how people have used writing to reshape their own environments, both natural and social, particularly across cultural lines, and I've brought the same perspective to the classroom. I use literature to challenge students (and teachers of students) to confront the limits of their assumptions and to wrestle with worlds of difference literature embodies.

Thomas Kling
Teaching Fellow
Associate Professor of Physics
Conant Science and Mathematics Center,
Room 214
508-531-2895
tkling@bridgew.edu
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/tkling

Dr. Thomas P. Kling

I have been very lucky to have learned how to be a college professor from engaging, knowledgeable, dedicated, and thoughtful faculty from across Bridgewater and elsewhere.  Without the insights I have drawn from others, I am sure I would not be very effective today.  What I hope to do as a faculty fellow in the OTL is to continue to share what has been shared with me.

As a professor, three things are important to my identity:  that I am a physicist, that I am the product of a broad and deep liberal arts education, and that I want to engage with my students in intellectual pursuits they find meaningful.  Physicists are analytic pragmatists; we think hard to define a problem and solve it as best one can with the tools available.   Bridgewater is a special place in that while we are not small, we feel like a liberal arts college to me.  My professional life is so much richer because I have met so many faculty who teach interesting courses and pursue fascinating research.  Finally, my teaching philosophy is that my job is to create a structure in which students learn (mostly) physics, using the most engaging methods suited to the material I can find.  This has led me to combine WAC ideas with physics-specific pedagogy with inquiry methods with technology with . . .

As part of my duties in the Office of Teaching and Learning, I want to help faculty define their expectations of and roles in student success: defined primarily in terms of undergraduate degree attainment.  Through the Project Compass and STREAMS grants, Bridgewater now possesses strong data analysis skills to help faculty understand the nexus of student preparation, classroom pedagogies, and other challenges that lead to students failing to graduate.  I want to move forward a conversation about what faculty can do to help students be more successful.