FACULTY DEVELOPMENT KICKOFF
Enjoyed seeing many of you at Vice Chancellor Cross's gathering on Thursday. The feedback I received at the meeting and via email over the last two days has been very positive and validating. Please know that the Teaching+Learning Center is a resource for you so let us know how we can help.
INCREASING STUDENT PARTICIPATION
Dr. Kelly Rocca discovered why students do and do not participate in class by reviewing articles on the topic from 1958 until 2009. Based on the literature review, Rocca names five factors that influence whether or not a student chooses to participate in class including: logistics (mainly class size-smaller is better); confidence and classroom apprehension (intimidation from classroom extraverts); personality traits (low self-esteem and non-assertiveness); instructor and classroom climate (not paying attention to students, making fun of their answers, being overly critical, sarcasm, moodiness and aloofness); and, gender differences (this is subsiding as the population of colleges shifts to majority female, a statistic that matches the faculty more). Some of these factors may be out of your control but it is clear that your attitude and approach is very influential in setting the right classroom environment that promotes learning.
TAKING YOUR CLASS TEMPERATURE
A terrific article in College Teaching gives us some valuable insight into how formative assessment can reveal the level of student learning in our courses. The group of researchers list a number of great interventions that can be used to gauge the temperature of your class. For instance, assignment blogs are designed to encourage communication, collaboration, and dissemination of feedback but are great way to gather questions from your students and provide feedback about certain aspects of an assignment. Blogs are open-access, so if a student asks a good question, all of the other students will benefit from that exchange. Teachers can also use the assignment blog to identify general areas of concern based on previous student work or to offer feedback to the class as a whole thereby allowing students the opportunity to self-assess. It also creates a great engagement opportunity between faculty and students and peer to peer. This activity will also help to improve your student's ability to think critically.
PREPPING FOR CLASS
August 20 is rapidly approaching but there is still time to review your syllabus. Make sure you are listing all of the course requirements and be very specific about due dates and your policy on accepting late work.
ART MATTERS
Finally, we want to post one of the new pieces that have recently gone on display in the Magnolia Building. The work shown is called Something Borrowed, Something Blue by BRCC faculty member Steve Schmitt.
Enjoyed seeing many of you at Vice Chancellor Cross's gathering on Thursday. The feedback I received at the meeting and via email over the last two days has been very positive and validating. Please know that the Teaching+Learning Center is a resource for you so let us know how we can help.
INCREASING STUDENT PARTICIPATION
Dr. Kelly Rocca discovered why students do and do not participate in class by reviewing articles on the topic from 1958 until 2009. Based on the literature review, Rocca names five factors that influence whether or not a student chooses to participate in class including: logistics (mainly class size-smaller is better); confidence and classroom apprehension (intimidation from classroom extraverts); personality traits (low self-esteem and non-assertiveness); instructor and classroom climate (not paying attention to students, making fun of their answers, being overly critical, sarcasm, moodiness and aloofness); and, gender differences (this is subsiding as the population of colleges shifts to majority female, a statistic that matches the faculty more). Some of these factors may be out of your control but it is clear that your attitude and approach is very influential in setting the right classroom environment that promotes learning.
TAKING YOUR CLASS TEMPERATURE
A terrific article in College Teaching gives us some valuable insight into how formative assessment can reveal the level of student learning in our courses. The group of researchers list a number of great interventions that can be used to gauge the temperature of your class. For instance, assignment blogs are designed to encourage communication, collaboration, and dissemination of feedback but are great way to gather questions from your students and provide feedback about certain aspects of an assignment. Blogs are open-access, so if a student asks a good question, all of the other students will benefit from that exchange. Teachers can also use the assignment blog to identify general areas of concern based on previous student work or to offer feedback to the class as a whole thereby allowing students the opportunity to self-assess. It also creates a great engagement opportunity between faculty and students and peer to peer. This activity will also help to improve your student's ability to think critically.
PREPPING FOR CLASS
August 20 is rapidly approaching but there is still time to review your syllabus. Make sure you are listing all of the course requirements and be very specific about due dates and your policy on accepting late work.
ART MATTERS
Finally, we want to post one of the new pieces that have recently gone on display in the Magnolia Building. The work shown is called Something Borrowed, Something Blue by BRCC faculty member Steve Schmitt.
