Friday, April 4, 2014

LATEST ADVICE FROM SCHOLARS LIKE US
Faculty Focus has released a number of very useful articles for those of us looking to improve teaching and learning in our courses. Dr. Deborah Bracke explained how she is changing the way she assesses student learning and writes, "I have found that the retrospective pre- and posttest assessment opens the door wide, and for this reason I am motivated to share it." Can you flip an online class? That is the question addressed by Dr. Barbi Honeycutt and Sarah Glova in their recent article. They noted, "The flipped classroom model can help us design more interactive and engaging online learning experiences, and online classes can help us expand on what it means to flip." Jane Gee explains how you can use reading circles to get your students to do assigned reading. She found that, "After a semester of using this technique, overwhelmingly my students reported that the activity “greatly impacted” their learning."

ACADEMIC ADVISING HELP IS ON THE WAY
If you are looking for some direction and clarification to help with your student advising responsibilities, plan on joining us on April 29 for a professional development workshop. We will continue the conversation we began with the webinar earlier this week. In addition, we are now gathering input from you on what you are looking for in the way of assistance. Please forward your ideas as well as your definition of what student advising is all about to me at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu. Look for more information soon about the workshop on the 29th which will be held during the 1:00-2:15 pm open slot.

TESTING CENTER NEEDS YOUR HELP
Please remind all of your students who are testing at Mid City, Acadian, and the various sites that they are not allowed to bring anything with them into the Testing Center. The Testing Center does have a limited number of lockers for use by the various customers. We are also asking that you remind all testers to use the scheduler for making appointments. As the volume continues to increase, we are working hard to make sure our customers receive the level of service they deserve. The policies in place are required by our partners. In addition, we are working to maintain an environment that is conducive to producing the best results for all testers. Should you have any comments, please feel free to contact the Testing Center staff at 216.8038 or via email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu).