COMING BACK FOR MORE
Dr. Maryellen Weimer has posted a terrific message on her blog about critical self-reflection. She writes, "When are you going to retire?” “Why are you still working?” These are questions I’m asked regularly. Worried that the question is motivated by signs of diminished mental acuity, I scour old and new writings looking for evidence. Should I stop working? I wonder. On a recent flight back to State College I sat next to a Penn State student, a junior accounting and finance major. She sounded like one of those students we’re only too happy to have in class. She talked about her courses, projects, assignments she was working on, her teachers, and how excited she was about her chosen fields. “And what do you do?” she asked. “Oh, I work for you,” I replied. “How so?” “Well, I work with college profs on ways to teach that help students learn.” “I’ve had quite a few teachers who could use your help,” she observed. “You know, a good teacher makes such a difference for students. I have this accounting prof who is just fantastic. I leave his class and I am so motivated. I do homework for that class first and I really study for his exams, and not just for the grade; I really want to learn the material.” “What’s his name?” I asked, and when she told me I felt a big smile crossing my face. “I know him! I helped him when he was a brand-new prof.” I didn’t tell her that he wasn’t a very good teacher back then. But I remember his commitment to doing better, his openness to suggestions, and his willingness to learn. And now he’s having this kind of impact on a student! I wish I’d had a glass of wine—a toast seemed so in order." Continue reading.

Love this graphic from Edutopia. It gets to the heart of learning experiences that focus on good writing.


HOW AM I GOING TO USE THIS IN REAL LIFE
The Idea Center offers us clear examples of how and why we should make our learning experiences relevant for our students. "There are many reasons for incorporating real-life situations into instruction. Foremost are that applications of theoretical material in real-life situations make content easier to understand, and that the relevance of content is demonstrated by real-life examples. Relevance is a major component of many motivational models (1, 2) and particularly important if learners’ experiences can be used as a basis for new learning. Recent literature on brain function and learning (3, 4) reinforces a constructivist view in which existing knowledge forms the foundation for incorporating new information into more complex and sophisticated schemas. Thus, if prior experience can be connected to new material in a meaningful way, that material can be more clearly understood and more easily learned." Continue reading.

SOLUTIONS FOR OUR AT-RISK STUDENTS
The next faculty development opportunity comes your way in two power-packed sessions on February 11 and 19. Supporting the Engagement, Learning, and Success of Students At-Risk is the topic of the two webinars to be held in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Bldg./Mid City Campus). Learn how individual faculty members, academic advisors, counselors, and other educators can support at-risk students. Review effective skills, attitudes, and strategies that can enhance student success. Examine what existing departments need to collaborate effectively in order to increase the achievement and success of at-risk students. The webinar will be led by Thomas Brown, a former dean of advising services who also served on the Board of Directors of the National Academic Advising Association. He has consulted with more than 350 colleges and universities in the US and abroad on this important topic. Each session will last for 1.5 hours and the information in the second session will build on the first. It is recommended that you attend both sessions but you should make your decision based on your availability and other engagements. Registration is now open.

TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN USE
Dr. Tiffany Reiss has written an interesting article about the availability of information from an endless supply of providers and how that can be confusing for our students. She writes, "The issue is not with the information itself, but with the quality and sheer quantity of the information. The abundance of freely available information also has changed the role of educators. It’s no longer about us standing in front of class and providing information. It’s about helping these learners contextualize that information. Helping them connect it to what is out there in the real world and give it foundation and meaning." Her remarks follow closely on the faculty development webinar session we sponsored on Thursday. Dr. Shawn Orr, who presented the session, gave the workshop participants a number of great suggestions for engagement techniques that could be used in an online environment as well as face-to-face classes. Orr shared various online resources that we could use to create active learning opportunities for our students including Eyejot, Screencast-o-matic, and Delicious. I want to encourage you to become a follower on the blog and the Twitter sites so that you can keep abreast of what is happening the in the BRCC faculty development world. We did tweet throughout the webinar on Thursday and included resources to enhance your teaching toolkit.

IT'S IN THE SYLLABUS
One of the useful suggestions we heard on Thursday is something I have implemented in my CSSK class. We know how important the class syllabus can be in terms of being an agreement between you and your students. It is, in the fact, the road map for your course. The suggestion was to emphasize to your students just how important that syllabus is throughout the semester. You should try to reference it during every class. You should continuously point to it as the source of information. In that way, you are indicating that it is not something to put in your binder and never reference again. It needs to be discussed repeatedly in order for our students to understand its importance.