LET'S BE HONEST
David F. Feldon in his article Why Magic Bullets Don't Work (Change ) encourages us to "let our students in on the secret once we have figured out what content needs to be taught." He notes that students "sincerely appreciate knowing up front what they will be learning, what is expected of them, how they will be assessed, and how all of these elements fit together." Sharing this, he explains, prevents them from "extraneous effort."
MEETING STUDENTS EXPECTATIONS
Rediscovered this op-ed by Steven J. Bell in which he opines that many professors are perplexed by their students’ entitlement complex. To their way of thinking, say the faculty, students see themselves as customers who deserve being treated as “always right” no matter how wrong, rude, inconsiderate, or otherwise bizarre they behave. Bell suggest that "faculty members should try designing an actual experience for their students, modeled on the principles and qualities of iconic user experiences."
FLIPPING DONE RIGHT
If you are open to trying some new techniques to ramp up student learning in your classes, take a look at this short post by Anthony Persico. The use of videos in his mathematics class has proven to him that active learning is enhanced by flipping. "My students’ final-exam pass rates nearly doubled from the previous year," he writes. Read the entire post here.
Showing posts with label learning environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning environment. Show all posts
Monday, May 12, 2014
FINALS WEEK ADVICE
It is officially finals week at BRCC. Where did our semester go? Hopefully this will be a time for achievement and affirmation. Pledge to create a testing atmosphere that allows your students to perform at their best. Remind them to study, rest, and eat so that they are ready for the challenges of assessment. This is also a great time to begin to reflect on your work this semester. If you journaled, like I did, you can take a look at the entries once more. I am amazed at where we (the students and me) began this journey and where we are now. I have seen tremendous growth from most of my students. I have witnessed grit and persistence. I have seen success. I always learn so much about teaching and learning over the course of a semester and this one proved to be filled with lessons. I have also taken another look at all of my assessment instruments I used over the semester and tried to incorporate what worked best, based on the scores achieved by my students, into my final assessment. The proof will be in the final grades although I can tell you that all of my students have learned. They are better equipped to handle the pressures of college and they have changed their ideas about what learning is and how to do it. Today is a good day. Keep calm and be engaged!
KEEPING CALM AND BEING ENGAGED
Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross and I gathered with the Engaged Scholars on Friday to celebrate their success and acknowledge their efforts. Teachers who come each day to make a difference give us so much inspiration. Many of the "engagement specialists" shared stories of what happened in their classrooms and online and the recollections were filled with good news and accomplishments. Capital One was the corporate sponsor for the event held at Bistro Byronz. Patrick Olinde, district manager, and Mary Pourciau, manager of the Broadmoor branch, represented Capital One and were so excited to hear about BRCC's accomplishments. Engaged Scholars recognized for 2013-14 included Mrs. Catherine Doyle (Nursing), Dr. Sandra Guzman (Science), Mr. Paul Guidry (Criminal Justice), Mr. Wes Harris (English), Dr. Mary Miller (Science), and Mrs. Amy Pinero (Criminal Justice). If you are looking to improve your interaction skills or learn a few engagement strategies, please contact the Teaching+Learning Center to discuss creating a personal plan of action.
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION
Sally Johnstone and Thad Nodine have written an article for Inside Higher Ed about competency-based education (CBE). Although available to students for several decades, CBE has seen a jump in interest over the past year. Politicians at the national level are encouraging innovation in new delivery models. Federal agencies and foundations are weighing in with studies and grants. And think tanks and higher education associations are organizing convenings and webinars. Meanwhile, more colleges and universities are beginning to offer competency-based education (CBE) programs and many others are considering them. There has been plenty of attention, at the 30,000-foot level, concerning the potential benefits and risks of CBE, but little has been shared about what the programs entail on the ground, particularly for traditional institutions. One critical characteristic that distinguishes CBE from other courses is that students can progress at their own pace. They progress toward course objectives and toward a certificate or degree, based on demonstrating the knowledge and skills required at each level. That is, learning becomes the constant -- and is demonstrated through mastery of learning objectives, or competencies -- and time becomes the variable.
It is officially finals week at BRCC. Where did our semester go? Hopefully this will be a time for achievement and affirmation. Pledge to create a testing atmosphere that allows your students to perform at their best. Remind them to study, rest, and eat so that they are ready for the challenges of assessment. This is also a great time to begin to reflect on your work this semester. If you journaled, like I did, you can take a look at the entries once more. I am amazed at where we (the students and me) began this journey and where we are now. I have seen tremendous growth from most of my students. I have witnessed grit and persistence. I have seen success. I always learn so much about teaching and learning over the course of a semester and this one proved to be filled with lessons. I have also taken another look at all of my assessment instruments I used over the semester and tried to incorporate what worked best, based on the scores achieved by my students, into my final assessment. The proof will be in the final grades although I can tell you that all of my students have learned. They are better equipped to handle the pressures of college and they have changed their ideas about what learning is and how to do it. Today is a good day. Keep calm and be engaged!
KEEPING CALM AND BEING ENGAGED
Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross and I gathered with the Engaged Scholars on Friday to celebrate their success and acknowledge their efforts. Teachers who come each day to make a difference give us so much inspiration. Many of the "engagement specialists" shared stories of what happened in their classrooms and online and the recollections were filled with good news and accomplishments. Capital One was the corporate sponsor for the event held at Bistro Byronz. Patrick Olinde, district manager, and Mary Pourciau, manager of the Broadmoor branch, represented Capital One and were so excited to hear about BRCC's accomplishments. Engaged Scholars recognized for 2013-14 included Mrs. Catherine Doyle (Nursing), Dr. Sandra Guzman (Science), Mr. Paul Guidry (Criminal Justice), Mr. Wes Harris (English), Dr. Mary Miller (Science), and Mrs. Amy Pinero (Criminal Justice). If you are looking to improve your interaction skills or learn a few engagement strategies, please contact the Teaching+Learning Center to discuss creating a personal plan of action.
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION
Sally Johnstone and Thad Nodine have written an article for Inside Higher Ed about competency-based education (CBE). Although available to students for several decades, CBE has seen a jump in interest over the past year. Politicians at the national level are encouraging innovation in new delivery models. Federal agencies and foundations are weighing in with studies and grants. And think tanks and higher education associations are organizing convenings and webinars. Meanwhile, more colleges and universities are beginning to offer competency-based education (CBE) programs and many others are considering them. There has been plenty of attention, at the 30,000-foot level, concerning the potential benefits and risks of CBE, but little has been shared about what the programs entail on the ground, particularly for traditional institutions. One critical characteristic that distinguishes CBE from other courses is that students can progress at their own pace. They progress toward course objectives and toward a certificate or degree, based on demonstrating the knowledge and skills required at each level. That is, learning becomes the constant -- and is demonstrated through mastery of learning objectives, or competencies -- and time becomes the variable.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
CELEBRATING STUDENT SUCCESS
The coveted Keep Calm and Be Engaged green shirt has been awarded once again to a faculty member who is relentless in her pursuit of student success. Dr. Mary Miller, who teaches science classes, was recently surprised with her recognition when we popped in on one of her classes. One of her outstanding students, Robin Chautin, said, "From day one of microbiology, Dr. Miller greeted our class
with an enthusiastic, positive attitude. She is very clear when she teaches and breaks down the material in a manner that is easily understood. Her
examples in class are of such a wide variety and she will go to great lengths
to make sure that everyone is clear on the topic. The thing I like the most
about Dr. Miller's class is that our labs are very organized and the objective
is always clear. Dr. Miller is extremely knowledgeable in
microbiology and her passion for it is contagious! This is by far the most fun learning experience I have ever had!" While we were there, it was also an opportunity to "celebrate learning." She had recently given a test and a number of her students scored a B or better. So we combined the two celebrations and took the picture shown on the left (front row left to right, Crystal Armand, Elizabeth Ford,
Erica Zumo, and Amanda Yan; back row, Dr. Miller, Alyssa Perry, Ashley Dyer,
Robin Chautin, Brenda Odom, Victoria
Danagogo, and Patrick Stewart) to share with you. If you would like to share your student success story, please let me know and we will arrange to visit your class as well.
FALL BREAK OPPORTUNITY
ZOMBIES INVADE BRCC
Week six of the Common Reader Faculty Learning Community focused on what Ken Bain defines as a natural critical learning environment. It is what emerged in his research study as the perfect setting for student learning to occur. His research results suggest that this learning environment allows students to "confront important problems in ways that force them to rethink assumptions and examine their mental models of reality." The discussion between your colleagues produced an "aha" moment. Bain says, "In order to maximize the engagement factor, you need to focus on what students care about, know, or think they know, the things that excite them." It needs to be combined with your disciplinary knowledge but if we are to capture and keep their attention, it needs to be "important" to them in some way. The aha moment occurred when we began to discuss what is currently important to them and one topic emerged: zombies. As we began to talk about ways to uncover what is important to them, like using personal response systems or using a Doodle poll, we came to the conclusion that popular culture could help. Because advertising firms have endless pots of money to spend on uncovering our likes and tendencies, that is the obvious place to turn for this answer. So returning to the zombies theme we were quickly able to reference that there are a number of TV shows (The Walking Dead) and movies (World War Z and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) and in fact a couple of commercials running incessantly right now about this topic (Toyota and Sprint). So your challenge is, how do you integrate the topic of zombies into your learning experiences for your classes? The FLC members also encourage us to pay close attention to the media in order to help stay current with what topics are trending with our students.
FALL BREAK OPPORTUNITY
There are still a few spots available for the faculty professional development workshop on Thursday, October 17. Testing 101: Assessing Student Learning will be held in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Building/Mid City Campus) at 3:00 PM. Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to evaluate current assessment instruments and determine their effectiveness towards indicating student learning; build a better testing and assessment instrument using a test blueprint; determine if their learning experiences and their testing is aligned; and, identify the advantages of different types of testing. You can register for your spot now.
Week six of the Common Reader Faculty Learning Community focused on what Ken Bain defines as a natural critical learning environment. It is what emerged in his research study as the perfect setting for student learning to occur. His research results suggest that this learning environment allows students to "confront important problems in ways that force them to rethink assumptions and examine their mental models of reality." The discussion between your colleagues produced an "aha" moment. Bain says, "In order to maximize the engagement factor, you need to focus on what students care about, know, or think they know, the things that excite them." It needs to be combined with your disciplinary knowledge but if we are to capture and keep their attention, it needs to be "important" to them in some way. The aha moment occurred when we began to discuss what is currently important to them and one topic emerged: zombies. As we began to talk about ways to uncover what is important to them, like using personal response systems or using a Doodle poll, we came to the conclusion that popular culture could help. Because advertising firms have endless pots of money to spend on uncovering our likes and tendencies, that is the obvious place to turn for this answer. So returning to the zombies theme we were quickly able to reference that there are a number of TV shows (The Walking Dead) and movies (World War Z and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) and in fact a couple of commercials running incessantly right now about this topic (Toyota and Sprint). So your challenge is, how do you integrate the topic of zombies into your learning experiences for your classes? The FLC members also encourage us to pay close attention to the media in order to help stay current with what topics are trending with our students.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
THE DAY THE WORLD STOPPED TURNING
For the past 11 years, we have commemorated of one of the most tragic of days in our nation's history. We join with people around the world who mourn the losses we incurred that horrific day. As educators it is certainly an opportunity to engage with our students about the events of that day. While it easy to imagine tackling this topic in history or political science, there are just as many opportunities to create a discussion in biology, English, or psychology. However you choose to approach it, I hope that you take some time today to honor the memories of all that lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
FREE WEBINAR OPPORTUNITY
There is still time to register for the free webinar How To Help Students Discover Their Ideal Learning Environment that will be held on Thursday, September 13 at 2:00PM. This webinar will focus on a new program being implemented at Colorado State University, called LifeTraits. This innovative 20-question assessment is designed to profile both students and staff to map their individual personalities to their ideal environments. Unlike other personality profiles, LifeTraits helps students express the needs and wants they seek in their surroundings and gives staff a vocabulary to aid in that approach.Some of the specific topics scheduled to be covered include: understanding which students are most likely to drop out and identifying behavior indicators prior to a stressful encounter; identifying the ideal environment/stressors based on student and staff personality; developing strategies for adapting to the environment to promote learning; and, using student personality data to better reach and communicate with students.
ONLINE COURSE REDESIGN TIPS
If you are looking to revise a current or create a new online course, we recommend Dr. Robin M. Smith's book Conquering the Content: A step-by-step guide to online course design (LB 1044.87 S617). Dr. Smith developed and directed the Center for Web-Based Learning at Southern Arkansas University Tech and was the first WebCT trainer in the South Central United States. Not only is her book filled with useful advice, she includes templates and forms that help guide you to create an online course of excellence. Each chapter begins with learning outcomes as she models the behavior she is championing. Levin, Cox, Cerven, and Haberler in their article The Recipe for Promising Practices in Community Colleges identify and examine the key practices of California community college programs that have demonstrated success in improving (or that have shown significant potential to improve) the achievement of underrepresented groups. They note, "Programs in our study were prepared to work with the students they served while addressing their surrounding social, geographic, and economic contexts. The college program with promising practices, often as a result of faculty behaviors, develops and maintains relationships with local communities, industries, institutions, and agencies."
For the past 11 years, we have commemorated of one of the most tragic of days in our nation's history. We join with people around the world who mourn the losses we incurred that horrific day. As educators it is certainly an opportunity to engage with our students about the events of that day. While it easy to imagine tackling this topic in history or political science, there are just as many opportunities to create a discussion in biology, English, or psychology. However you choose to approach it, I hope that you take some time today to honor the memories of all that lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
FREE WEBINAR OPPORTUNITY
There is still time to register for the free webinar How To Help Students Discover Their Ideal Learning Environment that will be held on Thursday, September 13 at 2:00PM. This webinar will focus on a new program being implemented at Colorado State University, called LifeTraits. This innovative 20-question assessment is designed to profile both students and staff to map their individual personalities to their ideal environments. Unlike other personality profiles, LifeTraits helps students express the needs and wants they seek in their surroundings and gives staff a vocabulary to aid in that approach.Some of the specific topics scheduled to be covered include: understanding which students are most likely to drop out and identifying behavior indicators prior to a stressful encounter; identifying the ideal environment/stressors based on student and staff personality; developing strategies for adapting to the environment to promote learning; and, using student personality data to better reach and communicate with students.
ONLINE COURSE REDESIGN TIPS
If you are looking to revise a current or create a new online course, we recommend Dr. Robin M. Smith's book Conquering the Content: A step-by-step guide to online course design (LB 1044.87 S617). Dr. Smith developed and directed the Center for Web-Based Learning at Southern Arkansas University Tech and was the first WebCT trainer in the South Central United States. Not only is her book filled with useful advice, she includes templates and forms that help guide you to create an online course of excellence. Each chapter begins with learning outcomes as she models the behavior she is championing. Levin, Cox, Cerven, and Haberler in their article The Recipe for Promising Practices in Community Colleges identify and examine the key practices of California community college programs that have demonstrated success in improving (or that have shown significant potential to improve) the achievement of underrepresented groups. They note, "Programs in our study were prepared to work with the students they served while addressing their surrounding social, geographic, and economic contexts. The college program with promising practices, often as a result of faculty behaviors, develops and maintains relationships with local communities, industries, institutions, and agencies."
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