BEST PRACTICES FOR ONLINE RESPONSE RATES
Now that you have finished posting your grades, it is time to take a look at your student rating report. This can be accessed using your Canvas account. As I have said in the past, taking a look today and then putting it away for a week will help give you some perspective. The next time you take a look, really open yourself up to "hear" your student's perspective. The IDEA Center also has some sage advice ON THIS TOPIC in this paper.
ACTIVE LEARNING WEBINAR MAY HELP YOU GET STARTED
Implementing active learning is a fantastic way to liven up discussions
and encourage higher-level thinking. But what does active learning look
like in practice? Shawn Orr, Manager of Faculty Training &
Engagement at Cengage Learning,
recently led a webinar on this very topic, in which she shared
strategies she uses to get her students enthusiastically participating. You can access the webinar here.
TAKE A RISK TO INVIGORATE YOURSELF
Do you consider yourself a risk taker? Some of us would like to try new things but assume that it may be overwhelming or not worth the effort. Karine Veldhoen has a blog post that encourages us to take the risk. She writes, "Pedagogy is the method or practice of teaching an academic subject or
theoretical concept. We are pedagogues, yet we can always try new
methods or practices and take risks. It will be out of our comfort zone
and might even be scary. We won't feel like an expert, but it might be
exhilarating, and who knows what our potential is? What new pedagogy can
you risk? Project-based learning? A new technology? A different
assessment method? Student-led conferences?" Read the entire post here.
Showing posts with label pedagogy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pedagogy. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Most of you are familiar with the active learning paradigm that encourages students to listen, write, read, discuss, and apply new knowledge so that it becomes part of their long-term memories. Dr. Rodger Bybee and his colleagues have come up with a similar pedagogy based on teaching in the sciences. It is called the 5E Learning Cycle and is based on the constructivist view of learning. The five E's are engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Using this process allows the instructor to identify and challenge students' misconceptions and provide students time to explore, investigate, and reconstruct their knowledge. You can learn more about this process in the article Which Comes First-Language or Content? in the Science Teacher magazine (April/May 2016).
HELPING STUDENTS LEARN ONLINE
When teaching in a traditional classroom, we are often able to assess how our students learning best through observation, low-stakes feedback, or by using active learning methods. So how does that work in an online environment? Adrienne Erin has an interesting post about just that. "Different Learning Styles: How to balance your eLearning program" describes the way different learners might be motivated to learn. She notes, "Learners work alone, in groups or with instructors. Interactions with others are either synchronous or asynchronous. Because of its open-ended nature, eLearning has exceptional advantages. Learners can be located anywhere in the world, as long as an ISP is available." Read more here. To learn more about the dual coding theory, click here.
IT'S JUST A TEST
With the final exam period beginning on Monday, you may notice that your students are more tense and anxious. This is certainly understandable as they struggle to indicate to you what they have learned and how they can apply it. Dr. Maryellen Weimer has posted an informational piece about how you can help your students lower their anxiety and produce their best work. She writes, " Teachers can’t cure test anxiety. But they can offer remedies that students should be encouraged to try. Information about good study strategies should be included in every course. Sometimes that information is more persuasive if it comes from fellow classmates. Discussion of the study strategies used for the test ought to be part of the debrief session." Read more here.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
WATER COOLER TALK
When teachers tell me about some new strategy or approach they’ve implemented, I usually ask how they found out about it and almost always get the same response: “Oh, a colleague told me about it.” I continue to be amazed by the amount of pedagogical knowledge that is shared verbally (and electronically) between colleagues. And I’m equally impressed by the spirit of sharing. Even if it’s an idea I thought up myself, one I’ve spent time and energy developing that I could ostensibly copyright or patent, if you want to use it—go right ahead. It’s yours. There are no intellectual property rights on good teaching ideas, and that’s a beautiful part of our culture. So writes Dr. Maryellen Weimer in a new post about pedagogy sharing. You can read the entire post here.
THE BLENDED WAY TO SUCCESS
Did you know that blended courses, that meet face-to-face and online throughout the week, have some of the highest completion rates and students report that they are very effective at helping them learn? Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti has an interesting post about blended courses and offers, "Think about what it takes to make a blended learning class successful. Of course, you need a faculty member who is able to teach the course, a robust set of learning objectives, a clear instructional design that integrates both the online and face-to-face aspects, and the instructional content required to successfully teach the course. But you also need support of librarians who can help students with varied types of assignments, academic advisors who can effectively counsel students into the right kind of blended course for their learning style, plus various student support services that can help students with variable campus attendance requirements navigate registration, book purchase, and payment. Indeed, the decision to offer a blended course or program can influence the entire university." Read more here.
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS FOR ELEARNING CLASSES
Group assignments teach students far more than simply what they glean from the research they conduct and the project they complete. Astute students will also learn important lessons about communicating clearly, establishing plans and schedules, and collaborating in a proactive and positive manner. They may also hone their leadership skills along the way.Students taking online courses gain the additional benefit of learning to work with others in technology-mediated settings. To learn more about this topic, click here.
When teachers tell me about some new strategy or approach they’ve implemented, I usually ask how they found out about it and almost always get the same response: “Oh, a colleague told me about it.” I continue to be amazed by the amount of pedagogical knowledge that is shared verbally (and electronically) between colleagues. And I’m equally impressed by the spirit of sharing. Even if it’s an idea I thought up myself, one I’ve spent time and energy developing that I could ostensibly copyright or patent, if you want to use it—go right ahead. It’s yours. There are no intellectual property rights on good teaching ideas, and that’s a beautiful part of our culture. So writes Dr. Maryellen Weimer in a new post about pedagogy sharing. You can read the entire post here.
THE BLENDED WAY TO SUCCESS
Did you know that blended courses, that meet face-to-face and online throughout the week, have some of the highest completion rates and students report that they are very effective at helping them learn? Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti has an interesting post about blended courses and offers, "Think about what it takes to make a blended learning class successful. Of course, you need a faculty member who is able to teach the course, a robust set of learning objectives, a clear instructional design that integrates both the online and face-to-face aspects, and the instructional content required to successfully teach the course. But you also need support of librarians who can help students with varied types of assignments, academic advisors who can effectively counsel students into the right kind of blended course for their learning style, plus various student support services that can help students with variable campus attendance requirements navigate registration, book purchase, and payment. Indeed, the decision to offer a blended course or program can influence the entire university." Read more here.
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS FOR ELEARNING CLASSES
Group assignments teach students far more than simply what they glean from the research they conduct and the project they complete. Astute students will also learn important lessons about communicating clearly, establishing plans and schedules, and collaborating in a proactive and positive manner. They may also hone their leadership skills along the way.Students taking online courses gain the additional benefit of learning to work with others in technology-mediated settings. To learn more about this topic, click here.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
BLACKBOARD EXPERTS ON THE RISE AT BRCC
The day started with a bang as several of your colleagues new to Blackboard began their training session at 9:00 AM in the Teaching+Learning Center. eLearning Program Manager Susan Nealy and IT Technical Support Manager Lenora White are facilitating the training sessions. The intermediate-level Blackboard users began their session at 11:00 AM. The training concludes with our advanced group at 1:00 PM today. The comments from the participants have been very positive about our latest version of Blackboard. Many are impressed with the analytics feature that will allow them to drill deep as they monitor their students progress during the semester. Next up is the eLearning teacher certification program planned for the summer. Those selected to participate in this year's program should be receiving their notification via email very shortly.
BEGIN SMALL WITH ACTIVE LEARNING
We have been encouraging the use of active learning as we move towards a learner-centered institution. One of the reasons that many faculty tell me they don't want to try using active-learning techniques is that they are comfortable lecturing and research shows that "they may find innovative instructional techniques intimidating." Paramount among your concerns is the fear of “losing control” of the class. In addition, some faculty may avoid incorporating active-learning strategies into their classrooms because they think that students will react negatively. Faust and Paulson note in their research, "A complaint we often hear is, “I tried active learning, but my students didn’t like it.” Indeed, most of us have had the experience of attempting to initiate class discussion and being faced with silence. These two issues are related, for both students and faculty tend to be comfortable with what they are trained to do. Thus, as long as faculty lean primarily on lecturing, students will expect to sit and listen (and often hide or sleep in class)." Faculty development experts suggest that you begin using active learning in small ways at first. You need to become comfortable with the approach before you can fully realize its potential. Some of the learning experiences listed in the revised Active Learning Manual that would be easy to try are the Muddiest Point or One-Minute Paper. The idea is to do something active each time you meet in a face-to-face class. You are building your expertise at the same time as you are creating expectation in your students. Let me know if you want a copy of the latest version of the Active Learning Manual.
CAN YOU HELP ME FIND A JOB
Why did you decide to go to college? Asking that question of new students in a more formal way might help colleges find ways to encourage more students to complete their programs, according to a new study from University of Rochester education researchers published in The Journal of College Student Development. The study found that students motivated by a desire for autonomy and competence tended to earn higher grades and show a greater likelihood of persistence than did other students. (The findings were controlled for academic background and various other factors, and were based on surveys of 2,500 students at a community college and a liberal arts college that were not identified.) The study also appears to validate other research that says that linking the subject matter to a student's current interests improves learning.
The day started with a bang as several of your colleagues new to Blackboard began their training session at 9:00 AM in the Teaching+Learning Center. eLearning Program Manager Susan Nealy and IT Technical Support Manager Lenora White are facilitating the training sessions. The intermediate-level Blackboard users began their session at 11:00 AM. The training concludes with our advanced group at 1:00 PM today. The comments from the participants have been very positive about our latest version of Blackboard. Many are impressed with the analytics feature that will allow them to drill deep as they monitor their students progress during the semester. Next up is the eLearning teacher certification program planned for the summer. Those selected to participate in this year's program should be receiving their notification via email very shortly.
BEGIN SMALL WITH ACTIVE LEARNING
We have been encouraging the use of active learning as we move towards a learner-centered institution. One of the reasons that many faculty tell me they don't want to try using active-learning techniques is that they are comfortable lecturing and research shows that "they may find innovative instructional techniques intimidating." Paramount among your concerns is the fear of “losing control” of the class. In addition, some faculty may avoid incorporating active-learning strategies into their classrooms because they think that students will react negatively. Faust and Paulson note in their research, "A complaint we often hear is, “I tried active learning, but my students didn’t like it.” Indeed, most of us have had the experience of attempting to initiate class discussion and being faced with silence. These two issues are related, for both students and faculty tend to be comfortable with what they are trained to do. Thus, as long as faculty lean primarily on lecturing, students will expect to sit and listen (and often hide or sleep in class)." Faculty development experts suggest that you begin using active learning in small ways at first. You need to become comfortable with the approach before you can fully realize its potential. Some of the learning experiences listed in the revised Active Learning Manual that would be easy to try are the Muddiest Point or One-Minute Paper. The idea is to do something active each time you meet in a face-to-face class. You are building your expertise at the same time as you are creating expectation in your students. Let me know if you want a copy of the latest version of the Active Learning Manual.
CAN YOU HELP ME FIND A JOB
Why did you decide to go to college? Asking that question of new students in a more formal way might help colleges find ways to encourage more students to complete their programs, according to a new study from University of Rochester education researchers published in The Journal of College Student Development. The study found that students motivated by a desire for autonomy and competence tended to earn higher grades and show a greater likelihood of persistence than did other students. (The findings were controlled for academic background and various other factors, and were based on surveys of 2,500 students at a community college and a liberal arts college that were not identified.) The study also appears to validate other research that says that linking the subject matter to a student's current interests improves learning.
Monday, April 22, 2013
ENGAGEMENT BRINGS DESIRED RESULTS
Do you call on one of your students in class every two to three minutes? Do you ask students what they know about a given topic before telling them what you know? Do you hold your students accountable through testing? These are just a few of the ways that Tara Gray and Laura Madson say you can engage with your students. They point to twenty years of research that shows that engagement in a classroom improves student learning. They point to one study of six thousand physics students that compared classes using passive lecture to classes using interactive techniques that allowed for discussion among students and between the professor and students. The study showed that students in classes that used interactive approaches rather than lecture learned twice as much. Their research paper gives some quick tips on improving engagement in your class.
YOUR BRAIN AND GOOGLE
Google wants to be the third "side" of your brain and they are not shy about admitting it. Google Glass, the wearable progeny of Ivan Sutherland's augmented reality display, the mobile phone, and science fiction -- accompanied by curiosity, excitement, and fear. Later this year, for less than $1,500, consumers will be able to get their hands on Google Glass, and we will begin to witness techies talking to their spectacle-mounted Google display and recording photos, video, and audio of their surroundings. "We want to make Google the third half of your brain," said Glass frontman and Google co-founder Sergey Brin said in 2010. That's what has some people worried about Glass. The third half of your brain could be perceived as your digital hemisphere locked in a Google cloud that captures all your interactions through the Glass lens and other Google access points, although Google would contend that the third half of your brain refers to a future search engine that "understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want." Whatever the interpretation, Glass is a gateway to Google's goal to super-serve your digital soul.
UPCOMING WORKSHOP
The Center for Academic Excellence at Fairfield University is hosting their 12th annual Summer conference May 29-31, 2013. The Innovative Pedagogy and Course Redesign conference celebrates and showcases excellence and innovations in all areas of teaching, faculty support and development, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community-engaged teaching and scholarship. The conference is interactive and provides an opportunity to learn from other participants, to build connections and collaborations and to reflect upon the meaningfulness and impact of our work as educators and scholars.
THIS IS OUR COMPETITION
Earlier this year Capella University and the new College for America began enrolling hundreds of students in academic programs without courses, teaching professors, grades, deadlines or credit hour requirements, but with a path to genuine college credit. The two institutions are among a growing number that are giving competency-based education a try, including 25 or so nonprofit institutions. Notable examples include Western Governors University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. These programs are typically online, and allow students to progress at their own pace without formal course material. They can earn credit by successfully completing assessments that prove their mastery in predetermined competencies or tasks -- maybe writing in a business setting or using a spreadsheet to perform calculations.
Do you call on one of your students in class every two to three minutes? Do you ask students what they know about a given topic before telling them what you know? Do you hold your students accountable through testing? These are just a few of the ways that Tara Gray and Laura Madson say you can engage with your students. They point to twenty years of research that shows that engagement in a classroom improves student learning. They point to one study of six thousand physics students that compared classes using passive lecture to classes using interactive techniques that allowed for discussion among students and between the professor and students. The study showed that students in classes that used interactive approaches rather than lecture learned twice as much. Their research paper gives some quick tips on improving engagement in your class.
YOUR BRAIN AND GOOGLE
Google wants to be the third "side" of your brain and they are not shy about admitting it. Google Glass, the wearable progeny of Ivan Sutherland's augmented reality display, the mobile phone, and science fiction -- accompanied by curiosity, excitement, and fear. Later this year, for less than $1,500, consumers will be able to get their hands on Google Glass, and we will begin to witness techies talking to their spectacle-mounted Google display and recording photos, video, and audio of their surroundings. "We want to make Google the third half of your brain," said Glass frontman and Google co-founder Sergey Brin said in 2010. That's what has some people worried about Glass. The third half of your brain could be perceived as your digital hemisphere locked in a Google cloud that captures all your interactions through the Glass lens and other Google access points, although Google would contend that the third half of your brain refers to a future search engine that "understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want." Whatever the interpretation, Glass is a gateway to Google's goal to super-serve your digital soul.
UPCOMING WORKSHOP
The Center for Academic Excellence at Fairfield University is hosting their 12th annual Summer conference May 29-31, 2013. The Innovative Pedagogy and Course Redesign conference celebrates and showcases excellence and innovations in all areas of teaching, faculty support and development, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community-engaged teaching and scholarship. The conference is interactive and provides an opportunity to learn from other participants, to build connections and collaborations and to reflect upon the meaningfulness and impact of our work as educators and scholars.
THIS IS OUR COMPETITION
Earlier this year Capella University and the new College for America began enrolling hundreds of students in academic programs without courses, teaching professors, grades, deadlines or credit hour requirements, but with a path to genuine college credit. The two institutions are among a growing number that are giving competency-based education a try, including 25 or so nonprofit institutions. Notable examples include Western Governors University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. These programs are typically online, and allow students to progress at their own pace without formal course material. They can earn credit by successfully completing assessments that prove their mastery in predetermined competencies or tasks -- maybe writing in a business setting or using a spreadsheet to perform calculations.
Friday, March 15, 2013
PINERO RECOGNIZED
Congratulations to Amy Pinero, Interim Department Chair of Social Sciences, for being selected as the BRCC Outstanding Faculty Member of the year. Pinero, who teaches criminal justice courses, received her recognition at the LCTCS luncheon today. She is a very active member of the BRCC faculty and currently serves on the eLearning Faculty Learning Community among other things. Well-deserved recognition for a terrific teacher!
READY TO FLIP YOUR CLASS
There are still a few slots open for the Flipping the Classroom seminar to be held on Thursday, March 21 at 3:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia). Dr. Bill Wischusen, associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU, will deliver this seminar. Although the concept of flipping has been around for some time now, new ideas continue to emerge that allow us to improve the innovative teaching approach. In essence, flipping means that students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. You might want to take a look at the Flipped Learning Network website for some additional information. To reserve your seat, send an email to Todd Pourciau at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING REVISITED
Returning to the topic covered by Dr. Barbara Millis, the most recent distinguished speaker in the Teaching+Learning Center's ongoing series, cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. Considerable research demonstrates that cooperative learning produces higher achievement, more positive relationships among students, and healthier psychological adjustment than do competitive or individualistic experiences. The research notes that this can lead to reduced attrition rates and hirer completion for students. Dean McManus who implemented cooperative learning into his classes notes, "For the students, change began on the first day. They learned that they would be expected to discuss the assigned reading and to teach it to other students. Furthermore, they would be writing one-page and two-page summaries of readings often, and five-page reports every couple of weeks. The emphasis would be on their ability to express themselves in terms of the science they were studying." Here are a few other resources for you to supplementthe material that Dr. Millis shared with us during her visit.
BEARS ENTER THE TIGER'S DEN
The Tiger Bridge Program is an innovative new academic opportunity that combines the on-campus living experience unique to LSU, with the smaller class setting of Baton Rouge Community College. This academic collaboration between LSU and BRCC is an invitation-only, year-long program that allows students the chance to make a seamless transition into college life at LSU. After the successful completion of this one-year program, students will transfer fully to LSU for their sophomore year coursework and beyond. Space is limited in the Tiger Bridge Program, and students will enter on a first-come, first-served basis. “I think it will be a great collaborative effort between BRCC and LSU," says Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross. “This gives them additional options,” she said. “This is an alternate path students can take to get to LSU and they will also be able to earn an associate degree from BRCC.”
Congratulations to Amy Pinero, Interim Department Chair of Social Sciences, for being selected as the BRCC Outstanding Faculty Member of the year. Pinero, who teaches criminal justice courses, received her recognition at the LCTCS luncheon today. She is a very active member of the BRCC faculty and currently serves on the eLearning Faculty Learning Community among other things. Well-deserved recognition for a terrific teacher!
READY TO FLIP YOUR CLASS
There are still a few slots open for the Flipping the Classroom seminar to be held on Thursday, March 21 at 3:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia). Dr. Bill Wischusen, associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU, will deliver this seminar. Although the concept of flipping has been around for some time now, new ideas continue to emerge that allow us to improve the innovative teaching approach. In essence, flipping means that students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. You might want to take a look at the Flipped Learning Network website for some additional information. To reserve your seat, send an email to Todd Pourciau at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING REVISITED
Returning to the topic covered by Dr. Barbara Millis, the most recent distinguished speaker in the Teaching+Learning Center's ongoing series, cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. Considerable research demonstrates that cooperative learning produces higher achievement, more positive relationships among students, and healthier psychological adjustment than do competitive or individualistic experiences. The research notes that this can lead to reduced attrition rates and hirer completion for students. Dean McManus who implemented cooperative learning into his classes notes, "For the students, change began on the first day. They learned that they would be expected to discuss the assigned reading and to teach it to other students. Furthermore, they would be writing one-page and two-page summaries of readings often, and five-page reports every couple of weeks. The emphasis would be on their ability to express themselves in terms of the science they were studying." Here are a few other resources for you to supplementthe material that Dr. Millis shared with us during her visit.
BEARS ENTER THE TIGER'S DEN
The Tiger Bridge Program is an innovative new academic opportunity that combines the on-campus living experience unique to LSU, with the smaller class setting of Baton Rouge Community College. This academic collaboration between LSU and BRCC is an invitation-only, year-long program that allows students the chance to make a seamless transition into college life at LSU. After the successful completion of this one-year program, students will transfer fully to LSU for their sophomore year coursework and beyond. Space is limited in the Tiger Bridge Program, and students will enter on a first-come, first-served basis. “I think it will be a great collaborative effort between BRCC and LSU," says Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross. “This gives them additional options,” she said. “This is an alternate path students can take to get to LSU and they will also be able to earn an associate degree from BRCC.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
BIG CHANGES FOR ONLINE LEARNING AT BRCC
Those involved in online or eLearning at BRCC know that there is change on the horizon. With a renewed commitment to establishing an eLearning program of excellence, we have recently hired Susan Moak Nealy to manage the eLearning Program at BRCC. Nealy was most recently interim department chair of business at BRCC, holds a MBA from Louisiana Tech University, and has been a faculty member here since 2006. In that time, she has taught a number of classes using the online delivery method and has received certification from the Quality Matters program. BRCC has recently migrated to Blackboard 9.1 and is implementing several new policies designed to enhance our student's learning experience in the online environment. Nealy joins the Office of Teaching and Learning, directed by Dr. Todd Pourciau, and has some exciting innovations planned for all involved in the eLearning program.
BUT I AM A VISUAL LEARNER
While the learning objectives are the same for eLearning and traditional classes, we know that the delivery method can cause some students to encounter new problems. As the delivery method naturally favors students who self-identify as visual learners, there are a number of things that faculty should do to make the experience effective for all types of learners. A research article entitled Knowledge Construction in Online Learning by Shalni Gulati notes that learners should be reminded that they should explore various learning pathways. Faculty need to construct their learning experiences so that they are flexible and accessible, taking into account the learners personal learning interests and goals, the time they have for learning, their different learning preferences, and the learners’ personal and professional responsibilities outside the course. Gulati adds that faculty need to recognize the importance of personal control, emotions and emotional connection for participation in online discussions. Any online discussion strategies need to ensure the discussion tasks are relevant to learners with different professional needs. A pre-course induction may be necessary where learners can develop technical skills and practice online communication to openly discuss and challenge each other.
USING THE STUFF FROM LAST SEMESTER
James M. Lang has written a fascinating piece about his frustration with students who seem to use and dispose of the knowledge he is helping them to learn. He noticed this when he participated in a program that allows him to have the same set of students for two classes that follow each other in the academic sequence. He says, "For two years I taught in a special program in which the same cohort of students took two consecutive courses with me: freshman composition in the fall and introduction to literature in the spring. In the composition courses, I worked hard to help students move beyond the standard strategies they had learned in high school for writing introductory paragraphs: Start with a broad statement about life and narrow down to a specific topic." In their book, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, Susan Ambrose and her co-authors label the cognitive activity of applying learned material from one course to another and beyond as "far transfer." They note that it might be the most fundamental expectation faculty have for students. "Far transfer is, arguably," they point out, "the central goal of education: We want our students to be able to apply what they learn beyond the classroom."
Those involved in online or eLearning at BRCC know that there is change on the horizon. With a renewed commitment to establishing an eLearning program of excellence, we have recently hired Susan Moak Nealy to manage the eLearning Program at BRCC. Nealy was most recently interim department chair of business at BRCC, holds a MBA from Louisiana Tech University, and has been a faculty member here since 2006. In that time, she has taught a number of classes using the online delivery method and has received certification from the Quality Matters program. BRCC has recently migrated to Blackboard 9.1 and is implementing several new policies designed to enhance our student's learning experience in the online environment. Nealy joins the Office of Teaching and Learning, directed by Dr. Todd Pourciau, and has some exciting innovations planned for all involved in the eLearning program.
THE PLEASURE OF MOTIVATION
Research has shown that students remember things that matter to them. It is why education scientists encourage teachers to use examples and design learning experiences with real world applications. Discovering what interests your students is an important part of the initial engagement process and should begin on the first day of your course each semester or term. In 2009, Min Jeong Kang’s research team published a brain imaging study that confirmed the importance of a well known but often under-utilized condition for enhancing learning: curiosity. In
Kang’s study, the participants guessed the answers to a set of trivia
questions, were then shown the correct answers, and were tested one to
two weeks later to see which answers they remembered best. These answers
turned out to be the ones about which they had already known something,
but had guessed wrong, so that they had been very curious to learn the
right responses.It
was precisely at the moment that the participants guessed incorrectly
that their brain images showed the most activity in their caudate nucleu, a structure that plays a central role in the motivation to obtain rewards and the pleasure that comes along with them. Kang’s
study showed that this structure also seems to be behind the
intellectual pleasure we get from adding a new item to our store of
knowledge.
While the learning objectives are the same for eLearning and traditional classes, we know that the delivery method can cause some students to encounter new problems. As the delivery method naturally favors students who self-identify as visual learners, there are a number of things that faculty should do to make the experience effective for all types of learners. A research article entitled Knowledge Construction in Online Learning by Shalni Gulati notes that learners should be reminded that they should explore various learning pathways. Faculty need to construct their learning experiences so that they are flexible and accessible, taking into account the learners personal learning interests and goals, the time they have for learning, their different learning preferences, and the learners’ personal and professional responsibilities outside the course. Gulati adds that faculty need to recognize the importance of personal control, emotions and emotional connection for participation in online discussions. Any online discussion strategies need to ensure the discussion tasks are relevant to learners with different professional needs. A pre-course induction may be necessary where learners can develop technical skills and practice online communication to openly discuss and challenge each other.
James M. Lang has written a fascinating piece about his frustration with students who seem to use and dispose of the knowledge he is helping them to learn. He noticed this when he participated in a program that allows him to have the same set of students for two classes that follow each other in the academic sequence. He says, "For two years I taught in a special program in which the same cohort of students took two consecutive courses with me: freshman composition in the fall and introduction to literature in the spring. In the composition courses, I worked hard to help students move beyond the standard strategies they had learned in high school for writing introductory paragraphs: Start with a broad statement about life and narrow down to a specific topic." In their book, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, Susan Ambrose and her co-authors label the cognitive activity of applying learned material from one course to another and beyond as "far transfer." They note that it might be the most fundamental expectation faculty have for students. "Far transfer is, arguably," they point out, "the central goal of education: We want our students to be able to apply what they learn beyond the classroom."
Thursday, November 8, 2012
EXPANDING YOUR TEACHING TOOLKIT
Active learning provides opportunities for students to talk and listen, read, write and reflect, all of which require students to apply what they are learning. Register now for the next faculty development seminar entitled Active Learning Methods Revealed to be held on November 19, at 2:00PM. Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael, Biology Department faculty, will present using classroom experience and information they gathered from an intensive workshop they attended this past summer. The seminar will be interactive and will be held in 311 Magnolia, also known as the Teaching+Learning Center.
STUDENT LEARNING DRIVEN BY EXCELLENT TEACHING
For anyone who has spent time with me, you have heard me say that everything I do is focused on improving student learning. It is our core mission and everything we do as an institution should be focused on that area. Of course, that begins in the classes that we teach. The interaction between the teacher and student is paramount to improving our retention, completion and transfer rates. Just as important is having students retain what they are learning in our classes. Nothing is more frustrating to a good teacher than having students who have completed prerequisite or lower-level courses but appear not to have learned anything. I have written about that previously on the blog and what James Lang refers to as "Coverage Theory." Getting through the material in the allotted time is not the same as having your students learn. The partnership between a teacher and student is crucial and both sides must take responsibility and remain committed for the process to be successful. It is what Barr and Tagg (1995) call The Learning Paradigm. We are designing a website for the Teaching+Learning Center. In the absence of that information, let me share some of the ways I can partner with you to help you continue to develop as a teacher. The classroom observation is a good start. I am also able to complete a focus group evaluation for you. You can also do your own assessment and I can share some methods with you. It all starts with contacting me at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu or calling me at 216.8534.
DEAR DIARY
Using the word diary may conjure up all sorts of memories for you. The diary in a general sense can be a useful thing. Even more effective is for you to begin to keep a journal. You can update it on a daily or weekly basis. The more effort you put into it, the more effective it becomes for you as a tool for critical self-reflection. A journal allows you to remember when you had a really good day in class. It also allows you to document when things go really wrong. It provides you with hard data that you can use to continue to improve your teaching. As many of you teach five, six or seven classes, it is impossible to remember what occurred in each class from semester to semester. A journal provides you documentation so that when you begin to update or alter your course in any way, you can scan the entries looking for clues that can be very useful. As we look to the Spring 2013 Semester, I am gathering names of folks who would like to participate in a journal community. Send me an email (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu) if you are interested and look for email in your mailbox on this opportunity.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR STUDENTS KNOW
Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent offer the following sage advice on the use of assessment in your course. Most institutions use only end-of-course student surveys to evaluate teaching quality. While student opinions are important and should be including in any assessment plan, meaningful evaluation of teaching must rely primarily on assessment of learning outcomes. Current trends in assessment reviewed by Ewell include shifting from standardized tests to performance-based assessments, from teaching-based models to learning-based models of student development, and from assessment as an add-on to more naturalistic approaches embedded in actual instructional delivery. Measures that may be used to obtain an accurate picture of students’ content knowledge and skills include tests, performances and exhibitions, project reports, learning logs and journals, metacognitive reflection, observation checklists, graphic organizers, and interviews, and conferences (Burke). A particularly effective learning assessment vehicle is the portfolio, a set of student products collected over time that provides a picture of the student’s growth and development. Panitz (1996) describes how portfolios can be used to assess an individual’s progress in a course or over an entire curriculum, to demonstrate specific competencies, or to assess the curriculum. Rogers and Williams (1999) describe a procedure to maintain portfolios on the Web. Angelo & Cross (LB2822.75.A54) outline a variety of classroom assessment techniques, all of which generate products suitable for inclusion in student portfolios. The devices they suggest include minute papers, concept maps, audiotaped and videotaped protocols (students reporting on their thinking processes as they solve problems), student-generated test questions, classroom opinion polls, course-related self-confidence surveys, interest/knowledge/skills checklists, and reactions to instruction.
Active learning provides opportunities for students to talk and listen, read, write and reflect, all of which require students to apply what they are learning. Register now for the next faculty development seminar entitled Active Learning Methods Revealed to be held on November 19, at 2:00PM. Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael, Biology Department faculty, will present using classroom experience and information they gathered from an intensive workshop they attended this past summer. The seminar will be interactive and will be held in 311 Magnolia, also known as the Teaching+Learning Center.
STUDENT LEARNING DRIVEN BY EXCELLENT TEACHING
For anyone who has spent time with me, you have heard me say that everything I do is focused on improving student learning. It is our core mission and everything we do as an institution should be focused on that area. Of course, that begins in the classes that we teach. The interaction between the teacher and student is paramount to improving our retention, completion and transfer rates. Just as important is having students retain what they are learning in our classes. Nothing is more frustrating to a good teacher than having students who have completed prerequisite or lower-level courses but appear not to have learned anything. I have written about that previously on the blog and what James Lang refers to as "Coverage Theory." Getting through the material in the allotted time is not the same as having your students learn. The partnership between a teacher and student is crucial and both sides must take responsibility and remain committed for the process to be successful. It is what Barr and Tagg (1995) call The Learning Paradigm. We are designing a website for the Teaching+Learning Center. In the absence of that information, let me share some of the ways I can partner with you to help you continue to develop as a teacher. The classroom observation is a good start. I am also able to complete a focus group evaluation for you. You can also do your own assessment and I can share some methods with you. It all starts with contacting me at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu or calling me at 216.8534.
DEAR DIARY
Using the word diary may conjure up all sorts of memories for you. The diary in a general sense can be a useful thing. Even more effective is for you to begin to keep a journal. You can update it on a daily or weekly basis. The more effort you put into it, the more effective it becomes for you as a tool for critical self-reflection. A journal allows you to remember when you had a really good day in class. It also allows you to document when things go really wrong. It provides you with hard data that you can use to continue to improve your teaching. As many of you teach five, six or seven classes, it is impossible to remember what occurred in each class from semester to semester. A journal provides you documentation so that when you begin to update or alter your course in any way, you can scan the entries looking for clues that can be very useful. As we look to the Spring 2013 Semester, I am gathering names of folks who would like to participate in a journal community. Send me an email (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu) if you are interested and look for email in your mailbox on this opportunity.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR STUDENTS KNOW
Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent offer the following sage advice on the use of assessment in your course. Most institutions use only end-of-course student surveys to evaluate teaching quality. While student opinions are important and should be including in any assessment plan, meaningful evaluation of teaching must rely primarily on assessment of learning outcomes. Current trends in assessment reviewed by Ewell include shifting from standardized tests to performance-based assessments, from teaching-based models to learning-based models of student development, and from assessment as an add-on to more naturalistic approaches embedded in actual instructional delivery. Measures that may be used to obtain an accurate picture of students’ content knowledge and skills include tests, performances and exhibitions, project reports, learning logs and journals, metacognitive reflection, observation checklists, graphic organizers, and interviews, and conferences (Burke). A particularly effective learning assessment vehicle is the portfolio, a set of student products collected over time that provides a picture of the student’s growth and development. Panitz (1996) describes how portfolios can be used to assess an individual’s progress in a course or over an entire curriculum, to demonstrate specific competencies, or to assess the curriculum. Rogers and Williams (1999) describe a procedure to maintain portfolios on the Web. Angelo & Cross (LB2822.75.A54) outline a variety of classroom assessment techniques, all of which generate products suitable for inclusion in student portfolios. The devices they suggest include minute papers, concept maps, audiotaped and videotaped protocols (students reporting on their thinking processes as they solve problems), student-generated test questions, classroom opinion polls, course-related self-confidence surveys, interest/knowledge/skills checklists, and reactions to instruction.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
WORDLE TIPS
Rebecca Wesley, Clinical Coordinator and Instructor in our Veterinary Technology program, says that she and her students love using Wordle in the classroom. I have heard from a few of you since talking about that online resource at Vice Chancellor Cross's fall semester kickoff meeting. Wordle does not provide a way to save your projects but there are ways around that. Of course you can print it but you may also want an electronic copy. The best way to create your file is to use this technique. In Windows you can always hit the Print Screen button. Next open up Word, Open Office, or graphics program such as Paint and paste it in. Use the cropping tool in that program to get what you want. In Windows 7 you may wish to use the Snip It Tool which gives you a lot more options including the ability to save as an image and crop. Send me some of your favorites and I will post them to the blog.
CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITIES
The call for proposals is now out for the 5th annual conference on Higher Education Pedagogy to be held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA on February 6-8, 2013. Proposals are due by October 8, 2012. The conference showcases the best pedagogical practice and research in higher education today. Sessions address disciplinary and interdisciplinary instructional strategies, outcomes, and research. Registration is now open for the Designing and Improving an Effective Online Science Course annual conference to be held November 1 and 2, 2012 at Parkland College in Champaign, IL. This conference will allow for the sharing of ideas, experiences, and research on online education in the fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth science, and biology, focusing on courses which are both 100% online and hybrid. The goals are to promote a high quality online science education and to improve student learning in the online environment. If you have taught online classes and have something to share, or are new to online delivery and need a few pointers, this workshop is for you.
YOUR OPINION MATTERS
If you have not completed the Teaching+Learning Center's needs assessment survey, I urge you to take it now. The survey is short but will provide valuable information as we move to begin programming for the coming months.
Rebecca Wesley, Clinical Coordinator and Instructor in our Veterinary Technology program, says that she and her students love using Wordle in the classroom. I have heard from a few of you since talking about that online resource at Vice Chancellor Cross's fall semester kickoff meeting. Wordle does not provide a way to save your projects but there are ways around that. Of course you can print it but you may also want an electronic copy. The best way to create your file is to use this technique. In Windows you can always hit the Print Screen button. Next open up Word, Open Office, or graphics program such as Paint and paste it in. Use the cropping tool in that program to get what you want. In Windows 7 you may wish to use the Snip It Tool which gives you a lot more options including the ability to save as an image and crop. Send me some of your favorites and I will post them to the blog.
CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITIES
The call for proposals is now out for the 5th annual conference on Higher Education Pedagogy to be held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA on February 6-8, 2013. Proposals are due by October 8, 2012. The conference showcases the best pedagogical practice and research in higher education today. Sessions address disciplinary and interdisciplinary instructional strategies, outcomes, and research. Registration is now open for the Designing and Improving an Effective Online Science Course annual conference to be held November 1 and 2, 2012 at Parkland College in Champaign, IL. This conference will allow for the sharing of ideas, experiences, and research on online education in the fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth science, and biology, focusing on courses which are both 100% online and hybrid. The goals are to promote a high quality online science education and to improve student learning in the online environment. If you have taught online classes and have something to share, or are new to online delivery and need a few pointers, this workshop is for you.
YOUR OPINION MATTERS
If you have not completed the Teaching+Learning Center's needs assessment survey, I urge you to take it now. The survey is short but will provide valuable information as we move to begin programming for the coming months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)