Showing posts with label syllabus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label syllabus. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Remember to Update Your Syllabus for Online Learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly caused a major disruption for colleges around the globe. As BRCC works to move all of our onsite (face-to-face) courses to be offered using Canvas, it is important to remember to look at your syllabus. Some of the information students may now need may not be part of your current version. Dr. Danielle Geary wrote a straightforward article complete with a list of important items back in 2018. It is very relevant to us now as we transition and I encourage you to take a look at it as you redesign your course including your syllabus. We will continue to post relevant information and updates to the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Canvas class as well so remember to check that resource at least daily. Finally, if you are looking for some assistance, send an email to elearning@bears.mybrcc.edu along with a brief description of your needs.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
STUDY GROUPS AIMED AT BUILDING STUDENT SUCCESS
Happy New Year to all of the BRCC family. This morning we unveiled the Student Success Initiative for the spring 2017 semester. The idea was developed by a Faculty Learning Community that included Dr. Amy Atchley, Alexandra Cavazos, Pearce Cinman, Dr. Sandra Guzman, Steven Keeton, Richard Long, Mollye Russell, and Kathleen Schexnayder. Faculty attending this morning's session also heard from current BRCC students Jennifer Burgess (who also serves as the SGA President and on the LCTCS Board of Supervisors), Taylor Cranford, and Matthew Joslyn. Both faculty and students pointed out numerous reasons that study groups improve student success. As I mentioned at the session, the support material to be shared with your students is now posted on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Canvas site under the Study Group Module (including the syllabus blurb). Should you have any questions, please contact me or one of the FLC members.
FIRST DAY OF CLASS ACTIVITY
Looking for an opening day activity to start the semester off in a positive direction? Here is something I have used in the past that not only allowed my students to think more deeply about how they learn but also gave me a real-time snapshot of who they are as learners. Ask students to divide a sheet of paper in half. Then tell them to list the best class they had on the left side and the worst class they had on the right. Suggest that they describe why each class was good and bad. Ask them to list the things the instructor did in each class (while reminding them that names of courses and instructors are not important for this exercise). If they slow down while answering, feel free to add some of your own thoughts to the lists. You should have a pretty clear portrait of both classes in about 10 minutes. At that point, tell your students that you want this class to be the best class they have ever had. Point to the items they shared from the best side and let them know that you will be using some of the same approaches. Finish by telling them that the best class experience requires that they be totally engaged as well. You can also use the information you gather to enhance your class throughout the semester.
STARTING OFF RIGHT
Have you ever used a syllabus quiz to begin your semester? If not, I would strongly encourage you to do so. It is very easy to develop a quiz using Canvas. In that way, once the student completes the quiz, they receive their score immediately. In addition I would encourage you to allow the students to take the quiz until they receive all of the available points. This is a great indicator of what kind of persistence each of your students is bringing to the class. Students who don't earn all of the points are already indicating that they may have some persistence issues and that should be a red flag for you. It is easy to take the next step and talk with those students reminding them of the academic support provided in the Academic Learning Center. The syllabus quiz is also a great indicator for students that this document is very important and should be consulted throughout the semester and not just during the first class.
Happy New Year to all of the BRCC family. This morning we unveiled the Student Success Initiative for the spring 2017 semester. The idea was developed by a Faculty Learning Community that included Dr. Amy Atchley, Alexandra Cavazos, Pearce Cinman, Dr. Sandra Guzman, Steven Keeton, Richard Long, Mollye Russell, and Kathleen Schexnayder. Faculty attending this morning's session also heard from current BRCC students Jennifer Burgess (who also serves as the SGA President and on the LCTCS Board of Supervisors), Taylor Cranford, and Matthew Joslyn. Both faculty and students pointed out numerous reasons that study groups improve student success. As I mentioned at the session, the support material to be shared with your students is now posted on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Canvas site under the Study Group Module (including the syllabus blurb). Should you have any questions, please contact me or one of the FLC members.
FIRST DAY OF CLASS ACTIVITY
Looking for an opening day activity to start the semester off in a positive direction? Here is something I have used in the past that not only allowed my students to think more deeply about how they learn but also gave me a real-time snapshot of who they are as learners. Ask students to divide a sheet of paper in half. Then tell them to list the best class they had on the left side and the worst class they had on the right. Suggest that they describe why each class was good and bad. Ask them to list the things the instructor did in each class (while reminding them that names of courses and instructors are not important for this exercise). If they slow down while answering, feel free to add some of your own thoughts to the lists. You should have a pretty clear portrait of both classes in about 10 minutes. At that point, tell your students that you want this class to be the best class they have ever had. Point to the items they shared from the best side and let them know that you will be using some of the same approaches. Finish by telling them that the best class experience requires that they be totally engaged as well. You can also use the information you gather to enhance your class throughout the semester.
STARTING OFF RIGHT
Have you ever used a syllabus quiz to begin your semester? If not, I would strongly encourage you to do so. It is very easy to develop a quiz using Canvas. In that way, once the student completes the quiz, they receive their score immediately. In addition I would encourage you to allow the students to take the quiz until they receive all of the available points. This is a great indicator of what kind of persistence each of your students is bringing to the class. Students who don't earn all of the points are already indicating that they may have some persistence issues and that should be a red flag for you. It is easy to take the next step and talk with those students reminding them of the academic support provided in the Academic Learning Center. The syllabus quiz is also a great indicator for students that this document is very important and should be consulted throughout the semester and not just during the first class.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
THE ANSWERS ARE IN THE SYLLABUS
Now is a great time to begin to look at your syllabi for the spring semester. My colleague at George Mason's Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence provides the following suggestions. At its most fundamental level, a course syllabus is essentially a contract between the instructor and the student and is a vital tool for communicating expectations between students and faculty. A well-constructed syllabus provides a road map for the course, answers frequently asked questions, can help to lessen student anxiety, and allows the faculty member to concentrate on instruction. At another level, though, a syllabus is the embodiment of your philosophy of teaching and learning. Implicit in every assignment, every choice of textbook, every discussion topic should be an indication of what you want your students to learn from your course and why you want them to learn it. Because critical thinking is at the heart of academic work, emphasize how your course will help them develop the kinds of skills with inquiry and problem solving that will benefit them throughout their time in college and into their lives as professionals. Continuing reading here.
GOING TO THE RESEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
Dr. Maryellen Weimer’s latest post asks some really good questions about how we can use research to improve teaching and learning. She writes, “Evidence-based teaching seems like the new buzzword in higher education. The phrase appears to mean that we’ve identified and should be using those instructional practices shown empirically to enhance learning. Sounds pretty straightforward, but there are lots of questions that haven’t yet been addressed, such as: How much evidence does there need to be to justify a particular strategy, action, or approach? Is one study enough? What about when the evidence is mixed—in some studies the results of a practice are positive and in others they aren’t? In research conducted in classrooms, instructional strategies aren’t used in isolation; they are done in combination with other things. Does that grouping influence how individual strategies function?” Continue reading here.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Looking for some levity? Allison M. Vaillancourt’s latest post made me laugh while I was learning. She writes, “Who Melted My Cheese? would challenge the still-common worldview that academic life will eventually return to “normal” if we just sit patiently. According to that view, all the annoyances we are currently experiencing — state funding reductions, demands for accountability, and students who want their course content to be compelling — are simply fads that will soon fade if we just stay the course and insist on running our institutions like we did in the 1980s, or even the 1880s.” Continue reading here.
Now is a great time to begin to look at your syllabi for the spring semester. My colleague at George Mason's Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence provides the following suggestions. At its most fundamental level, a course syllabus is essentially a contract between the instructor and the student and is a vital tool for communicating expectations between students and faculty. A well-constructed syllabus provides a road map for the course, answers frequently asked questions, can help to lessen student anxiety, and allows the faculty member to concentrate on instruction. At another level, though, a syllabus is the embodiment of your philosophy of teaching and learning. Implicit in every assignment, every choice of textbook, every discussion topic should be an indication of what you want your students to learn from your course and why you want them to learn it. Because critical thinking is at the heart of academic work, emphasize how your course will help them develop the kinds of skills with inquiry and problem solving that will benefit them throughout their time in college and into their lives as professionals. Continuing reading here.
GOING TO THE RESEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
Dr. Maryellen Weimer’s latest post asks some really good questions about how we can use research to improve teaching and learning. She writes, “Evidence-based teaching seems like the new buzzword in higher education. The phrase appears to mean that we’ve identified and should be using those instructional practices shown empirically to enhance learning. Sounds pretty straightforward, but there are lots of questions that haven’t yet been addressed, such as: How much evidence does there need to be to justify a particular strategy, action, or approach? Is one study enough? What about when the evidence is mixed—in some studies the results of a practice are positive and in others they aren’t? In research conducted in classrooms, instructional strategies aren’t used in isolation; they are done in combination with other things. Does that grouping influence how individual strategies function?” Continue reading here.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Looking for some levity? Allison M. Vaillancourt’s latest post made me laugh while I was learning. She writes, “Who Melted My Cheese? would challenge the still-common worldview that academic life will eventually return to “normal” if we just sit patiently. According to that view, all the annoyances we are currently experiencing — state funding reductions, demands for accountability, and students who want their course content to be compelling — are simply fads that will soon fade if we just stay the course and insist on running our institutions like we did in the 1980s, or even the 1880s.” Continue reading here.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
AVOID STUDENT EXCUSES WITH POLICY
Dr. John Orlando offers some great advice on how to handle student excuses in a recent article he wrote for Faculty Focus. He writes, as new teachers very quickly learn, students will come up with all kinds of excuses for missing assignments and other work. Students will never say, “I missed the exam because I was out late last night—it was one dollar taps at the Silver Horse, you know how it goes.” As a result, teachers must have a policy for handling these situations, which invariably involves a decision on trust. The problem is that grandparents do die—it happens—but they don’t die as often as we are told and their deaths don’t always coincide with major deadlines in the syllabus. So how do we know when a grandparent really dies, or a roommate actually does get deathly ill in the middle of the night, and when we are being handed a line? Read more here.
STUDENT PERSISTENCE HELPED BY COHORTS
As we continue our campus-wide discussion about improving our student persistence and completion rates, the idea of learning communities keep coming to the front. Looking at the research in that area can be very instructional and can point us to some interventions that have worked elsewhere. Learning communities may be established in many areas of study to effectively address the learning needs for a wide variety of students while providing both faculty and students with an academic structure that promotes collaboration. Learning communities also help to develop a strong sense of student identity as they traditionally have smaller enrollment numbers. Grouping students into cohorts should not only be done for students who initially declare majors, but also for students transferring in from other colleges. It may be useful for BRCC to look at the Tiger Bridge student's data moving forward as somewhat of a pilot of this concept. If you want to read more about this approach, go here.
FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY STUDIES BEST TEACHERS
The Best Teachers Faculty Learning Community has settled into their group study using Ken Bain's book What the Best College Teachers Do. Faculty learning communities, as defined by Dr. Milton Cox who runs a summer institute to train facilitators, is a group of trans-disciplinary faculty of 8-12 members engaging in an active, collaborative, semester-long program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning and with frequent meetings and activities that provide learning, development, transdisciplinarity, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community building. The Teaching+Learning Center has sponsored three previous FLC including a Best Teachers group during the fall 2013 semester. The current Best Teachers FLC members include Dr. Jo Dale Ales (STEM), Dr. Gabriel Aluko (Science), Dr. Amy Atchley (Speech), Mollye DeLoach (Speech), Gery Frie (Construction Management), Vinetta Frie (Liberal Arts), Lucas Gassen (English), Steven Keeton (English), and Dr. Todd Pourciau (DILAS). Look for information on new Faculty Learning Communities planned for the spring 2015 semster in the near future or contact Academic Support Specialist Barbara Linder (linderb@mybrcc.edu or 216.8228) for more information.
Dr. John Orlando offers some great advice on how to handle student excuses in a recent article he wrote for Faculty Focus. He writes, as new teachers very quickly learn, students will come up with all kinds of excuses for missing assignments and other work. Students will never say, “I missed the exam because I was out late last night—it was one dollar taps at the Silver Horse, you know how it goes.” As a result, teachers must have a policy for handling these situations, which invariably involves a decision on trust. The problem is that grandparents do die—it happens—but they don’t die as often as we are told and their deaths don’t always coincide with major deadlines in the syllabus. So how do we know when a grandparent really dies, or a roommate actually does get deathly ill in the middle of the night, and when we are being handed a line? Read more here.
STUDENT PERSISTENCE HELPED BY COHORTS
As we continue our campus-wide discussion about improving our student persistence and completion rates, the idea of learning communities keep coming to the front. Looking at the research in that area can be very instructional and can point us to some interventions that have worked elsewhere. Learning communities may be established in many areas of study to effectively address the learning needs for a wide variety of students while providing both faculty and students with an academic structure that promotes collaboration. Learning communities also help to develop a strong sense of student identity as they traditionally have smaller enrollment numbers. Grouping students into cohorts should not only be done for students who initially declare majors, but also for students transferring in from other colleges. It may be useful for BRCC to look at the Tiger Bridge student's data moving forward as somewhat of a pilot of this concept. If you want to read more about this approach, go here.
FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY STUDIES BEST TEACHERS
The Best Teachers Faculty Learning Community has settled into their group study using Ken Bain's book What the Best College Teachers Do. Faculty learning communities, as defined by Dr. Milton Cox who runs a summer institute to train facilitators, is a group of trans-disciplinary faculty of 8-12 members engaging in an active, collaborative, semester-long program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning and with frequent meetings and activities that provide learning, development, transdisciplinarity, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community building. The Teaching+Learning Center has sponsored three previous FLC including a Best Teachers group during the fall 2013 semester. The current Best Teachers FLC members include Dr. Jo Dale Ales (STEM), Dr. Gabriel Aluko (Science), Dr. Amy Atchley (Speech), Mollye DeLoach (Speech), Gery Frie (Construction Management), Vinetta Frie (Liberal Arts), Lucas Gassen (English), Steven Keeton (English), and Dr. Todd Pourciau (DILAS). Look for information on new Faculty Learning Communities planned for the spring 2015 semster in the near future or contact Academic Support Specialist Barbara Linder (linderb@mybrcc.edu or 216.8228) for more information.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
TWO AND DONE FOR A NEW LIFE
Tomorrow will be the last Friday BRCC will be open until August 8. June 2 marks the beginning of the summer semester, four-day work weeks and we are off and running with 4-week, 8-week, and full semester offerings in addition to our eLearning courses. We have been meeting so many of our new students at the various orientation sessions being offered. They are excited and so are we. This is truly a partnership and that point must be made clear from the start. College is not high school and so the students have a terrific opportunity to write a new story for their lives. If you think about it, someone can come in and in only a short 24 months have a totally different life. Our students become welders, artists, nurses, first responders of all types, sonographers, veterinary technicians, entertainment technologists, musicians, and folks who work in all sorts of businesses, both big and small. It is these students that will form the sustainable families of the future and that is why what you do is so important. Please feel free to contact me or any of the staff in the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support if you need assistance. We are here for you.
DOES YOUR CLASS NEED A WARNING
Angus Johnston has written an interesting column about trigger warnings in the classroom. He writes, "A classroom environment is different for a few reasons. First, it’s a shared space — for the 75 minutes of the class session and the 15 weeks of the semester, we’re pretty much all stuck with one another, and that fact imposes interpersonal obligations on us that don’t exist between writer and reader. Second, it’s an interactive space — it’s a conversation, not a monologue, and I have a responsibility to encourage that conversation as best I can. Finally, it’s an unpredictable space — a lot of my students have never previously encountered some of the material we cover in my classes, or haven’t encountered it in the way it’s taught at the college level, and don’t have any clear sense of what to expect.
MEETING STUDENT'S UNIQUE NEEDS
Adaptive learning is a uniquely innovative, albeit expensive, way to address the problems of costs, retention, and student success, especially in remedial education where this technology promises to be most useful. So says Brian Fleming in a terrific piece on the topic. He continues, "Personalization in teaching and learning happens best when content delivery, assessment, and mastery are “adapted” to meet students’ unique needs and abilities. Educators, of course, have been doing this for centuries. What is new about this practice today, however, is simply the use of technology, which comes in the form of heavily automated digital learning platforms driven by predictive modeling, learning analytics, and the latest research in brain science, cognition, and pedagogy. This technology can be used in any discipline, though it is most common in math and science courses and primarily as a tool to enhance student success in online and remedial education, where the need for personalization has historically been most urgent." The future is here but are we ready?
Tomorrow will be the last Friday BRCC will be open until August 8. June 2 marks the beginning of the summer semester, four-day work weeks and we are off and running with 4-week, 8-week, and full semester offerings in addition to our eLearning courses. We have been meeting so many of our new students at the various orientation sessions being offered. They are excited and so are we. This is truly a partnership and that point must be made clear from the start. College is not high school and so the students have a terrific opportunity to write a new story for their lives. If you think about it, someone can come in and in only a short 24 months have a totally different life. Our students become welders, artists, nurses, first responders of all types, sonographers, veterinary technicians, entertainment technologists, musicians, and folks who work in all sorts of businesses, both big and small. It is these students that will form the sustainable families of the future and that is why what you do is so important. Please feel free to contact me or any of the staff in the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support if you need assistance. We are here for you.
DOES YOUR CLASS NEED A WARNING
Angus Johnston has written an interesting column about trigger warnings in the classroom. He writes, "A classroom environment is different for a few reasons. First, it’s a shared space — for the 75 minutes of the class session and the 15 weeks of the semester, we’re pretty much all stuck with one another, and that fact imposes interpersonal obligations on us that don’t exist between writer and reader. Second, it’s an interactive space — it’s a conversation, not a monologue, and I have a responsibility to encourage that conversation as best I can. Finally, it’s an unpredictable space — a lot of my students have never previously encountered some of the material we cover in my classes, or haven’t encountered it in the way it’s taught at the college level, and don’t have any clear sense of what to expect.
MEETING STUDENT'S UNIQUE NEEDS
Adaptive learning is a uniquely innovative, albeit expensive, way to address the problems of costs, retention, and student success, especially in remedial education where this technology promises to be most useful. So says Brian Fleming in a terrific piece on the topic. He continues, "Personalization in teaching and learning happens best when content delivery, assessment, and mastery are “adapted” to meet students’ unique needs and abilities. Educators, of course, have been doing this for centuries. What is new about this practice today, however, is simply the use of technology, which comes in the form of heavily automated digital learning platforms driven by predictive modeling, learning analytics, and the latest research in brain science, cognition, and pedagogy. This technology can be used in any discipline, though it is most common in math and science courses and primarily as a tool to enhance student success in online and remedial education, where the need for personalization has historically been most urgent." The future is here but are we ready?
Monday, February 11, 2013
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT ON TAP
Dr. Barbara Millis' visit on February 28 will include a session at 3:00 PM on using cooperative techniques to improve student learning and retention. Dr. Millis has three books in the BRCC Library's collection including Cooperative Learning in High Education: across the disciplines, across the academy, The Course Syllabus: a learning-centered approach, and Using Simulations to Promote Learning in Higher Education: an introduction. In addition, I would encourage you to read two of her IDEA papers, namely Active Learning Strategies in Face-to-Face Classes and Promoting Deep Learning.
ACE PROVIDES BENEFITS FOR PLA AND MORE
As a member of the American Council on Education (ACE), BRCC has a number of resources available that can help us as we navigate the creation of a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program of excellence. ACE has been involved in a three year program funded by FIPSE (Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education). Maps to Credentials is designing and piloting credential road maps for student veterans, applying ACE credit recommendations for military occupations and training and incorporating other PLA methods to accelerate veterans' post-secondary attainment. The project is focusing initially on military veterans, a population with college-level skills and knowledge gained through military service, which are essential to the country’s workforce. Cross-sector project advisory groups have been established at the national level and at each partner college and include both employers and veterans in addition to individuals from higher education.
HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR STUDENTS
An article by Trigwell, Ellis and Han published by the Studies in Higher Education journal indicates that there is a strong relationship with how students feel about a course and their motivation and approaches to learning. The article, Relations between Student's Approaches to Learning, Experienced Emotions and Outcomes of Learning, reports that there are strong links between the approaches taken to teaching and those taken to learning. The authors' research revealed that teachers who use the covering material approach will create an environment that encourages their students to memorize the information with little understanding or retention of the material. A positive classroom environment, which includes student engagement, provides motivation and promotes effort especially as it relates to studying and preparation.
PROBLEM SOLVER ON THE JOB
Chancellor Andrea Miller made a splash in the Sunday edition of The Advocate. The story reports on the challenges that have occurred during Dr. Miller's one-year tenure and describes the resolve she has shown as she continues to work to create a better BRCC. Tabbed the "Problem Solver" in the article, Chancellor Miller says, “Retention is one of my top priorities. We’ve got to meet students where they are. If we see them on the brink of dropping out, we have to provide that support. We also have to do a good job in assessing our students when they come to us, and identify potential problems as early as possible and provide the assistance they need.”
Dr. Barbara Millis' visit on February 28 will include a session at 3:00 PM on using cooperative techniques to improve student learning and retention. Dr. Millis has three books in the BRCC Library's collection including Cooperative Learning in High Education: across the disciplines, across the academy, The Course Syllabus: a learning-centered approach, and Using Simulations to Promote Learning in Higher Education: an introduction. In addition, I would encourage you to read two of her IDEA papers, namely Active Learning Strategies in Face-to-Face Classes and Promoting Deep Learning.
ACE PROVIDES BENEFITS FOR PLA AND MORE
As a member of the American Council on Education (ACE), BRCC has a number of resources available that can help us as we navigate the creation of a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program of excellence. ACE has been involved in a three year program funded by FIPSE (Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education). Maps to Credentials is designing and piloting credential road maps for student veterans, applying ACE credit recommendations for military occupations and training and incorporating other PLA methods to accelerate veterans' post-secondary attainment. The project is focusing initially on military veterans, a population with college-level skills and knowledge gained through military service, which are essential to the country’s workforce. Cross-sector project advisory groups have been established at the national level and at each partner college and include both employers and veterans in addition to individuals from higher education.
HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR STUDENTS
An article by Trigwell, Ellis and Han published by the Studies in Higher Education journal indicates that there is a strong relationship with how students feel about a course and their motivation and approaches to learning. The article, Relations between Student's Approaches to Learning, Experienced Emotions and Outcomes of Learning, reports that there are strong links between the approaches taken to teaching and those taken to learning. The authors' research revealed that teachers who use the covering material approach will create an environment that encourages their students to memorize the information with little understanding or retention of the material. A positive classroom environment, which includes student engagement, provides motivation and promotes effort especially as it relates to studying and preparation.
PROBLEM SOLVER ON THE JOB
Chancellor Andrea Miller made a splash in the Sunday edition of The Advocate. The story reports on the challenges that have occurred during Dr. Miller's one-year tenure and describes the resolve she has shown as she continues to work to create a better BRCC. Tabbed the "Problem Solver" in the article, Chancellor Miller says, “Retention is one of my top priorities. We’ve got to meet students where they are. If we see them on the brink of dropping out, we have to provide that support. We also have to do a good job in assessing our students when they come to us, and identify potential problems as early as possible and provide the assistance they need.”
Friday, November 2, 2012
TEACH THE STUDENTS YOU HAVE
Yesterday's seminar Engaging Millennial Learners was well attended and the participation during the session was terrific. The seminar focused on the active learning experience of class discussion and how to best implement that very effective method. Here are just a few of the many responses we got on the evaluation sheets from the seminar participants. Becky Adcock, Veterinary Technician program, said that she intends to use the Muddiest Point learning experience along with more discussion and less lecturing in her classes. Mary Miller, Science Department, plans to utilize more videos in her classes. Kathryn Arrington, CSSK instructor, plans to give her students a test covering the topics on her syllabus and will work to build a more conducive climate in her classes. Marty Lensing, Criminal Justice Program, plans to allow his students to think about the questions he poses to them for a few minutes, asking them to write down their thoughts, before he calls on them to respond. What I learned was how terrific and devoted our faculty are at BRCC. We were all united on the fact that our focus is all about improving student learning.
BECOMING THE GREAT MOTIVATOR
Elizabeth Barkley, in her book Student Engagement Techniques (LB 2342.92 .B.34), offers a number of tips for fostering motivation in your students. She notes that "Teacher personality and behavior have a powerful impact on whether students feel motivated in a course." Building on studies by industrial and organizational psychologists, educational researchers have found that even students who are intrinsically motivated by their studies will put forth reasonable effort if they like and admire their teacher, just as they may become apathetic or resistant if they view their teacher negatively (Brophy, 2004). She concludes, "This does not mean that you have to be false to your basic personality but it does suggest that students will be more likely to engage in your class if you cultivate and display attributes of well-liked and respected teachers, such as energy, enthusiasm, passion, approachability, fairness, and optimism."
WHAT IS ACTIVE LEARNING
Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael will present a faculty development seminar on Monday, November 19 at 2:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center. Active Learning Methods Revealed will offer insight into a variety of the best teaching methods that can help you to improve student learning while increasing the tools in your teaching toolkit. Hackney and McMichael participated in the Gulf Coast Summer Institute this past summer held on the LSU campus. Look for more information in your email-box soon.
LIGHTING THE FIRE OF INQUIRY
Here is a great learning experience utilizing video clips offered by fellow blogger Julia Phelan. We often start a topic, at least in the sciences, by outlining the background of the topic, creating a simple picture, and building up an understanding of something complex. But what about starting with the complex, interesting thing, and then gaining the tools to understand that complex idea through a variety of activities? You might show students an object, picture, or video of something a little confusing or curious and ask them to generate a series of “I wonder” questions. In the sciences, this could be achieved with many existing YouTube or other videos of interesting phenomena by simply turning off the sound, leaving students to view the phenomena without hearing the explanation. These “I wonder” questions can then be used to lead into activities or lecture, tailored to students’ innate curiosity and questions. They can also be used to generate inquiry questions for a laboratory or other hands-on activity, providing authentic motivation for students to explore a phenomenon. For example, a video showing a levitating superconducting magnet could lead into questions such as “is the magnet cold?” “What kind of material is that?” “Will it still float if you put a piece of paper between the two magnets?” These questions could be used to generate inquiry activities about magnets and superconducting magnets.
Yesterday's seminar Engaging Millennial Learners was well attended and the participation during the session was terrific. The seminar focused on the active learning experience of class discussion and how to best implement that very effective method. Here are just a few of the many responses we got on the evaluation sheets from the seminar participants. Becky Adcock, Veterinary Technician program, said that she intends to use the Muddiest Point learning experience along with more discussion and less lecturing in her classes. Mary Miller, Science Department, plans to utilize more videos in her classes. Kathryn Arrington, CSSK instructor, plans to give her students a test covering the topics on her syllabus and will work to build a more conducive climate in her classes. Marty Lensing, Criminal Justice Program, plans to allow his students to think about the questions he poses to them for a few minutes, asking them to write down their thoughts, before he calls on them to respond. What I learned was how terrific and devoted our faculty are at BRCC. We were all united on the fact that our focus is all about improving student learning.
BECOMING THE GREAT MOTIVATOR
Elizabeth Barkley, in her book Student Engagement Techniques (LB 2342.92 .B.34), offers a number of tips for fostering motivation in your students. She notes that "Teacher personality and behavior have a powerful impact on whether students feel motivated in a course." Building on studies by industrial and organizational psychologists, educational researchers have found that even students who are intrinsically motivated by their studies will put forth reasonable effort if they like and admire their teacher, just as they may become apathetic or resistant if they view their teacher negatively (Brophy, 2004). She concludes, "This does not mean that you have to be false to your basic personality but it does suggest that students will be more likely to engage in your class if you cultivate and display attributes of well-liked and respected teachers, such as energy, enthusiasm, passion, approachability, fairness, and optimism."
WHAT IS ACTIVE LEARNING
Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael will present a faculty development seminar on Monday, November 19 at 2:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center. Active Learning Methods Revealed will offer insight into a variety of the best teaching methods that can help you to improve student learning while increasing the tools in your teaching toolkit. Hackney and McMichael participated in the Gulf Coast Summer Institute this past summer held on the LSU campus. Look for more information in your email-box soon.
LIGHTING THE FIRE OF INQUIRY
Here is a great learning experience utilizing video clips offered by fellow blogger Julia Phelan. We often start a topic, at least in the sciences, by outlining the background of the topic, creating a simple picture, and building up an understanding of something complex. But what about starting with the complex, interesting thing, and then gaining the tools to understand that complex idea through a variety of activities? You might show students an object, picture, or video of something a little confusing or curious and ask them to generate a series of “I wonder” questions. In the sciences, this could be achieved with many existing YouTube or other videos of interesting phenomena by simply turning off the sound, leaving students to view the phenomena without hearing the explanation. These “I wonder” questions can then be used to lead into activities or lecture, tailored to students’ innate curiosity and questions. They can also be used to generate inquiry questions for a laboratory or other hands-on activity, providing authentic motivation for students to explore a phenomenon. For example, a video showing a levitating superconducting magnet could lead into questions such as “is the magnet cold?” “What kind of material is that?” “Will it still float if you put a piece of paper between the two magnets?” These questions could be used to generate inquiry activities about magnets and superconducting magnets.
Friday, August 10, 2012
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.
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