Showing posts with label testing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label testing. Show all posts
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Managing Stress Key to Student Success
Monday, October 22, 2018
MAYBE A NUDGE CAN HELP YOUR STUDENTS
A few years ago, Dr. Zoë Cohen noticed a troubling sign in her
“Physiology of the Immune System” course: A larger number of students
than usual had failed the first exam. Cohen had changed up the way she
taught the course that year, part of a broader push
toward active learning at the University of Arizona, where she is an
assistant professor. The different style was probably a big adjustment
for her upper-level students after years of taking lecture-based
courses, she thought. Cohen wanted to help those students. But the course is a
large one, with between 160 and 200 students, and she didn’t want to
increase her workload. So she came up with a low-touch way to intervene:
sending a personalized, supportive email. For a small investment of
time, Cohen was able to signal to students that she cared. And she
thinks the move even boosted recipients’ performance in the course. Read the entire post here.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Friday, October 28, 2016
AN ARMY OF ONE
Karin Fischer says if you want to find a model that works for low-income students, look no further than the armed services in the U.S. Was Daniel M. Piston college material? A decade ago, as a high-school student in Syracuse, N.Y., Mr. Piston didn’t think so. He lacked focus. His grades were so-so. And it wasn’t like he was surrounded by college graduates; of his family, only his mother had earned an associate degree. "The truth is," Mr. Piston says, "I didn’t think I was smart enough for college." After finishing high school, he signed up for an automotive-technology program at nearby Onondaga Community College — a similar course his senior year was the first thing he had been any good at, he says — but, still unmoored, he dropped out after two semesters. He found himself on the doorstep of the local Navy recruiter. The Navy promised excitement, and it offered something else: a life path. Continue reading here.
PLEASE SEE ME
It all began with a simple message that I wrote on the tests or assignments of students who were struggling: “Please see me so we can discuss your performance on the test (or assignment). Let’s see what we can do to improve your grade.” Although initially I was not collecting data on the effectiveness of my “invitation,” I soon realized that most of students—about 80 percent—responded to it. Notably, those who met with me began to do better on future tests; their assignments improved as well. When students did not respond to my invitation, after about a week I reached out to them with a simple email. Some responded, some did not. Over time it became difficult to ignore the benefits of having those meetings with students who were struggling. I think the most important message of these meetings was to convey to them that they were not simply a name in my gradebook but that I really cared about their learning and their success. Continue reading here.
STUDENT SUCCESS IN INNOVATIVE LEARNING
As we continue to broaden the innovative learning opportunities, it is always important to remember that student success is as important as providing scheduling options for our students. Rob Kelly has written an interesting article on this topic. He says, "Offering different kinds of courses is not a simple matter of taking the content and dividing it in ways to fill an unusual time slot. Imagine converting a lecture-based course that normally meets three times a week to a block format that consists of a single four-hour session. The instructor might be a great lecturer, but it’s unlikely that he or she could engage students for hours at a time. “There is a world of difference, or there should be a world of difference, between teaching a class that meets three times a week for fifty minutes, teaching that same class that meets once a week from eight until noon, teaching that class in an accelerated format that meets three or four days a week, or teaching it online,” Glenn says. “As we get better at offering these different formats, hopefully we get better at delivering the instruction in these formats.” Continuing reading here.
Karin Fischer says if you want to find a model that works for low-income students, look no further than the armed services in the U.S. Was Daniel M. Piston college material? A decade ago, as a high-school student in Syracuse, N.Y., Mr. Piston didn’t think so. He lacked focus. His grades were so-so. And it wasn’t like he was surrounded by college graduates; of his family, only his mother had earned an associate degree. "The truth is," Mr. Piston says, "I didn’t think I was smart enough for college." After finishing high school, he signed up for an automotive-technology program at nearby Onondaga Community College — a similar course his senior year was the first thing he had been any good at, he says — but, still unmoored, he dropped out after two semesters. He found himself on the doorstep of the local Navy recruiter. The Navy promised excitement, and it offered something else: a life path. Continue reading here.
PLEASE SEE ME
It all began with a simple message that I wrote on the tests or assignments of students who were struggling: “Please see me so we can discuss your performance on the test (or assignment). Let’s see what we can do to improve your grade.” Although initially I was not collecting data on the effectiveness of my “invitation,” I soon realized that most of students—about 80 percent—responded to it. Notably, those who met with me began to do better on future tests; their assignments improved as well. When students did not respond to my invitation, after about a week I reached out to them with a simple email. Some responded, some did not. Over time it became difficult to ignore the benefits of having those meetings with students who were struggling. I think the most important message of these meetings was to convey to them that they were not simply a name in my gradebook but that I really cared about their learning and their success. Continue reading here.
STUDENT SUCCESS IN INNOVATIVE LEARNING
As we continue to broaden the innovative learning opportunities, it is always important to remember that student success is as important as providing scheduling options for our students. Rob Kelly has written an interesting article on this topic. He says, "Offering different kinds of courses is not a simple matter of taking the content and dividing it in ways to fill an unusual time slot. Imagine converting a lecture-based course that normally meets three times a week to a block format that consists of a single four-hour session. The instructor might be a great lecturer, but it’s unlikely that he or she could engage students for hours at a time. “There is a world of difference, or there should be a world of difference, between teaching a class that meets three times a week for fifty minutes, teaching that same class that meets once a week from eight until noon, teaching that class in an accelerated format that meets three or four days a week, or teaching it online,” Glenn says. “As we get better at offering these different formats, hopefully we get better at delivering the instruction in these formats.” Continuing reading here.
Monday, June 27, 2016
TECHNOLOGY PROMOTES REAL WORLD SKILLS
Meg Conlan has a good article about how using technology in the college classroom (F2F and virtually) is preparing students for the real world after graduation. She writes, "Landing that first post-grad job may be difficult, but many college seniors think they’ve got the digital skills employers want, thanks to their time on campus. That insight comes from McGraw-Hill Education’s third annual Workforce Readiness Survey, which states that 52 percent of students surveyed believe that their use of technology during college classes and study sessions will help them secure a job."
HOW TO WRITE THAT PERFECT TEST QUESTION
Assessment tools offer tremendous advantages to both the instructor and the learner, and are thus an important part of instructional design. Despite their importance, developing quality assessments is not as simple or straightforward as one might think. A great deal of care needs to go into developing quality assessments to ensure that the question actually assesses the target knowledge rather than something else, such as test-taking skills. Additionally, the instructor needs to remain open to revising questions based on learner performance—if all students get a single question wrong or right, both are considered poor questions and both should be removed from the test because they’re actually not testing anything. Thus, instructors need to pay attention to student performance on each individual testing item to ensure each one is doing its job of actually assessing the target knowledge. Are you looking to improve your test-question writing skills. Here is an article with some basic tips.
GROUP WORK PROVIDES GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
Dr. Lindsay Doukopoulos notes, "Teaching first-semester freshmen presents some unique challenges. You are teaching them not only your subject, but also how to be college students. One of the best strategies I have found is to begin with a collaborative project that asks them to research their new home: the campus." Read the entire article here.
Meg Conlan has a good article about how using technology in the college classroom (F2F and virtually) is preparing students for the real world after graduation. She writes, "Landing that first post-grad job may be difficult, but many college seniors think they’ve got the digital skills employers want, thanks to their time on campus. That insight comes from McGraw-Hill Education’s third annual Workforce Readiness Survey, which states that 52 percent of students surveyed believe that their use of technology during college classes and study sessions will help them secure a job."
HOW TO WRITE THAT PERFECT TEST QUESTION
Assessment tools offer tremendous advantages to both the instructor and the learner, and are thus an important part of instructional design. Despite their importance, developing quality assessments is not as simple or straightforward as one might think. A great deal of care needs to go into developing quality assessments to ensure that the question actually assesses the target knowledge rather than something else, such as test-taking skills. Additionally, the instructor needs to remain open to revising questions based on learner performance—if all students get a single question wrong or right, both are considered poor questions and both should be removed from the test because they’re actually not testing anything. Thus, instructors need to pay attention to student performance on each individual testing item to ensure each one is doing its job of actually assessing the target knowledge. Are you looking to improve your test-question writing skills. Here is an article with some basic tips.
GROUP WORK PROVIDES GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
Dr. Lindsay Doukopoulos notes, "Teaching first-semester freshmen presents some unique challenges. You are teaching them not only your subject, but also how to be college students. One of the best strategies I have found is to begin with a collaborative project that asks them to research their new home: the campus." Read the entire article here.
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, March 30, 2016
ADDING RELEVANCE TO INSTRUCTION INCREASES RETENTION
There are many reasons for incorporating real-life situations into instruction. Foremost are that applications of theoretical material in real-life situations make content easier to understand and that the relevance of content is demonstrated by real-life examples. If we are trying to connect content to real-life situations, our assessments must demonstrate face validity. That is, they have to model the situations in which the new knowledge and skills will be used. If we only test for knowledge the opportunity to demonstrate that learning is relevant is missed. The preceding comments are from Dr. Michael Theall's paper Related Course Material to Real Life Situations.
FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS FACE MANY CHALLENGES
Adam and Jaye Fenderson have released their new documentary chronicling the lives of several first-generation college students. The makers of the film are a married couple who said that they found it difficult not to help the students they were covering. “We actually made a decision when we started thinking about the film that we were not going to intervene in the students’ lives,” Mr. Fenderson said. “It was very difficult to sit there and listen to them talk about what their counselor told them when we knew that it was wrong. It was difficult to even sit in some of the counselor meetings and hear the counselors be so brief and quick with these students and these students not get answers that they really needed.” An absence of college graduates in a family can result not only in a lack of financial support — many economic studies have suggested that college graduates make more money over time than high school graduates — but also a shortage of knowledge about the college admissions process. In the film First Generation, one of the student’s mothers is depicted as having no idea how to pay for college, and not knowing whether the cost is required to be paid in full upfront. The students, themselves floundering through the process, make misinformed financial decisions that limit their college choices and may even stifle their academic potential.
USING QUIZZES TO MEASURE LEARNING
One of our most valuable resources, Dr. Maryellen Weimer has a new post about quizzes and the many ways you can use them in your classes. She writes, "I’ve been rethinking my views on quizzing. I’m still not in favor of quizzes that rely on low-level questions where the right answer is a memorized detail or a quizzing strategy where the primary motivation is punitive, such as to force students to keep up with the reading. That kind of quizzing doesn’t motivate reading for the right reasons and it doesn’t promote deep, lasting learning. But I keep discovering innovative ways faculty are using quizzes, and these practices rest on different premises." Read the entire post.
There are many reasons for incorporating real-life situations into instruction. Foremost are that applications of theoretical material in real-life situations make content easier to understand and that the relevance of content is demonstrated by real-life examples. If we are trying to connect content to real-life situations, our assessments must demonstrate face validity. That is, they have to model the situations in which the new knowledge and skills will be used. If we only test for knowledge the opportunity to demonstrate that learning is relevant is missed. The preceding comments are from Dr. Michael Theall's paper Related Course Material to Real Life Situations.
FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS FACE MANY CHALLENGES
Adam and Jaye Fenderson have released their new documentary chronicling the lives of several first-generation college students. The makers of the film are a married couple who said that they found it difficult not to help the students they were covering. “We actually made a decision when we started thinking about the film that we were not going to intervene in the students’ lives,” Mr. Fenderson said. “It was very difficult to sit there and listen to them talk about what their counselor told them when we knew that it was wrong. It was difficult to even sit in some of the counselor meetings and hear the counselors be so brief and quick with these students and these students not get answers that they really needed.” An absence of college graduates in a family can result not only in a lack of financial support — many economic studies have suggested that college graduates make more money over time than high school graduates — but also a shortage of knowledge about the college admissions process. In the film First Generation, one of the student’s mothers is depicted as having no idea how to pay for college, and not knowing whether the cost is required to be paid in full upfront. The students, themselves floundering through the process, make misinformed financial decisions that limit their college choices and may even stifle their academic potential.
USING QUIZZES TO MEASURE LEARNING
One of our most valuable resources, Dr. Maryellen Weimer has a new post about quizzes and the many ways you can use them in your classes. She writes, "I’ve been rethinking my views on quizzing. I’m still not in favor of quizzes that rely on low-level questions where the right answer is a memorized detail or a quizzing strategy where the primary motivation is punitive, such as to force students to keep up with the reading. That kind of quizzing doesn’t motivate reading for the right reasons and it doesn’t promote deep, lasting learning. But I keep discovering innovative ways faculty are using quizzes, and these practices rest on different premises." Read the entire post.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
IS FAILURE REALLY VALUABLE
Many people learn from a young age that making mistakes feels terrible and can be embarrassing. That lesson often gets learned in school. But in her TED Talk, Kathryn Schulz says those terrible feelings come from realizing wrongness, not the feeling of actually being wrong. Because often, people are wrong for a while before they realize it, and in that intervening time, being wrong feels eerily like being right. In education there’s a lot of talk about valuable failure, the necessity of mistakes for learning and celebrating the learning that comes out of being wrong. And while teachers, parents and students may understand that concept in the abstract, in the moment, they still don’t want to be wrong. To protect ourselves from ever being wrong, we try to be perfect, but inevitably fail, making things worse. Schulz points out that nothing ever turns out as we expect, and that’s a core part of being human. Continue reading
4 EASY STEPS TO LEARN MATH
Math proficiency is a subject of a lot of anxiety for college leaders, students and even national leaders. Employers and educators alike know that math skills are crucial to many of the science, technology and engineering jobs expected to be ever more important in the future, but students’ math comprehension continues to stagnate. In his TED Talk, mathematician Conrad Wolfram argues much of this angst is about how well students can compute by hand, not how well they understand math. He breaks math down into four steps: 1. Pose the right question about an issue; 2. Change that real world scenario into a math formulation; 3. Compute; and, 4. Take the math formulation and turn it back into a real world scenario to verify it. Continue reading
MORE STUDENT SUCCESS RESOURCES
I recently sent you an update noting that I had added a student resource about avoiding procrastination on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Canvas site under Modules. Here is another short article you can share with your students about studying. The author, Dr. Christine Harrington, writes, "The strategy that most students use- and is unfortunately the least beneficial- is reviewing notes. Think about it- reviewing your notes doesn’t take much effort or energy. It’s a pretty low level cognitive task." Continue reading
Many people learn from a young age that making mistakes feels terrible and can be embarrassing. That lesson often gets learned in school. But in her TED Talk, Kathryn Schulz says those terrible feelings come from realizing wrongness, not the feeling of actually being wrong. Because often, people are wrong for a while before they realize it, and in that intervening time, being wrong feels eerily like being right. In education there’s a lot of talk about valuable failure, the necessity of mistakes for learning and celebrating the learning that comes out of being wrong. And while teachers, parents and students may understand that concept in the abstract, in the moment, they still don’t want to be wrong. To protect ourselves from ever being wrong, we try to be perfect, but inevitably fail, making things worse. Schulz points out that nothing ever turns out as we expect, and that’s a core part of being human. Continue reading
4 EASY STEPS TO LEARN MATH
Math proficiency is a subject of a lot of anxiety for college leaders, students and even national leaders. Employers and educators alike know that math skills are crucial to many of the science, technology and engineering jobs expected to be ever more important in the future, but students’ math comprehension continues to stagnate. In his TED Talk, mathematician Conrad Wolfram argues much of this angst is about how well students can compute by hand, not how well they understand math. He breaks math down into four steps: 1. Pose the right question about an issue; 2. Change that real world scenario into a math formulation; 3. Compute; and, 4. Take the math formulation and turn it back into a real world scenario to verify it. Continue reading
MORE STUDENT SUCCESS RESOURCES
I recently sent you an update noting that I had added a student resource about avoiding procrastination on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Canvas site under Modules. Here is another short article you can share with your students about studying. The author, Dr. Christine Harrington, writes, "The strategy that most students use- and is unfortunately the least beneficial- is reviewing notes. Think about it- reviewing your notes doesn’t take much effort or energy. It’s a pretty low level cognitive task." Continue reading
Friday, April 4, 2014
LATEST ADVICE FROM SCHOLARS LIKE US
Faculty Focus has released a number of very useful articles for those of us looking to improve teaching and learning in our courses. Dr. Deborah Bracke explained how she is changing the way she assesses student learning and writes, "I have found that the retrospective pre- and posttest assessment opens the door wide, and for this reason I am motivated to share it." Can you flip an online class? That is the question addressed by Dr. Barbi Honeycutt and Sarah Glova in their recent article. They noted, "The flipped classroom model can help us design more interactive and engaging online learning experiences, and online classes can help us expand on what it means to flip." Jane Gee explains how you can use reading circles to get your students to do assigned reading. She found that, "After a semester of using this technique, overwhelmingly my students reported that the activity “greatly impacted” their learning."
ACADEMIC ADVISING HELP IS ON THE WAY
If you are looking for some direction and clarification to help with your student advising responsibilities, plan on joining us on April 29 for a professional development workshop. We will continue the conversation we began with the webinar earlier this week. In addition, we are now gathering input from you on what you are looking for in the way of assistance. Please forward your ideas as well as your definition of what student advising is all about to me at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu. Look for more information soon about the workshop on the 29th which will be held during the 1:00-2:15 pm open slot.
TESTING CENTER NEEDS YOUR HELP
Please remind all of your students who are testing at Mid City, Acadian, and the various sites that they are not allowed to bring anything with them into the Testing Center. The Testing Center does have a limited number of lockers for use by the various customers. We are also asking that you remind all testers to use the scheduler for making appointments. As the volume continues to increase, we are working hard to make sure our customers receive the level of service they deserve. The policies in place are required by our partners. In addition, we are working to maintain an environment that is conducive to producing the best results for all testers. Should you have any comments, please feel free to contact the Testing Center staff at 216.8038 or via email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu).
Faculty Focus has released a number of very useful articles for those of us looking to improve teaching and learning in our courses. Dr. Deborah Bracke explained how she is changing the way she assesses student learning and writes, "I have found that the retrospective pre- and posttest assessment opens the door wide, and for this reason I am motivated to share it." Can you flip an online class? That is the question addressed by Dr. Barbi Honeycutt and Sarah Glova in their recent article. They noted, "The flipped classroom model can help us design more interactive and engaging online learning experiences, and online classes can help us expand on what it means to flip." Jane Gee explains how you can use reading circles to get your students to do assigned reading. She found that, "After a semester of using this technique, overwhelmingly my students reported that the activity “greatly impacted” their learning."
ACADEMIC ADVISING HELP IS ON THE WAY
If you are looking for some direction and clarification to help with your student advising responsibilities, plan on joining us on April 29 for a professional development workshop. We will continue the conversation we began with the webinar earlier this week. In addition, we are now gathering input from you on what you are looking for in the way of assistance. Please forward your ideas as well as your definition of what student advising is all about to me at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu. Look for more information soon about the workshop on the 29th which will be held during the 1:00-2:15 pm open slot.
TESTING CENTER NEEDS YOUR HELP
Please remind all of your students who are testing at Mid City, Acadian, and the various sites that they are not allowed to bring anything with them into the Testing Center. The Testing Center does have a limited number of lockers for use by the various customers. We are also asking that you remind all testers to use the scheduler for making appointments. As the volume continues to increase, we are working hard to make sure our customers receive the level of service they deserve. The policies in place are required by our partners. In addition, we are working to maintain an environment that is conducive to producing the best results for all testers. Should you have any comments, please feel free to contact the Testing Center staff at 216.8038 or via email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu).
Friday, March 7, 2014
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR PARADIGM SHIFTED RECENTLY
My head is still reeling from the huge amount of knowledge that Dr. Jim Johnston just exposed us to in the Shifting the Teaching Paradigm faculty development workshop. Special thanks to Dianne Lindsay and Cengage for co-sponsoring this workshop. Since the point of faculty development is to take the new knowledge and integrate it into how and what we are teaching, we will gather for a recap on Monday, March 10 at noon in the Teaching+Learning Center (T+LC). You are welcome to come on Monday even if you were not able to participate in today's event. We want to share this new information with you and to facilitate a discussion among the community of scholars at BRCC. So come and debate the learning styles approach (like VARK). Come and talk about sequential versus global teaching and learning. Find out what ANTs represent (you can cheat by visiting the T+LC twitter page). I always say that we must teach the student we have, not the ones we want. Dr. Johnston concurs and adds "you need to teach the students in your class about how to learn in your class." Bring your lunch and a colleague but please come and participate in this next step of our movement to shifting the teaching paradigm at BRCC.
INFORMATION YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR STUDENTS
The Testing Center has implemented a new policy that will ensure a more supportive and quieter testing environment. Check-in for all testers will now occur at the front desk as you enter the lobby for the Testing Center/Library/Advising Center in the Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). Students can not only check in to test but can also reserve a locker for their personal belongings (backpacks, purses, laptops, etc.). The Testing Center is working hard to provide the proper climate to enhance the performance of all of our students. Please remind your students to schedule there testing times using the online reservation system. If you have questions for the Testing Center staff, you can email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu) or contact them by phone (216.8038). The Mid City Testing Center is open Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 am until 7:00 pm, on Thursday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Saturday testing will occur on March 8 and 22, April 5 and 26, and May 10 from 8:00am until 12:00 pm. The Testing Center will be closed on Thursday, March 13 for the LCTCS professional development annual conference.
DO STUDENTS CALL YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME
Katrina Gulliver covers the topic of classroom formality in her opinion piece with a lighter side. She writes, "I am not your friend; I am not 'Miss.' Is it just me, or are we witnessing an epidemic of familiarity among undergraduates? They’re all calling me by my first name. Is this happening in your classroom too? I’m not that much older than a lot of my students, generationally (I’m apparently just on the cusp between being an echo-boomer and a millennial, for those who keep track -- but old enough I don’t think they’re mistaking me for a fellow undergrad). However, I feel like their grandmother when I receive their emails, and clutch my pearls when I get a message addressed to “Hi Katrina” (or just “hi”) from students I haven’t even met." What do you think?
My head is still reeling from the huge amount of knowledge that Dr. Jim Johnston just exposed us to in the Shifting the Teaching Paradigm faculty development workshop. Special thanks to Dianne Lindsay and Cengage for co-sponsoring this workshop. Since the point of faculty development is to take the new knowledge and integrate it into how and what we are teaching, we will gather for a recap on Monday, March 10 at noon in the Teaching+Learning Center (T+LC). You are welcome to come on Monday even if you were not able to participate in today's event. We want to share this new information with you and to facilitate a discussion among the community of scholars at BRCC. So come and debate the learning styles approach (like VARK). Come and talk about sequential versus global teaching and learning. Find out what ANTs represent (you can cheat by visiting the T+LC twitter page). I always say that we must teach the student we have, not the ones we want. Dr. Johnston concurs and adds "you need to teach the students in your class about how to learn in your class." Bring your lunch and a colleague but please come and participate in this next step of our movement to shifting the teaching paradigm at BRCC.
INFORMATION YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR STUDENTS
The Testing Center has implemented a new policy that will ensure a more supportive and quieter testing environment. Check-in for all testers will now occur at the front desk as you enter the lobby for the Testing Center/Library/Advising Center in the Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). Students can not only check in to test but can also reserve a locker for their personal belongings (backpacks, purses, laptops, etc.). The Testing Center is working hard to provide the proper climate to enhance the performance of all of our students. Please remind your students to schedule there testing times using the online reservation system. If you have questions for the Testing Center staff, you can email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu) or contact them by phone (216.8038). The Mid City Testing Center is open Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 am until 7:00 pm, on Thursday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Saturday testing will occur on March 8 and 22, April 5 and 26, and May 10 from 8:00am until 12:00 pm. The Testing Center will be closed on Thursday, March 13 for the LCTCS professional development annual conference.
DO STUDENTS CALL YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME
Katrina Gulliver covers the topic of classroom formality in her opinion piece with a lighter side. She writes, "I am not your friend; I am not 'Miss.' Is it just me, or are we witnessing an epidemic of familiarity among undergraduates? They’re all calling me by my first name. Is this happening in your classroom too? I’m not that much older than a lot of my students, generationally (I’m apparently just on the cusp between being an echo-boomer and a millennial, for those who keep track -- but old enough I don’t think they’re mistaking me for a fellow undergrad). However, I feel like their grandmother when I receive their emails, and clutch my pearls when I get a message addressed to “Hi Katrina” (or just “hi”) from students I haven’t even met." What do you think?
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
HELP IS ON THE WAY
The Title III Program and Teaching+Learning Center are
co-sponsoring a faculty development webinar on Thursday, November 14. Promoting
the Development, Achievement and Persistence of Students from Diverse
Backgrounds webinar will occur from noon until 1:30 PM in the T+LC (311 Magnolia
Bldg.). This intensive workshop will
share effective theory-based programmatic and individual interventions that
have resulted in campus environments of support that increase persistence for
students of color. In addition to being provided with a wide range of
information regarding demographic, educational attainments and other issues
related to multicultural/students of color, participants will be provided with
strategies that will allow them to improve student success. Upon completion,
participants will be able to assist students employing the 0-100% Teaching and
Advising Method as a means for promoting greater student responsibility for
learning. Registration is now open.
RESEARCH WE CAN USE NOW
A new report on first-generation students could provide us with some valuable information as we continue to implement interventions to improve student retention at BRCC. The report notes that about a quarter of high-school graduates who took the ACT in 2013 met all four of its college-readiness benchmarks, in English, reading, mathematics, and science. But students whose parents did not go to college fared quite a bit worse: Only 9 percent of them met all four benchmarks. We know that many of our students are the first in their family to attempt to earn a college degree. One of the highlights from the report says, “Recent research demonstrates that academically prepared students, as measured by the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, have greater chances for success in their future educational endeavors. However, academic readiness is just one of several factors that contribute to educational success. The academic behaviors of students and the interest levels in their specific major or career are other key factors. Together, these elements define a clear picture of student readiness for post-secondary education. To encourage progress, the educational system needs to monitor and sustain all key factors of success.”
TESTING IS A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY
Dr. Maryellen Weimer offers us an interesting reminder about testing in a post on The Teaching Professor blog. Her thoughts are consistent with what we discussed in our testing workshop on October 17 but bear repeating. She writes, “We give exams to assess mastery of material—are students learning the course content? With so much emphasis on scores and grades, it’s easy to forget that the process of preparing for, taking, and getting feedback about an exam can also be a learning experience. The learning that results from these processes can be tacit, or teachers can design activities associated with exam events that can result in better content learning and heightened student awareness of the learning skills associated with demonstrating knowledge.” Read more…
Thursday, October 24, 2013
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT ON CRITICAL THINKING
The conversation about the idea of teaching students to
think critically has gone from a whisper to a roar. Many states have adopted
learning outcomes that designate critical thinking as one of the required
standards for their institutions of higher education. Many of the questions I
am often asked focus on critical thinking. In fact, the Common Reader Faculty Learning
Community spent some time discussing the concept as well. In response to the
curiosity, The Teaching+Learning Center is offering the webinar Teaching for
Critical Thinking on October 31 at 3:00 PM. Dr. Stephen Brookfield, University
Distinguished Professor at the University of St. Thomas, will be making the
presentation. At the end of this webinar, you will be able to: Design and implement
an Assumptions Audit; Implement the Critical Incident Questionnaire-a tool to
model critical thinking; Design and conduct a Scenario Analysis exercise;
Design and conduct a “Chalk Talk” exercise; and, Incorporate two or more
techniques for modeling critical thinking into your practice as a teacher. You
can register now for this faculty professional development workshop.
RELEVANCE AND AUTONOMY ARE KEY TO STUDENT SUCCESS
Underachievement in college students is linked to lack of
motivation (Balduf, 2009 and references therein). Two major factors that
contribute to poor motivation are inability of students to see the relevance of
classroom activities to their chosen careers (Glynn et al., 2009) and lack of a
sense of autonomy (Reeve and Jang, 2006; Reeve, 2009). Dr. Katherine Robertson
has written an article addressing both of these issues. She suggest that
experiential learning be used and describes it as "a process through which
students develop skills through direct experience. While most people think of
experiential learning as something that happens outside the classroom, it is
possible to give students real-life experiences in the classroom, too,"
says Dr. Robertson. She also suggests that to enhance student autonomy, have
your students write their own rubrics and guidelines under your guidance.
FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITIES ROLL ON
The Common Reader Faculty Learning Community is wrapping up
their faculty development project and will have some interesting outcomes based
on the lively discussion in and out of the formal sessions. In addition, the
Building a Hybrid Course Faculty Learning Community had their initial session yesterday.
This FLC is looking to create a best-practices model or template that all
faculty can use as they build their hybrid classes. The FLC membership
includes: Becky Adcock, Joanie Chavis, Janet Daniel, Raven Dora, Jessie
Hornbrook, Mary Miller, Susan Nealy, and Todd Pourciau. They are using the Jay Caulfield
book How to Design and Teach a Hybrid Course as the text for the FLC. Look for
updates as they move through their sessions.
TESTING WORKSHOP PROVES BENEFICIAL
The faculty professional development session Testing 101:
Assessing Student Learning held on October 17 received high marks from the
faculty who spent part of their fall break participating. Dr. Amy Atchly,
speech communication, was able to learn new ways to help her students overcome
test anxiety. Paul Guidry, criminal justice, decided to “stop being concerned
with coverage and to be more concerned with actual learning.” Belvin Givens,
CSSK, is planning to use the post-test assessment methods explained in the
seminar. Leroy Waguespack, STEM, was happy to receive his own Bloom’s Taxonomy
flipbook to help him develop higher level-thinking questions for his tests. Almost all of the participants said that they
planned to use a test blueprint to design their assessment instruments. Watch
this blog and your email-box for information on a repeat of this session.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
CELEBRATING STUDENT SUCCESS
The coveted Keep Calm and Be Engaged green shirt has been awarded once again to a faculty member who is relentless in her pursuit of student success. Dr. Mary Miller, who teaches science classes, was recently surprised with her recognition when we popped in on one of her classes. One of her outstanding students, Robin Chautin, said, "From day one of microbiology, Dr. Miller greeted our class
with an enthusiastic, positive attitude. She is very clear when she teaches and breaks down the material in a manner that is easily understood. Her
examples in class are of such a wide variety and she will go to great lengths
to make sure that everyone is clear on the topic. The thing I like the most
about Dr. Miller's class is that our labs are very organized and the objective
is always clear. Dr. Miller is extremely knowledgeable in
microbiology and her passion for it is contagious! This is by far the most fun learning experience I have ever had!" While we were there, it was also an opportunity to "celebrate learning." She had recently given a test and a number of her students scored a B or better. So we combined the two celebrations and took the picture shown on the left (front row left to right, Crystal Armand, Elizabeth Ford,
Erica Zumo, and Amanda Yan; back row, Dr. Miller, Alyssa Perry, Ashley Dyer,
Robin Chautin, Brenda Odom, Victoria
Danagogo, and Patrick Stewart) to share with you. If you would like to share your student success story, please let me know and we will arrange to visit your class as well.
FALL BREAK OPPORTUNITY
ZOMBIES INVADE BRCC
Week six of the Common Reader Faculty Learning Community focused on what Ken Bain defines as a natural critical learning environment. It is what emerged in his research study as the perfect setting for student learning to occur. His research results suggest that this learning environment allows students to "confront important problems in ways that force them to rethink assumptions and examine their mental models of reality." The discussion between your colleagues produced an "aha" moment. Bain says, "In order to maximize the engagement factor, you need to focus on what students care about, know, or think they know, the things that excite them." It needs to be combined with your disciplinary knowledge but if we are to capture and keep their attention, it needs to be "important" to them in some way. The aha moment occurred when we began to discuss what is currently important to them and one topic emerged: zombies. As we began to talk about ways to uncover what is important to them, like using personal response systems or using a Doodle poll, we came to the conclusion that popular culture could help. Because advertising firms have endless pots of money to spend on uncovering our likes and tendencies, that is the obvious place to turn for this answer. So returning to the zombies theme we were quickly able to reference that there are a number of TV shows (The Walking Dead) and movies (World War Z and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) and in fact a couple of commercials running incessantly right now about this topic (Toyota and Sprint). So your challenge is, how do you integrate the topic of zombies into your learning experiences for your classes? The FLC members also encourage us to pay close attention to the media in order to help stay current with what topics are trending with our students.
FALL BREAK OPPORTUNITY
There are still a few spots available for the faculty professional development workshop on Thursday, October 17. Testing 101: Assessing Student Learning will be held in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Building/Mid City Campus) at 3:00 PM. Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to evaluate current assessment instruments and determine their effectiveness towards indicating student learning; build a better testing and assessment instrument using a test blueprint; determine if their learning experiences and their testing is aligned; and, identify the advantages of different types of testing. You can register for your spot now.
Week six of the Common Reader Faculty Learning Community focused on what Ken Bain defines as a natural critical learning environment. It is what emerged in his research study as the perfect setting for student learning to occur. His research results suggest that this learning environment allows students to "confront important problems in ways that force them to rethink assumptions and examine their mental models of reality." The discussion between your colleagues produced an "aha" moment. Bain says, "In order to maximize the engagement factor, you need to focus on what students care about, know, or think they know, the things that excite them." It needs to be combined with your disciplinary knowledge but if we are to capture and keep their attention, it needs to be "important" to them in some way. The aha moment occurred when we began to discuss what is currently important to them and one topic emerged: zombies. As we began to talk about ways to uncover what is important to them, like using personal response systems or using a Doodle poll, we came to the conclusion that popular culture could help. Because advertising firms have endless pots of money to spend on uncovering our likes and tendencies, that is the obvious place to turn for this answer. So returning to the zombies theme we were quickly able to reference that there are a number of TV shows (The Walking Dead) and movies (World War Z and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) and in fact a couple of commercials running incessantly right now about this topic (Toyota and Sprint). So your challenge is, how do you integrate the topic of zombies into your learning experiences for your classes? The FLC members also encourage us to pay close attention to the media in order to help stay current with what topics are trending with our students.
Friday, September 20, 2013
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
There are two additional professional development opportunities open to all BRCC faculty. The first occurs on October 8 and continues our Blackboard Series. This interactive workshop will focus on the Gradebook function and there will be a session for beginners and for more advanced users. The two sessions will begin at 3:00 and 4:00 PM that day. On October 10 the Teaching+Learning Center will present a workshop about test preparation. It will focus on the areas of alignment, rigor, and reliability. You will also learn about using a blueprint to build the perfect test. This workshop will be held in 311 Magnolia and begin at 3:00 PM. Look for registration information in your email-box in the very near future but save the dates now.
THE PLIGHT OF OUR ADJUNCT COLLEAGUES
The recent discussion about the effectiveness of adjunct faculty at our nation's colleges, reminded me of a study focused on this area. Although it was published in 2011, it bears a second glance. As the number of adjunct faculty continues to grow on campuses across the U.S., there is growing concern that due to a lack of training and/or time, most adjunct faculty are not using effective teaching methods. Roger Baldwin and Matthew Wawrzynski, two faculty at Michigan State, conducted the research and stressed in an interview that they fault the conditions part-time instructors work under, and not the instructors themselves, for their failure to use effective teaching methods more often. The researchers found that, compared with full-time adjuncts or tenured or tenure-track faculty, part-time adjuncts "are less likely to use learning-centered strategies such as essay exams, term research papers, multiple drafts of written work, oral presentations, group projects, or student evaluations of each others' work," the paper says. Such learning-centered practices are generally regarded by practitioners as some of the most effective means of teaching students and are certainly what the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support is suggesting all of our faculty use in their courses.
FREE YOUR MIND ONLINE
Audrey Heinesen has written a fascinating opinion piece about the need for more faculty who are willing to teach using the online course delivery method. She notes, "Online instructors can revel in a newfound ability to defy some of the most fundamental aspects of a typical classroom. The whiteboard is no longer erased at the end of the day. Your best moments reach beyond students in your physical presence. Your teaching can be set free in your online classroom. You’re free to structure content in new ways to reach your students. Try different types of content and multimodal teaching strategies that might not work in a traditional setting. Experiment with new course ideas that are harder to champion in more structured environments. Backward design, flipped classroom, video-based instruction? Instructors can return to a creative place by developing new ideas around curriculum and teaching." As we continue to expand our eLearning offerings, we are certainly looking to add to the number of faculty who are certified to teach using the online delivery method. Contact your dean or department chair if you are interested in receiving the training to teach for our eLearning department.
STOPPING BULIMIC LEARNING
One of the ideas recently discussed at the Common Reader Faculty Learning Community was the topic of comprehensive testing. The idea is to have each test that you give in your class not only build on the previous test but actually include material that should have been learned before. Craig Nelson, a biology instructor from Indiana, notes that comprehensive tests help us to avoid creating bulimic learners. He explains that this is the student who learns things for the test and then purges the information, thinking they will never have to use it again. Research shows however that continued interaction with content increases the chances that it will be remembered and can be applied subsequently. An article in the August/September 2013 issue of The Teaching Professor also supports this claim. Preparing for Comprehensive Finals contains a number of great suggestions that we can use to help our students prepare for their encounter with this type of assessment.
There are two additional professional development opportunities open to all BRCC faculty. The first occurs on October 8 and continues our Blackboard Series. This interactive workshop will focus on the Gradebook function and there will be a session for beginners and for more advanced users. The two sessions will begin at 3:00 and 4:00 PM that day. On October 10 the Teaching+Learning Center will present a workshop about test preparation. It will focus on the areas of alignment, rigor, and reliability. You will also learn about using a blueprint to build the perfect test. This workshop will be held in 311 Magnolia and begin at 3:00 PM. Look for registration information in your email-box in the very near future but save the dates now.
THE PLIGHT OF OUR ADJUNCT COLLEAGUES
The recent discussion about the effectiveness of adjunct faculty at our nation's colleges, reminded me of a study focused on this area. Although it was published in 2011, it bears a second glance. As the number of adjunct faculty continues to grow on campuses across the U.S., there is growing concern that due to a lack of training and/or time, most adjunct faculty are not using effective teaching methods. Roger Baldwin and Matthew Wawrzynski, two faculty at Michigan State, conducted the research and stressed in an interview that they fault the conditions part-time instructors work under, and not the instructors themselves, for their failure to use effective teaching methods more often. The researchers found that, compared with full-time adjuncts or tenured or tenure-track faculty, part-time adjuncts "are less likely to use learning-centered strategies such as essay exams, term research papers, multiple drafts of written work, oral presentations, group projects, or student evaluations of each others' work," the paper says. Such learning-centered practices are generally regarded by practitioners as some of the most effective means of teaching students and are certainly what the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support is suggesting all of our faculty use in their courses.
FREE YOUR MIND ONLINE
Audrey Heinesen has written a fascinating opinion piece about the need for more faculty who are willing to teach using the online course delivery method. She notes, "Online instructors can revel in a newfound ability to defy some of the most fundamental aspects of a typical classroom. The whiteboard is no longer erased at the end of the day. Your best moments reach beyond students in your physical presence. Your teaching can be set free in your online classroom. You’re free to structure content in new ways to reach your students. Try different types of content and multimodal teaching strategies that might not work in a traditional setting. Experiment with new course ideas that are harder to champion in more structured environments. Backward design, flipped classroom, video-based instruction? Instructors can return to a creative place by developing new ideas around curriculum and teaching." As we continue to expand our eLearning offerings, we are certainly looking to add to the number of faculty who are certified to teach using the online delivery method. Contact your dean or department chair if you are interested in receiving the training to teach for our eLearning department.
STOPPING BULIMIC LEARNING
One of the ideas recently discussed at the Common Reader Faculty Learning Community was the topic of comprehensive testing. The idea is to have each test that you give in your class not only build on the previous test but actually include material that should have been learned before. Craig Nelson, a biology instructor from Indiana, notes that comprehensive tests help us to avoid creating bulimic learners. He explains that this is the student who learns things for the test and then purges the information, thinking they will never have to use it again. Research shows however that continued interaction with content increases the chances that it will be remembered and can be applied subsequently. An article in the August/September 2013 issue of The Teaching Professor also supports this claim. Preparing for Comprehensive Finals contains a number of great suggestions that we can use to help our students prepare for their encounter with this type of assessment.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
 |
| The future of teaching at BRCC. |
The Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support was thrilled to host the new faculty orientation on Wednesday. The program provided information on a diversity of topics including the scholarship of teaching and learning, how to help our student succeed, using library resources effectively, strategies for testing and assessment, using Blackboard effectively, and integrating college success skills into every course. Expert presenters included Dean Joanie Chavis, Testing Specialist Tressa Landry, Manager Susan Nealy, Dean Todd Pourciau, Director Jeanne Stacy, Dean Sandra Williams, and Executive Dean Elaine Vallette. The new faculty participants including: Catherine Doyle, Vinetta Frie, Belvin Givens, Emily Graves, Cyndy Giachetti, Jessie Herubrock, Loretta Jarrell, Jennifer Knapp, Albertha Lawson, Kristen Pasquier, Asoka Sekharan, and Bridget Sonnier-Hillis. Active learning and student engagement dominated the conversation. The future looks bright for teaching and learning at BRCC.
The Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support team donned peaceful green shirts on Wednesday to kick off this year's theme of Keep Calm and Be Engaged. As we mentioned previously, BRCC is stepping up its efforts on student engagement. The shirts are a humorous reminder that we are all part of our students success. By the end of the day, some members of the team were receiving some outrageous financial offers for their shirts but no one wanted to part with them. Look for the shirts to reappear as we celebrate learning throughout the coming academic year. Who knows, maybe you too will be lucky enough to be recognized for engagement excellence and receive a coveted green shirt.
 |
| Anderson, Linder, and Harris join BRCC |
We are very excited to announce the addition of some new team members in the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support. Barbara Linder has joined us as an Academic Support Specialist. Wanda Anderson and Karen Harris have joined us as Testing Center Specialists. The addition of new staff means that we can respond more effectively to the many requests we are receiving from faculty and students in the areas of testing, assessment, and pedagogy. There is a bit of sad news from the Testing Center as we are losing Tressa Landry, who is following her husband to Lake Charles. The good news is that in addition to our newest team members, Debbie Johnson remains with the Testing Center. Look for expanded hours coming soon to better meet your testing needs.
Friday, October 12, 2012
ANOTHER REASON TO TEST
While reviewing some material for an upcoming presentation on Millennials, I found a terrific one-pager from Mary A. Pyc and Katherine A. Rawson entitled Why Testing Improves Memory: Mediator effectiveness hypothesis first published in Science (vol. 330) in 2010 (Q1 .S35 V.330). They set out to disprove the assumption that learning can only occur during study. They also wanted to see if testing could be used for something other than evaluating the state of memory. What they found was intriguing and could be incorporated in your classes as a test-restudy intervention. They noted that testing improves memory. One of the more important ideas to remember when constructing tests is to focus on what is truly important. Take a look at the course learning outcomes and make sure that you are aligning your learning experiences and assessment with those outcomes. The other important connection that this empirical research confirms is that important concepts should be included on subsequent tests and a comprehensive final may be your best opportunity to help your students retain what they have learned in your course.
TEACHING ONLINE
If you are looking for strategies for group learning activities for the online environment, take a look at this blog post by Debbie Morrison. Stephen Downes writes that the PAD (Personal Access Device) will become the dominant tool for online education, combining the function of book, notebook, and pen.
CHARACTER MATTERS
Paul Tough believes that character development may be the most important thing we can teach our students. He writes about that and may other things including the effects of poverty in his book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. When asked how failure can help us succeed, he responds, "That’s an idea that I think was best expressed by Dominic Randolph, the head of the Riverdale Country School, where they’re now doing some interesting experiments with teaching character. Here’s how he put it: The idea of building grit and building self-control is that you get that through failure. And in most highly academic environments in the United States, no one fails anything. That idea resonated with a lot of readers. I don’t think it’s quite true that failure itself helps us succeed. In fact, repeated failures can be quite devastating to a child’s development. What I think is important on the road to success is learning to deal with failure, to manage adversity. That’s a skill that parents can certainly help their children develop--but so can teachers and coaches and mentors and neighbors and lots of other people." He elaborates in this podcast.
While reviewing some material for an upcoming presentation on Millennials, I found a terrific one-pager from Mary A. Pyc and Katherine A. Rawson entitled Why Testing Improves Memory: Mediator effectiveness hypothesis first published in Science (vol. 330) in 2010 (Q1 .S35 V.330). They set out to disprove the assumption that learning can only occur during study. They also wanted to see if testing could be used for something other than evaluating the state of memory. What they found was intriguing and could be incorporated in your classes as a test-restudy intervention. They noted that testing improves memory. One of the more important ideas to remember when constructing tests is to focus on what is truly important. Take a look at the course learning outcomes and make sure that you are aligning your learning experiences and assessment with those outcomes. The other important connection that this empirical research confirms is that important concepts should be included on subsequent tests and a comprehensive final may be your best opportunity to help your students retain what they have learned in your course.
TEACHING ONLINE
If you are looking for strategies for group learning activities for the online environment, take a look at this blog post by Debbie Morrison. Stephen Downes writes that the PAD (Personal Access Device) will become the dominant tool for online education, combining the function of book, notebook, and pen.
CHARACTER MATTERS
Paul Tough believes that character development may be the most important thing we can teach our students. He writes about that and may other things including the effects of poverty in his book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. When asked how failure can help us succeed, he responds, "That’s an idea that I think was best expressed by Dominic Randolph, the head of the Riverdale Country School, where they’re now doing some interesting experiments with teaching character. Here’s how he put it: The idea of building grit and building self-control is that you get that through failure. And in most highly academic environments in the United States, no one fails anything. That idea resonated with a lot of readers. I don’t think it’s quite true that failure itself helps us succeed. In fact, repeated failures can be quite devastating to a child’s development. What I think is important on the road to success is learning to deal with failure, to manage adversity. That’s a skill that parents can certainly help their children develop--but so can teachers and coaches and mentors and neighbors and lots of other people." He elaborates in this podcast.
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