COLLABORATIVE LEARNING WORKSHOP ON THURSDAY
Have you ever used the active method of collaborative learning in your classes? Did you know that research tells us that collaborative learning is a proven method to help deepen learning for your students? It can also help to make the new knowledge stick. If you are interested in discovering the benefits of collaborative learning, please plan to attend the professional development workshop on Thursday, November 20 at 1:00 pm. in 311 Magnolia Building. The presentation will provide an introduction to the active learning method along with the benefits and some real-life examples of how you can implement into your courses immediately. You can register here but if you find yourself free at 1:00 pm tomorrow, please join us in the Teaching+Learning Center.
MYTH: RIGOR MEANS DOING MORE
A number of you have asked about the broad category of academic rigor and how to insure that your learning experiences have it. Terri Heick has written a short blog post that I think can help. She notes, "Rigor matters because it imposes cognitive load on students, forcing
them to confront misconceptions, reconsider positions, separate the
implicit from the explicit, and other critical thinking practices that
distinguish shaky familiarity from true understanding." Heick also provides a quick rigor checklist and debunks five myths about the subject.
LIBRARY, GOOGLE OR BOTH
Earlier this week, I shared the Tech Tuesday Tip of the week. The topic concerned how to determine the difference between an inquiry and a search. Of course we all know how relevant this becomes when our students are relying on online resources more and more. In this article, Terri Heick notes, "The contrast between inquiry and search then, is a matter of pace,
volume, and scale. Digital search is always-on and simple and
frighteningly fast. The speed at which “results” are issued–and their
sheer quantity–obscure the macro perspective real inquiry requires.
Pouring over irrelevant book after irrelevant book isn’t perfect either.
It can be a huge waste of time, and encourage students to latch on to
the first bit of data that seems evenly remotely pertinent." I received a very interesting response from one of your colleagues about the article who was looking to find a few more practical tips. So I am throwing it out to you. Anyone want to share how they incorporate this distinction in their teaching?
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query collaborative learning. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query collaborative learning. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2016
THAT FEEDBACK REALLY HURT
It took fewer than three semesters for Michael Howell to realize that he might need to change how he provided written feedback to his students. Dr. Howell, an associate professor at Appalachian State University, used sarcasm and wit in feedback to students during his early years as an instructor. Students complained that the feedback was negative and unhelpful. In one case, his feedback provoked a tearful response from one “grief-stricken” student. “Worst of all, most students were not performing any better on later assignments, despite being provided with copious, and what I considered helpful, feedback,” Howell writes. “Most of my feedback was simply being disregarded.”Howell shares his personal reflection in the introduction of a scholarly article published in the latest issue of the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching. Howell reviewed the literature and identified five essential principles of written feedback for college instructors to follow. Check out “The Feedback 5”.
QUICK ACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Integrating active learning experiences into your class can be simple and allow you to gauge the learning that has occurred. Here is one example called "Student Response to a Demonstration (or Other Teacher-Centered Activity)." After a classroom or laboratory demonstration, the instructor asks students to write a paragraph that begins with the phrase “I was surprised that . . . , ” “I learned that . . . ,” or “I wonder about. . . .” This lead allows students to reflect on what they actually got out of the teacher’s presentation. It also helps students realize that the day’s activity was designed for more than just entertainment. To find more quick and easy ways to implement active learning opportunities in your class, take a look at the Active Learning Manual on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development page under Modules on Canvas.
WRITING AS A GROUP
Are you interested in how to promote collaborative learning among university students via instructor-guided writing groups? Faustin Mutwarasibo has an interesting article based on her research. She writes, "In their responses, students acknowledged having improved their interpersonal and collaborative skills through writing groups. Students also indicated that, while discussing and interacting with their group members and with the support from their instructor, they improved their English, gained new ideas and perspectives, and learned better about text coherence." Some strategies are proposed on how an instructor can help make group work a relevant and effective learning tool in the full article.
It took fewer than three semesters for Michael Howell to realize that he might need to change how he provided written feedback to his students. Dr. Howell, an associate professor at Appalachian State University, used sarcasm and wit in feedback to students during his early years as an instructor. Students complained that the feedback was negative and unhelpful. In one case, his feedback provoked a tearful response from one “grief-stricken” student. “Worst of all, most students were not performing any better on later assignments, despite being provided with copious, and what I considered helpful, feedback,” Howell writes. “Most of my feedback was simply being disregarded.”Howell shares his personal reflection in the introduction of a scholarly article published in the latest issue of the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching. Howell reviewed the literature and identified five essential principles of written feedback for college instructors to follow. Check out “The Feedback 5”.
QUICK ACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Integrating active learning experiences into your class can be simple and allow you to gauge the learning that has occurred. Here is one example called "Student Response to a Demonstration (or Other Teacher-Centered Activity)." After a classroom or laboratory demonstration, the instructor asks students to write a paragraph that begins with the phrase “I was surprised that . . . , ” “I learned that . . . ,” or “I wonder about. . . .” This lead allows students to reflect on what they actually got out of the teacher’s presentation. It also helps students realize that the day’s activity was designed for more than just entertainment. To find more quick and easy ways to implement active learning opportunities in your class, take a look at the Active Learning Manual on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development page under Modules on Canvas.
WRITING AS A GROUP
Are you interested in how to promote collaborative learning among university students via instructor-guided writing groups? Faustin Mutwarasibo has an interesting article based on her research. She writes, "In their responses, students acknowledged having improved their interpersonal and collaborative skills through writing groups. Students also indicated that, while discussing and interacting with their group members and with the support from their instructor, they improved their English, gained new ideas and perspectives, and learned better about text coherence." Some strategies are proposed on how an instructor can help make group work a relevant and effective learning tool in the full article.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
MAKING PEOPLE SWOON
Rachel Toor has written a humorous piece published in The Chronicle of Higher Education about creating the perfect lecture. In her perfect version, she explains that she would read the entire carefully written speech and it would bring down the house. But she returns us to reality and explains how this process led her to take a closer look at her classroom presentations that historically used PowerPoint slides to keep it moving. In the end, she concludes that it is important to grab and retain our audience's attention (for most of us that is students). Take a look yourself and let me know what you think.
21ST CENTURY LEARNING SPACES
Each time I enter my classroom in the Governors Building, I spend some time (usually with help from the early-arrivers) moving the tables and chairs around. Creating a space that promotes collaborative learning is important to me and makes using active learning methods much easier. At the beginning of the semester, some students ask if we are going to do this all the time and say things like "I don't want to stare at the other people in the room." By the second or third class, those "people" have become colleagues and the synergy begins to emerge. By making small changes in how my classroom is arranged, I am able to create a learner-centered environment. This process also makes me think about what my perfect classroom would look like. Combination chair-desks that roll are high on my list. I would also like floor-to-ceiling white boards all around the room. Two smart boards would be terrific. I would love to have some individual white boards at each desk for the students to use. Okay, let me show what I mean. Take a look at the Collaborative Learning Studio that the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Indiana University has created. The video wall might make you drool. So what would your ideal classroom look like?
PI DAY OF CENTURY REQUIRES PIE
Hopefully most of you received Associate Professor of Mathematics Jeffrey Weaver's email about Pi Day of the Century (which occurs on March 14, 2015) to be celebrated at the College on Thursday, March 12. The Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in cooperation with the Math Club will celebrate Pi Day by distributing pie in the Cypress Building from 12:00 to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. The Cypress building will be decorated with displays created by Jeffrey's Math 167 and Math 168 students. There are two ways you can join in the fun. The first is by supplying the pie to be distributed. That can be delivered to Jeffrey's office (222 Cypress Bldg.). You can also stop by on that day between the hours mentioned above to receive your piece of the pie. By the way, it is Pi Day of the Century according to Jeffrey, "because March 14, 2015 at 9:26:53 translates into 3. 14 15 926 53 which is Pi represented to 9 decimal places. This event happens only once every 100 years…Pi Day of the Century!"
Rachel Toor has written a humorous piece published in The Chronicle of Higher Education about creating the perfect lecture. In her perfect version, she explains that she would read the entire carefully written speech and it would bring down the house. But she returns us to reality and explains how this process led her to take a closer look at her classroom presentations that historically used PowerPoint slides to keep it moving. In the end, she concludes that it is important to grab and retain our audience's attention (for most of us that is students). Take a look yourself and let me know what you think.
21ST CENTURY LEARNING SPACES
Each time I enter my classroom in the Governors Building, I spend some time (usually with help from the early-arrivers) moving the tables and chairs around. Creating a space that promotes collaborative learning is important to me and makes using active learning methods much easier. At the beginning of the semester, some students ask if we are going to do this all the time and say things like "I don't want to stare at the other people in the room." By the second or third class, those "people" have become colleagues and the synergy begins to emerge. By making small changes in how my classroom is arranged, I am able to create a learner-centered environment. This process also makes me think about what my perfect classroom would look like. Combination chair-desks that roll are high on my list. I would also like floor-to-ceiling white boards all around the room. Two smart boards would be terrific. I would love to have some individual white boards at each desk for the students to use. Okay, let me show what I mean. Take a look at the Collaborative Learning Studio that the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Indiana University has created. The video wall might make you drool. So what would your ideal classroom look like?
PI DAY OF CENTURY REQUIRES PIE
Hopefully most of you received Associate Professor of Mathematics Jeffrey Weaver's email about Pi Day of the Century (which occurs on March 14, 2015) to be celebrated at the College on Thursday, March 12. The Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in cooperation with the Math Club will celebrate Pi Day by distributing pie in the Cypress Building from 12:00 to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. The Cypress building will be decorated with displays created by Jeffrey's Math 167 and Math 168 students. There are two ways you can join in the fun. The first is by supplying the pie to be distributed. That can be delivered to Jeffrey's office (222 Cypress Bldg.). You can also stop by on that day between the hours mentioned above to receive your piece of the pie. By the way, it is Pi Day of the Century according to Jeffrey, "because March 14, 2015 at 9:26:53 translates into 3. 14 15 926 53 which is Pi represented to 9 decimal places. This event happens only once every 100 years…Pi Day of the Century!"
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
ENGAGED SCHOLARS CIRCLE ADDS TWO MEMBERS
The latest inductees to be recognized by the Teaching+Learning Center for
student engagement excellence are Dr. Marcella Hackney and Jamie Gurt, Esq. Dr. Hackney is an associate professor of science in the STEM Division. Mrs. Gurt is Paralegal Program Manager and an instructor for the program, part of the Business, Social Sciences, and History Division. Both faculty are big proponents
of active learning methods and use the full teaching toolkit to get the
most out of their students. As we made the presentation of the coveted green t-shirts to them during class, their students were very excited. Many of their students came up to us to validate the honor as they spoke of ways in which each of these teachers created strong relationships that nurtured learning. Congratulations to Jamie and Marcella who
join Paul Guidry, Sandra Guzman, Wes Harris, Mary Miller, and Amy
Pinero as examples of faculty who not only believe in the power of engagement as a
retention strategy but creatively introduce methods that promote student success.
JOINING THE ELEARNING REVOLUTION
I received a number of positive comments on the Tech Tuesday Tip sent this week. I wanted to follow that with a new article by Dr. Maryellen Weimer about the online learning conversation. She notes, "Is it time to change the online learning conversation? The debate about whether online courses are a good idea continues with most people still on one side or the other. Who’s right or wrong is overshadowed by what the flexibility and convenience of online education has offered institutions and students. Those features opened the door, and online learning has come inside and is making itself at home in most of our institutions. No doubt the debate over the value of online learning will continue, but perhaps it’s being judged by the wrong criteria." Read more here.
CRITICAL THINKING CAN BE TAUGHT
Carlos Sanchez, Silvia Rivas, and Sonia Moral, in their article Collaborative Learning Supported by Rubrics Improves Critical Thinking, report that critical thinking can be improved by paying attention to instructional design. If you are looking to redesign your course with learning experiences aimed at improving the critical thinking abilities of your students, this article is a good start. The authors write, "In previous works we developed and assessed a teaching program with which we aimed to improve the fundamental skills of critical thinking. The results obtained were positive, but modest. After analyzing the limitations of the program we introduced certain modifications and assessed the new version. The changes involved designing the activities programmed by means of rubrics and making the students perform them with less direct orientation from the instructor. In sum specificity and initiative proved to be the key variables in the improved program, ARDESOS v.2. The data collected pointed to a significant improvement of the new version over the old one in the following aspects: a) version 2 improved all the fundamental dimensions, mainly in the pre- and post-test measurements, to a significant extent; b) the effect size was significantly higher, and finally c) these improvements in the program elicited better performance. Accordingly, an improvement in critical thinking can be achieved via an instruction design that attends to the factors that really induce change. Currently, these results have allowed us to successfully add a new improvement to the instruction, which we have re-evaluated." You can read more here.
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| Dr. Marcella Hackney |
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| Paul Guidry and Jamie Gurt |
JOINING THE ELEARNING REVOLUTION
I received a number of positive comments on the Tech Tuesday Tip sent this week. I wanted to follow that with a new article by Dr. Maryellen Weimer about the online learning conversation. She notes, "Is it time to change the online learning conversation? The debate about whether online courses are a good idea continues with most people still on one side or the other. Who’s right or wrong is overshadowed by what the flexibility and convenience of online education has offered institutions and students. Those features opened the door, and online learning has come inside and is making itself at home in most of our institutions. No doubt the debate over the value of online learning will continue, but perhaps it’s being judged by the wrong criteria." Read more here.
CRITICAL THINKING CAN BE TAUGHT
Carlos Sanchez, Silvia Rivas, and Sonia Moral, in their article Collaborative Learning Supported by Rubrics Improves Critical Thinking, report that critical thinking can be improved by paying attention to instructional design. If you are looking to redesign your course with learning experiences aimed at improving the critical thinking abilities of your students, this article is a good start. The authors write, "In previous works we developed and assessed a teaching program with which we aimed to improve the fundamental skills of critical thinking. The results obtained were positive, but modest. After analyzing the limitations of the program we introduced certain modifications and assessed the new version. The changes involved designing the activities programmed by means of rubrics and making the students perform them with less direct orientation from the instructor. In sum specificity and initiative proved to be the key variables in the improved program, ARDESOS v.2. The data collected pointed to a significant improvement of the new version over the old one in the following aspects: a) version 2 improved all the fundamental dimensions, mainly in the pre- and post-test measurements, to a significant extent; b) the effect size was significantly higher, and finally c) these improvements in the program elicited better performance. Accordingly, an improvement in critical thinking can be achieved via an instruction design that attends to the factors that really induce change. Currently, these results have allowed us to successfully add a new improvement to the instruction, which we have re-evaluated." You can read more 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.
Friday, February 14, 2014
ACTIVE LEARNING IN ACTION
During class last night, I used a collaborative team activity to illustrate the benefits of working with others. Often our students groan when we ask them to work in groups. We explored the benefits and their perceived drawbacks in a class discussion to start the lesson. I asked those who disliked group work to offer their arguments first. I then asked the students who liked working in groups, which was most of the millennial-aged class, to respond to the criticisms. We then used the "What's In the Box" activity that we have added to the upcoming 2014 version of the Active Learning Manual. This activity requires that you fill a box with 20-25 items. They can be anything but I usually try to lean towards items familiar to educational settings. Before the class session, I divided the students into four groups of 5-6 members. Once we began class, I had each group come and take a look in the box for about one minute. They are not allowed to bring anything with them or take pictures with their cellphones. They were then to return to their places and make a list of what they saw in the box. I encouraged them to keep their list private and not share. Once everyone had a shot to look at the box and create their lists, I asked how many items they had on their lists. Most students had between 9-12 items. One student indicated she had close to 20. There were 23 items in the box. I then instructed the teams to compile one list from their individual lists. I again warned them not to talk too loudly as other teams may hear them. We then identified each item, taking them out of the box, while one student made a master list on the whiteboard. Here is what I noticed while they were doing this learning activity. Different students used different techniques to try to remember the items. Where they were standing around the box did impact their list and they did not move around the box even though I gave them that option. This created a teachable moment about perspective. Once they began to compile their group list, the dynamics of team building quickly emerged. I had built the teams using various factors like gender, race, and assessment results. I noticed them using various techniques to help each other remember more items. They definitely were building their communication, leadership, and negotiation skills. I also observed them trying to make connection between the items and then discussing what some other logical items might be in the box. This helped them with critical thinking skills. I have been stressing the joy of learning in the class sessions each week. I can honestly say that the students enjoyed the learning activity. I will be assessing their abilities and learning related to this lesson shortly and I will share the results of that with you as well. By the way, the winning compilation list had almost all of the items. Most of the teams listed between 16-19 items indicating the effectiveness of group work.
COMMUNICATING USING THE RIGHT TOOL
Rob Kelly has an interesting article about selecting the appropriate communication tools for your online course. I think that many of the suggestions can be applied to hybrid and face-to-face classes as well. He writes, "When designing an online course it’s important to carefully consider which tools align with the course’s learning objectives and the types of communication that will occur. There are three types of communication that can occur in an online course—one to one, one to many, and many to many. Learning outcomes should be the overriding consideration when selecting and using communication tools," Reese says. "It doesn’t matter how flashy the tool is or how excited you are to use it if it’s not the right tool for the job. It’s important to design with your learning outcomes in mind, figure out what you want your end result to be, and then choose the tool that will help you get there versus picking the tool that you really want to use and then trying to model your course or learning outcomes around that.”
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT EVENT ON WEDNESDAY
The second part of the "high potential" students webinar occurs on Wednesday, February 19 from noon until 1:30pm. We will meet in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Bldg./Mid City Campus). It is not important if you missed the first session on this topic held earlier this week. The second session will focus on under-prepared and first-generation students and their unique problems. The webinar will be live which means we can actively participate by asking questions and responding to the various polls and requests for what is working at BRCC. You can register now. We will be tweeting throughout the event, so remember to create a Twitter account and follow the Teaching+Learning Center's Twitter.
During class last night, I used a collaborative team activity to illustrate the benefits of working with others. Often our students groan when we ask them to work in groups. We explored the benefits and their perceived drawbacks in a class discussion to start the lesson. I asked those who disliked group work to offer their arguments first. I then asked the students who liked working in groups, which was most of the millennial-aged class, to respond to the criticisms. We then used the "What's In the Box" activity that we have added to the upcoming 2014 version of the Active Learning Manual. This activity requires that you fill a box with 20-25 items. They can be anything but I usually try to lean towards items familiar to educational settings. Before the class session, I divided the students into four groups of 5-6 members. Once we began class, I had each group come and take a look in the box for about one minute. They are not allowed to bring anything with them or take pictures with their cellphones. They were then to return to their places and make a list of what they saw in the box. I encouraged them to keep their list private and not share. Once everyone had a shot to look at the box and create their lists, I asked how many items they had on their lists. Most students had between 9-12 items. One student indicated she had close to 20. There were 23 items in the box. I then instructed the teams to compile one list from their individual lists. I again warned them not to talk too loudly as other teams may hear them. We then identified each item, taking them out of the box, while one student made a master list on the whiteboard. Here is what I noticed while they were doing this learning activity. Different students used different techniques to try to remember the items. Where they were standing around the box did impact their list and they did not move around the box even though I gave them that option. This created a teachable moment about perspective. Once they began to compile their group list, the dynamics of team building quickly emerged. I had built the teams using various factors like gender, race, and assessment results. I noticed them using various techniques to help each other remember more items. They definitely were building their communication, leadership, and negotiation skills. I also observed them trying to make connection between the items and then discussing what some other logical items might be in the box. This helped them with critical thinking skills. I have been stressing the joy of learning in the class sessions each week. I can honestly say that the students enjoyed the learning activity. I will be assessing their abilities and learning related to this lesson shortly and I will share the results of that with you as well. By the way, the winning compilation list had almost all of the items. Most of the teams listed between 16-19 items indicating the effectiveness of group work.
COMMUNICATING USING THE RIGHT TOOL
Rob Kelly has an interesting article about selecting the appropriate communication tools for your online course. I think that many of the suggestions can be applied to hybrid and face-to-face classes as well. He writes, "When designing an online course it’s important to carefully consider which tools align with the course’s learning objectives and the types of communication that will occur. There are three types of communication that can occur in an online course—one to one, one to many, and many to many. Learning outcomes should be the overriding consideration when selecting and using communication tools," Reese says. "It doesn’t matter how flashy the tool is or how excited you are to use it if it’s not the right tool for the job. It’s important to design with your learning outcomes in mind, figure out what you want your end result to be, and then choose the tool that will help you get there versus picking the tool that you really want to use and then trying to model your course or learning outcomes around that.”
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT EVENT ON WEDNESDAY
The second part of the "high potential" students webinar occurs on Wednesday, February 19 from noon until 1:30pm. We will meet in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Bldg./Mid City Campus). It is not important if you missed the first session on this topic held earlier this week. The second session will focus on under-prepared and first-generation students and their unique problems. The webinar will be live which means we can actively participate by asking questions and responding to the various polls and requests for what is working at BRCC. You can register now. We will be tweeting throughout the event, so remember to create a Twitter account and follow the Teaching+Learning Center's Twitter.
Monday, August 5, 2013
BLACKBOARD COMMUNITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
One of the great features of Blackboard is the ability to create a community that allows us to discuss, share and communicate virtually. I am currently working on creating the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Blackboard site. It will include a discussion board and online resource library among other things. As soon as it is ready to go live, all of the faculty will be added so that you can access the resources and interact with your colleagues. Hopefully it will be useful to you and become the place for online discussion about the scholarship of teaching and learning at BRCC.
NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION
The Office of Teaching and Learning will be coordinating an orientation session for all new faculty. It will be held from 9:00 AM until 12 noon on Wednesday, August 21 in room 311 Magnolia Building. The focus will be on providing our newest faculty colleagues with a good foundation as they begin their teaching career at BRCC. The topics will include faculty development, using Blackboard effectively, closing the loop with the Academic Learning Center, utilizing the Testing Center, exploring the Library, explaining what our CSSK course is all about and the eLearning certification process. While the event will be open to our new hires, we are also extending an invitation to our colleagues from the former Capital Area Technical College.
TEACHING AND LEARNING FROM BOTH SIDES
The recent announcement by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs that the Academic Learning Center had joined the Teaching and Learning team means that the loop is now closed. The combined forces will allow us to provide unique solutions for some of our more pressing problems related to retention and student learning. The combined expertise of Jeanne Stacy, Yvette Ferguson, and Donna Newman brings the student experience into play. The Teaching and Learning team, which also includes the eLearning Program, Evening+Weekend, and the Testing Center, is here to work with all academic units and faculty to design and implement strategies and interventions based on the latest empirical research. We are excited about the possibilities created by this new collaborative and look forward to meeting the needs of our various constituencies.
ENGAGEMENT PROVIDES VALUABLE INFORMATION
Instead of doing one of the standard ice-breaker activities, why not give a pre-test? This type of learner-based assessment allows you to find out as much as possible about your students. Not only is it a great engagement tool but it will help you to modify your class to meet the needs of each of your students. You want to ask them questions about their ambitions, their approaches to and conceptions of learning, the way they reason, their temperaments, habits, and the things that attract their attention on a daily basis. Ken Bain, in his book What The Best College Teachers Do, notes that this type of activity is endorsed by the best teachers. Once you have the information, you should use it to build a class profile and compare it to the learning experiences, projects, and assessment instruments you plan to use in the course. You can then use this information throughout the semester to generate conversations and to make specific points to motivate your students. The pre-test also allows you to understand the complexities of your students.
One of the great features of Blackboard is the ability to create a community that allows us to discuss, share and communicate virtually. I am currently working on creating the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Blackboard site. It will include a discussion board and online resource library among other things. As soon as it is ready to go live, all of the faculty will be added so that you can access the resources and interact with your colleagues. Hopefully it will be useful to you and become the place for online discussion about the scholarship of teaching and learning at BRCC.
NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION
The Office of Teaching and Learning will be coordinating an orientation session for all new faculty. It will be held from 9:00 AM until 12 noon on Wednesday, August 21 in room 311 Magnolia Building. The focus will be on providing our newest faculty colleagues with a good foundation as they begin their teaching career at BRCC. The topics will include faculty development, using Blackboard effectively, closing the loop with the Academic Learning Center, utilizing the Testing Center, exploring the Library, explaining what our CSSK course is all about and the eLearning certification process. While the event will be open to our new hires, we are also extending an invitation to our colleagues from the former Capital Area Technical College.
TEACHING AND LEARNING FROM BOTH SIDES
The recent announcement by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs that the Academic Learning Center had joined the Teaching and Learning team means that the loop is now closed. The combined forces will allow us to provide unique solutions for some of our more pressing problems related to retention and student learning. The combined expertise of Jeanne Stacy, Yvette Ferguson, and Donna Newman brings the student experience into play. The Teaching and Learning team, which also includes the eLearning Program, Evening+Weekend, and the Testing Center, is here to work with all academic units and faculty to design and implement strategies and interventions based on the latest empirical research. We are excited about the possibilities created by this new collaborative and look forward to meeting the needs of our various constituencies.
ENGAGEMENT PROVIDES VALUABLE INFORMATION
Instead of doing one of the standard ice-breaker activities, why not give a pre-test? This type of learner-based assessment allows you to find out as much as possible about your students. Not only is it a great engagement tool but it will help you to modify your class to meet the needs of each of your students. You want to ask them questions about their ambitions, their approaches to and conceptions of learning, the way they reason, their temperaments, habits, and the things that attract their attention on a daily basis. Ken Bain, in his book What The Best College Teachers Do, notes that this type of activity is endorsed by the best teachers. Once you have the information, you should use it to build a class profile and compare it to the learning experiences, projects, and assessment instruments you plan to use in the course. You can then use this information throughout the semester to generate conversations and to make specific points to motivate your students. The pre-test also allows you to understand the complexities of your students.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
SUMMER IS ABOUT COURSE REDESIGN
Dr. Maryellen Weimer has an interesting article about course redesign. She notes, introductory courses are packed with content. Teachers struggle to get through it during class; students struggle to master it outside of class. Too often learning consists of memorizing material that’s used on the exam but not retained long after. Faculty know they should use more strategies that engage students, but those approaches take time and, in most courses, that’s in very short supply. Blended-learning designs can be used to help with the problem. Technology offers other options for dealing with course content. This article recounts one faculty member’s experiences redesigning a gateway cell biology course. In a nutshell, all the lecture content was recorded as 10-20 minute voiceover PowerPoint presentations. Class time was devoted to “activities … entirely focused on student engagement with the content and with each other.” (p. 35) What happened in class did not repeat the content but was based on assigned readings in the text and material covered in the recorded lectures. A variety of interesting classroom activities was used, including a version of the time-tested muddiest-point strategy. Upon arriving in class students submitted index cards with questions about things from the readings or the lecture that they did not understand. A sample of these questions was read aloud and then students and the professor discussed and answered them. Students also participated in another index-card activity that presented them with a scenario or experimental data not discussed in the lectures or readings. Students worked on these questions in small groups and then developed and submitted a group answer. During class the instructor also had students respond to questions using clickers.
RESOURCES FOR YOU
Student engagement is just as critical in the online delivery mode as it is in face-to-face classes. If you are looking to add some active learning experiences to your eLearning course or would like to enhance your f2f classroom, you might want to take a look at the Interactive Activities in Online and Hybrid Courses website. There are examples of individual as well as collaborative learning experiences. Dr. Betsy Winston also presents a number of learning experience ideas in her article Enhancing Critical Thinking and Active Learning in Online Courses.
IS THERE A SUCCESS GENE
Paul Voosen reports on the search for a "gene for finishing college." The article points out that there will never be a “gene for educational success” or a “gene for entrepreneurship,” just as there will never be a “gene for intelligence” or a “gene for personality.” He notes that the research reveals that there is a gene variant that increases the likelihood to read books, and it is the reading, in turn, that helps determine scholastic futures. He suggests that we still encourage kids who don’t have the variant to read and that will raise their chances for educational success.
SUB-PRIME STUDENTS
Did you catch the comment by Trace Urdan about "subprime students." Apparently in a public debate, Urdan argued with David Halperin that the relatively low graduation rates of many for-profit colleges were actually pretty good, when compared to their subsidized competition (community colleges). Halperin countered, correctly, that it’s misleading to characterize most for-profits as unsubsidized, given their heavy reliance on Federal financial aid. Matt Read said in his blog post "But the line that jumped out at me was Urdan’s assertion that “[the] school offers quality instruction. The students make of it what they will.” He continues, "If your unit of analysis is the disconnected individual, then it follows that any failures must be the fault of those individuals. If you have low graduation rates, you must have subprime students. It’s a convenient belief, because it lets everyone else off the hook. If people rise or fall entirely on their own merits, then those who fell must lack merit. If they lack merit, then their failure is nothing to worry about. After all, if they had merit, they wouldn’t have failed!" he concluded.
Dr. Maryellen Weimer has an interesting article about course redesign. She notes, introductory courses are packed with content. Teachers struggle to get through it during class; students struggle to master it outside of class. Too often learning consists of memorizing material that’s used on the exam but not retained long after. Faculty know they should use more strategies that engage students, but those approaches take time and, in most courses, that’s in very short supply. Blended-learning designs can be used to help with the problem. Technology offers other options for dealing with course content. This article recounts one faculty member’s experiences redesigning a gateway cell biology course. In a nutshell, all the lecture content was recorded as 10-20 minute voiceover PowerPoint presentations. Class time was devoted to “activities … entirely focused on student engagement with the content and with each other.” (p. 35) What happened in class did not repeat the content but was based on assigned readings in the text and material covered in the recorded lectures. A variety of interesting classroom activities was used, including a version of the time-tested muddiest-point strategy. Upon arriving in class students submitted index cards with questions about things from the readings or the lecture that they did not understand. A sample of these questions was read aloud and then students and the professor discussed and answered them. Students also participated in another index-card activity that presented them with a scenario or experimental data not discussed in the lectures or readings. Students worked on these questions in small groups and then developed and submitted a group answer. During class the instructor also had students respond to questions using clickers.
RESOURCES FOR YOU
Student engagement is just as critical in the online delivery mode as it is in face-to-face classes. If you are looking to add some active learning experiences to your eLearning course or would like to enhance your f2f classroom, you might want to take a look at the Interactive Activities in Online and Hybrid Courses website. There are examples of individual as well as collaborative learning experiences. Dr. Betsy Winston also presents a number of learning experience ideas in her article Enhancing Critical Thinking and Active Learning in Online Courses.
IS THERE A SUCCESS GENE
Paul Voosen reports on the search for a "gene for finishing college." The article points out that there will never be a “gene for educational success” or a “gene for entrepreneurship,” just as there will never be a “gene for intelligence” or a “gene for personality.” He notes that the research reveals that there is a gene variant that increases the likelihood to read books, and it is the reading, in turn, that helps determine scholastic futures. He suggests that we still encourage kids who don’t have the variant to read and that will raise their chances for educational success.
SUB-PRIME STUDENTS
Did you catch the comment by Trace Urdan about "subprime students." Apparently in a public debate, Urdan argued with David Halperin that the relatively low graduation rates of many for-profit colleges were actually pretty good, when compared to their subsidized competition (community colleges). Halperin countered, correctly, that it’s misleading to characterize most for-profits as unsubsidized, given their heavy reliance on Federal financial aid. Matt Read said in his blog post "But the line that jumped out at me was Urdan’s assertion that “[the] school offers quality instruction. The students make of it what they will.” He continues, "If your unit of analysis is the disconnected individual, then it follows that any failures must be the fault of those individuals. If you have low graduation rates, you must have subprime students. It’s a convenient belief, because it lets everyone else off the hook. If people rise or fall entirely on their own merits, then those who fell must lack merit. If they lack merit, then their failure is nothing to worry about. After all, if they had merit, they wouldn’t have failed!" he concluded.
Friday, March 15, 2013
PINERO RECOGNIZED
Congratulations to Amy Pinero, Interim Department Chair of Social Sciences, for being selected as the BRCC Outstanding Faculty Member of the year. Pinero, who teaches criminal justice courses, received her recognition at the LCTCS luncheon today. She is a very active member of the BRCC faculty and currently serves on the eLearning Faculty Learning Community among other things. Well-deserved recognition for a terrific teacher!
READY TO FLIP YOUR CLASS
There are still a few slots open for the Flipping the Classroom seminar to be held on Thursday, March 21 at 3:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia). Dr. Bill Wischusen, associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU, will deliver this seminar. Although the concept of flipping has been around for some time now, new ideas continue to emerge that allow us to improve the innovative teaching approach. In essence, flipping means that students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. You might want to take a look at the Flipped Learning Network website for some additional information. To reserve your seat, send an email to Todd Pourciau at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING REVISITED
Returning to the topic covered by Dr. Barbara Millis, the most recent distinguished speaker in the Teaching+Learning Center's ongoing series, cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. Considerable research demonstrates that cooperative learning produces higher achievement, more positive relationships among students, and healthier psychological adjustment than do competitive or individualistic experiences. The research notes that this can lead to reduced attrition rates and hirer completion for students. Dean McManus who implemented cooperative learning into his classes notes, "For the students, change began on the first day. They learned that they would be expected to discuss the assigned reading and to teach it to other students. Furthermore, they would be writing one-page and two-page summaries of readings often, and five-page reports every couple of weeks. The emphasis would be on their ability to express themselves in terms of the science they were studying." Here are a few other resources for you to supplementthe material that Dr. Millis shared with us during her visit.
BEARS ENTER THE TIGER'S DEN
The Tiger Bridge Program is an innovative new academic opportunity that combines the on-campus living experience unique to LSU, with the smaller class setting of Baton Rouge Community College. This academic collaboration between LSU and BRCC is an invitation-only, year-long program that allows students the chance to make a seamless transition into college life at LSU. After the successful completion of this one-year program, students will transfer fully to LSU for their sophomore year coursework and beyond. Space is limited in the Tiger Bridge Program, and students will enter on a first-come, first-served basis. “I think it will be a great collaborative effort between BRCC and LSU," says Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross. “This gives them additional options,” she said. “This is an alternate path students can take to get to LSU and they will also be able to earn an associate degree from BRCC.”
Congratulations to Amy Pinero, Interim Department Chair of Social Sciences, for being selected as the BRCC Outstanding Faculty Member of the year. Pinero, who teaches criminal justice courses, received her recognition at the LCTCS luncheon today. She is a very active member of the BRCC faculty and currently serves on the eLearning Faculty Learning Community among other things. Well-deserved recognition for a terrific teacher!
READY TO FLIP YOUR CLASS
There are still a few slots open for the Flipping the Classroom seminar to be held on Thursday, March 21 at 3:00 PM in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia). Dr. Bill Wischusen, associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU, will deliver this seminar. Although the concept of flipping has been around for some time now, new ideas continue to emerge that allow us to improve the innovative teaching approach. In essence, flipping means that students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. You might want to take a look at the Flipped Learning Network website for some additional information. To reserve your seat, send an email to Todd Pourciau at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING REVISITED
Returning to the topic covered by Dr. Barbara Millis, the most recent distinguished speaker in the Teaching+Learning Center's ongoing series, cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. Considerable research demonstrates that cooperative learning produces higher achievement, more positive relationships among students, and healthier psychological adjustment than do competitive or individualistic experiences. The research notes that this can lead to reduced attrition rates and hirer completion for students. Dean McManus who implemented cooperative learning into his classes notes, "For the students, change began on the first day. They learned that they would be expected to discuss the assigned reading and to teach it to other students. Furthermore, they would be writing one-page and two-page summaries of readings often, and five-page reports every couple of weeks. The emphasis would be on their ability to express themselves in terms of the science they were studying." Here are a few other resources for you to supplementthe material that Dr. Millis shared with us during her visit.
BEARS ENTER THE TIGER'S DEN
The Tiger Bridge Program is an innovative new academic opportunity that combines the on-campus living experience unique to LSU, with the smaller class setting of Baton Rouge Community College. This academic collaboration between LSU and BRCC is an invitation-only, year-long program that allows students the chance to make a seamless transition into college life at LSU. After the successful completion of this one-year program, students will transfer fully to LSU for their sophomore year coursework and beyond. Space is limited in the Tiger Bridge Program, and students will enter on a first-come, first-served basis. “I think it will be a great collaborative effort between BRCC and LSU," says Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Monique Cross. “This gives them additional options,” she said. “This is an alternate path students can take to get to LSU and they will also be able to earn an associate degree from BRCC.”
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Academic Success Strategies For All Students
The ability to help students improve their academic performance is enhanced by their participation in study groups. This fact is revealed by research like Kalaian, Kasim, and Nims report that appeared in the Journal of Technology Education (Spring 2018). The meta-analytic results showed that cooperative learning,
collaborative learning, problem-based learning, and peer-led team
learning pedagogies were effective. The Academic Learning Center (ALC) has been providing assistance to students looking to create and manage study groups for several years now. They have a suite of resources about how to create a study group that works for all participants including organization and leadership instructions. As the classroom (onsite or virtually) is one of the best conduits for forming these types of academic success groups, I encourage you to reach out to Ms. Nina Joshi at the ALC. Working in unison, our faculty and ALC can help our students be more successful and we owe it to our students to make them aware of this academic support resource.
Monday, February 18, 2013
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP COUNTDOWN: 10 DAYS
Dr. Barbara Millis will facilitate an interactive workshop entitled A Learning Centered Approach to Teaching that Fosters Retention on February 28 from 3:00 until 5:00 PM in the Bonne' Sante Wellness Center's gym. Participants will come to know the theory and philosophy behind cooperative learning, including its belief in the value and educability of all students and the need to provide cooperative environments that balance challenge and support. As important, however, they will learn how to use cooperative structures to foster academic achievement, student retention, and liking for the subject matter. Additionally, the presenter will emphasize efficient facilitation of group processes. The session itself will model a cooperative classroom with combinations of direct instruction, interactive group work tied to the session objectives, and whole-class discussion with questions. Participants will experience at least three cooperative structures and two report-out methods, applicable to virtually all disciplines, that they can apply in their own classrooms. This seminar is part of the Teaching+Learning Center’s faculty development series. Faculty will receive participation credit for the Faculty Development Program. Registration is now open. She has a number of articles on the concept of cooperative learning including discipline specific for accounting and occupational therapy.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS START THE CONVERSATION
One of the most useful methods that instructors have found to update and enhance their teaching to improve student learning is the use of an objective classroom observation. If done properly, the observation is a collaborative assessment that should continue as an ongoing conversation between the observer and the instructor. When the observation is conducted for the purpose of student learning improvement, judgments are formative and the instructor is actively involved in the assessment of teaching quality and needed improvement. The observation method has been validated through extensive use and the research data are fairly consistent on the effectiveness of the exercise. If you are looking to have a classroom observation for the Spring 2013, now is the time to contact me either by email (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu) or telephone (8534).
GET ORGANIZED FASTER
Are you having problems staying organized? Teaching five or more classes in a semester requires a sophisticated level of organization but the use of technology can help you accomplish your goals. Fellow blogger Heather Whitney recommends Todoist to help manage your tasks. She notes, "There are a lot of options available for online task management. Todoist is another option. If it doesn’t sound completely new, it is because it is not. Todoist was originally started in January 2007, but in the summer of 2012 it underwent a relaunch after being rebuilt in HTML5. The result is a very well-built task system that doesn’t suffer from the lag of some others. I have been trying out the website and several associated mobile apps for about three months now. Todoist has all your usual online task management options, such as the ability to apply some kind of categorization label (tags, in this case) to tasks. But there are some additional features that I think make the system worth the time to check into trying it out," she says.
Dr. Barbara Millis will facilitate an interactive workshop entitled A Learning Centered Approach to Teaching that Fosters Retention on February 28 from 3:00 until 5:00 PM in the Bonne' Sante Wellness Center's gym. Participants will come to know the theory and philosophy behind cooperative learning, including its belief in the value and educability of all students and the need to provide cooperative environments that balance challenge and support. As important, however, they will learn how to use cooperative structures to foster academic achievement, student retention, and liking for the subject matter. Additionally, the presenter will emphasize efficient facilitation of group processes. The session itself will model a cooperative classroom with combinations of direct instruction, interactive group work tied to the session objectives, and whole-class discussion with questions. Participants will experience at least three cooperative structures and two report-out methods, applicable to virtually all disciplines, that they can apply in their own classrooms. This seminar is part of the Teaching+Learning Center’s faculty development series. Faculty will receive participation credit for the Faculty Development Program. Registration is now open. She has a number of articles on the concept of cooperative learning including discipline specific for accounting and occupational therapy.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS START THE CONVERSATION
One of the most useful methods that instructors have found to update and enhance their teaching to improve student learning is the use of an objective classroom observation. If done properly, the observation is a collaborative assessment that should continue as an ongoing conversation between the observer and the instructor. When the observation is conducted for the purpose of student learning improvement, judgments are formative and the instructor is actively involved in the assessment of teaching quality and needed improvement. The observation method has been validated through extensive use and the research data are fairly consistent on the effectiveness of the exercise. If you are looking to have a classroom observation for the Spring 2013, now is the time to contact me either by email (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu) or telephone (8534).
E-CONFERENCE REGISTRATION OPEN
Educators are searching for tools that can help them assess and evaluate
their students' achievement of defined learning outcomes in fields as
diverse as engineering, business, health professions, math, science and
technology (to name a few). These assessments and evaluations are part
of a national trend toward transparency and accountability regarding the
value added in education. The RosEvaluation Conference 2013 will bring
together those who are developing assessment and evaluation tools to
share information and their expertise. The conference will emphasize
concrete, effective, and efficient solutions to assessment and
evaluation challenges. Registration is now open for the conference that takes place on April 1-2 and is offered completely online this year so you can participate from your office at BRCC. The 2013 conference topics include: assessing work-based learning-projects with industry, student competitions, design projects; designing and implementing course assessments;developing sustainable processes for program and institutional accreditation; and, using electronic assessment tools.
Are you having problems staying organized? Teaching five or more classes in a semester requires a sophisticated level of organization but the use of technology can help you accomplish your goals. Fellow blogger Heather Whitney recommends Todoist to help manage your tasks. She notes, "There are a lot of options available for online task management. Todoist is another option. If it doesn’t sound completely new, it is because it is not. Todoist was originally started in January 2007, but in the summer of 2012 it underwent a relaunch after being rebuilt in HTML5. The result is a very well-built task system that doesn’t suffer from the lag of some others. I have been trying out the website and several associated mobile apps for about three months now. Todoist has all your usual online task management options, such as the ability to apply some kind of categorization label (tags, in this case) to tasks. But there are some additional features that I think make the system worth the time to check into trying it out," she says.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
UNCOVERING THE SIGNS OF SUCCESS
The second week of classes is upon us. How are your students doing? You can actually tell a lot about how well your students will do in your course at this point. Are they engaged in the class? Have they visited with you outside of the class? If you are teaching an eLearning class, have they accessed the material yet? Are they participating in the discussion board conversations? It is not too late to give them some great advice on how to successfully navigate your course. Talk with them about successful strategies you used in college. Bring in someone who excelled in your class last semester to give a talk about the methods they used to succeed. Ask your students to map out a schedule for their college work. It should be integrated with their other responsibilities. This will provide them a realistic look at what it will take to succeed in college. Of course, implicit in all of this is you will become much more engaged with your students and that is a proven retention technique.
NATIONAL EXPERT COMING TO CAMPUS
Dr. Barbara Millis will visit BRCC to deliver a faculty development workshop on Thursday, February 28 at 3:00 PM. Dr. Millis is a nationally recognized faculty development expert and currently serves as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She will be presenting material and leading discussions on the topic of how collaborative work can be used to improve student learning. Her approach is hands-on and you will leave the workshop with examples, ideas, and the tools to begin to implement new active learning methods immediately. Look for reservation information in an evite arriving soon.
ABSTRACTS DUE SOON
If you are looking for a conference that can help you expand your teaching toolkit by learning from your peers, you might be interested in the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning. There is a call for proposals that closes February 15. While this year's conference theme is Teaching and Technology, they are looking for all sorts of work within the scholarship of teaching and learning arena. The conference in Mobile, Alabama will take place May 13 and 14.
DOES USING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
Although technology can be a great teaching tool, many professors do not think that it improves student learning. That is the feeling that emerged from a recent report by David R. Johnson who says, "There is little or no indication that innovative pedagogy motivates technological use in the classroom, which sort of flies in the face of how the use of information-based instructional technologies is usually presented." The report suggests, technology is more often used by professors for managerial reasons, such as to help with the demands of growing class sizes. Mr. Johnson said the findings show a gap between how universities market their use of technology—often framing technology as more sophisticated than prior approaches to instruction—and how the faculty actually uses it.
The second week of classes is upon us. How are your students doing? You can actually tell a lot about how well your students will do in your course at this point. Are they engaged in the class? Have they visited with you outside of the class? If you are teaching an eLearning class, have they accessed the material yet? Are they participating in the discussion board conversations? It is not too late to give them some great advice on how to successfully navigate your course. Talk with them about successful strategies you used in college. Bring in someone who excelled in your class last semester to give a talk about the methods they used to succeed. Ask your students to map out a schedule for their college work. It should be integrated with their other responsibilities. This will provide them a realistic look at what it will take to succeed in college. Of course, implicit in all of this is you will become much more engaged with your students and that is a proven retention technique.
NATIONAL EXPERT COMING TO CAMPUS
Dr. Barbara Millis will visit BRCC to deliver a faculty development workshop on Thursday, February 28 at 3:00 PM. Dr. Millis is a nationally recognized faculty development expert and currently serves as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She will be presenting material and leading discussions on the topic of how collaborative work can be used to improve student learning. Her approach is hands-on and you will leave the workshop with examples, ideas, and the tools to begin to implement new active learning methods immediately. Look for reservation information in an evite arriving soon.
ABSTRACTS DUE SOON
If you are looking for a conference that can help you expand your teaching toolkit by learning from your peers, you might be interested in the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning. There is a call for proposals that closes February 15. While this year's conference theme is Teaching and Technology, they are looking for all sorts of work within the scholarship of teaching and learning arena. The conference in Mobile, Alabama will take place May 13 and 14.
DOES USING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
Although technology can be a great teaching tool, many professors do not think that it improves student learning. That is the feeling that emerged from a recent report by David R. Johnson who says, "There is little or no indication that innovative pedagogy motivates technological use in the classroom, which sort of flies in the face of how the use of information-based instructional technologies is usually presented." The report suggests, technology is more often used by professors for managerial reasons, such as to help with the demands of growing class sizes. Mr. Johnson said the findings show a gap between how universities market their use of technology—often framing technology as more sophisticated than prior approaches to instruction—and how the faculty actually uses it.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Take a look at the picture on the left to see your colleagues engaged in an active learning environment. The faculty development seminar, Active Learning Methods Revealed, held yesterday in the Teaching+Learning Center was both active and filled with learning opportunities. The participants learned from the presenters Drs. Marcella Hackney and Margaret McMichael and from each other. Although the subject matter used to illustrate the process was about life science (specifically diabetes), the methods employed could be implemented by anyone in any sort of course. Hackney and McMichael used their classroom experiences and lessons learned from the Gulf Coast Summer Institute they attended earlier this year to illustrate the effectiveness of using active learning experiences to enhance student learning. Your next opportunity for faculty development comes on November 28 at 3:00PM when Lisa Hibner presents Integrating Career Activities in the Classroom. The event will be held in the T+LC (311 Magnolia Building).
BENEFITS OF MENTORING
Have you ever offered to mentor a new colleague? Organized mentoring programs are beginning to gain traction as a proven method for providing the assistance necessary to help new faculty succeed in the academic arena. Research shows than an organized mentoring program promotes faculty productivity, advocates collegiality, and advances a broader goal of attracting, retaining, and advancing faculty members (Perna, Learner, & Yura, Journal of Education). Mentoring supports professional growth and renewal, which in turn empowers faculty as individuals and colleagues (Luna & Cullen, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports). It also serves to reduce the chances that a newcomer will experience isolation or job dissatisfaction (Boyle & Boice, Innovative Higher Education). Stress is also lessened for the new faculty member when there is a reliable mentor to address the initial uneasiness or potential impediments. An effective mentoring program promotes collaborative liaisons between junior and senior faculty and is generally felt to have a positive impact on building community within and among a campus population.
THRIVING IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM
In their book The Adjunct Professors Guide to Success (LB1778.2.L96), Lyons, Kysilka and Pawlas distill their research findings into useful nuggets of information. For instance, they describe what college students want and expect from college instructors in a straightforward and concise manner. Specifically, they note that students need the following: expectations of their performance that is reasonable in quantity and quality and consistently communicated; sensitivity to the diverse demands on them and reasonable flexibility in accommodating them; effective use of class time; a classroom demeanor that includes humor and spontaneity; exams that address issues properly covered in and outside of class, are appropriate to the level of the majority of students in the course, are punctually scored and returned, and are used fairly to determine final class grades; and, consistent positive treatment of individual students, including a willingness to spend extra time before or after class to provide additional support. The flip-side of this is what the teacher expects of the student. Our premise is that the education process is a 50/50 partnership that requires our students to take ownership for their academic career. As you develop your expectations, it is important to consider both sides and to communicate those to your students.
BAD TEACHING OR VALUABLE DATA
CourseSmart, the digital textbook provider that is partnered with five major publishers, recently announced the launch of CourseSmart Analytics. The Program, which is currently being piloted at three colleges, tracks students' engagement with their e-textbooks and provides and allows professors and colleges to evaluate the usefulness of learning materials and to track student work. The debate now begins. John Warner blogs that he thinks it is a bad idea. Alexandra Tilsley is mostly positive in this news article.
Friday, April 7, 2017
We have spent the spring 2017 semester pushing the idea of students forming and/or joining study groups. It is a proven student success strategy that is supported by lots of research. If you are looking to finish the semester strong, why not try a team-based learning approach. Not only will it help students who may be struggling to put it all together but it builds on the idea that study groups are useful. Jim Sibly and Pete Ostafichuk have a newly released book on the concept of team-based learning that was reviewed by Deborah Davis. She writes, "this book not
only provides all of
the “how-to” steps
but also the
intellectual reasoning for making
a change to TBL, as many faculty were taught to teach via lecture. As a form of problem-based learning, it fits into many different classroom structures and topics by adding a
structured, collaborative element. This book
is especially beneficial
for those who are interested in exploring an active-learning format for
the first time because it is structured in such a way that emphasizes
direct applicability. From
an overview of the methodology to research to specific
examples and tools, the book includes basic information for implementing TBL in
virtually any discipline." You can read the full review here. If you are looking for assistance with implementing TBL, please contact the Center for Teaching+Learning Enhancement. If you or your students need help with anything related to study groups, please contact Academic Support Specialist Barbara Linder.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
WAITING FOR THE CALM
Things seem to be settling in rather nicely for our Fall semester. I am intentionally not bombarding you with emails because I realize the start of any semester is trying. Expect to begin seeing things from me in the next few weeks.
TEACHING NAKED
There is a very interesting story that appeared in the Chronicle a few years ago entitled Teachers Without Technology Strike Back. I usually enjoy the material in the Chronicle but the comments in the discussion section usually validate the use of my time in this way much more. This article certainly created an interesting debate.
GRAPHIC NOVELS ENCOURAGE READING
I also wanted to encourage you to read the piece about Jeremy Short, who is a professor of management at Texas Tech University. He uses a graphic novel in his class instead of a regular textbook. The kicker is he also co-wrote the novel with two co-authors. Having taken a similar management course as an undergrad pursuing a degree in economics, I anxiously took a look at the "new" textbook and found it fascinating and a great example of engaged teaching. Let me know what you think. DEBATE THIS There is also a research article by Ruth Kennedy that reports results from an experiment using in-class debate as a teaching tool. The students in the course believed that participating in and observing in-class debate greatly enhanced their knowledge of the issues surrounding the debate topics covered. Debate is a fantastic active and collaborative learning method and is highly effective for helping students enhance their critical thinking skills.
By the way, if you need to contact me, my office (213 Magnolia) phone number is 216.8534.
Things seem to be settling in rather nicely for our Fall semester. I am intentionally not bombarding you with emails because I realize the start of any semester is trying. Expect to begin seeing things from me in the next few weeks.
TEACHING NAKED
There is a very interesting story that appeared in the Chronicle a few years ago entitled Teachers Without Technology Strike Back. I usually enjoy the material in the Chronicle but the comments in the discussion section usually validate the use of my time in this way much more. This article certainly created an interesting debate.
GRAPHIC NOVELS ENCOURAGE READING
I also wanted to encourage you to read the piece about Jeremy Short, who is a professor of management at Texas Tech University. He uses a graphic novel in his class instead of a regular textbook. The kicker is he also co-wrote the novel with two co-authors. Having taken a similar management course as an undergrad pursuing a degree in economics, I anxiously took a look at the "new" textbook and found it fascinating and a great example of engaged teaching. Let me know what you think. DEBATE THIS There is also a research article by Ruth Kennedy that reports results from an experiment using in-class debate as a teaching tool. The students in the course believed that participating in and observing in-class debate greatly enhanced their knowledge of the issues surrounding the debate topics covered. Debate is a fantastic active and collaborative learning method and is highly effective for helping students enhance their critical thinking skills.
By the way, if you need to contact me, my office (213 Magnolia) phone number is 216.8534.
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