WHAT NOT TO WEAR
Does what you wear on the first day of a face-to-face class make a difference? You bet says James Lang in his book On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching (the Library has an electronic copy). He tells the story of his first day when he dressed to blend in with the students and how he wanted them to realize how “cool” he was. He suggests that your dress sets the tone for the type of relationship you want to forge and the teaching persona you are trying to construct. Professional attire is the best way to go, he suggests. Lang also encourages you to begin the class on time and to use the entire session of allotted time. It sends a clear message that this class is about learning. Spend the time introducing the topic to your students. Ask them the big questions that your discipline considers. Be engaging and discover their like, dislikes, wants and needs. Remember you are creating a first impression but you also want to clearly explain your expectations. The first days of class are when students are still deciding if they are going to drop or stay so providing them with an entire picture helps them to make informed choices. Lang’s book is filled with wonderful advice for faculty at all stages of their careers.

BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING
Robert Leamnson’s book Thinking About Thinking About Teaching (LB2331.L39) is a good resource if you are reexamining your classroom practices. He says, “Every teacher, even the beginner, has a philosophy of teaching. We all enter the classroom, even the first time, with certain beliefs about how teaching should be done. These beliefs might or might not be well-considered and articulated, but even the first-time teacher, trying to recall what his or her teachers did, is exhibiting some belief as to how teaching is done. A philosophy developed based solely out of experience is primarily reactive. The real goal of teaching is that someone learn something. Having that as a goal is not the same as having a philosophy.” He suggests that educators be systematic in their approach. Spend time with the literature on the scholarship of teaching and learning especially as it relates to pedagogy and assessment. He concludes, “A rational and considered philosophy of teaching serves as a beacon during stormy periods.”

ACTIVE LEARNING REQUIRES PRACTICE
“Students have different responsibilities in active learning than they do in traditional education,” says Elizabeth Barkley in her book Student Engagement Techniques. The primary method for orienting students to these new responsibilities and teaching students active learning skills lies in the learning tasks themselves: students will develop active learning skills if they are given tasks that ask them to apply concepts, solve problems, discuss issues or reflect upon the factors that influence their thinking. Rather than just explaining to students that you are using active learning methods, Mel Silberman (who has written several books on active learning) recommends starting the very first class session with an activity that orients students to active learning. You can find a number of active learning approaches in the BRCC Active Learning Manual (2013). Send me an email at pourciaut@mybrcc.edu to receive your electronic copy.

KEEP CALM AND BE ENGAGED
A number of you commented on this year’s theme for the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support. We spent the summer working on the various programs designed to help you enhance your teaching skills and felt we needed something to capture the spirit of our efforts. The theme of Keep Calm and Be Engaged was tweaked using an existing slogan that has become pretty common. The original version appears to be Keep Calm and Carry On used by the British government as a motivational slogan to lift the spirits of their citizens during the Second World War. Many organizations have adopted it in various forms. We felt it met our needs as well especially when you include the very un-calm version of the BRCC bear. You may see folks who are part of the Division of Innovative Learning and Academic Support with bright green t-shirts that have the slogan prominently displayed. We hope that it provides motivation for you as you embark on your very important mission this year. Teaching is such a difficult job and so much goes into becoming a great teacher. So Keep Calm and Be Engaged and have a great semester!

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT KICKOFF
Mark your calendars for the BRCC Teaching+Learning Center's faculty professional development opening event of the Spring 2014 semester. Dr. Mary Clement, professor of education and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Berry College, will facilitate three sessions on Friday, January 17 in the Louisiana Building Board Room. Dr. Clement holds a doctorate in education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a specialist in curriculum and instruction and secondary teacher education. The theme for the day is Keys for a Successful Spring 2014. Sessions include Who are These Students and How Do I Engage Them on the First Day and Beyond? (8:30AM), Teaching with a Four-Step Lesson Plan (10:00 AM), and Using Student Feedback Throughout the Semester (11:30 AM). Registration begins at 8:00 AM in the adjoining lobby.

DO YOU TWEET
The Teaching+Learning Center has added a Twitter account in addition to this blog and the main website to insure that we are providing information to you in multiple ways. You can find the Twitter feed at @brcctlc. If you have a Twitter account, I encourage you to become a follower. In that way, you will get updates as soon as they are posted. You can simply view it without becoming a follower as well.

FIRST DAY OF THE SEMESTER
Vice Chancellor Monique Cross gave a great presentation this morning on the topic of retention. One of the many things she stressed was letting the first day of class set the tone for what is to come. Students build their future expectations on our actions. Dr. Mary Clement, in her book First Time in the College Classroom, says "Give them a mini-lesson or mini-lecture" on the first day of class. "Let's face it," she continues "students are in college to learn, and learning should happen on the first day. Plan to give a short mini-lesson about the first reading, or to present 10 fun facts about the subject matter. Teach in a style that gets the students to see who you are and how you teach."

STUDY GROUPS AIMED AT BUILDING STUDENT SUCCESS
Happy New Year to all of the BRCC family. This morning we unveiled the Student Success Initiative for the spring 2017 semester. The idea was developed by a Faculty Learning Community that included Dr. Amy Atchley, Alexandra Cavazos, Pearce Cinman, Dr. Sandra Guzman, Steven Keeton, Richard Long, Mollye Russell, and Kathleen Schexnayder. Faculty attending this morning's session also heard from current BRCC students Jennifer Burgess (who also serves as the SGA President and on the LCTCS Board of Supervisors), Taylor Cranford, and Matthew Joslyn. Both faculty and students pointed out numerous reasons that study groups improve student success. As I mentioned at the session, the support material to be shared with your students is now posted on the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Canvas site under the Study Group Module (including the syllabus blurb). Should you have any questions, please contact me or one of the FLC members.

FIRST DAY OF CLASS ACTIVITY
Looking for an opening day activity to start the semester off in a positive direction? Here is something I have used in the past that not only allowed my students to think more deeply about how they learn but also gave me a real-time snapshot of who they are as learners. Ask students to divide a sheet of paper in half. Then tell them to list the best class they had on the left side and the worst class they had on the right. Suggest that they describe why each class was good and bad. Ask them to list the things the instructor did in each class (while reminding them that names of courses and instructors are not important for this exercise). If they slow down while answering, feel free to add some of your own thoughts to the lists. You should have a pretty clear portrait of both classes in about 10 minutes. At that point, tell your students that you want this class to be the best class they have ever had. Point to the items they shared from the best side and let them know that you will be using some of the same approaches. Finish by telling them that the best class experience requires that they be totally engaged as well. You can also use the information you gather to enhance your class throughout the semester.

STARTING OFF RIGHT
Have you ever used a syllabus quiz to begin your semester? If not, I would strongly encourage you to do so. It is very easy to develop a quiz using Canvas. In that way, once the student completes the quiz, they receive their score immediately. In addition I would encourage you to allow the students to take the quiz until they receive all of the available points. This is a great indicator of what kind of persistence each of your students is bringing to the class. Students who don't earn all of the points are already indicating that they may have some persistence issues and that should be a red flag for you. It is easy to take the next step and talk with those students reminding them of the academic support provided in the Academic Learning Center. The syllabus quiz is also a great indicator for students that this document is very important and should be consulted throughout the semester and not just during the first class.

Joshua Kim's post on where our focus should be in college classrooms is very insightful. Of the three recommendations he makes, I am happy to say we are actually working on all three. Not as efficiently as we could if we had more resources but nevertheless all three are foci. Kim writes, "Teaching and learning are core to the mission and operation of (almost) every college and university. An erosion of the relative quality in teaching and learning, (as compared to peer schools or emerging competitors), will eventually result in an inability to compete for students, faculty, and funding." Continue reading here.

Ready for the semester to begin? No really, we are starting August 22. Did I just hear a few screams? The first day of the semester always seems to sneak up on us. Sims Wyeth has a good post on how we can increase the impact of our opening remarks. You know, the stuff you say every first day of class. It turns out that students form a really strong opinion of us on that first day and it may not change much over the course of the semester. He writes, "It turns out that our first impressions are not altogether accurate. Scientists call our tendency to leap to judgment the Fundamental Attribution Error. Nevertheless, as speakers, we can take advantage of this human frailty. When we step to the front of the room to deliver a presentation and all eyes are on us, we can take control using the tools at our disposal: physical, vocal, and verbal skills meant to capture the mind of the listener." Continue reading here.

Traditionally we make resolutions around the first of the year. But what if we made resolutions tied to each of our new semesters. Adjustments and corrections based on critical self-reflection are what I am talking about. David Gooblar provides us with a good start and writes, "The real new year in academe— the time for new beginnings and fresh starts — comes now, in August. I’ve had time away from the classroom to recharge my batteries and to forget about teaching for a while. I want to be a better teacher this year than I was last year. August is my month of big plans, of good intentions, of new leaves ready to be turned over." Continue reading here.

JOINT OWNERSHIP OF LEARNING
Robert Carroll has written an interesting opinion piece about the teacher-student relationship. At its essence, it is about engagement but he frames it in terms of an athletic performance. He asks "So why do we, as teachers, still exist? The formal education process is no longer about information, and successful teachers have come to realize this. The ability of learners to access information has increased to the point of absurdity. The role of the teacher now is to help learners effectively identify and evaluate information sources, but this alone does not justify our continued presence in the educational process." He continues, "While learning is self-directed, it is the teacher that is accountable for the learning:  accountable to the students, to the program, and to themselves. Courses flourish when the student-teacher relationship is reciprocal and includes “joint ownership” of the course. And the responsibility flows both ways–a student performing poorly is a failure on my part, and I work with them to get them to perform to the best of their ability."

GROUP DISCUSSION WITH A TWIST
We have encouraged you to use class discussion as an active learning method in your classes and we have provided teaching and learning faculty development workshops in the past to provide you with the information and tools to implement this learning experience. B. J. Brooks and M. D. Koretsky provide a twist on this active learning method in their article "The Influence of Group Discussion on Students' Responses and Confidence During Peer Instruction" published in the Journal of Chemical Education. They advocate that you allow your student to respond to a discussion question individually in writing and then have them share that answer with two or three colleagues. After the discussion, the students can change their answers, write another explanation for the answer and once again indicate their degree of confidence in their answer. The research shows that the learning experience provided a richer understanding of the answer and improved their confidence level in having the correct answer. The depth of their explanation was enhanced as well. Students spent an average of seven minutes in discussion making this an active learning method that can be used each time you meet as a class. The research also confirmed that when faced with conceptual problems, students need the opportunity to practice problem solving and the discussion improves their ability to explain why the answer is correct.

CLOSING OUT A SEMESTER POSITIVELY
A fellow faculty development colleague reminds us that the end of the semester is the time to do some assessment that will provide you with valuable feedback as you plan for the next semester. There are a number of things you can do to help your students transition to the next phase of their academic careers or workforce lives. He suggests, "Just as you discussed the syllabus on the first day of class, do so again, this time to reaffirm that learning outcomes have been met and to remind students of the material that has been covered. Of course, it is a good idea to review that syllabus a few weeks out from the end of the semester to make sure that the outcomes have been met. The review can be done as a large group discussion, or you might assign groups within the class to assess how well the course had fulfilled its outcomes, material coverage, and other goals."

MUSIC DELIVERS IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT
When designing and teaching a course through the online delivery method, research shows that you should build in authentic and relevant opportunities for your students to interact, connect, and present themselves as real people. Students see these opportunities to socially interact and connect with others as foundational attributes of your courses. Further, research suggests that opportunities like these influence students’ perception of the overall learning experience. Joanna Dunlap and Patrick Lowenthal conducted research in this area and suggest that using music as one of a number of ways to help students interact and connect with each other can produce positive student learning results. Music offers a way to involve students in student-to-content interaction through generative learning activities—by having students compile playlists, write lyrics, compose songs, perform songs, create music videos, and so on. Music-driven, student-to-content interaction also involves students in multisensory learning, further supporting knowledge acquisition and construction. They provide a number of discipline specific active learning methods that you can integrate into your online class.

As we enter the last week of planning for our fall semester, I wanted to share just a few tips for the first day of class/semester. A great way to start a class and semester is having your students write a letter to their future selves. Have them list the things they want to learn and accomplish in your class. You should have them turn them in so that you can use the pre-feedback (is there a better word for that?) to shape your class throughout the semester. Be sure and return it to them at or near the end of the term so that they can reflect and use that experience for their next course (or life in general). Why not give the final exam on the first day? I have advocated in the past for this idea. It really provides a road map to guide your students throughout the term. It also identifies very clearly what they can expect to know by the end of the course. Give a low-stakes quiz on the course syllabus during which students can use their mobile devices to access a Canvas quiz. Alternatively, begin an interactive poll that involves students using their classroom response device after which they can see their results. Follow the poll with a classroom discussion before having students retake the poll to improve on their initial answer (Poll everywhere works well for this type of learning experience). Create an inclusive classroom that values all students, their perspectives, and contributions to the community of learners. There are several ways to create inclusive classrooms including using icebreakers, incorporating meaningful and worthy classroom policies, helping students contribute to the learning process, and using teaching strategies that engage students and motivate them to learn. Calling students by name helps to engage with them and shows them that they are important to the class. Establish a culture of feedback where you encourage students to share their classroom experiences. Explain that the feedback you give to students is as meaningful as the feedback they share with you about the course and that you will listen and consider all suggestions. Got more ideas? Please share them in the comments section or forward them to me and I will post there here. Have a great semester!

FACULTY GATHER FOR CIVIL DISCOURSE
The first Mid-Day Musings attracted a nice group and the conversation was rich and filled with great ideas. The question of the day was "What Should We Be Telling Our Students At Orientation?" The focus was on having consistency between what the students hear in the orientation sessions and what they are hearing, seeing and experiencing in their classes. Part of the conversation was about how we present ourselves as an institution. "It is important that we share the benefits of attending a community college as opposed to entering a 4-year school right out of high school. We need to compliment our students on making a good choice. Share the data that shows them that students who start here do very well when they transfer," said one participant. Most of the participants agreed that orientation would be very impactful if it was presented by our students. "Having student testimonials would be powerful. Having a student talk about the top ten insider tips of how to succeed at BRCC would be great as well," said another participant. We also spent some time talking about how we can attract more students who have spent some time working or raising a family and now want to return to college. "What they care about is very different from what a typical 18 year old cares about. Catering to this group of students could prove beneficial as I have found them to be very motivated and focused and their presence can help some of the younger students in the class," said another participant. We will gather again on September 24 at noon in the Bienvenue faculty dining room. Please plan to join us then and watch your email for the next topic.

DAILY EXPERT STRATEGY FOR LARGE CLASSES
Dr. Angi Thompson has written an interesting article on how you can encourage student participation in large classes. She writes, "If you’re interested in approaches that encourage students to participate in class and develop their public-speaking skills, as well as techniques that help you learn student names, then my “daily experts” strategy may be of use to you. What are daily experts? I list five or six students’ names on a PowerPoint slide at the beginning of my classes (which are typically 65-150 students). These individuals, assuming they are in class that day, then become my daily experts—the first ones I ask questions to or opinions of before opening discussion to the whole class. The approach provides for one-on-one dialogue in the midst of a larger class creating an environment that encourages interaction." She goes on to explain the benefits of using this active learning method for the students, faculty and the rest of the class.

THE ARTS OF LIBERTY
Did you know that liberal arts is the single most popular major at community colleges in the United States? Take a look at Dr. Matt Reeds blog post about this fascinating fact. He notes, "I mention this because it’s almost entirely absent from national discussions of higher education. In the popular press, 'liberal arts' are assumed to be the exclusive province of the affluent, particularly at older small colleges that are full of people who use words like 'problematize.' (I attended one myself, so I know whereof I write.)  When higher ed policy types talk about liberal arts, they usually have in mind literature majors at places like Sarah Lawrence. Which is fine, as far as it goes, but it’s only a part of the picture." It is also the largest major at BRCC but some of that is because of things that Reed writes about in his blog. With the recent completion of "Concentration Week" it will be interesting to see if things have changed for us.

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.”

NEW SEMESTER BRING NEW OPPORTUNITIES
The first week of class is always filled with possibilities. Motivating students to create the life that they wish for begins during the initial class sessions, whether it be face-to-face or online. The aim during this time is to create that engaged relationship that will pay dividends throughout the semester. Dr. Mary Clement, who visited BRCC in the past and shared her best practices, suggests that we find out what type of high school experience our students had before we explain our expectations. Sharing the major differences between high school and college is vital for our first-time students. She notes, "How do we change this mindset going from high school into college? The number one way is to put your policy in writing in the syllabus. If the paper is due Monday, and the student is not in class that day, will the paper be accepted after Monday? Will it be accepted after Monday at all? If the answer is yes, until when and with what penalty?” Further, because there’s so much variation across different high schools in terms of homework, attendance requirements and making up for missed work, and grading practices, Clement recommends creating an interest inventory to give students during the first week of class. If it is anonymous, students may feel more comfortable answering the questions. You can find more suggestions here.

USING PEER REVIEW IN YOUR CLASS

Are you looking to increase the amount of peer-review experiences in your courses but are afraid that some of your students may not be ready? Here is an interesting learning experience you can use that will provide good feedback to students, allow students to practice this skill, and alleviate some of the worry you may have. Dr. Trent Batson shares the following, "I used the following technique that worked well in my writing classes:  the writer and the peer reviewer both have a copy of the paper in print. They are both sitting at computers and communicating via chat or some other real-time tool. As the reviewer reads the paper, starting with the first paragraph, she types her immediate reactions and thoughts -- almost like a think-aloud protocol -- thereby providing a strong sense of what any reader might be wondering or reacting to as the reader goes through the paper. I found that using chat made the communication more neutral and helped the reviewing student "speak" (through typing) more freely and off-the-cuff.  The writer of the paper gets a strong lesson in reader-based writing and also gets good advice about where confusion arises or where good points are made. I didn't ask the reviewer to evaluate the paper, just provide that think-aloud response." Dr. Robert Danberg recommends the book Beat Not the Poor Desk by Marie Ponsot as a useful resource for this active learning technique.

FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY STARTS ON FEB. 6
As you look over the professional development opportunities listed on the spring 2015 calendar that we distributed at the kickoff event last Wednesday, please note that the first Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is set to begin on February 6 at noon. We still have a few slots open for the FLC which will be using the common reader Inspired College Teaching by Dr. Maryellen Weimer. The book has been praised by new teachers and those with lots of experience. Some of the topics to be covered include maintaining instructional vitality (the midcareer challenge), feedback for teachers that improves learning for students, and reflection for growth and change. If you would like to join the FLC, please send an email to pourciaut@mybrcc.edu.

ENDING WITH A BANG
Here we are at the end of another semester in the week of final exams. For some of us, it is our very first semester teaching. For others it is something we feel we have always done. So what do we do at the end of the semester that will help us to improve our teaching and in turn increase our student's learning in the next semester. As Dr. Margaret Walsh pointed out in her terrific article from the past, "The ending of a course deserves greater attention than it typically receives. While we have thoroughly ritualized the start of a new semester often somewhere between weeks 11 and 14, what seemed like reasonable plans are regretfully sidelined and we launch into catch-up overdrive." She offers this suggestion among a number of other useful tips: On the last day of class, hand out a list of suggested readings from your own bookshelf, along with a brief commentary on why you’re recommending them. Dr. Maryellen Weimer also shares some of her wisdom about the end of the semester. She urges "everyone to write about the courses that have just ended. What do you think you will remember about them in five years? Are there students you will remember? Others you hope to forget? What were the best and worst moments in those courses? How did your relationship with each class begin, evolve and end? What was new, different and exciting about the content? Did you teach well? Did students learn well? If you could change one thing about your teaching and their learning next semester, what would it be?"

COURSE REDESIGN ON TAP
The breaks between our semesters are a perfect time for course redesign. I have already pulled my journal entries made throughout the semester (usually right after class had ended) that deal with this issue. I am using those notes to redesign my class in the hopes that the new approaches and learning experiences will create a more fertile learning environment for my students. I recently read an interesting article related to this topic. It focused more on gateway courses that have been shown to give students the most problems. The article suggests that peer instruction may be just the active learning method that turns the light on for our students in those gateway courses. The research has shown that peer instruction is a great teaching method to use in larger classes. The article is very well done and includes videos and lists the research on this topic. If you are beginning to work on your course redesign, you should take a look at the article. The information on how to get started with peer instruction is very useful. Also, feel free to reach out to me throughout the semester break if you are looking for advice or help in finding resources.

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ONLINE
Dr. Michelle Miller, a professor of psychological sciences and co-director of the first-year learning program at Northern Arizona University, has a new book out about how to best use the online environment to improve learning. Her book Minds Online: Teaching Effectively With Technology, published this fall by Harvard University Press is highly recommended by many educationalists including James Lang. He says, "If you teach with technology in any form, at any level, I recommend you put this book at the top of your tottering pile of required reading on higher education. It’s an outstanding book that provides a road map for truly effective online teaching." He goes on to say that what distinguishes her book from much of the research available on teaching with technology, and pushes it beyond arguments about improving access, is her emphasis on the ways in which online teaching tools can actually improve learning for all students—not just those who have no access to traditional face-to-face classrooms. Online courses—or an online component of a traditional class—offer a way to "give students repeated, challenging practice with the concepts we want them to know and the skills we want them to master," Miller said. "When I started out as a teacher, we cognitive psychologists already knew that things like frequent quizzing were incredibly beneficial to learning. I was excited to apply these findings, but when I got into a real classroom environment I found that it was overwhelmingly difficult and time consuming to actually do so. In many traditional courses you also can’t do things like offer repeated quiz attempts with different questions, or adapt the quiz to the topics that individual students are having the most trouble with."

From Science Daily: Study shows for first time that a free, online course can change students' mindsets towards their mathematical abilities, leading to increased academic achievement. A free 'massive, open, online course' (MOOC) designed to change students' attitudes towards mathematics makes them more engaged in class -- leading to significantly higher test scores. Published in open-access journal Frontiers in Education, these findings go against the discouraging results of previous studies. It is the first of its kind to show the impact of an online course in changing students' mindsets and beliefs about mathematics and their achievement, with the potential for more widespread dissemination. Continue reading here.

From Faculty Focus: So much of what determines the overall success or failure of a course takes place well in advance of the first day of class. It’s the thoughtful contemplation of your vision for the course — from what you want your students to learn, to selecting the instructional activities, assignments, and materials that will fuel that learning, to determining how you will measure learning outcomes

From Univ. of Washington's The Daily: With all the recent advancement in science, from virtual reality to genetic editing to artificial intelligence, one issue that still plagues society is how best to teach students how these things work. Dr. Carl Wieman, one of the world’s leading thinkers on science education, spoke to a sizeable crowd at Kane Hall on Thursday, April 26 to outline techniques for finding more effective teaching tactics. Wieman holds a joint appointment as professor of physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. He won the Nobel Prize in 2001 for his research in atomic and optical physics. Wieman, 67, argued for a shift away from lecture-style teaching toward what he calls an “active learning” process where students spend more time working with their peers than being talked to by professors. In his physics classes, Wieman isn’t just teaching material, he is teaching his students to become physicists through classroom activities, tests, and critical reasoning.

From Education Week: Contrary to popular stereotypes, many young people are acutely concerned about online privacy, spending significant time managing how they present themselves on social media and worrying about what happens to the digital trails they leave behind. That's the takeaway, at least, from new research presented here Sunday at the annual conference of the American Association of Educational Research by Claire Fontaine. As part of a small study, Fontaine and colleagues interviewed 28 teens and young adults, ranging from 16 to 26 years old. All were low-income New Yorkers, all owned a smartphone or similar mobile device, and all regularly used at least one social media platform. 

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!"

START SMALL AND SEE BIG CHANGES
In our transition from an instructor-oriented approach to becoming a learner-centered college, we have discussed the use of active learning methods quiet a bit in the past. One of the best ways to begin to add teaching methods that promote active learning is by making small changes. Asking a "big" question to begin your class is a great start. Not only does it allow you to connect that day's class with the past but you can also build for the future and link the knowledge to a student's everyday life. James Lang offers some other suggestions in an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education and I encourage you to take a look as you wade into the spring 2016 semester.

CAN WE TALK
Another key to encouraging active learning is to use teaching methods early in the semester to set a pattern that allows your students to become comfortable with this approach. Using class discussion fosters active learning but there are times when it is difficult to get our students to participate. Scott Ellman has compiled some useful suggestions on how we can create a classroom culture that encourages participation. One of the first suggestions is to start with a sentence completion exercise. You can read about that and more in his post.

READY TO START
If you are looking for an easy check-list on what your first day of class might look like in order to foster active learning, Dr. Maryellen Weimer has come up with a concise top five things to do. She suggests that we be personable and adds, "Yes, you are the professor, but you are also a person. Students know that you’re the one in charge and that you’re the one who enforces the rules.Teachers shouldn't come across as the big “heavy” who lightens up only if students understand and accept who has the authority. Students want to be taught by a professor but one who acts like a person." You can find the rest of the list on the BRCC Teaching and Learning Faculty Development group on Canvas posted in the Modules under Active Learning and Teaching.

SHOULD I WEAR SHORTS AND FLIP FLOPS
James Lang's book On Course: A Week-by-week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching is filled with wonderful tips for new and veteran teachers. The BRCC Libary has it available as an ebook which is terrific since access is unlimited. Lang says, "the teaching process starts with the construction of the syllabus, the document that will guide you and your students throughout the course. The process of drafting the syllabus forces you to think about the learning objectives you want to establish for the students in the course, and those objectives should be formulated by answering a simple question: What should students know or be able to do as a result of taking this course? Put more broadly, when students walk out of the final exam, or hand you that final paper, in what ways will you have changed them?" One of the best pieces of advice, in a book filled with nuggets of gold, is to spend the first day of class demonstrating what will happen for the rest of the term. Do not let them go early, or if you do, let it be 10 minutes at the most. Engage them in an active learning experience to set the tone and by all means, have them read and share the class syllabus. Research proves that one of the best ways to learn about something is to teach it. Lang has a great icebreaker in his book that asks the students to "teach" the syllabus. It is really a think-pair-share learning experience. 

WHEN STUDENTS CARE, THEY LEARN
Stanford Erickson, in his book The Essence of Good Teaching, writes that a student's engagement with a subject matter becomes ignited when it is linked to their lives in some way. He says, "students learn what they care about and remember what they understand." This is a great reminder as you approach each learning experience you plan to implement in your course. 

TEACHER EDUCATION
The New York Times reports that up to 25 states are moving toward changing the way they grant licenses to teachers, de-emphasizing tests and written essays in favor of a more demanding approach that requires aspiring teachers to prove themselves through lesson plans, homework assignments and videotaped instruction sessions. The change is an attempt to ensure that those who become teachers not only know education theories, but also can show the ability to lead classrooms and handle students of differing abilities and needs, often amid limited resources.

SHINING EYES
If you haven't heard of Benjamin Zander yet, you are in for a real treat. There are a number of videos on YouTube featuring this inspirational speaker who also happens to be a world-renowned conductor. One of my favorite quotes of his about what teaching is all about comes from his Shining Eyes clip. He says that our job as teachers is "to awaken possibility in other people."

CAN MY CLICKER TALK TO BLACKBOARD
The use of student response systems has been around for a number of years but the folks who provide the technology have not stopped trying to improve their effectiveness. Yesterday the Teaching+Learning Center hosted Paul King of Turning Technologies to share the latest on his version of "clickers." He was joined by Bill Joyce, who many at BRCC may remember as he was our "rep" for a number of years. The main updates focused on analytics. As with all technology, the tool only benefits us if it helps to improve teaching and learning and lightens the workload. When the conversation turned to how Turning Technologies products "talked" with our current version of Blackboard, those in attendance found out that there may indeed be some benefits to adopting the latest versions. At the end of the day we decided to continue talking with all the stakeholders to see how we can improve student learning through the use of deeper assessment. Stay tuned to this blog for updates on the progress.

ELEARNING RELAUNCH CONTINUES
This has been an interesting semester for our eLearning Program. In January, we hired Susan Nealy to manage the eLearning enterprise. We also embarked on a relaunch project that included course redesign based on industry-standard benchmarks. As you will recall, the eLearning offerings for the spring 2013 semester were limited to 28 classes to allow for evaluation and assessment to take place in a controlled environment. As we approach the end of the first semester since the relaunch, we are busy with the assessment part of the project. Many of you are about to receive a survey that will allow us to capture valuable information for the next step in the process. We are most interested in the student experience of this relaunch and will be surveying them as well. All of this is designed to provide our students with the best possible academic experience in an online environment. Student learning is still the main objective and we are optimistic that the changes being implemented will allow BRCC to provide a quality program of excellence.

EVERYBODY MULTITASKS BUT NOT VERY WELL
Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills, has published some interesting research on a topic near to my own areas of interest. His study takes a look at the use of technology during learning experiences, an idea that emerged from his book Rewired. He based his idea on the fact that students are experiencing multiple streams of information and entertainment while they study, do homework, or even sit in class. In fact, we know that this has become so common that most students rarely write a paper or complete a problem set without multitasking (or switch tasking as many psychologists have come to describe it).  The evidence clearly shows that when students switch task while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention. They understand and remember less, and they have greater difficulty transferring their learning to new contexts. Rosen suggests that we ask our students to take "tech breaks" during class. He gives them a chance to look at email and websites during class in short spurts throughout the class as long as they adhere to his rules during the class. Rosen has found that this will allow the students to build their resistance and begin to work longer periods without the tech breaks.

STAND AND DELIVER
Here is another suggestion from Dr. Dakin Burdick for an end of the semester activity that will provide you with great immediate feedback from your students about their experience in your class. Christopher Uhl recommends ending the course with an invitation to students to stand and share their thoughts. Some prompts for this exposition are emotional in nature: What are your regrets? How did you fail to live up to your potential? For what are you thankful? What are your hopes for yourself and for your colleagues? Others are challenges to the student to commit him/herself towards change: How will you use what you have learned? How do you resolve to change?

PREVENTING BULIMIC LEARNING HABITS
We do not see things as they are or hear things as they are said. Instead, we catch bits and pieces, work them over, and reassemble what registers on our senses. To use the metaphors that currently dominate discussion of learning, we process information and construct meaning, and apparently we do so in stages (Erickson, Peters, & Strommer, 2006). We store this information in our short-term memory, which has limited capacity (seven plus or minus two bits of information), and cannot be stored there for long. Which brings us to long-term memory. If the new information is meaningful, it can be transferred to long-term memory, which is like a filing system. So how do we make the new information meaningful so that it will connect to one of the long-term files in our student's brains? There is another factor that comes into play. Students, especially first-year students, use a surface processing approach to learning. Frequently they memorize and then purge once they use it. To discourage this, we need to remind our students why the information is important now and how they will need to use it in the future. The deeper learning that we want is a product of active learning: reading, writing, talking, thinking, and applying the new information.

MAKING LARGE CLASSES ACTIVE
Since I have received a few requests for dealing with larger classes, I wanted to share some new information I found. Of course you can take a look at my previous posts on the subject. Deb Wingert and Tom Molitor with the University of Minnesota feel that "the difficulties of involving students in large classes can be overcome." They suggest a few approaches including interactive lectures, cooperative learning groups, jigsaws, games, constructive controversies, and group tests in their article Actively Engaging Large Classes in the Sciences. Daniel J. Klionsky with the University of California-Davis offers some ideas of his own in the article Tips for using Questioning in Large Classes. He suggests "setting the tone seems to be critical. In a general sense, I find that students will accept almost any rules for how I run a class, as long as I make them clear at the outset and am consistent in their application. This includes how I want the class to interact with me as an instructor. I want the students to be an active part of the class, to be thinking while they are sitting there and not simply writing down every word I say. On the very first day I make it clear that I want them to ask questions and interact with me during lecture.

WORKSHOP PLANNED FOR FEB 5
"Do You Know Who I Am? Creating a Culture of Engagement in Your Classes" is the title of the next professional development workshop to be held on Thursday, February 5 at 1:00 pm. We will discuss why engagement is important for student success. We will also be discussing what engagement looks like, the standard, pedagogies, and tools of engagement, and some of the methods you can use in your classes. This interactive workshop requires that you bring your questions and ideas so that we as a community of scholars can increase the overall level of student-faculty engagement. You can register now. The workshop is sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center and will be held in 311 Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). For more information, feel free to contact me (pourciaut@mybrcc.edu).

BACK TO CHANGING LIVES

Welcome back to all of you. The Spring 2014 semester officially began yesterday and the Mid City Campus was certainly buzzing with activity.  The parking lots were full and the Library began to fill once again with patrons. I hope that all of your classes got off to a great start. I wanted to mention that I am teaching a College Success Skills class this semester and met with them for the first time last night at 5:30 PM. I am trying to implement as many of the teaching methods from the Active Learning Manual as I can. I have used many of them in the past but this class is unique for me as it is the first time I have taught a room full of all first time students. I promise to share the good, bad and everything in-between as we journey through the semester. I must say how pleased I was with last night's session. My students are attentive, respectful and ready to learn. Since the class focuses on learning how to learn, it is a great place to expand their conceptions about what it takes to be successful in college. Keep Calm and Be Engaged!

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT DAY RECAP

The recent visit by Dr. Mary Clement of Berry College was a resounding success. Not only were the comments and evaluations overwhelmingly positive, but the feedback has continued. As I run into many of you at the start of Spring 2014, I am hearing about changes that many of you have made based on what you heard at the faculty development workshops on Friday. Dr. Clement sent the nicest thank you note and complimented BRCC on many levels. She found the faculty to be warm, welcoming, and energetic. I agree wholeheartedly. We have placed two (autographed) copies of her book First Time in the College Classroom: A guide for teaching assistants, instructors, and new professors at all colleges and universities in the Library's collections. By the way, I had mentioned that the Teaching+Learning Center now has a Twitter account (@brcctlc) and we were able to tweet all day Friday during the workshops. You might want to check out the comments as many of them could be easily integrated into your classroom routines.

CAN YOU SPOT A GOOD LEARNER

The Faculty Focus newsletter had a great article by Dr. Maryellen Weimer about the characteristics that good learners possess. She notes that, "this could be a list for our students or anybody who aspires to learn well." Here is the short list.

1.     Good learners are curious

2.     Good learners pursue understanding diligently

3.     Good learners recognize that a lot of learning isn't fun

4.     Failure frightens good learners, but they know it's beneficial

5.     Good learners make knowledge their own

6.     Good learners never run out of questions

7.     Good learners share what they've learned

You can see the expand version here. Let me know what you think of the list and if there should be another item or two.