ACTIVE LEARNING ON TAP FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The fact that active learning methods help to improve student success has been widely documented. Implementing active learning into your courses requires some time and attention but the rewards for you and your students is immediate and immeasurable. If you are interested in adding new tools to your teaching toolkit, especially in the active learning area, then this professional development workshop on Friday, March 28 is built for you. Teaching and Learning Interventions for Student Success will be presented at 10:00 am at the Frazier Site in room 227. Presenters Todd Pourciau and Jeanne Stacey will facilitate a lively interactive workshop that will have you ready to go. Whether you are just joining the active learning movement or are looking for supplements to enhance your current skill set, this workshop is for you. Registration is now open.
TAKING TESTING TO NEW HEIGHTS
The Testing Center at our Mid City Campus has seen a measurable increase in customer usage. The staff is working hard to accommodate the diverse numbers of users and the expanded hours this semester and testing at Acadian Campus and several of the sites has helped to relieve some of the pressure. However, it is more important than ever that we remind our students that appointments must be made in advance in order to insure that they have a spot to test. We are asking for a 24 hour minimum appointment request for all test takers. In addition, if you are teaching a course through the eLearning Program, please make sure that the Testing Center staff has all of the pertinent information before your students begin arriving for testing. As we work to improve the service we offer and to create a relaxing environment that provides the best testing opportunity for our students, it is important that we work together to maximize student success. Should you have any questions, you can contact a Testing Center staff member at 216.8038 or via email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu). If you have specific eLearning-related questions, please contact Program Manager Susan Nealy at 216.8130 or via email (nealys@mybrcc.edu).
ONLINE TEACHING WISDOM
Liz Timbs, a Ph.D. student in History at Michigan State, has written an interesting opinion piece about how delivering a class in an online environment takes some special skills and training. She writes, "Compared to a traditional classroom setting, the virtual classroom
requires a different approach to communicating with students. While
email occupies a central role in how I communicate with students in a
traditional course, email becomes vital for a successful virtual course.
The more detail the
better; this saves you from writing 2-3 emails when you can communicate
all of the directions in one clear, straightforward email. Writing
emails of this nature can seem very tedious and pointless, but being
precise helps both the students and the teachers (or teaching
assistants) a lot!" She goes on to describe a few other pearls of wisdom that she has learned on the Superhighway.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
The Blackboard Series continues with a workshop on Thursday, March 27 at 1:00 pm. The professional development session is sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center and will be held in 311 Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). Susan Nealy and Lenora White will be sharing some of the latest Blackboard features that you can use to help your students succeed. Todd Pourciau will add some pedagogical practices using technology that have been proven to help student achievement. Some of the topics to be shared include group work, material chunking, and homework. You can register now.
THE CHAIRLIFT LESSON
Chemistry professor Steven M. Wright's one-pager on learning about teaching through his experience with his niece on a chairlift is humorous. Even better, his outcome sheds some light on the connection between teaching and learning. He writes, "Successful teaching isn’t measured by what I have covered; it is measured by what students learn. Teaching that promotes little or no learning does raise some interesting ethical questions."
ACADEMIC RIGOR IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Inside Higher Ed has an interesting piece for all of us folks who work at community colleges. Paul Fain shares some information about a recent study that examines why community college transfer students are not succeeding. He writes, "Students are much less likely to earn a four-year degree if they first enroll at a community college. A key reason, according to a newly released study, is lost credits in the transfer process." The research also dumps cold water on several other explanations for why many community college students fail to eventually complete bachelor’s degrees, such as assumptions about lowered expectations, a vocational focus or inadequate academic rigor during their time at two-year colleges.
The Blackboard Series continues with a workshop on Thursday, March 27 at 1:00 pm. The professional development session is sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center and will be held in 311 Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). Susan Nealy and Lenora White will be sharing some of the latest Blackboard features that you can use to help your students succeed. Todd Pourciau will add some pedagogical practices using technology that have been proven to help student achievement. Some of the topics to be shared include group work, material chunking, and homework. You can register now.
THE CHAIRLIFT LESSON
Chemistry professor Steven M. Wright's one-pager on learning about teaching through his experience with his niece on a chairlift is humorous. Even better, his outcome sheds some light on the connection between teaching and learning. He writes, "Successful teaching isn’t measured by what I have covered; it is measured by what students learn. Teaching that promotes little or no learning does raise some interesting ethical questions."
ACADEMIC RIGOR IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Inside Higher Ed has an interesting piece for all of us folks who work at community colleges. Paul Fain shares some information about a recent study that examines why community college transfer students are not succeeding. He writes, "Students are much less likely to earn a four-year degree if they first enroll at a community college. A key reason, according to a newly released study, is lost credits in the transfer process." The research also dumps cold water on several other explanations for why many community college students fail to eventually complete bachelor’s degrees, such as assumptions about lowered expectations, a vocational focus or inadequate academic rigor during their time at two-year colleges.
Friday, March 14, 2014
ENGAGED SCHOLARS CIRCLE ADDS A MEMBER
The latest honoree to be recognized by the Teaching+Learning Center for excellence in the classroom is Catherine Doyle, Instructor of Nursing in the Nursing and Allied Health Division. Catherine is a big proponent of active learning methods and uses the full teaching toolkit to get the most out of her students. That is really great since she is helping to teach the next generation of nurses for our area. We caught up with Catherine at the LCTCS conference and took the picture at the left. Catherine's students told us that she is very invested in their future and that she always finds a way to help them understand even the most complex things they have to learn. Congratulations to Catherine who joins Paul Guidry, Sandra Guzman, Wes Harris, Mary Miller, and Amy Pinero as examples of faculty who believe in the power of engagement as a retention strategy.
BUILDING ON OUR MOMENTUM CONFERENCE
This year's LCTCS conference provided a great opportunity for all of us to interact with our counterparts at the sister institutions in our system. On Thursday, I was happy to join Russell Nolan, Instructor of Biology in the Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, for a presentation entitled Teaching Teachers How To Teach: The science of learning, from theory to application. We were fortunate to have more than 50 colleagues join us for a session that explained the art and science of teaching using kinesiology-focused research. We were also able to extol the virtues of the scholarship of teaching and learning as a tool to help improve our teaching and our students' learning. I was again fortunate to be joined by members of our outstanding faculty for a session on Friday entitled Good Teaching Can Be Learned: Results of a faculty learning community at BRCC. Nisha Aroskar (Economics) Wes, Harris (English/Honors College), and Angela Pursley (Accounting) shared their experience from the FLC with more than 30 colleagues from around the state. Their stories were inspiring and clearly illustrated the power that faculty learning communities can have for change and growth.
JOKES CAN IMPROVE LEARNING
Dr. Alicia Rieger believes in the power of humor for the learning process. She writes, in a recent article, "Humor has been reported to increase motivation, enhance the retention of new information, advance problem-solving skills, encourage creativity and critical thinking, facilitate a positive learning environment, and decrease exam anxiety (Martin, 2007). In the college classroom, teaching should move beyond transmitting facts to encouraging students to think critically and creatively about the subject matter. According to Tamblyn (2003), students must use their imaginations and open their minds to new ideas if they are to think critically and creatively. Humor is about allowing oneself to be intellectually playful with ideas."
BUILDING ON OUR MOMENTUM CONFERENCE
This year's LCTCS conference provided a great opportunity for all of us to interact with our counterparts at the sister institutions in our system. On Thursday, I was happy to join Russell Nolan, Instructor of Biology in the Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, for a presentation entitled Teaching Teachers How To Teach: The science of learning, from theory to application. We were fortunate to have more than 50 colleagues join us for a session that explained the art and science of teaching using kinesiology-focused research. We were also able to extol the virtues of the scholarship of teaching and learning as a tool to help improve our teaching and our students' learning. I was again fortunate to be joined by members of our outstanding faculty for a session on Friday entitled Good Teaching Can Be Learned: Results of a faculty learning community at BRCC. Nisha Aroskar (Economics) Wes, Harris (English/Honors College), and Angela Pursley (Accounting) shared their experience from the FLC with more than 30 colleagues from around the state. Their stories were inspiring and clearly illustrated the power that faculty learning communities can have for change and growth.
JOKES CAN IMPROVE LEARNING
Dr. Alicia Rieger believes in the power of humor for the learning process. She writes, in a recent article, "Humor has been reported to increase motivation, enhance the retention of new information, advance problem-solving skills, encourage creativity and critical thinking, facilitate a positive learning environment, and decrease exam anxiety (Martin, 2007). In the college classroom, teaching should move beyond transmitting facts to encouraging students to think critically and creatively about the subject matter. According to Tamblyn (2003), students must use their imaginations and open their minds to new ideas if they are to think critically and creatively. Humor is about allowing oneself to be intellectually playful with ideas."
Friday, March 7, 2014
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR PARADIGM SHIFTED RECENTLY
My head is still reeling from the huge amount of knowledge that Dr. Jim Johnston just exposed us to in the Shifting the Teaching Paradigm faculty development workshop. Special thanks to Dianne Lindsay and Cengage for co-sponsoring this workshop. Since the point of faculty development is to take the new knowledge and integrate it into how and what we are teaching, we will gather for a recap on Monday, March 10 at noon in the Teaching+Learning Center (T+LC). You are welcome to come on Monday even if you were not able to participate in today's event. We want to share this new information with you and to facilitate a discussion among the community of scholars at BRCC. So come and debate the learning styles approach (like VARK). Come and talk about sequential versus global teaching and learning. Find out what ANTs represent (you can cheat by visiting the T+LC twitter page). I always say that we must teach the student we have, not the ones we want. Dr. Johnston concurs and adds "you need to teach the students in your class about how to learn in your class." Bring your lunch and a colleague but please come and participate in this next step of our movement to shifting the teaching paradigm at BRCC.
INFORMATION YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR STUDENTS
The Testing Center has implemented a new policy that will ensure a more supportive and quieter testing environment. Check-in for all testers will now occur at the front desk as you enter the lobby for the Testing Center/Library/Advising Center in the Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). Students can not only check in to test but can also reserve a locker for their personal belongings (backpacks, purses, laptops, etc.). The Testing Center is working hard to provide the proper climate to enhance the performance of all of our students. Please remind your students to schedule there testing times using the online reservation system. If you have questions for the Testing Center staff, you can email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu) or contact them by phone (216.8038). The Mid City Testing Center is open Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 am until 7:00 pm, on Thursday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Saturday testing will occur on March 8 and 22, April 5 and 26, and May 10 from 8:00am until 12:00 pm. The Testing Center will be closed on Thursday, March 13 for the LCTCS professional development annual conference.
DO STUDENTS CALL YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME
Katrina Gulliver covers the topic of classroom formality in her opinion piece with a lighter side. She writes, "I am not your friend; I am not 'Miss.' Is it just me, or are we witnessing an epidemic of familiarity among undergraduates? They’re all calling me by my first name. Is this happening in your classroom too? I’m not that much older than a lot of my students, generationally (I’m apparently just on the cusp between being an echo-boomer and a millennial, for those who keep track -- but old enough I don’t think they’re mistaking me for a fellow undergrad). However, I feel like their grandmother when I receive their emails, and clutch my pearls when I get a message addressed to “Hi Katrina” (or just “hi”) from students I haven’t even met." What do you think?
My head is still reeling from the huge amount of knowledge that Dr. Jim Johnston just exposed us to in the Shifting the Teaching Paradigm faculty development workshop. Special thanks to Dianne Lindsay and Cengage for co-sponsoring this workshop. Since the point of faculty development is to take the new knowledge and integrate it into how and what we are teaching, we will gather for a recap on Monday, March 10 at noon in the Teaching+Learning Center (T+LC). You are welcome to come on Monday even if you were not able to participate in today's event. We want to share this new information with you and to facilitate a discussion among the community of scholars at BRCC. So come and debate the learning styles approach (like VARK). Come and talk about sequential versus global teaching and learning. Find out what ANTs represent (you can cheat by visiting the T+LC twitter page). I always say that we must teach the student we have, not the ones we want. Dr. Johnston concurs and adds "you need to teach the students in your class about how to learn in your class." Bring your lunch and a colleague but please come and participate in this next step of our movement to shifting the teaching paradigm at BRCC.
INFORMATION YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR STUDENTS
The Testing Center has implemented a new policy that will ensure a more supportive and quieter testing environment. Check-in for all testers will now occur at the front desk as you enter the lobby for the Testing Center/Library/Advising Center in the Magnolia Building (Mid City Campus). Students can not only check in to test but can also reserve a locker for their personal belongings (backpacks, purses, laptops, etc.). The Testing Center is working hard to provide the proper climate to enhance the performance of all of our students. Please remind your students to schedule there testing times using the online reservation system. If you have questions for the Testing Center staff, you can email (testingcenter@mybrcc.edu) or contact them by phone (216.8038). The Mid City Testing Center is open Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 am until 7:00 pm, on Thursday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Saturday testing will occur on March 8 and 22, April 5 and 26, and May 10 from 8:00am until 12:00 pm. The Testing Center will be closed on Thursday, March 13 for the LCTCS professional development annual conference.
DO STUDENTS CALL YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME
Katrina Gulliver covers the topic of classroom formality in her opinion piece with a lighter side. She writes, "I am not your friend; I am not 'Miss.' Is it just me, or are we witnessing an epidemic of familiarity among undergraduates? They’re all calling me by my first name. Is this happening in your classroom too? I’m not that much older than a lot of my students, generationally (I’m apparently just on the cusp between being an echo-boomer and a millennial, for those who keep track -- but old enough I don’t think they’re mistaking me for a fellow undergrad). However, I feel like their grandmother when I receive their emails, and clutch my pearls when I get a message addressed to “Hi Katrina” (or just “hi”) from students I haven’t even met." What do you think?
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
REGISTER FOR FRIDAY'S FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
The last day to register to attend the Shifting the Teaching Paradigm workshop set for Friday, March 7 is Thursday at noon. Lunch will be provided by Cengage, who is sponsoring the faculty development opportunity along with the Teaching+Learning Center, and there will also be snacks. Dr. Jim Johnson is very excited to be visiting the Capital City and is anxious to interact with the wonderful faculty at BRCC. Hopefully you have recovered from your Mardi Gras break and are ready to learn about effective methods that you can use to improve completion and retention rates. Looking forward to seeing you at 12:25 pm on Friday (check-in begins at noon outside of the Dumas Room in the Magnolia Building-Mid City Campus).
IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING USING DISCUSSION
Our friends at BYU have released a good article that can provide help for online discussions that can occur in face-to-face or eLearning classes. They write, "We often focus on presentation skills as oral communication skills, but students more frequently need to either lead or contribute to productive group discussions. Small group discussions can easily go off the rails when students indulge in off-topic talking, inadequate listening, and disrespectful behavior. The dynamic quality of class discussion presents challenges to faculty who would like to hold students accountable for the quality of their participation in these discussions." The full article is here.
SHARPEN YOUR BLACKBOARD SKILLS
Save the March 27 date for a faculty professional development workshop focused on Blackboard. Co-presenters Susan Nealy (eLearning Program Manager) and Lenora White (BRCC Blackboard Administer) will be offering up some of the latest options available to you via Blackboard. Whether you are new to Blackboard or an experienced user, you will find this workshop useful. More details will be coming but the session will run from 1:00 until 2:15 pm. In the meantime, you might want to read the latest article from Dr. John Orlando concerning his top ten rules for developing your first online course. If you are interested in teaching using the online environment, please contact your department chair for requirements and training options.
The last day to register to attend the Shifting the Teaching Paradigm workshop set for Friday, March 7 is Thursday at noon. Lunch will be provided by Cengage, who is sponsoring the faculty development opportunity along with the Teaching+Learning Center, and there will also be snacks. Dr. Jim Johnson is very excited to be visiting the Capital City and is anxious to interact with the wonderful faculty at BRCC. Hopefully you have recovered from your Mardi Gras break and are ready to learn about effective methods that you can use to improve completion and retention rates. Looking forward to seeing you at 12:25 pm on Friday (check-in begins at noon outside of the Dumas Room in the Magnolia Building-Mid City Campus).
IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING USING DISCUSSION
Our friends at BYU have released a good article that can provide help for online discussions that can occur in face-to-face or eLearning classes. They write, "We often focus on presentation skills as oral communication skills, but students more frequently need to either lead or contribute to productive group discussions. Small group discussions can easily go off the rails when students indulge in off-topic talking, inadequate listening, and disrespectful behavior. The dynamic quality of class discussion presents challenges to faculty who would like to hold students accountable for the quality of their participation in these discussions." The full article is here.
SHARPEN YOUR BLACKBOARD SKILLS
Save the March 27 date for a faculty professional development workshop focused on Blackboard. Co-presenters Susan Nealy (eLearning Program Manager) and Lenora White (BRCC Blackboard Administer) will be offering up some of the latest options available to you via Blackboard. Whether you are new to Blackboard or an experienced user, you will find this workshop useful. More details will be coming but the session will run from 1:00 until 2:15 pm. In the meantime, you might want to read the latest article from Dr. John Orlando concerning his top ten rules for developing your first online course. If you are interested in teaching using the online environment, please contact your department chair for requirements and training options.
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