DOES YOUR MAJOR MATTER
Since we are about to open registration for the Spring 2017 semester, I thought you might like related to that topic. June Y. Chu has an interesting take on student majors. "As an adviser to college-age students, it could be easy for me to say major in what you love and be done. Research shows that employers often recruit for transferable skills, and there is no direct correlation between one’s major and career. In fact, Forbes magazine has presented research findings indicating that only 27 percent of college graduates are working in a job that relates to their major. Google the phrase “Does your major matter?” and you will find that most articles out there succinctly state, “Nope, doesn’t matter.” Yet, sometimes, it does. To be better advisers, we need to consider the cultural baggage a student brings to a conversation when discussing their major."

NO LAUGHING MATTER
If you were not able to attend the classroom management faculty development session yesterday, we missed you. The good news is there are more sessions planned, so I encourage you to take a look at the events calendar. One of the topics we discussed was the use of humor in the classroom. Mary Bart offers her take on this teaching technique in a new post. She writes, "I am still pretty regularly criticized for my use of humor—I have been known to use too much. The long-standing objection is that education is serious business. It’s no laughing matter. Our goal is education; not entertainment. Writing about the history of humor in the classroom, Debra Korobkin notes that before the 20^th century, “collectively, teachers perceived instructing with a sense of humor as unprofessional, uncontrolled, and undignified.” (p. 154) Use humor and don’t expect to be taken as a serious professional. Some of that thinking still lingers today." Continue reading here.

DECODING THE BRAIN
Scientists can now map what happens neurologically when new information influences a person to change his or her mind, a finding that offers more insight into the mechanics of learning according to a recent research paper. "At a fundamental level, it is difficult to measure what someone knows," said co-author and psychology associate professor Alison Preston. "In our new paper, we employ brain decoding techniques that allow us deeper insight into the knowledge people have available to make decisions. We were able to measure when a person's knowledge changes to reflect new goals or opinions." The process, researchers said, involves two components of the brain working together to update and "bias" conceptual knowledge with new information to form new ideas. Continue reading here.

WE WANT YOUR OPINION
Faculty Learning Communities have proven to be a great way to deliver professional development at BRCC but the residual effect is even more impactful as colleagues share ideas discovered during the FLC sessions with office-mates and others. We are now planning for the next round of FLCs for the fall 2016 semester. If you have not yet participated in the survey to determine the best time and days to meet, I encourage you do it now. Besides being a great way to explore new pedagogy, you will inevitably make a connection with a colleague from another division that will quickly turn into a new friendship. Building community is just a lucky byproduct of FLCs. Look for more information about FLCs next week.

NEED A BRAIN TUNEUP?
Dr. Lori Desautels writes, "When presented with new material, standards, and complicated topics, we need to be focused and calm as we approach our assignments. We can use brain breaks and focused-attention practices to positively impact our emotional states and learning. A brain break is a short period of time when we change up the dull routine of incoming information that arrives via predictable, tedious, well-worn roadways. A focused-attention practice is a brain exercise for quieting the thousands of thoughts that distract and frustrate us each day." Here are some strategies you can use in your classes now.

COME ONE, COME ALL
Rick Sheridan has a great article suggesting ways we can improve student attendance. He writes, "The general consensus among most faculty members is that regular class attendance helps students learn and retain the course content more effectively. According to Park & Kerr (1990), research demonstrates that the lack of attendance was statistically significant in explaining why a student received a poor grade." To see his suggestions, click here.

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."

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?

SHIFTING THE TEACHING PARADIGM March is coming in like a bear with the powerful professional development workshop Shifting the Teaching Paradigm to be facilitated by Dr. Jim Johnston on Friday, March 7 in the Dumas Room. This workshop is being co-sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center and Cengage Learning TeamUp Faculty programs. The half day workshop begins with registration at 12:00 noon, followed by the first session at 12:25 and concludes with a question and answer dialogue that ends at 3:30 PM. In between, you can sign up to attend such dynamic sessions as What You See is What You Get: the Power of First Impressions (the most powerful three minutes of your class), Motivation Matters: Control the ANT Population and Improve Retention/Academic Success, and Reaching Higher Levels of Thinking and Application of Knowledge through Group Learning Activities. Dr. Johnston is Director of TRIO Student Support Services at Harding University in Arkansas.There will be breaks and snacks provided throughout the half day. Participants can register for individual sessions or opt to attend the entire workshop. If you are committed to improving student success at BRCC, you do not want to miss this workshop.

ANNUAL GIVING PITCH By now I am sure you have heard that BRCC has kicked off the internal portion of our Annual Giving campaign. I want to urge you to participate in this worthy endeavor aimed at helping to change lives. If you would like to direct your donation to an area that will directly benefit the teaching faculty at BRCC, I encourage you to indicate that your contribution be placed in the Teaching+Learning Center's Foundation account. This fund is targeted towards faculty development by providing travel funding to those of us who have proposals accepted for presentation at professional organizations focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning. One of the best ways to enhance your teaching toolkit it to try new active learning methods and use your classroom as a living laboratory. Your findings as an active researcher are important to the study of the scholarship of teaching and learning in the various disciplines. In addition, interacting with colleagues from around the world allows you to bring that expertise back to our campus. Please give to the Annual Giving campaign and if you are inclined, I strongly encourage you to direct your funds to the Teaching+Learning Center.

WHAT DOES AN ONLINE STUDENT LOOK LIKE Matt Reed raises an interesting question in his article What's An Online Student? He admits that he is "not entirely sure what an online student is" because of the multiple ways that students can engage with learning at college. He writes, "The sheer heterogeneity of ways that students engage with online learning is making it harder to generalize. We have far students who mix and match than we have students who go entirely online. That makes it hard to answer a question like 'how many online students do you have?' It also makes it difficult to know just how much to scale certain online student services; many of the students who mix and match transact certain kinds of business on the days they’re on campus. And some students who do most of their coursework on campus would greatly prefer to address the bureaucratic stuff online."

THE COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS

Building community among our faculty is very important for us to function as a disconnected group of disciplines that must come together cohesively to address systemic problems such as student retention and success. Part of our jobs as faculty has always been to focus on the needs of our students. Whether it is showing your students how to annotate, suggesting better study skills, or advising them about time management, when we take the time to teach students how to navigate college, we are also helping our colleagues. If a student learns a valuable college success skill in one class, we all benefit. So as the landscape continues to shift and the opportunity to attend college is an option for more students, we know that the number of underprepared student will continue to grow. Here are a few suggestions that you can use to create a stronger foundation for students who are faced with multiple impediments. Suggest during your advising sessions that taking the College Success Skills course provides a solid orientation for surviving and prospering in college. When you notice students are struggling, whether by formative or summative assessment or simply through observation in your classes, suggest that they make a trip to the Academic Learning Center. Make sure you send them with a referral sheet. Once they have made their visit, have them return the referral sheet to you so that you can see what intervention was offered and what the ALC professional staff suggests as the next step. The entire process can be viewed on the ALC website. The most important thing in this situation is to talk with your students who are struggling. A high level of engagement, often marked by the student-faculty relationship, is key to improving student success.

THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES

LCTCS President Joe May recently had a guest editorial published by The Advocate. In trumpeting the merits of the community college experience, Dr. May uses one of our own BRCC student’s story to make his point. He says, “Students who often choose to enroll in community colleges value their low cost, easy access, small class size, and high quality instruction that aligns with the needs of the local economy. Many of these students, such as Laketa Smith at Baton Rouge Community College, acknowledge that many of their previous education and career choices were not in their long-term best interest. Laketa, like a great number of students, needed developmental education in reading to help her prepare for college-level courses. As the result of her developmental education courses, she is successfully enrolled in honors courses at BRCC. At the same time, she not only saved herself money she saved the state of Louisiana as well.”

END OF SEMESTER SUGGESTIONS

As you begin to create your final exams, I would encourage you to use the comprehensive approach. What we know about the brain and learning is that it requires prompts and redundancy in order to create deeper learning. Repeating questions from your past quizzes and tests is a good idea, especially if a high number of students did not demonstrate mastery on the previous assessment. You should also be looking to see if the students are using the feedback you have provided them by assessing their ability to integrate changes and new knowledge. Test anxiety is a very real impediment for many of your students. Positive messaging and confidence building are two key components to allowing your students to give you their best effort. Encourage them to build study guides individually and then allow them some class time to share their efforts with other students in the class. The sum is always greater than the parts when it comes to knowledge. Finally, you may want to have each of your students bring in a self-addressed stamped envelope. That way you can send them feedback on their final exam. You could also email this information or create a general feedback document that you could post to your Blackboard site. This allows us to continue to scaffold the knowledge they learned this semester and connect it to new knowledge in the semesters to come.

THE HONOR CIRCLE EXPANDS

Join us in congratulating Dr. Sandra Guzman as the most recent recipient of the Keep Calm and Be Engaged shirt of honor. Watching Dr. Guzman in her classroom is an inspiring experience. Her love of both teaching and her discipline is readily obvious. She is a big proponent of active learning and making sure that her assessment instruments are aligned with her teaching. Dr. Guzman is also a disciple of Bloom’s Taxonomy and champions its worth to her colleagues. As a biologist, she is concerned about the environment and shares her passion with her students in this area as well. Her students tell us she is tough but caring. They also say that she is able to take a difficult topic and relate it to their lives in ways that help them learn and make connections to previous knowledge. So we welcome Dr. Guzman to the Keep Calm and Be Engaged honor circle where she joins previous recipients Paul Guidry, Wes Harris, Dr. Mary Miller, and Amy Pinero.

FACULTY LEARNING COMMUNITY BEGINS WORK
The Common Reader Faculty Learning Community kicked off with an abundance of enthusiasm and participation on Wednesday. So much so, that there is currently a waiting list of folks who would like to join the FLC. The Teaching+Learning Center is currently exploring the idea of opening another section of the FLC to accommodate the need. Participants discussed the profession of teaching, explored the syllabus, and examined the learning outcomes at the first faculty professional development session. The FLC is developing a set of group objectives as well. FLC members include: Nisha Aroskar, Robbie Burleigh, Emily Graves, Wes Harris, Susan Nealy, Jennifer Perkins, Todd Pourciau, Angela Pursley, Kathleen Schexnayder, Jeanne Stacy, and Lin Warmsley.

GROUP WORK TEACHES VALUABLE LESSONS AND SKILLS
Group projects are a great active learning experience that has proven benefits for student learning. Randall Hansen's article Benefits and Problems with Student Teams: Suggestions for Improving Team Projects published in the Journal of Education for Business lists a number of great suggestions that you may want to employ. Hansen says that we should emphasize the importance and benefits of teamwork by pointing out the special skills acquired that are useful in any job the student may be seeking. Team-building exercises help to build cohesive groups and promote engagement. If you are looking to have your students learn how to work with others whom they may not know (similar to most work environments), you should form the groups. The workload expectations should be reasonable and you should provide some class time for meetings. The goals of the project should have clearly defined learning objectives and you should require interim reports and group process feedback. Always remind the students that they should keep a log or journal of their experience that indicates their contributions and peer assessment should be part of the evaluation process.


THE RANKING BUSINESS EXPANDS
Did you know that the U.S. Department of Education is set to launch a rating system for all colleges and universities by 2015? It will apparently reward colleges with a high rating if they graduate large numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and do not saddle such students with heavy debt without graduating them. Once in place, the program would give larger Pell Grants and more-affordable loans to students attending higher-rated institutions. The focus on college completion sharpened this past year, as campus leaders pursued national goals for higher-education attainment, and more states tied a portion of colleges' appropriations to performance measures such as graduation rates. Louisiana of course has the GRAD ACT. The US News and World Report ranking focuses on the national level. Washington Monthly started publishing a national rankings system as well in 2005. The rankings, whose most recent edition was published last month, "give high marks to institutions that enroll low-income students, help them graduate, and don't charge them an arm and a leg to attend," the magazine said.

CAN A ROBOT DO YOUR JOB
As the debate about the role of technology in education builds, two California community-college professors have published their own commentary on the automation of teaching—in the form of an illustrated comic according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Adam Bessie and Arthur King, who teach English and studio and computer arts, respectively, at Diablo Valley College, have weighed in with a piece of graphic journalism titled “Automated Teaching Machine: A Graphic Introduction to the End of Human Teachers.” The comic, published by the left-leaning Truth Out, has been circulating among faculty members on California community-college e-mail lists. It was inspired by the introduction of an automated reading machine to score English-placement assessments at Diablo Valley College, Mr. Bessie said in an e-mail. Previously, English-department faculty members had created and reviewed the assessments manually, a collective exercise that gave them the opportunity to discuss standards, he said. “We were told that the robo-reader could do the same job as us for cheaper, which seemed an absurd notion,” Mr. Bessie said. “I had, before this, never heard of a robo-reader and thought that I had the one job that couldn’t be automated: that written human communication was one area that technology could augment, but not replace.”