Showing posts sorted by relevance for query discussion board. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query discussion board. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, January 27, 2020
Yes, I Agree and...
We all know the drill. We have decided to use the discussion board feature on Canvas to engage with our students and have them increase their peer-to-peer interaction. We determine the topic and issue an assignment with directions asking students to begin the topics. Once that is done, they are also asked to comment on the topics started by their fellow students. We sit back and wait and nothing happens. Well, to be fair, some students post and then other students give one to five word responses that do not move the conversation forward at all. So what went wrong? Dr. Beth René Roepnack has written a concise article on how we can improve online discussion by simply changing a couple of things. Her article appears on Faculty Focus and she offers the following suggestions. " I adjusted the
structure of my online discussions from students starting threads (you know the
drill, post-and-reply-to-two) to the instructor starting them, which creates a
more organic discussion structure similar to classroom conversations. This
simple modification, along with asking open-ended questions from the deep end
of Bloom’s Taxonomy, creates discussions that support student learning and engagement
with the material and each other." You can read the entire article here. If you use her suggestions, let me know if you experienced the same results that she did.
Monday, August 5, 2013
BLACKBOARD COMMUNITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
One of the great features of Blackboard is the ability to create a community that allows us to discuss, share and communicate virtually. I am currently working on creating the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Blackboard site. It will include a discussion board and online resource library among other things. As soon as it is ready to go live, all of the faculty will be added so that you can access the resources and interact with your colleagues. Hopefully it will be useful to you and become the place for online discussion about the scholarship of teaching and learning at BRCC.
NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION
The Office of Teaching and Learning will be coordinating an orientation session for all new faculty. It will be held from 9:00 AM until 12 noon on Wednesday, August 21 in room 311 Magnolia Building. The focus will be on providing our newest faculty colleagues with a good foundation as they begin their teaching career at BRCC. The topics will include faculty development, using Blackboard effectively, closing the loop with the Academic Learning Center, utilizing the Testing Center, exploring the Library, explaining what our CSSK course is all about and the eLearning certification process. While the event will be open to our new hires, we are also extending an invitation to our colleagues from the former Capital Area Technical College.
TEACHING AND LEARNING FROM BOTH SIDES
The recent announcement by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs that the Academic Learning Center had joined the Teaching and Learning team means that the loop is now closed. The combined forces will allow us to provide unique solutions for some of our more pressing problems related to retention and student learning. The combined expertise of Jeanne Stacy, Yvette Ferguson, and Donna Newman brings the student experience into play. The Teaching and Learning team, which also includes the eLearning Program, Evening+Weekend, and the Testing Center, is here to work with all academic units and faculty to design and implement strategies and interventions based on the latest empirical research. We are excited about the possibilities created by this new collaborative and look forward to meeting the needs of our various constituencies.
ENGAGEMENT PROVIDES VALUABLE INFORMATION
Instead of doing one of the standard ice-breaker activities, why not give a pre-test? This type of learner-based assessment allows you to find out as much as possible about your students. Not only is it a great engagement tool but it will help you to modify your class to meet the needs of each of your students. You want to ask them questions about their ambitions, their approaches to and conceptions of learning, the way they reason, their temperaments, habits, and the things that attract their attention on a daily basis. Ken Bain, in his book What The Best College Teachers Do, notes that this type of activity is endorsed by the best teachers. Once you have the information, you should use it to build a class profile and compare it to the learning experiences, projects, and assessment instruments you plan to use in the course. You can then use this information throughout the semester to generate conversations and to make specific points to motivate your students. The pre-test also allows you to understand the complexities of your students.
One of the great features of Blackboard is the ability to create a community that allows us to discuss, share and communicate virtually. I am currently working on creating the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Blackboard site. It will include a discussion board and online resource library among other things. As soon as it is ready to go live, all of the faculty will be added so that you can access the resources and interact with your colleagues. Hopefully it will be useful to you and become the place for online discussion about the scholarship of teaching and learning at BRCC.
NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION
The Office of Teaching and Learning will be coordinating an orientation session for all new faculty. It will be held from 9:00 AM until 12 noon on Wednesday, August 21 in room 311 Magnolia Building. The focus will be on providing our newest faculty colleagues with a good foundation as they begin their teaching career at BRCC. The topics will include faculty development, using Blackboard effectively, closing the loop with the Academic Learning Center, utilizing the Testing Center, exploring the Library, explaining what our CSSK course is all about and the eLearning certification process. While the event will be open to our new hires, we are also extending an invitation to our colleagues from the former Capital Area Technical College.
TEACHING AND LEARNING FROM BOTH SIDES
The recent announcement by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs that the Academic Learning Center had joined the Teaching and Learning team means that the loop is now closed. The combined forces will allow us to provide unique solutions for some of our more pressing problems related to retention and student learning. The combined expertise of Jeanne Stacy, Yvette Ferguson, and Donna Newman brings the student experience into play. The Teaching and Learning team, which also includes the eLearning Program, Evening+Weekend, and the Testing Center, is here to work with all academic units and faculty to design and implement strategies and interventions based on the latest empirical research. We are excited about the possibilities created by this new collaborative and look forward to meeting the needs of our various constituencies.
ENGAGEMENT PROVIDES VALUABLE INFORMATION
Instead of doing one of the standard ice-breaker activities, why not give a pre-test? This type of learner-based assessment allows you to find out as much as possible about your students. Not only is it a great engagement tool but it will help you to modify your class to meet the needs of each of your students. You want to ask them questions about their ambitions, their approaches to and conceptions of learning, the way they reason, their temperaments, habits, and the things that attract their attention on a daily basis. Ken Bain, in his book What The Best College Teachers Do, notes that this type of activity is endorsed by the best teachers. Once you have the information, you should use it to build a class profile and compare it to the learning experiences, projects, and assessment instruments you plan to use in the course. You can then use this information throughout the semester to generate conversations and to make specific points to motivate your students. The pre-test also allows you to understand the complexities of your students.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
LARGER CLASSES CREATE OPPORTUNITIES
Many of us have more students in our classes this semester. That provides us with a great opportunity to try some different active learning methods that we might not have been able to use with smaller groups. One method, team-based learning (TBL), is a natural for larger classes because it breaks students down into small groups for learning. The key components for TBL include permanent teams, readiness assurance, application activities, and peer evaluation. The University of Texas faculty development center has a great video explaining the concepts although you need to remember that a large class for them is a lot bigger than us and usually starts at 150 students. TBL teachers report high levels of student attendance, preparation, participation and critical thinking. TBL students report being more motivated and enjoying class more, even when the subject is not in their major. Please visit the online resource library posted in the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Faculty Development community for more resources about active learning and managing large classes. You can also make suggestions to help your colleagues on the community discussion board. As always, let us know how the Teaching+Learning Center can help.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
Based on suggestions from you, we are offering a new faculty development opportunity. It is called Mid-Day Musings and will meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at noon. We plan to gather in the faculty dining room of the Bienvenue Building, which allows you to grab lunch and bring it with you. The Monday before the gathering, we will send an email announcing the topic for the week. Again, we are looking to you for ideas so if you have something that you think will generate an inspiring discussion, please send it to pourciaut@mybrcc.edu. Registration is now open. We hope to see you this coming Wednesday for the first Mid-Day Musings gathering.
INTEGRATING WRITING INTO YOUR COURSE
The next faculty development workshop will be held on September 25 and the topic is Writing Across the Curriculum. Writing Specialist Natalie Smith, who directs the Academic Learning Center's student support services for writing, will deliver a powerful, informative workshop building on her teaser presentation at the Faculty Development Kickoff last month. She will cover a number of topics including how you can integrate writing into your classes and the different types of writing used in our courses. Since she is also an adjunct faculty member who teaches English, she will offer valuable insights about the BRCC student profile. Be one of the first to register for this workshop and look for more details as the date approaches.
Many of us have more students in our classes this semester. That provides us with a great opportunity to try some different active learning methods that we might not have been able to use with smaller groups. One method, team-based learning (TBL), is a natural for larger classes because it breaks students down into small groups for learning. The key components for TBL include permanent teams, readiness assurance, application activities, and peer evaluation. The University of Texas faculty development center has a great video explaining the concepts although you need to remember that a large class for them is a lot bigger than us and usually starts at 150 students. TBL teachers report high levels of student attendance, preparation, participation and critical thinking. TBL students report being more motivated and enjoying class more, even when the subject is not in their major. Please visit the online resource library posted in the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Faculty Development community for more resources about active learning and managing large classes. You can also make suggestions to help your colleagues on the community discussion board. As always, let us know how the Teaching+Learning Center can help.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
Based on suggestions from you, we are offering a new faculty development opportunity. It is called Mid-Day Musings and will meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at noon. We plan to gather in the faculty dining room of the Bienvenue Building, which allows you to grab lunch and bring it with you. The Monday before the gathering, we will send an email announcing the topic for the week. Again, we are looking to you for ideas so if you have something that you think will generate an inspiring discussion, please send it to pourciaut@mybrcc.edu. Registration is now open. We hope to see you this coming Wednesday for the first Mid-Day Musings gathering.
INTEGRATING WRITING INTO YOUR COURSE
The next faculty development workshop will be held on September 25 and the topic is Writing Across the Curriculum. Writing Specialist Natalie Smith, who directs the Academic Learning Center's student support services for writing, will deliver a powerful, informative workshop building on her teaser presentation at the Faculty Development Kickoff last month. She will cover a number of topics including how you can integrate writing into your classes and the different types of writing used in our courses. Since she is also an adjunct faculty member who teaches English, she will offer valuable insights about the BRCC student profile. Be one of the first to register for this workshop and look for more details as the date approaches.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
ACADEMIC ADVISING FRONT AND CENTER
Academic advising discussions are probably still occurring after the past two days of professional development opportunities. Tuesday we heard from the professional development workshop panel that included Dr. Mary Boudreaux, Wendy Devall, Vinetta Frie, Brandy Gros, Lisa Hibner, and Jeanne Stacy. Each panelist brought a different aspect of expertise to the academic advising discussion held in the Teaching+Learning Center. The participants included academic advising staff, senior and new faculty who were more than willing to engage in serious discussions about the need for better advising as a deterrent for low retention rates. One of the main takeaways was agreement that a cohesive, consistent approach to academic advising would improve our persistence and graduation rates. The conversation continued on Wednesday at the Mid-Day Musings in the faculty and staff dining room of the Bienvenue Building. A different group gathered to discuss the merits of engaging students in conversation about their future. Many of the participants found the pre-session short video interview with Dr. Daniel Chambliss, who wrote How Colleges Work, to be very useful. The main takeaway from Wednesday's session was the importance of being engaged and making connections with our students regardless of your position. Research indicates that often a connection with anyone at the college, not just instructors or counselors, leads to student success and greater persistence rates. The advising handbook is close to being completed and will be distributed shortly. We also plan to post a list of some of the questions and answers from Tuesday's session on the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Community discussion board.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING IMPROVES CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY
Dr. James A. Griesemer has written an interesting article about the use of active, cooperative learning and how it can enhance student success. He writes, "Incorporating active, cooperative quality learning exercises in a course requires instructors to modify their teaching strategy in a number of important ways but the most critical is their roles as educator, mentor, and facilitator. Research confirms the effectiveness of active, cooperative learning. Compared to students taught with conventional methods, cooperatively taught students tend to exhibit better grades as well as better analytical, creative, and critical thinking skills among other traits. Both instructors and students reported numerous benefits of incorporating active, cooperative learning quality exercises into an undergraduate operations/supply chain management course." Read more.
IMPACTING THE PERSISTENCE RATE
As the nation becomes increasingly focused on improving college completion rates, policy makers, practitioners, and scholars are calling for renewed efforts to help students succeed (e.g., Lumina Foundation, 2009). Central to these plans is the promotion of postsecondary access and opportunity, as well as the improvement of persistence and completion rates. College student persistence, in particular, is a necessary condition for social mobility, bridging access and attainment. We are well aware of a renewed focus on persistence and completion at BRCC and we have implemented interventions intended to improve our rates in both categories. Drs. Gregory C. Wolniak, Matthew J. Mayhew, and Mark E. Engberg have written a paper based on their research in this area and published in the Journal of Higher Education. They note, "Several key areas inform our understanding of students’ likelihood of persisting after the first year of college. These areas consist of student demographics and socioeconomic status, precollege academics, college choice and financial aid, institutional characteristics, the role of academic and social integration, and college grades. Persisting students reported higher levels of academic and social integration during their first year of college in areas related to exposure to quality teaching, frequency of faculty contact, peer interactions, and cocurricular involvement, while also demonstrating greater average scores on three of the five measures of assessed student learning (leadership, need for cognition, and content mastery). Alternatively, compared to nonpersisting students, a smaller share of persisters obtained financial aid in the form of federal grants."
Academic advising discussions are probably still occurring after the past two days of professional development opportunities. Tuesday we heard from the professional development workshop panel that included Dr. Mary Boudreaux, Wendy Devall, Vinetta Frie, Brandy Gros, Lisa Hibner, and Jeanne Stacy. Each panelist brought a different aspect of expertise to the academic advising discussion held in the Teaching+Learning Center. The participants included academic advising staff, senior and new faculty who were more than willing to engage in serious discussions about the need for better advising as a deterrent for low retention rates. One of the main takeaways was agreement that a cohesive, consistent approach to academic advising would improve our persistence and graduation rates. The conversation continued on Wednesday at the Mid-Day Musings in the faculty and staff dining room of the Bienvenue Building. A different group gathered to discuss the merits of engaging students in conversation about their future. Many of the participants found the pre-session short video interview with Dr. Daniel Chambliss, who wrote How Colleges Work, to be very useful. The main takeaway from Wednesday's session was the importance of being engaged and making connections with our students regardless of your position. Research indicates that often a connection with anyone at the college, not just instructors or counselors, leads to student success and greater persistence rates. The advising handbook is close to being completed and will be distributed shortly. We also plan to post a list of some of the questions and answers from Tuesday's session on the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Community discussion board.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING IMPROVES CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY
Dr. James A. Griesemer has written an interesting article about the use of active, cooperative learning and how it can enhance student success. He writes, "Incorporating active, cooperative quality learning exercises in a course requires instructors to modify their teaching strategy in a number of important ways but the most critical is their roles as educator, mentor, and facilitator. Research confirms the effectiveness of active, cooperative learning. Compared to students taught with conventional methods, cooperatively taught students tend to exhibit better grades as well as better analytical, creative, and critical thinking skills among other traits. Both instructors and students reported numerous benefits of incorporating active, cooperative learning quality exercises into an undergraduate operations/supply chain management course." Read more.
IMPACTING THE PERSISTENCE RATE
As the nation becomes increasingly focused on improving college completion rates, policy makers, practitioners, and scholars are calling for renewed efforts to help students succeed (e.g., Lumina Foundation, 2009). Central to these plans is the promotion of postsecondary access and opportunity, as well as the improvement of persistence and completion rates. College student persistence, in particular, is a necessary condition for social mobility, bridging access and attainment. We are well aware of a renewed focus on persistence and completion at BRCC and we have implemented interventions intended to improve our rates in both categories. Drs. Gregory C. Wolniak, Matthew J. Mayhew, and Mark E. Engberg have written a paper based on their research in this area and published in the Journal of Higher Education. They note, "Several key areas inform our understanding of students’ likelihood of persisting after the first year of college. These areas consist of student demographics and socioeconomic status, precollege academics, college choice and financial aid, institutional characteristics, the role of academic and social integration, and college grades. Persisting students reported higher levels of academic and social integration during their first year of college in areas related to exposure to quality teaching, frequency of faculty contact, peer interactions, and cocurricular involvement, while also demonstrating greater average scores on three of the five measures of assessed student learning (leadership, need for cognition, and content mastery). Alternatively, compared to nonpersisting students, a smaller share of persisters obtained financial aid in the form of federal grants."
Friday, May 2, 2014
ADVISING MOVEMENT TAKES SHAPE
The movement to create a academic advising program of excellence for our students continues to move forward. A good number of our colleagues gathered on Tuesday, April 29 to discuss a number of issues that included the need for a guidebook, academic progress checklists, a database on student advising, selection of an appropriate advising model, and the creation of a discussion board. Two ad-hoc committees were created to handle the main issues. The Academic Advising Handbook ad-hoc committee is being co-chaired by Science Department Chair Laura Younger and Nursing and Allied Health Academic Advisor Martha Sealey and includes the following members: Dr. Mary Boudreaux (STEM Division), Gery Frie (Construction Management), Dr. Sandra Harris (Title 3), Leigh Potts, (Title 3), Jeanne Stacy (Academic Learning Center), Leroy Waguespack (Computer Information Systems), and Rebecca Wesley (Veterinary Technology). The Student Advising Records ad-hoc committee is being co-chaired by Business and Social Sciences Department Chair Amy Pinero and Business and Social Sciences Division Academic Advisor Eric Whitfield and includes the following members: Nisha Aroskar (Business), Vinetta Frie (CSSK) Peter Klubek (Library), Marla Kameny (Business), and Krista Schmitt (Business). If you would like to be involved in either ad-hoc committee, please contact one of the co-chairs.
MEASURING TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
Faculty Focus presents us with a timely article on an issue that we are currently wrestling with; namely student ratings of faculty. She writes, "When we talk about teaching effectiveness, it’s usually in the context of evaluation. Student ratings are frequently described as measures of teaching effectiveness, and that makes our understanding of the term important. Researcher Leslie Layne wondered whether students and teachers define the term similarly. If they don’t, Layne writes that understanding the differences “is crucial to faculty and administrators when interpreting student survey results.”
WHERE DO THE LIBERAL ARTS FIT
Dr. William Durden has written a very provocative opinion piece on the current state of affairs concerning liberal art degrees. He writes, "Americans don’t like cheaters. When it comes to how we learn and what we’re able to do with our acquired knowledge, a game has been going on. And many will find themselves systematically locked out of opportunity. This is not about students cheating on tests or principals downplaying ineffective teaching strategies. Nor is it about the latest argument concerning higher education — that college is too expensive and there’s no guarantee of gainful employment. It a national reckoning of how much we’re willing to tolerate regarding class, status and the suppression of economic mobility. This issue demands that we take responsibility for the way that our educational decisions play out in our lives and throughout our communities. Until we take ownership of these things, we will continue to play a fool’s game of winners and losers."
The movement to create a academic advising program of excellence for our students continues to move forward. A good number of our colleagues gathered on Tuesday, April 29 to discuss a number of issues that included the need for a guidebook, academic progress checklists, a database on student advising, selection of an appropriate advising model, and the creation of a discussion board. Two ad-hoc committees were created to handle the main issues. The Academic Advising Handbook ad-hoc committee is being co-chaired by Science Department Chair Laura Younger and Nursing and Allied Health Academic Advisor Martha Sealey and includes the following members: Dr. Mary Boudreaux (STEM Division), Gery Frie (Construction Management), Dr. Sandra Harris (Title 3), Leigh Potts, (Title 3), Jeanne Stacy (Academic Learning Center), Leroy Waguespack (Computer Information Systems), and Rebecca Wesley (Veterinary Technology). The Student Advising Records ad-hoc committee is being co-chaired by Business and Social Sciences Department Chair Amy Pinero and Business and Social Sciences Division Academic Advisor Eric Whitfield and includes the following members: Nisha Aroskar (Business), Vinetta Frie (CSSK) Peter Klubek (Library), Marla Kameny (Business), and Krista Schmitt (Business). If you would like to be involved in either ad-hoc committee, please contact one of the co-chairs.
MEASURING TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
Faculty Focus presents us with a timely article on an issue that we are currently wrestling with; namely student ratings of faculty. She writes, "When we talk about teaching effectiveness, it’s usually in the context of evaluation. Student ratings are frequently described as measures of teaching effectiveness, and that makes our understanding of the term important. Researcher Leslie Layne wondered whether students and teachers define the term similarly. If they don’t, Layne writes that understanding the differences “is crucial to faculty and administrators when interpreting student survey results.”
WHERE DO THE LIBERAL ARTS FIT
Dr. William Durden has written a very provocative opinion piece on the current state of affairs concerning liberal art degrees. He writes, "Americans don’t like cheaters. When it comes to how we learn and what we’re able to do with our acquired knowledge, a game has been going on. And many will find themselves systematically locked out of opportunity. This is not about students cheating on tests or principals downplaying ineffective teaching strategies. Nor is it about the latest argument concerning higher education — that college is too expensive and there’s no guarantee of gainful employment. It a national reckoning of how much we’re willing to tolerate regarding class, status and the suppression of economic mobility. This issue demands that we take responsibility for the way that our educational decisions play out in our lives and throughout our communities. Until we take ownership of these things, we will continue to play a fool’s game of winners and losers."
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Civil Unrest is Part of America and Provides a Teachable Moment
Earning a college degree is about getting a job. But it is also so much more. A good educational experience inspires life-long learning. It can also impact the area because it creates an informed citizenry. Folks who can think critically begin to impact and shape the environment they choose to make their home. The civil unrest occurring now provides us with a great opportunity to connect the real world to the learning that is occurring in your classes this summer. Yesterday, I posted a tweet to the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement Twitter account with a link to an opinion piece on the Inside Higher Ed website. Colleen Flaherty included the following as a subtitle to her article Making Sense of the Senseless: Academics are called to help interpret and guide a national response to police violence and related civil unrest. It is a role that we have played for a long time but the current situation provides us with an opportunity to have uncomfortable conversations. Of course and learning experience should be related to what you are teaching but at times, when something horrific occurs, we are distracted and that includes our students. So begin by creating a safe environment in your classes. Since we are fully online, this means netiquette. Respect is important, so if you are holding a Zoom meeting or using the discussion board, make sure you set the ground rules and hold everyone to them. Using the article as a starting point and asking for reflection in light of your discipline would be appropriate. Here is a resource provided by colleagues at SUNY Empire State College that contains not only some good parameters but a number of videos you might want to use to help your students understand the history of social unrest in our country. As many of us can attest, we have been in this place before and we know that change can occur. What is more natural than a community college that helps to heal the community around it?
Thursday, January 30, 2014
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
Are you using the discussion board function on your Blackboard site? Do you receive angry emails for your students related to technology use in your courses? Have you ever wondered how you can increase your engagement by utilizing online resources? An answer of yes to any of these questions suggests that you should plan on attending the Transforming the Challenging Online Students into a Master Student webinar. It is being held in the Teaching+Learning Center on Thursday, February 6 from noon until 1:00 PM. Shawn Orr will deliver an informative webinar utilizing her more than 18 years of experience as a professor, department chair, adviser and dean. Orr also received the 2010 Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year for the Ohio Business and Technology Teacher Association and the 2011 North Central Educators Association Educator of the Year. She hold a Master's degree with a curriculum development specialty. Come and learn from her experience and the ideas and input from your faculty colleagues. You can register now for the faculty professional development webinar sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center.
USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE LEARNING
We tweeted earlier about an article by Rob Kelly that explains how to create a learner-friendly online presence for your classes. Kelly points to Cynthia Schmitt, senior director of continuing education at Florida Institute of Technology, as a good example. According to the article, Schmitt tries to make the online learning experience comfortable and efficient for students. I'll share one of her tips here. "One way to increase the students’ comfort in the online classroom is to conduct synchronous sessions." Each unit in Schmitt’s course includes one-hour synchronous sessions. "Students select the time for these sessions at the beginning of the course and meet with the instructor in groups of 10 to 12 using Adobe Connect, which enables them to see the instructor on camera and hear her or his voice. (Adobe Connect has the capability to allow students to use video and voice as well, but students in remote areas typically do not use these features because of bandwidth limitations and instead communicate via text chat.) Remember that Susan Nealy, eLearning Program Manager is ready and willing to help you enhance your online presence.
TEACH FOR THE BRAIN
Terry Doyle and Todd Zakrajsek have put out a great little book entitled The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain. I have actually started using some of the information from the book to improve my teaching and my students learning in my CSSK classes. In the chapter on memory, Doyle and Zakrajsek point out that "when learning something new, it helps to be interested in it, see a value to it, pay a lot of attention to it, and practice it a lot. The human brain is wired to more easily learn things that are important, and for the most part, what's important is also interesting." They recommend distributed practice to take advantage of this scientific breakthrough. By repeating important information numerous times over the course of your semester, your students are more likely to make the links to memory stronger which will allow them to retrieve it more easily. Repeated exposure to the new knowledge is also enhanced by making your students use it often. If you want to read more from this terrific book, the BRCC Library does own a copy (LB1134 .D68 2013).
Are you using the discussion board function on your Blackboard site? Do you receive angry emails for your students related to technology use in your courses? Have you ever wondered how you can increase your engagement by utilizing online resources? An answer of yes to any of these questions suggests that you should plan on attending the Transforming the Challenging Online Students into a Master Student webinar. It is being held in the Teaching+Learning Center on Thursday, February 6 from noon until 1:00 PM. Shawn Orr will deliver an informative webinar utilizing her more than 18 years of experience as a professor, department chair, adviser and dean. Orr also received the 2010 Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year for the Ohio Business and Technology Teacher Association and the 2011 North Central Educators Association Educator of the Year. She hold a Master's degree with a curriculum development specialty. Come and learn from her experience and the ideas and input from your faculty colleagues. You can register now for the faculty professional development webinar sponsored by the Teaching+Learning Center.
USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE LEARNING
We tweeted earlier about an article by Rob Kelly that explains how to create a learner-friendly online presence for your classes. Kelly points to Cynthia Schmitt, senior director of continuing education at Florida Institute of Technology, as a good example. According to the article, Schmitt tries to make the online learning experience comfortable and efficient for students. I'll share one of her tips here. "One way to increase the students’ comfort in the online classroom is to conduct synchronous sessions." Each unit in Schmitt’s course includes one-hour synchronous sessions. "Students select the time for these sessions at the beginning of the course and meet with the instructor in groups of 10 to 12 using Adobe Connect, which enables them to see the instructor on camera and hear her or his voice. (Adobe Connect has the capability to allow students to use video and voice as well, but students in remote areas typically do not use these features because of bandwidth limitations and instead communicate via text chat.) Remember that Susan Nealy, eLearning Program Manager is ready and willing to help you enhance your online presence.
TEACH FOR THE BRAIN
Terry Doyle and Todd Zakrajsek have put out a great little book entitled The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain. I have actually started using some of the information from the book to improve my teaching and my students learning in my CSSK classes. In the chapter on memory, Doyle and Zakrajsek point out that "when learning something new, it helps to be interested in it, see a value to it, pay a lot of attention to it, and practice it a lot. The human brain is wired to more easily learn things that are important, and for the most part, what's important is also interesting." They recommend distributed practice to take advantage of this scientific breakthrough. By repeating important information numerous times over the course of your semester, your students are more likely to make the links to memory stronger which will allow them to retrieve it more easily. Repeated exposure to the new knowledge is also enhanced by making your students use it often. If you want to read more from this terrific book, the BRCC Library does own a copy (LB1134 .D68 2013).
Monday, November 14, 2016
NEW CANVAS CAPABILITY
Canvas, our open online learning management system, recently announced the immediate availability of a new annotation feature in its mobile application. This new functionality allows students to open, annotate, and submit an assignment directly within Canvas. Historically this has been accomplished through a third-party app, which can create an additional expense for our students. Providing one platform where all of these capabilities reside eliminates the need for students to buy additional software and reduces the need for paper, both cost saving actions. The mobile annotation feature allows instructors to spend less time demonstrating procedures for moving and transitioning digital assignments and more time teaching. Digitizing assignments inside Canvas also allows instructors to grade assignments using the Canvas SpeedGrader. Read more here.
THE FEEDBACK IS FOR YOU
The classroom is a non-stop hub of feedback: test grades, assignment scores, paper comments, peer review, individual conferences, nonverbal cues, and more. Feedback is essential for student learning. Still, students’ ability to process and use feedback varies widely. We have some students who eagerly accept feedback or carefully apply rough draft comments, while many others dread or dismiss their professors’ notes or reject exam grades as “unfair.” Although feedback is integral to our classrooms and work spaces, we often forget to teach students how to manage it. Two Harvard law professors, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, argue that identifying different kinds of feedback is a good place to start. Continue reading here.
Canvas, our open online learning management system, recently announced the immediate availability of a new annotation feature in its mobile application. This new functionality allows students to open, annotate, and submit an assignment directly within Canvas. Historically this has been accomplished through a third-party app, which can create an additional expense for our students. Providing one platform where all of these capabilities reside eliminates the need for students to buy additional software and reduces the need for paper, both cost saving actions. The mobile annotation feature allows instructors to spend less time demonstrating procedures for moving and transitioning digital assignments and more time teaching. Digitizing assignments inside Canvas also allows instructors to grade assignments using the Canvas SpeedGrader. Read more here.
ENGAGEMENT IN THE ELEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Learning is about personal relationships. Deep learning doesn’t happen
through reading or rote memorization online any more than in the
physical world. It is the experiences and meaningful conversations (or
maybe human interactions) within a course that enable students to
critically reflect, and deepen their learning. All too often, online
students feel isolated, which can decrease motivation and increase
attrition. When learning occurs entirely through computer-mediated instruction,
professors often overlook simple steps like asking participants to
introduce themselves. Details like asking your students to create a
video introduction to a class can have a powerful impact. Video-based
introductions can help develop a community of learners more quickly than
simply posting text on a discussion board. Students who are in courses
with introductory videos have been shown to actively participate in online discussions very early in the course. And research shows that learners who are more engaged and have higher levels of interaction, have higher success rates. Read more here.
The classroom is a non-stop hub of feedback: test grades, assignment scores, paper comments, peer review, individual conferences, nonverbal cues, and more. Feedback is essential for student learning. Still, students’ ability to process and use feedback varies widely. We have some students who eagerly accept feedback or carefully apply rough draft comments, while many others dread or dismiss their professors’ notes or reject exam grades as “unfair.” Although feedback is integral to our classrooms and work spaces, we often forget to teach students how to manage it. Two Harvard law professors, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, argue that identifying different kinds of feedback is a good place to start. Continue reading here.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
UNCOVERING THE SIGNS OF SUCCESS
The second week of classes is upon us. How are your students doing? You can actually tell a lot about how well your students will do in your course at this point. Are they engaged in the class? Have they visited with you outside of the class? If you are teaching an eLearning class, have they accessed the material yet? Are they participating in the discussion board conversations? It is not too late to give them some great advice on how to successfully navigate your course. Talk with them about successful strategies you used in college. Bring in someone who excelled in your class last semester to give a talk about the methods they used to succeed. Ask your students to map out a schedule for their college work. It should be integrated with their other responsibilities. This will provide them a realistic look at what it will take to succeed in college. Of course, implicit in all of this is you will become much more engaged with your students and that is a proven retention technique.
NATIONAL EXPERT COMING TO CAMPUS
Dr. Barbara Millis will visit BRCC to deliver a faculty development workshop on Thursday, February 28 at 3:00 PM. Dr. Millis is a nationally recognized faculty development expert and currently serves as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She will be presenting material and leading discussions on the topic of how collaborative work can be used to improve student learning. Her approach is hands-on and you will leave the workshop with examples, ideas, and the tools to begin to implement new active learning methods immediately. Look for reservation information in an evite arriving soon.
ABSTRACTS DUE SOON
If you are looking for a conference that can help you expand your teaching toolkit by learning from your peers, you might be interested in the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning. There is a call for proposals that closes February 15. While this year's conference theme is Teaching and Technology, they are looking for all sorts of work within the scholarship of teaching and learning arena. The conference in Mobile, Alabama will take place May 13 and 14.
DOES USING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
Although technology can be a great teaching tool, many professors do not think that it improves student learning. That is the feeling that emerged from a recent report by David R. Johnson who says, "There is little or no indication that innovative pedagogy motivates technological use in the classroom, which sort of flies in the face of how the use of information-based instructional technologies is usually presented." The report suggests, technology is more often used by professors for managerial reasons, such as to help with the demands of growing class sizes. Mr. Johnson said the findings show a gap between how universities market their use of technology—often framing technology as more sophisticated than prior approaches to instruction—and how the faculty actually uses it.
The second week of classes is upon us. How are your students doing? You can actually tell a lot about how well your students will do in your course at this point. Are they engaged in the class? Have they visited with you outside of the class? If you are teaching an eLearning class, have they accessed the material yet? Are they participating in the discussion board conversations? It is not too late to give them some great advice on how to successfully navigate your course. Talk with them about successful strategies you used in college. Bring in someone who excelled in your class last semester to give a talk about the methods they used to succeed. Ask your students to map out a schedule for their college work. It should be integrated with their other responsibilities. This will provide them a realistic look at what it will take to succeed in college. Of course, implicit in all of this is you will become much more engaged with your students and that is a proven retention technique.
NATIONAL EXPERT COMING TO CAMPUS
Dr. Barbara Millis will visit BRCC to deliver a faculty development workshop on Thursday, February 28 at 3:00 PM. Dr. Millis is a nationally recognized faculty development expert and currently serves as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She will be presenting material and leading discussions on the topic of how collaborative work can be used to improve student learning. Her approach is hands-on and you will leave the workshop with examples, ideas, and the tools to begin to implement new active learning methods immediately. Look for reservation information in an evite arriving soon.
ABSTRACTS DUE SOON
If you are looking for a conference that can help you expand your teaching toolkit by learning from your peers, you might be interested in the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning. There is a call for proposals that closes February 15. While this year's conference theme is Teaching and Technology, they are looking for all sorts of work within the scholarship of teaching and learning arena. The conference in Mobile, Alabama will take place May 13 and 14.
DOES USING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
Although technology can be a great teaching tool, many professors do not think that it improves student learning. That is the feeling that emerged from a recent report by David R. Johnson who says, "There is little or no indication that innovative pedagogy motivates technological use in the classroom, which sort of flies in the face of how the use of information-based instructional technologies is usually presented." The report suggests, technology is more often used by professors for managerial reasons, such as to help with the demands of growing class sizes. Mr. Johnson said the findings show a gap between how universities market their use of technology—often framing technology as more sophisticated than prior approaches to instruction—and how the faculty actually uses it.
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