1. Three class activities for my class, including High-Stakes and Low-Stakes Writing, Active Learning, and Problem-Based Learning.
My first assignment could be a medium-stakes paper, or a thinking piece as described on page 203 of McKeachies book. One of the first areas that I will cover in my course will be about workplace culture. The assignment would require students to evaluate the culture of a place they have worked at and identify concepts from their reading. I think that this assignment would also be a good opportunity to put students in groups and have them read their responses. This assignment would be graded on how well they identify and discuss concepts from the reading and applying it to their personal experiences. According to the reading on page 204, this type of writing enhances student learning by challenging them to write about content while having the opportunity to take risks with ideas and creativity. The text also states that student learning is enhanced when they share their ideas in small groups.
My second assignment will be assigning students to conduct mock job interviews. I think the Learning Cell concept could be applied to this project. The Learning Cell concept is described on Page 216 as having students form learning pairs “in which students alternate asking and answering questions on commonly read material.” McKeachie continues by giving an example that students should read the same material and that each one is responsible for writing discussion questions that they ask each other. My goal for this approach would be similar. I would assign students to develop interview questions (instead of discussion questions) from their reading assignment as well as online research. I would have the pairs take turns interviewing each other. I think I could use low-stakes or medium stakes writing with this assignment as well. One way would be to have students write about their experience being interviewed and compare it to their experienced conducting the interview. By having them write about their experience, I think it would help them evaluate what they did well in each role and understand the different perspectives. I think the Learning Cell will enhance student learning because it will give them experience in asking questions as well as responding. This type of activity will allow students to discuss possible answers with each other and exchange ideas.
I have to admit that I am struggling on how to apply the Problem-Based Learning concept to my class. McKeachie defines this learning concept on page 221 stating that humans are naturally motivated to solve problems. McKeachie states that a problem must be posed to students and they will be motivated to learn. McKeachie discusses three forms of Problem-Based Learning: the guided method, the case study, and also simulation games. Because my class is a speaking course, I’m not sure how I could incorporate this style. Mckeachie writes on page 227 that “even if the traditional forms of Problem-Based Learning are not used, the general principle of solving a problem can still be valuable to students.” McKeachie continues by saying that if students are to learn how to think critically, they need practice. I agree with both of these statements. I think that as I starting reading my course’s textbook, I may find ways. However, at this point, I am stumped.
A third assignment I would use would be to have students turn in a monthly paper responding to their experiences with the Young Professionals Network. In the past, students have joined this group. I am not sure the extent of past involvement, but I would require students to attend one monthly activity. Students would be required to analyze their experience and identify opportunities they had to practice the concepts we have discussed in class. This assignment needs more development to the logistics (such as types of events, opportunities for interaction, etc.). I think this seems like a medium-stakes writing assignment. I would like to hopefully turn it into a high-stakes assignment.
2. Best Practices for learning activities:
To answer this question, I think I will summarize my ideas into three basic concepts that can be applied to all activities. If the students understand how the activity relates to course material, understand the directions, and see the teacher’s excitement, I think that an activity will be successful. I’m not saying every student will approach the activity with enthusiasm, but I think there will hopefully not be resistance.
First, I think it is important to understand the purpose of the activity. Mckeachie states on page 226 that when developing a game, the instructor needs to develop an objective and plan the activity to make sure the objective is accomplished. I think this is important because it helps the instructor explain to students why the activity is important. I think students want to participate in activities that obviously relate to course content. If it is not obvious, I think students see the activity as being a waste of time or “busy work.” I think all of the teaching demonstrations have had activities that obviously relate to the material that was presented.
My second best practice is to provide new opportunities to apply the information to the real world. Mckeachie explains on page 231 that many students do not have the ability to apply the new information to the real world. McKeachie continues by saying that it is important that students understand how to apply the knowledge. I agree with this because if students cannot apply the information or put it into practice, then the information really is not benefiting them. I like how the teaching demonstrations allow us to apply the knowledge right away. Examples include practicing CPR, identifying news leads, or discovering our personality traits.
My third best practice is enthusiasm. I think it is contagious. My examples come from our teaching demonstrations. When we are enthusiastic about our projects it shows and sets the tone for how others respond. If we feel that an activity is boring or it is one that we do not feel passionate about, our students will sense that. My opinion is that even if the activity is designed well and directions are clear, if the instructor has a negative feeling about an activity, the students will sense it.
Tips for teacher comments on writing assignments
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Learner Center Teaching
1. What is "learner-centered teaching" (LCT)?
The first approach in Learner Centered Teaching focused on the shifting power to students. By allowing the students to have decision making power, the focus is shifted to students (learner centered teaching) and not teacher focused. The goal is that students will make some decisions while the instructor retains the right to make major decisions (p.24-25). This author continues on page 25 that it is important to evaluate how mature the students are and if they can handle making learning decisions.
The second approach to a learner-centered approach comes from McKeachie’s book, Teaching Tips, about motivation. His theory, the motivation theory, is that motivation is either extrinsic or intrinsic. McKeachie, in Chapter 12, believes that students either are focused on performance and grades (extrinsic) or want to truly master the material (intrinsic). Mckeachie states, on page 142, that students who are intrinsically motivated are more active and usually experience a deeper level of learning. The main point Mckeachie makes about this approach is that students need to feel that they have some control and can make choices, need to understand why the material is important, and that we promote mastery and not performance.
The third approach to learner-centered teaching was in Chapter 13 of Mckeachie’s book. I think this approach is based on understanding the different ways culture influences how a student acts in class and how a teacher can respond to these cultural beliefs. Mckeachie suggests that students may struggle with stressors such as the Impostor Syndrome (when a student feels they don’t belong), the struggle of being true to one’s ethnic identity (acculturation anxiety), or being the first within a family to attend college and the student may have a hard adjusting to expectations of college.
Overall, I see a theme with all three approaches and that is adopting teaching practices that focus on motivation for the student. These teaching approaches may come in the form of allowing students to choose assignments, design course policy, or switch to mastery of material vs performance.
2. Which aspects of LCT could you incorporate in your own teaching?
Shifting of power could be incorporated by allowing students to have input or make decisions about some parts of the course. I like this idea and think I would be interested in implementing it once I gain more experience and confidence as a teacher.
Pages 33-34 in Learning Centered Teaching describes an example about a 300 level business course that allowed students to develop their own project, deadlines, penalties, and supporting assignments. I think this type of assignment would work in an upper level class where students could gain a better understanding about how to break projects into steps to accomplish a larger goal. I had an instructor structure a course in this format. It was a small class of 10 and she divided us into groups of five to work together for the semester. Ultimately, I learned more than just content related to the project, but also time management and multitasking. Based on my personal experience, this is one I would incorporate into my class. I would incorporate this project because I think this project definitely teaches business and personal skills as well as course material.
Attribution theory is another approach I would like to incorporate and is described by Mckeachie in Teaching Tips (p. 145). Mckeachie describes attribution theory by saying students want an explanation for unexpected issues and the explanation a student uses indicates future motivation and performance. Mckeachie gives an example on page 145 of a student saying, “I didn’t study hard enough.” According to McKeachie, this statement is an internal, controllable statement and means the student knows they can control their performance and do better. However, students may have a view that is based on uncontrollable factors. An example of this student view, which can be found on page 146, is, “I will never understand.” Mckeachie continues that students with this view are less motivated. The challenge then becomes how the teacher can help the student reframe their thinking about their performance. Using the attribution theory helps the student see how to take control of their learning.
I like this idea because helping a student change their perspective about their performance will be beneficial to them in my class as well as other college courses and future jobs. I think the attribution theory is an important way to help students realize that they are in control of their grades and environment.
3. Which aspects of LCT would be difficult (or, in your opinion, unwise) to incorporate in your own teaching?
Page 41 of Learner Centered Teaching talks about how different amounts of power motivate students. The author says some need more power than others to be motivated. The question was raised by the author: do you give students different amounts of power? I’m shocked by this thought and think the author is a little crazy. Giving students different amounts of power is a great way to encourage animosity among students as well as encouraging them to think you are unfair, discriminative, or possibly favoring a particular student.
Page 34 of Learner Centered Teaching talks about students developing course policy, which I would not incorporate. The main reasons is because I don't think students have the experience necessary to develop policies to govern a classroom. Maybe as I gain more experience my opinion will change. For now, I think having a policy developed at the beginning of class will help students understand expectations.
Lastly, Mcheachie discusses in chapter 13 cultural diversity. He references Imposter Syndrome, first-generation condition, and acculturation anxiety (p.161-163.). McKeachie suggests that talking with a student to diagnose the issue. I’m not sure how I feel about approaching these issues as an instructor. These are sensitive conversations to have with students. We are told to make sure we don’t single students out, offend them, or do anything that could be misinterpreted as sexual harassment. I can relate to the Imposter Syndrome having felt this as a student and a teacher. Don’t we all feel that at some point in our student/professional careers? What is our role as an instructor in helping students with these issues?
At this point, I would not attempt to incorporate any of these approaches. Experience may change my opinion over time, except when it comes to visiting a student at home. McKeachie described a situation about him visiting a student’s home (p.164-165). McKeachie doesn’t state when this situation occurred. I’m guessing it was not recent. The story is motivating, but I think this crosses boundaries. I would be freaked out if randomly one of my instructors came to my apartment door
The Journal for Student Centered Learning This site describes this journal (publication frequency, author requirements, etc). Unfortunately you cannot view the entire journal, but I find it interesting one has been developed based on this concept.
Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome
The first approach in Learner Centered Teaching focused on the shifting power to students. By allowing the students to have decision making power, the focus is shifted to students (learner centered teaching) and not teacher focused. The goal is that students will make some decisions while the instructor retains the right to make major decisions (p.24-25). This author continues on page 25 that it is important to evaluate how mature the students are and if they can handle making learning decisions.
The second approach to a learner-centered approach comes from McKeachie’s book, Teaching Tips, about motivation. His theory, the motivation theory, is that motivation is either extrinsic or intrinsic. McKeachie, in Chapter 12, believes that students either are focused on performance and grades (extrinsic) or want to truly master the material (intrinsic). Mckeachie states, on page 142, that students who are intrinsically motivated are more active and usually experience a deeper level of learning. The main point Mckeachie makes about this approach is that students need to feel that they have some control and can make choices, need to understand why the material is important, and that we promote mastery and not performance.
The third approach to learner-centered teaching was in Chapter 13 of Mckeachie’s book. I think this approach is based on understanding the different ways culture influences how a student acts in class and how a teacher can respond to these cultural beliefs. Mckeachie suggests that students may struggle with stressors such as the Impostor Syndrome (when a student feels they don’t belong), the struggle of being true to one’s ethnic identity (acculturation anxiety), or being the first within a family to attend college and the student may have a hard adjusting to expectations of college.
Overall, I see a theme with all three approaches and that is adopting teaching practices that focus on motivation for the student. These teaching approaches may come in the form of allowing students to choose assignments, design course policy, or switch to mastery of material vs performance.
2. Which aspects of LCT could you incorporate in your own teaching?
Shifting of power could be incorporated by allowing students to have input or make decisions about some parts of the course. I like this idea and think I would be interested in implementing it once I gain more experience and confidence as a teacher.
Pages 33-34 in Learning Centered Teaching describes an example about a 300 level business course that allowed students to develop their own project, deadlines, penalties, and supporting assignments. I think this type of assignment would work in an upper level class where students could gain a better understanding about how to break projects into steps to accomplish a larger goal. I had an instructor structure a course in this format. It was a small class of 10 and she divided us into groups of five to work together for the semester. Ultimately, I learned more than just content related to the project, but also time management and multitasking. Based on my personal experience, this is one I would incorporate into my class. I would incorporate this project because I think this project definitely teaches business and personal skills as well as course material.
Attribution theory is another approach I would like to incorporate and is described by Mckeachie in Teaching Tips (p. 145). Mckeachie describes attribution theory by saying students want an explanation for unexpected issues and the explanation a student uses indicates future motivation and performance. Mckeachie gives an example on page 145 of a student saying, “I didn’t study hard enough.” According to McKeachie, this statement is an internal, controllable statement and means the student knows they can control their performance and do better. However, students may have a view that is based on uncontrollable factors. An example of this student view, which can be found on page 146, is, “I will never understand.” Mckeachie continues that students with this view are less motivated. The challenge then becomes how the teacher can help the student reframe their thinking about their performance. Using the attribution theory helps the student see how to take control of their learning.
I like this idea because helping a student change their perspective about their performance will be beneficial to them in my class as well as other college courses and future jobs. I think the attribution theory is an important way to help students realize that they are in control of their grades and environment.
3. Which aspects of LCT would be difficult (or, in your opinion, unwise) to incorporate in your own teaching?
Page 41 of Learner Centered Teaching talks about how different amounts of power motivate students. The author says some need more power than others to be motivated. The question was raised by the author: do you give students different amounts of power? I’m shocked by this thought and think the author is a little crazy. Giving students different amounts of power is a great way to encourage animosity among students as well as encouraging them to think you are unfair, discriminative, or possibly favoring a particular student.
Page 34 of Learner Centered Teaching talks about students developing course policy, which I would not incorporate. The main reasons is because I don't think students have the experience necessary to develop policies to govern a classroom. Maybe as I gain more experience my opinion will change. For now, I think having a policy developed at the beginning of class will help students understand expectations.
Lastly, Mcheachie discusses in chapter 13 cultural diversity. He references Imposter Syndrome, first-generation condition, and acculturation anxiety (p.161-163.). McKeachie suggests that talking with a student to diagnose the issue. I’m not sure how I feel about approaching these issues as an instructor. These are sensitive conversations to have with students. We are told to make sure we don’t single students out, offend them, or do anything that could be misinterpreted as sexual harassment. I can relate to the Imposter Syndrome having felt this as a student and a teacher. Don’t we all feel that at some point in our student/professional careers? What is our role as an instructor in helping students with these issues?
At this point, I would not attempt to incorporate any of these approaches. Experience may change my opinion over time, except when it comes to visiting a student at home. McKeachie described a situation about him visiting a student’s home (p.164-165). McKeachie doesn’t state when this situation occurred. I’m guessing it was not recent. The story is motivating, but I think this crosses boundaries. I would be freaked out if randomly one of my instructors came to my apartment door
The Journal for Student Centered Learning This site describes this journal (publication frequency, author requirements, etc). Unfortunately you cannot view the entire journal, but I find it interesting one has been developed based on this concept.
Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome
Thursday, October 8, 2009
In the nick of time...
Here we are in the nick of time for this week’s blog. Twenty minutes may seem like a long time for some. As a runner, I use a 20 minute mark as the beginning of my countdown to the finish the same way some would use a 30 second countdown.
This week’s blog will discuss excuses, class attendance, and student communication.
I’m heading off the starting line this week with student excuses.
“My dog died last week that is why I haven’t been in class.” This was my first excuse from one of my student’s. I was skeptical of this one especially since it came a week later. As a dog owner, I probably would have been sympathetic had an email come a little sooner. I confirmed my hunch about this excuse when I asked about the dog’s breed and he didn’t know. What happened to the simple excuses like “I was sick”?
McKeachie’s section on student excuses cited research indicating that the use of fraudulent excuses was almost equal to legitimate excuses. McKeachie suggests that excuses are usually because students need more time and recommends building into the course smaller due dates for larger projects. I think having smaller deadlines is a good idea because it helps students with time management and creates steps to complete a project. I think creating steps to a project can be implemented in the communication field, specifically in public speaking, by requiring students to have interviews done 10 days prior to the due date of the speech. Another way would be to break the speech into steps. An example would be to have students hand in their thesis statements, then their main points, and finally their reference pages. This would help students write sections of their speech over several class periods instead of the night before.
However, I think there are more reasons students use excuses to miss class than simply needing more time. I think excuses are used in an attempt to legitimize their reason for missing class.
Second point for the day, or mile 13.1, is class attendance.
First Day to Final Grade says instructors should spell out attendance policies and state how many absences are acceptable. The text continues by saying that students miss class because they either don’t care or they are having personal problems. The text gives several ways to handle the situation if the student is having a personal issue. The key part of this is diagnosing the reason for missing class correctly. I think this information is useful because the suggestions on how to diagnose the problem and communicate with the student.
The text suggests giving students three absences from the class. I did not use this tactic this semester and think I may try it next semester. This information is useful to me because I struggle with deciding what is an excusable reason to miss class is. I understand that life doesn’t always go as planned or that there may simply be events that are important to students. My struggle on attendance comes from being a student myself and recognizing that being a student is not the only aspect of my life. However, I do think that the student role should be a top priority. I think having excusable attendance policy, like three classes, would be beneficial to students in all majors because it acknowledges that things may come up throughout the semester. It would also be helpful to me as an instructor because it would remove the complication of deciphering excuses.
Mile 26 brings me to the final point today and that is interacting and emailing students. First Day to Final Grade gives suggestions about how to handle email communication with students and interactions with students when they are emotional.
I think the information is important because when dealing with both email and emotions, it is important to make sure that we do not fuel a situation. I believe that people have a tendency to say things in email that they would not in person and that email messages may be misinterpreted. I think it is important to keep copies of all communication with students, especially if the student seems to have issues with the class.
I found the examples of how to handle communication with emotionally charged students helpful. The examples were clear about how to redirect the student’s focus back to the issue of mastering the material.
Crossing the finish line of today’s blog, I think that excuses used by students are inter-related to class attendance. Needing more time for assignments, not caring about the class or having personal problems were listed as the main reasons for students using excuses to miss class. The final point, for today is being aware of the communication that occurs between students both in email and in person. When emailing it is important to make sure that the message is clear and not to informal. And if a student is emotional, try to redirect their focus back to their comprehension of the material.
Tops excuses for missing class
This week’s blog will discuss excuses, class attendance, and student communication.
I’m heading off the starting line this week with student excuses.
“My dog died last week that is why I haven’t been in class.” This was my first excuse from one of my student’s. I was skeptical of this one especially since it came a week later. As a dog owner, I probably would have been sympathetic had an email come a little sooner. I confirmed my hunch about this excuse when I asked about the dog’s breed and he didn’t know. What happened to the simple excuses like “I was sick”?
McKeachie’s section on student excuses cited research indicating that the use of fraudulent excuses was almost equal to legitimate excuses. McKeachie suggests that excuses are usually because students need more time and recommends building into the course smaller due dates for larger projects. I think having smaller deadlines is a good idea because it helps students with time management and creates steps to complete a project. I think creating steps to a project can be implemented in the communication field, specifically in public speaking, by requiring students to have interviews done 10 days prior to the due date of the speech. Another way would be to break the speech into steps. An example would be to have students hand in their thesis statements, then their main points, and finally their reference pages. This would help students write sections of their speech over several class periods instead of the night before.
However, I think there are more reasons students use excuses to miss class than simply needing more time. I think excuses are used in an attempt to legitimize their reason for missing class.
Second point for the day, or mile 13.1, is class attendance.
First Day to Final Grade says instructors should spell out attendance policies and state how many absences are acceptable. The text continues by saying that students miss class because they either don’t care or they are having personal problems. The text gives several ways to handle the situation if the student is having a personal issue. The key part of this is diagnosing the reason for missing class correctly. I think this information is useful because the suggestions on how to diagnose the problem and communicate with the student.
The text suggests giving students three absences from the class. I did not use this tactic this semester and think I may try it next semester. This information is useful to me because I struggle with deciding what is an excusable reason to miss class is. I understand that life doesn’t always go as planned or that there may simply be events that are important to students. My struggle on attendance comes from being a student myself and recognizing that being a student is not the only aspect of my life. However, I do think that the student role should be a top priority. I think having excusable attendance policy, like three classes, would be beneficial to students in all majors because it acknowledges that things may come up throughout the semester. It would also be helpful to me as an instructor because it would remove the complication of deciphering excuses.
Mile 26 brings me to the final point today and that is interacting and emailing students. First Day to Final Grade gives suggestions about how to handle email communication with students and interactions with students when they are emotional.
I think the information is important because when dealing with both email and emotions, it is important to make sure that we do not fuel a situation. I believe that people have a tendency to say things in email that they would not in person and that email messages may be misinterpreted. I think it is important to keep copies of all communication with students, especially if the student seems to have issues with the class.
I found the examples of how to handle communication with emotionally charged students helpful. The examples were clear about how to redirect the student’s focus back to the issue of mastering the material.
Crossing the finish line of today’s blog, I think that excuses used by students are inter-related to class attendance. Needing more time for assignments, not caring about the class or having personal problems were listed as the main reasons for students using excuses to miss class. The final point, for today is being aware of the communication that occurs between students both in email and in person. When emailing it is important to make sure that the message is clear and not to informal. And if a student is emotional, try to redirect their focus back to their comprehension of the material.
Tops excuses for missing class
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The million dollar question
Here is the million dollar question and it has taken only 17 years for me to figure out: how do I learn? Well, let me see – I’m most effective when I read and can discuss with examples, I learn well from taking notes. Having to use flashcards is extremely painful! I also don’t do so well by simply talking about concepts. So where does this leave me? Well this week I have defined my learning style!
The week’s reading centered a lot on assessment and how we can understand student learning. A couple ideas that I will touch on include the learner-centered approach to teaching, teaching students to do self-evaluations, and lastly, the one I will mostly focus on, understanding that students learn differently based off of which of the five senses are activated. This last point, understanding how students learn by senses, stood out to me because I want to make sure that I provide a mix of approaches for my students. And, also because I realized I wasn’t 100 percent sure of my style. Understanding my style of learning will help me realize that I may be more prone to teach to my style and neglect the others.
As I was reading in What the best college teachers do, I realized I didn’t necessarily know where I fell into the Sensory Stimulation Theory. The focus from this section was to get to know and understand how your students learn. The book mentioned this theory and my interest was piqued. My first link, from Oxford Brooks University, provided a concise definition of the theory. The best way to summarize it is that effective learning occurs when one of the senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste) are stimulated, and that each person has a predominate sense that they learn best when using. Obviously, most learning will not include the senses of taste or smell unless the student is in a culinary profession or something where these sense are activated.
The second link for this week is from the University of South Dakota (USD) and it is a personal assessment of learning styles and a description of how student’s in each sensory style typically function in a classroom. I think this information is useful to understand why students do what they do in class. I’m not saying it is all encompassing to why some fidget or others want diagrams or visuals, but a start anyway. I have included a link from Three Rivers Community College and it provides suggestions on how to reach students based on the different learning styles. I think these two links work well together because it helps me understand not only how to reach them, but also how they may act in class. This is important I think to a lot of fields, not just communication. I like this idea because it helps me evaluate activities and make sure that I’m providing enough approaches to the material and attempt to reach all learning styles.
To answer the 17 year question – I am a visual learner and I think agree with almost everything that USD says about visual learners. I think it is worth admitting that half of the list I didn’t realize I did.
Point two for the week is the learner-centered approach to teaching and came from, What the best college teachers do. The summary of this approach is to focus on evaluating how the student is learning and not their performance on a particular test or assignment. This philosophy is a way to communicate with students and also examine how students are changing. This philosophy believes that learning is developmental and people undergo changes as they learn. This philosophy focuses on answering the question: what kind of intellectual and personal development do I want my students to enjoy in class? I find this information useful because it reminds me that this is a developmental process. I think it is important to remember that as we learn we change as well. Granted some of the changes we experience as students come from maturing, but a lot come from how our thought processes develop. I like that the focus is on learning and not performance. I like that it describes how we can encourage students to go the extra step, or give a little extra time to those who are tackling more than other class members. I think this encourages students who want to take the assignment to the next level to do so. Recently, I had an instructor offer me extra time for a project I was working on and immediately said I didn’t need it. But I truly did. My impression was that the instructor thought I wasn’t capable of finishing the assignment. I never thought that maybe it was a way to help me successfully meet my goals and continue with my learning. This philosophy and my experience will hopefully help me recognize students who are challenging themselves and allow me to communicate to them that the extra time is because of the complexity of their project and not a reflection of their capabilities. (Not sure if this truly was the route my instructor was going, but could be one explanation.)
My final point for the week that I would like to mention is based on teaching students to do self-assessments. To summarize the concept from our reading, it suggests having students do peer evaluations of each other’s work. The concept is that students will be able to identify and understand the instructor’s expectations. I find this information useful because once students recognize what you expect, they are able to make modifications to how they approach assignments. I have my students do peer evaluations on speeches, and recently had them do evaluations on outlines. I asked students to write down the critiques they received and who they were from. I reviewed the outlines and comments myself and found I agreed with almost all of the comments. I was surprised by the thoroughness and depth of the comments. I would like to implement self-evaluations in my classroom, but I am not sure how I can teach students how to critique themselves. I know that they understand the process of evaluating, but I’m not sure how to approach teaching them how to apply it to a self-evaluation. I think this concept is important, again not just to communication, but to all students and professionals. Having the ability to step back from our work and examine how it can be improved is a helpful quality as a student and a professional. Self evaluation is a way to continually challenging ourselves to become better; to strive for the next level.
My main take-away points from this week’s blog are: understanding the different student learning styles and how my own may influence my teaching style, understanding learner-centered teaching and how we can foster development in our students and finally, how the idea of self-evaluations to improve.
To conclude, my self-evaluation for this week is that I enjoy writing with colorful, vivid language and not a straightforward approach. This was probably the hardest entry for me to write and may be explained by the fact I’m a visual learner. Let's hope my creative side comes back from its hiatus!
Brooks Oxford University
Explanation of sensory learning:
Three Community College
tips for understanding the different styles
University of South Dakota
Assessment tools
information about styles
The week’s reading centered a lot on assessment and how we can understand student learning. A couple ideas that I will touch on include the learner-centered approach to teaching, teaching students to do self-evaluations, and lastly, the one I will mostly focus on, understanding that students learn differently based off of which of the five senses are activated. This last point, understanding how students learn by senses, stood out to me because I want to make sure that I provide a mix of approaches for my students. And, also because I realized I wasn’t 100 percent sure of my style. Understanding my style of learning will help me realize that I may be more prone to teach to my style and neglect the others.
As I was reading in What the best college teachers do, I realized I didn’t necessarily know where I fell into the Sensory Stimulation Theory. The focus from this section was to get to know and understand how your students learn. The book mentioned this theory and my interest was piqued. My first link, from Oxford Brooks University, provided a concise definition of the theory. The best way to summarize it is that effective learning occurs when one of the senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste) are stimulated, and that each person has a predominate sense that they learn best when using. Obviously, most learning will not include the senses of taste or smell unless the student is in a culinary profession or something where these sense are activated.
The second link for this week is from the University of South Dakota (USD) and it is a personal assessment of learning styles and a description of how student’s in each sensory style typically function in a classroom. I think this information is useful to understand why students do what they do in class. I’m not saying it is all encompassing to why some fidget or others want diagrams or visuals, but a start anyway. I have included a link from Three Rivers Community College and it provides suggestions on how to reach students based on the different learning styles. I think these two links work well together because it helps me understand not only how to reach them, but also how they may act in class. This is important I think to a lot of fields, not just communication. I like this idea because it helps me evaluate activities and make sure that I’m providing enough approaches to the material and attempt to reach all learning styles.
To answer the 17 year question – I am a visual learner and I think agree with almost everything that USD says about visual learners. I think it is worth admitting that half of the list I didn’t realize I did.
Point two for the week is the learner-centered approach to teaching and came from, What the best college teachers do. The summary of this approach is to focus on evaluating how the student is learning and not their performance on a particular test or assignment. This philosophy is a way to communicate with students and also examine how students are changing. This philosophy believes that learning is developmental and people undergo changes as they learn. This philosophy focuses on answering the question: what kind of intellectual and personal development do I want my students to enjoy in class? I find this information useful because it reminds me that this is a developmental process. I think it is important to remember that as we learn we change as well. Granted some of the changes we experience as students come from maturing, but a lot come from how our thought processes develop. I like that the focus is on learning and not performance. I like that it describes how we can encourage students to go the extra step, or give a little extra time to those who are tackling more than other class members. I think this encourages students who want to take the assignment to the next level to do so. Recently, I had an instructor offer me extra time for a project I was working on and immediately said I didn’t need it. But I truly did. My impression was that the instructor thought I wasn’t capable of finishing the assignment. I never thought that maybe it was a way to help me successfully meet my goals and continue with my learning. This philosophy and my experience will hopefully help me recognize students who are challenging themselves and allow me to communicate to them that the extra time is because of the complexity of their project and not a reflection of their capabilities. (Not sure if this truly was the route my instructor was going, but could be one explanation.)
My final point for the week that I would like to mention is based on teaching students to do self-assessments. To summarize the concept from our reading, it suggests having students do peer evaluations of each other’s work. The concept is that students will be able to identify and understand the instructor’s expectations. I find this information useful because once students recognize what you expect, they are able to make modifications to how they approach assignments. I have my students do peer evaluations on speeches, and recently had them do evaluations on outlines. I asked students to write down the critiques they received and who they were from. I reviewed the outlines and comments myself and found I agreed with almost all of the comments. I was surprised by the thoroughness and depth of the comments. I would like to implement self-evaluations in my classroom, but I am not sure how I can teach students how to critique themselves. I know that they understand the process of evaluating, but I’m not sure how to approach teaching them how to apply it to a self-evaluation. I think this concept is important, again not just to communication, but to all students and professionals. Having the ability to step back from our work and examine how it can be improved is a helpful quality as a student and a professional. Self evaluation is a way to continually challenging ourselves to become better; to strive for the next level.
My main take-away points from this week’s blog are: understanding the different student learning styles and how my own may influence my teaching style, understanding learner-centered teaching and how we can foster development in our students and finally, how the idea of self-evaluations to improve.
To conclude, my self-evaluation for this week is that I enjoy writing with colorful, vivid language and not a straightforward approach. This was probably the hardest entry for me to write and may be explained by the fact I’m a visual learner. Let's hope my creative side comes back from its hiatus!
Brooks Oxford University
Explanation of sensory learning:
Three Community College
tips for understanding the different styles
University of South Dakota
Assessment tools
information about styles
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Running with the squirrels
Yes, originally it was the Running of the Bulls… now it is squirrels, or homework and students. This last week I know I wasn’t running from a physical animal, but I think I could empathize with those who have. Metaphorically, this clip has a lot to say about a graduate student trying to stay ahead of a stampeding amount of homework or a teaching assistant trying not to be run over by students.
To stay with the theme of running with the squirrels, I mean no disrespect to my students or my student status. The three most important concepts to me this week were: group grading, grading strategy, and cheating.
As the reading stated earlier, we need to command authority and make sure to develop respect from “the squirrels”. Part of our role is administering grades for the quality of student work. The first concept from the reading I will summarize is the idea of group grading. This concept suggests looking at individual performance when assessing grades for group work. I support this grading philosophy because of past experiences as a student. It never failed that I was in a group where at least one person didn’t do their share of work, resulting in someone, or myself, finishing the assignment. I never felt it was right for the slacker to receive the grade equivalent of the others. I know one argument against this approach is that in the real world your boss will not care who does what as long as it is done. I disagree. My work experience has shown me that they too see who completes their tasks and if it is on time. Eventually, this lack of, or additional, motivation is noted in a performance evaluation and/or a pay raise.
Individual grading will be useful when my students have to do debate speeches. I hope that the assignment will lend itself to doing individual evaluations. If not, my goal will be to try to develop a way for them to work in groups. As a communication student, a lot of my undergrad projects were group based. I also see group work coming into play now as I move towards being a part of a research team. Individual grading allows the instructor to assign grades that are equivalent of the work a student does. In research projects, these grades come in the form of the level of recognition as a contributor to an article or research project.
Next, as teachers we need to remember that students are often very focused on grades and we shouldn’t forget that this grade fixation may make it difficult to “manage squirrels”. Handling graded material can create a lot of stress for both the student and teacher. I recently experienced several of my squirrels reacting negatively to their grades. This section of First Day to Final Grade can be summarized by saying that students are emotionally linked to their grades. Identifying this emotional link helps us understand if our classroom experiences a climate change, or change in attitudes and participation, after the first assignment is returned. The text also suggests doing a quick average of how the class performed so students can gauge where they are at. And a recommendation is made to hand back material at the end of the period and save time to discuss it. This is timely for me because I recently handed back their first speeches and have seen an attitude change in my classes. I feel like we may be coming out of it, but the class has another speech starting next week. It is helpful to know that handing back work at the end of the period is a more efficient strategy. I plan to use this approach in the future, especially because I recently did it at the beginning and that didn’t go well for any of us!
I think the class average is useful for students to see where they are in comparison to others. If they are feeling poorly about the grade, the statistics may help them realize where they are at when compared to their classmates.
I believe that the approach to handling graded material can be applied to any field. Specifically in the communication field, one way to apply handling material would be to explain to students how they can improve their projects for the future.
My final point from this week’s reading is “you have to think like one”. How do you catch a cheater? You have to think like one. Some of the suggestions about how students cheat were surprising to me. I would have never thought of them. McKeachie gives examples like passing an eraser, writing on clothes, or calculators. (McKeachie does reference cassette recorders which I found comical.) The book talked about hiring people via the internet to write papers that contained enough mistakes so it looked like their own work. I know people do it, but does it really work. People innately have a writing style that allows their personality along with grammar usage habits to come out. The cheating information is useful to me because it caused me to stop and think about how students could cheat in public speaking. I had only thought about plagiarism from sources, not about them purchasing their speeches. I’m not yet sure how I could approach discouraging cheating in public speaking. I think I would be able to recognize it because I know who understands speech structure and who does not. I think I would question them if they suddenly show up with a perfectly organized speech.
In the communication field I think plagiarism or cheating would be like committing career suicide. Our field is founded on writing and creating messages, and a student who cannot complete the assignments should re-evaluate their career choice. Having information about how students cheat allows instructors to know how to evaluate assignments for signs of cheating. I’m curious to know if instructors do test runs with the groups that offer papers online to understand how the process works. I think it would help us “think like one.”
Wrapping up this week’s blog, the three main points are a little more philosophical than the other weeks. None the less, they are “the legs I will use to run with the squirrels” both in the student and teacher role.
additional tips for grading:
Group Grading Process Tips
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Farris Beuller's Day Off
Week 4
Farris Beuller's Day Off
Each week I struggle with my first public speaking section. I have tried so many different tactics: video examples, group activities, lecture, discussion questions, adding in goals for the day, but to no avail. I even chalked it up to this is my first semester of teaching and it may simply take a while. But my second section responds to my discussion questions? They talk in class. Their grades are higher. Hmm…well I have discovered my problem. Section one is my group of non-readers.
Monday I went to class and started the discussion/lecture I prepared Sunday afternoon and was met with silence and blank stares. Not everyone is inactive. I have about four or five that participate. Here is a quick example of similar looks:
I know with confidence I have more enthusiasm then the teacher in this video clip. After awhile I was frustrated with the lack of response and announced we were having a quiz the next class, which was Wednesday. That seemed to perk everyone up.
I honestly don’t know if that was an effective thing to do. After the quiz Wednesday I asked who had read their assignment for Monday and not one hand. Then I asked who had read the chapter for the current day’s lesson and only two hands. There were two shocking realities that day. First, my second class had the exact opposite responses – all but four had read. But then they always participate and respond. Shocking reality number two: the students from section one were honest. I think I was surprised that they would be so up front about not reading. I guess it was obvious early on, but I wanted to evaluate my role in the equation.
After this week’s reading I feel armed with activities to make sure section one becomes a lot more active.
First, an update from last week’s implementations.
1. I wanted to state the specific points we would cover and increase organization in the lecture. I used a power point for the first time and section one was more engaged. I’m not sure if the power point was the livening factor or if they were still jittery from the quiz! I’ll know more next week when I use the visual again.
2. Last Friday, I indicated what our discussion questions would be on Monday. I told them what they needed to think about over the weekend. I think this helped them to some extent. However, group one’s discussion fell flat quickly when the points related to the reading were brought up. Implementing this means I have to be a lot more organized about lesson plans and discussion.
3. Counterpoints. I didn’t know how I would implement this. I did have a student try to argue that a graduation speech is o.k. to practice expressing your personal views on birth control. I asked the class if anyone agreed. No one did and it made me wonder if I should have asked for a counterpoint to her comment. I guess she felt comfortable enough with her opinion that she voiced it in class; she hopefully is o.k. with me asking for a counter view.
4. I added how the concepts covered related to the course objectives and no one really cared. This didn’t surprise me. It did help remind me of the point of the lesson.
Going back to my new arsenal of activities to make sure students read. These suggestions were very timely for me. I also really like the information about how to build summaries into the lectures.
I have never thought about the structure of my lecture. I noticed that a lecture is constructed in the same format a speech is: intro, body with three to four main points, and a conclusion. I glanced at my lecture notes and they are in a form similar to this, but I discovered that I often had a lot of main points.
One concept I struggled with, or felt was not explained well, was the teaching theories, specifically the Socratic Method. And I was lost when the author discussed Conclusion Orientated lecture structure. I did some searching online about but didn’t a lot of helpful information.
I did have the opportunity to implement a few concepts on Wednesday from week 4 material.
1. The reading talked about why some students are passive in class. One reason may be fear of answering wrong. I tried to make sure my questions were phrased better and not asking for a right or wrong answer. I asked the students to discuss how we could develop definitions for terms in our own language. I indicated I wasn’t looking for something in the book. I think this helped because I noticed people speaking more freely. I liked the result of this idea.
2. The reading suggested posing a question and pairing people together to discuss their answer prior to sharing with the class. A shy student from section one offered his answer for the first time. Again, I liked the outcome this activity had in the class
Ideas I want to implement:
1. I’m excited to use the strategies about how to get students to read. I’m not sure which ones I will use yet. I may even use them all and evaluate which tactic has the best results.
2. Periodic summaries – I really like this idea. It is a way to wrap up the information for a main point before transitioning into something else.
3. I’m going to take a new approach to how I prepare my lecture notes and think of it more as speech construction than notes about class material.
4. I want to find a creative way to start class, either with an activity or a pre-lecture question. I also think it would be a good idea for me to move the class activity to the middle instead of the end of class. It may help give them an attention jolt.
Helpful links:
Socratic Method Information
Getting students to read the text tips
Farris Beuller's Day Off
Each week I struggle with my first public speaking section. I have tried so many different tactics: video examples, group activities, lecture, discussion questions, adding in goals for the day, but to no avail. I even chalked it up to this is my first semester of teaching and it may simply take a while. But my second section responds to my discussion questions? They talk in class. Their grades are higher. Hmm…well I have discovered my problem. Section one is my group of non-readers.
Monday I went to class and started the discussion/lecture I prepared Sunday afternoon and was met with silence and blank stares. Not everyone is inactive. I have about four or five that participate. Here is a quick example of similar looks:
I know with confidence I have more enthusiasm then the teacher in this video clip. After awhile I was frustrated with the lack of response and announced we were having a quiz the next class, which was Wednesday. That seemed to perk everyone up.
I honestly don’t know if that was an effective thing to do. After the quiz Wednesday I asked who had read their assignment for Monday and not one hand. Then I asked who had read the chapter for the current day’s lesson and only two hands. There were two shocking realities that day. First, my second class had the exact opposite responses – all but four had read. But then they always participate and respond. Shocking reality number two: the students from section one were honest. I think I was surprised that they would be so up front about not reading. I guess it was obvious early on, but I wanted to evaluate my role in the equation.
After this week’s reading I feel armed with activities to make sure section one becomes a lot more active.
First, an update from last week’s implementations.
1. I wanted to state the specific points we would cover and increase organization in the lecture. I used a power point for the first time and section one was more engaged. I’m not sure if the power point was the livening factor or if they were still jittery from the quiz! I’ll know more next week when I use the visual again.
2. Last Friday, I indicated what our discussion questions would be on Monday. I told them what they needed to think about over the weekend. I think this helped them to some extent. However, group one’s discussion fell flat quickly when the points related to the reading were brought up. Implementing this means I have to be a lot more organized about lesson plans and discussion.
3. Counterpoints. I didn’t know how I would implement this. I did have a student try to argue that a graduation speech is o.k. to practice expressing your personal views on birth control. I asked the class if anyone agreed. No one did and it made me wonder if I should have asked for a counterpoint to her comment. I guess she felt comfortable enough with her opinion that she voiced it in class; she hopefully is o.k. with me asking for a counter view.
4. I added how the concepts covered related to the course objectives and no one really cared. This didn’t surprise me. It did help remind me of the point of the lesson.
Going back to my new arsenal of activities to make sure students read. These suggestions were very timely for me. I also really like the information about how to build summaries into the lectures.
I have never thought about the structure of my lecture. I noticed that a lecture is constructed in the same format a speech is: intro, body with three to four main points, and a conclusion. I glanced at my lecture notes and they are in a form similar to this, but I discovered that I often had a lot of main points.
One concept I struggled with, or felt was not explained well, was the teaching theories, specifically the Socratic Method. And I was lost when the author discussed Conclusion Orientated lecture structure. I did some searching online about but didn’t a lot of helpful information.
I did have the opportunity to implement a few concepts on Wednesday from week 4 material.
1. The reading talked about why some students are passive in class. One reason may be fear of answering wrong. I tried to make sure my questions were phrased better and not asking for a right or wrong answer. I asked the students to discuss how we could develop definitions for terms in our own language. I indicated I wasn’t looking for something in the book. I think this helped because I noticed people speaking more freely. I liked the result of this idea.
2. The reading suggested posing a question and pairing people together to discuss their answer prior to sharing with the class. A shy student from section one offered his answer for the first time. Again, I liked the outcome this activity had in the class
Ideas I want to implement:
1. I’m excited to use the strategies about how to get students to read. I’m not sure which ones I will use yet. I may even use them all and evaluate which tactic has the best results.
2. Periodic summaries – I really like this idea. It is a way to wrap up the information for a main point before transitioning into something else.
3. I’m going to take a new approach to how I prepare my lecture notes and think of it more as speech construction than notes about class material.
4. I want to find a creative way to start class, either with an activity or a pre-lecture question. I also think it would be a good idea for me to move the class activity to the middle instead of the end of class. It may help give them an attention jolt.
Helpful links:
Socratic Method Information
Getting students to read the text tips
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Week 3 - Engaging Students
This past week I saw an improvement in my classes and how I felt after teaching. I had three ideas I implemented: notes to help me remember student names, developing a goal for the day, and using problem-posting to gain feedback from students.
First, I created a chart and made notes about each student next to their name. The chart helped me call on them by name during class, and I am surprised at how quickly I was able to learn their names. There are only a few students’ names that I still struggle with.
Having a goal for each class helped me be more focused, develop better discussion questions and gauge if they were grasping the concepts. I concentrated on the five components (cannons) of a speech for one period and by the end of the class, I think almost all students had the concept.
The third item I implemented was the problem-posting tool. In both classes I utilized a brief lecture, small group activity, and a speech analysis of Regean's Challenger speech followed by class discussion. Overall, the classes went really well. I asked them to post what they liked best about that class session and what they learned. I received a combination of the three, but learned that 75 percent like video analysis followed by discussion. I will continue to use the concept of problem-posting in the future. I’m glad I was able to discover something that engages my 1:00 p.m. class. I take comfort knowing they are active and will not be implementing any of these ideas, especially number five. What to do during a boring class
This week’s reading is full of ideas and suggestions I want to implement. This week the students are giving their first speech, which gives me time to write next week’s lesson plans and make a game plan for implementing the new ideas.
The most useful part of the reading was the examples given after each idea or concept. These examples showed me how I should and should not word my thoughts when speaking to my class. As I was reading, I knew instantly that I had done several of the “don’t” examples.
The ideas that I want to implement into week four are:
1. I will continue to think about my goal for each class session and list the specific points we will be covering. I will also try to be better about my lecture format so students may be more organized when taking notes. I will try to do this by either using power point or saying the number of items in each concept. I will also continue to use a variety of methods and activities for class to reach all students.
2. I will think about what role I should play in class discussion, decide if I want them to prepare to discuss in the next class and inform them of the expectation for the next session. I think this will help the students be better prepared to share when they come to class.
3. I will use pair activities prior to class discussion so they can share answers/thoughts with each other before speaking in front of the class. I’m hoping this will help them feel more comfortable and encourage them to express their ideas.
4. I really like the idea of asking students to think about counterpoints for their thought. I’m not sure if this speaking course lends itself to implementing, but I plan to look for a way.
5. I will try to state how activities and assignments relate and accomplish the course goals to help the students understand my rational for the assignment.
The text suggested thinking and writing out discussion questions prior to class and having a conclusion section. I currently do both of these and find that they work well. I really like the conclusion part because it is one last opportunity for me to restate the class sessions concepts.
The brief section on class control and handling situations when students attempt to leave class early gave me confidence in how I have handled these situations in my 2:00 section. It helped me feel more confident in my role to ask them to remain seated.
On a side note, I think everyone will agree that coffee is a staple while in school!
First, I created a chart and made notes about each student next to their name. The chart helped me call on them by name during class, and I am surprised at how quickly I was able to learn their names. There are only a few students’ names that I still struggle with.
Having a goal for each class helped me be more focused, develop better discussion questions and gauge if they were grasping the concepts. I concentrated on the five components (cannons) of a speech for one period and by the end of the class, I think almost all students had the concept.
The third item I implemented was the problem-posting tool. In both classes I utilized a brief lecture, small group activity, and a speech analysis of Regean's Challenger speech followed by class discussion. Overall, the classes went really well. I asked them to post what they liked best about that class session and what they learned. I received a combination of the three, but learned that 75 percent like video analysis followed by discussion. I will continue to use the concept of problem-posting in the future. I’m glad I was able to discover something that engages my 1:00 p.m. class. I take comfort knowing they are active and will not be implementing any of these ideas, especially number five. What to do during a boring class
This week’s reading is full of ideas and suggestions I want to implement. This week the students are giving their first speech, which gives me time to write next week’s lesson plans and make a game plan for implementing the new ideas.
The most useful part of the reading was the examples given after each idea or concept. These examples showed me how I should and should not word my thoughts when speaking to my class. As I was reading, I knew instantly that I had done several of the “don’t” examples.
The ideas that I want to implement into week four are:
1. I will continue to think about my goal for each class session and list the specific points we will be covering. I will also try to be better about my lecture format so students may be more organized when taking notes. I will try to do this by either using power point or saying the number of items in each concept. I will also continue to use a variety of methods and activities for class to reach all students.
2. I will think about what role I should play in class discussion, decide if I want them to prepare to discuss in the next class and inform them of the expectation for the next session. I think this will help the students be better prepared to share when they come to class.
3. I will use pair activities prior to class discussion so they can share answers/thoughts with each other before speaking in front of the class. I’m hoping this will help them feel more comfortable and encourage them to express their ideas.
4. I really like the idea of asking students to think about counterpoints for their thought. I’m not sure if this speaking course lends itself to implementing, but I plan to look for a way.
5. I will try to state how activities and assignments relate and accomplish the course goals to help the students understand my rational for the assignment.
The text suggested thinking and writing out discussion questions prior to class and having a conclusion section. I currently do both of these and find that they work well. I really like the conclusion part because it is one last opportunity for me to restate the class sessions concepts.
The brief section on class control and handling situations when students attempt to leave class early gave me confidence in how I have handled these situations in my 2:00 section. It helped me feel more confident in my role to ask them to remain seated.
On a side note, I think everyone will agree that coffee is a staple while in school!
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