tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665803595748734412024-02-22T10:07:05.148-07:00CTLE BlogCtr for Teaching & Learning Excellencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228099347589304249noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-35746569332029047292012-08-31T08:46:00.000-06:002012-09-04T13:18:15.315-06:00Learning Styles, Personality Types & Generations<script type="text/javascript"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">by
Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you have a learning style that helps you <u>learn best,</u>
does this correlate with the generation you were born in (or perhaps the
generation you were raised by) and your personality type?</div>
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<br /></div>
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As in all inventories, tests, and types, it is important to
remember that generalities are the norm. First, let’s review definitions for
each:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Learning Styles</b> <br />
“A learning style is a student's consistent way of responding to and using
stimuli in the context of learning. Keefe (1979) defines learning styles as the
‘composite of characteristic cognitive, affective, and physiological factors
that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives,
interacts with, and responds to the learning environment.’ Stewart and
Felicetti (1992) define learning styles as those ‘educational conditions under
which a student is most likely to learn.’ Thus, learning styles are not really
concerned with <i>what</i> learners learn, but rather <i>how</i> they prefer to
learn" (Clark, 2012).<br />
<br />
<b>Learning Styles and Personality Tests</b><br />
The <a href="http://iweb.tntech.edu/rclougherty/workshop/page8/page8.html">Gregorc
Style Delienator</a>, the <a href="http://medicine.utah.edu/learningresources/tools/styles/barsch_inventory.pdf">Barsch
Learning Style Inventory</a>, and the personality test <a href="http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp">based on Jung,</a> which
was the basis for the <a href="http://www.myersbriggs.org/">Myers-Briggs</a>
Personality Type are some of the tools used to determine how <u>learners prefer
to learn.</u> <br />
<br />
<b>Generations</b><br />
A <a href="http://www.executiveforum.com/PDFs/LancasterSynopsis.pdf">generation</a>
is a 20-22 year span and those born within that span are defined as possessing
certain characteristics, shared values, and beliefs. Each generation has their
own set of values, ideals, ethics, and beliefs that dictate individuals’
preferences for living, learning and working. A generation is often defined by
significant events experienced as a unit. Events of one generation can have a
ripple effect on other generations. Generations don’t solely define a person’s
behavior, but the generations into which you were born and raised does help
define who you are and will most likely have some impact on your behavior.<br />
<br />
In working with both teachers in training and learners in the classroom in
kindergarten through higher education, patterns have emerged between what the
preferred learning style is, what their personality type is, and which
generation they were born within. <br />
<br />
The major distinction that emerged is that of a relationship between the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Gregorc Style Delineator similar to the
results found in this <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8823886">study</a>.
However, I am convinced that generational attributes can also contribute to a
preferred learning style and a personality type.<br />
<br />
Perhaps this will be my next research project! <br />
<br />
What are your thoughts? </div>
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Reference</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
Clark, D. (2012).
Learning styles & preferences. Retrieved August 28, 2012 from http:
www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles.html</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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} catch(err) {}</script>Dr. Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077345364090525218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-55277560727310057062012-08-13T13:02:00.000-06:002012-08-13T14:08:57.966-06:00The Start of a New School Year!<script type="text/javascript"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">by
Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, here we are again, at the start of a brand new
school year. When we were children and young adults, this “start” may have had
different meanings than they do now as an instructor; however, I think how we
approach the new school year is just as important as when we were younger! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do you approach a new school year with anticipation,
dread, or a combination of the two? Are you excited about the new students you
will have in your classes and the eagerness they may bring to the course? Have
you designed your course, planned your lessons, and written you syllabus? Are
you ready?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, for me, being “ready” is a vague term and so I
prefer to be prepared with my course design, lesson plans, and syllabus, which
does help me be more “ready” than not! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This past week, I was working with an instructor on
a course that she had taught for several years using an asynchronous online
environment and she was frustrated with the way the course was designed.
Specifically, she was concerned about the number of assignments that the students
were required to accomplishment in the 16 week semester, not to mention the
time that it took her to grade all of those assignments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My first step was to help her examine the objectives
of the course and what it was exactly that she wanted her students to be able
to do by the end of the semester. This is one of the first steps when you are
designing or re-designing a course (there a few other steps before the
objectives, but for her this was a good starting place). After we had reviewed
the objectives, using measurable verbs for the successful outcomes, honing in on
the assessments that would help her students meet the objectives became an
easier process and she walked away with some strategies designed to help her
students successfully accomplish the objectives of the course and to help save
time for both students and instructor when doing and grading assignments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How do you prepare for your courses as you approach
a new school year? At the <a href="http://ctle.utah.edu/">Center for Teaching
& Learning at the University of Utah</a> (CLTE), Higher Education
Instructional Consultants can help you prepare for your courses whether you are
teaching a new course or just need to breathe life into an old course. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can also check out our <a href="https://utah.instructure.com/courses/148446/">Resource pages</a> to help
you with various teaching and instructional strategies!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
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} catch(err) {}</script>Dr. Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077345364090525218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-58455989455456225212012-07-27T09:40:00.002-06:002012-07-27T09:40:29.230-06:00So many students, so little time (Part 3)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="211" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7157819605_e1e36e30ec.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69696287@N04/7157819605/sizes/m/in/photostream/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/69696287@N04/7157819605/sizes/m/in/photostream/</a> </span></h3>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It is nearing the end of the summer semester, the time when I typically realize that I have approximately 100 term papers awaiting grading, and no TA support. Usually my reaction is to put my head on my desk and think "Why did I do this to myself?". But not this semester, oh no! <script type="text/javascript">
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I have finally learned from my mistakes. Not only does having an end-of-term paper in my course open the gates to grading hell, it also means that students don't actually ever receive any feedback (although I leave them feedback, very few ever return to the course to read it, as I can tell from the usage reports from our LMS.) So instead, this semester, I tried something new. Students used to have to write a term paper with a number of components to it: a topic that relates to the course material but hasn't explicitly been covered, inclusion of citations from a number of research articles on the subject that they have found themselves, explicit connections to a specific set of concepts from the course, and recommendations to an audience of their choice (as it is an adolescent development course, the audience is typically parents, teachers, policy makers, or teens themselves). This results in a 6-8 paper per student. And, as you can imagine, not only is there a lot of grading, but a lot of repetition (why is it everyone wants to write about anorexia or teen suicide?).</div>
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Now, students still write all of these same sections, but they do them as part of a discussion with their classmates. Students were allowed to choose groups based on topics that interested them (which I generated from the past 3 years of term paper topics), and they remained with that group throughout the semester. On "even" weeks, students were assigned a role, and each wrote a post that was similar to one of the sections from the previous version of this assignment. So, for example, someone found an article about the topic and provided the citation and a summary. The online discussion forum also provided opportunities for students to provide other forms of information, such as videos and online news articles, or even websites devoted to the topic. On "odd" weeks, students were required to respond to at least two of their group mates' posts from the previous week. So this way, students got exposed to the same (and more!) information, provided one another with feedback throughout the semester, and I had much less grading to do (see <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/07/so-many-students-so-little-time-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> from this series). At the end of the semester, I will still have students submit a final report, but this will be a 1-2 page summary of what they learned from the group discussions, written in a format that could actually be of use to someone beyond the individual student . For example, one of my students is writing a letter to parents that could be sent home from the principal of the school where she works.</div>
<div>
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<div>
Of course, I didn't choose this approach simply to make grading easier (although it helps!). The new assignment also designed to be more engaging for students; they are exploring the same topic throughout the semester as they learn about adolescent development, and are doing so in a collaborative fashion where they have one another as models, resources, and sounding boards. Students are required to think critically not only about what they read and discover in academic journals and on the internet, but also about their classmates' posts, and have opportunities to provide feedback, a skill that will come in handy in the "real world". From my reading of the discussions, I can say that the depth of thought, particularly as the semester has progressed, surpasses what I was accustomed to reading in the final term papers. Win-win!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-13605181261024830612012-07-20T10:00:00.000-06:002012-07-20T13:40:17.647-06:00My Love/Hate Relationship with Technology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My Love/Hate Relationship with Technology!</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -13.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">by
Dr. Vanae E. Morris </span></i></div>
</div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: auto;" />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I LOVE technology gadgets! I have been fascinated
with technology since the day I walked into a Skaggs Drugstore and saw a
display with a black & white television with a PONG game system hooked up
to display this fabulous new game! My fascination grew when I purchased the
first little computer developed by Texas Instruments, which then led to the
gaming systems by Sega and Atari, which then led to my first “real” computer
where I learned DOS! My first laptop was a Compaq and it did not have an
internal floppy drive so I had to buy an external 3 ½ inch floppy drive so
I could load programs. My first cell phone was a “brick” and I never lost or dropped
a call! I loved all of these “firsts” of my technology gadgets!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Technology has both improved and exasperated my
life! The word processing software alone
has been worth the wait, since I learned how to type on an electric typewriter!
I know that having my smartphone, tablet, and netbook have made it possible for
me to be more productive and made teaching and learning online a viable
reality! However, there is a hate
relationship with technology because so many things can go wrong, all of which
I think I have experienced at one point or another while teaching and learning
online! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am currently teaching online courses, which
oftentimes includes students (and myself) taking vacations and traveling for
work. My students have been faced with the dilemma of how to travel and still
complete the assignments required for an online asynchronous class. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My first experience with traveling and teaching
online occurred a few years ago on a four week road trip vacation to New York,
Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington DC. I made meticulous plans that would
successfully help me complete the process. I contacted my dial-up provider (yes,
I still had one at the time) and made a copy of all the dial-up numbers needed
for the various cities and towns we would be visiting just in case I did not
have access to a WiFi connection through the hotels, and I practiced several
times connecting to the internet using my cell phone and the dial-up numbers (not
a PDA or smartphone) so that I would be prepared for various scenarios. As I think about that experience, it would
have been much easier with the smartphone, tablet, and netbook that I now have to
make the necessary internet connections, not to mention the unlimited data
plans that are currently available through cell phone carriers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For the most part, my plan was successful and I
completed the various tasks required when teaching an online course. However,
there were a few memorable experiences (that I can now laugh about) such as
sitting in the van in the middle of Jamestown, New York dialing up with my cell
phone because that was the only place I had a strong enough signal to connect
to the internet, upload my course content, and participate in the discussions. It seems that resort towns such as Jamestown,
which has the Chautauqua resort, do not like cell towers restricting their
view. Besides, if you are on vacation, you should not need your cell phone,
right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my students shared her recent escapade while
traveling to southern Utah. She had contacted the hotel to confirm that they
had WiFi access, which the hotel confirmed, so she traveled to her hotel only
to find out that the access was limited to the hotel lobby. The lobby had no
available power plugs for her waning laptop battery and her limited data plan
had been used checking and sending emails.
Needless to say, she was quite exasperated with the whole experience.
Another student shared that she had all the necessary software and hardware to
conduct a live Chat session but quickly discovered that her internet provider
did not have the capacity to allow for this type of live session. I have had
several students lose power during storms, fires, and other natural disasters
outside of their control. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I introduce all of this as a precursor to the
thoughts that have been rambling around in my head lately about accountability
in an online course. Most of the classes I teach are graduate level, and I have
several times been faced with the dilemma of how to accommodate the technology
glitches of an online learning environment, with that of accountability. I also
have other instructors asking for my advice regarding the online learning
environment, technology, and accountability.
Excuses come in all varieties and my students (and myself on occasion)
have used every excuse in the book about why an assignment is late or missing;
however, my all-time favorite occurred last semester when one of my graduate
students told me she missed an assignment because “CANVAS did not remind her!” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a strong philosophy about constructivism
(based on the learning theories of Piaget (1973), Vygotsky (1978), Dewey (1938),
and Bruner (1996) and adult learning principles as outlined in Knowles, 2011),
which places more of the responsibility on the student for learning; however,
over the last few years, I have tried to mesh the glitches of technology with
this constructivist view of accountability in an online learning
environment. I have not always been
successful and I can think of a few instances where the situation was
excruciatingly painful! Because of these experiences, my syllabus now includes
a “technology paragraph” that I have developed (and re-developed) over the
years of teaching both ground and online courses. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Should we hold students more or less accountable for
their learning in an online class? How have you meshed accountability with
technology in your online courses? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What are your thoughts? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">References</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bruner, J. S. (1996). <i>The culture of education. </i>Cambridge: Harvard University Press.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dewey, J. (1938). <i>Experience and education. </i>New York: Simon & Schuster.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Knowles, M. S.,
Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). <i>The adult learner: The
definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(7<sup>th</sup>
ed.). New York: Elsevier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Piaget, J. (1973). <i>To understand is to invent: The
future of education. </i>New York: Grossman.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). <i>Mind in society. </i>Cambridge: Harvard University Press.</span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3034/3063253907_dbbb11bb33.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alyssssyla/3063253907/" style="background-color: white;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/alyssssyla/3063253907/</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
Pie. Yes, pie.<br />
<br />
Not only is pie delicious, but it will also help me to illustrate how I go about grading discussion posts in my large online classes. Ah, how versatile pie is!<br />
<br />
(Yes, <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/05/so-many-students-so-little-time-part-1.html" target="_blank">I promised</a> to write about how I adapted my final paper for a large course - I'll talk about that in another post. Pie was just so tempting...)<br />
<br />
In any course, it's important for students to have opportunities to discuss the material with one another. This gives them opportunities to articulate their own ideas, be exposed to different perspectives on the same subject, have questions answered, practice providing feedback, potentially negotiate conflict, and hopefully have fun while interacting with others. This tends to be especially important in online classes (and I would argue, large classes of any variety), where students can feel somewhat isolated and anonymous. Regardless of how intriguing or thought-provoking these discussions might be, there are still some students who are not motivated to participate unless you attach a grade to said involvement. (And yes, there are some who are stalwart enough to resist the urge to participate, despite the temptations of interesting conversation, learning, and points earned.)<br />
<br />
My typical set-up for discussions is to split students into groups; in one current class students were randomly assigned to groups of 5-6, in the other they were allowed to self-select based on topic of interest. Students are provided with a prompt or a task <span style="background-color: white;">for their initial post</span><span style="background-color: white;"> (e.g., </span><span style="background-color: white;">post a picture or video that illustrates something you learned about cognitive development in the first two years of life</span><span style="background-color: white;">, and write at least a paragraph explaining what concept or stage of development you think it illustrates and why</span><span style="background-color: white;">). The next week, students must respond to at least two of their group mates' posts, and are given an additional prompt or task (e.g., make connections between the original post and what you have since learned about psychosocial development in the first two years - for example, how might language and attachment be related?). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">So let's do a little math. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I am currently teaching 2 courses. In one course I have 81 students, and in the other, 75, for a total of 156 students.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">156 students x (1 post + 2 replies) every other week = 468 entries </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">468 entries x 5 (that's how many posts I have them complete over the semester) = 2340 entries to grade</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Even at 5 minutes an entry to grade, that's the better part of my summer gone.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Oi!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Okay, so clearly, particularly without any TA support, this is not actually what I'm doing. Instead, I've told students that I randomly select who will be graded each time there is a discussion and reply due, but they don't know when they will get graded, so they'd be wise to produce quality work each time around. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><i><b>Think of it this way - I don't have to eat the whole pie to know it's delicious. Likewise, I don't have to taste everything a baker makes to rant or rave about his or her creations. I can eat just a small sample, give a review, and not end up feeling sick.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">This semester, I decided that each student will receive feedback from me at least twice, with the first time being within the first 3 weeks of classes. Then I plotted out a spreadsheet with all students and all due dates, and (somewhat) randomly selected who would get graded when. As I grade, I give full marks to those who posted on time but aren't selected for that week (or 0 to those who didn't post or posted late), and read only the entries written by the "lucky few". And I only grade posts once the replies have also been written, so I only go into the discussion boards (or actually, the <a href="http://guides.instructure.com/s/2204/m/4152/l/55016-what-can-i-do-with-speedgrader" target="_blank">SpeedGrader</a>, because we use <a href="http://www.instructure.com/" target="_blank">Canvas</a>) once per grading session. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Some more math:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I average around 12 students per class per grading "session"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">So (12 students x 2 classes) x (1 post + 2 replies) = 72 entries per "grading session" on average</span><br />
OR 156 students x (1 post + 2 replies) x 2 (times each student gets graded) = 936 entries to grade during the semester - that's a drop of 60% in terms of what needs to get graded, and I get my summer (and sanity) back!<br />
<br />
This is the first time doing this for me, but it's not a particularly new approach to grading. Although some (especially students) seem to think this approach to grading is arbitrary, and thus this approach can be somewhat controversial, I stand by the assumptions of random sampling, and my students haven't complained yet. My experience is also that students are getting more and higher quality feedback than they would have if I were responding to each and every post.<br />
<br />
So I can have my pie and eat it too. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-12061163211102358532012-06-29T12:20:00.000-06:002012-07-12T16:55:35.616-06:00Teaching and Learning Online series - Part 8<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teaching online is hard! Ok, there, I said it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not only is online teaching hard but the modeling of
online teaching is very similar to what we have experienced in face-to-face
classes over the many years of instruction and that is, we do what we have
experienced or observed! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Breaking that paradigm is the hard part! I have
talked about (in this blog) what is considered to be the best practices of
online teaching. However, should these best practices only apply to an online
environment? I think not! As part of my role as a Higher Education
Instructional Consultant, I go into the classrooms of instructors and observe
their teaching. I take copious notes using a rubric that requests information
about the behaviors of the instructor and the students. After the observation
is complete, I take the rubric with my notes, and give suggestions to the
instructors on ways that they could include more active learning strategies,
classroom management techniques, questioning strategies, and many other
suggestions for “best practices!” This conversation allows for the “why” of the
teaching and helps support the “mechanics” of the notes that I took during the
observation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Over the last two semesters,
there has been a distinct pattern in both mine and my colleague’s observations
that precipitated the formulation of a template with similar feedback and
eventually the creation of <a href="https://utah.instructure.com/courses/148446">resource
pages</a> that we could refer our instructors to for further clarification.
Most of our interactions the last two semesters has been with graduate students
and teaching assistants, who are now modeling what they have observed in both
the face-to-face and online environments over several years of taking classes
from “seasoned” instructors, who are also modeling what they experienced and
observed as students. One of the challenges that we have as
instructional consultants in higher education is shifting that paradigm! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In this blog, I have discussed several best
practices based on research, personal observations and experiences, and
feedback from my colleagues within the instructional consulting community. All
of the best practices can be utilized in a face-to-face classroom as well as in
an online teaching and learning environment, it is just a matter a shifting the
paradigm using different delivery methods, techniques, technology tools, and
strategies. In my role, I encourage instructors to move from what has been
modeled for years, to different strategies that take students from passively
listening to actively engaging in the content! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The last best practice that I want to share is
that of maintaining enthusiasm! Twelve to sixteen week semesters can sometimes
seem like an eternity if we lose our enthusiasm for the content, our
willingness to assist our students toward successful outcomes, and
communicating that enthusiasm to our students. This enthusiasm (or lack of) is
always evident when I visit a classroom, either face-to-face or online, so I
like to give my instructors (and myself) this advice: stay organized,
be an active presence in your classroom, communicate your enthusiasm frequently,
and shift the paradigm to something new! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">by Dr. Vanae E. Morris </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In previous posts in this series, I have discussed
several of the </span><a href="https://utah.instructure.com/courses/148446/wiki/adult-learning-theory"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">adult
learning principles</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> as posited by Knowles (1980), which
includes two that are relevant for the topic of conversation today. From Boettcher
and Conrad (2005), in an online course, an instructor should “. . . combine
core concept learning with customized and personalized learning” and from Ko (2005),
learning should be connected to real-life experiences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Knowles (1980) believes that adults learn best when
the information is embedded in their experiences and adults want the learning
to be relevant to their lives, goals, and needs. Making connections to prior
knowledge and life experiences makes the learning more relevant for the adult
learner. Finding activities that
encourage connections, experiences, and prior knowledge can be accomplished
using </span><a href="https://utah.instructure.com/courses/148446/wiki/active-learning"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">active
learning</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and promoting </span><a href="https://utah.instructure.com/courses/148446/wiki/accountability"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">accountability</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How can this be accomplished? Ko (2005, slide 8)
believes that there are four ways to help your adult students make connections
to real-life experiences: </span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Encourage
students to apply real-world experience to course content </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Encourage
students to draw on personal examples and observations that are relevant to the
course</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Tie
contemporary events or issues to course content</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Whenever
possible, encourage students to incorporate their own goals into study</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Boettcher and Conrad (2005) also believe that
encouraging adults to bring their life experiences and prior knowledge to the
class can be accomplished by combining core learning with personalized
learning. “In practical terms for online courses, it means designing options
and choices within learning experiences, assignments, and special projects . .
. Discussion forums, blogging, journals, wikis, and similar social networking
type tools provide excellent communication channels for engaging learners in
clarifying and enlarging their mental models or concepts and building links and
identifying relationships” (p. 46). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have made changes to my online pedagogy course to
include more reflective writing and learning community activities to promote
and encourage the learners in my course to bring their life-experiences and
prior knowledge to the content and to personalize the learning for my students.
I encourage you to examine your current courses for methods you could use to
help your students bring and apply real-world experiences to the course content
and to personalize your courses for your students each semester. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">References</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; text-indent: -.75in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R. (2010). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The online teaching survival guide: Simple
and practical pedagogical tips. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Knowles, M. S.,
Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). <i>The adult learner: The
definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(7<sup>th</sup>
ed.). New York: Elsevier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ko, S. (2005).
Student-centered online teaching: Best practices. Retrieved from http://www.powershow.com</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>by Rai Farrelly, PhD</i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i> </i> </div>
I don't consider myself to be 'one lacking voice' by any means, but sometimes I can't seem to find it. The ideas will be swirling around somewhere - in my mind or my heart or coming to life in my emotions, but without voice they just swirl, which makes things a bit muddy. Recently, I've been finding my voice in the words of others - and it makes me happy!<br />
<br />
I'm not new to teaching in an institution of higher education. In fact, thanks to the power sharing of my early mentors in the academy, I've been teaching classes for over a decade - dating back to my years as a green Masters student. However, it wasn't until this past semester with the class that I've been writing about in this blog series - <i>(Em)Power in the Classroom</i> - that I have actually 'negotiated curriculum' in this way. But it was always in me!<br />
<br />
In this negotiated class, the final power sharing act was the grading. At the beginning of the class, we decided on a qualitative grading scale, relying on carefully crafted rubrics with clearly defined criteria that would guide them. Even though we set the grading policy together and it was going to be difficult to get less than an A given the opportunities for multiple drafts and revisions with peer and instructor feedback, they still asked the usual questions toward the end of the semester: Am I in good standing? Do you think I'll get an A? Is there anything else I could do to make sure I have an A? I assured them that if they were slated to receive a grade they wouldn't be happy with, I would be in touch and we would negotiate a plan to help them reach their goal, even if that meant assigning an 'I' (Incomplete) which they would have a year to remedy. You could see the shoulders relax as I said it. I still had a couple of students visit me to make sure they were on track for the A they so desired. We worked together, made some revisions here and there and embarked on our summer vacations worry-free (with relation to this class, at least).<br />
<br />
I didn't always operate this way.<br />
<br />
Previously, I taught from syllabi that I inherited and I taught with a style that I emulated. I put into practice what I thought to be the 'better' elements of my own learning experiences, supplemented with new techniques and strategies gleaned from my second language teacher education classes. Having taught many English as a Second Language courses followed by teacher education courses for teachers of English language learners, I acquired a large toolbox from which to draw when working away in the classroom. The inklings of 'Atlas Shrugged' - not the book, but the literal shrugging of the world on my shoulders - were also in me, planted by early readings about The Atlas Complex, the teacher as transmitter of knowledge, as 'sage on the stage', the students as empty vessels waiting to be filled - the 'banking method' of education. These were all concepts I was encouraged to discard as I adopted more student-centered approaches where the teacher is the facilitator, the architect, the gardener - cultivating opportunity for rich student experiences and deep learning. <br />
<br />
I always viewed myself as a facilitator. I crafted beautiful lessons that promoted student-centered instruction (or so I thought). There was an abundance of collaborative learning opportunities and formative assessment. I was rarely the 'sage on the stage' talking at them, but rather I engaged them in discussions and projects and presentations. Didn't I?<br />
<br />
To whatever extent my instruction embodied a student-centered approach, I had to admit at some point - I was still in charge. I was still the one with all the power. I determined the topics before meeting my students. I chose the assignments before knowing how they learned. I crafted a syllabus that read like a contract with policies that were handed down to me by my Department. I assessed them with numbers and percentages that confused even me at grading time.<br />
<br />
And then it happened. What many of you have known for years - I discovered Power Sharing in the Classroom. I discovered in reverse chronological order the works of educators who said with their words what had been burning in me ... perhaps since I was a learner planted in a uniform, in a classroom, in a row, at a desk in front of a nun. As I read Stephen Brookfield, MaryEllen Weimer, bell hooks, Susan Hyde, Ira Shor, Garth Boomer, Norma Gonzalez, Nancy Lester, John Dewey, Paolo Freire and many others, I found that they were saying exactly what I was feeling.<br />
<br />
I sat with <i>When Students Have Power</i> by Ira Shor and wanted to read every sentence aloud to my colleague. "On the first day, if I had enacted traditional rhetoric as a unilateral authority, I would have begun by narrating the syllabus ("reading the riot act") and by lecturing on the course material (the pre-emptive didactic presentation)" (p. 30). Yes! Exactly, Ira!<br />
<br />
bell hooks was like music to my ears as I turned the pages of <i>Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom</i>. "It is rare that any professor, no matter how eloquent a lecturer, can generate through his or her actions enough excitement to create an exciting classroom. Excitement is generated through collective effort" (p. 8). Absolutely, bell!<br />
<br />
Bringing the critical lens to reflective practice in <i>Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher</i>, Stephen Brookfield had me nodding out loud in my chair. "When we practice critically, we regard curricula as constructed and tentative, as framed by human agency and therefore capable of being dismantled and reframed by teachers and students" (p. 40). Amen, Stephen!<br />
<br />
I literally couldn't have said any of that better myself (yet). I'm a young faculty with my <i>Dr.</i> title newly awarded and my voice is growing stronger by the day. As I continue to 'find my voice', I will also find ways to 'make a noise' so that I can continue to promote Power Sharing in the Classroom. <br />
<br />
<br />
Brookfield, S. D. (1995). <i>Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher</i>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.<br />
<br />
hooks, b. (1994). <i>Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.</i> New York: Routledge.<br />
<br />
Shor, I. (1996). <i>When Students Have Power: Negotiating Authority in a Critical Pedagogy. </i>Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. <br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
"Believe that you can change the world. Find your voice. Make a noise." -Katie Herzig, <i>Make a Noise</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5fDbdtLaTHE" width="560"></iframe>slcpinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516674151875539233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-36503625623472262322012-05-22T16:58:00.000-06:002012-05-22T16:58:11.540-06:00So many students, so little time (Part 1)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbcastro/235643589/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bottle neck by cbcastro, on Flickr"><img alt="bottle neck" height="240" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/94/235643589_0669fcc090.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">by Beverly Brehl, PhD</span><br />
<br />
For a variety of reasons, many college instructors are finding themselves faced with the daunting task of teaching larger classes with fewer resources. At the same time, we are also expected to maintain or increase productivity in other areas, especially research. So how do we do this, while maintaining high academic standards and providing our students with a meaningful learning experience?<script type="text/javascript">
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In this blog series I will be exploring some of the ways that this can be done. This summer, I am teaching over 160 students in two fully-online courses*, without the help of a TA. I am trying to view this as an opportunity to try out some of the tricks of the trade that I have shared with others in my time as an instructional consultant, and perhaps invent a few of my own. I don't promise to have all of the answers, but I intend to share resources I have found useful as well examples from my own experience.<br />
<br />
To get started, I think it would be helpful if I outline the basic structure of my courses. One course is an introductory survey course in <a href="http://dl.stream.utah.edu/ugs/ctle/brehlteaching/1500%20Syllabus%20Summer%202012.pdf" target="_blank">Human Development</a> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(clicking the link will bring you to the course syllabus)</span>, and the other is a senior-level course in <a href="http://dl.stream.utah.edu/ugs/ctle/brehlteaching/5230%20Syllabus%20Summer%202012.pdf" target="_blank">Adolescence</a>. Each week, students in both courses have assigned readings from a textbook, online lectures to review, supplementary materials as appropriate (e.g., video clips, external websites), and a discussion forum to participate in (more on this in subsequent posts). In the lower-level Human Development class, I am using a <span id="goog_1555138738"></span><a href="http://courses.bfwpub.com/" target="_blank">portal<span id="goog_1555138739"></span> created by the textbook publishers</a> to assign homework and exams. (I've been very impressed by the quality of activities provided in this resource, so I will likely discuss this further in an upcoming post.) In the upper-level Adolescence course, students take weekly quizzes and submit a final paper.<br />
<br />
Yes, a final paper in an upper-level course with 75 students and no TA support. <br />
<br />
In the next installment of this series, I will outline how I have adapted the final paper in this course to allow me to continue to complete all of my responsibilities, as well as maintain my personal life and sanity (what's left of it!).<br />
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Although both of my courses this summer happen to be fully online, most (if not all) of the approaches I will discuss can be used or modified for use in a face-to-face (F2F) classroom.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-1262143795244910212012-05-18T11:27:00.000-06:002012-05-20T09:39:50.709-06:00Teaching and Learning Online series - Part 6<script type="text/javascript">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>by Dr. Vanae E. Morris</i></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I have been writing this series about teaching
and learning online, I have constantly reviewed and reflected upon my own
experiences as both a student and an instructor in various online teaching and learning
environments at different institutions.
I started with Outlook Express newsgroups, then into a web-based online
learning system, then Blackboard, moved to WebCT, Angel, e-learning by Pearson,
and finally Canvas by Instructure. In
each of these online learning environments, I created materials that students
could interact with, provided ways for me to interact with the students (f2f or
online), and finally ways that students could interact with each other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Most of that interaction was asynchronous with few
(actually quite minimal) synchronous activities included in the process.
Working within Canvas for the past few months, I have discovered many more
opportunities for interactions that could occur synchronously; however, what I
have also discovered is the limitations of students (and myself) to meet all
together at a specific time and place. After all, isn’t the flexibility of the
asynchronous classroom one of the reasons we teach and learn online? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, what exactly does the online teaching and
learning environment look like that promotes active learning and critical
thinking? Can this be done? My response
is, yes and no! The reason that I respond with both a positive and negative is
because the outcome depends on both the instructor and each individual student
in the course. Is the instructor an active, but not intrusive, participant in
the course? Are the students engaged with all three aspects of the course (content,
instructor, and learning community)? According to Tan, Wang, and Xiao (2010), the
instructor should:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">a) encourage contact between students and instructor
(e.g. encouraging students to use the online communication tools within the
course, soliciting input from all students through specific questions, and
asking for feedback on interaction-related course conduct), b) develop
reciprocity and cooperation among students (e.g. group projects, group
discussions, establishing learning communities,
peer reviews), and finally c) use active learning techniques (e.g.
reflective and open-ended tasks to encourage application of theory to practice
and apply what they have learned, and locating and sharing relevant online
resources), (pp. 122-125). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As part of the ongoing mission of the Center for
Teaching & Learning Excellence (CTLE) and the Technology Assisted
Curriculum Center (TACC) at the University of Utah, a </span><a href="https://learn-uu.uen.org/courses/33024"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">course</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">has been
developed to assist instructors with quality course design that encourages instructors
to use six elements of excellent course design:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Course
and lesson outcomes in the form of measurable objective statements</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A
course organization and structure that facilitates student learning</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teaching
and learning activities that engage students in the process of learning</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Variety of course content, media, and materials in appropriate web formats</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A
sense of learning community, communication, and student support</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Assessment,
feedback, and evaluation strategies that measure student learning outcomes as
well as overall course quality</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In order to promote active learning and critical
thinking in an online teaching and learning environment, an instructor should
examine these six elements and design a course, which has assignments that require students to
substantiate their ideas, invite responses, ask questions, and discuss and
reflect upon the content. Will this
encourage the adult learner’s approach to learning and provide opportunities
for self-direction? Yes! By designing a
course that encourages the three types of interaction (content, instructor,
learning community), and assignments that require students to participate and
substantiate their learning, will encourage and promote active learning and
critical thinking in the online learning environment! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">References</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; text-indent: -.75in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R. (2010). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The online teaching survival guide: Simple
and practical pedagogical tips. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Knowles, M. S.,
Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). <i>The adult learner: The
definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(7<sup>th</sup>
ed.). New York: Elsevier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ko, S. (2005).
Student-centered online teaching: Best practices. Retrieved from http://www.powershow.com</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moore,
M.G. (1989). Editorial: Three Types of Interaction. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Distance Education </i>(3)2. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tan,
L., Wang, M., & Xiao, J. (2010). Best Practices in Teaching Online or
Hybrid Courses: A Synthesis of Principles. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hybrid
Learning, Lecture Notes in Computer Science </i>(6248)2010, pp. 117-126. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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</script>Dr. Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077345364090525218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-20849997711255402242012-05-10T16:00:00.005-06:002012-05-10T16:00:56.882-06:00SMALL GROUPS, LARGE CLASS SERIES (PART V)<div>
Since I last updated this series (see <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/04/small-groups-large-class-series-part-iv.html" target="_blank">Part IV</a>), a lot has happened. The teams have completed and presented their posters, they have given one another feedback, and grading has been completed for another year. So how did things turn out?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In general, the posters were pretty good, and students seemed to be fair in both the peer reviews of fellow group members, as well as in their assessments of the posters created by other groups. Students for the most part provided both positive and critical feedback (thanks, in part, to the prompts on peer evaluation rubrics asking them to do so). There were some students who didn't pull their weight, and the scores and comments they received reflected this. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So what were the surprises? The two highest scoring posters (based both on my grading and the reviews from their peers) were from the two groups I had been most worried about. The first was the group who were placed together because none of them had submitted their topic preferences (see <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-just-not-practical-to-do-active.html" target="_blank">Part I</a> in the series). I had been concerned that this was a red flag indicating that these may be students who were less committed to the class, and unlikely to show up or contribute. This turned out to be true for some members of this group, but the others pulled together and were determined to create a high quality project, despite their other group members (or the fact that I had, from their perspective, doomed them to failure). Several of these students demonstrated strong leadership skills, and their poster turned out wonderfully.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The other group that surprised me was a group that had been placed together based on a common interest in moral development, broadly speaking. Their first task was to decide what in particular they would focus on. I have to say I was quite shocked when they told me that they had chosen to investigate the development of serial killers. I had my doubts (as did another group member, who I allowed to switch groups), but ultimately decided to allow them to pursue this topic. And I am so glad that I did! Their poster was thoughtfully researched, had more connections to course material than some on topics I had actually taught and tested on, and was very professional. It just goes to show what can happen when you allow students to pursue their own interest, no matter how odd they may seem to be on the surface!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One other issue I encountered that I hadn't expected, and wasn't sure what to do with, was that one of the posters contained sections that were clearly plagiarized. It seemed obvious to me that this was a group who had worked individually and then slapped it all together, rather than truly collaborating. So this was likely the handiwork of only one student. Yet, this was a group project, and thus in some senses this was the responsibility of the team as a whole. Ultimately, rather than asking the team to identify the student who had contributed the plagiarized sections, I chose to severely dock the team (but chose not to fail them) and explain to them my reasoning. None of them has yet responded, so although they may not be happy with my decision, they don't seem to feel that it is one that deserves to be challenged.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
In all, this was a great semester, and having the poster session on the last day of class allowed all of the students to show off their hard work and learn from the projects presented by their classmates. Certainly I would do some things differently next time around, but I can assure you that this will not be the last time I incorporate group work into my large classes.</div>
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<br /></div>
Ah, the end of another semester. No more classrooms, no more books! (At least until next week!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-40532290679553796572012-04-27T10:05:00.000-06:002012-05-10T09:06:55.006-06:00Teaching and Learning Online Series - Part 5<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Provide for interaction using synchronous and asynchronous
activities</b></div>
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<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">By Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Adult learners have a distinct orientation to learning (e.g.
life or task centered), and they approach learning as problem solving. Adult
learners also need motivation to learn.
Providing asynchronous activities in an online learning environment can
help many adult learners learn best in their preferred style of learning and
this type of learning environment can also encourage problem solving and
critical thinking. However, as Knowles (2011)
discovered and added a sixth assumption to the theory of andragogy, adults need
encouragement and need to be motivated to learn. Having a few synchronous
activities in an online learning environment could encourage that motivation
needed. Think of these synchronous activities as a form of cheerleading because
all of the class would be together at the same time discussing, asking questions,
and encouraging each other. </div>
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I have taught in an asynchronous learning environment for
many years with minimal synchronous activities being a part of that learning environment.
However, as I have started teaching in a new online learning management system
with students who are more accustomed to face-to-face classroom environments, I
have found myself researching different ways that synchronous activities could be
added to my online learning environment that would encourage more interaction
between myself and the learners, and learner to learner. </div>
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What I do know is that I need to provide activities that
provide for three types of interaction, learner to content, learner to
instructor, and learner to learner (Moore, 1989). Of the three, the easiest for an online
instructor to provide is generally the learner to content. The learner to
content interaction has roots back to “independent study” courses where the
learner did, for the most part, only interact with the content with very little
interaction with the instructor or other learners. In the online learning environments of today’s
classrooms, this type of interaction is important but in order to be considered
an effective online learning environment, providing the other types of
interaction becomes critical to the learning process of the online learner. </div>
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What does this type of interaction “look” like in the
current online learning environment? According to Ko (2005) the interaction between
instructor and learner includes “being in the classroom on a regular and
frequent basis−through
announcements, discussion boards, and emails to the whole class” (slide 5). Ko also
suggests that the instructor provide a variety of assignments that encourage
this type of interaction as well as those that provide for learner to learner
interaction such as peer reviews, discussion threads (facilitated not dominated
by the instructor), and learning community interactions and assignments. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Boettcher
and Conrad (2010) recognize the importance of synchronous activities just due
to the nature of the online course management systems that are available for
instructors and learners to interact such as “virtual live classrooms,
spontaneous collaboration tools, and an almost infinite number of Web tools and
smartphones that support synchronous chat, video messaging and more” (p. 42).
However, there is an important reason why students take online courses (and
instructors teach online courses) and
that is generally due to the asynchronous aspect of the online learning
environment. Providing for both types of learning, synchronous and asynchronous,
gives the learner the best of both worlds (f2f and online) because “Sometimes,
there is nothing better than a real-time interactive brainstorming and sharing
discussion; at other times, the requirement to think, plan, write, and reflect
is what makes learning most effective for an individual” (Boettcher &
Conrad, 2010, p. 42). </div>
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References</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; text-indent: -.75in;">
Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R. (2010). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical
tips. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. </div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.75in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Knowles,
M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). <i>The adult learner: The
definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(7<sup>th</sup>
ed.). New York: Elsevier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;">Ko,
S. (2005). Student-centered online teaching: Best practices. Retrieved from http://www.powershow.com</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
Moore, M.G.
(1989). Editorial: Three Types of Interaction. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The American Journal of Distance Education </i>(3)2. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>by Rai Farrelly</i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Welcome back from the dark side! That's what I'll say when I greet instructors and faculty members who - at some point - fell down the slippery slope of hardcore assessment only to one glorious day question their practices and the mismatch between their assessments and learning objectives - leading them to reflect, read, question and then return to the brighter side of the assessment paradigm.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What exactly shapes the dark and bright sides of this paradigm, you might ask. Well, traditional approaches to assessment not only place far too much emphasis on the grade, they also extract the students from the entire process. Assessment essentially becomes something that happens to the students rather than something with which they engage. Much like the traditional lecture, which has been in place for decades, evaluation practices have been passed down, inherited and accepted as the 'way it should be done.' </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Consider <a href="http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/lectures/rethinking-teaching.html" target="_blank">this article</a> about how students learn, which states that the word <i>lecture </i>comes from the Latin word meaning 'to read'. There was a great need to lecture back when books weren't readily published. Now, we need not read (talk) to them about our content areas - we can let them read and explore outside of class and then co-construct knowledge around the content, dive in through discussions and activities in class. We'll be on hand to support, facilitate and inspire!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now let's think about assessment ... and we'll do so through a little anecdote. I recently consulted with a graduate student who is about to teach her own class for the first time. She's had experiences as a teaching assistant, so she's led the occasional lesson and graded many a paper. Now she gets to design her own course and is excited about choosing materials, deciding which topics to include and developing a sense of how to explore the content with her students. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">During our consultation, I asked her what assessments she has in place for the course. Her response: "Two exams and three quizzes." [Insert dramatic pause] Or is it only me that needs the dramatic pause because I know what course she's teaching ... see if you can guess based on her response to my follow-up question. "So, let's take a step back. What are the learning outcomes you have set for this course? What is it that you want them to be able to do by the end of this course?" She lists a few simple, measurable outcomes: 1) to track the life of a seed in the ground until it comes fully into being and produces food; 2) to articulate the policies that impact how, when and where food is grown, and; 3) to describe the relationship of food cultivation to the larger web of life. (I'm kind of paraphrasing, but you get the idea.) It's a class on organic gardening and I struggled to understand the link between her objectives and her assessments. When asked why those would be her measures, she replied: "Because that's how it's always been done."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What alternatives could we implement in this class? I'm sure you can suggest many, but here are a few options I offered: have students keep a journal of their gardens' successes and failures (include relevant content, provide a rubric, set the bar high for quality work), develop group projects that tackle policies relevant to organic gardening in legislature, have students develop strategic plans for local nonprofit community gardens, stage end of semester debates around 'hot topics', have students write a paper on the challenges they faced when developing their compost, etc.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Knowing that this course meets a science requirement for all undergrads, there is the feeling that the assessments should be more rigorous. That's fine. Just create clear, high standards criteria for each assignment. Require students to incorporate key terms, evidence-based argumentation, organizational thinking, problem-solving skills, etc. Alternative assessment does not by its nature imply 'easy assessment'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When we reconsider how we assess and make sure that our assessments actually measure the learning outcomes we have set forth for our students, we find a balance in our instruction that is often missing when class sessions are hands on and assessments are multiple choice (for example).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">With relation to sharing the power (and thereby reducing anxiety) there are many ways to involve students in the assessment process. Barbara Gross Davis (2009) has a wealth of great ideas in her text Tools for Teaching (see Unit VIII - Testing and Grading). She suggests alternative assessments and tweaks on the old favorites. For example, for those courses that just have to implement exams, why not leave space for students to justify their multiple choice answers. How about letting students buy additional information on certain questions (with points, not money - i.e., they lose 3 points of total available, but they get the formula to calculate degrees of freedom). Allow them to bring crib sheets, provide an extra credit question or even let them write one final question in on a blank and answer it for points. Give practice exams and review sessions and maybe even let them redo an exam. Give them a chance to show what they know!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The reality is that if we are married to grades and students are weighed down by the pressure and anxiety about grades, we live on the dark side where students tend to cheat more, they equate their ability with their grades, and they become 'grade grubbers' - begging us at key stages in the semester for more points (Weimer, 2002).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We'll continue to explore assessment next time as I review my students' final portfolio and consider the impact on them of being assessed in this way. I'll also share with you my non-traditional approach to grading - including the negotiation part. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Gross-Davis, B. (2009). <i>Tools for Teaching – 2<sup>nd</sup> Education</i>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Weimer, M. (2002) <i>Learner Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice</i>. San Francisco; Jossey-Bass.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sites.google.com/site/profhackerimg/NoText.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://sites.google.com/site/profhackerimg/NoText.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/a-classroom-experiment-ditching-a-textbook/25578" target="_blank">ProfHacker Blog post by Amy Cavender</a></span></td></tr>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Getting rid of my textbooks. I have been thinking about it for a while now, but keep making excuses for why I can't do it yet - students will be lost without a textbook, it will take too much time and effort to overhaul my course, how am I going to find (or find time to find) alternative readings...the list goes on. But I am starting to realize that the list of reasons why I <i>should</i> finally give up on textbooks is much longer.<script type="text/javascript">
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(1) <u>Textbooks are expensive</u>. The textbooks in my human development classes run students upwards of $120 each - I can only imagine what they cost in the physical sciences. Budget cuts in higher education continue, and the way we often make up the difference is by raising tuition. My students are already working full time and attending school - how can I expect them to be able to afford these ridiculous costs? (Not to mention that publishing companies continue to send out unsolicited exam copies, which in turn drive up the price for students even higher. I already have an unspoken rule that I won't adopt a textbook if I receive a free, unsolicited, desk copy.)</div>
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(2) <u>Students don't read the textbook.</u> I would argue that the majority of my students use the textbook as a reference book. Sure, there are the students who obediently read everything I have assigned, but even many of those students don't take notes in their books, because that would make it impossible to sell back at the end of the semester. Then there are students on the other end of the spectrum who either never buy the book, or if they do, never crack the cover. I'm not sure how I can help them. But there's a good chunk of folks right in the middle who read the textbook when they are unclear about something from class or are interested in a particular topic, but the rest of the time textbook reading is a rather dry and dull way of filling up time that could be otherwise spent working, socializing, or (if I'm dong my job) actively engaging with course material through completing assignments, providing service in the community, or participating in online class discussions.</div>
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(3) <u>Textbooks place restrictions on the structure of my class.</u> Textbooks are inflexible - they provide a particular structure and perspective to the material that I have to work with as I plan my lessons. I work to identify the best written texts I can find, that use a structure I am comfortable with, and I've never felt the need to "cover" or even assign everything in the textbook, but nevertheless, I sometimes feel constrained. Publishers have suggested I take advantage of their "customizable" options, but really, if I were to put the time and effort into selecting just the sections I want, I really could have just identified primary source readings and filled in the gaps with lecture and other learning activities. Realistically, I end up doing that anyway!</div>
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(4) <u>I want to foster critical thinking.</u> One of my goals as an educator is to teach students how to think for themselves. I try to run my classes such that I am providing structure and guidance, and students are expected to evaluate evidence, construct arguments, and make decisions. Textbooks seem to reify the notion that knowledge is objective and immutable, and that students can rely on an authority to provide them with the correct answers. Instructors are almost painfully aware, on the other hand, that the information in textbooks is typically 5-10 years behind the research in the field. Furthermore, with advancing technologies, students have access to incomprehensible amounts of information in the blink of an eye, some of which aligns with their textbook, and much of which (for better or worse) does not. Rigidly demanding that they ignore this information and stick to the text is, well, ludicrous.</div>
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So this Fall, I have decided to say goodbye to the textbook in my Infancy & Child Development class. It's going to take some time to decide exactly how to do this (e.g., use only primary source readings? suggest publicly available non-academic sources? <a href="http://www.babylonisburning.net/?p=241" target="_blank">have the students write a textbook</a>?), which is why I'll still be using textbooks in my classes this Summer semester. Once I have a plan and have tested it out and assessed the results, it won't be long before I make the switch in all of my classes. </div>
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It's the end of an era.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-74064996844613016152012-04-06T09:00:00.000-06:002012-07-12T16:56:36.434-06:00Teaching and Learning Online Series - Part 4<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Starting out Strong and Establishing Learning Communities – does this help adults learn experientially and problem solve? </b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">By Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Adult learning principles state that adult learners need to learn experientially, which means an instructor needs to use “techniques that tap into the experience of the learners, such as group discussions, simulation exercise, problem solving activities, case methods, and laboratory methods instead of transmittal techniques <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">[think lecture]</i>. Also, greater emphasis is placed on peer-helping activities” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005, p. 66). </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">Starting out strong in an asynchronous online course requires a few more considerations than when starting a face-to-face course. Because your students may not “see” you in an online course, starting the course with a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">welcome to class</i> announcement or note and including an introductions forum that allows you and your students to introduce who they are is an important first step in creating an online community of learners. The second step is to have a detailed syllabus and schedule, and if you determine that you would like to use Weimer’s (2002) Five Key Changes to Practice, you and your students could work collaboratively together to establish these course documents (<a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/01/empower-in-classroom.html">see the (Em)Power in the Classroom series</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"> Remember from Part 2 of this series, a learning community<b> </b>describes a collegial group who are united in their commitment to learning. They share a vision, and work and learn collaboratively</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Providing opportunities for your students to experience a variety of large group, small group, and individual work experiences helps to create that sense of community. This variety of groupings also allows for experiential learning as dictated by adult learning principles. I think Cross (1981) said this best when stated, “The role of educators in the learning society is to develop gourmet learners and to be responsive to their interests by providing a wide range of high-quality educational options” (p.251).<br /> </span></div>
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References</div>
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Cross, K. P. (1981). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adults as learners: Increasing participation and facilitating learning. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). <i>The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(7<sup>th</sup> ed.). New York: Elsevier.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Weimer, M. (2002). <i>Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. </i> San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass</span></div>
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Although I learned a great deal from the peer feedback process (such as how many different ways what I thought was a simple feedback form could be interpreted and completed), one thing that became very clear was the unique situation in which I have placed my student athletes.</div>
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The <a href="http://www.pac-12.org/SCHOOLS/Utah.aspx" target="_blank">University of Utah has joined the PAC 12</a>. Even someone like me who knows next to nothing about sports can recognize that this is a big deal. Indeed, the U of U's <a href="http://www.muse.utah.edu/#/index.html" target="_blank">MUSE project</a> recently held a conference where students, faculty, and administration all spoke about how joining the PAC 12 brings attention not only to our Athletics programs, but also to the University as a whole. This means that our academic standards and performance are now being compared to the likes of UCLA and Stanford. No pressure!</div>
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Although some may think that student athletes are only interested in their sports, and not committed to their studies, this is a stereotype that has repeatedly not held up as concerns the student athletes in my classes. Moreover, many of these athletes are on scholarships which require them to maintain a certain GPA, not to mention that they are often the focus of media attention both on and off the field. If anything, many athletes feel more pressure to do well in their classes than the average student. </div>
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The group work in my class has put the student athletes in a difficult situation. I chose Fridays as the day for group meetings, as I had hoped that this schedule would help to minimize how many students chose to take an unofficial long weekend (especially as the weather starts to get warmer). To some extent this has worked, but unfortunately, many of the athletes in class are missing Fridays because their sports schedules require them to travel on Friday to reach their next out-of-town event (which are often scheduled on weekends to avoid conflicts with classes). Although I am bound by policy and my own ethics to allow student athletes to make up work they have missed because of their sport, it is difficult for them to make up missed group meetings.</div>
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This is not for lack of trying! Several of the student athletes in my class have discussed with me their attempts to keep in touch with their group members through email or the course website, or talk to them during regular class sessions. Unfortunately, although their peers acknowledge that theses students are called away for legitimate reasons, it seems as though they do not truly appreciate the attempts that the athletes are making. Instead, many of the athletes were rated low in terms of being good team players - ah, the irony. </div>
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In the future, I plan to restructure my schedule so that student athletes won't miss the majority of the in-class group meetings. In terms of this semester, I am considering switching up the schedule based on the remaining travel dates of the athletes in my class.This Friday I am also going to be visiting groups with athlete members to discuss the legitimacy of their absences, my role in scheduling group sessions, and what has and can be done to make sure that the student athletes have opportunities to contribute to their groups' work in meaningful ways, and to ensure that the other group members are also "playing fair", and holding up their end by responding to the emails and messages from their team members. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-76270518877784403182012-03-27T13:38:00.001-06:002012-03-28T10:46:36.957-06:00(Em)Power in the Classroom Series (Part 4)<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>by Rai Farrelly</i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>This past week Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, UT hosted the 4th Annual Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Engagement (SoTE) in Higher Education. I had the pleasure of presenting on my <i>experiment </i>with sharing the power in the class. My talk was entitled 'Sharing the Power: A Community of Learners from Day One'. Interestingly, the director of the UVU Faculty Center along with a student also presented on Sharing the Power in the classroom. Our two sessions, offered back to back, provided a great platform for discussing the opportunities and challenges present in sharing the power.<br />
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I shared with the audience some recent feedback I received from my students during an informal midterm qualitative feedback session. I asked them to reflect on the following and give me some input:<br />
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1. Was co-designing this course during days 1, 2 and 3 useful to you? Please explain.<br />
2. What topics would you like to revisit for clarification purposes? (e.g., diversity, learning objectives, lesson planning, etc.)<br />
3. What is still unclear and why? (e.g., time on topic, teaching approach, opportunities to reflect)<br />
4. What forthcoming topics are most important/interesting to you at this point? (e.g., learning styles, learner-centered approaches, addressing resistance to learner-centered approaches, assessment, etc.)<br />
5. Would you like to alter the schedule in any way to cover certain topics sooner/later?<br />
6. Are there any topics not on the schedule that you'd like to bring to the class? (e.g., classroom civility, using technology, etc.)<br />
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Taking this approach to collecting and addressing midterm feedback continues the power sharing and the sense of this class as a community of learners who should be able to contribute to the design and direction of the course - even midstream. As you can imagine, I received quite a bit of feedback, much of which was very informed and insightful. These are all graduate students, post docs and professionals with needs and goals specific to their roles as teachers at the University. Here are some points from their responses related to sharing the power.<br />
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The first question was designed to give me a sense for future iterations of this class as to how useful the opportunity to co-design the course was. These are some of their comments:<br />
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<i>1. Allowing us to assist with the planning of the course is empowering. It also increases our own accountability.</i><br />
<i>2. It gave us some ownership and allowed us to pick what we felt was important.</i><br />
<i>3. It helped me to see how students can be integrated in the course development process.</i><br />
<i>4. Making decisions on grading, objectives, etc. was useful.</i><br />
<i>5. It set the course in motion so that learning objectives became clear and attainable.</i><br />
<i>6. It brought forth the difficulty encountered with course design and allowed for practice experience with the thought process.</i><br />
<i>7. It was very helpful.</i><br />
<i>8. It was nice to be able to contribute to the design according to the class' needs (i.e., our needs).</i><br />
<i>9. Yes, we felt involved.</i><br />
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Of course, there were some constructive comments and some that just reflected a sense that the process wasn't useful.<br />
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<i>1. It was useful for 1.5 days as it gave us a chance to see how it could be done. I thought it could have been shorter than 3 days.</i><br />
<i>2. Not very useful, but the process is good to experience how to discuss with students.</i><br />
<i>3. Yes and no. I can certainly see where application is helpful but now I sometimes feel rushed.</i><br />
<i>4. Not for me specifically. The original syllabus seemed to cover what I wanted to learn. I would have rather spent that time learning other material. </i><br />
<i>5. I think it dragged on a little too long. Maybe hash stuff out more quickly.</i><br />
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For me, all of these comments are so uplifting. I have learned from their feedback and have a great sense of changes I will make next semester. Clearly, I will need to expedite the process a little bit so we can move into the 'tofu' of the course (I'm a vegetarian!). But, I will conduct the course design in much the same way, relying on the situational factors (e.g., class size, students' needs, goals, expectations, backgrounds, etc.) to inform our course objectives, assessments and learning plan. <br />
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In addition to this course design feedback, all of their immediately relevant comments on course content (e.g., muddy points, topics of interest that are not on the agenda and areas that they are looking forward to, etc.) will inform how the last half of our semester plays out. I'm striving to model a course for them that will show how students can and should be part of the process throughout the semester. Hopefully, whether they can articulate exactly <i>how</i> right now or not, they will one day test out the power sharing in their future classes.<br />
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One important conversation point at the SoTE conference last week was the level to which you can share the power. From day one with my students, we have discussed our process in comparison with how it might unfold in different types of courses - such as those with over 100 undergraduates. Audience members at our sessions asked about how sharing power could be possible given this factor or that. We tried to stress, as I have with my students, that the question should not be 'To share power or not to share power' but rather, on a continuum of possible power sharing from little to extensive, <i>how much can you afford to share</i>. The answer will come in light of situational factors, not the least of which is a teacher's own comfort zone for power sharing. Consider what you are comfortable with first, then let your context inform the level to which you can involve the students in directing their learning.<br />
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I encourage you to take the leap! Dive in and test the waters. You might be pleasantly surprised by how much you enjoy the process. Just be prepared for an all inclusive learning experience. Remember to reflect often, revise as needed, change directions with the 'winds' of student feedback and your own intuitions. All the while, you can pat yourself on the back for stepping up and trying something that honors students' knowledge, experience, goals and expectations! <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Being Prepared and Setting Expectations – Does this need to be different in an online teaching and learning environment? </b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">By Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Adults need to know why they should learn something and they want to learn those things they need to know (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2011). Does this change in an online learning environment? How does being prepared and setting expectations help an adult learn, especially in an online environment? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Questions, questions, questions! I want to know the answers, you say?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Well, there is not always an exact answer to your question; so, let’s talk about some of the things that happen when you receive your teaching assignments for the semester. What is the first thing that you do? Panic, consider textbook options, and then quickly put together a course syllabus? If this is a new course, this may be a scenario you have experienced. If you are teaching a course that you have taught several times before, this feeling of panic may not set in; however, add that you now need to teach this course online to the mix. Now, what is the first thing that you do? Does this change your planning process? Should this change your planning process? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">In the asynchronous online course that I teach called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cyber Pedagogy</i>, my focus is on the pedagogy first, not the technology. Once the pedagogical design part is complete, then you are ready to start thinking about the technology tools. The biggest mistake I often see faculty making when teaching online is that they select their technology first and then try to retrofit their objectives and teaching into the technology. This should work the other way around. You should use the technology to achieve your objectives! You should use the technology to engage and enhance student learning! Technology is just one of the tools you can use to help your students successfully meet the learning outcomes of your lessons and overall course. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Being prepared to teach an online course requires the same pedagogical preparation that you would do in a face-to-face course. You need to design your course by determining the situational factors, developing the desired results, analyzing how to assess the desired results, and finally, creating a learning plan that allows the students to practice the content for a successful learning outcome. (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005; Fink, 2003). This should not change if you are planning to teach an online course. However, what you do need to consider are the parameters of the online learning environment. For example, how will you conduct a warm-up, present the content, have the students practice, assess the learning, and wrap-up the lesson. In an online course, you also need to determine how you will interact including teacher to student, student to student, and student to content. Determining <u>how</u> you will do this in an online teaching and learning environment is the difference between preparing for a face-to-face class and an online class. The purpose of this blog is not to conduct a class in how this can be accomplished but to encourage you to design your online course with the same pedagogical practices that should be considered in a face-to-face class, then determine how the technology will enhance the learning outcomes. Each online learning management system you use to teach an online course should be examined to determine the best way to accomplish and enhance the learning outcomes of your students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">This brings us to the next best practice, which is to develop a set of explicit expectations for yourself and your students regarding communication and how much time you and your students should be working on the course each week (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). When setting expectations for yourself and your students in an online course, a communication, interaction, and support plan should be put into practice. This plan should:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Clearly define preferred communication methods and channels so that students and instructors can communicate</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Support each other and learn in a social environment</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Take the time to lay out the rules for online teaching and learning so that students will know what to expect</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Provide opportunities for community building where students regularly interact with other students, materials and the instructor</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Make it clear to students where to turn for technical support</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">This communication plan gives structure for the three important interactions that occur in an online course, teacher to student, student to student, and student to content. As you review your communication plan and expectations, refer back to Part 1 of this series that discusses being present and exactly what that means in an online course. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The next part of this series will include a discussion on starting out strong and using a variety of large group, small groups, and individual work experiences, including the introduction of learning communities within your online course. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">References</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R. (2010). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). <i>The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(7<sup>th</sup> ed.). New York: Elsevier.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). <i>Understanding by design </i>(2<sup>nd</sup> ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. </span></span></div>
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</script>Dr. Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077345364090525218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-42746415573443249742012-03-09T18:03:00.000-07:002012-03-09T18:04:53.470-07:00SMALL GROUPS, LARGE CLASS SERIES (PART III)In previous posts (see Parts <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-just-not-practical-to-do-active.html" target="_blank">I</a> and <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/02/small-groups-large-class-series-part-ii.html" target="_blank">II</a> in this series), I have been discussing my foray into team projects in a large (140 students) class. It's time for an update!<br />
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As can be expected, there are both successes and challenges to report. Perhaps surprisingly to some, my group of "misfits" (the students who were lumped together because they had all neglected to submit the first assignment) are doing quite well. Unfortunately, several of the students assigned to this group consistently miss class and fail to contribute to the group work. However, there is a core of 5 students who are committed to working together, and though they have struggled at times, they are producing work comparable to most of the other groups (and much better than some). In speaking with them during the last two team sessions in class, they seem to have become more comfortable working together. They also seem to be satisfied with my explanation that they won't be penalized for the lack of work contributed by the "no shows", and that they have input into those students' grades. I was especially excited when one of the students in this group said to me last week, "We'll show you! Our poster is going to be the best one!" </div>
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Some of the other groups, on the other hand, haven't banded together in quite the same way, and aren't taking advantage of the class time I have set aside for team work. Several groups do only the bare minimum of what is required for the day, and then leave class early rather than using the time to work together and plan for the next task. For example, I had each student individually submit an annotated citation which was due before class. They were then given 2 class periods to work together to review the information they had each collected, make revisions, seek additional sources, and ultimately create one compiled annotated bibliography submitted for a group grade. Several of the groups simply patched together what they had done as individuals (<a href="http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/getting-students-to-act-on-our-feedback/" target="_blank">usually without attending to my comments</a>, much less discussing with one another), submitted their assignments, and left early. It was very clear as I reviewed the submissions which groups had worked as a team, and which had not - and this was reflected in the grades they earned and the feedback I left them.</div>
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I'm worried that some of the groups may be of the "I need to put my hand in the fire to learn it's hot" sort. It seems that no matter how many times or in what different ways I communicate that they need to plan ahead and work together, they're just not getting the message. Some of my colleagues have suggested that I create assignments for them to submit at the end of each in-class session, but I don't want to create more busy-work just to get them to stay in class, and the students who are using the time wisely likely wouldn't appreciate the distractions that might be caused by those who are just waiting around until they've been dismissed. I suppose this might be one of those situations where, no matter how difficult it is for me to watch, I have to just let my students fail and face the consequences in order to learn what to do next time.<br />
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Luckily, I've already built in some mechanisms that could help them walk away with singed finger tips and a lesson learned, as opposed to third-degree burns. For one, I've made sure that each successive assignment is worth more than the last, which means that if they do poorly on the first few it will impact their grade, but still give them a chance to get back on track and hopefully learn from their mistakes. Also, students are required at several points in the semester to submit feedback on their group mates, which will influence the grades of individual members of the teams. In my experience, pressure from their peers can often lead to students improving their performance.<br />
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Although I hated having to give some of the teams harsh feedback this week, it gave me a boost to see how many students turned up in class today (the last Friday before Spring Break). The majority of students were present and met with their groups for at least half of the class period. I brought in materials (poster boards, paper, glue, etc.) for them to get started on their posters, and was impressed to see the students working together to plan their poster layout and calling me over to ask questions. I'm cautiously optimistic that the time I have taken to provide them with feedback - both on the process and the products of their team work - may not have been in vain after all.</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-68649237935774504982012-03-02T16:22:00.001-07:002012-03-02T16:24:01.555-07:00(Em)Power in the Classroom Series (Part 3)<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>by Rai Farrelly</i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">In this series, <i>(Em)Power in the Classroom</i>, we have so far considered what it might look like to share the power with students in the design of courses. In <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/01/empower-in-classroom.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, I discussed how we worked together as a class - operating more as a learning community - to develop our class culture, our policies, our assignments, etc. I relinquished quite a bit of control in this process rather than adhering to a well-structured syllabus 'dictating' how the course will unfold. In <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/02/empower-in-classroom-series-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a>, I presented our process for developing a grading system in the course - the result being a fairly fluid system that focuses more on successfully completing assignments to satisfy various criteria as measured by a simple qualitative likert scale, rather than striving for numbers and percentages equated with letter grades and based on unclear standards. <br />
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As we move forward, we are working with a syllabus that was co-created by all learners in the course, including me. Now, how do we explore the content of the course? Notice, I refrain from saying: How do we "cover" the content? Have you ever though about the use of "cover" in relation to course content? MaryEllen Weimer (2002) says it best in her chapter about the Function of Content: <i><br />
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Our strong content orientation is reflected in the metaphor used to describe the action we take with respect to content: we "cover" it. But what exactly does that metaphor mean? We "cover" content - like leaves cover the forest floor? Like a bedspread covers the bed? Is that the relationship that ought to exist between the teacher and content when the goal is learning?" (p. 46)</i><br />
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Many of us probably do think about 'covering' content - in the sense that we know what we want the students to explore during our courses and we strive to 'get through it all' within the semester. But when we view the content as something that we have to 'cover' or 'get through', we might incidentally blow right by the learning. What if we consider 'using' the content, 'exploring' the content, 'uncovering' the content? This is at the heart of learner-centered instruction - engaging students in exploring the content.<br />
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The teacher's role in this process is another point for consideration by many teacher educators, teachers and instructional designers. What is our role when we are trying to engage the students? To what extent are we involved in the learning process? Weimer uses several metaphors to characterize the role of the teacher in a learner-centered environment - coach, midwife, gardener, etc. She promotes stepping out of the spotlight and letting the students lead the learning. Another metaphor from my teacher education courses is that denoting an architect. The latter is the metaphor of my choosing for a reason that was made clear to me in class this past week when we had a little breakdown.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">First, let me frame my approach for content exploration in this course. As this is a course on teaching in higher education, I do try to model the strategies and techniques that I wish my students to embrace and implement in their teaching careers in the future (although I'm not sure my approach and underlying goals are always transparent). In any case, I share the 'load' when uncovering content. For example, the students have been taking chunks of the readings from week to week. They take turns leading the class through the content using approaches that promote student engagement. From time to time, a student will present the content in a teacher-centered fashion with limited opportunity for student engagement. In these cases, we talk about alternatives to exploring the content. For the most part however, they have been rather creative as student-teachers - incorporating Think-Pair-Share activities, jigsaw activities, brainstorming sessions and other approaches that promote active learning.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">This past week, the topic was the Role of the Teacher. A student took a creative approach, presenting the content in an entertaining fashion, putting a spin on the notion of teacher in the 'spotlight' by literally holding a flashlight above his head while talking about himself and his evolution as a coach and instructor. He used humor and he was blatantly presenting from a place of ego and teacher-centeredness. He was essentially modeling what not to do while having us talk about general principles about the role of the teacher. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The breakdown I mention above, which reinforces my affinity for the architect metaphor, came during this student's follow-up activity. For him, it was an experiment to see if Weimer's 'all hands off' suggestion is actually realistic. He is skeptical about diminishing the role of the teacher entirely (as he should be) and he wanted to test it out. He gave us very rough instructions for the activity, which required that we get into groups and do the following: 1) reflect on our past, present and future 'teacher selves' (i.e., how we view ourselves as teachers in the past, present and how we hope to be as teachers in the future); 2) as a group decide what strategy we would use to share this information; 3) then execute the strategy. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">If you're confused by those instructions, you're not alone. The entire class was confused. I actually knew what he was getting at, so I wanted to pipe up and provide more scaffolding - but I suppressed my inner charge-taker's voice. (I was in a group and participating as a student, as I do for all of their presentations.) As I observed the activity unfold, I noticed that no one knew what to do, no one was suggesting that we come together as a group and decide on our strategy and the student-teacher was staying very uninvolved - intentionally. Some groups started planning how they would present as a small group, so they were developing their presentations - just not with the whole class.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, our student-teacher brought us back together to ask what we were going to do as a group to reveal our past, present and future teacher selves. A few students spoke up: "We don't really know what you want us to do." Others agreed. Some shared their ideas of an execution strategy that involved role-playing their three teacher selves. The student-teacher challenged them: "But you were supposed to plan that with the whole group."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">So, where does the architect come in? This student reinforced for me the effectiveness of the teacher-as-architect metaphor. In this sense, the teacher is the person who carefully designs the lesson, who provides the scaffolding for the activities so that when the learners explore the content (the raw building material) it will be done so in a way that is planned and structured, yet open to a safe level of creative manipulation. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">This student-learner presented an activity that was entirely learner-centered (great!) and required the students to come together (awesome!) and not only take part in an activity but decide what the product of the activity would ultimately be (fabulous!). BUT - the breakdown came in this student-teacher's lack of scaffolding and design for the activity. There was no careful thought given to the delivery of instructions for the activity nor any check of student comprehension prior to setting us free to start the process. Furthermore, there was no on-going 'consultation from the architect' during the 'building' process. He set us free to figure things out without a blueprint.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result, this student-teacher concluded that limiting the role of the teacher and putting the responsibility for learning solely in the hands of the students is not realistic. Clearly, the level of 'limits' placed on the teacher and the level of 'responsibility' given to the students will vary depending on those key significant features that I touched on in <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/02/empower-in-classroom-series-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> of this series. In other words, class size, student level, discipline and content will impact the extent to which the teacher can step out. But more importantly, any level of sharing power in a classroom requires careful planning and consideration prior to stepping foot in the classroom. Teachers have to craft the activities thoughtfully and ensure that instructions are clearly articulated and delivered. Teachers have to do comprehension checks prior to setting students free to work together. And perhaps most importantly, teachers have to monitor during the learning process and ensure that students are engaged and on task.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As I find myself saying time and again in my promotion of active learning in the classroom, it is much easier to slap together a PowerPoint presentation and 'cover' the content. Promoting true learner engagement requires additional preparation outside of class, but if lessons are crafted carefully and implemented thoughtfully, the benefits of sharing the responsibility for teaching and learning during class far outweigh the time required to make it happen! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">What I learned this week about sharing the power: I should ask students to submit a lesson plan describing how their session will unfold. Currently, I only have them send me the PowerPoint slides that they will use. Ensuring that they effectively use the content and engage the students will mitigate any possible frustration from classmates who could potentially view their 'lesson' or content delivery as a waste of class time (which was the case for one student during the above-mentioned student-teacher's lesson). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Ah, teaching - ever the learning process for those of us who choose to reflect and evolve!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weimer, M. (2002). <i>Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice</i>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">~Rai Farrelly </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Readiness to Learn and Self-Directed Learners</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> - Does online learning help or hinder?</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:right" align="right"><span style="font-size:78%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style=" line-height:115%;">By Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Last time in this <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/02/teaching-and-learning-online-series.html">series</a>, I introduced you to online teaching and learning and how this can no longer be an isolating process if it is to remain a viable teaching and learning environment. I also talked about adult learning principles and how using active learning strategies encourages and engages the adult learners in your class, especially in an online class. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Two of the principles mentioned were self-directed learning and readiness to learn. Are adults self-directors of their learning? Sometimes, this principle can be confusing because when you think of self-directed learning, you may think of self-teaching “. . . whereby learners are capable of taking control of the mechanics and techniques of teaching themselves in a particular subject” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005). Self-teaching reminds me of the independent study courses I talked about in part one of this series. However, the more prevalent understanding of self-directed learning is that of personal autonomy. “Autonomy means taking control of the goals and purposes of learning and assuming ownership of learning”(Knowles, Holton, & Swanson). So, this begs the question, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">does the online teaching and learning process meet the criteria of self-directed learning and autonomy?</i> What do you think?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The principle of readiness to learn also brings with it the prior experiences of the learner. When you begin planning your course, do you take into consideration the situational factors that will affect your course design? Factors such as specific and general context of the teaching and learning situation, the nature of the subject, and the characteristics of the learners and instructor (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005; Fink 2003) are important to consider in the overall planning. Adults generally become ready to learn when their life situation creates a need to know something or they want or have a specific goal in mind they want to achieve. Going to school or learning a new skill can become that goal. Pratt (1988) talks about two core dimensions of adult learning, direction and support. Direction is how much assistance from other persons is needed in the learning process and support is how much encouragement a learner needs from others. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Is readiness and knowing what situational factors (prior experience) exist, important to the teaching and learning online process? </i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This brings me to the next two best practices in online teaching and learning, which are creating a supportive online course community, and using a variety of learning approaches (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010; Ko, 2005). Creating a supportive online community helps to fulfill the support dimension of an adult learner and using a variety of learning approaches offers the direction (and self-direction) that adult learners need when they take online courses. In the online management system, Canvas that the University of Utah has adopted and will begin using exclusively in the Summer of 2012, instructors can create <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">learning communities </i>within the course. </span><span style="mso-bidi- line-height:115%;font-size:100%;" >A learning community<strong><span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidifont-family:";" > </span></strong>describes a collegial group who are united in their commitment to learning. They share a vision, and work and learn collaboratively</span><span style=" line-height:115%;font-size:100%;" >. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Allowing a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">space</i> for students to meet, discuss assignments, practice skills within the course, and peer review assignments, creates that collegial group who can work and learn together collaboratively. This learning community also creates opportunities for the students to meet the criteria of the Phase II part of lesson planning (Guided Practice and Collaboration) and for the instructor to conduct formative assessments (Fisher & Frey, 2008). The second part of creating an online learning community is the involvement of the instructor</span><span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:100%;" >. How involved does the instructor need to be in the course, the discussions, the course mail, or other aspects of the course to create this sense of a collegial group working and learning together? I feel that each individual instructor needs to determine this based on the course and the situational factors of the students; however, back to the first best practice of being present in the course, four or five days per week checking in, answering course mail and emails, creating course materials within Canvas, guiding and facilitating the discussions, and grading (to name a few) is a good best practice. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:100%;" >The next best practice is that of using a variety of learning approaches. What exactly does this mean, you ask? This means <u>not </u>doing the exact same thing for every Phase I (presentation of material), Phase II (Practice), and Phase III (Assessment), which are the main components of a lesson plan (with a warm-up and wrap-up as bookends) (Fisher & Frey, 2008). Using a variety of learning approaches means to use a variety of active learning activities mentioned in Part I of this series including such things as case studies, peer activities, project-based activities, think-pair-share, group projects, debates, guest speakers, and integrating multi-media, library, and web resources into your online course. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Online teaching and learning does not need to be boring and can be interactive and fun!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";font-size:100%;" >The next part in this series will include the importance of preparation and setting expectations. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >References</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.75in"><span style="font-size:100%;">Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R. (2010). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >Fink, L. D. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" > Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008) <i>Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. </i>Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. </span><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;font-size:100%;" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" > Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2005). <i>The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(6<sup>th</sup> ed.). New York: Elsevier. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" > Ko, S. (2005). Student-centered online teaching: Best practices. Retrieved from http://www.powershow.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-size:100%;color:black;" >Pratt, D. D. (1988). Andragogy as a relational construct. <i>Adult Education Quarterly, 38</i>(3), 160-181.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). <i>Understanding by design </i>(2<sup>nd</sup> ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. </span><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;font-size:12.0pt;" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <script type="text/javascript">var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script><script type="text/javascript">try {var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3735750-2");pageTracker._trackPageview();} catch(err) {}</script>Dr. Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077345364090525218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-8611761631121267982012-02-17T14:23:00.002-07:002012-02-17T14:56:06.185-07:00Small Groups, Large Class Series (Part II)Wow! How time flies!<script type="text/javascript">
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That's what I thought to myself at the end of class today, after our "team meetings" session for this week. I had been moving through the classroom, talking to groups of students and answering questions, when I turned to see that half the class had slipped out. My first reaction was "Oh no! They're not using their in-class group time effectively - have I made a huge mistake?" Then I looked at the clock and realized that indeed, class was over for the day. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!</div>
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At some point I want to talk a little bit about the mechanics of how I'm managing the group work - both what goes into prep as well as what I do during class time - as there are certainly some practical considerations to take into account when attempting team projects in a large class. But today I am thinking about to particular issues that have come up over the past few weeks during team meetings.</div>
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The first came up a few weeks ago, and I wasn't actually made aware of it until after class had ended for the day, so I didn't see or hear firsthand what had happened. A student dropped by my office hours later in the day to let me know that there had been a conflict in her group. It seems as though there were several things going on, including different perspectives as to what topic the group should focus on, differences in opinion in how the group should work together, as well as some clashes between strong personalities. Upon reflection, I don't think I handled this situation as well as I could have. </div>
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<li>What I did: I listened to the student's side of the story, and asked her permission to speak to the other student involved. I then spoke to him and heard his side. The next time the teams met in class, I made sure to visit their group and made some suggestions about different directions they could take in their project, but I did not mention the previous conflict in the team setting, and no one brought it up.</li>
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<li>What I think I could have done differently: As one of my objectives for the team projects is to provide students with opportunities to develop and practice skills required for successful collaboration, I suspect that in addition to working with the team on their content, I should also have drawn attention to the conflict, and used it as a teaching moment. I think perhaps I am guilty here of not just trying to avoid conflict rather than learn from it, but also of placing too much emphasis on the product of the team work at the expense of the process of working as a team. Moving forward, I'll be watching this group closely (I checked in with them again today) and taking my cues from the students as to whether or not we need to revisit this issue.</li>
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Another issue that arose in class today I think I handled more successfully. As I mentioned in my <a href="http://uofuctle.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-just-not-practical-to-do-active.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, I had created student teams based on the interests students had submitted early in the semester. Perhaps not surprisingly in a class of over 100, some students didn't submit their interests. Perhaps without intending to, these students were communicating to me that they fell into one or several of the following categories: they were not particularly invested in the course, they were not attending class, they were not reading instructions, they were likely to continue to miss deadlines, and ultimately, they may not be particularly reliable team members. So what to do with these students? </div>
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I had a few options. One was to randomly assign these folks to other groups, spreading them out throughout the class. However, I felt that this would be enabling in a way, allowing them to continue to do less than the barre minimum, and furthermore, I felt it could possibly disadvantage the groups they were placed in (as they seemed to be at high risk to become "social loafers"). So what I chose to do was place all of these students in a group together, with a "note to self" that I would need to keep a close eye on them.</div>
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For the most part, this has worked out as I expected. Several of the students placed in this rag-tag bunch are no longer enrolled in the course (as they had not paid their tuition by the due date), and at least one has yet to attend class. There is a core group of students who are reliably in class, and they have worked together to choose a topic and get organized. They, understandably, are raising concerns about the others who are inconsistent in their attendance. They want to know if the students who are not contributing will receive the same grade as the rest of the group, and conversely, will they be docked for not having the contributions of the missing students?</div>
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Assigning grades on group projects is something I had prepared for well in advance (and had already explained to students, but keep in mind, these are the students who weren't completely on board at the beginning of the semester). There are several methods of doing this, but based on past experience, I prefer <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=8S8efQkqeqIC&pg=PA271&lpg=PA271&dq=assessment+of+contributions+of+group+members+fink&source=bl&ots=tfh9azGuXa&sig=EvUlH5sI2n-RTGYWe1jmhFfcFew&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7r8-T9j0BOaC2wXr4uWeCA&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=assessment%20of%20contributions%20of%20group%20members%20fink&f=false" target="_blank">Fink's method</a>, which basically involves having students consider a set of criteria and then distribute 100 points among their fellow team members, and leave feedback explaining their evaluation. I then use these peer evaluations and my assessment of the group project to calculate each individual student's grade. This method, and others like it (see also Michaelsen's method, in the same volume), allows students the flexibility to differentiate between team members who contributed and those who did not, and ensures that peer evaluations impact student's individual grades such that they are more likely to take both their contributions to the group, as well as the peer evaluation process, seriously. I typically ask students to complete peer evaluations both at midterm and at the end of the semester, so that students who are viewed by their group as not pulling their weight have time to consider this feedback and improve their performance.</div>
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By the next time you hear from me, I will have reviewed the midterm round of peer evaluations, and provided teams with feedback on a substantial part of their projects. I'm sure I'll have plenty more to rant and rave about! </div>
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Michaelsen, L. K., Knight, A. B., & Fink, L. D. (2004). <i>Team-based learning: A transformative use of small groups in college teaching.</i> Sterling, VA: Stylus.</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-61129257527350208012012-02-13T16:45:00.005-07:002012-02-13T17:18:33.213-07:00(Em)Power in the Classroom Series (Part 2)<script type="text/javascript">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">by Rai Farrelly</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"While meeting everyone's needs sounds compassionate and student-centered, <i>it is pedagogically unsound and psychologically demoralizing</i>." (Brookfield, 1995, p. 21). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank goodness!! From classes for undergraduate and graduate students to workshops for faculty, I have, from time to time, had the feeling that I didn't <i>meet everyone's needs</i> - as if it were possible; yet, I would still feel bad about it. That, I suppose, is in part because my top strength (of 34 possible) as identified by a <a href="http://gmj.gallup.com/content/102310/clifton-strengthfinder-book-center.aspx" target="_blank">Strengths Finder</a> test is Empathy! <i>Oh boy. </i><br />
<br />
According to Brookfield (1995), being a <a href="http://nlu.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/facultypapers/StephenBrookfield_Wisdom.cfm?RenderForPrint=1" target="_blank">critically reflective teacher</a> is at the core of accepting that it's just not possible to meet everyone's needs - it is simply an assumption that we might carry around with us, but it is an assumption that we should shrug off - right along with our <a href="http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/attie/lab/publications/Atlas_Complex.pdf" target="_blank">Atlas Complex</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Along with the long-held assumption that we should try to meet everyone's needs in the classroom is the assumption that we should have power in the classroom. Only, I'm sure that most would never articulate that assumption in such a way. Why would a teacher ever say out loud "I want to have power over my students." In fact, I would bet that most instructors who exude power over their students do so rather unknowingly. It might manifest in the design of a tightly wound syllabus riddled with policies, rules, grading criteria, explicitly outlined assignments, etc. It might appear in a delivery method for content that excludes the students from interacting with the material in a meaningful way (i.e., the traditional didactic lecture). It is likely subtle, but it's almost sure to exist. Why? Because it is one of the most commonly held assumptions in education - <i>Father Knows Best</i>? No, try <i>Teacher Knows Best</i>. But does she really?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In my experiment with sharing the power in the classroom this semester, I have found myself breathing easier. I am relying on my students - rather my fellow learning community members - to share in the co-construction of meaning related to our topic, which in this case is conveniently:<i> teaching in higher education</i>. I feel a sense of ease knowing that their knowledge is complimenting my knowledge and together we are teasing out the best approaches to teaching in higher education. Of course, my teaching experience and knowledge base serve as a guide when contextualizing comments, creating concrete examples or posing relevant thought-provoking questions. However, there is no indication that 'what I say goes' - I hope! My goal is that they take what we discuss in this class and assume a critically reflective stance about their teaching in relation to our discussions. They will test their own assumptions in their respective classes and allow their teaching philosophies to evolve against the backdrop of their experiences.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, let's go back in time. In my last entry - I shared our experience with creating our classroom culture and exploring the assignments for this course. We agreed that the suggested assignments for the course were suitable to our overarching learning objectives for this class. As such, they will be required to write a teaching philosophy, complete a course design grid, an accompanying syllabus and one lesson plan for that course. This should all be relevant to them as they will each be teaching courses at the University in the coming semesters.<br />
<br />
In addition, they will each be observed while teaching a class in their department. The exciting thing about this assignment is that most of them are not currently teaching, so this means that they must secure a teaching opportunity and collaborate with the lead instructor of that class to both meet that instructor's intended learning goals for that topic and also implement the lesson in such a way as to embrace the active learning approaches we discuss in our course. In addition to being observed by me, they will each observe one of their peers and a '<a href="http://admin.utah.edu/teachingcommittee" target="_blank">Master Teacher</a>' (e.g., a recognized 'excellent' teacher at the U), providing feedback and analyzing that instructor's approach in relation to their individual teaching philosophies. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The 'fun' part for the discussion on assignments came in Day Three of this course when we addressed the grading policy. How do you evaluate graduate students in a course entitled Teaching in Higher Education, which is designed to prepare them to be instructors on campus? Well, in this case - I let them tell me what seemed fair. I gave them some options to choose from and left the window open (for me to jump out) for them to design additional options. What do you think they did with this freedom? this power? I'll tell you what they didn't do. They didn't say, "Just give us all an A and call it good." No. In fact, at least one voice asked for the option of having scores divvied on a scale from A+ to F so that distinctions in quality of work could be honored. Rather than hash out the details of the discussion, I'll let you (with great trepidation and pride) read the final 'Grading' section of my syllabus - as constructed with the learners in this class.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">GRADING</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We will use rubrics for product-oriented assignments (i.e., observed teaching experience, course design grid, syllabus, lesson plan and teaching philosophy). Credit for peer and master teacher observations will be given with evidence of reflection on the observed class (i.e., completed observation feedback form, reflection on observed teaching in relation to one’s own teaching philosophy and participation in class discussions).</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rubrics are not numerical, but have qualitative likert scales (i.e., completely, mostly, partially, not at all). Assignments will be graded as <b>high pass, pass </b>or <b>fail</b>. Assignments that receive a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ mark can be resubmitted to reach a higher standard (<b>high pass</b> or <b>pass</b>). </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the time of final grades, <b><u>high pass is an A</u></b>, <b><u>pass is an A-</u></b> and <b><u>‘fail’ will be negotiated</u></b> in relation to the extent of the <b>fail</b> (i.e., reason for ‘fail’, number of ‘failed’ assignments, level of effort made to resubmit assignment, level of effort made to consult peers or instructor, and standard/quality of work in relation to peers).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;">I'm just as anxious as you to see how this works at the end of the semester! </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Now let me highlight one important point in our discussions around this approach to collaborative course design. The guiding consideration for sharing the power in the classroom is the set of <i><b>situational factors</b></i> that underscore your class (see p. 6 in this <a href="http://trc.virginia.edu/Workshops/2004/Fink_Designing_Courses_2004.pdf" target="_blank">Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning</a> by L. Dee Fink, PhD). These situational factors help us make decisions about power sharing based on critical information related to who our students are, where we are teaching and what is expected of us as teachers. These situational factors include the values, expectations and assumptions of all involved. They ask us to consider big questions such as, "Can I let 150 Freshman decide how I grade them?" I think we all know the answer to that one. "Can the approach Rai is taking with her CTLE course work in my Physiology class?" Please, do let me know. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">In my next entry, I'll elaborate on how we roll out each lesson and share the responsibility for delivering and exploring course content. Please, submit your questions, comments, shock and awe. We'd also love to hear about your experiences, successes and failed attempts with approaches you've tried in the classroom. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Brookfield, S. D. (1995). <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Critically-Reflective-Teacher-Education/dp/0787901318" target="_blank"><i>Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher</i></a>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;">~Rai Farrelly</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif";"> </span></div><script type="text/javascript">
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</script>slcpinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516674151875539233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-69075094659780684452012-02-03T08:00:00.006-07:002012-02-04T10:27:30.917-07:00Teaching and Learning Online Series - Part 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> 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0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Online Teaching and Learning</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";" >―</span>It can no longer be an isolating process!</b></p> <p style="text-align: right;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;">By Dr. Vanae E. Morris</span></i></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Have you taken an online class<span style="mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";" >―</span>recently? What was your experience? Did you love it, hate it, feel isolated? <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have been teaching online courses for the past 11 years (and have been a student in several) and I have heard all of the chatter, both positive and negative. I have also read research studies that list the pros and cons of online classrooms and the online learning process. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Distant education and online learning has changed by leaps and bounds from the independent study days of taking a year to complete a class by using snail mail, email, and working alone with a sometimes present instructor. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Online teaching and learning can no longer be an isolating process for students or instructors if it is to survive as a viable teaching and learning environment. The shift from a face-to-face (f2f) classroom to an online classroom does take time and effort on the part of both the instructor and the students and does require a paradigm shift for both the instructor and the students. I would suppose it also depends on the willingness of the instructor to invest the time it takes to be the guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage. Being on the stage does take far less preparation than engaging the students in the course because you can just walk in and talk at the students for the hour plus of class or just post materials in your online course and never engage in the discussions and conversations with the students. It also depends on the willingness of the students to be actively engaged in the online course, which does take at least four to five days of visiting the course to post to discussions, check new materials, read the course materials, or ask questions for clarification. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, what I have discovered, even with our current millennial students, is that <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>if the instructor is effectively engaging the students in the process (f2f or online), the students will respond because as adult learners, they need to know why they should learn something, they need self-direction in their learning, they need to learn experientially, learn those things they need to know, approach learning as problem solving, and most of all, they need motivation to learn (Knowles, Holton, Swanson, 2005). Using <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><a href="http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/active/what/index.html">active learning</a></b> rather than passive learning strategies in your classrooms, both face-to-face and online, encourages the adult learners in your class to respond. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In order for the online teaching and learning process to be effective, 10 best practice principles must be actively instigated in the online learning environment (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010; Ko, 2005). I find these best practices to be very effective in both a f2f and an online environment; however, these best practices become even more critical in the online learning environment. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The two most important best practices are taking the time to design your entire course, and then being present at the course site. In the online pedagogy class offered through the University of Utah’s Center for Teaching & Learning, the focus is on a backward course design, which requires an instructor to examine situational factors, goals, understandings, essential questions, course objectives, summative assessments, and the designing of a learning plan (to help students successfully meet the course objectives through activities and formative assessments) (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005; Fink, 2003). Designing the entire course before you start gives you a road map to work from when you design and construct your individual weekly lesson plans. Having this road map assists you and your students with clarity and organization.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Being present at the course site is “the most fundamental and important of all the practices” and according to students, “the best online faculty . . . are faculty who are present multiple times a week” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). However, that does not mean you or your students need to be online 24/7, which is a myth floating out there in the blogosphere! So what is considered <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">multiple times a week? </i>The students in my online courses have discovered (me included) that this means at least checking in and finding out what is going on at least four to five days per week. What online teachers and learners often forget is that they should schedule the same amount of time (including the time you would meet f2f) for an online course as they would for a f2f course. Being present is important to the teaching and learning process no matter the size, space, or environment of your classroom. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stay tuned to find out about the other best practices of teaching and learning online!</p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >References</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.75in"><span style="font-size:100%;">Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R. (2010). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. </i>San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >Fink, L. D. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2005). <i>The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development </i>(6<sup>th</sup> ed.). 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mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="line-height:115%; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast- mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;" >Ko, S. (2005). Student-centered online teaching: Best practices. Retrieved from http://www.powershow.com </span></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). <i>Understanding by design </i>(2<sup>nd</sup> ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;font-size:12.0pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-line-height:115%;font-size:12.0pt;" > </span></p> <script type="text/javascript">var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script><script type="text/javascript">try {var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3735750-2");pageTracker._trackPageview();} catch(err) {}</script>Dr. Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077345364090525218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-566580359574873441.post-32541148363689943042012-01-27T13:52:00.000-07:002012-01-31T13:12:42.780-07:00Small Groups, Large Class Series (Part I)<div style="text-align: right;">
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</script><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>by Beverly Brehl</i></span> </span></div>
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"It's just not practical to do active learning in large classes "<br />
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Something we often hear from instructors who take our courses or attend our workshops is that active learning sounds great, but it just can't be done in <i>my class</i>. One of the reasons that often comes up for why active learning "just won't work" is because the class is so large. It would be great if I could get the students more engaged and do more than the traditional lecture, but it's just not practical in a large class - there would be too much grading, the room is set up all wrong, I can't manage that many students working in groups...it would be utter chaos.<br />
<br />
Well, I accept your challenge!<br />
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This semester, I am teaching an introductory level Human Development class with 140+ students (which by most standards, I think, counts as a large class). Don't get me wrong - there are days when I lecture. I do try to break up lecture with video clips, questions, <a href="http://clte.asu.edu/active/usingtps.pdf" target="_blank">think-pair-share </a>activities, etc., but Mondays and Wednesdays are still basically "lecture" days. Fridays, however, are a different story.<br />
<br />
Friday is "team meeting" day. At the beginning of the semester, I had students submit topic ideas that they would be interested in pursuing for their term project. Then, I matched people based on the ideas they had submitted. There are 17 groups, with approximately 8 people per group. On Fridays, they meet in class to work on their term projects, which ultimately will be posters on their chosen topic, including relevant research and theory, real-life examples, and a "call to action" where teams provide their advice as to how a particular audience (e.g., parents, teachers, policy makers) should approach the issue at hand. On the last day of class, we'll have a poster session in class, and students will get to review the posters created by the other teams.<br />
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Throughout the semester, I will share the ups and downs of incorporating group work into my large class. What have I learned so far? Well, for one, students (even "<a href="http://www.ctle.utah.edu//?&pageId=3439" target="_blank">Millennials</a>") weren't particularly excited about doing group work. On the first day of class, the vast majority of students in my class raised their hands when I asked "Who hates group work?". We then discussed why group work is important (e.g., it's a form of active learning which helps them get engaged with the material, they get a chance to learn from one another, it's a marketable skill that employers in today's job market are looking for). I'll ask them again at the end of the semester, and hopefully I will have convinced a few people that it's a worthwhile activity.<br />
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Something else I've learned when doing group work previously (albeit in far smaller classes) is that students are too busy to get together outside of class to meet with their groups. So when creating the course schedule, I made sure to set aside most Fridays for team meetings. This means I can't "cover" as much content in class, and that's something that's true of incorporating any type of active learning into your teaching - you have to use class time to do it, class time that you would have used otherwise to cover additional content. However, if you pay attention to the <a href="http://www.ctle.utah.edu/ATS/2011/FarrellyPowerpoint.pdf" target="_blank">research on active learning</a>, you'll discover that students learn more and retain that information longer when they're actively engaged than they do in a traditional lecture-style class. So the question is - do you want to "cover" content, or do you want your students to learn?<br />
<br />
For other examples of how to incorporate active learning into your large class, we'll be conducting a workshop on February 10, 2012 entitled "Alternatives to Lecturing in Large Classes". You can <a href="http://www.ctle.utah.edu/" target="_blank">register for the workshop</a> now, or if you can't attend, watch for the video and materials to be posted on our <a href="http://www.ctle.utah.edu/" target="_blank">website</a>. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1University of Utah - MarCom, 201 Presidents Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA40.7585639 -111.838972640.7465374 -111.8587136 40.770590399999996 -111.81923160000001