CIPs Teaching Tips – Spring 2013 #4 “All by yourself…alone”

CIPs Teaching Tips – Spring 2013 #4

“All by yourself…alone ”

Now that many of us have received the results of student evaluations from last semester, it is a good time to talk about how students perceive us in the classroom. One of the factors that greatly affects this perception is teacher immediacy. Teacher immediacy is a term used to describe communication behaviors that reduce the perceived distance between teacher and students.  By definition, immediacy behaviors convey teacher warmth, communicate positive relational affect, signal approach and availability for communication, and create increased receptivity in receivers. Students’ perceptions arise from an overall impression of the degree of immediacy behaviors rather than from single cues.  The research consistently shows that immediacy has a positive effect on teacher and course perception. These of course then can have a positive effect on student motivation and performance.

First described by Meharabian (1969) as behaviors that enhance closeness and nonverbal interaction with another, the definition was extended by Gorham (1988) to include verbal interaction that increased psychological closeness between teachers and students. Verbal immediacy includes the use of humor, frequent use of student name, encouragement of discussion and following up on student-initiated comments, encouraging future contact with students, and sharing of personal examples; nonverbal immediacy includes smiling, eye contact, vocal expressiveness, open gestures and body movement behaviors by the instructor. Immediate teachers often encourage students to appreciate or value the learning task, which in turn, has been found to enhance cognitive learning (Rodriquez, Plax & Kearney 1996)

Some behaviors that can increase teacher immediacy: reducing the actual physical distance between you and your students: smiling – simple, but very effective (You’d be surprised how often instructors don’t smile.), making appropriately friendly eye contact, and being vocally expressive.

Some behaviors that can decrease teacher immediacy: standing or sitting with “closed” body positions, moving away from your students – your whole body or just your upper body, avoiding eye contact, and negative tones and language.

While behaviors on the “can increase” list help us to be perceived as more accessible to students (hopefully demonstrating actual accessibility) many of us do not do them when we become uncomfortable or insecure in the classroom. In fact, most of us start exhibiting behaviors from the “can decrease” list. We might pull back physically when we feel that we’ve lost our students or feel that they are judging us in some way. Or, we might become overly critical, negative, or domineering. All of these things increase the distance between a teacher and his or her students and erode trust and respect.

Students get worried when they suddenly feel a distance open up between the teacher and the class. They will most always assume that it’s the teacher’s fault. They will often assume the teacher: doesn’t care about them, is judging them as unfit or unworthy, or doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Be prepared before you find yourself in this situation. First, figure out something you do easily and well that increases teacher immediacy – something that always works for you, something that is your strength. Then have a plan; be ready to pull out your “method” to regain your own focus and reconnect with your students whenever things get dicey in your classroom. For one instructor this might mean telling a story; for another, it could be taking a poll or asking students to give examples from their own lives. It doesn’t matter as long as it works for you and your students. Take back your class. Don’t let your perception of their judgments of you cause you to distance yourself from them. Even if they caused the rift, it’s your job to close it.

A short selection of resources:

Allen, Jerry L., et al. “Students’ Predispositions and Orientations toward Communication and Perceptions of Instructor Reciprocity and Learning.” Communication Education 57.1 (2008): 20-40. Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27949762&site=ehost-live

Andersen, Janis and Peter Anderson. “Teacher Immediacy.” Blackwell Reference Online. http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405131995_chunk_g978140513199525_ss13-1

Goodboy, Alan K., and Scott A. Myers “The Relationship Between Perceived Instructor Immediacy and Student Challenge Behavior.” Journal of Instructional Psychology 36.2 (2009): 108-112. Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=43843914&site=ehost-live

Hutchins, Holly M. “Instructional Immediacy and the Seven Principles: Strategies for Faciliating Online Courses.” Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume VI, Number 111 (2003). http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/hutchins63.html

*Put these letters in front for off-campus access: https://cobalt.champlain.edu/login?url=

CIP, Center for Instructional Practice

Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session:

Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

 

CIPs Teaching Tips – Spring 2013 #3 “Understanding the multiplicities of duality”

CIPs Teaching Tips – Spring 2013 #3

“Understanding the multiplicities of duality”

The University of California Berkeley Teaching Guide for Graduate Student Instructors has a great write-up about Perry’s nine positions of development. Many educators have heard of the major three – duality, multiplicity, and commitment. The site explains each of the nine levels students develop through along this spectrum. The site is a great refresher course about these levels; however, what is just as, if not more important for us to remember as we try to “reach” our students in the classroom are these two important facts:

1. Most of our students, no matter where they are along this developmental spectrum are rarely at the same point in all types of thinking. In other words, one student may be at one point relative to logical thought or general knowledge and at a very different place in terms of their ethical or moral reasoning. Perry said, “… each person may occupy several positions simultaneously with respect to different subjects and experiences. The developmental process is a constantly changing series of transitions between various positions.”
2. First year students (or sophomores, juniors or seniors) are not all at the same position on the spectrum. While intelligence and cognitive development affect how students proceed along this spectrum, their experiences, including cultural and socioeconomic, also affect their movement.

Add to these factors, that our students are mostly in the process of transitioning from one position to another. This means how they responded yesterday might not be an indication of how they’ll respond next week. They are continuously growing and changing, adapting to new positions and falling backwards as they move forward.

What’s the lesson here? Teaching is about noticing student responses and perceptions and making instructional practice choices that help students to grasp the discoveries we offer them in our classrooms. If they are not recognizing or taking in what we offer to them, sometimes it’s because they don’t care; sometimes it’s because they’re lazy; and sometimes it’s because we are not taking into account where they are developmentally and how this affects their view.

Bottom line – don’t expect your students to think in as developed a fashion as you do, or even as graduate students do. Thank your lucky stars for those students at the far end of the spectrum who do “get” everything you offer immediately, but don’t assume all their peers are at the same level.

Here’s to making the lights go on in their eyes, Cinse

*Perry, W.G. (1999). Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in the College Years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

CIP, Center for Instructional Practice Located on the second floor of the Miller Information Commons (the library) across from the printer – MIC 205

Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session: Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

CIPs Teaching Tips – Spring 2013 #2 Making our students rock solid AND ready to roll

CIPs Teaching Tips – Spring 2013 #2

“Making our students rock solid AND ready to roll”

Two interesting terms were mentioned in an article in the November issue of the Sunday New York Times insert, “Education Life” – crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence.

The article defines crystallized intelligence as “the mental storehouse of knowledge and procedures” and fluid intelligence as “the ability to solve novel problems, to see patterns and understand complex relationships – to find order in the chaos.

The article itself is about brain trainers such as the company LearningRx and the online site Lumosity.  Experts argue about whether this type of training results in greater fluid intelligence or a greater ability to take tests. What experts agree upon is that both types of intelligence exist. So which one is more important for our students to have when they finish their undergraduate education?

The Academy has traditionally focused on crystalized intelligence; however, in order to have fluid intelligence, in order to see patterns and make sense out of chaos, one must be able to recognize what it is that they are seeing. Our students do need a foundation of knowledge and the understanding of where and how to obtain further knowledge. But this foundation is not enough. This foundation doesn’t make them able to think in the integrated ways they will be required to in their future career positions nor will it be enough to help them navigate the tricky paths of global politics, human rights, and economics.

We do our students a disservice if we send them out into the world unable to integrate their prior knowledge and experiences with the new concepts and unexpected results they encounter. We do them an even greater disservice if we teach them that being educated simply means having crystallized intelligence.

So this semester, remember it’s all about rock and roll. Offer your students the opportunity to build a solid foundation of knowledge AND guide them to think fluidly by designing learning activities and assignments that demonstrate and require them to think in complex ways. I for one think the world will be in better hands in the future if you do.

CIP, Center for Instructional Practice

Located on the second floor of the Miller Information Commons (the library) across from the printer – MIC 205

Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session:

Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

 

 

Suggestions for using Champlain Theatre’s spring plays in class…

Suggestions for using Champlain Theatre’s spring productions in the classroom…

The plays:

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Hamlet has returned home from graduate school for his father’s funeral to discover his mother already remarried to his uncle who has usurped the throne.  Suspecting treachery, Hamlet sets on a journey of revenge. But how can he be sure his cause is just? Should he strike or stand down?  Directed by Joanne Farrell, the play’s the thing in this contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare’s towering revenge tragedy that promises to be fast-paced, fresh and engaging.

PERFORMANCES:  February 13-16 and 20-23 at 8:00 P.M.

ALUMNI AUDITORIUM, Champlain College – Tickets at the door: $10.00/ Champlain Faculty and Staff; Students free with Champlain College ID

Closer than Ever

by Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire

Directed by Sarah Gibson with musical direction by Nate Venet, Closer than Ever is a beautiful, funny, and poignant revue in two acts. It is, in short, about life – reality – the things we all can relate to and understand: the good, the bad, and at times, the hilariously ugly.  The opening number, “Doors,” begins a journey of emotions and musical genres that show us the paths we choose and those chosen for us as we transition through each stage of our lives.

PERFORMANCES:  April 3-6 at 8:00 P.M. & APRIL 7 at 2:00 p.m.

ALUMNI AUDITORIUM, Champlain College – Tickets at the door: $10.00/ Champlain Faculty and Staff; Students free with Champlain College ID

Suggestions for using these plays in the classroom…

Concepts of Community:

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How does the manner in which the other characters seem to define moral behavior and to judge the rightness or appropriateness of revenge affect Hamlet’s choices and self-image?
• How would you define Hamlet’s conflict or dilemma?
• How do Hamlet’s choices affect those around him?
• In what ways is Hamlet a product of his environment or community?
• In what ways is Hamlet a renegade?
• How might Hamlet’s dilemma or choice be different if his community were different?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play showcase:

• the tension between individual and community needs?
• the different ways in which individuals feel as if they “belong” within a community?
• the choices that individuals make within a community based on what they do and do not have control over in their lives?
• the multiplicity of different individual personalities and needs within a community AND the similarities among them?

Rhetoric II:

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• Does Hamlet argue the same way with himself as he does with those around him?
• Who is Hamlet’s most difficult audience?
• What is Hamlet trying to persuade himself to do or not to do?
• Why is Hamlet engaged in this struggle?
• What makes this play a tragedy, not classically but in your opinion?
• What could possible alter Hamlet’s dilemma or choices – how would the play have to be different in order for this to happen?
• How do you define noble – how could you effectively convey this definition to others?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play illustrate:

• the words different individuals use to convince a given audience to see their situation as they do?
• the way musical tone and phrases mirror rhetorical strategies?
• transition and cohesiveness among the various parts of an entire work?

Democracies

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How do the choices of one individual affect the collective?
• Does it matter that this play takes place in a monarchy?
• Does it matter that Hamlet is a prince?
• In a democracy can the decision of one individual have more impact than that of another?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play showcase:

• the effect of choices contemplated and made in life?
• the expectations of what each individual sees as their “rights” (what they deserve) in life?
• freedom and the responsibilities that come with choice?
• opportunities versus lack of choices?
• actual versus implied or assumed rights?
• rights versus privileges?

The Secular & the Sacred

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• What is sacred to Hamlet?
• Is Hamlet clear about what is sacred to him?
• Do the people around Hamlet (in his immediate world) seem to hold the same things sacred as he does?
• Is Hamlet’s dilemma secular or sacred in origin?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play illustrate:

• the individual’s need to make meaning of their lives and circumstances?
• the individual’s need to place hope and/or trust in a force or deity outside themselves?
• how certain societal goals/conditions (being in love for example) are revered or treated as next to sacred?

Heroines and Heroes

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• Is there a hero in this play?
• Are any of Hamlet’s actions heroic?
• How do you think Hamlet would define the term hero?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play showcase:

• the tension between wanting to be the heroine of hero of one’s own life and feeling like the powerless victim of circumstances?
• the heroic aspects of everyday life?
• the heroic characteristics we are drawn to in others and expect of ourselves?

Global Studies: Human Rights

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• Is Hamlet a victim? If so, of what?
• What right do we have as humans to justice? to peace? to closure?
• What is the difference between revenge and justice?
• Identify Hamlet’s rights in this situation and any correlating responsibilities.

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play showcase:

• the rights beyond basic needs that individuals might believe they are entitled to have?
• the guilt of wanting more?
• the pain or confusion of feeling you have less than others?

Global Studies: Tech & Development

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• Have do individuals, corporations, institutions, and political groups use technology to exact retribution or justice?
• What is the impact of a rogue tech user who doesn’t take the consequences of his or her actions on the collective?
• Is Hamlet’s dilemma one that would not be relevant in an underdeveloped country?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play illustrate:

• examples of life stages and relationships that can be hindered or aided by technology?
• examples of issues that many who live in undeveloped countries or cultures do not have the luxury of complaining about?
• examples of issues which are more important within certain “underdeveloped” cultures – an example being a culture in which relationships weigh more heavily than material wealth?

Make Films not War; War and Identity

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How would you capture both the individual and societal impact of this type of dilemma on film?
• How might a dilemma such as this that involves conflicted “self” and “community” identities, especially involving an individual in a power position, promote or cause a war?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play remind us of how:

• what we as individuals and as cultures/countries judge to be important determines what we are willing to fight for or against?
• we choose to obtain what we feel we have been denied?
• the intended and unexpected consequences of choices we make as individuals and communities?

Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Broadcasting, Brand and Account Management

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How would you design a political campaign for Hamlet?
• How would you broadcast the soliloquies in a powerful and effective manner over radio?
• What would the Hamlet brand look like?
• How could you use “to be or not to be” as a brand?
• How would you use the concept of noble as part of a brand or campaign?

Closer than Ever –

How well does each of the characters/singers communicate their needs and/or experiences to their intended audience?

Create a campaign to “win” a particular character/singer what he or she most seems to want?

What tagline would you create to communicate the overall life “message” from this musical?

How would you advertise this play to different segments of the U. S. population?

Middle East Courses

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How would Hamlet’s situation and his response to it be different if it happened in a middle eastern culture?
• What would be the same about Hamlet’s situation and his response to it if it happened in a middle eastern culture?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play remind us of the:

• differences in acceptable relationships in the East and West?
• reality of an individual’s actual experience versus the expected or condoned societal expectations of that experience?
• the similarities of the human experience across all cultures?

Electronic Media Writing & Publishing

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How might you create an online abbreviated version of Hamlet for a younger audience?
• Write a query letter pitching Hamlet as a new book that you are currently writing.
• Create a TV and radio ad to promote the play.

Closer than Ever –

How would you use the concept of “doors” to make an interactive introduction to this play online or on video?

How might you provide an introduction to and/or transition between songs from this play to publish them as a book?

How would you use lyrics or an entire song from this play to promote a particular cause?

Media and Society, Film/Film History, Video Storytelling, & Audio Production

Hamlet –

Consider the following after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• Imagine Hamlet as a love story, a mystery, a comedy – how would it look?
• How does this play compare to other classic film tragedies?
• How would you capture the power and effects of stage actions in a radio performance of Hamlet?
• How do you think different socio/economic groups reacted to watching Hamlet during Shakespeare’s time? How do you think various groups respond to it today?

Closer than Ever –

How would you present an audio only broadcast of this play?

What experiences portrayed within this play would strike a “common” chord with particular audiences?

You have been given an unlimited budget to produce the movie version of this play; what does it look like?

Create an internet trailer for this play?

What place do musicals hold in our media history and experiences?

Human Communication &Small Group Communication

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• What are the different ways in which Hamlet interacts with the other characters in the play?
• Is there a difference in how characters communicate with each other based on gender? power? rank?
• How do individual comments or silences affect small group dynamics within the play?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play showcase:

• common miscommunications?
• those things that remain unspoken and the consequences of silence?
• the imbalances in relationships that affect communication?

Game Design, Game Development, & Art & Animation

Hamlet –

How could Hamlet be used to design a puzzle game?

What animals would you use for the characters in Hamlet if you were hired to create an animated version of the play for children? Would it occur on a farm, in the woods, in the sea?

What would the challenges be in a game designed based on Hamlet?

Closer than Ever –

How could you use doors within a game environment to demonstrate the difficulty of moving from one place to another?

How might you create an entire game that revolves around the concept of doors?

What effect could height, width, and materials have on the perception of doors within a game environment?

Brainstorm multiple ways for doors to open within a game that go way beyond the usual side-hinged approach.

Drawing, Art History, Sculpture

Hamlet –

How has Hamlet been depicted in Art? Which depiction seems most appropriate to you?

What would /should Hamlet’s defining physical feature be?

How would you sculpt Hamlet in order to best show his true nature? his inner conflict?

How would a modern day Hamlet look?

Closer than Ever –

How have doors been used as symbols in Art throughout history?

How might you represent a “difficult” door – either to open or to close – in 2D?

How might you represent a “difficult” door – either to open or to close – in 3D?

How have bees been used in art? What do bees represent in art in different cultures?

Graphic Design, Typography

Hamlet –

What font screams Hamlet?

Create a poster for Hamlet for sophisticated theatre goers; for school children; for seniors; for new Americans.

You get to create Hamlet’s family coat of arms.

Hamlet needs a brand to represent his inner conflict – design it.

Closer than Ever –

Design a poster for this musical.

Design a public service poster which utilizes a door to represent either promoting stepping into or out of a particular behavior.

Psychology

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• Why is Hamlet conflicted?
• We hear a lot of Hamlet’s inner story; what do you think he is not telling us?
• What are the environmental factors that have/are affected/affecting Hamlet’s behaviors and helping to form his views?

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play showcase:

• possible driving forces behind behaviors within relationships.
• possible driving forces behind an individual’s perception of self?
• possible driving forces behind an individual’s perception of how they are viewed by others?

Education

Hamlet –

Create a lesson that makes Hamlet accessible to K-3 or some other school-age group.

Create a learning activity that helps young students to explore conflict and choices.

Find picture books and early chapter books that depict/explore revenge.

Closer than Ever –

How might you use doors in a classroom as a learning metaphor – an example would be to use a door in math 5 plus two equals how many?  Students would go through or open a door to reveal the answer. How else might you use doors to design a learning activity?

Design a unit on expressing emotions both positive and negative ones in an acceptable manner.

Writing, Creative Writing, Creative Non-Fiction, Journalism, & Interactive Storytelling

Hamlet –

Consider the following questions/suggestions after witnessing the characters’’ actions and words on stage and inferring any implied meaning:

• How might you tell this same story from another character’s point of view?
• How would you alter the story to make it a “choose what happens next” version of the script?
• What type of theme song could be written for this play?
• Use some of Hamlet’s words to introduce a piece of creative non-fiction about personal conflict.
• Change one important aspect of Hamlet’s personality – describe how this would affect the words and actions within the play.
• Rewrite the play as you would image it to be if it happened in the old West, during the Dark Ages, or some other period of history.

Closer than Ever –

Use the various life experiences and relationships sung about in the play to:

• craft a poem to capture the emotion and conditions of one of the songs
• create the beginning scenario of a short story
• write a news report of a possible  “gone wrong” outcome of the story related in one of the songs
• create an interactive story that retells one of the songs but add an unexpected twist

Human Sexuality

Hamlet –

Discuss how conflict can affect drive and rationale.

Discuss how peer pressure can influence choices.

Discuss how pressure to act in certain ways can come from within, from society, or from both.

Closer than Ever –

How do the various life experiences sung about in the play highlight:

• the cultural/societal expectations that might influence certain sexual decisions?
• the angst, uncertainty, fears, or hopes that can result from relationship interactions?
• the power dynamics in relationships?
• the effects of relationship interactions on self-image?

CIPs Teaching Tips – Fall 2012 #13 “now and then”

Happy it’s-officially-the-last-day-of-class for fall 2012. Here are a few tips about now – finals week – and then – getting ready for next semester.

now…

If you have the luxury of enough time during your final meeting to review the semester with your students consider asking them to do the following: Create a method for capturing student responses to the prompts suggested below that allows students to see each other’s’ responses. You could use poster-sized “Post Its” or have students write on the board. (You might choose to capture responses with a phone or digital camera.) Online instructors can use a wiki type document or ask students to post and then respond with comments and examples in a discussion forum.

Prompts:

*What was the best thing about this class?

*What was the most challenging thing about this class?

*What was your favorite thing you learned in this class?

*What do you think you’ll use most in the future from this class?

Process:

Ask students to walk around and write their responses on the board or large papers – more than one student can respond at once. Afterwards, discuss the responses as a group – who agrees or feels differently; examples of what was said. Use the opportunity to help students “own” what they’ve learned, to become aware of it in a way that enables them to use it outside of class. Also, take note of your students’ experiences – what worked and didn’t work and make note of it for the next time you teach the course.

***Take a moment to read this article in “Faculty Focus” if you’d like a little confidence booster about how much learning continues AFTER the semester is over. Think about what you’ve taught your students as being similar to something you remove from the microwave and put on the counter – it continues to cook a little more even though it’s no longer in the cooking environment.

later…

Once classes are over and finals are graded and you begin to think about next semester, consider the following suggestions for areas you might want to tweak. Intentionally create an improved semester by altering your instructional design.

INCREASE interactive learning

• design a learning activity that:
  •  provides a metaphor or a concrete abstract for a new concept
  • makes students aware of a concept’s connection to them
  • prompts students to explore their views
  • requires students to weight in or participate

CREATE NEW assignments

• design an assignment that:
  • requires higher level of thinking (more rigorous)
  • is more interactive
  • integrates a greater number of concepts
  • uses a new or several new delivery methods

MANAGE expectations

• design a plan to communicate expectations:
  • early in the semester
  • repeatedly over the semester
  • in multiple ways over the semester
• design a response for when students do not meet expectations
• design instructions that increase clarity but do not decrease expectations
• design the flow and format of each class and how you will make students aware of it
• design a mid-semester or other periodic check-in with students
• design easily accessible instructions on the LMS

IMPROVE grading

• design a cycle of grading that takes all of your courses into consideration
• design a rubric or other method for identifying and evaluating an assignment’s criteria
• design assignments that cover multiple outcomes in order to reduce the amount of grading
• design a plan for only grading what an assignment has been designed to demonstrate

Here’s to good endings AND good beginnings,

Cinse

CIP, Center for Instructional Practice

Cinse Bonino, Director

Located on the second floor of the Miller Information Commons (the library) across from the printer – MIC 205

Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session:

Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

CIPs Teaching Tips – Fall 2012 #12 “an educated response”

“an educated response”

The final weeks of the semester are a good time to remind students about what it means to be educated. It is also the perfect time to help them to be cognizant of what they are carrying out the door of your classroom to use in future courses, their upcoming careers, and in their daily lives – which hopefully will include lifelong learning.

So how can we communicate what it means to be educated to our students? Below is one model to use.

There are three levels of response to new information, concepts, and experiences:

The emotional response – This is our first reaction. Our emotions are engaged; we find the new information, concepts, or experiences we have encountered to be comforting or disturbing. We might be enticed or perhaps our fight or flight response is aroused. This is normal. It is also necessary in order to progress to the second and third stage. Some people do this internally and process very quickly. Others externalize these reactions. Staying in this stage and not continuing beyond it is not an educated response.

The intellectual response – This is our second reaction. Our mental process is engaged. What we know, or think we know, based on our knowledge and experiences to date, is used to analyze and evaluate the new information, concepts, or experiences we have encountered. We are using our minds and perhaps even  new meaning that was created during our education; however, we are not yet exercising an educated response.

The educated response – This is our goal, to respond in an educated manner. This means that we progress beyond the intellectual response and build upon it. We do this by seeking to evaluate our intellectual assumptions and conclusions. We ask ourselves if we need more information. We attempt to uncover relevant information we are unaware that we do not know. We explore the conclusions of others where appropriate. We then combine these new discoveries with our intellectual response and create an educated response. This response by its very nature is temporary; it is our current response and as such is open to revision when we encounter new information, concepts, or experiences.

Here’s an interesting post on Forbes about what it means to be educated: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/07/31/what-does-it-mean-to-be-educated/

Again, this is a wonderful topic to discuss at the end of the semester; it’s also a nice way to frame the beginning of a course. What does being educated mean to you? to your students?

I’ll leave you with my favorite definition of being educated from the Forbes piece: “a desire as well as the means to make sure that learning never ends”

Keep on learning,

Cinse

CIPs Teaching Tips – Fall 2012 #11 “Don’t be a turkey and try to stuff too much in…to your grading.”

Finals are almost here – there are only two more weeks of classes after Thanksgiving. Many instructors don’t have to wait for finals to become buried under grading; they’re there already. At this point in the semester it’s probably too late to cut back on the number of assignments but there are some things that have the potential to affect your grading experience in a positive manner. Here are a few. (If you have a tip to add, please post it in the comment section below.)

Grading Tips & Suggestions:

• Don’t correct all the grammar, mechanical, and other writing errors; instead correct a few and then write a comment about what students need to improve such as, “Watch for small mechanical writing errors that can confuse the reader and make your meaning unclear.”  This takes far less time than circling all their errors and writing in corrections.
• Do the same thing for comprehension aspects of writing. Commenting, “You need transition here to introduce the reader to this new idea” instead of writing multiple sentences about how the student should transition is actually more beneficial to learning, especially if you suggest that students take their papers to the Writing Center and get help based on the comments that you’ve written. They could ask the tutors there how they might transition better or even why what they have written doesn’t work.
• Choose a certain number of criteria by which the assignment will be graded and grade those and only those criteria. It’s really easy to go beyond the scope you’ve set, but don’t; not if you don’t have time.
• Group your assignments that are ready to be graded into piles of 3, 4, or 5. The feeling of completion is very different when you notice that you’ve done 4 out of 5 as opposed to 4 out of 25.
• Figure out what you need to stay focused even if it’s taking a break. You might want to reward yourself in some way after each pile or particular number of assignments is graded.
• Make sure intake and outtake are happening in a healthy way while you grade. Don’t hold your breath (watch yourself, many of us do this while we grade) or anything else in for too long as you are grading and be sure to get enough fluids and proteins. All getting aside.
• Time of day can really matter – a night person who tries to grade in the morning will take way longer to finish. Follow your natural tendencies as much as time will allow.
• Remember who your students are; remind yourself that grading is another opportunity to teach your students; it much more than just work for us to get done. If you’ve taken a photo of your class, now might be a good time to look at it. Your students are the reason you want to do your grading well.
• When all else fails, walk outside and get some perspective.

Here’s hoping grading doesn’t throw you a curve (ouch),

Cinse

Cinse Bonino, Director

Located on the second floor of the Miller Information Commons (the library) across from the printer – MIC 205

 Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session:

Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

CIPs Teaching Tips – Fall 2012 #10 “Beauty (or any other trait) is in the eye of the beholder…”

It’s time once again for student evaluations. As you know, students use an evaluation form (in our case, IDEA) to communicate their experience about the courses they are currently in and the professors they currently have. Are students good judges of the value of their courses or the abilities of their professors? We could debate that all day. What we do know is that student evaluations are a tool for collecting student impressions. Impressions are very powerful – first impressions, final impressions, any impressions. Research shows that the way a student views an instructor has a marked effect on their learning and on how they value the course being taught. *Please see article links at the end of this communication.

So what does this mean?? Does it matter whether or not students truly know what’s best for them? Should their impressions and judgments matter? How can we ultimately view and use student evaluation results in helpful ways? Student evaluation reports tell us how most of our students view our efforts. They also reveal how the minority of students view these same efforts. We can compare what students perceive they received to what we were attempting to deliver.

Perhaps we actually did deliver the learning experience we wanted to deliver, but students didn’t perceive it for what it was. This could be because we need to do a better job of helping students to become aware of what is actually happening in class; to label what is happening; to make connections between what is happening in class and the purpose of the course; and to understand the usefulness of that purpose in their careers and future lives.

Student evaluation reports are our opportunity to compare what students think happened in class with what we think happened. Value emerges as we tease out why students’ perceptions are what they are – good or bad; it’s our task to figure out what’s working, what’s not, and most importantly why this is so.

Make sure to choose objectives on the faculty information sheet that match what you are trying to accomplish in the class. Don’t confuse methods with objectives. You might have asked students to use writing, but if learning to write is not a primary goal in your course then don’t choose it as an objective.

When you get your evaluation report, remember what you’ll have in your hands are your students’ perceptions, their impressions of what happened in your classes. Use that information to tweak what you do, to figure out what to keep and what to alter. If you want help wading through your students impressions, make an appointment and I’ll help you to find the useful pieces hiding underneath all those numbers.

Hope to see you on the other side (grin),

Cinse

Allen, Jerry L., et al. “Students’ Predispositions and Orientations toward Communication and Perceptions of Instructor Reciprocity and Learning.” Communication Education 57.1 (2008): 20-40. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27949762&site=ehost-live

Andersen, Janis and Peter Anderson. “Teacher Immediacy.” Blackwell Reference Online. http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405131995_chunk_g978140513199525_ss13-1

Goodboy, Alan K., and Scott A. Myers “The Relationship Between Perceived Instructor Immediacy and Student Challenge Behavior.” Journal of Instructional Psychology 36.2 (2009): 108-112. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=43843914&site=ehost-live

Huddle, David. “Sublime Time in the Seminar: An Elegy.” UVM Connection Vermont Quarterly Summer 2009.  http://alumni.uvm.edu/vq/summer2009/huddle.asp

Hutchins, Holly M. “Instructional Immediacy and the Seven Principles: Strategies for Faciliating Online Courses.” Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume VI, Number 111 (2003). http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/hutchins63.html

Stewart, Kenneth “Lessons from Teaching Millennials.” College Teaching 57.2 (2009): 111-118. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=36858243&site=ehost-live

*Put these letters in front of URLs for off-campus access: https://cobalt.champlain.edu/login?url=

Cinse Bonino, Director

Located on the second floor of the Miller Information Commons (the library) across from the printer – MIC 205

Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session:

Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

CIPs Teaching Tips – Fall 2012 #9 “Why should I care?”

The most recent Tomorrow’s Professor Blog post discusses how to challenge your students AND get them motivated to learn.  You can read the complete post here: http://derekbruff.org/blogs/tomprof/ Below are some of the types of tips mentioned in the post that many instructors here already do. As always, we can learn a lot from each other. These methods are not only anecdotally successful, there is research behind them as well.

Show your students how the goals of your course and the assignments you ask them to complete make sense. First be sure students are clear about what you want them to do. Make it seem doable. Then connect the assignment to the goals of the course. Finally connect those goals to your students’ lives and future careers.  Do this in a way that makes sense to your students, not just to you or your colleagues.

If possible, have students set goals for themselves or their small group. This isn’t always possible to do for an entire course but can be applied to a particular assignment. An example would be to let students choose two out of three objectives to demonstrate with their project. They figure out how to accomplish this (within whatever guidelines you set). Make sure they run their draft or idea by you for approval so there are no unhappy surprises.  [You can apply this to form as well: if students are required to write a three-page paper to communicate X, why not let them write an epic poem, short story, or news report to do the same thing. If citing sources is an integral and needed component, have them do footnotes. They are still required to write, but they can choose the form their writing takes.]

Further connect the goals of the course to their applicable value. Why should students care about your course? Maybe they don’t realize the difference this type of knowledge or these skills can make in the world. Don’t assume that they do. Facilitate exploratory discussions to help students discover the benefits of course concepts and skills to themselves and to others in the world. Solving real problems, using case studies, and doing service learning are just a few ways that can help to reinforce this value recognition.

Raise the stakes. If students produce work that will be seen or judged by external audiences it can raise their engagement and challenge them to do better work. Displaying the work in the college community or online, showing the work to an advisory board or group of professionals, or creating a compilation publication can all affect student effort. Make sure students know from the start that their work will be seen by others.

With a little effort on your part, incorporating some of these ideas into your instructional design could make the following statement true: Transparent Connections + >Perceived Value = > Student Engagement and Quality of Work.

here’s to valuing what we do,

Cinse

Cinse Bonino, Director

Located on the second floor of the Miller Information Commons (the library) across from the printer – MIC 205

Contact Director Cinse Bonino for a one-on-one CIP instructional design session:

Email: bonino@champlain.edu or CIP@champlain.edu Phone: 802 651 5965 Skype: cinse.cip

CIPs Teaching Tips – Fall 2012 #8 “Here I am, stuck in the middle with you”

A college course is very much a relationship between the professor and his or her students. Round about midterm, the relationship usually has begun to settle into a pattern. Sometimes not everyone involved is happy with that pattern, and as in many relationships, not everyone communicates well about how they think the relationship is doing. Midterm can be your last chance for improving the professor-student relationship in your courses. One effective way to do this is to ask students to anonymously provide feedback that will help you to create an effective learning environment. What you ask them to tell you and how your respond to what they disclose are the two most important parts of this process.

What you ask them: Note cards can be used (if handwriting won’t be recognizable based on the structure of your class) to solicit the answer to one question on the back and another on the front. Ask them what works best about the class and what they find most challenging or missing.

A list of questions – with spaces for handwriting or sent electronically to be printed and handed in anonymously, enables you to ask for more feedback. Be careful though, too many prompts can cause students to: view the form as “work” rather than as an opportunity to provide feedback or to begin to lose steam toward the end of the survey. Here are a few sample questions to get you thinking about what you might want to ask:

1. When do you experience clear communication in this class – in other words, when do you feel fairly certain that you know what is expected of you or what will happen next? When is this not the case?
2. Do you feel engaged in this course – in other words, what gets you interested in what’s happening in the class? What would help you to feel more engaged?
3. Do you think that what you are learning in this class is valuable? – Why or why not?

How you respond:  Review the responses with your class. Summarize them topically rather than reading each one. Speak first to what’s working for many students; point out how this will be continued. Speak to any changes suggested that you can make or tweak towards. Be sure to mention any requests that are not possible and explain why – reasons might include pedagogy, intended outcomes, student responsibilities, or practical restrictions. Emphasize how a learning relationship requires engagement and effort on both sides. Students should feel heard; realize that you want to create a positive and productive learning environment with them; and understand you are the one in charge of the classroom.

Here’s to an excellent second half of the semester,

Cinse