Guest Blogger: Saadia Lawton
During a recent conversation with a colleague outside of the Visual Arts field, she lamented that an attempt to incorporate art into her class discussion about literature did not ago as well as she intended. For her, the discourse with her students was not as lively and did not transcend the common art criticism often heard when people outside the field are introduced to art: “That’s art! It’s ugly. I don’t like it.” What this professor wanted was an opportunity to introduce art to students outside the field and ensure that they would use it as a means to contextualize her literary lesson. As we talked further, I realized how often images are used to provide context outside the field, but rarely discussed in a way that leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation for what the specific artwork conveys about the artist, the subject matter, the event represented or people depicted, and the audience that made/used it at the time of its creation. Rarely do conversations about the artwork, outside the field, move beyond what the art represents to address why it is important and what additional information can its visual cues offer to our greater understanding about a specific period or people being studied.
In order to facilitate a conversation about any form of Visual Culture, it helps to become familiar with the terms used to discuss and describe what the artwork shows. In one of the University required core courses, ART 200: Introduction to Art, we prepare students to observe, discuss and write about different kinds of artwork. One of the first lessons taught focuses on the 15 design elements and principles that comprise the bases of our discourse. Color, line, light (value), mass, shape, space, texture, time and motion comprise the design elements. The design principles include balance, contrast, directional force, emphasis and subordination, repetition and rhythm, scale and proportion, unity and variety. Some of these are self-explanatory, while others require a little more discussion and practice to enable accurate identification of the element of principle in question. Ultimately, the goal in learning these basic terms is to get students adept at seeing an artwork from different perspectives. As they learn to look they systematically use the design elements and principles to collect data, and process the visual cues in order to construct a thesis statement that ties information about how the artwork was created to its content or meaning (why it was created and what it informs us about the event, the people, the period…etc.).
Educators and students who master this approach are capable of using almost any artwork to contextualize the lesson. This is the reason why we see art used for almost everything we experience in our day to day lives. We not only live in a visual world but we form part of the information acquired, processed and meanings ascribed daily. One of the Best Practices that the late Dr. Lori Lynn Kata used in her classes involved the compare and contrast approach. It is relatively simple way to train novices to learn how to look at art and collect the necessary data about the representation that can lead to enlivened debates that move beyond criticism into deeper conversations about what the art is about (content), how the artist used the subject matter to convey certain sentiments, and why the approach was or was not effective at the time. This teaching method can be accomplished with two artworks by the same artists, by two different artists, artworks completed at different time periods about the same subject and so forth. I recommend the use of a graphic organizer, such as a Venn diagram because it aids students in the processes of collection, recording and sharing information later. In my own classes, I have broken students up into small groups that rotate between 3-4 different artworks either collecting data or making notations on large post-it notes. All of these approaches encourage better communication about art within the context of any lesson plan and activates a cross-curricular conversation about art and its important role in any other field.
As we continue to be a society inundated with images, we will realize just how much art is a part of our daily lives. For this reason, the Visual Arts is one of the most diverse and interdisciplinary fields often referenced by outside scholarship. When information garnered from an artwork is observed, collected, and discussed, it opens up opportunities to explore a different field from a new perspective. I encourage you to find innovative ways to introduce art into your class lessons and witness how the visual provides an exceptional tool for learning.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Routine or Ritual?
Guest Blogger: Mel Leaman
Is it routine or ritual? The former suggests the mundane; merely a thoughtless “it’s just something you have to do” expense of energy. Its purpose is lost in its practice. However, if those first five minutes hold a sense of the sacramental, the seemingly routine is alive with an auspicious presence. It sets the stage for wonder; a mystery of the moment. Someone notices. Something is missed in the absence of the ritual. So it is that everyday I walk into the classroom I share a word of welcome. A half-hearted response by the few who do not have their ears muffed with headphones or their eyes skimming texts messages is a sufficient connection. Someone would notice if the class was not greeted with a smiling face and a “Good morning, class.” The absence of presence would bring a cause for pause: “What’s wrong with Dr. Leaman today?” The ritual plays on as I state the objectives for the day and then remind them that as I take attendance they should be sure to make their last minute calls or text messages. Frequently, as they acknowledge their presence I will say “welcome” to each student. When the final name is called the students anticipate, not necessarily appreciate, the professor’s next line: “Ok, we are ready for the day. Let’s put everything away that is not pertinent to the educational process and get started.”
Since midterm I inserted another part of the ritual. On the first day of class the students were given an information form. In addition to name, major, birthday, and hometown they were invited to list hobbies, a color that represents an aspect of their personality, and a favorite movie and song. They used these forms to introduce themselves to their nearest neighbor. A few weeks ago I started to feature a student and his/her favorite song while I took attendance. Pertinent and appropriate information from the student’s form is flashed on the screen and the You Tube version of his/her favorite song is played. It was stated on the first day of this exercise that if a student did not want to be featured or wanted to change his/her song, it was not too late to notify me of these wishes. One student took advantage of this opportunity. She selected a different song.
Is it routine or ritual? Is it just something you have to do or a sacred, celebrative act that creates connection and community- an auspicious moment of meaning and belonging? Yesterday, the ritual was affirmed. It was test day. We all know the usual anxiety that accompanies exams. Students want to quickly regurgitate what they had crammed down their throats prior to the class. In that light, the professor decided to forego the feature student and song. The test was distributed and instructions were beginning when a student interrupted, “Dr. Leaman, you forgot the song!” I smiled to myself and mused about how religious we had already become in regard to this ritual. My heart was warmed.
Is it routine or ritual? The former suggests the mundane; merely a thoughtless “it’s just something you have to do” expense of energy. Its purpose is lost in its practice. However, if those first five minutes hold a sense of the sacramental, the seemingly routine is alive with an auspicious presence. It sets the stage for wonder; a mystery of the moment. Someone notices. Something is missed in the absence of the ritual. So it is that everyday I walk into the classroom I share a word of welcome. A half-hearted response by the few who do not have their ears muffed with headphones or their eyes skimming texts messages is a sufficient connection. Someone would notice if the class was not greeted with a smiling face and a “Good morning, class.” The absence of presence would bring a cause for pause: “What’s wrong with Dr. Leaman today?” The ritual plays on as I state the objectives for the day and then remind them that as I take attendance they should be sure to make their last minute calls or text messages. Frequently, as they acknowledge their presence I will say “welcome” to each student. When the final name is called the students anticipate, not necessarily appreciate, the professor’s next line: “Ok, we are ready for the day. Let’s put everything away that is not pertinent to the educational process and get started.”
Since midterm I inserted another part of the ritual. On the first day of class the students were given an information form. In addition to name, major, birthday, and hometown they were invited to list hobbies, a color that represents an aspect of their personality, and a favorite movie and song. They used these forms to introduce themselves to their nearest neighbor. A few weeks ago I started to feature a student and his/her favorite song while I took attendance. Pertinent and appropriate information from the student’s form is flashed on the screen and the You Tube version of his/her favorite song is played. It was stated on the first day of this exercise that if a student did not want to be featured or wanted to change his/her song, it was not too late to notify me of these wishes. One student took advantage of this opportunity. She selected a different song.
Is it routine or ritual? Is it just something you have to do or a sacred, celebrative act that creates connection and community- an auspicious moment of meaning and belonging? Yesterday, the ritual was affirmed. It was test day. We all know the usual anxiety that accompanies exams. Students want to quickly regurgitate what they had crammed down their throats prior to the class. In that light, the professor decided to forego the feature student and song. The test was distributed and instructions were beginning when a student interrupted, “Dr. Leaman, you forgot the song!” I smiled to myself and mused about how religious we had already become in regard to this ritual. My heart was warmed.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Teaching Grammar/Learning Grammar. Sigh.
Guest Blogger: Linda Stine
Like everyone else, I've been moaning and groaning my way through midterms this week. And, like perhaps at least some of you, I've been wondering if my grammar explanations have been doing more harm than good, as I note fragmented ideas and run-on sentences and commas popping up in locations that just seem to belie any rational explanation.
On a listserv for writing teachers recently, a good conversation has been taking place on the whole issue of grammar instruction, student writing, and transferability of writing skills. We know that learning a new concept causes temporary backsliding as students struggle to fit the new knowledge into their existing sense of language structure and begin questioning everything, even concepts that they had previously mastered. (I like to think that's the reason for all those inexplicable commas...). We know too that the same backsliding occurs when students are asked to write on more complicated issues or in other classes with different content matter. We know too that teaching grammar directly and explicitly does little to improve student writing.
So given that, I was wondering what ways you have found that help your students learn, internalize, master, and transfer effectively to other classes the basic concepts of academic grammar and mechanics? Do you discuss grammar rules and then ask students to practice them in exercises before applying them in their own writing? Do you start with the students' own writing and work mainly on getting them to clarify their thoughts, trusting that grammar issues will clear themselves up without formal instruction simply as a side effect of clearer thinking and wider reading? Do you note grammar errors on papers? How? Where? When? Why? Do you have any techniques that work well for you that you could share with the rest of us? Or do you have questions about the whole pesky "good grammar” issue that you keep wrestling with without finding a good answer?
What should we all be doing, I wonder, to ensure that we are graduating students who can write clear, standard, academic English?
Like everyone else, I've been moaning and groaning my way through midterms this week. And, like perhaps at least some of you, I've been wondering if my grammar explanations have been doing more harm than good, as I note fragmented ideas and run-on sentences and commas popping up in locations that just seem to belie any rational explanation.
On a listserv for writing teachers recently, a good conversation has been taking place on the whole issue of grammar instruction, student writing, and transferability of writing skills. We know that learning a new concept causes temporary backsliding as students struggle to fit the new knowledge into their existing sense of language structure and begin questioning everything, even concepts that they had previously mastered. (I like to think that's the reason for all those inexplicable commas...). We know too that the same backsliding occurs when students are asked to write on more complicated issues or in other classes with different content matter. We know too that teaching grammar directly and explicitly does little to improve student writing.
So given that, I was wondering what ways you have found that help your students learn, internalize, master, and transfer effectively to other classes the basic concepts of academic grammar and mechanics? Do you discuss grammar rules and then ask students to practice them in exercises before applying them in their own writing? Do you start with the students' own writing and work mainly on getting them to clarify their thoughts, trusting that grammar issues will clear themselves up without formal instruction simply as a side effect of clearer thinking and wider reading? Do you note grammar errors on papers? How? Where? When? Why? Do you have any techniques that work well for you that you could share with the rest of us? Or do you have questions about the whole pesky "good grammar” issue that you keep wrestling with without finding a good answer?
What should we all be doing, I wonder, to ensure that we are graduating students who can write clear, standard, academic English?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Teacher Education
Guest Blogger: Dipali Puri
Teacher education programs continue to change and evolve in an effort to address the changing needs concerning what pre-service teachers need to know to successfully function in today's schools. In order to better prepare pre-service teachers for a career in education, where they feel ready and prepared to take on the classroom and address the needs of their students, it is important to look at the pre-service teachers themselves and their perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about education.
The perceptions and expectations of teachers are of crucial importance to the way that a teacher behaves in a classroom (Giovannelli, 2003; Ross & Gray, 2006). The study of pre-service teacher perception is a crucial topic of research for, not only the teacher education community, but for the larger educational community as a whole. Teacher perception, or cognition, is a concept that encompasses what teachers know, believe and think. This concept comes into play in the larger educational discourse through the recognition of the relationship that perceptions and cognitions have with teacher behaviors. In other words, teacher perceptions are an important topic of study because they influence what a teacher does on a day-to-day basis in the classroom
Pre-service teachers should be questioned on what their vision of a classroom looks like, who the students in that classroom are, and where that classroom is located For example, do undergraduate pre-service teachers perceive that ideal classroom as located in an urban, suburban or rural area? What type of student population do they envision teaching in the future? What type of teaching technique do they plan to implement? Student centered, teacher directed, etc? What is their philosophy of education? In turn, how does this influence their beliefs about education?
Through teacher preparation programs, pre-service teachers are beginning to think about and reflect on what they envision their own classrooms will look like. As a result of this, it is important that teacher educators provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices and how this will translate into their future career as educators.
Teacher education programs continue to change and evolve in an effort to address the changing needs concerning what pre-service teachers need to know to successfully function in today's schools. In order to better prepare pre-service teachers for a career in education, where they feel ready and prepared to take on the classroom and address the needs of their students, it is important to look at the pre-service teachers themselves and their perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about education.
The perceptions and expectations of teachers are of crucial importance to the way that a teacher behaves in a classroom (Giovannelli, 2003; Ross & Gray, 2006). The study of pre-service teacher perception is a crucial topic of research for, not only the teacher education community, but for the larger educational community as a whole. Teacher perception, or cognition, is a concept that encompasses what teachers know, believe and think. This concept comes into play in the larger educational discourse through the recognition of the relationship that perceptions and cognitions have with teacher behaviors. In other words, teacher perceptions are an important topic of study because they influence what a teacher does on a day-to-day basis in the classroom
Pre-service teachers should be questioned on what their vision of a classroom looks like, who the students in that classroom are, and where that classroom is located For example, do undergraduate pre-service teachers perceive that ideal classroom as located in an urban, suburban or rural area? What type of student population do they envision teaching in the future? What type of teaching technique do they plan to implement? Student centered, teacher directed, etc? What is their philosophy of education? In turn, how does this influence their beliefs about education?
Through teacher preparation programs, pre-service teachers are beginning to think about and reflect on what they envision their own classrooms will look like. As a result of this, it is important that teacher educators provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices and how this will translate into their future career as educators.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Yes, Librarians are Teachers
Albert Bryson, Guest Blogger
I feel that many teaching faculty do not really understand why librarians at academic institutions are part of the faculty. Our roles are different because we are an academic support service at colleges. We supplement what the teaching faculty do in the classroom.
For years the libraries have provided for the teaching faculty a course reserve area with books and articles that supplement the textbooks student purchase for their courses. We are where the students come to work on their research papers and projects.
Since I came to Lincoln in 1987 the library has progressed from physical card catalog to online public access catalog (OPAC) which lists all the items, primarily books that the library owns which are available for our patrons. I am the Catalog Librarian who decides where the book is located in our library using Library of Congress classification and subject headings. I am the one who knows where everything actually is on the shelf.
We have progressed as well from periodicals in bound volumes and on microfilm to where you obtain full text articles from peer reviewed journals online through the many databases which the library now subscribes to online, using the various computers in the library. We still get many of periodicals and journals in print as well, but we do not need to keep some of them in physical storage due the online databases.
Librarians do the majority of our teaching individually using a technique called the reference interview, where we assist students, staff and faculty in finding materials on the topics they are interested in searching. The amount of time we devote to this could be from just a few minutes to as long as an hour, depending what topic needed to be researched.
On request we do what we call bibliographical instruction in the classroom at the request of the teaching faculty where in one class session we provide a quick introduction to what we have available in the library to the students to assist them as they do their various class assignments. We provide handouts on the library services we offer, and we demonstrate how to use the OPAC and several of the online full text databases we have available on the topic associated with the actual class provide to us by the faculty member.
So remember if you need assistance with your research and you need assistance to get going, please feel free to contact one of the faculty librarians. We are available when the library is open to assist you.
I feel that many teaching faculty do not really understand why librarians at academic institutions are part of the faculty. Our roles are different because we are an academic support service at colleges. We supplement what the teaching faculty do in the classroom.
For years the libraries have provided for the teaching faculty a course reserve area with books and articles that supplement the textbooks student purchase for their courses. We are where the students come to work on their research papers and projects.
Since I came to Lincoln in 1987 the library has progressed from physical card catalog to online public access catalog (OPAC) which lists all the items, primarily books that the library owns which are available for our patrons. I am the Catalog Librarian who decides where the book is located in our library using Library of Congress classification and subject headings. I am the one who knows where everything actually is on the shelf.
We have progressed as well from periodicals in bound volumes and on microfilm to where you obtain full text articles from peer reviewed journals online through the many databases which the library now subscribes to online, using the various computers in the library. We still get many of periodicals and journals in print as well, but we do not need to keep some of them in physical storage due the online databases.
Librarians do the majority of our teaching individually using a technique called the reference interview, where we assist students, staff and faculty in finding materials on the topics they are interested in searching. The amount of time we devote to this could be from just a few minutes to as long as an hour, depending what topic needed to be researched.
On request we do what we call bibliographical instruction in the classroom at the request of the teaching faculty where in one class session we provide a quick introduction to what we have available in the library to the students to assist them as they do their various class assignments. We provide handouts on the library services we offer, and we demonstrate how to use the OPAC and several of the online full text databases we have available on the topic associated with the actual class provide to us by the faculty member.
So remember if you need assistance with your research and you need assistance to get going, please feel free to contact one of the faculty librarians. We are available when the library is open to assist you.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The "A" Word, Again
Guest blogger: Dave Royer
To the reader: the following blog uses the “a” word, so sufferers of “a” exhaustion, be forewarned.
In one of my recent classes we had a discussion; it was not explicitly planned, but we were covering a topic that had the potential to elicit strong opinions. I enjoyed hearing the students’ opinions, and their perspectives were interesting. I think it was empowering for them to have an opportunity to express their opinion and to use materials they had learned in my course and in other courses they had taken to support their opinions. After the class was over, I realized that the discussion was spontaneous and creative and completely outside my assessment plan for the course. Is that a bad thing?
At times, I have found the assessment process to be exhausting and occasionally frustrating, but it has revealed a lot about how I teach and what and how my students learn. My teaching has changed, hopefully for the better, because of it. But I hope that assessment does not evolve in a way that suppresses spontaneity and creativity in the classroom; I do not ever want to hear myself say to a class that we do not have time for discussion (or some other activity) because it is not in the assessment plan. I feel that the interchange that occurred in my class was as valuable to the students’ learning experience as a well conceived and constructed SLO.
One final thought – someone might suggest that I could have anticipated the possibility of discussion and designed a rubric to assess it, but it was pleasant to listen and participate without having to keep score.
To the reader: the following blog uses the “a” word, so sufferers of “a” exhaustion, be forewarned.
In one of my recent classes we had a discussion; it was not explicitly planned, but we were covering a topic that had the potential to elicit strong opinions. I enjoyed hearing the students’ opinions, and their perspectives were interesting. I think it was empowering for them to have an opportunity to express their opinion and to use materials they had learned in my course and in other courses they had taken to support their opinions. After the class was over, I realized that the discussion was spontaneous and creative and completely outside my assessment plan for the course. Is that a bad thing?
At times, I have found the assessment process to be exhausting and occasionally frustrating, but it has revealed a lot about how I teach and what and how my students learn. My teaching has changed, hopefully for the better, because of it. But I hope that assessment does not evolve in a way that suppresses spontaneity and creativity in the classroom; I do not ever want to hear myself say to a class that we do not have time for discussion (or some other activity) because it is not in the assessment plan. I feel that the interchange that occurred in my class was as valuable to the students’ learning experience as a well conceived and constructed SLO.
One final thought – someone might suggest that I could have anticipated the possibility of discussion and designed a rubric to assess it, but it was pleasant to listen and participate without having to keep score.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Access, Not Special Privileges!
Guest Blogger: Cathy DeCourcey
In public education today, the general education teacher should expect to teach students with disabilities, students for whom English is a second language, students with special talents, as well as “typical” learners. Similarly, in higher education, increasing numbers of students with disabilities appear in our classes. What then, does a professor do with a student who has a disability?
Our attitudes about difference and disability have significant impact on our students’ success. Does our attitude suggest an openness so that students feel confident in disclosing their special needs? Does our attitude suggest that there are more ways to learn or demonstrate knowledge? What beliefs do we have, personally/professionally about disability and difference?
A student with a learning disability CAN learn the same content as a student without a disability. However, that individual might require accommodations to be able to demonstrate such. Providing accommodations isn’t about “special privileges” for someone; it’s about providing access.
Think about going for a driver’s license. There’s the written part of the test, the driving part of the test, and finally the vision part of the test. For the privileged few who have excellent, uncorrected vision, I can assure you that if you fail the vision section, no driver’s license! Even if I am successful with the written part, I can’t get behind the wheel without correcting my vision. (At least that’s the theory!)
When a student with a disability submits a letter from Services for Students with Disabilities that recommends accommodations such as additional time for testing or note-taker, that student seeks access to learning, not special privileges. Think of those accommodations as the corrective lens through which they can learn more effectively.
In public education today, the general education teacher should expect to teach students with disabilities, students for whom English is a second language, students with special talents, as well as “typical” learners. Similarly, in higher education, increasing numbers of students with disabilities appear in our classes. What then, does a professor do with a student who has a disability?
Our attitudes about difference and disability have significant impact on our students’ success. Does our attitude suggest an openness so that students feel confident in disclosing their special needs? Does our attitude suggest that there are more ways to learn or demonstrate knowledge? What beliefs do we have, personally/professionally about disability and difference?
A student with a learning disability CAN learn the same content as a student without a disability. However, that individual might require accommodations to be able to demonstrate such. Providing accommodations isn’t about “special privileges” for someone; it’s about providing access.
Think about going for a driver’s license. There’s the written part of the test, the driving part of the test, and finally the vision part of the test. For the privileged few who have excellent, uncorrected vision, I can assure you that if you fail the vision section, no driver’s license! Even if I am successful with the written part, I can’t get behind the wheel without correcting my vision. (At least that’s the theory!)
When a student with a disability submits a letter from Services for Students with Disabilities that recommends accommodations such as additional time for testing or note-taker, that student seeks access to learning, not special privileges. Think of those accommodations as the corrective lens through which they can learn more effectively.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Peer Instruction Using Clickers
Guest blogger: Mazharul Huq
Our trouble with assessment and Middle States has raised very serious questions about assessment. Successful assessment goes hand in hand with good teaching techniques. Time has come for us to examine very carefully our teaching methods and the tools we use for assessment of student learning.
I have been using a variety of technology in my teaching ranging from online quizzes to PowerPoint presentations. Of course, use of technology does not necessarily mean quality instruction. I must confess that in spite of use of technology my teaching style is not very much different from that used about a hundred years ago for much smaller and specialized audiences. However, it has been changing for the better during the last five to ten years.
The issues that have been troubling me also troubled Eric Mazur of Harvard University, which led him to develop something called peer instruction. Peer instruction is based on concept tests – short conceptual questions on the subject being discussed. The students are first asked to answer a short question (usually multiple choice question) without any discussion with peers. Then they are allowed to discuss the question with students next to them. After the discussion, they answer the question again. The instructor collects the data and analyzes to determine improvement in understanding. In the beginning, Eric Mazur used flash cards and show of hands, which made data collection rather cumbersome and time consuming. Of course, Eric Mazur had graduate assistants to help for classes with a few hundred students. Later on, he used clicker technology to automate data collection.
One and half years ago, with the help of a faculty development grant, I developed a number of instruction modules for peer instruction in my General Physics class with about 30 students. A clicker is a hand-held device with a radio transmitter that can communicate with a receiver connected to a computer at the instructor’s desk. Students log in using user name and password, which identifies the students on the instructor’s computer. The software I used was Notebook, standard software for the Smartboard. Of course, I did not have Smartboard at that time, so I used Notebook with an overhead LED projector.
Each module consisted of five questions. Allowing three minutes for the initial response, three minutes for peer-to-peer discussion, and three minutes for the post discussion response, I could get through a module quite comfortably in a 50-minute period. One great thing about the software was that I could selectively display the results instantaneously including bar and pie charts for the performance. One drawback of the software was that I could not prevent the students from modifying the pre-answer after the discussion. However, that did not happen, except for one or two cases.
The result was quite encouraging showing improvement in learning. However, there were a number of cases when after discussion with peers some students changed their correct answer to a wrong answer. Often students have less confidence in self than confidence in friends. For example, even students knowing Newton’s third law very well fall into a trap with peers and wrongly think: “When a heavy truck collides with a light car, the heavy truck exerts more force on the light truck than the force on the heavy truck from the light car.”
In this season of assessments, the clickers can be a great tool in assessing student learning outcomes. It can be used from student surveys to quizzes and many other innovative assessments. I have a number of suggestions that can encourage faculty to use clickers in classroom instructions.
I hope Nancy Evans will read this blog and implement these
Reference: Peer Instruction by Eric Mazur, Prentice Hall
Our trouble with assessment and Middle States has raised very serious questions about assessment. Successful assessment goes hand in hand with good teaching techniques. Time has come for us to examine very carefully our teaching methods and the tools we use for assessment of student learning.
I have been using a variety of technology in my teaching ranging from online quizzes to PowerPoint presentations. Of course, use of technology does not necessarily mean quality instruction. I must confess that in spite of use of technology my teaching style is not very much different from that used about a hundred years ago for much smaller and specialized audiences. However, it has been changing for the better during the last five to ten years.
The issues that have been troubling me also troubled Eric Mazur of Harvard University, which led him to develop something called peer instruction. Peer instruction is based on concept tests – short conceptual questions on the subject being discussed. The students are first asked to answer a short question (usually multiple choice question) without any discussion with peers. Then they are allowed to discuss the question with students next to them. After the discussion, they answer the question again. The instructor collects the data and analyzes to determine improvement in understanding. In the beginning, Eric Mazur used flash cards and show of hands, which made data collection rather cumbersome and time consuming. Of course, Eric Mazur had graduate assistants to help for classes with a few hundred students. Later on, he used clicker technology to automate data collection.
One and half years ago, with the help of a faculty development grant, I developed a number of instruction modules for peer instruction in my General Physics class with about 30 students. A clicker is a hand-held device with a radio transmitter that can communicate with a receiver connected to a computer at the instructor’s desk. Students log in using user name and password, which identifies the students on the instructor’s computer. The software I used was Notebook, standard software for the Smartboard. Of course, I did not have Smartboard at that time, so I used Notebook with an overhead LED projector.
Each module consisted of five questions. Allowing three minutes for the initial response, three minutes for peer-to-peer discussion, and three minutes for the post discussion response, I could get through a module quite comfortably in a 50-minute period. One great thing about the software was that I could selectively display the results instantaneously including bar and pie charts for the performance. One drawback of the software was that I could not prevent the students from modifying the pre-answer after the discussion. However, that did not happen, except for one or two cases.
The result was quite encouraging showing improvement in learning. However, there were a number of cases when after discussion with peers some students changed their correct answer to a wrong answer. Often students have less confidence in self than confidence in friends. For example, even students knowing Newton’s third law very well fall into a trap with peers and wrongly think: “When a heavy truck collides with a light car, the heavy truck exerts more force on the light truck than the force on the heavy truck from the light car.”
In this season of assessments, the clickers can be a great tool in assessing student learning outcomes. It can be used from student surveys to quizzes and many other innovative assessments. I have a number of suggestions that can encourage faculty to use clickers in classroom instructions.
- The receivers should be permanently attached to computers interfaced with Smartboards. Then faculty do not have to carry the receiver to connect to the desk computer or a laptop.
- Each student should be issued a clicker, which the student can use in all classes. A student is identified in a specific course by his/her username and password for that course. This would allow the faculty not worry about carrying 30 or more clickers to the class, distributing them, and collecting them at the end of the class.
- We should also look for a better type of clicker and software for better delivery mechanism.
I hope Nancy Evans will read this blog and implement these
Reference: Peer Instruction by Eric Mazur, Prentice Hall
Monday, January 24, 2011
How To Get Students To Think About Graduate School
Guest Blogger: Murali Balaji
One of the most interesting transitions I've made in my year-and-a-half at Lincoln is adjusting my teaching approach to students' expectations. Most of my mass communications majors don't give graduate study a second thought, focusing instead on the quickest way to a job.
But in adjusting my approach, I've also been able to get some students to get interested in graduate study. For me, the best method is getting students excited about topical discussions, especially those that get them to think deeply about answers.
In classrooms, especially larger lectures, some students feel uncomfortable expressing their thoughts. Many usually wait for one person to lead, but once a discussion begins, it develops into provocative and stimulating discourse. In mass communications classes, many contemporary issues can be tied to theories, allowing students to more quickly make the connection between theoretical abstract and practice.
As a result, more students are asking whether the kinds of discussions they have in class are what they can expect in graduate school. I tell them that the conversations at Lincoln barely scratch the surface of graduate discussion but that they are a good starting point.
Last year, a number of students asked for extra reading materials that they thought would help them prepare for graduate school. Some admitted that their families were encouraging them to find jobs, or that they were intimidated by the idea of graduate work.
This is where we as educators can help facilitate both the "A-ha" moment and the "can-do" attitude. By being responsive to their concerns and asking them for feedback on critical readings, we are helping to change their perspectives on learning beyond their undergraduate years.
I have also tried to connect students to scholars outside of Lincoln, at least so that they feel like they're not learning in a bubble. When we interact with our students constantly, some of our motivational techniques tend to wear thin on them. That's why a fresh perspective is welcome. In December, I had my dissertation adviser speak at Lincoln, and when he did, he met with several students interested in graduate school but concerned about the steps to getting admitted.
After his visit, a couple of students said they were now excited about the graduate school application process. For me, that's two down, many more young minds to go.
One of the most interesting transitions I've made in my year-and-a-half at Lincoln is adjusting my teaching approach to students' expectations. Most of my mass communications majors don't give graduate study a second thought, focusing instead on the quickest way to a job.
But in adjusting my approach, I've also been able to get some students to get interested in graduate study. For me, the best method is getting students excited about topical discussions, especially those that get them to think deeply about answers.
In classrooms, especially larger lectures, some students feel uncomfortable expressing their thoughts. Many usually wait for one person to lead, but once a discussion begins, it develops into provocative and stimulating discourse. In mass communications classes, many contemporary issues can be tied to theories, allowing students to more quickly make the connection between theoretical abstract and practice.
As a result, more students are asking whether the kinds of discussions they have in class are what they can expect in graduate school. I tell them that the conversations at Lincoln barely scratch the surface of graduate discussion but that they are a good starting point.
Last year, a number of students asked for extra reading materials that they thought would help them prepare for graduate school. Some admitted that their families were encouraging them to find jobs, or that they were intimidated by the idea of graduate work.
This is where we as educators can help facilitate both the "A-ha" moment and the "can-do" attitude. By being responsive to their concerns and asking them for feedback on critical readings, we are helping to change their perspectives on learning beyond their undergraduate years.
I have also tried to connect students to scholars outside of Lincoln, at least so that they feel like they're not learning in a bubble. When we interact with our students constantly, some of our motivational techniques tend to wear thin on them. That's why a fresh perspective is welcome. In December, I had my dissertation adviser speak at Lincoln, and when he did, he met with several students interested in graduate school but concerned about the steps to getting admitted.
After his visit, a couple of students said they were now excited about the graduate school application process. For me, that's two down, many more young minds to go.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Helping Students Reach their Dreams
Guest Blogger: Kristin Anderson
It started as a typical Sunday on a bitter cold January morning in 2007. My photographer and I approached the news desk, dreading an assignment outside in the blinding snow. Our editor handed us a police press release detailing the events of a drug deal gone bad. We looked at each other, knowing full well that we would not be welcomed guests in the most dangerous housing project in Cleveland.
We drove up to the scene, now empty of the police presence that had filled the area during the shootout. After many years as a television news reporter I had covered this story too often. This time it was a 14-year-old boy who, ironically, lost his life while selling drugs to survive. He never had a father. His mother left him. His grandmother kicked him out and the Cleveland School district gave up on him when he dropped out at the age of 12. He did not even have someone to give him a proper burial. Everyone in his life failed him, no one told him that he mattered. I was haunted by this teen's death. I could not stop asking myself, "What can I do to make a difference?" I tried to write a heart-touching story that would penetrate the television screen and reach the hearts of viewers. It somehow inspired the community to pull together and bury the teenager, but it wasn't enough for me. A year later, I made a life-changing decision to leave television and start teaching upcoming news professionals about the changing world of news and deliver a message that THEY MATTER!
In the past two years in the classroom, from West Chester University to Lincoln, I have found that students know how to dream. They know what they would like out of a career, but they don't fully realize how important they are and how much they have to contribute. As a result, they don't know how to make their dreams turn into reality. When I ask them what they want "to be" after graduation, they often respond with "music producer, news anchor, radio announcer," and that's just from one student. That's impossible! It's great to shoot for the stars but where is the reality? What I am trying to do this semester is get students to focus on their dream and come with a realistic plan to make it happen. I can teach them how to write in broadcast style, how to use the ENG cameras to record professional video, and how to edit using the highest quality equipment in the industry, but it all falls to the wayside without a focused plan.
I'm going to experiment with one class and have them narrow down their career path to just one position. From there I'm going to have them pick a role model in their chosen industry and research how that person reached the top of his/her field. Finally, students will have to come up with a plan of their own to find internships, meet mentors, create resumes and job search. I wish I could blog that I have attempted this approach in the past, at numerous universities, and 100% of the students are successful in their chosen careers; however, the truth is that I don’t know. I am relatively new to this, but I know that something needs to be done to motivate students to reach their potential, to rise up and not be average.
I can't go back in time and save the life of the 14-year-old boy in Cleveland, but I can try to get students to realize that THEY MATTER, and that the world needs what they have to offer!!!
It started as a typical Sunday on a bitter cold January morning in 2007. My photographer and I approached the news desk, dreading an assignment outside in the blinding snow. Our editor handed us a police press release detailing the events of a drug deal gone bad. We looked at each other, knowing full well that we would not be welcomed guests in the most dangerous housing project in Cleveland.
We drove up to the scene, now empty of the police presence that had filled the area during the shootout. After many years as a television news reporter I had covered this story too often. This time it was a 14-year-old boy who, ironically, lost his life while selling drugs to survive. He never had a father. His mother left him. His grandmother kicked him out and the Cleveland School district gave up on him when he dropped out at the age of 12. He did not even have someone to give him a proper burial. Everyone in his life failed him, no one told him that he mattered. I was haunted by this teen's death. I could not stop asking myself, "What can I do to make a difference?" I tried to write a heart-touching story that would penetrate the television screen and reach the hearts of viewers. It somehow inspired the community to pull together and bury the teenager, but it wasn't enough for me. A year later, I made a life-changing decision to leave television and start teaching upcoming news professionals about the changing world of news and deliver a message that THEY MATTER!
In the past two years in the classroom, from West Chester University to Lincoln, I have found that students know how to dream. They know what they would like out of a career, but they don't fully realize how important they are and how much they have to contribute. As a result, they don't know how to make their dreams turn into reality. When I ask them what they want "to be" after graduation, they often respond with "music producer, news anchor, radio announcer," and that's just from one student. That's impossible! It's great to shoot for the stars but where is the reality? What I am trying to do this semester is get students to focus on their dream and come with a realistic plan to make it happen. I can teach them how to write in broadcast style, how to use the ENG cameras to record professional video, and how to edit using the highest quality equipment in the industry, but it all falls to the wayside without a focused plan.
I'm going to experiment with one class and have them narrow down their career path to just one position. From there I'm going to have them pick a role model in their chosen industry and research how that person reached the top of his/her field. Finally, students will have to come up with a plan of their own to find internships, meet mentors, create resumes and job search. I wish I could blog that I have attempted this approach in the past, at numerous universities, and 100% of the students are successful in their chosen careers; however, the truth is that I don’t know. I am relatively new to this, but I know that something needs to be done to motivate students to reach their potential, to rise up and not be average.
I can't go back in time and save the life of the 14-year-old boy in Cleveland, but I can try to get students to realize that THEY MATTER, and that the world needs what they have to offer!!!
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