Learner centered teacher development to evoke excellence among students

Learner-Centered Teacher Development to Evoke

Excellence Among Students Beata Jones, John Zubizarreta, Marca Wolfensberger

b.jones@tcu.edu, jzubizarreta@columbiasc.edu M.V.C.Wolfensberger@pl.hanze.nl

June 3, 2016, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Utrecht Honours Conference 2016: Honours Futures

Welcome!

Marca Wolfensberger, Ph.D. John Zubizarreta, Ph.D. Beata Jones, Ph.D.

M.V.C.Wolfensberger@pl.hanze.nl jzubizarreta@columbiasc.edu b.jones@tcu.edu

Hello! Nice to Meet You…• My name is…..

• I am from the ___ college/school/dept.

@ ______ university in _____.

• This session is relevant to me because …

Agenda

Motivation

Creating Significant Learning Experiences

Learner-Centered Teacher Development

Activity

Motivation

How Do YOU Keep Learning?

Motivation

Teacher development has a demonstrable impact on student

learning (Flaherty, 2016)

“Faculty development has become a priority at many academic

institutions as a way to improve the quality of academic programs and to respond to emerging faculty, student,

program, and industry needs” (Shahid, 2013)

Do YOU Agree That Teacher’s Development Has Impact on Student Learning?

Creating Significant Learning Experiences

Self-Directed Guide to Designing Significant Learning Experiences

What Might be a Reasonable Goal for a Teacher Development Workshop?

Our Honors Faculty Institute ObjectiveAt the end of the institute, the participants will be able to:

Design and implement an effective honors course, based on honors pedagogy research, by integrating ideas presented in readings and at the institute.

Learner-Centered Teacher Development

Blended

Rooted in honors pedagogy

Mimics course environment required for honors courses at home institutions

Mimic Home Institution Environment

What Can You Do to Mimic A Home Institution Environment at the Workshop?

Evidence-Based Honors Pedagogy

Offering Bounded Freedom

Creating Community

Enhancing Academic

Competence

Wolfensberger, 2012Image source: https://emtaylorblog.wordpress.com

Enhancing Academic/Teaching Competence

1. Depth of Learning:a. Challenging Tasksb. Researchc. Creative Endeavors

2. Breadth of Learning:a. Multi-perspectivesb. Interdisciplinaryc. Integrative d. Academic & Societal

What Could You Ask the Faculty to Do to Enhance Their Academic Competence?

Offering Bounded Freedom

1. Choices2. Flexibility3. Experimentation4. Self-regulation5. Passion6. Co-production7. Innovative Pedagogies

How Could You Offer Bounded Freedom to Faculty@ the Workshop?

Creating Community

1. Teacher Behavior:a. Engagementb. Joyc. Inspirationd. Interest in Studentse. Availability

2. Building Relationships:a. Feedbackb. Interactionc. Active Learning

How Could You Create a Community at the Workshop?

City As Text™ Active Learning

– an approach to engaging students in thinking about their own way of seeing and understanding what they see, as they map the world around them.

ePortfolio-based Blended Learning

https://hfi.digication.com/FacultyInstitute/Home/published https://hfi.digication.com/FacultyTemplate2016/Home/published

Why Use an ePortfolio Platform?

Further Notes on Our Learner-Centered Pedagogy

The sessions were designed to include a brief “framing presentation,” with some time for discussion/activity and writing in the e-portfolio.

The facilitators were prepared to diverge at any moment to allow colleagues help direct the framing of the institute & change the planned agenda based on formative feedback.

Early Signs of Effectiveness “It has been a great

experience to participate in this

institute. Thank you for the dream to do it!”

“Thank you for your fantastic input and

incredible hard work and commitment.”

“Great inspiration….”

Activity

In Pairs: Identify Key Pedagogical Challenges in Honors

Square the Pair: Identify Key Pedagogical Challenges in Honors

Report Out

Reflect

Questions

References

• Fink, D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass.

• Flaherty, C. (2016). Professors can learn to be more effective instructors. Inside Higher Education. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/10/new-study-suggests-faculty-development-has-demonstrable-impact-student-learning?

• Shahid, A. (2013, December 17). A checklist for effective faculty development programs. Faculty Focus.

• Wolfensberger, M. V. (2012). Teaching for Excellence: Honors Pedagogy Revealed. Waxmann Verlag. Retrieved from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/261033/wolfensberger.pdf?sequence=2

• Yee, K. (2015). Learner-centered faculty development. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2015: 99–107. doi: 10.1002/tl.20166

Thank You!

Marca Wolfensberger, Ph.D. John Zubizarreta, Ph.D. Beata Jones, Ph.D.

M.V.C.Wolfensberger@pl.hanze.nl jzubizarreta@columbiasc.edu b.jones@tcu.edu