CETL Teaching Tips Collection

2016-2017

Infographics and Project Design by Christina Moore Collection Compilation by Victoria Kendziora Supported by Judith Ableser – CETL Director

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Oakland University is

pleased to share this collection of more than 20 Teaching Tips from the 2016-

2017 academic year.

In workshops, conferences, and teaching and learning faculty development, we

often take away a small teaching tip that helps us better facilitate group work,

engage more students in discussions, and motivate students to be prepared for

class. We would like to offer that “Aha!” moment more often with our Weekly

Teaching Tips.

Starting in Fall 2013, we have sent out a new Weekly Teaching Tip in a brief

infographic that can be read and implemented that same week. These are linked

to our Teaching Tips page, which offers the full content of each teaching tip. All of

our Teaching Tips, more than 70 total, are found at oakland.edu/teachingtips.

This book offers our most recent teaching tips all in one place and in print.

Flipping through the tips offers a fresh perspective on how to engage students

and promote their learning.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Starting the Semester

Student Preferred Names

Syllabus: Active Reading from Day 1

The ADA Discussion and Syllabus Statement

Send and Early Introduction to Students

Planning for Teaching

Empower Students with Habit Creation

Hot Moments in the Classroom: A Communication Framework to Cool

Down Tension

Helping the Brain to Learn with F.A.C.E.S.

Checklist for Service Learning Projects

S.U.P.P.O.R.T. Students in Online Classrooms

Prepare for Snow Days and Other Class Cancellations

Thinking Outside of the Box

Maps as Teaching and Productivity Tools

Microaggressions

Planning the Curriculum: Depth vs. Breadth

Engaging in Class Discussion

Daily In-Class Sheets: Track Attendance and Improve Student Engagement

Facilitating a Great Discussion

Introverts and Extroverts: Engage the Thinker and Talker Alike

Asking Questions for Meaningful Class Discussion

Authentic Learning Activities

Make Learning Flexible with UDL

Collaboration

Group Work with Google Docs

Teaching with Technology and Online Tools

Communicate with Class Texts

Group Work with Google Docs

Online Tools that Make Learning More Accessible

Creating Accessible Microsoft Word Documents

Reflection

Improving Our Teaching Through Critical Reflection

Reading the Margins: Student Reflection on Written Feedback

Higher Levels of Learning at the End of the Semester

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Starting%the%Semester%

! !

It’spronounced….

Actually,Igoby…

Callme…

That’snotmyname.CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

Student Preferred NamesAsnationaldialoguecontinuesaroundastudent’sabilitytoredefinetheiridentities,schoolsareconsideringhowtobestaccommodatestudents’self-expression,includingnamingandother self-identifierssuchaspronouns.Considerhoweducationalsystemscommunicatestudentnamestoyouasfacultyandhowtocommunicatenamingprotocolsaccordingly.

StudentsChoosingTheirNamesTherearemanycaseswhereastudent’sbirthnameisnothowastudentidentifiesthemselvesonadailybasis.Theymaygobyanickname,amiddlename,oranentirelydifferentname.Considerwaystoallowstudentstodefinetheirnames.Onthefirstdayofclass,• Usedesknametags.Onthefirstdayofclass,givestudentsablankpieceofpaperandhave

themfolditintothirdstomakeatent.Usingthickpermanentmarker,havethemwritethenametheygobyonthetwosidesofthe“tent”sothatyouandclassmatessittingbehindthestudentcanseethename.Thisholdsmanybenefits:youcanlearnnamesfaster,whileyouarestilllearningnamesyoucanstillrefertothembynameataquickglance,studentslearnoneanother’snames,andyouknowthenamestudentsprefertogoby.

• Asstudents introduce themselves,bereadytorecordpronunciation. Ratherthangoingthrough“rollcall,”asurewaytomessupastudent’snamepronunciation,provideanopportunity forallstudentstopronounce theirnamesthemselvessothatyoucanhearthecorrectpronunciationandwriteitdownphonetically.Bringtoclassalistofstudentnames,andmarktheonesyouareunsurehowtopronounce. Thisisalsoawaytofindoutifstudentsidentifythemselvesbyadifferentnamethanyourrosterreads.Inthiscase,asthestudentwithadifferentnametotalkwithyouafterclasstomatchthemupwiththeirrosternameforrecord-keepingpurposes.

InanOnlineLearningEnvironment• Somelearningmanagementsystems(Moodle,Blackboard,etc.)automaticallydisplay

students’legalnames.Ininteractionswherestudentsseeeachother’snames,askstudentstosignofftheirforumpostsorothercommunicationswiththenametheygoby. Ifstudentsareresponding tooneanother,askstudentstoaddressstudentsby thenametheygoby,notthenameintheLMS.

• Someonlinelearningenvironmentsneverrequireinstructororstudentstopronounce eachother’snames.Ifyouwillencounterasituationof“voice talking”toonlinestudents,considerprioropportunities tohavestudentssharepronunciation. Ifyoudoanintroductoryactivityonline,consideraskingstudentstouploadanaudiorecordingratherthanonly text.Thishasmanybenefits:itbreaksup theuseoftextinonlinelearning;givespersonalitytoeachstudent,whichincreasesempathy;andallowsstudentstoexpressthemselvesinadifferentmode.

Student Preferred NamesContinued

Othernotesonnames,• Requestpronunciation. Ifyouaren’tsurehowtopronounce astudent’sname,tryandtry

again!Studentswithnamesthatpeoplestruggletopronouncewillappreciateyourefforttopronounce theirname.Everystudentdeservestobenamed,eveniftheprofessordoesn’tsayitverywell!

• Bewareofnamebias.Gettingnamesrightisimportant.Bygivingupon rememberingorpronouncingcertainstudents’names,youcouldunintentionallyfavorattentiontostudentswithmoreaccessiblenames,whichoftenmeansmissesanopportunity totapintodiverseperspectives.

YourPreferredNameThenameeachinstructordecidestogobyinclassisanindividualandpoliticalchoice.Whateveryouchoose,gowithitandmakesurestudentsknowhowtheyshouldrefertoyou.(Understandthattheyhavetonavigateadifferentnamingstructureforeachinstructor theyhave.)Studentswilltrytogothewholesemesterbynotcallingyouanything,sorepeatyournameoftenandinsisttheyrefertoyouthatway!• Onday1,introduce yourselfbyyourpreferredname.Announce totheclassyour

preferrednameandtitle.Yournameintheuniversity’scommunicationsystemsmaynotbewhatyougoby,sothisisimportantforyou too!

• Onday1,makeyourowndesknametag. Ifyouhavestudentsdothisactivityfrompage1,makeyourownaswell.Thisreinforcesforthestudentyourpreferredtitle.Dr.Smith….Prof.Smith....Marcy.....Ms. Smith......MasterSmith.......

• Repeatyourpreferrednameinhypothetical situations. Studentsneedtoseeandhearyourpreferrednameoftensothattheyarecertainthisishowyouwanttobereferredto.Therefore,sayitwhenyouaregoingoverstudentquestionsorotherhypotheticalsituations.Example:“Studentsoftenaskme,‘Dr.Smith,whyarewecoveringthisissueinthisclass?’”

• Signoffemailswithyourpreferredname.Thisiswhatinstructorsmostoftendo toreinforcethisnamingnorm.It’srepetitiousandvisual—agoodtool touse.

AtOaklandUniversityinFall2016,aresolutionpassedtoallowstudentstocontrolhowtheirnameappearsinuniversitycommunicationsystems.Thetechnologysystemsassociatewiththispolicyarecurrentlyworkingtofullyimplementthisresolution.

ResourcesonNaminginHigherEducationPreston,C.J.(2016Nov2)Doyoumakethemcallyouprofessor?ChronicleofHigher

Education. Retrievedfromhttp://www.chronicle.com/article/Do-You-Make-Them-Call-You/238282

Beemyn,G.(2016).Collegesanduniversitiesthatallowstudentstochangethenameandgenderoncampusrecords,CampusPride. Retrievedfromhttps://www.campuspride.org/tpc/records/ ChristinaMoore,CETLatOU

PublishedinDecember2016.

CETL  Weekly  Teaching  Tips  presents  

Syllabus: Active Reading from Day 1 If  you  want  students  to  read  well,  start  with  the  first  text  of  the  class—the  syllabus!  AcBvely  engage  the  student  in  applying  acBve  reading  

strategies  to  understand  the  text  in  the  syllabus.    

1. Preview headings and bold font.

4. Read the whole document with

purpose.

5. Annotate with purpose.    

2. Read all lists and table content.

3. Ask and answer questions about this

content.

6. Review and reflect on

annotations.

WriEen  by    MaE  Fox,  Associate  Professor  

ESOL  TransiBonal  Studies  Department  Monroe  Community  College  

Rochester,  New  York  mfox@monroecc.edu    

Illustrated  by  ChrisBna  Moore,  Media  Manager  Center  for  Excellence  in  Teaching  and  Learning  Oakland  University  Rochester,  MI  cmamoore@oakland.edu  

Ac#ve  Reading  from  Day  One  AcBvely  engage  the  student  in  applying  acBve  reading  strategies  to  understand  the  text  in  the  syllabus.  The  worksheet  that  follows  presents  the  instrucBons  in  an  accessible  format  that  also  incorporates  the  use  of  two  column  notes.      Begin  by  helping  the  students  to  construct  a  purpose  for  the  close  reading  of  the  syllabus.  Your  quesBons  can  lead  them  to  state  something  like  the  following:  Plan  and  organize  their  responsibiliBes  for  the  semester  to  learn  in  this  course  and  adhere  to  the  stated  policies.      Sample  instrucBons  you  can  give  the  students  to  follow:    For  our  very  first  class,  we  will  read,  annotate  and  analyze  the  syllabus  for  this  class.  We  will  work  in  small  groups  to  complete  the  steps  below.  Please  annotate,  or  write  on,  the  SYLLABUS  document  that  you  have.  There  is  ample  room  in  the  margins  and  on  the  reverse  of  each  page  for  notes  and  quesBons.  It  is  important  to  annotate  with  a  purpose.  One  may,  for  example,  annotate  a  textbook  chapter  in  order  to  prepare  for  a  test,  or  annotate  a  journal  arBcle  in  order  to  use  some  of  its  ideas  in  a  research  paper.  What  is  the  purpose  of  annotaBng  a  syllabus?  In  other  words,  what  kind  of  informaBon  do  you  hope  to  acquire  when  you  read  a  syllabus?  What  do  you  need  to  remember?    Because  it  is  important  that  you  keep  your  syllabus  in  a  safe  place,  I  will  not  collect  this  assignment.  Rather,  I  will  look  at  it  during  class,  give  you  feedback  on  your  annotaBons  and  credit  you  0-­‐20  points  for  your  first  Class  Assignment.    

Ac#ve  Reading  of  the  Syllabus  1.  Preview    Read  only  the  headings  and  bold  font.  Based  on  your  preview,  what  sorts  of  assignments  that  you  will  be  expected  to  complete?  What  are  the  policies  by  which  you  will  be  expected  to  abide?  2.  Review    Read  everything  that  is  listed,  bulleted  or  included  in  a  table.  3.  Ask  and  Answer  Ques#ons  about  items  in  lists,  bullets  and  tables  a)  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  Course  Learning  Outcomes?  Write  this  in  the  margin  above  or  next  to  that  list.  b)  According  to  the  Grading  Breakdown,  which  assignments  are  the  most  important?  Annotate  that  secBon  with  stars  next  to  the  assignments  that  you  think  maEer  the  most.  4.  Read  with  purpose    Remember  your  purpose  and  read  the  whole  document.  5.  Annotate  with  purpose  a)  Number,  underline  or  highlight  any  informaBon  that  is  important  to  your  purpose.  Do  not  underline  or  highlight  enBre  lines  of  text;  instead,  highlight  or  underline  only  key  words  or  phrases.  b)  Circle  any  words  that  are  unfamiliar,  so  that  you  can  look  up  the  definiBons  later.  c)  Ask  quesBons.  Write  at  least  five  quesBons  in  the  margins.    •  Write  at  least  one  quesBon  that  asks  for  clarificaBon  on  a  policy  or  assignment.  •  Write  at  least  one  quesBon  that  asks  for  informaBon  that  is  not  included  in  the  syllabus.  •  Write  at  least  one  quesBon  that  poses  a  hypotheBcal  situaBon  in  which  one  of  the  policies  may  be  

tested.  6.  Review    Reword  at  least  three  of  the  important  ideas  that  you  underlined  or  highlighted.  Write  in  the  margins  or  on  the  reverse  side  of  the  sheet.  

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

The ADA Syllabus StatementDiscussion and

It’sthefirstdayofclass,andifyouareafacultymemberlikeme,youareinthemiddleofthatoften-repeatedritualofexplainingthesyllabus.Whileyourstudentsshiftintheirseats,tryingtoresisttheurgetotext,check Instagram,orwhateverfurtivephoneactivitiestheymightwanttoperform,youdiligentlyandcarefullyexplainthecourserequirements,thecoursepolicies,theschedule,etc.Andatsomepoint,youwillgettothesectionondisabilityaccommodations.Manycollegesanduniversitieshaveboilerplatepassagesthatfacultyuse:thecollegeaffirmsitscommitmenttocomplyingwiththeAmericanswithDisabilityAct(ADA),andstudentsaredirectedtoanofficeofdisabilityservices,whichwillhelpcoordinate“reasonableaccommodations”for“documenteddisabilities.”Andmanystatementsalsostressthatitisthestudent’sresponsibilitytoprovidefacultywithaccommodationsformsandinformation.Allofthisiswellandgood.ButIwanttoarguehereforgoingoffscriptandengaginginamorehistorically-contextualizedclassdiscussionofdisabilityaccommodations.Itwillbenefityouanditwillbenefityour students.Here’showandwhy.

The “Capitol Crawl”: From Individual to CollectiveIn1990,disabilityrightsactivistsgatheredattheNationalMallinWashington,DC,slippedoutoftheirwheelchairs,dropped theircrutches,anddraggedthemselvesup the83stepsoftheU.S.Capitolbuilding.The“CapitalCrawl”demonstrationwasdesignedtoillustrate– bothliterallyandfiguratively– thebarriersthatpeoplewithdisabilitiesconfrontandtopushforbetteraccesstopoliticalandpublicspheres.ThesubsequentADAlegislationisoneofthemajorcivilrightsachievementsofour time,andthisrichhistoryofdisabilityactivismhasadirectconnection totheaccommodationswemakeinhighereducation.Talkingabout theADAasacivilrightsissueinyourclassroom– anditcanbeassimpleasbrieflymentioningthishistory– shiftsthediscussionofaccommodationsinimportantwaysforstudents.

First,it puts disability in a larger social and political context,andsecondly, itshifts attention away from individual students.Thisissignificantbecausethereareelementsoftheprocessofaccessingdisabilityservicesthatarepotentiallystigmatizingforstudentswithdisabilities.Forexample,itiscommon forastudentwithadisabilitytoberequiredtoapproacheveryfacultyineachclasseverysemestertodiscussaccommodationsandtopassalongpaperwork. Itisofcoursegoodforstudentstoberesponsibleandtotakechargeoftheirlearning.Butatthesametime,theprocessofhavingtocontinuallyaskforservices,toself-identifyasdisabled,canbetediousatbest.Tobedisabledistooccupyastigmatizedidentitycategory,asthelanguageoftheADAitselfacknowledges.Somestudents,andinparticularincomingfreshmenwhouseddisabilityservicesinhighschool,mightwanttoleavethatidentitybehind.

Accommodations As Integral to an Inclusive ClassroomButasfaculty,that’sexactlywhatyoudon’twant.Youwantyour studentstolearn.Youdon’twantastudenttostruggleunnecessarily,especiallywhenasimpleaccommodationlikeadistraction-freetestenvironmentorarecordingdeviceforlectureswouldhavemadethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure.Youwanttocreatetheconditions inwhichaccommodationsareviewednotasinconveniencesbutasintegralpartsofaninclusiveclassroom,anenvironmentwhereourdiversebodiesandmindsarevaluedfortheirdifferences.Thisbenefitsyou,andallofyourstudents.Anditreflectsthetruespiritbehind theAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct,whichismuchmorethanlegalfilleronasyllabus.

ResourcesNYITOfficeofAccessibilityServices.Retrievedfrom

http://www.nyit.edu/health_and_wellness/disability/Funckes,C.,etal.SyllabusStatement.Refocus:ViewingtheWorkofDisabilityServices

Differently. Retrievedfromhttp://www.projectshift-refocus.org/syllabus.htmNielsen,K.E.(2013).ADisabilityHistoryoftheUnitedStates.Boston:BeaconP.Mayerson,A.(1992).TheHistoryoftheAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct:AMovement

Perspective.DisabilityRightsEducation&DefenseFund.Retrievedfromhttp://dredf.org/news/publications/the-history-of-the-ada/

Contributor:ElizabethJ.DonaldsonAssociateProfessorDepartmentofEnglishNewYork InstituteofTechnology

Submittedby:FrancineGlazerAssociateProvost forEducationalInnovation|Director,Center forTeachingandLearningNewYork InstituteofTechnologyfglazer@nyit.edu

Make a videoeven if your course is not online.

Allowingstudentstoreviewthesyllabusandpromptingthemtobringquestionstothefirstclasscreatesamore

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

Send an Early Introduction to StudentsMonthsbeforemeetingour students,facultyareplanningforthem– sowhynotsend

studentsamessagebeforethesemesterstartsandletthemknow?Youcouldevenmakeaquickvideoorpromptyourstudentstoreadthesyllabusbeforethefirstclasssoyoucando

somethingmoresubstantivewhenyoumeetthemface-to-face.

Filmyourselforuseanavatartocreateawelcomingenvironmentthathumanizes

youandreducesbeginning-of-the-semester texttoread.

Get them startedwith the course basics.

engagingfirstdayofclassandalleviatesstudentanxietyabout

beginninganewcourse.

syllabus

texts

Week 1

Whymakeavideo?Yourstudentswillbeinterestedinhearingyourvoiceandseeingyoubefore theymeetyouinperson.Eventhoughcreatinganintroductionvideorequiresmoretimethanwritinganemail,itiswellworththeinvestment.

Whatinformationtoinclude?• Thefollowinginformationcouldbeincludedinyourcourseintroductoryvideooremailmessage:• Awelcometotheinstitution(iftheyarenewstudents)andtoyourcourse• Anintroductionofyourselfandyourenthusiasmforthetopicyouareteaching• Thecoursegoalsandtheimportanceofthiscourse,includinghoworwhythiscourseisrelevantto

them• How/whythecoursedesignwillhelpyourstudentsachievethecoursegoals• Expectationsforstudentparticipation,perhapsstartingwithdownloadingthesyllabusand/or

postinganintroductionaboutthemselvesinaforum• Whenandwhereyouwillmeetthefirsttime

Tip: Ifyouarenewtomakingvideos,createatranscriptoranoutlineofyourtalkingpoints.Takealookatthissamplevideo(mine)forideas. Youwillnoticethatit’snot perfect,butitdoesthejob.(NexttimeImakeavideo,itwillbebetter– andthetimeafterthat,evenbetter.Youcannotgetstuckonmakingaperfectvideo – oryouwillnotmakeanyvideos.)

Noticethatstudentsarepromptedto:• downloadthesyllabusandmakenotesoftheirquestionstobringtoourfirstclass• takeaquickquizaboutthesyllabus(Just2questions:“Couldyoudownloadthesyllabusand

readit?”and“Whatquestionsdoyouhave?”)• introducethemselvesinadiscussionforum

Bycheckingontheirresponsestotheseprompts,I’llknowthatmystudentscan:• getintoourLMS• downloadadocument• takeaquiz• postonamessage board

Ifwesuddenlyneedtocancelclasses,I’llknowforsurethatmystudentscanconnectwithmeandeachotherthroughtheLMSandcanbepromptedtocontinuetheircourseworkfromadistance.

Resources“BestPractices:CreatingVideoCourseTrailers”DukeUniversity,https://trinity.duke.edu/communications/best-practices-creating-video-course-trailers“TipsforCreatingInstructionalVideos”PurdueUniversityInstructionalDevelopmentCenterBlog,https://www.purdue.edu/learning/blog/?p=6696

Submittedby:CynthiaCrimmins,DirectorCenterforTeaching&LearningTeagle Assessment ScholarYorkCollegeofPennsylvania(717)815-1216

!

!

!

!

!

!

Planning%for%Teaching%

! !

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

Empower Students with Habit CreationCharlesDuhigg’s best-sellingPowerofHabit (2012)investigatesthescienceandstoriesof

habitasapowerfulwaytotakecontrolofourlives.Teachstudentsthebasicscienceofhabit,andempowerthemtoowntheirlearningandplottheirsuccess.Inturn,moldhabitstoboost

yourownproductivity.

CUEROUTINE

REWARDTHE HABIT

LOOP

CUEStimulusthattriggers

abehavior

ROUTINEobservablebehaviorof

thehabit

REWARDSignalofthecompletionoftheroutine;offers

satisfaction

Takingcontrolofhabitsrequiresthreeactions:• identifyingthecue,routineandrewardofahabit• commandeeroldroutinesbysupplantingpartsofthiscycle• craftingnewhabitsbyplanningeachpartoftheloop

Neurologicalstudiesofthebrainshowthathabitsleaveapermanentimpactonthebrain,meaningthatoldhabitsnever trulydie,buttheycanbehijackedbysupplantingtheoldroutineor rewardwithanewone.

Howdoesthisrelatetoteachingandlearning?1. Helpstudentidentifyhabits thathinder their learningoroverallsuccessasastudent.

Askthemtoidentifythecue,routineandreward,andhavethemconsiderhowtheycaneithersupplantpartsofthislooporoverride theloopwithanewhabit.Forexample,ifastudentalwayswantstoeatwhentheysmellfood,andeatingleadstowatchingTV,studentsshouldeitherstudyinafood-freeenvironment(creatinganewloop)oreatasnackwhilestudyingandmakeTVareward(usingthesamecuetorevisetheroutineandmovepartofthatroutine tothereward).

CUE

ROUTINE

REWARDFoodsmell

EatFood,WatchTVDomathwhileyoueat

Delayedwork,relaxationWatchTV,relaxation

2.Use thehabitloopinclasstopreparestudentstolearn.Whatarethemostimportantlearningbehaviorsandactivitiesinyourclass?Carefullyplanningafewhabitloopsinclassonaregularbasiscanhelpgetstudentsfocusedfaster, solidifywhattheyhavelearnedattheendofclassandevensubvertnegativereactionstoassessments.Green slidesforspecificactivitycanserveasacue,andaclass-relevantcomicorgifcanbeareward.

ThePowerofHabit providesnarrativeshowthisscienceofhabitcanbeappliedtoindividuallives,groups,andorganizations.Inteachingstudentsthisloop,youmayempowerthemtoapplyitinwaysyouwouldn’thaveimagined.Youmightjustcreatepositivehabitsofyourown.

ResourcesDuhigg,C.(2012).Thepowerofhabit:Whywedowhatwedoinlifeandbusiness.

ChristinaMoore,MediaManagerCenterforExcellenceinTeachingandLearningOaklandUniversitycmamoore@oakland.edu

Thefollowingisonestrategy(ofmanyoffered)meanttobereflectedupon,modified,practiced,andutilizedsothatyoucanbebetterequippedtoeffectivelyrespondtohotmomentsintheclassroomwhentheyarise.

Whenpracticed,theOTFDframeworkcanbeatoolthatisquicklyretrievedoutofourmentaltoolboxtoorganizeourthoughtsanddescribethesituationinawaythatcoolsdowntheheat.Whenhotmomentsigniteintheclassroom,doingnothingisadamagingoption(Souza,Vizenor,Sherlip,&Raser,inpress).Instead,wecanengage thoughtfullyandpurposivelyinstrategiesthatmaintainaclimatethatisconducivetolearningbynotaddingfueltothefire(Souza,2016).

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

Hot Moments in the Classroom A Communication Framework to Cool Down Tension

Whatcanyoudowhenacommenthasbeenmadeorreactionobserved thatcausesheatintheclassroom?Despitethefeelingsofparalysisthattakeoverduringhotmomentsintheclassroom,certainpracticescanbeimplementedtoincreasethelikelihoodofmaintainingasupportiveclimateandpositivelearningenvironment.Considerusingacommunication

framework,suchasOpenTheFrontDoor toCommunication(OTFD)todescribewhatisgoingon,reduce tension,andofferapositivedirection.TheOTFDsteps (adaptedfromThe

ExcellenceExperience,2015)include:

OBSERVEConcrete, factualobservationsofthesituation

“Inoticedthevolumeofsomepeople’svoicegettingraised.

THINKThoughts(yoursortheirs)basedon

whatwasobserved

Ithinkthereweresome

strongreactionstowhatwas

said

FEELEmotionsusing“Istatements”

andIfeeluncomfortablemovingforwarduntilweexplore

this.

DESIREThoughts(yoursortheirs)basedon

whatwasobserved

Iamhopingwecanshareourthoughtssowecanunpack thisandlearnfromeachother.”

ResourcesSouza,T.J.(2016).ManagingHotMomentsintheClassroom: ConcreteStrategiesforCoolingDown

Tension.InFacultyFocusSpecialReport:DiversityandInclusionintheCollegeClassroom.MagnaPublication.

Souza,T.,Vizenor,N.,Sherlip,D.,&Raser,L.(inpress) Transformingconflictintheclassroom:Bestpracticesforfacilitatingdifficultdialoguesandcreatinganinclusivecommunicationclimate.InP.M.Kellett &T.G.Matyok (Eds.),TransformingConflictthroughCommunication:PersonaltoWorkingRelationships.

SuperCamp.TheExcellenceExperience.LearningForumSuperCamp.Retrievedfromhttp://www.supercamp.com/OTFD.aspx.

Warren,JohnT.ReflexiveTeaching:TowardCriticalAutoethnographic PracticesOf/in/onPedagogy.CulturalStudiesCriticalMethodologies 11,no.2(2011):139-44.doi:10.1177/1532708611401332.

Submittedby:TashaSouzaAssociateDirectoroftheCenterforTeaching&LearningProfessorofCommunicationBoiseStateUniversity

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

Helping the Brain to Learn withF.A.C.E.S.

Learners enterourclassroommatureinsomeways,butnot somatureinothers.Theseyoungmenandwomen,usuallybetweentheagesof17-25,havehadseveralyearstomaturephysically.However,entirelyinvisiblefromconventionalobservation,our students’brainsarestillexperiencingsomeoftheirmostimportantdevelopmentduringthelateadolescentandearlyadultyears.Infact,theareaofthebrainknownasthefrontallobe– whichisconsideredtocontrolthe“executive functions”ofthebrainsuchasplanning,goalsetting,self-control,abstractthinking,attention,andtheinhibitionofemotionalimpulses– generalreachesfullphysicalmaturityduringtheyears17-29(seeFigure1).

Wecaneasilyforgetthatwearenotdealingwithfullyformed,entirelymaturedlearners.Moreover,once thebrain’sfrontallobereachesphysicalmaturityataround themid-20s,another10-15yearscanpassbeforeapersonhasfullydevelopedhisorherthinkingskills.Thinkofitlikethis:Therearemanyathleticallycapableteenagebasketball players.However, theirphysicalbodiesarestillmaturing.(Figure1,adaptedfromRomine&Reynolds(2005), p.198)

Addtothat,theseteenageathletesarestilllearningtoperforminspecificways.IsitappropriatetoexpectthemtoperformatanNBAlevelwhilestillintheirteens?Ofcoursenot.Instead,weallknowthatthey’llneedmoreyearsfortheirbodiestoreachtheirfullphysiologicalmaturityand then evenmoreyearsforthemtohone theirperformanceskills.Thisalsooccurs(Figure2,adaptedfromRomine&Reynolds(2005), p.198)

inthehumanbrain.Learnersneedasignificantamountofcoachingandpracticetomakethemostofthiscrucialdevelopmentaltimeperiod (seeFigure2).

Whataresomeofthethingsteacherscandotohelpsupport thefullandhealthymaturationoflearners’brains?HerearefewideasthatcanbesimplyrememberedwiththeacronymFACES:

FOCUSFocus students’attention.Brainattentionspanisabout7-10minutes.Thatistosay,thebrainwilllosefocusunlessitsattentionisrecapturedevery7-10minutes.Therefore,whenyouarelecturing,considerdividingyour lectureintoequalten-minutesegments.Attheendofeachsegment,useanactivitytorecapturethelearners’attention.Forexample:• Summarizewhatyouhavesaid.• Askstudentsanintriguingquestionthatleadsintothenextaspectofthe

lecture.• Shareastory.• Doanactivity.• Askforparticipation.

AALIGNAlign assessmentactivitiescontextuallywithlearningactivitiesandmaterials.Researchshowsthatpeoplelearnbetterwhenlearningiscontextualized(Bransford,Brown,Cocking,&Center,2000).Studieshavealsoshownmorethana15percentgaininabilitywhenlearnersareaskedtorecallinstructionsinthesamecontextinwhichthey receivedthem(Medina,2008).

C CONCENTRATE ConcentrateonCriticalThinkingSkills. Likeanyother skill,thinkinggetsbetterwithpractice.Yourcoursewillhelpstudentsdevelopmoreifitemphasizestheacquisitionandpracticeofhigher-orderthinkingskills.

E EXERCISEThedataprovidesstrongevidence thatthosewhogetregularexercise,evenifitmeansstudyingforabitlesstime,achievesignificantlyhigherlearninggains(Medina,2008).

S SLEEPSimilartotheresearchresultsonexercise,thosewhogetregularsleepretaintheirlearningbetter(Medina,2008).

F

Thecollegeyearsprovidesignificantopportunity forstudentstoreachtheirintellectualpotential.Teacherscanhelpstudentsmakethemostofthistimebyteachingthemhowtobetterfocustheirattention,encouragingexerciseandregularsleep,implementingappropriateassessmentactivitiesinyourclasses,andconvincingstudentstoseizethiscriticaldevelopmentalopportunity.

ResourcesBaars,B.J.&Gage,N.M.(2010). Cognition,Brain,andConsciousness:Introductionto

CognitiveNeuroscience.Amsterdam:AcademicPress.Bransford,J.,Brown,A.,Cocking,R.,&Center,E.R.I.(2000). HowPeopleLearn:Brain,Mind,

Experience,andSchool. (2nded.).Washington,D.C.:NationalAcademyPress.Conklin,H.M.,Luciana,M.,Hooper,C.J.,&Yarger,R.S.(2004).WorkingMemoryPerformance

inTypicallyDevelopingChildrenandAdolescents:BehavioralEvidenceofProtractedFrontalLobeDevelopment.DevelopmentalNeuropsychology,31(1),103–128.

Medina,J.(2008). BrainRules:12PrinciplesforSurvivingandThrivingatWork,Home,andSchool. Edmonds,WA:PearPress.

Rains,G.D.(2002). PrinciplesofHumanNeuropsychology.Boston:McGraw-Hill.Ronnie,C.B.&Reynolds,C.R.(2005).AModeloftheDevelopmentofFrontalLobe

Functioning:FindingsfromaMeta-Analysis.AppliedNeuropsychology,12(4),190–201.

Zillmer,E.A.,Spiers,M.V.,&Culbertson,W.C.(2008).PrinciplesofNeuropsychology(2nd ed.).Belmon,CA:ThomsonWadsworth.

Submittedby:TaylorHalverson,Ph.D.,BrighamYoungUniversityCenterforTeachingandLearninghttp://ctl.byu.edu/

Realistic Timeline

Faculty Expectations and Role

Community Partner Expectations and Role

Checklist for Service Learning Projects

Whatisthe desiredoutcome?

Whatdoesthepartner needtoprovidetosupportproject success?

Whatrolewillthe partnerplayinevaluating student work?

Howwillthepartner ’s desiredoutcome alignwiththecourse’s learning objectives?

Howcantheprofessorworkwiththe partnerandstudents tosupportprojectsuccess?

Whenandhowwillthestudents, their instructorandcommunity partnerrepresentatives celebrate project completion?

Whatarekeydeadlines intheresearch, planning andimplementation oftheproject?

Whatproductsand/orservices willthestudents provide?

Whenandhowwillthestudents delivertheirproductsand/orservices?

Academic service learning canbeawin-win forbothstudents andcommunity partnerswhencarefulattention ispaidtodetails beforethe termbegins. Keyquestions toanswer include:

Submittedby:JanetRiceMcCoy,Ph.D.AssociateProfessor

Director,CenterforLeadershipandProfessionalDevelopmentMoreheadStateUniversityj.mccoy@moreheadstate.edu

CETLWeeklyTeaching Tipspresents

ResourcesAcademicDiscipline.SampleServiceLearningProjects.Retrievedfrom

http://www.eastfieldcollege.edu/Assets/ServiceLearning/ServiceLearningIdeasbyDiscipline.pdfCampusCompact.SampleServiceLearningSyllabi.Retrievedfromhttp://compact.org/resource-type/syllabi/

S.U.P.P.O.R.T. Students in Online ClassroomsCETLWeeklyTeaching Tipspresents

SUPPLEMENT materialonthesyllabuswithinterestingandinformativeweeklyguidancelessonplans.

PROVIDE detailedformativeandsummativefeedbackthroughoutthecoursetomonitorstudentprogress.

Sincetheonlinecurriculumisoftenstandardized,onlineinstructorsshouldhelpstudentsexplorenewconceptsandprovide“realworld”illustrationstosupplementthecoursecontent.Additionalinformationtoexpanduponthecontentonthesyllabusprovidesstudentswithamorein-depthexaminationofeachtopicandenhancesthelearningprocess.Itisparticularlyimportanttoincludecurrentexamplesthatstudentscanrelatetofrompersonalexperience,aswellaspivotaleventsunfoldinginthemedia.Theinclusionofcharts,graphs,diagramsandotherpictorialimagesisanothervehicletograbtheattentionofstudentsandaddanelementoffuntotheclassroom.Onlinecourselessonplansshouldbewritteninaninformal,conversationalstyletomorecloselyresemblethedisseminationofthismaterialinperson.

Studentsandinstructorsmaybeconfrontedwithchallengespertainingtotechnologicalissuesornavigationthroughthevirtual/onlineclassroom.Instructorsshouldbepreparedtoprovidepromptguidanceandresourcestomanagesuchsituationsandaddressunexpectedglitches.Thisisimperativeformaintainingorganizationintheclassroomandreassuringstudentsthatthereareviablesolutionstotheseproblems.Theonlineclassroomstructureisunique,soinstructorsmustbeawareofnecessaryadjustmentstoaccommodatethiseducationalformat.Studentswhoarenewtothisformoflearningmayneedextraattentionadaptingtochangesfrommoretraditionalmodels.Considerationforindividuallearningstylesanddiversityareotherkeyelementsforeffectiveinstructionintheonlineenvironment.Flexibilityisanessentialfactortoensureclearpresentationsofcoursematerialandrequirements,particularlyintheabsenceofface-to-facecommunications.

UNDERSTAND thechallengesofonlinelearningenvironmentforstudentsandinstructors.

Instructorsshouldprovideformativeassessmentswithdetailedcommentsthroughoutthecoursetomonitorstudentprogress.Thisisextremelyhelpfulforstudents– itidentifiesspecificareasofimprovement,aswellasrecognizesstrengthsthathavebeendemonstrated.Theinclusionofpositivefeedbackisimperativetoencouragestudentsandsustainmotivationtosucceed.Formativeevaluationsattheendofthetermcanbeausefultoolforstudentstoapplytofuturecourseworkandtargetskillsthatneedadditionalattention.

Theacronym“Support” comestomindasIreflectupononlineteachingstrategies:

AliceE.Schluger,Ph.D. |UniversityoftheRockies//RiseAbove|Alice.Schluger@faculty.rockies.edu

PROMOTE activeengagementandcommunication,whichcreatesgreatercommunityamongthecourseparticipants.

OFFER supportandmentorshiptostudentsincourseworkandcareerdevelopment.

Maintaininganactivepresencethroughoutthetermcoincideswithagreatersenseofcommunityamongthecourseparticipants.Instructorsshouldserveasrolemodelstostudentsinthetone,style,andtypesofcommunicationinthevirtualclassroom.Utilizingaprofessional,butwelcomingqualityinallcommunications(announcements,postings,courseexpectations,etc.)createsacongenialatmospherewherebystudentsfeelmorecomfortableexchangingopinionsandideas.Bydemonstratingenthusiasm,interestandcuriosityaboutthetopicathand,instructorscanfostermotivation,self-reflectionandcriticalthinkingonthepartofstudents.

Inadditiontofulfillingteachingresponsibilities,instructorsserveasmentorstostudentsastheyworktowardstheiracademicandcareergoals.Thisnecessitatestheestablishmentofmutualrespect,trustandempathytowardsstudentsforthedurationofthecourse.Inordertooffereffectivesupportandguidance,itisessentialtobebothapproachableandavailabletostudents.Instructorsshouldalsobemindfulofthestressorsassociatedwithbalancingschool/work/lifedemandsfacedbystudentsastheypursuetheircoursework.

Studentsappreciatepromptfeedbackandgradingoftheirdiscussionsandassignments.Aquickturnaroundtimewillenablestudentstomakenecessarycorrectionsandsetclearguidelinesforareasofdevelopment.Thisalsoreinforcestheinstructors’expectationsofstudentstosubmitworkpriortoduedatesandreplytootherpostsaccordingtoschedule.Respondingtostudentinquirieswithin24hoursisoptimalforaddressingquestionsandconcerns,alongwithfacilitatingacollaborativeapproachtolearning.

Oneofthecentralcomponentsofateachingphilosophyistoprovideasupportiveandencouragingenvironmentforlearning.Thisoverridingobjectiveisadvantageous,inconjunctionwithhigh-qualityinstructionthatachievestheintendedlearningoutcomes.Educationisadynamicprocessforbothinstructorsandstudents,whichcontributestothechallengeandexcitementoflearning.Astheeducationalfieldcontinuestoevolve,thesechangesmustbereflectedinthecoursecontentandthesynthesisofnewinformation.Apassionforteachingpropelseducatorstopassalongtheirknowledgeandinterestinavarietyofdisciplines.Withthisinmind,instructorsshouldstrivetoinspirecuriosityandlifelonglearningamongstudents.

RESPOND tostudentquestions,discussionsandfeedbackinatimelyfashion.

TEACH withafocusoncontinualgrowthandimprovementforlifelonglearning.

AliceE.Schluger,Ph.D. |UniversityoftheRockies//RiseAbove|Alice.Schluger@faculty.rockies.edu

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Prepare for Snow Days and Other Unexpected Class Cancellations

Animportantcomponentofcourseplanningispreparingfortheinevitabilityofinclementweatherorotherunexpectedclosings.Youcanminimizetheimpactoflostclasstimebyhavingaplanforhowyouwillmaintaincontactwithyourstudentsandreadjustscheduling.Toensureacademiccontinuity,werecommendthatyouperformthefollowingpreparednessactivities:

• Beinformedofhowtogetyourschool’salertsornotifications.AtOaklandUniversity,thisformallowsyoutooptintoalertsandnotifications:oakland.edu/uts/student-services/emergencynotification

• Practicemakingclearandeffectiveonlinecommunicationsforyourstudents• Familiarizeyourselfwithcommunicationandonlineteachingtechnologies• Makescheduleadjustments,asneeded• Whenyoureturntocampus,evaluatetheimpactandreconnectwithyourstudents• Beinformedofhowtogetsupport

PreparationChecklistBeforethesemesterevenstarts,planaheadforanunplannedclasscancellation:

q Establishacommunicationplantonotifystudentsofanymajorchange.q Makeyoursyllabusavailabledigitallytostudents.q PostallclassdocumentsinyourLearningManagementSystem.OUusesMoodle.q Haveremoteaccesstoyourofficecomputerormaterialsstoredonit.q Reviewtheplannedmaterialandactivitiesandconsiderwhatis“mustknow”,whatis

“importanttoknow”andwhatis“nicetoknow.”q Evaluatewhatactivitiesandmaterialrequireinclasstimevs.couldpotentiallybe

accomplishedthoughoutofclassoronlineactivities.q Reprioritizethecoursebasedonthesedecisionssothatyouandyourstudentsareableto

successfullymeetthecoursegoals.q UpdatesyllabusifneededandposttoLearningManagementSystem.q Notifystudentsofanychangestothesyllabus.q AdjustanydeadlinesintheLMSforassessmentsandactivities.

Submittedby:TonySindelar,asindelar@mghihp.edu MGHInstituteofHealthProfessionsVictoriaL.Wallace,vwallace@mghihp.edu http://www.mghihp.edu/faculty/faculty-compass/teaching

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Thinking Outside of

WrittenbyJ.AustinMurphy,OaklandUniversity.EditedanddesignedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

Teachingstudentstothinkoutsideaboxisachallengingbutnecessaryendeavorforfacultyseekingtohelpstudentsliveintherealworldofaveryuncertainfuture.Somefacultytendtoconcentrateonlearningtoregurgitateinformationoranswerquestionsthathavebeenpreviouslydiscussed,withgivenknownanswers.Tochallengestudentstothinkoutsidethe

box,theyneedpracticeproblemsthatrequiretheapplicationoflearnedcontenttosomewhatunfamiliarcontexts.

the Box

Start with holding students accountable for “in the box” knowledge early in the semester.

Smaller-stakesassignmentsthatreinforcecoursecontent,suchasquizzesorin-classactivities,tellsstudentstheyhavetoknow“thestuff,”butonlyso

theycansolvenewproblemswiththisstuff.

ThebestwayIhavefoundover3decadesofteachingtoenablestudentstolearntothinkoutsidetheboxanddealwithnewsituationswithoutwell-definedparametersandinformationfullygivenistoofferthempracticeproblemstodosuch.Asubstantialamountofteachinginaparticularfieldisnecessaryforstudentstobeabletointelligentlyattemptsuchproblems,sosuchteaching(andlearning)mustoccurearlyinthesemester.Then,asthesemesterprogresses,studentsmustapplysuchknowledgetoevernewerandmorecomplexsituationsevenastheylearnothernewandcomplexconcepts.

Then, give students new, complex problems to solve with

limited parameters and direction.

Tests,groupprojects,andoralexamscanallbeusefulforensuringthatstudentsactuallyhavelearnedthematerialandareabletoapplytheconceptstoatleastslightlydifferentsituationswithoutcompleteinformation.(andwithsomeinformationprovidedbutnotdirectlyinsidetheproblemorreferredtotherein).

WrittenbyJ.AustinMurphy,OaklandUniversity.EditedanddesignedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

Requiringstudentstolearntheprerequisiteknowledgeviaweeklyquizzesisapotentialstrategytoenablethestudentstoberewardedforatleastlearningthematerialeveniftheyhavedifficultylateroninapplyingthematerialtonewsituations.However,Iteachseniorandmasterslevelcourses,andsoIthereforemerelyassignproblemsforthestudentstopracticeontheirown(withanswersgiveninitiallyforthemtochecktheirwork),withonlytwotests(amidtermandfinal)aswellasagroupproject.

Myownsurveysofstudentsindicatedconclusivelythatthosewhocrammedtheday/weekbeforethetestswerewastingtheirtime,whereasthosespendingtheOU-suggested2hoursperweekoutsideofclasspercredithourwerescoringtopgrades.Studentsneedtolearnnottoprocrastinate, andmytestscertainlypenalizethemfordoingso.Idooffersubstantialextracreditforstudentsapplyingthemselvesthatisavailabletoallbutisalmosta"must"forthosestudentswishingtopassafterdoingnothingbutcrammingbeforethemidterm/final.

Itwouldbeextraordinarilyhelpfultostudentslong-termiftheyweresochallengedinasmanyothercoursesaspossibleatOU.Ofcourse,suchteachingmethodscanmeetresistancefrommanystudentsandcanresultadipinpositivestudentevaluations.However,themorefacultywhoengageinsuchteaching(orothermethodsforteachingstudentstothinkoutsidetheboxandapplytheirknowledgetonewsituations)canmakesuchteachingexpected(andthuslessunpopular,includingshort-term).ItisindeedawaytodifferentiateOUfromotheruniversitiesthatstudieshaveindicatedfailmiserablyinteachingstudentscriticalthinkingabilities(whichonceuponatimewasthegoalofinstitutionsofhigherlearningbutseemstonolongerbe).

COURSE DESIGN TOOL

Generate learning outcomes and key content areas, and how these are

connected and sequenced.

Maps as Teaching

and

Productivity Tools

Even faculty who typically don’t use visual cues in their teaching or workshop could

experience a boost of motivation by mapping out

ideas rather than relying entirely on lines of text.

TEACHING TOOL

Map course content to show students how class elements are connected

LEARNING TOOL

Have students refine or demonstrate their learning by creating their own maps

around a given topic

ASSESSMENT TOOL

Evaluate student learning in a visual form, using rubrics

and models to guide their work.

Concept 1

Concept 1A__________

Though I have never considered myself particularly oriented toward visuals, in recent years I have come to appreciate the value of mapping from both a teaching, learning, and productivity perspective. If you haven’t explored how mapping might help enhance your work, I would encourage you to take a closer look at concept and mind maps. Both are visual representations of knowledge and ideas.

Concept maps are traditionally more structured and hierarchical in terms of organization, with the most general concept at the top and the more specific concepts at the bottom (Nilson, 2010). The links between the concepts should also be meaningfully labeled.

the structure of the day’s topic or even an entire course. On the first day of class, I show students a concept map I have drawn of the course and then use that map to explain the course structure and syllabus.

• As a learning tool: have students refine or demonstrate their learning by creating their own maps around a given topic or the course. Note: because students can be uncomfortable with ambiguity (there’s no one “right” map), this might require a good amount of coaching and guidance from you. See how this teacher uses mapping to generate student discussions and assess learning.

• As an assessment tool: maps can be a great way for students to demonstrate their learning in the course. Just be sure to give students clear guidelines for developing their maps (and lots of practice creating maps beforehand) and consider creating a rubric.

• As a course design tool: if you’re designing a new course (or doing a major revision of a current course), consider first creating a map to help you generate your learning outcomes and key content areas.

• As a writing tool: Mapping can also be a great way to organize your ideas for a paper.

Ways you might use concept or mind maps include:• As a teaching tool: consider creating

a map as a way to help students

• As a notetaking tool: Recently, mapping and sketchnoting have become popular methods for taking notes at conferences. I now take notes at conferences this way and have also extended this practice to creating sketchnotes for books while I am reading them.

• Maps are wonderful tools for brainstorming, providing a “big picture” overview of ideas, or representing a large amount of information in a small space. They’re great tools to consider adding to your teaching and productivity “toolbox.”

ResourcesCenter for Instructional Innovation and Assessment (2008). Classroom assessment technique: Concept

maps. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from: https://youtu.be/Gm1owf0uGFM. Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. (2016). What are concept maps. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from:

http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/howto/assesslearning/conceptmaps.html. Mindmapping.com. (2016). Theory behind mind maps. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from:

http://www.mindmapping.com/theory-behind-mind-maps.php. Nilson, L. B. (2010). Concept Maps. In Teaching at Its Best (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Schrock, K. (2016). Sketchnoting in the classroom. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from:

http://www.schrockguide.net/sketchnoting.html.

Submitted by:Kristi J. Verbeke, Ph.D.verbekkj@wfu.eduDirector of Educational Development, Teaching and Learning CenterWake Forest Universitytlc.wfu.edu

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

microaggressionsMicroaggressions arethewayslanguage,behavior,andclimatesubtlycommunicateprejudiceandotherbiases.Whilethosewhodelivermicroaggressions mightnotbeawareoftheiractions,theystillcommunicatetocertaingroupsthattheyarelookedatas“other.”

CreatedbyChristinaMooreandJudyAbleser.PublishedFebruary2016.

YouspeakEnglishsowell!

Whereareyoufromoriginally?

Youdon’twritewithan

accent.

Criticisms claimthatfixationonmicroaggressionscancreatea“victimhoodculture,”whichcouldcausestudentstodwellontheharmsuchintentionalorunintentionalcommentscouldcausethem(iftheyare,indeed,microaggressions)ratherthanbrushingthemoffandmovingon.Somealsofearthatbymakingpeopleafraidofcommittingmicroaggressions,peopleinturnwillbelesslikelytoengagewithpeopleunlikethemselvesforfearofsayingthewrongthing.Lilienfeld (2017)findsthatwhilemicroaggressionsareavalidconcern,thedataontheirimpactonmentalhealthislacking.

ApplicationsforFacultyFacultywanttheirstudentstolearninanenvironmentthatiswelcomingandinclusivebutnotatthecostofdiscussingchallengingideas.Facultyarenotexpectedtoperfectlyknowhowtodefineandnavigatemicroaggressions,buttheyshouldbepreparedtodetectandactwhenmicroaggression takesplacebeforeitdisruptsthelearningenvironment.

That’ssogay.

Lookswhitetome.

Thiswritingdoesn’tsound

likeyou.

Researchersofferdifferentwaystoclassifyanddefinetypesofmicroaggressions.Sometimesmicroaggression comeoutinwell-intendedcompliments(“YouspeakEnglishsowell!”and

“Youdon’twritewithanaccent.”)orsimplytryingtogettoknowsomeone(“Whereareyoufromoriginally?”).Thetroublearisesintheassumptionsonemakesbasedonsomeone’sappearance.Theseexamplesaremicroaggressions onemightexperienceiftheirnameorraceseemsforeign.

Othermicroaggressions maybelesscomplimentary,suchaswordsusedtoidentifygroupsalsousedasderogatoryterms(“That’ssogay.”)toholdinglowerexpectations(“Thiswritingdoesn’tsoundlikeyou.”).Eventhesemicroaggressions maynotbe

malevolentorintentional,buttheycanstilloffendmarginalizedgroupforvalidreasons.

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

microaggressionsSuggestionsforFaculty

1. Bewareofsettinglearningexpectations Evenifwearecommittedtotreatingstudentsfairlyandnotdiscriminating,itishardtoguardourselvesfrommakingassumptionsaboutstudentsfromthefirsttimewereadtheirnamesintheclassroster.Alwayssuspendjudgmentuntilyouhaveclearevidenceofsomeone’slearningandabilities.

2. Relatemicroaggressions toyourcourses Considerwhethercertainmicroaggressions likelytoarisebasedonyourdiscipline,discussions,activities,andtypicalstudentpopulation.

3. Mentallywalkthroughaplanforhandlingmicroaggressions Whatwouldyoudoifastudent-to-studentmicroaggression surfacedinclass?Imaginethesituationsthatcouldariseandhowyouwoulddealwithit.Ifonesurfacedinclass,whenwoulditwarrantanopendiscussionwiththeclassversustalkingwiththestudentoutsideofclassorignoringit.Whendoesamicroaggression warrantconsultationwiththeDeanofStudents?Hypothesizingthesesituationscouldhelpyoumakecalm,soundjudgmentsinapotentiallytensemoment.

4. Reflectonyourvulnerability Everyonecarriesculturalbiaseswiththem.Reflectonwhetherthingsyousayorjudgmentsyoumakecouldmakeastudentfeeluncomfortable.Suchpracticescouldincludeassumingthatastudentofanotherrace,gender,orothergroupcanspeakforthatentiregroup(calleda“tokenminority”).Microaggressions cansurfacewithbenignorevenbenevolentintentions,soweshouldnotunderestimatetheirpowertoseepintoourcommunicationwithstudents.

RelatedReadingsFriedersdorf.C.(2015Sep11).Theriseofvictimhoodculture.TheAtlantic.Retrievedfrom

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/the-rise-of-victimhood-culture/404794/Lillenfeld,S.O.(2017).Microaggressions:Strongclaims,inadequateevidence.Perspectiveson

PsychologicalScience,12(1),Ong,A.D.,Burrow,A.L.(2017).Microaggressions anddailyexperience:Depictinglifeasitislived.

PerspectivesonPsychologicalScience,12(1),Nigatu,H.(2013Dec9).21racialmicroagressions youhearonadailybasis.BuzzFeed.Retrievedfrom

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/racial-microagressions-you-hear-on-a-daily-basis?utm_term=.lkOOogWqq0#.da3Gqvl22z

Runyowa,S.(2015Sep18).Microaggressions matter.TheAtlantic.Retrievedfromhttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/microaggressions-matter/406090/

Sue,D.W.etal.(2007May-Jun).Racialmicroaggressions ineverydaylife:Implicationsforclinicalpractice.AmericanPsychologist,62(4),271-286.doi:10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271

Zamudio-Suaréz,F.(2016Oct28).“Notyourlanguage”:Howaclassroominteractionledastudenttospeakoutonmicroaggressions.TheChronicleofHigherEducation Retrievedfromhttp://www.chronicle.com/article/Not-Your-Language-How-a/238239

CreatedbyChristinaMooreandJudyAbleser.PublishedFebruary2016.

Planning the Curriculum

Depth vs. BreadthAsyouplanyourcourses,thinkofthecurriculumtobelearnedasarectangle–withthehorizontalsides=breadthandtheverticalsides=depth.Inthisimage,theareaoftherectanglebasicallyremainsconstantregardlessofhowyouconstructtherectangle.Whichdoyouneedforyourcourse,greaterbreadthorgreaterdepth?Youcannothaveitbothways.

CETLWeeklyTeaching Tipspresents

Mathematicallyinclinedfolkswillremindusthatthemaximumareaofarectanglewiththesmallestparameterisasquare.Perhapsyoualsoneedtomakeyourcurriculummoreofasquarethanaverynarrow,butlongrectangle.

ResourcesBiggs,J.(1999).TeachingforQualityLearningatUniversity:Whatthestudentdoes.SHREandOpenPress.

Submittedby:PhyllisBlumberg,Ph.D.AssistantProvost,DirectoroftheTeachingandLearningCenterUniversityoftheSciencesp.blumbe@usciences.edu

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Engaging%in%Class%Discussion%

! !

CETL Teaching Tips presents

Daily In-Class Sheets

Track Attendance and Improve Student Engagement

Daily in-class sheets allow you to track attendance in large classes and provide a great

way to engage students actively in the day's lesson.

I. How to Incorporate In-class Sheets in Your Course

1. Include attendance as part of the final course grade. Require in-class sheets

daily to create a complete attendance record for each student.

2. Use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of everyone's attendance.

3. Ask questions periodically during class; students write the answers on their

sheet (a sheet of notebook paper). Tip! Ask a question at the beginning and

end of class to check for late arrivals and early departures.

4. Students turn in their sheet at the end of every class. Give the sheets back at

the next class; students keep them as proof of their attendance.

5. Complete, thorough, organized, and legible answers full credit (a as the

grade on the sheet)

Incomplete, brief, disorganized, or unintelligible answers partial credit (a

fraction or percentage as the grade on the sheet)

6. To speed grading, check for completeness, not correctness, but correct

answers must also be written down if given. Tip! Each item on the sheet

should be numbered so that you can quickly tell if the sheets are complete.

7. If you have time, provide brief comments periodically to let students know

you are actually reading the sheets.

II. Types of Items to Include on In-class Sheets

1. Solve problems based on the current lecture

2. Solve problems based on the previous lecture

3. Express an opinion about an interesting issue discussed in class

4. Answer a thought question about an academic issue

5. Answer a question based on the student's personal experience

6. Design a question based on a discrepant teaching event (See the CETL

Teaching Tip about discrepant teaching events.)

7. Ask something fun to establish a connection with your students (How was

your winter break?)

Submitted by Helena Riha

Special Lecturer, Linguistics

Oakland University

riha2@oakland.edu

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

Facilitating a Great DiscussionClassdiscussionisaclassicactivelearningactivitythatinvitesagrouptochallengeideasandcreateknowledgetogether.Itsoundsgreatintheory,butwecanencounterclassroomsfullofcrickets.Considerthesestrategiesasawaytotrysomethingnewandrevitalizethediscussion.

“What do you all think?”

“Let’s go a little further.”“Saymore...”

“Whatevidencecansupportthatpoint?”

“Let’s think about it.”

“So, how does this relate?”

“Howcouldweanswerthatquestion?”

CIRCULATEDISCUSSIONAMONGSTUDENTS

Mostdiscussionsfallintoacadenceofstudent-to-professorinteraction.Encouragestudentstoanswerone

another’squestionsorrespond tooneanother’scomments.

ALLOWSILENCEANDPAUSEWhensilencefallsafterwehaveaskeda

question,our impulseistofillthevoidwithelaborationoranewquestion.Ifyouknow itisthequestionyouwanttoask,letstudentsthink.Evengivestudents60secondstoconsultthetextorwritearesponse.

“Let’sbringthediscussionbacktoourfocus.”

KEEPTHEFOCUSONOUTCOMES…Whatarethegoalsofyourdiscussion?

Whatmainquestionsneed tobeanswered?Whatpointsneedtobe

discussed?Whenthediscussiongoesonatangent,usequestionstoredirectthe

discussiontothemainpoints.

…BUTBEOPENTOTHEUNEXPECTEDWhenyour studentsaredeeplyinvolved inadiscussionthatgoesinanunanticipateddirection,encouragethemtoleadthewayandstoketheirenthusiasm.Agoodclass

discussioncanmotivatestudentsforweeks.Allowspaceforthesediscussionsbyover-

allocatingtimefordiscussion.

For more teaching tips on class discussions, visit

oakland.edu/teachingtips

CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedDecember2015.

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Introverts and ExtrovertsEngage the Thinker and the Talker Alike

Notalllearnersinyourclassroomswillengagewiththecoursecontentandeachotherinthesameways.Considertheseactivitiestoencourageabroadercrosssectionofstudentstodelvedeeplyintosubjectmatterandworktowardkeycourseoutcomes.

WrittenbyAmandaNicholsHess.DesignedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedMarch2017.

Mixin-classdiscussionswithonlinediscussionsinMoodleStudentswhowantmoretimetoprocessinformationandpresenttheirthoughtscarefullycanbenefitfromthewritingandeditingprocessinvolvedinonlinediscussions.Studentswhoaretemptedtotalkatlengthinclassmayfindtheyaremorefocusedandconciseonline.

Allowstudentstoshareeither“live”orpre-recordedpresentationsStudentswhofeelanxiouspresentingtoalargegroupcanaccomplishthesamelearningoutcomesasthosewhoarenaturalspeakersiftheyareabletohoneandperfectarecordedpresentationinadvance.

OfferofficehoursinpersonandvirtuallythroughWebEx(atthesametime)Providingawebconferencingoptionduringyourofficehourscanhelpbothstudentswhoprefertonotmeetinpersonandthosewhojustmaynotbeabletocometocampus.

BuildopportunitiesforreflectionintotheclassroomandthecourseByaskingstudentstowriteshortreflectionpapers,diagramtheirprogresstowardcourseobjectives,orjotdowntheirquestions,youcanencouragethinkersandtalkerstothinkdeeplyabouttheirlearning.

ThisteachingtipfitsintotheUniversalDesignforLearning(UDL),whichpromotesopportunitiestoincreaseaccessandreducebarrierstolearninginordertoenhancestudentsuccessforalllearners.FormoreonUDL,visitoakland.edu/cetl/ou-teaching-initiatives

Asking Questions for Meaningful Class DiscussionInstructorsaskstudentsquestions.Weaskquestionsonexamsandweaskquestionsinclass.Thekindsofquestionsinstructorsaskinfluencethequalityofclassdiscussion.Questionsaskedduringclassservefourpurposes(Blosser,1975/2000):• Managerialquestions organizeandguideclassactivities(Doeseveryonehaveacopyofthe

handout?).Weusemanagerialquestionstocreatestructureandorganizeclassroomtasks.• Rhetoricalquestions emphasizeapointorreinforceaconcept(Weagreedatourlastmeetingthat

Smith’stheoryposedseveralproblemsthatrequirefurtherresearch,correct?).Weusethesequestionstocreatetransitionsanddon’texpectstudentstoanswerthesequestions.

• Closedquestions havefewoptionsforanswers.Usuallyonlyoneresponseisacorrectanswertothequestion(Whatkindofchemicalbondholdsthismoleculetogether?).Closedquestionsassesscurrentstudentunderstanding.Weusethesequestionstodeterminewhetherstudentsretainedrecentcontentknowledgewellenoughforustobuildonaconceptormoveontothenexttopic.

• Openquestions elicitarangeofrelevantresponsesanddonothaveasingle“correct”response(WhichofthefollowingthreebusinesseswouldbethebestuseforaparceloflandonNineMileRoadandwhy?).Studentsmayansweropenquestionswithopinionsbasedoncourseprinciples(whatdefines“bestuse”),justifytheirchoiceswithrelevantevidence,applytheorytoaspecificexample,orpracticecomplexproblem-solvingskillsusedinthediscipline.Openquestionscreateconditionsforextendeddiscussion.

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Managerial or Rhetorical Questions

45%Closed Questions

42%

Open Questions

13%

QUESTIONS ASKED DURING CLASS ( EWI NG AND WHI TT INGTON, 2 0 07)

Although open questions have the greatest potential for stimulating lively class discussion, instructors seldom ask open questions during class.

Althoughopenquestionshavethegreatestpotentialforstimulatinglivelyclassdiscussion,instructorsseldomaskopenquestionsduringclass.EwingandWhittington(2007)foundthatonly13.4%ofthequestionsinstructorsaskedwereopenquestions.Nearlyhalfthequestionsinstructorsaskedweremanagerialorrhetoricalquestions(45%)and41.6%wereclosedquestions.

Examinethekindsofquestionsyouaskduringclass.Ifyouwanttopromotethoughtfuldiscussionsduringclass,spendsometimepreparingopenquestionsthatrequirehigher-levelengagementwithcourseconcepts.

Lang(2008)suggestsscaffoldingaclassdiscussionwithaseriesofquestions.Beginwithafact-basedquestiontogetstudentscomfortablewithansweringquestions.Thenintroducestudentstoquestionsthatrequirestudentstoapplyconceptstopracticalproblemsthatdonothaveanobvioussolutionordiscussthemeritsofalternativeinterpretations(e.g.,competinginterpretationsofanovelinaliteratureclass,competingdiagnosesforasetofsymptomsinahealth-relatedclass).

Gooddiscussionsrequiretime.Givestudentstimetoreflectbeforetheyrespond.Learntoendureatleast3-5secondsofsilencewhilestudentsgathertheirthoughts.Someinstructorsgivestudentsaminutetowritearesponsebeforeinvitingstudentstodiscussoraskingaspecificstudenttoanswerthequestion.Blosser (1975/2000)reportsthatwheninstructorscreateadelayforthinkingbeforetheyaskforthefirststudentresponse,studentsengageinricherdiscussions.Morestudentsparticipate.Theyaremorelikelytoincludesupportingevidencewhentheyrespond.Studentsaremorelikelytoaskfollow-upquestionsandengageinspeculativethinkingaboutcoursecontent.

Ifcoursegoalsemphasizehigher-levelcognitiveskills(problem-solving,applicationofconcepts),constructclassdiscussionsthatrequirestudentstousetheseskills.Reinforcethevalueofcomplexin-classdiscussionsbyaskingsimilarquestionsonexams.Studentswillvaluethein-classpracticewithcomplexquestionsiftheyencountersimilarquestionsoncourseexamsthatrequireproblem-solvingandapplication.Ifcourseexamsaskonlyfact-basedmemoryretrievalquestions,studentswillloseinterestinclassdiscussionsthatrequirehigher-orderskillsanddemandthattheirinstructorspendmoreclasstimetellingthemthe“facts”theyneedtoknowfortheexam.

ResourcesBlosser,P.E.(1975/2000).Howtoasktherightquestions.Washington,D.C.:NationalScienceTeacherAssociation.(http://www.nsta.org/docs/201108bookbeathowtoasktherightquestions.pdf)Ewing,J.C.,&Whittington,M.S.(2007).TypesandcognitivelevelsofquestionsaskedbyprofessorsduringCollegeofAgricultureclasssessions.JournalofAgriculturalEducation,48,91-99.Doi:10.5032/jae.2007.03091Lang,J.M.(2008).Oncourse:Aweek-by-weekguidetoyourfirstsemesterofcollegeteaching.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress.

Submittedby:ClaudiaJ.Stanny,Ph.D.,DirectorCenterforUniversityTeaching,Learning,andAssessmentUniversityofWestFloridaPensacola,FL(850)473-7435cstanny@uwf.edu

!

!

!

!

!

!

Authentic%Learning%Activities%

! !

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Make Learning Flexible with UDLUniversalDesignforLearning(orUDL)isawayto“improveandoptimizeteachingandlearningforallpeoplebasedonscientificinsightsintohowhumanslearn”(CAST,2015).Thisapproach

considersthewhy,what,andhowofstudents’learningwhilereducingthebarriersstudentsmayfaceinachievingcourseoutcomes.UDLdoesn’twaterdowninstructionalexpectationsor

standards;instead,itprovidesstudentsaccesstoopportunitiestosucceed.

TherearethreecomponentstoUDL-- theyfocusonprovidinglearnerswithmultiplemeansofengagement,representationofinformation,andoptionsofaction/expression.

CreatedbyAmandaNicholsHess,OULibraries. DesignedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

UDL offers students many ways to

ENGAGEin the course

material

UDL offers faculty many ways to

REPRESENTthe course material

UDL offers students many ways to

EXPRESSwhat they have

learned

Byprovidingmultiplemeansofengagement,youcanhelpmotivateyourstudentsandgivetheirlearningapurpose.Inpracticalterms,thisprinciplemeansidentifyingwaysyoucancangiveclassroomtasksauthenticityorconnectthemtoreal-worldsituations.Forexample:• Directlyhighlightwherecourseconceptsareusedincareers

orworkenvironments• Askaguestspeakertovisityourclass(inpersonorvia

video)toconnecthis/herexperiencestocoursecontent

Byprovidingmultiplemeansofrepresentationofinformation,youcanhelpyourstudentstodemonstratetheirknowledgeandresourcefulness.Inpracticalterms,thisprinciplemeansprovidingstudentsaccesstothesameconceptualinformationinmultipleformats(e.g.video,text,lecture).Forexample:• ProvideallcoursedocumentsinprintandonMoodle• Recordclasslecturesorpartsofclasssessionsforstudents

toreview

Byprovidingmultiplemeansofactionorexpressionofstudents’learning,youcanhelpyourstudentsbegoal-orientedandstrategicwhileallowingthemmultipleopportunitiestoillustratetheirlearning.Inpracticalterms,thisprinciplemeansincorporatingavarietyofclassroomactivities-- grouptasks,individualprojects,writtenexercises,multimediapresentations-- thatgivestudentsopportunitiestodemonstratehowthey’reattainingyourlearningoutcomes.Forexample:• Offerbothface-to-faceandonlinediscussionopportunities

forstudents• Askstudentstopresent,ifappropriate,andgivethem

optionsfortheirpresentationmethod(pre-recordedorin-person)

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Make Learning Flexible with UDLContinued

NotallUDLstrategieswillworkforeveryclassroom,buttherearesomeoptionsyoucanconsider-- youmayalreadybeusingsomeoralloftheseideas!

Formorestrategies,explanationofprinciples,backgroundonUDL,andinformationontraditionallydisadvantagedlearnergroupswhohavemuchtogainthroughUDL,visit

oakland.edu/cetl/ou-teaching-initiatives

ResourcesCenterforAppliedSpecialTechnology.(2015).AboutUDL.Retrievedfromhttp://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.V74FsJMrJ3M

Principlesfrom:NationalCenteronUniversalDesignforLearning.(2014,November12).Universaldesignforlearningguidelines.Retrievedfromhttp://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines_theorypractice

CreatedbyAmandaNicholsHess,OULibraries. DesignedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Collaboration% %

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Group Work with Google DocsGroupworkisachallengingactofbalancingchallengesandrewardsforcollectiveeffort.Wewanttoevaluatestudentsfairlybasedontheirwork,butwealsowanttoevaluatetheirabilitytobringtogetherdifferentperspectivesandworkasateam,muchthewaytheywilldointheircareers.GoogleDriveofferscommontechnologyusedinclassrooms—aGoogleDocswordprocessor(likeMSWord)andGoogleSlidesslidepresenter(likeMSPowerPoint)—inaformatthatallowsseamlessandrecordedcollaborationamongmultipleusers.

WrittenbyAmyRutledge,SpecialInstructorofManagementInformationSystems.CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

ForgroupworkIuseGoogleDocstokeeptrackofwork.Eachgroupmemberhasaccesstothe

document(alongwithme).

Theprogramhighlightsandtrackseditsmadetothedocument.If

agroupmember

hasn'tdoneanyworkorpoorqualitywork,thenIcantell.

TheBasics• GoogleDocscanbeusedwithanyGmailaccount.PeoplewithoutGmailaccountscanbe

invitedtoviewdocuments.AnyonewithaGoogle-poweredemailaccount(suchasthosewith@oakland.eduemailaddresses)areautomaticallytiedintoGoogleDrive,whichiswhereGoogleDocs,Slides,andotherprogramsareavailable(seegreenimageabove).

• CollaboratorsareaddedtoGoogleDocsatthecreator’sdiscretion.Creatorscanchoosewhethercollaboratorsview,edit,ormanagethedocument(sharewithothers).

• AnynumberofpeoplecanworkinaGoogleDocsimultaneously.Youcanactuallyseeotherstypinginthedocumentatthesametimeyouare.

• GoogleDocssaveautomatically.Peopleusethemforcollaborativeworkbecauseeveryonehasthesamemostrecentversion.Youcanrevertchangesinthecaseofaccidentaledits.

• Revisionhistory(seeyellowimageabove)allowsanyonetoseethehistoryofchanges,whicharecolor-codedperuser.

FormoreguidanceonusingGoogleDocs,visitgoogle.com/docs

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Group Work with Google Docs

WrittenbyAmyRutledge,SpecialInstructorofManagementInformationSystems.CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

Duringclass,thestudentsareaskedtocreateabasicplanfortheirpresentationonthestoryboard.Asagroup,theydecidethesubtopicsandtheneachgroupmemberisassignedasubtopicwithinthepresentation.Thestoryboardbecomesacontractbetweenthegroupmembers.TheywillthengivemethestoryboardsoIknowwhoisresponsibleforwhichsubtopic.Again,theywilluseGoogleDocstocreatethepresentationandittracksthework.

BenefitsforFacultyAsIshowinthefirsttwoimages,GoogleDocsallowsmetoeasilyorganizeandmonitorgroupwork,whichalsomakesstudentsfeelmoreassuredofmutualaccountability.).WhenIassignagroupresearchproject,eachstudentisaskedtoresearchtheirgrouptopicandthenplacetheresearchinaGoogleDoc.Theprogramhighlightsandtrackseditsmadetothedocument.Ifagroupmemberhasn'tdoneanyworkorpoorqualitywork,thenIcantell.

AdditionalIdeasUsemoretoolsavailableinGoogleDrive,suchasSlides(likePowerPoint)andForms(asurveytool).Allofthesetoolsareavailableinthesameplace.MoreonGoogleDrivecanbefoundatdrive.google.com• UseGoogleDocs forgroupplanning,brainstorming,anddraftingformalwriting.• UseGoogleSlidesforgrouppresentations.Thestudentswillstarttoaddtheirslideshere,

witheachpersonworkingonhis/herpart.IaskthatthestudentsputwhattheyaregoingtosayintheNotessectionbeloweachoftheirslides.

• UseGoogleFormsforgroupevaluations.Formsallowsyoutouseavarietyofquestiontypes,fromratingscalestoopen-answercomments.

!

!

!

!

!

!

Teaching%with%Technology%and%Online%Learning%

! !

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Communicate with Class Texts

YouaskstudentstochecktheirOUe-mailforcourseannouncements,butaretheydoingsoconsistently?Yourstudentsareprobablynotcheckingtheire-mailasoftenasyouwouldlike.TheWallStreetJournal reportsthatyoungpeopleintheirteensandearlytwentiesusee-mailprimarilyforformalcommunication– it'sfor"communicatingwitholdpeople."1 Aneffectivesupplementalwaytoreachstudentsisbysendingoutclasstexts – courseannouncementssentastextmessages.Shortcourseannouncementscanbesentintheirentirety.Longannouncementscaneitherbesummarized,oryoucanjustsendtheheaderforyoure-mailmessageasatextandaskstudentstochecktheire-mailforthefullmessage.Animportantcaveatwithclasstextsisthatsigningupforthemmustbeoptional,whereasaskingstudentstochecktheirOUe-mailformessagescanberequired.

ConvertStudents'CellPhoneNumbersintoE-mailAddressesCourseannouncementscanbesentfromyourOUe-mailaccountastextmessagesbywayofanSMSgateway– ane-mailaddresswiththerecipient'scellphonenumberandcarrierinit.Therecipient'scellphonenumberisfollowedbythecarrier'sgateway(e.g.2483215432@txt.att.net).Tocreateaclasstextsmailinglist,youwillneedtoobtaineachparticipatingstudent'scellphonenumberandcarrier,andthenyouwillneedtocreateamailinglistwiththatinformation.Themaincarriersandtheirgatewaysareprovidedinthenextsection.Tofindthegatewaysforothercarriers,Google"listofSMStoe-mailgateways."

UseaMoodleSurveytoObtainStudents'CellPhoneNumbersandCarriersThemostconvenientwaytodoobtainthemailinglistinformationyouneedisthroughaMoodlesurvey.YoucanusetheSurveytoolinMoodletocreatea"signupforclasstexts"surveythatcollectsparticipatingstudents'information.Afterthesurveyhasclosed,youwillneedtodownloadtheinformationtocreateyourmailinglist (surveyexampleonnextpage).

CreateYourClassTextsMailingListYoucandownloadstudents'surveyresponsesfromMoodleasanExcelfile.Onceyouhavedonethat,deletealloftheinformationexceptstudentnames,cellphonenumbers,andcarriergateways.CopythisinformationintoatableinWordandadd<>aroundthephonenumbersandgateways.Yourmailinglistshouldlooklikethis:Afteryouhaveyourmailinglist,youcancopyandpasteitintotheBCCcellofe-mailmessagesyouwanttosendoutastexts.

NewlinkonMoodlefornextweek’sreading.

NewlinkonMoodlefornextweek’sreading.Newlinkon

Moodlefornextweek’sreading.

WrittenbyHelenaRiha,OaklandUniversity.DesignedbyChristinaMoore. PublishedMarch2017.

WrittenbyHelenaRiha,OaklandUniversity.DesignedbyChristinaMoore. PublishedMarch2017.

RemindersaboutClassTexts1.ThemostimportantdetailtorememberistosendallclasstextsasBCCmessagessothatstudents'cellphonenumbersarenotrevealed. AddressthemessagetoyourselfasthemainrecipientandcopyandpasteyourclassmailinglistintotheBCCcell.

2.Tellstudentsthattheycanunsubscribeatanytimebysendingyouamessagewiththewordunsubscribe.Thosewhowithdrawfromyourcoursewilldefinitelyneedtodothis!

3.Remindstudentsthatifyourtextmessageiscutoff,theywillneedtochecktheirOUe-mailforthefullmessage.

4.Letstudentsknowthatyouwillbeginusingclasstextsaftertheadd/dropperiodisover.Thiswillenableyoutoavoidhavingtoupdateyourmailinglistwhenenrollmentsarestillinflux.

1 Mims,Christopher."ForGenerationZ,EmailHasBecomeaRiteofPassage."TheWallStreetJournal 11Apr.2016.Web.20Jan.2017

ExampleofMoodlesurveyforcollectingcontactinfo.

Wanttoavoidcollectingcontactinfo?UsetheMoodleMobileApp

Oncestudentsdownloadthefreeapp,theinstructorcansendaMoodleMessagethroughtheapp,whichwillpopupasanotificationonthesmartdeviceswheretheappisdownloaded.

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Group Work with Google DocsGroupworkisachallengingactofbalancingchallengesandrewardsforcollectiveeffort.Wewanttoevaluatestudentsfairlybasedontheirwork,butwealsowanttoevaluatetheirabilitytobringtogetherdifferentperspectivesandworkasateam,muchthewaytheywilldointheircareers.GoogleDriveofferscommontechnologyusedinclassrooms—aGoogleDocswordprocessor(likeMSWord)andGoogleSlidesslidepresenter(likeMSPowerPoint)—inaformatthatallowsseamlessandrecordedcollaborationamongmultipleusers.

WrittenbyAmyRutledge,SpecialInstructorofManagementInformationSystems.CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

ForgroupworkIuseGoogleDocstokeeptrackofwork.Eachgroupmemberhasaccesstothe

document(alongwithme).

Theprogramhighlightsandtrackseditsmadetothedocument.If

agroupmember

hasn'tdoneanyworkorpoorqualitywork,thenIcantell.

TheBasics• GoogleDocscanbeusedwithanyGmailaccount.PeoplewithoutGmailaccountscanbe

invitedtoviewdocuments.AnyonewithaGoogle-poweredemailaccount(suchasthosewith@oakland.eduemailaddresses)areautomaticallytiedintoGoogleDrive,whichiswhereGoogleDocs,Slides,andotherprogramsareavailable(seegreenimageabove).

• CollaboratorsareaddedtoGoogleDocsatthecreator’sdiscretion.Creatorscanchoosewhethercollaboratorsview,edit,ormanagethedocument(sharewithothers).

• AnynumberofpeoplecanworkinaGoogleDocsimultaneously.Youcanactuallyseeotherstypinginthedocumentatthesametimeyouare.

• GoogleDocssaveautomatically.Peopleusethemforcollaborativeworkbecauseeveryonehasthesamemostrecentversion.Youcanrevertchangesinthecaseofaccidentaledits.

• Revisionhistory(seeyellowimageabove)allowsanyonetoseethehistoryofchanges,whicharecolor-codedperuser.

FormoreguidanceonusingGoogleDocs,visitgoogle.com/docs

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Group Work with Google Docs

WrittenbyAmyRutledge,SpecialInstructorofManagementInformationSystems.CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

Duringclass,thestudentsareaskedtocreateabasicplanfortheirpresentationonthestoryboard.Asagroup,theydecidethesubtopicsandtheneachgroupmemberisassignedasubtopicwithinthepresentation.Thestoryboardbecomesacontractbetweenthegroupmembers.TheywillthengivemethestoryboardsoIknowwhoisresponsibleforwhichsubtopic.Again,theywilluseGoogleDocstocreatethepresentationandittracksthework.

BenefitsforFacultyAsIshowinthefirsttwoimages,GoogleDocsallowsmetoeasilyorganizeandmonitorgroupwork,whichalsomakesstudentsfeelmoreassuredofmutualaccountability.).WhenIassignagroupresearchproject,eachstudentisaskedtoresearchtheirgrouptopicandthenplacetheresearchinaGoogleDoc.Theprogramhighlightsandtrackseditsmadetothedocument.Ifagroupmemberhasn'tdoneanyworkorpoorqualitywork,thenIcantell.

AdditionalIdeasUsemoretoolsavailableinGoogleDrive,suchasSlides(likePowerPoint)andForms(asurveytool).Allofthesetoolsareavailableinthesameplace.MoreonGoogleDrivecanbefoundatdrive.google.com• UseGoogleDocs forgroupplanning,brainstorming,anddraftingformalwriting.• UseGoogleSlidesforgrouppresentations.Thestudentswillstarttoaddtheirslideshere,

witheachpersonworkingonhis/herpart.IaskthatthestudentsputwhattheyaregoingtosayintheNotessectionbeloweachoftheirslides.

• UseGoogleFormsforgroupevaluations.Formsallowsyoutouseavarietyofquestiontypes,fromratingscalestoopen-answercomments.

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

Online Tools that Make Learning More AccessibleTherearemanyaccommodationsthatmaybeadoptedassoundinstructionalpracticesforthebenefitofmorestudentsthanjustforstudentswithdisabilities.First,givenourcurrentandevolvingtechnologies,theriseofopeneducationalresources,andthenecessityforcompatibilityandintegrationamongmultipledevices,wesimplyneedtomonitorthefunctionalityofoureducationaltechnology.Second,aspartofbrain-basedlearning,multisensoryapproachestoteachingengagestudentsandincreasetheirlikelihoodofconnectionstoandretentionofthelearningmaterial(Shams&Seitz,2008).

Belowisalistofourfavoriteresourcestoenhanceteachingandlearningforallofyourstudentsinallclassroommodalities.Theinformationprovidedwillgiveyouageneraloverviewofthemajorconsiderationstoincreasestudentaccesstolearning.Thelistedtoolsaremultipurpose,havemultipleuses,andappealtodiversestudentpopulationsandclassroomenvironments.

WrittenbyFelicityCruzGrandjean andJulieA.McElhany,TexasA&MUniversity-Commerce..CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

QualityMatters(QM)RubricStandard8onAccessibilityandUsability(https://www.qualitymatters.org/rubric)isanationally-recognizedprogramthatreliesontheQMrubricandfacultypeerreviewstoimprovethecoursedesignoffullyonline,blended,andcompetency-basedcourses.Standard8identifiescriterionthatensuresaccessibilityandusabilityinyouronlinecourses.OU’se-LearningandInstructionalSupporthasadapteditsownOnlineCourseQualityScorecardforonlinelearningdesign,whichcanbefoundatoakland.edu/elis.

JobAccommodationNetwork(JAN)AtoZofDisabilitiesandAccommodations(https://askjan.org/links/atoz.htm)focusesonemploymentandworkplacesolutionsforindividualswithdisabilities.However,theirA-to-Zresourcematerialsondisabilityaccommodationsarequitedetailedandcanbeapplieddirectlyoradaptedtovariouslearningenvironments.

INFORMATION ON LEARNING ACCESS

NationalCenteronDisabilityandAccesstoEducation(NCDAE)Cheatsheets(http://ncdae.org/resources/cheatsheets/)– Ifyouhaveeverexperiencedtechnologyincompatibilityissueswithdifferentsoftware,apps,anddevices,orifyouneedtomakespecificaccommodationsforyourstudents,thenyouwillwanttorefertoNCDAECheatsheets forMicrosoft(Word,PowerPoint,andExcel)software,Adobe(AcrobatandInDesign)software,websites,andYouTubevideostocreateusableandaccessiblecontent.

OnlineCourseQualityScorecardOU’se-LearningandInstructionalSupporthasadapteditsownOnlineCourseQualityScorecardforonlinelearningdesign,whichcanbefoundatoakland.edu/elis.

QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR ONLINE COURSES

Online Tools that Make Learning More Accessible

WrittenbyFelicityCruzGrandjean andJulieA.McElhany,TexasA&MUniversity-Commerce..CreatedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedFebruary2017.

Amara(https://amara.org/en/)Amaraisanaccessiblevideotoolandnonprofitprofessionalorganization,whichprovidessupportforcaptions,subtitles,andtranslationsforyourinstructionalvideos.

Jing(https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html)isamultimediacommunicationandcollaborationtool.Specifically,Jingisascreenshot(image,audio,and/orvideo)andonlinescreencast(storageandsharing)tool.Jingisbeneficialforvisualandauditorylearnersandforincreasinginterestandengagementwithenhancedcoursecontent.

OnlineOCR(http://www.onlineocr.net/)isanopticalcharacterrecognitionsoftware.SomeproductivitysoftwarecaneasilybeconvertedintoPDFfileswhilemaintainingtheiroriginaltextandobjectproperties.However,somePDFfilesareonlyimages.Ifyouneedtoidentifytextforthepurposeof“copy&paste,”ortousewithascreenreader,orifyouwouldliketoactivateincludedhyperlinks,thenOCRsareusefulwithtranslatingPDFdocuments(asimages)backtoitsoriginaltextsandobjects.

GoogleforEducation(https://www.google.com/edu/products/productivity-tools/)isasetofcollaborativeproductivitytools,whichincludesClassroom,Gmail,Drive,Calendar,Vault,Docs,Sheets,Slides,Sites,andHangouts.Thesetoolshelpyoucreateyourcoursecontent,communicatewithyourstudents,teach,managecourseactivities,andtrackstudentprogress.

TOOLS

ScreenReaders(ChromeVox forChrome;VoiceOver forAppleproducts;NVDAforWindows,Firefox,andMicrosoft;ReadSpeaker andWebAnywhere forweb)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screen_readers)– Thelistedscreenreadersarehelpfulforindividualswhenusingtheassociatedsoftware/applications.Screenreadersarebeneficialtoindividualswithvisualimpairmentsorblindness,visuallearners,ESLlearners,andothers.Whenscrollingisnecessaryonascreen,screenreadershelpthosewithlimitedmobilitynavigate.Screenreadersarealsohelpfulwhenyouusesmallscreens,whenyouareonthegoormulti-tasking,andwithusingmultipledevices.

Zamzar(http://www.zamzar.com/)isanonlinefileconversiontool,whichwillallowyoutoprovidemultiplefiletypesofthesamedocumenttoensuretechnologycompatibilityandaccesstothedocument.

CETLWeeklyTeachingTipspresents

CreatingAccessibleMicrosoftWordDocumentsAccessibilityisahottopicineducation.Notonlyisitourlegalobligation tomakeouronlinematerialsaccessibletopeoplewithdisabilities;it’stherightthingtodo.Evenifyoudon’tteachonline,youmaywishtosharedocumentselectronically,eithernoworinthefuture.Creatingaccessibledocumentsnowwillsaveyouthetroubleofretrofittingmaterialslater.Makingallcoursematerialsaccessiblemightseemlikeanoverwhelmingtask,butafewsmallchangestothewayweworkcanmakemanyofoureverydaymaterialsaccessible.

WrittenbyMaggieBurkeandMariaWallace,CommunityCollegeofRhodeIsland.DesignedandeditedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedApril2017.

UseBuilt-inOrganizationalFeaturesMostfacultycreatetextdocumentsforourclasses,forexample,thesyllabus,homeworkassignments,andsupplementarymaterial.Makingthesedocumentsaccessible,sothatscreenreaderscanreadthemtostudentswithvisualdisabilities,isreallyjustamatterofestablishingafew

goodhabits.ThetoolstomakeadocumentaccessiblearebuiltintoMicrosoftWordandwillhelpyoucreatedocumentsthatareeasierforallstudentstonavigateandeasierforyoutomodify.

ReviewEducationalGuidestoAccessibilityThisexcellentvideo,fromHighTechCenteratTaftCollege,demonstrateshowascreenreaderreadsanaccessibleWorddocumentversusaninaccessibleone.Mostoftheguidelinesformakingatextdocumentaccessibleinvolveusingthebuilt-intoolstoformatstructuralelementsofyourdocument,ratherthanusingformattingthatmakessomethinglookstructural.Forexample,ratherthanmakingsomethinglooklikeaheadingbymakingthefontlargeandbold,usetheheadinglevelsintheStylesgroupontheHomeribbon.Ifinformationisalist,usealiststructure.Ifit’stabular,useatable– don’tjustusethetabkey.Andwhenyouusethesestructuralelements,youaren’tlockedintothedefaultappearances.Thereareavarietyofbuilt-inoptions,andyoucanalsolearntocustomizethewaytheseelementsappear.

PortlandCommunityCollege andMicrosoft havebothpublishedexcellentguidelinesformakingelementsofyourdocumentaccessible.Reviewthesebriefguidestolearnhowtomakeyourheadings,images,lists,links,scientificformulae,tables,color,andformsaccessible.

DesignedandeditedbyChristinaMoore.PublishedApril2017.

UseMSWord’sAccessibilityCheckerMicrosoftWordalsohasabuilt-inaccessibilitychecker.ConsultMicrosoftforthelocationofthecheckerintheversionofWordthatyou’reusing.InWord2010andlaterforWindows,itislocatedintheFilemenu.UnderInfo,chooseCheckforIssues,andthenCheckAccessibility.Wordwill

checkyourdocumentandapanewillappeartotherightofyourdocumentwithwarningsandsuggestionsforimprovement.

Timeinvestedlearningthesehabitsnowwillpaydividendsdowntheroad.Notonlywillyourstudentsbeabletonavigateyourdocumentbystructure(checkthe“NavigationPane”boxintheViewribbontoseeyourdocument’soutline),butyouwilleasilybeabletochangetheformattingofyourentiredocumentwithasingleclick.Ifyou’renotteachinganonlineortechnology-enhancedcourseyet,youwillbebetterpreparedforthetransitioninthefuture,shouldyouchoosetomakeit.Butmostimportantly,youwillhavecreateddocumentsthataresignificantlyeasierforpeopleusingscreenreaderstoaccess.

ResourcesUniversitySystemofGerogia.“HigherEducation,theAmericanswithDisabilitiesActandSection508.”Retrievedfromhttp://www.usg.edu/siteinfo/higher_education_the_americans_with_disabilities_act_and_section_508TaftCollege.“ScreenReaderUser'sExperienceandMSWord”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8XFkGMF0swPortlandCommunityCollege.“HowtomakeaWorddocumentaccessible.”Retrievedfromhttp://www.pcc.edu/access/wordMicrosoft.“CreatingaccessibleWorddocuments.”Retrievedfromhttps://support.office.com/en-us/article/Creating-accessible-Word-documents-d9bf3683-87ac-47ea-b91a-78dcacb3c66d

Submittedby:MarlaWallaceProfessor,LibraryCommunityCollegeofRhodeIsland1762Louisquisset PikeLincoln,RI02865mwallace@ccri.edu

MaggieBurkeAssociateProfessor,ComputerStudiesDepartmentDistanceEducationFacultyCoordinator,AcademicAffairsCommunityCollegeofRhodeIsland400EastAvenueWarwick,RI02886mburke1@ccri.edu

!

!

!

!

!

!

Reflection%

CETLWeekly TeachingTipspresents

1. When did I feel most connected? Whatwasthemoment(ormoments)thisweekwhenIfeltmostconnected,engaged,oraffirmedasateacher—themoment(s)Isaidtomyself,“Thisiswhatbeingateacherisreallyallabout”?

2. When did I feel disengaged? Whatwasmoment(ormoments)thisweekwhenIfeltmostdiscouraged,disengaged,orboredasateacher—themoment(s)Isaidtomyself,“I’mjustgoingthrough themotionshere”?

3. What situation caused stress? Whatwasthesituationthatcausedmethegreatestanxietyordistress– thekindofsituationthatIkeptreplayinginmymindasIwasdroppingofftosleep,orthatcausedmetosaytomyself,“Idon’twanttogothroughthisagainforawhile”?

4. What took me most by surprise? Whatwastheeventthatmosttookmebysurprise– aneventwhereIsawordidsomethingthatshookmeup,caughtmeoffguard,knocked meoffmystride,gavemeajolt,ormademeunexpectedlyhappy?

5. What would I have done differently? Ofeverything Ididthisweekinmyteaching,whatwouldIdodifferentlyifIhadthechancetodoitagain?

6. What do I feel most proud of? Whatdo Ifeelproudestofinmyteachingactivitiesthisweek?Why?

Improving Our Teaching Through Critical Reflection

Afterteachingclassorafterreadingyour students’discussionpostsinyouronlineclassroom,doyoutaketimetoreflectonhowthingswent,howthingsaregoing,andhowyouandyourstudentsareexperiencingyourclass?

Brookfield(1995)describedanumberofstrategiestoimproveteachingthroughcriticalreflection.Here’soneIlikealot.It’scalled“KeepingaTeachingLog.”Brookfieldmaintainedthat“keepingalogofyourprivatereactionstoandinterpretationsof,theeventsyouthinkareimportantinyour lifeasateacherisonewayofhelpingyou realizeseveralthingsaboutyourself ”(p.72).

Brookfieldsuggestedthatwemaintainthelogonaregularbasis,spendingabout15to20minutesaweek.Eventually,patterns,commonthemes,recurringproblems,andsuccessstrategiesmightemergethatcouldinformyourpractice.Here’squestionstowhichyoumightwanttorespond (pp.73-74):

ResourcesBrookfield,S.(1995).Becomingacriticallyreflectiveteacher.SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.

Submittedby:LoriSchroeder,Ph.D.AssociateDirector,CenterforFacultyDevelopmentMetropolitanStateUniversitySt.Paul,Minnesota

Resources

LearningandTeachingBoard.(n.d.).ProvidingEffectiveFeedbacktoStudents- BriefingNote.Edinburgh,Scotland:Heriot-WattUniversity.Retrievedfromhttp://www1.hw.ac.uk/committees/ltb/resources/feedback-briefing.doc

Makingafeedbackactionplan.(n.d.).Retrievedfromhttps://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studyingeffectively/preparing/feedback/actionplan.aspx

Submittedby:RebeccaClementeOutgoingdirector,CenterTeachingandLearningDepartmentofEducation|NorthCentralCollege|Naperville,Illinois

Reading the MarginsStudent Reflection on Written Feedback

Thispastacademicyear,mystudentshavebeenusingself-reflectionofthewrittenfeedbackIprovideoncompletedassignments.Oftenstudentsdonotknowhowtousethefeedbackprovided,ortheyonlyfocusonthegradeorrubric/criterialist.Iwantedthemtofocusonwhatiswritten“inthemargins.”Myaimistohelpthembecomeself-regulatedlearnersthroughanactivitythatfocusestheirattentiononthewrittenfeedbackanditsmeaningtothem.Ihaveadaptedastrategy(LearningandTeachingBoard,n.d.;Makingafeedbackactionplan,n.d.)anduseitwiththemostsignificantassignmentsinmycourse:

Students receive

CETLWeeklyTeaching Tipspresents

Itakeafewminutes(typicallythisis10-15minutes)atthebeginningofclassforthemtoreadthefeedbackandrespondtotheprompts.StudentplacethefeedbacksheetinafolderthatIcollect.ThenIhandbacktherubrictothem.Towardtheendoftheterm,Ihavethemdoananalysisofalltheformsintheirfolderinordertoseetrendsandareasinwhichtheyhaveimproved.

Becauseofthisprocess,thereisimprovementinthequalityofstudentworkandmystudentshavecommentedonthevalueofactuallyreadingthefeedback,consideringwhatitmeanstotheircontinuedlearning,andapplyingfeedbackguidanceonsubsequentassignments.

thefeedback form(fullformonnextpage)

theirassignmentwithwrittenfeedback

Holdbackongivingrubricwithgrade.

Studentformonnextpage.

Reading the MarginsStudent Reflection Form

ConsideringInformationaboutMyLearningfromWrittenFeedbackTakingthetimetoanalyzewrittenfeedback(oratleastbemoresystematicaboutgaininginformationfromwrittenfeedback)givesyoucluesto:

A. Determinehowyouaredoingandwhereyouareinrelationtocoursegoals/objectivesB. ClarifywhatgoodperformanceisC. ObtainusefulinformationaboutyourlearningD. Identifyweaknessesinyourlearningsoyoucandosomethingaboutthese

Oneofthethingsweknowfromresearchonstudentlearningisthatwhenastudentreflects,he/sheimprovesonsubsequentassignmentsandexperiences.

TakeamomenttoreadthroughyourPart1oftheTopicStrandProject.Usetheguidingstatementstoaidyouinlearningsomethingaboutyourlearning.(Youwillfindablankcopyoftherubricforthisassignmentattheendofthisdocument.)

Thiswillbeaddedtoyourfilefoldercreatingacollectiononhowyouaredeveloping.Thiswillgiveyoutheopportunitytoseparateyourreflections onthisinstanceoffeedbackfromtheactualscoreonthePart1rubricsothatyoucandistanceyourselffromthefirstthoughtsyougotwhenreceivingthefeedback,andmovetowardfindingthetrendsthatwillenableyoutocontinuouslyadjustyourlearningapproaches.

ReflectiononPartOne– Overviewofyourtopicstrand

OverviewofallfeedbackcommentsMostsignificantfeedbackcomments: Whatthismeanstome:

NoteanyrecurringtrendinthefeedbackthatyouseeThingsIcandotobuildonthepositivefeedbackinmyfuturework:

ThingsIcandotoaddressthecriticalfeedbackinmyfuturework:

Singlemostimportantthingformetokeepdoing inmyfutureworkonthebasisofthisfeedback:

Singlemostimportantthingformetoimprove inmyfutureworkonthebasisofthisfeedback:

FormcreatedbyRebeccaClementeofNorthCentralCollegeinNaperville,Illinois

Higher Levels of Learningat the end of the semester

CETLWeeklyTeaching Tipspresents

Towardstheendofthesemester, students andinstructorsalike areoftenwornoutandtempted totakeoneoftwoavenues:

TURNONCRUISECONTROL

1)Theymaybeenticed to turnoncruisecontrol,checkoutmentally,andstartwinterbreakafewweeksearly.Thisfirst

optionmaybeparticularlyattractivewhenfinalclasssessionsaredevotedtostudentpresentations.Ifstudentsarenotrequiredtoengagetheirclassmates’presentationsactively,theymaybeinclinedtolistentoeachpresentationonlypassively.Makesureallstudentshavesomethingactivetodowhiletheylistentotheirclassmates’work,suchasapresentationevaluation.Inthefuture,alsotrynottopackallpresentationsintoafewfinalweeks;ifpresentationsarespreadoutmoreevenlyacrossthesecondhalfofthesemester,eachclassmayincludeacombinationofactivities.

2)Studentsandinstructorsmaybeenticed to shiftintohighgear,tooverworkandcramasmuchaspossible.Thissecondoptionluresstudentswhohavebeenslackingandinstructorswhohavefallenbehindschedule.Cramminghelpsnoone.Studentswhoslackandthencrammaysucceedinmemorizingfacts,butwillmissoutonhigherlevelsoflearning.Instructorswhofallbehindandthencramcontentintothelastdaysofclassonlyoverwhelmtheirstudents.Moreover,theymissthecrucialmomentaffordedbytheendofsemesterwhenhigherlevelsoflearningcanhappen,likesynthesisandapplication.Inthefuture,leaveopendaysinthesemesterforcatchupinordertosavethefinalclassdaysforreview,reflection,andhigherlevelsoflearning.

Revisitthecourse’slearninggoalsintroducedatthebeginningofthesemester.Havestudentstakeamomentandconsidertowhatdegreetheyhaveaccomplishedtheselearninggoals.

Topromotehigherlevellearning attheendofthesemester,whileavoidingbothcruisecontrolandshiftingintohighgear,helpstudentsreflectontheirlearningfromthewholesemester:

Askstudentstocreatefinalexamessays/questionswhichwouldmeasurestudentcomprehensionofthecourse’slearninggoals.

Invitestudentstosynthesizetheirlearningthroughacreativeproject(e.g.,adiagram,atimeline,aconceptmap,creativewriting,orvisualart).

Revisitreadingsand/orassignmentsfromthebeginningofthesemestersothatstudentscanappreciatewhatandhowmuchtheyhavelearned.

Askstudentstoprepareanswerstoquestionssuchas:Whatarethemostimportantthingsthatyoulearnedinthiscourse?Howwillyouapplythislearninginyourlife?

Havestudentscomposealettertofuturestudentsofthecourse,advisingthemonwhattheyneedtoknowandhowtheyshouldbestgoaboutlearningit.

Invitestudentstoreflectontheirdevelopmentaslearners,thinkers,andwriters.Havestudentsanswerquestionssuchas:Whatdidyoulearnaboutyourselfasastudentthissemester?Didyoulearn(orimplement)anystudystrategiesthissemesterthathelpedyoubesuccessful?Whatwouldyouhavedonedifferentlyifyouhadtorepeatthissemester?

Resources

Forthosewhoareinterestedinthistopic,variationsofmanyofthetipsofferedheretoday,aswellasdozensofothergoodideas,canbefoundonmanyacademicblogsandarticlesontheweb;Iencourageyoutoperusethefollowing:

BallStateUniversity.TeachingTip:EndingaCourse.

ColumbiaUniversity. EndingtheSemesteronaPositiveNote.

Connor,P.ManagingtheEndoftheSemester.

Eggleston,T.J.,Smith,G.E.(2002).PartingWays:EndingYourCourse.Observer15 (3).

Walsh,M.FiveTipsforWrappingUpaCourse.

Authoredby:JustusGhormley |KanebCenterforTeachingandLearningUniversityofNotreDame

Submittedby:KristiRudenga |KanebCenterforTeachingandLearningUniversityofNotreDamekrudenga@nd.edu

DesignedbyChristinaMoore.