Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The National Teaching & Learning FORUM E-Mail Newsletter December 2010
http://www.ntlf.com/html/ti/toc.htm
Table of Contents
V20N1 EDITOR'S NOTE
How To Make Microsoft PowerPoint Work
A new book by Brits Duncan Peberdy and Jane Hammersley offers sound advice on using this software effectively.
COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE:
BOOKS: Citizenship Across The Curriculum, eds. Michael B. Smith, Rebecca S. Nowacek, and Jeffrey L. Bernstein (Indiana, 2010)
A review profile by Executive Editor James Rhem.
ESSAY: The Mystery of Teaching
Vincent Kavaloski, Edgewood College
A professor of philosophy ponders a student's suicide and the effect of Kierkegaard and Kant.
LEARNING DIARY: Once More, with Feeling: Whole People and Partial Lessons
David S. Goldstein, University of Washington Bothell
Again, the power of affect demands its place in what we learn and teach.
PROGRAMS: Why Creativity? Why Now?
Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet, Eastern Kentucky University
Can creativity be taught? Don't we need to try?
TECHPED: A Video Response to the Student Who Asks, "What Did I Miss?"
Michael L. Rodgers and Guohua Pan, Southeast Missouri State University
Maybe with video there's a better way to answer them beyond the security cam approach.
AD REM . . .: The Paralysis of Choice
Marilla Svinicki, University of Texas-Austin
As Thanksgiving should have taught us, sometimes you can just have too much on your plate.
Table of Contents
V20N1 EDITOR'S NOTE
How To Make Microsoft PowerPoint Work
A new book by Brits Duncan Peberdy and Jane Hammersley offers sound advice on using this software effectively.
COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE:
BOOKS: Citizenship Across The Curriculum, eds. Michael B. Smith, Rebecca S. Nowacek, and Jeffrey L. Bernstein (Indiana, 2010)
A review profile by Executive Editor James Rhem.
ESSAY: The Mystery of Teaching
Vincent Kavaloski, Edgewood College
A professor of philosophy ponders a student's suicide and the effect of Kierkegaard and Kant.
LEARNING DIARY: Once More, with Feeling: Whole People and Partial Lessons
David S. Goldstein, University of Washington Bothell
Again, the power of affect demands its place in what we learn and teach.
PROGRAMS: Why Creativity? Why Now?
Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet, Eastern Kentucky University
Can creativity be taught? Don't we need to try?
TECHPED: A Video Response to the Student Who Asks, "What Did I Miss?"
Michael L. Rodgers and Guohua Pan, Southeast Missouri State University
Maybe with video there's a better way to answer them beyond the security cam approach.
AD REM . . .: The Paralysis of Choice
Marilla Svinicki, University of Texas-Austin
As Thanksgiving should have taught us, sometimes you can just have too much on your plate.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Academic Impressions: Gates Foundation Invests in Research on Teacher Evaluation
Teacher Ratings Get New Look, Pushed by a Rich Watcher
Travis Dove for The New York Times
Lindsey Cozat, a technology teacher at Croft Community School in Charlotte, N.C., set up a classroom recording device.
By SAM DILLON
Published: December 3, 2010
PRINCETON, N.J. — In most American schools, teachers are evaluated by principals or other administrators who drop in for occasional classroom visits and fill out forms to rate their performance.
Travis Dove for The New York Times
The aim is to capture what happens in the classroom of a fifth-grade teacher, Damien Kingsberry, and to evaluate him.
The result? More than 9 out of 10 teachers get top marks, according to a prominent study last year by the New Teacher Project, a nonprofit group focusing on improving teacher quality.
Now Bill Gates, who in recent years has turned his attention and considerable fortune to improving American education, is investing $335 million through his foundation to overhaul the personnel departments of several big school systems. A big chunk of that money is financing research by dozens of social scientists and thousands of teachers to develop a better system for evaluating classroom instruction.
The effort will have enormous consequences for the movement to hold schools and educators more accountable for student achievement.
Twenty states are overhauling their teacher-evaluation systems, partly to fulfill plans set in motion by a $4 billion federal grant competition, and they are eagerly awaiting the research results.
For teachers, the findings could mean more scrutiny. But they may also provide more specific guidance about what is expected of the teachers in the classroom if new experiments with other measures are adopted — including tests that gauge teachers’ mastery of their subjects, surveys that ask students about the learning environments in their classes and digital videos of teachers’ lessons, scored by experts.
“It’s huge,” said Deborah Loewenberg Ball, dean of the University of Michigan School of Education. “They’re trying to do something nobody’s done before, and do it very quickly.”
The Gates research is by no means the first effort of its kind. Economists have already developed a statistical method called value-added modeling that calculates how much teachers help their students learn, based on changes in test scores from year to year. The method allows districts to rank teachers from best to worst.
Value-added modeling is used in hundreds of districts. But teachers complain that boiling down all they do into a single statistic offers an incomplete picture; they want more measures of their performance taken into account.
The Gates research uses value added as a starting point, but aims to develop other measures that can not only rate teachers but also help educators understand why one is more successful than another.
Researchers and educators involved in the project described it as maddeningly complex in its effort to separate the attributes of good teaching from the idiosyncrasies of individual teachers.
Mr. Gates is tracking the research closely. The use of digital video in particular has caught his attention. In an interview, he cited its potential for evaluating teachers and for helping them learn from talented colleagues.
“Some teachers are extremely good,” Mr. Gates said. “And one of the goals is to say, you know, ‘Let’s go look at those teachers.’ What’s unbelievable is how little the exemplars have been studied. And then saying, ‘O.K., How do you take a math teacher who’s in the third quartile and teach them how to get kids interested — get the kid who’s smart to pay attention, a kid who’s behind to pay attention?’ Teaching a teacher to do that — you have to follow the exemplars.”
The meticulous scoring of videotaped lessons for this project is unfolding on a scale never undertaken in educational research, said Catherine A. McClellan, a director for the Educational Testing Service who is overseeing the process.
By next June, researchers will have about 24,000 videotaped lessons. Because some must be scored using more than one protocol, the research will eventually involve reviewing some 64,000 hours of classroom video. Early next year, Dr. McClellan expects to recruit hundreds of educators and train them to score lessons.
The goal is to help researchers look for possible correlations between certain teaching practices and high student achievement, measured by value-added scores. Thomas J. Kane, a Harvard economist who is leading the research, is scheduled to announce some preliminary results in Washington next Friday. More definitive conclusions are expected in about a year.
The effort has also become a large-scale field trial of using classroom video, to help teachers improve and to evaluate them remotely.
1 2 Next Page »
A version of this article appeared in print on December 4, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition..Sign In to E-Mail
Gates, Bill
Educational Testing Service
Kane, Thomas J
Education (K-12)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/education/04teacher.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Travis Dove for The New York Times
Lindsey Cozat, a technology teacher at Croft Community School in Charlotte, N.C., set up a classroom recording device.
By SAM DILLON
Published: December 3, 2010
PRINCETON, N.J. — In most American schools, teachers are evaluated by principals or other administrators who drop in for occasional classroom visits and fill out forms to rate their performance.
Travis Dove for The New York Times
The aim is to capture what happens in the classroom of a fifth-grade teacher, Damien Kingsberry, and to evaluate him.
The result? More than 9 out of 10 teachers get top marks, according to a prominent study last year by the New Teacher Project, a nonprofit group focusing on improving teacher quality.
Now Bill Gates, who in recent years has turned his attention and considerable fortune to improving American education, is investing $335 million through his foundation to overhaul the personnel departments of several big school systems. A big chunk of that money is financing research by dozens of social scientists and thousands of teachers to develop a better system for evaluating classroom instruction.
The effort will have enormous consequences for the movement to hold schools and educators more accountable for student achievement.
Twenty states are overhauling their teacher-evaluation systems, partly to fulfill plans set in motion by a $4 billion federal grant competition, and they are eagerly awaiting the research results.
For teachers, the findings could mean more scrutiny. But they may also provide more specific guidance about what is expected of the teachers in the classroom if new experiments with other measures are adopted — including tests that gauge teachers’ mastery of their subjects, surveys that ask students about the learning environments in their classes and digital videos of teachers’ lessons, scored by experts.
“It’s huge,” said Deborah Loewenberg Ball, dean of the University of Michigan School of Education. “They’re trying to do something nobody’s done before, and do it very quickly.”
The Gates research is by no means the first effort of its kind. Economists have already developed a statistical method called value-added modeling that calculates how much teachers help their students learn, based on changes in test scores from year to year. The method allows districts to rank teachers from best to worst.
Value-added modeling is used in hundreds of districts. But teachers complain that boiling down all they do into a single statistic offers an incomplete picture; they want more measures of their performance taken into account.
The Gates research uses value added as a starting point, but aims to develop other measures that can not only rate teachers but also help educators understand why one is more successful than another.
Researchers and educators involved in the project described it as maddeningly complex in its effort to separate the attributes of good teaching from the idiosyncrasies of individual teachers.
Mr. Gates is tracking the research closely. The use of digital video in particular has caught his attention. In an interview, he cited its potential for evaluating teachers and for helping them learn from talented colleagues.
“Some teachers are extremely good,” Mr. Gates said. “And one of the goals is to say, you know, ‘Let’s go look at those teachers.’ What’s unbelievable is how little the exemplars have been studied. And then saying, ‘O.K., How do you take a math teacher who’s in the third quartile and teach them how to get kids interested — get the kid who’s smart to pay attention, a kid who’s behind to pay attention?’ Teaching a teacher to do that — you have to follow the exemplars.”
The meticulous scoring of videotaped lessons for this project is unfolding on a scale never undertaken in educational research, said Catherine A. McClellan, a director for the Educational Testing Service who is overseeing the process.
By next June, researchers will have about 24,000 videotaped lessons. Because some must be scored using more than one protocol, the research will eventually involve reviewing some 64,000 hours of classroom video. Early next year, Dr. McClellan expects to recruit hundreds of educators and train them to score lessons.
The goal is to help researchers look for possible correlations between certain teaching practices and high student achievement, measured by value-added scores. Thomas J. Kane, a Harvard economist who is leading the research, is scheduled to announce some preliminary results in Washington next Friday. More definitive conclusions are expected in about a year.
The effort has also become a large-scale field trial of using classroom video, to help teachers improve and to evaluate them remotely.
1 2 Next Page »
A version of this article appeared in print on December 4, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition..Sign In to E-Mail
Gates, Bill
Educational Testing Service
Kane, Thomas J
Education (K-12)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/education/04teacher.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Thursday, December 9, 2010
University Business Magazine: Solutions for Higher Education Management
http://www.universitybusiness.com/
Professional Media Group LLC publishes University Business and District Administration.
University Business is the leading provider of smart management solutions for higher education administrators at two- and four-year colleges and universities throughout the United States, and is the most-closely followed and most-regularly read information source in the industry, bringing top-quality journalism to the unique issues, challenges and opportunities faced by higher-education executives.
District Administration is the leading provider of smart management solutions for K12 administrators at school districts throughout the United States.
Together, University Business and District Administration provide the best comprehensive industry coverage of the entire K20 market, demonstrating Professional Media Group's serious and comprehensive commitment to education, characterized by a track record of success, and long-term loyalty to our audience.
Professional Media Group LLC publishes University Business and District Administration.
University Business is the leading provider of smart management solutions for higher education administrators at two- and four-year colleges and universities throughout the United States, and is the most-closely followed and most-regularly read information source in the industry, bringing top-quality journalism to the unique issues, challenges and opportunities faced by higher-education executives.
District Administration is the leading provider of smart management solutions for K12 administrators at school districts throughout the United States.
Together, University Business and District Administration provide the best comprehensive industry coverage of the entire K20 market, demonstrating Professional Media Group's serious and comprehensive commitment to education, characterized by a track record of success, and long-term loyalty to our audience.
Interest in Online Courses Growing
www.Shreveporttimes.com
December 9, 2010
Interest in Online Courses Growing
More students across the country are opting to take more online classes, according to a report from an organization that wants to make online courses in higher education commonplace.
Local students reflect that trend with more students taking online courses this semester than before.
Bossier Bosier Parish Community College has led the area in online offerings, which started in 1996. Now, in fall 2010, more than 4,375 students, up from 3,750 this time last year, are taking an online course or a hybrid course (a class mixing traditional with online). Southern University-Shreveport, which is relatively new to offering online learning by comparison, has seen growth as well. That means not only is online learning here to stay, but it's the next thing in higher education, said Kathleen Gay, BPCC's dean of the educational technology division.
"In the future, we'll see more mobility," Gay said. "We're going to see students take courses on their iPhone or iPad. I think Google will come up with a learning management system, and (there'll be) more 2.0 learning using avatars. In five years, it's going to explode."
In the recent survey, The Sloan Consortium, an organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education, found that 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2009. The eighth annual survey included 2,500 college and universities and is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The survey also found:
-- The 21 percent growth rate for online enrollments exceeds the two percent growth in the overall higher education student enrollment.
-- Nearly one-half of the schools say the economy has increased demand for face-to-face courses and programs compared to three-quarters of schools citing the same reason for the increased demand for online courses and programs.
Gay said that's one reason BPCC's online numbers have increased.
Online courses also appeal to a wide variety of students, from the traditional to the non-traditional.
December 9, 2010
Interest in Online Courses Growing
More students across the country are opting to take more online classes, according to a report from an organization that wants to make online courses in higher education commonplace.
Local students reflect that trend with more students taking online courses this semester than before.
Bossier Bosier Parish Community College has led the area in online offerings, which started in 1996. Now, in fall 2010, more than 4,375 students, up from 3,750 this time last year, are taking an online course or a hybrid course (a class mixing traditional with online). Southern University-Shreveport, which is relatively new to offering online learning by comparison, has seen growth as well. That means not only is online learning here to stay, but it's the next thing in higher education, said Kathleen Gay, BPCC's dean of the educational technology division.
"In the future, we'll see more mobility," Gay said. "We're going to see students take courses on their iPhone or iPad. I think Google will come up with a learning management system, and (there'll be) more 2.0 learning using avatars. In five years, it's going to explode."
In the recent survey, The Sloan Consortium, an organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education, found that 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2009. The eighth annual survey included 2,500 college and universities and is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The survey also found:
-- The 21 percent growth rate for online enrollments exceeds the two percent growth in the overall higher education student enrollment.
-- Nearly one-half of the schools say the economy has increased demand for face-to-face courses and programs compared to three-quarters of schools citing the same reason for the increased demand for online courses and programs.
Gay said that's one reason BPCC's online numbers have increased.
Online courses also appeal to a wide variety of students, from the traditional to the non-traditional.
The People’s Place Blog | The Anita Estell Blog
http://anitaestellblog.com/
Anita Estell, a shareholder at Polsinelli Shughart PC, is an attorney, lobbyist and columnist, with more than two decades of experience in re-shaping federal laws and policies and securing billions of dollars in funding for the programs that mean the most “back home”.
If you like the blog, please feel free to check out www.anitaestell.com. On the site, you have access to audio, video and printed resources that inform, inspire, teach and guide you through the nooks and crannies of the federal governmental process. No matter your interest, Anita Estell gives you access to exactly what you need, to get what you want from the elected officials and bureaucrats in Washington.
At the beginning and the end of the day – when it comes to Washington, both the Anita Estell blog and anitaestell.com -- are all about YOU all the time!
Anita Estell, a shareholder at Polsinelli Shughart PC, is an attorney, lobbyist and columnist, with more than two decades of experience in re-shaping federal laws and policies and securing billions of dollars in funding for the programs that mean the most “back home”.
If you like the blog, please feel free to check out www.anitaestell.com. On the site, you have access to audio, video and printed resources that inform, inspire, teach and guide you through the nooks and crannies of the federal governmental process. No matter your interest, Anita Estell gives you access to exactly what you need, to get what you want from the elected officials and bureaucrats in Washington.
At the beginning and the end of the day – when it comes to Washington, both the Anita Estell blog and anitaestell.com -- are all about YOU all the time!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
2011 Conferences in Higher Education Teaching, Learning & Academic Technology
http://www.conferencealerts.com/highed.htm
http://www.kennesaw.edu/cetl/resources/na_conf_list.html
http://www.academic-conferences.org/
http://www.kennesaw.edu/cetl/resources/na_conf_list.html
http://www.academic-conferences.org/
Top 10 Faculty Focus Articles for 2010, parts 1 & 2
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/top-10-faculty-focus-articles-for-2010-part-1/
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/top-10-faculty-focus-articles-for-2010-part-2/?c=FF&t=F101208a
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/trends-in-higher-education/top-10-faculty-focus-articles-for-2010-part-2/?c=FF&t=F101208a
Friday, December 3, 2010
Dillard University Library Hours for Fall 2010 Finals
November 29th-December 4th 2010
Sunday Nov. 28th 1pm-9pm
Monday Nov. 29th – Thursday Dec. 2nd 7am-11pm
Friday Dec. 3rd 7am-5pm
Saturday Dec. 4th 10am-4pm
December 5th-11th
Sunday Dec. 5th 1pm-12am
Monday Dec. 6th – Thursday Dec. 9th 7am-12am
Friday Dec. 10th 7am-5pm
Saturday Dec. 11th 10am-2pm
Cynthia Charles
Interim Dean
DU WWA Library
504-816-4786
ccharles@dillard.edu
http://books.dillard.edu
Sunday Nov. 28th 1pm-9pm
Monday Nov. 29th – Thursday Dec. 2nd 7am-11pm
Friday Dec. 3rd 7am-5pm
Saturday Dec. 4th 10am-4pm
December 5th-11th
Sunday Dec. 5th 1pm-12am
Monday Dec. 6th – Thursday Dec. 9th 7am-12am
Friday Dec. 10th 7am-5pm
Saturday Dec. 11th 10am-2pm
Cynthia Charles
Interim Dean
DU WWA Library
504-816-4786
ccharles@dillard.edu
http://books.dillard.edu
Academic Impressions: Using Assessment to Improve and Account for Student Learning
San Antonio, TX :: March 24 - 25, 2011
http://www.academicimpressions.com/events/event_listing.php?i=1060&q=6984v427988xO
OVERVIEW
Developing a coherent and comprehensive program of student learning outcomes assessment is a challenging, if not daunting, endeavor. Adding significantly to the challenge is increased demand for accountability for student learning, including a notable push for standardized testing at the collegiate level. Faculty are understandably skeptical about efforts to reduce teaching and learning to a few simple measures, especially when they are asked to do so under new time demands and with little reward or incentive.
Join our national assessment and accountability experts to identify approaches to creating a culture of improvement-oriented assessment at your institution while meeting the growing external demands.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
•Institutional leaders
•Coordinators and facilitators of student learning outcomes assessment
•Faculty and academic administrators involved in assessment and accreditation
PROGRAM FORMAT
The program is intended to minimize time out of office and maximize learning. It will balance presentations with group discussions and focused interaction with speakers. In so doing, participants will be able to identify and develop assessment elements that can be translated to fit their unique institutional settings.
http://www.academicimpressions.com/events/event_listing.php?i=1060&q=6984v427988xO
OVERVIEW
Developing a coherent and comprehensive program of student learning outcomes assessment is a challenging, if not daunting, endeavor. Adding significantly to the challenge is increased demand for accountability for student learning, including a notable push for standardized testing at the collegiate level. Faculty are understandably skeptical about efforts to reduce teaching and learning to a few simple measures, especially when they are asked to do so under new time demands and with little reward or incentive.
Join our national assessment and accountability experts to identify approaches to creating a culture of improvement-oriented assessment at your institution while meeting the growing external demands.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
•Institutional leaders
•Coordinators and facilitators of student learning outcomes assessment
•Faculty and academic administrators involved in assessment and accreditation
PROGRAM FORMAT
The program is intended to minimize time out of office and maximize learning. It will balance presentations with group discussions and focused interaction with speakers. In so doing, participants will be able to identify and develop assessment elements that can be translated to fit their unique institutional settings.
Faculty Focus Article: End-of-Course Ratings: Lessons from Faculty Who Improved
December 3, 2010
By: Maryellen Weimer in Faculty Evaluation
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/faculty-evaluation/end-of-course-ratings-lessons-from-faculty-who-improved/
Two researchers used end-of-course ratings data to generate a cohort of faculty whose ratings in the same course had significantly improved over a three-year period. They defined significant improvement as a 1.5-point increase on an 8-point scale. In this cohort, more than 50 percent of faculty had improved between 1.5 and 1.99 points, another 40 percent between 2.0 and 2.99 points, and the rest even more.
The researchers surveyed this group, asking the faculty members to respond to several questions, including this most important one: “Your student ratings have increased for at least three consecutive semesters during the last three years in your [Course Name] class. What factors led to this change in your teaching performance?”
The slightly more than 200 respondents most frequently attributed the increase in ratings to changes made in one or several of these five areas:
1.more active/practical learning, including efforts to make the content’s relevance apparent to students;
2.better teacher/student interactions, exemplified by learning students’ names and having individual conferences with them;
3.making expectations for learning outcomes clearer while still maintaining high standards;
4.being better prepared for class; and
5.revising the evaluation policies and procedures used to assess student work.
The first three of these categories accounted for almost 50 percent of the faculty responses. A bit surprisingly, 5 percent of the respondents whose scores had improved didn’t list anything they’d done or they indicated that they were not aware of having implemented any changes.
This cohort of faculty included full-time tenured faculty (actually this was the largest group, 56 percent), full-time nontenured faculty (12 percent), and part-time appointees (35 percent). The researchers note that this indicates how faculty in all kinds of positions can improve. That so many in the already-tenured and part-time categories did so is especially noteworthy and encouraging.
In addition to the survey, 30 faculty from 10 of 12 colleges at the institution were interviewed “to gain a better understanding of the change process.” (p. 167) Several interesting findings emerged from the interviews. For many faculty members, the most difficult part of the process was being willing to admit that they needed to change. “Humbling” was an adjective used to describe the feeling. Often there was some sort of triggering event—frequently it involved end-of-course ratings results. After teaching a course seven times, one faculty member received his lowest-ever overall course rating. He was shocked but reported that he decided to find out why. Others talked about an overall lack of excitement in the course and their own motivation to change and do better.
In the interviews, almost 80 percent of the faculty indicated that the effort required to implement the changes was minimal. It seemed that for most it was more a matter of fine-tuning their teaching. The researchers conclude, “The results of this study should be encouraging to faculty members who feel they cannot improve.” (p. 171)
Reference: McGowan, W. R., and Graham, C. R. (2009). Factors contributing to improved teaching performance. Innovative Higher Education, 34, 161-171.
Reprinted from “Teachers Who Improved.” The Teaching Professor, 23.10 (2009): 2.
By: Maryellen Weimer in Faculty Evaluation
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/faculty-evaluation/end-of-course-ratings-lessons-from-faculty-who-improved/
Two researchers used end-of-course ratings data to generate a cohort of faculty whose ratings in the same course had significantly improved over a three-year period. They defined significant improvement as a 1.5-point increase on an 8-point scale. In this cohort, more than 50 percent of faculty had improved between 1.5 and 1.99 points, another 40 percent between 2.0 and 2.99 points, and the rest even more.
The researchers surveyed this group, asking the faculty members to respond to several questions, including this most important one: “Your student ratings have increased for at least three consecutive semesters during the last three years in your [Course Name] class. What factors led to this change in your teaching performance?”
The slightly more than 200 respondents most frequently attributed the increase in ratings to changes made in one or several of these five areas:
1.more active/practical learning, including efforts to make the content’s relevance apparent to students;
2.better teacher/student interactions, exemplified by learning students’ names and having individual conferences with them;
3.making expectations for learning outcomes clearer while still maintaining high standards;
4.being better prepared for class; and
5.revising the evaluation policies and procedures used to assess student work.
The first three of these categories accounted for almost 50 percent of the faculty responses. A bit surprisingly, 5 percent of the respondents whose scores had improved didn’t list anything they’d done or they indicated that they were not aware of having implemented any changes.
This cohort of faculty included full-time tenured faculty (actually this was the largest group, 56 percent), full-time nontenured faculty (12 percent), and part-time appointees (35 percent). The researchers note that this indicates how faculty in all kinds of positions can improve. That so many in the already-tenured and part-time categories did so is especially noteworthy and encouraging.
In addition to the survey, 30 faculty from 10 of 12 colleges at the institution were interviewed “to gain a better understanding of the change process.” (p. 167) Several interesting findings emerged from the interviews. For many faculty members, the most difficult part of the process was being willing to admit that they needed to change. “Humbling” was an adjective used to describe the feeling. Often there was some sort of triggering event—frequently it involved end-of-course ratings results. After teaching a course seven times, one faculty member received his lowest-ever overall course rating. He was shocked but reported that he decided to find out why. Others talked about an overall lack of excitement in the course and their own motivation to change and do better.
In the interviews, almost 80 percent of the faculty indicated that the effort required to implement the changes was minimal. It seemed that for most it was more a matter of fine-tuning their teaching. The researchers conclude, “The results of this study should be encouraging to faculty members who feel they cannot improve.” (p. 171)
Reference: McGowan, W. R., and Graham, C. R. (2009). Factors contributing to improved teaching performance. Innovative Higher Education, 34, 161-171.
Reprinted from “Teachers Who Improved.” The Teaching Professor, 23.10 (2009): 2.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Innovative Educators: You Got the Job! Now What? Strategies and Tips for Fundraising at Your College
http://www.innovativeeducators.org/retention_p/877.htm
Tuesday, January 18 ~ 3-4:30 EST
$345.00
Overview
The new college development director can move the foundation’s fundraising program forward quickly, but it’s vital to understand your role, develop your skills in working with your board, and conduct an assessment in three key areas in order to ensure soundness and capacity for growth. This session will review the roles and responsibilities of the development director, tips for developing the Board, and tools for assessment in the three key areas of infrastructure, planning, and management systems.
Objectives
Understand the role and responsibilities of the development director
Develop skills in working with the Board of Directors
Assessment tools for infrastructure, planning, and management systems
Who Should Attend?
College Chief Development Officers
Development Directors
VP’s of System Advancement
Foundation Staff Members
Fundraising Staff Members
Speaker
Leah Goss was appointed Executive Director of System Advancement for the Louisiana Community & Technical College System (LCTCS) in November 2007. She is providing leadership, training, and resources to establish and develop the private fundraising capacity of the 16 colleges of the LCTCS. In addition, Leah serves as Executive Director for the newly established LCTCS Foundation. She is building a dynamic state-wide board that is providing critical support for key LCTCS initiatives. Prior to her move to Louisiana, Leah served in the Colorado Community College System for 7 years in administrative as well as development roles. She earned an Associate of Arts from Adirondack Community College, Queensbury, NY, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Business Administration from Regis University in Denver, CO. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and serves on the board of the Council for Resource Development, an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Tuesday, January 18 ~ 3-4:30 EST
$345.00
Overview
The new college development director can move the foundation’s fundraising program forward quickly, but it’s vital to understand your role, develop your skills in working with your board, and conduct an assessment in three key areas in order to ensure soundness and capacity for growth. This session will review the roles and responsibilities of the development director, tips for developing the Board, and tools for assessment in the three key areas of infrastructure, planning, and management systems.
Objectives
Understand the role and responsibilities of the development director
Develop skills in working with the Board of Directors
Assessment tools for infrastructure, planning, and management systems
Who Should Attend?
College Chief Development Officers
Development Directors
VP’s of System Advancement
Foundation Staff Members
Fundraising Staff Members
Speaker
Leah Goss was appointed Executive Director of System Advancement for the Louisiana Community & Technical College System (LCTCS) in November 2007. She is providing leadership, training, and resources to establish and develop the private fundraising capacity of the 16 colleges of the LCTCS. In addition, Leah serves as Executive Director for the newly established LCTCS Foundation. She is building a dynamic state-wide board that is providing critical support for key LCTCS initiatives. Prior to her move to Louisiana, Leah served in the Colorado Community College System for 7 years in administrative as well as development roles. She earned an Associate of Arts from Adirondack Community College, Queensbury, NY, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Business Administration from Regis University in Denver, CO. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and serves on the board of the Council for Resource Development, an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Online Classroom December 2010 Issue
http://www.magnapubs.com/newsletter/issue/1233/
Adding Interactivity to Online Lectures with VoiceThread
If you're looking for a way to add interactivity to your online course, consider using VoiceThread to create multimedia presentations that enable students to post comments or questions directly within the presentation. John Orlando, program director for the online Master of Science in Business Continuity Management and Master of Science in Information Assurance programs at Norwich University, uses VoiceThread in his courses and has found that it encourages students to interact, improves a sense of presence, and helps students understand nuances within subject matter.
Online Teaching Fundamentals: Making Online PowerPoint Content Engaging: Why You Should Add Narration
When you use PowerPoint as a presentation tool (in presentations or when you teach a face-to-face course), your slides support what you, the presenter, are saying. All the guidelines about using PowerPoint in this way explain that text on PowerPoint slides should be minimized and truncated. You want listeners to listen to you rather than read the slides.
Practical Advice for Going from Face to Face to Online
Developing an online course based on an existing face-to-face course requires more than learning how to use the technology and loading the material into the learning management system because, as Catherine Nameth, education outreach coordinator at the University of California-Los Angeles, says, "not everything will transfer directly from the face-to-face environment to the online environment." This transition requires the instructor to rethink and reconfigure the material and anticipate students' needs.
Teaching Online with Errol: Personality DOES Matter in Teaching Online!
Online instructors are hired because they are judged as having the right combination of education, teaching experience, content expertise, and professional accomplishments. But once an instructor is in the classroom, these abilities and achievements can go only so far. There also must be a constant injection of good-natured, passionate-to-teach, "I'm really glad to be here" personality.
Tips from the Pros: Four Questions to Ask when Moving Course Online
Catherine Nameth, education outreach coordinator at the University of California-Los Angeles, recommends asking the following questions to guide the process of taking an existing face-to-face course online.
What Are We Doing This Week? A Case for Weekly Lesson Overviews
One of the biggest issues we face with initial student satisfaction in online courses is course organization and navigability. Students want consistency between course environments within the learning management system. One of my self-inflicted charges as a new director was to foster a climate that embraced structural consistency within online course shells. Balancing student expectations with the desire of many faculty members who want the freedom to structure their courses without being handcuffed by a template can be a challenge. Two early endeavors to address consistency included devising a beginning of semester checklist and training opportunities that emulated the checklist and addressed national standards.
Magna Publications
2718 Dryden Drive • Madison, WI 53704-3086 • 800-433-0499
support@magnapubs.com
© Copyright 2010 Magna Publications
Adding Interactivity to Online Lectures with VoiceThread
If you're looking for a way to add interactivity to your online course, consider using VoiceThread to create multimedia presentations that enable students to post comments or questions directly within the presentation. John Orlando, program director for the online Master of Science in Business Continuity Management and Master of Science in Information Assurance programs at Norwich University, uses VoiceThread in his courses and has found that it encourages students to interact, improves a sense of presence, and helps students understand nuances within subject matter.
Online Teaching Fundamentals: Making Online PowerPoint Content Engaging: Why You Should Add Narration
When you use PowerPoint as a presentation tool (in presentations or when you teach a face-to-face course), your slides support what you, the presenter, are saying. All the guidelines about using PowerPoint in this way explain that text on PowerPoint slides should be minimized and truncated. You want listeners to listen to you rather than read the slides.
Practical Advice for Going from Face to Face to Online
Developing an online course based on an existing face-to-face course requires more than learning how to use the technology and loading the material into the learning management system because, as Catherine Nameth, education outreach coordinator at the University of California-Los Angeles, says, "not everything will transfer directly from the face-to-face environment to the online environment." This transition requires the instructor to rethink and reconfigure the material and anticipate students' needs.
Teaching Online with Errol: Personality DOES Matter in Teaching Online!
Online instructors are hired because they are judged as having the right combination of education, teaching experience, content expertise, and professional accomplishments. But once an instructor is in the classroom, these abilities and achievements can go only so far. There also must be a constant injection of good-natured, passionate-to-teach, "I'm really glad to be here" personality.
Tips from the Pros: Four Questions to Ask when Moving Course Online
Catherine Nameth, education outreach coordinator at the University of California-Los Angeles, recommends asking the following questions to guide the process of taking an existing face-to-face course online.
What Are We Doing This Week? A Case for Weekly Lesson Overviews
One of the biggest issues we face with initial student satisfaction in online courses is course organization and navigability. Students want consistency between course environments within the learning management system. One of my self-inflicted charges as a new director was to foster a climate that embraced structural consistency within online course shells. Balancing student expectations with the desire of many faculty members who want the freedom to structure their courses without being handcuffed by a template can be a challenge. Two early endeavors to address consistency included devising a beginning of semester checklist and training opportunities that emulated the checklist and addressed national standards.
Magna Publications
2718 Dryden Drive • Madison, WI 53704-3086 • 800-433-0499
support@magnapubs.com
© Copyright 2010 Magna Publications
TLT Group FridayLive! Teach Students How to Learn: Metacognition is the Key!
FridayLive!
Teach Students How to Learn: Metacognition is the Key!
http://tltgroup.roundtablelive.org/events?eventId=204189&EventViewMode=EventDetails
Saundra McGuire, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching and Professor, Dept of Chemistry LSA
December 10, 2010 at 2pm EDT - free to all.
FridayLive! is pleased to present our good friend, Saundra McGuire, in this session designed to help faculty, learning center professionals, and student affairs personnel develop strategies to help students become independent, self-directed learners. A discussion of the characteristics of today’s students will help participants understand why many students lack effective learning strategies when they enroll in college, and how simple it is to teach them strategies for successful learning.
Reflection and think-pair-share activities will introduce participants to cognitive science research based methods that can be used to improve teaching and learning. The session will provide a variety of strategies that have proven successful in helping students experience meaningful, transferable learning.
Don't forget that you can have a FASTPASS for the whole season's FridayLive! if you are an Individual Member or if your institution is a TLT Group subscriber. A FASTPASS. enables you to be automatically registered for every FridayLive! this fall.
NOTE: Login instructions for the session will be sent in the Registration Confirmation Email. Please check your Junk folder as sometimes these emails get trapped there. We will also send an additional login reminder 24 hours prior to the start of the event.
Teach Students How to Learn: Metacognition is the Key!
http://tltgroup.roundtablelive.org/events?eventId=204189&EventViewMode=EventDetails
Saundra McGuire, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching and Professor, Dept of Chemistry LSA
December 10, 2010 at 2pm EDT - free to all.
FridayLive! is pleased to present our good friend, Saundra McGuire, in this session designed to help faculty, learning center professionals, and student affairs personnel develop strategies to help students become independent, self-directed learners. A discussion of the characteristics of today’s students will help participants understand why many students lack effective learning strategies when they enroll in college, and how simple it is to teach them strategies for successful learning.
Reflection and think-pair-share activities will introduce participants to cognitive science research based methods that can be used to improve teaching and learning. The session will provide a variety of strategies that have proven successful in helping students experience meaningful, transferable learning.
Don't forget that you can have a FASTPASS for the whole season's FridayLive! if you are an Individual Member or if your institution is a TLT Group subscriber. A FASTPASS. enables you to be automatically registered for every FridayLive! this fall.
NOTE: Login instructions for the session will be sent in the Registration Confirmation Email. Please check your Junk folder as sometimes these emails get trapped there. We will also send an additional login reminder 24 hours prior to the start of the event.
The Teaching Professor December 2010 Issue
http://www.magnapubs.com/newsletter/issue/1230/
An Assessment Technique Using Research Articles
In entry-level courses it’s often a struggle to get students to see that the content has larger significance and intriguing aspects. In most science textbooks, for example, only well-established facts are presented, and they are supported by equally well-know research studies. Textbooks don’t usually identify areas of inquiry where the questions have yet to be answered or the findings so far are controversial. And yet often, this is the content most likely to interest students. But can you expect beginning students to read original sources, like research studies? Could you expect them to answer test questions about those articles?
Communication Satisfaction Scale
Some research efforts produce tools that can be used by teachers to generate interesting and useful feedback—we’ve illustrated that in previous issues and have another example to share here. Communication education researchers have developed a communication satisfaction scale that measures how satisfied students are with the communication they have with their instructor.
Embracing Texting during Class
If you want to get your students’ attention, try listing this course policy in your syllabus: “Texting during class is encouraged.” Most of us wouldn’t dare. We know firsthand how distracting cell phones in class can be. But with so many students disengaged and increasing pressure to create more student-centered learning environments, maybe we should stop thinking about texting as a problem and start seeing its potential as a solution.
Enhancing Out-of-Class Communication: Students’ Top 10 Suggestions
Out-of-class communication makes student-teacher relationships more personal and contributes to student learning. It is also the wellspring for continued academic exchange and mentoring. Unfortunately, electronic consultations via email have diminished the use of in-person office hours. Although students and faculty favor email contact because it’s so efficient, interpersonal exchanges still play an important role in the learning process—much research verifies this. As teachers we have a responsibility to encourage, indeed entice, our students to meet with us face-to-face.
From the Last Five Years to the Last Two Semesters: An Update
The last time I wrote about retirement (The Teaching Professor, March 2010), I could count the remaining number of semesters on the fingers of one hand. Now in my last year, I’d like to offer observations about the final lap.
Gateway Criteria: Minimum Standards before an Assignment is Graded
Do you sometimes (maybe regularly) get papers from students filled with spelling, punctuation, proofreading, and other more serious grammatical problems? Yours is not an English class and you have other content to teach, making it difficult to address these writing problems. And yet leaving them unaddressed puts students in jeopardy. They may not believe us, but the fact is we still live in a culture that “sorts out” people based on their use of language. Maybe that won’t be the case in 50 years, but today it is a reality. A student who can’t put together an error-free résumé or cover letter isn’t likely to get many interviews or good jobs.
Of Mice and Men: Using a Book Club to Improve Teaching and Learning
Effective teaching requires continual reflection about teaching techniques, strategies, and materials. This necessary reflection can be prompted by attending teaching conferences, classroom observation, formal and informal assessment, and reading research on teaching and learning. All these activities can be done on your own, but all are more effective when undertaken with a fellow teacher. However, few of us find the time to sit down with colleagues and thoughtfully discuss teaching. Instead, too often we only participate in a once-a-semester teaching in-service activity.
Participation Money
Encouraging students to talk, getting a variety of different students speaking, improving the intellectual caliber of what they contribute, and then fairly assessing those contributions makes participation a more challenging instructional strategy that it might seem at first. The following approach addresses several of these participation problems
Using Reading Prompts to Encourage Critical Thinking
Students can critically read in a variety of ways:
•When they raise vital questions and problems from the text,
•When they gather and assess relevant information and then offer plausible interpretations of that information,
•When they test their interpretations against previous knowledge or experience,
•When they examine their assumptions and the implications of those assumptions, and
•When they use what they have read to communicate effectively with others or to develop potential solutions to complex problems.” (p. 127)
An Assessment Technique Using Research Articles
In entry-level courses it’s often a struggle to get students to see that the content has larger significance and intriguing aspects. In most science textbooks, for example, only well-established facts are presented, and they are supported by equally well-know research studies. Textbooks don’t usually identify areas of inquiry where the questions have yet to be answered or the findings so far are controversial. And yet often, this is the content most likely to interest students. But can you expect beginning students to read original sources, like research studies? Could you expect them to answer test questions about those articles?
Communication Satisfaction Scale
Some research efforts produce tools that can be used by teachers to generate interesting and useful feedback—we’ve illustrated that in previous issues and have another example to share here. Communication education researchers have developed a communication satisfaction scale that measures how satisfied students are with the communication they have with their instructor.
Embracing Texting during Class
If you want to get your students’ attention, try listing this course policy in your syllabus: “Texting during class is encouraged.” Most of us wouldn’t dare. We know firsthand how distracting cell phones in class can be. But with so many students disengaged and increasing pressure to create more student-centered learning environments, maybe we should stop thinking about texting as a problem and start seeing its potential as a solution.
Enhancing Out-of-Class Communication: Students’ Top 10 Suggestions
Out-of-class communication makes student-teacher relationships more personal and contributes to student learning. It is also the wellspring for continued academic exchange and mentoring. Unfortunately, electronic consultations via email have diminished the use of in-person office hours. Although students and faculty favor email contact because it’s so efficient, interpersonal exchanges still play an important role in the learning process—much research verifies this. As teachers we have a responsibility to encourage, indeed entice, our students to meet with us face-to-face.
From the Last Five Years to the Last Two Semesters: An Update
The last time I wrote about retirement (The Teaching Professor, March 2010), I could count the remaining number of semesters on the fingers of one hand. Now in my last year, I’d like to offer observations about the final lap.
Gateway Criteria: Minimum Standards before an Assignment is Graded
Do you sometimes (maybe regularly) get papers from students filled with spelling, punctuation, proofreading, and other more serious grammatical problems? Yours is not an English class and you have other content to teach, making it difficult to address these writing problems. And yet leaving them unaddressed puts students in jeopardy. They may not believe us, but the fact is we still live in a culture that “sorts out” people based on their use of language. Maybe that won’t be the case in 50 years, but today it is a reality. A student who can’t put together an error-free résumé or cover letter isn’t likely to get many interviews or good jobs.
Of Mice and Men: Using a Book Club to Improve Teaching and Learning
Effective teaching requires continual reflection about teaching techniques, strategies, and materials. This necessary reflection can be prompted by attending teaching conferences, classroom observation, formal and informal assessment, and reading research on teaching and learning. All these activities can be done on your own, but all are more effective when undertaken with a fellow teacher. However, few of us find the time to sit down with colleagues and thoughtfully discuss teaching. Instead, too often we only participate in a once-a-semester teaching in-service activity.
Participation Money
Encouraging students to talk, getting a variety of different students speaking, improving the intellectual caliber of what they contribute, and then fairly assessing those contributions makes participation a more challenging instructional strategy that it might seem at first. The following approach addresses several of these participation problems
Using Reading Prompts to Encourage Critical Thinking
Students can critically read in a variety of ways:
•When they raise vital questions and problems from the text,
•When they gather and assess relevant information and then offer plausible interpretations of that information,
•When they test their interpretations against previous knowledge or experience,
•When they examine their assumptions and the implications of those assumptions, and
•When they use what they have read to communicate effectively with others or to develop potential solutions to complex problems.” (p. 127)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Academic Leader Newsletter December 2010
http://www.magnapubs.com/newsletter/issue/1232/
Dealing with Serious Employee Issues
Like all employers, institutions of higher learning are experiencing increasingly serious issues caused by troubled or troubling employees. Personnel exhibiting serious conduct or performance issues can threaten the mission of the entire organization—which, in the case of higher education, is ultimately to serve the interests of the institution's student population.
Finding Administrative Balance
When we think of the qualities that are central to great academic leaders, a commitment to balance usually doesn't head the list. We may talk about the leader's need for vision, integrity, superb communication skills, collegiality, decisiveness, and resourcefulness. But we may overlook balance entirely, dismissing it as a soft, almost weak, quality—the sort of trait more suitable for a manager than a leader. Providing genuine leadership, we may think, requires us to be determined and focused; seeking balance is the sort of thing people do when they're willing to compromise on key principles simply to avoid a little conflict. And yet there are many ways in which administrators who don't give balance its due end up harming their institutions and undermining the very leadership they thought they were demonstrating.
How to Create a Successful Service-Learning Project or Program
Service-learning has been recognized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and other groups as being an effective way to increase student engagement and contribute to their learning.
Barbara Jacoby, who implemented a service-learning program at the University of Maryland in 1992, taught other institutions how to build or improve their own service-learning programs during the online seminar "Building Service-Learning Programs: 10 Essentials" in November.
Recruitment and Retention at the Program Level
What role do faculty in your program play in student recruitment and retention? It's an important issue. Faculty represent their disciplines and have the potential to influence students' choice of major and the likelihood that students will remain in a program until graduation. The role of faculty in recruitment and retention also has the potential to significantly affect the health and even the continued existence of the program.
Magna Publications
2718 Dryden Drive • Madison, WI 53704-3086 • 800-433-0499
support@magnapubs.com
Dealing with Serious Employee Issues
Like all employers, institutions of higher learning are experiencing increasingly serious issues caused by troubled or troubling employees. Personnel exhibiting serious conduct or performance issues can threaten the mission of the entire organization—which, in the case of higher education, is ultimately to serve the interests of the institution's student population.
Finding Administrative Balance
When we think of the qualities that are central to great academic leaders, a commitment to balance usually doesn't head the list. We may talk about the leader's need for vision, integrity, superb communication skills, collegiality, decisiveness, and resourcefulness. But we may overlook balance entirely, dismissing it as a soft, almost weak, quality—the sort of trait more suitable for a manager than a leader. Providing genuine leadership, we may think, requires us to be determined and focused; seeking balance is the sort of thing people do when they're willing to compromise on key principles simply to avoid a little conflict. And yet there are many ways in which administrators who don't give balance its due end up harming their institutions and undermining the very leadership they thought they were demonstrating.
How to Create a Successful Service-Learning Project or Program
Service-learning has been recognized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and other groups as being an effective way to increase student engagement and contribute to their learning.
Barbara Jacoby, who implemented a service-learning program at the University of Maryland in 1992, taught other institutions how to build or improve their own service-learning programs during the online seminar "Building Service-Learning Programs: 10 Essentials" in November.
Recruitment and Retention at the Program Level
What role do faculty in your program play in student recruitment and retention? It's an important issue. Faculty represent their disciplines and have the potential to influence students' choice of major and the likelihood that students will remain in a program until graduation. The role of faculty in recruitment and retention also has the potential to significantly affect the health and even the continued existence of the program.
Magna Publications
2718 Dryden Drive • Madison, WI 53704-3086 • 800-433-0499
support@magnapubs.com
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Early-Bird Deadline Extended to Friday, December 3 2010 | POD-AAC&U Organizational Development Institute
Dear Colleagues,
We've extended the early-bird deadline to Friday, December 3 for the POD-AAC&U Organizational Development Institute.
See details below.
Leading from the Middle: Faculty Development and Organizational Change
Third Annual POD-AAC&U Organizational Development Institute
January 25-26, 2011, San Francisco, CA
To register, go to www.podnetwork.org/conferences/2011-AACU/index.htm
As a faculty developer, would you like to play a larger role in strategic planning, campus-wide educational reform efforts, or other institutional change initiatives at your college or university, but are a little unsure how?
Then this year’s POD-AAC&U OD Institute is for you! Make the transition from traditional faculty development programs such as workshops, consultations and brown-bag lunches to strategies that enhance traditional programs and promote widespread organizational change.
Catherine Frerichs and Virginia Lee, longstanding POD members with years of faculty development experience, are planning a series of hands-on activities including self-assessment questionnaires and exercises, two case studies based on organizational change efforts at their own institutions, and a planning model you will use to develop a concrete organizational change strategy for a faculty development issue of your choice at your institution.
You’ll also benefit from feedback from Catherine and Virginia as well as other Institute participants.
We look forward to seeing you there!
--Catherine Frerichs and Virginia Lee
Co-Facilitators, 2011 POD-AAC&U OD Institute
We've extended the early-bird deadline to Friday, December 3 for the POD-AAC&U Organizational Development Institute.
See details below.
Leading from the Middle: Faculty Development and Organizational Change
Third Annual POD-AAC&U Organizational Development Institute
January 25-26, 2011, San Francisco, CA
To register, go to www.podnetwork.org/conferences/2011-AACU/index.htm
As a faculty developer, would you like to play a larger role in strategic planning, campus-wide educational reform efforts, or other institutional change initiatives at your college or university, but are a little unsure how?
Then this year’s POD-AAC&U OD Institute is for you! Make the transition from traditional faculty development programs such as workshops, consultations and brown-bag lunches to strategies that enhance traditional programs and promote widespread organizational change.
Catherine Frerichs and Virginia Lee, longstanding POD members with years of faculty development experience, are planning a series of hands-on activities including self-assessment questionnaires and exercises, two case studies based on organizational change efforts at their own institutions, and a planning model you will use to develop a concrete organizational change strategy for a faculty development issue of your choice at your institution.
You’ll also benefit from feedback from Catherine and Virginia as well as other Institute participants.
We look forward to seeing you there!
--Catherine Frerichs and Virginia Lee
Co-Facilitators, 2011 POD-AAC&U OD Institute
Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning: Strategies to Improve Student Writing
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
Sponsored by Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning @: http://ctl.stanford.edu
IDEA PAPER #48
Language is acquired only by absorption and contact with an environment in which language is in perpetual use.? ? Samuel Thurber (1898, paraphrased in Judy & Judy, 1981, p. 18)
The Crisis in Writing
Of course we want our students to write well. And we know from our own classes, as well as from newspaper articles and television specials, that our students do not write as well as we think they should. The latest report of The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) ? which conducts the most careful test of the writing abilities of students in grades four, eight, and 12 ? reports that only 16 percent of eighth-graders can write informatively at the level of ?skillful? or better, and that only 26 percent of 12th-graders can write persuasively at that level. However, between 60 percent and 70 percent of both groups can produce writing that the NAEP labels ?sufficient? (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, pp. 30, 44). These results may confirm our worst fears.
Reasons to Question the ?Crisis?
However, there are many reasons to think that the ?crisis? in writing is more a function of our attitudes and expectations than it is a result of how our students actually write.
For one thing, we need to remember that the NAEP does not use a normed test. Indeed, there are no national norms or standards to help us determine what students at various ages should be able to accomplish in writing, with or without schooling. As a result, we have little basis other than our own expectations for deciding how well our students write.
In addition, writing is extremely complex, so we have no common standard for what we mean when we say that our students do not write well. Depending on circumstances, we may mean 1) that our students? writing is not well thought out, 2) that it is not clearly organized, 3) that it is not well documented or that it needs more detail or evidence, 4) that it needs to be better edited, 5) that it needs a more appropriate tone, 6) that it needs to be better adapted to the situation for which it was written, or simply 7) that it needs to be ?clearer,? whatever that may mean.
As a result, we often disagree about what constitutes good writing. In a major study of 300 essays read by 53 readers in six different fields ? English, social science, and natural science teachers; editors; lawyers; and business executives ? Paul Diederich (1974, p. 6) found that 101 essays ?received every grade from 1 to 9 [the entire range possible]; 94 percent received either seven, eight, or nine different grades.?
A final reason for thinking that the crisis in writing is a function of our attitudes is that the crisis has remained remarkably stable for over 100 years. Indeed, the crisis began with the rise of mass education at the end of the 19th century. For example, in 1898, the Subject A Examination at the University of California, a precursor of today?s writing tests, indicated that 30 percent to 40 percent of those taking the test were not proficient in written English, a number very similar to the number of those who do not do well on today?s tests. Yet ?in 1890 3.5 percent of all seventeen-year-olds graduated from high school; by 1970 the number was 75.6 percent? (Rose, 1989, p. 6). It seems that the percentage of students ?deficient? in English has remained about the same, while we have been educating a much higher percentage of the population at the high school level.
The Most Obvious Reason Why Our Students Do Not Write Well Enough
The reasons for our students? inability to write well enough to meet our expectations are many and varied. Many of us blame television, or the Internet, or the lack of homework in school, or the breakup of the nuclear family. However, the most obvious reason that our students do not write well is that they receive a limited amount of instruction in writing and they do not write very much. Arthur Applebee and Judith Langer (2006, p. 2) report that ?two-thirds of students in Grade 8, for example, are expected to spend an hour or less on writing for homework each week, and 40% of twelfth graders report never or hardly ever being asked to write a paper of 3 pages or more.? When students do write, they tend to write a limited range of genres: mostly reports, summaries, or analyses. In English classes, they may write a few stories or poems. They do little persuasive writing at all.
There are few studies of the writing students do in college. In one survey (Thaiss & Porter, 2010), 568 colleges and universities in the United States had some form of writing- across-the-curriculum that required at least one upper- level writing course after the first year, but it is not clear how much students wrote in these courses, the kinds of writing they did, or how they were taught. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) (2009, p. 34) reports that in its participating institutions, as many as 53 percent of first-year students and 44 percent of seniors write between one and four papers from five to 19 pages each in an academic year. However, the great majority of students write papers of five pages or less. The NSSE report provides no information about the nature of these papers or how students are taught.
My general impression from talking to colleagues in writing studies from around the country is that in most colleges and universities, students write very little, and when they do write, they write short analytic or evaluative reports, for which they receive little instruction. They are simply told to produce a paper that meets a list of requirements by a certain date, and are graded on how well they meet the instructor?s expectations.
If we are going to improve the writing of our students, we will need to require our students to write more often so that they can get sufficient practice; we will need to actually teach our students how to write the papers we require of them; and we will need to ensure that they get a range of experience writing a variety of genres so that they can see how complex writing is and how writing varies depending on the context, the genre, and the audience. Perhaps most importantly, we will need to design our writing instruction in ways that will help our students transfer what they have learned in school to the writing they do in the world outside of school.
Writing to Learn
One way that instructors can promote fluency in writing is by requiring students to use what Stephen Tchudi (1986, p. 20) calls workaday writing, or writing to learn. There is some evidence that particular kinds of workaday writing may also reinforce certain kinds of learning and help students learn the content of their courses (Langer & Applebee, 1987). Note-taking, for example, may help students focus on the main ideas of the course, and journals and mini-essays may help students reflect on the content of the course and integrate that knowledge into larger conceptual schemes (Smit, 2004, pp. 108- 110).
The advantages of incorporating workaday writing into content courses are that:
1. It is generally short and impromptu, not requiring large amounts of student or class time.
2. It is written primarily for the benefit of the writer as an aide to clarifying experience; thus, 3. It does not require extensive instructor commentary and response (theme correcting)? (Tchudi, 1986, p. 20).
Workaday writing includes the following activities:
Note-taking, which requires students to not only take careful notes, but to reflect critically on what they have heard or read. For example, students might be asked to respond to lectures or reading by answering these kinds of questions:
? What did you already know about this material?
? What is new to you?
? Does anything contradict what you already knew?
? Does anything expand or provide more evidence for what you already knew?
? What don?t you understand?
? What support does the speaker or writer give for his or her facts?
? What patterns of reasoning does the speaker or writer offer as evidence?
? Have you encountered reasoning like this before? If so, where? Are these patterns typical of the discipline as a whole?
Journals, which require students to write extensively several times a week, summarizing what they have learned, and raising issues and problems. Teachers may use the same sort of guide questions for journals as they use for note-taking.
Microthemes mini-essays on five-inch by eight-inch cards ? which require students to write summaries, support theses, pose questions, work with data, and provide support for generalizations (Tchudi, 1986, pp. 24-25). Here is a sample microtheme assignment for an introductory physics class (Bean et al., 1982, p. 35):
Suppose that you are Dr. Science, the question-and- answer person for a popular magazine called Practical Science. Readers of your magazine are invited to submit letters to Dr. Science, who answers them in ?Dear Abby? style in a special section of the magazine. One day you receive the following letter:
Dear Dr. Science, You?ve got to help me settle this argument I am having with my girlfriend. We were watching a baseball game several weeks ago when this guy hit a pop-up straight up over the catcher?s head. When it finally came down, the catcher caught it standing on home plate. Well, my girlfriend told me that when the ball stopped in midair just before it started back down, its velocity was zero, but acceleration was not zero. I said she was stupid. If something isn?t moving at all, how could it have any acceleration? Ever since then she has been making a big deal out of this and won?t let me kiss her.... You?ve got to explain it so we both understand, because my girlfriend is really dogmatic. She said she wouldn?t even trust Einstein unless he could explain himself clearly.
Sincerely, Baseball Blues
Can This Relationship Be Saved? Your task is to write an answer to Baseball Blues. Because space in your magazine is limited, restrict your answer to what can be put on a single 5? X 8? card. Don?t confuse Baseball and his girlfriend by using any special physics terms unless you explain clearly what those terms mean. If you think some diagrams would help, include them on a separate sheet.
Workaday writing gives students the opportunity to write in order to clarify for themselves what they are learning and why. It also gives teachers a chance to quickly determine how well the students can use the terms and concepts being taught in their courses. Because workaday writing is short and informal, it does not need to be graded, and teachers can read many responses in relatively little time. And if teachers think it helpful, they can use workaday writing to conduct a dialogue with individual students.
Students may also do workaday writing for each other, either for small study groups or for the class as a whole. Such a pedagogy, called distributed cognition (Brown et al., 1993), requires students to share information with each other so that they have access to and learn more than they could on their own or by simply listening to lectures. Writing for study groups or the entire class might include reports, abstracts, and summaries that students could share as study guides for tests. Or students could write letters, interviews, class newsletters, annotated bibliographies, and evaluations that provide the class with information they could not research on their own.
Writing Rhetorically
Workaday writing can be very useful for students while in school. However, when we talk about how well our students write, we generally are not referring to how well they write genres that may help their classroom learning. When we say that we want our students to write well, we usually mean that we want them to write well not just in school, but also on the job and in their lives after they graduate. This means that our instruction must help students to think rhetorically; that is, we must teach our students how to adapt their writing in different genres to different audiences and social contexts.
Overwhelmingly, the academic pedagogies that seem to best prepare students to think about these and other aspects of writing are called structured learning or strategy instruction, both of which involve goal-setting, teaching students specific strategies to help them accomplish some aspect of planning or composing, and organizing a ?pleasant, supportive, and collaborative? learning environment (Graham, 2006, p. 188). One specific example of structured learning is what George Hillocks (1986, p. 122) calls the environmental mode, which has the following characteristics:
1. Clear and specific objectives. For a laboratory in chemistry, a specific objective might be the accurate reporting of data in a certain format.
2. Materials and problems to engage students with each other in specifiable processes important to writing. To give students practice in reporting data, they might be given sets of data and asked to interpret the data and write up the results in a specified format.
3. Activities with a great deal of peer interaction, in order to give students practice in working on problems cooperatively, and to make the work engaging.
In a massive meta-statistical study of the effectiveness of various strategies for teaching writing, Hillocks (1986) found that the environmental mode and a companion strategy called focus on inquiry were by far the most beneficial pedagogies for improving writing. Hillocks? results have been confirmed 20 years later in a similar meta-analysis by Steven Graham (2006, pp. 204-205).
Unfortunately, there is also considerable evidence that the writing students do in school does not necessarily prepare them adequately to write outside of school. Writing on the job or for other rhetorical situations in public life demands that writers confront a host of contextual difficulties they did not face in school when they only had to write a standard ?school genre? for the teacher. Outside of school, writers must write new genres with conventions they are not familiar with; they must deal with multiple audiences that are difficult to conceptualize; and they must confront the ways documents circulate among various organizations and constituencies, and the ways members of these groups contribute to the composing of documents (Beaufort, 2006, pp. 229-230).
Whether we can help students transfer their learning from our classes to other contexts is still a matter of debate, but there is some evidence that the following strategies can enhance transfer and efficiency of learning in new social contexts (Beaufort, 2007, pp. 151-152):
1. Teachers can help students ?structure specific problems and learnings into more abstract principles that can be applied in new situations.?
2. Teachers can provide opportunities for students ?to apply abstract concepts in different social contexts.?
3. Teachers can promote ?the practice of mindfulness, or meta-cognition.?
In order to incorporate structured learning and to promote the transfer of learning into our teaching of rhetorical writing, we might consider using the following sequence of steps (adapted from Tchudi, 1986, pp. 30-37):
1. Decide on how teaching a specific set of writing skills can fit into and reinforce the larger objectives for the content course.
2. Decide on a rhetorical situation and an identifiable genre used outside the classroom that will give students practice using these skills. Such rhetorical situations give students a potential audience, real or imagined; a genre, such as a business letter or a report, with a set of conventions that must be modified in each new context; and a role to play so that they can think about matters of style, tone, and evidence when addressing a specific audience.
3. Give students opportunities to reflect on audience, genre, and context during the writing process. Direct their attention to how their style, organization, and evidence should be based on the knowledge and expectations of their audience and the conventions of the chosen genre.
4. Create one or more focused activities that require students to demonstrate the course objectives. Put the requirements for the activity on an evaluation form or checklist so that students can see what they must accomplish.
5. Help students through the writing process as necessary. This might involve something as simple as checking an early plan to make sure that students are on the right track. It might mean devoting a class period to small-group workshops in which students read and respond to each other?s work. It might involve individual conferences with students to go over early drafts.
6. Grade, evaluate, or respond to the writing by commenting on what the writer did well and by concentrating on two or three ways that the writer could most improve the paper. Avoid long lists of errors. There is considerable evidence that teacher comments are not effective in and of themselves. To be effective, teacher comments need to reinforce the main focus of the instruction, providing feedback on matters that have been previously taught or skills that have been previously practiced (Hillocks, 1986, pp. 167-168).
Here is how such a pedagogical strategy might work for a course in American history. To begin, the teacher might set as the content objective: The students will be able to list the possible causes of the Revolutionary War and discuss in detail the arguments for and against the various causes. The real-world genres in which this objective is made concrete might be a journal of popular history, a feature story in the Sunday supplement of a newspaper celebrating the Fourth of July, or an editorial in a newspaper celebrating a facet of contemporary life that has resulted from the way the revolution changed the country. Here is a possible assignment for our hypothetical American history teacher:
Choose one possible cause, or series of causes, for the Revolutionary War. For a magazine devoted to making history available to general readers, such as American Heritage, explain and provide the evidence to support one major cause of the American Revolution. Clearly document the sources of your evidence, using a form of documentation appropriate to the magazine. Be sure to meet any objections to your evidence. Here is the evaluation form that we will use when we read your paper:
Name: Reader:
At the beginning of your article, the claim about a possible cause of the Revolutionary War is clearly stated or implied.
yes no sort of
Your evidence is clear and convincing.
yes no sort of
You cite possible objections to your claims and adequately refute them.
yes no sort of
You use an appropriate form of documentation consistently.
yes no sort of
Comments:
In order to prepare students to do this assignment, the American history teacher should also give students practice in how to accomplish the major objectives of the assignment. In this case, the teacher might give the class a list of facts and figures about the ownership of property among the delegates at the Constitutional Convention; divide the class into groups of three or four; and ask each group to prepare a brief position paper, arguing for or against the claim that the Revolutionary War was fought in order to protect the property of the landed gentry. The point of such activities is to involve students in thinking about the objectives of the course and to give them practice in using the kinds of evidence and reasoning they will need to use in their writing for the course.
In order to help students through the writing process, the American history teacher might do any combination of the following:
? Have the students brainstorm possible ideas for their papers in class and share their ideas aloud so that the teacher can comment on them and clarify what an acceptable paper might look like.
? Ask students to submit plans for the paper ahead of time so that the teacher can see whether the students are on track and give them some brief suggestions on how to improve their basic ideas and the organization of those ideas.
? Once the students have a first draft, divide the class into groups of three or four, and have each group read and comment on each other?s papers using an evaluation form or checklist based on the specific goals of the assignment. Such peer review not only gives students a number of varied responses to their writing; it also gives them the opportunity to critically analyze the writing of others and practice the kinds of analysis they need to use with their own papers.
? At every stage, have students reflect aloud or in writing about who they are writing to, the conventions of the genre they are writing, and the contextual factors that might influence how their papers could be understood or misunderstood. Also have them discuss how the elements of the writing process might be different in different situations. If they can, teachers might also draw the students? attention to how the rhetorical situation and the genre of the assignment are similar to and different from other writing the students have done. Such meta-cognitive thinking may be the primary skill necessary for the student to transfer what they learn about writing in American history class to writing outside of school.
Lastly, the American history teacher needs to respond to the writing she has assigned by praising what the student has done well, and, if necessary, by requiring that the student revise the paper to make it better. In suggesting how the student should revise, the teacher should use what Cy Knoblauch and Lil Brannon (1984, p. 129) call facilitative commentary: 1) she should allow the writer to control the discourse, 2) she should use negotiation and dialogue on the assumption that the writer knows his own purposes better than any reader, and 3) she should play the part of a reader who knows the effect the writer had on her ? even better than the writer does. This negotiation should promote a richer meaning of the text.
Instead of saying, ?Don?t do it your way; do it this way,? the teacher should say or imply, ?Here?s what your choices have caused me to think you?re saying ? if my response differs from your intent, how can you help me to see what you mean?? Instead of writing in the margin, ?You have no evidence for this assertion. Cut it out,? the teacher should ask, ?On what basis are you making this assertion?? The point is to give students practice in the kinds of thinking that writing requires. If in her comments a teacher simply tells her students what to do, all her students will get is practice in following directions.
The Bottom Line
We have known for some time why our students do not write well. And we have known for some time how to correct the problem. We must give our students many more opportunities to write, using a pedagogy with the following characteristics:
1. Assignments that provide a rhetorical situation for the writing task: a purpose, a genre, an audience, and a discussion of the contextual factors that may produce effective communication in this particular situation.
2. An emphasis on the process of writing: providing instruction in (and sufficient time for) getting ideas, planning, writing drafts, analyzing their drafts, revising, and editing.
3. Opportunities for students to practice the skills necessary to fulfill the major purpose of the writing task.
4. Focused responses to students? drafts that include comments on how well the draft meets the demands of the assignment, and one or two ways to improve other matters, such as organization or editing.
5. Meta-cognitive reflection on the genre conventions, the audience, and the contextual factors of the rhetorical situation, especially ways in which these factors are similar to and different from other writing that students have done.
Just as important, we must recognize that students cannot get sufficient practice in writing if they only write in English classes. Writing needs to be the responsibility of colleges and universities as a whole. But for us to teach writing effectively across the curriculum, we need smaller classes and teachers who are trained to teach writing effectively in academic disciplines outside of English. Thus, the solution to the ?crisis? in writing is not only educational. It is also social and political. We must insist in our departments ? and in other departments across our colleges and universities ? that writing is important enough to be taught throughout the curriculum. And we must constantly remind the public media, funding agencies, college governing boards, and university boards of trustees that we need smaller classes so that, first, we can require our students to write more often and, second, we can give their writing the attention it deserves. With appropriate financial support and curricular reforms, we can indeed begin to deal with the crisis in writing.
--------------------
David Smit is a professor of English at Kansas State University, where he directed the Expository Writing Program for 10 years and where he now teaches an upper-level writing course for non-English majors and a writing course for secondary-education majors. He has published numerous articles on style, portfolio assessment, and rhetorical theory. In his book The End of Composition Studies (2004), Smit argues that in colleges and universities, writing should be taught in academic disciplines across the curriculum by people trained to write the genres related to those disciplines.
References and Suggested Readings
The references below, preceded by an asterisk, are suggested readings for those interested in a general introduction to teaching writing.
Applebee, A.N. & Langer, J.A. (2006). The state of writing instruction in America?s schools: What existing data tell us. Albany, NY: Center on English Learning & Achievement. http://www.albany. edu/cela/.
Bean, J.C., Drenk, D., & Lee, F.D. (1982). Microtheme strategies for developing cognitive skills. In C.W. Griffin (Ed.), Teaching writing in all disciplines: New directions for teaching and learning, No. 12 (pp. 27-38). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Beaufort, A. (2006). Writing in the professions. In P. Smagorinsky (Ed.), Research on composition: Multiple perspectives on two decades of change (pp. 217-242). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Beaufort, A. (2007). College writing and beyond. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.
Brown, A.L., Ash, D., Rutherford, M., Nakagawa, K., Gordon, A., & Campione, J.C. (1993). Distributed expertise in the classroom. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 188-228). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Diederich, P.B. (1974). Measuring growth in English. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Graham, S. (2006). Strategy instruction and the teaching of writing. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.). Handbook of writing research (pp. 187-207). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Hillocks, G., Jr. (1986). Research on written composition. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Judy, S.N. & Judy, S.J. (1981). An introduction to the teaching of writing. New York, NY: John Wiley.
Knoblauch, C.H. & Brannon, L. (1984). Rhetorical traditions and the teaching of writing. Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook.
Langer, J.A., & Applebee, A.N. (1987). How writing shapes thinking: A study of teaching and learning. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
*Lindemann, E. (2001). A rhetoric for writing teachers. (4th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The nation?s report card: Writing. Washington, DC.
National Survey of Student Engagement. (2009). Assessment for Improvement: Tracking student engagement over time. Annual results. Washington, DC.
Rose, M. (1989). Lives on the boundary. New York, NY: Penguin.
Smit, D.W. (2004). The end of composition studies. Carbondale, IL:
Southern Illinois University Press.
Tchudi, S.N. (1986). Teaching writing in the content areas: College level. New York, NY: National Education Association.
Thaiss, C. & Porter, T. (2010). The state of WAC/WID in 2010: Methods and results of the U.S. Survey of the International WAC/ WID Mapping Project. College Composition and Communication, 61 (3), 534-570.
Thurber, S. (1898). An address to English teachers. Education, 18, 516-526.
*Williams, J.D. (2003). Preparing to teach writing: Research, theory, and practice. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Sponsored by Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning @: http://ctl.stanford.edu
IDEA PAPER #48
Language is acquired only by absorption and contact with an environment in which language is in perpetual use.? ? Samuel Thurber (1898, paraphrased in Judy & Judy, 1981, p. 18)
The Crisis in Writing
Of course we want our students to write well. And we know from our own classes, as well as from newspaper articles and television specials, that our students do not write as well as we think they should. The latest report of The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) ? which conducts the most careful test of the writing abilities of students in grades four, eight, and 12 ? reports that only 16 percent of eighth-graders can write informatively at the level of ?skillful? or better, and that only 26 percent of 12th-graders can write persuasively at that level. However, between 60 percent and 70 percent of both groups can produce writing that the NAEP labels ?sufficient? (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, pp. 30, 44). These results may confirm our worst fears.
Reasons to Question the ?Crisis?
However, there are many reasons to think that the ?crisis? in writing is more a function of our attitudes and expectations than it is a result of how our students actually write.
For one thing, we need to remember that the NAEP does not use a normed test. Indeed, there are no national norms or standards to help us determine what students at various ages should be able to accomplish in writing, with or without schooling. As a result, we have little basis other than our own expectations for deciding how well our students write.
In addition, writing is extremely complex, so we have no common standard for what we mean when we say that our students do not write well. Depending on circumstances, we may mean 1) that our students? writing is not well thought out, 2) that it is not clearly organized, 3) that it is not well documented or that it needs more detail or evidence, 4) that it needs to be better edited, 5) that it needs a more appropriate tone, 6) that it needs to be better adapted to the situation for which it was written, or simply 7) that it needs to be ?clearer,? whatever that may mean.
As a result, we often disagree about what constitutes good writing. In a major study of 300 essays read by 53 readers in six different fields ? English, social science, and natural science teachers; editors; lawyers; and business executives ? Paul Diederich (1974, p. 6) found that 101 essays ?received every grade from 1 to 9 [the entire range possible]; 94 percent received either seven, eight, or nine different grades.?
A final reason for thinking that the crisis in writing is a function of our attitudes is that the crisis has remained remarkably stable for over 100 years. Indeed, the crisis began with the rise of mass education at the end of the 19th century. For example, in 1898, the Subject A Examination at the University of California, a precursor of today?s writing tests, indicated that 30 percent to 40 percent of those taking the test were not proficient in written English, a number very similar to the number of those who do not do well on today?s tests. Yet ?in 1890 3.5 percent of all seventeen-year-olds graduated from high school; by 1970 the number was 75.6 percent? (Rose, 1989, p. 6). It seems that the percentage of students ?deficient? in English has remained about the same, while we have been educating a much higher percentage of the population at the high school level.
The Most Obvious Reason Why Our Students Do Not Write Well Enough
The reasons for our students? inability to write well enough to meet our expectations are many and varied. Many of us blame television, or the Internet, or the lack of homework in school, or the breakup of the nuclear family. However, the most obvious reason that our students do not write well is that they receive a limited amount of instruction in writing and they do not write very much. Arthur Applebee and Judith Langer (2006, p. 2) report that ?two-thirds of students in Grade 8, for example, are expected to spend an hour or less on writing for homework each week, and 40% of twelfth graders report never or hardly ever being asked to write a paper of 3 pages or more.? When students do write, they tend to write a limited range of genres: mostly reports, summaries, or analyses. In English classes, they may write a few stories or poems. They do little persuasive writing at all.
There are few studies of the writing students do in college. In one survey (Thaiss & Porter, 2010), 568 colleges and universities in the United States had some form of writing- across-the-curriculum that required at least one upper- level writing course after the first year, but it is not clear how much students wrote in these courses, the kinds of writing they did, or how they were taught. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) (2009, p. 34) reports that in its participating institutions, as many as 53 percent of first-year students and 44 percent of seniors write between one and four papers from five to 19 pages each in an academic year. However, the great majority of students write papers of five pages or less. The NSSE report provides no information about the nature of these papers or how students are taught.
My general impression from talking to colleagues in writing studies from around the country is that in most colleges and universities, students write very little, and when they do write, they write short analytic or evaluative reports, for which they receive little instruction. They are simply told to produce a paper that meets a list of requirements by a certain date, and are graded on how well they meet the instructor?s expectations.
If we are going to improve the writing of our students, we will need to require our students to write more often so that they can get sufficient practice; we will need to actually teach our students how to write the papers we require of them; and we will need to ensure that they get a range of experience writing a variety of genres so that they can see how complex writing is and how writing varies depending on the context, the genre, and the audience. Perhaps most importantly, we will need to design our writing instruction in ways that will help our students transfer what they have learned in school to the writing they do in the world outside of school.
Writing to Learn
One way that instructors can promote fluency in writing is by requiring students to use what Stephen Tchudi (1986, p. 20) calls workaday writing, or writing to learn. There is some evidence that particular kinds of workaday writing may also reinforce certain kinds of learning and help students learn the content of their courses (Langer & Applebee, 1987). Note-taking, for example, may help students focus on the main ideas of the course, and journals and mini-essays may help students reflect on the content of the course and integrate that knowledge into larger conceptual schemes (Smit, 2004, pp. 108- 110).
The advantages of incorporating workaday writing into content courses are that:
1. It is generally short and impromptu, not requiring large amounts of student or class time.
2. It is written primarily for the benefit of the writer as an aide to clarifying experience; thus, 3. It does not require extensive instructor commentary and response (theme correcting)? (Tchudi, 1986, p. 20).
Workaday writing includes the following activities:
Note-taking, which requires students to not only take careful notes, but to reflect critically on what they have heard or read. For example, students might be asked to respond to lectures or reading by answering these kinds of questions:
? What did you already know about this material?
? What is new to you?
? Does anything contradict what you already knew?
? Does anything expand or provide more evidence for what you already knew?
? What don?t you understand?
? What support does the speaker or writer give for his or her facts?
? What patterns of reasoning does the speaker or writer offer as evidence?
? Have you encountered reasoning like this before? If so, where? Are these patterns typical of the discipline as a whole?
Journals, which require students to write extensively several times a week, summarizing what they have learned, and raising issues and problems. Teachers may use the same sort of guide questions for journals as they use for note-taking.
Microthemes mini-essays on five-inch by eight-inch cards ? which require students to write summaries, support theses, pose questions, work with data, and provide support for generalizations (Tchudi, 1986, pp. 24-25). Here is a sample microtheme assignment for an introductory physics class (Bean et al., 1982, p. 35):
Suppose that you are Dr. Science, the question-and- answer person for a popular magazine called Practical Science. Readers of your magazine are invited to submit letters to Dr. Science, who answers them in ?Dear Abby? style in a special section of the magazine. One day you receive the following letter:
Dear Dr. Science, You?ve got to help me settle this argument I am having with my girlfriend. We were watching a baseball game several weeks ago when this guy hit a pop-up straight up over the catcher?s head. When it finally came down, the catcher caught it standing on home plate. Well, my girlfriend told me that when the ball stopped in midair just before it started back down, its velocity was zero, but acceleration was not zero. I said she was stupid. If something isn?t moving at all, how could it have any acceleration? Ever since then she has been making a big deal out of this and won?t let me kiss her.... You?ve got to explain it so we both understand, because my girlfriend is really dogmatic. She said she wouldn?t even trust Einstein unless he could explain himself clearly.
Sincerely, Baseball Blues
Can This Relationship Be Saved? Your task is to write an answer to Baseball Blues. Because space in your magazine is limited, restrict your answer to what can be put on a single 5? X 8? card. Don?t confuse Baseball and his girlfriend by using any special physics terms unless you explain clearly what those terms mean. If you think some diagrams would help, include them on a separate sheet.
Workaday writing gives students the opportunity to write in order to clarify for themselves what they are learning and why. It also gives teachers a chance to quickly determine how well the students can use the terms and concepts being taught in their courses. Because workaday writing is short and informal, it does not need to be graded, and teachers can read many responses in relatively little time. And if teachers think it helpful, they can use workaday writing to conduct a dialogue with individual students.
Students may also do workaday writing for each other, either for small study groups or for the class as a whole. Such a pedagogy, called distributed cognition (Brown et al., 1993), requires students to share information with each other so that they have access to and learn more than they could on their own or by simply listening to lectures. Writing for study groups or the entire class might include reports, abstracts, and summaries that students could share as study guides for tests. Or students could write letters, interviews, class newsletters, annotated bibliographies, and evaluations that provide the class with information they could not research on their own.
Writing Rhetorically
Workaday writing can be very useful for students while in school. However, when we talk about how well our students write, we generally are not referring to how well they write genres that may help their classroom learning. When we say that we want our students to write well, we usually mean that we want them to write well not just in school, but also on the job and in their lives after they graduate. This means that our instruction must help students to think rhetorically; that is, we must teach our students how to adapt their writing in different genres to different audiences and social contexts.
Overwhelmingly, the academic pedagogies that seem to best prepare students to think about these and other aspects of writing are called structured learning or strategy instruction, both of which involve goal-setting, teaching students specific strategies to help them accomplish some aspect of planning or composing, and organizing a ?pleasant, supportive, and collaborative? learning environment (Graham, 2006, p. 188). One specific example of structured learning is what George Hillocks (1986, p. 122) calls the environmental mode, which has the following characteristics:
1. Clear and specific objectives. For a laboratory in chemistry, a specific objective might be the accurate reporting of data in a certain format.
2. Materials and problems to engage students with each other in specifiable processes important to writing. To give students practice in reporting data, they might be given sets of data and asked to interpret the data and write up the results in a specified format.
3. Activities with a great deal of peer interaction, in order to give students practice in working on problems cooperatively, and to make the work engaging.
In a massive meta-statistical study of the effectiveness of various strategies for teaching writing, Hillocks (1986) found that the environmental mode and a companion strategy called focus on inquiry were by far the most beneficial pedagogies for improving writing. Hillocks? results have been confirmed 20 years later in a similar meta-analysis by Steven Graham (2006, pp. 204-205).
Unfortunately, there is also considerable evidence that the writing students do in school does not necessarily prepare them adequately to write outside of school. Writing on the job or for other rhetorical situations in public life demands that writers confront a host of contextual difficulties they did not face in school when they only had to write a standard ?school genre? for the teacher. Outside of school, writers must write new genres with conventions they are not familiar with; they must deal with multiple audiences that are difficult to conceptualize; and they must confront the ways documents circulate among various organizations and constituencies, and the ways members of these groups contribute to the composing of documents (Beaufort, 2006, pp. 229-230).
Whether we can help students transfer their learning from our classes to other contexts is still a matter of debate, but there is some evidence that the following strategies can enhance transfer and efficiency of learning in new social contexts (Beaufort, 2007, pp. 151-152):
1. Teachers can help students ?structure specific problems and learnings into more abstract principles that can be applied in new situations.?
2. Teachers can provide opportunities for students ?to apply abstract concepts in different social contexts.?
3. Teachers can promote ?the practice of mindfulness, or meta-cognition.?
In order to incorporate structured learning and to promote the transfer of learning into our teaching of rhetorical writing, we might consider using the following sequence of steps (adapted from Tchudi, 1986, pp. 30-37):
1. Decide on how teaching a specific set of writing skills can fit into and reinforce the larger objectives for the content course.
2. Decide on a rhetorical situation and an identifiable genre used outside the classroom that will give students practice using these skills. Such rhetorical situations give students a potential audience, real or imagined; a genre, such as a business letter or a report, with a set of conventions that must be modified in each new context; and a role to play so that they can think about matters of style, tone, and evidence when addressing a specific audience.
3. Give students opportunities to reflect on audience, genre, and context during the writing process. Direct their attention to how their style, organization, and evidence should be based on the knowledge and expectations of their audience and the conventions of the chosen genre.
4. Create one or more focused activities that require students to demonstrate the course objectives. Put the requirements for the activity on an evaluation form or checklist so that students can see what they must accomplish.
5. Help students through the writing process as necessary. This might involve something as simple as checking an early plan to make sure that students are on the right track. It might mean devoting a class period to small-group workshops in which students read and respond to each other?s work. It might involve individual conferences with students to go over early drafts.
6. Grade, evaluate, or respond to the writing by commenting on what the writer did well and by concentrating on two or three ways that the writer could most improve the paper. Avoid long lists of errors. There is considerable evidence that teacher comments are not effective in and of themselves. To be effective, teacher comments need to reinforce the main focus of the instruction, providing feedback on matters that have been previously taught or skills that have been previously practiced (Hillocks, 1986, pp. 167-168).
Here is how such a pedagogical strategy might work for a course in American history. To begin, the teacher might set as the content objective: The students will be able to list the possible causes of the Revolutionary War and discuss in detail the arguments for and against the various causes. The real-world genres in which this objective is made concrete might be a journal of popular history, a feature story in the Sunday supplement of a newspaper celebrating the Fourth of July, or an editorial in a newspaper celebrating a facet of contemporary life that has resulted from the way the revolution changed the country. Here is a possible assignment for our hypothetical American history teacher:
Choose one possible cause, or series of causes, for the Revolutionary War. For a magazine devoted to making history available to general readers, such as American Heritage, explain and provide the evidence to support one major cause of the American Revolution. Clearly document the sources of your evidence, using a form of documentation appropriate to the magazine. Be sure to meet any objections to your evidence. Here is the evaluation form that we will use when we read your paper:
Name: Reader:
At the beginning of your article, the claim about a possible cause of the Revolutionary War is clearly stated or implied.
yes no sort of
Your evidence is clear and convincing.
yes no sort of
You cite possible objections to your claims and adequately refute them.
yes no sort of
You use an appropriate form of documentation consistently.
yes no sort of
Comments:
In order to prepare students to do this assignment, the American history teacher should also give students practice in how to accomplish the major objectives of the assignment. In this case, the teacher might give the class a list of facts and figures about the ownership of property among the delegates at the Constitutional Convention; divide the class into groups of three or four; and ask each group to prepare a brief position paper, arguing for or against the claim that the Revolutionary War was fought in order to protect the property of the landed gentry. The point of such activities is to involve students in thinking about the objectives of the course and to give them practice in using the kinds of evidence and reasoning they will need to use in their writing for the course.
In order to help students through the writing process, the American history teacher might do any combination of the following:
? Have the students brainstorm possible ideas for their papers in class and share their ideas aloud so that the teacher can comment on them and clarify what an acceptable paper might look like.
? Ask students to submit plans for the paper ahead of time so that the teacher can see whether the students are on track and give them some brief suggestions on how to improve their basic ideas and the organization of those ideas.
? Once the students have a first draft, divide the class into groups of three or four, and have each group read and comment on each other?s papers using an evaluation form or checklist based on the specific goals of the assignment. Such peer review not only gives students a number of varied responses to their writing; it also gives them the opportunity to critically analyze the writing of others and practice the kinds of analysis they need to use with their own papers.
? At every stage, have students reflect aloud or in writing about who they are writing to, the conventions of the genre they are writing, and the contextual factors that might influence how their papers could be understood or misunderstood. Also have them discuss how the elements of the writing process might be different in different situations. If they can, teachers might also draw the students? attention to how the rhetorical situation and the genre of the assignment are similar to and different from other writing the students have done. Such meta-cognitive thinking may be the primary skill necessary for the student to transfer what they learn about writing in American history class to writing outside of school.
Lastly, the American history teacher needs to respond to the writing she has assigned by praising what the student has done well, and, if necessary, by requiring that the student revise the paper to make it better. In suggesting how the student should revise, the teacher should use what Cy Knoblauch and Lil Brannon (1984, p. 129) call facilitative commentary: 1) she should allow the writer to control the discourse, 2) she should use negotiation and dialogue on the assumption that the writer knows his own purposes better than any reader, and 3) she should play the part of a reader who knows the effect the writer had on her ? even better than the writer does. This negotiation should promote a richer meaning of the text.
Instead of saying, ?Don?t do it your way; do it this way,? the teacher should say or imply, ?Here?s what your choices have caused me to think you?re saying ? if my response differs from your intent, how can you help me to see what you mean?? Instead of writing in the margin, ?You have no evidence for this assertion. Cut it out,? the teacher should ask, ?On what basis are you making this assertion?? The point is to give students practice in the kinds of thinking that writing requires. If in her comments a teacher simply tells her students what to do, all her students will get is practice in following directions.
The Bottom Line
We have known for some time why our students do not write well. And we have known for some time how to correct the problem. We must give our students many more opportunities to write, using a pedagogy with the following characteristics:
1. Assignments that provide a rhetorical situation for the writing task: a purpose, a genre, an audience, and a discussion of the contextual factors that may produce effective communication in this particular situation.
2. An emphasis on the process of writing: providing instruction in (and sufficient time for) getting ideas, planning, writing drafts, analyzing their drafts, revising, and editing.
3. Opportunities for students to practice the skills necessary to fulfill the major purpose of the writing task.
4. Focused responses to students? drafts that include comments on how well the draft meets the demands of the assignment, and one or two ways to improve other matters, such as organization or editing.
5. Meta-cognitive reflection on the genre conventions, the audience, and the contextual factors of the rhetorical situation, especially ways in which these factors are similar to and different from other writing that students have done.
Just as important, we must recognize that students cannot get sufficient practice in writing if they only write in English classes. Writing needs to be the responsibility of colleges and universities as a whole. But for us to teach writing effectively across the curriculum, we need smaller classes and teachers who are trained to teach writing effectively in academic disciplines outside of English. Thus, the solution to the ?crisis? in writing is not only educational. It is also social and political. We must insist in our departments ? and in other departments across our colleges and universities ? that writing is important enough to be taught throughout the curriculum. And we must constantly remind the public media, funding agencies, college governing boards, and university boards of trustees that we need smaller classes so that, first, we can require our students to write more often and, second, we can give their writing the attention it deserves. With appropriate financial support and curricular reforms, we can indeed begin to deal with the crisis in writing.
--------------------
David Smit is a professor of English at Kansas State University, where he directed the Expository Writing Program for 10 years and where he now teaches an upper-level writing course for non-English majors and a writing course for secondary-education majors. He has published numerous articles on style, portfolio assessment, and rhetorical theory. In his book The End of Composition Studies (2004), Smit argues that in colleges and universities, writing should be taught in academic disciplines across the curriculum by people trained to write the genres related to those disciplines.
References and Suggested Readings
The references below, preceded by an asterisk, are suggested readings for those interested in a general introduction to teaching writing.
Applebee, A.N. & Langer, J.A. (2006). The state of writing instruction in America?s schools: What existing data tell us. Albany, NY: Center on English Learning & Achievement. http://www.albany. edu/cela/.
Bean, J.C., Drenk, D., & Lee, F.D. (1982). Microtheme strategies for developing cognitive skills. In C.W. Griffin (Ed.), Teaching writing in all disciplines: New directions for teaching and learning, No. 12 (pp. 27-38). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Beaufort, A. (2006). Writing in the professions. In P. Smagorinsky (Ed.), Research on composition: Multiple perspectives on two decades of change (pp. 217-242). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Beaufort, A. (2007). College writing and beyond. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.
Brown, A.L., Ash, D., Rutherford, M., Nakagawa, K., Gordon, A., & Campione, J.C. (1993). Distributed expertise in the classroom. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 188-228). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Diederich, P.B. (1974). Measuring growth in English. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Graham, S. (2006). Strategy instruction and the teaching of writing. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.). Handbook of writing research (pp. 187-207). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Hillocks, G., Jr. (1986). Research on written composition. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Judy, S.N. & Judy, S.J. (1981). An introduction to the teaching of writing. New York, NY: John Wiley.
Knoblauch, C.H. & Brannon, L. (1984). Rhetorical traditions and the teaching of writing. Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook.
Langer, J.A., & Applebee, A.N. (1987). How writing shapes thinking: A study of teaching and learning. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
*Lindemann, E. (2001). A rhetoric for writing teachers. (4th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The nation?s report card: Writing. Washington, DC.
National Survey of Student Engagement. (2009). Assessment for Improvement: Tracking student engagement over time. Annual results. Washington, DC.
Rose, M. (1989). Lives on the boundary. New York, NY: Penguin.
Smit, D.W. (2004). The end of composition studies. Carbondale, IL:
Southern Illinois University Press.
Tchudi, S.N. (1986). Teaching writing in the content areas: College level. New York, NY: National Education Association.
Thaiss, C. & Porter, T. (2010). The state of WAC/WID in 2010: Methods and results of the U.S. Survey of the International WAC/ WID Mapping Project. College Composition and Communication, 61 (3), 534-570.
Thurber, S. (1898). An address to English teachers. Education, 18, 516-526.
*Williams, J.D. (2003). Preparing to teach writing: Research, theory, and practice. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Monday, November 29, 2010
CUR Institute Deadline Approaching: Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research
http://www.cur.org/institutes/instugr.html
Deadline Quickly approaching: Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research
February 4- 6, 2011, Stetson University, DeLand, FL
Application Deadline: December 15, 2010
This workshop will bring together teams of three to five faculty members and administrators from institutions that are interested either in initiating an undergraduate research program or in institutionalizing existing research activities. The three days will consist of plenary lectures presented by facilitators associated with CUR interspersed with individual team meetings with CUR mentors. The teams will begin the workshop by meeting with their facilitator and reflecting on the current status of undergraduate research on their campuses. This inventory will include the examination of institutional strengths, as well as the obstacles currently preventing achievement of desired results. After this assessment, the teams will begin formulating mission statements, goals, and action plans for their own institutions. The event will conclude with the teams discussing their plans with the entire community. Throughout this process, the facilitators will be engaged with the teams in order to assist them in discussions and deliberations.
For more information, and to apply to attend, please visit: http://www.cur.org/institutes/instugr.html
Deadline Quickly approaching: Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research
February 4- 6, 2011, Stetson University, DeLand, FL
Application Deadline: December 15, 2010
This workshop will bring together teams of three to five faculty members and administrators from institutions that are interested either in initiating an undergraduate research program or in institutionalizing existing research activities. The three days will consist of plenary lectures presented by facilitators associated with CUR interspersed with individual team meetings with CUR mentors. The teams will begin the workshop by meeting with their facilitator and reflecting on the current status of undergraduate research on their campuses. This inventory will include the examination of institutional strengths, as well as the obstacles currently preventing achievement of desired results. After this assessment, the teams will begin formulating mission statements, goals, and action plans for their own institutions. The event will conclude with the teams discussing their plans with the entire community. Throughout this process, the facilitators will be engaged with the teams in order to assist them in discussions and deliberations.
For more information, and to apply to attend, please visit: http://www.cur.org/institutes/instugr.html
Inside Higher Education: Should Profs Leave Unruly Classes?
November 29, 2010
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/29/walkout
Professors routinely complain about students who spend class time on Facebook or texting their friends or otherwise making it clear that their attention is elsewhere. But is it acceptable for a faculty member to deal with these disruptions by walking out of class?
Two years ago, a Syracuse University professor set off a debate with his simple policy: If he spots a student texting, he will walk out of class for the day.
Now two faculty members at Ryerson University, in Toronto, sparked discussion at their institution with a similar (if somewhat more lenient) policy -- and their university's administrators and faculty union have both urged them to back down, which they apparently have.
The Ryerson professors' policy was first reported last week in The Eyeopener (the student newspaper) and then was picked up by other Canadian publications. Two professors who teach an introductory engineering course in chemistry jointly adopted a policy by posting it on the courses' Blackboard sites. The professors vowed to make tests more difficult, to encourage students to pay attention. And the professors said that after three warnings about disruptions such as cell phone discussions and movies playing on laptops, the professors would walk out of class -- and students would have to learn the rest of that day's material themselves. (Sources could not say whether the faculty members followed through on their treats.)
The student newspaper described a chaotic environment in the class where the faculty members made the threat to walk out, with loud chatting among students and even paper airplanes being shot around the room. A Ryerson spokeswoman said she couldn't confirm that those conditions existed, but others at the university said that student behavior has deteriorated in introductory courses (even if only a minority of students misbehave). Comments posted on the student newspaper article from people who said that they were in the classes -- including comments from those critical of the professors' response -- confirmed the rude behavior. One student wrote about "a whole row of kids" chatting and reading Facebook throughout a recent lecture.
But this student added these questions: "Was it really fair to leave the class based on the actions of these few students? Why were we all reprimanded for their bad mistakes?"
The two professors -- Robert Gossage and Andrew McWilliams -- did not respond to requests for comment (and have not responded to inquiries from reporters in Canada, either).
Janet Mowat, a spokeswoman for Ryerson, issued a statement on behalf of the university that rejected the approach used by the professors. "Ryerson University does not endorse faculty members threatening to abandon their class if the class is unruly nor does the university endorse arbitrarily raising the bar for tests in the middle of the semester." The statement went on to note that the university has a "guide to civility" and a student code of conduct, both of which say that both students and professors are responsible for jointly assuring a good learning environment. Students are specifically barred from "disruption of learning and teaching."
The engineering college at Ryerson is also starting several initiatives to help faculty members teach large classes, the statement noted, including a special online seminar on managing large, first-year classes; inviting a student conduct officer to participate in orientation to discuss these issues; and adding teaching assistant support to large classes.
Mowat said that the professors had been contacted and that she believed they would be trying other tactics in the future to deal with the issues.
Anver Saloojee, a professor of politics and public administration at Ryerson who is president of the union that represents tenure-track faculty members, said that the faculty contract would not permit faculty members to leave their classes unless there was an issue of health or safety. "One of the most important things we have to do is teaching," he said. And while Saloojee said he sympathized with faculty members struggling with inappropriate student behavior, he is not a fan of collective punishment. "You might have a minority of students who are disruptive, but you are doing a disservice to the students not engaging in that activity" by leaving, he said.
The university does need to do more to educate students -- especially first-year students -- on acceptable behavior, he said. And inappropriate behavior is clearly on the rise, he said, "when students have multiple devices at their disposal" in class. Saloojee said that he has had success from outlining expectations about behavior in the first session of each course.
While Ryerson appears committed to dealing with these issues without professorial walkouts, Laurence Thomas, a professor of philosophy at Syracuse University, said that he's sticking with his ultimatum about students who text, although he sometimes gives a warning for the first offense he spots. He said that since Inside Higher Ed covered his policy, he shows students that article on the first day of class.
Thomas said that the reason for the policy is straightforward: "I have the power to walk out whereas asking a student to leave the class could result in a very awkward confrontation."
In explaining his policy to students, Thomas said that he stresses that he himself uses text messaging (when doing so would not be rude), as he wants students to know that his objection to texting in class does not arise from being "clueless" about technology. "I talk about the climate of the classroom and how each of us makes a difference in that regard."
Sometimes, he leaves class. "I actually walked out two weeks ago and I was stunned by the extent to which the student apologized for the behavior," he said.
— Scott Jaschik
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/29/walkout
Professors routinely complain about students who spend class time on Facebook or texting their friends or otherwise making it clear that their attention is elsewhere. But is it acceptable for a faculty member to deal with these disruptions by walking out of class?
Two years ago, a Syracuse University professor set off a debate with his simple policy: If he spots a student texting, he will walk out of class for the day.
Now two faculty members at Ryerson University, in Toronto, sparked discussion at their institution with a similar (if somewhat more lenient) policy -- and their university's administrators and faculty union have both urged them to back down, which they apparently have.
The Ryerson professors' policy was first reported last week in The Eyeopener (the student newspaper) and then was picked up by other Canadian publications. Two professors who teach an introductory engineering course in chemistry jointly adopted a policy by posting it on the courses' Blackboard sites. The professors vowed to make tests more difficult, to encourage students to pay attention. And the professors said that after three warnings about disruptions such as cell phone discussions and movies playing on laptops, the professors would walk out of class -- and students would have to learn the rest of that day's material themselves. (Sources could not say whether the faculty members followed through on their treats.)
The student newspaper described a chaotic environment in the class where the faculty members made the threat to walk out, with loud chatting among students and even paper airplanes being shot around the room. A Ryerson spokeswoman said she couldn't confirm that those conditions existed, but others at the university said that student behavior has deteriorated in introductory courses (even if only a minority of students misbehave). Comments posted on the student newspaper article from people who said that they were in the classes -- including comments from those critical of the professors' response -- confirmed the rude behavior. One student wrote about "a whole row of kids" chatting and reading Facebook throughout a recent lecture.
But this student added these questions: "Was it really fair to leave the class based on the actions of these few students? Why were we all reprimanded for their bad mistakes?"
The two professors -- Robert Gossage and Andrew McWilliams -- did not respond to requests for comment (and have not responded to inquiries from reporters in Canada, either).
Janet Mowat, a spokeswoman for Ryerson, issued a statement on behalf of the university that rejected the approach used by the professors. "Ryerson University does not endorse faculty members threatening to abandon their class if the class is unruly nor does the university endorse arbitrarily raising the bar for tests in the middle of the semester." The statement went on to note that the university has a "guide to civility" and a student code of conduct, both of which say that both students and professors are responsible for jointly assuring a good learning environment. Students are specifically barred from "disruption of learning and teaching."
The engineering college at Ryerson is also starting several initiatives to help faculty members teach large classes, the statement noted, including a special online seminar on managing large, first-year classes; inviting a student conduct officer to participate in orientation to discuss these issues; and adding teaching assistant support to large classes.
Mowat said that the professors had been contacted and that she believed they would be trying other tactics in the future to deal with the issues.
Anver Saloojee, a professor of politics and public administration at Ryerson who is president of the union that represents tenure-track faculty members, said that the faculty contract would not permit faculty members to leave their classes unless there was an issue of health or safety. "One of the most important things we have to do is teaching," he said. And while Saloojee said he sympathized with faculty members struggling with inappropriate student behavior, he is not a fan of collective punishment. "You might have a minority of students who are disruptive, but you are doing a disservice to the students not engaging in that activity" by leaving, he said.
The university does need to do more to educate students -- especially first-year students -- on acceptable behavior, he said. And inappropriate behavior is clearly on the rise, he said, "when students have multiple devices at their disposal" in class. Saloojee said that he has had success from outlining expectations about behavior in the first session of each course.
While Ryerson appears committed to dealing with these issues without professorial walkouts, Laurence Thomas, a professor of philosophy at Syracuse University, said that he's sticking with his ultimatum about students who text, although he sometimes gives a warning for the first offense he spots. He said that since Inside Higher Ed covered his policy, he shows students that article on the first day of class.
Thomas said that the reason for the policy is straightforward: "I have the power to walk out whereas asking a student to leave the class could result in a very awkward confrontation."
In explaining his policy to students, Thomas said that he stresses that he himself uses text messaging (when doing so would not be rude), as he wants students to know that his objection to texting in class does not arise from being "clueless" about technology. "I talk about the climate of the classroom and how each of us makes a difference in that regard."
Sometimes, he leaves class. "I actually walked out two weeks ago and I was stunned by the extent to which the student apologized for the behavior," he said.
— Scott Jaschik
Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA) LISTEN LIVE: "How to Be a Successful Freelance Writer for College Textbook Publishers"
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/textacademicpodcast/2010/12/01/how-to-be-a-successful-freelance-writer-for-colleg
LISTEN LIVE Wednesday, Dec. 1 @ 12-12:30 p.m. ET:
"How to Be a Successful Freelance Writer for College Textbook Publishers"
Presented by John Soares, a freelance writer of college textbook supplements, and the author of Writing College Textbook Supplements The Definitive Guide to Winning High-Paying Assignments in the College Textbook Publishing Market
Join us for us for an interview with John Soares, a freelance writer of college textbook supplements, on
TAA's blogtalkradio show, Wednesday, December 1 @ 12-12:30 p.m. ET.
Learn how to succeed as a freelance writer of college textbook test questions, lecture outlines, instructor's manuals, study guides, and other materials that help students learn better and instructors teach better.
Soares, author of Writing College Textbook Supplements: The Definitive Guide to Winning High-Paying Assignments in the College Textbook Publishing Market, will share how to:
Get the attention of higher-education textbook editors and convince them to hire you
Get your projects done well and quickly
Get paid well
No need to register. You can listen right from your computer, or you can call in and ask questions on TAA's toll-free line: 1-800-572-4281.
Kim Pawlak
Associate Executive Director
Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA)
kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
http://www.Twitter.com/TextandAcademic
(608) 687-3106
Text and Academic Authors Association
PO Box 56359
St. Petersburg, Florida 33732-6359
(727) 563-0020
LISTEN LIVE Wednesday, Dec. 1 @ 12-12:30 p.m. ET:
"How to Be a Successful Freelance Writer for College Textbook Publishers"
Presented by John Soares, a freelance writer of college textbook supplements, and the author of Writing College Textbook Supplements The Definitive Guide to Winning High-Paying Assignments in the College Textbook Publishing Market
Join us for us for an interview with John Soares, a freelance writer of college textbook supplements, on
TAA's blogtalkradio show, Wednesday, December 1 @ 12-12:30 p.m. ET.
Learn how to succeed as a freelance writer of college textbook test questions, lecture outlines, instructor's manuals, study guides, and other materials that help students learn better and instructors teach better.
Soares, author of Writing College Textbook Supplements: The Definitive Guide to Winning High-Paying Assignments in the College Textbook Publishing Market, will share how to:
Get the attention of higher-education textbook editors and convince them to hire you
Get your projects done well and quickly
Get paid well
No need to register. You can listen right from your computer, or you can call in and ask questions on TAA's toll-free line: 1-800-572-4281.
Kim Pawlak
Associate Executive Director
Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA)
kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
http://www.Twitter.com/TextandAcademic
(608) 687-3106
Text and Academic Authors Association
PO Box 56359
St. Petersburg, Florida 33732-6359
(727) 563-0020
Faculty Focus: Curriculum Development, Alignment and Coordination: A Data-Driven Approach
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/curriculum-development/curriculum-development-alignment-and-coordination-a-data-driven-approach/?c=FF&t=F101129a
By Mary Bart
Most faculty work hard to make each individual course they teach the best learning experience it can be. They learn with each semester, and make revisions based on what worked and where the course stumbled. If done correctly, it’s a continuous improvement process that runs like a well-oiled machine. But no matter how good their individual courses are, it’s easy for faculty to end up in a silo—unsure of what’s happening in other courses throughout their discipline or department.
Curriculum mapping, a process that helps faculty align curriculum to ensure that the program addresses all learning outcomes effectively, can help break down those silos.
“It is through cross-curriculum development that learning and skills development can be enhanced and reinforced,” says Peter Wolf, director of Teaching Support Services at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
In the recent online seminar Connect Learning Across Courses with Curriculum Mapping, Wolf explained how Guelph uses curriculum mapping to ensure that individual learning experiences are connected across courses and relate to the larger context of the student experience.
Although curriculum mapping can be accomplished with a low-tech approach such as Excel, Guelph uses two different software applications to accomplish its goals. Using the Visual Understanding Environment (VUE), an open source project based at Tufts University, Guelph’s curriculum committees can develop course progression maps to help make informed decisions about program structure. For example, by viewing the four-year course progression map of a particular major, the committee discovered that the most difficult required courses were all in semesters four and five. In an earlier survey, students reported feeling burned out during these same two semesters. The department was able to make a few adjustments to even out the workload, without sacrificing program quality, Wolf says.
To accomplish the second dimension of curriculum mapping—breadth program outcomes mapping—Guelph developed its own software called CurricKit, a curriculum mapping toolkit that helps match program outcomes with individual courses by collecting data from faculty, course outlines, and curriculum committees. The software helps map courses across three components: knowledge, skills and values; instructional methods; and assessment methods.
“The processes are faculty driven, that’s the only way to have a sustainable model,” says Wolf. “The goal is not to evaluate courses or evaluate faculty, but to use data to have meaningful discussions that drive curriculum decisions so that our graduates have the knowledge, skills, and values we want to foster in our students.”
By Mary Bart
Most faculty work hard to make each individual course they teach the best learning experience it can be. They learn with each semester, and make revisions based on what worked and where the course stumbled. If done correctly, it’s a continuous improvement process that runs like a well-oiled machine. But no matter how good their individual courses are, it’s easy for faculty to end up in a silo—unsure of what’s happening in other courses throughout their discipline or department.
Curriculum mapping, a process that helps faculty align curriculum to ensure that the program addresses all learning outcomes effectively, can help break down those silos.
“It is through cross-curriculum development that learning and skills development can be enhanced and reinforced,” says Peter Wolf, director of Teaching Support Services at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
In the recent online seminar Connect Learning Across Courses with Curriculum Mapping, Wolf explained how Guelph uses curriculum mapping to ensure that individual learning experiences are connected across courses and relate to the larger context of the student experience.
Although curriculum mapping can be accomplished with a low-tech approach such as Excel, Guelph uses two different software applications to accomplish its goals. Using the Visual Understanding Environment (VUE), an open source project based at Tufts University, Guelph’s curriculum committees can develop course progression maps to help make informed decisions about program structure. For example, by viewing the four-year course progression map of a particular major, the committee discovered that the most difficult required courses were all in semesters four and five. In an earlier survey, students reported feeling burned out during these same two semesters. The department was able to make a few adjustments to even out the workload, without sacrificing program quality, Wolf says.
To accomplish the second dimension of curriculum mapping—breadth program outcomes mapping—Guelph developed its own software called CurricKit, a curriculum mapping toolkit that helps match program outcomes with individual courses by collecting data from faculty, course outlines, and curriculum committees. The software helps map courses across three components: knowledge, skills and values; instructional methods; and assessment methods.
“The processes are faculty driven, that’s the only way to have a sustainable model,” says Wolf. “The goal is not to evaluate courses or evaluate faculty, but to use data to have meaningful discussions that drive curriculum decisions so that our graduates have the knowledge, skills, and values we want to foster in our students.”
Friday, November 19, 2010
iLibrarian: 8 Awesome Websites to Take Free College Courses Online
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2010/8-awesome-websites-to-take-free-college-courses-online/
The Bivings Report: What’s this HTML 5 Thing?
Posted by Todd Zeigler in Design,Usability,Web 2.0
http://www.bivingsreport.com/2010/whats-this-html-5-thing/
http://www.bivingsreport.com/2010/whats-this-html-5-thing/
10 Steps to Mobile Supremacy for Libraries
http://www.slideshare.net/librarianinblack/10-steps-to-mobile-supremacy-for-libraries
Hongkiat.com: Online Tips for Designers and Bloggers: 25 Tools to Improve Your Website’s Usability
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/tools-to-improve-your-websites-usability/
ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS1006/RS/ERS1006W.pdf
School Library Journal: Best Video Creation Tools for the Classroom
http://www.slj.com/slj/articlesatechnology/887287-464/best_video_creation_tools_for.html.csp
All Facebook: 10 Facebook Pages Every Techie Should Follow
http://www.allfacebook.com/10-facebook-pages-every-techie-should-follow-2010-10
Mashable / Social Media: 38 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
http://mashable.com/2010/11/07/new-social-media-resources-6/
Social Media
Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week
Wondering what was hot in the Twitterverse this past week? Check out our comprehensive chart of the top trends.
10 Fun Doodling Apps to Unleash Your Creativity
The pen and paper may be on a fast track to obsolescence, but the doodle will live on forever. These 10 sites are some of our favorites.
The Future of Social Media and Politics
With the midterm elections in their final throes, we spoke to some key players for their views on what the rise of mainstream social media has in store for the next generation of political campaigns.
HOW TO: Gain Twitter Influence
Twitter Influencers Guy Kawasaki and Robert Scoble share their tips for earning Twitter cred.
4 People Who Let the Crowd Control Their Destiny
We’ve taken a look at four instances of crowd sourcing one’s life — all of which launched around the same time, but include their own set of hardships and rewards.
A Glimpse at the Future of Foursquare
CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley discussed the future of Foursquare Wednesday, touching on customized recommendations, the instant checkin, and brand discovery.
HOW TO: Organize a Mashable Meetup
Many of our readers have been taking the reins in getting to know each other by organizing Mashable Meetups. Here’s how to get started setting up your own.
5 Must-Follow Non-Profits Making a Difference With Social Media [Mashable Awards]
From raising money to spreading awareness to connecting with people, social media is a boon for non-profit organizations. Here are five must-follow groups that stood out in 2010.
Social Media Weddings: 4 Tips From the Pros
Social media can help you research vendors, communicate with guests and share your big day with your friends and family. Here’s how.
An Inside “Look” at Showtime’s New Voyeuristic Series
Based on director Adam Rifkin’s 2007 film of the same name, “Look” was shot via security cameras and integrates social media.
__________________________________________________
Tech & Mobile
10 Essential Websites for iPhone Photographers
We’ve bookmarked 10 brilliant online resources that offer great galleries, talent showcases, app reviews, exhibition news and more, all for the iPhone photography enthusiast.
5 Website Designs That Blew Us Away [Mashable Awards]
A beautiful website can blow you away: Here are a few of the websites we think showcased excellent design work this year, both in terms of form and function.
5 Stylish iPhone Alarm Clock Apps to Wake You Up On Time
We’ve tried and tested five great alarm clock apps for the iPhone that can’t make getting out of bed any easier, but at least you can customize your morning.
“Def Jam Rapstar” Raises the Roof Just Short of Greatness [REVIEW]
The game’s creators can go on and brush their shoulders off because the limited options won’t hold those living room MCs back from personal stardom.
The Social Future of Xbox Live and “Halo” [INTERVIEW]
We spoke with “Halo” Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor to learn more about Bungie and Microsoft’s strategy for promoting social gaming with “Halo: Reach.”
9 iPhone Apps for Managing the Recruiting Process
Instead of creating new processes or downloading a bunch of new apps, here are some iPhone apps you might already have that can help you manage the recruiting process.
5 Media Format Flops Destined To Be Forgotten [VIDEOS]
For every VHS, there’s a BetaMax. As consumer electronics companies do battle, the tech landscape is littered with losers. Check out the interesting stories behind 5 famous flops.
Hands-on With Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard [REVIEW]
The K750 won’t change your life. It won’t even even help you type faster. It will, however, allow you to buy a few less batteries.
10 Intermediate and Advanced Tips from PHP Masters
We asked PHP() experts about their top suggestions for developers on their way to becoming true masters of the art and science of PHP.
Online Behavior Tracking and Privacy: 7 Worst Case Scenarios
If advertisers continue to self-regulate online tracking or if the government steps in, what’s the worst that could happen? We spoke to experts on both sides of the issue to find out what’s at stake.
Two Ways Developers Will Interact With Google TV Viewers
Connected() devices like the Google TV promise to bring the web to your living room in one of two ways: optimized websites and native applications.
12 Tech Toys for a Geeked-Out Wedding
A wedding is no time to hide your inner geek. These 12 gadgets will spice up any lo-fi nuptial celebration.
7 A/B Testing Resources for Startups and Solo Developers
If you need a simple, inexpensive way to figure out what’s going to make your website’s users click on that big, red button, check out these tools.
HOW TO: Start Your Own Internet Talk Show
Do you fancy yourself a budding talk show personality? With a few inexpensive tools and a bit of planning, you can launch your own web show. Here’s how to do it.
Why Location Apps of the Future Will Do Much More Than Checkins
Sparkle() is a new location platform launching today from Location Labs.
5 MP3 Players for Pumping Up Your Workouts
Whether you’re looking for a new MP3 player or an alternative to taking your expensive phone into the danger zone, we’ve got five options that are ideal for sporty types.
The Evolution of Mobile [COMIC]
We’ve certainly come a long way.
__________________________________
Business
HOW TO: Score a Job Through Facebook
While Facebook is known as a casual network of friends, with 500 million users, it has the potential to be one of the largest job hunting resources available – if used correctly.
How Online Private Sales Work and How Businesses Can Get Involved
A look at the ins and outs of online private sales and how businesses can benefit from getting involved.
4 Things Small Businesses Should Know About Facebook’s New Groups
Can Facebook’s new Groups feature be used for business? Here’s a rundown of what you should include in your Facebook biz strategy.
5 Tips for Marketing Online to an International Audience
Expanding your marketing efforts to an international audience widens your brand’s reach, but it entails understanding regional cultures, laws and online behaviors.
Drupal Founder on Why Open Source is Good for Business [INTERVIEW]
Fresh off of an $8.5 million round of funding, Acquia and Drupal() founder Dries Buytaert spoke with Mashable about the role of commercial interests in the success of open source software.
What to Consider When Building an In-House Social Media Team
We talked to professionals who have built a social media team – from big global businesses to small companies – in order to pin down some best practices.
Essential Startup Funding Tips From 8 Seasoned Investors
Mashable reached out to angels, seed stage investors and VC firm partners and asked them to share their best advice on how to get your big idea in front of the right people.
5 Tips for Improving Your Social Customer Service
Companies that provide support through public channels keep customers happy and gain a reputation as consumer-focused businesses. Check out these tips for streamlining your social support model.
5 Proven Strategies for B2B Social Media Marketing
B2B marketers can use social media to generate leads, create specialized communities, improve SEO, become knowledge sources, and strengthen marketing campaigns.
HOW TO: Calculate the ROI of Your Social Media Campaign
If you’re not measuring your social media campaigns on an ROI basis, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here are some tips to get you on a results-driven path.
10 Reasons Every TV Exec Needs to Start Tweeting
Twitter offers a lot for TV execs looking for a real-time understanding of what fans want. Here’s why everyone in the TV biz should start tweeting.
Social Media
Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week
Wondering what was hot in the Twitterverse this past week? Check out our comprehensive chart of the top trends.
10 Fun Doodling Apps to Unleash Your Creativity
The pen and paper may be on a fast track to obsolescence, but the doodle will live on forever. These 10 sites are some of our favorites.
The Future of Social Media and Politics
With the midterm elections in their final throes, we spoke to some key players for their views on what the rise of mainstream social media has in store for the next generation of political campaigns.
HOW TO: Gain Twitter Influence
Twitter Influencers Guy Kawasaki and Robert Scoble share their tips for earning Twitter cred.
4 People Who Let the Crowd Control Their Destiny
We’ve taken a look at four instances of crowd sourcing one’s life — all of which launched around the same time, but include their own set of hardships and rewards.
A Glimpse at the Future of Foursquare
CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley discussed the future of Foursquare Wednesday, touching on customized recommendations, the instant checkin, and brand discovery.
HOW TO: Organize a Mashable Meetup
Many of our readers have been taking the reins in getting to know each other by organizing Mashable Meetups. Here’s how to get started setting up your own.
5 Must-Follow Non-Profits Making a Difference With Social Media [Mashable Awards]
From raising money to spreading awareness to connecting with people, social media is a boon for non-profit organizations. Here are five must-follow groups that stood out in 2010.
Social Media Weddings: 4 Tips From the Pros
Social media can help you research vendors, communicate with guests and share your big day with your friends and family. Here’s how.
An Inside “Look” at Showtime’s New Voyeuristic Series
Based on director Adam Rifkin’s 2007 film of the same name, “Look” was shot via security cameras and integrates social media.
__________________________________________________
Tech & Mobile
10 Essential Websites for iPhone Photographers
We’ve bookmarked 10 brilliant online resources that offer great galleries, talent showcases, app reviews, exhibition news and more, all for the iPhone photography enthusiast.
5 Website Designs That Blew Us Away [Mashable Awards]
A beautiful website can blow you away: Here are a few of the websites we think showcased excellent design work this year, both in terms of form and function.
5 Stylish iPhone Alarm Clock Apps to Wake You Up On Time
We’ve tried and tested five great alarm clock apps for the iPhone that can’t make getting out of bed any easier, but at least you can customize your morning.
“Def Jam Rapstar” Raises the Roof Just Short of Greatness [REVIEW]
The game’s creators can go on and brush their shoulders off because the limited options won’t hold those living room MCs back from personal stardom.
The Social Future of Xbox Live and “Halo” [INTERVIEW]
We spoke with “Halo” Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor to learn more about Bungie and Microsoft’s strategy for promoting social gaming with “Halo: Reach.”
9 iPhone Apps for Managing the Recruiting Process
Instead of creating new processes or downloading a bunch of new apps, here are some iPhone apps you might already have that can help you manage the recruiting process.
5 Media Format Flops Destined To Be Forgotten [VIDEOS]
For every VHS, there’s a BetaMax. As consumer electronics companies do battle, the tech landscape is littered with losers. Check out the interesting stories behind 5 famous flops.
Hands-on With Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard [REVIEW]
The K750 won’t change your life. It won’t even even help you type faster. It will, however, allow you to buy a few less batteries.
10 Intermediate and Advanced Tips from PHP Masters
We asked PHP() experts about their top suggestions for developers on their way to becoming true masters of the art and science of PHP.
Online Behavior Tracking and Privacy: 7 Worst Case Scenarios
If advertisers continue to self-regulate online tracking or if the government steps in, what’s the worst that could happen? We spoke to experts on both sides of the issue to find out what’s at stake.
Two Ways Developers Will Interact With Google TV Viewers
Connected() devices like the Google TV promise to bring the web to your living room in one of two ways: optimized websites and native applications.
12 Tech Toys for a Geeked-Out Wedding
A wedding is no time to hide your inner geek. These 12 gadgets will spice up any lo-fi nuptial celebration.
7 A/B Testing Resources for Startups and Solo Developers
If you need a simple, inexpensive way to figure out what’s going to make your website’s users click on that big, red button, check out these tools.
HOW TO: Start Your Own Internet Talk Show
Do you fancy yourself a budding talk show personality? With a few inexpensive tools and a bit of planning, you can launch your own web show. Here’s how to do it.
Why Location Apps of the Future Will Do Much More Than Checkins
Sparkle() is a new location platform launching today from Location Labs.
5 MP3 Players for Pumping Up Your Workouts
Whether you’re looking for a new MP3 player or an alternative to taking your expensive phone into the danger zone, we’ve got five options that are ideal for sporty types.
The Evolution of Mobile [COMIC]
We’ve certainly come a long way.
__________________________________
Business
HOW TO: Score a Job Through Facebook
While Facebook is known as a casual network of friends, with 500 million users, it has the potential to be one of the largest job hunting resources available – if used correctly.
How Online Private Sales Work and How Businesses Can Get Involved
A look at the ins and outs of online private sales and how businesses can benefit from getting involved.
4 Things Small Businesses Should Know About Facebook’s New Groups
Can Facebook’s new Groups feature be used for business? Here’s a rundown of what you should include in your Facebook biz strategy.
5 Tips for Marketing Online to an International Audience
Expanding your marketing efforts to an international audience widens your brand’s reach, but it entails understanding regional cultures, laws and online behaviors.
Drupal Founder on Why Open Source is Good for Business [INTERVIEW]
Fresh off of an $8.5 million round of funding, Acquia and Drupal() founder Dries Buytaert spoke with Mashable about the role of commercial interests in the success of open source software.
What to Consider When Building an In-House Social Media Team
We talked to professionals who have built a social media team – from big global businesses to small companies – in order to pin down some best practices.
Essential Startup Funding Tips From 8 Seasoned Investors
Mashable reached out to angels, seed stage investors and VC firm partners and asked them to share their best advice on how to get your big idea in front of the right people.
5 Tips for Improving Your Social Customer Service
Companies that provide support through public channels keep customers happy and gain a reputation as consumer-focused businesses. Check out these tips for streamlining your social support model.
5 Proven Strategies for B2B Social Media Marketing
B2B marketers can use social media to generate leads, create specialized communities, improve SEO, become knowledge sources, and strengthen marketing campaigns.
HOW TO: Calculate the ROI of Your Social Media Campaign
If you’re not measuring your social media campaigns on an ROI basis, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here are some tips to get you on a results-driven path.
10 Reasons Every TV Exec Needs to Start Tweeting
Twitter offers a lot for TV execs looking for a real-time understanding of what fans want. Here’s why everyone in the TV biz should start tweeting.
The Blue Skunk Blog: Seven qualities of highly effective technology trainers
http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2010/4/12/seven-qualities-of-highly-effective-technology-trainers.html
iLibrarian: 2010 State Of The Blogosphere
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2010/2010-state-of-the-blogosphere/
Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra presented the annual State of The Blogosphere presentation at the ad:tech conference last week. The findings of the report are based on a survey of 7,200 bloggers.
Some key takeaways:
•Self-employed bloggers now account for 21% of those surveyed, compared to 9% last year.
•But only 11% say their primary income comes from blogging.
•Hobbyists still make up the bulk of bloggers at 65%, but that is down from 72% last year
•Corporate bloggers now make up 4% of the total, up from 1% last year.
•Two thirds are male
•They use many types of social media (LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, StumbleUpon, Digg), but when it comes to driving traffic back to their blogs only two social media services really count: Facebook and Twitter
•Tablets and smartphones are impacting impacting blogging styles for 39% of bloggers
•Of those, 70% are writing shorter posts, 50% are posting photos from their smartphones, and 15% are using less Flash
•When writing about brands or products, 71% will only write about brands they approve of.
Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra presented the annual State of The Blogosphere presentation at the ad:tech conference last week. The findings of the report are based on a survey of 7,200 bloggers.
Some key takeaways:
•Self-employed bloggers now account for 21% of those surveyed, compared to 9% last year.
•But only 11% say their primary income comes from blogging.
•Hobbyists still make up the bulk of bloggers at 65%, but that is down from 72% last year
•Corporate bloggers now make up 4% of the total, up from 1% last year.
•Two thirds are male
•They use many types of social media (LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, StumbleUpon, Digg), but when it comes to driving traffic back to their blogs only two social media services really count: Facebook and Twitter
•Tablets and smartphones are impacting impacting blogging styles for 39% of bloggers
•Of those, 70% are writing shorter posts, 50% are posting photos from their smartphones, and 15% are using less Flash
•When writing about brands or products, 71% will only write about brands they approve of.
iLibrarian: Truth Be Told: How College Students Evaluate and Use Information in the Digital Age
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2010/truth-be-told-how-college-students-evaluate-and-use-information-in-the-digital-age/
iLibrarian: A Digital Key for Unlocking the Humanities’ Riches
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2010/a-digital-key-for-unlocking-the-humanities%e2%80%99-riches/
IDEA Paper #48: Strategies to Improve Student Writing
http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/IDEA_Paper_48.pdf
Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning: Awake, Accountable, and Engaged
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
As a new college professor, one of the things that surprised me most was the lack of student engagement and accountability in the classroom. Striving to be a professor that utilized a lecture format sparingly, I structured my class sessions to encourage participation and to be highly interactive, collaborative, and student-centered. Mini-lectures were designed to foster discourse. Since I am preparing many of my students to be educators, I feel responsible to model ?best practice? instructional strategies and procedures.
My belief has always been never to work harder than my students, but I found myself not living up to that principle. Students? classroom participation was minimal, and question/answer ?wait time? had become extreme. Silence was the norm, and the same volunteers would eventually contribute only when they could no longer bear the stillness. Clearly, a new strategy was required.
I recalled two techniques for increasing student accountability that I had found very effective when implementing the Collins Writing Program in the K-12 classroom two decades ago. (The Collins Writing Program is used in K-12 classrooms, across the country with tremendous success.)
As a former classroom teacher and Curriculum and Instruction Director, I have implemented and supervised many programs throughout the years, but none with such success as Collins Writing. In my twenty years of experience using Collins, I observed that once teachers are trained in Collins techniques, they often become ?lifetime users.? I realized the same research-based strategies and techniques I had used two decades ago could be just as effective in the college classroom.
Herewith are two teaching strategies I have used to engage students in the classroom and hold them accountable for their own learning by systematically gauging their comprehension of presented material.1
Strategy 1: Using ?Intentional Closure? to Help Students Determine and Retain Primary Information
During classroom discussions, students frequently have asked what information they would be tested on. I realized many students had become accustomed to receiving a study guide and were conditioned to rely on the instructor to provide them with a synopsis of essential coursework. I purposely did not provide them with a study guide; my belief is the student should be responsible for determining the most relevant information. Yet I witnessed many students struggling to prioritize what was essential material. A strategy was needed to promote student accountability and to help students synthesize the most important information.
One technique for helping students to clarify the most relevant lecture material relies on intentional closure of the class session. I ask students to compose two questions about the day?s lesson at the end of each class. Students present their questions at the beginning of the following class to initiate discussion and confirm the previous lecture?s essential information.
Composing the questions compels students to review and summarize what was provided during class. It is also an effective closure activity, with all students focused on reviewing the day?s information rather than simply packing their bags and chatting.
This technique has been identified by Marzano as one of nine instructional strategies most likely to improve student achievement. Marzano (2001) states that students should learn to eliminate unnecessary information, substitute some information, keep important information, write/rewrite and analyze information, and put some information into their own words.
As a result of this activity, I found that students began taking diligent notes since they would use them to formulate their questions a the end of each class period. As students compose their questions, I circulate around the classroom, scan the questions quickly and provide a check or minus for completing the assignment. Note that I am not collecting students? questions; I?ve learned to be selective regarding papers I take home to grade. A check or minus can be given quickly and is one way that I can objectively grant a grade for class participation.
Before dismissing class, I ask a few students to read their questions. Hopefully, their responses give other students an explicit indicator of the essential information presented during class. I then select a few of the oral questions and write them in my plan book. The students quickly learn that I will begin the next class meeting by asking one or two of these questions and that they will be expected to formulate a brief written response.
Indeed, when the next class meets, I write one of the questions students came up with in the previous meeting on the board and ask students to write a response. I again circulate through the classroom while they write, scanning their papers for misconceptions about the prior material. Sometimes I collect all students? papers; however, I?m more apt to ?roll the dice? when determining which student papers to collect and grade. This may be based on the seating arrangement or other student grouping.
I rarely grade every collected paper but make sure that by the end of the semester, I have collected an equal amount from each student. No one knows whose paper will be collected during a class session, since it?s always random, and I can usually grade these papers in about fifteen minutes.
Strategy 2: Promoting Student Engagement and Participation Through Writing Responses
When students come to class, I want them to be mentally engaged as well as physically present. I expect everyone to be an active participant.
Often, however, when I asked a question, the same three to five hands were raised while the remainder of the class sat idle (most likely giving thanks that they were spared from answering the question). In this scenario, it was impossible to determine who had prepared for class or completed required reading and who was having difficulty synthesizing the material.
Now, to encourage active participation, and in lieu of asking questions to individual students, all students must provide a written response to a posed, content-based question.
When using this technique, I often stop class midway and ask a question. Based on the number of hands up, I will often say, ?Why don?t you all just respond in writing?you have five minutes.? I always give a definitive time limit and expected quota of lines when using this technique. This provides students with well-needed practice in putting their thoughts into words. Having the ability to formulate written responses that are succinct and to the point is a required skill in virtually all professions.
The questions that I ask are purposeful, have a definite answer, and can span the full range of Bloom?s Taxonomy. Each question constitutes a brief quiz but one that requires that students formulate an answer clearly, succinctly, and correctly in a limited amount of time. This does not mean that the answer should be a verbatim response from the text or class notes. The best questions help students make their own meaning by translating concepts into their own words.
Evaluation of student responses varies, depending upon the importance of the questions and the time available. I tend to keep evaluations simple so that I can skim each paper looking for appropriate responses. I prefer a point system because it is quick and easy to use. Students who previously relied on their classmates to field my questions are now alert and engaged.
Listed below are five of my most effective questions:
1. Give a five-to-ten-line summary of last night?s reading. Include two or three main ideas.
2. What were three of the most important points from yesterday?s discussion?
3. If you were summarizing today?s discussion for a friend who was absent, what two ideas do you think are the most essential?
4. Define in your own words the term ________________.
5. Tell me three things wrong with this statement: ____________.
I have found that frequent use of this technique makes students more comfortable and skilled in explaining their thinking, generates better writing, and, most important, promotes learning, retention, and participation.
Professors from multiple disciplines will find that incorporating the two strategies described here requires minimal effort and results in more participatory, engaged students.
References
? Collins, J. 2007. The Collins Writing Program: Improving Student Performance through Writing and Thinking across the Curriculum. West Newbury, Mass.: Collins Education Associates.
? Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. 2001. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Contact:
Dr. Lisa J. Lucas Recitation Hall, Suite 210C West Chester University 700 South High Stree, West Chester, PA 19383
Telephone: (484) 571-6803 E-mail: llucas@wcup
As a new college professor, one of the things that surprised me most was the lack of student engagement and accountability in the classroom. Striving to be a professor that utilized a lecture format sparingly, I structured my class sessions to encourage participation and to be highly interactive, collaborative, and student-centered. Mini-lectures were designed to foster discourse. Since I am preparing many of my students to be educators, I feel responsible to model ?best practice? instructional strategies and procedures.
My belief has always been never to work harder than my students, but I found myself not living up to that principle. Students? classroom participation was minimal, and question/answer ?wait time? had become extreme. Silence was the norm, and the same volunteers would eventually contribute only when they could no longer bear the stillness. Clearly, a new strategy was required.
I recalled two techniques for increasing student accountability that I had found very effective when implementing the Collins Writing Program in the K-12 classroom two decades ago. (The Collins Writing Program is used in K-12 classrooms, across the country with tremendous success.)
As a former classroom teacher and Curriculum and Instruction Director, I have implemented and supervised many programs throughout the years, but none with such success as Collins Writing. In my twenty years of experience using Collins, I observed that once teachers are trained in Collins techniques, they often become ?lifetime users.? I realized the same research-based strategies and techniques I had used two decades ago could be just as effective in the college classroom.
Herewith are two teaching strategies I have used to engage students in the classroom and hold them accountable for their own learning by systematically gauging their comprehension of presented material.1
Strategy 1: Using ?Intentional Closure? to Help Students Determine and Retain Primary Information
During classroom discussions, students frequently have asked what information they would be tested on. I realized many students had become accustomed to receiving a study guide and were conditioned to rely on the instructor to provide them with a synopsis of essential coursework. I purposely did not provide them with a study guide; my belief is the student should be responsible for determining the most relevant information. Yet I witnessed many students struggling to prioritize what was essential material. A strategy was needed to promote student accountability and to help students synthesize the most important information.
One technique for helping students to clarify the most relevant lecture material relies on intentional closure of the class session. I ask students to compose two questions about the day?s lesson at the end of each class. Students present their questions at the beginning of the following class to initiate discussion and confirm the previous lecture?s essential information.
Composing the questions compels students to review and summarize what was provided during class. It is also an effective closure activity, with all students focused on reviewing the day?s information rather than simply packing their bags and chatting.
This technique has been identified by Marzano as one of nine instructional strategies most likely to improve student achievement. Marzano (2001) states that students should learn to eliminate unnecessary information, substitute some information, keep important information, write/rewrite and analyze information, and put some information into their own words.
As a result of this activity, I found that students began taking diligent notes since they would use them to formulate their questions a the end of each class period. As students compose their questions, I circulate around the classroom, scan the questions quickly and provide a check or minus for completing the assignment. Note that I am not collecting students? questions; I?ve learned to be selective regarding papers I take home to grade. A check or minus can be given quickly and is one way that I can objectively grant a grade for class participation.
Before dismissing class, I ask a few students to read their questions. Hopefully, their responses give other students an explicit indicator of the essential information presented during class. I then select a few of the oral questions and write them in my plan book. The students quickly learn that I will begin the next class meeting by asking one or two of these questions and that they will be expected to formulate a brief written response.
Indeed, when the next class meets, I write one of the questions students came up with in the previous meeting on the board and ask students to write a response. I again circulate through the classroom while they write, scanning their papers for misconceptions about the prior material. Sometimes I collect all students? papers; however, I?m more apt to ?roll the dice? when determining which student papers to collect and grade. This may be based on the seating arrangement or other student grouping.
I rarely grade every collected paper but make sure that by the end of the semester, I have collected an equal amount from each student. No one knows whose paper will be collected during a class session, since it?s always random, and I can usually grade these papers in about fifteen minutes.
Strategy 2: Promoting Student Engagement and Participation Through Writing Responses
When students come to class, I want them to be mentally engaged as well as physically present. I expect everyone to be an active participant.
Often, however, when I asked a question, the same three to five hands were raised while the remainder of the class sat idle (most likely giving thanks that they were spared from answering the question). In this scenario, it was impossible to determine who had prepared for class or completed required reading and who was having difficulty synthesizing the material.
Now, to encourage active participation, and in lieu of asking questions to individual students, all students must provide a written response to a posed, content-based question.
When using this technique, I often stop class midway and ask a question. Based on the number of hands up, I will often say, ?Why don?t you all just respond in writing?you have five minutes.? I always give a definitive time limit and expected quota of lines when using this technique. This provides students with well-needed practice in putting their thoughts into words. Having the ability to formulate written responses that are succinct and to the point is a required skill in virtually all professions.
The questions that I ask are purposeful, have a definite answer, and can span the full range of Bloom?s Taxonomy. Each question constitutes a brief quiz but one that requires that students formulate an answer clearly, succinctly, and correctly in a limited amount of time. This does not mean that the answer should be a verbatim response from the text or class notes. The best questions help students make their own meaning by translating concepts into their own words.
Evaluation of student responses varies, depending upon the importance of the questions and the time available. I tend to keep evaluations simple so that I can skim each paper looking for appropriate responses. I prefer a point system because it is quick and easy to use. Students who previously relied on their classmates to field my questions are now alert and engaged.
Listed below are five of my most effective questions:
1. Give a five-to-ten-line summary of last night?s reading. Include two or three main ideas.
2. What were three of the most important points from yesterday?s discussion?
3. If you were summarizing today?s discussion for a friend who was absent, what two ideas do you think are the most essential?
4. Define in your own words the term ________________.
5. Tell me three things wrong with this statement: ____________.
I have found that frequent use of this technique makes students more comfortable and skilled in explaining their thinking, generates better writing, and, most important, promotes learning, retention, and participation.
Professors from multiple disciplines will find that incorporating the two strategies described here requires minimal effort and results in more participatory, engaged students.
References
? Collins, J. 2007. The Collins Writing Program: Improving Student Performance through Writing and Thinking across the Curriculum. West Newbury, Mass.: Collins Education Associates.
? Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. 2001. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Contact:
Dr. Lisa J. Lucas Recitation Hall, Suite 210C West Chester University 700 South High Stree, West Chester, PA 19383
Telephone: (484) 571-6803 E-mail: llucas@wcup
Higher Ed Impact: Weekly Scan: News & Key Takeaways
November 12 - 18, 2010
http://www.academicimpressions.com/impact.php
http://www.academicimpressions.com/impact.php
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Learn the Net News: HTML5: Future of the Web
http://learnthenet.org/2010/11/01/html5-future-of-the-web/
Michael Lerner Monday - Nov 1, 2010
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the computer language that made the World Wide Web possible. HTML uses a set of tags that instructs your web browser how to display content on a web page. If you’re really curious, here’s where to learn more about it. HTML4, the current standard in use since 1997, is showing its age. Now under development is the next evolution, HTML5.
You may be wondering why you should care about this. Here’s why:
Let’s say you want to play an online animation. You need a plug-in for your browser, typically Flash. You also need plug-ins if you want to watch a movie or listen to music. HTML5 eliminates this. For instance, by using an
Michael Lerner Monday - Nov 1, 2010
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the computer language that made the World Wide Web possible. HTML uses a set of tags that instructs your web browser how to display content on a web page. If you’re really curious, here’s where to learn more about it. HTML4, the current standard in use since 1997, is showing its age. Now under development is the next evolution, HTML5.
You may be wondering why you should care about this. Here’s why:
Let’s say you want to play an online animation. You need a plug-in for your browser, typically Flash. You also need plug-ins if you want to watch a movie or listen to music. HTML5 eliminates this. For instance, by using an
Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) Center for Teaching and Learning Website
http://www.pointloma.edu/experience/academics/centers-institutes/center-teaching-learning
WorldWideLearn: The World's Premier Online Directory of Education
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/about-worldwidelearn/index.html
About WorldWideLearn.com
Our History
A simple query on a search engine for "online courses" was the starting point for WorldWideLearn.com. At that time, there really wasn't a centralized directory of quality e-learning providers. That was in 1998, when there were almost no directories or portals specializing in just online education. Searching for and finding relevant online learning resources proved to be time-consuming and frustrating. WorldWideLearn.com wanted to change that.
The site's founders began to develop a directory of e-learning courses and education resources to provide results for that first, simple query. The WorldWideLearn.com directory site was formally launched in May of 1999. Since then, the site has been honored with numerous prestigious awards. Most recently, the Better Business Bureau has recognized WorldWideLearn.com as meeting their standards of good business. We are members of the American Library Association and are proud to support organizations dedicated to encouraging education.
Who We Serve
WorldWideLearn.com is big on choice and includes a wide variety of courses and programs to satisfy the needs of every learner:
•Online degree programs
•Campus degree programs
•High school diploma & GED
•Vocational training
•Professional development
•Personal development
Our Visitors
WorldWideLearn.com receives millions of annual visitors, with traffic increasing at a steady pace. Education, whether online or via more traditional classroom methods, continues to grow in scale and in importance. An estimated 3.9 million students took at least one online course during the Fall 2007 term, according to the Sloan Consortium, a foundation that tracks and supports online education. That's a million and a half more students than in 2004, and a 12 percent increase over the previous year's number. Similarly, accredited colleges and schools providing career-oriented certificate and degree programs are proliferating in response to growing demand from millions of professionals eager to move up in their careers. WorldWideLearn.com offers listings of schools for all students in an easy-to-navigate format, and additional resources and advice to those considering investing in their own education.
Our Future
Today, WorldWideLearn.com is a compelling directory of hundreds of online, campus, and training courses and degree programs in over 350 subject categories. With offices in both the United States and Canada, we continue to grow and increase the types of education program choices and resources we offer to our visitors. Our future plans include enhancing the site for an even better user experience and developing online tools for members of the education community. We invite you to join our loyal customers and education partners who have helped build WorldWideLearn.com into the world's premier online directory of education.
Contact Us
WorldWideLearn.com
950 Tower Lane, 6th Floor
Foster City CA 94404
WorldWideLearn.com
#700 550 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB, T2R1M7
Phone:800-538-9402
info@worldwidelearn.com
About WorldWideLearn.com
Our History
A simple query on a search engine for "online courses" was the starting point for WorldWideLearn.com. At that time, there really wasn't a centralized directory of quality e-learning providers. That was in 1998, when there were almost no directories or portals specializing in just online education. Searching for and finding relevant online learning resources proved to be time-consuming and frustrating. WorldWideLearn.com wanted to change that.
The site's founders began to develop a directory of e-learning courses and education resources to provide results for that first, simple query. The WorldWideLearn.com directory site was formally launched in May of 1999. Since then, the site has been honored with numerous prestigious awards. Most recently, the Better Business Bureau has recognized WorldWideLearn.com as meeting their standards of good business. We are members of the American Library Association and are proud to support organizations dedicated to encouraging education.
Who We Serve
WorldWideLearn.com is big on choice and includes a wide variety of courses and programs to satisfy the needs of every learner:
•Online degree programs
•Campus degree programs
•High school diploma & GED
•Vocational training
•Professional development
•Personal development
Our Visitors
WorldWideLearn.com receives millions of annual visitors, with traffic increasing at a steady pace. Education, whether online or via more traditional classroom methods, continues to grow in scale and in importance. An estimated 3.9 million students took at least one online course during the Fall 2007 term, according to the Sloan Consortium, a foundation that tracks and supports online education. That's a million and a half more students than in 2004, and a 12 percent increase over the previous year's number. Similarly, accredited colleges and schools providing career-oriented certificate and degree programs are proliferating in response to growing demand from millions of professionals eager to move up in their careers. WorldWideLearn.com offers listings of schools for all students in an easy-to-navigate format, and additional resources and advice to those considering investing in their own education.
Our Future
Today, WorldWideLearn.com is a compelling directory of hundreds of online, campus, and training courses and degree programs in over 350 subject categories. With offices in both the United States and Canada, we continue to grow and increase the types of education program choices and resources we offer to our visitors. Our future plans include enhancing the site for an even better user experience and developing online tools for members of the education community. We invite you to join our loyal customers and education partners who have helped build WorldWideLearn.com into the world's premier online directory of education.
Contact Us
WorldWideLearn.com
950 Tower Lane, 6th Floor
Foster City CA 94404
WorldWideLearn.com
#700 550 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB, T2R1M7
Phone:800-538-9402
info@worldwidelearn.com
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