Dear Colleagues, Whew, we know it is a busy time winding up the semester, award ceremonies, research presentations, and preparing for graduation among all your other tasks! April is possibly the most packed month of the academic year.
When things calm down, we encourage you to take a little time to enjoy the informative workshop on Backward Course Design that Dr. Anna Flaming from the University of Iowa led recently. Those who attended found the material transformative. You can watch a recording of the workshop here:
The FCTL wishes you smooth sailing through the final weeks! Thanks for all you do!
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Taking a whole-sector approach to higher education’s digital transformation, THE Digital Universities Week US 2022 brings together higher education institutions from across the US to challenge the current university model and transform it to deliver agile continuous education for the future. With the rapid pace of innovation, education needs to become more flexible, cost- and time- efficient. Discover how digital technologies can transform teaching, learning and the campus experience in an open, collaborative and innovative way.
You can register by clicking the link here.
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Students Have Different Thinking Speeds. Inclusive Teaching Means Realizing That. |
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Many classroom environments favor a certain kind of thinker, usually the students who are quick to recall a fact when the instructor asks a question. But that’s not the only type of mind, and it’s not even always the best kind of mind for learning.
“Research has shown that shy learners—the ones who sit in the back and they don’t really say anything—they can be slower learners, but they’re actually the most flexible and they can be the most creative problem solvers,” says Barbara Oakley, a professor of engineering at Oakland University who works at translating the latest brain research into practical advice for teachers and learners. She even has a book she co-authored on the topic, called “Un-commonsense teaching: Practical Insights In Brain Science to Help Students Learn.”
She argues that teachers should think about the diversity of thinking styles they have in their classrooms—and she has some tips on how to make adjustments for it. It’s actually good advice for understanding how those around us might see the world differently.
You can listen to the EdSurge Podcast by clicking on the link here.
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Tweaks to Improve Grading and Assessment |
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For many professors, traditional approaches to grading and assessment were some of the first things they had to rethink when colleges moved to emergency online teaching two years ago. Many found that the changes they made — switching to frequent low-stakes quizzes, say, or letting students drop a low score — reduced anxiety and enhanced learning.
Lots of colleges changed their policies, too, in those early days, particularly in allowing courses to be graded pass/fail. But that was one of the first pandemic changes to be dropped. That’s because many external pressures prop up the use of traditional grades, including accreditation, graduate- and professional-school admissions, and competition with peer institutions.
So what can individual faculty members do, if they’re no longer satisfied with their old approaches but have been encouraged to return to normal?
You can read more from The Chronical of Higher Ed by clicking on the link here.
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Addressed by Name:
Syllabus as “Personal Correspondence”
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“If the syllabus is to be read by someone, it must be written to and for someone: it must be something that is for someone . . . It is a personal correspondence. It addresses us as if by name.” - Sam Rocha, The Syllabus as Curriculum
What if we thought about our syllabus as a form of communication instead of as a contract? While the contract version of a syllabus might be filled with policies and rules and punitive measures, the correspondence version speaks directly to students as persons, leaving room for a response. Of course, we have to include our institutional policies, and many policies, such as accessibility statements, actively promote the dignity of our students, but the way we word our own sections forms our students’ first impressions of us. As you’re preparing your class, here are some ways to write your syllabus “to and for someone”:
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Examine Situational Factors in a Caring Way: Who are your students? Is your syllabus really written for those persons? Before each writing session, try articulating the goodness of your students in concrete ways. Imagining future collaborators can help you avoid antagonistic language that can undermine community-building even before your first class.
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Open the Syllabus: “Correspondence” implies room for mutual dialogue. When possible, leave room for students to collectively add their own policies and statements. Opening up the syllabus to student collaboration can improve engagement and give students a voice in their own educational experience. To learn more about crafting an open syllabus visit the Open Pedagogy Notebook.
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Personalize the Course: Use technology to address your students by name regardless of class size. With mail merge, you can send a personalized welcome letter along with your syllabus. If working with D2L, you can use replacement strings to personalize your course shell.
References
Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
Rocha, S. (2021). The Syllabus as Curriculum: A Re-conceptualist Approach. New York, Routledge.
Submitted by:
Chris Adamson, PhD
Education Technology Integrationist
Center for Teaching and Learning
University of South Dakota
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What I Love About Teaching |
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Let's hear from you!
Share your response to the question "What I Love About Teaching". Your response can be short, long, a bulleted list, or an image to offer up a few suggestions.
To share your response, click here.
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Use the Content Editor in the Original Course View
The editor appears in many locations throughout Blackboard Learn. It provides text editing functions and much more.
Learn more about media and text editing by clicking the links here and here.
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Ambassadors for Excellence in Teaching
Morehead State University
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