communicating for
LEARNERS
FALL #
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2009
featured in this issue C.U.E.
Student Perspective
Hot 5
Visionary Status
Did You Know?
Connecting the Undergraduate Experience What will learning look like at BGSU if we adhere to the best teaching and learning practices as we • create integrated, intentional learning experiences for all undergraduates; • assess based on the achievement of the university learning outcomes; and • incorporate high impact practices that include curricular and co-curricular learning activities? Connecting the Undergraduate Experience (C.U.E.) is a Faculty Senate ad hoc committee leading the BGSU community in the research and development of the learning environment described above. Guided by the Charting Our Future Strategy #1—Create distinctive coherent undergraduate learning experiences that integrate curricular and co-curricular programs—the Committee’s work started in May and included two academic research and planning retreats. Summer work focused on reading background material, conducting discussions, and developing a “conceptual learning model.”
The model’s foundation is student learning and learnercentered classes. The learning model continues to be refined with help from members of the BGSU community; for example, the President, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Vice President for Student Affairs, Faculty Senate Chair, and all of the university deans participated in discussion about the model at the second retreat in September.
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The learning model works to accomplish the following goals: • re-design the baccalaureate experience so that students have systemic roadmaps guided by faculty and staff • demonstrate the meaningful incorporation of curricular and out-of-class experiences for every academic major. • link General Education and other parts of the students’ experiences • document students’ experiences as a critical component for success
The Committee’s current work is to engage more BGSU community members in conversation about the learning model, so CUE really does need you!
Faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to join the Committee to discuss the CUE process, the current learning model, known change issues, and next steps. The information/ conversation sessions are scheduled in the Bowen Thompson Student Union and will begin with a short presentation of the process and the model, but will quickly move to round table discussions where the Committee members can gather your information and impressions. The Committee wants to know your overall response to the conceptual learning model, issues for consideration that you identify, and your department/program/ area’s existing activities that contribute to an integrated learning experience for students. Please join the Committee and contribute: Wednesday, October 28th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in BTSU 202B (North side of the Lenhart Ballroom) Thursday, October 29th from 3:30-5:00 p.m. in BTSU 308 (McMaster Suite) Friday, October 30th from 10:00-11:30 a.m. in BTSU 308
If you would like to learn more about Connecting the Undergraduate Experience before you attend one of the sessions, the Committee suggests that you visit their website, http://www. bgsu.edu/cue/. The site includes detailed, committee meeting notes and resources, both with links to available readings and meeting and retreat presentations. Your attention to the CUE discussion is important because the university community “owns” the Bowling Green Experience. As a premier learning community, we want our liberally educated students to be empowered and prepared to deal with complexity, diversity, and change; to possess broad knowledge of the wider world and study a specific area of interest; and develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills. Please contribute to the design of Bowling Green State University’s “signature identity” for undergraduate education.
The Importance of Instructor Communication from a Student Perspective By Eric Bower Instructor communication with students should play a pivotal role in increasing a wide variety of qualities that are vital to student learning and understanding. When I look back on all the classes where I felt as if I left the classroom with a greater understanding of the subject matter at hand, instructor communication was apparent. The instructors that I thought did an astounding job articulated information with a sense of understanding that reached further than the textbook. The successful instructors gave me a desire to participate and to open the lines of communication between students and themselves.
classroom, should be a key element on which instructors need to focus if they want to be successful in teaching.
Research suggests that both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication can increase immediacy and rapport between students and instructors (Buskist & Saville, 2004; Christensen & Menzel, 1988; Frymier, 1994). The studies on this topic suggest that increased immediacy and rapport can raise the level of student motivation, participation, and learning (Mehrabian, 1969). The true question is: Why attend a class where the classroom experience is nearly identical to the homework experience? The participation in the class becomes discouraging when an instructor recites the textbook word for word. There’s an obvious need for instructors to make “meaning” for students. However, instructors should help students develop an all-encompassing understanding of the material that a textbook or reading assignment cannot necessarily convey as eloquently as an instructor/student conversation.
Let’s briefly take a look at the three principles that I think are centered on communication and could easily be transferred to technological experiences: • Encourage contact between students and faculty • Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students • Give prompt feedback (Chickering and Gamson, 1987) These three principles could not only be easily transferred to technology communication vehicles, but they could also enhance communication both in and out of the classroom.
Since our focus is on communication, there should also be a focus on innovative forms of conveying information. If we’re reaching a clear conclusion that there is a strong, positive correlation between instructor communication and student motivation, participation, learning, reciprocated feedback, then the importance of communication, both in and out of the
Chickering and Gamson (1987) created a model for students, faculty, and administrators to increase teaching and learning in the classroom setting, The Seven Principles for Good Practice. Three of the seven principles discussed an underlying similarity that involves building a relationship between students and faculty. The Seven Principles for Good Practice were originally intended to apply to the classroom experience, but why couldn’t some of the principles be projected to new technologies, such as electronic mail or in the specific case of BGSU, Blackboard?
Receiving emails before the class begins, knowing that the instructor is responsive to students’ needs, receiving reciprocated responses in a timely fashion, getting prompt feedback on grades and expectations; all of these actions create a more engaging experience and also create a learning environment where I personally feel involved. What happens when students do not feel involved? I agree with Woods (2002) who says that lack of involvement means that students procrastinate, do not work at participating in group discussions, and may write poor course evaluations. Online communication reaches such a wide audience that instructors should strongly consider implementing it without reluctance. Based on recent statistics, 251,735,500 persons or 73% of people in North America alone use the Internet
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HOT 5 1
Critical Thinking criticalthinking.org
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aimed to promote essential change in education and society through the cultivation of fair-minded critical thinking
(click the link to visit)
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Zotero zotero.org
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Randi.org randi.org/site
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lectures and lessons from top universities that enable pedagogical reflections in an array of subjects
a Firefox extension that automatically collects your research sources and lets you take notes and create citations
aimed to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public with reliable information about today’s paranormal ideas
presentations from the Library of Congress that bring a range of experts to your classroom
Academic Earth academicearth.org
Library of Congress loc.gov/today/ cyberlc/index.php
The Importance of Instructor Communication from a Student Perspective (internetworldstats.com, 2009). The most common use is for communication, and since email is accessible and widely used on college campuses, it is a logical medium and the first step to increasing communication between students and instructors. Out-of-classroom communication plays a pivotal role in student learning and also creates a well-rounded learning experience: Out-of-classroom communication between instructors and students is a major component of “seamless learning environments.” Seamless learning environments encourage students to view out-ofclass and in-class experiences not as distinct learning opportunities, but rather as experiences that are intimately bound together. (Aylor and Oppliger, 2003) Although there are some common forms of out-of-class communication, most research suggests its use is relatively sparse (Fusani, 1994; Jaasma & Koper, 1999; Nadler & Nadler, 2001). What accounts for the hesitancy to implement out-ofclassroom communication? Do traditional teaching methods conflict with modern methods of communication? Does the administration restrict the development of new methods of communication? Is there a gap between the instructors facilitating the class and the knowledge they have about using technologies? These questions need to be answered, and I think that creating an open dialog between students and faculty will eventually lead to some resolution and understanding. The final topic I want to discuss is “first-day” impression. Sending an email prior to the first day of class is an excellent idea. I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from an instructor prior to the official start of class; this simple greeting made me feel more welcomed into that class. A recent study from Georgia Southern University published in Teaching of Psychology, pertains to a welcome email from an instructor prior to the first day of class and the email’s repercussions. Basically, a group of students who were registered for a psychology class were emailed prior to the first day of class and later were surveyed about their perceptions. The data was quantified and Analyses confirmed that a positive, welcoming e-mail sent before the first day of school significantly enhanced student motivation, attitude toward the instructor, and perceptions of the course. Furthermore, the numerous effects present at midterm and on the final day of class indicated that setting up these positive expectations before the first day of class might substantially enhance student perceptions and motivation across the term. (Legg and Wilson, 2009)
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To me, these results are profound. The greeting email alone significantly altered the perceptions of the students. So, sixteen
an email prior to the first day of class minutes spent drafting can make the next sixteen weeks more enjoyable for everyone involved in the class experience.
Communication is a crucial part of the student-learning environment, and I am asking instructors to recognize students’ needs for involvement and deliberately design their class communication. Instructors and students alike need to open the lines of communication and collaborate on enhancing the student learning experience. Here are some of the resources I used to establish my opinion about the importance of communication. Brooks Aylor and Patrice Oppliger, “Out-of-Class Communication and Student Perceptions of Instructor Humor Orientation and Socio-Communicative Style” William Buskist and Bryan K. Saville, “Rapport Building: Creating Positive Emotional Contexts for Enhancing Teaching and Learning” Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson, “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” Laura J. Christensen and Kent E. Menzel, “The Linear Relationship Between Student Reports of Teacher Immediacy Behaviors and Perceptions of State Motivation, and of Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Learning” David S. Fusani, “Extra-Class Communication: Frequency, Immediacy, Self-Disclosure, and Satisfaction in Student-Faculty Interaction Outside the Classroom” Marjorie A. Jaasma and Randall J. Koper, “The Relationship of Student/Faculty Out-of-Class Communication to Instructor Immediacy and Trust and to Student Motivation” Angela M. Legg and Janie H. Wilson, “E-Mail from Professor Enhances Student Motivation and Attitudes” Robert H. Woods, “How Much Communication Is Enough in Online Courses? Exploring the Relationship between Frequency of Instructor-Initiated Personal Email and Learner’s Perceptions of and Participation in Online Learning.”
Eric Bower is a Junior majoring in Neuroscience and works as a faculty consultant at The Center for Teaching and Learning
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Did You Know
The University Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning have teamed up to bring you these valuable e-resource workshops.
The University Libraries in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning present Making e-Resources Work for You and Your Students, including topics such as E-Books and Digital Content for Teaching, Manage Yourself and Your Info, How to Conduct a Literature Review, and Refworks. These workshops introduce tools to make teaching, researching, and managing your information better and easier. You’ll learn more about using search engines, choosing e-tools, and making the process of conducting research more efficient. Sign up for one of the upcoming workshops: Manage Yourself and Your Info! Monday, October 19, 2:30pm-4:00pm Thursday, October 22, 11:30pm-1:00pm How to Conduct a Literature Review Monday, November 9, 2:30pm-4:00pm Thursday, November 12, 11:30am-1:00pm RefWorks Friday, October 23, 1:30pm-2:45pm Thursday, November 5, 10:30am-11:45am You can go here to register online, or you can call 419-372-6898 to register over the phone.
visionary
STATUS
Sir Ken Robinson educator, speaker, author
Sir Ken Robinson is a well known figure whose ideas and solutions are widely accepted by educators and business professionals. After he received his PhD from the University of London, he facilitated The Arts in Schools Project - in an effort to improve teaching of the arts. Since this time, he has worked with education systems and provided creative solutions, chaired numerous committees, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his work in promoting creativity, education, and the arts. For twelve years, Robinson served as Professor of Education at the University of Warwick obtaining Professor Emeritus status. He also received honorary degrees from the Open University, Central School of Speech and Drama, Birmingham City University and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Robinson has written many books that explore passion and creativity, including Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative. In this book, he argues that companies and organizations are trying to “fix downstream problems that originate in schools and universities.” He also offers prescriptions for reviving creativity in education, radically changing how we think about intelligence, and how to educate people to meet extraordinary challenges in the 21st century. Robinson is well known for his profoundly serious messages delivered with passion and wit. Many of his speeches cover how to creatively deal with challenges facing education and businesses in the new global economies. In particular the famous speech he delivered at the 2006 TED conference in Monterrey, California. Website: http://www.sirkenrobinson.com Online Presentation: http://www.ted.com/talks/ ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html Book: http://www.amazon.com/Out-Our-MindsLearning-Creative/dp/1841121258
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Discussions and Workshops Bowling Green Experience Discussions Service Learning
Community Partnership Series
An Introduction to Service-Learning Pedagogy Tuesday, October 27, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Faculty Focus Series
Intergenerational Service-Learning Projects Wednesday, October 21, 10:00am-11:00am
Instructional Design Discussions Active Learning and Problem-Based Learning Strategies Monday, November 16, 9:30am-10:30am
Developing the “Promising Syllabus Monday November 23, 9:30am-10:30am
Pragmatic Practices for Teaching Assistants Thursday, November 5, 11:00am-12:00pm Friday, December 4, 10:00am-11:00am
Integrated Student Learning Thursday, November 12, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Principles for Good Practice Tuesday, November 10, 11:00am-12:00pm Thursday, December 3, 11:00am-12:00pm Using Assessment Rubrics in Student-Centered Learning Monday, November 2, 3:30pm-4:30pm Using Integrated Course Design to foster Significant Learning Tuesday, October 20, 9:30am-10:30am
Workshops Extending the Classroom Experience with Podcasting Tuesday, October 20, 1:30pm-2:30pm Wednesday, November 18, 10:00am-11:00am Learning 2.0 with Web 2.0 Tools Tuesday, October 27, 11:00am-12:00pm Monday, November 16, 11:30am-12:30pm Using Audacity to Create Podcasts for Learning Wednesday, November 4, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Workshops Manage Yourself and Your Info! Monday, October 19, 2:30pm-4:00pm Thursday, October 22, 11:30am-1:00pm How to Conduct a Literature Review Monday, November 9, 2:30pm-4:00pm Thursday, November 12, 11:30am-1:30pm
Assessment Workshops SNAP is “The Buzz” Education Building, Room 222 Friday, November 13, 9:00am-12:00pm (Session 1) Friday, November 20, 9:00am-11:00am (Session 2)
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RefWorks: Bibliographic Management Software Electronic Reading Room 142, Jerome Library Friday, October 23, 1:30pm-2:45pm Thursday, November 5, 10:30am-11:45am
For more information on our workshops or to register, contact the Center at: ctl@bgsu.edu, 419.372.6898, or www.bgsu.edu/ctl/page11755.html
CLA in the Classroom: Developing Critical Thinking and Analytic Writing Skills using Performance Tasks Thursday, October15, 2:00pm-3:00pm
This newsletter is a publication of the Center for Teaching and Learning. Visit us online at www.bgsu.edu/ctl/ or in 201University Hall.