communicating for
LEARNERS
Fall #2 2008
featured in this issue Updates from the Center
Visionary Status
Student Motivation
Hot 5 Web Resources
Workshops
Did You Know?
Updates from the Center Announcing the Third Annual BGSU Teaching and Learning Fair! When is the Fair? The BGSU community will gather in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom on February 6, 2009 to celebrate and discuss student success through best teaching and learning practices. The Fair will begin at 9:30 a.m. and presentations are centered on our BGSU Learning Outcomes: critical and constructive thinking, skillful communication, and engagement. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Barbara Millis, and Provost Baugher will be visiting with presenters from 9:30-10:30. What will you see at the Fair? Fair goers will interact with BGSU community members who are displaying and discussing the following: • course planning and activities that promote critical and constructive thinking • advising activities that extend teaching and learning • learner activities that promote communication and presentation using multiple media, such as logical, mathematical, visual, spatial, or musical • course design and experiences that afford learners opportunities to participate in an organized service activity • learner activities that occur outside of the classroom and encourage students to engage others in action while participating and leading • living-learning residential communities with creative environments that enhance academic success and provide richly rewarding extracurricular activities When is the Keynote Presentation? At 11:00 a.m. Dr. Mark Gromko, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Programs, will introduce our keynote speaker, Dr. Barbara Millis.
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Who is Dr. Millis and what will she talk about? Barbara J. Millis is the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She was formerly the Director of the Excellence in Teaching Program at the University of Nevada at Reno. Barbara received her Ph.D. in English literature from Florida State University. She frequently offers workshops at professional conferences (AAC&U, Lilly conferences, Teaching Professor Conference) and for over 300
colleges and universities. She publishes articles on a variety of faculty development topics such as cooperative learning, peer classroom observations, the professional portfolio, syllabus construction, classroom assessment/research, critical thinking, writing for publication, writing across the curriculum, academic games, and course redesign. She has published three books, including the March 2008 release ( Jossey-Bass) of the 2nd Edition of Judith Grunert’s The Course Syllabus: A LearningCentered Approach, co-authored with Margaret Cohen. While at USAFA, Barbara won both a teaching award and a research award. Dr. Millis’ keynote address is titled “Persisting with Passion: Break-throughs in Teaching and Learning” According to Barbara, “this keynote is the teaching/learning version of ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged’—Barbara Millis’ lifetime of critical events summarized tidily in one hour (with time for questions). Teaching, as with life, seems to happen one break-through at a time, with revelations typically building on one another over time, creating more complexity and strength every time a new element is added. We will get in one quick, interactive presentation, a summary of the ‘best-of-the-best,’ the groundbreaking innovations of cooperative learning, deep learning, the research on how people learn, and several other findings that enable teachers to become intentional, purposeful educators. This session is in a sense a ‘confessional,’ as the breakthroughs often came slowly, serendipitously, and with great effort over (gasp!) my forty years in the classroom and later in online classrooms. I hope that this presentation will save you years of wasted energy in your teaching life by reducing the cycle of teaching blunders and naïveté many of us well-intentioned teachers experience. Please attend, and then heed it and leap!” Don’t miss Dr. Millis’ keynote address in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom at 11:15 a.m. Friday, February 6, 2009, is a day to celebrate BGSU teaching and learning at the Fair; mark your calendars! Sign up to present at the Third Annual, BGSU Teaching and Learning Fair. Starting on December 1, 2008, you can register as a Fair presenter at the Center’s website.
Updates from the Center “Scholars collectively have the power to use their copyrights to shape the information environment for scholarly communication.” If you were in 113 Olscamp or 1011 Cedar Point Center on Friday, October 31, you had the pleasure of learning from Michael Carroll, as he offered this quote and much more valuable information about copyright and scholarly communication. “Copyright and Your Right to Use and Share Your Scholarly Materials” was the first of two programs offered by the University Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning. Knowing that the digital revolution has an ever-growing impact on the nature of scholarship in the academy, the idea of open access for scholarly materials is of interest to all in the academy. Faculty and graduate students work as researchers and authors and as teachers wanting to share scholarship with students. Undergraduate students are increasingly creating their own intellectual works, as well as using or reusing that of others.
Professor Carroll spent the entire day at BGSU conducting a round table discussion for invited faculty, attending a networking lunch hosted by the University Libraries, and delivering his lecture. Not only did members of the BGSU community benefit from Michael’s sharing his time and expertise, representatives from OhioLINK and Owens Community College learned as well. Look for Professor Carroll’s presentation on the BGSU digital video streaming server. In MyBGSU in the Tools section, click on “My Video Search,” and type Michael Carroll in the search box. But wait, there’s one more! The second program, “How Creative Commons Helps Artists, Students, Educators, Scientists, and Researchers Productively and Legally Use and Share Intellectual Work,” is a panel discussion led by Garrick Ducat, Instructional Designer, Mercy College of Northwest Ohio.
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Mark your calendars now for Friday, November 21, 2008, 113 Olscamp Hall & 1011 Cedar Point Center, 2:30-4:30 p.m. This program is open to all BGSU community members and our Northwest Ohio colleagues. It is free with no registration necessary.
visionary
STATUS
Barbara Millis
scholar, advocate, and teacher
Barbara Millis, keynote speaker for the 2009 BGSU Teaching and Learning Fair, is no stranger to presenting to large groups. As a former Director of the Excellence in Teaching Program at the University of Nevada at Reno and Director of Faculty Development at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA), Barbara Millis speaks regularly at institutions and conferences across the country, including venues such as the Lilly Teaching Conferences and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Barbara, currently the Director of The TEAM Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), has published over 40 articles on faculty development topics such as “cooperative learning, peer classroom observations, the teaching portfolio, microteaching, syllabus construction, classroom assessment and research, critical thinking, focus groups, writing across the curriculum, academic games, and course redesign” (Dee Fink and Associates, retrieved October 27, 2008). Her coauthored books, including Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty, Using Simulations to Enhance Learning in Higher Education, and The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach, reflect her interests as well. Barbara has won awards for both her teaching and research and was welcomed as a Visiting Scholar at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. Ultimately, Barbara hopes to strengthen the teaching of both faculty and teaching assistants. Moreover, she wants to highlight their efforts. As described in the UTSA newsletter, “I am very loyal to the institutions I serve, Millis said. As a result, I try to bring recognition to them and to their faculty and staff ” (UTSA Today, September 2, 2008). See the front page article for more information on her visit to BGSU for the Teaching and Learning Fair on February 6th. For more information visit: http://www.utsa.edu/today/2008/09/millis.cfm
http://www.deefinkandassociates.com/leadersBMillis.html
Beyond the “A”: Student Motivation and Learning What does it take for students to be motivated to learn? In Tools for Teaching, Barbara Gross Davis reminds faculty, “Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.” Student motivation requires a focal shift in the learning environment and culture that moves from extrinsic motivation (such as grades or other rewards or punishments) toward intrinsic motivation, where students seek learning to fulfill their personal needs and goals. Since all students (and faculty) are not motivated by the same values, needs, and goals, creating an environment to nurture intrinsic motivation is a difficult task to undertake—at the very least it requires dedicated planning, awareness, and reflection. Here are some techniques that are effective in increasing student motivation: Planning and Preparations for Engaged Learning (Before) • Provide a variety of learning experiences and opportunities. - Focus more on activities involving thinking, doing, discussing and less on passive activities such as listening or watching; and - Make students active participants in their learning by providing opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and experiences in pairs, group discussions, or through written works. • Set high, but reachable, expectations for students based on Csikszentmihalyi’s “optimal experience theory” or “flow,” where challenge and skill merge to create an optimal learning experience. Flow is similar to Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development” or the condition in which “learning happens when challenge and support are in balance” (Tagg, 2003, p. 30). - Allow students to set their own goals for your course based on their interests and needs – beyond just “getting the A;” and - Plan with the big picture in mind. How can you meet student needs AND course or university outcomes and goals? Is there a point of congruence where you do not have to lower your expectations and your students are fully engaged and challenged, but not overwhelmed to the point of performing below capabilities or leaving? • In addition to personal goal setting, solicit student input for some activities or content areas of interest (general curiosities) related to the course. Build a “community of learners” where everyone has a shared sense of ownership and participation toward the course goals and outcomes.
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Feedback and Closing the Loop (After) • Provide feedback early and often, especially on what is going well and what can be improved using constructive feedback based on course outcomes. • Be open to student feedback—listen to their concerns or suggestions and, if needed, educate them about the learning process. • Regularly reflect on your strategies, techniques, assessments, general practices, and pedagogies—talk with colleagues, read teaching and pedagogy journals, join a learning community, attend a teaching conference such as the Lilly Conference (November 20-23, 2008 at Miami University – http://www. units.muohio.edu/lillycon/ ).
All in all, these strategies focus on mastery-oriented rather than performance-oriented learning to engage and motivate students (Svinicki, 2005). Mastery learning indeed has long term benefits for your students, paying dividends far into the future beyond the scope of your classroom or your students’ GPAs. Want to Learn More?
Motivating Students: 8 Simple Rules for Teachers, Becker & Schneider The Teaching Professor - http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/ FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/motiv8rules.htm Tools for teaching, B. Gross Davis (1993) - http://teaching.berkeley. edu/bgd/motivate.html Student goal orientation, motivation, and learning, M. D. Svinicki, IDEA Paper #41, February (2005) - http://www.theideacenter.org sites/default/files/Idea_Paper_41.pdf
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, M. Csikszentmihalyi (1991) The Learning Paradigm College, J. Tagg (2003)
(click the link to visit)
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Ideas worth spreading - inspired talks by the worlds greatest thinkers and doers
Catalog and share your bookshelves; and view and discuss others’ shelves
Create visualization widgets of your data quickly and easily
Institutions working together to advance education and empower people worldwide
Search and view historical archives, original documents, member uploads or create Footnote Pages
TED ted.com
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In-Class Considerations and Assessments (During) • Treat students with respect and establish a professional, but friendly rapport. • In your lectures, class discussions, emails to students, or course syllabus, show genuine enthusiasm for the subject and model the skills and processes of your discipline. • Use visuals like diagrams, pictures, flowcharts, and videos and challenge students to find their own or create their own visual representations. • Involve students in decision making by allowing choices on a particular project, assessment, or research topics. • Design assessments that model the type of learning you want students to demonstrate. Multiple choice tests limit the display of higher level thinking and understanding, so consider using synthesized, analytical, and evaluative essays, presentations, or debates.
Library Thing librarything.com
Widgenie widgenie.com
Open Courseware ocwconsortium.org
Footnote footnote.com
Discussions and Workshops Fall and Early Spring Semester Discussions
Science of Learning (on Diane Halpern’s DVSS presentation) Friday, November 14, 10:00-11:30am Using Varied Assessments to Promote Student Learning Tuesday, November 18, 1:00-2:00pm Using ePortfolios to Assess Student Learning Wednesday, November 19, 1:30-2:45pm The Joy and Responsibility of Teaching Well (on L. Dee Fink’s DVSS Presentation) Wednesday, December 3, 2:00-3:30pm Teaching Assistants are Links (Part 3) Thursday, November 18, 1:00-3:00pm
Workshops Connecting to Learn with Concept Maps Friday, November 21, 10:45am-12:15pm Agile Software Factory for Student Service Learning Friday, January 30, 11:00am-12:00pm Service Learning in Business Classes Wednesday, February 25, 1:30-2:30pm
Click here to register!
All Discussions and Workshops are held in 201 University Hall (unless otherwise noted)
Classroom and Online Discussion Strategies Thursday, January 15, 11:00am-12:15pm IAL SPEC INGS R E F OF
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During Break
Over Winter break, the Center will be open from 8-5 M-F, excluding December 24th, December 25th, December 26th, January 1st, and January 2nd. Be sure to check below for workshops being offered over break!
Discussions
Workshops
Developing the “Promising Syllabus” Wednesday, January 7, 10:00-11:30am Active Learning and Problem Based Learning Strategies Wednesday, January 7, 1:00-2:30pm Designing Courses for Significant Learning (from L. Dee Fink) Thursday, January 8, 1:00-2:30pm Constructing “WoW” Assignment Sheets Friday, January 9, 12:30-1:30pm Reflecting, Writing, & Collaborating to Learn Using BGSU Blogs Tuesday, January 6, 2:00-3:15pm Designing Effective and Meaningful Group Projects Friday, January 9, 10:00-11:30am
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Identifying Your Teaching Goals Using the TGI Tuesday, December 30, 10:00-11:00am Monday, January 5, 1:00-2:00pm (followed by Formative Assessment Using CATs) Formative Assessment Using Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) Tuesday, December 30, 11:00-12:00pm Monday, January 5, 2:00-3:00pm (after Teaching Goals Inventory WS) Refworks: Bibliographic Management Software (Electronic Reading Room 142, Jerome Library) Thursday, January 8, 10:30-11:45am Introduction to Creating and Using Rubrics Thursday, January 8, 10:00-11:30am
Did You Know
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CTL has moved its blog to a new address. Our “Interact at the Center” blog has made the transition to the new university blog system. If you visit the Center’s blog at: https://blogs.bgsu.edu/ctl/, you will see a new look. The blog continues to be dedicated to teaching and learning in higher education. We invite you to take a look for yourself and even “interact” by posting a comment.
This newsletter is a publication of the Center for Teaching and Learning. Visit us online at www.bgsu.edu/ctl/ or in 201 University Hall.