CETL Professional Development Resource Articles

CETL Professional Development Resource Articles Spring 2019

Faculty / Staff Conference

Reflections on Teaching: From Surviving to Thriving https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/faculty-development/reflectionson-teaching-from-surviving-to-thriving/ Tips from peers, students, and pedagogical experts for creating a positive learning experience for your students: 1.

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Syllabus. Make the lear ning outcomes as specific and clear as possible, and relate these to the assignment and to your grading metrics.

First Classes. Make a ser ious and obvious effor t to lear n your students’ names. Ask your students to address each other by name, rather than “he” or “she.” Meet one-on-one with all students within the first two weeks of the semester and discuss their responses to the questionnaire.

Classroom Atmosphere. Convey your passion and enthusiasm for the subject and your willingness to provide individual help. Foster a sense of belonging and respect. Encourage high performance and promote active engagement.

4. Classroom Specifics. Show up ear ly for class, take attendance, and end class on time. Start class by asking a student to summarize the main points from the last class, and end by summarizing what was accomplished. Write the plan for the class on the board.

5. Classroom Interactions. Make the class as inter active as possible to transform the students from passive observers to active players. Constantly call on individual students by name to answer questions without first asking for volunteers.

6. Beyond the Classroom. Manage your office hour s: encour age students to drop by even if they don’t have specific questions; have a sign-up sheet on your door so students don’t have to wait. Reach out to students who miss a class. Be responsive to emails and calls from students and give students meaningful and meaty comments on homework assignments.

Five Ways to Teach Students to Be Learning Centered, Too

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/five-ways-toteach-students-to-be-learning-centered-too/ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Encourage students to view themselves from a capacities and growth mindset (“I can learn with adequate effort and use of appropriate strategies”), rather than a fixed or deficiencies mindset (“I’m just not smart enough”).

For example, instead of accepting a struggling student’s mindset that “I just can’t do math,” the instructor can help the student understand the importance of time and practice.

2. Coach student success by encouraging and rewarding hard work. Students possess a wide range of learning preferences that allow them to be successful in some classes but not others, depending on the course content and context. If students view their dispositions as “muscles,” where some are stronger than others, instructors can more readily build their academic potential.

3. Provide students with ample active-learning activities. Break up your lectures with activities that get students working with the content, both in and out of class. For example, have students create diagrams/graphic organizers to help improve their understanding of how concepts relate to each other. Providing students with a menu of optional assignments allows them to reinforce, practice, and learn content in a way that is more aligned with their interests.

4. Build “learning how to learn” outcomes into your course. Fink’s work on significant course design provides key considerations for teaching students how to learn. He proposes that students’ educational experiences will be strengthened if there is a focus on building universal skills for approaching learning opportunities. These acquired competencies will help them in your course and beyond.

5. Provide students with structured opportunities to think intentionally about the cycle of learning. The author s of the book How L earning W orks recommend building a cycle into your pedagogy in which students assess the demands of tasks, evaluate their own knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor their progress, and adjust their strategies as needed. Providing students with these opportunities not only teaches them how to become learning centered, but also gives them techniques that can help them monitor their learning processes in your course, the next, and beyond.

Three Active Learning Strategies That Push Students Beyond Memorization https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/three-activelearning-strategies-push-students-beyond-memorization/

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Here are three active learning strategies for pushing students beyond simple memorization.

1. Case Studies and Simulations – Forsgren, Christensen, and Hedemalm (2014) found that case studies stimulate the student’s own thinking and reflection, both individually and in groups. Through reflection, the student gains a broader view, increased understanding, knowledge, and deeper learning.

Case studies are a form of problem-based learning that encourage the student to think critically and apply “book knowledge” to everyday practice and problems that will occur in the workplace.

2. Concept Maps – Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge and can be used to help students visualize connections between words and concepts. The first step is defining a focus question or problem which the student then internalizes a strategy for defining and clarifying (Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence, 2014). Concept maps using real world situations can help reinforce key ideas by encouraging students to think both creatively and analytically about previously learned information and apply it to new scenarios.

3. One-Minute Papers – A classic among active learning techniques, the one-minute paper remains a simple yet effective way to gauge student learning. I use these papers as an assessment of my own teaching efficacy but more importantly to get students to reflect on what went on in the classroom that day. My questions are all openended so as to encourage reflection and feedback on the subject matter. Possible prompts for a one-minute paper, include: 

The clearest point of today’s class was:

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The muddiest point of today’s class (or something that confused me or I want clarified) was:

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What I liked best that helped me learn:

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What I wish had been discussed during today’s class:

Online

Ideas for Creating an Effective Syllabus for Online Learning

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/ideas-for-creating-aneffective-syllabus-for-online-learning/ ————————————————————————————————————--

Pertinent Announcements – After the course and instructor information, I present the most pertinent announcements concerning the course. I put them in red and even highlight some of them. Since I’m not there in person to go over the announcements with my students, this is a way to stress their importance.

Autonomy and Self-Motivation – I take a moment to explicitly describe the amount of self-discipline and motivation required to be successful in an online foreign language course. This is a way for me to cover this very important aspect of online learning since I won’t be going through the course guidelines with them.

Tech Support –I go on to differentiate my role from that of tech support. I make it clear that I answer questions about the course content – not technical issues and user problems. I give them the phone number, email, and hours of tech support, and I link them to information about how to manage their accounts.

Communication – When teaching an online language course it is essential to have a dependable, quick, easy way to communicate to students in real time.

I hold office hours by opening a post to answer questions in real time.

Technology Instruction – I assign a project that requires the use of a certain technology, so I outline the instructions for setting up and using that technology right on the syllabus for a two-fold effect: It signifies that it’s an important part of the course while giving the student specific instructions on how to use the technology without having to figure it out.

How to be Successful – Providing some tips on how to study and be successful in my online course is a way to connect with my students and show them I’m interested in their success.

Academic Integrity – It’s always good to outline some kind of honor code for your course. This may be your personal honor code, your department’s honor code, or your university.

Grading Sheet – Because my course is asynchronous, students work on their own and can work ahead if they choose, so almost all of their activities are open and waiting for completion. This means that their grade in the language learning website is not correct until the very end of the course when absolutely all activities and assessments have been submitted and graded; thus, I provide a grading sheet for them to figure out their grade on their own at any point in the semester should they wish to do so.

Chapter Checklist –It’s literally a checklist in which I list what they’re to do by week and chapter. I include small blanks before each task for them to literally check items off as they’re completed so they can see, at a glance, what they’ve done and what’s left to do in each chapter. While it’s true that this creates more work for me, it’s worth it to know that my students feel grounded and confident in the completion of their activities from week to week.

Five Ways to Build Community in Online Classrooms https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/five-ways-to-build-community-inonline-classrooms/

__________________________________________________________ 1. Make yourself available. As the professor, you are the touchstone of your online course community, which means you need to model citizenship in your course. Upload a photo and provide instructions for students to do the same. Per-

sonalize your course wherever you are able by using original video announcements, overviews, and lectures. Establish the tone of the community through class correspondence, discussion board replies, and assessment feedback.

2. Create a communication plan. Communication is essential to any relationship, and before you ask students to put themselves out there, you have to show them that it’s safe to do so. Before the start of a semester, create a calendar of when you will reach out to each student individually. After the first week, reintroduce yourself and let them know that you’re available to them. Before and after midterms are great opportunities for confidence-boasting. And before finals is a good time to remind them that your door (or inbox!) is always open.

3. Encourage interaction. Classroom inter actions happen by proximity in the brick-and-mortar classroom, but in the online classroom, you have to be more deliberate about student-student and student-faculty exchanges happen. “In” the

classroom, you can use synchronous sessions, communal discussion boards, group projects, student presentations, wikis, and peer review groups. “Out” of the classroom, you can help create study groups and establish crowd-sourced notes. Like all interactions, these should be meaningful, relevant, and theorized to avoid confusion or resentment that can sometimes result from group interactions.

4. Build “outside class” spaces. In an online cour se, you have to consciously build in these “outside” spaces that are free from content delivery and assessment. Make “water cooler” or “café” discussion boards where the class can talk about current events and common interests. Create a social media page for the class where ideas can be shared. Watch a virtual event together and discuss it afterwards. Deliberately creating social moments acknowledges this fundamental aspect of education.

5. Bring the outside in. Par adoxically, online cour ses can also feel compartmentalized and isolated from the wider campus community. In our courses, we need to remind students that they are a part of large campus culture. Post announcements about events happening on campus. Assign attendance at webinars and live-streaming events for course credit.

Staff

Why Is Professionalism Important at the Workplace https://imarticus.org/professionalism-important-workplace/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Creates Boundaries – Workers who conduct themselves professionally avoid crossing their line with subordinates, superiors or clients 2. Creates an Atmosphere of Improvement – A professional atmosphere is more conducive to success.

3. The sense of Responsibility – In a professional atmosphere, an employee while handling a task, sees the larger purpose, and hence are able to own their actions and take appropriate decisions. One takes pride in performing the tasks assigned to them. This adds to the overall image of not only the employee but also showcases the value by which the organization stands.

4. Mitigates Conflicts – businesses which promote a professional atmosphere also makes it easier to deal with diverse environments in which subordinates or even clients could have a difference of opinion however they can agree to disagree and come together on common grounds.

5. Increased Job Satisfaction – Professionalism eliminates stress to a great degree and once that is taken care of an employee thrives in a healthy atmosphere leading to enhanced performance.

6. Personal Growth – Not only in terms of job advancement, but there are a certain dignity and pride in one’s work that develops. You get appreciated for consistently good quality output and that in turn builds your confidence, makes you a more secure person who is then capable of handling difficult situations with refined emotional maturity.

It is important to note that demonstrating professionalism is important at all levels in an organization. Professionalism is not the responsibility of the leadership team but is vital at all levels.

4 Principles of Professionalism in the Workplace https://thetrainingassociates.com/blog/principles-professionalism-workplace/ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here are 4 principles of professionalism in the workplace that can help your organization.

1. Be Accountable: To be accountable is to have owner ship of one’s actions and take full responsibility for one’s decisions and the consequences – good or bad 2. Exceed Expectations: Whether a tenured employee or a br and-new hire, it is important that all employees strive for excellence. Once expectations are set, employees should have the tools they need to meet and exceed them. Those tools are often intrinsic and can be developed. Soft skills training is a great way to encourage and develop employees to have the drive to excel and exceed expectations.

3. Be Ethical: It is so impor tant that or ganizations provide a clear ly defined code of ethics for both the organization and its employees. There is a clear nationwide need to develop employee workplace ethics. By setting and requiring a high standard of ethics, organizations are setting their employees up for success.

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Clear Communication: From ver bal, body language, e-Etiquette, and more, it

is so important that employees know what is expected of them in terms of how they communicate. It is equally important that employees be given the resources they need to develop their communication skills.

13 Dos and Don’ts of Business Email Etiquette https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/dos-and-donts-business-email-etiquette/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Whether you’re a senior professional or an office newbie, here are 13 mustremember dos and don’ts of business email etiquette.

Dos: Do Pay Attention to The Subject Line: Wr ite a clear, concise subject line that reflects the body of the email Do Use a Proper Salutation: Remember “Hi” and “Hey” communicate a lack of professionalism and maturity. Begin your email with phrases such as “Good Morning,” “Good Afternoon,” “Good Evening” Do Use an Introduction: Best pr actice is for the sender to introduce themselves by first and last name with some background information in the first few lines. For example, “Dear Ms. Mandell: My name is Sharon Schweitzer, founder of Access to Culture; I was referred to you by …”

Do Know The Culture: When sending email to people from indirect cultures, it is proper protocol and a best practice to research country customs.

Do Double-Check Your Attachments: When you attach a file, be kind enough to take a few extra seconds to paste it into the body of the email as well. This shows consideration to the recipient, by saving them time and risk in opening attachments.

Do Reply Expediently: Replying within 24 hour s is common cour tesy. Leaving someone hanging for any longer and you are not only perceived as rude — it could cost you business in the long run.

Do Protect Privacy: Email is public. Even though an email is deleted, online services and software programs can access messages on the hard drive.

Do Proofread: Check and recheck for spelling and gr ammatical er ror s.

Don’ts: Don’t Include Humor and Sarcasm: Emails can easily be misinter preted through text without context. Humor is culture-specific. Avoid both humor and sarcasm in e-mails as the recipient may be confused, or worse, offended.

Don’t Hit “Reply All”: Avoid using “Reply-to-All” unless everyone needs to know.

Don’t Use Emojis: Those little winking, smiling icons are for text messages.

They are inappropriate and unprofessional in a business email.

Don’t Be Negative: It’s inappropriate to email negative comments. An email in all uppercase letters connotes anger in an email.

Don’t Forget the Conversation Closer: By letting the recipient know that a response isn’t needed, the email cycle doesn’t continue on in perpetuity. Close with “No reply necessary,” “Best Regards,” “Sincerely,” “Thank you” or another appropriate phrase.

Centers for Excellence in Teaching & Learning

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 Sophya.johnson@aamu.edu