Taking Risks in the Classroom

For a couple of years, I have been involved in a peer review of teaching program in my department. I am sure we could debate the pros and cons of such a program, but it has allowed me to reflect more on the evolution of my own teaching. While observing a probationary faculty member's class a few days ago, I began to think about how my own teaching has changed over the years. Besides using more technology, I try to take more risks in the classroom these days (insert your favorite risk-taking quote here). Over the years, I have become much more willing to try new teaching methods and implement unique ways to start class.

I was recently prescribed Tamiflu and decided to put the drug information sheet (that came with the prescription) in my biochemistry course file. I only really glanced at this information sheet, but it was clear there was information on this sheet concerning drug resistance. A few days later in my Biochemistry course, we were discussing the H1N1virus, Tamiflu and drug resistance. In the middle of class, I remembered that I had placed the Tamiflu information sheet in my notes, which most likely contained interesting and relevant information. Several years ago, I would have looked at that information sheet after class and included some of the information in the next class period. However, that day I walked over to my notes and pulled out that relatively unfamiliar information sheet and used it during class. In some ways, I felt like I was about to walk a tightrope when I pulled that sheet from my notes. It was a bit of a risk because I really did not know what drug resistance information was included on the sheet and I might not be able to effectively incorporate this information into the class discussion.

I would like to hear your thoughts on taking risks in the classroom or in online courses. Please click COMMENT below to give us your thoughts.

Top Ten Teaching Mistakes

The 2009 Teaching and Technology Forum recently concluded and it was an excellent opportunity to reflect on effective teaching practices centered around the theme of Connect-Engage-Empower. By contrast, a colleague recently sent me a link to a post at the Tomorrow's Professor Blog about the top ten teaching mistakes (written by Richard M. Felder). I am not sure if my friend was trying to send me a message or hoping I would share this post with the university community. In any event, I invite you to read the post linked below and provide your comments and thoughts on the list.

Top Ten Teaching Mistakes Post:
http://tomprofblog.mit.edu/2009/09/02/370/


Mistake #10. When you ask a question in class, immediately call for volunteers.
Mistake #9. Call on students cold.
Mistake #8. Turn classes into PowerPoint shows.
Mistake #7. Fail to provide variety in instruction.
Mistake #6. Have students work in groups with no individual accountability.
Mistake #5. Fail to establish relevance.
Mistake #4. Give tests that are too long.
Mistake #3: Get stuck in a rut.
Mistake #2. Teach without clear learning objectives.
Mistake #1. Disrespect students.

Reflections on Remediation: What Can (and Should) Be Done?

The following is a guest blog post by Dr. James Clinger in the Department of Government, Law and International Affairs.

In recent years, American institutions of higher education have increasingly taken on the task of admitting students to college who, by some standards, are not prepared to do college-level work in one or more basic subjects. Such students are often guided to developmental (a.k.a., remedial) courses that are intended to prepare them to do college level work. As pressure to admit, retain, and graduate more and more students is exerted upon colleges and universities, the proportion of the total student body in need of developmental classes is likely to increase.

Many faculty members are not very comfortable with this trend. Some would say that students who are not ready for college work should not be admitted at all. Others would say that students in need of extra coursework to prepare them for college should not be admitted to a four year institution, but should begin at a community college before transferring. Still others would like universities to do more remediation than is presently done. A recently presented conference paper by Paco Martorell and Isaac McFarlin dealing with the effects of remedial education courses in mathematics may inform this debate to some extent. A story about the paper, the paper's abstract, and an earlier draft of the full-text of the paper can be found below.

Education Week Story

Martorell and McFarlin paper


Questions for Murray State Faculty/Staff:

As a matter of policy, should Murray State or other four-year institutions admit large numbers of students in need of remediation?

Would the students be better served if they attended community colleges before transferring to Murray State or some other college or university?

If we don't admit them, will we be meeting the goals that the Council on Postsecondary Education has set for us? If we do admit them, how can we prepare them for college-level work?

Some evidence indicates that remedial classes are not always effective in reaching desired objectives. Are there some forms of delivering remedial education that have been proven effective?

Is there something that we could do differently to make developmental classes enhance learning, as well as improve rates of retention and graduation?


If you have any thoughts on the questions above, please click COMMENTS below. These are important questions that will impact the future of Murray State and the quality of education we can provide.

Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning

A recent article in the Wired Campus section of the Chronicle of Higher Education (March 19, 2009) described a new web-based guide entitled the Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning. The authors (George Siemens and Peter Tittenberger) of this guide are at the University of Manitoba's Learning Technologies Centre.

This handbook is quite detailed and combines a nice mix of learning theory with descriptions of new technology-based teaching tools/methods. One reason for this post is to make you aware of this new resource and to highlight two excerpts from the Wired Campus article that describes the handbook:

Excerpt #1:

While colleges and universities have been "fairly aggressive" in adapting their curricula to the changing world, Mr. Siemens told The Chronicle, "What we haven't done very well in the last few years is altering our pedagogy."

Excerpt #2:

In its introduction, the handbook declares the old pedagogical model-where the students draw their information primarily from textbooks, newspapers, and their professors-dead.


I invite you to read the entire Wired Campus article and click COMMENTS below to give us your thoughts on the article, excerpts above and/or the new Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning.

Increasing Student Participation

I recently attended the Teaching Professor Conference in Washington, DC. Attending an interdisciplinary conference devoted to teaching and learning was both fun and informative. Some of the best presentations were from faculty members offering practical solutions to various difficulties we sometimes face in the classroom. One of the best presentations I attended was from Dr. Ken Alford of Brigham Young University who discussed QuizShow, a free, quiz-format software program that can be used to foster student participation. It can sometimes be a struggle to actively engage students in class and promote the type of participation that will ultimately aid their learning. Dr. Alford showed many different ways to use this Jeopardy-style game in the classroom to structure in-class activities and actively involve students in reviewing concepts. I invite you to visit the QuizShow web site and learn more about how this teaching tool may be able to help increase student participation.

The Summer 2009 Blitz Program, sponsored by CTLT, is just around the corner (July 22nd and 29th, 2009) and will focus on various aspects of Blended Learning. It turns out that tools such as QuizShow can be an important part of a blended learning strategy that balances content delivery and student activities in online and face-to-face environments. If interested, please call x-2535 to register for one of the Blitz sessions.

Understanding Great Teaching

An interesting article was recently published by Ken Bain and James Zimmerman entitled Understanding Great Teaching (Peer Review, Spring 2009, vol. 11 (2), 9-12). A link to this article article can be found HERE. Ken Bain is the author of the book What the Best College Teachers Do and this article is based on some observations and principles outlined in the book. Although this is a short article, the authors tackle key questions and issues such as different student approaches to learning, what makes teachers great, how to encourage a deep approach to learning and how to tell the difference between popular teachers and good teachers.

One of my favorite parts of this article is somewhat related to a previous post on the Power of the Question. In the article, the authors state:

"Through the power of the questions they raise, these outstanding teachers engage students in doing the discipline even before they know the discipline...teachers who promote deep learning approaches help students to learn inductively, moving from fascinating and important questions to general principles of the discipline."

I hope you get the chance to read this article about great teaching.

Why Do You Teach?

If you read the previous post, you know that I love the talks at the TED conference. I could not resist bringing up this conference one more time and highlighting a talk some years ago by John Wooden, former basketball coach and legend at UCLA. If you are a teacher at any level, this will be a thought-provoking video. It is clear that John Wooden saw his role at UCLA as a teacher of young people, not only about basketball, but life in general. There is no doubt that Wooden was a masterful teacher and in this video he gives us several gems of wisdom about teaching and life. One of the stories that caught my attention was one about a teacher that was asked "why do you teach?." I would imagine that many of us has asked that question at various times. The answer given by this teacher was quite profound and is discussed at 4:55 min into the video. Part of her answer was "where could I find such splendid company?."

As your summer schedule allows, I hope you will take the time to watch this video of John Wooden and reflect on your role as a teacher in higher education. If you have anything to share, please click COMMENTS below.