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Universal Intellectual Standards - 0 views

  • Universal intellectual standards are standards which must be applied to thinking whenever one is interested in checking the quality of reasoning about a problem, issue, or situation. To think critically entails having command of these standards. To help students learn them, teachers should pose questions which probe student thinking; questions which hold students accountable for their thinking; questions which, through consistent use by the teacher in the classroom, become internalized by students as questions they need to ask themselves. The ultimate goal, then, is for these questions to become infused in the thinking of students, forming part of their inner voice, which then guides them to better and better reasoning. While there are many universal standards, the following are some of the most essential:
  • CLARITY: Could you elaborate further on that point? Could you express that point in another way? Could you give me an illustration? Could you give me an example? Clarity is the gateway standard.
  • ACCURACY: Is that really true? How could we check that? How could we find out if that is true?  A statement can be clear but not accurate, as in "Most dogs are over 300 pounds in weight."
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  • PRECISION: Could you give more details? Could you be more specific? A statement can be both clear and accurate, but not precise, as in "Jack is overweight." (We don’t know how overweight Jack is, one pound or 500 pounds.)
  • RELEVANCE: How is that connected to the question? How does that bear on the issue? A statement can be clear, accurate, and precise, but not relevant to the question at issue.
  • DEPTH: How does your answer address the complexities in the question? How are you taking into account the problems in the question? Is that dealing with the most significant factors? A statement can be clear, accurate, precise, and relevant, but superficial (that is, lack depth).
  • BREADTH: Do we need to consider another point of view? Is there another way to look at this question? What would this look like from a conservative standpoint? What would this look like from the point of view of . . .?  A line of reasoning may be clear accurate, precise, relevant, and deep, but lack breadth (as in an argument from either the conservative or liberal standpoint which gets deeply into an issue, but only recognizes the insights of one side of the question.)
  • LOGIC: Does this really make sense? Does that follow from what you said? How does that follow? But before you implied this, and now you are saying that; how can both be true? When we think, we bring a variety of thoughts together into some order. When the combination of thoughts are mutually supporting and make sense in combination, the thinking is "logical." When the combination is not mutually supporting, is contradictory in some sense or does not "make sense," the combination is not logical.
  • FAIRNESS:  Do I have a vested interest in this issue?  Am I sympathetically representing the viewpoints of others?  Human think is often biased in the direction of the thinker - in what are the perceived interests of the thinker.  Humans do not naturally consider the rights and needs of others on the same plane with their own rights and needs.  We therefore must actively work to make sure we are applying the intellectual standard of fairness to our thinking.  Since we naturally see ourselves as fair even when we are unfair, this can be very difficult.  A commitment to fairmindedness is a starting place.
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    I think this is helpful in assessing the quality of critical thinking.
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sharing what i know » Blog Archive » the cms is a dinosaur …and you know what... - 0 views

  • I naturally resist and feel uncomfortably confined by the locked down nature of the CMS… i mean really, is a “blog” that is locked into a CMS really a blog? No!!!!!!!! you can’t just call it a chicken when it is a duck!!!! Part of what makes it a blog is the fact that it is public – anyone can see it and interact with it. It also represents you publicly, belongs to you/you own it/it is yours to have and use, and to keep it beyond the end of the course and term - that is an authentic online learning activity! That is why i also thought it essential that the shared resources for the course be external to the CMS using diigo… i want my students to have access to the resources after the course ends!
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    Alex's reasons for moving from a course management system (CMS) to moodle for course delivery. If you are wondering why we are engaging on so many external sites, this is recommended reading.
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ETAP640amp2012: are you prepared to change the way you teach? - 1 views

  • We are consistently engaged in critical thought, Alex’s expectations are clear and supported with models, and we receive feedback that is not only timely, but it is also specific to our particular needs. Although we use a good amount of technology, it does seem to enhance our purpose and was chosen with objectives in mind. The technology—blogs, discussion forums, diigo, etc. serve to enhance our learning experiences and make our learning visible to one another (haven’t we heard that before!?!)
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      Double EUREKA!!!! : )
  • three essential times in relation to the delivery of a course that are instrumental for our success: in the design, before students enter the picture; in the implementation, while we are teaching the course; and in the reflection, as we use student feedback in considering improvements to the course.  
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Only 7 Percent of Teachers Believe in Standardized Tests - Education - GOOD - 0 views

  • only 7 percent of educators see standardized tests as being essential.
  • With standardized tests, students often don’t get their results until months after they’ve taken them—which often ends up being after the school year is over, making them much less useful to the learning process.
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    despite the number of standardized testing, educators don't see the point
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Accountability, Yes. Teaching to the Test, No. -- THE Journal - 0 views

  • there is a valuable place for them. If results inform instruction and tell the teacher that a student does not have basic skills in some area deemed essential, isn't that important to know for intervention to be provided? The era of "passing the buck" is gone.
  • We have misused and abused standardized tests to a point where we've lost site of the purpose of testing.
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    Very interesting. Def an article I agree with!
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Curiosity and Innovation - 0 views

  • A similar example occurs while learning to drive a car. Our conscious mind must be aware of three pedals, gas, brake and clutch. Also important are the rear view mirror and the steering wheel as well as what is in front of us. We learn to synchronize these complex movements and actions with great effort and attention. But in time, our mind frees the conscious mind from this effort, and we drive without thinking about it. Have you never experienced being it distracted and talking while driving and when you arrive at your destination you cannot remember the route you followed?
  • This illustrates the process of learning as: curiosity or interest, understanding, memorizing and internalizing. Through these steps learning moves from the conscious to the unconscious mind, freeing up conscious memory and energy; in other words you internalize the learning. Internalization of knowledge is an essential part of knowledge itself. What is internalized has great impact on future behavior and beliefs.
  • But, real learning only occurs when, motivated by curiosity, the person constructs knowledge by seeking those materials, techniques, concepts, methods and elements, which can produce her own internal theories that then undergo testing and are subsequently internalized. This is the never ending search for knowledge driven by the innate curiosity of human beings.
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    The internalization of knowledge
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Using Facebook to build community in large college classes (essay) | Inside Higher Ed - 1 views

    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Uh oh ... this is how it starts ... he'll be an online teacher within two semesters!
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Such affinity for promoting teaching presence!
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      The future of the public university ...
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  • It is definitely not for everyone -- you must be committed (especially time-wise) to using it. But knowing that you and your hundreds of students are finally seeing eye-to-eye is worth the effort!
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      We must be passionate about what makes our students passionate.
  • The success of Fb described above, as well as survey data I collected showing positive reactions to the Fb group, will lead to my continued use of this technology.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Collecting feedback to improve future course iterations ... another example of using data to effect best practice.
  • After all the years of teaching these “mega-sections” and with the tough financial situation of my state university it was clear that this type of class was not going away.
  • I was hoping to include something that would add a greater sense of community to the class, something that everyone in the class could use to better connect to one another.
  • I knew the data about how many college students were on Fb, but would students be willing to spend some of their valuable Fb time communicating within a Fb group for a college course? Also, would I be willing to become an avid Fb user, following the flow of communication several times a day? It did not take long to learn that the answers to these questions was “Yes,” and that I had reached my goal of facilitating a sense of community. Although joining the Fb group for the course was not required, a little over 80 percent of the class became members of the group.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Roughly equivalent to 76% student satisfaction rate Alex and colleagues found regarding student satisfaction with high levels of student/instructor interactivity.
  • Moreover, the students essentially ran the group.
  • These included everything from asking for notes, getting clarification on points made in lecture, posting videos and images that pertained to class material, forming study groups, noting relevant events on campus, and congratulating class members on specific accomplishments.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      This makes me wonder how to increase the visibility of the "Bulletin Board" or "Faculty Lounge" course areas.
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Funds of knowledge - 0 views

  • Funds of knowledge is defined by researchers Luis Moll, Cathy Amanti, Deborah Neff, and Norma Gonzalez (2001) “to refer to the historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being” (p. 133). When teachers shed their role of teacher and expert and, instead, take on a new role as learner, they can come to know their students and the families of their students in new and distinct ways. With this new knowledge, they can begin to see that the households of their students contain rich cultural and cognitive resources and that these resources can and should be used in their classroom in order to provide culturally responsive and meaningful lessons that tap students’ prior knowledge
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    brief piece describing what is meant by funds of knowledge - understanding students' lives
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Online Teaching Effectiveness: A Tale of Two Instructors | Gorsky | The International R... - 0 views

  • We propose, as have others (i.e., Shea, Pickett, & Pelz, 2003), that the community of inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) reflects the principles of good practice in undergraduate education and can accurately quantify them.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Go, Dr. Pickett!
  • issues of pedagogy, dialogue, and interaction
  • guide the coding of transcripts.
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  • Social presence is the perceived presence of others in mediated communication (Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 1999), which Garrison et al. (2000) contend supports both cognitive and teaching presence through its ability to instigate, to sustain, and to support interaction. It had its genesis in the work of John Dewey and is consistent with all theoretical approaches to learning in higher education.
  • Teaching presence is defined as “the design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing [students’] personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile outcomes” (Anderson et al., 2001, p.5). Vygotsky’s (1978) scaffolding analogies illustrate an assistive role for teachers in providing instructional support to students from their position of greater content knowledge. Although many authors recommend a “guide on the side” approach to moderating student discussions, a key feature of this social cognition model is the adult, the expert, or the more skilled peer who scaffolds a novice’s learning
  • Shea, Pickett, & Pelz , 2004
  • Each category of a tutor’s presence is vital to learning and to the establishment of the learning community; tutors' behavior must be such that they are seen to be “posting regularly, responding in a timely manner and modeling good online communication and interaction” (Palloff & Pratt, 2003, p.118). Without an instructor’s explicit guidance and “teaching presence,” students were found to engage primarily in “serial monologues” (Pawan et al., 2003). Baker (2004) discovered that “instructor immediacy, i.e., teaching presence (Rourke et al., 1999), was a more reliable predictor of effective cognitive learning than whether students felt close to each other. Studies have demonstrated that instructor participation in threaded discussion is critical to the development of social presence (Shea, Li, Swan, & Pickett, 2005; Swan & Shih, 2005) and sometimes not fully appreciated by online faculty (Liu, Bonk, Magjuka, Lee, & Su, 2005). Shea, Li, and Pickett (2006) proposed that teaching presence – viewed as the core role of the online instructor – is a promising mechanism for developing learning community in online environments.
  • students ranked instructor modeling as the most important element in building online community, while instructors ranked it fourth.
  • Shea (2006), who completed an extensive study of teaching presence and online learning, concluded that two categories (“design” and “directed facilitation”) sufficed to define the construct.
  • Kalman, Ravid, Raban, and Rafaeli (2006) argued that interactivity is an essential characteristic of effective online communication and plays an important role in keeping message threads and their authors together. Interactive communication (online as well as in traditional settings) is engaging, and loss of interactivity results in a breakdown of the communicative process.
  • Research indicates the existence of a relationship between learners’ perceptions of social presence and their motivation for participation in online discussions (Weaver & Albion, 2005).
  • Northrup (2002) found that online learners felt it was important for instructors to promote collaboration and conversation. When interactive activities are carefully planned, they lead not only to greater learning but also to enhanced motivation (Berge 1999; Northrup, 2002).
  • Researchers have suggested that timing of messages can serve as a proxy for a sense of social presence (Blanchard, 2004), as an indication of attentiveness (Walther & Bunz, 2005) or respect (Bargh & McKenna, 2004), and as a clue to the sociability of a community (Maloney-Krichmar & Preece, 2005). As such, the frequency of messages may serve as a signal for how engaged participants are with the community.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Agreed.
  • Eom found that the most significant factors for increasing student satisfaction with online classes are paying attention to students and responding to their concerns.
  • The highly esteemed instructor was especially active from semester midpoint to semester end; she more than doubled her active participation in both teaching presence (especially discourse and instruction) and social presence (all three categories).
  • the lack of specific, progressively structured inquiry tasks and/or the lack of facilitation skills (teaching presence/facilitating discourse) may have contributed to the relatively limited occurrences of cognitive presence.
  • something else accounted for the extreme satisfaction and dissatisfaction experienced by students in the two forums. The something else may be the two exceptional events that occurred during the third month: The instructor held in low esteem became nearly dysfunctional, while the highly esteemed instructor exhibited very high teacher presence and social presence (see Table 3 and 4).
  • Shea, Pickett, and Pelt (2003) found that students’ perceived teacher presence also correlates with perceived learning as well as with students’ satisfaction with the forum. This correlation points to the tentative conclusion that teaching presence affords learning by setting a convenient climate.
  • we suggest that students’ perceived learning in course forums has a significant impact on their participation
  • the table is suggestive of the eventual possibility of having an “objective” tool for evaluating the quality of a given forum.
  • (Anderson et al., 2001).
  • Teaching effectiveness may be defined as how an instructor can best direct, facilitate, and support students toward certain academic ends, such as achievement and satisfaction. Teaching effectiveness has been investigated extensively in traditional classrooms for more than seven decades (for a meta-analysis of empirical studies from 1995-2004, see Seidel & Shavelson, 2007). Over the past five years, research has become directed toward teaching effectiveness in online or virtual classes. As a preface to our study, we discuss findings and conclusions concerning teaching effectiveness in traditional classrooms.
  • Journal Help ISSN: 1492-3831 Journal Content Search All Authors Title Abstract Index terms Full Text Browse By Issue By Author By Title User Username Password Remember me Article Tools Abstract Print this article Indexing metadata How to cite item Review policy Email this article (Login required) Email the author (Login required) Post a Comment (Login required) Font Size Make font size smaller Make font size default Make font size larger SUBSCRIBE TO MAILING LIST 5,591  subscribers Select Language​▼ function googleTranslateElementInit() { new google.translate.TranslateElement({ pageLanguage: 'en', autoDisplay: false, layout: google.translate.TranslateElement.InlineLayout.SIMPLE }, 'google_translate_element'); } Home About Register Archives Announcements Resources Submissions http://www.irrodl.org/
  • One of the most widely cited sources for teacher effectiveness in traditional classrooms is Chickering and Gamson (1987), who suggested seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education.
  • encourages student-faculty contact, encourages cooperation among students, encourages active learning, gives prompt feedback, emphasizes time on task, communicates high expectations, respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
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Scaffolding for Success - 0 views

  • "Structure" is the key word. Without clear structure and precisely stated expectations, many students are vulnerable to a kind of educational "wanderlust" that pulls them far afield.
  • 1) Scaffolding provides clear directions
  • 3) Scaffolding keeps students on task
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  • 8) Scaffolding creates momentum
  • in Chapter 4, "Students in Resonance," the work gathers speed. The drive toward meaning is accelerated. The essential question and its subsidiary questions create suction, drive, urgency and motivation.
  • If done well, a scaffolded lesson should nearly scream with efficiency. Teachers and students should shake their heads in disbelief.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Love the hyperbole.
  • Scaffolding "distills" the work effort. Focus. Clarity. Time on task.
  • almost like an avalanche of thoughts, accumulating insight and understanding.
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    An article on scaffolding.
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    Ten steps to creation of tighter online research modules with common sense suggestions for effective design.
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    This article was originally shared by Irene, I found it useful to look at scaffolding in this course this semester.
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MOVING FROM PEDAGOGY TO ANDRAGOGY - 0 views

  • Knowles (1975) offered some reasons for his evolving scholarship in the area of self-directed learning. One immediate reason was the emerging evidence that people who take initiative in educational activities seem to learn more and learn things better then what resulted from more passive individuals
  • noted a second reason that self-directed learning appears "more in tune with our natural process of psychological development" (1975, p. 14). Knowles observed that an essential aspect of the maturation process is the development of an ability to take increasing responsibility for life.
  • A third reason was the observation that the many evolving educational innovations (nontraditional programs, Open University, weekend colleges, etc.) throughout the world require that learners assume a heavy responsibility and initiative in their own learning.
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    Discussion of Knowles theories about andragogy
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Reflections Blog - Just another Edublogs.org site - 1 views

    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      Hey Bill: i completely get the "technologically connected" fatigue. i am very plugged in... but, i remind myself that i am in control. I have boundaries. Also fyi - i don't have a cell phone. I know i know... hard to believe, right?! I just don't want to be that connected. me : )
    • William Meredith
       
      I envy you for not having a cell phone!  I took mine to France but told people not to call me.  One of the best parts of being away!
  • it helps remove the filter.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      interesting. really? say more about that. : )
  • Alex mentioned her desire not to allow students to unsubscribe from the posts.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      Bill: i am actually really torn about this. I myself don't use the email subscription AT ALL. I find it confusing and disconnecting from the context and flow of the discussion. I have mine set to subjects only as a daily digest and i mostly just delete them... before even opeining them. I use the cousre interface to interact and view the interactions. I wish i could give students the option. But i can't. I have tried it both ways and talked about it with students from past courses. I even tried it once where i initially forced but then gave students the option to opt out... And i have come to the very reluctant decision that i have to force. I force the subscription, becuase frankly students don't login to the cousre. They disappear for days, and then claim they didn't know or couldn't find...and then claim they are overwhelmed. You also just can't "catch up" once a discussion has ended. The flow has moved on. There are also students that for some reason just prefer to get the posts via email. I've had several students tell me that they liked to view posts from their cell phones... So, i force subscription to all/only the essential forums in the course. The reality is that I can't force students to login to the course and click on the discussion and other areas of the cousre to see all that is happening. And i need a way to make sure that they are aware of the level of activity in the course and what is happening. me
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  • I feel as though students must be subscribed to forums, but be forewarned that they need to develop a system for themselves to allow for tracking of the dialogue and how they want to participate in that dialogue.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      i don't remember this being a problem in past semesters and i wonder if a default was changed at the system level. I thought everyone got a daily digest of subject lines and that highlighted new forum post tracking was automatically enabled by default... based you your feedback here, i have added "forewarning" : ) to 2 of the course information documents (contact and evaluation). : ) me
  • my presence could be demonstrated in other ways than just logging in daily or talking to students.
  • I came to realize that
  • in this course I feel as though everything I learn is huge.
  • it feels as though I am letting the students go without my assistance.
  • This is were the “earth-shattering” part comes in.  I am learning that I am not letting the students go.  I am going to be there.
  • I can fully see the difference between f2f and online teaching and WHY those differences exist.
  • In the beginning of this course my intention was to translate my f2f assignments and activities to an online format.  This made me feel comfortable as I knew that these activities worked for me and for most of my students.  Yet, as I began to learn about presence and community it became apparent that these f2f activities did not embody presence or community building.  They represented ease for me, and that cannot be the focus in online learning.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      this is a brilliant observation bill!
  • Yet, I know I will always want to be tweaking my activities!
  • My two issues with online education before the start of this class dealt with the actual education being offered as well as the connections being formed.
  • But the theory in this course has allowed me to see that in practice, online education can allow for a sound education and a classroom community that can match that of most f2f classrooms.
  • Online learning allows an instructor the opportunity to put everything into place before the course starts so that students come in being able to see all that they need to be successful.  This may not always be the case with f2f courses.  Additionally, to make sure that such theories as presence and community are present in online courses online instructors often have to do more to ensure success in their classes.  For these reasons I am starting to believe that online education, when combined with effective theories can eventually surpass f2f learning.
  • I am not decisive as I would like to be.
  • While it probably should not be surprising that I feel prepared to teach online at the end of a course in online teaching, for me, I feel as though it is quite a surprising development and one I hope to pursue.
  • The article  written by Mark Edmundson, a professor at UVA, questions the validity of online learning. 
  • I have discovered that my thoughts are completely different on online education as a result of this class.  While this is probably not a huge development it has been interesting to watch my opinions change so much.  So, for the moment that is where I am.
  • I discovered that just inserting technology does not suddenly make things better. 
  • I leave this course knowing that presence is more than just responding to students. 
  • Being truly present requires that the students feel your presence as they are completing assignments and learning – knowing what is expected of them and what they expect of the instructor.
  • if a student knows what to do and how to do it (presence) he/she might feel more comfortable branching out in discussions and discussing points with a majority of students instead of just discussing with the same people at the same time.  But community depends heavily on presence and the two really work in tandem.
  • Yet, the blame lies solely with me for just assuming that my students know how to do something.
  • Instead, instructors, both f2f and online, need to assume that their students do not know how to do something.  Taking the time to explain something may seem tedious but it will provide for greater clarification, greater learning, and more meaningful assessments.  Taking the time to just let students know what to do and how to do it has the potential of increasing the enjoyment of learning for all involved!
  •   I truly struggled with this course and I walk away feeling fantastic about it.
  • Coming into this course I figured we would read a few articles about online education and create a course shell for an online course.  Additionally, I came into this course assuming online education failed to meet the standards of f2f education. Now, my thoughts are completely changed. 
  • Leaving this course I feel as though I could write an effective rebuttal of that argument and I believe that illustrates a great amount of growth for a person who entered this class questioning the merits of online education.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      what would you say? i would like to read that rebuttal.  : ) 
  • Yet, I feel as this is one of the first courses that will let me leave with having a profound change in thinking. 
  • Online education is the way of the future and more important, it needs to be done correctly.
  • o in my new “educated” role, I would like to try and be an advocate for online education.  I will try to discuss the field more often and when I hear someone mention online education I will ask them what they know about it and what they think about it.  Striking up conversations allow for the spread of ideas and maybe eventually online education will gain the same prominence that many f2f courses currently possess. (4)
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Creating Classroom Rules Together | Scholastic.com - 0 views

  • As a teacher, you of course need to establish general rules of conduct for your classroom. But how do you make your students want to follow the rules?
  • Give them a hand in creating those rules!
  • Here's how to do it.
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  • Start with a list of what you consider the bare essentials, and then, through thoughtful discussion, work with your students to create a set of rules expressed in their language.
  • Most teachers agree that it's best to select only a few rules — those that contribute to successful learning and an orderly environment.
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Untitled Document - 0 views

  • How will you initially engage your students? It is well accepted that: "frequent student-faculty contact in and out of class is a most important factor in student motivation and involvement" (Chickering and Ehrmann, 1996). It is also the case that: many instructors who are new to the online environment have legitimate concern as to the impact of the loss of face-to-face classroom interaction. Also, many students who are new to online courses are frequently anxious about this new way of learning and greatly appreciate a supportive teacher. Given these observations: we believe that it is highly beneficial, if not absolutely essential, for instructors who are leading online courses to "reach out" and communicate with their online students--early and often. In addition, we suggest you consider the following strategies for engaging your students as you get your course underway.
  • IV. Techniques: 1. Create a biography of yourself and prepare a brief video introducing yourself and the course topic to the class. This could be the first thing that the students sees in his or her course shell. This is a great way to present your personality online and set the mood for the semester. 2. Have students place a one page vita in document sharing for all to view within the first week of the semester. 3. Set up a threaded discussion asking students to respond and share about his or her experiences with issues related to the course topic.
  • 9. Two Lies and A Truth. My activity for my students is for them to list three interesting things about themselves. (I own two iguanas; I once shook hands with Tom Cruise; and I love to waterski.) Two must be lies and one must be true. Other students must vote to determine which interesting thing is a lie. The student with the most incorrect votes wins. --Suhana Chikatla
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  • 10. Childhood Dream. Ask the students to share their childhood dream (what they wanted to be or do when they grew up) and then ask them to reflect on how their current coursework correlates with their current aspirations.--Charles Collins
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Designing for learning: What are the essential features of an effective online course? - 0 views

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    How do online courses differ from traditional university courses?
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Alan Carniol: Inside the STAR Interview Approach: What You Need to Know - 0 views

  • Oftentimes, the hardest part of the entire four-part process is describing the actions you took. Explaining the sequence of actions and the thought process for each step can be challenging. However, it's essential that you do this effectively
  • How were you able to turn this situation into an opportunity?
  • What were the steps you took to solve this challenge? How did you think about any problems? How did you overcome roadblocks and follow the situation through to get results? Was there anything unique about your actions or your method worth mentioning?
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  • quantifiable
  • Percentages, before and after comparisons, and even client feedback are all helpful to prove the value of your work.
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CL-1: Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG): Assessment Primer (1 of 5) - 0 views

  • There is considerable evidence showing that assessment drives student learning. More than anything else, our assessment tools tell students what we consider to be important. They will learn what we guide them to learn through our assessments.
    • lkryder
       
      If you begin a course design with this in mind, and fold your feedback loops in carefully, students will know what matters and what to work at for success
  • Assessment is more than grades To many, the word "assessment" simply means the process by which we assign students grades. Assessment is much more than this, however. Assessment is a mechanism for providing instructors with data for improving their teaching methods and for guiding and motivating students to be actively involved in their own learning. As such, assessment provides important feedback to both instructors and students. Assessment is Feedback for Both Instructors and Students Assessment gives us essential information about what our students are learning and about the extent to which we are meeting our teaching goals. But the true power of assessment comes in also using it to give feedback to our students. Improving the quality of learning in our courses involves not just determining to what extent students have mastered course content at the end of the course; improving the quality of learning also involves determining to what extent students are mastering content throughout the course.
  • Assessment Drives Student Learning The types of assessment usually performed in first-year science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) courses--giving students tests--merely inform students about their grade, or ranking, after they have received instruction. In addition, these common testing techniques--which typically test for fact-based knowledge and algorithmic problem solving--tell our students that this is the type of knowledge we think is most important. That is, we appear to value the understanding of concepts at a relatively low level. Given that this is the type of assessment our students most frequently encounter, and that it will eventually lead to their final course grades, students learn to study the content in our courses in an expeditious way that allows them to succeed in passing many first-year STEM courses without necessarily developing deep understanding of concepts. It is our assessment that drives students learning.
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    The full primer for convenience
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