Teaching Transparency

In "One Easy Way Faculty Can Improve Student Success," Cook and Fusch discuss the notion of teaching transparency and the empirical evidence suggesting it particularly helps underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income students.

Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Takeaway quote:

When students don't understand how a particular assignment will help them learn course material, they often perceive the assignment as "busy work" -- and fail to complete it successfully. Teaching transparently — explaining why the activity is important and what skills and knowledge students will learn — changes that dynamic, because faculty address the assignment's relevance as soon as they introduce an activity.

What Doesn't Work

In this November 2015 post we discussed Make It Stick, a book on the science of successful learning. Looking for the Cliff's Notes version? Here's an article by the same authors: "Classroom Practice – Effortless Learning Is A Dangerous Illusion."*

An overview:

Illusion 1

Repeated exposure burns new knowledge into memory.

Illusion 2

Single-focus, rapid-fire practice hones new skills.

Illusion 3

If learning feels easy, it is a sign you are mastering it.

Illusion 4

We are good judges of what we know and don't know.


*Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, Mark McDaniel.

Small Changes in Teaching: The Minutes Before Class

The Chronicle recently published an article of the same title. Its subtitle: 3 Simple Ways You Can Set Up the Day's Learning Before the Metaphorical Bell Rings.

In the spirit of seizing those valuable minutes before class, our own Laura Power briefly presented at Big Faculty Council the following classroom warm-up:

In Laura's words, it's "kind of cheesy," but who among us is opposed to a little cheese if it's effective?

So how does author James Lange propose that we make an opportunity of those usually-wasted minutes before class?

1. Mingle with students. At an individual level, ask students how they are doing. Strike up a conversation. Lay the foundations for the beginning of trust-filled student teacher relationship.

2. Provide the big picture. According to Lange, "Novice learners tend to see facts, concepts, and skills as discrete, isolated pieces of knowledge, without any awareness of the connections that join them all together." In those minutes before class, we can help students fit those pieces into a broader, coherent whole. Write the day's agenda on the board or an outline of the day's material. Once class begins, refer back to the outline or agenda, explicitly pointing out how the material hangs together in the larger framework.

3. Spark wonder. Display something interesting for students to observe as they enter the classroom, focusing their informal conversation and providing a launching point for discussion as class begins. Says Lange, "[It can be ] a great sentence in a writing class; a newspaper headline in a political science class; an audio clip for a music class; an artifact in an archeology class."

What other small changes can we make in those pre-class minutes to enhance our students' learning? For related reading, consider "You don't Have to Wait for the Clock to Strike to Start Teaching."

Three Ideas for Breaking the Ice on the First Day of Class (Reposted)

When I first started teaching, I struggled with how to start the first day of class. I used to dive right into the syllabus, but then I realized that my students had a hard time engaging with me when I spent the first thirty minutes of our first-ever class talking about my attendance and plagiarism policies. (snoooooooze)

I still had to cover that important information, but I decided that I'd warm up my audience first so they'd feel more comfortable and engage with the syllabus material (and hopefully read it and ask questions about it), and so I could get a sense of who my students were.

So now, I spend the first thirty minutes of all of my first days of class with some sort of "introduction" activity. Hopefully one of these will work for you!

Ask Students to Draw a Self-portrait
Ask the students to draw a little picture of themselves doing something they love to do. The students don't have to show their portraits to anyone else but you, but when they explain their portraits and their hobbies to the class, it gives everyone a quick introduction, and the personal detail helps you remember each student's name. (make sure to tell them that artistic ability is not important, and make sure to draw your own portrait [mine is always an awful, square-headed stick-woman]).

This is one of the better portraits I received last semester

A student draws himself throwing dice for a table-top role playing game

A common portrait: a student playing a video game

I ask my students to write their names and "majors" on the other side of their portraits and I collect them at the end of our first day. I flip through them after class and then before we meet again, and I can remember all of their names by the first week.

Have Students Interact
Use a Getting to Know You Bingo card like the one below. You can make sure that each item on the card is something that you can sign off on, and see how many students approach you. Once you reveal to them that all spots apply to you, too, they've gotten a glimpse at their instructor as well. The "prizes" can be candy, extra credit points, or a "pass" on the first pop quiz--whatever you want!

You could also ask students to form small groups to interview one another. Provide the questions to get them started--questions related to your subject matter, or general first-day questions--or have them come up with something on their own. Once everyone has talked to each other, ask for volunteers to share something interesting they learned about someone in their group.

Groups of three are better than pairs; if you ask students to get into groups of two, you run the risk of having an "odd man out" and a student feeling awkward about not having a partner. If students get into groups of three, there's a bit less pressure.

Use a PollEverywhere Poll
PollEverywhere a free and easy to use service to get students answering low-stakes questions anonymously. You can ask silly questions based on the syllabus (like the sample below), or you can ask them questions about their expectations of the class.

After I covered my syllabus on day one of my class summer, my students typed in questions they still had so we could go through them anonymously. This worked well because they came up with questions about things I don't normally cover (bringing food into the class [I don't have a formal policy for this because I've never had a problem], if they should call me "Mrs./Ms./Professor" or by my first name [I never bring this up on my own because I never really have a clear answer].

Be careful, though, because you might get questions that are not classroom-related (e.g.: how many tattoos do you have? what is your dog's name?). I told my students that I'd answer all of those questions if they came to see me during my office hours. None of them did.


So what works in your classroom?

GTD on Lynda

Just discovered that Lynda.com—available to all MCC faculty—has an entire course on Getting Things Done!

 If you're curious about David Allen's GTD system (or need a refresher), log on to Lynda.com, enter "getting things done" in the search bar, and you'll find an entire series of videos hosted by The David himself!

http://gettingthingsdone.com/

Book Recommendation

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel.

Image from http://makeitstick.net/

 Lots of good buzz about this one! Maybe a good read for winter break? From the inside cover:

To most of us, learning something “the hard way” implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. 

Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning comes from testing oneself, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. In other words, the most productive practices are ones that feel slow and unrewarding and are seldom adopted by learners... 

Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make it Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Easing Back Onto Campus

Clearly, I've taken the summer "off" from campus (since the last post published here was in April...). I've spent the last ten weeks on my own projects, some of which prepared me for class, some of which were just plain fun. But now, looking at my calendar, I realize that I've got to get back on campus and do some work.

But it's hard, right? I think about my Outlook inbox and I want to shrivel into a raisin and drop under the couch.

Image Credit

So I've decided to ease back into some of the administrative tasks I've got to get done before I can get down to the fun stuff of teaching. We've got two weeks until classes begin (holy cow). Here's how to start:

Start checking the Employ-E-Newsletter
If you're like me, you might have been auto-deleting these daily e-newsletters through June and most of July. But  now is the time to give those a glance for the information you'll need before the new school year, information about MCC facilities, new procedures, and new opportunities.

Open Your Outlook Inbox
Notice that I haven't told you to "read" any of your email -- right now, I just want you to open it. Then walk away and get a cup of coffee.

Delete Your Unnecessary Emails
Okay, now, look over the emails you've gotten since June 1. ("look over" -- don't "read") Delete anything that you don't need: emails from textbook buyers, from textbook publishers, from that weird company you used to order custom pencils for the student group you advise. Good job! Now, get a donut to go with your coffee.

Prioritize Your Remaining Emails
Some of the emails left in your inbox are important, so put them in an order to read and respond. You might put them into folders, you might even decide to answer a few that look time-sensitive. But don't check them all. Julie Morgenstern, time management professional and author of Never Check Email in the Morning, likens an email-reading-and-responding streak, especially first thing in the day, to not only a time-waster, but to an addiction. Don't get addicted to answering email; get addicted to something good, like donuts. Now, go get a second donut and a refill on your coffee.
(hear from Morgenstern talking about work-life balance on WBEZ's Morning Shift program)

Start Folders for Your New Classes
I have a file folder for each class I teach each semester, and in each folder are three sub-folders marked Handouts, To-Read, and Hand-Back. I carry these folders to classes with me, and they help me feel organized, even though most of my assignments are given and submitted via Canvas. You might have something similar, or you might have something different -- an electronic system, a notebook, a series of color-coded kazoos. Whatever it is, start to get it together.

Photo Credit: Milestone Music Therapy

Finish Your Syllabus
You might have started updating your Fall 2015 syllabus in a fit of productivity on May 19. And then it sat there, open on your computer, for the next eight weeks. Hey, me too! Well, it's time to get it done, so open those documents and get to work. Don't forget that Labor Day is September 7, Professional Development Day is October 13, and Thanksgiving is November 26.

Get Excited for Fall Faculty Development Day
Our Fall 2015 FD Day is Thursday, August 13, and it's going to be terrific. So look for the invitation letter (please read it!) and program in your Outlook inbox this week.

Okay, now get started! Don't do it all at once: give yourself a bit of time each day for the rest of this week, and you'll start to feel ready. And don't forget the donuts!

Adding Lynda.com to Canvas

If you're interested in adding Lynda.com as a resource to your Canvas courses, check out this short and easy video tutorial:

And for more information about what Lynda.com really does and how it can enhance your curriculum, attend Pete Lilly's workshop, What is Lynda.com? on Friday, April 10 (11 - 11:30 a.m. in A210). Register now!

Meditation and Mental Health

Are you feeling like you need a bit of quiet reflection in your day?

Join us for a workshop on Meditation and Mental Health--a collaboration of the student organization Psi Beta, MCC's Health & Wellness department, and the Office of Professional Development: 

Meditation and Mental Health

Thursday, March 12, 2015

2:30 - 3:50 p.m.

Luecht Conference Center, MCC

This will be an interactive workshop from the perspective of positive psychology. Learn more about the mind-body relationship, and how individuals can develop strategies to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression more effectively through the use of meditation.

Susan Hannan, M.A. (MCC Instructor of Psychology), and Bhante Sujatha, who is an abbot at the Blue Lotus Temple in Woodstock will lead the workshop. The session will end with a meditation led by Bhante Sujatha.

Bhante Sujatha, abbot at the Blue Lotus Temple in Woodstock

Infobite: Database Citation Feature

This is part of the Infobite Series: Bites of Information from the MCC Library:

Many of the library subscription databases have a citation feature that will cite in MLA, APA, and, frequently, other styles. While these citations are not always perfect, they’re pretty good and quite a time saver.

In the EBSCO databases, you can find a citation through several functions in the right hand frame: the Print, E-mail, and Cite functions. In ProQuest, click on Cite above the article. Look around in other databases to find their citation features!

For more info on citing, see our Citing Sources page that is attached to all of our Research Guides.

Are you interested in having an MCC librarian talk to your class about information literacy? Contact them now!

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