Syllabus Workshop

For Thursday's class, please bring:

1. One copy of the directions for the final project
2. One copy of the review guidelines (sent via email)
3. Three copies of your final project for review

Let me know if you have questions, or need an extra copy of the assignment sheet.

Click here for the list of groups and course topics.

Blog Prompt for My Freshman Year

After completing My Freshman Year, write a 900-1200 word reflection on what you have read. Remember that we are only reading to page 156. The Preface and Afterword are not assigned.

You may follow whatever format you wish, and you don't need to include links to related resources. I just ask that you spend some time addressing the following three questions in your entry:

• What was the most surprising aspect of the book, and why did it surprise you?
• In light of the challenges faced by undergraduate students highlighted in the book, what advice would you give new college instructors?
• Has this book changed your perspective on undergraduate students? If no, why not? If so, how so?

As we discussed in class, we will be posting ONE blog entry on the book, and reading 4 other students' entries prior to class on Thursday, November 19. Please note (either mentally or on scratch paper) similarities and differences between your response to the book and others' responses. We will be discussing these points of agreement and disagreement in class on November 19.

To give the members of your group sufficient time to read 4 other entries, please post by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 16.

Here are the groups:

Group 1
Larry
Kevin
Jared
Dennis
Julie

Group 2
Jeremy
Alicia
Lexi
Chris
Ben

Group 3
Vikki
Rachel
Jennifer
Amber
Kate

Group 4
Danielle
Heather
Andrea
Richard
Lindsay

Get It Wrong Before You Google

A new study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition suggests that we learn better when we get things wrong before getting them right:

People remember things better, longer, if they are given very challenging tests on the material, tests at which they are bound to fail. In a series of experiments, they showed that if students make an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve information before receiving an answer, they remember the information better than in a control condition in which they simply study the information. Trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning.

You can read more about the study here.

Selected Learning Activities

Writing

"Most Versatile": Ben Meyer, Lexi Kvasnicka

"Most Creative": Jeremy Groce, Danielle Teigen

"Best Overall": Lindsay Youd, Heather Wadeson


Cooperative Learning

"Most Versatile": Chris Mattix, Kate Scheller

"Most Creative": Jeremy Groce, Lexi Kvasnicka

"Best Overall": Jeremy Groce, Rachel Mottet


Problem-Based Learning

"Most Versatile": Jennifer Prokopowicz, Amber Rasche

"Most Creative": Alicia Johns, Kate Scheller

"Best Overall": Ben Meyer, Kate Scheller

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Blog Prompt for October 22, 2009

Next week we will be reading pages 192-252 in Teaching Tips and focusing on active learning.

Here are the prompts for your teaching blog:

1. Using the suggestions given in the reading, design (and describe) three class activities that you could use in the course you are designing for your final project. Feel free to combine multiple suggestions in an activity, but be sure to include at least one suggestion from each of the first three chapters - High-Stakes and Low-Stakes Writing, Active Learning, and Problem-Based Learning.

2. Based on the learning activities we have completed as part of the teaching demonstrations this semester, and your overall understanding of this week's readings, write one or two paragraphs outlining "best practices" for conducting learning activities in class. This section of your blog can address procedural issues (e.g., providing clear directions, telling students how much time they will have to complete a task), demeanor issues (e.g., being enthusiastic about the activity), and pedagogical issues (e.g., summarizing what was learned after the activity is completed).

Be sure to make sufficient and specific references to the readings in your entry. In other words, use the readings to explain WHY the activities you've designed will help your students better learn the material.

Email or IM me if you have any questions about this week's prompt.

Schedule for teaching presentations

September 10

Jeremy Groce
Larry Anenson

September 17

Julie Fudge
Katey Scheller

September 24

Lexi Kvashicka
Heather Wadeson

October 1

Jennifer Prokopowicz
Dennis Frohlich

October 8

Andrea Weber
Chris Mattix

October 15

Alicia Johns
Danielle Teigen

October 22

Rachel Mottet
Amber Rasche

October 29

Richard Wienhold
Lindsay Youd

November 5

Kevin Betts
Kerri Spiering

November 12

NCA / No teaching demonstrations this week

November 19

Ben Meyer
Vikki Miller
Jared Fougner

Reading for Thursday, October 15

The excerpt from Learner-Centered Teaching can be downloaded here. We will also be reading pages 140-171 in Teaching Tips.

The readings for this week focus on making teaching more student-centered, both in terms of adapting one's teaching in response to what one knows about the students, and putting more responsibility for learning on the students themselves.

In your teaching blog for this week, instead of the standard format we have been using for entries, I would like you to answer the following three questions:

1. What is "learner-centered teaching" (LCT)?
(the three chapters present different versions of this concept)

2. Which aspects of LCT could you incorporate in your own teaching?

3. Which aspects of LCT would be difficult (or, in your opinion, unwise) to incorporate in your own teaching?

For the last two questions, remember to explain why you would or would not incorporate each aspect. Remember to make sufficient and specific references to the readings in your entry.

Support services at NDSU

Academic support services

Counseling services

Disability services

In addition, the Office for Equity and Diversity can help you if you feel you are being harassed.

Academic honesty and accommodations

Sample language for your syllabus:

Academic Honesty. All assignments must be the original work of the student, not used for any other course, and completed in a manner consistent with the NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct. You are expected to be familiar with these standards and policies; in the event of a violation, ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse. The NDSU Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct can be found at http://www.ndsu.edu/policy/335.htm. Plagiarism – or any other form of academic dishonesty – will result in an automatic F for the course.

Academic Accommodations. Any students with disabilities or other special needs, who need special accommodations in this course, are invited to share their concerns or requests with the instructor at the beginning of the semester, or as soon as possible.

Resources for grading and assessment

Calculating a student's final grade in a weighted system:

(Assignment 1 grade x Weight of Assignment 1) + (Assignment 2 grade x Weight of Assignment 2) + (Assignment 3 grade x Weight of Assignment 3)...

Make sure that the percentages for assignment weight in the equation all add up to 100%

Example:

(90 * .25) + (85 * .20) + (80 * .10) + (93 * .15) + (83 * .30)

22.5 + 17 + 8 + 13.95 + 24.9 = 86.35

Calculating a student's current grade in a weighted system:

((Assignment 1 grade x Weight of Assignment 1) + (Assignment 2 grade x Weight of Assignment 2) + (Assignment 3 grade x Weight of Assignment 3)) / (Total weight of assignments completed / .01)

Example:

((90 * .25) + (85 * .20) + (80 * .10)) / ((.25 + .20 + .10) / .01)

(22.5 + 17 + 8) / (.55 / .01)

(22.5 + 17 + 8) / 55

47.5 / 55 = 86.36

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Tips on using Blackboard to calculate and distribute grades can be found here.

Non-graded Classroom Assessment Techniques can be found here.

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Readings for October 1

The excerpt from What the Best Teachers Do (Bain, 2004) can be viewed or downloaded here.

We will also be reading pages 74 to 112 in Teaching Tips.

Guidelines for teaching observation

Here are a few questions to guide your writing / give you a better idea of what I am looking for:

• Does the paper discuss the pedagogical goals/outcomes that the instructor is trying to achieve?
• Does the paper discuss the teaching techniques used to achieve these goals/outcomes?
• Does the paper assess whether or not the instructor met his or her goals (and consider why/why not)?

• Is the paper sufficiently critical (i.e., discusses both what worked and what could be improved)?
• Is the assessment of teaching based on course theory?
• Does the paper make sufficient and specific reference to the readings?
• Does the paper discuss what can be learned from this observation for one's own teaching?
• Does the paper include a comparison/contrast of the two instructors? [second paper only]

• Is the paper well organized (through clearly defined paragraphs or use of headings)?
• Is the paper free from typos, grammatical errors, and other writing problems?
• Does the paper adhere to the mechanics of the assignment (as outlined in the syllabus)?

In terms of length, I recommend 3 to 5 double-spaced pages. Generally, solid observations are characterized by lots of detail.

Teaching blog directions (revised)

Each entry in the teaching blog should:

• Identify the 3 to 5 ideas that you found most useful in this week's reading
• Offer a brief (just one or two sentences) summary of each idea
• Explain why you thought it was useful
• Talk about how you might implement it in your own teaching
• Include a set of (embedded) links to relevant additional resources

"A" level entries also incorporate personal experience and consider disciplinary context when discussing the usefulness of particular ideas. Think about what your own experience (as either a teacher or a student) has taught you about what works and what doesn't. The following statements might also be helpful for incorporating disciplinary considerations in your entry:

• “This technique would be helpful in my field because…” or 
• “This technique would not work in my field because…”

Changing classroom norms

From the Chicago Tribune (September 6, 2009 Edition):

Rude behavior in college classrooms is often a matter of course: College students more disrespectful, professors find

As the article states, the "decline in classroom manners" is based on anecdotal evidence, rather than empirical studies. What do you think about the validity of this claim?

[Thanks to Kate for sharing this article]

Welcome to the future

Help with syllabus construction

What to include:

Minimum Requirements for NDSU Syllabi

See our course syllabus for course policy examples:

COMM 702 Syllabus

Generating course objectives:

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning

Sample entry

Here is an outline of a sample blog entry, based on the reading we completed for Week 1 (Note: Your first entry should cover the reading for Week 2). This outline is meant to give you a better idea of the level of detail I am looking for in your own teaching blogs.

I. I found several ideas useful in this week's reading.

• First, that it is important to maintain proper perspective on teaching - to recognize that students are paying more attention to the content than they are to my teaching, and that both good and bad teaching days can be helpful learning experiences for teachers. I found this idea useful because...

• Second, that it is helpful to set up a work schedule at the beginning of the semester, with designated times for teaching-related tasks and designated times for coursework or research. This schedule should contain blocks of time for multiple tasks related to teaching, from the standard class prep and class meetings to grading, meeting with students, and answering email. I found this idea useful because...

• Third, that sharing responsibilities with students helps to reduce the teaching workload while increasing active learning in the classroom. I found this idea useful because...

II. These general concepts could be implemented in any field. Here is how I would go about implementing them in my own teaching.

• Taking time to jot down a few notes after a particularly good or bad class, reflecting on what seemed to work and what didn't work at all. If it is a bad class, I should remind myself that students don't worry about class dynamics nearly as much as I do. These practices would help me to...

• Setting up a weekly schedule that contains days devoted to teaching and teaching-related tasks, and days devoted to course work or research. This schedule would help me to...

• Asking students to bring in examples of media clips that illustrate what we have been covering in class, or asking students to bring in discussion questions and lead in-class discussions. These assignments would help me to...

 III. There are several other things that I would like to incorporate in my teaching in the future:

• Front-loading effort. I would like to complete as many teaching-related tasks as I can at the beginning of the semester because...

• Being careful to not put more effort into helping a student than he or she is putting into the course. It's a good idea to ask students what they plan to do to catch up with classes they have missed because...

• Being specific about course policies and consistent when enforcing them. Having a detailed syllabus is important because....

Recommended Readings:




PhD Comics



"Getting Things Done" Explained for Students

Active Learning Activities List

Teaching blog

One of the primary goals of this course is to apply the pedagogical theory and general teaching techniques learned to the specific context of your field and your classroom. To that end, each student will create and maintain a teaching blog during the semester via Google’s Blogger platform.

Each entry should be guided by three central questions:

• What was most useful to you in this week’s reading? 
• How could these theories or techniques be implemented in your own field? 
• What do you want to incorporate in your own teaching? 

Each entry should also include a brief list of links to additional resources you would recommend to your readers.

Entries are due by 12 p.m. on the day of class. The teaching blog is worth 25% of your final grade.