On to a New Adventure (Teaching Tip)

Morrill Professor and CELT Associate Director Dr. Holly Bender will return to her tenure home in the Department of Veterinary Pathology at the end of the spring semester.

Holly has provided teaching excellence, mentoring, and leadership not only to veterinary students, but to graduate students and faculty in every corner of campus. As an associate director for nearly 10 years, she has been instrumental in advancing Team-Based Learning at Iowa State, and leading the Preparing Future Faculty program for graduate students and post-docs.

We are grateful for Holly’s dedication and commitment to teaching and learning and we wish her the very best in her newest adventure.

As CELT’s programmatic needs and strategic priorities continue to evolve, we have also made the decision to stop supporting the ThinkSpace software program.

We plan to re-imagine and re-consider the grad education and faculty development role within CELT over the coming weeks. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us, celt@iastate.edu.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching’


Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: On to a New Adventure (May 2, 2019 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for May 2, 2019 (PDF)

The 10,000-hour rule applied to improving your teaching (Teaching Tip)

In his popular book Outliers , Malcom Gladwell wrote about the average number of hours one needs to become an expert in their field. The 10,000-hour rule of “achievement [equals] talent plus preparation” has entered the popular lexicon as the key to success in a field. While there are certain arenas in which you can become an expert without putting in 10,000 hours (darts for example), Gladwell contends that cognitively complex activities take deliberate practice to master.

So, what does all of this have to do with teaching? How can you gain deliberate practice to foster the kind of teaching that promotes deep and intentional student leaning? Much of the faculty development literature states that the keys to becoming a better teacher are 1) desiring to teach better, 2) using effective strategies, 3) collecting data on teaching effectiveness and student learning, and 4) self-assessing through critical reflection identifying which aspects of teaching help promote the process of learning.

This upcoming summer and academic year, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching has a number of programs to help you grow in your knowledge and application of effective teaching strategies and ways to collect data on teaching effectiveness and student learning. In this Teaching Tip you will find key information about the CELT Teaching and Learning Academy, CELT Teaching Partners Program, CELT SoTL Scholars Program, and CELT Course Design Institute. Each of these opportunities, both new and retooled from previous years, require an application process as they are in-depth experiences that require time and your dedication.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

References:

  • Gladwell, M. (2013, August 21). Complexity and the ten-thousand-hour rule. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/complexity-and-the-ten-thousand-hour-rule
  • Ambrose, S. (2010). How learning works seven research-based principles for smart teaching / Susan A. Ambrose … [et al.]; foreword by Richard E. Mayer. (1st ed., Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Blumberg, P., & Weimer, M. (2013). Assessing and improving your teaching: Strategies and rubrics for faculty growth and student learning / Phyllis Blumberg; Maryellen Weimer, consulting editor. (First ed., Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series).

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: The 10,000-hour rule applied to improving your teaching (March 28, 2019 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for March 28, 2019 (PDF)

Welcome back…..thinking about next semester? Strategies for tracking adjustments to your class

Was your first week of teaching just what you had planned? Or are there already changes that you would like to make next time you teach the course? One of the common questions that CELT staff receives is, “how do I keep track of changes that I want to make for next term?” There are several low-resource (read: low time!) strategies that you can employ to help you keep track of the adjustments that you would like to make.

A professor in the College of Human Sciences spends the last 2 minutes of each class session opening the course syllabus and reviewing with the students the topics discussed on that day and looking forward to the next class session. This closing activity reminds the students that the syllabus is the place to go for course information and helps the students visually see the semester’s progress. After students leave the classroom, the instructor keeps the syllabus open on her laptop and makes notes about the length of time activities took, new questions that students asked, and notes of possible areas that need to be expanded or minimized the next semester.

A collaborative approach is taken by a professor teaching a multi-section, laboratory course in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. At their weekly course meeting, the professor and laboratory and section teaching assistants take 5-10 minutes to update a CyBox note that lists the date and subject of each week’s class session. Working together, they keep note of topics that seemed difficult for students to grasp, track activities that worked extremely well, and generally debrief the speed and pace of the semester.

In the College of Business, an assistant professor has begun utilizing “one-minute papers” after his lectures. At the very end of each class session the students respond to a question such as: “what new information did you learn in today’s class session?” or “what did you find most confusing in today’s lecture,” or “how does today’s material relate to a previous course, job, or work experience?” Following class he prepares for the next class session by summarizing these one-minute responses and includes them as a slide on the next day’s lesson. Sharing these reflections with students offers a nice review of the previous day’s content, but also provides a written summary of student interest (or confusion) to be addressed for the next time he teaches the course.

Whether it is individual or group reflection, instructor alone or informed by student feedback, thinking about what went well and what could be changed during our class time with students is invaluable.

Be sure to check out the CELT listing of events website and sign up today via Learn@ISU for a program that can help inform your teaching practice.

Best wishes,
Sara Marcketti
Director, CELT


Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Welcome back…..thinking about next semester? Strategies for tracking adjustments to your class (August 23, 2018 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip August 23 (PDF)

Preparing for Final Exams, The Sound of Silence

Last week, I asked my students in my 200-level “Creativity on Demand” course “how will you prepare for the final oral presentation to ensure it is professional?” You could have heard a pin drop. Hmm, I wondered, why were they all looking at me, but no one was responding? I waited the requisite 8 seconds and asked the question again. Crickets, nothing! Has this ever happened to you?

As you prepare your students for final exams, final presentations, and final projects, we can consider that sometimes the way that we ask questions can pose a challenge to undergraduate students. Trying to begin a discussion with a question that has “correct” answers can cause concern for students who do not want to look badly in the eyes or their peers. In this circumstance, students may wait it out until the instructor provides the answer to the question themselves. Something I did to my chagrin!

To solicit greater feedback, I could have asked the class something that they have all experienced. In my example above, perhaps I could have asked “what pitfalls have you seen that have made a presentation unprofessional?” Asking the question in this manner allows students to draw on experiences not necessarily central to themselves. I could have also written a concept on the board and asked students to suggest examples, either verbally or in small groups. For example, I could have written the words professional presentation on the board and asked students to suggest examples. This would have provided a wider option for responses rather than a very limited set of correct answers. Lastly, I could have asked the students to relate to examples of professional presentations (and unprofessional examples) that they may have read about in previous course materials. In this manner, students would have drawn on previous course material to think about their future presentation.

Next time you hear the sound of silence to a question that you pose, perhaps consider a different way to present the question to the students. I certainly will!

Sincerely,

Sara Marcketti, Interim Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Preparing for Final Exams, The Sound of Silence (April 12, 2018 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the Teaching Tip April 12 (PDF)

Now that midterms are almost done, how to prepare students for their next exam?

Many instructors grow weary of hearing the question “what’s going to be on the test?” And further, some struggle with helping students effectively study for the exams. In a 2016 Teaching Professor Blog, writer Maryellen Weimer provided teaching activities that can make exam sessions more productive for students and less of a chore for instructors. With some adaptations, a couple of these activities included:

What’s going the be on the test? Students take three to four minutes to look over their syllabus, notes, and coursework assignments, and write down five things that they are confident will be on the exam. The students then form groups of three to five students and compare their lists. Taking turns, the student groups can write the topics on the board – thus providing classroom-generated ideas for what will be on the exam. The instructor can offer clarifying remarks for exam topics generated.

What makes a good answer? Instructors provide at least two examples of previous exam or essay questions. These answers can be constructed from previous semester and should be at different quality levels. Students grade the answers individually and then evaluate them as a group, focusing on what differentiates them. The goal of this activity is identifying concrete features of good answers. Students could then work on creating their own answers to the question posed and circulate their response to classmates for constructive feedback.

How should I study for the test? Students may rely on old standbys for studying including highlighting and re-reading class notes. Instructors can help students improve their performance based on cognitive psychology research. This research suggests studying for shorter periods across several days, quizzing and testing themselves, and trying different strategies such as reviewing alone and then with a friend. Instructors can encourage students to examine their calendars and develop a study plan over the course of several days (or weeks) to ensure studying occurs. In addition to these tips, we encourage you to share the many resources available to students through the Academic Success Center website. This includes individualized and group-facilitated experiences through course-specific and general academic assistance such as academic coaching, Supplemental Instruction (SI), and tutoring services as well as Psych 131, an academic skills course.

See you after spring break,

Sara Marcketti, Interim Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Now that midterms are almost done, how to prepare students for their next exam? (March 1, 2018 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for March 1, 2018 (PDF)

Canvas… Get Started Now.

Arne Hallam: Associate Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Economics Professor, and Canvas Early adopter shares his advice for this edition of the Teaching Tip.

With Blackboard access ending on January 5, 2018, we asked Dr. Arne Hallam, a Canvas early adopter, for his advice on learning the new learning management system in this brief Canvas… Get Started Now YouTube video [1 min 15 seconds].

He stated, “Start working on it because it’s not like you’re just going to turn it on and it works there’s going to be all kinds of things that don’t look the way you want it to look.

Arne then said, “The other thing with that is there the support on campus is very very good. But you have to use it. And what I mean by what I mean by You have to use it you have to call 4-4000 You have to send e-mails or you need to walk over to the Library walk over to CELT because they have people sitting there if you walk over you basically got an individual who is there who’s going to help you do it.”

“I mean who will sit and help you do it. And once you’ve done it two or three times. You sort of pick it up. The other thing is I found the Canvas Guides which are available within Canvas. You go down you click Help Canvas Guides will have training.”

“You can see OK how do the grade book or how to do such and such. But probably more useful as you type in questions and they’ll start to give you other people or other universities pinging back and forth about this and to be blunt Google searches also work out in Google and say you know Canvas blah blah blah. But you just you’ve got to get hands-on and so on.”

Finally, Arne shared, “My biggest concern is that people will think oh this will just take me you know three or four hours before class starts in the spring and that won’t happen. It will take some time but it’s very straightforward. It works really well but that’s the biggest thing is to not postpone.”

You have heard it here first. CELT is here to help. There are resources available. Don’t wait – the time to learn Canvas is now!

Kind Regards,

Sara Marcketti, Interim Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published Teaching Tip: Canvas… Get Started Now (November 9, 2017 – Constant Contact) website.

Print Version?

If you would prefer to view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip • Nov 9 (PDF)

The First 5 Minutes of Class

Students gather and watch a professor give a lecture.The calendar shows we are more than half way to May and most of us are comfortably into the rhythm of another semester. With that in mind, it might be time to mix it up a bit and help students re-focus their efforts in your course as they prepare for the last push to finals week.

I recently came across an article titled Small Changes in Teaching: The First 5 Minutes of Class. In it the author suggests incorporating four simple actions at the beginning of class to help focus student attention. It helps set the stage for what will be taught that day and pulls them away from the plethora of distractions many walk into class with each day. The ideas are simple, straightforward, and easy to implement:

  • Open with a question or two related to the course material for that day. This helps frame what will be taught that day and can also help them understand the relevance and relationships of course content.
  • Ask students to summarize “What did we learn last time?” Having students summarize rather than the faculty member summarizing for them, helps students reengage with the course material.
  • Have students describe or consider what they have learned in previous courses, inside or outside of the discipline, so they make connections to what they already know as it relates to the course material at hand.
  • Have students write down answers to the questions you posed about the day’s topic, their summary of what they learned last time, and or connections to their prior knowledge. Writing their responses helps formalize the connections and gives them something tangible to refer back to after the class session ends.

Here’s hoping everyone has a great Spring Break!

Ann Marie VanDerZanden, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Embracing Change and Opportunities

Change and continuity are hallmarks of university life. Each semester, teaching and research routines enable us to fulfill professional responsibilities and expectations. We also embrace change, as each semester new students fill our classrooms and lab spaces with open minds and new opportunities to consider the ways in which we successfully teach our subjects.

One thing that you can count on is that our CELT Teaching Tip will arrive in your email inbox every two weeks. The Tip will include innovative teaching ideas, programming, and important information related to our transition to Canvas the new Learning Management System (LMS).

For the fall semester, the majority of Iowa State University courses using an LMS will be taught in Blackboard. Blackboard technical support is available through the IT Solution Center (including evening and weekend service hours). CELT will continue to address questions that are pedagogical in nature, such as course design or instructional practices.

It is important to note that now is the time to learn Canvas in preparation for all courses being taught in the new LMS this spring semester 2018. CELT has developed a wealth of resources, and training opportunities related to the Canvas transition via the My Canvas Teacher at ISU website.

We have a great line up of professional development programs in place for the semester. The full list of programs is available via CELT’s Events and Registration website and you can register for the programs through the Learn@ISU website.

Best wishes for a successful semester-

Sara Marcketti, Interim Director


 

 

Framing How You Think About Your Teaching

A recent article published by Kern, et al. (2015) provides insightful consideration of the role the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) plays in the academy. The authors state the goal of the paper is “to present a model to assist both faculty and administrators with appropriately positioning SoTL’s role within the academic missions of universities.” As part of their research the authors conceptualized teaching related activities using two dimensions resulting in four quadrants. These quadrants include: “the practice of teaching, sharing about teaching, scholarly teaching, and scholarship of teaching and learning”. The quadrants combine to create the DART Matrix and each quadrant includes an array of activities and outputs that relate to the quadrant title. I found that the concept and the matrix itself helped me re-frame how I think about my teaching. The article reference is below, and I think it is well worth the time to read.

On November 3rd, Sara Marcketti Professor and CELT Associate Director for SoTL, is leading a session on the DART Matrix. In this session, she will guide participants through a reflective exercise to consider the teaching activities they are currently engaged in and how they may further develop their teaching or SoTL practice in the future. Additionally, she will describe how faculty might use the DART matrix to document their teaching. To participate visit Documenting Your Teaching using the DART Matrix website.

We hope to see you there.

Ann Marie VanDerZanden, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Reference
Kern, B., Mettetal, G., Dixson, M., & Morgan, R. K. (2015). The role of SoTL in the academy: Upon the 25th anniversary of Boyer’s scholarship reconsidered. JoSoTL Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15(3), 1. doi:10.14434/josotl.v15i3.13623 Retrieved from http://josotl.indiana.edu/article/view/13623

An Update on the Learning Management System (LMS) Review

A review of ISU’s current learning management system (LMS), Blackboard Learn, has been ongoing since October 2016. The review process, co-led by CELT and ITS, is currently moving into the product demonstration and evaluation phase. This phase will provide yet another opportunity for ISU faculty, staff, and students to provide input on the future of the LMS at Iowa State. Please look for an announcement on the CELT website and in Inside Iowa State for dates, times and locations of the product demos lead by CELT staff, and the vendor presentations over the next two weeks.
For more information on the background, process and timeline, visit ISU’s Learning Management System website. We value your input on this campus wide initiative, and hope to see you at the upcoming presentations.
Ann Marie VanDerZanden, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
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