blog posts

• Syllabus Format May Enhance Understanding of Course Requirements

  Aug 11, 2022 4:30 pm

  (from Faculty Focus). Syllabus Format May Enhance Understanding of Course Requirements. Over the years, course syllabi have evolved from a simple document that outlines course objectives and requirements to an intimidating, multi-paged contract of terms and conditions for successful course completion. A number of writers have proposed syllabus makeovers, including some who’ve suggested the syllabus be offered in newsletter style. Others have proposed quizzing students on the syllabus as a way to encourage them to read it carefully.

  We decided to try these two ideas and investigate if they helped students understand four essential course requirements: course objectives, course policies, procedures for late work, and the number of exams. Each of us created one traditional course syllabus and one graphically enhanced syllabus in newsletter format, randomly distributing each type on the first day of class. We quizzed students on the course requirements on the second day of class. Both syllabi contained identical content. One of our goals as instructors is to place the responsibility for learning experiences on students. We thought a more engaging syllabus format might be more intellectually invigorating and better at connecting students with the course. Moreover, for those of us who include student learning objectives (SLOs), we hoped that offering them in this format might stimulate more self-regulated student learning. So, which syllabus format is better for students?

   

• Can Gamification Drive Increased Student Engagement?

  Jul 13, 2022 5:00 pm

  (from EDUCAUSE Review). Can Gamification Drive Increased Student Engagement? New methodologies in learning can create new distractions for students, especially with remote learning. Gamification may hold the secret to increasing student engagement and keeping classrooms whole. Gamification is not a new concept in learning. It has been used for centuries in some form or another. The advent of wireless technologies has given gamification new life—creating unique ways to leverage it for even greater learning. This is especially true in hybrid learning environments, where gamification could increase student engagement and create a greater sense of community as the classroom expands beyond physical walls.

• Would They Play? Would They Learn?

  Jul 13, 2022 4:45 pm

  (from Faculty Focus). Would They Play? Would They Learn? Like many of my colleagues, I’ve had my doubts about the educational value of “gaming” in college classrooms. In my mind, there’s an uneasy relationship between entertainment and education. Could gaming really be about learning, or is it just another example of pandering to student interests? And the games don’t have to be highly technical, expensive, or time-consuming to create. I’m pretty well convinced that game-like elements (rather than full blown games) can be powerful motivators and learning tools. Game-like elements could prompt engagement and learning in the classroom. I saw firsthand just how simple the gamification of our existing ideas can be. Teachers can use already existing activities and gamify them! Simply add a challenging problem-solving aspect to the activity, add surprises, and make it more playful, and you’ve gone from active to game-like!

• Is My Teaching Learner-Centered?

  Jun 6, 2022 11:30 am

  (from Faculty Focus). Is My Teaching Learner-Centered? It’s hard to say—we have no definitive measures of learner-centeredness or even mutually agreed upon definitions. And yet, when we talk about it, there’s an assumption that we all understand the reference.

  My friend Linda recently gave me a beautifully illustrated children’s book that contains nothing but questions. It reminded me how good questions, like beams of light, cut through the fog and illuminate what was once obscured. And so, to help us further explore and understand what it means to be learner-centered, I’ve generated a set of questions. For the record, these questions were not empirically developed, and they haven’t been validated in any systematic way. However, they do reflect the characteristics regularly associated with learner-centered teaching.  Questions like these can be useful in helping us to confront how we teach. They produce the most insights when asked sincerely and answered honestly. For most of us, there’s a gap between how we aspire to teach and how we actually teach. Given the less-than-objective view we have of ourselves as teachers, it’s easy to conflate aspirations with actualities. 

• Interpret Feedback and Interpreting Your Student Reports.

  Jun 6, 2022 11:30 am

  (from Stanford University: Evaluation & Research, Student Affairs). Interpret Feedback and Interpreting Your Student Reports. (Note: This article may be of value as you have just received your end-of-semester ICES Online results).  As you read through your reports, bear in mind that Stanford’s student course feedback forms are designed to direct students’ attention towards their own learning. The responses should reflect how much and how well students learned in your course. The teaching feedback form, however, directs attention to individual section instructors.

  Look for patterns: are the distributions consistent and in the ranges you expect? Are there unusual clusters, such as a “spike,” or a very high and very low grouping? A single mean score can be a few decimal points higher or lower simply due to the random sample of students in a particular course from term to term. An increase or decrease of a few decimal points should not necessarily be interpreted as a significant change. For more information, read our discussion paper on the reliability of evaluation statistics (PDF). Finally, it is common to concentrate on outliers or unique responses, but it is more useful to look for patterns and trends than speculate about an isolated score. Let’s begin with general questions. 

• Assigning Final Course Grades

  May 2, 2022 5:30 pm

  (from UIUC Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning – CITL) Assigning Final Course Grades. The end-of-course grades assigned by instructors are intended to convey the level of achievement of each student in the class. These grades are used by students, other faculty, university administrators, and prospective employers to make a multitude of different decisions. Unless instructors use generally-accepted policies and practices in assigning grades, these grades are apt to convey misinformation and lead the decision-maker astray. When grading policies are practices are carefully formulated and reviewed periodically, they can serve well the many purposes for which they are used. 

• Grading and Performance Rubrics

  May 2, 2022 5:30 pm

  (from Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center). Grading and Performance Rubrics. What are rubrics? A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents the performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component parts and provides clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated with each component, at varying levels of mastery. Rubrics can be used for a wide array of assignments: papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic performances, group projects, etc. Rubrics can be used as scoring or grading guides, to provide formative feedback to support and guide ongoing learning efforts, or both. In the following paragraphs, we share some advantages of using rubrics and sample rubrics across different assignment types and disciplines.

• Ending the Semester

  Apr 18, 2022 11:15 am

  (from Georgetown University CNDLS) Ending the Semester. A semester is a marathon effort, and, by the time you reach the end of it, it’s quite possible that everyone—you and the students both—will be exhausted, and perhaps very ready to leave the course behind. But one last thoughtful push can ensure that the course’s conclusion is meaningful in its own right. Naturally, the final stretch of the course is an important time to reflect on the class experience and the material that’s been covered. Not only is it an opportunity to review material that students might need to revisit as they approach final exams and final papers—or to answer any questions that, for the students, remain unresolved—it’s also an opportunity to underscore the significance of the experience the students have just had, to invite the students to appreciate how far they’ve come in a few months. Here are some ways to maximize the end of the semester through reflection, integration, gathering feedback, and looking forward.

• Eleven Tips to End of The Semester Success (From One Student to Another):

  Apr 18, 2022 11:15 am

  (from Utica College Student Voices). Eleven Tips to End of The Semester Success (From One Student to Another). The end of the semester (especially Spring Semester) can bring many challenges and stressors. The weather is starting to get nicer, the days are getting longer, and your attention span is getting shorter. If your class schedule has looked anything like mine, you’ve probably been pounded with essays, projects, and tests since returning from spring break. It can all get very overwhelming quickly, and by the time finals starts approaching you’ve all but virtually checked out. As hard as it may be, it’s important to keep your morale high to get through finals. No one wants to throw away all the hard work they’ve put in throughout the semester over a little stress and fatigue. So, here’s some of my tips on how to stay focused and finish out the semester strong.

• Yes, Virginia, there is a better way to grade

  Apr 5, 2022 5:00 pm

  (from inside higher ed). Yes, Virginia, there is a better way to grade.  Pause a moment to consider the way we’ve been grading our students’ work since time immemorial. The way we allocate points on the basis of apparent quality. The way we struggle to be fair in giving the same number of points to works of comparable quality, even though they differ a great deal -- and the time it takes us to make these hairsplitting decisions. The way students stress over the points their work does or doesn’t get. The way they challenge our grading decisions in the hope of squeezing more points out of us -- despite the agonizing care and attention to detail we give to their work. For students, it’s all about maximizing partial credit.

  Imagine another grading system, one where you grade all assignments and tests satisfactory/unsatisfactory, pass/fail. Students earn all of the points associated with the work, or none of them, depending on whether their work meets the particular specifications you laid out for it. This is why I call this grading system specifications, or specs, grading. Think of the specs as a one-level, uni-dimensional rubric. But don’t think of them as defining D or even C minus work. Rather, imagine that they define truly “satisfactory” as at least B work -- maybe even A minus work. This assures rigor.