This week's readings covered a variety of topics from teacher evaluations to the role of teachers in learning to how to make an online class. I would like to focus mostly on teacher evaluation, laboratory teaching, and the roles of teachers.
Teacher evaluation is a very important to see how the students are doing with the information you are giving them. In biology courses there is a lot of information in the beginning that will be built upon, so a teacher needs to have a sense that that information was understood so that there will be no problems in the future topics that require you to go back and reteach something. I like the idea of formal evaluation at about the mid semester point that will allow students to write out their concerns and what they thought was good. It would be simple to write out a survey and have a few questions about what was the most helpful and what was the most detrimental to their learning. There are always evaluations at the end of the semester for professors and teaching assistants that are helpful most of the time. While I have never actually taught a class formally to receive these, I have seen their like before and found them useful. The SROIs that are given out don't always help that much though. There is little help from the circled numbers section regarding performance. I don't think that it is helpful to know that you got a 2 on how you communicate without comments on what the problem was. Students rarely fill out the comments section unless they have strong feelings either way, so I think that these comments should be taken with a grain of salt. Don't get overinflated by the good and definitely don't get too discouraged by the bad, mean, sexist, or even violent comments. I think that most of the offensive things are filtered out by the administration for TAs at least.
Meta-teaching is good for teachers that are secure in their position. It is helpful for both the teacher and the student to know what to do to fix in class problems. I helps the students by fixing the problem and by giving them confidence because they see that they have a way to potentially change things that are not conducive to their learning. The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan has good information on different types of teaching evaluation.
Laboratory teaching is very important to me because there are a lot of labs in science classes, and it is likely that I will end up teaching in a lab next semester. The book had a lot of good ideas, but there is a problem with getting the lab coordinator to agree to much that isn't already done. The Bio 150/151 labs are uniform to make it so that nobody has a disadvantage or advantage. Right now there are a lot of expository experiments and a few elements of inquiry and problem based learning. I can see the need for expository labs when there is a lot of sections and the topic is basic, but I would like to see a little different technique each lab. There is no need to pick one style and stick with it. The introduction lab could be expository while the biomolecule lab could have more of an inquiry feel where they need to test what they have and compare with other groups. I think that a problem based learning could be used for a genetics lab where it would be modeled in a CSI forensics lab theme. The real thing that holds all of this back is that there is a certain expectation of how things should be done by the administration and that it is easier to keep going with the course as is rather than experimenting and causing problems. If it isn't broken don't fix it. Every now and then there is a big class that is taught in an off year for a small class. These are often used for a little more experimentation or to give aspiring science teachers a chance to practice leading an actual class. This would provide an opportunity for the lab design to be altered without causing too much of a fuss. As you may be able to tell, I like the University of Michigan CRLT site for information and it just so happens that they have a section on teaching labs for grad students.
The McKeachie text has a section that lists the six possible roles of a teacher in experiential teaching. We are usually all aware that there is an expectation of being an expert, an authority, and a facilitator, but I never really thought of most of my teachers as being socializing agents, ideal examples of ego, or even people. I think that there is a little more difficulty in that. We expect teachers to know things that we need, but do we know what we need to know? I have never done such work, but there is truth to this. Seeing a teacher in a different light is difficult, but if you do and select the proper role model they can provide a lot of direction. I would be very nervous to be this role model early in my teaching career, but as I progressed and became more comfortable I think that it would be easy to develop a network of people, experiences, and theories that would help out my students a lot. Who better to help students socialize than somebody who can use existing contacts or experiences. The biology department has hired a person to advise pre-med students as their main job. It helps the students to have an advisor/teacher that specializes in such things so that they can use their information more effectively.
I also liked the section covering distance education. Not specifically because I would use it as a full course however. I don't like the idea of a biology class being taught online only. There would need to be some in person classes too. The real reason this is interesting is that there is a plan in place to use online teaching if the H1N1 flu gets out of control so there isn't another situation like the flood in the spring. A short period of online work is necessary here and this section could be useful.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Blog Entry #8
1) Class activities for my Evolution course:
The first activity that came to mind when I was reading the chapter on High and Low Stakes Writing was actually Middle Stakes Writing. I like the idea of low stakes writing, but I would like there to be a little more structure to the assignment. I think that Middle Stakes Writing is a good blend of getting students to think about a topic freely while still being able to communicate their ideas to the teacher. After looking through my book collection I found my copy of The Diversity of Life by E.O. Wilson which I think would be a good supplemental book for my class. It has interesting chapters that the students could read and write a two page response about what they learned and how it applies to their concept of evolution. These writings would be due every other week and would not make up a significant amount of their grade, but it would be enough to keep them working at it. I would like to read through these quickly and make a few comments where it would be helpful before handing them back so that this could lead into a bigger writing assignment toward the end of the semester. I think that this level of writing will get the students to write down what they learned from lectures as well as the reading while not being a stressful experience like a test or term paper. It will also allow me to follow their progress throughout the semester to see if there is a piece of information that isn't being absorbed as well as other topics. As the book says, writing is a more private way to express things and it can be valuable for learning what concerns the students are having. I hate it when teachers just start calling on students out of the blue to ask a question about how I feel regarding a topic.
In the active learning chapter I found that the Syndicate idea for team learning had the most merit for what I want to do. The class could break up into small groups and cover a small topic for each section of the course. When the groups are formed towards the beginning of the semester they will be given a general topic that will be covered in class that they will have some time to look into and they will be able to report this back to the class after we are done covering the material so that the reporting day will act as a review day for the class. As the semester progresses and the topics get harder the groups will have more time to do the research in class, so the topics may be a little more complex. With the Hardy-Weinberg section there will be a lot of focus on the math in lecture, so I think the groups could focus more on the interesting side facets like sex linkage differences across species, inbreeding, and polyploidy. Since there is a lot of material that is interrelated the students would get a really good grip on one topic and be able to see how that links to other topics when the other groups report. I wouldn't really expect the groups to spend a long time reporting to the class, but there would need to be a certain amount of information covered and perhaps a rotation among the group as to who the spokesperson is each session. Syndicate learning would combine the active learning themes of teaching peers, working in a group, and discussing/debating issues to get the most out of learning.
As far as problem based learning is concerned I would like to use case studies. These can bring out a deeper level of thinking because the students would need to see the big picture and link together their ideas with the possible ramifications of their decisions. There are a lot of areas in evolution that can be discussed thoroughly by a class without ever bringing up a really sensitive topic. The students could do these in their syndicate groups during topics that don't have a very good structure for the syndicate learning like micro/macro evolution. The group would get a case study involving a species of animal that is currently causing a conservation problem somewhere. The would be expected to tell how the issue got to the point that it has reached. For example there could be a group with the Red Wolf that needs to show how human encroachment and hunting extirpated the species from its natural range. They would then need to cover the possible plans for resolving the problem. That could mean things like reintroduction or using zoos as arks for these species. The students would also need to look into the problems that their solutions cause. For the Red Wolf this could be something along the lines of people opposing reintroduction of wolves near where they live or farm. There are a lot of different case studies out there that I could used for this and there is never a limit for opposing viewpoints as to how to deal with these issues. To list a few there are: wolves v. ranchers, Florida panthers v. population encroachment, Delta Smelt v. California water usage, Devil's Hole Pupfish v. a golf course, Prairie Chickens v. habitat loss, and Sea Otters v. oil spills, bivalve farmers, and genetic bottlenecks to name a few. They could compare their issues with some similar cases that have run their course and see if there are any similarities. I think this would be better received by the ECS students in my class, but there is a general interest in this sort of course that should keep people interested.
2) Best practices from in class activities:
The teaching demonstrations that we have had so far have all had interesting ways of getting people involved that enhance learning. I generally liked the more active activities the best. When we were able to get into groups and discuss things that we just learned in the lecture, I was more willing to think critically about the topics. The book suggests that this is effective because there is a difference between peer communication and teacher-student communication. I think that this is true to some extent. I would be more likely to just take the teachers information at face value and not think about it deeper unless I needed to compound on it and reply back. With a group of peers there is less veneration and more bouncing around of ideas. It is also a little easier to ask dumb questions in small groups than in large groups. I am more likely to ask a dumb question that may help me out if there is nobody that can outright say that I am wrong. Along with this method the teacher also goes around the room and contributes to each group conversation while not being the center of the conversation. Finally group work allows me to be a sort of teacher as well. Even if I am not an expert on the topic, I can still try and help others learn what we talked about in class. The Active Learning section of the text says that studies have showed students who teach material to other students learn more than students who simply read the material. I guess that I would agree because if I am studying alone the only person hurt by a mistake is me, but if I am in a group there are other people involved and i am more likely to take extra care in covering the information.
I like the activities that are well explained the best. I don't necessarily mean that I need to know why I am doing something at first, but I would like clear directions at the beginning that I can refer back to during the activity. I can be oblivious to the reason for what I am doing as long as I know what to do, but there should be some form of wrapping up the activity that brings the reason for doing it at the end. If there is never any mention of why I did something that makes it seem like there is no point and that I need to forget it right away to make room for better information. Based off of my thinking the introduction and conclusion to the activity are as important as the activity itself.
There is a good PBS website that has case study videos for evolution that could be used in my course rather than having to make up some homemade examples.
I could also see myself using something similar to Berkeley's Evolution 101 website for some of the earlier writings where students can select a topic out of their phylogeny and write about it knowing that I have access to the site and can ensure they are going a little above simply copying. This would be an option for some of the earlier writings before getting into the meat of a E.O. Wilson style book. While it is a great book this plan may ease students into the assignment a little better.
The first activity that came to mind when I was reading the chapter on High and Low Stakes Writing was actually Middle Stakes Writing. I like the idea of low stakes writing, but I would like there to be a little more structure to the assignment. I think that Middle Stakes Writing is a good blend of getting students to think about a topic freely while still being able to communicate their ideas to the teacher. After looking through my book collection I found my copy of The Diversity of Life by E.O. Wilson which I think would be a good supplemental book for my class. It has interesting chapters that the students could read and write a two page response about what they learned and how it applies to their concept of evolution. These writings would be due every other week and would not make up a significant amount of their grade, but it would be enough to keep them working at it. I would like to read through these quickly and make a few comments where it would be helpful before handing them back so that this could lead into a bigger writing assignment toward the end of the semester. I think that this level of writing will get the students to write down what they learned from lectures as well as the reading while not being a stressful experience like a test or term paper. It will also allow me to follow their progress throughout the semester to see if there is a piece of information that isn't being absorbed as well as other topics. As the book says, writing is a more private way to express things and it can be valuable for learning what concerns the students are having. I hate it when teachers just start calling on students out of the blue to ask a question about how I feel regarding a topic.
In the active learning chapter I found that the Syndicate idea for team learning had the most merit for what I want to do. The class could break up into small groups and cover a small topic for each section of the course. When the groups are formed towards the beginning of the semester they will be given a general topic that will be covered in class that they will have some time to look into and they will be able to report this back to the class after we are done covering the material so that the reporting day will act as a review day for the class. As the semester progresses and the topics get harder the groups will have more time to do the research in class, so the topics may be a little more complex. With the Hardy-Weinberg section there will be a lot of focus on the math in lecture, so I think the groups could focus more on the interesting side facets like sex linkage differences across species, inbreeding, and polyploidy. Since there is a lot of material that is interrelated the students would get a really good grip on one topic and be able to see how that links to other topics when the other groups report. I wouldn't really expect the groups to spend a long time reporting to the class, but there would need to be a certain amount of information covered and perhaps a rotation among the group as to who the spokesperson is each session. Syndicate learning would combine the active learning themes of teaching peers, working in a group, and discussing/debating issues to get the most out of learning.
As far as problem based learning is concerned I would like to use case studies. These can bring out a deeper level of thinking because the students would need to see the big picture and link together their ideas with the possible ramifications of their decisions. There are a lot of areas in evolution that can be discussed thoroughly by a class without ever bringing up a really sensitive topic. The students could do these in their syndicate groups during topics that don't have a very good structure for the syndicate learning like micro/macro evolution. The group would get a case study involving a species of animal that is currently causing a conservation problem somewhere. The would be expected to tell how the issue got to the point that it has reached. For example there could be a group with the Red Wolf that needs to show how human encroachment and hunting extirpated the species from its natural range. They would then need to cover the possible plans for resolving the problem. That could mean things like reintroduction or using zoos as arks for these species. The students would also need to look into the problems that their solutions cause. For the Red Wolf this could be something along the lines of people opposing reintroduction of wolves near where they live or farm. There are a lot of different case studies out there that I could used for this and there is never a limit for opposing viewpoints as to how to deal with these issues. To list a few there are: wolves v. ranchers, Florida panthers v. population encroachment, Delta Smelt v. California water usage, Devil's Hole Pupfish v. a golf course, Prairie Chickens v. habitat loss, and Sea Otters v. oil spills, bivalve farmers, and genetic bottlenecks to name a few. They could compare their issues with some similar cases that have run their course and see if there are any similarities. I think this would be better received by the ECS students in my class, but there is a general interest in this sort of course that should keep people interested.
2) Best practices from in class activities:
The teaching demonstrations that we have had so far have all had interesting ways of getting people involved that enhance learning. I generally liked the more active activities the best. When we were able to get into groups and discuss things that we just learned in the lecture, I was more willing to think critically about the topics. The book suggests that this is effective because there is a difference between peer communication and teacher-student communication. I think that this is true to some extent. I would be more likely to just take the teachers information at face value and not think about it deeper unless I needed to compound on it and reply back. With a group of peers there is less veneration and more bouncing around of ideas. It is also a little easier to ask dumb questions in small groups than in large groups. I am more likely to ask a dumb question that may help me out if there is nobody that can outright say that I am wrong. Along with this method the teacher also goes around the room and contributes to each group conversation while not being the center of the conversation. Finally group work allows me to be a sort of teacher as well. Even if I am not an expert on the topic, I can still try and help others learn what we talked about in class. The Active Learning section of the text says that studies have showed students who teach material to other students learn more than students who simply read the material. I guess that I would agree because if I am studying alone the only person hurt by a mistake is me, but if I am in a group there are other people involved and i am more likely to take extra care in covering the information.
I like the activities that are well explained the best. I don't necessarily mean that I need to know why I am doing something at first, but I would like clear directions at the beginning that I can refer back to during the activity. I can be oblivious to the reason for what I am doing as long as I know what to do, but there should be some form of wrapping up the activity that brings the reason for doing it at the end. If there is never any mention of why I did something that makes it seem like there is no point and that I need to forget it right away to make room for better information. Based off of my thinking the introduction and conclusion to the activity are as important as the activity itself.
There is a good PBS website that has case study videos for evolution that could be used in my course rather than having to make up some homemade examples.
I could also see myself using something similar to Berkeley's Evolution 101 website for some of the earlier writings where students can select a topic out of their phylogeny and write about it knowing that I have access to the site and can ensure they are going a little above simply copying. This would be an option for some of the earlier writings before getting into the meat of a E.O. Wilson style book. While it is a great book this plan may ease students into the assignment a little better.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog Entry # 7
The reading this week covered learner centered teaching, the motivations for students to learn, and the difficulties in cross cultural communication.
What is Learner centered teaching?
Learner centered teaching is a method of teaching that gets the students involved in their learning experience. It can do this in many ways, but some of them are a little more common like student determination of what they will focus on or how they will be evaluated. Learner centered teaching gives students a choice in what to learn and fosters their ability to learn rather than just being taught. It involves a certain amount of student accountability that requires a high level of motivation. The McKeachie text focuses on motivation as the main mechanism of how learner centered teaching is carried out. There is also a section on how different cultures react differently to different types of teaching and activities.
One of the scarier concepts in this method is that the teacher gives up some power to the students. This can be difficult for new teachers because their position over the students already feels a little tenuous, but if a compromise can be reached it will take a lot of pressure off of the teacher.
Which aspects would I incorporate into my teaching?
I would like to draw heavily from the McKeachie text on cultural diversity. There are a lot of multicultural students in the sciences and the differences in how they learn can be a really big deal in biology courses. At one point in the text there is a section regarding some cultures' reluctance to address authority figures with questions to avoid insulting their teaching. I have noticed this in a lab where I assist a professor. I am just there to help out when students have questions and don't consider myself the authority, but it seems that I field a lot of the questions from a few foreign students even when the teacher is available. In hindsight this may be the case because the bulk of domestic students ask questions of whoever is available and closest, while I am targeted by the foreign students. I guess that, while this makes sense and makes me feel better about being there to help, it will make my ego take a hit in that I liked the idea of being so awesome that people wait in line for my explanations.
In general it seems that the best way to deal with major issues that arise with different cultural learning styles is to know what you can about them. I will take this opportunity to talk with multicultural students to see what they are thinking while keeping in mind that it is just a small sample population and that not everyone will fall into a clean plot of these data. Overall it is a good idea to try and vary the learning styles with any class, but this will also assist in breaching these barriers to learning.
I would also include the ability of students to decide what assignments that they want to do from a list of available assignments. I would like to have a list where they pick a few from a list that leaves one or two extra options in the end to avoid too much randomness in assignments. There would need to be set due dates for their homework, but with the choice of what to do they can plan ahead. The first assignment could be the easiest to ease into the coursework, or the more ambitious students could try to accomplish the hardest work in the beginning when they have more time and leave the easier work for when they have other tests. This method could be a logistics problem for the teacher, but if there is a set assignment queue to pick from they will not be insanely difficult to grade. One issue with this is that they might get graded differently based on when they are turned in, because they should be expected to know more towards the end of the class and I would expect them to increase in quality towards the end of the semester, so a paper from the start of the term is likely to be less detailed than a later one yet need to be graded somewhat similarly as to avoid an issue.
Aspects of Learner Centered Teaching that could be difficult to incorporate:
I personally can't see myself allowing the students to pick what they want to learn about for most of the classes I could see myself teaching. This goes back to the motivations of the students. I have known quite a few pre-med or pre-pharmacy students in biology classes and there is an overwhelming motivation for a good grade rather than learning the material. They focus on an A because their program requires a 4.0 and the classes are just a means to an end. There are a lot of required courses in their fields that don't really have any direct bearing on what they want to do. If this is the case I have to imagine, despite what the text says, that they would try and take the easiest way out. If I was certain that the class was full of people that wanted to learn the topic this could be a possibility, but as long as there are course requirements for undergraduates that don't seem to follow their interests there would be dissent and an attempt to take the easiest way out. A good example of this is the required humanities. I personally love history and would have done more in depth learning than what we got from the teachers, but most people were in there because they had to be. Do you think that those disgruntled people are going to say "Hey, here is my chance to learn the history that I want to learn!" or "Here is my chance at an easy A!"?
I would not want to give up too much control over the class in allowing them to pick the text or letting them set classroom protocols. I think that if there is too much relinquished there will be a problem in getting control when you need it. Giving some leeway is okay, but giving too much could lead to getting off topic and not being able to get back on track. It isn't often thought about, but some of the pseudoscience out there is by far more interesting than most of what the students need to learn for their next level courses. When you sense that things are far off track you could suggest that they get back on the right track. Once the teacher loses their gravitas it will be difficult to get back.
The American Psychological Association has a website that lists 14 principles that are related to learning. Some of these are very familiar to what we have been talking about in the reading. They try to link several factors such as motivation, environment, and contextual factors. This can give nerdier people an insight into how think about how students learn.
What is Learner centered teaching?
Learner centered teaching is a method of teaching that gets the students involved in their learning experience. It can do this in many ways, but some of them are a little more common like student determination of what they will focus on or how they will be evaluated. Learner centered teaching gives students a choice in what to learn and fosters their ability to learn rather than just being taught. It involves a certain amount of student accountability that requires a high level of motivation. The McKeachie text focuses on motivation as the main mechanism of how learner centered teaching is carried out. There is also a section on how different cultures react differently to different types of teaching and activities.
One of the scarier concepts in this method is that the teacher gives up some power to the students. This can be difficult for new teachers because their position over the students already feels a little tenuous, but if a compromise can be reached it will take a lot of pressure off of the teacher.
Which aspects would I incorporate into my teaching?
I would like to draw heavily from the McKeachie text on cultural diversity. There are a lot of multicultural students in the sciences and the differences in how they learn can be a really big deal in biology courses. At one point in the text there is a section regarding some cultures' reluctance to address authority figures with questions to avoid insulting their teaching. I have noticed this in a lab where I assist a professor. I am just there to help out when students have questions and don't consider myself the authority, but it seems that I field a lot of the questions from a few foreign students even when the teacher is available. In hindsight this may be the case because the bulk of domestic students ask questions of whoever is available and closest, while I am targeted by the foreign students. I guess that, while this makes sense and makes me feel better about being there to help, it will make my ego take a hit in that I liked the idea of being so awesome that people wait in line for my explanations.
In general it seems that the best way to deal with major issues that arise with different cultural learning styles is to know what you can about them. I will take this opportunity to talk with multicultural students to see what they are thinking while keeping in mind that it is just a small sample population and that not everyone will fall into a clean plot of these data. Overall it is a good idea to try and vary the learning styles with any class, but this will also assist in breaching these barriers to learning.
I would also include the ability of students to decide what assignments that they want to do from a list of available assignments. I would like to have a list where they pick a few from a list that leaves one or two extra options in the end to avoid too much randomness in assignments. There would need to be set due dates for their homework, but with the choice of what to do they can plan ahead. The first assignment could be the easiest to ease into the coursework, or the more ambitious students could try to accomplish the hardest work in the beginning when they have more time and leave the easier work for when they have other tests. This method could be a logistics problem for the teacher, but if there is a set assignment queue to pick from they will not be insanely difficult to grade. One issue with this is that they might get graded differently based on when they are turned in, because they should be expected to know more towards the end of the class and I would expect them to increase in quality towards the end of the semester, so a paper from the start of the term is likely to be less detailed than a later one yet need to be graded somewhat similarly as to avoid an issue.
Aspects of Learner Centered Teaching that could be difficult to incorporate:
I personally can't see myself allowing the students to pick what they want to learn about for most of the classes I could see myself teaching. This goes back to the motivations of the students. I have known quite a few pre-med or pre-pharmacy students in biology classes and there is an overwhelming motivation for a good grade rather than learning the material. They focus on an A because their program requires a 4.0 and the classes are just a means to an end. There are a lot of required courses in their fields that don't really have any direct bearing on what they want to do. If this is the case I have to imagine, despite what the text says, that they would try and take the easiest way out. If I was certain that the class was full of people that wanted to learn the topic this could be a possibility, but as long as there are course requirements for undergraduates that don't seem to follow their interests there would be dissent and an attempt to take the easiest way out. A good example of this is the required humanities. I personally love history and would have done more in depth learning than what we got from the teachers, but most people were in there because they had to be. Do you think that those disgruntled people are going to say "Hey, here is my chance to learn the history that I want to learn!" or "Here is my chance at an easy A!"?
I would not want to give up too much control over the class in allowing them to pick the text or letting them set classroom protocols. I think that if there is too much relinquished there will be a problem in getting control when you need it. Giving some leeway is okay, but giving too much could lead to getting off topic and not being able to get back on track. It isn't often thought about, but some of the pseudoscience out there is by far more interesting than most of what the students need to learn for their next level courses. When you sense that things are far off track you could suggest that they get back on the right track. Once the teacher loses their gravitas it will be difficult to get back.
The American Psychological Association has a website that lists 14 principles that are related to learning. Some of these are very familiar to what we have been talking about in the reading. They try to link several factors such as motivation, environment, and contextual factors. This can give nerdier people an insight into how think about how students learn.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Blog Entry #6
This week the reading covered dealing with student problems and how to interact with them in a one on one setting. I found that the most useful portions for me covered writing recommendations, students with emotional problems in class, and dealing with inattentive or unprepared students.
Writing recommendations for students is a fairly common practice in college. It simply involves writing a letter explaining why you thought the person in question would be good at whatever they are applying for. Considering how often this happens in science, I am surprised that there isn't more information around that dictates just what a teacher should write. The book offers several helpful hints that can be used for writing one as well as sample letters in the appendix. I will very likely use this information when it comes time to write letters of recommendation. For the most part I feel that I am inclined to be too easily convinced to write favorable letters without actually wanting to do it. The book had good tips on weighing the options and choosing whether or not to write, as well as, how to eloquently dodge the attempt. There are a quite a few websites out there that have information on writing reference letters, but there is information for writing student recommendations in specific out there too, such as this Harvard site. While this may not have an active role in teaching it is still a part of being a teacher.
Having emotion is a good thing in class. It can further learning when you are intensely interested in what you are learning. That said, there can be problems where students get angry with the teacher or material because they don't understand it or there is an emotionally charged facet to the topic. As the book stated there are some really hot button issues that are covered in biology classes. The book's idea to have students write about these issues rather than just start up a discussion is a good tactic. I think that there are a few teachers in the Biology Department that have students write short papers on bioethics related topics. These are then graded on how well the students can support their viewpoint with class material rather than what that view is. If they can't support their view with in class material it is likely that they don't really want to learn from the class and it is a tool for assessing whether or not they are learning or just feeding back the same information on tests and quizzes. The University of California at Berkeley has a pretty good teaching department site that has information on dealing with sensitive topics and many links for further reading. If the argument is in a one on one situation there are some good hints in the book to keep from getting in trouble. The readings have good information that allows you to stay calm and present your reason for doing whatever it is that made them angry in the first place. The University of Minnesota has a good collection of short films that show what can be done in situations ranging from anger over points to excuses for missing class. I would likely take the tact of indirectly talking about difficult issues through writing a paper that aims at the periphery so as to avoid getting too much emotion built up while still talking about the general topic. I would like to avoid giving people a soapbox on which to stand at the expense of others.
There is always a problem with students not being prepared for class. The book suggests that getting people to pay attention is always difficult. The suggestions offered for dealing with this involve things like having students group up and do a problem or giving pop quizzes. I like the idea of giving quizzes that are not graded the same as most usually are. To get students to attend class and take the quiz they could be taken and corrected, but not graded. The questions could then be entered in a bank that would be used to make the exams. It would add a non-graded assessment to the class while still getting people to show up and take it. If attendance and attentiveness are still problems they could possibly be used for some type of extra credit in the future if that is allowed in the structure of the grading system. If the problem is just talking during class, I might be inclined to let it slide at first. If it gets to be really distracting, however, I might ask a question on whatever I was covering to the students who were talking to make them see that paying attention helps them look less foolish.
Writing recommendations for students is a fairly common practice in college. It simply involves writing a letter explaining why you thought the person in question would be good at whatever they are applying for. Considering how often this happens in science, I am surprised that there isn't more information around that dictates just what a teacher should write. The book offers several helpful hints that can be used for writing one as well as sample letters in the appendix. I will very likely use this information when it comes time to write letters of recommendation. For the most part I feel that I am inclined to be too easily convinced to write favorable letters without actually wanting to do it. The book had good tips on weighing the options and choosing whether or not to write, as well as, how to eloquently dodge the attempt. There are a quite a few websites out there that have information on writing reference letters, but there is information for writing student recommendations in specific out there too, such as this Harvard site. While this may not have an active role in teaching it is still a part of being a teacher.
Having emotion is a good thing in class. It can further learning when you are intensely interested in what you are learning. That said, there can be problems where students get angry with the teacher or material because they don't understand it or there is an emotionally charged facet to the topic. As the book stated there are some really hot button issues that are covered in biology classes. The book's idea to have students write about these issues rather than just start up a discussion is a good tactic. I think that there are a few teachers in the Biology Department that have students write short papers on bioethics related topics. These are then graded on how well the students can support their viewpoint with class material rather than what that view is. If they can't support their view with in class material it is likely that they don't really want to learn from the class and it is a tool for assessing whether or not they are learning or just feeding back the same information on tests and quizzes. The University of California at Berkeley has a pretty good teaching department site that has information on dealing with sensitive topics and many links for further reading. If the argument is in a one on one situation there are some good hints in the book to keep from getting in trouble. The readings have good information that allows you to stay calm and present your reason for doing whatever it is that made them angry in the first place. The University of Minnesota has a good collection of short films that show what can be done in situations ranging from anger over points to excuses for missing class. I would likely take the tact of indirectly talking about difficult issues through writing a paper that aims at the periphery so as to avoid getting too much emotion built up while still talking about the general topic. I would like to avoid giving people a soapbox on which to stand at the expense of others.
There is always a problem with students not being prepared for class. The book suggests that getting people to pay attention is always difficult. The suggestions offered for dealing with this involve things like having students group up and do a problem or giving pop quizzes. I like the idea of giving quizzes that are not graded the same as most usually are. To get students to attend class and take the quiz they could be taken and corrected, but not graded. The questions could then be entered in a bank that would be used to make the exams. It would add a non-graded assessment to the class while still getting people to show up and take it. If attendance and attentiveness are still problems they could possibly be used for some type of extra credit in the future if that is allowed in the structure of the grading system. If the problem is just talking during class, I might be inclined to let it slide at first. If it gets to be really distracting, however, I might ask a question on whatever I was covering to the students who were talking to make them see that paying attention helps them look less foolish.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Blog Entry #5
The readings this week covered assessment. The bulk of the readings were concerned with proper testing methods. I was most interested this week in the book's ideas on constructing a test, the notion that testing needs to be more than a letter grade to aim for, and a few of the other methods of assessing learning.
Constructing a test in essence is as simple as putting down a few questions that cover the material and don't take too long to answer. While this may technically be true it is a lot more in depth. To adequately write a test you need to look at what you want the students to learn as well as what the material will allow you to do. I honestly thought this would be the easy part. Just pick a few main concepts, mix a few different question types and done. There are even some test making websites out there that will format the exam for you! This chapter made me realize that I needed to be a little more selective than that. It describes what the different types of question can accomplish(pg. 88 Teaching Tips). I would likely use multiple choice and short answer questions for lower level classes to build the foundation of knowledge and allow some creative explanation while avoiding a grading nightmare involving hundreds of essays for the typical 100-200 level Biology class. In the higher level courses, I would use a mixture of multiple choice/short answer and essay questions. I still want to see what they are learning for base information, but these are the classes where students really need to show that they can apply the knowledge. Many classes in science have math that needs to be tested as well. I would likely put this in the short answer section for problem solving and grade as much on recognizing what to use as whether or not they can do the math. For more information on how to construct a test check Tools for Teaching from UC Berkeley. As an undergrad, I always liked multiple choice tests, but looking back on it, that was not because I really wanted something to help me progress in learning. Rather it was so that I didn't need to be bothered by studying the material. I would prefer my students learn the material rather than like the test. This leads into my next topic of testing being more than assigning grades.
While it may be the commonly held belief that the point of tests is to get a good grade, this is not always true. It can be a valuable tool for teaching students. Occasionally tests will be simply a means to evaluate knowledge, but they can be much more in the college setting. I think that using the book's idea of making tests cumulative is going to be very helpful in my field. In science we usually start out with a decent amount of fact or method learning. While a teacher may say that tests are not cumulative there is almost no way around it. To effectively learn in science a student needs to learn concepts first then build on them. The really important ideas will never leave, but they will be changed and applied in different ways. I would look into building a test that flows from what they already know to what they learned to what those two mean together. When I was an undergrad, I always dreaded the cumulative tests that brought back random ideas that were never talked about after they were mentioned once. If a teacher explained that certain things were important enough to bring back up on several tests, I would feel like it must be important enough to know. In this way I learned things that were not reflected in my grades. Grades are still important, but the point of college is not to get all "A"s, but to learn things that will prepare you for your career. An "A" isn't worth much if you can't remember how you got it.
Some of the other methods of testing can be very effective in learning and evaluating at the same time. Graphic representations of concepts can be very useful in science. It is a way to show that, not only do they know the parts they should know, but that they know how those parts interact with each other. I would include this as a test question or as an alternative to writing an essay where applicable. Rather than writing about the Krebs Cycle a student could diagram it and show where parts come in to make the process work. If it is a complex diagram I could make the outline on the test and allow them to fill in areas. This may make people less nervous because they would know how much they need to write, but it would also stifle creativity and make a good idea a simple fill in the blank question. I can also see this replacing a short paper. It can show that they know what they are talking about and force students to look at broader implications of what they are learning about. A good example of how to create a concept map can be found here. I would actually like to use something like this as a final project for a class in which there is a central theme. A map is made linking all of the concepts learned with the main theme. The concepts are then linked to each other reinforcing how the knowledge is not irrelevant to each other. Ideally I would hope that the teacher learns from these too and can shape their future courses based off of their students diagrams.
While I am still very likely to make several tests that include many different types of questions this chapter, more than most so far, has changed my mind on how to do things. It is difficult to see that tests are used for learning when you need to take them. In that position you focus on what doing poorly will do to you rather than for you. I really liked the concept mapping idea and will likely at least try to incorporate that into a future class.
Constructing a test in essence is as simple as putting down a few questions that cover the material and don't take too long to answer. While this may technically be true it is a lot more in depth. To adequately write a test you need to look at what you want the students to learn as well as what the material will allow you to do. I honestly thought this would be the easy part. Just pick a few main concepts, mix a few different question types and done. There are even some test making websites out there that will format the exam for you! This chapter made me realize that I needed to be a little more selective than that. It describes what the different types of question can accomplish(pg. 88 Teaching Tips). I would likely use multiple choice and short answer questions for lower level classes to build the foundation of knowledge and allow some creative explanation while avoiding a grading nightmare involving hundreds of essays for the typical 100-200 level Biology class. In the higher level courses, I would use a mixture of multiple choice/short answer and essay questions. I still want to see what they are learning for base information, but these are the classes where students really need to show that they can apply the knowledge. Many classes in science have math that needs to be tested as well. I would likely put this in the short answer section for problem solving and grade as much on recognizing what to use as whether or not they can do the math. For more information on how to construct a test check Tools for Teaching from UC Berkeley. As an undergrad, I always liked multiple choice tests, but looking back on it, that was not because I really wanted something to help me progress in learning. Rather it was so that I didn't need to be bothered by studying the material. I would prefer my students learn the material rather than like the test. This leads into my next topic of testing being more than assigning grades.
While it may be the commonly held belief that the point of tests is to get a good grade, this is not always true. It can be a valuable tool for teaching students. Occasionally tests will be simply a means to evaluate knowledge, but they can be much more in the college setting. I think that using the book's idea of making tests cumulative is going to be very helpful in my field. In science we usually start out with a decent amount of fact or method learning. While a teacher may say that tests are not cumulative there is almost no way around it. To effectively learn in science a student needs to learn concepts first then build on them. The really important ideas will never leave, but they will be changed and applied in different ways. I would look into building a test that flows from what they already know to what they learned to what those two mean together. When I was an undergrad, I always dreaded the cumulative tests that brought back random ideas that were never talked about after they were mentioned once. If a teacher explained that certain things were important enough to bring back up on several tests, I would feel like it must be important enough to know. In this way I learned things that were not reflected in my grades. Grades are still important, but the point of college is not to get all "A"s, but to learn things that will prepare you for your career. An "A" isn't worth much if you can't remember how you got it.
Some of the other methods of testing can be very effective in learning and evaluating at the same time. Graphic representations of concepts can be very useful in science. It is a way to show that, not only do they know the parts they should know, but that they know how those parts interact with each other. I would include this as a test question or as an alternative to writing an essay where applicable. Rather than writing about the Krebs Cycle a student could diagram it and show where parts come in to make the process work. If it is a complex diagram I could make the outline on the test and allow them to fill in areas. This may make people less nervous because they would know how much they need to write, but it would also stifle creativity and make a good idea a simple fill in the blank question. I can also see this replacing a short paper. It can show that they know what they are talking about and force students to look at broader implications of what they are learning about. A good example of how to create a concept map can be found here. I would actually like to use something like this as a final project for a class in which there is a central theme. A map is made linking all of the concepts learned with the main theme. The concepts are then linked to each other reinforcing how the knowledge is not irrelevant to each other. Ideally I would hope that the teacher learns from these too and can shape their future courses based off of their students diagrams.
While I am still very likely to make several tests that include many different types of questions this chapter, more than most so far, has changed my mind on how to do things. It is difficult to see that tests are used for learning when you need to take them. In that position you focus on what doing poorly will do to you rather than for you. I really liked the concept mapping idea and will likely at least try to incorporate that into a future class.
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