Reflection on Fifth Meeting “Awakening/facilitating a paradigm shift”

Autumn asked us to begin our reflection this week from our one sentence statement summarizing our experiences in FDW thus far. My statement reflects those ideas that I elaborated on last week. I truly believe that this workshop is not only opening a new portal onto the learning and assessment process but also providing some very useful skills and techniques.

My feedback session based on the +/delta CAT that used last week went well. I believe that the students appreciated discussion of the various topics based on their interaction and comments by several of the students after class. I also incorporated one of Bill Wall’s suggestions for using WebCT. I’ve asked the class to post at least two questions related to their readings per week and to respond to at least two other questions per week. I hope that this will facilitate further discussion of the topics we’ve addressed in class and serve as a modality for clarifying any additional points that might need further elaboration. In another class, I also used the “one sentence summary” and “muddiest point” in relation to media clips that I shared. I plan to finish reviewing them and providing feedback to that class at our next meeting.

As I look toward upcoming semesters, I’m thinking about how I will use the assessment cycle and various CATs in those classes. I believe that I will stick with some of the more basic techniques for now but may try to incorporate a portfolio within a year’s time depending on my experiences with the more basic techniques. I also want to look at some of the critical thinking resources that Steve Payne shared and will try to incorporate related activities, maybe specific “ill-defined” problems, possibly addressed in a small-group format.

As I prepare for our final presentation, I need to identify ways in which I can 1) best illustrate some of the principles that we’ve discussed and ideas that I’ve had and 2) do so in succinct and timely manner as we will only have about 7 minutes for our presentations.  ¶ 7:36 PM 0 comments

  Reflection on Fourth Meeting At the risk of sounding redundant, it was another great week. We had another great discussion Friday. Autumn & Steve had to keep tight reigns on us in order to stay on task. Speaking of which, the feedback from them was very reaffirming that we, as a group, are “getting it”. For me personally, I feel that I’ve learned a great deal thus far and it was very nice to receive positive feedback regarding my efforts, observations, and contributions thus far. Autumn & Steve, “thank you”.

I’ll also go out on a limb and predict that our remaining sessions will be just as productive. More importantly, I believe that the seed has been planted for many of us and there will be continued growth and exploration after this workshop is over. At this point my only questions are 1) I wonder how will our final presentations be perceived by our target audience, 2) will there be support for these ideas and concepts at higher levels in the administration?; and 3) I wonder what levels of resistance might be met from others at my level in the university?

Getting back to Friday’s session, applying the assessment cycle to our current courses was a good exercise. It was very informative to see how our class objectives did, or did not match our teaching goals. I enjoyed hearing others talk about their experiences. With regard to assessment, in some ways it seems like we (FDW participants) are all novices with this approach but in reality, we know much more than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. I think that we are just learning a new language and possibly experiencing a paradigm shift.

For example, I now know that I’ve been using CATS in my courses from Day one. I’ve also learned that I can do a much better job of framing these assessments and have become aware of the variety of CATS available to address different issues. I used the +/delta technique this past week in my target course and the results were very informative. As such, one of the things that I’m doing to improve communication of expectations is through the development of a rubric for the required research paper. I also received important feedback about components of the instruction and course that are helping students to learn and what components have room for improvement or modification.

However, one of the most important things that I found out is that despite my attempts to stress the recommended prerequisite knowledge and skills necessary for this course, and the emphasis that the course would be approached with those prerequisites assumed, I apparently have a few students expecting the course to provide those requisite skills. I can only see this as a huge barrier, not only in my attempts to facilitate a specific learning experience, but also from the learner’s perspective. They are not going to be able to meet the objectives of the course, as currently defined, if all of their energies are focused on learning basic terminology and concepts, much less those skills necessary for writing an acceptable research paper. This issue will be addressed during the feedback session with the class next week.

With regard to the iPaq, I was able to use it as an “all-in-one” this week for the first time as I signed up for the cellular service. I had a 2-hour teleconference tonight and it was very helpful to have my calendar, emails, & notes all in one device. The ability to use a Bluetooth headset was also a huge plus! I’ve started developing a simple database to record class rolls with. I hope to be able to implement it soon. I’ve already been using a spreadsheet on the device to maintain research appointments and will keep looking for ways in which the iPaq can help me to work more efficiently.  ¶ 7:38 PM 0 comments

  Reflection on Third Meeting Friday’s session was another productive meeting. I was pleased that the group seemed to like the presentation on troubleshooting. One of the challenges in preparing for it was trying to document and be specific about a process that seems more intuitive than a specific process. Granted, knowledge has been gained somewhere along the way but overall, it’s just something that I do.

I thought that our group session went very well. It was very beneficial for me to listen to Bill & Doug talk about how they use assessment in their classes. I look forward to hearing more from them in future meetings. I want to learn more about how they link course-level goals with their programmatic goals. It was also reassuring to hear support for taking “baby steps” into new assessment approaches. As such, at some time this week I plan to use one or two of the classroom assessment techniques (CATS) I identified.

I’ve been trying to identify source applications to assist me in using the iPaq more in the classroom. I’ve already introduced it to the class and told them a little about the FDW workshop. I’m thinking about asking the class if they have any ideas how I might incorporate into assessment. After all, they are significant stakeholders.

My next goal is to identify one of the software applications for the iPaq and specify at least one explicit use for it in my class. We’ve discussed several general ways in which we might use the device but I’d like to be able to share an actual application at our next meeting or at least the progress that I am having in implementing the strategy.  ¶ 8:47 PM 0 comments

  Playing around with uploading pictures
Pond jpg that came with the iPaq (not a picture that I took)
  ¶ 1:20 PM 0 comments

  Reflection on Second Meeting Whew! Friday's session seemed to fly by. The discussions were great and it seemed like everyone had something they wanted to share. It appeared that the Huba & Freed text was as stimulating for other people as it was for me.

At this point, I’m wondering how to best mesh the dynamic aspects of my teaching style and those areas that will be best served by a rubric. I want to learn how to best be able to explicitly outline the primary objectives for a given portion of the course while remaining flexible enough to tailor each semester’s class to the needs of the students enrolled at that time. In that manner, I can be surer that the students’ perspective of “no smoke and mirrors” matches mine. I am also beginning to identify which of my assessments are formative and which are summative, and how either can be used interchangeably depending on context.

I am still working on my teaching philosophy. I am also trying to decide the best way to share this with future students, whether on my faculty web site, on each syllabus, or as a routine introduction for each new class. I believe that there may be aspects of my teaching philosophy that are quite apparent but don’t want to assume that they are for those in my classes.

I’m still enjoying the iPaq but have learned to keep my mouth shut. All kidding aside, I hope that I can help others in my class by sharing some of my personal experiences thus far, as I’ve been asked to do next week. I also want to find out from others how they are beginning to think about how the device might come into play in their individual courses and ideas for use in assessment. I am still leaning more into 1) simplifying everyday tasks (e.g., class rolls) and 2) how I can use the device in my current research projects.
  ¶ 10:34 AM 0 comments