Office Chat: Importance of Quality Children’s Literature

Now you may be wondering about the connection between children’s literature and teaching and learning online. With apologies to Malcom Knowles, it is my belief that we can benefit greatly by investigating how successful teaching and learning occurs with any population. Here Kelly Andrus of the University of Mary Washington College of Graduate and Professional Studies discusses issues related to reading and the importance of using visuals to help those students having problems with text-only books.

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Office Chat: Culturally Responsive Teaching

I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Kavatus Newell today about Culturally Responsive Teaching. In this interview Dr. Newell explains that culturally responsive teaching is a method for differentiating our instruction to facilitate learning for students of differing cultural backgrounds.  Just as we can enhance learning by incorporating visuals for visual learners and multimedia for auditory learners, we can assist students from diverse cultures by creating an inviting environment in which to learn.

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Office Chat: English as a Second Language

I am fascinated every time I visit the office of one of the professors here at the University of Mary Washington College of Graduate and Professional Studies. The topics have been important and the discussions absorbing. Here Patricia Reynolds brings to the venue her many years of research, experience, and caring about second language learners and their success.

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Office Chat: Parallel Curriculum Model

Today, I continue my conversations with University of Mary Washington (UMW) faculty by talking with Dr. Rebecca Hayes about the Parallel Curriculum Model (PCM). My purpose is to stimulate my own thinking (and hopefully the reader’s thinking as well) about new ways to support learning in online classes.

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Office Chat: Strategy Instruction

In this office chat, Dr. Norah Hooper describes two systems of visual organizers in use in her field of special education. Again, as I have mentioned before, the topics covered in these office chats have application to online instruction as well. If we listen with our minds open, Dr. Hooper is describing a deliberate and methodical approach to learning and teaching that may be leveraged as part of our teaching tool set.

The first system of graphic organizers which Hooper discusses are “Thinking Maps” as developed by David Hyerle and published in his 1995 book, Thinking Maps: Tools for Learning. She mentions that such meta-cognitive tools are helpful in working with students with learning difficulties. One thing that makes these maps work is that they are constructed by the learner rather than “hand-outs” from the teacher.

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Office Chat: Understanding by Design

We have a tremendously talented faculty here at the University of Mary Washington. Dr. Beverly Epps teaches in our College of Graduate and Professional Studies in the area of education. I sat down with Dr. Epps the other day so she could share her insights into “Understanding by Design.”

What strikes me in these conversations with our education faculty is how these principles, which are being taught to practicing or future school teachers, are just as applicable in teaching university students both in the traditional classroom or online.

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Office Chat: Differentiated Instruction

It is often beneficial to step back from our current processes and look at what we do through the lens of others - from a different perspective. Just as inventions developed for space exploration have been adapted for use in our daily lives we in distance learning can benefit by looking into the common practices of educators in other areas.

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Video Short: Personality Types

This is a clip from a talk I gave in November ‘07 at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tennessee. The topic is personality types and generational learning styles and has been addressed much more fully in other venues.

The intent of this short clip is to give an illustration using real people - myself, my daughter, and my granddaughters.  The clip refers to the Myers Briggs Personalty Type Indicator and to the  Oblingers’ information on Educating the Net Generation.

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Considerations for Assessing Online Courses

Part of my raison d’être here at the University of Mary Washington is to assist the institution in formulating a set of guidelines and policies for distance and blended learning which apply here at UMW. This process is just beginning and will take some time to have a first draft and will become a continuing practice thereafter. Until that time, individual faculty have approached me asking for me to review what they are currently doing online. The following are bullet points I use in talking with faculty about their online courses until formal policies are reviewed, adopted, and published. This points (references at end of post) are from the Maryland Quality Matters web site and from research done by Chickering and Gamson. Additional points are added which we found useful in my previous career at the Tennessee Board of Regents Online Degree Program.

Quality Matters*

1. Course Overview and Introduction
2. Learning Objectives
3. Assessment and Measurement
4. Resources and Materials
5. Learner Engagement
6. Course Technology
7. Learner Support
8. Accessibility

Chickering & Gamson’s Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education** (sub-bullets possible applications to online teaching and learning, all may not apply in a graduate level course)

• encourages contact between students and faculty,
  • communication protocols established including appropriate venue (email, threaded discussion, telephone, fax, blog, wiki, etc.)
  • quantitative & qualitative expectations established for student AND professor
  • importance of communication and impact on grading established
• develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
  • communication protocols established including appropriate venue (email, threaded discussions, blog, wiki, etc.)
  • incorporation of large or small group activities
  • quantitative & qualitative expectations established for student AND professor
  • importance of communication and impact on grading established
  • notice and expectation for professor participation and monitoring of student communication
• encourages active learning,
  • incorporation of student projects, presentations, demonstrations, or other authentic assessment activities
  • incorporation of peer review, critique, or other assessment activities
  • frequency and manner of student engagement with course content and impact on grading established
• gives prompt feedback,
  • professor indicates expectation to acknowledge student inquiries as recieved
  • professor indicates expectation to provide meaningful feedback to student inquires within 36-48 hours
  • professor indicates expected time lapse between student assessment activities and return of evaluative response from professor
  • professor indicates a commitment to provide the student with period performance reviews of overall course performance
• emphasizes time on task,
  • course content is clearly organized
  • professor presents a clear and reasonable timeline for course participation and successful completion of course activities
  • professor has used a calendaring system to publish course schedule
• communicates high expectations, and
  • syllabus is complete and consistent with departmental objectives and published student catalog
  • course objectives (learning outcomes) are the same as the same course taught in a traditional format
  • professor’s expectations for student performance are clearly stated and presented at the beginning of the term
  • professor indicates time commitment (in terms of both engagement directly with course materials as well as independent work) required for student success
  • time commitment is reasonable and consistent with the total time spent in a traditional course inside and outside the classroom
  • grading criteria are clearly stated
  • assessment activities are appropriate for an online course and require the same level of student achievement as traditional courses
• respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
  • professor provides opportunities for student choice in discussion topics, presentation or project topics, paper topics, etc. where appropriate
  • professor arranges for alternate textual presentation of materials for any student with a hearing or visual issue preventing consumption of material in a audio/visual format
  • professor presents content oriented to diverse learning styles where feasible and appropriate
  • professor applies technological resources appropriately with respect to student capabilities to receive and familiarity with such technologies without placing an undue burden
  • professor has appropriate level of expertise with technologies used in course
  • professor has incorporated supplemental and remedial materials as available including up-to-date web resources and learning objects in the public domain (or with permission of copyright holder)

* http://www.qualitymatters.org/Rubric.htm

** http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/7princip.htm

Bloom, Gardner, Gliffy & Reflection

One of the foundations of higher education is the importance of reflection. John Dewey defined reflective thought as the “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of the grounds that supports it, and the further conclusions to which it tends” (p. 6, How We Think). As reflective practitioners, our classes should be well designed - not only informed by our expertise in our subject matter but also by a thoughtful consideration of  the organization and delivery of those methods.

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