Each summer, I choose one or two new emerging technologies to learn. Last summer I worked with edmodo and mendeley. I ended up using Edmodo, but not really catching on to mendeley (nor did my students as it was a bit limited in collaborative work, we found). I also started playing around with pintrest, which had mixed reviews with my students, however, I've found some use personally.
This Spring, I was given an ipod to use as part of a "flipped classroom" project, along with clickers. However, I found the two technologies created information overload. So my goal for the summer is to work more with the ipod, including learning how to create effective learning videos.
So I need your help. Does anyone know of good videos on how to create a learning video? Or does anyone know of good learning videos? (If there are no how to create a learning video, this just might be a research project I can do next fall).
I also would like suggestions on new technology, technology used in new ways, new software being used, and apps that my students may be using (i.e. snapchat, google +) and/or businesses might be using for collaborative work or communication. I am especially interested in data visualization (including mindmapping or flowcharts) apps and/or video apps.
You can either make the suggestions in the comment area here, and/or tweet them to @comprof1 using the hashtag #cmc2014. I will vet out the best suggestions and present them in my blog.
Showing posts with label flipped classroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flipped classroom. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Flipped classroom: Is it something for contingent faculty?
As my previous posts have discussed, I am part of a training project for the flipped classroom. As part of the training, my teaching was observed and the students filled out an evaluation (anonymously) on the class. In reviewing their comments and feedback, I began to think that perhaps I had made a mistake in being part of the project.
I currently am looking for a new job for next year. As part of the application process, most schools ask for teaching evaluations. However, I fear that the teaching evaluations for this class will be less than stellar due to the gap between student expectations as to what a good teacher is and the way it is defined by the flipped classroom. Even the questions on the evaluation (does instructor explain the concepts well) is geared towards evaluating the traditional classroom. In a flipped classroom, the instructor does not lecture which many students equate with "explain the concepts."
My Goals in the Flipped Classroom
I teach two different courses this semester. In all, I teach 5 courses regularly for the department. However, the one course I chose for the flipped classroom, group communication, has been plaguing me for the last 2 semesters. While the students enjoy the hands on classroom activities, many fail to make the connection between the readings I assign and the activities. As such, for this class, I wanted to create a greater link between the readings and the class activities.
Unlike many of the others in the project who were trying to loosen teacher control of student learning, I needed to tighten control (by making the link more obvious) while still allowing student direction for learning within the classroom. The first step was to rewrite my goals so they reflected the messiness of the course content while also indicating the importance to the students.
For example, I added the following goals to the course syllabus:
1)Challenge assumptions about effective group processes and communication
2) Apply communication skills (written, oral, and non-verbal) and processes in multiple real world group (especially small group) settings
3) Develop numerous communication strategies in order to participate and contribute to group processes and products in both professional and academic work environments
4) Understand and analyze basic communication research and studies. Learn to collect, analyze, and use communication data in order to thrive in difficult social environments, workplace group problem solving activities, and the participation of dysfunctional teams.
The next step was to create a mechanism that both motivated students to read and provided some framework for their learning. I did this by creating a question of the day. It turns out that my ineptitude in creating good multiple choice questions, actually was to my advantage in developing critical reading skills for my students. One reason I always gave essay questions was because my multiple choice questions often were too open for interpretation. However, these are exactly the type of questions that create good environments for discussion.
Difficulties for contingent faculty
These ambiguous questions of the day, however, are problematic for students that have been educated in the NCLB environment. They have been taught that there is only one answer and a set process. In addition, teachers in K-12 are assessed based on their ability to get their students to understand what the "correct" answer is.
In addition to students coming into class with assumptions about how they will be assessed, they make certain assumptions about the teacher based on their ability to "get the question right." In other words, if they get the question wrong, it is because they weren't taught or they didn't study. However, often the case is that there was a difference in interpretation of either the reading or the question. Students that can argue towards an answer other than the one I give, supporting it with information and evidence from class and the readings, demonstrate a deeper level of understanding to the material. Unfortunately, students interpret this is the "teacher doesn't know what she is doing" or "teacher is not teaching us." The students want a definitive final answer.
One of the other problems I have in this class is the use of team based learning at our university. Many of the students are part of teams in which faculty support learning and encourage support through team structure as part of the concepts of team based learning. However, my class is not based on team based learning even though there are group activities. In fact, my class is experiential which means I am hoping for conflict, social loafing, and groupthink so we can discuss these issues as it pertains to group communication. Students don't like these ambiguous learning environments and this can be reflected in course evaluations.
So, as the number of faculty who are contingent grows, new ways to teach and changing the skills that must be learned to something that is more challenging (such as critical thinking and problem solving skills) will be more difficult to implement, especially if we don't start creating new ways to measure teaching effectiveness. I have yet to see a job application that provides space for a digital portfolio of student work, faculty research, or blogs/social media. Teaching effectiveness for most colleges and universities are still student evaluations and supervisor observations (which can be difficult to obtain unless you take part in a pilot program). The only way to change the learning/teaching culture in universities is to change the way potential faculty are evaluated.
I currently am looking for a new job for next year. As part of the application process, most schools ask for teaching evaluations. However, I fear that the teaching evaluations for this class will be less than stellar due to the gap between student expectations as to what a good teacher is and the way it is defined by the flipped classroom. Even the questions on the evaluation (does instructor explain the concepts well) is geared towards evaluating the traditional classroom. In a flipped classroom, the instructor does not lecture which many students equate with "explain the concepts."
My Goals in the Flipped Classroom
I teach two different courses this semester. In all, I teach 5 courses regularly for the department. However, the one course I chose for the flipped classroom, group communication, has been plaguing me for the last 2 semesters. While the students enjoy the hands on classroom activities, many fail to make the connection between the readings I assign and the activities. As such, for this class, I wanted to create a greater link between the readings and the class activities.
Unlike many of the others in the project who were trying to loosen teacher control of student learning, I needed to tighten control (by making the link more obvious) while still allowing student direction for learning within the classroom. The first step was to rewrite my goals so they reflected the messiness of the course content while also indicating the importance to the students.
For example, I added the following goals to the course syllabus:
1)Challenge assumptions about effective group processes and communication
2) Apply communication skills (written, oral, and non-verbal) and processes in multiple real world group (especially small group) settings
3) Develop numerous communication strategies in order to participate and contribute to group processes and products in both professional and academic work environments
4) Understand and analyze basic communication research and studies. Learn to collect, analyze, and use communication data in order to thrive in difficult social environments, workplace group problem solving activities, and the participation of dysfunctional teams.
The next step was to create a mechanism that both motivated students to read and provided some framework for their learning. I did this by creating a question of the day. It turns out that my ineptitude in creating good multiple choice questions, actually was to my advantage in developing critical reading skills for my students. One reason I always gave essay questions was because my multiple choice questions often were too open for interpretation. However, these are exactly the type of questions that create good environments for discussion.
Difficulties for contingent faculty
These ambiguous questions of the day, however, are problematic for students that have been educated in the NCLB environment. They have been taught that there is only one answer and a set process. In addition, teachers in K-12 are assessed based on their ability to get their students to understand what the "correct" answer is.
In addition to students coming into class with assumptions about how they will be assessed, they make certain assumptions about the teacher based on their ability to "get the question right." In other words, if they get the question wrong, it is because they weren't taught or they didn't study. However, often the case is that there was a difference in interpretation of either the reading or the question. Students that can argue towards an answer other than the one I give, supporting it with information and evidence from class and the readings, demonstrate a deeper level of understanding to the material. Unfortunately, students interpret this is the "teacher doesn't know what she is doing" or "teacher is not teaching us." The students want a definitive final answer.
One of the other problems I have in this class is the use of team based learning at our university. Many of the students are part of teams in which faculty support learning and encourage support through team structure as part of the concepts of team based learning. However, my class is not based on team based learning even though there are group activities. In fact, my class is experiential which means I am hoping for conflict, social loafing, and groupthink so we can discuss these issues as it pertains to group communication. Students don't like these ambiguous learning environments and this can be reflected in course evaluations.
So, as the number of faculty who are contingent grows, new ways to teach and changing the skills that must be learned to something that is more challenging (such as critical thinking and problem solving skills) will be more difficult to implement, especially if we don't start creating new ways to measure teaching effectiveness. I have yet to see a job application that provides space for a digital portfolio of student work, faculty research, or blogs/social media. Teaching effectiveness for most colleges and universities are still student evaluations and supervisor observations (which can be difficult to obtain unless you take part in a pilot program). The only way to change the learning/teaching culture in universities is to change the way potential faculty are evaluated.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Flipped Classroom: How many hours does an instructor REALLY put into teaching
I'm writing my blog instead of preparing for my class today. Part of the reason is that I find Blogging a way to ease back into academic writing that will be published (rather than writing my dissertation which I have now completed). However, this blog post has weighed on my mind for the last 24 hours.
I have previously written about my participation in a "flipped classroom" project through our school. The last class was less than stellar! First, we woke to some bad weather in the area, and since I teach first thing in the morning, I sent out email instructions for students that may not have been able to come into class because of the weather. Unfortunately, I teach two levels of Group Communication and I mixed the two up, sending the email to the wrong (later) class. More than that, I am using 2 new technologies this semester. The combination of two new technologies (I usually only introduce one new technology each semester) made transitions in set up slow.
So coming home exhausted from 3 straight hours of teaching, I came across this article about how the IRS has warned colleges that the calculations for hours adjuncts work may need to be recalculated. This is the first time that I have seen someone recognize that adjuncts do more than classroom contact hours. It got me to thinking about how much time I put into my classes compared to a full time faculty member. Likewise, while on paper the "flipped classroom" may look like it is less work for the instructor because the "students are teaching themselves", like online learning, in fact, the instructor's role requires a lot more time commitment, often outside of anyone else's view.
Prep Time
There are a number of factors that come into prep time. As mentioned before, I am using two new technologies: clickers and an ipad. I usually only use one technology because of the learning curve in using the technology, figuring out timing (for set-up, transition from activity to activity, student interaction with technology before they feel comfortable). However, I was willing to use the two technologies because I had some prep time and support in using both (something I know many adjuncts or part-time instructors don't have).
Many of the activities I use in class, had to be modified for the flipped classroom. Halfway through my second class, the class chosen for the training, I realized I was "directing" the conversation too much, taking it away from the students. This is something that will be difficult to change. At the same time, I don't want to loose some of the concepts I want them to walk away with. This balance is something I will need to work on in the next few weeks, perhaps coming up with some additional discussion questions before class (I have always been good at reacting to student comments, but now I need them to also participate in directing the conversation).
Another difficulty (and this is just the nature of the demand for our courses, lack of faculty, and the ability for students to drop/add) is putting together groups, getting to know students/student strengths and weaknesses. As a result, I spend the first two weeks frantically putting together groups, coordinating supporting information, answering emails, making sure students have access to the technology we will be using, and collecting information about the students.
This semester so far, I have put in about 50 hours of prep work even before classes begin.
Class prep and assignment management
I usually have a class of 35-45 students. This semester, because one of my courses was added at the last minute, I have a class of 42 and a class of 39. Off courses, this still may change over the next week or so, but these are the numbers I'm starting with.
I have always taught using a style in which I take the content (which I am familiar with) and modify it to meet the needs of a particular class. Sometimes, student written skills are strong, but they lack interpersonal; sometimes their know of communication theory is strong, but they lack practical experience. It is important for me therefore to always prepare before my class. However, with the flipped classroom, I feel I have to be even more prepared, understanding ALL the reading concepts as students my bring up concepts I had not thought of in our discussion. It is not that I don't know the concepts, but rather the vocabulary used by the author. This means, my usual 45 minute prep for class will require twice that amount. I need to be prepared if students bring up concepts I did not necessarily feel were important.
Because I will be evaluating students in class more, I will need to be more "present" in the class (so I can evaluate them). This is very fatiguing especially when teaching 3 hours straight. In addition, there is more assessment after class and follow up (I tape a review of the key points I wanted them to take away from class based on what we did in class). I have cut down on some of my written assessments, but I still need to figure out how to access the statistics from the clickers that I will use in my in-class assessment.
I estimate that I will be spending about 10 hours a week per class in class prep and assignment management (this means 26 hours a week of work on my class alone for 2 3-hour classes).
Other school related responsibilities
In addition to my classroom requirements, our department expects us to have office hours. I have about 3 hours a week scheduled, although I don't usually have students during that time. In addition, I often meet with students when they can't make my office hours. Being part of a large university, most students don't take advantage of office hours. However, I put in as many hours with students outside of the class as most full-time undergraduate instructors/professors (graduate student interaction is different).
Because of my style of teaching, I get know my students as individuals. Because of this, I have requests for 4-8 letters of recommendation per semester. This is not overly time consuming, but does take about 15 minutes per student (an additional 1-2 hours a semester). Those students that do come to speak with me, usually do not discuss the course but rather graduate school and career advice. Our department is lucky in that instructors are part of the faculty and there are a number of faculty who are term (have worked for more than 3 years and therefore are offered full year contracts). As a result, students view these instructors as valuable resources when they have professional and academic questions.
Finally, if I want a tenure track position, I will need to continue to participate in profession activities such as blogging, publishing, attending conventions (if I can get funding for it), interacting with the community, networking, and reviewing journal/conference papers. In this area, expectations for part-faculty are the same as for full-time, but full-time/tenure track faculty get paid for it.
The only area that differs between full-time faculty expectations and part-time is in the area of college service. While I was asked be a representative for part-time faculty for the faculty senate, without being paid for it, I could refuse without it hurting my career.
I have previously written about my participation in a "flipped classroom" project through our school. The last class was less than stellar! First, we woke to some bad weather in the area, and since I teach first thing in the morning, I sent out email instructions for students that may not have been able to come into class because of the weather. Unfortunately, I teach two levels of Group Communication and I mixed the two up, sending the email to the wrong (later) class. More than that, I am using 2 new technologies this semester. The combination of two new technologies (I usually only introduce one new technology each semester) made transitions in set up slow.
So coming home exhausted from 3 straight hours of teaching, I came across this article about how the IRS has warned colleges that the calculations for hours adjuncts work may need to be recalculated. This is the first time that I have seen someone recognize that adjuncts do more than classroom contact hours. It got me to thinking about how much time I put into my classes compared to a full time faculty member. Likewise, while on paper the "flipped classroom" may look like it is less work for the instructor because the "students are teaching themselves", like online learning, in fact, the instructor's role requires a lot more time commitment, often outside of anyone else's view.
Prep Time
There are a number of factors that come into prep time. As mentioned before, I am using two new technologies: clickers and an ipad. I usually only use one technology because of the learning curve in using the technology, figuring out timing (for set-up, transition from activity to activity, student interaction with technology before they feel comfortable). However, I was willing to use the two technologies because I had some prep time and support in using both (something I know many adjuncts or part-time instructors don't have).
Many of the activities I use in class, had to be modified for the flipped classroom. Halfway through my second class, the class chosen for the training, I realized I was "directing" the conversation too much, taking it away from the students. This is something that will be difficult to change. At the same time, I don't want to loose some of the concepts I want them to walk away with. This balance is something I will need to work on in the next few weeks, perhaps coming up with some additional discussion questions before class (I have always been good at reacting to student comments, but now I need them to also participate in directing the conversation).
Another difficulty (and this is just the nature of the demand for our courses, lack of faculty, and the ability for students to drop/add) is putting together groups, getting to know students/student strengths and weaknesses. As a result, I spend the first two weeks frantically putting together groups, coordinating supporting information, answering emails, making sure students have access to the technology we will be using, and collecting information about the students.
This semester so far, I have put in about 50 hours of prep work even before classes begin.
Class prep and assignment management
I usually have a class of 35-45 students. This semester, because one of my courses was added at the last minute, I have a class of 42 and a class of 39. Off courses, this still may change over the next week or so, but these are the numbers I'm starting with.
I have always taught using a style in which I take the content (which I am familiar with) and modify it to meet the needs of a particular class. Sometimes, student written skills are strong, but they lack interpersonal; sometimes their know of communication theory is strong, but they lack practical experience. It is important for me therefore to always prepare before my class. However, with the flipped classroom, I feel I have to be even more prepared, understanding ALL the reading concepts as students my bring up concepts I had not thought of in our discussion. It is not that I don't know the concepts, but rather the vocabulary used by the author. This means, my usual 45 minute prep for class will require twice that amount. I need to be prepared if students bring up concepts I did not necessarily feel were important.
Because I will be evaluating students in class more, I will need to be more "present" in the class (so I can evaluate them). This is very fatiguing especially when teaching 3 hours straight. In addition, there is more assessment after class and follow up (I tape a review of the key points I wanted them to take away from class based on what we did in class). I have cut down on some of my written assessments, but I still need to figure out how to access the statistics from the clickers that I will use in my in-class assessment.
I estimate that I will be spending about 10 hours a week per class in class prep and assignment management (this means 26 hours a week of work on my class alone for 2 3-hour classes).
Other school related responsibilities
In addition to my classroom requirements, our department expects us to have office hours. I have about 3 hours a week scheduled, although I don't usually have students during that time. In addition, I often meet with students when they can't make my office hours. Being part of a large university, most students don't take advantage of office hours. However, I put in as many hours with students outside of the class as most full-time undergraduate instructors/professors (graduate student interaction is different).
Because of my style of teaching, I get know my students as individuals. Because of this, I have requests for 4-8 letters of recommendation per semester. This is not overly time consuming, but does take about 15 minutes per student (an additional 1-2 hours a semester). Those students that do come to speak with me, usually do not discuss the course but rather graduate school and career advice. Our department is lucky in that instructors are part of the faculty and there are a number of faculty who are term (have worked for more than 3 years and therefore are offered full year contracts). As a result, students view these instructors as valuable resources when they have professional and academic questions.
Finally, if I want a tenure track position, I will need to continue to participate in profession activities such as blogging, publishing, attending conventions (if I can get funding for it), interacting with the community, networking, and reviewing journal/conference papers. In this area, expectations for part-faculty are the same as for full-time, but full-time/tenure track faculty get paid for it.
The only area that differs between full-time faculty expectations and part-time is in the area of college service. While I was asked be a representative for part-time faculty for the faculty senate, without being paid for it, I could refuse without it hurting my career.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The Flipped Classroom: My project for this semester
I know I haven't blogged for a while. Partly it is because I have been busy participating in commencement (it's official, I'm a Dr. and I have a picture to show for it), partly its family responsibilities (I AM in the sandwich generation), but mostly its because I'm working on some very interesting projects.
The first is a blog I have started with my sister, a 50 something who I convinced should learn more about social media. With this in mind we have started a blog in which she posts questions as she navigates the ins and outs of social media (getting stuck, confused, and otherwise frustrated) and I try to answer her questions.
The second is part of a program I was chosen for through my university: the flipped classroom. Honestly, one of the main reasons I applied for the program was to get an ipad I could use for my classes and figure out the technology my students all seem have at their fingers tips. This was a smart move on the part of our Leaning and Instruction Center to get us into the door.
The fact is, I wasn't sure I'd be accepted for the program. After reading through the information and watching the videos they sent us about the "flipped classroom" movement (see below for those resources), I wasn't sure I'd be able to change my class much since my current teaching approach (based on experiential learning theories)seemed to "flip" the class so students had a lot of control over their learning. However, as I discussed "flipped learning" and read some of the background information on it, I realized there was a key weakness in one of my classes especially.
For the last 3 years, I have been having an increasing difficulty in getting students to link what we do in class to the assigned readings. Now granted, some of this is students not doing the assigned work. However, many times I would see the frustration of my best students who would look at me blankly when I asked them to link the reading concepts to class activities. I could see in their body language the question: Why are you here? Aren't YOU going to tell us what is important? Why aren't you teaching us? What do you mean there is no right or wrong answer???? What are we PAYING YOU FOR? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS IF YOU DON'T TEACH US !!!!!!????
I don't blame the students for being unable to make the links, but rather have identified the problem as years of education where testing for the "correct answer" has been drummed into them. The results of this type of teaching is that students are afraid to take risks (they get it wrong, they fail) with their learning; they are unable to develop hypotheses and/or are not confident in their own abilities to draw their own conclusions; and they look to resources and teachers to tell them how to interpret information. Many of my students just had never had their critical thinking, critical reading, and problem solving skills developed so they were able to make the links between the reading and active learning activities.
So my goal for this semester is to:
1) Develop my skills in teaching them critical thinking, problem solving, and critical reading
2) Make the links I make between the activities and reading more transparent, so my students learn to make those links also
3) Rework my syllabus and class activities so students feel safe in making mistakes, yet learn from the activities and apply assigned reading concepts to those activities.
To do this, the learning team I am working with has suggested I use clickers (helps focus reading and promote discussion around questions), video recordings to summarize the most important concepts (or fill in spaces of understanding) from the reading, and (my idea) use the video recording capacity of the ipad to record specific examples from class activities, that the class can then review and critique.
Hopefully, throughout the semester, I'll be able to blog about the process. Already I'm working on writing objective questions that will provoke discussion. I also have gained a better insight into the tone of a syllabus and how it can empower students (or take away their choices, and therefore responsibility, for learning).
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBYrKPoVFwg
http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php)
The first is a blog I have started with my sister, a 50 something who I convinced should learn more about social media. With this in mind we have started a blog in which she posts questions as she navigates the ins and outs of social media (getting stuck, confused, and otherwise frustrated) and I try to answer her questions.
The second is part of a program I was chosen for through my university: the flipped classroom. Honestly, one of the main reasons I applied for the program was to get an ipad I could use for my classes and figure out the technology my students all seem have at their fingers tips. This was a smart move on the part of our Leaning and Instruction Center to get us into the door.
The fact is, I wasn't sure I'd be accepted for the program. After reading through the information and watching the videos they sent us about the "flipped classroom" movement (see below for those resources), I wasn't sure I'd be able to change my class much since my current teaching approach (based on experiential learning theories)seemed to "flip" the class so students had a lot of control over their learning. However, as I discussed "flipped learning" and read some of the background information on it, I realized there was a key weakness in one of my classes especially.
For the last 3 years, I have been having an increasing difficulty in getting students to link what we do in class to the assigned readings. Now granted, some of this is students not doing the assigned work. However, many times I would see the frustration of my best students who would look at me blankly when I asked them to link the reading concepts to class activities. I could see in their body language the question: Why are you here? Aren't YOU going to tell us what is important? Why aren't you teaching us? What do you mean there is no right or wrong answer???? What are we PAYING YOU FOR? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS IF YOU DON'T TEACH US !!!!!!????
I don't blame the students for being unable to make the links, but rather have identified the problem as years of education where testing for the "correct answer" has been drummed into them. The results of this type of teaching is that students are afraid to take risks (they get it wrong, they fail) with their learning; they are unable to develop hypotheses and/or are not confident in their own abilities to draw their own conclusions; and they look to resources and teachers to tell them how to interpret information. Many of my students just had never had their critical thinking, critical reading, and problem solving skills developed so they were able to make the links between the reading and active learning activities.
So my goal for this semester is to:
1) Develop my skills in teaching them critical thinking, problem solving, and critical reading
2) Make the links I make between the activities and reading more transparent, so my students learn to make those links also
3) Rework my syllabus and class activities so students feel safe in making mistakes, yet learn from the activities and apply assigned reading concepts to those activities.
To do this, the learning team I am working with has suggested I use clickers (helps focus reading and promote discussion around questions), video recordings to summarize the most important concepts (or fill in spaces of understanding) from the reading, and (my idea) use the video recording capacity of the ipad to record specific examples from class activities, that the class can then review and critique.
Hopefully, throughout the semester, I'll be able to blog about the process. Already I'm working on writing objective questions that will provoke discussion. I also have gained a better insight into the tone of a syllabus and how it can empower students (or take away their choices, and therefore responsibility, for learning).
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBYrKPoVFwg
http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php)
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