Learning How to Change

Currently, I am research techniques for instructors to get feedback on their teaching. I am creating a digital project, to be released on the blog in the next 2 weeks, about Peer Coaching. In my research for this project, I have stumbled across this article. Take a look! There are great techniques we can use for evaluation strategies and classroom assessment techniques. Some of the strategies and techniques include: Teaching dossiers Student ratings Peer observations (aka Peer coaching) Letters & individual interviews Course portfolios Research indicates that reflective and critical teaching practice leads to heightened enthusiasm for teaching, and improvement in teaching and learning, both of which are linked to faculty vitality. You might think attending professional development workshops is enough. You get some new materials, and maybe you use them. You learn from your peers, but maybe complain that it wasn't helpful.  The article  Teaching the Teachers  s

Picture this...At the end of your classroom performances there is a panel of judges holding up score cards. What numbers are you hoping to see on them? Fives? Sevens? Tens? Keep this in mind as you read the rest of this post. We all want to be good teachers, and not just good, we want to have a high student appeal rating. Because of this, some teachers may have asked themselves, "what makes a good teacher?" Quality teaching can be defined as presenting activities which bring about the most productive and beneficial learning experience for students and promotes their development as learners. But how do we know what activities are the most productive and beneficial unless we ask.Without feedback provided by students it is hard to know how to develop tasks and exercises that will engage students, foster autonomy, and help students see themselves as collaborators in the classroom. Shor (1992) quoted in Brookfield's The Skillful Teacher, argues "the first respons

A classmate of mine, Mark Friesen, has been hosting a discussion forum entitled The "Enigma" of Feedback. He has been referencing research by John Hattie (2012) and quote that have resonated with me are that “while feedback is among the most powerful moderators of learning, its effects are among the most variable” (129), and that "[f]eedback is more powerful when it is sought by the teacher about his or her teaching than by the student about his or her learning” (154).   I have spent many hours counseling students about what their expectations of the course are vs what is happening in the classroom, counseling teachers on what is happening in the classroom vs what the student and company expect and counseling myself, a curriculum developer, on what makes a strong course vs what the reality of the classroom is. To bridge the gap between: What the instruction thinks the teachers are delivering That the teachers think is important That the students are ex

Inspired by a quote today: "Learners need to know how well they are doing and how they can do better. Effective teaching is not simply providing information - a text book, video, or podcast can do that as well and often better. Rather, a teacher's value comes in the careful observation, analysis, and feedback to a learner that enables improvement." (p. 28-29) Consider this...without students we cannot teach. It is so true that our value comes from setting up tasks that apply the knowledge we have shared. Then, to follow up with those tasks by clearly and concretely telling students the strategies they can use to improve. If this is not happening, what are we doing? If they speak, tell them how to speak better. If they make mistakes, tell them how to fix them. If they misunderstand a text, help them understand. This is what we do, while at the same time motivating them to stick with it until they cross their finish line.  Barkley, E.F. (2009). Student engagemen

Chapter 4 of   Student Engagement Techniques  by Elizabeth Barkley talks about assessment and feedback. Her point is that learners need to know how they are doing, and how they can improve.  Essentially, this is why they are taking classes. Teaching is not just about providing information (through textbooks, videos, handouts, etc.) Teacher value comes from observing, analyzing and providing feedback that enables learners to improve and know how to improve (pg. 28-29). The two main types of assessment are: Summative Formative Evaluations for grades Assessments for progress and to enhance learning Occurs at critical points in the learning process (e.g. mid-term; final exam) Considered a part of the course instruction and is done through participatory tasks Evaluated with a score Evaluated by providing feedback Once an evaluation is complete, it is added to the students record; typically no opportunity for