Introductory Assignment: Personal Collage/Mask

Thanks to Gary for sharing this assignment.

"I'm always looking for new ideas and approaches.... I found a variation of this assignment on-line and adapted it to my Stagecraft and Speech 1114 class. I always use it as a first assignment because it allows me to get to know the student more quickly, it seems to "bond" the class it seems to build a type of "cohesion" among the group and the students really seem to get involved---(imagine the intensity of a young child coloring with the tongue hanging out etc. being totally involved with the project and oblivious to anything going on around him/her).

On the due date, I have them get up in front of the class and explain why they did what they did. They don't really realize at the end of that class that they have given an informal speech using a visual aid."

Strategies for Engaging Students in Discussion

From: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/online_questions/strategies.html

Use students to lead
Have students synthesize the prior week's responses.

Have students generate discussion or review questions. Students can submit one question to you via e-mail or an ANGEL drop box. Select a few questions and post them to your discussion area. You could even have the students who submitted the question be the moderator for that question.

Assign a group to be the experts on a topic or section. Have them post a question for that week's discussion and lead the discussion. Toward the end of the class discussion, have the discussion leaders summarize and combine points for their classmates.

Have a student start the discussion on a topic or chapter.

Promote interaction

Have students take sides on an issue and defend their positions. Poll students in class or online on a particular question or issue. Then have students support their positions in the threaded discussion area.

Post a number of questions relating to a chapter or unit of study. Have students work in small groups on these questions. Each group will then post their final results to the discussion list.

Guide students

Use online chat to hold a review session.

Post a weekly discussion question related to course readings prior to the in-class discussion. You can use comments from the online discussion to generate in-class discussion. Students will be more prepared for the face-to-face discussion.

Place preview or review questions or concepts in the online discussion area. Have students submit a response in their own words (not a quote from the book). This allows you to see the students' level of understanding.

Have students identify what parts of the assignment are the most confusing to them.

For individual assignments, have students review postings from the discussion fourm and outline the points and themes that were discussed. Select a few good examples and post these for the class.

Post a model answer to the discussion as a conclusion to your discussion thread.

17 Elements of Good Online Courses

From: http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/online/web-elem.htm


Introduction
The criteria of good online courses are those of the author based on the author's experience in web course development, writing, and research. In view of the facts that there are many types of online courses, many disciplines with very different "modi operandi," many very different online audiences, and always the possibility of different but equally respectable approaches to teaching, not every criterium will always apply. The criteria are intended to provide only a general guideline.

The Elements

1. An introduction to the course should be online continuously. People possibly interested in the course should be able to access an overview of it before enrolling and verify its location on the web. It also enables them to communicate with the instructor before enrolling -- about course content, computer skills requirements, prerequisites, etc. A course syllabus should be part of the introduction.

2. Training in accessing and navigating the course should be available. Students often put off obtaining e-mail accounts as long as they can, avoid getting basic computer operation help until the class is underway, plan to purchase a computer and then find they cannot afford one when the time comes, or presume they can access the Internet if they simply have access to a computer. Early communication with students is imperative, and pre-course basic training in how to navigate the course, use e-mail, and participate in class discussions is strongly advised.

3. A course syllabus should be presented no later than at the first class. Especially for students who have never before taken an online course and for whom the participation and and other requirements may be untypical, they need to know just as early as possible what to expect. The syllabus should show at least the following:
a. number and title of the course,
b. instructor's name and e-mail address,
c. instructor's office and (if available) home page location,
d. instructor's in-person office hours and phone number,
e. course start date, length of the course, and expected time involvement of students,
f. textbook(s) and other materials needed for the course,
g. an outline of the course format and a clear description or exercise in the use of navigational aids used in the course,
h. a concise description of the course content,
i. an evaluation plan and exam and project schedule,
j. an explanation of the forms of student participation and instructor expectations regarding participation, and
k. a list of all students in the class and a description of means for students to communicate online with both the entire class and with individual classmates.

4. Online material should be attractive. This is different than simply clear text and well organized material. It should be graphically appealing. Researchers at the University of British Columbia rated 127 online courses according to 43 criteria. They found that how a course looks can be just as important as the lessons themselves.

5. There should be a wealth of links to other sites on the Internet. Links should also be provided to anecdotal pages and other parts of the course. The course should be as dynamic as possible (as opposed to strictly linear, or lock step).

6. Mechanically the course should be fully functional. All links should work, images should pop in as designed, and classes should appear on line as scheduled. Especially if the course has been offered online previously, the mechanics should be thoroughly checked as each page is reloaded. Links that work, for example, suggest that course material is up-to-date and the instructor has prepared adequately for this class.

7. Material presented on the web should be compatible with the course type. If chalkboard work, slides, and other visuals would be important in a classroom version of the course, web materials should include a lot of graphic images. If field trips would be important in a classroom course, online video, required outside video viewing, or individual camcorded field trips should be included. If construction projects would be involved in a classroom, at-home projects should be included. Problem-solving, small group discussion, research, and other common classroom activities all have equivalent or better online counterparts.

8. Material should be presented in such a way that it is compatible with a number of learning styles. Visual learners benefit most from charts, maps, filmstrips, notes and flashcards. Auditory learners benefit most from tapes, videos, lectures, notes, and recitation. Tactile learners benefit most from writing repetition, construction and display projects, note taking, analogy, and study sheets. Consider all three styles when designing course material and activities. To learn more about them, see "How People Learn" at Teaching Tips in the Faculty Guidebook at this site.

9. Material should be presented logically, but students should be able to move around in class at ease. Navigational aids to discussion forums, classmate e-mail links, references, and the instructor should be nearby at all times.

10. Students should be able to readily and easily communicate with the instructor online. Some degree of immediacy is required. Students should not need to wait a day or more to have questions answered. An advantage of online instruction is its flexibility. Rather than simply slowing down the question-response process that in a classroom is immediate, it should be possible for students to ask questions and receive responses outside of instructor office hours and as immediately as convenient to everyone involved.

11. Students should be able to "speak" to the class as a whole in "threaded discussions" where e-mail messages are organized by topic. Chat sessions might also be used, but they should be used only in addition to threaded discussions. A very important advantage of online instruction is the opportunity it affords students to "attend" classes at times that their different schedules allow. Requiring them to participate at tightly scheduled times eliminates this advantage.

12. Keep it interesting. Avoid too much text without a break, vary activities, and keep it light and fun. Incorporate a lot of color (as we tried to do at this Faculty Development site), small animations, video clips, sound, etc. Refer to individual students by name, use more contractions (it's, we'll, they're) than in formal writing, (again) include links to other sites, brief personal experiences, lighthearted comments, and interesting anecdotes. Remember, however, that students cannot see you, so what you think is lighthearted may not seem so online unless you somehow make it clear. Look for and use online substitutes for body language. Involve students in the actual presentation of at least some of the material.

13. Use good English. Mistakes in writing are more prominent online than in speaking. Course material should look professional and the instructor should look educated and responsible. The online course should look well planned, and text should look proofread. It should be an example of the quality expected in the students' own work.

14. Pages should load quickly. If online text for a class is lengthy, it should be presented on separate pages linked together so that each page loads in a reasonably short time. Graphic images should be kept small in both graphical and file size. Scanned photos can often be cropped to eliminate unimportant backgrounds and peripheral elements. GIF format is preferred over JPG format. Page banners should be kept simple and shallow. When a number of link buttons is given, often a single image with hotspots is best. Animations must be kept very small. Video clips should be linked rather than embedded.

15. Outside experts should be involved when appropriate. Trade association representatives, the textbook author(s), local and international writers and critics, government officials, other college and university instructors, and many other outside resource people are often very willing to participate online with students,

16. Special attention should be given to testing design and procedures. Without classroom controls that are easy to maintain, tests should be designed specifically to ensure evaluation integrity. Online instructors should realize that giving an online test is equivalent to giving a classroom test where the instructor is not present and where students can use all notes and other materials, consult with each other, and seek help from experts and students who have previously taken the course. Online true-false, multiple choice, simple answer, matching, and other common objective-type tests should not be given online unless they are self-check or practice tests and not graded. Discussion, comparison, interpretation and other types of online tests may be given with great care and short completion time requirements. Proctored exams that account for a major portion of students' grades are preferred. For distant students, tests can usually be sent to instructors or testing center professionals at other colleges located close to the students.

Although many students will take tests and write papers as instructed and as intended, instructors should not trust that students will do that. Studies show that even in classrooms where students are separated, supervised, etc., 40% to 90% of students are likely to cheat on tests (Boyer, E.L., Campus Life: In Search of Community, 1990). There are also dozens of online cheat sites, and of course online students are more likely to use them than are classroom students. One site, http://www.schoolsucks.com/, receives about 40,000 hits a day, and our own students are assuredly included in that number. Online tests and straightforward "research" papers that make it easy for students to cheat are a disservice to the students who take advantage of them and to the college and university system. Just as importantly, they can seriously work against honest students whose grades may be effectively lowered.

17. Attention should be paid to when classes go on line and how long they remain there. An advantage of online courses is the flexibility afforded students to attend at times when their schedules allow. Some students will attend during the daytime, others at night, and still others on weekends. This accommodation should be built into every online course. Some students will also need to spend more time than others "in" class. Some students will go slow and benefit from the online form as a result. Others will speed through classes and benefit from not being hampered by slower-paced students. However, it is probably best to not allow students to proceed at any pace whatsoever, even if the course is competency based. Some students will go slow because they really need to, but others will simply procrastinate, fall far behind, and possibly drop the course because of a lack of adequate discipline in the course. At the same time, the speedier students may be inclined to discuss with the class material that most of the students have not yet gotten to. The best discussions, team work, and involvement occur when the class is roughly together in the course. So the window of opportunity for attending classes should be given serious thought. On average, a two-week window of opportunity might be best. Classes may go on line when scheduled and remain on line for two weeks to accommodate the slower students, those who cannot attend as scheduled, those who are sick or for other reasons must occasionally miss classes at scheduled times, etc., with the speedier students being afforded more in-depth or higher-level material to satisfy their interest or temperament levels.

What Makes a Successful Online Facilitator?

From: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructorProfile.asp


The facilitator plays a vital role in developing and maintaining an online program that is effective, smooth, and that will support the realization of the planned learning outcomes. Faculty delivering courses online must be more than transmitters of knowledge; they must become facilitators of learning. Some highly seasoned instructors from the traditional on-ground environment will easily adapt to the online model, while others may find the transition challenging at first. The facilitator in the online environment must possess a unique set of tools to perform effectively. Reflect on your teaching style to see where you might find room for improvement.

Some of the basic criteria for a person to be successful as an online facilitator are:

1. Facilitators in the online arena are generally considered to be ‘clinical’. That is, they have a broad base of life experiences in addition to academic credentials.

The online model is an applied learning model and it requires facilitators that know what the real world is about. Experience is a good supplemental teacher and builds a level of understanding with the issues. Online facilitators are required to be active and experienced in real world applications of their subject matter and to have a solid grasp of the issues being taught. Current knowledge of practices within the subject matter being taught is expected to be a key part in providing a usable education.

2. The personality of the facilitator should demonstrate the characteristics of openness, concern, flexibility, and sincerity.

An online instructor must be able to compensate for the lack of physical presence in the virtual classroom by creating a supportive environment where all students feel comfortable participating and especially where students know that their instructor is accessible. Failure to do this can alienate the class both from each other and from the instructor and would make a very weak learning environment. Online students are as busy, or busier than anyone else in today’s hurried world is. The students are the customers and are expecting to be treated as such. Being sensitive, open and flexible is not an option, it is a requirement.


3. A successful online facilitator should feel comfortable communicating in writing.

The face-to-face contact traditionally available in a classroom setting is gone in the online learning process. The ability to verbally communicate is replaced with a keyboard. The communication is intense and demanding. The faculty person must feel good about communicating in writing because that is a base element in the process.


4. The person should be able to accept the value of facilitated learning as equal to the traditional model.

If a teacher feels the only way a true learning process can take place is through the traditional means of educating in a classroom, the person is generally not right for the online paradigm. Both an accelerated learning model and the online process depend on facilitative techniques for their success. You cannot duplicate the on-ground classroom in the online paradigm. The person leading a successful online class will be a proponent of facilitative learning.


5. The person should be able to subscribe to the value of introducing critical thinking into the learning process.

This is a given in the online learning process. The process is designed to facilitate the easy assimilation of theory into concept and application. Students are expecting to receive knowledge and abilities that are usable today. What is learned today can be taken to the work place today. This requires the ability to think critically. There are a plethora of options available to the properly trained facilitator for accomplishing this.


6. They should have the appropriate credentials to teach the subject matter.

Appropriate credentials are a combination of many factors including academic preparation, a current and substantial experience base in the areas being taught, and the desire to be part of the process of imparting knowledge. The faculty member then needs to be trained and/or experienced in the particular learning model to be used.


7. They should be experienced and well trained in online learning experience.

Knowledge of the use of the tools used in facilitating online programs, the appropriate methods used in communicating with online students, the ability to control the flow of work in the virtual classroom, and how to prepare a course for presentation in the online environment are just a few of the expectations placed on a facilitator. The faculty member must feel comfortable with these methods and the technologies needed to implement them, and this can be gained through exposure to training in online instruction.


What should participants of the online learning experience expect from the facilitator?

1. The students should expect that the facilitator would create a learning environment that utilizes life, work, and educational experiences as key elements in the learning process in order to make it meaningful.

2. The facilitator should be able to present the curriculum in a manner that allows the student to easily translate theories into applications.

3. The students should be given the proper tools to transcribe theory into practice.

4. Every student should be given every opportunity to improve until the learning experience comes to an end.

5. Reasonable accommodations for the students' needs and desires should be made.
6. The facilitator should solicit feedback from the students and listen throughout the entire process.

7. The facilitator should be concerned about the students' success.

8. The facilitator should keep students aware of where they stand with respect to the course evaluation process on a regular basis (i.e. weekly updates of what has been turned in and what is missing).

9. The facilitator should give the student timely and quality feedback on student contributions to discussion, homework, and quizzes.

10. The student should expect little or no lecturing. Lecturing yields marginal results in the online environment.

11. The student should not be subjected to tests requiring memorization. Case analysis would be more appropriate.

12. The student should be treated politely and with respect.

13. The facilitator should be online everyday (at a minimum 5 of 7 days).

Figure in Regression

My thanks to Jodeen for the following tip:

I have found that when people (not just students) are learning new skills, they will master one level, but when required to add a new skill, they usually slip a bit on the mastered skill while adding the new skill. Expect this and bare with it. In time people master multiple skills simultaneously. I also let students know that I am not surprised when one thing slips as they learn a new thing, and that I have come to think of it as normal. I also "figure in regression" while I am grading. I think this helps students trust me to be fair with them while they learn difficult things.

Schedule Breaks

My thanks to Jodeen for the following tip:

In class, after introducing a new technique or concept that challenges the students to go beyond their skill level, I like to schedule "breaks." This usually turns out to be a class period when I try to schedule about three different activities that are fun and don't require heavy concentration. Some of the activities include:

1. showing a film that pertains to something we've been studying (even if it "remotely" pertains)

2. using icebreaker games, and if applicable, regrouping students for the game so that they interact with people they don't usually group with

3. playing other games that I have invented that pertain to our lessons but don't require assessment

4. reading aloud to the class

5. having the class free write on a topic we don't usually study--a current event, perhaps, or something funny--and then having a large discussion

6. drawing, or inventing cartoons that visually demonstrate a concept we've been learning about

I also try to schedule break times after they have just handed in a major assignment or project that they've been working hard on. Scheduling breaks gives all of us a bit of downtime.

M.U.R.D.E.R. -- A Study System

From: http://www.studygs.net/murder.htm

"Study is nothing else but a possession of the mind" -- Thomas Hobbes


Mood:
Set a positive mood for yourself to study in.
Select the appropriate time, environment, and attitude

Understand:
Mark any information you don't understand in a particular unit;
Keep a focus on one unit or a manageable group of exercises

Recall:
After studying the unit,
stop and put what you have learned into your own words

Digest:
Go back to what you did not understand and reconsider the information;
Contact external expert sources (e.g., other books or an instructor) if you still cannot understand it

Expand:
In this step, ask three kinds of questions concerning the studied material:
If I could speak to the author, what questions would I ask or what criticism would I offer?
How could I apply this material to what I am interested in?
How could I make this information interesting and understandable to other students?

Review:
Go over the material you've covered,
Review what strategies helped you understand and/or retain information in the past and apply these to your current studies

Adapted from Hayes, John R., The Complete Problem Solver, Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers, Hillsdale, NJ: 1989. ISBN: 0805803092

Concentration

From: http://www.studygs.net/concen.htm

Concentration: the ability to direct your thinking

The art or practice of concentration,
no matter if studying biology or playing pool,
is to focus on the task at hand and eliminate distraction

We all have the ability to concentrate -- sometimes. Think of the times when you were "lost" in something you enjoy: a sport, playing music, a good game, a movie. Total concentration.

But at other times,

Your mind wanders from one thing to another
Your worries distract you
Outside distractions take you away before you know it
The material is boring, difficult, and/or not interesting to you.
See the Flash distraction (needs high speed connection)

These tips may help: They involve

What you can control in your studies
Best practices
What you can control in your studies:

"Here I study"
Get a dedicated space, chair, table, lighting and environment
Avoid your cellphone or telephone
Put up a sign to avoid being disturbed or interrupted
If you like music in the background, OK, but don't let it be a distraction. (Research on productivity with music versus without music is inconclusive)

Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule
Accommodate your day/nighttime energy levels
See our Guide on Setting goals and making a scheduling

Focus
Before you begin studying, take a few minutes to summarize a few objectives, gather what you will need, and think of a general strategy of accomplishment

Incentives
Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task,
such as calling a friend, a food treat, a walk, etc.
For special projects such as term papers, design projects, long book reviews, set up a special incentive

Change topics
Changing the subject you study every one to two hours for variety

Vary your study activities
Alternate reading with more active learning exercises
If you have a lot of reading, try the SQ3R method
Ask yourself how you could increase your activity level while studying? Perhaps a group will be best? Creating study questions?
Ask your teacher for alternative strategies for learning. The more active your learning, the better.

Take regular, scheduled breaks that fit you
Do something different from what you've been doing (e.g., walk around if you've been sitting), and in a different area

Rewards
Give yourself a reward when you've completed a task
Best Practices:

You should notice improvement in a few days
But like any practice, there will be ups, levels, and downs:

It will benefit other activities you do!

Be here now Worry time Tally Card Energy level Visualize

Be Here Now
This deceptively simple strategy is probably the most effective.

When you notice your thoughts wandering astray, say to yourself

"Be here now"

and gently bring your attention back to where you want it.

For example:
You're studying and your attention strays to all the other homework you have, to a date, to the fact that you're hungry. Say to yourself

"Be here now"

Focus back on subject with questions, summarizing, outlining, mapping, etc. and maintain your attention there as long as possible.

When it wanders again, repeat

"Be here now"

and gently bring your attention back, and continue this practise, repeatedly. It will work!

Do not try to keep particular thoughts out of your mind. For example, as you sit there, close your eyes and think about anything you want to for the next three minutes except cookies. Try not to think about cookies...When you try not to think about something, it keeps coming back. ("I'm not going to think about cookies. I'm not going to think about cookies.")

You might do this hundreds of times a week. Gradually, you'll find that the period of time between your straying thoughts gets a little longer every few days. So be patient and keep at it. You'll see some improvement!

Do not constantly judge your progress. Take it easy on yourself. Good practice is enough to say that you did it, and that you are on the road. The mind is always different and the practice unfolds over time with many ups and downs.

Worry or Think Time
Research has proven that people who use a worry time find themselves worrying 35 percent less of the time within four weeks.

Set aside a specific time each day to think about
the things that keep entering your mind and interfering with your concentration.

When you become aware of a distracting thought,
remind yourself that you have a special time to think about them,

Let the thought go,
perhaps with "Be here now,"

Keep your appointment
to worry or think about those distracting issues

For example, set 4:30 to 5 p.m. as your worry/think time. When your mind is side-tracked into worrying during the day, remind yourself that you have a special time for worrying. Then, let the thought go for the present, and return your focus to your immediate activity.

Tallying your mental wanderings

Have a 3 x 5 inch card handy. Draw two lines dividing the card into three sections. Label them "morning," "afternoon," and "evening."

Each time your mind wanders, make a tally in the appropriate section. Keep a card for each day. As your skills build, you'll see the number of tallies decrease

Maximize your energy level

When is your energy level at its highest? When are your low energy times?
Study your most difficult courses at your high energy times. Sharpest early in the evening? Study your most difficult course then. Later in the evening? Work on your easier courses or the ones you enjoy the most.

Most students put off the tough studies until later in the evening when they become tired, and it is more difficult to concentrate. Reverse that. Study hard subjects at peak energy times; easier ones later. This alone can help to improve your concentration

Visualize

As an exercise before you begin studying, think of those times when concentration is not a problem for you--no matter what situation. Now try to feel or image yourself in that situation. Recapture that experience immediately before your studies by placing yourself in that moment.. Repeat before each study session.

Portions adapted with permission from
Help Yourself. http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/concentr.html University Counseling Services, Kansas State University.

"Be here now" corresponds to Bhuddist insight strategy

See also J. R. Hayes, The Complete Problem Solver. Franklin Institute Press, 1981

How to Keep Your Students Thinking

From: http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Spring_1995/TC_Spring_1995_Students_Thinking.htm

These thoughts on how to keep even large numbers of students actively engaged during lectures are adapted from Ellen Sarkisian's Participatory Lectures, from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard Univ., 1992.

When students engage actively with material, they generally understand it better and remember it longer. Student participation often results in covering less material during a semester. Yet it also can mean that students learn more information than when the material is simply "covered" because they actively use it and have more chances to clear up confusion. Large numbers of students in class do not preclude interaction. The following techniques to open up lectures to student participation have been used in classes of up to 1200 students, as well as with smaller groups.

Begin the course or the lecture with a question or questions that help you to understand what students are thinking: "What are some of the differences between clinical medicine and public health?" "What would be a feminist perspective on contraceptive research?" "What are some examples of marginalized populations?"

To introduce new topics and find out students' assumptions, ask students to jot down answers to some questions on their own and then combine answers in a small group. Examples from a pre-course survey: "List up to 10 major environmental disasters. Name up to 10 health disorders in which environmental agents are causative; list the 10 etiologic agents. Identify the kinds of data needed to characterize an environmental health hazard."

When a student asks a question, instead of answering it yourself, ask for an answer from other members of the class.

Ask questions throughout the lecture, so that the lecture becomes more of a conversation. Asking students to raise their hands (for example, "What is the direction of the data: increasing? decreasing?") is easier than asking them to speak. Questions with surprising answers can engage students' interest (for example, "What is the probability that two people in this room have the same birthday?"). Generally, questions are more evocative if you are not looking for one right answer. The most fruitful questions are thought-provoking and, often, counterintuitive.

Pause in the lecture after making a major point. Show students a multiple-choice question based on the material you have been talking about. Ask students to vote on the right answer, and then to turn to their neighbors to persuade them of the answer within the space of two minutes. When time is up, ask them to vote a second time. Usually far more students arrive at the correct answer when voting the second time.

Stop the lecture and ask students to write for one or two minutes in response to a particular question. Then ask them to discuss their answers with their neighbor. The writing will give everyone a chance to think about and articulate a response, and may enable broader participation.

Allow time for questions at the end of the lecture. Ask if students would like to have a point clarified.

End the lecture with a provocative question. If you have TAs, ask them to begin their sections with a discussion of that problem or issue.

Do a one-minute paper at the end of class. In this exercise, students write down what they consider (a) the main point of the class and (b) the main question they still have as they leave. Collect and read these unsigned papers. You can use some of these questions to begin the next lecture. This technique encourages students to listen more carefully, to review their notes, and to think about the lecture before running to their next class.

Begin with an Incident, Example, or Anecdote

From: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/compendium/suggestions/file143.html


IF YOU WANT TO:


Have an interesting style of presentation

Capture the students' interest


YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER:
Beginning class with an incident, example or anecdote to get the students' attention.

A faculty member in history who does this says that he often begins by reading aloud a short passage from a primary source or a story to illustrate what his major theme or point will be in the lecture. "For example, I might start out by stating that the Wizard of Oz is a parable for progressivism and read passages from it to illustrate my major thesis. I then get the students to help identify all the different characters and what they represent."

"I usually end with a quotation that pulls together what I have been trying to say," he says, "Also, whenever possible, I try to link the past with current events, to show how the topic is important for the present."


Limitations on Use of Suggestion


Discipline: None
Course Level: None
Course Size: None
Mode: None


Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

Relate the Course Material as a Story

From: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/compendium/suggestions/file142.html

IF YOU WANT TO:


Have a more interesting style of presentation


YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER:
Looking for ways to relate the course material as a story.

"I always try to tell some kind of story," says a teacher in the biological sciences. "My primary belief about communication is that it doesn't matter what you say if you can't get them to listen."

In describing his preparation for a lecture for a large class he says, "Because I already know the material very well, most of the preparation goes on in my head for several days. Then, the night before, I begin to concentrate on it very intensely; it's a little like the `psyching yourself up' that actors or football players describe before a performance or a big game. Then I begin to outline the lecture, focusing on the major points and how they might be told as a story."


Limitations on Use of Suggestion


Discipline: None
Course Level: None
Course Size: None
Mode: None


Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

Class Mission Statements

From: http://www.oncourseworkshop.com/Motivation013.htm

By Beverly Brown, Adjunct Professor, College Survival Skills, North Central State College (OH) bevbrown@bright.net

I start each course I am teaching by having students create a mission statement. I have found this activity sets the tone (as well as the goals) for the rest of the course.

I give each student a "post-it" note. I ask each student to write one goal he/she has for the class or why he/she is in this class or what he/she most wants to learn in this class. If the students have more than 1 idea, I give them another "post-it" note (students should write only 1 idea per "post-it"). Students are then instructed to stick the "post-it" to the board or to a big, white sheet of paper I have taped to the board.

Next students are asked to organize the ideas on the notes into categories. (If the class is large, the instructor may read the notes and ask the class to decide what category the note fits.) The categories in my class this quarter ended up being "better study skills," "motivation," "grades," and "success."

Once the categories are established, two or three students are chosen to use the category titles to create a sentence or two that summarizes the categories. This sentence or two becomes the class's mission statement. This quarter the mission statement that resulted from the above categories was "To improve/obtain better study skills and motivation in order to receive an A and to be successful in all classes and successful in life."

At this point the students are aware of the goals for the class and the direction of the course. This activity is valuable because the students have learned teamwork from Day 1, the students feel they have a voice in setting the goals for the class, and I learn a lot about the class in a brief period of time. I have done this often enough that it usually takes about 20 minutes of class time at the most, but the positive class attitude that develops from this activity is worth every minute of time spent on it.

Socratic Teaching for Critical Thinking

From: http://www.tlc.eku.edu/biweeklytip/

By Loris Sherman
Somerset Community College

"The unexamined life is not worth living, because...many unexamined lives together
result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world. -Linda Elder, September, 2007

An important instructional strategy to enhance the critical thinking skills of our students is Socratic Questioning. The purpose of this approach is to allow students to evaluate their own thinking by making it explicit. As the instructor asks probing questions, the student must articulate the logic of their thought while clarifying and elaborating their reasoning. The questioning also requires them to check their assumptions as they are asked to evaluate evidence and consider not only their own viewpoints and perspectives, but to think about the perspectives of others. Most importantly, students must also consider the implications and consequences of their thinking. In other words, Socratic Questioning helps students to develop their thinking and to learn how to think deeply about problems and issues, whether in the classroom or in their lives. The outcome will be students equipped with good decision-making skills who will be better able to function in the classroom, on the job and as citizens in a democratic society. Thinking deeply can provide students with motivation and purpose, and lead to good decisions, such as to study hard, to stay in school, etc.

For most of us, deep thinking is not something that happens spontaneously or without nurturing. We act impulsively, with little structured or deep thought about most of the issues we face. Students need the chance to practice thinking about issues and forming well-thought-out opinions. It is difficult for them to develop this ability on their own. They need guidance to help them examine more closely how they have formed opinions in the past. Socratic Questioning in the classroom provides the practice that will enable students to develop the routine of questioning their own thinking at a deeper level.

For more information and detail on this classroom technique and an example of a Socratic dialogue, see The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching, & Learning at https://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/the-role-socratic-questioning-ttl.cfm

It will be necessary to communicate to your students the purpose of Socratic Discussion, what they must do to effectively participate in it, and how it can benefit them to participate. Below is an example of a tutorial that might help introduce students to the technique.
Participating in Socratic Discussions

Who was Socrates? A Brief Overview and Introduction to the Method
He was a Classical Greek philosopher who lived in Athens from 469 BC-399 BC. Much of Western philosophy (our laws and morals, politics, even the Scientific Method) is based on his teachings. What we know about his philosophy and life comes from the works of Plato, his most famous student. The best known ideas of Socrates deal with ethics and the pursuit of knowledge and truth; he believed that both should be pursued and adhered to regardless of any resulting personal adversity. He was imprisoned for his teachings, and although given many opportunities to relent or recant, was finally sentenced to death by drinking poisonous hemlock.

It is the method used by Socrates to find knowledge and truth that we will focus on in this exercise. As mentioned above, we rely on Plato’s writings because Socrates left none. He believed that the only thing he really knew was that he knew nothing and that knowledge and truth are fluid and obtained through interaction. Writing doesn’t allow either interaction or the constant evolution from one belief to the next belief.

His method relies on posing all problems in the form of a question, with questions being formed for each possible answer to that question. The series of questions then leads to an examination by the student of what beliefs underlie their answers, to the forming of better answers and to the elimination of contradictions in their reasoning (Hooker, 1996).

What is the purpose or benefit of using the Socratic Discussion approach to our course material?
According to Paul (1995), Socratic approaches to learning will enhance your ability to structure your thought in a way that identifies problematic areas with your reasoning. You will become more practiced at understanding why you believe what you believe. He goes on to point out that Socratic discussions will increase your awareness of the need to be clear, accurate and relevant in your in examination of issues and discussions of these issues with others. Most importantly, you will begin to think critically in all areas of your life, examining the claims, evidence, assumptions, conclusions, implications and consequences of ideas, issues and actions.

Developing the ability to reflect slowly and carefully on ideas and concepts and to use carefully constructed questions will cause you to begin to examine your thought processes. As students and life long learners, critical thinking will improve your understanding of the scientific method, engage you actively in the learning (resulting in improved retention of information) and will increase your problem-solving skills.

How do we do it? What is the technique?
In this technique, we will focus on a particular issue or topic by using a series of questions which flow out of and are stimulated by your responses to the questions. This questioning will allow us to examine the ideas logically and to determine if the ideas or beliefs are valid. (Merritts and Walter, 2006)

What are the game rules?
There are some distinct differences between a general class discussion and a Socratic Discussion. If the game rules aren’t followed, the goal of enhancing your ability to think critically will be defeated.

Expectations for students:
1. Treat all classmates with respect and consider all responses as worthy of
consideration.
2. Pay close attention at all times (see #s 4 and 5 below!)
3. When applicable, come prepared for the exercise by reading assigned material before class.
4. You must participate at all times and answer all questions asked of you.
5. You will be asked at various points to paraphrase the response of a classmate.
6. Only one person will speak at a time and you may not interject comments without being called on first.
7. Answer questions clearing and carefully. This is an exercise in thinking, therefore, – think before your speak! Use reason and give evidence or use examples in your responses.
8. Give your answers to the entire class, not just the instructor, so that everyone can hear and feel a part of the discussion and process.
9. Your answers should be as concise and to the point as possible, allowing more time to continue our examination of ideas being presented.

Expectations for the instructor:
1. I will treat all students with respect and consider all responses as worthy of consideration.
2. I will provide a structure and focus for the discussion, guiding us back to the topic when necessary.
3. I will form questions that are clear and specific.
4. I will play the role of devil’s advocate in order to help you think reflectively.
5. I will allow enough time for you to form a thoughtful response to the question.
6. I will at all times respect your ideas, but challenge you to go beyond your previous level of thinking by questioning those ideas.
7. I will facilitate your learning by periodically summarizing in writing what has been discussed.
8. I will ensure that everyone is participating by directing questions to as many students as possible in our allotted time.
9. I will ensure that we all follow the rules of the game.

References Cited
Hooker, Richard. (1996) Ancient Greece, World Civilizations. Retrieved Sept 23, 2007 from http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/SOCRATES.HTM

Paul, Richard W. Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World. Foundation for Critical Thinking, Santa Rosa, CA. 1995.

Merritts, Dorothy and Robert Walter. (2006) Using Socratic Questioning, Starting Point. Retrieved Sept 23, 2007

--
Distributed by: Nancy Givens
Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., #11095
Bowling Green, KY 42101
(270) 745-6508
http://www.wku.edu/teaching/

How to Accelerate Your Learning: Using Advanced Mind Mapping Techniques

Click on the image for a larger view.

The mind map above as well as the text below come from http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/08/18/how-to-accelerate-your-learning-using-advanced-mind-mapping-techniques/

Note: This is a guest post by Adam Sincinski of The Study Matrix blog. To assist you with understanding the concepts, techniques and strategies outlined within this article, please download the free Study Matrix 101 pdf and utilize it as a visual reference tool to help guide you through this process.

• Do you ever find yourself becoming easily overwhelmed with trying to remember and manage large amounts of information?
• Do you struggle to remember key concepts and pieces of information that are critical to your academic, business and career success?
• Do you ever envy those who just seem to remember and recall information with the greatest amount of ease and without any effort?
• Have you ever wondered about your potential to develop a photographic memory?
• Have you ever considered that Mind Mapping might actually be the solution you have been searching for all this time?

The concept of Mind Mapping has been floating around the education sector for quite some time now. First popularized by Tony Buzan several decades ago, it has since grown in stature mainly within academic circles. Originally utilized as a means of making sense of large fragments of information, it has since been adapted and applied into many industries and fields of endeavor.
This article will provide you with a quick introduction to an advanced process of Mind Mapping that will help you accelerate your learning ability by improving and enhancing your photographic memory and recall of information. The instructions and guidelines presented here will essentially take you through the step-by-step process of creation and learning that goes into a concept known as a Study Matrix.

What is a Study Matrix?
A Study Matrix is essentially a combination of 3 key mapping techniques that have been utilized throughout the academic and business world in a variety of ways to manage and make sense of processes and large fragments of information. These 3 techniques include:

Mind Mapping – is a diagram with a central topic or image that branches out from its middle into related concepts and ideas that break the topic down into its smaller parts. It is essentially used to structure, classify, visualize, and generate ideas for organization, problem solving, decision making and for study purposes.

Concept Mapping – is a diagram that shows the interlocking relationships between a variety of different concepts and ideas utilizing intersecting arrows and labels.

Flowcharting – is essentially a schematic representation of a process.
What are the Benefits of Learning from a Study Matrix?
The Study Matrix technique of accelerated learning is very organic in nature and naturally mimics our brain’s capacity to think, remember and recall information. By teaching yourself how to design your own Study Matrix’s will provide you with the ability to create vivid learning aids that will dramatically improve your methods and strategies of managing large fragments of information.

Here is a look at some other benefits you will derive from taking the time to effectively incorporate this technique into your daily information management habits:

• It summarizes the most important information clearly and concisely making it easy to reference and learn from.
• It summarizes only the most critical, important and relevant facts that are applicable to the topic under study.
• It naturally helps to create links and associations within the brain to related concepts and ideas that are necessary and required to master the subject you are learning.
• It can accelerate your speed of learning, thusly reducing the amount of time you spend on your studies.
• It can accelerate your recall of information during examinations by up to 500%.
• It encourages ease of learning and the creative flow of new ideas and insights.
• It makes learning more fun and entertaining.
• It encourages the development of photographic memory and recall of key concepts and ideas presented within the Study Matrix.
• It improves focus, concentration and encourages us to learn information in manageable chunks.

Next, we will begin breaking down each of the parts that go into the formation of a Study Matrix. Every component that will be discussed is an essential piece of the Study Matrix that is critical to the entire structure - just as much as a kidney is essential to the balance and health of a body.

Pathways – The Branches that Interlock the Disconnected Parts
Pathways are the organic-like lines and arrows that interlock and connect all the different segments of a Study Matrix. Their purpose is to link concepts, words, phrases and ideas in an associative manner that improves memory and recall of information. They are organic in nature (smooth branch like structures) because this naturally mimics the brain’s neurological tendencies and processes of thinking. They are also purposefully “unbroken” in their design, thusly allowing your eyes to glide smoothly from one piece of information to another as you read the Study Matrix.
A Study Matrix utilizes 3 alternating pathway structures for different purposes:

• Lines – Connect words and phrases within a hierarchical tree branch, synaptic, and organic-like structure. This essentially means that as you move out from the central image of the Study Matrix, that the pathways naturally become thinner.
• Arrows – Help to identify the directional flow of a pathway.
• Colors – At times different colors are utilized to represent seemingly unrelated crisscrossing pathways. These colors can either signify a change in direction, change in time, in place, or an alternative intersecting idea. To simplify things, when reading a Study Matrix it is important to follow along with the pathway color you are reading until you reach an ending.

Colors – The Memory Enhancing Separation Tool
Colors are an important and critical component of a Study Matrix helping to boost memory, recall and ease of learning. They are effectively used for a number of key purposes:

• To distinguish segments, topics and specific events that take place among fragments of information presented within the Study Matrix.
• Because they help distinguish key pieces of information, they effectively provide greater clarity, thusly opening up the channels to accelerated learning.
• At times they are used as a means of changing the time or place of key interlinking fragments of information within a Study Matrix.
• Finally, they can also represent different perspectives or points of view to further help distinguish the variety of information presented within a Study Matrix.

Pictures – The Strategic Associative Tool that Builds Photographic Memory
Pictures are great memory building tools because they are much easier to remember than words alone. In fact, if you take a moment to close your eyes and think about what you did yesterday, you will quickly realize that all your thoughts actually come through an interlocking associative collection of picture fragments that lay down the foundations of memory. Through a similar means within a Study Matrix, pictures make interlocking associative connections with words, ideas and concepts helping to boost the memory and recall of information we are learning.

• Pictures make powerful and lasting associations with the issues, themes, phrases, symbols, and words scattered throughout a Study Matrix.
• Pictures assist with improving the memorization and recall of key concepts and pieces of information.
• Pictures naturally stimulate the visual learning process making learning fun, entertaining and enjoyable.
• Pictures are connected and associated with words in 5 common ways:
• Pictures can literally “word-for-word” represent the words they are associated with.
• Pictures can metaphorically represent the words they are linked to.
• Pictures can symbolically represent the words they are linked to.
• Pictures can sound-like the words and phrases they are connected with.
• In other instances, pictures can simply replace words altogether.

Symbols – Expanding Our Awareness and Understanding
Symbols play an important part in helping you to pinpoint key concepts and ideas presented within your Study Matrix. They are essentially a tool that will help you to expand your understanding and awareness about the information you are learning.

• Symbols will help you segment critical facts and pieces of information making them discernible to the naked eye.
• Symbols will organize and categorize your information into easy and manageable learning chunks.
• Symbols will support the key insights, themes, issues and ideas within your Study Matrix, thusly making them easier to remember and recall.
• Symbols can also be utilized to highlight the relevance and importance of certain pieces of information.

The type of symbols that can be utilized within a Study Matrix depends on the structure of your information and the purpose of your learning. To get you started, here are some common symbols that can be utilized within a Study Matrix to help identify key concepts and ideas in quick succession (please refer to the Study Matrix 101 diagram for a visual overview of these symbols):

• NO Assumptions – This symbol can alert you to key words or phrases within your Study Matrix that can be easily misunderstood or misconstrued in some way.
• Major Themes – This symbol can be utilized to quickly identify major themes and issues that are relevant and important to your understanding about the topic you are learning.
• Key Points / Ideas – This symbol can draw your attention to key ideas that are most important to remember. These ideas may in some way build upon the foundations of other concepts within your Study Matrix.
• Seek More Information – A Study Matrix represents only key concepts and ideas about a specific topic or subject. However, at times there will be important pieces of information that you may like to expand upon throughout the learning process. In such cases, simply create a symbol that you can utilize to pinpoint areas within your Study Matrix where further research is required.
• Study Questions – This symbol is utilized to identify key questions that help you expand on certain concepts and ideas within your Study Matrix.
• Stop & Reflect – This symbol is used to highlight important concepts or ideas that require some thought and reflection.
• Setting or Location – This symbol is utilized to identify a key setting or location that you would like to highlight within your Study Matrix.
• Time or Period – This symbol is utilized to identify key dates or periods that are important to remember.

Once inserted into the Study Matrix, these symbols will help you to immediately recognize key pieces of information that are essential to your learning of the material you are studying.

Content Pieces – Representing the Foundational Structure of Your Learning

The Content Pieces of the Study Matrix are the distinguishing elements that help to improve the readability of the information you are learning. You will notice in the Study Matrix 101 diagram that different Content Pieces effectively represent alternative distinguishing concepts and ideas within the Study Matrix.

As such, they each have their own unique look and style in order to assist the human eye in breaking through the clutter of not being able to distinguish between different fragments and pieces of information. Hence, when you are creating your Study Matrix it is critical that you take the time to distinguish specific Content Pieces from all others. This will help you to better recognize them throughout the learning process.

Another critical component of the Study Matrix extends from the Connector Words that smooth the transition between the Content Pieces. The primary purpose of the Connector Words is to improve comprehension and understanding of the material.

Pure Mind Maps do not utilize Connector Words, making it difficult for other people reading your mind maps to comprehend the information you represented in a consistent fashion. However, by utilizing Connector Words you essentially open the doors of comprehension and understanding that make your Study Matrix’s easier to remember and recall.

Other Bits – Bringing Everything Full Circle
In order to further enhance the readability of a Study Matrix, it is important to incorporate a few more essential components into your design:

• Font Differentiation – The size and style of the font utilized within a Study Matrix differentiates the relative importance of key concepts and ideas. As a general rule, the further the Study Matrix pathways extend out from the center of the Matrix, the smaller the font becomes. This thusly helps improve readability.
• Hierarchical Structure of Pathways & Pieces – In a similar fashion, the pathways and pieces are also effectively miniaturized the further the Study Matrix expands from its central location.
• Numerical Sequences – Numbers are utilized in order to highlight numerical sequences of events or pieces of information that are important in helping us expand our understanding of the topic we are learning.
• Pathway Stoppers – These are RED Dots that represent punctuation “full stops” along theStudy Matrix pathways. Whenever you come across one of these, just take a breath and continue reading a new sentence.
  

Study Matrix Accelerated Learning Study Plan
The following points present you with a quick strategy that will help you to develop a photographic memory of the Study Matrix you are learning from. Feel free to adjust this strategy any way you wish in order to fit your ideal learning style and preferences.

Day 1

• Peruse the Study Matrix identifying key symbols, headings, colors, pictures, words, patterns and other landmarks.
• Focus on the Study Matrix’s organic structure, the sequences of numbers and the white space surrounding the information. Your goal is to effectively create a mental snapshot of the entire Study Matrix.
• Divide the Study Matrix into efficient learning chunks based on color.
• Begin reading the Study Matrix one color chunk at a time from the central image moving outwards - all the while chunking the information into even smaller bits and pieces (progress in a clockwise direction). As you are processing this information be sure to utilize the pictures and symbols to help improve your memory and recall.
• As you read gently guide your eyes over the dark pathway lines and arrows, much like following directions along a street map.
• Follow the 3R+T Process of learning by firstly Reading the color chunk aloud as you create mental pictures of the material. Secondly, close your eyes and Recall the color chunk from memory. Thirdly, return to the Study Matrix color chunk and Review your memory and recall of this information by reading through it once again. Finally, Test yourself by physically sketching that color chunk of the Study Matrix onto a piece of paper. Continue moving through the 3R+T Process until you complete all the color chunks successfully.
• Next, take yourself through the 3R+T process (Reading, Recalling, Reviewing, and Testing) for the Study Matrix as a whole. This will help to assimilate the entire Study Matrix into your long-term memory.
  

Day 2

• Reverse the 3R+T Process and move through the color chunks of the Study Matrix in an anti-clockwise direction on the second day of learning.

Day 3

• Peruse the Study Matrix as a whole and sketch it out on paper for a third time. If you are unable to remember some parts, than go back to these segments of the Study Matrix, review them and sketch in the relevant details accordingly.

Day 4 to 7

• Finalize your understanding of the material by testing yourself with a set of questions - you personally prepared in advance - related to the content you are learning presented within the Study Matrix. Before answering these questions be sure to quickly overview the Study Matrix as a whole paying particular attention to bits and pieces that were difficult to remember during Day 3.
• This 7 Day accelerated learning study plan should help you to build almost 100% recall of the information you are learning. Test this process by utilizing the Study Matrix 101 download as an experimental tool. In conclusion, please set challenging yet doable time limits for each step of this process. The better you are at sticking with these time frames, the more efficient your learning will become.

How do I go about creating such a Study Matrix?
You effectively have 2 options. You can either draw them out on paper or you can utilize a Mind Mapping software package. Here is a list of recommended Mind Mapping software tools:

• Mindjet MindManager – Free 30 Day Trial – ideal for brainstorming and creating large mind maps.
• Tony Buzan’s iMindMap – Free 7 Day Free Trial – the most graphically pleasant software package.
• 3D Topicscape – Free 30 Day Trial – 3D mind mapping software package.
• NovaMind – Free 30 Day Trial – ideal for brainstorming and creating large mind maps.
• FreeMind – great Free flexible mind mapping package.

Feel free to visit the List of Mind Mapping Software Wikipedia page for further information and suggestions.

If you are interested in learning more about Mind Mapping than visit some of the following helpful resources

• Mappio Mind Maps – A website showcasing a large variety of Mind Maps.
• Topicscape Mind Maps – A website showcasing almost 1,000 Mind Maps.
• Mind Map Search – A website with the largest collection of Mind Mapping resources and links.

Adam Sincinski is active over at the The Study Matrix blog. If you haven’t done so already, please feel free to download the full pdf version of Study Matrix 101 here.

16 Things I Wish They Had Taught Me in School

This list is from:

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/04/02/16-things-i-wish-they-had-taught-me-in-school/

Pretty provocative, I think:

1. The 80/20 rule.
This is one of the best ways to make better use of your time. The 80/20 rule – also known as The Pareto Principle – basically says that 80 percent of the value you will receive will come from 20 percent of your activities.
So a lot of what you do is probably not as useful or even necessary to do as you may think.
You can just drop – or vastly decrease the time you spend on – a whole bunch of things.
And if you do that you will have more time and energy to spend on those things that really brings your value, happiness, fulfilment and so on.

2. Parkinson’s Law.
You can do things quicker than you think. This law says that a task will expand in time and seeming complexity depending on the time you set aside for it. For instance, if you say to yourself that you’ll come up with a solution within a week then the problem will seem to grow more difficult and you’ll spend more and more time trying to come up with a solution.
So focus your time on finding solutions. Then just give yourself an hour (instead of the whole day) or the day (instead of the whole week) to solve the problem. This will force your mind to focus on solutions and action.
The result may not be exactly as perfect as if you had spent a week on the task, but as mentioned in the previous point, 80 percent of the value will come from 20 percent of the activities anyway. Or you may wind up with a better result because you haven’t overcomplicated or overpolished things. This will help you to get things done faster, to improve your ability to focus and give you more free time where you can totally focus on what’s in front of you instead of having some looming task creating stress in the back of your mind.

3. Batching.
Boring or routine tasks can create a lot of procrastination and low-level anxiety. One good way to get these things done quickly is to batch them. This means that you do them all in row. You will be able to do them quicker because there is less “start-up time” compared to if you spread them out. And when you are batching you become fully engaged in the tasks and more focused.
A batch of things to do in an hour today may look like this: Clean your desk / answer today’s emails / do the dishes / make three calls / write a grocery shopping list for tomorrow.

4. First, give value. Then, get value. Not the other way around.
This is a bit of a counter-intuitive thing. There is often an idea that someone should give us something or do something for us before we give back. The problem is just that a lot of people think that way. And so far less than possible is given either way.
If you want to increase the value you receive (money, love, kindness, opportunities etc.) you have to increase the value you give. Because over time you pretty much get what you give. It would perhaps be nice to get something for nothing. But that seldom happens.

5. Be proactive. Not reactive.
This one ties into the last point. If everyone is reactive then very little will get done. You could sit and wait and hope for someone else to do something. And that happens pretty often, but it can take a lot of time before it happens.
A more useful and beneficial way is to be proactive, to simply be the one to take the first practical action and get the ball rolling. This not only saves you a lot of waiting, but is also more pleasurable since you feel like you have the power over your life. Instead of feeling like you are run by a bunch of random outside forces.

6. Mistakes and failures are good.
When you are young you just try things and fail until you learn. As you grow a bit older, you learn from - for example - school to not make mistakes. And you try less and less things.
This may cause you to stop being proactive and to fall into a habit of being reactive, of waiting for someone else to do something. I mean, what if you actually tried something and failed? Perhaps people would laugh at you?
Perhaps they would. But when you experience that you soon realize that it is seldom the end of the world. And a lot of the time people don’t care that much. They have their own challenges and lives to worry about.
And success in life often comes from not giving up despite mistakes and failure. It comes from being persistent.
When you first learn to ride your bike you may fall over and over. Bruise a knee and cry a bit. But you get up, brush yourself off and get on the saddle again. And eventually you learn how to ride a bike. If you can just reconnect to your 5 year old self and do things that way - instead of giving up after a try/failure or two as grown-ups often do – you would probably experience a lot more interesting things, learn valuable lessons and have quite a bit more success.

7. Don’t beat yourself up.
Why do people give up after just few mistakes or failures? Well, I think one big reason is because they beat themselves up way too much. But it’s a kinda pointless habit. It only creates additional and unnecessary pain inside you and wastes your precious time. It’s best to try to drop this habit as much as you can.

8. Assume rapport.
Meeting new people is fun. But it can also induce nervousness. We all want to make a good first impression and not get stuck in an awkward conversation.
The best way to do this that I have found so far is to assume rapport. This means that you simply pretend that you are meeting one of your best friends. Then you start the interaction in that frame of mind instead of the nervous one.
This works surprisingly well. You can read more about it in How to Have Less Awkward Conversations: Assuming Rapport.

9. Use your reticular activation system to your advantage.
I learned about the organs and the inner workings of the body in class but nobody told me about the reticular activation system. And that’s a shame, because this is one of the most powerful things you can learn about. What this focus system, this R.A.S, in your mind does is to allow you to see in your surroundings what you focus your thoughts on. It pretty much always helps you to find what you are looking for.
So you really need to focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. And keep that focus steady.
Setting goals and reviewing them frequently is one way to keep your focus on what’s important and to help you take action that will move your closer to toward where you want to go. Another way is just to use external reminders such as pieces of paper where you can, for instance, write down a few things from this post like “Give value” or “Assume rapport”. And then you can put those pieces of paper on your fridge, bathroom mirror etc.

10. Your attitude changes your reality.
We have all heard that you should keep a positive attitude or perhaps that “you need to change your attitude!”. That is a nice piece of advice I suppose, but without any more reasons to do it is very easy to just brush such suggestions off and continue using your old attitude.
But the thing that I’ve discovered the last few years is that if you change your attitude, you actually change your reality. When you for instance use a positive attitude instead of a negative one you start to see things and viewpoints that were invisible to you before. You may think to yourself “why haven’t I thought about things this way before?”.
When you change you attitude you change what you focus on. And all things in your world can now be seen in a different light.
This is of course very similar to the previous tip but I wanted to give this one some space. Because changing your attitude can create an insane change in your world. It might not look like it if you just think about it though. Pessimism might seem like realism. But that is mostly because your R.A.S is tuned into seeing all the negative things you want to see. And that makes you “right” a lot of the time. And perhaps that is what you want. On the other hand, there are more fun things than being right all the time.
If you try changing your attitude for real – instead of analysing such a concept in your mind - you’ll be surprised.
You may want to read more about this topic in Take the Positivity Challenge!

11. Gratitude is a simple way to make yourself feel happy.
Sure, I was probably told that I should be grateful. Perhaps because it was the right thing to do or just something I should do. But if someone had said that feeling grateful about things for minute or two is a great way to turn a negative mood into a happy one I would probably have practised gratitude more. It is also a good tool for keeping your attitude up and focusing on the right things. And to make other people happy. Which tends to make you even happier, since emotions are contagious.

12. Don’t compare yourself to others.
The ego wants to compare. It wants to find reasons for you to feel good about yourself (“I’ve got a new bike!”). But by doing that it also becomes very hard to not compare yourself to others who have more than you (“Oh no, Bill has bought an even nicer bike!”). And so you don’t feel so good about yourself once again. If you compare yourself to others you let the world around control how you feel about yourself. It always becomes a rollercoaster of emotions.
A more useful way is to compare yourself to yourself. To look at how far you have come, what you have accomplished and how you have grown. It may not sound like that much fun but in the long run it brings a lot more inner stillness, personal power and positive feelings.

13. 80-90% of what you fear will happen never really come into reality.
This is a big one. Most things you fear will happen never happen. They are just monsters in your own mind. And if they happen then they will most often not be as painful or bad as you expected. Worrying is most often just a waste of time.
This is of course easy to say. But if you remind yourself of how little of what you feared throughout your life that has actually happened you can start to release more and more of that worry from your thoughts.

14. Don’t take things too seriously.
It’s very easy to get wrapped up in things. But most of the things you worry about never come into reality. And what may seem like a big problem right now you may not even remember in three years.
Taking yourself, your thoughts and your emotions too seriously often just seems to lead to more unnecessary suffering. So relax a little more and lighten up a bit. It can do wonders for your mood and as an extension of that; your life.

15. Write everything down.
If your memory is anything like mine then it’s like a leaking bucket. Many of your good or great ideas may be lost forever if you don’t make a habit of writing things down. This is also a good way to keep your focus on what you want. Read more about it in Why You Should Write Things Down.

16. There are opportunities in just about every experience.
In pretty much any experience there are always things that you can learn from it and things within the experience that can help you to grow. Negative experiences, mistakes and failure can sometimes be even better than a success because it teaches you something totally new, something that another success could never teach you.
Whenever you have a “negative experience” ask yourself: where is the opportunity in this? What is good about this situation? One negative experience can – with time – help you create many very positive experiences.

Learning Circles

What is a Learning Circle?
A Learning Circle is a series of discussions, demonstrations, reports on readings and presentations through which the members of the Learning Circle share their knowledge and experience, learn new information and apply and test new skills. It is:

• A small informal group that meets to study a subject or body of knowledge of interest to its members

• A way of structuring a series of small group meetings to draw on the knowledge and experience of a group of people

Why use a Learning Circle?
• A Learning Circle makes learning more efficient, since reports, demonstrations and teaching experience are shared among the members of the circle.

• A Learning Circle provides an interactive learning situation. Teaching and training involve communication with people, and it is difficult to develop skills without a group of people to offer constructive criticism.

• A Learning Circle gives essential feedback to learners from colleagues who are working on the same body of skills and information, and whose suggestions on techniques and resources are hence particularly valuable.

• A Learning Circle offers the opportunity to organize demonstrations and workshops for which numbers of people are necessary.

How do Learning Circles work?
A group of people comes together to examine an issue or body of knowledge in which they are interested. After some initial planning, the group sets up a series of meetings (normally six to ten) with a specific (set of) goal(s) that the members of the group wish to accomplish through the meetings.

Century College Link to Teaching Circles: Includes some very good templates that may serve as a future reference.
http://ctlcentury.project.mnscu.edu/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={CEDD251E-D8F8-41F8-AC66-A2851ACCA647

Learning Communities and Service Learning

Below is just a few notes I made for a short 5 minute presentation I'm giving later this afternoon.

Learning is about so much more than classrooms and textbooks, and that's really the message that both Learning Communities and Service Learning send. Iowa State University has a pretty strong Learning Communities program, and a quite a few of its Learning Communities have a Service Learning component. I sure wish we could bring that model to RCTC!

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Community in and out of the Classroom

Learning Communities
What?
Learning Communities “link together … existing courses … so that students have opportunities for deeper understanding and integration of the material they are learning, and more interaction with one another and their teachers”

Why?
Wingspread Group (1993) – “What does our society need from higher education? It needs stronger, more vital forms of community.”

Major Benefit
“Students begin to recognize individual courses as part of an integrated learning experience rather than as separately taught requirements” (Shapiro & Levine, 1999).

Service Learning
Chief Academic Principles
Reflection – “Learning and development do not necessarily occur as a result of experience itself but as a result of a reflective component explicitly designed to foster learning and development” (Jacoby, 1996).

Reciprocity – “Service-Learning encourages students to do things with others rather than for them. Everyone should expect to change in the process.”

Major Faculty and Student Concern
Time: How to “add” a service learning component to an already “full” plate (class and life)

From Iowa State University (http://www.celt.iastate.edu/ServiceLearning/learningcommunities.html)

Learning communities and service-learning are a natural connection for several reasons:

1. Restructures teaching & learning
Both methods allow students to make connections in order to deepen their learning

2. Reconsiders who learns from whom
Both methods allow for multiple perspectives on the same topic by viewing through different lenses

3. Thinks about community intentionally
Both methods inspire collaboration between students and the larger community

4. Prepares students for a diverse democracy
Both methods help students extend their comfort zones and see their connection to the larger community

Fall 2008 Learning Communities
ENGL 1117 – Reading and Writing Critically – Virginia Wright-Peterson
Paired with
HORT 1315 – Plant Materials: Woody Plants – Robin Fruth-Dugstad

ENGL 0980 – Introduction to College Writing – Mike Mutschelknaus
Paired with
READ 0840 – Developmental Reading – Rae Gravenish

Active Learning: Add to Your Bag of Tricks

http://www.calstatela.edu/dept/chem/chem2/Active/

Some interesting things to note from the above link

1. Active learning supplements lecture; it doesn’t necessary replace lecture

2. Active learning just means getting students engaged in some way – getting them to practice what they’re learning, getting them to work together on a project, etc.

3. Activities 1-3 are Classroom Assessment Techniques, ways to find out if you’re students are “getting it” in an informal way

4. Activity 6 (Clarification Pause) is a good addition to any lecture; give students a chance to chew over what you’re teaching, and open the floor for questions periodically; think of the lecture as a dialog rather than as a monologue

5. I like Activities 12 and 13; we don’t need fancy technology to this – fingers and flashcards will do the trick

Anyway, there’s almost too many ideas (29 of them) to consider, and certainly too many to consider in one posting. I hope you’ll take time to look these over at your leisure.

Ancient Chinese Secret

"Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me and I'll understand." -- Chinese Proverb

So what's wrong with a PowerPoint lecture for an entire class period? After all, we have all of this great technology in the classroom; shouldn't we use it? But is it "smart" to use "smart rooms" in this fashion? It almost seems like we paid $4000 per room for overhead projectors, which makes about as much sense as a solid gold toliet.

I know lectures, and even PowerPoints, have their proper place. But the next time you do one for an entire 85 minute period, ask yourself: "Are my students actively engaged?" How much of the lecture will they forget tomorrow (or as soon as they are tested)?

Be sure to check out the following link. Lots of good Active Learning techniques here for you to incorporate into your classes:

http://www.calstatela.edu/dept/chem/chem2/Active/

Hybrids?

Is a hybrid class a face-to-face class that has an online component, or is it an online class that has a face-to-face component?

What things should you think about when designing a hybrid class?

Here's a good link to help you think about these and other questions related to hybrid course design and pedagogy:

http://www4.uwm.edu/ltc/hybrid/faculty_resources/tips.cfm

Of the tips provided at this weblink, here are the ones that stand out to me:

1. Put in a lot of "upfront" time before the class goes live.

2. Think carefully about what works best online and what works best face-to-face.

3. Find a hybrid "veteran" to mentor you.

4. Provide clear expectations to your students. Explain the rational of the hybrid class until you're sure everyone in class "gets it."

5. Constantly reflect on what works, what needs to be tweaked, and what just plain doesn't work and needs to be dropped.