James A. Anderson, Ph.D. Vice President for Student Success Vice Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity Prof

1. THE CHALLENGE OF TEACHING EXCELLENCE AND STUDENT LEARNING: NO SHORTCUTS ALLOWEDThe Compact for Faculty DiversityInstitute on Teaching and MentoringOctober 27, 2006 James A. Anderson, Ph.D. Vice President for Student Success Vice Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity Professor of Psychology University at Albany, SUNY jaanderson@uamail.albany.edu

2. Do You Have • A philosophy of teaching and teaching excellence • Connected to a model of learning • Which acknowledges characteristics of the learner and the learning environment • Which utilizes appropriate strategies, tools, and techniques • And which incorporates assessment and evaluation in order to maintain quality

3. TEACHING STYLE • A reflection of one’s value system regarding: (a) human nature and cognitive functioning (b) goals and environments that enhance human learning • Supports a particular kind of teaching and related subject matter • Strongly influenced by one’s cultural and environmental background (and inherited characteristics) • Most functional in settings which reflect or are receptive to that style

4. TEACHING STRATEGY • Technique (or series of steps) used to evoke a desired behavior from a learner • Clearly defined procedures to accomplish goals • Learner’s role is as important as teacher’s role • Strategy may or may not reflect the teaching style

5. THE FOLLOWING ITEMS CONCERN YOUR TYPICAL LECTURE. WOULD YOU PLEASE RANK-ORDER THE TOP FOUR (4) AS TO THEIR DEGREE OF IMPORTANCE TO YOU CHECK: _____ Its logic (or lack of) _____ Its degree of bias (positive and negative) _____ Its level of creativity _____ The amount of fairness _____ Its preciseness (or lack of) _____ The speed of delivery _____ Its degree of applicability to student experience _____ Its scientific nature _____ Its scholarly quality

6. RANK-ORDER FOUR (4) CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MOST TYPIFY YOU WHEN YOU LECTURE _____ Your degree of sincerity _____ Your amount of humor _____ Your amount of intelligence _____ Your enthusiasm (or lack of) _____ Your preparedness (or lack of) _____ Your degree of preciseness _____ Your level of consistency _____ Your level of interest _____ Your skill of presentation _____ Your level of self-confidence

7. TEACHING GOALS INFLUENCE DECISIONS • ABOUT GRADING • TEACHING FOR: • KNOWLEDGE OF COURSE CONTENT • LEARNING OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES • COGNITIVE OR INTELLECTUAL OUTCOMES • CLASSROOM OUTCOMES (TEAMWORK, ETC.) • NONACADEMIC OUTCOMES (COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT) • SKILL COMPETENCIES (WRITING, READING, SPEAKING, ETC.) • UTILIZATION OF ACADEMIC SUPPORTS • 8. GRADING OUTCOMES (C-WALL COURSES)

8. HELPING STUDENTS TO ESTABLISH A POSITION ON INQUIRY­GUIDED LEARNING (IGL) • MAP THE CHRONOLOGY OF LEARNING (STUDENT • ORIENTATION) • INVOLVE STUDENTS IN RECOGNIZING HOW THEY LEARN • PROVIDE EXAMPLES FROM UPPER LEVEL STUDENTS WHO • ARE SIMILAR TO YOUR CURRENT STUDENTS • INTEGRATE ASSESSMENT ALONG THE CONTINUUM OF • LEARNING • HOLD STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THINKING ABOUT THEIR • OWN THINKING AND LEARNING • HAVE STUDENTS DISCUSS THEIR PROGRESS OVER TIME • TOWARD A DESIRED OUTCOME AND THEN ENGAGEIN SELF- • REFLECTION

9. COURSE: FIELD BIOLOGY • COURSE THEMES: • THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO BIOLOGY • THE IDEA OF HIERARCHIAL STRUCTURE AND THE • INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY • THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION • THE IDEAS OF FEEDBACK MECHANISM AND CONTROL • THE IMPORTANCE OF THE QUESTIONING APROACH • - THE IDEA THAT SCIENCE IS A STATE-OF-THE-ART DISCIPLINE

10. STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES: • RELATE BIOLOGY TO OTHER PARTS OF THEIR LIVES • BROADEN THEIR PERSPECTIVE • READ AND EXPLAIN THE CONTENT OF SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES • FROM A SECONDARY SOURCE • EVALUATE CRITICALLY THE IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON • AN ECOSYSTEM • DESCRIBE THE FLOW OF MATTER AND ENERGY IN AN • ECOSYSTEM • EXPLAIN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF AN ECOSYSTEM • EXPLAIN BASIC ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES • SOURCE: Sharon Hanks • Professor of Biology • William Patterson University of New Jersey

11. Role of Prior Knowledge When designing instruction in STEM disciplines the following four questions should be considered: What breadth and depth of prior knowledge do your students have? Do they understand where your discipline fits in with all the other disciplines which they are taking classes? How much do they know about the other related disciplines? What kind of connections do they have to make between what you are teaching and those other disciplines in order to succeed in learning in your class?

12. Student Diversity(Within and Between Group) • Demographic/Descriptive Characteristics • Social/Human-Relational Skills/Characteristics • Learning Styles/Strategies and Task-Completion Skills • Psychological Characteristics and Non-Cognitive Factors • Information Processing Skills

13. PRIMARY INPUTS OF A COURSE

14. Active Learning • Involves students engaged in activities/tasks and thinking about what they are doing. The tasks may range from those that are simple and less structured to those that are complex and longer in duration. The tasks are carefully planned and structured and are linked to higher-order thinking outcomes, and to explanations and demonstrations about why they are learning.

15. Active Learning Strategies That Enhance Lectures(Charles C. Bonwell) • Provide a preview of information prior to explanation • Example: Overview or graphic organizer • Organize information sequentially • From simple – concrete – familiar – explicit to complex – abstract – unfamiliar – inexplicit • Assess student learning periodically • Example: CAT’S or Bottleneck Assessment • Signal transitions between information • Example: Ask students to summarize/synthesize information previously presented • Use multiple examples • Have students brainstorm examples without comment from the instructor. Students then brainstorm list of examples • Stress important points during explanations • Example give quiz and ask students who developed incorrect answers why they thought answers made sense • Provide brief pauses at appropriate times students can use the time to • Asses previous lecture, • Ask critical questions • Write a reflective statement that focuses on the material presented

16. Obstacles That Prevent Faculty From Using Active Learning Strategies • You can’t cover as much content in the time available. • Devising active learning strategies takes too much pre-class preparation. • Large class size prevents implementation of active learning strategies. • Most instructors think of themselves as being good lecturers even if they don’t assess learning outcomes.

17. Obstacles That Prevent Faculty From Using Active Learning Strategies(Cont.) • Some students resist non-lecture approaches and out-of-class tasks. • Faculty are unaware of materials needed to support active learning approaches. • Faculty do not link active learning outcomes to discipline-specific outcomes or general-education outcomes.

18. USING THE NEW YORK TIMES TO IMPACT COURSE GOALS AND GRADING IN INTRODUCTORY AMERICAN GOVERNMENT INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY: THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER STUDENTS RECEIVE WORKSHEETS BASED ON CURRENT NYT ARTICLES AS SMALL GROUP EXERCISES THAT GIVE THEM PRACTICE IN APPLYING COURSE CONCEPTS AND KNOWLEDGE. THE ARTICLES ARE ALSO REFERRED TO IN LECTURES TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF HOW CONCEPTS AND KNOWLEDGE CAN BE APPLIED. OVER HALF OF THE FINAL COURSE GRADE CONSISTS OF SCORES ON 10 SHORT GRADED ESSAYS BASED ON THE NYT ARTICLES. STUDENTS RECEIVE A COPY OF A CURRENT ARTICLE WITH ITS PARAGRAPHS NUMBERED. EACH GRADED EXERCISE ASKS THE SAME QUESTIONS:

19. Faculty Problems With Students Who Exhibit Diverse Skill Levels Which Suggest Academic Difficulty • Does not determine problems of students until too late. Why? • Instructor is content-centered and not student-centered • Little or no classroom assessment occurs other than with tests or quizzes • Does not know when or where student “bottlenecks” occur

20. Faculty Problems With Students Who Exhibit Diverse Skill Levels Which Suggest Academic Difficulty(Cont.) • Provides inappropriate feedback when • Questions are asked (doesn’t discern student difficulty from question) • Even if problem is detected still provides student with inappropriate feedback

21. Faculty Problems With Students Who Exhibit Diverse Skill Levels Which Suggest Academic Difficulty(cont.) • Doesn’t facilitate general cognitive skill of student • Does not utilize techniques or strategies to help student become better thinker, questioner, problem-solver, writer, etc.

22. 1. WHAT GENERAL CONCEPTS AND SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT POLITICS (COVERED IN CLASS AND/OR IN THE TEXTBOOK) CAN YOU USE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS DESCRIBED IN THE ARTICLE? • FOR EACH CONCEPT OR PIECE OF INFORMATION, DISCUSS BRIEFLY HOW IT APPLIES TO A SPECIFIC PARAGRAPH IN THE ARTICLE (REFER TO THE PARAGRAPH NUMBER). MAKE SURE THAT YOU CONFINE YOUR ANSWER TO A DISCUSSION OF HOW CONCEPTS AND INFORMATION CAN BE APPLIED. • Source: James Eisenstein • Professor, Political Science • Pennsylvania State University

23. COMPARE AND CONTRAST HOW ALIKE? HOW DIFFERENT? PATTERNS OF SIGNIFICANT SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES: CONCLUSION OR INTERPRETATION:

24. CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE SCIENCE – MATH MODELS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS The Teacher : • Fosters a sense of community grounded on the shared experience of doing serious work • Utilizes student feedback to periodically assess teaching ability • Individualizes and personalizes classroom presentations when necessary • Introduces relevance of information to be learned • Provides students with hands-on activities and involvement • Provides appropriate feedback when students experience conceptual difficulties • Acknowledges developmental level of students and teaches to that level • Varies instructional method • Encourages students to express their reasoning process in their own words (especially futility) • Guides students in learning how to frame new questions • Guides students in the use of alternate learning strategies • Shows connections between isolated pieces of information

25. ALCOA ProjectCourse: Introductory Physical Chemistry (CH 331) Dr. Laura Sremaniak & Ms. Sheila Maness • Objectives • Cultivating the cognitive and affective domains • Creating an awareness of student responsibility to learning • Incorporating a historical context to course material • Bringing abstract ideas into an understanding format • Utilizing case studies to establish relevance to students’ disciplinary interests

26. Occasions for Informal Writing/Feedback in Math and Science • Free writing (one minute paper) • Focused writing • Reflective writing • Attitudinal writing • Metacognitive writing • Explaining errors • Log • Journal definitions • Summarizing • Organization • Creating problems (individual or group) • Problem solving (individual or group) • Sentence completion: “Today i learned to ..." 

27. Sequential Calculation of Problems • Generally, what am I looking for? • What information is available to me? • Is this a problem in which I have to do a simple calculation? • How many different calculations do I need to do? • Do I need to recall (from memory) a formula? • Do I need to recall a principal?

28. Transformation as a Curricular and Pedagogical Activity

29. Diversity as an Intellectual or Educational Experience: What Student Outcomes Do You Expect? • Deeper understanding of: • Different cultures, people • Perspectives • Disciplines • Enhance analytical and decision-making skills • Comfortable with ambiguity and conflict • Openness to growth through dialogue in pluralistic communities (offshoot: become global communicators) • Ability to analyze and understand persuasive arguments • Inclusion of voice of underrepresented students

30. Learning Outcomes: Cultural and Ethnic Diversity • Examine the social construction of identities by race, gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and so forth • Recognize various forms of stereotyping, prejudice, privilege and discrimination • Understand cultural differences in identity development • Distinguish between individual responsibility and structural barriers to choice and opportunity

31. Learning Outcomes: Cultural and Ethnic Diversity(Cont.) • Distinguish facts, cultural assumptions, interpretations and opinions relating to issues of diversity • Take a supportable position in face of irreconcilable cultural differences • Think about complex issues from different cultural perspectives • Differentiate between personal discomfort and intellectual disagreement in cultural conflict situations

32. Scholarship of Teaching • Key Characteristics • It should be public • It should be susceptible to critical review and evaluation • It must be accessible for exchange and use by other members of one’s scholarly community

33. Scholarship of Teaching(Cont.) • Key Characteristics • It must be an account of teaching with a reference to learning outcomes. • We invest in teaching the intellectual powers we practice in research • It is deep thinking and analysis about the frameworks we construct and operate in