Svinicki, M., & McKeachie, W. J. (2014). McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (14th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Another great chapter in the Svinicki & McKeachie text, chapter 14, is about active learning, specifically group-based learning. This book is so practical and useful. I want to read this aloud to all my interns. No, I want to get into groups and read this together, stopping to discuss, write, co-teach, buddy blog and collaborate. “The task of the successful student in peer learning is to question, explain, express opinions, admit confusion, and reveal misconceptions” (pg. 194). This chapter starts off with the value of active learning, reasoning supported by research. It then talks about peer learning, why it works, types of peer learning, issues in designing group work, and suggestions for effectiveness. These are tips which can be implemented in any setting, but are designed for educators teaching at the university or college level. I agree with everything contained in this text. It feels like synchronicity that this is our reading this week, as I’ve been talking a great deal about this concept lately. Basically, we learn best by teaching others. If you can teach something, then you really understand it. Teaching something, and preparing to teach it, can help you master it. This includes motivation and drive. It increases the student’s likelihood of attending class if they know others are relying on them to do their part. I’ve seen this first hand with my students. When they know their group is presenting, such as a Morning Meeting, they are sure to attend, even if there are obstacles which normally would have kept them away, such as illness, lack of childcare, or car trouble. Svinicki & McKeachie add, “peer learning and teaching is extremely effective for a wide range of goals, content, and students of different levels and personalities”, citing the work of Johnson et al., 1981. Another personal connection I made during the reading was the concept of the “illusion of understanding.” My daughter was in tears last week describing her frustration with her high school pre-calculus class. She said she felt she understood the material in class, but when she got home and attempted her homework she was lost, realizing she didn’t have a true grasp of the material. “We feel like we understand something just because we’ve seen it or heard it or read it before. It takes the attempt to apply the information to prove to use that we don’t understand it yet.” (pg. 192) Active learning strategies could eliminate this problem. I use the concept of learning pairs or learning cells in the classes I teach. For example, when students are assigned to read different chapters, I pair them up and have them teach one another. This seems to be effective and now I see it aligns with research on effective teaching and learning practices. The part I would add, based on the reading, is to have students prepare their partner questions ahead of time. I’ve certainly used the jigsaw method many times, and find it successful. The idea of asynchronous online work is also one I’m familiar with and have used for online classes. For example, our summer arts integration class had students posting to Wikis to create a complete descriptor of their chosen art form. Students worked on this at whatever time was convenient for them (within the weekly time frame) and still were able to collaborate and actively participate together. I notice that my professor in Supervised Teaching utilizes many of the strategies described here. For example, she chooses groups that are diverse, so each participant brings a unique perspective or background to the table. For example, when assigning partners, she would pair an early childhood educator with an elementary educator. Similarly, she would pair a student from the United States with an international student. This allowed the participants to gain knowledge they would not normally have been able to access. I enjoy seeing first-hand how the theories of our text are implemented in real time. Svinicki, M. & McKeachie, W.J. (2014). McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (14th ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Part 2 Svinicki and McKeachie’s book is an inviting read. The tips and strategies are helpful and practical for anyone teaching adult learners. These are ideas which can be immediately implemented in order to enhance learning. Part two, chapters 4-10, cover the topics: reading as active learning, facilitating discussion, how to make lectures more effective, assessing, testing and evaluating, good designs for written feedback for students, and assigning grades and what those grades mean. These all speak to the theme of basic skills for facilitating student learning. I found the sections on grades eye opening. Although I would have previously agreed with many of their assertions, such as “Learning is more important than grading” (pg. 83), “align goals with assessments (pg. 73), and that traditional tests are not the only method of evaluation (pg. 74), other ideas are new to me or have only recently taken hold. These include that “tests should facilitate learning for you as well as your students”, and “use nongraded tests and assessments that provide feedback to the students and you.” (pg. 73). I had not considered all the possible uses of grading and evaluating. I always thought of tests as formative or summative methods of evaluating student progress in order to inform instruction and measure mastery. The idea that the test can also assist in the actual learning process is novel, but makes perfect sense. Students will study what they know will be on the test, prioritizing this over other material which may now be considered non-essential. This is in alignment with the statement “what is measured is often what ends up being valued.” (pg. 73). I was also particularly interested in the section on embedded assessment using technology. I have often seen this implemented, and even taught it in seminar last semester (with the help of a CT and an intern), but have yet to try it myself with my adult learners. I feel like using technology is greatly beneficial to the interest and motivation of the student, but is often fraught with difficulty in its implementation. I know I need to take the risk (and have a backup plan), but more forward. I could do QR scanner codes for assessment, Nearpod, SurveyMonkey, Doodle, or other evaluations tied to HHEDs. I am going to make this one of my goals for the year, to increase use of beneficial technology into my classes, particularly for the use of assessment. According to Svinicki and McKeachie, this type of embedded assessment can “gather information about individual as well as class performance, this information can be used to diagnose student problems, provide feedback, and make adjustments, but also be graded and figured into an overall grade.” (pg. 82) I felt a personal connection to the section on student aggression and frustration related to testing. I was very surprised at the anger I felt from my students last semester when I started giving short quizzes on the material they were assigned to read for homework, in my instructional planning class. This was in response to student arriving unprepared for class. I hoped that giving a 2 question quiz on the readings would increase homework completion rates. On days when I would give these short quizzes, some students would sulk, refuse to participate, and even complain vehemently. It affected my rapport with them, something I was working hard to build. As the authors suggest, I did try to explain the purpose of the quiz, the how and why. This was not effective. Although I was able to establish a positive relationship with some of the students, I feel like I never reached others, and I think that may have been part of the reason why. To amend this, in my current class, if I am giving a quick quiz to see if students did the assigned readings, I use it as a non-graded formative evaluation tool. I may be losing the effectiveness edge in that students know there is no point value attached and thus may be apathetic about the quiz and the reading, however, if I single the purpose down to finding out if students are prepared for class and adjusting my lesson accordingly if needed, I can avoid the angst my students may have felt. It’s more important for me to develop and maintain a connection to my students than to assign points to a test. As Svinicki and McKeachie point out, there are other ways to assess students. And after all, we want students to “focus on learning rather than on grades” (pg. 134). Svinicki, M. & McKeachie, W.J. (2014). McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (14th ed.). Belmost, CA: Wadsworth.
In the book McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers, the authors write a chapter about vitality and growth throughout your teaching career (Ch. 23). This is an easy to read and digest look at how to maintain professional momentum and continue to thrive professionally. Topics include developing effective skill and strategies through reading, discussion, and observing. Getting feedback from peers is considered most effective when it happens between those who are not direct stakeholders in hiring or pay scale decisions. Instead, having retired teachers or like-minded peers share information is beneficial. Further, Dr. Joseph Clark’s method of small group study, labeled SGID (small group instructional diagnosis) combines feedback with observation in a structured way in order to foster professional development. Feedback from students is also considered an effective way to improve one’s teaching skills, with the authors providing specific prompts and strategies. The authors share their exuberance for education, and encourage others. This chapter is a practical read, with concrete tips and strategies that any educator can use. Although it was brief, I was able to make several connections. I too agree that continued development as a teacher is just as important as development in our students. I like that the authors expose their own weaknesses at the start, talking about how the length of their teaching career has the downside of lacking connection to current trends and practices. Yet their joy in the profession is evident, and encouraging. “It is clear that teaching offers great potential for continued vitality, growth, and satisfaction.” (pg.332) I couldn’t agree more! I was also able to connect to the idea that the best teachers have a connection with their students not just in the classroom, but also outside. For example, when a student in my Tuesday night class complained that she wished someone had specifically shown her how to set up her blog tabs when she was starting out in our program, I was able to elicit her help in teaching my junior level seminar the following week. We worked together and she designed a short 15 minute presentation showing how to set up and tag blogs. The seminar was a success, and this student and I now have a new connection, having taught and planned together to solve her problem (or at least help others avoid the same problem), outside of class. The student expressed her happiness at being able to do this, and actually gave me a hug. It made my day. Dinkleman, T. (2003). Self-study in teacher education: A means and ends tool for promoting reflective teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 6-18. Similarly, the 2003 Dinkleman article, Self-study in teacher education: A means and ends tool for promoting reflective teaching, stresses that teachers should constantly working to develop professionally. In this case, self-study and reflection are expounded upon. I was able to personally connect with one of the main ideas, in which educators should model for students their own continued reflective practice. I do this with my pre-service teachers. While they are working on their own inquiry studies, I share what I’m doing in the same vein. The comments I received when they saw me at the MOSI inquiry conference alongside them this past April were all encouraging. My hope is that I conveyed the value of the inquiry process through my example. “Self-study by teacher educators, a form of deliberate and systematic reflection that is oftentimes visible to students, promotes reflective teaching by the very example it sets” (p. 11). Week 2 reflective journal entry
Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning about teaching. London: Routledge. Chapter 1 of Developing a Pedagogy of Teacher Education is an overview of the issues embedded in teacher education, along with a clear statement of definitions necessary for an in depth examination of these issues. For example, definitions for the terms pedagogy, teacher education, developing, episteme, and phronesis are set forth. This sets the ground work for later chapters where these ideas will be expounded upon. The conflict and relationship between being a teacher and a teacher educator is explored initially, spelling out how excelling at one does not necessarily prepare you for the other, and that there is a lack of research in some related areas. The difficulty of making this transition is acknowledged. The idea that one must demonstrate pedagogy through example is a key connection for me. When I plan for my behavior management course, I’m constantly striving to do just this. I want to not just share the information verbally, but model what I’m saying. I think it’s a great flaw of some teachers and programs to tell students about cooperative learning, equity, hands on learning, etc., but then stand up there and lecture or read from a PowerPoint. The irony is not lost on our pre-service teachers. My current goal, based on the courses I’m taking on how to best serve my interns, is to examine my teaching practices and any “hidden curriculum” messages I might be sending without intention, and then to adapt these to better serve the needs of my PSTs. I want to make sure all the messages they receive are aligned with the explicit curriculum I’m sharing. “How we teach is the message.” (Russell and Bullock, 1999, pp. 138-140) This chapter would be of interest to teacher educators and those interested in pedagogy and teacher preparation programs. Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning about teaching. London: Routledge. Chapter 11 from the Svinicki and McKeachie text was inspiring! The topic, motivating students, is of great interest to me, as well as I’m sure many other educators. Without motivation, the most well planned lesson cannot take hold and foster growth in the learner. The authors provide an overview of motivational theories. They explore the ideas of autonomy and self-determination, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, expectancy-value theory, mastery and performance goals, self-motivation, attrition theory, and the motivational power of beliefs about intelligence. Practically, these ideas are then discussed in terms of taking theory and putting it into practice. I can make a personal connection specifically to the section on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. I found it interesting to listen to my PSTs this week talk extensively about their use of and their CT’s use of extrinsic motivators. They considered this a normal and fully acceptable part of teaching and behavior management. Some opposed the idea of giving candy to kids, but not because much research discourages this in favor of intrinsic motivators for long term success, but because of the implications for poor health and obesity linked to the sweets. They instead decided that stickers and pencils were appropriate tokens students should be able to earn, and part of their plan to motivate students. I found this very interesting, and linked this to what I read in the chapter this week. In my experience, use of extrinsic motivators was initially the way to go. Every teacher had a treasure box, fun Friday plan, and a pack of stickers at the ready. Many still do. Then I learned that intrinsic motivators can decrease intrinsic motivation, and should be avoided. These ideas were opposed to one another. Svinicki and McKeachie (2014) put forth a balanced plan. They stress the use of extrinsic motivators to be used when intrinsic motivation is lacking. “Recent research seems to support the judicious use of external rewards as a complement to other motivational approaches. “ (page 142). This makes sense, considering all students, their differing levels of motivation and interest in a given topic. The information in this book is practical and well supported by citation of current research. It is of use to teacher educators who are in search of methods to enhance their teaching and support student learning. |
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