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Stephanie Klatzke Philip McCartney Jennifer Stansbury Koenig Gannon Tagher Aimee Krug Christopher Lawrence Boni Li Kenneth Rhee
Spring 2016 Issue 10
‘TEEC’hing Teaching Effectiveness and Enhancement Newsletter INSIDE THIS ISSUE
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT P.1
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT P.2
TEACHING TIPS P.2
TEACHING CONVERSATION P.3
TECHNOLOGY TIPS P.3
ANNOUNCEMENTS P.4
OneofthemainreasonsIchosetoteachatNKUwastheuniversity’s
commitmenttocivicengagement.Ifyouhaven’tincorporatedcivic
engagementintoaclassyet,Iwanttoencourageyoutogiveitatry.Yes,it
mightsounddaunting.ButIbelievetherearewaysforusalltoprovide
powerfuleducationalexperiencesforourstudentswhileengagingwithand
assistingourcommunities.
Togetstarted,reachouttoyourownnetwork.Looktoyourneighborhood,to
religiousorganizations,andtoprofessionalorganizations.Thenreviewyour
assignmentsandseewhatcanbeadapted.Inmy400-levelDocumentary
Productionclass,thesecondassignmenthasalwaysbeenagroup
documentaryproduction.Byengagingwiththecommunityforthis
assignment,Ihopedtogivemystudentsanexperiencethatwouldmirrorthe
onestheywouldsoonhaveintheirjobs.
Iusedsocialmediatoaskifanyoneknewofanorganizationthatwould
benefitfromvisualstorytelling.Iquicklygotresponses.Asimpleemailand
phonecalllater,andIhadaveryexcitednon-profitthatwaswillingtowork
withourtimeframeandconnectustotheirclients.Weweregoingtoshare
thestoriesof4PawsforAbility,agroupthatprovidesservicedogstochildren
andveteranswithdisabilities.
Studentgroupswerematchedwithfamilies.Theylearnedabouthowthe
dogshadchangedlives,anddocumentedthesestoriesinvideo.Incompleting
theirprojects,thestudentsconnectedwiththefamilies,theycaredmore
abouttheendproduct,andtheyvaluedtheirexperiences.Ihaveneverhada
classwillinglydomorerevisionsandfine-tuningofanassignment.Andtheir
reflectionsmadeitclearthattheprojectwasvaluabletotheminawaythat
manyschoolassignmentsarenot.
Civicengagementalsobenefitsme.Manyofmyresearchprojects,grants,and
speakingopportunitiesdevelopedfromconnectionsImadethroughcivic
engagementactivities.I’vepartneredwiththeUniversityofCincinnati,the
UnitedWay,theSaïdBusinessSchoolattheUniversityofOxford,theFreedom
Center,andmore.
So,Iencourageyoutotry.Startsmall.Yes,itcanbemorework.Butthe
benefitsarewellworthit.IhopethatNKUcontinuestoencouragecivic
engagement,andthatweasafacultyaresupportedtoexpandtheseefforts.
SARADRABIKAssistantProfessorCommunicationCollegeofInformatics
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
TEACHING TIPS
MynameisNickGarciaandIamgraduatingthisMaywithaBachelorofFineArtsinStage
Management.IamcurrentlyanOfficeAssistantfortheSchooloftheArtsandaMailManager
forUniversityHousing.Inaddition,IamchairofastudentorganizationIhelpedtocreatemy
sophomoreyearandthetreasurerofasecondorganizationIhelpedtoformlastyear.In
addition,IamaproudmemberoftheSigmaPhiEpsilonFraternityandactivelyinvolvedwithin
thetheatreprogram.
NKUhasproventobetheschoolIwasmeanttobeat.Beforegoingtocollege,Iwasabouttogo
toanotherschoolinadifferentstateandwasinitiallyunsureofifNKUwaswhereIwasmeant
tobe.Bytheendofmyfreshmanyear,allthedoubthadgoneawayandIwaspositivethatIwas
meanttobeatNKU.I’vebeenabletogetveryinvolvedinmanystudentorganizationsandin
thetheatreprogramaswell.Overthepastfouryears
Ihaveworkedon15productionswithinourtheatre
programand11professionaltheatreproductionsin
variousotherlocations.
WhatIhavelovedmostaboutmytimeatNKUhas
beenhowsupportivemyfacultyhasbeenin
achievingmydreams.Thefacultyprovidedme
withuniqueopportunitieswhetheritbestudying
abroadinLondontoworkingattheSantaFe
OperainNewMexico.AsImoveforwardto
graduationandbeyond,Iwillbethankfulof
everythingthatNKUhasbeenabletoprovideme.
Ihopethatothersthatcomeaftermewill
appreciatetheuniqueopportunitiesthatNKUhas
forthemandthemanydoorsthatitwillopen.
Haveyoueverthoughtabouthavingyourstudentscreateaconceptmap?Conceptmapsestablish
meaningbetweenideaswithlinkagewords.Theactualmakingoftheconceptmaptakesagreat
dealofbrainpowerandthisbeginsthemoveoftheseconceptsintolongtermmemorystorage.
Conceptmappinghasalsoshowntobeanadvantageoveroutlines.Whileoutliningconnectsideas
inonlyonedirection,conceptmapencouragescross-linkageconnections.
Inordertomakeaconceptmap,studentsneedtoidentifytheconceptstobemapped.First,begin
withamainconceptandranktheremainingconceptsfromgeneraltospecific.Next,picklinking
wordssuchas“have,”“are”and“like”toidentifytherelationshipsbetweenconcepts.Toconstruct
theactualmap,beginbybranchingoneortwogeneralconceptsfromthemainconceptandadd
morespecificconceptsasthemapprogresses.Finally,lookforopportunitiestodrawcross-
linkagestoconceptsfromdifferentbranchesofthemap.
Formoreinformationonthebenefitsofconceptmaps,examples,andtemplatesvisitTheInstitute
forHumanandMachineCognitionathttp://cmap.ihmc.us
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TEACHING CONVERSATION
Asinstructors,shouldwefocusourmainattentiononcoursecontentoronstudents’learningand
development?Someofyoumightsaytheyarenotmutuallyexclusive,andweshouldfocusonboth.
Iwouldwholeheartedlyagreewiththat,butwhatifthatisnotwhathappensinreality?Thereare
factorsorpressuresintheenvironmentinwhichweoperatethatoftenleadustofocusmoreofour
attentiononcoursecontentratherthanprocessesthatmighthelpstudents’learningand
development.
First,wearetypicallytrainedinourdoctoralprogramsascontentexperts.Infact,wearerewarded
forpublishingandadvancingknowledgeinourowndisciplines.Assuch,wearemuchmore
comfortablefocusingonwhatwearefamiliarwithorwhatwearegoodat-knowledge
dissemination.Also,therearealimitednumberofweeksinasemester,andwehavetocover
certainmaterialsinthecourseifthecourseweareteachingispartofthesequenceofthecourses
inthecurriculum.Ifcertaintopicsaretaughtinfuturecourses,thenitbehoovesustoteachthat
topicinourcoursesothatstudentsarepreparedintheirfuturecourses.Itisalsoeasytojustifyto
yourchairsanddeansthatyouarecoveringcertainmaterialsinclass,andyouaredoingarigorous
jobofcoveringthosematerials.Thisissimilartocompanieshiringrecentgraduateswithhigh
GPAssinceitiseasyto“defend”yourhiringdecisionsbasedonquantitativeor“objective”data
thansomeotherintangibleor“soft”factors.
However,whatisbeinglostasaresultofourfocusonteachingcontentinourcourses?Whatabout
focusingonprocessesinclassthatmighthelpstudentslearnanddevelopmore?Inotherwords,
focusingonhowweteach?Whataboutnon-contentrelatedactivitiesorinterventionsinclassthatmighthelpourstudentsengagemorewithusandthecourse?Whatifyouspendacertainamount
oftimeeachsemestercheckinginwithyourstudentstoseehowtheyaredoinginschoolandin
theirpersonallives?Areyouwastingyourvaluableclasstimedoingsomethingnon-essential?Are
theseprocess-relatedactivitiesbeingsacrificedorskippedbecausetheyarenotcontent-specificor
content-focused?Somewillarguethatitisnotourjobtobeourstudents’caretakers.Ourjobisto
teachthemknowledgeandskillsinourdisciplines.So,thecourseinchemistryshouldfocuson
chemistryandnothingelse.Doyouagreewithsuchassessments?Areyouwillingtotakeariskto
spendtimeinyourclassonotherthingsbesidesorbeyondcoursecontentifithelpsstudents
engagemore,learnmore,orgrowmore?Wethinkthisisaconversationworthhavinginour
learningcommunity. TECHNOLOGY TIPS
Collegesanduniversitiesaroundthecountryhavebeenmakingeffortstoensuretheircourse
offeringsarecompliantwiththeAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA).Onewaytotakea
significantsteptowardADAcomplianceistoincludeatranscriptionofanyrecordedmaterials
(e.g.,lectures,videos,podcasts)usedinyourcourses.
If,however,youdon’thavedetailedlecturenotesorapodcastscripthandy,don’tfret-
VoiceBaseTranscriptionoffersasolution.Signingupforafreeaccountatwww.voicebase.com
automaticallyearnsyouupto50hoursofaudiotranscriptionand5hoursofvideo
transcriptionatnocost.Allyou’llneedisanMP3fileofyourrecordingandane-mailaddress
(toalertyouwhenthetranscriptioniscomplete).Afterreviewingyourtranscriptandmaking
anynecessaryedits,youcaneasilydownloadthetextandmakeitavailabletoyourstudents.
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Mindfulness and Renewal March 16th UC 414 Noon-1:30pm Facilitator: Jennifer Sharp Dr. Jennifer Sharp specializes in integrating mindfulness-based approaches into counseling and counselor training. Highlights of her professional experience include: middle school counseling, leadership of campus-based peer education programs, and advocacy and counseling for trauma survivors. Session Description: Practicing mindfulness can guide renewal of self as well as renewal of teaching practices. Join us for a discussion of contemplative practices and learn how they may be integrated with regular course content across all disciplines.
BROWN BAG SESSIONS Attend and be entered for a chance to win a Kindle Fire Drinks will be provided
Development Workshop Broadening Students’ Horizons��Cultivating multiple perspectives, social objectivity, and global thinking. April 6, 2pm – 4pm, AC 722 April 7, 2pm – 4pm, AC 722
Faculty members hope university graduates will appreciate multiple perspectives, demonstrate social objectivity, and act with global thinking. Getting students to that point, however, isn’t always an easy task, and faculty’s roles in that process aren’t always clear. This workshop will explore the importance of instilling meta-competencies in our students, and examine approaches, activities, and assignments that can help students broaden their horizons.
To register, email Amberly Nutini at [email protected].
Congratulations to Jeanne Pettit
Director and Faculty, First Year Programs
Flipping the Classroom Kindle Fire HD 8 Raffle Winner
