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SSSUPPORTINGUPPORTINGUPPORTING SSSTUDENTTUDENTTUDENT SSSUCCESSUCCESSUCCESS THROUGHTHROUGHTHROUGH

SSSCAFFOLDINGCAFFOLDINGCAFFOLDING Originally posted on Tomorrow’s Teaching and Learning ListServ by Rick Reis from Standford. The original article was written by Susan Johnston, Ed.D. and Jim Cooper, Ph.D., and is adapted with permission from Cooperative Learning and College Teaching, S. Johnston & J. Cooper Vol. 9, No. 3 Spring 1997.

I N T H I S I S S U E

P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y

Many college faculty members are not sure how to design instruction in order to ensure student success. They make the erroneous assumption that lectures and homework assignments are sufficient for students to master new and abstract content. Because of this approach, many students who lack the confidence to learn on their own have experienced unnecessary failure. In order to be effective, all college instructors need to acquire the ability to actively help students bridge the gap between their current knowledge and the instruc-tor's intended learning outcomes. Powerful instruc-tional techniques known as scaffolds are available to college faculty in all disciplines (King, 1995; Rosenshine & Meister, 1995). These are forms of support temporarily provided by instructors when introducing new content and making assignments. Novice learners, like construction workers, need structures of temporary support during their efforts to build something new; once the initial phase of construction is in place, the scaffolds can be with-drawn. In this article we describe five scaffolding strategies:

1. Procedural Guidelines 2. Partial Solutions 3. Think-Alouds 4. Anticipate Student Errors 5. Comprehension Checks

1. Procedural Guidelines Definition: Procedural Guidelines function as con-crete references students can rely on for support as they attempt to complete new and complex assignments. This scaffolding strategy is often used when assignments involve a particular series of steps, procedures, or questions. The sequence or checklist is presented during instruction and is used later as a guide by students as they work independently on the assignment.

Description: Too often novice learners are given only brief explanations of assignments and then expected to somehow replicate the steps on their own. Even if examples of desired end products are provided by instructors, the steps taken to achieve those end products often remain a mystery to students. Providing students with a set of Procedural Guidelines to follow when working independently from teachers is what effective instructors do on a regular basis. These teachers force themselves to become consciously aware of the steps that they (as experts) intuitively follow when critiquing plays, creating personal fitness schedules, writing persuasive essays, recording lab results, selecting math formulas, or designing marketing plans. They then record the sequence of steps that they took and share it with their students. When assignments or problems are complex in nature, students' intellectual energies can be best spent engaged in the struggle of the application of the new content rather than in

Supporting Student Success Through Scaffolding

1

Editorial 4

University Teaching Services

5

Teaching Tips 6

Spotlight on Technology 8

CHET Chat 9

Student Affairs 10

Information Literacy 12

Blended Learning 14

Workshops 16

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inefficient and frustrating attempts to divine how the experts arrived at the solutions. Example: Course: Research Methods in Education (Jim Cooper--Instructor) Specific content: Steps in writing a proposal for a qualitative research study. After describing the features of qualitative research and giving a number of examples of qualitative research studies conducted nationally and with his own students at CSUDH, Jim has his students develop possible qualitative study proposals using the following steps: 1. Identify the general goal of the study (called a Foreshadowed

Problem in qualitative research). 2. Construct several Research Questions--more specific ques-

tions or issues to be answered in addressing the goal. 3. Develop methodology to answer each Research Question,

including: a) sample to be studied (students, teachers, par-ents, others), b) specific procedures to be followed (classroom observation, interviews, videotaping, etc.), and c) time line to complete the study.

2. Partial Solutions Definition: Partial Solutions involve presentation of a complex task that is already partially completed by the instructor so that students can more successfully complete the task by focusing on only a few elements while trying to assimilate new information. The Partial Solutions scaffold also allows instructors to regulate the level of difficulty when students first attempt the application of new ideas or skills. This form of guided practice temporarily reduces the complexity for novice learners while requiring focused attention to the content just covered.

Description: Novice learners benefit greatly when not required to independently complete an entirely new and complex learning task. Too often, students are given only brief explanations of new content followed by assignments that will be graded. Typical assignments often include lab reports, critiques of research articles, persuasive essays, sets of word problems, or case-study solutions. Assigning is not teaching, and students need much more specific instructional support than is typically provided. Each of these types of assignments can be broken down to isolate parts that students can practice. For example, using Partial Solutions with persuasive essays, instructors provide the main arguments and supporting points, and students are required, in practice sessions, to submit rational evidence for each supporting point made. The next step requires students to give both the supporting points as well as the evidence, and so on. Giving students the opportunity to practice complex tasks under the guidance of their instructors is an important scaffolding tool that allows them to experience some success at each step of the

learning process. Some instructors will avoid using this strategy because it requires some extra preparation, or they believe it provides students with unnecessary assistance. Either argument is an unfortunate abdication of instructors' responsibilities. Students at all levels of schooling have reported that many of their teachers failed to provide opportunities for guided and gradual practice with complex skills, and then these instructors expected immediate understanding. Such expectations often resulted in additional time spent by students in remedial work after marginal work was submitted and returned. Example: Course: Research Methods in Education (Jim Cooper--Instructor) Specific content: Correctly labeling a correlation scatter-plot. After drawing several examples of correlation scatter-plots on the board, Jim asks students to draw one in their notes. He often labels the X and Y axis the first time he has the students draw a scatter-plot and simply has them draw in the data points or dots. Then, the next time they do the drawing, students draw and label the scatter-plot. Jim also uses this technique when teaching his students about frequency polygons.

3. Think Alouds Definition: After some direct instruction on a topic, the teacher presents new applications of the content and verbally models for the novice the thought process that reflects how an advanced practitioner would attempt to address the issue.

Description: College teachers are inclined to present students with the results of their thinking in class rather than identifying the process that they followed coming to those results. Thus, students lack a model of an expert coming to terms with complex issues. Little wonder then, that students are often incapable of creatively solving problems or addressing issues on tests or papers, preferring instead to provide memorized answers or rote solutions. The Think Aloud is designed to make teachers explicitly address the steps that they use in thinking about content. For most professors, these steps are so automatic that they assume the steps are self-evident to students. Example: Course: Research Methods in Education (Jim Cooper--Instructor) Specific content: Distinguishing stratified from purposive sampling. After lecturing on stratified and purposive sampling, and before giving students scenarios or examples to complete without his assistance, Jim gives them a sampling example, such as: "A researcher wanted to assess how the Success for All reading program affected reading performance of at-risk third graders, so she identified 100 third graders who scored below the fifteenth percentile on the Stanford Nine reading subscale." Jim then verbalizes his thought process in distinguishing whether this was stratified or purposive sampling. He might say, "it appears not to be stratified since with stratified one is typically interested in ensuring that students from all levels of reading achievement in

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the population are represented in the sample (e.g. students scoring above, at, and below reading level for their grades). In purposive sampling we are often interested in identifying a specific group of people to be in the sample. In the example this example, it appears that the researcher is specifically interested in just the at-risk kids, based on prior test performance (the kids scoring below the fifteenth percentile). So, it seems that this is a purposive sample."

4. Anticipate Student Errors Definition: Anticipating and discussing potential student errors is a way of regulating the difficulty in students' understanding of new cognitive strategies. Expert teachers can use prior experi-ence in teaching their courses to pinpoint mistakes that frequently occur and to address these mistakes as course content is being presented (rather than waiting for students to make these common mistakes on tests or papers). Description: As experts in their fields, teachers tend to forget the mistakes they made when they were novices. They often present content in a way suggesting that all of the material is of equal difficulty rather than pinpointing areas of special difficulty to students and addressing these difficulties at the precise points when the content is being presented. A few minutes spent addressing areas of special difficulty during lectures can improve the quality of assignments, making the grading experience more pleasant for faculty and students as the number of quality assign-ments increases. Example Course: Research Methods in Education (Jim Cooper--Instructor) Specific content: Correctly labeling a correlation scatter-plot. After drawing several examples of correlation scatter-plots on the board, Jim asks students to draw one in their notes. Since they are inclined to put the actual numbers of the scores used to present the problem, he cautions them that they need to label the X and Y axis using equal-sized intervals and NOT to put the actual face values of the data on the X and Y axes. As he warns them about this common error, he physically draws the incorrect labeling on a scatter-plot drawn on the chalk board, then erases the incorrect labels and replaces them with the correct labeling, using equal-sized intervals.

5. Comprehension Checks Definition: A series of brief thinking tasks inserted into lectures to guarantee that both students and instructors have opportunities to check on the comprehension of the material as it is explained. Students can write their answers quietly in their own notes and/or they can be asked to discuss possible answers with work partners.

Description: Many instructors feel pressured to cover a great deal of information in their courses. For the class sessions that are content dense and seem to call for a traditional lecture format,

there are active-learning strategies that are designed to be easily inserted into lectures so that students are given opportunities to think about important content as the lesson unfolds. Comprehen-sion Checks support student learning because when students are asked to actually participate instead of passively receive informa-tion, they can stay more attentive, can check their own under-standing, and can provide instructors with valuable diagnostic information during the instructional sequence. Brief tasks for pairs to tackle together ensure participation from everyone. Options include having students solve problems, label examples, select the best responses from multiple-choice questions, correct intentional errors, complete sentence starters, compare or contrast two items, support statements with evidence, reorder steps given out of sequence, reach conclusions, and paraphrase ideas. Research on student achievement and critical thinking by Eric Mazur at Harvard and others presents a convincing argument for inserting Comprehension Checks throughout the learning sequence. Example: Course: Research Methods in Education (Jim Cooper--Instructor) Specific content: Identification of sampling procedures. This content deals with identifying sampling procedures when presented with real educationally-related descriptions that might appear in journal articles. After Jim explains the sampling proce-dures, he has students identify key words in the descriptions which discriminate one procedure from another. He usually teaches a number of sampling techniques during the lecture (which are often perceived as technical and somewhat confusing to students). Therefore, after presenting just three of the techniques (random, stratified and systematic) he has students silently read three examples of sampling procedures in the course workbook. After they identify which procedure is described in each example, they underline the key words that "tipped them off." Then, working in pairs, they share this information. Jim then solicits the identifica-tion and keyword information from pairs and briefly elaborates on their responses with the total class. Then Jim presents three additional sampling procedures and does a Comprehension Check for all six sampling procedures identified to that point.

These are just five scaffolds that teachers can use with their students. Many scaffolds have significant amounts of research documenting their efficacy in promoting academic achievement and fostering critical thinking. For additional material on scaffolding we recommend the Rosenshine

and Meister chapter (Scaffolds for Teaching Higher-order Cognitive

Strategies, 1995. In A. C. Ornstien (Ed.), Teaching: Theory into Practice

(pp. 134-153).Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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Spring is coming! Perhaps if we say it long enough, it will really come true! Many faculty members have experienced a long and challenging winter, not only in terms of weather, but also in terms of the class-room. This might be an opportune time to take a few moments to reflect on the past term. What went well? What could stand a little “tweaking” or maybe even a complete overhaul? The students who were engaged in learning, who participated in discussions, who produced thought-ful papers were a real encouragement. But, there were those students who seemed to be unreach-able. They were minimally tolerant of teachers and class content. Sometimes they created disruptions or conflicts in the class that were difficult to know how to manage. On page 10 of this newsletter, Don Stewart provides some concrete strategies for assessing the difference between disruptive, distressed, difficult or dangerous students. He also provides some recommendations for managing these situations. Good teaching is not only about challenges. It is not an endpoint, rather it is a process. There are challenges and successes along the way. The teacher is the architect of their course. They plan the course, deliver the content and assess the learning. There are multiple opportunities in this process to experiment with new strategies. There is also plenty of opportunity to refine successful teaching practices. The lead article on scaffolding emphasizes the importance of scaffolding student learning to maximize student success. It provides a descrip-tion of five scaffolding strategies that teachers can utilize to help students gain the confidence required to be successful. In addition, on page 6 Garry Dyck provides some concrete strategies designed to facilitate the successful learning of international students. Innovative and creative teaching strategies are always interesting to consider. On page 8, Christina Penner shares her experience using wikis as a group project. On page 14, Louis Svenningsen shares his experience with blended learning. In his “classroom”, students can be lounging in the comfort of their home, listening to Louis on a headset, reading the class content on a computer screen and participating in discussions via the class

“chat room”. Many faculty members are also committed to the mentorship of graduate students whose learning is also supported and nurtured by the larger university community. The Sciences and Technology Library, in collaboration with Student Advocacy and the Learning Assistance Center have developed a Thesis Writing Toolkit program to assist science graduate students in their thesis writing. William Poluha, from the library, shares the results of the pilot program on page 12. In addition, Taraneh Abarin, a graduate student in the Faculty of Science (Dept. of Statistics) shares her personal reflections on her journey of learning to teach (see page 9). I hope you will find the spring 2008 UTS newsletter to be a helpful resource in your teaching practice.

EEEEEE Eunice’s Editorial Eunice Friesen, Associate Director, University Teaching Services

Additional Resources

Classroom Management University of Manitoba A Teaching Handbook pages 3.86-4.0. Available in PDF at www.umanitoba.ca/uts or at the University of Manitoba Bookstore – 1/204-474-8321.

Top 10 Classroom Management Practices http://faculty.academyart.edu/resources/class_practices.asp

Diverse Teaching and Learning Experiences University of Manitoba A Teaching Handbook pages 1.1-2.0. Available in PDF at www.umanitoba.ca/uts or at the University of Manitoba Bookstore – 1/204-474-8321.

Suggestions for Teaching International Students more Effectively http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/briefing_papers/international_students.pdf

Teaching with Technology University of Manitoba A Teaching Handbook pages 3.66-3.74. Available in PDF at www.umanitoba.ca/uts or at the University of Manitoba Bookstore – 1/204-474-8321.

Blended Learning http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/aug2002/valiathan.html

P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y

Over a two year period, New Faculty will be asked to include the following elements in their dossier:

Templates & guidelines for the teaching dossier Faculty development sessions in a variety of formats

Faculty specific sessions on request Peer Mentors for teaching consultations & dossier review on request

Micro Teach feedback sessions

Their teaching philosophy Evidence & analysis of their teaching effectiveness Evidence of participation in 9 hours of Professional Development opportunities offered through UTS, conferences or self-directed activities Evidence of reflective practice (linking teaching effectiveness to professional development)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

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UNIVERSITY TEACHING SERVICES

Sessional Instructors’ Orientation

September 11, 2008

5:30 – 8:30pm

108 St. John’s College (Cross Common Room)

You are invited to join your colleagues for an informal evening of dinner and dialogue.

Our discussion will focus on the many services provided by the University of Manitoba to assist

you in your role as a Sessional Instructor. We will address some of the most frequently asked questions by new instructors such as:

FAQ

“What do I do with the letter I received from Disability Services?”

“How can the University support me in effectively integrating technology into my teaching?”

“What are the benefits of working with the U of M Bookstore?”

It is always great to get out and meet other colleagues and share the enthusiasm of your discipline and your practice of teaching. Hope to see you on September 11, 2008.

Registration is required for this event.

To register please visit:

http://www.umanitoba.ca/academic_support/uts/sessional08.html

N E W F A C U L T Y P R O G R A M

What is the New Faculty Program? A comprehensive program to provide you with the necessary skills to reflect on your teaching practice.

Requirements

Support - UTS will provide :

What will you receive? At the completion of the program, each participant will receive a signed letter of completion from the Director of University Teaching Services and the Vice-Provost (Academic Affairs) to place in his/her dossier.

Teaching Mentor All participants of the New Faculty program are asked to provide the name of a Teaching Mentor for the duration of the program. If you prefer, UTS can provide you with a Teaching Mentor.

Registration

You may register online at: http://umanitoba.ca/uts/newfacultyprogram.html

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P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y Page 6

Garry Dyck, Director, English Language Centre

TEACHING TIPS

This past winter, the English Language Centre invested in toques for students in the Intensive Academic English Program (IAEP). These full-time students are preparing to meet the English language requirement of the U of M. The toques we gave them are black and have the words, U of M English Language Centre, in gold lettering. Everyone that saw them was impressed – everyone, that is, except the students in the IAEP. When we proudly gave them to the students, they politely took the toques but did not wear them. When the instructors asked them why they weren’t wearing them, the students said that they would have preferred to have a toque with only the U of M logo. We discovered that students did not want to stand out as second language learners even when they were in a full time English program. International students in credit courses also prefer to mix in but have difficulty. They often appreciate questions about their own experiences in their home country and are proud of the identity that their nationality brings. However, they don’t want their lack of English skills to stand out and are therefore often reluctant to ask questions or participate in class discussions. Assisting students to feel comfort-able in class will encourage them to take risks and move beyond their comfort zone. This article provides some suggestions on how you can facilitate success for international students.

Encourage Cross-cultural Discussion.

It is easier for international students to mix with students are more interested in interacting when the topic relates to them, that is, that the curriculum is indeed international. Oral communication tends to be undervalued at a university. Over my 18 years at this university, I have often met former English Language Centre students in degree study. Some tell me that their oral English proficiency is decreasing because of a lack of practice. They tell me that although they listen

to English in class, they almost never speak English. All university students should be encouraged to develop their oral communica-tion skills.

Assess your speaking.

Record one of your lectures and listen to the recording after one week. Waiting before you listen will allow time for you to forget some of what you said. Critically listen to the lecture for the following: a. Pronunciation: Are the key lexical items that you are

expecting students to know enunci-ated clearly? It is not uncommon for people to say their own names or phone numbers quickly because they are familiar with them. Some lecturers may race over vocabulary familiar to the lecturer but new to the students. Some students may need to see the word to under-stand. These students may be adjusting to your accent, having learned to speak English by an Australian or Indian teacher. b. Vocabulary: Can non-native speakers of English understand, from context, the meaning of the idioms you use? Are the examples you provide clear to someone who may not know all the nuances of Canadian history or politics? Are you elaborating on the target

vocabulary? Idioms should continue to be used with non-native speakers of English as long as they can be explained or made obvious by context. Avoiding idioms could take some of the colour out of your lecture and is a disservice to students wanting to expand their knowledge of English. It is better to expand on your idioms so that the meaning is clear. Manitoba high school students will greatly increase their vocabulary after one year of university; a student whose first language is not English will learn even more vocabulary. Indeed, many non-native speakers of English will learn concepts in English that they will not be able to discuss in their first language. c. Pitch: Do the changes in pitch reflect the emphases you intended in the lecture? Pitch carries substantial meaning and

t r a n s i t i o n p e r f s o e v k i n t e r a c t i o n i u e c l n i n t e r n a t i o n a l c c x b s i e p u c a r l a n g u a g e t e a l i d i o m s r p i t c h o s y u n i r o o r g a n i z e d c o n n e c t l

Facilitating Success for International Students

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should help students understand what is important. In order to hear the pitch in the recording, lower the volume to see if there is variation in pitch. When listening for pitch, try to ignore the words and focus on the music of your speech. Hopefully, you will hear variations in pitch. If you are having difficulty critically listening to your recording, have someone not familiar with your subject area comment on the recording of your lecture.

Be predictably organized.

Begin your class with some reference to the concepts that were discussed in the previous class and end your class with a review of the key concepts discussed making sure to use key vocabulary in each case. Once students see this pattern, they will come to expect to hear key vocabulary items in the introduction and conclu-sion of the class reinforcing learning of vocabulary. Students also have a responsibility to take control of their own learning and read the text for vocabulary learning. Students, especially in their first year, need to be reminded to keep up in their reading of the text. You can also show you are organized by making use of transition expressions. The words we use in writing to logically connect ideas can be used in speaking. These transitions are taught explicitly in

English for Academic Purposes courses and therefore most students will be listening for these connecting words to help them follow the progression of thought and organize their notes, especially if they are momentarily confused. Meyers and Holt (2002) provide good examples of logical transitions and distinguish between short transitions (e.g., the first main effect is, in addition, or on the other hand) with longer transitions (e.g., In addition to the first two effects…there is a final effect…). To see how frequently you are using transitions, listen to your recorded lecture and list the transition expressions that you used. Review the list of transitions to see if they fit the progression that you were hoping to present in your lecture. Listen to the lecture again and determine if you could have added other transitions.

Hopefully, these suggestions will help you include international students in your lectures and improve your style of teaching to benefit not only international students but all students.

3

References: Meyers, C. & Holt, S. (2002). Success with presentations: A course for non-native speakers of English, student workbook. Burnsville MN: Aspen Productions. Morell, T. (2007). What enhances EFL students’ participation in lecture discourse? Student, lecture and discourse perspectives. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 6, 222-237.

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SPOTLIGHT ON TECHNOLOGY Christina Penner, Instructor, Computer Science

P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y

wiki

Using wikis for instruction As educators consider ways to increase collaboration and increase learner engagement, simple web-based tools can play an important role. One of the most popular tools is a wiki. A wiki is simply a web site that can be edited by anyone, or if restrictions have been set by the educator, by certain students with access rights. Faculty members at University of Manitoba are actively exploring wikis in order to involve learners in memorable and meaningful learning activities. Christina Penner, an instructor in Technical Communication in the Department of Computer Science, has used wikis in innovative ways; having 3rd year students write a textbook for 1st year students. The Learning Technologies Centre asked Christina to reflect on her experience:

Can a wiki be a group project? Last term I used a wiki in a group project for a course called Technical Communication for Computer Scientists. I assigned the students, mostly third-year computer science students, to collectively write a wiki-based text for the first-year computer science course.

Why are wikis useful? I wanted the students to apply the writing skills they had learned to the newer medium of the wiki. I also wanted students to work in a small group to plan, write and edit a collective document. Finally, I planned to use wikis as a very tangible example of an unstable text and challenge the students—who had very little exposure to rhetorical or literary analysis—to question their ideas of textual authority and stability. In addition to the theoretically-illustrative nature of the wiki, I chose to work with wikis for practical reasons: a wiki allowed the class to collectively write a large document. Previous terms I’d assigned the same, smaller topic to each group. But a wiki allowed each group to work on a unique topic so the class could write a much larger document, in this case an introductory text.

How successful are wikis for student learning? Did the project meet these goals? The theoretical goals were met—never before had I been able to generate meaningful discussions on the medium and nature of texts. However, not all goals were achieved: I was surprised that many of the writing skills demon-strated in earlier assignments were not present in the wiki.

What challenges do wikis create? Also, wikis and groups don’t work well together—there is little reason to work in a group when it’s just as easy to edit anyone’s writing and the document design is set either by the wiki software or a class decision. Plus, it was hard to grade the group contributions. This term I want the current students to edit and expand the wiki. But I’m doing things differently. I’m assigning each student a topic and grading him/her on the content of that topic on a given day. In the end, I had to revisit one of the questions I’d set for the students: How does medium instruct writing? I learned the same expectations, group roles and grading rubrics don’t necessarily translate from one medium to another.

Some solutions for meeting challenges Postscript: I did, in fact, get the next term’s students to work individually on the wiki. I acted as an editor and assigned each student a topic and listed some of the revisions that I felt needed to be made. I also assigned five students to write case studies for the wiki. These five students decided to work together to develop a set of related case studies that were based on the assignments from the previous terms. So, group work with wikis seems to work best when the students themselves initiate the groups. Interestingly, one of the students suggested a different topic than I had assigned him: an ASL student himself, he remembered struggling with aspects of the first-year course and wanted to write a section with tips for ASL students. I think this section demonstrates one of the strengths of the wiki: students writing for students have different experiences and understandings than experts writing for students. I was grateful this student had the confidence to suggest an alternative topic and was reflected that there’s a fine balance between acting as an editor (and a little bit of a dictator) to get the wiki completed, and letting the students collectively shape the project. In January 2008 the COMP 1010 students began using the wiki, which can be viewed at: http:/wiki1010.cs.umanitoba.ca

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CHET CHAT Taraneh Abarin, PhD. Student, Science (Statistics)

CHET program information and registration can be found at:

http://umanitoba.ca/academic_support/uts/

programs/chet.html

Congratulations 2008 April Graduates Asit Dey (Engineering), Frederick Kahimba (Agriculture & Food Sciences),

Mark Karpenko (Engineering), Marina Kotovshchikova (Science), Azeden Mohamed (Engineering), Ahmed Tazmeen (Arts)

The Certification Program in Higher Education (CHET) provides graduate students the opportunity to develop the theoretical and experiential basis for the academic role as edu-cator. The program is designed around learning objectives which are the basis for the graduate stu-dent professional development workshops. Students receive a CHET certificate upon completion of the program requirements. Univer-sity Teaching Services hosts a graduation luncheon in spring for the October and April graduates of the previous academic school year.

It’s a love story. It’s a story about learning how

to teach. My story begins when I came to realize

that I wanted to teach an introductory Statistics

course at the University of Manitoba for the

second time. My first-time teaching was not

satisfactory with just 13% of students in the

class rating me as a “good” or “very good”

teacher. The main complaints were that I was

not very enthusiastic, not very well organized,

and did not sufficiently encourage students to

interact in the class. Clearly I needed to do

something to improve my teaching. I therefore

enrolled in the UTS program “Certification in

Higher Education Teaching (CHET)”.

Although my initial motivation was to get better

course evaluations, I always wanted to be a

good teacher. I vividly recall the wonderful

teachers I had in the past, some of whom had a

big influence and changed my life. I wanted to

be like them, someone who makes a difference

in people’s lives.

I spent 15 hours attending the course “Teaching

Techniques”. I listened to the instructor with my

heart for every second, and learned that teach-

ing is not simply a business. I realized that it is

the students and their needs that come first.

Their need for learning is more important than

the materials that I have to cover; they should

be the center of the learning process.

When I started teaching for the second time, I

spent hours and hours preparing my lecture

notes, thinking about the students and their

needs. I tried my best to make my notes more

interesting and relevant with real-life applica-

tions. My goal was to give them precise, con-

crete, complete and short notes; all of this I

learned from the CHET program. I used humor in

an effort to lighten the atmosphere in the class,

allow students to have some fun and put them

in a good mood for learning.

I also attended other teaching workshops, where

I learned to better understand different cultures

in the university community. Understanding and

developing a respect for their cultures was cru-

cial for me to be able to communicate with stu-

dents in a better and more effective way.

Every time I went to my class, I reminded myself

that I was there for the students, to help them

with my knowledge. Sometimes when I would try

to experiment with a new teaching technique, I

was so nervous that I couldn’t stop my knees

from shaking! It was hard, but the students

seemed to enjoy my effort. I frequently asked

the students how they felt about my teaching

and if they had suggestions that could help me

to teach better.

At the end of the term I received an excellent

course evaluation: 74% of students rated me a

“good or very good” teacher, 91% found me

enthusiastic about teaching, 82% indicated the

course was well organized, and 90% felt being

encouraged for group interactions. When I saw

these results, I cried with happiness for half an

hour. All my hard work had paid off!

I still need to practice what our excellent instruc-

tor Gary Hunter told us in the “Teaching Tech-

niques” course. I will never forget what I learned

from him and how much I enjoyed that course. I

know now that teaching is a process and just

doing it is not enough – we need a process for

learning how to teach as well.

The programs provided by the University Teach-

ing Services are very helpful and I have bene-

fited greatly from them. I am grateful to all the

instructors and staff at the UTS, especially to

Erica Jung for her help. I would recommend the

program to everyone who cares about teaching

and desires to be a good teacher.

Attending the April Luncheon (photo left - right): Mark Karpenko, Frederick Kahimba,

Aezeden Mohamed, Debra Radi, Ahmed Tazmeen, Hamid Ali Naeem,

Candice Viddal, Jacey Scott, Vicki Enns

Page 10 P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y

STUDENT AFFAIRS Don Stewart, Associate Professor & Director Student Counselling & Career Centre

Our perceptions of campus safety have inevitably changed in response to recent mass shootings on campuses in Canada and the U.S. In particular, there is increased concern about students who somehow draw attention to themselves through their disruptive behavior on campus or in the classroom. As a result, many instructors are now seeking support or looking for direction in dealing with matters they once may have ignored, dismissed, or simply tolerated with some degree of discomfort. Given that no one wants to be the one who failed to act to prevent a campus tragedy, how might instructors best deal with their students of concern? Perhaps the single best thing you can do is try to identify poten-tially dangerous situations before they escalate past a certain point. Once identified, an assessment of possible risk can be undertaken by campus personnel trained to evaluate such cases, and a reasonable response plan developed. As an instructor, you have a key role to play in this, since you spend a good portion of

your time in direct inter-action with students and as such may be one of the first to identify a student at risk. To assist you in this process, below are some fairly common early behavioral indicators to consider in deciding whether you should be

legitimately concerned about a disruptive student

Disruptive Students: Distressed, Difficult

or Dangerous?

Has there been a marked change in academic performance? This could include such things as increased absences, poor exam performance, late assignments, requests for extensions, or decreased participation in class. Has there been a change in classroom demeanor or appearance? This could include changes in style of dress, increased talkativeness or outbursts, decreased attention to appearance or personal hygiene, significant weight change, increased or decreased energy level, or disconcerting content in speech or written submissions (e.g. sexist, homophobic, racist, violent or other inappropriate commentary). Has there been any disclosure of personal problems? This could include conflict with roommates, partners, parents, or

University of Manitoba Resources: STUDENT COUNSELLING AND CAREER CENTRE, 474 University Centre, 474-8592 umanitoba.ca/student/counselling/index.html STUDENT ADVOCACY/STUDENT RESOURCE SERVICES, 519 University Centre, 474-7423 umanitoba.ca/student/resource/indes.html EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STUDENT SERVICES, 519 University Centre, 474-8661 umanitoba.ca/student/student_services.html VICE PROVOST (STUDENT AFFAIRS), 208 Administration Building, 474-8279 umanitoba.ca/student/ UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICE, 104 University Centre, 474-8411 umanitoba.ca/student/health/index.html SECURITY SERVICES, Services Building, 474-9312 or 555 (Emergency) umanitoba.ca/campus/security/ EQUITY SERVICES, 515 Drake Centre, 474-7491 umanitoba.ca/admin/human_resources/equity/ UNIVERSITY TEACHING SERVICES, 220 Sinnott Building, 474-6958 umanitoba.ca/uts Adapted from Penn State Counseling and Psychological Services website, ‘Tips for Recognizing Distress’ www.behrend.psu.edu/student/counseling/distress.htm

V O L U M E 1 6 , N O . 3 M A Y 2 0 0 8 Page 11

peers. It could also include such stressful experiences as death of a significant other, health con-cerns, discrimination, assault, or financial or legal difficulties.

Have there been any threats or references to suicide, homicide, or death? This also includes reports of helplessness or hopelessness, passive wishes to die, expressed admiration for those who have committed suicide or homicide, and ‘existential’ musings about

the purpose of life. Of course, not all students who pose a risk will necessarily demonstrate these features. Moreover, many of the behaviors noted above can be benign or even normative in certain contexts. When you have identified a student who is manifest-ing enough of these features to warrant your attention, how-ever, you should consider taking additional steps. Perhaps the most common initial step would be to meet with the student privately to express your concerns and seek clarification of them. Following this, your course of action will depend on whether the behavioral indicators are best characterized as an expression of distress, difficulty, or dangerousness. Let’s look at some examples to clarify these different situations. For our first example, let’s suppose that a formerly good student has suddenly begun to do poorly on assignments and miss classes. Let’s further suppose that this student has also e-mailed you to let you know that her mother has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. In this case of a distressed student, you would be concerned about her well-being, but likely would not see her as a risk to campus safety. A reason-able response would involve appropriate expression of concern about the situation, possibly some flexibility around deadlines for missed assignments, and information about campus resources and supports (e.g., Student Advisor; Student Counselling and Career Centre; Student Advocacy; Chaplains). In a second example, let’s say that a student has become progressively more verbal in class, and has begun to monopo-lize discussions and possibly intimidate other students with contrary viewpoints. This is clearly a disruptive situation, but from this information alone it does not seem that this difficult student is posing a danger to others. If left unchecked, however, there is a possibility of escalation so proper class-room management techniques for dealing with such disrup-tions should be implemented. Both Student Advocacy and University Teaching Services are good resources for instructors who are dealing with disruptions in the classroom, and Equity Services may be consulted should matters begin to look like personal or sexual harassment. For our final example, consider that a student largely unknown

to you submitted a written assignment containing violent imagery involving women. Given the level of concern such an act should engender, the best course of action would be to inform your department head or associate dean about the situation, who would then make a determination about next steps. Once these situations are brought forward to adminis-trators, they usually act quickly to involve others on campus, including consultations with the Student Counselling and Career Centre, the Executive Director of Student Services, or the Vice Provost (Student Affairs). When dealing with a potentially dangerous stu-dent, the point of entry is not as important as triggering the process, as these offices work very closely with each other and with other units on campus (including Security Services and University Health Service) who have a role to play in maintaining the personal safety of mem-bers of our campus community. In closing, it is important to recognize that although we may have cause for increased concern about safety on campus, there is no need for you to feel that you need to ‘go it alone.’ There are a number of units on campus who can assist instructors in dealing with disruptive students, and you are encouraged to contact them with your concerns. For further information, please contact their offices directly or visit their websites.

William Poluha, Librarian, Sciences & Technology Library

Page 12 P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y

INFORMATION LITERACY

Graduate students are among the most active library users. Students in the basic sciences spend much of their under-graduate education acquiring background knowledge and skills in their discipline to continue training as scientists in graduate school. This leaves little time or opportunity for them to develop other relevant skills such as information literacy, which is essen-tial for the literature review portion of thesis writing and life-long learning. Information literacy (IL) is defined as a set of competen-cies requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information” (Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association, 1989).

The extraordinary expansion of scientific knowledge presents researchers with challenges in accessing and managing information. Libraries help facilitate the process through organizing, improving access and archiving the wealth of scientific information. Librarians with subject specialization and IL expertise liaise with and provide IL training to faculty and students to help them use information resources and technology to the fullest extent.

The joint American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society (AAPT-APS) Task Force on Graduate Education in Physics recommends physics departments require information

literacy training for graduate students. The report indicates IL helps researchers “know the literature” which is crucial to decision making, and has implications for efficient use of research funds and even professional ethics (American Association of Physics Teachers & American Physical Society, 2006, p.12). The benefits of IL are equally applicable to researchers from other disciplines.

Information Literacy instruction at the graduate level at the Faculty of Science is given within a research methods course in Computer Science and a seminar course in Statistics. Faculty and students say IL instruction is otherwise informal where graduate students contact librarians for help with their literature search and information management needs, or rely on their supervisor or student peers for help. Outside the Faculty of Science, a survey of librarians at the University of Manitoba finds that information literacy is integrated within the curricula of professional programs such as Medicine, School of Medical Rehabilitation, Engineering and Law as well as in the undergraduate Textile Sciences Program in the Faculty of Human Ecology. In the Faculty of Agriculture the librarian provides IL instruction within a graduate seminar series.

Looking at the broader aspects of thesis writing, information literacy is one link in the chain. The other links are academic integrity sessions offered by Student Advocacy and effective writing offered by the Learning Assistance Centre. The idea of a thesis writing toolkit was derived from the 2003 Thesis Writing Day program on the Bannatyne Campus developed by Angela Tittle under the guidance of Dr. Cheryl Kristjanson with the administrative help of Val Tautkus. The Thesis Writing Day was

Thesis Writing Toolkit for Science Graduate Students

Page 13 V O L U M E 1 6 , N O . 3 M A Y 2 0 0 8

well received by graduate students and also provided an opportu-nity for students from different departments to network.

The Sciences and Technology Library, in collaboration with Student Advocacy and the Learning Assistance Centre have developed and offered a pilot program for graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The Thesis Writing Toolkit for Science Graduate Students program is outlined below:

Information Literacy (Libraries) Search strategy development Database searching Techniques specific to databases

INSPEC Web of Science (citation searching) Journal Citation Reports (journal impact factors) Google Scholar Physics Reprint Databases

Setting-up Push Technologies for Searching Automated search profiles and alerts RSS feeds Blogging Managing Search Results RefWorks (bibliographic management software) Generating a processed document with in-text citations and bibliography

Academic Integrity (Student Advocacy) Writing and Research Strategies Documentation and Acknowledgement Reference Styles Case study on plagiarism Communicating your research (Learning Assistance Centre) Synthesizing information for literature reviews Organizing ideas in written format The sessions were tailored (where possible) using examples specific to the students’ subject area. Graduate and upper undergraduate student participants gave positive reviews and commented that no one had offered such a program to them before.

Graduate studies is a crucial time for students developing their careers as scientists and the skills training described in this article

will help students to be effective and successful in their careers.

I also hope that it will contribute to a positive experience for

graduate students at the University of Manitoba.

The Sciences and Technology Library is planning a series of Thesis Writing Toolkit workshops for graduate and upper undergraduate students in the Faculty of Science this spring. A brochure will be distributed with the workshop details and schedule. If you have

any questions or comments about the program I can be reached by phone at 474- 6197 or e-mail me at Bill_Poluha@UManitoba.CA.

For more information on IL at the University of Manitoba, the Libraries have an IL website at:

http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/infolit/index.html

References

American Association of Physics Teachers, & American Physical Society. (2006). Report of the joint AAPT-APS task force on graduate education in physics. Retrieved March/7, 2008 from http://www.aapt.org/Resources/GradEdReport.cfm

Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association. (1989). Presidential committee on information literacy - final report. Retrieved March/7, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/presidential.cfm

P A T H T O P E D A G O G Y Page 14

Louis Svenningsen, Instructor, Psychology

BLENDED LEARNING

COMPUTERS, THE INTERNET, AND CHANGING STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS ARE INFLUENCING POST-SECONDARY CLASSROOM EDUCATION (Concannon, Flynn,

& Campbell, 2005; Waschull, 2001).

For students, computers can be used to personalize their learning so that it is specific to their knowledge level and needs. For instructors, computers can be used in designing courses, recording student progress, and providing feedback (Alonso, Lopez, & Vines 2005). The feedback an instructor provides can be in response to a specific emailed question, a response to a posted com-ment in a course web site, or framed as further instruction while assessing a course assignment. In regard to the internet, there is a growing trend in the number of individuals access-ing the internet for educational purposes. According to McKeown, and Underhill (2007), 80% of all full- and part-time Canadian students accessed the internet for educational purposes in 2005, with 77% investing 5 hours or more online per week. In the United States, almost 3.5 million students took at least one online course during the fall 2006 term; a nearly 10 percent increase the fall 2005 term (Allan & Seaman, 2007). As for student demographics, there is a transformation from the traditional full-time student to the “full-time part-time” student (Ausburn, 2004; Concannon et al., 2005). The full-time part-time student is one who is trying to maintain a full course load, but is working part time or even full-time throughout the school year with limited time to spend attending lectures on campus. In response to these technological and demographic issues, post-secondary institutions are beginning to offer blended design courses, which combine face-to-face classroom

experiences with online learning activities (Carr-Chellman & Duchastel, 2001; Concannon et al., 2005; Merisotis, 2001). The development of these courses has been so dramatic that Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, stated that the ability of blended learning to support the mix of online and classroom instruction is “the single greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today” (cited in Vaughn, 2007, p. 89). There are several fundamental blended design choices facing an instructor. The first choice is related to the types of online tools or programs to be used. These could be, for example, whether or not to use Web based tools such as Wiki’s or Blogs, to use campus supported programs such as WebCT, to post lecture notes, to provide taped versions of lectures or presentations, or to provide online assignments using a learning management system such as Computer Aided personalized System of Instruction, (CAPSI). A second funda-

mental choice would be the amount of classroom hours students will be expected to attend. That is, out of the previously required 3 lecture hours, how much time per week will students now spend in class, and how much time per week will students be on-line? In addition, while online, will students be working on their own, or will they be expected to join in on collaborative “group” assignments? Finally, the instructor will need to decide how course activities will be

incorporated into and between both types of learning environ-ments, as well as the assessment weighting between in-class activities and online participation. To do this, Carman (2005) pointed out five key ingredients for a desirable approach to a blended design; a) live class-room events for lectures, presentations, group work, or focused question and response sessions; b) an aspect of self-paced learning through the use of accessing online course material, and assignments; c) opportunities for student collaboration, and Web-based discussions either through formal group assignments or informal postings of questions to the class; d) assessments related to both types

V O L U M E 1 6 , N O . 3 M A Y 2 0 0 8 Page 15

of learning environments and, e) student performance of these activities. There are several reasons why incorporating a blended approach can benefit both students and instructors. For students, obvious benefits are a reduction in travel time and costs. That is, while tuition and financial aid remain the same, the blended approach reduces expenditures in terms of traveling to and from a campus, parking, and food. Educa-tional benefits for students include access to course material,

the capability to follow up after a class for more assistance, the opportunity to collaborate with others as well as work at one’s own pace (Welker and Bernardino, 2006). Benefits to faculty regarding the use of the online component of the course are; the ability to track assignments and identify students who are not posting work or participating in the course, the opportunity to quickly up-date the course with new information, provide individualized feedback to students, and to create a permanent record of all exchanges. The benefit of the blended design regarding the face-to-face component is that instructors now have the opportunity for a more efficient and creative use of classroom time (Welker and Bernardino, 2006). A final benefit to both students and instructors for incorporat-ing a blended design is that when compared to students from traditional classroom structures, students in blended designed courses have done better on learning the course material, mastering concepts, and applying what they have learned (Aycock & Kaleta, 2002). Reasons for these improve-ments are that blended learning allows for consistency in preparation, delivery, organization, and overall course management, leading to a high level of quality instruction.

References: Allen, I. E. & Seaman J,. (2007). Online nation: Five years of growth in online learning. The Sloan Consortium. Retrieved Feb 28, 2008 from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/online_nation.pdf Alonso, F., Lopez, G., Manrique, D., & Vines, J. (2005). An instructional model for web-based e-learning education with a blended learning process approach. British Educational Communications and Technology, 36(2), 217-235. Ausburn, L. J. (2004). Course design elements most valued by adult learners in blended online education environments: An American Perspective. Retrieved July 28, 2006, from http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

Aycock, A. & Kaleta, R. (2002). Lessons learned from the Hybrid Course Project. Retrieved May 23, 2007, from http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham2.htm Carman, J. M. (2005). Blended learning design: Five key ingredients. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from http://www.agilantlearning.com/pdf/Blended%20Learning%20Design.pdf Carr-Chellman, A. & Duchastel, P. (2001). The ideal online course. Library Trends, 50(1), 145-158.

Concannon, F., Flynn, A., & Campbell, M. (2005). What campus based students think about the quality and benefits of e-learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(3), 501-512.

McKeown, L. & and Underhill, C. (2007). Learning online: Factors associated with use of the Internet for education purposes. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from Statistics Canada Science, Innovation and Electronic Information Division Web site: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/81-004-XIE/2007004/internet-en.htm Merisotis, J. P. (2001). Quality and equality in internet-based higher education: Benchmarks for success. Higher Education in Europe, 26(4), 489-597.

Vaughn, N. (2007). Perspectives on blended learning in higher education. International Journal on E-Learning, 6(1), 81-94.

Waschull, S. B. (2001). The online delivery of psychology courses: Attrition, performance, and evaluation. Computers in Teaching, 28(2), 143-147.

Welker, J. & Berardino, L. (2006). Blended learning: Understanding the middle ground between traditional classroom and fully online instruction. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 34(1), 33-55.

Room 220 Sinnott Building 70 Dysart Road University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Phone: 204-474-6958 Fax: 204-474-7607

Faculty Professional Development Workshops For Teaching and Learning

Dr. Cheryl Kristjanson, Director 204-474-7804 cheryl_kristjanson@umanitoba.ca Eunice Friesen, Associate Director 204-474-7456 eunice_friesen@umanitoba.ca Erica Jung, Program Administrator 204-474-7025 junge@umanitoba.ca

Rita Froese, Program Assistant 204-474-6958 froese@cc.umanitoba.ca Bill Zenert, Information Technologist 204-474-7042 zenert@cc.umanitoba.ca Angela Tittle, Research Associate 204-474-9975 tittleam@ms.umanitoba.ca

Val Tautkus, Office Manager, Admin. Asst. 204-474-6471 val_tautkus@umanitoba.ca

UT

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Www.umanitoba.ca/uts

UTS Newsletter Editor: Eunice Friesen UTS Newsletter designed by: Rita Froese Printed by: Premier Printing

The third edition of the TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA: A HANDBOOK is ava i lab le for purchase at the U of M Bookstore.

A PDF of the Handbook is available at our website at: www.umanitoba.ca/uts.

Incivility in the Classroom (May 6) Facilitator: Heather Morris How do I get an A? (May 7) Facilitator: Eunice Friesen Great Expectations (May 13) Facilitators: Christine Blais, Michael O’Brien-Moran Portfolios for Summative Assessment (May 14) Facilitator: Salme Lavigne Teaching Dossier for Tenure (May 15) Facilitator: Eunice Friesen Asking Higher Order Questions (May 20) Facilitator: Rob Renaud

Learning Styles (May 21) Facilitator: Rosalyn Howard

Teaching Tips for New Faculty (May 22) Facilitator: Carol Enns

Working with Students One to One (May 22) Facilitator: Anita Ens

Reflections on Self-directed Learning (May 27) Facilitator: Silvia Alessi-Severini

Tips for Teaching Large Classes (May 28) Facilitator: Rachael Pettigrew

Spring

200

8 W

orks

hops

CHET/Graduate Students

Writing & Citing: The Challenges of a Graduate Thesis (May 13) Facilitators: Brandy Usick, Miriam Unruh

Course Construction & Organization (May - 15 hours) Facilitator: Laura MacDonald

Teaching Techniques (April/May - 15 hours) Facilitator: Gary Hunter

Asking Higher Order Questions (May 20) Facilitator: Rob Renaud

Developing Your Teaching Dossier (April/May) Facilitator: Mark Lawall