Effective classroom interaction: Learning from the Lilly Conference

This February I attended the Lilly Conference which was held in Greensboro, NC. Among the sessions I attended I was particularly interested in the session Sparking and Sustaining Classroom Discussion presented by Kimberly Cuny and Sarah M. Wilde. I would like to share a little what I learned from this session and beyond with my fellow colleagues.

Teaching is a multiside processing which is involving in both teacher and students, therefore effective interaction with students in classroom is critical for the classroom success. The session and my conversations with the presenters after session help me in improving my classroom communication skills, those are something I ignored before in my classrooms. Also I would love to recommendate two articles anthored by the presenters, linked via http://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/resources/immediacypapers/plepart1.html and http://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/resources/immediacypapers/plepart2.html.

Lei Zhang

Reflecting on presentations at Lilly South (Feb 2008) Conference

This is my first blog anywhere!

I am revising my brief comments, initially posted on the date cited, about the Lilly South (Feb 2008) Conference, held in Greensboro NC. The website for the Lilly South conference is provided here.

I attended the entire conference, and attended a number of sessions, including the plenary sessions. I also presented a paper on Situational Leadership along with my coauthor, Michael Dutch of Greensboro College.

About my paper

The paper, entitled “Applying situational leadership in the classroom: Guiding the student to self-leadership," has since been revised and submitted to the Journal of Management Education. The paper (this latest version) is available from the following source.

Applying Situation...

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A summary of the paper follows:

Situational leadership theory (SLT) is an appealing concept. While its application in industry presents challenges, the nature of the educational classroom further complicates its use. As currently developed applying SLT methods in the classroom could create issues with perceptions of fairness. Additionally, instructors may not have the means to appropriately determine each of their students’ ability and willingness for each learning event.

To counter these problems we suggest that the responsibility for the level of structure be given to the student. In this role instructors facilitate the learning while students have the ability to control the level of direction they receive. In doing so, we provide further definition to the concept of self-leadership and provide suggestions for its application in the classroom. Applications of SLT in a team setting are also discussed.

About selected presentations

There were many excellent sessions at the conference, including a number of plenary sessions. Currently, the program is still available on the web (click here). I will provide brief highlights of a few of the sessions which I found most helpful. I have handouts and notes from most of them, and would be happy to share and/or discuss.

Session #1. (Plenary) How to wake up your students: Getting started in active learning, by Ed Neal.

Ed prefaced the session by stating research showing that only 11% of college students have good sleep habits, as well as the fact that there are physiological limits on attention spans. An 8-question test brought home the severe weaknesses of the traditional lecture method, as found in empirical studies. Therefore a number of ideas for structuring the class for active student involvement were provided. Three preconditions are:

1. Preparation. Change student expectations on the first day of class, and reinforce with out-of-class assignments that prepare students for active learning

2. Motivation. Create challenging exercises—easy work is boring. Tell students the purpose, and require them to specify what they have learned at the end of class.

3. Absence of fear. Develop effective facilitation skills; reward students for their contributions; reward risk-taking.

The remainder of the session was devoted to Questioning Strategies, In-Class Writing Exercises, Classroom Assessment Techniques, and mini-Cases.

Session #21. The Graphic Syllabus, Linda Nilson.
Premised on the idea that standard syllabi present the course in a linear fashion, and don’t get much reading by the students. She came up with the idea of a graphic syllabus when she decided to share “the picture in her head” of the course with her students. A graphic representation of some sort is much more meaningful to students, and provides needed structure for the brain. I drew a map of my Business Policy class and explained it to the other participants.

Session #85. Facilitating student transformation by understanding the human change process, by Dianne Garret.
The session had the most emotional impact upon me. It cannot easily be summarized. Reading the PowerPoint handout would not convey the energy and excitement that was conveyed by Dianne. Some of the themes discussed were Why most change initiatives fail, Emotional intelligence, The impact of human energy, Emotional flow during the term, creating classroom climate, and many others. Very powerful.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this annual teaching conference to those who are seriously interested in improving their teaching, and the learning of their students.

Unfortunately, this material has sat in a folder ever since the conference. How do we as faculty keep from being overwhelmed by service expectations, committee meetings and work, e-mail, numerous administrative and clerical requirements, and other things that eat up our time day after day, month after month, year after year? That is another issue! However, it is one that I wish to delve into from a research standpoint. How can we as faculty improve our productivity? And not just in research and writing, but in all or our activities.

Bob Herring

Methods for Increasing Student Learning and Success

Karen Hornsby (NC A&T) presented an interesting session on a strategy that she learned from Barbara Millis to increase student learning and success. Much of the session focused on a collaborative learning technique which places students in groups (with designated roles) to complete assignments. These groups are continued throughout the semester. I found this technique to be interesting and have tried to implement it in one of my classes. I know that it will take some time for the students to get used to, but I am already experiencing some social loafing and complaining within the groups. That doesn't really bother me because I keep reiterating the purpose and the benefits of the groups. I went back and read some of the suggestions given by Barbara Millis and Karen Hornsby, and I'm confident that the groups will see the 'big picture' soon. Additionally, Dr. Hornsby talked about a focus group technique they used to try and get to the root of the challenges of those students who were not passing a certain class. I have asked those of us who teach a general psychology class to think about asking for some focus groups to address issues that students in the D/F range are having. This is in hopes of addressing what we can, and maybe re-thinking how our general classes are presented and assessed. Overall, I thought it was a very interesting and informative session. I will definitely look into more articles/suggestions/techniques used by Drs. Millis & Hornsby.

Engaging Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Concept to Enhance Learner-Centered, Active Learning: A SoTL Teaching Project

Have you ever wondered why students in your courses possess varying degrees of skill sets and would like to engage more of their competencies and enhance their learning in the process? Dr. Milton Cox of Miami University of Ohio utilizing Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (verbal-linguistic, mathematical-logical, visual-spacial, musical-rhythmic, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential) and the methodology included in Classroom Research: Implementing the Scholarship of Teaching offers a possible approach instructors could use for classroom exploration. Focusing on scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), Dr. Cox demonstrated how awareness of the multiple intelligences and engagement in active classroom research could change our teaching and student learning. Citing specific examples of active learning and teaching/learning projects (identifying classroom problems, writing learning objectives, project opportunties/questions, creating assignments and examples, listing outcomes from the project), matching multiple intelligences to the learning objectives, assessing and motivating student deveopment, the presenter highlighted the importance of following these essential steps in the process. Finally, Dr. Cox listed the outcomes of his Calculus 151 course. This was a thought provoking session with applications for all instructors interested in improving teaching, learning and classroom research.

Lessons from the Lilly Conference

The Lilly Conference sponsored by UNCG was held in Greensboro, NC . There was a great variety of sessions and good information. I was particularly interested in sessions that involved student learning by engaging students in different class activities. Here are some highlights from the sessions I attended.


• Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IFAT) is an low cost immediate feedback tool that can be used for quizzes (Low tech clickers). It is a scratch off card that reveals a star for the correct answer. The facilitator gave partial credit for 2nd chance answers. See http://www.epsteineducation.com/ for more information.



• Familiarity Breeds not contempt but learning: The instructor set up a 'treatment' to facilitate student learning. The treatment consisted of : explaining to students why the course was important, that learning takes time, take the knowledge home and work with it, come to office hours and receive a gift, real life examples, learn students names quickly, give extra points for going beyond what is expected, teacher has a homework notebook, review sheets for every test, no pop quizzes, logical format for test (chapter questions are grouped together).



• We try to entertain students in the classroom to keep them interested. Don't try to entertain students let them entertain themselves with assignments that really get them involved.: debates, video productions, presentations, rap, songs, commercials, etc.



• Here are some tips on how to wake up your students: Change student expectations on the first day of class; require out of class assignments that prepare students for active learning in class; prepare instructions or worksheets for the exercises; create challenging exercises (easy work is boring); tell students the purpose for the exercise; require students to specify what they have learned at the end of an exercise; strive for a classroom in which risk-taking is rewarded not penalized.



• Using the Case Study Method for learning: This is a method whereby a case study is unfolded and analyzed during class time. Many different points can be brought out and taught on the spot. This method takes a lot of time but very exciting and interesting for student learning and critical thinking.

Clicker Technologies as a Tool to Increase Student Engagement and Motivation

Click! Click! Click! This sound was heard as Jennifer Diers introduced her session on the Personal Response System (clicker) and its pedagogical implications for the classroom. This small handheld gadget allows audiences and students to actively participate in lectures and presentations by submitting responses that are aggregated and reflected on a screen for all to see. It reminds one of the audience response system used in Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The "Turning Point Clickers" are low cost to students, have a seamless integration with PowerPoint and WebCT, are adaptable and sustainable across courses, have textbook and publisher collaboration, offer website support and generate reports for assessment uses. Additionally, clickers reduce anonymity in the classroom, assist with grading and reporting and give immediate feedback to the instructor. Pedagogically, the clickers can be used to poll students about anything, to review content questions, to conduct pre/post testing of knowledge, to set up a video or demonstration, to do case review questions, to do individual or team based questions and to review teaching practices. Students can also gauge their learning individually and holistically while becoming more engaged and motivated. Increased class attendance, improved student attitudes, the development of students classroom voice and improved student collaboration have been reported as corollary benefits to the use of clickers. References were provided. A very good presentation.

Encouraging and Developing Reflection for Improved Learning

John Zubizarreta's session on the development of reflection in order to improve learning was an enthusiastic and engaging presentation. Highlighting the differences between thinking and reflection and indicating how the brain actually changes as we learn, Dr. Z emphasized that the instructor must make the students think about learning which occasions changes in the cognitive structure of the brain. Defining reflection as "considering the process of our own learning: metacognition" and listing guidelines for reflection activities: linking experience to learning, structuring activities, providing regular and timely feedback and clarifying values, Dr Zubizarreta strongly affirmed that reflection is true communication--learning about oneself as a learner. Self-awareness, honesty, openness to criticism, objectivity, curiosity, motivation, receptivity to different learning approaches and independence in learning are the most important characteristics of reflective learners according to the presenter. Stop talking and start reflecting" was the final mantra of Dr. Z. Ample resources on the power of reflection in learning were provided. A truly impressive demonstration.

Designing a Learning Environment for the Millennial Generation

This presentation by Dr. Maria Yon from UNC Charlotte was very informative and explained many of the reason that we, as professors, think that our current students are different from previous generations--they really are. "Millennials," those students born between 1980-2000, learn differently. They are techno-savy, multi-taskers, creative, overprotected individual with overly involved parents. These students must be involved in the educational process in a different way. Dr. Yon emphasized that instructors must take the first step by learning to understand this new generation of students. We must also change our teaching to engage the student and enhance student learning. The use of technology, classroom structure, experiential activities, modified lectures, collaborative learning, immediate feedback and fun are some of the elements that will help us to achieve this goal. Dr. Yon also noted that the most important thing that a teacher should do is "not waste time wishing that millennials were different; they represent a different time and a different culture that does not reflect you." This presentation also explored the myths of the millennial student, offered tips for working with them and provided a very useful bibliography. A very good session.

Using Pictures to Take the Pulse of Student Understanding

This presentation was an excellent way to use pictures to create student discussions. The presenter used pictures to engage the audience in expressing their feelings about given topics. We were asked to tell what a particular picture represented. Although the presenters discipline was business and so were most of the examples, I can see how this technique could be used in several other classes. For example having students pick a picture that represented the major theme in a reading class. Sharing their impressions with others in the group can help a faculty member gage the students comprehension of a concept without routine testing.

A Mathematics Faculty Learning Community to Improve Student Learning Outcomes

One of the sessions that I attended at the Lilly Conference in Greensboro dealt with faculty designing a model to redesign selected freshman-level "gateway" courses in order to improve student learning and retention. The learning community was comprised of faculty from mathematics, chemistry as well as the teaching and learning center at NC A&T. The redesign not only involved a common syllabus, but also how to more actively engage the student in the learning process. Ideas concerning supplemental instruction and math workshops to replace graded homework were discussed. Dr. Dominic Clemence will be doing a Brown Bag Lecture on the concept this year.

Active learning, student-centered teaching, reflective practice, and ePortfolios

The Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching (Greensboro, February 8-10) was a great opportunity to be in touch with colleagues who care about implementing powerful ideas for teaching and that do research on teaching. Just to get a flavor of the key topics, see the titles from keynote speakers presentations: "How to Wake Up Your Students" (Ed Neal), "A Portrait of the Student as a Young Dog: the Workshop - Using Canine Behavior Models to Increase Classroom Motivation" (Darby Lewes), "Creating Significant Learning Experiences Through Integrated Course Design" (Stewart Rose), "Using Academic Games to Promote Learning" (Barbara Mills). The common denominators: active learning, student-centered teaching, teachers as facilitators, intrinsic motivation and highly rewarding participation in course activities.

There were many interesting parallel presentations. Let me share what I learned about ePortafolios. Many of us are interested in the use to electronic portfolios to help students and teachers grow by means of reflection and documentation of their academic work. Interaction with John Zubizarreta and Laurie Richlin was very rich in this regard. John shared documents and experiences related to the use of this tool with students and faculty members (see paper and presentation from Zubizarreta). Laurie shared her experience concerning the use of ePortfolios for graduate student advising. My balance is that there are several ePortfolio free tools (see eFolio and zFolio links) but what matters is the method and strategy used in this reflective practice. I invite WSSU colleagues that might be interested in this type of faculty development activity to let me know, CETL will promote collaboration with experienced facilitators.

Alvaro H. Galvis

Director CETL

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning