My presentation (Improving the Critical Thinking Skills of Psychology Students) was on Friday night at 5:45p. I think it was a decent crowd for a Friday night! The presentation went well, and there was some really good discussion afterwards about ways to help facilitate these skills with students in various disciplines. There were a number of faculty members present who indicated that critical thinking and writing skills are the two biggest barriers within their classrooms. I shared some of my techniques ("Dear Doc," Small group discussions, media integration) and those in attendance did the same.
On Satuday, two sessions that were particularly engaging were the "Hip-Hop as Critical Pedagogy" and "Service-Learning in the Social Sciences." The first session was interesting because it was very hands-on and exciting. Although I feel as if I already use hip-hop as a way to connect certain concepts together in psychology, it was good to discuss new ways to do that. The second session was very interesting because it was a step-by-step instructional session on how to develop, implement, and evaluate service learning projects. I am familiar with how to do them from the organizational standpoint, but wasn't as comfortable coming at it from the academic side.
Overall, I had a great time at Lilly (as usual). The food is always great!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Language and Culture for International Business Workshop
I participated in a three day workshop on Language and Culture for International Business. The goal of the workshop was to help participants to understand the relationship that exists between foreign languages and international business. This was a very informative workshop where foreign language teachers from different institutions in the United States gathered to learn on how to create business language curricula that are geared toward making business students interested in international business degrees succeed in their internships and later careers.
The importance of structuring our syllabi to accommodate business and for business departments to collaborate with foreign language departments was particularly made clear in the two key presentations by Dr. Keida of the University of Memphis and Dr. Doyle of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his presentation titled “International Business and Developing a Global Mindset.” Dr. Keida underscored the importance of understanding how the world is changing and the need for the USA to find ways to make their economic presence felt in other parts of the world. He noted that there are emerging economies such as China and India that are already playing a major role in the current global economy. Because countries such as China and other Asian countries are able to produce quality products in large quantities, it is important for the USA to consider not only quality but how affordable such products will be for the consumer. In his presentation Michael Doyle observed that knowing the language of your potential consumer is an important asset.
Within language specific workshops, we were challenged to focus constructing syllabi and programs that can prepare business majors to know how to deal with investors by introducing cultural as well as the language of the clients which is not always English. In fact, it was very clear from this workshop, that it is erroneous to presume that English is spoken and used everywhere in the world. Knowledge of a foreign language allows individuals to communicate effectively.
Finally, I also enjoyed the financial opportunities for foreign language instructors that the workshop availed to me. Such funding opportunities can be realized if foreign language departments work in collaboration with business departments. One classic example of this collaboration is the Wang ciber center at the University of Memphis which collaborates with the foreign language department to prepare students to go for internship to countries such as Germany, France, Japan, and Mexico where the speaking of the local language is critical. The experiences that those who had gone through the program shared with the participants made it a really worthy endeavor.
Leonard
Thursday, March 12, 2009
2009 Lilly Conference
I will share some of what we did in the PreConference.
Drs. Scott Simpkins and Karen Hornsby (NC A&T faculty) facilitated a session designed to introduce participants to the concept of SoTL. While most know that it is the process of inquiry into the teaching and learning that take place in the classroom (or virtual classroom), they may not know how to get started with that process. Essentially, we should think of it as conducting a study of our own teaching (or someone else's) without all the same scientific rigor of a more indepth quantitative investigation. There are a few requirements however. There is the research question, or we could refer to this as the ethic of inquiry, since this initial phase often is about more than the pragmatic--the question itself. it often entails asking "Why?", or "How useful...?", or "Who is being served?". There is actually a taxonomy of questions that helps the teacher to ask the right question (Carnegie Academy for SoTL). The right question is the first step toward change or improvement.
Following the question, the investigator (the professor) needs to consider methods. What procedures or processes will allow me to discover what I need to know? Mixed methods (methodological pluralism) are strongly recommended over a single approach, since teaching and learning are both extremely complex functions, requiring wide and multifaceted windows into the queries associated with them.
Participants worked in small groups to formulate a T/L question and to suggest appropriate methods. We also were asked to suggest what evidences would indicate a positive hypothesis vs a negative hypothesis. We then engaged in a Gallery Walk. In this activity, we were able to engage each other's groupwork that had been posted around the room. We used post it notes to add suggestions to any of the posted research plans. This kind of collaboration is encouraged in the SoTL process, and this particular learner engagement strategy worked quite well.
jc
Drs. Scott Simpkins and Karen Hornsby (NC A&T faculty) facilitated a session designed to introduce participants to the concept of SoTL. While most know that it is the process of inquiry into the teaching and learning that take place in the classroom (or virtual classroom), they may not know how to get started with that process. Essentially, we should think of it as conducting a study of our own teaching (or someone else's) without all the same scientific rigor of a more indepth quantitative investigation. There are a few requirements however. There is the research question, or we could refer to this as the ethic of inquiry, since this initial phase often is about more than the pragmatic--the question itself. it often entails asking "Why?", or "How useful...?", or "Who is being served?". There is actually a taxonomy of questions that helps the teacher to ask the right question (Carnegie Academy for SoTL). The right question is the first step toward change or improvement.
Following the question, the investigator (the professor) needs to consider methods. What procedures or processes will allow me to discover what I need to know? Mixed methods (methodological pluralism) are strongly recommended over a single approach, since teaching and learning are both extremely complex functions, requiring wide and multifaceted windows into the queries associated with them.
Participants worked in small groups to formulate a T/L question and to suggest appropriate methods. We also were asked to suggest what evidences would indicate a positive hypothesis vs a negative hypothesis. We then engaged in a Gallery Walk. In this activity, we were able to engage each other's groupwork that had been posted around the room. We used post it notes to add suggestions to any of the posted research plans. This kind of collaboration is encouraged in the SoTL process, and this particular learner engagement strategy worked quite well.
jc
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Lilly Conference 2009
Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Lilly Conference in Greensboro. Given the locality of the conference it was a great opportunity to socialize with WSSU faculty and learn more about their learning styles and interest. Attendees were readily available to discuss the sessions that they attended and the impact of the knowledge at WSSU. This gave me the opportunity to assess interest and knowledge levels for future programming at CETL. Although this is not always the intent of a conference it was a tremendous learning experience. Often faculty would come out excited about what they had been seen and in the back of my mind I would think that we are doing that at WSSU or that is in the works! Often individuals are more open to new ideas when they come from peer sources and this was the opportunity at Lilly. It was also great to see how many of our faculty was participating in the delivery of the conference.
My most enjoyable moment was the Explosive Pedagogy! When you have tried everything else the Explosive Pedagogy would be the option. The student (George) keeps acting out in class and you have had enough so you take a pile of books and slam them on the desk. Then you say…”OK, everyone out except GEORGE”. Of course everyone will leave but George will stay because he finally has his time to get the final say. Once everyone has left you pull up a chair in front of George and calmly sit down facing him. You say the following (calmly, gently), “George, I just do not understand. You are the smartest guy in class and why are you giving me such a hard time? Have I done something to offend you or how can I change what I am doing to make this work for you?” This will give George the opportunity to express his concerns and give you the opportunity to “fix” the problem. Then George can walk out of the room and when student ask what happened he can say…”
I cannot say that I have ever had the opportunity to use the Explosive Pedagogy but I will
My most enjoyable moment was the Explosive Pedagogy! When you have tried everything else the Explosive Pedagogy would be the option. The student (George) keeps acting out in class and you have had enough so you take a pile of books and slam them on the desk. Then you say…”OK, everyone out except GEORGE”. Of course everyone will leave but George will stay because he finally has his time to get the final say. Once everyone has left you pull up a chair in front of George and calmly sit down facing him. You say the following (calmly, gently), “George, I just do not understand. You are the smartest guy in class and why are you giving me such a hard time? Have I done something to offend you or how can I change what I am doing to make this work for you?” This will give George the opportunity to express his concerns and give you the opportunity to “fix” the problem. Then George can walk out of the room and when student ask what happened he can say…”
I cannot say that I have ever had the opportunity to use the Explosive Pedagogy but I will
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Highlights of Lilly 2009
I presented a summary of my Action Research Project as part of a panel of faculty from WSSU at the recent Lilly Conference on College & University Teaching in
Two sessions that I attended were presented by faculty in Criminal Justice programs at two different universities. Both also used role play as the main learning activity. One faculty used role play to help future police officers adhere to required legal procedures in responding to citizen complaints. The attendees at the session actually participated in the role plays as students might do. Discussion of the entire experience was extremely helpful to gain insight into the participants’ perspectives. Applying this type of role play for activities in some of the courses I teach will enhance the learning outcomes. The framework within which the role play was used in the law enforcement class can be adapted for such techniques as activity modifications or communication strategies in the WSSU Therapeutic Recreation classes.
The other session led by a faculty who teaches hostage negotiation used role play as a culminating activity for the semester. This eight hour role play activity involved outside participants as well as the students. It was carried out beyond the regular class meeting time and incorporated intense planning along with careful scripting and organization. The role play was presented through video and still photos with description by the presenter. Each attendee shared ways that this type of role play could be used in various classes such as nursing or sociology. Aspects of this activity that I found especially helpful are the intentional application of theory and knowledge. Another positive benefit to the activity presented is the reflective components. Students have several hours to debrief, process the entire experience, and receive feedback. Even though I may not be teaching hostage negotiation and have this much time for role play in one class, this session provided many ways for me to include experiential learning in classroom learning strategies.
There were other sessions I attended on use of blogs, flip video and peer feedback techniques. The final element that I want to share is the poster session. A new technique for the posters involved use of flip cameras. Volunteers were solicited to use the flip cameras available to record short interviews with designated poster presenters. This is an interesting strategy. It helps to share the session with persons who did not get to attend the poster session as the clips are to be posted on the Lilly conference site. This interviewing activity also focused the interaction with the poster presenter. As the chair of a poster session for my professional organization’s upcoming conference, I will consider using this technique. All in all, I think the Lilly Conference has the potential to be a very rich source of learning for instructor and the support team for college educators. I recommend participating if given the opportunity.
Friday, February 27, 2009
National Council of Rehabilitation Education (NCRE) Annual Conference
I recently attended the NCRE annual conference, held once again in beautiful San Antonio, TX. I found this experience to be valuable for several reasons. This is the "academic" conference for rehabilitation counseling, meaning that all of the attendees are faculty members from all of the programs nationwide, including select international programs (this year, representatives were present from Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Mauritius). This is a great change of pace from the typical rehabilitation counseling conferences, which are more clinical in nature. Discussions are focused on rehabilitation counseling education trends, counselor training, program accreditation issues, and rehabilitation research initiatives. So, although I am always refining my counseling techniques and current understanding of the disability perspective by attending clinical conferences, NCRE truly is useful for becoming a better educator.
I attended several great discussions, including one addressing the pros and cons of implementing a spirituality course into rehabilitation counseling; the utilization of the EEOC disability discrimination data into current psychosocial aspects of disability curriculum; the value of using distance learning supervision models for praticum and internship students; the development and utility of asynchronous and synchronous modalities for collective research networking, and several more. As you can see, the content was vast and touched on multiple areas of rehabilitation counselor education. I feel that I walked away from the conference with many ideas to consider here at WSSU, both involving my instructional design and delivery.
I also presented my own research at this conference. My presentation was titled, "Work Comp and Weight Gain: A Growing Problem in the Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation System." Although my research was more clinical in nature, I had a great turn out for an audience. Most of the individuals informed me that they find it difficult to train their counselors in areas of private rehabilitation, as there are not many researchers out there focusing on the current trends of this specialization. I shared my clinical findings, and then opened the floor for a free discussion regarding how we as educators can keep our counselors-in-training informed on such a critical concern. The conversation was very insightful, and even I walked away with great ideas on how to deliver my own research to my students.
Overall, NCRE was and always is a success. It's always great to reconnect with colleagues across the country and, let's face it, I was in San Antonio on the riverwalk. But NCRE is a "must do" conference for rehabilitation counselor educators. I appreciated CETL's involvement in my attendance of this valuable experience.
I attended several great discussions, including one addressing the pros and cons of implementing a spirituality course into rehabilitation counseling; the utilization of the EEOC disability discrimination data into current psychosocial aspects of disability curriculum; the value of using distance learning supervision models for praticum and internship students; the development and utility of asynchronous and synchronous modalities for collective research networking, and several more. As you can see, the content was vast and touched on multiple areas of rehabilitation counselor education. I feel that I walked away from the conference with many ideas to consider here at WSSU, both involving my instructional design and delivery.
I also presented my own research at this conference. My presentation was titled, "Work Comp and Weight Gain: A Growing Problem in the Workers' Compensation Rehabilitation System." Although my research was more clinical in nature, I had a great turn out for an audience. Most of the individuals informed me that they find it difficult to train their counselors in areas of private rehabilitation, as there are not many researchers out there focusing on the current trends of this specialization. I shared my clinical findings, and then opened the floor for a free discussion regarding how we as educators can keep our counselors-in-training informed on such a critical concern. The conversation was very insightful, and even I walked away with great ideas on how to deliver my own research to my students.
Overall, NCRE was and always is a success. It's always great to reconnect with colleagues across the country and, let's face it, I was in San Antonio on the riverwalk. But NCRE is a "must do" conference for rehabilitation counselor educators. I appreciated CETL's involvement in my attendance of this valuable experience.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Millenials
My very favorite session from the 2009 Lilly Conference in Greensboro was titled: Active Learning, Constructivism and the Millennial Student: A Comfortable Marriage. The presenter began by handing out a worksheet for each participant to self-reflect on the classroom strategies they used. Mine indicated I use a mix of constructivist as well as more traditional methods. I found the parallels between this presentation, my own teaching philosophy, and my profession of occupational therapy are all pretty much in alignment with constructivism. What I had not anticipated (nor experienced) was that there were similar parallels to the Millennial Learners. On paper, I can follow the discussion that Millenial Leraners exhibit simiarities with constructivist tendancies , but in my practice I have not experienced the synchrony. This has, however, sparked an interest that I will begin journaling my beliefs and experiences in the classroom.
The Planary session during lunch on Friday presented "Student Issues" at local campuses. For the most part, I concurred with the various panelists that my experience here at WSSU was similar. One thing is clear: our students today have a tremendous amount going on in their lives. As our program deals with graduate students and adult learners it is very important to remember the context of our students learning and "living" and to approach them as individuals. One of the panelists presented more from a legal standpoint which I found very interesting and feel as faculty we need to know more about.
The Planary session during lunch on Friday presented "Student Issues" at local campuses. For the most part, I concurred with the various panelists that my experience here at WSSU was similar. One thing is clear: our students today have a tremendous amount going on in their lives. As our program deals with graduate students and adult learners it is very important to remember the context of our students learning and "living" and to approach them as individuals. One of the panelists presented more from a legal standpoint which I found very interesting and feel as faculty we need to know more about.
SoTL
The 2009 Lilly Greensboro conference presented a wealth of information about the Millenial Learners, as the conference title suggested it would (Millennial Learning: Teaching in the 21st Century). On Thursday Feb 19th I attended a pre-conference institute on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The workshop confirmed the process I had followed during my "action research" project last fall. When one of my WSSU colleagues asked to describe the difference between Action Research and SoTL, the presenters replied that SoTL includes the "dissemination" aspect and often times AR does not....... We were given a copy of a book titled "Inquiry into the College Classroom: A Journey Toward Scholarly Teaching" by Savory, Burnett, Goodburn. From glancing through the book it gives goes through a very structured 9-Step process to classroom inquiry and then provides a checklist as well as wealth of samples (over a 100 pages of actual exhibits of all kinds from sample inquiry questions, to sample survey items etc). It also provides "commentary" throughout for the classroom research to compare their experience to. I am looking forward to using this as a guide for my next AR/SoTL project. The workshop also allowed for each participant to write up their own inqiry question/project and then we did a "gallery walk" and posted feedback to one-another's. This part was less helpful to me as the feedback was very "surface" and not as deep as I would have liked. Overall I felt is was a good session to confirm where I want to go next and how to proceed with a bit more rigor and efficiency.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
ASTE in Hartfort, CT
I attended the ASTE (Association for Science Teacher Education) Annual Meeting in frosty Hartford, Connecticut, January 7th- 10th, 2009. You can find the conference program at: http://theaste.org/meetings/2009conference/ASTE%20Program%20Final.pdf
ASTE Mission Statement
The Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) promotes leadership and support for professionals involved in the education and development of teachers of science at all levels. ASTE advances practice and policy through scholarship, collaboration and innovation in science teacher education across the world.
I have served this organization in various capacities for well over a decade and presently serve on its board of directors. One of my responsibilities as a board member is to attend as many presentations as possible, to ensure that a broad range of science education pedagogy and practice is being equitably represented at the conference.
Unlike the larger education organizations like AERA (American Education Research Association), which boast a ten thousand-member attendance rate at its annual meeting, ASTE has only several hundred members attend its meetings. This serves to make the conference much more intimate and allows for a great deal of collegial interaction. In addition to the fare you would typically expect from a professional conference, ASTE holds a number of pre-conference, hands-on workshops for science teacher educators. This year, science teacher educators were engaged in learning about such topics as responsible chemical management in K-12 schools, integrating environmental education in preservice science courses, the use of geometric principles in teaching and understanding scientific phenomena, developing leadership abilities and translating student questions into student-designed investigations.
One of the features that I most enjoy about this conference is the emphasis placed on collegial interaction. Interactive sessions are included throughout the program. At these sessions, several presenters provide a brief overview of their work around a particular theme. Then, the audience is asked to speak for the remainder of the session with the presenters directly and informally about their work. This allows for rich conversation and development of professional collaborations. Many graduate students attend and present these sessions and they are mentored by senior researchers and practitioners in science education. This helps to prepare them for the more formal presentations expected at NARST (National Association for Research in Science Teaching).
I also had the opportunity to meet with the other members of WISE (Women in Science Education). WISE is a group of female science educators who began their own organization in support of ASTE. At the annual dinner, WISE members shared their stories and celebrated their accomplishments since the founding of the organization. I was particularly gratified to see the increase of women of color represented. As you might suspect, the number of female science educators of color is extremely small but is steadily growing.
Of particular interest to HBCU faculty is the ASTE’s interest in the inclusion of scholarly research and practice emanating from HBCUs and Tribal Colleges and Universities. This conference attracts a broad range of people associated with science education. I had the opportunity to speak extensively with NSF (National Science Foundation) officers about securing funds for HBCU science education research. They seemed genuinely interested in making funding more accessible to HBCUs and in assisting faculty in seeking that funding. If you are interested in studying either your students or your own K-16 science teaching practice, I invite you to attend this conference. The strategies, tips and collegial spirit are invaluable in furthering your own professional practice.
ASTE Mission Statement
The Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) promotes leadership and support for professionals involved in the education and development of teachers of science at all levels. ASTE advances practice and policy through scholarship, collaboration and innovation in science teacher education across the world.
I have served this organization in various capacities for well over a decade and presently serve on its board of directors. One of my responsibilities as a board member is to attend as many presentations as possible, to ensure that a broad range of science education pedagogy and practice is being equitably represented at the conference.
Unlike the larger education organizations like AERA (American Education Research Association), which boast a ten thousand-member attendance rate at its annual meeting, ASTE has only several hundred members attend its meetings. This serves to make the conference much more intimate and allows for a great deal of collegial interaction. In addition to the fare you would typically expect from a professional conference, ASTE holds a number of pre-conference, hands-on workshops for science teacher educators. This year, science teacher educators were engaged in learning about such topics as responsible chemical management in K-12 schools, integrating environmental education in preservice science courses, the use of geometric principles in teaching and understanding scientific phenomena, developing leadership abilities and translating student questions into student-designed investigations.
One of the features that I most enjoy about this conference is the emphasis placed on collegial interaction. Interactive sessions are included throughout the program. At these sessions, several presenters provide a brief overview of their work around a particular theme. Then, the audience is asked to speak for the remainder of the session with the presenters directly and informally about their work. This allows for rich conversation and development of professional collaborations. Many graduate students attend and present these sessions and they are mentored by senior researchers and practitioners in science education. This helps to prepare them for the more formal presentations expected at NARST (National Association for Research in Science Teaching).
I also had the opportunity to meet with the other members of WISE (Women in Science Education). WISE is a group of female science educators who began their own organization in support of ASTE. At the annual dinner, WISE members shared their stories and celebrated their accomplishments since the founding of the organization. I was particularly gratified to see the increase of women of color represented. As you might suspect, the number of female science educators of color is extremely small but is steadily growing.
Of particular interest to HBCU faculty is the ASTE’s interest in the inclusion of scholarly research and practice emanating from HBCUs and Tribal Colleges and Universities. This conference attracts a broad range of people associated with science education. I had the opportunity to speak extensively with NSF (National Science Foundation) officers about securing funds for HBCU science education research. They seemed genuinely interested in making funding more accessible to HBCUs and in assisting faculty in seeking that funding. If you are interested in studying either your students or your own K-16 science teaching practice, I invite you to attend this conference. The strategies, tips and collegial spirit are invaluable in furthering your own professional practice.
Monday, February 2, 2009
IDI Qualifying Seminar
I attended a three-day seminar (10/23/08-10/25/08) in Minneapolis, MN to prepare me to administer and interpret the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). This 50-question inventory is the most widely used quantitative instrument for measuring cultural competence. The IDI is a scientifically valid and reliable psychometric instrument. It measures how a person feels and thinks about, and thus reacts to, cultural difference. Unlike many other instruments, it does not compare a person to typical behaviors and it does not analyze behavioral reactions. The IDI operates at the worldview level of how a person feels and thinks about cultural difference. This deeper level of one’s cognitive experience is what guides and limits behavior. As an IDI Qualified Administrator, I plan to use the IDI as a research instrument to measure the cultural competence of students who participate in the Global Understanding Program.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
