A book to add to your reading list

I discovered a book that I want to share with you -- Nancy Duarte's Slide:ology. The book is a helpful resource for how to make those PowerPoint and Keynote presentations more effective.

In class, we discussed that PowerPoint is overused in classrooms and often isn't used very effectively. This book agrees with us. Duarte discusses options to PowerPoint (including props and flip charts) and how to decide when to use a slide presentation and when to use other teaching tools.

The majority of the book addresses how to make more effective presentations from limiting the number of words on a slide to including graphics and photos that help make the point and aren't distractors.

The book is in paperback and was on Amazon.com for less than $25. I'd recommend it as a way of continuing with what we started in class -- using slide presentations more effectively. I think I'll make this a required book for MMC 6930 for next fall. If you read the book, let me know what you think.

[Teaching job application] Links for job position

Hi all,
These are the Links for job position that I used for teaching job application project. Hope it helps.

http://www.natcom.org/nca/Template2.asp?sid=9
http://www.aejmc.org/
https://www.higheredjobs.com/search/default.cfm

Jooyun

Philosophy Resources

When it comes time for you to begin work on your teaching philosophy next week, you may want to refer to these sites. They are each very helpful, and we'll cover some of the material in class Monday.

See you tomorrow!
Wendy

http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/Phil_guidance.html

http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/philosophy.html

http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/philosophy/start/index.html

A helpful concise list of teaching strategies

I wanted to share a helpful article that you should bookmark for your teaching -- Tom Drummond's A Brief Summary of Best Teaching Practices.

I discovered the article several years ago and think Drummond does an excellent job in a concise space of describing different teaching strategies and how they can be applied.

I haven't tried every on of these in my teaching career but have tried most of them -- and try to include a variety in every class every semester.

We've talked about, read about and tried quite a few of these -- but not all of them.

Syllabus project -- recycling?

I enjoyed reading everyone's syllabus projects. Your courses demonstrated your skills in instructional design and in using a variety of teaching and learning strategies. I appreciated the planning that was involved in putting together each syllabus and the related teaching materials.

For the purposes of the course, you do NOT need to revise and resubmit your course project. You may do so if you would like me to review your materials for regrading. If you would like to do that, please submit the original materials along with the revised materials to assist me in seeing the improvements you have made. 

The deadline for resubmission is Wednesday, Dec. 17. But I'd be glad to receive those materials sooner to cut down on how much I have to grade starting on the 17th. 

Preparing a job application package

A vital part of obtaining a job in higher education is your application package. Our final course project is designed to help you prepare for applying for a college teaching position in the future.

I realize that everyone is not at the same stage in terms of the degree being earned and the readiness to apply for a faculty position. The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare materials and to realize what else you would need to do to be competitive for a faculty position when the time comes for you to apply.

You are to identify a  potential job and then prepare:

• A cover letter -- Bring the job description to class on Monday, and we'll talk about writing a cover letter.
  
• Your vitae -- Please bring your vitae to class for discussion -- not to turn in. For examples of CVs and for advice about creating your CV, see The Chronicle of Higher Education's CV Doctor
  
• A statement of your teaching philosophy -- Wendy has made an assignment that will help you in developing your own teaching philosophy.

We'll also talk about other materials you might include in your job application, including a teaching portfolio. But those materials are not required for your class final project.

The deadline for the application materials is Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 10 a.m. -- delivered to my mailbox or to my office. This is a paper submission, not electronic.

The application materials and CV are patterned after tenure and promotion guidelines. I would encourage you to scan UF's T&P guidelines. We'll talk about those on Monday, too.

Teaching Philosophy

As we discussed briefly Monday, next week we'll discuss teaching philosophy in more detail. Having a philosophy for our final job application project is necessary, of course, but please don't panic; it's not going to be as bad as you might think! Nor will it be as time consuming as you might imagine. (I think we're all in deadline panic mode at this point.)

To get your creative juices flowing, I'd like you to take just five or ten minutes before next Monday to think about teachers who have significantly impacted your life. Feel free to think back as far as kindergarten, if you wish. Who were the best teachers? What made them memorable? What made them effective? Choose three of your favorite teachers and write a paragraph about each, describing what it was that made them special to you. We'll share some of these in class. (Writing these graphs is your project in lieu of reading the Exceptional Teachers book--I did that! In your copious spare time, though, if you can get your hands on a copy of that book, just flip through it. It is a collection of essays written by award-winning teachers, and some are written as philosophies. The anecdotes are heart-warming, but it might also give you some good ideas for writing philosophies later on.)

For those of you who may have limited or no teaching experience, please don't worry. We'll talk about this more on Monday, but I'm discovering that writing a teaching philosophy often has less to do with where you have been on your teaching path than where you hope to go.

See you Monday!

Wendy

Cooperative Learning Resources

Here are some of the resources I was telling you about in class Monday. I didn't end up using all of them for my presentation, but some of these sites are so incredibly helpful that I wanted to pass them along anyway. Even if you don't have time to visit any others, take 30 seconds to check out the first one--Oregon's resources for new teachers. It's great!

I had a good time with you on Monday. Thanks so much for being patient with my cough! =)

Wendy



First time teaching resources

http://www.uoregon.edu/~tep/resources/newteach/intro.html

Common Student Fears About Group Work—Send your students here!

http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/processes/group/list8.cfm

Group Work Tutorial for Teachers

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cl1/CL/doingcl/groups.htm

Collaborative learning
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/collaborative.html

http://www.isedj.org/isecon/2005/2342/ISECON.2005.Kelm.pdf

http://jmd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/21/2/106

Grading group projects

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~korenman/wmst/group_grading.html

http://www.teachtech.ilstu.edu/additional/tips/grpGrading.php

Rubrics

http://www.usm.edu/qep/docs/NFS_Group_Project_Rubric.htm

http://writing.umn.edu/tww/disciplines/engineering/grading/grade4101.html

http://salsa.missioncollege.org/files/harrison/studentGroupProjectGradingRu.doc

http://a-s.clayton.edu/furlong/Biocomputing/Spring07/Oral%20presentations/Grading%20rubric%20group.doc

http://cte.udel.edu/PDFs/rubricsudwc.pdf

My presentation

Colleagues,

There is no homework for my presentation tomorrow. I ask that you come ready to discuss both within a small group and as a class.

While I have a PowerPoint, my presentation is driven by handouts, which I will give to you in class.

Thanks,

Dan.

Here are the sources that I used:

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/procedures/faq.php

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/studentrights.php#academichonestyguidelines

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/documents/Facultystudentresolutionformrevisedsept08.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hjutk6mzx0

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/procedures/studentrights.php

Feedback from the syllabus project

I really enjoyed reading your course syllabus projects. Every one was different, and each showed a combination of worthy learning outcomes, a variety of teaching strategies, and an attempt to make learning challenging and productive.

If you would like to revise any sections of your syllabus project for reconsideration, I'd be glad to do that. The syllabus has Dec. 1 as the resubmission deadline. But I imagine a few of you may not pick up your materials until Dec. 1, when you're back from Thanksgiving. And even if you have the materials, you probably already have made your Thanksgiving plans -- which didn't include making time for syllabus revisions. So let's say that you can turn in revisions on Wednesday, Dec. 17, when your Teaching Job Application is due.

Here are some of the main themes from your written comments about what you learned through developing the syllabus and course materials:

• Creating a syllabus took much more time than you had anticipated.
  
• Developing the class schedule was like putting together a puzzle.
  
• Determining the pacing of the course was a challenge.
  
• Diffuclt to determine the grading, especially for class participation.
  
• Helpful to develop lesson plans to think through how to actually teach the topic for that day.
  
• Difficult to find the right textbook. 

What comments did you have for me about the project:

• Explain how to include the syllabus project in a job application portfolio. (I will in our last class meeting.
  
• Have more deadlines for parts of the project. (I did that last year, and that class said, "Make it all due at once." I hope you'll talk with me about how to have more deadlines without that being too many deadlines.)
  
• Liked having the individual meetings with me to discuss the syllabus project.
  
• Provide the checklist sooner.
  
• Have the deadline later in the semester. (Last year the class said they liked having the syllabus due before the end of the semester so they could get this assignment completed and move on to other course papers and projects.)

I'll do a little Q&A in class on Monday after you've had time to read through your project. A few items that apply to several:

• Projects - Be sure to include class time for explaining the project assignment and providing a handout with specifics about the project. In writing the handout, keep in mind that someone reading the assignment sheet may have been absent on the day you explained the assignment. 
  
• Your contact info - A couple of you asked about office hours, office and cell phone. For the purposes of this activity, no office or phone number is required. I would suggest including office hours just to help you think about when you would schedule them. And my own advice: Don't give your cell phone number. You can provide your office number or e-mail. Students often aren't good about having reasonable boundaries about calling.
  
• Grading scale - I'd stay with UF's grading -- on a 100 scale and (until summer) with plus grades but no minus grades. 
  
• Editing items -- If you are teaching a journalism course, you should consider using AP style (i.e., Web site and e-mail). I like writing in first and second person -- talking about myself in first person and talking to the students in second person. So "I" rather than "the professor" and "you" rather than "the students." Read your syllabus and see what seems to work for you.
  
• Movies, YouTube -- We've agreed those can add to the class. But research says a short segment is more effective than a long video. If you are interested in having students watch a movie, consider how they can do that outside of class. Is it available online? You can make arrangements for a viewing time for students to watch as a group. 
  
• Viewing directions -- When using movies, YouTube videos, commercials, Web sites, etc. in class, you need to giving viewing directions. Give students questions to answer while watching or guidelines (such as: When we visit these Web sites, please make notes on...). Otherwise, students tend to fade out.
  
• Guest speakers -- In the class before the guest speaker, be sure to alert the students that you will have a guest. Good to give them directions. For example, if you are having a media writer, have the students read a sample of the writer's work. I've found that using a Q&A format with the speaker and myself works better than telling the speaker to talk for a set amount of time. I'll tell you why in class.

Diversity in the classroom. Resources and References

Resources at UF:

Reading and Writing Center: From grammar and spelling issues to time management training. They offer workshops, conferences and even personal appointments.

UF International Center: Immigration issues, internships, OPT (optional practical training), forms in order to get in and out the United States, renovation of the visa, health insurance and even social activities to meet other international students

Counseling Center: To deal with personal, academic, and career concerns. They will also help you in case you are suffering with anxiety, depression or other problems.

CITT: Center for Instructional Technology and Training: Workshops from how to use Power Point or how to design a Web site to using E-learning and using Turn-it-in

Multicultural and Diversity Affairs: Institutes and program areas, mentoring, calendar, education and training, other resources, etc. http://www.dso.ufl.edu/multicultural/

Minority Facts: Statistics http://www.ir.ufl.edu/minority/index.htm

University Minority Mentor Program http://www.dso.ufl.edu/multicultural/ummp/

UF Office of Graduate Minority Programs http://gradschool.ufl.edu/diversity/introduction.html

Some books

Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (2001). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. New York: Wiley.

Irvine, J. J. (2003). Educating teachers for diversity: Seeing with a cultural eye. New York: Teachers College Press

Johns, A. M., & Sipp, M. K. (2004). Diversity in college classrooms: Practices for today's campuses. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

McIntyre, E., Rosebery, A. S., & González, N. (2001). Classroom diversity: Connecting curriculum to students' lives. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Powell, R. G., & Caseau, D. (2004). Classroom communication and diversity: Enhancing instructional practice. LEA's communication series. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Waxman, H. C., Tharp, R. G., & Hilberg, R. S. (2004). Observational research in U.S. classrooms: New approaches for understanding cultural and linguistic diversity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Wolpert, E. (2005). Start seeing diversity: The basic guide to an anti-bias classroom. St. Paul, Minn: Redleaf Press

Link to PowerPoint for Visual Courses

Here's the link to the file: http://www.tidewaterrocks.com/Teaching_Visual_Courses.ppt Please let me know if it doesn't work. Hope it helps.

Ed

Sources

Hi all! Sorry I forgot to post these sources from my discussion sooner. Have a great week!

SOURCES:

About.com: Secondary Education, http://712educators.about.com/od/lessonplans/p/discussions.htm

Gall, M.D., & Gall, J.P. (1993). Teacher and Student Roles in Different Types of Classroom Discussions. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, Ga.

McKeachie, W.J. (2002). Teaching Tips (11th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

University of Maryland Center for Teaching Excellence,

http://www.cte.umd.edu/library/teachingLargeClass/guide/ch6.html

University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center, http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Spring_1996/ TC_Spring_1996_Maznevski.htm

Monday, November 24th Class

We will be doing a group exercise Monday morning as part of my presentation, but we're going to mix people up a little. It'll be a little more efficient if everyone goes ahead and sits together according to the following groups:

Group 1 -- Wendy, Mark, Kearston
Group 2 -- Dan, Patrick, Paige
Group 3 -- Linda, Vanessa, Jennifer
Group 4 -- Kara, Maria, Jooyun, Amy

Have a good weekend!

Teaching large classes presentation references

Hi all,
Here are the main sources that I used for my presentation today. Hope the lecture was helpful to everyone.

• Teaching Educational Development Institute, The University of Queensland, Australia http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/LargeClasses/
  
• The Center for Teaching Excellence, The University of Maryland http://www.cte.umd.edu/library/teachingLargeClass/index.html
  
• Center for Teaching & Learning, The University of North Carolina-Charlotte http://www.fctel.uncc.edu/pedagogy/focuslargeclasses/ASurvivalHandbook.html
  
• Lewis, K., Woodward, P., & Bell, J.(1988). Teaching business communication skills in large classes. Journal of Business Communication, 25(1), 65-86.
  
• Rieber, L. (2004). Using Professional Teaching Assistants to Support Large Group Business Communication Classes. Journal of Education for Business, 79(3), 176-178.
  
• http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i35/35a01201.htm

Turning in portfolio

How should we turn in our portfolio?

-Everything stapled together?

-Folder?

Dan

Teaching Writing Hyperlinks (References to the post below):

Excerpts from On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, 1998,
http://www.google.com/search?hl=enq=excerpt+from+on+writing+well&btnG=Search

“Scoring Rubric: What, When, and How?” by Barbara M. Moskal, Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation,” a peer-reviewed electronic journal, 2000,

http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=3.

Online videos –available through YouTube and mediabistro.

“Rethinking Writing with Rubrics,”

http://www.youtube.com/watch

http://www.mediabistro.com/ondemand/?

Teaching Writing Power Point

Teaching Writing

I'm looking forward to our class on Monday. Please bring a paragraph of a favorite writing and the 55-short short story. References below. If possible, I'll post the PowerPoint.

Have a nice weekend,

Linda

— Alternatives to Grading Students Collected Works, non- classroom abstract, investigation into the grading of writing by the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Alternatives to Grading Student Writing. See “Using a Multidimensional Scoring Guide” by Gail M. Young and “Using Rubrics and Holistic Scoring of Writing: by Jean S. Ketter, retrieved online.

— Excerpts from On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, 1998, http://www.la.wayne.edu/polisci/dkd/general/sources/zinsser.htm.

— “Feedback on Feedback: Exploring Student Responses to Teachers’ Written Commentary,” by Maria Ornella Treglia, originally published Journal of Basic Writing, Vo.l. 27, No. 1, 2008, retrieved online.

— “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing,” by Peter Elbow, originally published New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 69, Spring 1997, retrieved online.

— Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom: Using Performance Criteria for Assessing and Improving Student Performance, by Judith Arter and Jay McTighe, except of review retrieved online.

— “Scoring Rubric: What, When, and How?” by Barbara M. Moskal, Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation,” a peer-reviewed electronic journal, 2000, http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=3.

— “Teaching Journalistic Cogency With 55-Word Short Stories,” by Richard A. Kallan, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Autumn 200, retrieved online.

— “Teaching Journalism in the Information Age,” by Stephen Quinn, Australian Studies in Journalism 8: 1999, retrieved online.

— “Teaching Writing in Higher Education,” from Handbook of Research on Writing, edited by Charles Bazerman.

— Teaching Writing as a Process Not Product,” by Donald M. Murray, original paper presented at the 1972 convention of the New England Association of Teachers of English, retrieved online.