Resources

Allow me to be honest. There are few things in my job that I dislike more than having a conversation with someone who is feigning objectivity or neutrality. I call it academic pretense. I cherish conversations when people speak from their hearts, even if I disagree with them. This holds true as well in my collaborative learning gatherings (aka co-learning gatherings, aka the classroom). Over the years, I have learned to face a reality in my own life, namely, there are few areas in which I have no opinions or, at least, have no leanings. If you tell me you are different, no offense, but if you are a fully engaged person I probably won’t believe you. Try as we may to be neutral, as engaged educators who regularly integrate our subjects of expertise with everything occurring around us, we all have leanings and assumptions concerning a wide-range of topics. Professing to be neutral, when in fact, we are not, endangers us by moving difficult conversations to the abstract and impersonal world of the ethereal, often leading to conversations that lack personal investment. How well can we learn if we are not invested in an honest process? I have found that most learning experiences “stick” best when we bring not just knowledge, but our own truth and experience to the conversation. The type of conversation I am suggesting is risky business in the sense that when we put ourselves “out on a limb,” mistakes will be made, feelings can be hurt, and positions may inevitably need to be re-directed and corrected--even if that corrective trajectory reaches farther in the future than we envision. Dangerous, yes. But, I think opportunities for real education are worth the risks. How did I come to a place of partiality for “risky conversations?” My own rough, street-wise childhood taught me to observe everything around me carefully; to assess present threats/concerns and size-up what is really happening underneath the surface of any given conversation. Where I grew up, the dangers of not trusting my own instincts could have grave, unforgiving and intractable consequences. But, as much as I trust my gut instinct, life has also taught me that I can be wrong. Having begun my teaching career later in life, I often found myself asking, “How do I use these skills in an organic discussion setting that will benefit the whole academic learning process?” And, more importantly, how will this discussion make us all better human beings? Early on in my teaching career, I had to re-teach myself to trust my instincts. What I discovered was that those life skills learned on the streets and in the course of my life can work for me in the classroom. Why? Allowing myself to move freely with what I see happening around me organically shifts the classroom zeitgeist from a theoretical, abstract reality to a more organically-real, shared reality--achieving a deeper level of honesty. Contributive-learners (aka co-learners, aka students) respect and even desire the level of honesty I am suggesting. Even when discussions don’t work out as planned, co-learners respect my honest regrets and my apologies. In the meantime, whether the discussion was a “once-in-a-lifetime” hit or a “write-off,” I am still modeling a paradigm that is teaching them to trust their instincts and go with the organic, sacred moment. Hopefully, I am also modeling humility. I realize there is a great deal of valid concern over co-learning gathering safeness. Perhaps I view it differently than some of my colleagues. In my experience, safeness has nothing to do with the subject matter at hand. But rather, safeness is primarily about our respect for the sacredness of how we handle the conversation. With social norms changing at a rapid pace, especially in the current political climate, I am discovering that people are afraid to talk honestly with one another, although many, including myself at times, are willing to talk at one another. This type of climate only promotes isolationism, binary position taking, and we/they attitudes. Education is about people learning from each other. How can we learn if we cannot talk with one another honestly? Obviously, we can’t. But, back to the danger.  What if it goes too far? More than once in our discussions, co-learners have taken their polemic too far and hurt another person’s feelings. At that point, if another co-learner does not stop the process, I stop the conversation and I do a check. Together as a group, we take two deep breaths and have a moment of silence. I then ask if we are still committed to the values of truth-seeking, mutual respect and the sacredness of the moment we are in?* Invariably, the person who crossed the line apologizes for their inability to express their thoughts without getting personal. Also, and this always surprises me, the offended person sometimes apologizes for taking it too personally. I encourage the group to share any thoughts about the process and then ask if we are ready to go further in the conversation or come back at another time? In many of our Native American traditions, we have a prayer that goes something like, “have pity/understanding on me Creator and remember I am just a human being.” The idea behind this prayer is that perfection is the enemy of attainment. We are all simply human beings, imperfect, but learning from our mistakes. Those mistakes make us human. And, being human, by “climbing out on a limb” in order to reach others, is the most spiritual state of being in which we may find ourselves. I wish I could say I have these sacred moments in every co-learning gathering, I do not. But, I do encourage those moments through risky honest conversations. And when those special moments come, the whole room feels like we have experienced something together that is truly sacred. Perhaps promoting knowledge among my co-learners in an atmosphere of sacred space, is the most important role I have as a scholar and a spiritual leader. *This exercise requires pre-teaching and mutual commitment to the process.

How Students Cheat (8:13) Situates student behavior along a “continuum of cheating” and explains forms of cheating less commonly classified as such in order that professors can take steps to minimize these behaviors.

NOTE: Use the playlist button located in the top left of the video window above to switch between episodes. The Flipped Class: Formative Assessment (1:40) Succinct introduction to advantages of flipped classroom, e.g., frequent, immediate, individualized, differentiated assessment. The Flipped Class: Which Tech Tools are Right for You? (2:31) Argues that flipped classroom is a “pedagogical solution with a technological component.” Explores various technological options to produce and share video content. The Flipped Class: Overcoming Common Hurdles (4:39) Helpful suggestions for responding to challenges accessing content, length of videos, students not watching the videos, etc. Strong recommendation that lessons that contain the most difficult content are best candidates for flipped classroom method.

NOTE: Use the playlist button located in the top left of the video window above to switch between episodes. Quick Teaching Tip: Feedback (3:29) Low-key advice on moving away from the typical “feedback sandwich” (compliment, criticism, compliment) towards “reinforcing” and “correcting” behaviors through “ask, tell, ask” technique. Characteristics of Good Student Feedback (4:38) Offers strategies for offering students “specific, actionable, timely, and respectful” feedback that improves learning. The Power of Feedback (3:26) Video outlines an article by John Hattie and Helen Timperley on levels and types of effective feedback. Bill Gates: Teachers Need Real Feedback (10:21) A TED talk by Bill Gates on how to create feedback for teachers that helps them improve. He argues for feedback grounded in self-video observations and student surveys of teachers that capture complexity of life in the classroom.

NOTE: Use the playlist button located in the top left of the video window above to switch between episodes. Curriculum Design Part 1: The High-Level Planning (9:17) Part 1 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neill’s “Verbal to Visual” series. Part 1 explores the questions that must be considered prior to detailed curriculum planning: Who’s your audience? What is the transformation sought? What is the mode of this curriculum? Using his own thinking about the “Verbal to Visual” series, Neill models how answers to these questions shape curriculum design. Curriculum Design Part 2: The Clothesline Method (6:58) Part 2 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neill’s “Verbal to Visual” series. Part 2 shows how Steven Pressman’s “Clothesline Method” can be used to sequence and plan learning activities to effect transformation and support curriculum goals. Neal emphasizes the creative potential and inherent flexibility of this method. Curriculum Design Part 3: Producing the Material (9:07) Part 3 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neal’s “Verbal to Visual” series. Part 3 details a visual note-taking technique for creating course materials based on “empathy maps” of students and their learning needs. Curriculum Design Part 4: Iterate Over Time (8:36) Part 4 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neal’s “Verbal to Visual” series. Part 4 reflects on how to make effective adjustments and improvements to curriculums over time.

NOTE: Use the playlist button located in the top left of the video window above to switch between episodes. Problem-Based learning at Maastricht University (4:38) Although a promotional spot for prospective students, this video nicely details goals, roles, stages, and terms common in “problem-based learning.” Project Based Learning: Explained (3:49) Through examples, the video promotes this method’s educational value and capacity to develop critical thinking, cooperation, and communication. Problem-Based Learning at SIU PA Program (11:25) Goals, roles, and stages (including self-assessment) of problem-based learning demonstrated through a case study approach to physician assistant training. Video emphasizes the active learning dimension of problem-based learning.

NOTE: Use the playlist button located in the top left of the video window above to switch between episodes. What is Critical Thinking? (10:42) With amusing references to pop culture, a philosopher distills the key attributes of critical thinking, offers his own best definition, and expounds why critical thinking should be taught. (10:42) 5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking? (4:30) This TED.Ed video describes a 5-Step Process for using critical thinking to improve decision-making: Formulate Your Question, Gather Your Information, Apply the Information, Consider the Implications, Explore Other Points of View.

Best Practices in Online Teaching Online Teaching: Best Practices (8:52) This video summarizes 10 Best Practices for online teaching. What distinguishes the presenter’s approach is that she provides multiple ways to employ each individual practice. How to Design Your Online Course (5:43) Detailed discussion of how to apply 3 key principles of backward design to online teaching: Identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence (assessment), plan learning experiences and facilitation. Online Classes: Tips for Success (10:48) Engaging summary of what students like about online courses, why distraction challenges student learning online, factors that detract or contribute to online learning, and some ways to increase odds of success. Recommended for prospective online students as well as teachers. Evaluating Discussion Boards (6:39) Three professors describe the rubrics they use for grading contributions to discussion boards. Using Blogs in Online Classes as a Learning Tool (10:52) Why and how to use collaborative and “individual writing network” blogs as an alternative to discussion boards. The presenter suggests guidelines for integrating blogs into online teaching and enumerates the benefits she’s observed. Creating an Interactive and Personal Course (8:22) What student posts in discussion boards tell teachers and how to use this knowledge in “announcement links” to interact with the class. Other purposes of general comments from the instructor through these links are outlined as well. Presenter discusses the advantage of blogs over discussion boards for personal interaction with individual students. VoiceThread in Online Courses (15:39) A thorough introduction to using VoiceThread: what it is, benefits of using it, challenges it presents, and how to overcome them. How Students Cheat (8:13) Situates student behavior along a “continuum of cheating” and explains forms of cheating less commonly classified as such in order that professors can take steps to minimize these behaviors. Using Weekly Video in Your Online Course (7:06) A professor’s musings on why weekly video posts to students enhance online teaching and learning. Group Discussions in Online Classes (6:23) Strategies for stimulating online small-group discussion of readings and presentations.