I'm very sold on the idea of using OERs (Open Educational Resources) -- they save students money, and they allow all students to have immediate access to course materials. The downside is that some students seem less engaged with these types of course materials; I think this is because they have been conditioned to the ideas of a textbook.
Taking organized notes while learning both drafting and a software program, AutoCAD, helps with retention. Notes will also be an integral part of the way we will communicate. Students will use Google Docs. They will add notes of important drafting and drawing tips to remember later. Usually as learning takes place, questions arise. They can ask questions with a note or add a reminder to ask something later. During Grade Checks this semester, students will share their notes with the instructor.
Students confuse molecular processes concerning synthesis of macromolecules, particularly DNA, RNA and proteins. I have the students make separate lists of terms they need to know AND clues as to how to keep them separate.The students come to the board and generate the list - they pass a marker to another student to keep adding to the list. We review as a group and determine if all the terms are lined up correctly. This semester I decided to increase the use of contrasting between the processes based on our lists.
A key component of Anthropology classes is group discussion. Students need to learn to respect other cultures but also their own, it is harder to connect & haver respect for people when they are faceless. Having this discourse is hard in online classes where students get very little interaction other than in writing.
Comparison of changing up information on a question that students have struggled with.
About half of the points from my BIO181 class come from high stakes exams. I feel this is necessary to prepare students for their STEM degrees, MCAT, PCAT etc. I split the course content into 5 units with an exam for each unit. This means giving up 5 class meetings to exams, which for a TR class, is over 2 weeks of class time. I tried dividing the content into 4 units, with 4 exams. The last 2 exams remained the same, but I took the content from the first 3 exams and split it between 2 exams instead.
My ESL students have been challenged to produce clear and coherent writing on a particular topic, even when the topic is on their own preferred choice. I came up with the idea of using a visual, a graphic organizer, and work step by step toward producing good writing. Dissecting and discussing the paragraph structure, looking closer into each of its parts helped my students understand the purpose of writing – how each part (beginning, body, and ending) contributes to producing cohesive and clear writing.
In Spring 2015 SAAC conducted its semester assessment in Technological Literacy, one of seven general education abilities at EMCC. Data was collected from 11 sections with 234 students in 2015, compared to 237 in 2012. 6 instructors implemented this assessment in 2015, as compared to 11 in 2012. The areas assessed in Technological Literacy were Data Management, References, Assignment Content, Communication, Layout, Embedded Objects, and Conventions. To see the breakdown of freshman vs. sophomores, see attached Ppt.