Critical Thinking

I have used the textbook for reviewing physics content.  In the fall spring of 2015, I allowed students an option of doing small at home labs/demos, video themselves doing the activity and explaining the physics behind it.  I found that the students who did these activities liked them and demonstated a deeper understanding of the material. In the fall of 2016, I decided to expand this idea and make the assignment a larger requirement of the overal grade. I also provided more opportunities to do these type of small projects.

SWU 292 will be offered as a pilot course in Spring 2017.  Students in SWU 292 will explore the skill sets needed to deliver services to diverse populations.  The course will offer a pre and post test that assesses their cultural competence via a self-report survey.  The survey along with the final video reflection will be evaluated to measured knowledge gained and areas in which the course can expand in learning opportunities.

For only the second time EMCC offered PHY131/MAT231 LC this fall. While N was small (12 and 15) some interesting results were found. On CSEM post test both classes scored above national average of 47% and no real difference in classes. The LC improved dramatically from first exam to last (pre-final) where the other remained flat. It is encouraging that the LC even though the students started at least 1 MAT class behind performed as well and improved up to traditional class scores as semester progressed.

Trying to visualize molecular processes for students can be very challenging.  Neil Raymond and I decided to try 3-D printed objects to use in the classroom to teach these concepts in Biology.  I used the database thingiverse to search for models, and Neil designed and printed his own working sarcomere through tinkercad.  After using the models in class, I discovered that they can be powerful tools to aid in conceptualizing and visualizing processes, especially at the molecular level.  The 3-D printing is a compliment to STEM curriculum and promotes problem solving skill

The SLPA program is somewhat unique given we are teaching clinical courses in an online format.  It can be difficult to demonstrate disorders and treatment without hands-on learning opportunities.  In order to address the need for examples of disorders and interventions to students, we have included a variety of videos and recorded lectures.  One of the speech sounds I cover in my SLP 214 course is the /r/.  The /r/ sound is one of the most common speech errors children see speech therapists for.

A straight lecture on cell structures is torture for students. To remedy this, I designed a system of flashcards where each organelle is represented by 3 types of cards: a picture card, a structure card, and a characteristic card. Cards have alignment hints for the other two cards. Each group of 4 students is given one set of 36 cards. They work together to align the 3 cards for each organelle.  While groups are engaged in collaborative work to tease out details about each organelle, I can work more closely with each student as they learn to critically evaluate card content.

*Not being one to explicitly tell students to place their electronic devices away, I wanted to see if I could not only do that (that is, have them put them away) but also assess their basal understanding of communication concepts within COM 225, public speaking.  

Two of my hybrid EDU classes this semester were challenging me to actively engage my students, especially when involved in group tasks or assignments. Collaborative groups expert Spencer Kagan recommends, among a variety of strategies, the use of Talking Tokens. Each student is given 3 tokens (I use paper clips from a box in the middle of each table). As they talk, ask a question, give a suggestion, etc., they put a token back in the box. When they are out of tokens, they cannot talk until everyone else in their group is also out. Then, the process begins again.

experiencing ATP production

In this study, a modified CREATE methodology (www.teachcreate.org) was used to incorporate the reading, analysis and discussion of four primary research papers from the recent biological literature into BIO182.  Individual and group activities were used to integrate the papers into the course; some activities were graded, some were not.  Activities included concept mapping, cartooning of experimental design, paragraph summarizing, data transformation, and figure annotation.

Students will be able to analyze recent research relating brain-based learning and healthy lifestyle choices in order to optimize student learning and academic performance.  WITC is a system of linking engagement in healthy habits to assignments in academic classes to encourage engagement in healthy habits.  Students are assigned articles to read followed by class discussion on setting SMART goals in one of five areas; exercise, nutrition, sleep, resiliency, or substance abuse.  Students then set goals and track completion over a period of weeks.  K

As I pilot the the Online version of ASB 214, I want to see how much taking this class improves the students' General Education Abilities of Critical Inquiry and Information Literacy, as these are the two skills I have noticed many students are lacking when they first enroll for the face-to-face version of the class. I will assess the students by assigning them a self-evaluation assignment for both of these skills, both at the beginning and the end of the course, to measure how much they feel they have improved.

In EED 280 - Standards, Observation, and Assessment of Typical/Atypical Behaviors of Young Children Birth to Age Eight, in Module 5 of the course, students create and present a 5-8 slide PowerPoint presentation based on their analysis of the Module's readings which include articles and other texts.

Learning Community (LC) faculty have been saying for 6 years that the main focus on the LC is to help students in future STEM courses.  Majoring in a STEM field is difficult; math is a barrier for most students.  Approximately 20% of community college students start as a STEM major with 69% of them changing it to non-STEM.  The LC course is designed to help students be successful STEM students and truly understand how math and physics are intertwined.  So, student grades were analyzed from fall 2010 - spring 2016.  Students that went through the LC vs.

Osmosis and the movement of water is a common theme in biology courses.  Students first learn the concept in General Biology (Bio181/Bio156), then students have to apply it to human physiology in Anatomy and Physiology (Bio 201/202).  Students have a difficult time understanding this concept as evidenced by only 39% correctly answering a question about osmosis in the kidney on the unit exam.