Students kept an Excavation Journal through the five weeks of ENH251: Mythology. They were advised to use their journal to record: observations, notes, questions, ideas, images, sketches, maps and artifacts in addition to the answers to the various Dig Sheets. Each Dig Sheet focuses on a particular area of world mythology, engaging the student in reflective thinking about assigned readings while also encouraging their use of creativity.
In my Ethics course I assigned students a criminal justice current events assignment. This was a written report in which students were given the choice of choosing an incident of unethical conduct. I found that about half of the students did not have a clear comprehension of what was involved and why it was a problem. Many students were not able to answer basic questions. Three semesters ago I changed the assignment to include an oral presentation in class.
Is there really a need to kill another tree if CANVAS provides a medium for quizzes? In a quasi-experimental design, introductory stats students across two semesters (SP and FA ‘16) with two different instructors self-reported the number of hours spent studying for a common cumulative quiz. One group used e-quizzes, the second used paper quizzes. Results are as follows:
I had nine students who were disengaged in group discussions. They had not actively participated in our class discussions by: being active, speaking up, volunteering for activities, or asking or answering questions.
To help, I used nine small candy bars, and taped them to the bottom of these student's desk. Students discussed nine key points in small groups. This way every student was actively involved in the learning of the material. After, students had to reach under their desk, and if they had a chocolate bar they were the chosen ones to share.
I discovered:
I have required my introductory statistics students to meet with tutors in the student success center as part of course requirements for the past three academic years. However, without accountability, very few attend. To this end, I designed a passport for students that needed to be signed by the tutor with time logged as well as weekly comments that reflected their experience with course content. Students were required to spend at least 6 hours in tutoring during the semester with at least two hours completed during each third of the semester to avoid students using the 6
The Feminist Club engaged students in a workshop for Women's History Month. The workshop focused on understanding intersectionality and its importance to feminism. Students engaged in active learning with the student leader who presented. A pre survey and post survey was given to the students to measure their learning. Please see attachment.
Student Life (Herschel Jackson) created the Summer Success Institute (SSI) and collaborated with Student Success Programs/NSO (Daniel Meador & MElinda Sanchez) to provide intense workshops to prepare first semester students for Fall 2016. The SSI provided first year students with a jumpstart to their college success through the energizing and dynamic experiences. Students learned how to navigate successfully the college environment. The institute consisted of four 3- hour workshops during the month of July.
For both students and instructors, major writing research projects are problematic: they're especially difficult for students who lack strong writing skills, and they difficult for instructors in the time it takes to grade the projects. After several semesters grading a major APA-style career research 5-7 page paper for CPD 150, I was disappointed in student scores (especially in grammar), and I never looked forward to the amount of time I knew it would take me to grade all of the papers. It was time to "build a better mousetrap"!
The Feminist Club's focus for Women's History Month has been Intersectionality and Feminism. Club members tabled outside with posters on intersectionality in order to educate employees and students on its importance. 95% of those who attended the table did not know about intersectionality. After club members discussed the topic with attendees and shared their informational posters, attendees were encouraged to create a poster on intersectionality. The posters were placed on a clothesline for sharing.
A prior CATS (Accounting Chapter 6 Re-Teach, March of 2016) measured what was learned in inventory valuation from one semester to another, after a teaching intervention (candy example) was included. Although the grade/scores improved from the formative assessment, the first quiz, the class average for the second quiz was only 11 out of 20 or 55%, which is a failing grade. Since this second quiz was not for a grade, but rather just a summative evaluation for research purposes, I decided to use the same quiz, but as a graded item for Fall of 2016 and Spring of 2017.
Students enrolled in Culinary courses measure ingredients by weight and volume on a daily basis while producing a variety of recipes/baking formulas. Challenges occur with differentiating between weight and volume measurement / fl oz, and the ability to identify the appropriate measuring vessel (gal, qt, pint, cup, TBSP, TSP). I sought collaboration from other Culinary instructors at local high schools and colleges in relation to instructional methods on volume.
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.