Teaching students to write, not ‘fill-in-the-blanks’

Jeremy Shermak, an Assistant Professor of Communications at a community college in Chicago, writes an inspirational story about academic writing and consultations with students. Shermak shares his perspective of using education to “light a fire” instead of “filling a bucket” when advising students.

The Single Most Important Factor for Success

Have you ever wondered what determines if an individual is academically and/or professionally successful? One would assume intelligence, time management skills, or wealth are all possible factors… but surprisingly those don’t take the top spot. Angela Lee Duckworth, a psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania, just might have the answer. Check out this 6-minute TED Talk to hear her story.

What are your thoughts?

• Do you think passion and perseverance are crucial for success?
• Do you think there is a more important factor for success?
• Can you think of anyone who embodies this factor?

Spending more on Prisoners than on Students

I wanted to share an alarming report from California’s Department of Finance that suggests “over the past two decades spending per prisoner in California has increased nearly three times faster than spending per K-12 student.”

The first question that comes to mind after reading this report is “Why are we prioritizing the care of law-breakers over the education of our youth?” If more K-12 students received high-quality education one could assume they would be less likely to commit crime, and more likely to propose crime preventative measures later in their life.

After reading 6 Reasons America Spends More on Prisons Than on Higher Education it has become apparent politics plays an important role in this budget decision. It is easier to get elected, from a politician’s perspective, if you persuade society with crime-related initiatives. In addition, politicians can move more of the cost of higher education on students while the same cannot be said for prisons and prisoners.

Your Top 10 Hidden Skills Employers Are Looking For

Source: Queen’s University Career Services

Employers look for a variety of skills in potential candidates. Depending on the job, these skills may be very technical in nature, but quite often include common “soft skills.” Many job seekers overlook highlighting their soft skills when applying for a job. The Purple Briefcase Blog discusses the value of your soft skills and how to highlight them during your job application.

According to Aol Jobs, the top 10 soft skills job hunters are looking for are:

1. Strong Work Ethic
2. Positive Attitude
3. Good Communication Skills
4. Time Management Abilities
5. Problem-Solving Skills
6. Acting as a Team Player
7. Self-Confidence
8. Ability to Accept and Learn from Criticism
9. Flexibility/Adaptability
10. Working Well Under Pressure

From personal experience, I’ve always found it useful to carefully review the job posting and job description before applying to a position. To make your application stand out, tailor your resume and cover letter based on the key words and skills employers include in their job posting. If all goes well, you should be prepared to tell hiring managers of how you have effectively used those skills in the interview.

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sienk, “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” shares this simple, yet powerful 18-minute TED Talk to inspire leadership. In the video, Sinek references the “golden circle” to explain why Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers had such a lasting effect on society.

We may not all be leaders or desire leadership traits, but this video should at least make you appreciate the strength and importance of great leaders.

Why Do Students Have Academic Writing Assignments?

Students become very familiar with academic assignments in post-secondary education. Whether it’s in the form of an essay, research, term, argumentative, or analytical paper, educators often assign this type of activity. Although some students may not enjoy academic writing, there are several beneficial traits they develop that contribute to academic success.

1. Critical Thinking

Students have an opportunity to enhance their critical thinking skills. Students are encouraged to critically analyze an assignment and logically come up with a solution to achieve the highest mark. Over time, their skills and strategies are refined to enable them to critically think outside of school.

2. Memory

Physically writing information acts as a great memory aid for students. Often, when a student writes a paper in their own words, they will remember the information more efficiently. In addition, students who complete academic papers are more likely to remember the content in future tests/exams.

3. Decision Making

Working on assignments further improves students’ decision making skills. Students have to understand assignment requirements, plan their time, and submit the completed assigned before the deadline. These are all transferable skills significant in succeeding in the workplace.

4. Creative/Analytical Thinking

Various assignments, for example, argumentative papers, require a justification of a point or position. This develops creative thinking and analytical skills by evaluating information and developing a well-structured argument. Students learn how to express themselves in writing which is useful during interviews and job applications.

Are you convinced?

Did you realize how many skills were developed by completing academic assignments? Hopefully I have instilled greater appreciation and motivation for your academic writing.

Thanks for reading!

Creative Design of Online Learning

I came across a great 10-minute video featured on Standford+Connects from Tina Seelig, a professor from Stanford University. Seelig talks about “A Crash Course on Creativity” she taught in an online course. If you’re looking for advice administering an online course and insight into potential obstacles, this video is for you!

One great point Seeling makes halfway through the video is in regards to individual assignments. “You need to do an individual assignment first to see who is actively involved.” As a student who has taken online courses, this is very true. Some students are simply observing or in the backline during an online class while others are actively engaged. This activity will help segregate the class into those 2 groups.

Towards the end of the video, Seelig talks about an interesting project she assigned to her students and the entertaining and surprising results she collected. This is a great example of creative design that has been successfully implemented into an online course.

What are your experiences?

• Have you taken a memorable online course that was very engaging?
• Do you prefer learning online or offline?
• Should educators incorporate technology into curriculum?

I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading.

3 Realistic Requirements for Effective Online Learning

A recent post from Designer Librarian outlines 3 crucial elements to sustain a successful online learning environment. The author, Amanda Hovious, is an experienced librarian currently completing her master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT). Amanda, who attended her IDT program entirely online, describes the 3 most important components of online learning to achieve success and student engagement: Synchronous Learning, Sense of Community, and Active Discussions.

From a student’s perspective, I often find it difficult to become motivated and engaged in online learning. This issue typically originates from the common structure of online classes; pre-recorded lessons and instructions that are not in real time. There is often a lack of “community” and active discussions compared to a physical classroom. All of these factors combined make it difficult to stay organized, involved, and informed in an online course.

What do you think?

• Is an active community of learners important when taking a new course?
• Are discussions more useful when lead by a select few, rather than a collective group?
• Is it easier to stay engaged and organized in an online environment vs. a physical environment?

I look forward to your opinion and thank you for reading!
Feel free to post your opinion or comments below!

How To Get Your Students Excited

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I came across an inspiring post, from Terri Eichholz on her education blog, which has encouraged me to share my thoughts and first-hand student experience with you. Terri, a K-5 teacher with decades of experience, brings up a very important topic: challenging students to think. Terri believes that a requirement of being an effective teacher is connecting with your students, occasionally provoking them to think for themselves, and leaving a lasting impression with them after class time.

Memorable Teachers
Speaking from my own personal experiences, all of the memorable teachers and professors I’ve had share this quality and ideology. They present debatable material that challenges my perception of the world, especially if it is current material. For example, ethical discussions, current news stories, or even personal opinions on a topic often provoke me to engage and participate. Surprisingly, this tends to work even in courses that don’t particularly interest me.

The Ultimate Goal
At the end of the day, what are teachers really trying to accomplish? Of course, they want their students to understand the material and succeed, but perhaps more importantly, they want students to GET EXCITED about the subject.

In my opinion, once a student becomes excited and self-motivated to learn a topic, the educator’s main objective has been achieved. Even if students are struggling with their current understanding and expertise of the topic, the “ground work,” so to speak, has been established.

I’ve been told and truly believe that to be successful and happy with your life, you have to honestly love what you do and get excited to go to “work” every day. It’s always remarkable watching self-motivated people who excel in their respected skill.

The Flipped Classroom

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A popular concept in education, which is reviewed on Inside Higher ED’s website, is the idea of a “flipped classroom.” The basic definition of a “flipped classroom,” which varies depending on your source, is that the typical lecture and homework elements of a classroom are reversed. This means students would listen to a pre-recorded lecture at home and do homework in the classroom. Several different business models and organizations already promote this idea, like the well-known Khan Academy non-profit model, but is this model optimal?

Benefits
Don’t get me wrong; the “flipped” model has its benefits. (1) Students can go through the material at their own pace in a comfortable environment. This approach allows students who blaze through the material to be more efficient with their time and less confident students to spend as much time as they need to understand the content. (2) Students who are struggling with a problem or concept in class can ask an instructor for assistance who will guide them to the answer. Speaking from a student perspective, it is much easier (and memorable) to have an instructor work with you to solve a problem than it is consulting a textbook or searching for the answer online. (3) Plenty of opportunity to discuss and compare approaches with other students while in class. Students often solve problems and run into the same issues while working through problems. It can be very helpful and time efficient to collaborate with other students to achieve I higher degree of understanding. These benefits all contributes to a greater understanding of the content and a stronger awareness of troublesome areas that require greater attention.

Weaknesses
So why hasn’t everyone adopted this model? Simply put, it’s in our human nature to resist change. The traditional method of suggesting material to read over before class, lecturing during class, and assigning homework after class has been in place for centuries. This traditional “teacher experience,” arguably, can never be replaced. As a student, one fatal flaw I’ve experienced in the current system occurs at home. I often find it difficult to concentrate and motivate myself to read from a textbook or learn a new topic that doesn’t particularly interest me, especially if the content isn’t specifically brought up in class. I relate this experience to a chore I never liked doing, but is required for a greater cause, like my parent’s satisfaction (or graduation). Of course, it isn’t a perfect system, but we implement support initiatives to redeem its shortcomings. Many of these initiatives mirror the benefits of the “flipped classroom,” for example Academic-Zone’s personalized online approach. Lecturing for more than 50 minutes may not maintain student attention and be effected by diminishing marginal returns. However, the lecture still plays an important role in highlighting the key information in a mountain of text. Instructors also make themselves available after class to clarify information.

Final Thoughts
Similar to the article written by Pamela E. Barnett, a potential solution would be an integration of both systems. Taking the best of both models with the help of modern technology can improve the effectiveness of teaching. For example, having a short lecture, in-class exercises, and relevant online material/assessment could be a possible layout for the lectures of tomorrow. With this model, we have the opportunity to try a new approach and personalize learning for students of the 21^st century.

What are you thoughts?
–     Do you think this “flipped classroom” model could work?
–     Would it be easier for students to learn information using this model?
–     How about instructors to teach?

I look forward to your opinion!