- Oct 2018
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www.chronicle.com www.chronicle.com
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the hope that our courses will help students live better lives.
Paul sort of jokingly mentioned Middle States above, but in the process of writing our self-study this year, MS wants us to consider how we are helping students to lead "meaningful lives." And this idea has generated interesting discussions among the committee members, and I think it is articulated here pretty well - that it is something we all hope for with our interactions with students in higher education, but that we will likely never truly know the impact we have on individual students' lives (unless they come forward and tell us later on). Being asked to demonstrate it in some way for an external accrediting agency then seems like an impossible task.
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that my students would remember being actually excited about the process of science and discovery, … and that they remember feeling much more confident about science."
This is kinda of morbid/narcissistic but I once had a dream about students from various schools I've worked at attending my funeral and comparing the stories I've told in different places. Not sure that counts as excitement about linguistics but there was excitement to make fun of my stories.
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ne rainy September day, a small group of faculty members gathered around a conference table in a seminar room at my college to puzzle over an extraordinarily difficult question: Twenty years from now, what do we hope students will remember from our courses?
Maybe not for Middle States but I could see an interesting ACERT Lunchtime seminar or part of a TSC on this topic.
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What Will Students Remember From Your Class in 20 Years?
New Middle States category for assessment?
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"radical hope,"
I like this term and its lofty ideals. It reminds me though how difficult it is to know our role and impact on most of our students' lives even though we think about it often.
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www.chronicle.com www.chronicle.com
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what preconceptions students have about your course material
Not a "first five minutes" thing necessarily, but polling is a good way of activating prior knowledge. Prior to the first meeting, I often poll students (using Google Forms or PollEv) on what they've read.
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If students’ prior knowledge is faulty
Could get sticky with colleagues. "Foucault WHAT?! Who told you THAT?!..."
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That way, every student has the opportunity to answer the question, practice memory retrieval from the previous session, or surface their prior knowledge — and not just the students most likely to raise their hands in class.
I've seen folks do this with index cards: I think the small form factor and disposability emphasizes the spontaneity and makes students more likely to overcome anxiety. I would also add that this exercise is particularly good for introverted and/or insecure students: I think it feels easier to read something than to speak it, for many students.
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But instead of offering a capsule review to students, why not ask them to offer one back to you?
Twofer, I like it: a) cognitive psyche-based emphasis on repetition after an interval to cement the memory and b) emphasis on student-centered ethos, on the student becoming the master of what goes down in class.
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At the end, he returns to the questions so that students can both see some potential answers and understand that they have learned something that day.
I like that, especially since the students will have forgotten about the questions by the end in many cases. But will I remember to bring them back?!
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the first five minutes of a college class often get frittered away with logistical tasks
I think my teaching notes template actually says "fritter away five minutes" on the first bullet point under the heading.
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