Providing ingredients for learner success

In preparation for a Community of Practice meeting about active learning, our facilitator asked us to read Dr. Dunja Trunk's Faculty Focus post entitled "A Recipe for Student Success." In it, they describe five ingredients needed for learner success, and provide details and examples for each of the five. (I encourage you to take a few brief minutes to read their worthwhile post, if you've not already done so.) The five ingredients are the following.

1. Clear goals and objectives
2. Develop effective study habits
3. Establish effective communication channels
4. Take care of physical and mental well-being
5. Embrace continuous learning and growth mindset

This got me thinking

I fully support this list and have nothing to add to it, other than an an obvious addition—acquire domain knowledge and understanding. The post did get me thinking, however. To what extent are we teachers/mentors responsible for enabling a learner to utilize these ingredients? Our response to this question likely determines how we teach. In particular, should we...

1. Assume the learners know about the ingredients and how to use them?
2. Tell the learners about the ingredients and how to use them?
3. Give the ingredients to the learners?
4. Show the learners how to use the ingredients?
5. Have the learners use the ingredients?

I'll be developing my response to my questions for the rest of this post. I invite you along for the journey, and will be curious to see if you follow me, or take a different path.

Preparing a meal

If we use an analogy of preparing a meal, it seems to me that an individual is not likely to be (consistently) successful simply by reading and following a recipe, unless they have a lot of past experience doing so. So if our learners have little experience or knowledge, we best avoid assuming they know what's needed for the meal. Further, we can't simply tell them the ingredients they need, as they may not know where to acquire the needed ingredients. Also, telling someone how to put icing on a cake is not likely to lead to success for them  the first time. It takes practice; sometimes lots of practice.

So, perhaps we need to be giving our learners the ingredients, and showing how to use them. How much garlic is enough, but not too much? Does the water need to be cold or warm when we add it to the other ingredients? What part of the meal should we start preparing first, if we want everything ready at (roughly) the same time? Preparing a meal is not easy. Getting it right the first time is quite a challenge. Learning is not easy either, nor is getting it right the first time.

But, simply giving our learners the ingredients and showing them what to do with them still doesn't seem like enough. We need them to actually try (and likely fail) to make the meal themselves. It is in the doing (and failing) that learning happens. The more we do, the more practice we have, the better we get.

But, what about chefs?

But, what if we have a learner who is very experienced, and has a broad understanding of the material? I think I still arrive at the same point as I did before. However, I won't be explaining and demonstrating near as much, and certainly would not expect to be discussing or showing foundational ideas and skills. If I'm working with a "chef" to prepare a meal, it is going to be more of a collaboration—the two of us will be sharing ideas and questioning each other. But there will still likely be some advanced knowledge or skills that they do not yet have, and need to observe and practice. And yes, I'll likely learn something from them as well during that collaboration.

My teaching

How does all this impact how I teach and mentor? I've posted about how I teach a few times, here and here, for example. I strive to develop and repeatedly present clear course goals and objectives to the learners. I provide opportunities for them to develop effective study habits. I do my best to have clear and consistent communication with the learners, and encourage them to do so, as well. I consider the individual learner when making decisions, and I am constantly promoting a growth mindset and reminding the learners that making mistakes is fine, as long as we learn from them.

My teaching heavily utilizes the following.

• Active learning
• Flipped learning
• In-class demonstrations and activities
• Small group discussions
• Class discussions
• In- and out-of-class group work
• Learner-centered focus
• Specifications grading, and sometimes ungrading
• Flexible due dates, based on circumstances
• Very little lecturing

I strive to provide a learning environment focused on the learner, not me. I strive to be aware of what the learners do and do not know, and meet them where they are. Sometimes I'm able to accomplish this in class, and sometimes it is accomplished in one-to-one sessions in my office or via Zoom. When teaching higher-level courses, I do expect the learners have more experience, but I try not to assume it. That is, I strive to verify what experience they are bringing to the course. 

I strive to always provide examples of, and opportunities for the learners to practice, the five ingredients needed for learner success that Dr. Dunja Trunk described in their post.

Your teaching?

How do my thoughts and approach to teaching/mentoring match up with yours? What can we learn from each other? Please share your thoughts and ideas so that I (and other readers) can benefit from them. I look forward to it, as I continue to learn how to treach.

Image credit: https://stock.adobe.com/

Teachers need to struggle to learn

The towel was a gift from a student. I take it on all my trips now.

I’ve previously written about the empathy I’ve gained while traveling. In that post, I asked if you remember what it was like to first learn the body of knowledge which ultimately became your profession. I observed that much of the initial content we learned is second nature to us now. We don’t even think about the fact that there was a time when we didn’t know it, and we may have even forgotten how much we struggled to learn that which seems trivial to us now.

I’ve again had an experience that reminded me of the challenges that occur when facing something completely new. As a result, I’ve come to believe that every teacher needs to periodically have a similar experience. Beyond the learning that will occur, it will remind them what it’s like to learn, and make them better teachers. Stay with me for a few minutes, and I’ll explain.

As I write this post, I’m mid-way through an eight-hour airplane flight from Berlin, Germany, to New York, New York. My wife and I are at the end of a nearly three-week vacation in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Germany. We’ve previously traveled internationally a few times, but, except for one trip, our destination has been to England, Scotland, and Ireland—all countries where English is very prevalent. English was still fairly common this trip as well, primarily due to us being in tourist areas. None-the-less, we still experienced many challenges.

Our experiences

Visiting these countries meant that we were met with many different languages, and we don’t speak or read any of them. We experienced many different customs as we moved from one country to another. Each country had their own currency, and varying exchange rates with the US dollar. (To make things a bit more confusing, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all call their currency by the same name, but they are each a unique currency.) Also, living in Muncie, Indiana, and having our own cars, we are not accustomed to traveling by busses and trains. We found that the transportation schedule tables were very confusing and difficult to understand.

Our feelings

As a result of these experiences, we often felt confused, frustrated, isolated, and occasionally, helpless. Not being able to read or communicate with others presented a significant challenge at times. We had to resort to non-verbal approaches. Not knowing local customs, currency, or how to read transportation schedules meant we had to ask questions. But who do you ask, and what do you ask? If you’re an introvert, or like being self-sufficient, reaching out to others can be a real challenge. And it can feel like you’re bothering others when you ask for help to do something that you “should” be able to do on your own—at least you could if you were back home. We must have looked as confused as we were at times, as locals often asked if we needed help.

Look for the helpers

Fortunately, a variety of things helped us work through the challenges and to enjoy our trip. We found resources, both technological and human. Translator programs were a great help for understanding individual words or short phrases. Most local people with whom we interacted were (at least) bi-lingual and seemed accustomed to communicating with us foreigners. Utilizing online maps and directions was a tremendous help. We sometimes had a local guide which was great, in that they could provide “color commentary” that we likely would have otherwise missed. They also were familiar with transportation schedules and venues and helped us experience the most we could in a fixed amount of time.

Aside from those specifics, we found other factors helpful. Consistency and structure were a tremendous help. Once we learned one thing, we could often apply that knowledge to something else that was similar, quickly furthering our learning. And most of all, it simply took patience, practice, time, and a willingness to learn.

Our learners in a “foreign” land

How similar were my recent challenges to those that our learners experience—especially our first-time learners? Students are arriving on campuses as I write this or will be soon. The experiences of those attending college for the first time may be very similar to what I experienced. They must learn to navigate new environments, cultures, expectations, and new-found freedoms. They will discover that earning in college is likely different than high school. Professors may teach in different ways and have different expectations. They will need to reach out for help from their peers and professors.

We can help!

Our learners need help navigating these challenges. We can provide consistency and structure in our courses. We can clearly communicate our expectations. We can be open and approachable so they will feel comfortable asking us for help. We can provide learning opportunities that build on their prior experiences so they have something to which they can relate it. We can reach out to them and offer help.

I needed to struggle!

I already knew this. There is nothing new here; I’ve learned it before. But after a few semesters I started to forget. I needed this vacation to remind me, yet again, what it is like to be a learner—especially a new one. I needed to struggle to understand the language, the schedules, everything. This will make me a better teacher in a few weeks.

What about you?

I firmly believe that all teachers should periodically experience a significant new challenge. Travel to a new country where a language is spoken that you do not know. Learn a new language. Learn a new skill that is unlike anything you already know how to do. Push yourself and expand your horizon. What will you do to become a better teacher?

Find your calling, or at least, let it find you: My commencement address

The following is the text of the commencement address I delivered on July 22, 2023, at the 196th Ball State University Commencement.

Find your calling, or at least, let it find you

Thank you, President Mearns. It is a bit intimidating for me to stand before you this morning and have all of you—well, some of you—listening to what I have to say. I’m accustomed to being in a classroom where I have 20 to 30 learners, not an arena full of university trustees, President, Provost, college deans, faculty, graduates, and their family and friends. And even in the classroom, I seldom lecture, preferring to use flipped learning and lead discussions. Nonetheless, I am humbled to be here this morning.

So, having no idea what I should talk about, I turned to the Internet. I asked Twitter for wrong answers only, what I should talk about. My two favorites were these:

“Go make lots of money and donate to the university. You owe us for your success.”

And the other one, which perhaps will come true. We’ll see.

“Graduation speeches are given because of the belief that students must be properly sedated before being sending on their way.”

You can let me know how I did at the end. Neither one of those seemed like good paths to follow. So instead, I have two stories to tell you this morning. To start, I’ll read the first few lines of a story written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss. These words come from his book titled “Oh, the places you’ll go!”

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.

About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

His story then goes on to describe times when things don’t go the way you expect or want. It is during those times you need to push forward and believe in yourself. Here’s another story of an individual that fits well with Dr. Suess’ story and has Ball State connections.

Once upon a time in 1957—way back last century!, a child was born in Muncie and was raised by a loving family that had enough money to live, but not any extra. Both of his parents were first-generation college students, who graduated from Ball State. After graduation, his father worked for the Boy Scouts, and his mother initially worked in clerical accounting roles, and later, spent six years attending seminary part time, while she continued to work. She’s served in a various ministerial roles since.

While he was in first grade, the family moved to Kokomo, and three years later, moved to the western suburbs of Chicago. He graduated from high school in 1975, taking the usual compliment of academic courses and played clarinet in the band. One course worth mentioning here: Computer Programming.

He attended Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana (at that time it was Manchester College) with no major in mind, but ultimately chose Social Work, after a few semesters. Because he enjoyed it in high school, he kept taking the occasional computer class to fill out his course schedule. He graduated in the spring of 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in social work, and an associate’s degree in computer applications.

Soon after graduation, the opportunity presented itself to interview for a computer programming position, and he started his first professional job on July 1, back here in Muncie. While working, he experienced transitions from punched cards, to computer terminals, to PCs, to networks, and ultimately, the web. He enjoyed his employment with that company for 28 years, starting as a computer programmer, and leaving as the Information Services Manager. However, his departure was not voluntary, but rather was due to his position being abruptly and unexpectedly eliminated in October 2007.

Storm clouds often arrive and darken the landscape. Some pass through quickly, while others seem to linger forever. Rather than focusing on the darkness, the old adage goes, you should look for the silver lining. After a few months of job and soul searching, he decided to go back to school. In January 2008, he started work on a Computer Science master’s degree—at the age of 50!

God was watching over him, as within a week's time, he applied to graduate school, was admitted, and was offered a graduate assistantship that provided tuition remission and a modest stipend—both of which were direly needed. He was definitely the oldest learner in his classes, and often, older than his professors. He hoped to make himself more employable and find a job after graduation.

 

Having worked in industry for nearly three decades meant that, although he had continued to learn, the current state of computer science had moved quicker than he had. He discovered that they were using computer programming languages that didn't even exist when he graduated in 1979.

Midway through his graduate coursework, he came to realize that he enjoyed teaching. Some of his professors noticed that. As he was completing his master’s degree in the spring of 2010, the opportunity to interview for a full-time college teaching position presented itself. Despite his enjoyment of working in industry, he found teaching even more enjoyable.

Oh, the places he’d go! Because of his new path, he has traveled to Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and a variety of US cities. He has presented papers internationally and locally. He has published in journals and books. 

But one of the biggest journeys on which he embarked, and the one which has brought him the most joy and fulfilment, is having the privilege of helping thousands of learners further their knowledge and understanding of computer science, themselves, and the world.

I think he found the silver lining.

He has not been on this journey alone, however. He had the support of family and other faculty. He constantly availed himself of new learning opportunities, whether that was formal training, or simple conversations. He learned along the way to carefully choose what you do and who you do it with. You’ll never do much better than those around you. He thinks it’s better to be a humble second fiddle player, because that means you have something to strive for and pushes you to be better.

He also learned to carefully choose his words. As a result of a sarcastic social media post he made on January 1, 2022, about having walked every day that year, he has, in fact, walked at least 20 minutes—usually much more—every day since. Yesterday was day number 567 in a row, and he’s walked over 3400 miles in that time. That’s roughly equivalent to walking from Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington. Repeatedly doing something turned into a habit.

Due to the efforts of many very supportive people with whom he worked, he has been nominated for and received a variety of awards and recognitions over the years, one recent being the Ball State University Outstanding Faculty Award. What he did not know, until after receiving the award last fall, was that the recipient of that award is traditionally the speaker at the next summer commencement.

Yes, this story has been about me, in case it was not obvious. You’ve been listening to me tell stories for the last few minutes because others believed in me and supported me. I firmly believe there are many other professors who are just as deserving, and perhaps more so than I, they just need to be nominated.

OK students, if you’ve not been taking notes, now’s the time to get out the pencil and paper. Here are the six take-aways from my story:

1. Look for the silver linings and be ready to act.
2. Be willing to change course if your current circumstances are not fulfilling. You’ll never see new landscapes if you travel the same road all the time.
3. Be present and attentive, and things tend to work out. Be someone you are not, and you’ll miss out on the full expression of yourself. 
4. Be supportive of those around you.
5. Find your calling, or at least, let it find you. Become good at it.
6. Be humble. 

And now, I’ll close with the end of Dr. Seuss’ story that I opened with.

You'll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So... get on your way!

And, with apologies to Dr. Seuss, I add a few lines of my own:

Set a course for yourself on old and new roads,

And life will take you to places untold.

Watch for the linings of silver in clouds,

And opportunities don’t miss because you’re too proud.

And never forget to be dexterous and clever

Because Cardinals Fly in every endeavor.

Be humble and supportive of those around you,

And find your calling—or at least, let it find you!

Cardinals, it is time to fly!

Video of my address

If you'd like to watch a video of my address, here you go!

Image credit: Jennifer Coy

Creativity as expressed in HONR 296 final projects (summer/fall 2022 & spring 2023 edition)

I previously wrote about the creative ways learners in my spring 2020, fall 2020, spring and fall 2021 and spring 2022 Honors College courses (HONR 296) exhibited and documented their knowledge and understanding of the course's material. The course title is "Computer Science and Algorithms to Live By." The course final project, in summary, was to create a tangible artifact that recorded their responses to the course’s essential questions, as it related to their chosen major(s) and/or minor(s). In this post, I am showcasing the creativity of nineteen summer 2022, fall 2022, and spring 2023 learners who were willing for me to share their work.

I encourage you to read to the end of this post and click on all the images and links to experience the full breadth of how these students understood computer science and algorithms to impact their current and future lives. In the interest of brevity, I have not provided any commentary about them, but rather have provided a brief description and an image or link for you to investigate further. They are listed in random order.

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Samuel Willey connected the course content to his sales major by creating a fictitious company that sells algorithms as a service. He created a commercial that explains why you need to buy algorithms and how useful they are.

Ozzie Kazarian wrote a "choose your own adventure" style click and read story. It attempts to answer course essential questions like "what is a computer" through a sci-fi inspired narrator. It's fairly short to play through; check it out.

Jackson Ketcham created a video that connects the two worlds of computer science and algorithms with the medical field. While using algorithmic analogies, he breaks down the function of medicines (such as antibiotics) and how algorithms will impact the future of medicine. He also uses ASL in the video with drawings to simulate an effective teaching and communicative method of talking with a deaf patient in a hospital.

Jess Melvin combined her anthropology knowledge and fashion skills, to create a "styling bible"—a guidebook for styling gigs—for a fictional client based on the course content. She answered the essential questions abstractly through moodboards and outfit plans and more concretely through text within the guidebook.

Jada Cooper created a group of lessons orchestrated for sixth graders to be introduced to computer science and begin analyzing the importance of these technologies in the world today. The lessons begin with students being given general information and having the freedom to explore more on their own, before wrapping up with a Socratic seminar that dives deeper into these topics and makes connections to our own lives.

Fortune Anjorin created an infographic that explains how technology improves nursing care, as well as the technologies that will be used in the future. She gave examples of the technologies we see nurses use daily at the hospital and did some research on some newly developed robots that will be used in the future.

Liz Davis answered the course's essential questions, and then translated her responses into French, utilizing knowledge from her major. She also delivered her class presentation in French.

Delaney Fritch combined their Political Science and History majors to create an oral history. They interviewed themself, asking the course’s essential questions, and then formally wrote it up as a (fictitious) oral history for the BSU archives.

Joseph Gassensmith created a presentation wherein he explored the course's essential questions as they relate to the practice of law.

Ainsley Hall "rebranded" the course. As the class did a deep dive into algorithms and how they are used in our daily life—especially in the case of social media usage and artificial intelligence—her project focused on introducing and bringing interest to ideas within the course. This rebranding involved creating media pieces (a video, a logo, and social media mockups) and integrating AI speech technology guided by a human-written script to show how newer technologies can be used to assist rather than replace.

Gabrielle Heiser created a collage that focused on algorithmic bias in healthcare, along with providing responses to how the course's essential question related to nursing.

Kade Wereley-Bross created a visual representation of Broadway attendance numbers throughout the last four decades, in the form of a blanket, based on the classic temperature blanket style yarn project. The colors reflect ranges of attendance numbers. They also provided a document describing how this is related to the course's essential questions.

Dylan Kedra used social work skills to write up a set of patient notes, where a computer was the patient. A representative quote from the notes: "Capability of immense change in the world due to their calculating and intelligent thought processes. While also mentioning their ability to fit into and improve almost every situation when there are clear boundaries set."

Gavin Neal designed a computer slide puzzle game that, once solved, would provide the answers to the course essential questions as the puzzle face. The unpredictability of the puzzle represents how algorithms sometimes are not so easily transferred from one medium to another.

Jess Schroeder created a poster containing images that represented her responses to the course's essential questions.

Abby McElroy practiced writing lesson plans, even if the topic was not at all related to her journalism major. She found making a lesson for computers and algorithms to be a fun twist on things she's been learning to do and included class discussions, homework, and more!

Jentry Keesling created an infographic describing the way computer science has changed psychology and created new fields combining the two.

Max Vale wrote a play about two pieces of brothers learning about what it means to answer the essential questions of the course. It explores where the boundary of human and computer overlap and what happens when that boundary is crossed.

Adrian Tauriainen created a presentation about how computers and technology have impacted the world of architecture.

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So, there you have it. Nineteen different responses to the same prompt. Leaving an assignment open (as opposed to strictly defined) provides the learner an opportunity to explore their passions, and thus they are likely to engage with the assignment more fully. It also makes the evaluation of the assignment a lot more interesting, since the submissions are not cookie cutters of each other, and I often learn something new as well. Learner-centered teaching for the win.

What interesting assignments have you had? Describe it in a comment below.

Image credits: All images were provided by their creators.

There are good people all around you. Recognize them!

The long-awaited MAC trophy!

A year ago, I was named the 2022 Ball State University (BSU) institutional winner of the Mid America Conference (MAC) Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success. The trophy company the MAC used apparently still had a significant backlog due to COVID supply-chain issues, so the trophy just recently arrived on the BSU campus so it could be presented to me. This post is partially about me, but it's really about all the good people around us, so I encourage you to keep reading.

The MAC Outstanding Faculty Award recognizes one full-time faculty member nominee from each of the twelve MAC institutions that has demonstrated a dedication to student  success. From these nominees one faculty member that has gone above and beyond in their dedication to student success is honored as the winner of the MAC Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success. That was not me last year, but I was recognized as the BSU institutional winner.

This student-focused award is distinguishable from academic or research-based awards as it celebrates the commitment of the MAC to a holistic student experience and the creation of an environment that supports success in school and in life.

My remarks

A few days ago, BSU held a celebration in my honor at which they presented the trophy to me. What follows are the remarks I made at that event.

This award focuses on student success. So, what actions do I take that I believe contribute to student success? I don’t believe there is any one big thing, but rather lots of little things that all add up to student success. Things like…

• Using active learning to keep class engaging
• Using flipped learning by recording videos for learners to watch outside of class, and doing activities in class when they can ask me questions
• Being learner centered
• Having learners do reflective writing
• Being aware of disabilities, and doing what I can to support those learners
• Doing what I can to keep diversity, equity, and inclusiveness as part of the conversation
• Using alternative grading, primarily specifications grading, so learners can grow from their mistakes
• Emphasizing the workforce competencies they are indirectly learning
• Mentoring immersive learning projects to provide participants a rich learning experience

I make myself very available to learners during class, via email, and in my office (both physically and online) at a variety of hours during the day, since leaners often have questions after 5:00 PM. My goal always is to find a way to help learners understand, learn, and retain the material.

I often tell learners who are regular visitors to my office: “I’ll work at least as hard as you will, to help you learn this material.” What I’m telling them is that if they are trying, I’ll be right there with them—but they must put in some effort.

But this recognition is not fully about me. It’s about all of us in this room, and across campus. I happen to be the one who has a very supportive department chair, Jennifer Coy, who submitted the award nomination that was selected to be the BSU institutional winner last year. But I would not be the faculty member I am today without the interaction, training, guidance, and support of scores of other faculty, staff, administrators, students, and family, all of whom I’ve learned something from over many years. I’ve borrowed tips and techniques from uncounted others, many of whom are in this room today. I firmly believe there are many faculty who are just as deserving—perhaps more so, but are yet to be nominated. I just happen to be the one nominated last year.

I sincerely thank the faculty and students to wrote support letters for me, and everyone who has interacted and shared with me over the years, thus allowing me to learn something from you. I appreciate all of you for taking time out of your day to come to this event.

President Mearns presenting the BSU
Outstanding Faculty Award to me

Good fortune strikes twice!

I also had the good fortune of being nominated by Kara Duquette for the 2022 BSU Outstanding Faculty Award last year. This award is given in recognition of demonstrated composite excellence in teaching, scholarly or creative productivity, and service by a faculty member who has an academic record at Ball State University of more than five years. Eight individual faculty, staff, and administrators from across the breadth of the university took the time to write and submit letters of support for my nomination. Submitted along with the 25-page nomination dossier, Kara and Robbie Mehling produced a four-minute video highlighting why I was being nominated for the award. Ultimately, I was selected from the nomination pool, and was presented the award at Ball State University's fall 2022 faculty convocation. Again, I believe there are many other faculty who are just as deserving—perhaps more so, but are yet to be nominated.

So what!?

So, last year was a good year for me. I received two significant awards within a year's time. I am extremely appreciative of this recognition! While I believe I do a good job, I also suffer a bit from imposter syndrome. I don't see myself as being that good. However, others around me do, and submitted award nominations on my behalf. They saw the worth and merit of being supportive of those around them and chose to expend significant time and effort to recognize someone in whom they believed. To be the recipient of that level of support not once, but twice, is a bit humbling for me.

I ask that you take a look around you. Yes, do it now. Who do you interact with that is doing a good job? Maybe it's as simple as they're doing what they're supposed to do, day in and day out—they're dependable. Let them know that you appreciate them. If their effort, ability, or attitude is rising above others, let them know that you noticed. If there is an award for which you can nominate them, do it. Regardless of being selected as the winner or not, simply being nominated is recognition in itself. 

Letting people know that you appreciate them, support them, and believe they are doing good, will likely be returned to you. I know I'm more inclined to go above and beyond what is needed or expected when I'm feeling appreciated by those around me. How about you?

So, who are you going to recognize this week?

Image credits:

MAC trophy photo by David Largent

BSU award presentation photo by Kara Duquette 

How I teach

A photo of me doing what I rarely do--lecturing

I was recently asked about how I teach. Obviously, teaching is something I do daily, and I do give it a fair amount of thought, but I’d never been asked this all-encompassing question before—or at least not for a long time. It got me thinking about how I actually do teach, and how I create a learning environment in which learners can learn.

How do I teach?

The person asking the question offered a few prompts to help focus my thinking. The following are my bullet-point responses to his questions.

What strategies do you use to get and keep students engaged in class?

• Active learning: What better way is there to learn, other than by doing, and learning from your mistakes while doing?
• Flipped learning: Let’s apply new knowledge and skills during class, when questions can be asked, and save the lower order of Bloom’s taxonomy for individual learning outside the classroom.
• Learner-centered teaching: Teaching and learning is about enabling the learner to learn, not about enabling the teacher to teach.
• iClicker learner response system: This and similar tools provide a great way to provide (anonymous, if desired) responses and feedback in the classroom.
• Check in surveys throughout the semester: Giving the learners opportunities to reflect on how their learning is progressing during the semester, and what you might be able to do to create a better learning environment can be powerful for both learner and teacher.
• Reflection papers: Like the check in surveys, creating opportunities for learners to reflect on what and how they are learning is powerful.
• Specifications grading (and exploring ungrading): Points are not the only way to represent what an individual has learned. I’ll even go further and say they may be a bad way to do so. I’ve found specifications grading to be a much better option and have recently been dabbling with ungrading. I've previously posted about specifications grading.
  

What strategies do you use to get and keep students engaged in community and to develop an identity within your class? (That is, to encourage engagement in campus life or contact outside class, i.e., studying together.)

• Pair-programming and group work: Have learners work together on a regular basis in class, and the relationships will inevitably flow to outside of class.
• Small group discussions: Taking time to share opinions and understanding with others—and listening to their point of view—opens a communication channel.
• Immersive learning: Learning while doing, and satisfying others needs in the process is a tremendous motivator.
• Expert of the Day: Asking learners to complete work on their own before class, and then serve as a teaching assistant during class helps reinforce their learning. It also provides multiple opportunities to interact with others.
  

What strategies do you use to lecture or otherwise deliver course content effectively?  

• I try to avoid lecturing! I’ve found that talking about a topic for an extended period of time seldom is productive. Learning by listening is not near as productive as learning by doing.
• Flipped learning: See above.
• Active learning: See above, again.
• Discussion (mostly Socratic): For teaching things other than skills, discussion is great—especially if I can avoid stating my personal opinions, but rather provide an environment in which the learners critically think about their own ideas and understanding, share that with others, and learn from others.
• Disability awareness and accessible Canvas course site: If you have challenges accessing the course site—for any reason—your learning opportunities are going to be diminished. Every learner deserves full access to every learning opportunity.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusivity: Understanding what others bring to the classroom provides opportunities to reduce or remove barriers to learning, as well as providing rich opportunities for all to learn.

How do you think about course design (syllabus, sequencing, assessment, assignments, activities, etc.)?

• I think about Understanding By Design (Wiggins & McTighe), but admittedly seldom am successful at fully implementing it due to the time I provide myself. I need to do better.
• I keep Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in mind: If I do something to help one learner, I likely will help many others.
• I tie course activities/learning outcomes to workforce competencies (NACE): Beyond content knowledge (which may become obsolete, given time), learners also need to learn and recognize non-domain transferable skills. Anything I can do to establish the relationships between class activities and workforce competencies will be a good thing.
• I have a very long, but “warm,” supportive, learner-focused syllabus: My approach is to incorporate useful (non course) content into the course syllabus in the hope that the learner will discover some other content while they’re looking for the first thing.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and having an accessible Canvas course site: See above.

How do you balance rigor with flexibility?

• Rigor is an interesting word! (See www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rigor.) Brief definitions follow:

1. harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment: severity
2. the quality of being unyielding or inflexible: strictness
3. severity of life: austerity
4. an act or instance of strictness, severity, or cruelty
5. a tremor caused by a chill
6. a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable
7. strict precision: exactness
8. obsolete: rigidity, stiffness

Based on those definitions, I’m not sure I want rigor. (I’ll admit I don’t have a better word at the moment, however.) Obviously, I do want learners to learn, and want a reliable way to measure that learning.

• Specifications grading: Beyond what I’ve said above, and elsewhere, Specs grading encourages learners to work on assignments and projects until learning occurs, rather than measuring the learning at one predetermined moment in time. I teach so others can learn, not so that I can assign a grade.
• Open/flexible assignments: Having flexibility in assignments can provide options to the learner, and greatly reduce the temptation to copy someone else’s work. If your project is different than someone else’s, you can’t do exactly the same thing. You can share ideas and learn from each other, however.

To what extent, and how, do you keep up with discussions in your field about pedagogy?

• Conferences: I attend and present at as many as I can. Some of my regulars include:

• SIGCSE (ACM Special Interest Group on CS Education)
• CCSC:MW (Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges: Midwest)
• Lilly Conference on College Teaching
• The Grading Conference

• Blog and Twitter: I tend to use my blog and social media to be reflective about my academic life and experiences. I also learn from others who do the same thing.
• Professional development:  I’m very fortunate to have a university that is focused on ensuring every faculty member has an opportunity to be the best they can be. I’ve taken advantage of many of these opportunities.

What are the most common barriers to learning for your students? How do you approach these barriers?

• Fixed mindset: If you don’t think you can do something, you’re probably right. I fight this by being supportive, encouraging, and affirming. I also strive to dd “yet” to their vocabulary, as in, “I can’t do it yet.”
• Life gets in the way: Learners often struggle because of “life.” I provide Oops Bits to the learners for them to “spend” when they need to submit something late or miss a class. I’m also flexible with due dates when learners have extreme circumstances occur in their lives.
• Lack of preparation prior to the course: Sometimes learners come into my class without a specific skill or knowledge. To help these learners, I often offer recurring/scheduled office visits. Depending on their need, I may also refer them to our Learning Center or online resources.
• Lack of preparation during the course: To encourage learners to continue to prepare for the course all semester, I administer reading quizzes, offer recurring/scheduled office visits, and refer them to our Learning Center or online resources.
• I tell struggling learners: I will work at least as hard as they do to help them learn the material, thus communicating that they must try, but I will be right there with them.

Let's share and learn

If I were to ask you how you teach, what would be your response? Would it be similar to mine, or completely different? What do you do that works for you and your learners? Please share; let’s learn from each other.

Pondering HIPs and faculty

Recently, while writing a manuscript for a book chapter submission, I was reflecting on High Impact Practices (HIPs) and how they provide significant educational benefits for learners who participate in them, and as a side benefit to the educational institution, it tends to increase retention of the learners.

It occurred to me that it would be interesting to turn the tables a bit and view faculty in the learner role for HIPs. Might/do HIPs have similar benefits for faculty as they do for learners? Might participation in them increase the likelihood the faculty would stay? Ball State University's current strategic plan encourages/expects all learners to participate in a HIP during their time at BSU. Should we encourage/expect faculty to participate in HIPs every so many years? How might that enrich the faculty experience, and by extension the learners with whom they interact?

From personal experience, I can offer the following anecdotes about how I've experienced HIPs.

• Undergraduate research: I’ve not done much true research with undergraduates, but I have mentored a few independent studies and honors thesis. In each instance, I learned something, along with the learner. Might I have learned it on my own? Maybe, but likely not, in most instances. Obviously, I have the research I've done that fits this category, as well.
  
• Service learning, community-based learning: Years ago, when I conducted my first immersive learning course, I went into it with an interest in diversifying the computer science (CS) profession by getting middle school learners interested in CS. In the process of conducting the CS4MS+ project over the years I have gained a growing understanding and passion for what it is like to teach in the K-12 world.
• Global learning: A decade ago, in 2012, I developed and mentored the Computer Science, Education, and History study abroad course. My wife and I led five learners to Scotland, England, and Ireland to visit computer science-related (historical) sites, and learn about higher education and culture in those countries. I’m sure I learned at least as much as the learners did. I also gained a much bigger and more accurate world view than I had before the trip.
  
• Diversity: As mentioned in the Immersive Learning point above, I have a passion for increasing the diversity in CS. Over time, this has expanded into not only a concern for CS diversity, but the whole diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ball of wax, in general. If there is a DEI training/workshop/event, there is a good chance I’ll be (to use a faculty friend's phrase) “one of the usual suspects” present.
• Learning communities: I’ve participated in many different Faculty Learning Communities and have come out of every one of them better than I went in. Some have significantly changed how I teach and interact with learners. In fact, one of them led me to the opportunity to draft the book chapter, that prompted my reflection on HIPs, that evolved into this blog post.
  
• Collaborative assignments and projects: Some of my most satisfying experiences have been working with other (often non-CS) faculty to mentor an immersive learning project, write an article, or present a paper or workshop. Significant friendships have developed from these experiences, and I’ve gained new insights from the cross-disciplinarity of the experiences. I’m currently working with a linguistics professor on the book chapter I've mentioned.
• Internships: During the summer of 2011, I participated in an externship with the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and came away from the experience with a much better understanding of what employers are wanting in recent graduates. I've incorporated some of the knowledge into the courses I teach, and I'm working with the department to implement some bigger changes curriculum wide. I’ll also note that I came to teaching in higher education with nearly three decades of industry experience, something most faculty do not have.
• ePortfolios:  Although I've not required any learners to develop an ePortfolio of their work, nor have I done that for myself, this blog and my academic website are decent approximations. Reflecting on one's experiences and capturing them for later review is a very beneficial thing.
  

Could I teach courses without having any of those experiences? Certainly. Would I be the same teacher I am today without them? Absolutely not! I have significantly benefited from my participation in those experiences, and thus have much more to offer the learners with whom I come into contact. Has my participation increased my desire to stay at BSU. It's hard to say what might have happened had I not participated in those experiences during the last dozen years. What I can say, is that they provided significant enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment and worth. It seems like that could have contributed to my choice to stay at BSU.

OK. That’s far enough going down that rabbit hole for tonight; I have a book chapter to finish. I’m going to pop back up, and let someone else chase the rabbit for a while, if you so choose. Let me know if you catch it!

Also, let me know how HIPs have impacted you.

Image credits:
High impact: https://stock.adobe.com/search/free