A BRIEF COURSE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING offered through the Hudson Valley Consortium with Dr. William Sheldon Jan 17, Feb 7, Mar 7. 2014 SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014 1
May 11, 2015
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A BRIEF COURSE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
offered through the Hudson Valley Consortium with Dr. William Sheldon
Jan 17, Feb 7, Mar 7. 2014
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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OUR STRUCTURE AS NEW COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS
MY OWN EXPERIENCE MY INTENT NOTHING IS MANDATED -- OPEN TO IDEAS,
EACH PERSON’S OWN CREATIVITY HORIZONTAL GROWTH –OUR CRAFT I AM STILL LEARNING
“OUR TEACHING IS OUR SONG”
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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REFLECTION: WHO WAS A MEMORABLE TEACHER IN YOUR OWN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE? IS THERE SOMEONE, A CLASS, YOU REMEMBER FOR YEARS THAT CHANGED OR MOVED YOU?
WRITE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO THAT PERSON WAS AND WHAT THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING WAS? WHAT DID THEY DO THAT WAS MEMORABLE?
A MEMORABLE TEACHER
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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TALK ABOUT YOUR REFLECTION WITH ONE OTHER PERSON….
ARE THERE ANY SIMILARITIES?
SHARE
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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RANK THE FOLLOWING IN HOW EFFECTIVE EACH PRACTICE IS IN YOUR OWN LEARNING. GIVE A NUMBER 7 FOR HIGHEST 1 FOR LOWEST◦ READING◦ DISCUSSION GROUP◦ PRACTICE BY DOING◦ LECTURE◦ AUDIO VISUAL◦ TEACHING OTHERS◦ DEMONSTRATION
LEARNING APPROACHES
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE BAIN READING, HE RELATES TWO EPISODES THAT SUPPORT A NATIONAL DEBATE ON WHETHER THE LECTURE DEAD AS AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF COLLEGE INSTRUCTION
YOUR TASK, IN THE NEXT 15 MINUTES, USING BOTH YOUR ANSWERS TO THE BAIN QUESTIONS AND THE EXERCISE/DATA JUST PRESENTED, IS TO PUT FORTH AN ARGUMENT FOR BOTH SIDES OF THAT QUESTION. REFER TO YOUR BAIN ANSWERS, SHARE THOSE WITH EACH OTHER, AND BE PREPARED TO QUOTE AT LEAST ONE PASSAGE FROM THE READING TO SUPPORT EITHER SIDE OF YOUR RESPONSE
BAIN QUESTIONS/LEARNING PYRAMID APPLICATION
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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YOUR ARGUMENTS? YOUR LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT?
DEBRIEF CONVERSATIONS
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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CRITICAL THINKING OR A “NATURAL CRITICAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT”
TEAM LEARNING
2 POTENTIALLY USEFUL ASPECTS
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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“DON’T BE A MOTHER BIRD” SOCCER ANALOGY TEACHING STUDENTS TO THINK BY
SPENDING MOST OF THE TIME HAVING THEM THINK
RICHARD PAUL – TWO THINGS THINKING ABOUT ON DRIVE IN --- CONTENT AND THINKING EXERCISES
CRITICAL THINKING
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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Business Ethical Application Case—In-Class Thinking and Writing
In the 50’s, 60’s 70’s and 80’s average CEO pay was approximately 40 times that of the lowest worker. Now it is approximately 400 times that of the lowest worker.
Comment on whether John Rawls would consider this ethical and a practice that conforms with justice in terms of the distribution of resources in our society. Include at least two quotes from the reading to support your comments and conclusions.
Using at least one, each, of our former ethical frameworks:◦ Defend the change in the CEO pay….why it is ethical and in your
company with you as CEO should it be allowed and encouraged.◦ Criticize the change in CEO pay…why is it unethical and in your
company with you as CEO should it be addressed and brought back in line with previous levels…
SAMPLES
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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HANDOUTS
NICK AND HOPE
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Reading through these posts is inspiring. It's interesting to see how the techniques discussed in JOT and WTBCTD, which overlap a bit, but emphasize important goals and approaches, can be applied to teaching so many subjects, and how they add so much interest when applied. I've found the readings quite useful, and they've actually helped me rethink my own 'mental models' considerably, so much so that I'm now beginning to think of the entire classroom situation in a different way.
It occurred to me that what was being described in these chapters about structuring and getting the most out of class time has a lot of affinities with the structure of a story. it helps me to think about a day's class using this lesson-as-story metaphor. It has all the essential elements of a story: a beginning, a middle, and an end. But most crucially, the 'begin with a question' idea creates the conflict which needs to be resolved, the backbone of many a great story. In this way, I try to help students see a conflict that needs resolution by posing an interesting question (not always easy), and it becomes their job to develop a suitable ending. In essence, they, and more particularly, their learning, becomes the vehicle which drives the story to its conclusion. I think, as Bain says, it's just as important to end with a question as it is to begin with one, as this is also an element of some of the best stories, e.g. Hamlet.
So now before each class, instead of my old punch-lists, I take time to create an outline, imagining it as a kind of story arc. An example: Upon self-examination, I realized I've often taught cause-and-effect writing and thinking as a series of conventions to be learned (this is inductive reasoning, this is deductive reasoning, avoid ergo propter hoc, etc) but this last time, I began by posing a question from a famous Bob Dylan song: Who killed Davey Moore? I played the students the song, and had them develop an opinion in writing about who they thought killed him. Then I handed out an article by Norman Cousins that argues one answer to that question as it pertains to the real case the Dylan song is based on, the third fight between Emile Griffith and Benny Paret, in which Paret is killed in the twelfth round. The writer argues that the crowd killed him, a response few from the class had provided. Many of their responses blamed Paret himself, which I thought was quite astute indeed, but also allowed for lots of scrutiny... So then I had them think and write about the evidence they used and compare it to the evidence Cousins uses. Before they knew it, they were exploring the really valuable terrain of cause-and-effect: the highly complex nature of causation, in which the answer is usually "it's a lot of things," and the critical thing is to determine the relative importance of those things. They engaged in both induction and deduction without my prompting them. This allowed me merely to label ways they'd come up with their own ideas. It was quite exciting. I showed footage from the fight (brutal and engaging) which made many of them reevaluate their thinking once again, as it shows Griffith pummeling an unconscous Paret as his limp body droops off the ropes. And then I showed them a heartbreaking video of Griffith meeting Paret's son for the first time. I ended the class asking them to continue wondering about who killed him, and to consider what it is about boxing that appeals to us, and if you would consider yourself complicit if you paid to get into a sporting event in which someone was badly hurt.
This was easily one of my best experiences in the classroom. So overall I've derived some really meaningful and useful approaches from this reading and I'm looking forward to applying these techniques to future class stories.
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HETEROGENEOUS SEMESTER LONG -- COHORT GROUPS 5-7 MEMBERS PREPARATION OUTSIDE OF CLASS -- INCENTIVE FOR
ASSIGNMENTS (NEGATIVE CREDIT -- “EVERYONE STARTS WITH A PERFECT 10”
SHARING/COMPARING ANSWERS OF ASSIGNMENTS APPLICATIONS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
◦ SUPPLY DEMAND GRAPHS ON BOARD◦ PREPARE DEBATES WITH OTHER TEAMS◦ SOLVE APPLICATIONS QUESTIONS
TEAM QUIZZES
TEAM LEARNING PRINCIPLES
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS
WHAT THE BEST COLLEGE TEACHERS DO AND JOY OFTEACHING
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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PRINCIPLES
1. NATURAL CRITICAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
◦ INTRIGUING QUESTION OR PROBLEM◦ GUIDANCE N HELPING THE STUDENT
UNDERSTAND SIGNIFICANCE◦ ENGAGES STUDENTS IN HIGHER LEVEL
INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY◦ HELPS STUDENTS ANSWER THE QUESTION◦ LEAVES THEM WITH A QUESTION..WHAT’S THE
NEXT QUESTION
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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PRINCIPLES
2. GET THEIR ATTENTION AND KEEP IT3. START WITH THE STUDENTS RATHER THAN THE
DISCIPLINE. SIGNIFICANT TO THEM.4. SEEK COMMITMENTS –APPROACH EACH CLASS
AS IF EXPECT STUDENTS TO LISTEN, THINK, RESPOND
5. ENGAGE STUDENTS IN DISCIPLINARY THINKING, PROBLEM SOLVING, EVIDENCE, ARGUMEMENTS
6. CREATE DIVERSE LEARNING EXPERIENCES—VISUAL, AUDITORY, ALLOW STUDENTS TO THINK, PROBLEM SOLVE, INDEPENDENTLY, WITH EACH OTHER ETC.
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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JOY --APPLICATIONS
1. POSE A QUESTION2. CREATE CONTEXT—WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT?
“I FIND TODAY’S TOPIC INTERESTING BECAUSE….”
3. TALK TO STUDENTS IN A WAY THAT HAS THEM ANALYZE AND WORK WITH EVIDENCE
4. OFER YOUR ANSWER TO QUESTION COMPLETE WITH EVIDENCE AND CONCLUSIONS
5. LEAVE STUDENTS WITH A QUESTOIN.
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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DISCUSSIONS GRAPPLE WITH IMPORTANT ISSUES OPORTUNITY TO CONSTRUCT THEIR
UNDERSTANDING RAISING IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL
QUESTIONS ASKING STUDENTS WHAT THEY
THINKABOUT IMPORTANT ISSUES AND WHY PRESS FOR EVIDENCE, ALLOW STUDENTS
TO CHALLEGE EACH OTHER
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014
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PROGRESSION EXPLORATORY QUESTION PROVOKE IMAGINATION “ARE THERE ANY
GOOD SOLUTIONS?” “WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES?” STUDENTS LAY THEIR THINKING ON TABLE
STIMULATE EVALUATION OF THOSE IDEAS..WHAT ARE IMPLICATIONS OF ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS, INTERPRETATIONS, APPROACHES?
CONCLUDING QUESTION..WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED HERE?
SUNY HV Consortium T&L Seminar with Dr. Sheldon 1/17 & 2/7 & 3/7/2014