How much can you say without words? Apparently quite a lot! Anywhere from 70-93% of communication is non-verbal. Everything from your stance to your stare, the tilt of your head to the tone of your voice, conveys an abundance of information. In academia, we spend a lot of time deciding what to say and how best to say it. However, a consideration of what we’re not saying is just as important. Ron Benner, a school psychologist in Bridgeport, Connecticut explains, “The successful teacher blends both verbal and nonverbal communication skills in establishing good rapport with students and this has a direct correlation to student achievement”[1].

So how do you seamlessly incorporate these mysterious nonverbal cues while still conveying the importance of the Gutenberg printing press or the relevance of asymptotes? How do you manage to physically express openness and support for your students while balancing thoughts of your research article due next month, an impending departmental meeting, and trying to figure out whether to ignore or call out the student blatantly texting in the back of the room?  Although there is no magical way to tune your body to effectively communicate with everyone in the room, there are a few things you can do, as well as a few things to avoid doing, to reinforce a more positive environment, both inside and outside of the classroom.

• Not only is it good for your health, but having good posture can encourage confidence in your knowledge and leadership. By standing tall with your shoulders back and your head up, others will be more inclined to pay attention to you and trust your verbal message. Throughout a class period, change your pose to reflect what is going on. When others are speaking, you can adopt a more relaxed and reflective pose to let the speaker know you are listening and considering what he/she says.

• Be aware of your expression. Often times, when our minds are elsewhere, our faces give us away; expressions will naturally change based on what we’re thinking about. So, when listening to others speak, try to actively listen and maintain a neutral or positive countenance. Nod to acknowledge points and smile reassuringly when someone looks hesitant to speak or unsure of what to say. Students will feel more comfortable vocally exploring ideas and reflecting upon them when these actions are met with supportive and positive body language.
  • The easiest way to encourage comfort and reassurance in your students is simply to smile! Smiling not only makes you feel warmer and happier but inspires these same feelings in those around you.
• Likewise, make eye contact. Because eye contact is one of the most important ways we communicate nonverbally, it is also a bit of a balancing act. Making extended eye contact can inspire feelings of trust and good rapport; however, too much eye contact can be perceived as threatening or intimidating. Pair eye contact with a smile or reflective head nod to let students know you are focused and really listening to what they are saying.

• Eye contact often has very deep cultural context. When working with international students, or just students who are very shy, be aware of how they make eye contact with peers and superiors and how they respond to your eye contact. Adjust your body language to facilitate comfortable dialogue.
• In today’s literature, you’d be hard pressed to find a pedagogical theory that advocates teaching entirely from behind a lectern or podium in the front of the room. That’s because putting a barrier between yourself and those you are teaching sends the message that you want to be removed from them, that you are disinterested in making contact. So, use the room! Physical barriers create mental barriers and can inhibit openness to learning. Walking around the room keeps students more engaged and discourages seeking diversions. However, be respectful of student’s personal space. Getting too close can be seen as a show of dominance or simply make students uncomfortable.

• Although it may be uncomfortable, observe wait time. Don’t stare at hesitant students to provoke a response or answer. Instead, adopt a relaxed or open pose and a reflective or curious expression. Students may feel more inclined to respond to questions or new ideas when given time to process. Sometimes, the silence may feel awkward (which may compel someone to speak up), but the amount of awkwardness can be directly influenced by the amount of comfort you display with your body. Use your pose and expression to create a thoughtful silence rather than an uncomfortable one.
• Finally, it is important to remember that communication is a two-way street. While you should try to be aware of, and mold your own body language to the message you want to send, also take note of the body language of your audience. Use your own nonverbal cues to respond to your students’ posture, expressions, and eye-contact. If it’s clear no one is paying attention, try making eye contact with students or changing the tone ofyour voice to one that is more up-beat. If you notice one or a few students who exhibit timid body language, try fostering them in to the class discussion by posing low-pressure questions and making sure that their input is met with visual signs of listening and consideration.

• Bonus tip for addressing negative behavior in the classroom: continue to keep body language open. Don’t stand directly in front of a student, or above them as that is highly confrontational. Likewise, don’t invade a student’s personal space or lean in; try not to fold your arms or point as that alienates students and makes them feel the need to be defensive or confrontational themselves.

Nonverbal communication exists everywhere, not just inside the classroom. Use this summer to reflect upon how body language effects the dynamic of a conversation or environment. If this seems like a lot of information to keep in mind, just remember that body language is natural and is largely influenced by your thoughts and attitudes. Research suggests that what we believe about ourselves impacts our attitudes, actions, and outlook[2]. Therefore, when in the classroom, try to feel comfortable, confident, and open; if you don’t, “fake it ‘til you make it!” If you don’t believe me, check out this TED talk by social psychologist Amy Cuddy about the science behind power posing and faking it.

For more information on body language, as well as other teaching and learning topics, visit our Delicious page.

After the business of the semester wraps up, what will you do with your summer?  In some ways, this question is like picking New Year’s Resolutions for academics.  If you ask, everyone will have suggestions for you, but you have to decide: What do you need in order to recharge for the next academic year?  What do you need to accomplish in order to be prepared for the next year?  We can consider these as two separate yet related questions.  Our jobs require varied and sometimes herculean efforts over the summer–our research projects, our writing projects, course and assignment redesigns, conferences, and other activities too numerous to list!  (Forget reorganizing your office; it will never happen until you move or until you are threatened with impending implosion.  Just take this off your list.)  However, in addition, we need to recharge, and how well we accomplish this task will make all the difference in the world in terms of how we feel about ourselves.  So, here are a few suggestions to help you answer both questions. 

1. Think about your professional goals for research, writing, and just plain thinking. Goal setting can be difficult but here’s an interesting site that can help.  43Things lets you enter your goals in a public way, which can be very motivating.  Would you like a less public way to be held accountable?  Try FollowUp, a simple email reminder system.  If you have a schedule that you want to follow to reach a summer goal, then you can send your ‘future self’ some reminders.  Finally, consider starting a profile on Academia.edu, which provides a way for you to share your work in progress and connect with other academics.   You can post research questions, add your own thoughts in progress, and post papers and presentations that you have already completed.

2. Take time for yourself, beyond the often stressful “family vacation.”  For example, I have really loved Knoxville: Your Guide to the Area’s Most Beautiful Hikes.  It introduced me to the William Hastie area, with excellent hiking / biking trails.  The argument of the book is that Knoxville and the surrounding areas are rich with opportunities for outdoor activity.  We can go to the Smokey Mountains but there are other excellent spots to enjoy.

3. Take care of your academic teaching self.  Here are two suggestions.  First, give yourself time to reflect on your teaching experiences without guilt or recriminations.  For each course, write a note to yourself about what worked and what was less than successful.  Next time you teach this course, that note will be there to remind you.  Second, take some time to catch up on the latest trends in Higher Education.  Two in particular stand out:

MOOCs are all the rage but what does it take to create a really good MOOC?  Try one, and you will realize that there are both positive and negative aspects to the MOOC phenomena.  Rather than find a poor MOOC, I would suggest finding one that you will really enjoy.  Dan Ariely’s course on Irrational Behavior was thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking.  Plus, it clarified for me just how much work a good MOOC takes.  (And it was better than TV!)  Why would you want to do this?  Next time someone asks if UT should create a MOOC, you will have a ready opinion.

Have you heard yet about the Common Core?  If you have kids in school, you probably have, but did you know that the Common Core is designed to bring K-12 together with Higher Ed. and increase student readiness for college?  The Common Core was designed by leaders in both public education and higher education and established in 2010.  “If the Common Core is implemented as advocates intend, its effects would significantly alter how many things work in higher education too” (1).  Very few of us in higher education have looked at the Common Core.  Take a peek at it.  Although it will be several years before we see the results, this will be an interesting process to follow.

“Common Core proponents say that changes in college curriculum — what it means that students are studying more nonfiction in elementary and secondary school, or that integrated problem solving is being introduced before college-level statistics — are a long-term goal.” Not everyone agrees with these goals, yet Kentucky has already instituted the Common Core; Tennessee starts next year.  “We’re still in some places overcoming the hurdle of higher education saying, ‘Well, these are K-12 standards. Why should I care?’ ” Reindl says. But, he said, “When you start just making lists of things that might potentially have to change, you very quickly see exactly how far into postsecondary education the standards reach.”  It’s not clear yet how these changes might affect students coming to UT, since the Common Core is aimed at reducing the need for remediation.  However, if your subject area courses require math or writing and reading skills, then we should see some differences in both what students know and how well they know it.

The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers; he is one who asks the right questions. – Claude Levi-Strauss

Have you ever thought about how many questions you ask and answer in a day? A dozen? …Maybe fifty? Although most of us tend to take the functions and importance of questions for granted, they play a major role in our interactions with others and the ways in which we communicate, obtain, and share information. But what about the other roles that questions play with regard to teaching and learning? Take a moment and think back to a class that you were either enrolled in or taught. How were questions used in that setting? Did you do more asking or answering? What was really behind the questions being asked?

From a teaching perspectiveve, it is crucial that we are aware of these nuances, and it can be helpful to examine whether questions are actually serving the function intended. For example, consider the questions that you pose to your own students. What purpose do they have? Do you notice any differences in the ways students respond when the question being asked is deliberate and purposeful as opposed to general and off the cuff?

Planning and asking students the right questions are both important, although often understated, aspects of course, unit, and lesson design. For a moment, let’s put aside those broad nets we have all thrown out as students are packing  up at the end of class like, “Does anybody have any questions?” and, instead, consider two ways that the right questions can be used to maximize student learning. First, consider the role of questions during class and how they might be used most effectively. When we are in front of the class, asking questions are a great way to check student understanding of a concept or principle. Open ended questions used during class can assess how well students are following the material. For example, we may ask them “what would happen if…?” or “what is the problem with…?” Questions like these may also be useful for generating discussion among classmates and can help students develop critical thinking skills and practice extending and applying the facts they are learning into other situations. For some quick ideas on tying cues to questioning in your classroom, click the image below to check out a video inspired by Dr. Marzano’s teaching tips:

Second, it is helpful to think about the use of questions beyond the classroom. Most instructors would agree that far too many test questions have been  designed with easy grading in mind, and that some questions do far too little to meaningfully assess student understanding and knowledge of a subject. Conversely, questions designed around Bloom’s Taxonomy or the Depth of Knowledge scale can assess larger and more critical points like those mentioned in the TennTLC’s recent how-to paper on Threshold Concepts. It is important to effectively evaluate student understanding that goes beyond the memorization of facts to a level of genuine learning; the effective use of questions is one tool that can help our students to reach that level.

Most instructors are familiar with the Socratic Method of questioning: using questions to help students solidify their arguments and knowledge, solve problems systematically, and reflect on their own knowledge and beliefs. While Socratic questioning is just one method of using questions to engage students and encourage them to think more deeply about the subject matter, there are nine types of Socratic questions that instructors can employ:

“If you do not ask the right questions, you do not get the right answers. A question asked in the right way often points to its own answer. Asking questions is the A-B-C of diagnosis. Only the inquiring mind solves problems.”  – Edward Hodnett

But remember: it’s not just instructors asking the questions! What kind of questions have you been asked by your students? The most common, and probably the first that comes to mind are simply questions of clarification. These may come after you review your course syllabus, explain the latest assignment, or when a student just asks you to repeat a detail of what you just said. These do not require much thought, are easy to answer, and are generally not indicative of what or how deeply a student is thinking about the topic at hand. Sometimes, though, student questions aren’t always this easy. Can you remember a time when a student clearly had a question but did not convey it as such? Students may tell you they didn’t follow or understand the problem that you just solved on the board or that something is malfunctioning with their computer or software. More often than not, in cases like these, there are questions behind the statements like, “Could you show me  again why you did that in step  two?” or “I can’t get this program to open… Do you know what the problem might be?”

Sometimes, however, students ask questions that involve considerably more thought, and even more important than providing the answer to students can be how you approach the question to begin with. How do you address a question that you already addressed or was covered in the reading assignment for the class? What if the question is valuable or interesting in some way but does not relate directly to the course content or the topic being discussed at that time? For some instructors, their biggest fear may be what to do when a student asks a question that they genuinely don’t know the answer to. These situations present an excellent opportunity not only to answer the student’s question, but to engage the rest of the class as well. Try opening up the floor to other students to address or, for the tougher questions (that you may not be able to address at that moment), try offering a 2 to 5 point extra credit assignment to see if the student can answer the question on their own and then compare to the answer you find during the next class. Note: while extra credit assignments may not be your preferred method of motivation, it can be highly effective with the current generation of students. (For more on this crowd, check out Sarah’s recent blog on Millennials). The point is, the instructor does not have to be the individual in the room with all of the answers. In fact, in opening up the floor to others and engaging students in the process of learning with you, the classroom can shift from a teacher-centered learning space to one that is much more collaborative.

If you are still thinking about how to most effectively use questions in your class, keep these suggestions in mind:

1. Be purposeful with your questions and have a goal; know what you’re trying to achieve with each probe you offer to students.
2. Give students adequate time to answer your question and take advantage of what may seem like an awkward silence. That is, the next time you put out a question that requires some thought, try counting to thirty in your head before you respond, which will give students time to think about what you’re asking.
3. Avoid questions that constrain discussion, such as those that only have a yes/no answer or strictly fact-based (think Jeopardy types of questions).
4. Don’t ask leading or intimidating questions (e.g. Don’t you think that…? Wouldn’t you agree that…?) Even if a student has a unique idea to contribute, they may hold back because they think it is wrong before they have a chance to share it.
5. Offer positive reinforcement, even the student provides the wrong answer. You can do this by co-creating value in your classroom and managing an environment where students feel comfortable speaking up. Make students feel that their ideas and contributions are interesting and valuable even if they are not exactly what you’re looking for.
6. Lastly, if you find yourself struggling with establishing rapport with your students or engaging them in a productive and meaningful way, be sure to take advantage of the resources available to you such as consultations, teaching tips, or our how to series!

How do you design your course, so that by the end of the semester, the material has become as intuitive to the student as it is to you?  What do you have to do to get the knowledge from your brain to theirs?  Oh, that osmosis could actually work!

We’ve all heard that “stuff” about engaged learning and flexible or flipped classrooms and smart boards, etc.  But that seems like a lot of extra effort when lectures work just fine.  When I was in college, my courses were largely, if not entirely, comprised of lectures and I somehow learned.  If it worked for me, it will work for them!

The video, while humorous, may hit closer to home than we would like to admit.  We think they’ve “got it”, only to discover they don’t.  Sometimes what seems so easy to us is very difficult for students to grasp.  We are left thinking that they “just don’t get it”, and they are left thinking we “just can’t teach”.  And, there is the struggle.

How do we transmit the core concepts of our discipline from our brains to theirs?

There was a time when each of us “just didn’t get it” either, a time when our professors struggled with our ineptness and wondered if there was hope for us, a time when we walked out of class thinking we “got it”, only to discover we couldn’t do the work once we got home.  But something happened.  It finally “clicked” for us, and now it’s hard to remember what it was like when we didn’t “get it”.  Try to put yourself back in that place.

In their research, Jan Meyer and Ray Land (2003) have identified what they refer to as Threshold Concepts; “portal(s), opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. (representing) a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress” (Meyer & Land, 2003) .  Once the student “gets” the concept, their progress in the discipline may seem as though someone turned on the light.  They are suddenly able to proceed.  There is no looking back. Meyer and Land identify it this way:

“As a consequence of comprehending a threshold concept there may thus be a transformed internal view of subject matter, subject landscape, or even world view. This transformation may be sudden or it may be protracted over a considerable period of  time, with the transition to understanding proving troublesome. Such a transformed view or landscape may represent how people ‘think’ in a particular discipline, or how they perceive, apprehend, or experience particular phenomena within that discipline (or more generally)” (Meyer & Land, 2003). 

 In addition, they have also defined   characteristics of Threshold Concepts, among which exists the notion of irreversibility (Meyer & Land, 2003).  An example here may prove helpful; when you learned to ride a bike, it probably took a lot of time and failed attempts. However, once you learned the complexities of balancing, it seemed easy; you finally “got it”.  And now, you just know how to do it.  And once you “got it”, it was difficult to remember what it was like when you didn’t “get it”.  No matter how long it has been since you last rode a bike, you still know how.  As Meyer and Land suggest; “looking back across thresholds (we) have personally long since crossed and attempting to understand (from our own transformed perspective) the difficulties faced from (untransformed) student perspectives” is difficult (Meyer & Land, 2003).

It’s sort of like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.  It might be possible, but it would be difficult, at best.

I admit that I have been guilty of similar crimes.  While, in my estimation, my entertaining and brilliant lecture,  along with my carefully constructed Power Point presentation should be “enough” for my students to grasp the more challenging concepts of my discipline, how much more would they, could they learn if I were a bit more intentional?

For example, what would happen if, instead of multiple examples of Classical Conditioning, I gave them scenarios and asked them to work in pairs to identify the various components?  What if they then rotated and graded each other’s work as groups?  What would happen if they had to follow up by explaining their grading process to the class?  The process of explaining their answers (their thinking) would serve to solidify and clarify the content.  I could gain valuable information by listening to their thinking process as they explained.  I might even learn where the difficult places of “troublesome knowledge” (Meyer & Land, 2003) exist.  Then, I could alter my instruction accordingly, allowing the students to make progress more expediently and effectively.

When I teach the concept of Classical Conditioning in 100 and 200 level psychology courses, I start with an example of Classical Conditioning from the students’ lives such as a popular fast food jingle, instead of the classic video clip of Pavlov’s dogs.  Not that Pavlov and his drooling canines aren’t important, they are.  He was a brilliant man, way ahead of his time in many areas; just maybe not what initially connects today’s students to the content.  Even better, are the times I have constructed an experiment to do in class that classically conditions the students themselves.  When they are actively engaged with the very concept I want them to grasp, they retain more.  When they retain more, they can do more.

 “Active learning requires students to do meaningful learning activities and think about what they are doing. ..The core elements of active learning are student activity and engagement in the learning process.” (Prince, 2004).

 How much more could they learn? How much faster could they learn it if I routinely involved them in the process instead of expecting passive comprehension?  It’s certainly worth a try!

Anyone with teaching experience knows that classrooms are a mixed bag. You can fine-tune your syllabus and plan for the number of students enrolled– but you might find yourself in a traditional setting with minimal technology and old wooden desks rather than in the flexible classroom you requested. While frustrating, your aspirations of active learning are not foiled when the instruction space is less than ideal. Teaching faculty can cultivate an engaging and dynamic atmosphere by increasing their proximity to students (e.g. walking into aisles while lecturing) and redefining the parameters of student and instructor space.

The modern classroom thrives on a dynamic atmosphere, making fixed roles and boundaries between instructors and students a thing of the past. To complement the learning styles of millennial students, classroom upgrade projects are transforming learning spaces on campuses across the country, including our very own.

The University of Tennessee Classroom Upgrade Committee has devoted significant attention to our learning spaces, and for good reason.  Case studies demonstrate that “removing real or perceived barriers between self and students” has a positive impact on the classroom experience (Henshaw 2011).   Not only do students with greater physical proximity to their instructors report feeling less anxious or intimidated by content, they also retain more information and increase their participation (Herman Miller 2009).

Small to Mid-Size Classrooms

Small to mid-size classrooms naturally have the most potential for student-teacher proximity, and, as it turns out, the vast majority of UT courses fit this description: 58.6% of classes have 20-49 students and 33.1% have less than 20 students (U.S. News 2013).

Students per classroom at the University of Tennessee. Source: U.S. News.

Smaller classes can easily be divided into groups, which instructors can “visit” to ask and answer questions.  This type of activity is a win-win.  Students gain greater access to their instructor, and thus the content, while teaching faculty gain an opportunity to assess whether or not the students understand key concepts since they are interacting in a more one on one environment.   After visiting each group, the teacher can adjust the remaining instruction time based on the students’ observed or expressed needs.

Group work is just one way that you can break-down the invisible student-teacher barrier in small to mid-size classrooms. Other ideas might include:

• Circling the chairs for a large group discussion with you, as the instructor, taking a seat within the circle.
• Inviting students to use the whiteboard(s), or nominating a representative from each group to record thoughts on a group’s behalf.
• Arriving in class early and staying a little late to provide shy students a chance to ask questions.

Large Courses

But what if you teach a large lecture course to hundreds of students in fixed seats… fear not!  A little creativity and a cordless microphone can make even the biggest lecture hall more effective.

In large lecture halls, it is crucial to get out from behind the podium, since it limits your availability to only a very small portion of your students. Using a lapel microphone and other wireless technology frees you to move around the stage and into the aisles.  Pausing mid-lecture for a quick Q&A is a great technique, but if you are on the move, “everyone is a potential participant” rather than just those sitting front and center (Reed 2012).

UNC’s Patrick Conway on “Moving While Lecturing”

Instructors can also free themselves to move around by integrating clickers and student response apps like Socrative into lectures. These wireless applications and devices enable every student to answer instructor-generated questions from their laptop or smart phone, the results of which you can display and discuss in real time.  A quick exercise using Socrative lets the students work with new material and frees up teaching faculty to walk around the lecture hall and answer questions. Clickers and response apps not only combat passive learning, they also help remove boundaries between yourself and your class, in spite of its size.

No matter what room you find yourself in, remember to make the most out of your classroom space.  Your students will be glad you did!

References:

Engaging students: Using space as a tool to connect with millennials (2009). Retrieved from Herman Miller website: http://www.hermanmiller.com/content/hermanmiller/english/research/research-summaries/engaging-students-using-space-as-a-tool-to-connect-with-millennials.html

Henshaw, Robert A., Edwards, Phillip M, and Bagley, Erika J. (2011). Use of swivel desks and aisle space to promote interaction in mid-sized college classrooms. Journal of Learning Spaces, 1(1). Retrieved from http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ojs/index.php/jls/article/view/277

Reed, Patricia (2012). Active learning in the large class. Retrieved from http://sph.bu.edu/otlt/teachingLibrary/teaching.html

U.S. News. (2013). Faculty and classes. In Academic life. Retrieved from http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-tennessee-3530/academics

As the semester begins, faculty and students alike are in a flurry getting materials together, finalizing schedules, and making it to the correct room at the correct time. So, let me begin by apologizing for asking you, as faculty, to add one more consideration to your list.

Last semester, I took a course about public speaking. One of the key points of the class was to “know your audience”.  Sure, many other things are also important: being comfortable and knowledgeable about your material and being prepared, as well as speaking confidently and clearly.  In my experience, most faculty have those bits down.  You’re well versed in your field and you’re able to speak concisely.  But do you really know your audience?

It’s easy to say, “Yes, of course!  They’re students.  A bunch of 18-22 year olds”.  Most of you have been teaching for a long time and students are still students.  Not much has changed.  Or has it?

I beg you to consider my generation for a few moments before standing in front of your next class (or beside or behind, if you’re in one of the new HSS flexible rooms),  and sharing with us your knowledge and expertise.

We’re the Millennial Generation, Gen Y, a cohort of 16-32 year olds who have grown up in a culture, and at a pace, radically different from any previous generation.

There are books about us, graphics representing our characteristics and preferences, and plenty of statistics dissecting us.  The youngest of us are getting driver’s licenses and the oldest of us are in our early 30’s.  We’re in high school, college, and the workforce.  We’re online and globally present.  Academia wants to know how to motivate us, marketing wants to know how to attract us, and businesses want to know how to make us productive.

There’s even a quiz to see how you compare to us.  It only takes a few minutes.  Try it.  I scored an 84.

So how do you reach us?  How do you really meet us where we are in order to teach us?

While the thinking and research are mixed, here are a few attributes of our generation,  as well as suggestions for consideration as you reach out to teach us.

Most diverse

• This is not just true ethnically, but in many other respects as well.  We are used to diversity,  so diversify our classroom experience by using mixed methodology for teaching and presenting alternative ideas and theories that challenge us.

Constant Feedback

• We love feedback!  So much so, that we want it all the time.   This largely stems from the culture in which we grew up: helicopter parents, instant messaging, progress reports, Scantrons.  We’ve never had to wait extensively for correspondence or to hear how we did on a task.  Keeping us informed helps keep us engaged.  All too quickly, our attention can be diverted.  Consider posting grades on blackboard and asking us how the class is going periodically throughout the semester; we might surprise you by telling you what we need or like about the class.  Check out what one Boston University biomedical engineering professor does and how it has affected his teaching and classroom atmosphere.

Aimed at the Future

• “They’ve been working on their résumés practically since they were toddlers,” says the Harvard Business Review.  From very early on, my generation’s focus has been directed toward achievement in order to reach the next goal.  We are always thinking about the next step or what kind of return will come of investing our time now.  Take just a few minutes in class to help us see how and where this knowledge is useful down the road.  Make the course’s relevance or purpose clear.  Encourage students to relate material to other areas of study or to potential, real-world,  applications.  This is easier when you, as the instructor, know what your students do outside of the classroom and what we envision for our futures.  This makes engagement a two way street.  Get to know us, so that you can help us make these connections.

Customizable Experience

• In just about ever arena of my Millennial life, I have had endless opportunities to customize my experience.  In high school, I was offered the options of regular, honors, or advanced placement classes.  In college,  I can decide how I want to fulfill my major and at what times I prefer to take classes.  I have options for a side other than French fries to go with my fast food burger.  I can even set my Facebook language to “Pirate.”  We are used to making choices.  There are many ways to give students a means to customize their classroom experience without giving them total control of the course.  Consider building the syllabus or classroom protocol together in the first week of class. You can also be sure to utilize our feedback, as mentioned above, to make changes along the way or try to tailor the direction of the course to the interests and future pursuits of the students in the class.

For more links to helpful information about millennials, please see our millennials page on Delicious.

Imagine this:  You are deeply involved in a lecture you deem highly important and interesting, when you look around and realize half of your students are staring intently at their phones and the other half are sporadically clicking away on their laptops. You convince yourself they are taking notes.  After all, you’ve heard the theory that  today’s students are multi-taskers. They are a generation who have never existed in a world without computers and smart phones.

Students have done their best to convince us that they are perfectly capable of multitasking wizardry and that it doesn’t interfere with their focus on other tasks.  Some of us have become convinced of this ourselves.   Unfortunately, research is showing that this “skill” may actually be distracting us without our awareness.

For a quick challenge,  click on the video below to see how efficient your own multi-tasking skills may be.   The task takes only a few minutes but when repeated, shows your speed while single versus multitasking.  (I shaved nearly 40 seconds off of my initial 140 seconds.)

 Some research shows that children are actually better at multitasking than adults, but this is nothing new; young brains have long been capable of processing information more quickly. There is a cost, however.  Most of the time, multitasking makes us less effective at what we are doing on each task than if we focused on a single task at a time, no matter what age. This concept is briefly expressed in this video:

 As Professor Willingham explains, the current generation is not unique. Switching focus between two or more tasks always has a cost.

There are numerous studies to support his conclusion:

• In one study, students where allowed to text during a lecture. On a quiz given immediately after the lecture, those who were allowed to text scored considerably lower than those who had their phones turned off.(Ellis, Daniels, Jauregui 2010; see also Bowman et al 2010 and Ophira, Nass, Wagner 2009).

•  Another study shows a  negative correlation between those students who report using social media while studying (facebook and texting) and GPA (Junco, Reynol, Cotten 2011).

So what might an instructor do to discourage multitasking?

While a ban on phones and computers in the college classroom may not be effective, or practical, there are ways to keep students’ attention.

Talk to your students. Share the research.  Better yet, allow them to experience the research by having them take a test like the one above!  When students are actively engaged in their own learning, they are not as tempted to peek at their social messages quite so often.

Here are some questions to consider when reflecting on the engagement of students in your classroom:

1. Do you do the majority of the talking or are students encouraged to share their own thinking with you and their peers?
2. Are students actively involved in their learning through small group discussions, in-class projects, case studies, simulations, work sheets, etc?
3. Do you walk around the classroom and engage with students? (If you do, not only are you being approachable, they are less likely to text right in front of you.)
4.  Are students challenged in class to share ideas of how the course content relates to themselves or other topics they are familiar with?

The TennTLC offers workshops, consulting, and a resource library with suggestions on how to engage students and make your classroom more active.

And for yourself? Perhaps its time to think twice before turning on the television and checking your messages, while simultaneously grading papers or planning for your next class.

References:

Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M. and Dendron, M. (2010). Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education, 54, 927-931.

Ellis, Y., Daniels, W. and Jauregui, A. (2010). The effect of multitasking on the grade performance of business students. Research in Higher Education Journal, 8 http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10498.pdf.

Junco, Reynol and Cotten, Sheila. (2011) A decade of distraction? How multitasking affects students outcomes. Social Science Research Network. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1927049

Ophira, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. (2009). “Cognitive control in media multitaskers.”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  106 (33) August 25, 2009.

Very few words in the English language are capable of evoking anxious thoughts as quickly as the word “Test”.  Just mention it around any student during the first week of December and see what happens.  Most of us have, at some point, shared that same nervous energy.  I like to reframe it as “anticipation” of completing something.  While students may still be feeling that nervous energy, it can be channeled into a more positive place by changing the words we use to describe it. 

In one exceedingly ”anticipatory”  filled moment in my own undergrad career, I determined that if I ever had the opportunity to teach, I would construct tests in such a way that students who were prepared could not only pass, but actually continue their learning process.  Tests, after all, should solidify learning, measuring the core of knowledge students are able to actually use in relationship to the subject. 

Each question should be carefully chosen to reflect the unit student learning objectives, which in turn reflect course learning objectives, and, in an ideal world, the overarching learning objectives of the program.   In other words, tests aren’t merely a means to an end (e.g., a letter grade).  They can serve as a valuable diagnostic assessment tool for both student and faculty.   When viewed as such, they not only measure student learning outcomes in relationship to courses and programs, but also hone test writing skills, thereby creating a stronger assessment process.    

Students should anticipate success.  While a good deal of that success depends on their hard work and commitment to prepare, part of the success equation depends on our abilities to write good tests.  If the majority of students miss a single item, it’s worth considering the validity and/or composition of the item itself. 

So, what does make a good test? 

There are various formats of questions for use:  Multiple Choice, True/False, Matching, Fill in the Blank, Performance and Essay.  

If it is important to discover how the student is constructing knowledge in regard to a concept, essay, short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions may be more appropriate. However, if clearly worded, multiple choice questions can also work well for testing higher levels of cognition.  

When preparing a test or even choosing questions from a Test Bank, there are several things to consider:                              

 1)    Is the stem understandable?

2)    Are the distractors clearly stated?

3)    Is the test appropriate to the academic level being tested?

4)    Does the test measure what it is supposed to measure?

After you have written your own test, read it. Better yet, ask someone else to read it.  As you read, notice if you have to read the question several times.  Does the person proofing it for you have to read it several times to ascertain what is actually being asked?   If so, perhaps the wording of the stem should be revised accordingly. 

 You can find excellent, detailed examples of both well and poorly worded stems in , How to Prepare Better Multiple-Choice Test Items: Guidelines for University Faculty, (Burton et.al, 1991). 

Closely related is the question of “Are the distractors, or answer choices, clear?”  Distractors should be just that, distractions.  They should not be so far-fetched that they are immediately eliminated, nor should they contain clues to the real answer, even in their grammatical structure.  An example would be a stem, for which the correct answer begins with a vowel, ending with the word, “an”, unless, of course, all distractors also start with a vowel.  Distractors should, however, include common incorrect answers.  These allow you to assess higher cognitive abilities such as analyzing, applying and evaluating knowledge. 

Writing viable wrong choices takes time.  It is all too easy to include inadvertent cues.   Things like unintentionally putting more verbiage in the correct answer than you put in the distractors, or taking direct quotes from the text itself and copying them to your test alerts those who read the material.  Another overlooked clue comes from succumbing to the temptation to use extremes such as “Always”, “None of the Above” and “Never” in the distractors.  Those responses are usually incorrect and students will notice.  Yet, “All of the above”, choices typically are correct and are relatively easy for students to answer if they are prepared. 

If you find yourself stuck in a test creativity rut, you may want to refer to a good test preparation manual like Developing and Using Tests Effectively: A Guide for Faculty (Jacobs and Chase 1992), available for check out in the TennTLC Library.  The authors have included information on many types of assessment from unit tests to capstone projects.  They begin with planning a test and move through the process of creating questions that are both reliable and valid through to the actual grading, all the while giving instruction for ensuring outcomes assessment that is equitable and relevant, which leads to the final, and perhaps most important question for reflection of your work.

 “To what degree do the questions actually measure the learning objectives I have identified for this particular unit of study?”  How do the unit objectives mesh with your stated course objectives, and can you tie it all back to the information you have you indicated students will know when they leave?  Those are the topics that should inform your test questions.  When test questions correspond to objectives, not only can you readily measure outcomes, but the knowledge base you have identified becomes solidified for the students.  

Midterm evaluations are a time-honored tradition of “formative feedback.”  The feedback is solicited usually in the form of a survey and, with smaller classes, often including space for comments.  It is generally anonymous and non-graded.  It is also focused on the student’s learning.   Several faculty development groups have written extensively about midterm evaluations.  Karen Tunks, for Faculty Focus, writes:

Student learning and experience with the class can be gauged halfway through the course through an anonymous evaluation. The instructor can review the feedback and immediately make adjustments if there is a general consensus about an issue in the class. The midterm course evaluation may also provide information about the type of lessons and assignments that students feel are beneficial. Surveys may be formal with specific questions answered on a Likert scale or it may ask open-ended questions which allow students to elaborate in more detail. This type of evaluation has obvious advantages over those required at the end of the term because students can benefit directly from the feedback provided.

ProfHacker frequently features posts about midterm evaluations.  As they suggest, these evalutions can be very simple and provide teachers with information that can be very helpful in terms of the rest of the semester.  In a recent post, George Williams summarizes the method:

You could just ask your students to answer four simple questions:

1. What’s going well?
2. What needs improvement?
3. What can the students do to improve the class?
4. What can the instructor do to improve the class?

An interesting twist on the paper and pencil method is to ask students to enter their comments in a Google Doc!

To learn more, check out the links above and listen to Iowa State professor Michael Martin on midterm evaluation in his 100 person lecture course, in which he talks about both how to construct the evaluation and how to conduct the evaluation with small groups.  His midterm evaluation asks for students to give two forms of positive feedback, and two constructive criticism (aspects of the course that “could enhance your learning experience”), and finally, he asks students “what is the one thing you can do” to improve your learning in class.

For more extensive information and analysis of your course at mid-semester, you can also contact the Tenn TLC to arrange for consultation.

See you there!