From the Director: Pondering Teaching Problems

By Dr. Stella Smith

One telling measure of how differently teaching is regarded from traditional scholarship or research within the academy is what a difference it makes to have a problem in one versus the other. In scholarship and research, having a problem is at the heart of the investigative process; it is the compound of the generative questions around which all creative and productive activity revolves. But in your teaching, a problem is something you dont want to have, and if you have one, you probably want to fix it. Asking a colleague about a problem in his or her research is an invitation; asking about a problem in ones teaching would probably seem like an accusation. Changing the status of the problem in teaching from terminal remediation to ongoing investigation is precisely what the movement for.scholarship of teaching is all about. (Bass)

Fall 2011
In this Issue...
From the Director: Pondering Teaching Problems LMS Focus: What GGC students value A Teacher Speaks: An Alternative Approach to Teaching Galileo Knowledge Repository Faculty Kudos Want More? Additional Resources Looking Backward, Looking Forward Teaching Topic: Asking Students to Help Each Other Understand Ideas

At one time or another, all of us have experienced problems in teaching. The source of these problems may be the challenges we face with todays student. But its also the challenge of looking at our practices with objectivity. Two new CTE programs will provide faculty the opportunity to explore our teaching. The Teaching & Learning Academy for New Faculty will provide a cohort-experience for new faculty to examine topics such as student motivation, classroom assessment/rubrics and mentoring technology tools. The Master Teacher Program will provide returning faculty with the opportunity to discuss teaching topics, examine their teaching and learning styles, and explore classroom research. I hope these programs become an integral part of our culture and provide evidence that we truly care about improving ourselves as educators.
Reference: Bass, R. (1999). The Scholarship of teaching: Whats the Problem? Inventio: Creative Thinking About Learning and Teaching, (February) retrieved from http://doit.gmu.edu//Archives/feb98/randybass. htm, August 25, 2011.

Contact Information Stella Smith, Director ssmith2@ggc.edu 678-407-5720 David Robinson, Learning Management Systems Administrator drobinso@ggc.edu 678-407-5111 Gautam Saha Instructional Designer gsaha@ggc.edu 678-407-5561 Stephanie Whittington Technical Trainer swhittin@ggc.edu 678-407-5560
How Can We (or You) Help Improve Teaching and Learning at GGC? We invite you to send us ideas for workshops or programs you might be interested in doing or having us organize. We are also willing to work with individual schools to help develop discipline-based programs. Contact Stella Smith to discuss any ideas (ssmith2@ggc. edu). Special Thanks: Dr. Jason Mosser, Editorial Support for the The Teachers Edge

LMS Focus: What GGC Students Value

In a class project conducted by Dr. Daniel Vollaro, Assistant Professor of English, and his students in the client-based Technical Writing and Communication Practices Course, four major and minor themes were revealed from their Learning Management Systems investigation. The students held three separate, hour-long focus group sessions between March 31 and April 7. From these sessions the following three major themes were found: Real-time chat capability which offers additional student-student and studentinstructor interaction; user-friendly and intuitive interface which is easy for students to navigate so instructors can spend more time teaching than training students how to use the LMS; single sign-on portal or one-stop-shop to save students time, centralize information, and reduce the need for multiple logins and passwords. Functionality and announcement of issues were also crucial so students could plan for time sensitive assignments. Other minor themes such as instant notifications, LMS capability to mobile devices, tutorials and user support, and customization options were also discovered in the study. Many of the features mentioned above are available in Blackboard Vista through the use of tools such as Whos Online, my.GGC portal single sign-on with email, my.GGC portal announcements, Courses tab notifications, and The Blackboard mobile app. If you need assistance using any of these tools, please email the Center for Teaching Excellence at cente@ggc.edu.

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A Teacher Speaks: The Thayer Method: An Alternative Approach to Teaching By Dr. Richard Pennington
Whats the one thing that frustrates you the most when you are teaching in the classroom? One possible answer is associated with seemingly uninterested, apathetic students. The students I am referring to are ones I know you have all seen: when they are in class, they are either doing nothing at all, texting on their phones, on Facebook, or sometimes, sleeping. So, how can this be remedied? The key is for students to become active class participants, rather than passive observers. Take the emphasis off yourself, and put it onto them. If done well, they WILL respond. But, just how can you do this? One way is by a method of instruction called the Thayer Method (designed in 1817 by Sylvanus Thayer, Superintendent of the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY). The methods main tenet is that students come to class prepared (usually by having worked sample problems, and having read textbook pages to help them with said problems), and then once in class, they demonstrate their knowledge by working a set of more complex problems up at the whiteboards to demonstrate their proficiency with the topics that they prepared for. The typical classroom sequence where the Thayer method is employed is as follows: Students come to class prepared, ready with questions to ask about problems they could not solve. The professor holds a short, student-driven Q & A session, in which students ask the instructor about problems they encountered. The professor gives an on-the-fly lecture as needed (usually reserved for more complex material). Students work up at the whiteboards (in groups or individually), solving a set of problems prescribed by the instructor. The instructor walks around the room, periodically checking on student groups and answering questions. The professor gives lesson / chapter quizzes as needed. Continued at the top.

As can be seen from the above sequence, traditional lecturing is minimized, and the result of this is a much more efficient use of class time for both student-faculty and student-student interaction. The typical GGC student has not seen a teaching method like this before, and so, understandably, many are nervous and skeptical of the method at the start of the semester. However, as the course progresses, the majority of students come to embrace the method and see how effective it can be. Below are some excerpts from student comments when asked about their opinion of the Thayer Method: The whiteboards were the most important part of the learning experience for me in this class. Working alongside peers and having to think critically was vital for me to comprehend and retain the material. It basically made chemistry, a difficult topic, easy. The course objective sheet given at the beginning of the semester really helped in my studies. I liked the fact that you were supposed to teach yourself ahead of time and come to class to ask questions. The Thayer method of learning the material was one of the best I have ever been in. I did much better in this class than I did in a traditional system for Gen Chem. Student Engagement is a key factor in which all faculty at GGC should strive for excellence. The Thayer method of instruction epitomizes student engagement - the students spend the majority of each class period working problems together at the whiteboards, bouncing ideas off each other, critically analyzing answers that their group partners are providing, and even asking other student groups for help when their group gets stuck and the professor is busy with another group. The best part of the method for me as an instructor is when we get to the point in the semester where the students dont want to listen to me talk for very long they are anxious to instead get up to the boards and start working problems. And once they are up there, it is a thing of beauty to look around the room and see all of these students working together as groups, with no extra input needed from me. Continued on the next page.

Page 3 As the school year begins, faculty prepare syllabi, course schedules, gradebook schema; however, rarely do they think of a classroom management plan. The following website has great techniques or efficient ways for dealing with classroom disruptions. The site has a series in which a scenario is presented and suggestions are offered from readers. If you have your own thoughts or comments on how you handle these situations in your class, please send an email to cente@ggc.edu with the subject line disruptive student behavior suggestions.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/disruptive-studentbehavior/22792

Want More? Additional Resources

In my chemistry classes at GGC, gone are the days when students fall asleep or sit there for the entire 75 minutes, doing absolutely nothing. The Thayer method has completely changed the way I think about teaching. My students are engaged and enjoying their time in the classroom. The fact that they are enjoying it makes it so much more enjoyable for me. The Thayer method has done wonders for my teaching, and I dont plan on going back to my old methods any time soon.
Dr. Richard Pennington is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the School of Science and Technology.

GGC has become a partner in the Galileo Knowledge Repository (http://www.library.gatech.edu/gkr/), an Institute for Museum and Library Services sponsored program to gather and disseminate the digital scholarship and institutional output of the University System of Georgia institutions in one portal. The GGC Library repository will provide increased visibility for your scholarship as well as that of your students. Items freely available on the web enjoy an increased citation rate over those available only by subscription (http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/18516/). Additionally, each item receives a persistent identifier that will make it easy to keep CVs and websites up to date. The GGC Library repository (http://gkr-ggc.library.gatech. edu/) will permanently hold the intellectual and creative output of the students, faculty, and staff, including: annual reports, capstone projects, conference papers, data sets, learning objects, multimedia assignments, newsletters, preand post-prints, student presentations, and working papers. Please consider what materials you might have to publish in the repository or student work that you might like added to the repository. Contact Gene Ruffin, Director, ext. 5178 email: fruffin@ggc.edu or Catherine Downey, Head of Access Services, ext. 5142 email: cdowney@ggc.edu. Faculty Kudos

Galileo Knowledge Repository By GGC Library

Looking Backward: The CTE welcomed new faculty to GGC this Fall with sessions on Claw Mail and Blackboard. Consults Nights were introduced to give Part-time faculty the opportunity to come in for assistance after regularly scheduled hours. The Hybrid Fellows began training at the end of the spring semester and will continue developing their courses throughout the fall semester with CTE guidance. Additional Blackboard training was held during the 2nd and 3rd week of classes for those faculty who needed a refresher on using Blackboard tools. Looking Forward: The initial meetings of the Teaching and Learning Academy for New Faculty and the Master Teacher Program will be held after the Labor Day holiday. Both programs give new and returning GGC faculty an opportunity to establish a community with colleagues, increase their instructional skills, and enhance their academic portfolio. To register for upcoming CTE events access the Events tab and select Upcoming events on the CTE website at teacherweb.ggc.edu/cte.

If you have received any awards, recognitions, or grants related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Summer or Fall 2011, please submit them using the form at teacherweb.ggc.edu/cte, Faculty spotlight tab, select Faculty Kudos. Submit by 10/15/11 to be included in the winter newsletter.

The Teachers Edge encourages submissions on any aspect of college teaching and learning. The articles should not exceed two or three double-spaced pages, so as to conform to the intent of the newsletter: providing concise, thought-provoking topics that promote discussion among faculty and staff. Articles may be submitted by GGC faculty, staff, and even students so that all voices are represented for our readers. Our web site gives us rich opportunities for posting ancillary materials to accompany submissions. Submit manuscripts to Stella Smith, CTE Director.

Submission Guidelines

Page 4 learning in your classroom. This is a powerful convincer for the process. That peer learning skills help make lifelong learning easier is an additional convincing argument, given the need for future worker-earners to adapt to, and survive in, the workplace. Next, describe what the process looks like, what students will do, what outcomes they will produce within what time frame, and how they will access support and resources during the process. This is the key to successful peer learning, and it requires careful planning on your part. Some planning tips are listed below: 1) Peer learning can take many forms --- use a variety of approaches (group work, presentations to the class by teams or individuals, jigsaw technique, class discussions in which you solicit alternative explanations from students, etc.). 2) For group work projects, provide a group charter for groups to complete in which they specify who will do what, operational guidelines, contact information, deadlines, etc. --- this gives students confidence [that] you know what you are doing and have the ability to help them succeed with peer learning, and it provides one measuring stick against which to assess performance in many areas. 3) Structure the collaborative learning process so that there are assessment points throughout for you and for the students self- and peer-assessment (this requires that you identify how you and they will know whether they are succeeding in helping each other learn; progress reports, for example, are one way to accomplish this). 4) Support your students by facilitating and acting as a resource in both content and process, a different role from the implicit possessor/dispenser of knowledge role sometimes assumed by lecturers. 5) Celebrate students inventiveness as they discover teaching metaphors, techniques, and approaches you may never have considered in your own presentations.
This article was reprinted by permission of Tomorrows Professor, Volume 56, Issue 1. Also see the IDEA Papers at http://www. theideacenter.org/category/helpful-resources/knowledge-base/ideapapers.

Teaching Topic: Asking Students to Help Each Other Understand Ideas

Having students help other students learn is a powerful classroom technique. Collaborative learning uses this approach to achieve content-focused and process-oriented goals, both of which are important for college learning success. Research shows that cooperative learning improves students achievement, persistence, and attitudes. Collaboration with fellow learners increases motivation and helps students take responsibility for their own and their peers learning. Included among the process-oriented goals achieved by collaboration is the development of marketable skills such as problem-solving, project management, team player competencies, communication, and social skills. Cooperation is one of the Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education and well-structured group work, and other collaborative activities that ask students to help each other learn pay big dividends in student success. Because learning experiences built around student collaboration are not prevalent in lecture-based classrooms (the kinds of classes that predominate in many college experiences), you may not have many models for designing an environment that prompts students to help each other learn. It is also true that your students may not have done much successful collaborative learning. Address learners inexperience with successful peer involvement in the learning process by providing an explanation of why this approach works and how your students will benefit. Students helping each other learn mimics humans innate learning process, a process for which we are genetically and environmentally engineered. This is enough of an explanation, and a powerful one, to help your students understand why peer learning is suitable in the college classroom: their brains are built to learn via collaboration. One of the reasons learning is often difficult in college is precisely because it is not collaborative. You can also share with students the idea that most employers will not lecture for fifty minutes and give a test a week later to determine whether employees have earned paychecks --- your students will do in your classroom what they will be doing on the job as they work in groups, make presentations, tutor each other, etc. Their future on-the-job learning will mimic their

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