Monday, May 31, 2010

Workshop 2: Developing a Teaching Persona


The second workshop in the Collaborative Connections workshop series was on developing an effective 'teaching persona.' Sharada led the workshop off by going through the goals of the workshop, which are listed below.

We began by stressing how the way in which you present yourself to your students can help you achieve your learning goals. We hoped that participants would leave motivated to think about how they could align their teaching persona with their student learning goals.

We then had a discussion about what a teaching persona is. We defined it as the way in which someone presents oneself and the how one is perceived by their students. We also stressed that your identity in the classroom can draw from, but doesn't need to be identical to, your actual personality.
In order to illustrate how different presentation styles can be utilized for different learning goals, Sarah D gave an example of a freshman seminar she hopes to teach on "The Amazing World of Ants." The main goal of this seminar would be to awaken students to the fascinating behavior, ecology, and life history of ants and make them excited about these animals, rather than afraid of them. In order to do that, she would be best served by being enthusiastic and exciting when presenting information. Sarah A gave a contrasting example of a class she has taught in Gender Studies on sexual assault. It would behoove her to assume a more serious tone in a class of this sort and place an emphasis on making people feel comfortable enough to discuss such serious issues.


Richard concluded the workshop by going through a S.W.O.T. analysis with the group. The idea of this exercise is to think of your strengths as an individual (and teacher). Then you list your weaknesses. These are meant to be inherent, internal qualities that help you or hold you back. Then you think about the external forces that you feel threatened by and the external forces that you perceive as opportunities. The last part of this exercise it to think about how you can take your perceived weaknesses and make them strengths and, likewise, how you can take the things that threaten you and make them opportunities to improve.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Workshop #4 Review: Advancing Community in the Classroom

On May 13th, Cassandra, Sarah D., Travis, and I facilitated the fourth workshop in the Collaborative Connections series, titled Advancing Community in the Classroom. You may have seen the immediate follow-up post which explored a few online tools and linked to some other resources that were briefly mentioned in the workshop. This post is a more general review of the whole workshop.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Today in our workshop “Advancing Community in the Classroom,” I spoke briefly about ways to introduce collaboration and build community outside the classroom. In this follow-up post, I’d like to gather a variety of online resources together in one (hopefully) convenient place. This post can also serve as a place we can continue our discussions and share ideas we might have thought of after the workshop was over.



Thursday, May 6, 2010

Workshop #1 Active Inclusivity: Benefit from Diversity in the Classroom


On Monday April 19th we held the first the of six workshops in the "Collaborative Connections" workshop series. Here is a condensed version of what we did.

Message to participants:

In this first workshop we will develop a mindset for all of our future interactions in a effective collaborative community. Instead of discussing diversity as something we should know about in order not to offend people, we will instead focus on why how we as an academic community benefit and thrive from diversity.

In the first part of the workshop we will identify how we as individuals contribute to the diversity in this room, and in other academic settings and discuss how this can affect us as learners. In the second part we will create techniques to use in the classroom to make the learning environment more accessible to others.

We have identified the following learning goals for this workshop:



Since today we are going to be talking about topics that are sometimes
emotionally charged, we thought it would be a good idea to establish some community agreements concerning how we communicate with each other in the classroom.
(Last three agreements were contributed by participants)

Next we are going to do an activity that is intended to generate discussion about diversity. We are going to ask you a few questions, but you don't need to answer them if you don't feel comfortable doing so. As we ask the questions, feel free to look around the room and see ow others are responding.

As you answer I will count and write down a number for each category. Please raise your hand if you....

identify as female,
identify as male,
identify as African American,
identify as Asian,
identify as Hispanic,
identify as white,
are an international student.

Now everyone turn to your neighbor and discuss what just happened, and if it evoked an emotion, how did it make you feel?

Themes that came up:
  • many don't like being put in categories
  • many felt the categories not represent their personal identity (categories were missing)
  • the categories were unclear, ethnicity, nationality, and cultural identity are different, and this list does not acount for that
  • it was uncomfortable to be placed into a category
  • it was uncomfortable watching to see what categories each identified with
Here is how the University talks about diversity:


From the UCD Student Affairs Research site:

What types of diversity are missing? What are all the different ways people can identify that might change their perceptions?

Students then wrote a bunch of different ways we can be diverse. Instead of talking about specific labels (ex: queer, straight, bisexual, gay...) we instead talked about avenues of diversity (ex: sexual orientation). We are sure there are more, but in the 10 minutes we gave this is the extensive list we and the participants came up with. We had them come up and write them on the board. Here they are in no particular order:

health, primary language, family’s educational backgroud, major, level of sports participation, military service, personality, family position, region of origin, sex, coping style, gender, aspirations, relationship status, learning style, reproductive status, age, educational status, major/minor, hometown/place of origin, Familial college history, reason you are in school, perspectives, political orientation, ethnicity, experience, motivation, beliefs, orals, background, class, race, religion, ability, self-expression style, educational heritage, sexual orientation, minority experience


Now we are going to create a diversity web. We are going to circle each word on the board that represents a strong part of our identity, and link them together if they are related. For instance, my gender (female) is a strong part of my identity, and this influences my perspectives. Because my gender sets me apart in my major, I feel I have different motivations, and reasons for being in school than my peers. Circling and linking these items provides a visual representation for how different types of diverse avenues intersect and overlap.


Here is what our board looked like after many participants represented how they contribute to diversity.

















So why does this all matter anyway? It seems like we all contribute to diversity in some way, why should we examine all the ways in which students in your classroom can be diverse? There are a lot of reasons, but one way we can quantify it is by looking at student prospected retention.
The three items in red are directly related to community, which you can facilitate in your classroom by being inclusive. But it's not only important to be inclusive because students will be more likely to feel comfortable and therefore remain in school, there are some really easy ways your classroom can benefit from diversity.

How is diversity in the classroom beneficial?

Participant generated responses:
  • Students can learn from different experiences & perspectives
  • It makes class more interesting to hear diverse opinions
  • By recognizing diversity, you can make learning more widely accessible
  • Students are exposed to different ways of thinking (both philosophical, and with problem solving)
  • This makes the classroom more robust
  • Students bring complementary knowledge to the table
  • It can encourage debate and inspire change
  • It makes students more well rounded to be exposed to different perspectives
  • Students are exposed to different problem solving approaches
Next we will talk a little more explicitly about how diversity effects our classrooms. We will split into 4 groups, and each group will have one of the five terms: Teach, Learn, Research, Communicate, or Collaborate.

In your groups you will discuss how diversity in the classroom and on campus affects your group's term.

Finally we will apply what we have learned in our groups by turning them into a skit. Each group will use some of the ideas generated in their small groups concerning their term, (Teach, Learn, Research, Communicate, or Collaborate) and connect it to a positive classroom benefit.

Skits are difficult to recount, but the main themes were students benefitting from different learning styles, and students not being able to participate without being part of a community.

We will now pass out a hand out that offers a number of strategies you can use to promote inclusion in your classroom.

HANDOUT:

These ideas are intended to help you work effectively with the broad range of students enrolled in your classes. They are based on current research and on teaching practices of faculty.

  • Become aware of any biases or stereotypes you may have absorbed. For example, some faculty and TAs on occasion collectively call undergraduates 'unmotivated,' or even 'uneducated.'
  • Treat each student as an individual. Try not to project your experiences with, feelings about, or expectations of an entire group onto any one student. For example, some TAs occasionally have trouble with lying or cheating students, but this does not mean it should be assumed most would do this if given the opportunity.
  • Monitor the climate in your classroom. Ask students to let you know if you inadvertently offend them. If your class is small, consider opening up a dialogue with each student individually (either via email or short 5 or 10 minute office hour appointments) so you may know a little more about your students. Conduct a mid quarter evaluation to let your students weigh in about the classroom environment. Consider adding questions such as these to your course evaluations:· Does the instructor treat students equally and evenhandedly?· How comfortable do you feel participating in this class? What makes it easy or difficult for you?· Do you have suggestions for encouraging open and candid discussion in class?
  • Recognize the complexity of diversity. Avoid making assumptions about students based on only one of their groups characteristics and neglecting the complexities in their lives and experiences.

Communicating and Fostering Respect

  • Be attentive to terminology. Terminology changes over time, and individuals within groups can disagree about preferred designations. Ask your students which terminology they prefer. For example, some students may prefer 'African American' whereas others may prefer 'black'. Some Asian Americans may prefer to be identified not by a continent, but by the nationality of their ancestors – 'Thai American', or 'Japanese American.' Learn about groups other than your own.
  • Convey the same level of confidence in the abilities of all your students. Students who believe that they belong to a stigmatized group can result in underperfromance. “Stereotype threat” occurs when a student’s anxieties about confirming a negative stereotype can cause the student to perform poorly. Convey your clear conviction in each student’s intellectual potential.
  • Be evenhanded in acknowledging students’ accomplishments. Praise students for good work, but avoid lavish displays that may make students uncomfortable (“why is s/he so surprised that I’m doing well?”) Note in some cultures being singled out for personal accomplishments is neither valued or appreciated.
  • Be aware of possible misinterpretatioins of students’ nonverbal behaviors. Many behaviors vary across cultural groups.

Pedagogical Approaches

  • Use inclusive language and examples. For example, use ‘parenting’ rather than ‘mothering’, ‘house of worship’ rather than ‘church’, ‘partner’ rather than ‘boyfriend’. Avoid comments that diminish students’ perspectives (“don’t be so sensitive”) or make assumptions about students’ lives (“when your parents were in college…”). Draw examples from a variety of cultural and social contexts.
  • Learn to correctly pronounce students’ names.
  • Look for opportunities to give personal attention and validation to students.
  • Assign group work and collaborative learning activities. Group work can reduce prejudice and bias by giving students opportunities to interact with others from different backgrounds.

Course Content and Material

  • Try to select texts and readings whose language is gender neutral and free of stereotypes. Aim for an inclusive curriculum. Try to structure your course so that students view concepts, themes, and events from diverse perspectives.· Assign texts and readings that reflect scholarship and research about previously underrepresented groups.· Discuss the contributions made to your field by historically underrepresented groups.· Describe how recent scholarship about gender, race, sexual identity, and class is changing your field of study.
  • Do not assume that all students will recognize cultural, literary, or historical references familiar to you.
  • Bring in guest lecturers.

Class Discussion

  • Emphasize the importance of considering different approaches. Show students different viewpoints and encourage them to evaluate their own beliefs.
  • Make it clear that you value all comments.
  • Encourage all students to participate in class discussion. Try to prevent any one group of students from monopolizing the discussion. Solicit alternate viewpoints.
  • Speak up if a student makes a distastefull remark-even jokingly. Students make take your silence as condoning the behavior.
  • Do not treat students as spokespersons for their demographic group. Asking a student to speak for his/her entire group ignores the heterogeneity of viewpoints among members and reinforces the idea that every member is an authority on his/her group.

Assignments and Exams

  • Be sensitive to students whose first language is not English.
  • Help students form study teams. Peer support is an important factor in student persistence in school. By arranging for times and rooms where groups can meet you can encourage students to make friends beyone their personal networks.
  • Give assignments and exams that recognize students’ diverse backgrounds and special interests.
  • Use a variety of names in classroom examples and test questions.

END HANDOUT

Final thoughts: Please think about all we have discussed today and think of one change you are going to make in your classroom.

Homework:

}Reflect on what happened for you during this workshop
}Think about what ‘being inclusive’ means to you. Email a paragraph to tac@ucdavis.edu with the subject ‘being inclusive’

Also visit these difficult questions:
}If you treat everyone identically, are you favoring everyone?
}Is it possible to “level the playing field in the classroom”? What does this mean? Should you try?

Thanks for coming!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Collaborative Connections: Build a Community of Learners in the Classroom and Beyond


TA Consultants Spring Workshop Series

This is an overview of the entire 6 part spring workshop series "Collaborative Connections" for grad students and post-docs at UC Davis. In this series we are focusing on a model of community based on concentric circles. You as the educator, are at the middle, not because you as the TA are the most important part of the community, but instead because it perhaps makes the most sense to think of ourselves as a part of a larger community and how we interact in
that community. The next circle represents 'our students' both in and out of the classroom, for instance we can have interactions with individual students perhaps in a research lab setting. The next circle represents our 'classroom,' which is made up of many students who may interact with each other and with you the educator. Next we have the 'campus' community circle, which represents an interdisciplinary academic community. Finally we have the 'outside community' circle which indicates all individuals outside of campus (this can be parents, alumi, school children, politicians, or some combination of individuals you can have interactions with.)
This model is neither complete nor perfect, but rather it is a framework to think about how we as individuals serve a role in our community. We can use this model to better visualize our
interactions with community members in order to meet the goal of fostering Collaborative Connections.
Here are our learning goals for the entire workshop series:

Analyze teaching as a cyclical or iterative process (reflection is part of the teaching process, therefore we are never done learning how to teach)
Take responsibility for our teaching and what happens in our classrooms and community (We need to think about what is and isn’t happening in our classrooms in order to know what we want to change.)
Engage in the process of making learning accessible to everyone (this process is useful both in the community of this workshop, and in your experiences)
Look at a wide variety of tools, theories, and experiences (No tool works the same way for everyone, and each should choose those that work for them in their classroom and beyond)
Think about our students both as learners and as educators (Empower our students! They facilitate learning too!)
Leave with more ideas to try in the classroom and the confidence to try them (It can be intimidating to try new pedagogies, but we won’t know if they work for us unless we as individuals try.)

So that's the overview of the whole series! Below are listed descriptions of each individual workshop. Stay tuned for updates on each of the workshops as they happen!


Workshop #1:

Active Inclusivity: Benefit from Diversity in the Classroom

Monday, April 19, 2010

3 - 5 pm


Facilitators:

Cara Harwood, Geology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant
Cassandra Paul, Physics graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant


Many of the techniques used in University classrooms were developed during a time when campuses were composed almost entirely of the same type of student. Today classrooms are much more diverse. Do you want to see how you can use the diversity that exists in your classroom to the mutual benefit of you and your students? The goal of this workshop is to construct a framework for understanding in what ways we are all different, how this difference affects us and our relationships, and how we can benefit from this difference. Participants will leave this workshop more aware of what being inclusive means, and how to frame their contribution to diversity. For more information, please contact the TA Consultants at tac@ucdavis.edu.


Workshop #2:

Developing Your Teaching Persona

Monday, April 26, 2010

3 - 5 pm


Facilitators:

Sharada Balachandran-Orihuela, English graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Sarah Dalrymple, Population Biology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Richard Osibanjo, Chemistry graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Sarah Augusto, Sociology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant


Have you ever wondered how much and what aspects of your personality you should show to your students? Bringing your identity into the classroom has the potential to transform your students’ learning, their relationship to course material, as well as improve your evaluations. In this workshop expect to develop clearly articulated student learning goals, and then based on these goals determine your role in the classroom. For more information, please contact the TA Consultants at tac@ucdavis.edu.



Workshop #3:

Building Community in the Classroom (classroom management, creating a good learning environment, setting a tone, what do you do, activities & strategies to encourage participation, extending the classroom)

Monday, May 3, 2010

3 - 5 pm


Facilitators:

Cara Harwood, Physics graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Richard Osibanjo, Chemistry graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Emily Evans, Education graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant


Are you interested in establishing a fun and dynamic community in your classroom? Developing a sense of community with your students can contribute to a positive learning environment and improve the effectiveness of your teaching. In this workshop we will establish a foundation for building your classroom community. Participants will develop strategies for managing your classroom environment, setting the desired classroom tone, and encouraging student participation both in and out of the classroom. For more information, please contact the TA Consultants at tac@ucdavis.edu.


Workshop #4:

Advancing Community in the Classroom (interactive techniques, empowering students, collaboration between students, group dynamics)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

3 - 5 pm


Facilitators:

Sarah Dalrymple, Population Biology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Travis Berge, Economics graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Cassandra Paul, Physics graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Jonathan Bragg, Microbiology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant


Undergraduate students are used to an educational system where they are handed information they need to regurgitate back to the instructor. Would you like to break this cycle, and have your students take more of an active responsibility for learning? This challenge can be met by fostering community in the classroom in a way that empowers students to see themselves as active participants in their learning process. In this workshop participants will learn how to increase collaboration between students, and how to break down the hierarchy in the classroom, thus encouraging students to take more ownership of their education. For more information, please contact the TA Consultants at tac@ucdavis.edu.


Workshop #5:

Setting Sail on the Mentorship

Monday, May 17, 2010

3 - 5 pm


Facilitators:

Sharada Balachandran-Orihuela, English graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Mara Evans, Ecology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Ann Chang, Ecology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant


Are you interested in developing one-to-one learning relationships with your students? Are you interested in developing your skills as a future faculty mentor? Join us for a discussion about the qualities that make for a successful mentor-mentee relationship. In this workshop you will develop your mentoring philosophy and explore the various resources available for emerging academic leaders. For more information, please contact the TA Consultants at tac@ucdavis.edu.




Workshop #6:

Feel Good Beyond the Classroom!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

3 - 5 pm


Facilitators:

Mara Evans, Ecology graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Travis Berge, Economics graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant

Matthew Nesvet, Political Science graduate student and Teaching Assistant Consultant


Do you occasionally feel stifled by academia? Are you interested in working with the community beyond the classroom? Participate in the final workshop of the series Collaborative Connections to redefine what we think of as the classroom. Explore how academics can go beyond the classroom and nurture their enthusiasm for their discipline and teaching.