Center for Teaching and Learning Blog

Category: CTL

Dean’s Teaching Showcase: Scott Kuhl

Published
By

by Mike Meyer, director, William G. Jackson CTL

The Dean’s Teaching Showcase nominee for this week comes from the College of Sciences and Arts. Dean Bruce Seely has chosen to recognize Scott Kuhl, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science with an adjunct appointment in Cognitive and Learning Sciences. Dean Seely values “what Scott Kuhl attempts to accomplish as a teacher mainly for the mindset he employs, and less for the specific teaching techniques has adopted.” He notes that Scott “does not differentiate between regular classes, summer youth and support for Enterprise activities as educational venues—but approaches all with the goal of creating a fun and motivating environment.”

In his more traditional courses, Scott does attribute his teaching success to specific techniques, like providing detailed assignment descriptions with numerous tips to “help get students going in the right direction.” He also provides numerous examples, some of which he walks through in class in detail, and encourages students to share additional examples with each other. Finally, he emphasizes prompt feedback for his students. He has accomplished this by creating an automatic grading program which provides a “provides a transparent, well-defined set of expectations for assignments” and a score that can be adjusted by an instructor or grader as necessary. He’s even willing to share this tool with those interested.

Kuhl is also focused on continual improvement. Though the Husky Game Development  (HGD) Enterprise he leads is focused on games, he attributes its dramatic growth under his leadership to a careful cycle of feedback, change and evaluation. He sees the value of interdisciplinary teamwork, communication, development and management for students in HGD, and has led the group in both publishing academic papers and receiving sponsorship from both Chrysler and the Department of Labor.

Scott will be formally recognized with the 11 other Dean’s Teaching Showcase nominees at a luncheon near the end of spring term. Please join Dean Seely, computer science chair Min Song and the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning in thanking Scott for his outstanding contributions to the teaching mission of the College of Sciences and Arts.

Continue Reading →

February

Published
By

The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning schedules events for faculty and instructional staff to provide opportunities to learn new instructional strategies and tools and meet faculty from other departments. 

Balancing Work and Life: Great Teaching and Time for You (2/26): New methods of teaching allow communication with students from virtually any place at any time.  How do you find a balance that meets student needs but leaves time for family and personal needs?   The Michigan Tech Work-Life Advisory Committee and the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning co-hosts this coffee chat in which we’ll explore tips and techniques for balancing the many demands on today’s instructors.  We’ll also brainstorm ways the committee can advocate for the flexibility and resources to keep instructor roles balanced. This coffee chat event is scheduled for Thursday, February 26 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided to those who register by Monday, February 23. Click here to register.

Continue Reading →

Jackson Grant Recipients Announced

Published
By
Due to a generous gift from William G. Jackson, the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is pleased to announce the 2015 grant recipients.  Nearly $55,000 in grants were awarded to instructors and teams of instructors at $1000, $5000, and $10000 levels. These grants will support course/program reform or expansion projects using blended and online learning.
This year’s solicitation placed special emphasis on mentoring of instructors new to blended learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, shared content, matching support, testing, and assessment. A committee, assembled by the Provost and the CTL Director, reviewed many compelling grant proposals in order to select this year’s grant recipients:

$10,000 Level

  • Composition in Digital Environments ($9,846) — Lauren Bowen, Humanities
  • “Flipping KIP”: A Blended Learning Approach for Kinesiology Laboratories ($7,567) — Steven Elmer, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
  • Extension of Blended Learning across the Calculus Sequence — Todd King, Mathematical Sciences
  • Global Issues Blended Learning Initiative — Jonathan Robins, Social Sciences

$5,000 Level

  • Integrative Statistics for Social, Behavioral, and Biological Sciences Using Blended Learning ($3,000) — Susan Amato-Henderson, Cognitive and Learning Sciences
  • Development of Blended Learning Course for more Flexible, Online Course Options and Community College ($3,000) — Tara Bal, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  • Shared, Organized Resources for Teaching (SORT) — Amy Hamlin, Engineering Fundamentals
  • Blended and Active Learning for Health Sciences at Michigan Tech — Brigitte Morin, Biological Sciences

$1,000 Level

  • “Starting from Scratch”: Chemical Engineering Laboratory Exercises for \Online Courses — Tim Eisele, Chemical Engineering
  • Creating Interactive E-Reading Assignments for Blended Learning — Chunming Gao, School of Technology
  • Computational Science Models — Ben Ong, Mathematics

Jackson Grant recipients will be working on their projects through spring and summer of 2015, with changes ready for implementation and presentation in the fall.

Continue Reading →

Dean’s Teaching Showcase: Gordon Parker

Published
By

by Mike Meyer, director, William G. Jackson CTL

The Dean’s Teaching Showcase nominee for this week comes from the College of Engineering. Dean Wayne Pennington has chosen to recognize Gordon Parker, the John and Cathi Drake Professor in the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Department. Both Pennington and MEEM chair Bill Predebon praised Parker as “a great success story of the flipped classroom approach.” Gordon has effectively implemented the flipped classroom model in both a senior level and graduate level controls course, and now has more than 30 video clips that are being used world-wide.

Parker attributes his success to his ability to “borrow techniques from my colleagues, add some of my own ideas, mix them into my teaching style and serve them up to willing students.” He acknowledges that some of his innovations didn’t work, but believes teaching innovation is “encouraged by the Tech culture.” He especially appreciates regular faculty presentations on teaching methods sponsored by the MEEM department, as well as “random conversations in the elevator” which help him improve his teaching.

He has found the flipped classroom to be most effective because it lets him “use class time to exercise what students have prepared in advance.” This allows high expectations and accountability, but seems to work well for most students. Parker enjoys the real-time feedback of the more interactive classroom, and finds the higher level of spontaneity exciting, since “every class is different.”

Parker is also credits his department for working on a new undergraduate curriculum, which is “requiring a high level of communication and coordination between numerous instructors” and is “nothing like my previous experiences of developing courses in my closed-door office.” He appreciates the challenges and imperfections in both teaching and joint curricular changes, but believes the changes are “well worth it.”

Gordon will be formally recognized with the 11 other Dean’s Teaching Showcase nominees at a luncheon near the end of spring term. Please join Dean Pennington, Chair Predebon and the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning in thanking Gordon for his outstanding contributions to the teaching mission of the College of Engineering.

Continue Reading →

Introducting the Dean’s Teaching Showcase

Published
By

by Mike Meyer, director, William G. Jackson CTL

During each spring semester, the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning works to recognize and reward great teaching that takes place on campus. Last spring, both our Props for Profs and Creative Canvas Course Competition highlighted excellent instruction brought forward by students. Student course evaluations also drive nominations to the Academy of Teaching Excellence and the Distinguished Teaching awards.

This spring, the Jackson Center will work to highlight important contributions to teaching that aren’t noticed—or sometimes appreciated by—students. Many instructors spend hours revising curricula, creating new courses and programs, assessing student work, meeting accreditation requirements or even completing instruction that’s foundational but goes unappreciated until well beyond graduation. To accomplish this, I’ve asked the five academic Deans—Frendewey, Klippel, Pennington, Seely, and Sharik—to take turns recognizing someone each week within their organization doing this kind of teaching work.

The nominees—12 altogether—will have their contributions highlighted in Tech Today each Friday and be invited to an end-of-term luncheon. Our hope is to make these valuable contributions to Michigan Tech’s teaching mission more visible. If you know someone worthy of the Showcase, be sure to tell the appropriate Dean, or let us know at the Center at ctl@mtu.edu or 7-3000.

Our first nominee, next week, will come from the College of Engineering.

Continue Reading →

January

Published
By

The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning schedules events for faculty and instructional staff to provide opportunities to learn new instructional strategies and tools and meet faculty from other departments.  Coffee Chat- Testing Center: Input for Continued Growth and Change (1/20): The Michigan Tech Testing Center has been in existence for just over a year. In that time, it has experienced exponential growth and rapid technological change. In this session, we’ll discuss some of the challenges faced and look for instructor input to optimize resources to handle an expanding repertoire of sponsored exams, an increasing number of accommodated exams, and new security challenges. This coffee chat event is scheduled for Tuesday, January 20 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided to those who register by Friday, January 16. Click here to register. Luncheon – Terrific Tools for Blending and Active Learning (1/27): High and low tech tools are being invented constantly to help keep students active and provide instructional flexibility. In this workshop, we’ll survey some of the best tools available and then give participants a chance to explore those that might work best for them. This luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, January 27 from noon-1 p.m. Lunch will be provided to those who register by Friday, January 23. Click here to register.

Continue Reading →

Reflect on Your Course Structure and Technology Use

Published
By

Submitted by Mike Meyer, Director of the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

As we wrap up one term and look to the next, it’s important to reflect both on course structures and classroom technologies.   One of the most interesting reflections I’ve seen regarding getting the technology right is Todd Rose’s TED Talk called  “The Myth ofAverage”. (http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/The-Myth-of-Average-Todd-Rose-a)

In this 18 minute video, Todd – a high school drop-out and now Harvard faculty member – compares the fit of a fighter-pilot in a cockpit to that of an “average” student in a classroom.  He argues that without the ability to “customize”, exactly zero students in our courses will optimize their learning.

The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning will maintain regular hours through December 22 for further discussion about next term, then re-open on 1/5 to help instructors prepare for the new semester.  For more discussion about your courses, stop bythe William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (http://www.mtu.edu/ctl/) in theVan Pelt and Opie Library, room 219!

Continue Reading →

Increasing Response Rates on Evaluations

Published
By

Submitted by Mike Meyer, Director of the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

With end-of-term course evaluations under way, many instructors have questions about raising response rates. The UC Berkley Center for Teaching and Learning summarizes the research on this; studies have shown that how the instructor approaches these evaluations can make a big difference in response rate. The key is to go beyond just reminders by explaining to students how their responses will be used by both the instructor and the administration. Asking for feedback about specific aspects of the course (a recent change or something being considered) also seems to increase responses.

Busy students need assurance that the time they take to give feedback isn’t wasted. If you’d like to talk more about how to increase response rates in your class, email ctl@mtu.edu or stop by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning in Library 219.

Continue Reading →

Resource Index for Learner-Centered Teaching Methods

Published
By

Submitted by Mike Meyer, Director of the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

As instructors move toward more learner-centered teaching methods, the “flipped classroom” has gotten lots of press.  But “flipping” is more than just recording videos.  The expectation is that delivering content outside of class will free up time for more engaged learning in the classroom.

A great topical index of methods, ideas, and articles related to learner-centered teaching methods can be found on the webpage of the the North Central College’s Center for Teaching and Learning (http://northcentralcollege.edu/academics/academic-affairs/center-teaching-and-learning/teaching-methods).  The index ranges from tips on interactive lecturing to getting students to participate in discussions, but also includes good articles on teaching critical thinking and collaborative (group) techniques.

I encourage you to survey the site and explore one topic or article related to some aspect of your teaching.  If you’d like to discuss it afterwards, e-mail ctl@mtu.edu  or feel free to stop by the William G. Jackson Center forTeaching and Learning (http://www.mtu.edu/ctl/) in the Van Pelt and Opie Library, room 219!

Continue Reading →

Remix-T: Resource for Media Rich Learning

Published
By

Submitted by Mike Meyer, Director of the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

If you’re looking for new and different ways for students to interact with content, you will find a tremendous resource in Notre Dame’s  Remix-T.   This resource was created by Chris Clark, the Assistant Director and Learning Technologies Center Coordinator in the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning at Notre Dame University.  His goal is to help instructors explore options for “creating media-rich learning experiences,” either by having instructors create media or assigning projects where students do.

The site has a project gallery with a large number of example projects, including advice and tools for making videos, comics, timelines, a media “scavenger hunt”, and content enriched maps.  Instructors can also find a page full of inexpensive or free media tools that might be helpful in collecting, organizing, or creating media.

If you’d like to dialog about how media might enrich your course, mail ctl@mtu.edu  or feel free to stop by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning in the Van Pelt and Opie Library, room 219!

Continue Reading →