Teaching in the Community College
Resource Index
1. Student Trends
Characteristics of Community College Students
by Patrick Nellis, Valencia Community College
Faculty sometimes wonder about their students. Who are these people and what do
they want from us?
The VARK Questionnaire (The Barsch Learning Style Inventory)
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
This questionnaire aims to find out something about your preferences for the way
you work with information. You will have a preferred learning style and one part
of that learning style is your preference for the intake and output of ideas and
information.
Reaching the Second Tier: Learning and Teaching Styles
North
Carolina State University
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Secondtier.html
Richard Felder provides an overview of student learning styles and proposes
instructional methods to reach these students. While his examples relate to
college science education, Felder's suggestions can easily be applied to other
disciplines.
The Keirsey Temperament and Character Tests
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/keirsey.htm
The Keirsey Temperament and Character tests resemble the Meyers-Briggs test.
They can be taken online and scored immediately. The temperament and character
types are explained. There is also a short list of careers aligned with the
character types. Architect, for example, is aligned with rational, teacher is
aligned with idealist, etc. Students will enjoy taking the tests and learning
about themselves from the scores they receive. The scores can also be used by
instructors at the beginning of courses to learn about students and better plan
instructional strategies, emphases, and individualized responses.
Changing Characteristics of
Students
Levine, Arthur. (1999). How the Academic Profession is Changing. In Pescosolido,
Bernice A. and Aminzade, Ronald (Eds.), The Social Worlds of Higher
Education: Handbook for Teaching in a New Century, (pp. 45-47). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, a Sage Publications Co.
Barbarians Inside the Gate?
Furniss, Norman. (1999). Barbarians Inside the Gate? In Pescosolido, Bernice A.
and Aminzade, Ronald, (Eds.), The Social Worlds of Higher Education: Handbook
for Teaching in a New Century, (pp. 154-167). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge
Press, a Sage Publications Co.
2. Words of Wisdom
Things I Wish They Had Told Me
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Thingsiwish.html
by Richard M. Felder
The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Professors
http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/457.html
This article is from the Tomorrow’s ProfessorSM Listserv postings (Richard Reis, Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning). It provides some very specific advice on how to use Steven Covey’s successful habits in the college classroom.
Implications of Accountability On Your Teaching, Chapter 2, in Teaching College in an Age of Accountability, by Richard Lyons (Indian River Community College), Meggin McIntosh (University of Nevada-Reno) and Marcella L. Kysilka (University of Central Florida), copyright 2003, Pearson Education, Inc., Published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA www.ablongman.com
The True Teacher Accepts All Students
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/truteach.htm
This is an article on the
Honolulu Community College web site by Ernest O. Melby from The Teacher and
Learning.
3. The Role of a Teacher
If Learning Doesn't Happen, Can We Still Call it Teaching?
Patrick Nellis and
David Hosman
Valencia Community College
A learning-centered reform movement is sweeping across American community
colleges. Placing an emphasis on learning rather than teaching is more than a
semantic change, it is a major philosophical shift for higher education. Student
learning as the outcome of our teaching practices is the overarching goal of the
learning-centered college.
Understanding Your Teaching Responsibilities
The University of Minnesota
Center for Teaching and Learning Services
A questionnaire that can facilitate communication with senior colleagues or
administrators about teaching in a department.
The Most Important Day: Starting Well
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/dayone.htm
Since the first day of class is the time for faculty to establish a tone for
what will happen the rest of the term, it is important to reflect on the climate
and first impression she/he would like to establish. This article by Delivee L.
Wright, from the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Nebraska,
offers some ideas about making sure students' attitudes toward you, the course
and the subject matter will support a constructive learning environment.
4. Course Syllabus
Issues
The World Lecture Hall
University of Texas at Austin
http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture
The World Lecture Hall contains links to pages created by faculty worldwide who
are using the Web to deliver university-level academic courses in any language.
For Openers... An Inclusive Syllabus
An article by Terry Collins on practices and techniques for effective syllabus
organization.
Collins, Terry. (1997). For Openers... An Inclusive Syllabus. In W. E.
Campbell and K. A. Smith (Eds.), New Paradigms for College Teaching,
Interaction Book Company, Edina MN.
Plan the Syllabus Tutorial
University of Minnesota
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/syllabus
A tutorial covering important elements of an effective syllabus.
101 Things You Can Do the First Three Weeks of Class
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/101thing.htm
This catalog of suggestions is for college teachers looking for a fresh way of
creating the best possible environment for learning. It was gathered from
University of Nebraska professors and other college teachers by Joyce T. Povlacs
at the Teaching and Learning Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Concept-Centered Course Design
A brief checklist to aid in course planning by Joan S.Stark and Lisa R. Lattuca.
Fink's Five Principles of Good Course Design
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/finks5.htm
This list is from Dee Fink, Director of the Instructional Development Program at
The University of Oklahoma.
5. Getting Started
Quick Before It Dries
University of Minnesota:
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/MinnCon/quick.html
An online article by Steve Adams about setting the pattern for active student
participation in the classroom.
Getting Started
North
Carolina State: http://www2.ncsu.edu:8010/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Getstart.html
An online article by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent providing guidelines
and suggestions for the first day of a course.
The Most Important Day: Starting Well
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/dayone.htm
Since the first day of class is the time for faculty to establish a tone for
what will happen the rest of the term, it is important to reflect on the climate
and first impression she/he would like to establish. This article by Delivee L.
Wright, from the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Nebraska,
offers some ideas about making sure students' attitudes toward you, the course
and the subject matter will support a constructive learning environment.
6. Focus on Learning
Collaborative Learning 101
K. Patricia Cross
The Cross Papers Number 4 (2000)
K. Patricia Cross writes an article on Collaborative Learning, as one of her
famous "Cross Papers," written as a Senior League Fellow at the League for
Innovation in the Community College. She is one of the champions of the
continuing effort to improve and expand student learning, in an article that is
both "scholarly and practical."
Cross, K. Patricia. (2000). Cross Paper #4: Collaborative Learning 101.
Mission Viejo, CA: League for Innovation in the Community College.
Active and Cooperative Learning Resources
Visit the Instructional Innovation Network at
http://www.bestpractice.net/ to see examples of cooperative learning and
case-study teaching methods. This is a national database of excellent practices
in higher education developed under a FIPSE grant by Susan Ledlow of Arizona
State University in partnership with Cal Poly Pomona. You can submit your own
best practices for inclusion in their national database if you so desire.
Appropriate Uses of the Lecture
David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson and Karl A. Smith
Active Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom
Lecture has both advantages and disadvantages. This chapter describes the use of
informal cooperative learning groups to make students cognitively active during
lectures.
Johnson, David W., Johnson, Roger T., and Smith, Karl A. (1998). Active
learning: Cooperation in the college classroom, (5, pp. 4-9). Edina, MN:
Interaction Book Company.
FAQs on Discussion
Natural Teaching and Learning Forum
http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/faqdisc.htm
An article from the NTLF by Joan Middendorf and Alan Kalish, Teaching Resource
Center, Indiana University.
7. Writing Assignments
"Writing for Learning -- Not Just for Demonstrating Learning."
by Peter Elbow,
University of
Massachusetts, Amherst.
http://ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/writing.htm
Whatever kinds of writing tasks you assign to your students - research papers,
essay exams, lab reports, book critiques, journals - your assignments are giving
them a unique and valuable opportunity to learn. Peter Elbow discusses this
varied set of writing requirements and strongly suggests adding "low stakes"
writing to deploy in class to discover what kind of learning is taking place.
OWLs - On-Line Writing Labs as Teaching Resources
http://www.engl.niu.edu/comskills/
The On-Line Writing Lab of Northern Illinois University is featured here with a
connection to the "Links" page, which leads to assistance in designing writing
assignments for any occasion from all across the country.
"Additional Writing Assignment Tips"
by Patrick Nellis,
Valencia
Community College
The following are writing tips adapted from the work of John Bean. Like Elbow's,
Bean's approaches combine writing to learn and writing as a demonstration of
learning.
8. Multiple Roles
The New Faculty Member
by Rebecca Brent and Richard M. Felder
This link accesses a resource that helps identify the roles you assume as new
faculty.
We Are Smarter Than Our Students
http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i07/07b01401.htm
This article on student expectations and negotiations from the Chronicle of
Higher Education was written by Miriam Kalman Harris, associate professor of
English at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth. It is an excellent example of
the tensions implicit in discussions of the the student as customer and/or the
student as learner.
Students Won't Respect Teachers if Teachers Don't Respect Students.
http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i12/12b00402.htm
TheChronicle Letters to the Editor (reader responses to We Are Smarter Than
Our Students).
9. Student Preparation
I Can't Get the Students to Do the Assigned Reading
A compilation of suggestions from University of Minnesota faculty on how to
motivate students to read.
Reading for Reflection
Patrick Nellis, Valencia Community College
Getting students to actually read the course material and reflect on its meaning
is one of the most difficult tasks in higher education. This link begins with
insights by John Bean into why students find college reading difficult, followed
by a few helpful suggestions and a model reading guide designed by D.N. Perkins.
Motivating Students
Honolulu
Community College
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/motiv.htm
An article by Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley. Some
students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need - or expect -
instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate. Whatever level of motivation
students bring to your classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by
what happens in that classroom.
10. Creating Tests
Designing Tests to Maximize Learning
http://www.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching/Papers/TestingTips.htm
Richard Felder, North Carolina State University and the National Effective
Teaching Institute, offers this article to faculty in quantitative disciplines
who are looking for specific things they can do to minimize students' perception
that they are being dealt with unfairly on exams.
FAQs-5 Designing Fair Tests
http://www.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching/Columns/FAQs-5.html
This Chemical Engineering Education journal article by Richard Felder and
Rebecca Brent, North Carolina State University and the National Effective
Teaching Institute (NETI), addresses three very common questions asked by
faculty regarding testing, especially in the quantitative disciplines.
Beliefs about Grading
A survey on your own beliefs about grading.
Grading Practices
Barbara Gross Davis
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/grading.htm
An article on the Honolulu Community College Faculty Development Teaching Tips
web site by Barbara Gross Davis, University of California-Berkeley. From Tools
for Teaching, Jossey-Bass, it contains general grading strategies and ways to
minimize student complaints about grading.
Testing and Assessing
Learning
Wilbert J. McKeachie
Since grades in many courses are determined to a great degree by test scores,
tests can be among the most frustrating aspects of a course to many students.
But creating effective tests is not a skill that all college teachers
automatically possess.
11. Goals Inventory
Teaching Goals Inventory (TGI), Self-Scorable Version
A printable version of the Teaching Goals Inventory.
TGI, Self-Scoring Worksheet
To be used with the Printable Self-Scoring Version.
The Teaching Goals Inventory Online
University of Iowa
http://www.uiowa.edu/~centeach/tgi/
An online source for background information on the TGI and an online version of
the TGI that you can take on the web.
Angelo, Thomas A. and Cross, K. Patricia. (1993). Classroom Assessment
Techniques, (pp. 13-23). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
12. Getting Feedback
Chair's Midterm Evaluation
Cary's Midterm Survey
Steven’s friend from graduate school, Cary, has sent him a survey he uses in his
classes.
Some Common Misconceptions and Beliefs
Raoul A. Arreola
With Special Contributions by Lawrence M. Aleamoni
Student ratings are one of the most common features of faculty evaluation
systems... And, because the evaluation of faculty performance, especially for
the purpose of making personnel decisions, is not always the most popular and
well-received of administrative activities, faculty and administrators have
generated and perpetuated a number of common beliefs (myths) concerning student
ratings of instructors and instruction.
13. Classroom Assessment
Classroom Assessment Techniques
By Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross
From Classroom Assessment Techniques, A Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd Ed.
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess-1.htm
Classroom Assessment Technique Examples
By Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross
From Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd Ed.
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess-2.htm
Classroom Assessment Techniques
http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/index.html
The University of Oregon Teaching Effectiveness Program provides this page to
assist faculty to understand the critical role of assessment in learner-driven
education. It contains links to 4 sites which summarize or adapt material from
the book Classroom Assessment Techniques by
Thomas Angelo and K. Patricia Cross.
Thomas A. Angelo, K. Patricia Cross, (1993), Classroom Assessment Techniques, Second Edition, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
14. Cheating In College
The Center for Academic Integrity
http://www.academicintegrity.org
Click on “How To Get Started Resources” at the bottom of the home page.
The Center for Academic Integrity provides a forum to identify, affirm and promote the values of academic integrity among students, faculty and administrators. Part of the site is a members-only tier. The public tier contains a wealth of resources, including sample posters and materials, case studies, plus several articles on plagiarism and cyber-plagiarism.
When Students Resort to Cheating
William L. Kibler and Pamela Vannoy Kibler
One reason for the high incidence of cheating in college (according to one
recent study, two out of three college students cheat) is the intense pressure
generated by competition for admission, grades, and jobs. Students who cheat
need to understand why they do it and how it hurts them.
15. Plagiarism Resource Sites
Purdue University OWL
http://owl.english.purdue.edu//handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
Georgetown University Honor Council
http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html
Questia Online Library Plagiarism Resources
http://www.questia.com/popularSearches/plagiarism.jsp
Questia Online Library Academic Cheating Resources
http://www.questia.com/popularSearches/academic_cheating.jsp
16. Plagiarism Detection Software Sites
http://www.plagiarism.org/ ( http://www.turnitin.com )
17. Using Feedback
A Sample of Steven's Results
Results from
Steven's student evaluation.
Using an Early Term Feedback Survey
University of Minnesota
Center for Teaching and Learning Services
A few guidelines to consider when using a feedback survey.