EHHP Operations and Accreditation






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September 14, 2010

Spotlight on Faculty: Diana Treahy

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 10:09 am

Models for Special Needs Students in Teaching Children Mathematics, v16 n8 p484-490 Apr 2010

by Diana Treahy and Susan Gurganus

As teacher educators, the authors have had the advantage of interacting with and observing teachers from the preservice years through induction and into mentoring roles. They recommend that teacher-preparation programs, with their school partnerships, offer co-teaching experiences within the range of field experiences for preservice teacher candidates. Teachers with collaborative experiences during preservice training are more likely to participate in successful collaborative models, such as co-teaching, within their schools. The shift in teachers’ roles toward more collaborative models has been evident to veteran teachers and those who work in supervision or consultation capacities in a number of schools. The authors contacted former teacher candidates, now elementary teachers, to solicit their views and descriptions of experiences with various co-teaching structures and ask them what challenges and advantages those models have in actual practice. The teachers describe five proven, effective co-teaching strategies for collaborative partnerships with special education instructors and other professionals. These are: (1) team teaching; (2) alternative teaching; (3) one-teach, one-assist; (4) stations; and (5) parallel structure. Elements for successfully co-teaching mathematics are presented.



September 3, 2010

From The Teaching Professor: On bias in teaching

Filed under: Curriculum,Learners,Teaching ideas,Uncategorized — daviss @ 10:17 am

Any number of recent books have accused academe of a liberal bias. There are now two websites (No Indoctrination at http://noindoctrination.org and Students for Academic Freedom at www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org) on which students can post accusations of bias. What’s missing from the literature is information on how students define bias. To remedy that omission, Craig Tollini (a sociologist) constructed a survey that asked students to indicate which of 26 behaviors they considered indicative of bias in the classroom. Items on the survey were drawn from two American Council of Trustees and Alumni reports that included descriptions of biased behavior, prior research, and the Students for Academic Freedom website. More than 230 students completed the online survey; the sample was representative of the university population at the institution.

More than 70 percent of the student respondents listed the following behaviors as conveying bias:

  • The professor discusses only one side of a political or social issue. (75.4 percent)
  • The professor gives lower grades (for an assignment or the course) to students whosupport a political or social position that he/she does not support. (73.7 percent)
  • The professor gives lower grades (for an assignment or for the course) to students whocriticize a political or social position that he/she supports. (72.4 percent)
  • The professor ignores students who raise alternative points of view about a political or social issue. (72.4 percent)
  • The professor ignores students who question or criticize his/her position on a political or social issue. (72.0 percent)
  • The professor encourages students to support a particular political party or candidate. (70.7 percent)
  • More than 60 percent of this student cohort said the following behaviors did not convey bias:
  • The professor assigns readings (including the textbook) that discuss political topics or social issues. (80.6 percent)
  • The professor discusses political or social issues that are related to the class. (77.2 percent)
  • The professor discusses controversial topics in class. (75.4 percent)
  • The professor makes an argument that contradicts your beliefs. (66.4 percent)
  • The professor makes positive statements about social institutions, like marriage, education, or religion. (60.8 percent)

There were also some interesting differences between students who listed themselves as conservative and those who labeled themselves liberal. For example, 72 percent of the conservative students thought bias was indicated when a professor made negative statements about a particular political party or candidate, compared with 46.6 percent of the liberal students who thought that was biased behavior. But liberal and conservative students agreed that bias has occurred when a professor ignores students who raise alternative points of view about a political or social issue.

The author admits that many of these findings are not surprising, but he does see value in having “direct empirical evidence … regarding how students define bias.” (p. 387). It is also important in this climate of concern about classroom bias to know that “these findings indicate that faculty members can engage in a wide array of behaviors, including contradicting students’ beliefs and discussion the government and social institutions, without being immediately labeled as biased by the majority of their students.” (p. 387)

The article contains all 26 items that were used on the survey. If you are wondering how your students define bias or if they might so label some of your behaviors, this article is a great resource.

Reference: Tollini, C. (2009). The behaviors that college students classify as political bias: Preliminary findings and implications. Teaching Sociology, 37 (October), 379-389.

August 30, 2010

Solutions for Student Incivility

This article was interesting to me because it says so much about professionalism for our teacher education candidates.
Written by: Christy Price in The Teaching Professor, August 1, 2010

In my workshops and presentations to faculty on engaging Millennial learners, I have been surprised how frequently the topic turns to student incivility. It seems everyone can tell a story of flagrant student disrespect. I have trouble relating to these experiences. In any given semester, I have approximately 200 students, and the vast majority of them are extremely cooperative, conscientious, and excited about their learning. In my 18 years of teaching, I have experienced what I would describe as uncivil student behavior in class on only two occasions.
Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but perhaps not? What if there were a formula for preventing or at least minimizing student incivility? Well, pull out your highlighter because, in my research on Millennial learners, I think I may have stumbled upon some answers.
Step 1: Shift your paradigm to prevention.
The first tip: don’t take these behaviors personally. One of my colleagues has suggested the word incivility implies a specific choice or intention on the part of the student. Perhaps it would behoove us to describe these behaviors as “unproductive to the learning environment,” since students often cluelessly exhibit them without realizing how their behavior is perceived and impacts the learning environment. In addition, many faculty are concerned with very specific student types such as the belligerent student, the Neanderthal who makes offensive comments, the know-it-all, the verbal dominator, the class-skipper, the perpetually late, the early leaver, the talker, the texter, the sleeper, the newspaper reader, the Web-surfer, the unprepared, or the student who demands special treatment. We may find ways to successfully respond to and alter each specific behavior, but if we really wish to create a learning environment, we need to focus on holistic measures as opposed to fragmented reactions to specific infractions.
Step 2: Practice verbal judo—producing closeness as opposed to distance.
Recently a colleague relayed a story in which she asked her students to define multicultural education. One student replied, “It is a Marxist plot to undermine public education.” Many of us might be quick to attack this perspective; however, we need to practice what I call “verbal judo.” We need our body language, tone, and words to send a message that de-escalates conflict. The Millennial learners I interview regularly describe antagonistic professorial responses to what they perceive as accidental or minor infractions. There’s a lesson to learn here: never be defensive, reactionary, or express a strongly negative emotional tone with a student. I frequently hear professors describe with bravado interactions in which they criticize, humiliate, deride, and belittle the very people they are charged to teach, develop, and inspire. Every interaction we have with students produces either closeness or distance. The more we engage in distance-producing interactions with students, the more we can expect noncompliance and unproductive student behaviors in return. We may win small battles, but we set ourselves up for losing the war as we lessen our overall ability to assist students in achieving the intended learning outcomes of our courses.
Step 3: Clearly communicate course policies and assignments with rationales and consistently administer consequences.
An ounce of prevention will avert a ton of student angst if we provide rationales and consequences for assignments and policies. If we don’t want students to challenge our grading procedures, a detailed rubric along with the reason for each assignment will clarify what students need to do and go a long way toward preventing student grade challenges after the fact. For example, if we have a policy that students lose points for late assignments, we should provide a policy rationale like this on the course syllabus and assignment rubric: “In order to be fair to students who work to turn in assignments on time, late papers will lose 5 percent for each class day they are late.”
Step 4: Design courses and utilize methods with the prevention of incivility in mind.
I have encountered professors who exhibit a wide range of attitudes and responses regarding specific behaviors such as texting in class. On one end of the spectrum are professors who don’t care if students text and successfully ignore such behaviors; on the other end are those who are disturbed beyond belief, who respond to texting with extremely punitive methods.
It has become painfully apparent to me that our methods play a powerful role in contributing to or averting unproductive student behaviors in the classroom. For example, I recently used my clicker response system to gather feedback from students regarding texting. Of the 77 students polled, 18 percent said they never text in their classes. This was a shockingly low number from my perspective. As for the 63 texters, 87 percent strongly agreed or agreed with this statement: “I text more in classes in which the professor’s main method is lecture and less in those classes where the professor uses a variety of methods such as discussion, group work, cases, and video or multimedia.”
Conclusion
If you peruse the literature on college student incivility, you will find a great deal of evidence that supports these recommendations. Communicating clearly and providing a rationale for class policies, creating closeness as opposed to distance when interacting with students, and using engaging methods will not only lessen student incivility, but will help us achieve our ultimate goal of helping student learn while they are in college.
A condensed version of this article was previously published as an E-xcellence in Teaching column on the PsychTeacher listserv coordinated by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.  It will appear in a collection of essay that maybe found at http://teachpsych.org/resources/e-books/e-books.php.
Contact Christy Price at cprice@daltonstate.edu.

July 13, 2010

Free Technology for Teachers blog

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 1:23 pm

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/p/free-downloads.html

Richard Byrne’s blog, Free Technology for Teachers, has some really important resources every teacher should know about. Here’s a link (above) to one of the blog pages containing some great teacher handbooks you don’t want to miss. And, these are free for you to use in workshops, classes, etc. Yes, really!

June 29, 2010

Handling Complaints and Complainers

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 9:42 am

No matter where the complaint comes from or who the complainer is, we all have to handle complaints from time to time. Here, from Faculty Focus, are some guidelines to assist us all. C.K. (Tina) Gunsalus, author of The College Administrator’s Survival Guide, has these suggestions:

  1. Don’t take it personally: Avoid the temptation to take complaints personally and become defensive. Find out what action the person making the complaint expects from you; perhaps listening is all that is required. Keep your demeanor calm and courteous.
  2. Never act on only one side of the story: Many problems stem from differences in perceptions. As you collect information, keep your stance neutral and remind people you are gathering data in the face of a problem presented to you.
  3. Nobody knows what everybody knows: If someone tells you “everyone knows” something, it is a good idea to drill deeper into the facts of the case. Often, things that some believe are common knowledge have little basis in truth.
  4. When in doubt, leave it out: If you are thinking better of making a statement or putting something in writing, don’t do it. Emphasize facts and decisions, not opinions and motives.
  5. Never attribute to malice that which incompetence will explain: Most bad things happen not through nefarious intent but through inattention, inaction, or miscommunication. Ask for clarification of facts, and repeat back what you have heard until you get it right.
  6. Say what you’ll do, and do what you say: Just as giving a screaming child a candy bar trains that child how to get a treat, you can also train adults to behave inappropriately if you break the rules out of pressure or desire to have the problem solved. Let the person know the plan of action and its timeline, and stick to it.
  7. In the absence of facts, people make things up: If you leave people hanging for a long period of time waiting for the next step or response, they will imagine the worst. Stick to your time schedule to alleviate this kind of worry.
  8. Keep notes: The notes can serve as everything from reminders of your action plan to facts required for a lawsuit. Only four things belong in notes: the date, who was present, the facts brought to you, and the action you promised. Leave out speculation, analysis, and thoughts.
  9. Trust your instincts: If you have an anxious or fearful feeling about a situation, don’t hesitate to call in someone else to help handle the situation properly with the appropriate boundaries.
  10. Some problems require formal process: It is possible that most of the problems brought to you will require only a calm ear to listen. However, some situations, like reprimands, discipline, and terminations, will require formal action. The more complex the problem, the more likely it will require a formal process. Acquaint yourself in advance with the resource people on your campus.

The author has these further tips:

  • Recognize challenges to your neutrality and authority, and respond effectively.
  • Proactively set the tone for discussion.
  • Gather input from all sides.
  • Recognize and defuse aggression spirals.
  • Focus on principles and facts, not personalities.
  • Know and protect your own hot buttons.
  • Choose your language carefully.
  • Know when to rely on instinct.
  • Document consistently and properly.
  • Establish and adhere to follow-up plans.

Mendi is Blogging at ISTE

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 8:46 am

Check out Mendi Benigni’s blog–she is blogging about each ISTE session she’s attending! Don’t miss this!

http://blogs.cofc.edu/benignim/

June 25, 2010

Fun for the Weekend: Find music, lyrics, titles with GOOGLE, MUSIPEDIA, SHAZAM, MIDOMI

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 3:05 pm

Want to find the lyrics to a song? Put the song title in “” or not in GOOGLE

Want to find a song? Sing or hum the tune in your computer microphone with MIDOMI. OR play part of the song on a virtual keyboard with MUSIPEDIA.

Want to find the name of a song you hear on the radio? With SHAZAM on your mobile device, turn it on and Shazam will “listen” to the song, give you the title and singer/musician, and even take you to iTunes where you can purchase it! There’s a free SHAZAM app that has worked great for me–you don’t need to pay for it.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

April 10, 2010

12 Great Social Studies Resources from Free Technology for Teachers Blog

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 5:20 pm

12 Resources All Social Studies Teachers Should Try

1. Google Earth. The possibilities for using Google Earth in a social studies classroom are almost limitless. In Google Earth students can tour ancient Rome, explore WWI and WWII battle sites, learn about contemporary news stories such as events in Afghanistan, or use Google Earth as an almanac of facts. Students, of course, can use Google Earth to create digital stories. Students can create tours of military campaigns, trace the lives of famous people, or map the expansions and contractions of political borders. If you’re looking for some directions to get started with Google Earth, please see Google Earth Across the Curriculum.

2. Google Maps. While Google Maps doesn’t offer nearly as many features as Google Earth, it is much easier to start using. Google Maps is completely web-based so students can create placemarks and tours from any Internet connected computer. For directions on creating placemarks on Google Maps, please see pages 25-32 of Google for Teachers.

3. Google Books. Google has scanned and put online thousands of books and documents that are in the public domain. For history teachers this means there is an abundance of books about famous battles, biographies, and other works that your students can access for research.

4. Google Scholar. Teaching lessons about notable US Supreme court cases? Need scholarly works to supplement the information in your students’ textbooks? Google Scholar is great place to start that search.

5. National Archives Daily Document. Every day the RSS feed from the National Archives serves up a new primary document corresponding to that day in history. Along with the document teachers will find suggested classroom resources and suggested research links. The National Archives has also made available on Google Video hundreds of films from their records. US History teachers will find a use for just about everything in the National Archives’ collection of films.

6. The Avalon Project is a free resource produced by Yale University. The Avalon Project provides digital copies of hundreds of original documents from a myriad of topics in US History. The Avalon Project is a good resource for students that need to find digital copies of original documents. For example, all of The Federalist Papers are available on the Avalon Project website.

7. X Timeline. Using X Timeline students can collaborate, just as they would when making a wiki, to build a multimedia timeline. Timelines built using X Timeline can include text, images, and video. X Timeline will accept dates in A.D./B.C. format.

8. For teachers of elementary school students Kids Past has an easy to read online World History “textbook” for kids. Kids Past also offers five history games to which students can apply the knowledge the find in the textbook. The textbook and games correspond to each other.

9. History Animated provides animations of the American Revolution, the US Civil War, and the US Pacific Campaign in WWII. In each of the three series of animations you will see the animated movement of armies displayed on a map. Each animation is accompanied by captions describing the strategies of the armies as well as the results and consequences of each battle.

10. BizEd is a great resource for economics lessons and virtual field trips. I started using BizEd a few years ago and it has been a valuable resource to me ever since. BizEd is a UK based website so some of the lessons and activities have to be manipulated a little bit for use in US classrooms, but the overall value of activities is fantastic. Some of the highlights for teachers are frequently updated lesson plans, a comprehensive glossary of terms, slide shows available for download, and fantastic virtual field trips.

11. Playing History is a collection of more than 100 games related to topics in US and World History as well as civics and geography. The games come from a variety of sources across the web. Feedback on every game and suggestions for future additions are welcomed by the hosts of the site. Visitors to Playing History can search for games by using the tag cloud, by using the search box, or just browse through the entire list.

12. Everyday CNN Student News releases ten minute news programs covering news stories around the world. To accompany your use of the video, CNN provides maps and discussion guides.

AddThis

February 1, 2010

Grading Student Papers Using Google Forms

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 12:21 pm

- Wide Scope – http://www.andrewcullison.com -

Grade Student Papers Using Google Forms

Posted By Andrew Cullison On October 30, 2009 @ 3:38 pm In educational technology, teaching, the academy | 4 Comments

If you can break down what you’re looking for in a good paper into a set of categories and assign a numerical value to each category, then you should definitely consider using Google Forms [1] to help you grade. I just developed a quick and easy way to do this. Here’s what I do.

My students submit their papers electronically, and I download their papers (all at once) into a single folder.

I create a Google form to use as my grading tool. The first question on the form is a text entry for the student’s name. Every question after that is scale question. I set my scale 1-5, and I create a question for each of the main items I’m looking for.

With all of the above complete, I’m ready to start grading. I open the first student paper (more…)

January 12, 2010

Best New Stuff Added to Google Docs in 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — daviss @ 9:21 am

Google has shed the beta label and added more than 45 new features to Google docs in 2009 including:

I have been using Google docs in my classes for sharing files with my students; receiving student work, editing it, and sharing my feedback with students; allowing students to easily conduct peer review and collaborate with each other; and maintaining all the docs I want to be able to access from just anywhere there is internet access without carrying a flash drive (like my classroom). No glitches so far. What a breakthrough this has been for managing my courses. Try it–you’ll like it!

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