What does pedagogy and mathematical physics have in common? The Uncertainty Principle. Physics informs us it is impossible to accurately determine both the position and the momentum of a subatomic particle. One can know its position, or its momentum, but never both.

Similarly, to the extent that we try to precisely measure “where each student stands” vis-à-vis the others in the class, we inhibit and retard the overall learning process. But to the extent that we focus on the overall learning of the group, the precise measurement of grades is neglected. A Hobbesian choice. But choose we must.

The American educational system, overall, seems to have chosen measurement over education of the group. For example, years ago prep courses for the SAT and grad school admission tests were optional, now they are almost mandatory. Since almost everyone is taking them, those who do not are at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, companies that make the tests, aware that virtually every one has been coached, make the tests ever more convoluted and abstruse, which only spurs students to spend more and more time in test preparation.

So, to teach or to grade, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler to err on the side of individual measurement or overall education of the group, for we simply cannot do both equally well, no matter how hard we try to.

We all have been there, and we would all like our students to go. Most, however, know next to nothing about graduate school since they are quite often the first in their families to go to college.

Why not set up a panel discussion in which five or six students each research, and make 5 to 7 minute presentations, in a “How 2 Go 2 Grad School” session on such topics as: the application process, cost and financing, entrance exams, and the years of school and average income for a variety of professions. Alternately, you could have each student on the panel present the application process, cost and financing, and the entrance exam, for say the MBA, JD, PhD and Masters degree. Or you might invite a Baruch alum, who is a professional, come and address your students about their particular profession and how to follow in their footsteps.

In all cases, however, after the panel presents or the visitor speaks, they would then field questions from the class. And the professional visitor might come to the class and witness the panel presentation and discussion and then chime in with their own insights.

Which students would you select? Ask for volunteers. Students deeply interested in grad school, especially those already researching the application process, will likely come forward. In fact, if your class requirements already include group projects, why not make this an option? You’ll be surprised at how little students know about graduate school or even choosing a profession. And you’ll be gratified at how much they learn about both.

Why not tap into our great strength and distinction, our diversity? From 2001 to 2009 Baruch College has been ranked number one in the nation, in terms of student body diversity, by U.S. News and World Report. Early in each semester why not schedule a Cultural Exchange Day? I have, and it has proved quite a learning tool. . .

For Cultural Exchange Day each student is asked to bring in at least one item, of any kind, that represents their nation of origin, religion, ethnic group or any other aspect of what they consider to be their culture. During the session each student is required to talk with at least a dozen of their fellow students carefully making note of each other’s (1) name (2) culture (3) item that they brought to class and (4) its significance. (Stack up some of the chairs, and rearrange the others, to provide room to walk around.)

I have found that oftentimes students, who normally do not talk at all, become the center of attention as they briskly discuss, display and explain a wide array of fascinating artifacts from dozens of countries around the world. Some even come dressed in their traditional garb. Knots will periodically form and disperse around elaborate, or particularly intriguing, items and their presenters. This exercise is not just an ice breaker, but also an eye opener to the richly varied ways humanity has adapted, survived and thrived in every corner of the globe.

Cultural Exchange Day can be held in any course. If you like a focused approach, require that the items brought in be relevant to the subject matter of the course be it music, history, religion, business, or whatever. With this approach, in particular, observations made during Cultural Exchange Day tend to resonate later in the term. Since cultural diversity is our great strength and truly unique distinction, why not tap into it in this and in other ways?

About ten years ago the (then) executive director of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Harvey Seifter, approached me with a novel idea: a residency for Orpheus at Baruch College. Those of you who know about the longtime residency here of the Alexander String Quartet might question the novelty, but this was a different concept. Instead of bringing music to arts and science classes and demonstrating links-to classical or romantic styles, or to narrative techniques or mathematical relationships etc.-the idea was to have business students sit in on an actual Orpheus rehearsal.

If you don’t know Orpheus, my point is obscure. Orpheus is an orchestra that functions (wonderfully) without a conductor. The idea was (and still is) to demonstrate the actual working of a “flat management system” in real time. There’s nothing staged: these are real rehearsals for upcoming performances. Sitting in on these sessions, we heard many serious discussions about significant matters of interpretation; there were lots of conflicts, lots of resolutions, and lots of lessons to be learned by our MBA students.

Ten years on, Orpheus continues to be in residence with our MBA program and honors undergraduates. I haven’t been involved in years, but the Zicklin School keeps asking them back.

What point(s) made in any of the posts or comments thus far stand(s) out most to you?

What do you know now that you did not know before?

What will you do differently now as a result of participating in the Teaching Blog? (I am defining “participating” broadly – reading, commenting on, or writing posts.)

What issues have been raised that need further discussion or most need addressing by the College?

While Edward Deci’s presentation was geared towards college teaching, he stated how motivation is very broadly relevant, for example, in parenting, sports, etc. He talked about the three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competency, and relatedness) and their importance in extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. For this post, I will focus a only a small portion of his thought-provoking presentation – the usefulness of tests.

I liked what he said about the usefulness of tests. He explained that tests can be useful when we focus on the “primary function… to assess whether students have learned and can perform.” Therefore, “tests can provide meaningful feedback to students, teachers, and administrators.” One key point was to “minimize rigidity” in testing, for example, having students grade their own quizzes for feedback on how well they are learning the course material. He emphasized the importance of being respectful and responsive to students and to provide a choice whenever possible.

I have discussed with students how well the class is doing as a group on the tests and even changed the format of the final exam based upon those discussions. For example, in one class, I noticed that my students performed best on short essay questions in my assessing their knowledge and understanding of the course material. We came to an agreement that the final exam would be all short essay questions – students had to choose 20 out of 30 short essay questions to answer. I felt the outcome from this change was a better measure of what students had learned.

This leads me to ask:

Are you open to renegotiating the learning contract (the syllabus if we’re focusing on the explicit part) with your students?

What other adjustments have you made in your courses based upon students’ input in order to enhance learning and assessment?

Students’ speaking in class is highly valued and rightly so. Those of us who practice student-centered instruction don’t want to be the only one speaking during the class session. We also don’t want only a handful of our students participating in discussions. Therefore, I appreciated when Mel Silberman, author of several books on active training, conducted a session at the Baruch College Faculty Orientation in August in which he offered some tips on how to increase participation – tips included “pre-discussion” and students’ calling on the next speaker. And I have to say his methods worked; he increased participation in the session. My concern is the narrow focus on speaking without giving students an alternative to expressing themselves. An alternative that may embolden students to speak in class later in the course or down the road in other courses.

When I first started teaching, I was particularly sensitive to students who are not comfortable speaking in class regardless of the reason. I wanted to give students an alternative way of participating. While I was looking at sample syllabi, I came across a syllabus that incorporated another method of participation, a response sheet. I am sorry to say I do not have a record of the source of this way of using response sheets and have only one copy of a syllabus with my directions to students- with a few years away from work as a full-time mom, crashed hard drives and flooded basements – more than a few things have been lost. As I have stated, participation in class discussion is highly valued and often represents a portion of each student’s final grade. So why do we appear to only value oral participation? Could we not have written participation? The response sheet is an alternative avenue of participation for students that has worked well in my classes.

Here is my sample from the syllabus for a course that had weekly class sessions:

Class Participation

To receive 100% on class participation, you will need to speak in class on average about once per week. There will be opportunities to speak every session during lectures and classroom exercises. For students uncomfortable with speaking in class, you can participate by completing a one-page reaction sheet (2 paragraphs at a minimum) for each class session. State what you learned or how the session impacted you as an individual. It could be a reaction, an insight, an opinion, but NOT a summary of the material covered. Reaction sheets are not required but strongly recommended. All students are encouraged to do them, even if you participate regularly in class. The additional credit may help compensate for other areas of weakness such as test taking. Reaction sheets are due the next class session and will not be accepted beyond that. E-mail submissions are accepted and encouraged.

Some guidelines for the response sheet are as follows:

• For the first 2 response sheets received in a semester from a student, I give written feedback and a chance to resubmit for participation credit if the response sheet does not adhere to guidelines or is lacking in substance. I also read one or two samples out loud to the class as models of good response sheets (when I feel strongly that the anonymity of the student can be maintained). On all subsequent response sheets, I indicate whether the participation point has been earned or not and include other comments as I am inspired to.
• You can also keep the practice of reading a few response sheets out loud at the next class session and spend a few minutes discussing them with the class.
• I recall requiring response sheets or in-class participation in discussions for 10 weeks in the semester (for however many class sessions that works out to) in order for students to earn the maximum participation points.

In my experience, less than 25% of students submit response sheets. Some students started with response sheets then abandoned them because they were participating in class discussions. Perhaps they just needed time to feel more comfortable participating.

I really see this as one small way we can provide a more welcoming learning environment. Response sheets enable us to engage quiet students in a way that can lead to their speaking in class later in the course. If not, we still communicate that we value their input, and we too can benefit from the insights students express in writing. Imagine from the quiet student’s perspective of feeling encouraged as opposed to pressured to speak in class. I believe this creates a learning environment in which class participation will actually increase.

http://cac.ophony.org/2008/10/15/the-deadly-grip-of-tradition/

Below is a link to information on Student Writing at Baruch College from the Faculty Handbook:

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/writing.htm

What is your view of the traditional introduction-body-conclusion approach in teaching composition?

A well-written goal simply states an outcome or end result to be achieved. In other words, where do we want to go? While goals should be specific, they are often phrased in broader terms that need to be operationally defined (called “fuzzies” by Robert Mager). Now that we know where we want to go, how do we get there? This is where objectives come in. They should be specific and measurable and state what must be done to achieve the goal. In the case of learning objectives, they should be phrased from students’ perspective, not teachers’.

From an instructional design perspective, learning objectives have three purposes:

• Serve as a guide in designing a course
• Communicate to students what they are expected to achieve
• Assist in evaluating instruction

I found a good article summarizing Robert Mager’s approach to writing learning objectives: “How to Write Great Learning Objectives.” I don’t adhere to Robert Mager’s approach as a strict formula to follow, especially when it comes to less tangible subjects – instead I use his approach as a guideline in writing more specific and therefore clearer learning objectives. I have found his approach in writing learning objectives very useful in guiding and improving instruction. The place for us to start, though, is clearly defining learning goals and objectives and using these terms consistently.