Archive for October, 2009
A rubric for assessing group participation on a project may be very useful for students, especially if they are being graded on the “process” as well as the “product”. The students can use the rubric to assess their own contribution to the group project and they can evaluate the contribution of their team members. You can adapt the rubric to match the performance expected. You can also ask the students to create the rubric. Either way, it is best practice to give the students the rubric in advance.
If students have been working away on a group project, without having had a prior discussion around roles and expectations, then the rubric can still be introduced as a useful tool to kick off a conversation around missed expectations and to resolve any participation concerns.
To view the rubric click on the link http://spin.mohawkcollege.ca/ctlr/docs/group_participation_rubric.docx You may want to add a score to each level of performance, e.g. 4, 3, 2, 1. Assuming that each of the criterion are weighted equally, then there would be a total maximum score of 28 points.
If you would more information on rubrics check the library guides, http://mohawkcollege.ca.libguides.com/AssessmentResources and for assistance with creating a rubric, please contact Roberta Burke in the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Faculty Development, Centre for Teaching and Learning
October 30th, 2009
Research reveals that motivation for 21st century skills of innovation and creativity clash with traditional motivation methods. Career analyst Dan Pink examines the mismatch between how organizations motivate staff, and what science and research confirms. Pink shares some intriguing examples of companies that are doing it right - tapping into employee creativity for outstanding results, as well as enhanced employee productivity, engagement, and satisfaction! While the focus is on employee engagement, satisfaction, productivity and organizations, it has great meaning for our classrooms and other facets of life
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_pink_on_motivation.html
October 29th, 2009
From the Eberly Centre of Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Melon
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/howto/assesslearning/groupWork.html
Assessing Group Work
All of the basic principles of assessment that apply to individual work apply to group work as well. Assessing group work has added wrinkles, however. First, depending on the objectives of the assignment, both process and product-related skills must be assessed. Second, group performance must be translated into individual grades – which raises issues of fairness and equity. Complicating both these issues is the fact that neither group processes nor individual contribution are necessarily apparent in the final product. Thus, the instructor needs to find ways of obtaining that information. The following general principles should be adapted to the context of specific courses.
Assess process, not just product.
If both product and process are important to you, both should be reflected in students’ grades – although the weight you accord each will depend on your learning objectives for the course and for the assignment. Ideally, your grading criteria should be communicated to students via a rubric. This is especially important if you are emphasizing skills that students are not used to being evaluated on (such as the ability to cooperate, meet deadlines, etc.)
Ask students to assess their own contribution to the team.
Have students evaluate their own teamwork skills and their contribution to the group’s process using a self-assessment that focuses on the process skills you are emphasizing, e.g., respectfully listening to and considering opposing views or a minority opinion; effectively managing conflict around differences in ideas or approaches; keeping the group on track both during and between meetings; promptness in meeting deadlines; and appropriate distribution of research, analysis, writing.
Hold individuals accountable.
To motivate individual students and discourage the free-rider phenomenon, it is important to assess individual contributions and understanding, as well as group products and processes. In addition to evaluating the work of the group as a whole, ask individual students to demonstrate their learning. This can be done via independent write-ups, weekly journal entries, content quizzes, etc.
Ask students to evaluate their group’s dynamics and the contributions of their teammates.
Gauge what various group members have contributed to the group (e.g., effort, participation, cooperativeness, accessibility, communication skills) by asking team members to complete a group processes evaluation form. While this is not a fool-proof strategy (students may feel social pressure to cover for one another), combined with other factors promoting individual accountability, it can provide you with important information about the dynamics within groups and the contributions of individual members.
If you are gathering feedback from external clients (for example, in the context of public reviews of students’ performances or creations), this feedback can also be incorporated into your assessment of group work. Feedback from external clients can address product (“Does it work?” “Is it a good solution/design?”) or process (based on the client’s interaction with the group and its ability to communicate effectively, respond appropriately, or meet deadlines) and can be incorporated either formally or informally into the group grade.
October 23rd, 2009
Carleton University Student Success 2.0 2009
Overview
Student success is core to the enterprise of any university. What is meant by “student success” is complex and nuanced, but a key measure is provided by student retention rates: the proportion of students who continue with their studies and complete their degrees.
Carleton has made remarkable progress in improving its retention rates. For the 1992 cohort of undergraduates, only 56.5 per cent remained at the University two years after first enrolling. For the 2004 cohort, that figure had risen to 81.1 per cent. Much of this improvement can be attributed to the increase in the high school averages of students entering Carleton, as well as to internal measures taken to encourage student success. Read more….
http://www2.carleton.ca/fpa/ccms/wp-content/ccms-files/student-success-report.pdf
October 15th, 2009
A Guide for Faculty and Staff to Assist Students is available online
http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/announcements/DistressGuide.doc
Prepared by the Office of Student Services and Success Initiatives
Faculty and staff have a unique, important and sometimes crucial role in responding to students in crisis or in distress. You may have regular contact with the student and be able to observe changes in behaviour. As well, students often see faculty and staff as the first points of contact for advice, support and mentorship.
Some students will be receptive to your offers of assistance while others may not. Sometimes students will directly approach you with their concerns. How you handle each situation depends on your personal style, comfort and skill level, experience with similar situations and depth of your relationship with the student. Involve yourself to the extent that you are comfortable and your level of expertise..
This guide is intended to further equip staff with basic information to assist students in crisis or distress.
• Section 1 provides you with information on how to recognize and respond to students who may be experiencing a crisis that affects their safety, that of others or their ability to function.
• Section 2 provides both general guidelines for recognizing students in distress and information about specific issues such as suicide, grief, and aggressive students.
• Section 3 provides information about confidentiality to students for Counselling, Health and Disability Services.
• Section 4 provides a link to relevant College policies and procedures that support interventions and assistance to students in crisis or distress.
Remember that you do not have to deal with these issues alone. There are many College and community services to assist you and the student:
Health Services
Fennell Campus: Room C109, 905-575-2084
IAHS Campus: Room 303, 905-540-4247, ext 26750
Stoney Creek Campus: Room A118, 905-575-1212, ext 5036
Brantford Campus: Room A117, 905-5754-1212, ext 7203
Counselling Services
Fennell Campus: Room C117, 905-575-2211
IAHS Campus: Room 303, 905-540-4247, ext 26751
STARRT Institute: Room A111A, 905-575-1212 ext. 2538
Brantford Campus: Room A102, 519-758-6014
After hours, or when in doubt, call Security or 911
Mohawk College Policies
Mohawk College has a number of policies and procedures that are designed to protect and respect the rights of all members of the College community. The following link provides detailed information and policies and procedures relevant to assisting students who are experiencing distress. Please refer to these policies periodically as they are subject to change.
www.mohawkcollege.ca/dept/stactiv/affairs/vp/codes.html
October 7th, 2009
Flexible and Customized Learning Options
According to McPhail (2004) one step in transforming a college from a teaching to a learning institution is the adoption of flexible learning options. “An essential element that cannot be overlooked in a learning-centered culture is the ability to provide students with flexible learning options that enhance their access and ability to learn. If students are still in high school and want to jump-start their college careers, if they are preparing for a transfer institution, if they are looking to acquire or enhance job skills, or if they want to improve the quality of their lives, they need course offerings and special programs that allow them to do so. If they need to learn how to learn, a rich variety of developmental and learning community offerings must be available in formats that engage students with diverse learning styles and individual needs. And, if students learn more effectively early in the morning or late at night; one, two, three, or more days a week; or even on weekends, all of these options must be available to them. Finally, to accompany and sometimes even replace gifted lecturers, there need to be collaborative and technology-based learning approaches and environments. A true learning-centered college empowers students to learn anytime, anyplace, any way.” McPhail, Irving Pressley “TRANSFORMATION of a COLLEGE: From Teaching to Learning”. Presidency, The. FindArticles.com. 02 Oct, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3839/is_200410/ai_n9473315/
Creating differentiated learning is an element of Mohawk College’s Strategic plan. We are in the process of developing a set of guiding principles that will guide the implementation of customized learning options in various programs.
We would like to hear from faculty who have experimented with flexible and customized delivery so that you can help us to develop guiding principles, explore potential pilots and share exemplars.
Interested faculty are invited to attend a think tank on Wednesday Oct 21, 2009 from noon until 1:00 to share ideas. Fennell Campus: location to be confirmed.
This meeting will focus on course options such as: 1) differentiation of content; 2) differentiation of learning style approach; 3) and differentiation of product (assignments). Other groups have been charged with examining pathways and access.
We welcome your ideas on the creation of flexible, customized learning options. Please feel free to post comments on the blog.
October 2nd, 2009