Lifelong Learning Applies Here, Too

If I take nothing else away from this course, it's that teaching is an ever evolving practice - similar to MIS and technology disciplines. It's a worthwhile challenge, and it's not one we face alone. In addition to the excellent books and resources from this class (not to mention the people - you all have been fun getting to know), I have developed a personal learning environment to demonstrate where else I can learn about teaching as I continue in my degree program and start teaching.

This is not comprehensive, particularly on those that list individuals to whom I can turn for advice or help. However, this gives me a good starting point from where to grow and keep learning. With any luck, these resources will lead me to others that are also helpful in keeping abreast of changes in education and trends in teaching. I suppose it's good I enjoy learning and experimenting with new(-to-me) techniques.

Yet Another Fifty: A Book Review of "Classroom Assessment Techniques" by Angelo and Cross

Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers by Angelo and Cross is packed with many great suggestions on how teachers can assess themselves in regards to teaching. It subscribes to the idea that teaching does not occur independently of learning; thus, these techniques mostly rely on gathering feedback in various ways on if and what students are learning. Although some of these techniques may lend nicely to graded work (even if only for participation points), the authors stress that, when applied for the purposes of assessing the effectiveness of teaching, there should be no grade attached to the student feedback.

In addition to a plethora of examples demonstrating how a teacher might undergo an assessment cycle, the authors provide several tables before diving into the classroom assessment techniques (CATs) listing the CATs in various ways. The two I find the most useful are Table 6.2 (CATs recommended for different disciplines) and Table 6.3 (CATs clustered by teaching goal - such as higher-order thinking, basic academic success skills, and personal development). After the CATs are described in full, the authors provide some additional insights into using CATs, including various tables showing how teaching goals vary and are prioritized across disciplines.

I do like that the book includes the teaching goal inventory (TGI) in full; however, it reminds me of the learning goals inventory (LGI) we already completed in class. of the two, I think I prefer the latter. I find the clusters in the LGI more comprehensive and straightforward than in the TGI; I also feel the LGI is more student focused as it puts the emphasis on learning, whereas the TGI is more teacher focused. Perhaps they can be used in a complementary fashion (which may make an interesting book or article for anyone more interested in the subject), and it may be something I spend more time looking at later to really figure out if they're mostly the same or actually complementary.

Other than my uncertainty about the TGI versus the LGI, my one criticism of the text is that some of the CATs seem repetitive. There are a handful that are very similar with more subtle differences. I'm not sure we actually needed 50 CATs - though that seems to be a trend with the books this semester (50 Tips and Strategies from Barkely, 50 Student Engagement Techniques also from Barkley, 55 motivational strategies from Nilson). You would think 50 is a magical number...or that someone just really likes long lists.

Like with Barkley, I think each CAT could start with a succinct bullet list of here's what this is, how to use it, and why you'd use it; it would better facilitate quickly finding an appropriate option. Most of the descriptions convey this information pretty well, but some are very chatty and others are too succinct to be of much use. The plus side, though, is I have a short list of the ones I think may be useful when I start teaching (both as assessment of my effectiveness in teaching and as a, perhaps, biweekly check on student progress in the course). Some of the ones I've jotted down are:

• punctuated lectures
• applications card
• paper/project prospectus
• interest/knowledge/skills checklist
• group-work evaluations
• reading rating sheets
• everyday ethical dilemmas (this one I see more as being an assignment rather than an assessment as I'm not entirely sure how knowing the ethical leanings of students will assess my effectiveness as a teacher - if you have thoughts, leave a comment)
• concept Maps
• group instructional feedback technique

All in all, this is another book I will be keeping on my bookshelf for future use. There are tons of ideas for gathering feedback from the people it's perhaps most important to ask: the students.

"Let's see how we've come": Final Project Update, Vol. 3

I realize we don't need to do an update for this week because we are meeting Friday night to present our completed projects. However, I have not posted a link to my portfolio and felt that I should. So, without further ado:

Because I love a good Doctor Who reference.

My Teaching Portfolio.

Ta-Da! (Because I also love Disney movies and Stitch is adorable!)

It is currently complete, though there are aspects I will add over the next few years (in addition to updating it as I do my CV). Let me know what you think--either in the comments or Friday night. See you all then!

"Build Me Up, Buttercup": Final Project Update, Vol. 2

If you haven't guessed yet, I've started building my website. Google Sites, thus far, is really simple to use. I'm using new sites instead of classic because of the storage capabilities (new sites teams up with Google Docs for storage, whereas classic has rather small storage limits). There isn't a ton of design options--again, very simple--though it does offer an auto-contrast feature for text over images that maximizes readability that I'm very impressed with. Overall, I'm okay with limited design features because I want the site to be straightforward and professional with simple navigation.

The pages and the headers have already been set up (the above snippet is from the homepage); most of the header images are ones I've taken or someone else has taken and given to me. There is no link because there is no actual content in the website, yet. That's the next phase.

Speaking of content, that brings us to the more substantial aspect of my work this past week. I have finished (at least for the time being) the content for the portfolio. This included writing the last of the course descriptions, doing some editing, and identifying the documents to be hyperlinked for each course.

For the time being, I have decided not to include an introductory video of myself on the homepage, though I will probably select a few pictures to include throughout the site. I have also decided not to write a research statement at this time. After doing some research on research statements, and reading a couple of excellent examples from computer science (a related though different field), I determined I am not at a point where it would be worthwhile to write one. The two examples I found actually made me feel a bit like this, to be honest:

This isn't because I don't feel capable of writing one--and I did debate it for some time. It's because I don't have a clear research direction figured out yet. It's rather difficult to write about future directions when that path is still completely shrouded in fog. I have worked on a couple of promising projects that would lead in different directions, and I'm starting a literature review for a third possible path; as of right now, though, I'm still figuring it out. I'm okay with that, but it does mean my research statement would probably be very light and not very cohesive. As such, I'll list my ongoing research and conference publication; once I've identified a niche in which to generate a stream of research, I will write the research statement to include in my portfolio.

In closing, it's building and formatting for the next week (and the presentation...still need to figure out how I'm approaching that). It'll get done...it has to.

"I'm under construction, everyone/so you'll have to mind the mess": Final Project Update

Knowing myself, I have decided to start with the content of my teaching portfolio before starting into work on the website itself. So while I wish I could say this:

it's really the more tedious aspect of actually cobbling together what will populate the pages of my website once I get to that. There are plus sides, though, the primary one being I've been pretty productive at creating and assembling the content! (Yay weekly time set aside for writing projects!)

Here is what I've accomplished in terms of content:

• Updated CV (I hadn't looked at it since last spring and it needed some work...)
• Home page description written
• Teaching Philosophy Statement has been pulled from this blog and slightly revised
• Course list for all doctoral and relevant masters and undergraduate classes compiled
• Most of the course explanations (in terms of content and technologies covered in the course, brief final project description if applicable, and why it's included--for undergrad, mostly) have been written; I've also made notes of which documents will be included, if any
• Outline for the CV pages has been drafted (since I'm breaking that up over multiple pages for future ease of navigation)

So even though I'm still asking myself this:

(and that goes for my two papers that are still hollering for more attention as well...well, mostly the two papers), I am happy with the progress I've made. I'm hoping to finish the content and start into website design next week.

A Mostly Useful Resource that Fails One of Its Objectives: A Reivew of Nilson's "Teaching at Its Best"

Teaching at Its Best is a resource for anyone teaching college classes, regardless their level of experience--though it's positioned as particularly useful to new professors and those wishing to improve. Its content is based on educational research and experience, covering the gamut from planning and teaching the course to grading and evaluations. It is unlikely to be exhaustive, but it manages to feel like it is.

This brings me to my primary issue with the book. In the preface (page XV in the third paragraph), Nilson writes:

...I wrote this new edition for people who don't have time to read a book--like you.

If that is an objective, it is one Nilson, in my opinion, fails to meet. This objective makes it sound like the book should be easy to skim, that the main points of each chapter are easily identified and neatly summarized at the end.

The biggest failure is that there are no end-of-chapter summaries, followed closely by introductions that are less often illuminating as to the chapter's content than is helpful. While the chapters are thoroughly sectioned and sub-sectioned, many of these are still written to be read. If you tell me right from the start that this book is for people who don't have time to read a book, it should be written as though the person has a day to pick up on the most important parts and highlights of each chapter.

That said, I do find many of the chapters useful, if not also reminiscent of the Barkley book from last month. Chapter 6 I especially appreciated as this is a topic I hear mumblings about in department offices but no one actually seems to discuss. I also found tables 11.1 and 11.2 useful in summarizing teaching methods; it's an easy tool I can refer to later for guidance and inspiration.

Chapter 24 on feedback was a winner for me, but I also feel like feedback is not discussed enough. I took it upon myself a couple years ago to learn more about giving and receiving feedback because I recognized I was particularly poor at the latter. I wouldn't say I'm great by any means, but I am better than I had been.

Two aspects of grading that resonated with me were the discussions on bonus points (page 102) and the virtual token system (page 314). On the former, I like that Nilson suggests bonus points should be for those actually putting effort into the class. In one of the classes I TA for, the students have been asking for bonus points, but the ones requesting them don't participate in class--even when the topic is something they're familiar with, like the Internet and myBama--and don't appear to put much effort into their coursework. I acknowledge they probably aren't very motivated to start, but I don't agree with rewarding low motivation with bonus points.

That said, I like the appeal of the latter, because it fits with my desire to be somewhat flexible. (In general, I'm not sure how I feel about the recommended specification grading approach; I want to like it but it seems impractical in application--though that may be my inexperience talking.) In part, I like the game aspect to it--this may be a business school thing, but I have found many of my classmates over the years to be competitive at times. I also like that it allows students an easy way to request an extension, redo, or make-up without my having to wait for documentation they gave to another professor because they waited beyond the acceptable time frame to inform us they were ill/concussed/at an appointment/etc.

Switching gears again, I did find some of the chapters uninteresting or unhelpful, and, at times, far too prescriptive. Chapter 4 I found to be the least useful because of Nilson's approach. She essentially tells us teaching should be low tech, at both the beginning and the end. thus negating any argument to the contrary. It also left me feeling like she included it more out of necessity than genuine interest in classroom technology, which discounted her credibility on the topic.

What I enjoyed about Bain and Barkley (see previous book reviews) is they were suggestive and took an approach of "everyone is different so here's some ideas, but do you." Nilson seems to do the opposite, particularly in Chapter 8 when discussing motivation. She suggests that the more of the 55 items you implement, the more motivated your students will be (on average); but that becomes more like a checklist for someone to tick off only to find it isn't that easy. I am untrusting of anything that even hints at being prescriptive.

There are also times when the student in me disagreed (rather strongly) with some of the recommendations. In Chapter 12, she provides a section on note taking that reads overly idealistic, particularly as, in my personal experience, distilling a lecture into its important parts doesn't happen in class; it requires time to let the content soak in and be carefully considered. Similarly, the reading tips offered in Chapter 21 are ones I've heard since elementary school; I have tried implementing them at various points in my education and always abandon them because I have not found them to be beneficial; they mostly just double the amount of time I spend on reading, which is already long enough.

I would say 80% of the chapters I found to be useful and insightful. I don't believe this is a book that will be easy to quickly reference for suggestions in the future, though it may be worthwhile to read some of the chapters more thoroughly when time permits. Perhaps my opinion will change on some of these points as I transition from a predominantly student role to more of a faculty/educator role.

A Tool for a Future Job Hunt: Creating a Portfolio for the Final Project

As the title suggests, I have decided to do a portfolio for my final project. This is why I'm forgoing the other options:

1. I have two other research papers I'm currently working on (one in the data analysis stage, one in the lit review stage) for two other classes this semester. Voluntarily adding a third paper seemed less than intelligent.
2. Although the online certification sounds interesting, and I will likely look into it before graduation, I'm not sure that's a good focus for me currently given the syllabus portion of the option. To do a job I feel would be satisfactory to my personal standard and devote adequate time to my other projects, I would probably need to give up sleep or eating or something like that (especially since I haven't yet been responsible for a class of my own to have some experience from which to draw).

For my portfolio, I will be using either Google Sites or Wordpress. I realize UA has given us access to Portfolium, but I don't perceive that I have the time to spend learning it. I have used various website tools, though, and feel confident in my ability to turn out a fairly nice website. Google Sites is new to me, though I've used many Google programs (I don't imagine it's too different from anything else by Google or other similar programs) and already have an account. That's why it's my top preference. I have used Wordpress previously for a project with the Alabama Small Business Development Center. If Google Sites turns out to be less intuitive than I hope, I'll bite the bullet and create a new account with Wordpress (my previous work did not require I create my own account).

My portfolio will include the following pages:

• Homepage: an introduction to me and why I'm pursuing a PhD in Management Information Systems. This will also provide a brief overview of the content contained within the site. I may possibly do a video here, as well.
• Teaching Philosophy: I will adjust my philosophy post from the blog and include it on the website as its own page.
• Coursework: a listing of the courses I have completed thus far in the program, summarizing what was learned. This is unlikely to include examples of my work as the research papers are ongoing and the other courses used mostly exams and homework--most of which I would not consider substantial.
• Vita: a list of the hyperlinked subsections of my vita will be provided below my contact and educational information. Each major section of my CV will have a separate page.
• Teaching: although I have not yet had a class I was fully responsible for, I have done presentations for various reasons and have lectured occasionally in one of the courses for which I TA. This section will include the work I do as a TA given that it encompasses some tasks related to teaching.
• Research: my one conference proceeding and my ongoing projects will be listed here. I may also include a research statement.
• Service: although I haven't been as involved in service projects this year, I have participated in several during the MBA and before. This will provide a chronological listing of my service activities.
• Organizations and Honors: I am and have been part of several wonderful organizations that I want to acknowledge. I anticipate this being a relatively short page as I'll try to focus on the most important, but I do feel it is important to include.
• Other Experience: despite having little teaching experience currently, I do have extensive experience working with college students through my time in Residence Life and Admissions. I also worked for the Alabama SBDC throughout my MBA program, which involved a form of research. I've decided to include this section in order to highlight the work experiences I have had that do not fit elsewhere within my CV.

I don't see a point in adding an additional "Contact Me" page given that all the information to do so will be within the Vita. Although it is a lot of content, some of it is content I already have somewhere; this will provide a nice opportunity to gather it all in one place. Some of the content will be created specifically for this portfolio (such as everything for the Coursework page and a research statement). All in all, I believe it will be worthwhile to spend the time creating a really nice online portfolio that I can easily maintain over the next several years as I progress in my program. It's not something I've heard of others in my field doing as they go on the market, so it could help me stand out (in a good way) during my job search. Plus, having a website seems appropriate for someone in a technology field.

Examining Exams

We have all had that teacher who loved to write test questions where one answer was slightly more right than another or that had some trick of the wording. You may have even written some questions like this and have been very proud thinking you were so clever.

Full disclosure: I have written the tricky, "I'm so clever" questions, but usually for homework. I know better now.

But if we're honest, what is the point of an exam? If you said to stroke the teacher's ego and make them feel clever and smart:

Exams, quizzes, tests...these assessments should be used as learning tools. They are a chance to assess what has or hasn't been learned. They communicate to students what the faculty member expects them to be learning and understanding in the course. Students should feel like the exam is appropriate, useful, and fair.

Don't be like my exam last week where we had to learn material barely covered in class in order to complete the take-home portion. Still not amused.

It can be difficult to get out of our own heads and step (back) into the shoes of a student in our class. As such, there is a simple tool you can use to determine if your test is from the black lagoon: exam evaluations. This is no more than five (5) questions you ask students either at the end of an exam or as soon after the exam as possible (preferably before grades are released because, you know, perceptions).

If you're concerned with anonymity, Blackboard and Google forms will let you set up questionnaires and collect data anonymously. Otherwise, it could be a separate sheet to submit with the exam.

This is best used with an assessment that will be given more than once during the course (so final exams are not ideal because there's no benefit to the students if they respond). The questions asked should be specific as it may be difficult for students to express answers that are helpful to improvements if the question is too broad. You should also only ask about aspects of the exam you're willing to change (such as format, question types, etc.), so it's helpful to consider beforehand how you might respond to comments--both in defense of the test and in possible changes to the next one.

When analyzing the feedback, it may be easy to tally answers to each question, but also be cognizant of the content of open responses. These answers provide insight into the frustrations students face (such as trick questions) as well as the perception of fairness of the exam (such as feeling as though the test content was a complete departure from their expectations studying). It is important to separate comments addressing fairness of the test as a learning instrument from those addressing fairness of the grading. While there may be valid points in the latter group of comments, this tool is primarily for assessing the former.

The next time you give a test, consider asking students what they think of it. And not just standing in front of the classroom asking how it went, because it's unlikely you're going to receive the honest, useful feedback you need. If you're serious about improving your assessments for the benefit of your students, it's important to do so thoughtfully and in such a way as to facilitate analyzing and contemplating the feedback.

Go on; let your students be Chuck Norris and help you learn how to improve your exam.

Reference

Angelo, T.A. and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Desire to Develop Confident Professionals Who Think Critically

The purpose of a business education is more than an introduction to core concepts (such as industry analysis, the marketing 4Ps, and Porter's Five Forces); it is about developing young professionals who can confidently enter the workforce with a basic understanding of business processes and the ability to learn about and adapt to their specific position and the greater environment. This is especially important in Management Information Systems given the rapidly changing technological environment and the varying systems employed within organizations.

Students learn best what they can apply to their lives and their environment. If they can take classroom concepts and apply them to a real-world project, the opportunity for deep engagement and learning is enhanced. Keeping apprised of current events can also make the classroom feel more relevant to life after college. This belief in application is based on my experiences as a student in the business school.

When I teach students in MIS, I have three goals:

1. To encourage critical thinking and creativity, particularly in regards to problem-solving,
2. To challenge students and help them realize a greater extent of ability, and
3. To assist in their development as young professionals.

Problem-solving requires some measure of creativity because the most obvious responses are often already addressed, especially when considering the business environment and how a company might proceed. It also requires the ability to analyze available information--in addition to acquiring or accessing that information--and evaluate alternatives. Thinking critically is necessary in justifying decisions and selecting the best alternative given what is known and the context in which it will be applied. A case competition or other project of similar scale and scope provides an opportunity to develop these skills and practice making practical recommendations. Case studies present a smaller scale and scope for practice, as well.

I believe we are never fully prepared for what life (or work) brings us. There will always be a challenge where we don't believe we have the skills or the knowledge to be successful. If we don't try, though, we don't grow. One of the safest places for a young person to stumble is the classroom. It is a disservice to students if we don't expect them to work at their education. As such, I believe in providing a substantial challenge--again, in the form of a project, though it can manifest in different ways. It could be thought of as a stretch goal, something achievable with some additional effort. The course is scaffolded to support students and build the skills and abilities required to tackle each aspect of the challenge. My intention is not for students to fail; while failure is a part of life and shouldn't be stigmatized, I want to build students up and show them they are more capable than they may believe. I include safety nets (deadlines for sections of the project) throughout the semester in order to evaluate their progress and look for signs of someone struggling or venturing off-course so I can provide additional support or direction. I want to boost their confidence, not destroy it.

Lastly, these are our young professionals. They need to be prepared for what comes after college is finished and they're working full-time. Developing young professionals, to me, entails fostering responsibility and encouraging an awareness of current events. The former arises in the form of deadlines, acceptable dress for presentations, and proper communication. Although I have set deadlines for parts of the project, there is some flexibility if the student is timely in raising concerns. The one deadline that cannot be moved is the end of the class. Deadlines also encompass exam dates, which can be flexible for timely excuses and (if requested) proper documentation, and assigned reading. Acceptable dress may be business casual or business professional, both of which can have complex guidelines (particularly business casual). Proper communication includes arranging for meetings outside of office hours, using proper grammar and email etiquette, and submitting requests over an appropriate timeline--i.e. requesting an extension a day or two before a deadline instead of two hours before the deadline.

Current events are important because the business environment is impacted by many external factors (i.e. politics, technological changes, consumer confidence, etc.). College campuses often become a bubble where the rest of the world can seem distant and irrelevant. However, part of being a young professional is understanding the environment around you and your organization. Current events are not just applicable after graduation; they can also be used to demonstrate course concepts in action. For example, when discussing security concerns and implications in information systems, a conversation including the Yahoo! breaches or the Wells Fargo accounts fiasco can help make the content more real and, thus, more memorable.

When I teach, I want to facilitate student learning. Not just of the course content, but of skills students can carry with them as they complete their degree programs and enter the workforce. My goal is for each student to grow as a confident professional who can analyze and adapt to their environment.

(**Please note: Other than lecturing a few class sections of MIS 200--which entailed following the already developed PowerPoint slides--I have not taught a class or been solely responsible for a course, yet. This is why this teaching philosophy statement lacks specific details. However, I drew on my experiences as a student in terms of approaches to which I especially responded well and on the reflections I've had in the past couple months in this course of how I intend to approach a classroom.)

A Recipe with Which to Play: Reviewing Barkley's "Handbook"

This was a much easier read than I thought it was going to be. The word handbook tends to bring to mind dry, prescriptive, almost commandment-esque writing. Barkley's text was conversational and the lessons from research were interspersed with opinion and anecdote. I also greatly appreciate the 50 tips and strategies (T/S) and 50 student engagement techniques (SET); particularly how they are clustered and easily identified to later skimming and idea generation.

Perhaps my favorite part of this text was Barkley's recipe simile. I think this is successful because it reaffirms that good teaching is tough and that what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. It seems, too often, teaching is reduced to this idea of being easy, that anyone could teach given the inclination. It often seems prescriptive: give so many tests, assign homework, prepare slides from the book, lecture, grade, answer emails. But even as people dismiss it as easy, they also caution that it is time consuming--or perhaps my advisor realizes I'd fall down the rabbit hole of spending tons of time preparing for every lesson, in part because I like trying new things (and this book has definitely given me plenty to think about implementing once I have a class of my own).

As I was going through the SET chapters, I found my mind wandering to possible applications in the class I currently TA and will eventually (more than likely within a couple years) teach. How I could structure the class to cover everything that must be covered given there are multiple on-campus sections and they need to be structured similarly in terms of content and grade composition--this is what I've been told to this point, though I suppose I'll know for certain when I'm listed as the instructor--but also how I could possibly free up some time for deeper learning and engagement with the material. The course is an introductory MIS class with predominantly business students enrolled, many of whom are in their last year of the program. I think there could be a lot of potential for deeper engagement given the ubiquity of technology in our day to day lives, particularly in the workforce.

Before I go on a tangent about the class and what I think I might change and why, I'll return to Barkley.

The other aspect of the book I appreciated was its broad applicability. Yes, it is focused specifically on college classrooms, but many of the SETs could be implemented in K-12 with some creative reworking. There are techniques and T/Ss that are utile in either (or both) large and small class sections. 

Although I really enjoy this book and find it a valuable addition to my library, there are a couple of ways I think it could be improved.

The first is the placement of the anecdotes. Barkley includes these following the foundational chapters for the book, but references T/Ss and SETs within each anecdote. My issue here is that the reader hasn't had a chance to flip through the chapters on tips and techniques before seeing these references. I believe it would be more effective to have the anecdotes come at the end as a way to see how you can incorporate several tips and techniques in a complimentary fashion. Either that, or including a chapter at the end that serves as a return to the anecdotes and identifying the tips and techniques there. 

The second (and last) is the purpose statement of each SET. For each SET, Barkley provides some highlighted summary information (individual or group, duration, focus, online transferability), followed by a combination of description and purpose in paragraph form. In order to promote the ability to reference these chapters more easily, I feel the author should highlight the purpose of each activity in a sentence or bullet point before the description. It might also be beneficial to have a short description for those with longer ones. Although some of the titles are self-explanatory, many are rather vague.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and found it inspiring--or perhaps I'm just blinded by all the sparkly new possibilities before me.

Either way, this is bound to be a well-used, valued reference for me going forward, especially as I explore these techniques and start to creatively play with the recipes.

Motivated to Learn and Grow: A Self-Evaluation

The original self-evaluation I wrote was especially hard on myself. 

So I scrapped it. I was hard on myself because the video failed to live up to my imaginings in my mind. In part because I was overly ambitious with the content, and in part because the imagery wasn’t what I had initially hoped it would be. However, I realize now that there are several things I did of which I am proud.

The first is that I didn’t write a script. It was important to me not to sound scripted. Yes, that meant I occasionally used filler words, or misspoke (several of the misspeaking clips were re-recorded), but it meant I was able to (I think) sound more enthusiastic and natural in my delivery while working from a set of notes to keep me on track.

The second is that my presentation doesn’t include a lot of text. Especially if I’m in a classroom, I hate slides that have too much text on them because it’s not a good presentation tool; I spend more time reading what’s on the slides or writing everything before the next one comes up to listen. Although these make for good study tools later, they’re ineffective to me as a classroom tool. That aside, I also feel really clever for how I organized the images and linked them to create the M in my final image. It’s cheesy, but I’m proud of it.

The third thing is I covered what I wanted to cover. I feel I gave a pretty comprehensive overview of motivation and how different people might apply varying techniques to motivate a class. It is not as deep as I wanted, and there aren’t as many anecdotes (I love my anecdotes) and self-reflective questions as I had originally planned, but I at least touched on everything. Hopefully, the brief introduction and the links inspired someone to go learn a little more and go digging.

Now, the things of which I’m less proud.

First (if you couldn’t tell from the blog post), going over time. I really had intended to stick to the 6 minutes. Looking at it now, I could have cut sections from the beginning and ended up with a decent video. At the same time, seeing that many of my classmates also went over makes me feel a little better in that I’m not alone in being overly ambitious.

Second, agonizing over the length in both the video and blog post. I’m hard on myself. Sometimes I forget not to be so vocal about that. I know apologizing doesn’t help, that it can damage how people perceive you and your work, but I can’t seem to stop. It is something my fiancé is working with me on because it annoys him to no end. (Believe it or not, I am better than I used to be about it.)

Third, I didn’t really summarize the presentation at the end. Yes, I returned to the learning objectives and talked through what I hope had been gleaned, but that isn’t really a summary.

The last thing isn’t really here or there, and I’ll explain. I feel I may have spoken a bit too quickly in the video. Ever since 10^th grade when I had my first speech class, the unanimous criticism was I speak too quickly. I was even told senior year that I recited Hamlet’s third soliloquy astonishingly fast. The more excited I get, the faster I talk. I have greatly improved in this, though. In large part from talking with people and doing presentations all the time for two years, followed by an MBA program and case competitions. I still speak faster than many people. I accept this about myself and have come to accept that there is a level of slow that I cannot do without losing my train of thought. And that is one thing for which I’m done apologizing.

Overall, it isn’t what I had imagined it would be, but I wouldn’t say it’s bad, either. You live and you learn and hopefully improve along the way. I look forward to learning from the feedback you all provide.

Motivation Module: Why some learn and others just pass

Hello everyone,

I present to you the motivation learning module:

I know this video is just over 8 minutes and the goal was to be under 6. The original video was much longer, so this was pared down from where I had wanted it to be; I suppose I fell victim to being overly ambitious (or eyes bigger than mouth syndrome). I did feel it was important to address the points included in order to give you a basic foundation in what motivation entails and to introduce some different leadership styles so as to demonstrate why there isn't a standard formula for motivating students. I hope you find the information in the video helpful.

Here is the Prezi, in case you'd like to scroll through at your own pace.

As promised, here are some additional resources if you'd like to read more and see where I sourced different information for my presentation:

General Motivation Topics

http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-importance-of-motivation-in-an-educational-environment.html

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/motivation/motivate.html (This one is rather detailed and contains more information on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs)

https://www.education.com/reference/article/motivation/

https://www.education.com/reference/article/motivation-affects-learning-behavior/

http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-motivation-in-management-definition-process-types.html (This one also has information on Maslow's Hierarchy, as well as Expectancy Theory and Equity Theory)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/04/top-9-things-that-ultimately-motivate-employees-to-achieve/#1526ae14fa7f (This is the employee motivation list; I changed some of the language to be more generally applicable)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/motivation

Progress Principle

https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins

Leadership Styles

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/managers-different-leadership-styles-motivate-teams-10823.html (Based on the description, I referred to Quiet Leadership as Facilitative so as to improve the descriptiveness of the label)

Motivating Students

https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/

https://teach.com/what/teachers-change-lives/teachers-motivate/

http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/teaching/motivating

(Given the observation from these readings and the class readings, I tried to determine which motivators were commonly recommended, and which may be well suited to certain leadership styles.)

As I've mentioned, there is a great deal of research in management (though also within other business areas) regarding motivation, and I believe much of it could be applicable to the classroom setting. There is also a great deal of research in education literature, given several resources here and generally available from online searches regarding motivation in the classroom. This list is far from comprehensive, but merely reflects the resources I referred to in building this module.

Again, I'm sorry it ran a bit long, but I hope you found something valuable in this module.

The Plan: Why Do Some Learn and Others Just Pass?

I’m sure there is a great deal of research into the above question within the education discipline, just as I’m sure this entails a multi-faceted and complex answer. Perhaps the simplest answer (or at least one of them) is motivation. Motivation is precisely the topic of this soon-to-be teaching module.

Because who doesn’t need an adorable penguin cheering you on?

Being from the business school, motivation is a topic we tend to cover a lot (see: things managers should know). I’m sure it is covered in other disciplines as well (like psychology, since I imagine that’s where management found it given they “borrow” often from psychology), but just to be sure, that’s where the module will begin: defining motivation. Now, this is easier said than done because motivation is rather complex. After consulting several resources, there are a few common threads in the general definitions provided. While this overall definition will be our starting point, we will also explore the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Additionally, we will also look at three (of many) aspects of motivation. These are the Progress Principle, Expectancy Theory, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. Briefly (because I’d hate to spoil the module too much):

Progress Principle: making progress, even just a little, boosts motivation, emotions, and perceptions. Woo!

Expectancy Theory: the reward/punishment should fit the effort expended.

Maslow’s Hierarchy: we must satisfy more basic needs (such as hunger and tiredness) before we can pursue higher needs (such as being the next Aristotle or Steve Jobs)

Given that I have a feeling at least some of us have had prior exposure to many of these concepts, that shouldn’t be it. Why? A few reasons.

1. If you have studied motivation before, six minutes of this will bore you.
2. If you haven’t studied motivation before, you may be wondering how to use this newfound knowledge.
3. This is a course about teaching, and it would probably be a more meaningful module if motivation was tied back to the overall course.

So this means good news for you; everything discussed for the module to this point should take (with careful practice) about 3 minutes, meaning we still have three minutes to talk about students. That’s right, we’re taking the general concept of motivation and throwing it in the classroom.

I’m sure we’ve all been (or at least seen) this student at least once

This last half of the module has two foci: what motivates students and how teachers can motivate students. These go hand in hand as understanding what might motivate someone enables you to take steps to try providing that motivation. However, some tactics will work better for certain people depending on their leadership style (yay, more management concepts). Now, you could run a search for leadership styles and wind up with any number of styles from four to about 12, maybe more. But this isn’t a management lesson; it’s a module about motivation in the classroom, so there’s no quiz at the end. We’ll cover four leadership styles along with how teachers in each of those styles might work to motivate students in their classes.

Now bear with me. I’m sure you’re looking at our intended journey and wondering how this is going to happen in six minutes or less. The answer is: trust me. As I’ve hinted at, motivation is a huge topic in and of itself, as are many of the subtopics. The objective is not expertise or mastery; it’s introduction, exposure. There are countless resources available regarding motivation, its various subtopics, and how to motivate/what motivates students. This is a starting point for further exploration (and I’ll even provide hyperlinks to my sources in the blog post for the module).

I believe I mentioned I’m pretty up to date on kids’ movies

Here are the questions we should be able to answer by the end of the module:

• What is motivation?
• What are some factors contributing to or influencing motivation?
• How might you motivate students in the classroom?

The final aspect of the plan is how to deliver the module. I’ve already referenced that it will be six minutes or less; I haven’t yet said it will be a video (but you probably figured that out already). However, I will not be using PowerPoint. I will be using Prezi as it better facilitates the use of multimedia. That’s right; this module is going to be visual and use text only as needed. This will hopefully keep your attention on the dialogue instead of reading ahead. In addition to more visuals, I intend to provide anecdotes, as well as pose questions for self-reflection as we go.

This will be a challenge to accomplish well, but I’m motivated to tackle this module. I hope to deliver a great video learning experience that encourages you to look more into this complex subject and to consider your own approach in the classroom.

Missing the Practical Implication: Appreciating Bain's Insight while Struggling with Wide-Scale Applicability

Ken Bain's What the Best College Teachers Do provides insight into the practices and mindset of some of the "best" college teachers. The individuals included in this distinguished class were determined through mostly subjective measures; while some may have been supported by more concrete data, others were chosen based on less distinct criteria. This resulted in a diverse sample with remarkably similar approaches to education in college.

On the whole, I enjoyed Bain's work and reading about his revelations about teachers who encourage learning instead of simply teaching. I appreciate the larger themes he introduces, from how to approach planning for classes and establishing high standards to delving into feedback for distributions and using examinations as intermittent gauges of student understanding. I also laud the inclusion of alternate examples from educators who were not selected for the sample to demonstrate more prevalent approaches to college teaching.

One of the comments that most stuck with me is that we don't teach students to read at advanced levels, but expect them to be able to do so. I can relate. Early last semester, I felt like I was drowning in readings. These were not my first academic research readings, but I muddled through them and struggled to 1) stay awake and 2) absorb any of the knowledge I was expected to for seminar. It was through struggling and time constraints that I became a more selective and effective reader (I wouldn't say I'm by any means efficient as it still feels wrong to skip over whole paragraphs or sections that seem to add minimally to the purpose of my reading). Although it is not the thorough reading I would prefer it to be, I can at least feel more confident in contributing to seminar discussions (at least until I feel I've put my foot in my mouth anyway).

Bain also succeeds in organizing a coherent narrative around this topic, despite covering the gamut of classroom activities on the macro level and weaving in perspectives and advice from a selection of the professors in the study. Perhaps the most useful elements of this narrative are the guiding questions for developing an effective learning environment.

Despite the many aspects of the book I applaud, I do find some fault with it. The first is this idealistic notion that universities will act in ways to encourage professors to focus more on learning in the classroom. I could be mistaken, but much of what I've heard about faculty incentives relates to research publications and student reviews of classes are more of a "meet the minimum expectation and you're golden" mentality.

It's similar to the discussion of missing theory in business publications. The journals may say they want to see more theory, but they will continue to publish papers that lack or are weak in theory. (This is not all journals, but there are many that claim to desire strong theory in papers but don't seem to follow through.) Even if the incentive structure is changed, it will take a great deal of time to shift adequate focus to classroom learning at universities because there are so many faculty who are used to the ways things are - and people, in my experience, greatly dislike change.

In a world where such a change is possible, would that be an ideal situation? From the student perspective, taking four classes (even in undergraduate) can be challenging, especially if more than two contain large semester learning projects. To demand high time commitments in all four classes seems unreasonable because you'll likely see some students selectively disengage (not necessarily at any fault to the professor) in order to pick and choose their battles; you may even see a higher stress situation for many students who may already struggle to cope with the course load. An option would be to reduce the number of required courses to be at full time in a semester, but that would mean extending academic programs and there seems to be this negative stigma surrounding the need of more than four years to finish.

Let alone five...or more...Dad says I have to adult eventually.

From the faculty perspective, this means every course becomes a larger time commitment in meeting with students, grading assignments and exams, and planning lessons. This on top of still needing to further knowledge through research and publications. Oh, and have a life. Some people may be able to balance this well, but others will struggle. Particularly as the approach to teaching would need to become a larger part of hiring decisions and it is likely many existing faculty will either not meet the expectation or will struggle to make the switch. That means fewer qualified educators and more work for those who are.

I agree that there should be more effort and attention given to teaching across a university than what currently exists, but I also acknowledge that not all existing faculty will adopt these methods even if incentivized or required to do so. In part because of the required trade off, meaning there will be some classes in a teaching load that will receive more care and attention than others based on the professor's interests and where he/she is willing to devote energy and time. Examinations, for example, are described as devices the best teachers use to see if students are learning the material; this would seem to exclude multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, or true/false questions and, instead, require short answer and essay questions - the latter of which requires more time and thought in grading.

These issues with the book may arise from misunderstanding Bain's intent or from my bias as a student and teaching assistant. That said, he incorporates all of these "best practice" approaches into the narrative and seems to encourage adopting a vast majority (if not all) of them while condemning many of the more common approaches in addition to the ones harmful to student receptivity to learning. I know he says there isn't a neat prescription of implement A, B, and C and you'll be a great teacher, but it would have been beneficial to recommend a starting point - something all professors could strive to achieve - or provide a vision of what striving for these best practices might look like at universities given that not all faculty are likely to adopt this mindset. For example, suggesting each professor approach the class mindfully and craft learning objectives in ways that will encourage learning activities throughout the semester. Yes, that will still take time to properly address, but it is something that can be accomplished in every class.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed Bain's work. Throughout the reading, I found myself identifying past professors who had done some of the things mentioned and considering how I could attempt to apply some of these tactics in my TA work and when I eventually teach my own class(es). My primary concerns stem largely from these questions:

1. Should every professor be a great professor?
2. Should every class be a highly involved learning experience?
3. If so, what changes need to happen in order to make these feasible?

I don't feel Bain adequately addresses these or the practical implications of this research. While fascinating and well-written, I wish he had spent a little more time at the end clarifying how he saw this information being used and applied on a university level.

Undergraduate Educator Spotlight: Dr. Datha Martinez

My junior year of undergraduate, I spent the first semester in England. When I returned in the spring, it was my first semester taking upper-level marketing courses, the first of which was Retail Management with Dr. Martinez. Of all of the educators I had at Truman, she is the one I remember best. Despite a rather chaotic semester (in general, but in her course specifically, I was on a team that was difficult to motivate which led to me having a breakdown in her office), she made the course memorable with her "Tell me something good" (aka Chaka Khan) Tuesdays, encouraging but no-nonsense attitude, and insistence on treating everyone with formal respect (we were always Mr. or Miss [last  name] in class, which was a departure from our other classes and seemed to demand greater seriousness within class because of it).

I was thrilled to take Marketing Research with her the following semester (a required course) and Selling and Sales Management (an elective). The latter she laced with hands-on experience, including required business professional days (constructive criticism included) and a midterm where we had to role play a sales situation as she played a randomly selected buyer type - she also graded us on our handshake as part of the exam. The former introduced us to a rigorous level of applied research for a local business or campus department. She had recruited the clients and vetted the projects beforehand; my team had the pleasure of being her first team to work with a target population under 18. As such, she assisted us brainstorming how we might approach the assignment in order to receive IRB approval for our research. She continued to be attentive (to the entire class) as we crafted surveys, collected data, and began analysis. I remember going to her office for help interpreting correlations we had run on some of the variables because I could not make the explanation make sense in my head. After that, she asked how the rest of the analysis was going and provided feedback on structuring the final report for her and our client.

Dr. Martinez was easy to talk to and I felt comfortable approaching her whenever I needed an explanation or some advice/support. She wrote recommendations for me while I job-hunted my senior year and when I applied to graduate school initially. I still communicate with her every now and then.

To summarize what made her my favorite instructor:

• She was stern, but kind. She had standards that she expected us to reach; they may have seemed impossible, but she was there to provide the resources and encouragement we need to realize it was possible.
• She incorporated applicable learning in the classroom. We still learned from textbooks, but she incorporated practical skills like business dress, handshakes, interacting with a client, and presenting the implications of results. She also encouraged us to stay apprised of what was happening in current business news (which was the focus of Chaka Khan Tuesdays).
• She treated us as young professionals and supported us as students. Yes, I was always (and still am) Miss Nabity, but I've also cried in her office because I didn't think my team was going to finish our case in the next week since my sections were the only ones done. She responded with compassion and understanding. (For the record, I had every intent to be a reational young professional and not a distraught student in that meeting.)
• She was an effective and engaging communicator. There are classes I've taken where I remember nothing from being in class because it was a recitation of a slide deck. She knew how to be engaging. (And it wasn't just playing Chaka Khan at the start of class on Tuesdays.) She would incorporate stories, elaborate on the slide deck, and direct questions to specific individuals in the class - both for factual answers and opinions. She made class an experience; one that, if you missed it, you missed a lot more than a regurgitation of the book chapter in slide deck form.
• She was human. This is a trait I especially appreciate in many educators I've had. By this, I mean they let us peek into their world a little, to know they have a family at home, they have other obligations that may slow response times, etc. It's good to know professors are people, too. I find, even when I've disliked a class with a professor, I often still like the professor as a person if they've allowed us to see them as such.

An Introduction: The MIS PhD Student

Hello to anyone reading this blog. My name is Teagen Nabity. I am currently the only PhD student in MIS at the University of Alabama (not to be confused with the first, which I'm sure that person graduated many years ago). The good news is, I am not the only person in my classes, as Marketing and Management have graciously allowed me to take many of their 600-level courses - and Marketing, at least, is trying to convince me to convert. Also, we are looking to add one or two more MIS students to the program in the fall, so that's exciting.

Before I go more into my program and what I hope to take away from this course, a little background. My father was in the navy when I was born, so we traveled around a lot for the first six years of my life. After that, he retired and moved the whole family to Grand Island, NE, where I lived until attending college at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. There, I studied marketing in the business school and spent a semester abroad in England. My study abroad was a learning experience very different from my undergraduate classes and has had an enduring impact on how I approach paper writing.

While in undergrad, I met my now fiance; we met online (but not from online dating - I know, I'm a confusing person; I'll only be more so if you ask about my family). We have been long distance for our entire relationship as he lives in Alabama, and I did not until recently. Even now, we still live on opposite sides of the state.

After undergrad, I worked for TSU as an Admission Counselor in the Kansas City area for a couple of years. I loved working with the students (and sometimes their parents - some parents make it hard to like them, though I understand they're looking out for their kid's interests), but it wasn't a role I wanted for a long time. Traveling all the time and never really being "off the clock" - even on vacation - is hard. Thus, the search for grad school and a career change. At the time, I thought I'd want a specialized masters in marketing analytics or marketing research, as that was a class I adored in undergrad. But UA's MBA won me over, and that's what I pursued.

Through the MBA, I was introduced to MIS and project management for IT teams, which ended up being something I really came to love. It's also how I met Dr. Raja, who approached me with the idea of pursuing a career in academia. She brought me in on one of her current research projects, encouraged me to work with another student to write a conference paper (which was accepted and we presented our poster last month in Dublin), and has thus far mentored me through my first semester of the PhD.

So that's the highlight reel. Now to clarify something you may have been wondering since the beginning: what is MIS? Management Information Systems is a discipline arising from management and focused specifically on information technologies or information systems. It considers how these are developed/implemented/maintained, how people interact with them, data issues (such as quality, cleaning, transformation, etc.) relating to these systems, and so on within a business setting (at least, this is how I've come to understand it to this point). It is a relatively new discipline in the world of business, but one that is growing quickly.

It may be surprising to you that UA has an MIS PhD. That's another fun (see: confusing) explanation. Although the program has existed before now (really, I'm not the first one in it), when they created the program, it was created as a track under Operations Management. Why? I don't really understand it beyond grasping that this was somehow easier to set up quickly. This means, officially, I'm a PhD student in OM; however, aside from the MBA courses I took, I haven't taken OM courses, and I'm not sure I will in the next academic year. Besides, all of the research related work I do is with my beloved MIS faculty - and they are pretty awesome if you've never met them. (And I'm being serious; they're a big part of why I stayed to do a PhD here instead of going out into the great unknown or going back into the work force.)

I realize, at this point, I've already waxed on about myself enough. I want to make one last point, though, and that's to address why I'm taking this course. I've heard from a lot of people in the past year about how academics should focus most of their energy on publications and teaching is a "necessary evil" to earning tenure. I don't prescribe to that line of thinking (about teaching, not about publications). I am in the program because I do enjoy my experience with research and I love the idea of learning something new that will be new to someone else. But I'm also here because I care deeply about education and about influencing students. As I mentioned, working with students was my favorite part of working in admissions (even if they decided to go somewhere else). I loved being that person they were comfortable emailing with questions and asking advice on making their final decision. I've also been very blessed to have had so many great educators throughout my academic career, some of whom I've been able to keep in touch with over the years. They influenced, mentored, and nurtured me as I grew into this person I am today. I know it will be hard (I've been a student long enough to realize what many students are like), but I want that chance to ignite someone's passion, provide guidance, or even just lead by example - for both women and minority students. But to accomplish that, I believe I need to be a competent educator in the classroom. I'm enrolled in this class in order to learn more about what it takes to educate and work on that skill set.