Module 3 (Week 15) - A Reflective Letter to a Newbie Teacher

Dear Newbie, =)

Welcome to the exciting world of teaching!  This will be a chance for you not only to impart yourself to others but also to learn more about yourself and your fields of specialization.  Do not be afraid to commit mistakes, to ask others for help, and to share your knowledge and experience with colleagues.

Teaching effectively is not synonymous to merely covering all of the topics in your course outline during your lectures.  It is also not about students being able to memorize materials.  Rather, teaching effectively means that students acquire something that they can use or appreciate.  Think also in terms of what they will need to be successful in the workforce.  I particularly like sharing newspaper articles to show real-life instances of our topics in class.  When you give examples during your lectures, give those that your students can related to--and not necessarily the ones in textbooks that are more suited for those in North America or Europe. 

Students learn in different ways, so the way that you learn may not necessarily be the same way that your students learn.  For example, seeing a demonstration may suffice for some students, but others may need to be working with their hands.  In addition, some students might be able to understand from reading, but others may need to hear words or to associate things with pictures.  Furthermore, some students will study on their own while others may need some prodding.  In short, a teaching strategy that works with or an activity that is liked by a group of students might have different results with other groups.  Be sensitive also to possible differences between you and your students because of culture, gender and age.

You cannot possibly cover everything during all of your class periods, so you would have to inculcate in them the desire and ability to be lifelong learners.  Besides, in many fields such as IT, the knowledge and skills they would learn can easily become obsolete in a few years.  Many of the students these days are digital natives, so consider how you can use the latest technologies as tools, but not as ends in themselves.  For instance, be creative in employing Web 2.0 (blogs, wikis, social networking, etc.) and in iPad/iPhone applications.

As the old saying goes, “no man is an island”.   Students will invariably have to interact with other people, whether in work, family or social settings.  In other words, students must also develop teamwork and communication skills. As they can also learn from one another, try collaborative learning.

Assessments must be fair and must match your learning objectives.  Whether you are giving exams, projects, research papers or other assessments, the contents must have a purpose other than being a source of marks that you can enter into the grade book.  Use assessments for learning, especially by giving timely feedback on what they did wrong or inadequately.  Also, have clearly defined marking criteria or rubrics, so that grading assessments would not be entirely subjective.

Lastly, be open-minded, flexible, and able to learn new things.  You will reap what you had sown, so diligence and hard work in teaching would pay off. 

Wishing you and your students all the best…

Oscar

Module 3 (Week 14) - Effectiveness of the Teaching Strategies

I believe the deliberate method was effective in teaching my accounting class as the students had many account skills to masters, such as journalizing, posting, and preparing worksheets and financial statements.  In class we did concentrate on problem-solving, discussion and group work.  We went all the way up to the Analyzing level, especially when we discussed accounting errors, but I wish we had more time to do more what-if questions and application-type questions.

We had six assessments (practical & theory) and a comprehensive final exam.  Sixty percent got an A or A- for the final exam, so I saw that most of them did remember things from the beginning of the semester.  It also seemed that students were not fond of lectures and would rather be doing something with their hands.

Meanwhile, the take-home (graded) review that I gave my students contained several case studies, so they had to do a lot of analysis.  That many of them did not do well on it showed that merely memorizing things will not be sufficient to pass the system-wide assessment.  So, we went over their mistakes, and I gave them additional (non-graded) practices.

I have seen my female students’ results of the system-wide assessment.  Basing my conjecture on the marks I gave to scripts from other campuses, I believe many of my students were at or above par the system average.  (The office assessment figures for different campuses are yet to be released.)  Two sections of my female students (68% & 66% average) did a lot better than the single section of their counterparts at the men’s campus (59% average); the last section was problematic with their academic rigor and managed only 45% average.

While I may have spent considerable time preparing my ITEC 399 students for the standardized test, I also gave them an open-ended group project (encompassing project scope, time and cost management) where they would propose a solution to a given business/IT scenario.  So, the focus was not just studying and memorizing, but also on using what they have learned.

Module 3 (Week 13) - Trying New Teaching Strategies

Unknowingly, I have actually been using the deliberate method for my BMAC 200 (Financial Accounting) class, which I taught for the first time this semester.  To begin with, I was faced with the task of teaching accounting principles to IT students who do not have accounting knowledge, who have limited business background, and who are probably not so keen in learning accounting.  Moreover, I was faced with a busy schedule as I was teaching overtime (24 contact hours per week), and I also had a System Wide Assessment (HCT’s standardized tests for selected courses) to prepare my students for. 

Given that I had limited time to cover what was prescribed in the official course outline, I decided to concentrate first on doing problems and exercises in class.  Of course, I gave out several in-class work and assignments to make them practice their accounting skills.  Also, we did cover the theoretical part, but mostly in the context of while doing the problems and exercises.  There were even 2 chapters that I did not do lectures on. I was satisfied that my students had no problem with Understanding and Remembering, but I saw that they struggled somewhat with Applying when problems and exercises were dissimilar from what they had done previously.  I hope that that whatever we did in class would suffice for vertical transfer if they were to take additional accounting or finance courses.

I was also teaching 3 sections of ITEC 399 (ITEC 399), which was one of the courses identified for HCT’s System-Wide Assessments.  So that students would take my practice sessions more seriously, I decided to assign a grading percentage for the review exercises, albeit a very small one (5% of course work).  I have seen weaker students ask others on how to do several tasks, especially in preparation for exams.  And I do encourage group studies.  Anyway, I gave my first four marked reviews in-class, but for a change, I gave the last one (which was most comprehensive and more challenge) as a take-home assignment.  The marks for the last one was lower compared to the first four, but I did see students with similar answers.  I hope they tried figuring out the answer together instead of just copying the answer from one who has finished….One thing I should have tried is to ask students to create their own questions.

Module 3 (Week 11) - Teaching strategies

Let me try to comment on the different group projects.

Collaborative Learning

As the name implies, collaborative learning involves two or more people to learn something together, which should in turn help each member in the Understanding cognitive level as he or she interacts with others.  Differences among the individuals could also broaden possibilities for the Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating levels.

Learning should correlate with the level of collaboration, so individual students have their own responsibility for the learning process.  As there is a group to work with, feedback comes not only from the instructor but from other students as well.

Project-Based Learning

PBL involves long-term learning activities, so it is basically self-directed learning which should hopefully develop the student towards being an independent thinker, problem solver and decision maker depending on his/her motivation level.  This teaching strategy would fall in the Evaluating cognitive level and Organizing affective level as the students decide which subject matter they want to do in-depth investigation in.  In other words, PBL should help students develop critical, analytic and creative thinking skills…and there is a greater possibility of far, high road and vertical transfers.

PBL also lends itself to collaborative learning as a student may wish to pursue a subject matter together with others with similar interests.  In addition, self-evaluation should be inherent in PBL as the student measures his/her progress.

Direct Instruction

Direct instruction appears to be the traditional way of doing things with the usual lectures and demonstrations.  Clearly, this teaching strategy should be in the Remembering and Understanding cognitive levels, and in the Receiving and Responding affective levels.  It would be perfect for sciences, mathematics, engineering, IT, and vocational trades where near, low road, and lateral transfers are clear training objectives; cases and creative problems could attempt to induce far and high road transfers.  Also, labs and exercises should increase the extent of transfer as students practice and do thing repetitively.

Learning in the higher levels should not be possible without learning in the lower levels, so there is a place for direct instruction, but it probably should not be used alone.  A possible twist in this teaching strategy is for the students themselves to later try to teach and demonstrate what the instructor has covered.  At the end of each class period, the students could also try to write a short report or journal entry as to what they learned and how they can apply their new knowledge.

For students who are genuinely interested in the subject matter, direct instruction may lead them to self-directed and lifelong learning as they seek to gain more skills and knowledge.  I can easily see this with my computer students who are into multimedia and who wish to be able to do more than what’s covered in class.

Interactive Lecturing

Interactive lecturing goes a step further over direct instruction in that students are able to participate.  In choosing to interact, students would operate at a minimum of the Understanding level and perhaps as high as the Evaluating level if they were to seek the validity and applicability of the lecture.  That is, participating students are likely to use and develop analytical skills.  Moreover, negative transfer would be minimized as the students evaluate their understanding.

Responsibility for learning falls more on the student, depending on how much he or she chooses to interact.  A student who participates also gets immediate feedback from the instructor and other students.

Module 3 (Week 07) - Aligning goals with the course

All the courses in the new academic catalog have learning outcomes that are already defined, and I believe the curriculum developer employed verbs that can easily correspond to Bloom's Taxonomy.  For CIS 1003 (Information Systems in Organizations and Society), this is how I map the specified learning outcomes to Bloom's Taxonomy:

No.	Learning Outcome	Bloom's Taxonomy
1	Recognize the importance of information and how information technology and information systems help manage and share this crucial resource;	remembering (cognitive); valuing (affective)
	define an information system's components; and	remembering (cognitive); receiving (affective)
	explain how these components work together to achieve common business objectives.	understanding (cognitive); responding (affective)
2	Describe the impact of information communications technology (ICT) on organizations and society; and	remembering (cognitive); valuing (affective)
	discuss the role of computer and mobile networks in the digital age	understanding (cognitive); responding (affective)
3	Analyze how different types of information systems support decision-making and enable improvements in communication, quality, efficiency and effectiveness in different types of organizations	analyzing (cognitive); organizing (affective)
4	Discuss current and future trends in information technology and information systems	understanding (cognitive); valuing (affective)

In addition, the assessment strategy is also prescribed, so I am constrained with how I can assess the students:

Item	Description	%
Final Assessment - Written Examination	The assessment is developed in accordance with the CSA specification approved by the DAT.	30%
Coursework - Quiz	Quizzes (20%): Two quizzes through the semester Timed Tasks/Activities (10%): On-going through the semester including WileyPlus tasks.	30%
Coursework - Simulation Performance	Students are given a business scenario where they need to analyze client requirements and produce a solution using an appropriate application software.	30%
Coursework - Project Output	Report (20%): A group research project focusing on emerging technologies. Presentation (10%): Individual assessment related to the group research project.	20%

The final assessment has a common specification whereby the types of questions and corresponding cognitive levels are explicitly mentioned.  While there are no specifications for quizzes, I have the challenge of constructing questions so that they do not all fall into the Remember level.  I scheduled the final assessment on the second-to-the-last day of classes, so that I can return marked exams on the last day and give feedback.

There were no specific details for Timed Tasks/Activities, but I chose to have students answer questions from the textbook after my lectures and demonstrations.  For one, I was hoping it would encourage them to actually read the textbook and not just rely on the PowerPoint presentations.  Second, it was meant to help them remember what they should have learned, and to also prepare for their quizzes and exams.  I will be teaching the course again next semester, but I think I can try to be more creative with the tasks/activities.  I will try to look into using various educational software or games to help them remember theory (particularly definitions).  I might even try asking the students to construct their own essay-type, short-answer, and multiple-choice questions.

Our course team (which is made up of instructors from different campuses teaching the same subject) had two options: 1) make students analyze information systems in existing businesses; 2) have students think of a business situation where they can use Excel or Access to solve a problem.  I choose for my students to undertake an Excel project--I was targeting more of the Apply level for most of the students, but I was expecting the Create level for the top students.

The project output is research paper to be presented.  I was busy this semester, so I stuck with having students do PowerPoint presentations.  The next time I teach the course, I would consider allowing other means of presentation, but I will have to adjust the marking criteria.

Module 3 (Week 06) - 100 Ideas for Assessment

Here were some ideas given by others:

Game-based assessment (Adnan)

I like the idea of “edutainment” which aims to make learning fun.  Game show formats and computer games would probably work with any subject area.  Quiz shows lend themselves to learning theory.  In business, I have come across simulations/games on investing and production.

Students write their own questions (Munther)

Several students would probably write questions that require the same answer.  It would then be interesting to discuss which questions is the best.  Also, it would be a challenge for students to write essay-type questions and to provide answer keys.

Furthermore, the subject matter covered by the questions could possibly indicate what topics the students understand and/or find important.  I recall that I used to have a professor that would require us to submit outlines for each chapter of the textbook.  That was probably his way of making sure we at least open the required materials, but it could have also been used as a gauge to see what we students find to be important.

Investigative reports on real-life problems (Amer)

One idea that comes to my mind is for students to play TV reporters when they go on field trips or workshops.  One group member can use his/her mobile phone or tablet to take a video, while one or more other members report on what’s happening and what they have learned.  For business students, they can easily visit actual shops and write reports on customer service- and marketing-related topics.

Discussion boards (Bara’a)

This should not be limited to only being among classmates.  I would even recommend that students join mailing lists and Internet groups for specific topics.  They can then try to start threads, contribute to existing discussions, and/or report on what different users are saying.  For computer students, a related exercise would be to give students a problem or set of problems, and then require them to find answers from or through Internet discussion boards.

Peer-to-peer assessment (Annie)

This should not be limited to students preparing worksheets to be answered by others.  Students can also give comments on other’s presentations or even research papers.  Or if there are class debates, then the student audience can be asked for their opinions on as to which group wins the argument.

Inductive and deductive reasoning (Manal)

We would have to first teach students about logic.  Perhaps a simple exercise for students would be to make them try to come up with analogies or metaphors.  Problem-solving games might fall into this category.  We could even ask students to answer multiple-choice questions, and then require them to explain why the other answers are wrong.