Optimizing Learning Objectives for Real-Life Skills

Incorporating real-world skills into college learning objectives benefits students by making their education more relevant, engaging, and valuable. It prepares them for the demands of their future careers and empowers them to adapt and excel in an ever-changing world. Additionally, it aligns with the expectations of employers and contributes to the overall societal benefit of a highly skilled and capable workforce.

When students learn with the intention of applying their knowledge in real-life situations, they are more likely to retain that knowledge and transfer it to new contexts. This promotes deeper learning and long-term retention of skills and concepts. By aligning learning objectives with real-world skills, faculty help students develop practical competencies that are directly applicable to their chosen fields. This preparation enhances graduates’ readiness for the job market and their ability to contribute effectively in their professions.

Teaching real-world skills also encourages students to become adaptable lifelong learners who can thrive in a dynamic and rapidly changing world. When students develop real-world skills during their college education, they gain confidence in their abilities and feel more capable of tackling professional challenges. This self-assurance can positively impact their career trajectories, service perspectives, and contributions to society.

For more advice on incorporating real-life skills into your learning objectives, take a look at this resource: Optimizing Learning Objectives for Real-Life Skills DONLAN IDOLS.

And, for additional support on related topics, please feel free to attend our next open office hours session on Thursday, October 19, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

A Note from the TLDS Director

Welcome to a new academic year! Fall on a college campus is like nothing else. There is just an excitement and energy that is not replicated at any other time in the academic year.

The College is fresh off welcoming one of our largest faculty cohorts and one of the largest student classes in recent years, and the Studio is excited to learn and grow with you.  We hope that you will take advantage of all that the Studio has to offer.

Because this is the first full academic year in which I will be assuming my new role as the Director of the Teaching & Learning Design Studio, I want to briefly introduce myself and make you aware of some of the ways the Studio can support you.

This is my seventh year at Etown, and I am an associate professor in our education department. I teach literacy courses and have research interests in literacy teacher education; children’s, middle grades, and young adult literature; and technology integration in the literacy classroom. I enjoy bringing students to state-level literacy conferences and have my reading specialist certification and instructional coach endorsement. One of my favorite parts of my work as a literacy teacher educator is facilitating professional development to practicing teachers.

I am excited to translate my work in this space to Etown’s Teaching & Learning Design Studio. The Studio is dedicated to supporting the needs of faculty and other employees across campus. Our team is excited to continue our year-long new faculty orientation program, collaborate with schools to offer catered professional development, provide Canvas support, design optimal online and face-to-face learning experiences for your students, coach individual faculty members in a host of areas, highlight the important work of our Studio fellows, engage in design thinking sessions with your team, observe your teaching practices, and have meaningful conversations around teaching and learning on our campus.

Let me take a few moments to introduce my Studio colleagues, who are also eager to work with you. Sharon Birch is our Assistant Director and Instructional Technologist. She has a wealth of experience in higher education, is currently teaching a First Year Seminar, and can answer your Canvas questions – and many others! Jill Kleis, our Program Coordinator, is available for design thinking sessions in your unit and handles many of the logistics for the Studio.  Our Instructional Designer and Online Learning Specialist Crystal Donlan is available for instructional design work and coaching around best practices in higher education learning spaces.

Be sure to frequent our blog frequently for teaching ideas, and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Etown Teaching and Learning Design Studio). Please let us know how the Studio can help support your professional development goals.  You may email me directly or email studio@etown.edu with questions.

I am excited to learn and grow with you this academic year!

Sincerely,
Katie

The Benefits of Course Alignment

Alignment – the practice of matching learning content, activities, tools, and assessments with a course’s learning objectives – contributes great value to the teaching and learning ecosystem. By facilitating the growth and improvement of both instructors and institutions while enhancing the learning experience for students, efforts toward an aligned and refined course pay off in improved outcomes. Focusing our approach on evidence-based course design principles that have proven effective in boosting student engagement and retention benefits all stakeholders by demonstrating our dedication to continuous improvement. Bottom line: By promoting high-quality learning experiences, we help to enhance student success – and that’s a solid win for everyone.

While alignment is typically a practice associated with online courses, its benefits permeate into other instructional delivery modalities due to its focus on reliability and relevance. Even engaging in an informal review of your course can provide insight into ensuring that our online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses meet established standards for course design. This helps us maintain a consistent level of quality across the curriculum and also allows us to make necessary adjustments and enhancements to our offerings. The Online Course Basic Standards Rubric can help you get started in evaluating and improving your course for effective alignment. Give it a try!

For additional help with course alignment or other instructional design needs, please reach out to Crystal Donlan, Etown’s Instructional Designer and Online Learning Specialist, at donlanc@etown.edu or contact any member of the Teaching and Learning Design Studio. We look forward to working with you on refining your course!

 

Let’s talk about ChatGPT and AI in quantitative courses

Still interested in talking about ChatGPT and other AI tools?

Join us for the next in our series of discussions of AI and ChatGPT in the higher education environment. We will meet on March 29 at 12:00 pm via Zoom (https://etown.zoom.us/j/3460495365) . This month’s topic is ChatGPT and AI in quantitative courses and the sciences. There’s no presentation, just conversation — but feel free to read this Wired article from 2017 that focuses on the challenges of quantitative AI from a teaching perspective and we can use that as a starting point.

ChatGPT presentation video

Last week we gave a short presentation on ChatGPT followed by a lively discussion on the impact it may have on our assignments.  While we did not record the live session, a video version of the presentation is available.

Join us next week for the next session, where Tara Moore will facilitate a discussion on creating assignments in a world with AI.  This online Zoom session takes place February 22 at 11 am.  See you there!

 

Join the Teaching and Learning Design Studio for a conversation about ChatGPT and AI

Want to learn more about ChatGPT and AI? Or just have a conversation with your colleagues about what it is, what it means, and how it might impact both teachers and students? Join the Teaching and Learning Design Studio for a conversation about ChatGPT on February 1 at 11 am, via Zoom. This will be the first in a series of gatherings (both virtual and in-person) this semester to help us to better understand and react to these changes in the technological and pedagogical landscape.

What: Let’s Talk about ChatGPT

Where: Zoom https://etown.zoom.us/j/3460495365

When: 11 a.m. Wednesday February 1, 2023

Creating and Aligning Your Syllabus to Optimize Student Success

Your syllabus is more than a document that contains important information about your class; your syllabus acts as a contract and a covenant between instructor and student by setting the tone, creating an impression, and conveying expectations across the breadth of the learning experience. Crafting an effective, relevant, and thorough syllabus takes time and planning, but the return on this investment is a solid stand-alone piece that will serve as a foundational document for the duration of the course.

The Creating and Aligning Your Syllabus to Optimize Student Success session recording from the SGPS virtual event held on October 27 is now available for viewing! Please feel free to watch the recording at your leisure.

Curated resources on this topic are also available to you. Just scan the QR code below:

To schedule a design consultation, receive coaching on syllabus writing, or troubleshoot alignment issues in your course, please reach out to Crystal at donlanc@etown.edu or stop by the Teaching and Learning Design Studio in Nicarry Hall! Be well, and keep learning!

Ungrading, a post by Erica Dolson

For the last year, I’ve read about, reflected on, and even tried ungrading practices in some of my classes.

Ungrading removes grades from a course to emphasize learning.  The goals/hopes of this practice are two-fold:

  1. That removing the reward of a grade will help students find intrinsic motivation in their coursework.
  2. That removing the pressure of a grade will give students the freedom to take risks and fail.

Instead of grading each assignment, instructors provide feedback and opportunities for revision.  Throughout the semester, students also reflect on their learning and course engagement.  At the end of the semester, the instructor and student meet to discuss the student’s work and decide on a grade that reflects their learning.

I’ve used ungrading in two creative writing courses (a survey course and my creative writing-themed First-Year Seminar).  In many ways, the practice has reinvigorated my teaching, especially when students talk about the freedom they feel as they write.  In other ways, the practice has posed challenges; I sometimes struggle to trust students’ own assessment at their learning and wonder how much I should intervene in the grading process.

The new ungrading module in the Faculty Development Canvas course is designed for anyone interested in trying ungrading or just looking for more information.  The module includes the following sections:

  • “How and Why to Ungrade”  — This section provides background and answers questions on ungrading. It also provides some research on traditional grading practices.
  • “Expert Practitioners” — This section links to the websites of Susan Blum and Jesse Stommel. These two teachers and researchers have written about their own experiences with ungrading and provide many resources on the practice.
  • “Reflections on Ungrading” — This section shares articles addressing the benefits and downsides of ungrading practices.
  • “Ungrading in STEM Courses” — While ungrading seems like a more natural fit for creative classes, this section provides information about and first-hand accounts on integrating ungrading practices in the STEM fields.
  • “Book Recommendations” — Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (And What to Do Instead), edited by Susan Blum, was an important resource for me as I began the practice of ungrading.  It includes advice, reflections, and first-hand accounts from teachers in all disciplines.
    This section links to the book and includes a sample chapter.
  • “Resources to Download and Adapt” — In the courses where I practiced ungrading, I used surveys and reflections to check in with my students about their learning and their reactions to ungrading.
    This section includes those resources for you to download and adapt as needed.
  • “Discussion on Ungrading” — Finally, this section includes a discussion board to share your questions, thoughts, and experiences with ungrading.

 

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

The Etown Teaching and Learning Design Studio is holding a number of professional development events this semester. Mark your calendar – you won’t want to miss these exciting learning opportunities!

Everyone Designs Series

Learner-centered experiences don’t just happen – they are built around a way of thinking that examines cognitive, social, practical, and strategic aspects of learning science to create solid opportunities for growth. This virtual how-to series offers synchronous one-hour brainstorming sessions where participants receive a brief overview of a design-centered issue and then explore innovative solutions. Facilitated by Crystal Donlan, these one-hour Zoom meetings are held at Wednesday and Friday mornings on the following schedule for October through December:

Leading from Any Level Series 

(Facilitator: Crystal Donlan, Instructional Designer & Online Learning Specialist)

The Leading from Any Level virtual roundtable series takes its focus on the premise that all members of the teaching and learning community– regardless of rank or status–possess leadership potential and professional authority. This series combines synchronous one-hour discussion sessions via Zoom in unison with an asynchronous mobile app to connect and inform the collective narrative on relevant professional growth topics. This learning experience takes place entirely from digital spaces, so participants can join from anywhere! Zoom meetings are held Thursday afternoons on the following schedule for October through December:

Quick Canvas Series 

Join Sharon Birch for Quick Canvas sessions. Each Zoom session consists of a 10-minute demonstration followed by time for questions.  For those of you who can’t make it, sessions will be recorded and posted in the Faculty Development site in Canvas.

Upcoming sessions will take place on:

Subscribe to News from the Teaching and Learning Design Studio for updates on the programming schedule. If you’d like to be on our 2022-23 professional development mailing list, please complete this form. And as always, you can contact the Studio at studio@etown.edu with any other questions or ideas you may have.​​​​​​​