September 18, 2024 • 30 mins
Dr. Crystal Anderson returns to discuss the practical aspects of course design, transparency, and productively using feedback in our course. This relates to our overall intentionality about how we approach teaching to support all students’ learning. We also talk about how to approach teaching if you are handed a pre-made syllabus.
For more information about student evaluations:
- El-Alayli, A., Hansen-Brown, A. A., & Ceynar, M. (2018). Dancing backwards in high heels: Female professors experience more work demands and special favor requests, particularly from academically entitled students. Sex roles, 79, 136-150.
- Boring, A., & Ottoboni, K. (2016). Student evaluations of teaching (mostly) do not measure teaching effectiveness. ScienceOpen research.
- Kreitzer, R. J., & Sweet-Cushman, J. (2021). Evaluating student evaluations of teaching: A review of measurement and equity bias in SETs and recommendations for ethical reform. Journal of Academic Ethics, 1-12.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Rachel (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to the Keystone Concepts in Higher
Education podcast.
I'm your host, Rachel Yoho.
I'm joined again today by Dr.
Crystal Anderson from theStearns Center for Teaching and
Learning at George MasonUniversity.
As we get started today,Crystal, I'd like to talk a
(00:29):
little bit about course designin teaching.
This seems like a little bit ofa buzzword right now.
So to get us started, can youtell us what course design looks
like?
Crystal (00:39):
So course design really isn't a new thing, even though
we're all about course designthese days.
I think at the heart of coursedesign is the idea of
intentionality.
You know, we have this vision ofwhat a professor looks like in a
classroom and we have been fedimages of really charismatic
(01:04):
speakers engaging theirstudents.
But in the real world, a lot ofwhat's successful in a classroom
is planned beforehand.
So, all course design is, is theability to be intentional about
the decisions you make, aboutwhat activities happens in a
classroom, how the overallstructure of a class goes, what
(01:28):
students are doing and whythey're doing it, how you're
going to evaluate that, and howthat ultimately should
contribute to what students knowthey're able to do at the end of
a course.
Rachel (01:40):
That's such a great point.
And we've seen this a lotlately.
Over the last maybe 10 years,I'd say there's been some social
media things about, whatprofessors look like as well as
other fields and disciplines, ofcourse.
I think there was a bookrecently, with images of what a
professor looks like, kind ofchallenging those stereotypes.
And so when you're talking aboutintentionality, what does that
(02:03):
look like in practice?
If I'm going in a day to day andI'm not just going to be the
most charismatic person talkingto my students on a stage, what
does that look like on, say, myMonday, Wednesday, Friday
schedule?
Crystal (02:16):
Right.
So before you get to Monday,Wednesday, Friday, you want to
know how that particular Monday,Wednesday, Friday factors into
the rest of your Monday,Wednesday, Fridays, right?
So you want students to be ableto trace how this current class
connects to the previous classand then how it's going to feed
(02:39):
into the next class.
So that's kind of the macro viewof it.
From the micro view of it, youwant to go into each of your
class sessions knowing whatyou're going to do and what kind
of learning goal you're going toachieve.
And so you've already hadstudents do readings, but you
(02:59):
want to connect those readingsthat theoretically they've done
before class to some type ofactivity in class.
Maybe they are implementing atheory.
Maybe they are working problemsbased on a formula you just
taught them.
You want to give them theopportunity to practice.
And it's really great to havethem practice while you're there
(03:21):
so that you can answer thosequestions that will come up as
they're doing that.
And then you want to give themsomething to do outside of that
class that connects them to thenext class, say, your Wednesday
class.
So this is what we mean byintentionality.
We really are breaking down thatprocess of teaching into these
(03:42):
really discrete bits and makingsure that they all have a
purpose.
Rachel (03:48):
So it can also make us feel a little bit better.
We don't have to always be thegreatest speaker.
We don't have to be the greatestperformer, if you will.
And so when we're talking aboutthis, I feel like we're seeing a
few elements here.
You know, one, we're seeing theactive learning piece.
We're seeing a little bit of notjust talking at the students
(04:08):
again, as we were kind oftalking about in our last
episode, not just talking atthem, but we're engaging them
through different types ofactivities in the class and
planning those ahead, notthinking about it on the fly of
"what could I do here?" And sowe're also seeing a little bit
of that element of transparentdesign or like we were talking
about backwards design.
(04:29):
And so what I think I'm hearingfrom this conversation is really
two levels of that backwardsdesign.
We have the course as a whole,how do all these pieces fit in,
but even with an individualcourse session, the way it's
connecting, with the, classbefore and the class after, but
even within that, how thosepieces are fitting together.
(04:51):
Is that correct?
Crystal (04:53):
That is correct.
Rachel (04:54):
And so as we're thinking about this, for instance, if
you're a busy adjunct facultymember, and particularly if
you're handed a syllabus toteach and you're given a
syllabus that exists already andsay,"Go teach this class this
semester," what does coursedesign in that context look like
(05:16):
in practice?
Crystal (05:18):
That is a really great question because we know that's
a really common occurrence,particularly for our adjunct
faculty.
I like to look at course designas kind of organization.
I like watching organizationvideos on YouTube.
And one of the things that youalways see is you're not
bringing in anything newnecessarily.
(05:38):
You're organizing what youalready have.
So that's what happens whenyou're given a syllabus.
And instead of kind of lookingat that as being constrained, I
look at it as having anopportunity to do some shaping
to the course in a way that fitsthe way that I'm going to teach
it.
So one of the ways that we canreorganize is just to look at
(06:01):
the existing student learningoutcomes, the existing
activities for the course,learning activities for the
course, and then the existingassessments for the course, and
make sure that those areconnected or aligned with one
another.
Rachel (06:19):
That's such a great point and I think we see this a
lot, especially if we have afaculty member who's new at an
institution.
You know, I know I've beenhanded a syllabus and looked at
it like,"Okay, I have some workto do here," but sometimes we
can't change some of thelearning goals.
For instance, we can't changesome of the activities.
Maybe if it's a program thathas, again, like we were talking
about in our last episode, thatsecondary accreditation.
(06:41):
And so I really like how you'retalking about the opportunity to
basically work within the boundsthat we have.
And so if I wanted to, forinstance, invest maybe 15 to 30
minutes per week, what would yourecommend that I prioritize in
this type of situation?
Crystal (07:01):
Well, since you're given so much in this situation,
I would spend those 15 to 30minutes prioritizing, how can I
inject more engagement into whatI've already been given.
If I am working with establishedcontent, I could just straight
lecture that, but could I take apiece of my lecture and show a 5
(07:25):
or 10 minute video and then havestudents do a quick Think Pair
Share.
It gets me to the same place,but the difference is having
students respond to some kind ofmultimedia gets them more
engaged in the material.
So focusing on ways that you canincorporate engagement into the
material you've already beengiven.
Rachel (07:49):
That's a great point.
So we're looking at theengagement piece, so it's almost
like bringing your ownpersonalization to the content,
right?
So we're looking at, we have anexisting syllabus, maybe we even
have some old slides that mightalmost feel like we're playing a
party game if we're trying topresent off of those, but really
looking at how do we bringourselves to that engagement.
(08:12):
And so does this in practice,Crystal, would this look like
different types of activities,different ways that we can say,
"Okay, I really like whenstudents do like Think Pair
Share where they might have anopportunity to consider a
question, then discuss it with apartner.
And then maybe we have somegroup discussion," or does this
look like something else?
Crystal (08:33):
You know, it can look like a variety of things, you
know, Think Pair Share is our goto, but I like your example of
when you're given material,especially if you have slides
that may not be the most up todate, you can get students to
help update those slides.
In the previous episode, wetalked about leveraging
(08:54):
modalities and so you could takesomething as simple as a shared
document, upload your PowerPointinto Microsoft Online or into
Google Slides, and assignvarious slides to students and
say,"Hey, based on the readingthat we've done, take a look at
your slide and see, is thisinformation still valid?
(09:16):
What do you now know that youcould add to this to make this
more comprehensive or up todate?" And it gives students an
opportunity to participate intheir own learning, and it's a
very little initial input oftime and effort from you.
Rachel (09:33):
And it's also a great higher order thinking for
students.
I mean, we're really gettingthere at not only how do we take
in the information, but studentsreally thinking critically
through what they're puttingout.
What are the high points?
What do they know that they needto know about the information
and how do you convey thatclearly?
(09:55):
I really like that activity.
So let's shift over a littlebit.
We've talked a lot about coursedesign.
We've talked about transparency.
We've talked about how we stepinto different types of classes
and situations.
But we really wanted to alsotalk about using feedback in our
course.
(10:15):
And so one of the things that wesee and we hear a lot about with
feedback are student evaluationsof teaching.
And student evaluations ofteaching can be deeply biased
and really terribly problematic.
And so when we say feedback, andwhen we're thinking about
feedback in our course, whatdoes or what can this mean in
(10:37):
practice, Crystal?
Crystal (10:39):
Since you brought up student evaluations, we're
talking about a couple ofthings.
We're talking about the way inwhich students are experiencing
your class, and then they takethat opportunity to share their
perceptions of that experiencein your class.
But we also tend to use feedbackto talk about the ways in which
we give feedback to students onthe activities and assignments
(11:02):
that they do as part of thelearning process.
So I'm going to take the first,and then I'm going to go to the
second.
One of the things that I reallyremember, as a full time faculty
member, not liking about studentevaluations is that it made me
feel like I had absolutely nocontrol over that.
And we know how deeplyproblematic they are.
(11:23):
So one of the great things thatmade me feel better about
myself, but also gave me moreinsight than the student
evaluation ever did, was to doan informal assessment or
evaluation somewhere during theclass.
A lot of people like to do themat midterm.
I like to do it like two orthree weeks in because that
gives you time to really seewhat's working and then gives
(11:47):
you time to fix it during thecourse of your class.
So there's uh, something calleduh, KQS.
You can put it on the slide, youcan use a handout, and it's when
you ask students to tell yousomething you should keep doing,
something you should quit doing,and something you should start
doing.
And I do it for myself, but thenI also give an opportunity for
(12:09):
students to ask themselves thosesame questions: what they should
keep doing, what they shouldquit doing, and what they should
start doing.
And then I tell them,"I'm goingto take these, I'm going to go
through, I'm going to find somepatterns, and then we're going
to have a conversation.
There are going to be somethings that I can't change about
this course because they're inhere for student learning and we
(12:32):
know that they work.
But there are some things that Imight be able to tweak, or
you're going to tell me somethings that I hadn't even
thought about." And it's reallyinteresting when students do it
for themselves, because studentswill actually be honest,"Yeah, I
should probably start readingfor this class."
Rachel (12:50):
I really like that.
I like the KQS.
I've seen this in someliterature and I've done this
myself with like a stop, start,continue framework.
Pretty much exactly the samething, but I think it's a great
opportunity to engage thestudents.
I like how you also mentioned itdoesn't have to be at the
halfway point.
It could be, but looking at itat different points in the
(13:12):
course could be useful.
And so when we're talking aboutthat, it seems like it's a great
opportunity to engage thestudents a little bit
differently in their learning.
So not only their, like you werementioning, Crystal, their self
awareness of their own role,their own participation in the
course and their learning, butalso it seems like a great
(13:32):
opportunity to really be alittle bit more transparent,
like we were talking aboutbefore, about why are we doing
these things, especially whenthere's things that the students
bring up that perhaps we can'tchange about the course.
And so do you see this as anelement of transparency as well,
or ways to engage the students?
Crystal (13:52):
Yes, I do.
You know, students haveabsolutely no idea what we're
doing as instructors in acourse.
So pulling back that curtainand, you know, it may take a
little time, but they've reallynever seen it.
So once you tell them,"Okay,we're doing this and this is the
outcome, we're trying to get to.
(14:13):
And so this is why we have to dothis," students are completely
unaware of these kinds ofthings.
So it really is opening them upto a new world.
And if you happen to havestudents in your class who are
also going into teaching ortraining professions that really
kind of blows their mind,because again, all you see is
(14:35):
the finished product.
You don't see any of thisthinking that goes into
producing a learning experience,
Rachel (14:44):
That's such a great point.
I mean, a lot of, for instance,K 12 or a lot of even higher
education is really kept behindthat curtain or behind maybe a
solid door of"What are we doing?
Why are we doing this?" And Ithink more transparency can be
useful not only in the classroomaspect of,"Okay, how does this
help our learning in the contextof this course?" but for a lot
(15:07):
of areas,"How does this helpprepare you to be a professional
in your area?" This is practicalstuff in a lot of ways for
career preparation, but we don'tsee that conveyed as often.
And so showing the value, notnecessarily just to convince our
students of the value, butreally showing the relevance I
think is something that's usefuland a useful piece of that
(15:30):
transparency here.
And so when we're talking aboutthis, we're talking a little bit
about feedback for our students,feedback for us as the
instructor, not only thesummative or the end course
evaluations, the studentevaluations of teaching, but
these are formative things forus as an instructor.
But let's also talk a little bitabout the formative feedback for
(15:53):
our students.
How does this really connectwith aligning our course design
overall?
Crystal (15:59):
Right, again, that's really the crux.
That's where the learninghappens.
But it's also kind of the placewhere the time suck happens for
us as instructors.
And so we talk about feedback,and when I do workshops, I kind
of make a distinction betweenfeedback and grading because we
tend to use theminterchangeably.
But I think feedback isimportant, apart from assessing
(16:23):
a student's performance on aparticular, assignment or
activity that you've given themto do, and to get students to
understand the differencebetween feedback and assessment
or grading is really important.
So let's take a look atfeedback.
We not only want to givestudents feedback, we want to
teach them what to do with itonce we give it to them.
(16:47):
We just think,"Hey, they know.
I tell them you can fix this bydoing X, Y, and Z." And students
are like,"I don't know what todo with this." So one of the
things that I do in my coursesis I have a little activity
because you know all of my stuffis aligned.
I have a little activity wherepart of what they're doing is
(17:08):
telling me, in the kind ofsecond iteration of the
assignment,"Well, I gave yousome feedback on the first
iteration.
Can you tell me how you'reincorporating it in the second
iteration, or if you'reincorporating it at all?
I mean, you don't have to, butlet me know what your reasoning
is behind that." So now studentsunderstand what those comments
(17:33):
are there for when we spend somuch time putting them and
giving students that kind ofguidance on an assignment, and
so they then learn how to usefeedback, and then they also
become a little desensitized tothe critical element that they
may face when they receivefeedback once they leave us,
(17:54):
whether they're going on intohigher education or if they're
going out into the workforce.
Rachel (17:59):
That's really compelling, Crystal.
We see how the feedback, thethings that we spend our time as
a faculty member to write allthe feedback can be really
useful.
And I think that's a great waythat we're seeing there, not
only for feedback that we mightbe providing but even with peer
(18:20):
feedback.
How might you be incorporatingthat?
Or why wasn't it useful?
Because again, not every bit offeedback students will ever
receive, particularly fromcolleagues, whether that's in a
course or in the workplace or inany other context or setting, is
going to be useful oractionable.
(18:41):
I mean, I'm sure we've allgotten that kind of feedback on
something where you're like,"Okay, well, what do I do with
that?" But I think this is agreat opportunity for students
to really see the value there.
And also, quite frankly, I thinkit's a great way, especially
when they're reflecting on whatthey did with instructor
feedback, to know that therewas, in fact, instructor
feedback there that they can belooking for.
(19:04):
So I think this is a great wayto really look at how we build
and how we scaffold a bit.
Again, that transparency ofbuilding from one maybe initial
draft to a later draft and thedevelopment there and thinking
critically about how they'reincorporating, or not, any
feedback that they havereceived.
(19:24):
And so we've talked about a lotof different things here.
We've talked about some checkins with students.
We've talked about whetherthat's at the mid course point
or earlier on.
We've talked about the ways thatwe give feedback, the ways that
we receive feedback as aninstructor.
And so for a faculty member whois perhaps new to this idea,
(19:44):
maybe newer to teaching or notnewer to teaching, where would
you recommend that they start inthinking about these types of
multiple aspects of feedback.
Crystal (19:56):
Right.
That's a really great question.
And also, I'm also mindful ofthe realities that there are
only 24 hours in a day.
And our instructors have otherobligations and
responsibilities.
So I want to be mindful when Isay things or give, you know,
particular kinds of suggestionsabout giving feedback, that we
(20:20):
also want to be mindful of therealities.
I am a big fan of a rubric, andI know there's some anti rubric
people out there, but I think Ican convince them that at least
using rubrics in some aspects oftheir course are really great
for students, but they're alsogreat for you.
Now, we tend to be reallyfamiliar with the really big
analytic (20:45):
we've got criteria on one side, we've got levels of
performance running across thetop.
That takes a lot of time to do.
So that's not the rubric I'msuggesting here.
If you only have a bit of time,what I'm suggesting is the
checklist rubric which onlygives you two options: yes, no,
(21:08):
is it there, is it not there?
And I really like using theserubrics early in assignments
when I'm just looking to seeevidence that students are
getting the information thatI've given them.
Again, I think it's important tous as educational developers to
(21:29):
give instructors permission todo things.
And so here's the gift ofpermission.
You don't have to grade all thethings all the time.
And so if you only have a fewminutes, I would consider
looking at some of the ways thatyou give feedback and see if you
can transform that into a simplechecklist.
(21:52):
I think that it's the type offeedback that's really clear to
students.
And it also is not the time sucklike an analytic rubric is, and
it takes very little time to do.
I also think rubrics are areally great check on us as
instructors.
Because we may, think that we'reasking students to do something
(22:13):
and we've given them thefoundation for that, when in
fact we really haven't.
And so, I like a rubric becauseit's a great check on me.
You know, when you're grading 30assignments, if you're not using
a rubric, the way you gradenumber one may not be the same
way you grade number 25.
So I like rubrics because theykeep me in check, and they also
(22:36):
are really transparent about thethings that I'm looking for, for
students.
Rachel (22:42):
That's such a great point, Crystal, and we see a few
really compelling things there.
The first one is when we'retalking about inclusive teaching
or supporting all students, thisisn't meant to be at the expense
of the faculty member.
The faculty member or theinstructor is an important part
of that space, and to beinclusive, we need to include
all of that, and really one ofthose key considerations and one
(23:04):
of the things that we reallywant to focus on here in this
podcast is how we include theinstructor, how this is not done
at the expense of theinstructor.
And so one of those really islooking at our own time
management, how do we increaseour efficiency while still doing
the things and providing thelearning experiences and
opportunities?
(23:26):
And so I think rubrics here arereally great.
And just like you werementioning, it's a great way to
prevent drift in grading.
That's something I've noticed.
I might go back if I'm grading,you know, 40, 50 assignments, go
back and check number 10 andnumber 20 and number 30 and make
sure I'm still on track.
(23:46):
And the rubrics are a great wayto do that.
Whether they are like the sortof checkbox rubric that you're
mentioning here, or even if wehave other types of just major
categories.
These are great ways to increaseour own efficiency.
We're looking at how we arecommunicating to the students as
well.
And so when they have thoserubrics in advance, how might we
(24:08):
go about perhaps discussing arubrics with students or our own
approaches to grading orassessment with a rubric?
When they see these in advance,they might be like,"Okay, I only
have to do these things," buthow do we frame that learning
experience for them?
Crystal (24:28):
Right.
So, you know, one of the bestthings we can always do for
students is to model the verything we're asking them to do.
So I'll take the rubric, and I'ma little extra because I'll
actually also do my ownassignment.
And so I'll take the assignment,and I'll take the rubric and
I'll just go through it:"Here'san example of this criteria in
(24:51):
the rubric.
These are the types of thingsthat I'm looking for.
And you really need to have therubric right beside you when
you're doing this assignment."You could also give them a
practice run, have them use therubric and use it as a way of
generating feedback, especiallyin a peer feedback situation
(25:12):
before they have to do it, quoteunquote, for real.
Rachel (25:16):
I especially like the peer activity because it gets
them talking about not onlyabout the activity, but about
what another student is seeingor not seeing in the work.
And I think that's a great wayto engage again a little bit
higher order thinking, a littlebit more assessment, a little
(25:36):
bit then opportunity for them toreflect on their own writing
their own work later on as aresult of that peer feedback.
But also we see a little bitmore transparency in our
teaching, where not only are wealigning things, but I think
this is a great way, even at theassignment or the activity
level, to be transparent aboutwhat it is that we're looking
(25:59):
for in an activity, what it isthat we are wanting the students
to not only get out of this, butdemonstrate from that work.
And so do you see that as, orhow do you see that, as a way,
as a tool for the instructor,but also a tool for the
students, perhaps?
Crystal (26:17):
Yes, because here's the other thing we're teaching
students, we're teaching themthe ability to do this for
themselves.
It becomes a transferable skillthat they take from our course
to the next course, and then outinto their lives in the real
world to be able to take a setof criteria, because you'll be
given this on a job, andtranslate that into your own
(26:40):
workflow for your own personalproject, that's a skill.
And so if we frame this in theclassroom in that way, it's not
just about Dr.
Anderson's assignment that Ihave to do.
It becomes a skill that I canthen use in other places.
Rachel (26:59):
And again, we're looking at how we show the students
this, we're helping them buildalmost like project management
skills.
We're helping them build some ofthese other things that they'll
be using.
I mean, even higher ed's thereal world, right?
But also, you know, differenttypes of workplaces or graduate
school or professional school,whatever this might be, these
are skills that they're buildingas well, so I think that's
(27:22):
great.
So as we wrap up for today,Crystal, can you tell us a
little bit about how thisconversation represents a
keystone concept in teaching?
We've talked about feedback froma few different angles.
We've talked a little bit aboutoverall course design and
expanded a little bit onalignment.
And so how does thisconversation to you represent a
(27:43):
keystone concept in teaching?
Crystal (27:46):
I think in this case, the keystone concept is
intentionality.
I tell people often, if I knewthat this is what really
teaching was about, I don't knowif I would have signed up for
this, because it's far more,again, we didn't have this
transparency.
It just seemed to, be a coolthing to do.
But there really is thisintentionality and making sure
(28:11):
that we're not doing things fromour perspective as an instructor
just because we like thisparticular assignment, but is
this particular assignmentactually functioning in a way
that enhances student learning?
And that's for all aspects ofour teaching.
The creation of assignments, thescaffolding them in terms of how
(28:34):
they unfold over a course, andeven further into things like
curriculum development, howindividual courses factor into
program outcomes.
Rachel (28:45):
Yeah, I agree with you.
It seems like a lot of teaching,maybe in the past few decades,
was really on that charisma,that stage presence and
performing a great lecture.
But now we're really looking athow are we designing?
What are we doing?
And it can be a little bitoverwhelming.
And that's why, you know, here,especially, we're looking at how
(29:05):
do we break that into manageablepieces?
How do we include the instructorin this, you know, things that
aren't at the expense of theinstructor, but work within
those workflows as well?
So I think that intentionalityacross all of these different
areas is so valuable.
So thank you so much, Dr.
Anderson, for joining us.
(29:25):
Thank you so much for your timein these two episodes.
I appreciate it.
Crystal (29:30):
This has been really great.
I love talking about thesethings because as you've said,
teaching can seem overwhelming,but once you know that there are
these small things that you cando that have a really great
impact, it really does increase,I think, your love of teaching.
Rachel (29:46):
Absolutely.
And so as we, as we wrap up fortoday, again, thank you for
joining us, and please make sureto join us in our next episode
as we continue our conversationabout inclusive teaching that
supports all students, but alsothe instructor, in this space.
So thank you so much.
Hello, and welcome to the Keystone Concepts in Higher
Education podcast.
I'm your host, Rachel Yoho.
I'm joined again today by Dr.
Crystal Anderson from theStearns Center for Teaching and
Learning at George MasonUniversity.
As we get started today,Crystal, I'd like to talk a
(00:29):
little bit about course designin teaching.
This seems like a little bit ofa buzzword right now.
So to get us started, can youtell us what course design looks
like?
Crystal (00:39):
So course design really isn't a new thing, even though
we're all about course designthese days.
I think at the heart of coursedesign is the idea of
intentionality.
You know, we have this vision ofwhat a professor looks like in a
classroom and we have been fedimages of really charismatic
(01:04):
speakers engaging theirstudents.
But in the real world, a lot ofwhat's successful in a classroom
is planned beforehand.
So, all course design is, is theability to be intentional about
the decisions you make, aboutwhat activities happens in a
classroom, how the overallstructure of a class goes, what
(01:28):
students are doing and whythey're doing it, how you're
going to evaluate that, and howthat ultimately should
contribute to what students knowthey're able to do at the end of
a course.
Rachel (01:40):
That's such a great point.
And we've seen this a lotlately.
Over the last maybe 10 years,I'd say there's been some social
media things about, whatprofessors look like as well as
other fields and disciplines, ofcourse.
I think there was a bookrecently, with images of what a
professor looks like, kind ofchallenging those stereotypes.
And so when you're talking aboutintentionality, what does that
(02:03):
look like in practice?
If I'm going in a day to day andI'm not just going to be the
most charismatic person talkingto my students on a stage, what
does that look like on, say, myMonday, Wednesday, Friday
schedule?
Crystal (02:16):
Right.
So before you get to Monday,Wednesday, Friday, you want to
know how that particular Monday,Wednesday, Friday factors into
the rest of your Monday,Wednesday, Fridays, right?
So you want students to be ableto trace how this current class
connects to the previous classand then how it's going to feed
(02:39):
into the next class.
So that's kind of the macro viewof it.
From the micro view of it, youwant to go into each of your
class sessions knowing whatyou're going to do and what kind
of learning goal you're going toachieve.
And so you've already hadstudents do readings, but you
(02:59):
want to connect those readingsthat theoretically they've done
before class to some type ofactivity in class.
Maybe they are implementing atheory.
Maybe they are working problemsbased on a formula you just
taught them.
You want to give them theopportunity to practice.
And it's really great to havethem practice while you're there
(03:21):
so that you can answer thosequestions that will come up as
they're doing that.
And then you want to give themsomething to do outside of that
class that connects them to thenext class, say, your Wednesday
class.
So this is what we mean byintentionality.
We really are breaking down thatprocess of teaching into these
(03:42):
really discrete bits and makingsure that they all have a
purpose.
Rachel (03:48):
So it can also make us feel a little bit better.
We don't have to always be thegreatest speaker.
We don't have to be the greatestperformer, if you will.
And so when we're talking aboutthis, I feel like we're seeing a
few elements here.
You know, one, we're seeing theactive learning piece.
We're seeing a little bit of notjust talking at the students
(04:08):
again, as we were kind oftalking about in our last
episode, not just talking atthem, but we're engaging them
through different types ofactivities in the class and
planning those ahead, notthinking about it on the fly of
"what could I do here?" And sowe're also seeing a little bit
of that element of transparentdesign or like we were talking
about backwards design.
(04:29):
And so what I think I'm hearingfrom this conversation is really
two levels of that backwardsdesign.
We have the course as a whole,how do all these pieces fit in,
but even with an individualcourse session, the way it's
connecting, with the, classbefore and the class after, but
even within that, how thosepieces are fitting together.
(04:51):
Is that correct?
Crystal (04:53):
That is correct.
Rachel (04:54):
And so as we're thinking about this, for instance, if
you're a busy adjunct facultymember, and particularly if
you're handed a syllabus toteach and you're given a
syllabus that exists already andsay,"Go teach this class this
semester," what does coursedesign in that context look like
(05:16):
in practice?
Crystal (05:18):
That is a really great question because we know that's
a really common occurrence,particularly for our adjunct
faculty.
I like to look at course designas kind of organization.
I like watching organizationvideos on YouTube.
And one of the things that youalways see is you're not
bringing in anything newnecessarily.
(05:38):
You're organizing what youalready have.
So that's what happens whenyou're given a syllabus.
And instead of kind of lookingat that as being constrained, I
look at it as having anopportunity to do some shaping
to the course in a way that fitsthe way that I'm going to teach
it.
So one of the ways that we canreorganize is just to look at
(06:01):
the existing student learningoutcomes, the existing
activities for the course,learning activities for the
course, and then the existingassessments for the course, and
make sure that those areconnected or aligned with one
another.
Rachel (06:19):
That's such a great point and I think we see this a
lot, especially if we have afaculty member who's new at an
institution.
You know, I know I've beenhanded a syllabus and looked at
it like,"Okay, I have some workto do here," but sometimes we
can't change some of thelearning goals.
For instance, we can't changesome of the activities.
Maybe if it's a program thathas, again, like we were talking
about in our last episode, thatsecondary accreditation.
(06:41):
And so I really like how you'retalking about the opportunity to
basically work within the boundsthat we have.
And so if I wanted to, forinstance, invest maybe 15 to 30
minutes per week, what would yourecommend that I prioritize in
this type of situation?
Crystal (07:01):
Well, since you're given so much in this situation,
I would spend those 15 to 30minutes prioritizing, how can I
inject more engagement into whatI've already been given.
If I am working with establishedcontent, I could just straight
lecture that, but could I take apiece of my lecture and show a 5
(07:25):
or 10 minute video and then havestudents do a quick Think Pair
Share.
It gets me to the same place,but the difference is having
students respond to some kind ofmultimedia gets them more
engaged in the material.
So focusing on ways that you canincorporate engagement into the
material you've already beengiven.
Rachel (07:49):
That's a great point.
So we're looking at theengagement piece, so it's almost
like bringing your ownpersonalization to the content,
right?
So we're looking at, we have anexisting syllabus, maybe we even
have some old slides that mightalmost feel like we're playing a
party game if we're trying topresent off of those, but really
looking at how do we bringourselves to that engagement.
(08:12):
And so does this in practice,Crystal, would this look like
different types of activities,different ways that we can say,
"Okay, I really like whenstudents do like Think Pair
Share where they might have anopportunity to consider a
question, then discuss it with apartner.
And then maybe we have somegroup discussion," or does this
look like something else?
Crystal (08:33):
You know, it can look like a variety of things, you
know, Think Pair Share is our goto, but I like your example of
when you're given material,especially if you have slides
that may not be the most up todate, you can get students to
help update those slides.
In the previous episode, wetalked about leveraging
(08:54):
modalities and so you could takesomething as simple as a shared
document, upload your PowerPointinto Microsoft Online or into
Google Slides, and assignvarious slides to students and
say,"Hey, based on the readingthat we've done, take a look at
your slide and see, is thisinformation still valid?
(09:16):
What do you now know that youcould add to this to make this
more comprehensive or up todate?" And it gives students an
opportunity to participate intheir own learning, and it's a
very little initial input oftime and effort from you.
Rachel (09:33):
And it's also a great higher order thinking for
students.
I mean, we're really gettingthere at not only how do we take
in the information, but studentsreally thinking critically
through what they're puttingout.
What are the high points?
What do they know that they needto know about the information
and how do you convey thatclearly?
(09:55):
I really like that activity.
So let's shift over a littlebit.
We've talked a lot about coursedesign.
We've talked about transparency.
We've talked about how we stepinto different types of classes
and situations.
But we really wanted to alsotalk about using feedback in our
course.
(10:15):
And so one of the things that wesee and we hear a lot about with
feedback are student evaluationsof teaching.
And student evaluations ofteaching can be deeply biased
and really terribly problematic.
And so when we say feedback, andwhen we're thinking about
feedback in our course, whatdoes or what can this mean in
(10:37):
practice, Crystal?
Crystal (10:39):
Since you brought up student evaluations, we're
talking about a couple ofthings.
We're talking about the way inwhich students are experiencing
your class, and then they takethat opportunity to share their
perceptions of that experiencein your class.
But we also tend to use feedbackto talk about the ways in which
we give feedback to students onthe activities and assignments
(11:02):
that they do as part of thelearning process.
So I'm going to take the first,and then I'm going to go to the
second.
One of the things that I reallyremember, as a full time faculty
member, not liking about studentevaluations is that it made me
feel like I had absolutely nocontrol over that.
And we know how deeplyproblematic they are.
(11:23):
So one of the great things thatmade me feel better about
myself, but also gave me moreinsight than the student
evaluation ever did, was to doan informal assessment or
evaluation somewhere during theclass.
A lot of people like to do themat midterm.
I like to do it like two orthree weeks in because that
gives you time to really seewhat's working and then gives
(11:47):
you time to fix it during thecourse of your class.
So there's uh, something calleduh, KQS.
You can put it on the slide, youcan use a handout, and it's when
you ask students to tell yousomething you should keep doing,
something you should quit doing,and something you should start
doing.
And I do it for myself, but thenI also give an opportunity for
(12:09):
students to ask themselves thosesame questions: what they should
keep doing, what they shouldquit doing, and what they should
start doing.
And then I tell them,"I'm goingto take these, I'm going to go
through, I'm going to find somepatterns, and then we're going
to have a conversation.
There are going to be somethings that I can't change about
this course because they're inhere for student learning and we
(12:32):
know that they work.
But there are some things that Imight be able to tweak, or
you're going to tell me somethings that I hadn't even
thought about." And it's reallyinteresting when students do it
for themselves, because studentswill actually be honest,"Yeah, I
should probably start readingfor this class."
Rachel (12:50):
I really like that.
I like the KQS.
I've seen this in someliterature and I've done this
myself with like a stop, start,continue framework.
Pretty much exactly the samething, but I think it's a great
opportunity to engage thestudents.
I like how you also mentioned itdoesn't have to be at the
halfway point.
It could be, but looking at itat different points in the
(13:12):
course could be useful.
And so when we're talking aboutthat, it seems like it's a great
opportunity to engage thestudents a little bit
differently in their learning.
So not only their, like you werementioning, Crystal, their self
awareness of their own role,their own participation in the
course and their learning, butalso it seems like a great
(13:32):
opportunity to really be alittle bit more transparent,
like we were talking aboutbefore, about why are we doing
these things, especially whenthere's things that the students
bring up that perhaps we can'tchange about the course.
And so do you see this as anelement of transparency as well,
or ways to engage the students?
Crystal (13:52):
Yes, I do.
You know, students haveabsolutely no idea what we're
doing as instructors in acourse.
So pulling back that curtainand, you know, it may take a
little time, but they've reallynever seen it.
So once you tell them,"Okay,we're doing this and this is the
outcome, we're trying to get to.
(14:13):
And so this is why we have to dothis," students are completely
unaware of these kinds ofthings.
So it really is opening them upto a new world.
And if you happen to havestudents in your class who are
also going into teaching ortraining professions that really
kind of blows their mind,because again, all you see is
(14:35):
the finished product.
You don't see any of thisthinking that goes into
producing a learning experience,
Rachel (14:44):
That's such a great point.
I mean, a lot of, for instance,K 12 or a lot of even higher
education is really kept behindthat curtain or behind maybe a
solid door of"What are we doing?
Why are we doing this?" And Ithink more transparency can be
useful not only in the classroomaspect of,"Okay, how does this
help our learning in the contextof this course?" but for a lot
(15:07):
of areas,"How does this helpprepare you to be a professional
in your area?" This is practicalstuff in a lot of ways for
career preparation, but we don'tsee that conveyed as often.
And so showing the value, notnecessarily just to convince our
students of the value, butreally showing the relevance I
think is something that's usefuland a useful piece of that
(15:30):
transparency here.
And so when we're talking aboutthis, we're talking a little bit
about feedback for our students,feedback for us as the
instructor, not only thesummative or the end course
evaluations, the studentevaluations of teaching, but
these are formative things forus as an instructor.
But let's also talk a little bitabout the formative feedback for
(15:53):
our students.
How does this really connectwith aligning our course design
overall?
Crystal (15:59):
Right, again, that's really the crux.
That's where the learninghappens.
But it's also kind of the placewhere the time suck happens for
us as instructors.
And so we talk about feedback,and when I do workshops, I kind
of make a distinction betweenfeedback and grading because we
tend to use theminterchangeably.
But I think feedback isimportant, apart from assessing
(16:23):
a student's performance on aparticular, assignment or
activity that you've given themto do, and to get students to
understand the differencebetween feedback and assessment
or grading is really important.
So let's take a look atfeedback.
We not only want to givestudents feedback, we want to
teach them what to do with itonce we give it to them.
(16:47):
We just think,"Hey, they know.
I tell them you can fix this bydoing X, Y, and Z." And students
are like,"I don't know what todo with this." So one of the
things that I do in my coursesis I have a little activity
because you know all of my stuffis aligned.
I have a little activity wherepart of what they're doing is
(17:08):
telling me, in the kind ofsecond iteration of the
assignment,"Well, I gave yousome feedback on the first
iteration.
Can you tell me how you'reincorporating it in the second
iteration, or if you'reincorporating it at all?
I mean, you don't have to, butlet me know what your reasoning
is behind that." So now studentsunderstand what those comments
(17:33):
are there for when we spend somuch time putting them and
giving students that kind ofguidance on an assignment, and
so they then learn how to usefeedback, and then they also
become a little desensitized tothe critical element that they
may face when they receivefeedback once they leave us,
(17:54):
whether they're going on intohigher education or if they're
going out into the workforce.
Rachel (17:59):
That's really compelling, Crystal.
We see how the feedback, thethings that we spend our time as
a faculty member to write allthe feedback can be really
useful.
And I think that's a great waythat we're seeing there, not
only for feedback that we mightbe providing but even with peer
(18:20):
feedback.
How might you be incorporatingthat?
Or why wasn't it useful?
Because again, not every bit offeedback students will ever
receive, particularly fromcolleagues, whether that's in a
course or in the workplace or inany other context or setting, is
going to be useful oractionable.
(18:41):
I mean, I'm sure we've allgotten that kind of feedback on
something where you're like,"Okay, well, what do I do with
that?" But I think this is agreat opportunity for students
to really see the value there.
And also, quite frankly, I thinkit's a great way, especially
when they're reflecting on whatthey did with instructor
feedback, to know that therewas, in fact, instructor
feedback there that they can belooking for.
(19:04):
So I think this is a great wayto really look at how we build
and how we scaffold a bit.
Again, that transparency ofbuilding from one maybe initial
draft to a later draft and thedevelopment there and thinking
critically about how they'reincorporating, or not, any
feedback that they havereceived.
(19:24):
And so we've talked about a lotof different things here.
We've talked about some checkins with students.
We've talked about whetherthat's at the mid course point
or earlier on.
We've talked about the ways thatwe give feedback, the ways that
we receive feedback as aninstructor.
And so for a faculty member whois perhaps new to this idea,
(19:44):
maybe newer to teaching or notnewer to teaching, where would
you recommend that they start inthinking about these types of
multiple aspects of feedback.
Crystal (19:56):
Right.
That's a really great question.
And also, I'm also mindful ofthe realities that there are
only 24 hours in a day.
And our instructors have otherobligations and
responsibilities.
So I want to be mindful when Isay things or give, you know,
particular kinds of suggestionsabout giving feedback, that we
(20:20):
also want to be mindful of therealities.
I am a big fan of a rubric, andI know there's some anti rubric
people out there, but I think Ican convince them that at least
using rubrics in some aspects oftheir course are really great
for students, but they're alsogreat for you.
Now, we tend to be reallyfamiliar with the really big
analytic (20:45):
we've got criteria on one side, we've got levels of
performance running across thetop.
That takes a lot of time to do.
So that's not the rubric I'msuggesting here.
If you only have a bit of time,what I'm suggesting is the
checklist rubric which onlygives you two options: yes, no,
(21:08):
is it there, is it not there?
And I really like using theserubrics early in assignments
when I'm just looking to seeevidence that students are
getting the information thatI've given them.
Again, I think it's important tous as educational developers to
(21:29):
give instructors permission todo things.
And so here's the gift ofpermission.
You don't have to grade all thethings all the time.
And so if you only have a fewminutes, I would consider
looking at some of the ways thatyou give feedback and see if you
can transform that into a simplechecklist.
(21:52):
I think that it's the type offeedback that's really clear to
students.
And it also is not the time sucklike an analytic rubric is, and
it takes very little time to do.
I also think rubrics are areally great check on us as
instructors.
Because we may, think that we'reasking students to do something
(22:13):
and we've given them thefoundation for that, when in
fact we really haven't.
And so, I like a rubric becauseit's a great check on me.
You know, when you're grading 30assignments, if you're not using
a rubric, the way you gradenumber one may not be the same
way you grade number 25.
So I like rubrics because theykeep me in check, and they also
(22:36):
are really transparent about thethings that I'm looking for, for
students.
Rachel (22:42):
That's such a great point, Crystal, and we see a few
really compelling things there.
The first one is when we'retalking about inclusive teaching
or supporting all students, thisisn't meant to be at the expense
of the faculty member.
The faculty member or theinstructor is an important part
of that space, and to beinclusive, we need to include
all of that, and really one ofthose key considerations and one
(23:04):
of the things that we reallywant to focus on here in this
podcast is how we include theinstructor, how this is not done
at the expense of theinstructor.
And so one of those really islooking at our own time
management, how do we increaseour efficiency while still doing
the things and providing thelearning experiences and
opportunities?
(23:26):
And so I think rubrics here arereally great.
And just like you werementioning, it's a great way to
prevent drift in grading.
That's something I've noticed.
I might go back if I'm grading,you know, 40, 50 assignments, go
back and check number 10 andnumber 20 and number 30 and make
sure I'm still on track.
(23:46):
And the rubrics are a great wayto do that.
Whether they are like the sortof checkbox rubric that you're
mentioning here, or even if wehave other types of just major
categories.
These are great ways to increaseour own efficiency.
We're looking at how we arecommunicating to the students as
well.
And so when they have thoserubrics in advance, how might we
(24:08):
go about perhaps discussing arubrics with students or our own
approaches to grading orassessment with a rubric?
When they see these in advance,they might be like,"Okay, I only
have to do these things," buthow do we frame that learning
experience for them?
Crystal (24:28):
Right.
So, you know, one of the bestthings we can always do for
students is to model the verything we're asking them to do.
So I'll take the rubric, and I'ma little extra because I'll
actually also do my ownassignment.
And so I'll take the assignment,and I'll take the rubric and
I'll just go through it:"Here'san example of this criteria in
(24:51):
the rubric.
These are the types of thingsthat I'm looking for.
And you really need to have therubric right beside you when
you're doing this assignment."You could also give them a
practice run, have them use therubric and use it as a way of
generating feedback, especiallyin a peer feedback situation
(25:12):
before they have to do it, quoteunquote, for real.
Rachel (25:16):
I especially like the peer activity because it gets
them talking about not onlyabout the activity, but about
what another student is seeingor not seeing in the work.
And I think that's a great wayto engage again a little bit
higher order thinking, a littlebit more assessment, a little
(25:36):
bit then opportunity for them toreflect on their own writing
their own work later on as aresult of that peer feedback.
But also we see a little bitmore transparency in our
teaching, where not only are wealigning things, but I think
this is a great way, even at theassignment or the activity
level, to be transparent aboutwhat it is that we're looking
(25:59):
for in an activity, what it isthat we are wanting the students
to not only get out of this, butdemonstrate from that work.
And so do you see that as, orhow do you see that, as a way,
as a tool for the instructor,but also a tool for the
students, perhaps?
Crystal (26:17):
Yes, because here's the other thing we're teaching
students, we're teaching themthe ability to do this for
themselves.
It becomes a transferable skillthat they take from our course
to the next course, and then outinto their lives in the real
world to be able to take a setof criteria, because you'll be
given this on a job, andtranslate that into your own
(26:40):
workflow for your own personalproject, that's a skill.
And so if we frame this in theclassroom in that way, it's not
just about Dr.
Anderson's assignment that Ihave to do.
It becomes a skill that I canthen use in other places.
Rachel (26:59):
And again, we're looking at how we show the students
this, we're helping them buildalmost like project management
skills.
We're helping them build some ofthese other things that they'll
be using.
I mean, even higher ed's thereal world, right?
But also, you know, differenttypes of workplaces or graduate
school or professional school,whatever this might be, these
are skills that they're buildingas well, so I think that's
(27:22):
great.
So as we wrap up for today,Crystal, can you tell us a
little bit about how thisconversation represents a
keystone concept in teaching?
We've talked about feedback froma few different angles.
We've talked a little bit aboutoverall course design and
expanded a little bit onalignment.
And so how does thisconversation to you represent a
(27:43):
keystone concept in teaching?
Crystal (27:46):
I think in this case, the keystone concept is
intentionality.
I tell people often, if I knewthat this is what really
teaching was about, I don't knowif I would have signed up for
this, because it's far more,again, we didn't have this
transparency.
It just seemed to, be a coolthing to do.
But there really is thisintentionality and making sure
(28:11):
that we're not doing things fromour perspective as an instructor
just because we like thisparticular assignment, but is
this particular assignmentactually functioning in a way
that enhances student learning?
And that's for all aspects ofour teaching.
The creation of assignments, thescaffolding them in terms of how
(28:34):
they unfold over a course, andeven further into things like
curriculum development, howindividual courses factor into
program outcomes.
Rachel (28:45):
Yeah, I agree with you.
It seems like a lot of teaching,maybe in the past few decades,
was really on that charisma,that stage presence and
performing a great lecture.
But now we're really looking athow are we designing?
What are we doing?
And it can be a little bitoverwhelming.
And that's why, you know, here,especially, we're looking at how
(29:05):
do we break that into manageablepieces?
How do we include the instructorin this, you know, things that
aren't at the expense of theinstructor, but work within
those workflows as well?
So I think that intentionalityacross all of these different
areas is so valuable.
So thank you so much, Dr.
Anderson, for joining us.
(29:25):
Thank you so much for your timein these two episodes.
I appreciate it.
Crystal (29:30):
This has been really great.
I love talking about thesethings because as you've said,
teaching can seem overwhelming,but once you know that there are
these small things that you cando that have a really great
impact, it really does increase,I think, your love of teaching.
Rachel (29:46):
Absolutely.
And so as we, as we wrap up fortoday, again, thank you for
joining us, and please make sureto join us in our next episode
as we continue our conversationabout inclusive teaching that
supports all students, but alsothe instructor, in this space.
So thank you so much.
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