October 2, 2024 • 16 mins
Dr. Laura Poms, Director of the Mason Core at George Mason University, joins us to explore what Core courses can teach us about teaching. We discuss content relevant to instructors who are – and are not – teaching in the undergraduate core curriculum program.
Resources: Mason Core Website: https://masoncore.gmu.edu/, Mason Core Categories: https://masoncore.gmu.edu/mason-core-course-categories/, GMU Learning Services: https://learningservices.gmu.edu/, GMU Learning Services Video Series: https://learningservices.gmu.edu/academic-skills-videos/, Distinguishing novice and expert learning practices: Daley, B. J. (1999). Novice to expert: An exploration of how professionals learn. Adult education quarterly, 49(4), 133-147. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/074171369904900401
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rachel (00:08):
Hello and welcome to the Keystone Concepts in Teaching
Podcast, a higher educationpodcast from the Stearns Center
for Teaching and Learning, wherewe share impactful and evidence
based teaching practices tosupport all students and
faculty.
I'm your host, Rachel Yoho.
I'm joined by this episode'sguest, Dr.
Laura Poms.
Dr.
Poms is the director of theMason Core, George Mason
(00:31):
University's general educationprogram, and a professor in
global and community health inMason's College of Public
Health.
In addition to overseeing theday to day operations of the
Mason Core program, shecollaborates with faculty across
the university to develop,revise, and assess courses in
the Mason Core portfolio.
Dr.
Poms is a highly awardededucator, having received
(00:52):
numerous awards, including theTeaching Excellence Award in
2018 for George MasonUniversity, the Master Teacher
Award in 2016 from the Collegeof Health and Human Services at
George Mason University, andmany others.
She has a PhD in Industrial andOrganizational Psychology from
George Mason University, an MPHin Epidemiology, an MA in
(01:13):
Industrial and OrganizationalPsychology, again, all from
George Mason University, amaster's in public communication
from American University, and aBA in psychology from the
College of William and Mary, Weare delighted to have you here
today to talk with us, Dr.
Poms.
Laura (01:29):
Thank you.
Thank you for inviting me.
Rachel (01:31):
Absolutely.
So in this episode, we're goingto be discussing, as you might
guess, the Mason Core.
But what we're going to betalking about here is really
what we can learn from teachingCore courses.
So whether you do or do notteach in the Mason Core, there's
going to be something here foryou.
So to get us started, let's talka little bit about what is the
(01:52):
Mason Core and what does it meanto be teaching in the Mason
Core.
Laura (01:57):
Great.
So as you mentioned, it is ourgeneral education program.
And so what that means, it isthe educational background that
we want every Mason graduate tohave, and that is informed by a
lot of different sources.
We have it from our faculty whatwe believe individuals, our
region, our country and ourplanet and even broader society
(02:19):
really need for people to becontributing members to society.
We use the literature on generaleducation for best practices,
and then we also reach out toemployers, both in the immediate
area and outside to make surethat what we are teaching our
students is something that willbe of use to them to make them
as competitive as possible oncethey leave George Mason
(02:41):
University.
W e partner with the AmericanAssociation of Colleges and
Universities or AAC&U for bestpractices and their reports on
what employers are looking for,as well as the National
Association of Colleges andEducation and Employers which is
NACE.
They create a lot of materialrelated to what employers are
(03:03):
looking for in recent graduatesto make sure that we have
competitive people out there.
So, general education is focusedon developing skills for
lifelong learning.
And what we are doing is settingstudents up for success, not
just for that very first job,but also for all the jobs that
come after that for a career.
So it is all the things that wewant, what a Mason graduate is.
(03:26):
and we say that that's anengaged citizen, a well rounded
scholar who is prepared to act.
And I think that it is probablyone of the biggest privileges a
faculty member can have to beable to work with students in
our general education program.
And so to be teaching in theCore is not just the content of
what you're teaching, but it isreally related to how that
(03:48):
content is taught to help ourstudents develop those lifelong
learning skills that they needto have.
Rachel (03:55):
That's really interesting when we talk about
not only the Mason graduate, butwhen we're talking about an
opportunity to teach in theMason Core.
It's a little bit different whenwe're talking about, as compared
to in our field, in ourdiscipline, you know, a 100
level or a 400 level or even agraduate course in our
discipline.
These are very different.
And so, for instance, if someonehands me a syllabus for a course
(04:19):
that is in the Mason Core, howmuch can I customize to my
teaching content and stylepreferences?
Laura (04:27):
So the Core has each category of the Core and we have
it broken down into differentlevels.
So we start off with thefoundation level, which is based
on skills, it's things likeinformation technology,
quantitative reasoning, oralcomm, written comm.
And then we have exploration,which is the broad based liberal
arts that we think about when wethink about traditional general
(04:48):
education.
And then we have the integrationlevel, which is the upper 400
level courses that arereflective of writing in the
disciplines.
And then what we have is calledMason Apex, which is the
opportunity to integrate thelearning.
So, within each of thosecategories, we have learning
outcomes that are assigned tothose categories that have been
(05:10):
vetted by the Mason faculty.
So every course that is in theCore must have assignments that
are related to those learningoutcomes, in addition to
whatever the content area is forthe particular course.
So how much flexibility andcustomization you have really
depends on your department andthe category.
Some departments have commonassignments and requests that
(05:32):
instructors use thoseassignments, but those
assignments have been developedin conjunction with a team of
faculty members.
So it's not something that, youknow, an administrator decided
was a good idea.
It really does work frominstructors who have been on the
ground teaching these studentsin these types of courses.
Some categories have moreflexibility, as you might
imagine, if there's a coursethat is only one section of that
(05:55):
particular course, there's a lotmore flexibility.
All of them should have yourparticular style.
And we do have assessment.
Every four years or so eachcategory undergoes assessment to
make sure that students areactually getting the learning
outcomes and that the coursesare designed and tailored to
those student needs.
(06:15):
One of the changes that we havemade over the past year, because
we've had a lot of workstreamlining the Core and the
approval processes and faculty'sability to teach the course as
well, is including a coursemanagement plan and this kind of
rolls into that.
So the undergraduate programdirector in your department is
the person you would want totalk to when you find out that
(06:36):
you are teaching a Mason Coreclass and they can tell you what
they have in mind for that.
They can share with you thecommon syllabus, if there are
any common assignments or whatthe parameters might be around
particular assignments that mapback to the learning outcomes so
that we are sure that thoselearning outcomes are covered.
So the place that you reallywant to start once you've been
(06:57):
assigned to a Mason Core classis with your undergraduate
program director.
Rachel (07:03):
And would we have the same advice if you weren't
teaching in the Mason Core?
If you're just handed asyllabus, would you start with
your undergraduate programdirector, or do you have other
advice in that type ofsituation?
Laura (07:15):
I think it's always smart to start with your program
director because there areprobably learning outcomes.
So learning outcomes areestablished by the faculty in
that department and they shouldnot be adjusted by individual
instructors, because it'ssomething that's been deemed
important for someone who isgraduating with that major from
that department, and it needs tobe addressed.
(07:35):
So at some point in some spaceand time that has been looked at
for the curriculum that isdeveloped to go along with that
degree program.
And it's very, very importantthat we stay true to those
because again, those are alsolooked at too by outside
accrediting bodies.
So we want to make sure that ourstudents are getting what we say
that they're getting at the endof the day.
And that's one of the only wayswe know.
So I think your undergraduateprogram director is a really,
(07:58):
really good place to start.
Another place would be otherinstructors that have taught the
course as well, no matterwhether it is a Mason Core class
or a course that is in yourmajor curriculum.
Rachel (08:10):
I agree.
I mean, we have quite a numberof programs that have a
secondary accreditation like fortheir professional society and
their professional organizationthat are going to be coming in
every few years and checking onthat as well.
So that's a great point.
Thank you.
So when we're talking aboutteaching inside or outside of
the Mason Core, because a numberof these recommendations really
(08:31):
apply in all situations, let'stalk about some of your
recommendations or strategies orconsiderations that you have for
faculty who are teaching some ofthese Core courses.
Laura (08:42):
So one of the challenges and also one of the joys of
teaching a Mason Core course isthat these are likely to be
students who are non majors, sothey're not going to have
initial vested interest in thetopic area and they may even
come into it with not always themost positive of perspectives on
the course, and they might beviewing it as something they
(09:04):
have to get done like a ticketto punch, a box to check, and we
are trying to get away from thatkind of positioning in Mason
Core, hence the idea thatteaching these courses are a
privilege.
So I think one of the mostimportant things, and probably
applies to any course you'reteaching, is to do a little bit
of foregrounding.
Let students know how thisparticular topic area relates to
(09:27):
other areas.
So nothing happens in a vacuum.
So you want to help studentsmake those connections.
What may be obvious to you as aconnection may not be so obvious
to a brand new student,especially if you're teaching a
one or 200 level course wherethis may be a student's very
first exposure to college leveleducation.
You really have to be aware ofwhere they're coming from.
(09:47):
I call those moments actually inclass when I teach I just bring
them out and I call them so,"Whydo we care?" I just ask that
question, and I answer thequestion for them, and then I
ask them what they think too andsometimes it sounds a bit.
I guess, abrupt or obvious, butin fact, I have found that it is
not as obvious as we would thinkbecause most faculty are experts
(10:10):
in their fields and our studentsare what we call novices.
They're just learning.
So an expert knows the keythings to pay attention to
whereas a novice thinkseverything is important and they
can't even filter out what mayjust be sort of extraneous so
you have to keep that in mind.
Which also then leads to thenext point of maybe loosening up
your content a little bit.
(10:31):
And a lot of instructors feelthat if they have a textbook,
they have to cover everything inthat textbook and they have to
do it.
It's an introduction topsychology because I could talk
about psychology, having taughtthat class,"I've got to cover
every aspect of psychology frombeginning to end.
I have only 14 weeks to do it.
I need to hurry, hurry, hurry,get it covered." And in fact,
what we know is that studentsdon't learn that well with that
(10:53):
much content.
It's better to loosen up.
So instead of 14 differenttopics, pick the eight most
important topics and spend moretime on each topic, so students
get a chance to engage moredeeply with the material and
make the connections throughreflection or other exercises
that help them understand how itfits into the scope of the world
(11:13):
and into their lives.
If they can see why it mattersto them, they're going to buy
into the material better andperform better at the end,
right?
It also works for your majorstoo.
They're going to come in andthey're going to learn the
material a bit more deeply.
You will also know what you'vecovered in that class and it can
be communicated to the majorclass that comes after that, so
they know where to pick up so itcan be done if you're doing what
(11:35):
we call scaffolding and buildingthat basis for your students.
Rachel (11:40):
So to this point, we've talked about the end goals, some
of the activities, the outcome,some of these other big picture
things.
So can you tell us a little bitmore, or can we talk a little
bit more about how we get thereand the process with the
students?
Laura (11:56):
One thing to really keep in mind that I've noticed that I
have to do is to focus not onlyon the outcome or the product,
but also the process that isused by getting there.
It's particularly important in aMason Core class.
If you are asking them to do aresearch paper, you need to ask
yourself if they've got thoseresearch skills that are
necessary to successfully writea paper.
(12:18):
So, at the end of the day, youas an instructor factor into the
equation as well as the studentsdo.
You do not want to be grading abunch of poorly conceived
research papers.
This is not fun for anybody.
They don't want to write them.
You don't want to grade them.
So why would you be doing them?
So think a little bit morecreatively about the kind of
assignments you give.
If you're asking them to work ina team.
(12:40):
Ask yourself, do we really knowhow to work in a team?
And maybe you take a few minutesto go over best practices for
working in a team about, youknow, deadlines and schedules
and not letting other peopledown and just remind them
because they may have had amillion and one group projects
when they were in high school,but these should be different
and most of them are going tocome in slightly sour because of
(13:02):
all those group projects in highschool where people drop the
ball.
So it's your job to give themsome clues on how to be able to
do this.
There's a lot of material outthere that can help you with
that.
And also really remember thatour students come from a wide
variety of backgrounds.
So their preparation for collegeis going to be different and
we're going to have somevariety.
(13:24):
So again, many Mason Corecourses are the first that
students are taking.
So think about maybe helpingthem with their student-ing
skills suggest time management.
If you can integrate in sometest taking strategies into your
course managing test anxiety,providing them with resources to
(13:46):
get help if they need it in away that makes it approachable
to them.
I think it will help them quitea bit.
And at the end of the day, iftheir student-ing skills are
stronger, it helps you toobecause the assignments will be
better and you'll be gradingbetter material.
So think about if they'vedeveloped critical reading
skills, which they probablyhaven't, if they are clear on
(14:09):
deadlines and what that means,and make sure that you
communicate a lot of thismaterial back to them very
clearly in your syllabus andmaybe mentioning it in class
too, you'll notice they don'talways read the entire syllabus.
So that's something just to keepin mind.
Keep it in there, but make itobvious through Canvas or
Blackboard, whatever you happento be using this semester.
Rachel (14:29):
I think these are really great points.
And one of the things that wetalk about quite a bit is
scaffolding.
I mean, so no matter what thecourse is, scaffolding is
important.
Whether you're teaching in theMason Core or teaching a 400
level majors course, scaffoldingis essential.
So we're looking at building alarger project over time from an
idea, that maybe you reviewthose ideas, maybe you look at
(14:53):
an outline, a draft, maybe havesome peer review in there,
whatever scaffolding looks likein your area, this can be really
useful and a best practiceacross the board.
I really like the idea that youwere talking about, Laura, with
the, why do I care?
Why should we care?
Or whatever your favoritevariation might be.
Having that in there, becausethat really relates very
(15:15):
strongly to when we're talkingabout increasing relevance.
One of the things that highereducation broadly can struggle
with is the why is thisworthwhile?
Why is this worth the money?
But here we're talking about,especially with the Mason Core,
preparing the Mason graduate.
What does this look like for,like you were talking about,
(15:36):
Laura, with the employers, butalso just the people going out
into society as a Mason graduateand what they are and can be and
can do as lifelong learners.
And so as we're talking aboutthis, we can look at that and we
can extend that out into all thecourses.
So whether you're teaching inthe Mason Core or not, having
that increased relevance andthose connections is always
(15:58):
useful.
Because as you were mentioning,novices don't always see that.
Novices aren't always making allof those connections, and they
shouldn't be expected to beeither.
So with that, I really want tothank you, Laura, for joining
us.
This was a great conversation.
Thank you so much for talking tous about the Mason Core and some
of the exciting opportunities.
(16:19):
And I look forward to having youback soon.
Laura (16:22):
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate theopportunity.
Rachel (16:25):
And catch our next episode as we continue to talk
about keystone concepts inteaching.
Please subscribe to our podcastto get some notifications, or
we're happy to have you join usin whatever space that you'd
like to listen.
Thank you.
Hello and welcome to the Keystone Concepts in Teaching
Podcast, a higher educationpodcast from the Stearns Center
for Teaching and Learning, wherewe share impactful and evidence
based teaching practices tosupport all students and
faculty.
I'm your host, Rachel Yoho.
I'm joined by this episode'sguest, Dr.
Laura Poms.
Dr.
Poms is the director of theMason Core, George Mason
(00:31):
University's general educationprogram, and a professor in
global and community health inMason's College of Public
Health.
In addition to overseeing theday to day operations of the
Mason Core program, shecollaborates with faculty across
the university to develop,revise, and assess courses in
the Mason Core portfolio.
Dr.
Poms is a highly awardededucator, having received
(00:52):
numerous awards, including theTeaching Excellence Award in
2018 for George MasonUniversity, the Master Teacher
Award in 2016 from the Collegeof Health and Human Services at
George Mason University, andmany others.
She has a PhD in Industrial andOrganizational Psychology from
George Mason University, an MPHin Epidemiology, an MA in
(01:13):
Industrial and OrganizationalPsychology, again, all from
George Mason University, amaster's in public communication
from American University, and aBA in psychology from the
College of William and Mary, Weare delighted to have you here
today to talk with us, Dr.
Poms.
Laura (01:29):
Thank you.
Thank you for inviting me.
Rachel (01:31):
Absolutely.
So in this episode, we're goingto be discussing, as you might
guess, the Mason Core.
But what we're going to betalking about here is really
what we can learn from teachingCore courses.
So whether you do or do notteach in the Mason Core, there's
going to be something here foryou.
So to get us started, let's talka little bit about what is the
(01:52):
Mason Core and what does it meanto be teaching in the Mason
Core.
Laura (01:57):
Great.
So as you mentioned, it is ourgeneral education program.
And so what that means, it isthe educational background that
we want every Mason graduate tohave, and that is informed by a
lot of different sources.
We have it from our faculty whatwe believe individuals, our
region, our country and ourplanet and even broader society
(02:19):
really need for people to becontributing members to society.
We use the literature on generaleducation for best practices,
and then we also reach out toemployers, both in the immediate
area and outside to make surethat what we are teaching our
students is something that willbe of use to them to make them
as competitive as possible oncethey leave George Mason
(02:41):
University.
W e partner with the AmericanAssociation of Colleges and
Universities or AAC&U for bestpractices and their reports on
what employers are looking for,as well as the National
Association of Colleges andEducation and Employers which is
NACE.
They create a lot of materialrelated to what employers are
(03:03):
looking for in recent graduatesto make sure that we have
competitive people out there.
So, general education is focusedon developing skills for
lifelong learning.
And what we are doing is settingstudents up for success, not
just for that very first job,but also for all the jobs that
come after that for a career.
So it is all the things that wewant, what a Mason graduate is.
(03:26):
and we say that that's anengaged citizen, a well rounded
scholar who is prepared to act.
And I think that it is probablyone of the biggest privileges a
faculty member can have to beable to work with students in
our general education program.
And so to be teaching in theCore is not just the content of
what you're teaching, but it isreally related to how that
(03:48):
content is taught to help ourstudents develop those lifelong
learning skills that they needto have.
Rachel (03:55):
That's really interesting when we talk about
not only the Mason graduate, butwhen we're talking about an
opportunity to teach in theMason Core.
It's a little bit different whenwe're talking about, as compared
to in our field, in ourdiscipline, you know, a 100
level or a 400 level or even agraduate course in our
discipline.
These are very different.
And so, for instance, if someonehands me a syllabus for a course
(04:19):
that is in the Mason Core, howmuch can I customize to my
teaching content and stylepreferences?
Laura (04:27):
So the Core has each category of the Core and we have
it broken down into differentlevels.
So we start off with thefoundation level, which is based
on skills, it's things likeinformation technology,
quantitative reasoning, oralcomm, written comm.
And then we have exploration,which is the broad based liberal
arts that we think about when wethink about traditional general
(04:48):
education.
And then we have the integrationlevel, which is the upper 400
level courses that arereflective of writing in the
disciplines.
And then what we have is calledMason Apex, which is the
opportunity to integrate thelearning.
So, within each of thosecategories, we have learning
outcomes that are assigned tothose categories that have been
(05:10):
vetted by the Mason faculty.
So every course that is in theCore must have assignments that
are related to those learningoutcomes, in addition to
whatever the content area is forthe particular course.
So how much flexibility andcustomization you have really
depends on your department andthe category.
Some departments have commonassignments and requests that
(05:32):
instructors use thoseassignments, but those
assignments have been developedin conjunction with a team of
faculty members.
So it's not something that, youknow, an administrator decided
was a good idea.
It really does work frominstructors who have been on the
ground teaching these studentsin these types of courses.
Some categories have moreflexibility, as you might
imagine, if there's a coursethat is only one section of that
(05:55):
particular course, there's a lotmore flexibility.
All of them should have yourparticular style.
And we do have assessment.
Every four years or so eachcategory undergoes assessment to
make sure that students areactually getting the learning
outcomes and that the coursesare designed and tailored to
those student needs.
(06:15):
One of the changes that we havemade over the past year, because
we've had a lot of workstreamlining the Core and the
approval processes and faculty'sability to teach the course as
well, is including a coursemanagement plan and this kind of
rolls into that.
So the undergraduate programdirector in your department is
the person you would want totalk to when you find out that
(06:36):
you are teaching a Mason Coreclass and they can tell you what
they have in mind for that.
They can share with you thecommon syllabus, if there are
any common assignments or whatthe parameters might be around
particular assignments that mapback to the learning outcomes so
that we are sure that thoselearning outcomes are covered.
So the place that you reallywant to start once you've been
(06:57):
assigned to a Mason Core classis with your undergraduate
program director.
Rachel (07:03):
And would we have the same advice if you weren't
teaching in the Mason Core?
If you're just handed asyllabus, would you start with
your undergraduate programdirector, or do you have other
advice in that type ofsituation?
Laura (07:15):
I think it's always smart to start with your program
director because there areprobably learning outcomes.
So learning outcomes areestablished by the faculty in
that department and they shouldnot be adjusted by individual
instructors, because it'ssomething that's been deemed
important for someone who isgraduating with that major from
that department, and it needs tobe addressed.
(07:35):
So at some point in some spaceand time that has been looked at
for the curriculum that isdeveloped to go along with that
degree program.
And it's very, very importantthat we stay true to those
because again, those are alsolooked at too by outside
accrediting bodies.
So we want to make sure that ourstudents are getting what we say
that they're getting at the endof the day.
And that's one of the only wayswe know.
So I think your undergraduateprogram director is a really,
(07:58):
really good place to start.
Another place would be otherinstructors that have taught the
course as well, no matterwhether it is a Mason Core class
or a course that is in yourmajor curriculum.
Rachel (08:10):
I agree.
I mean, we have quite a numberof programs that have a
secondary accreditation like fortheir professional society and
their professional organizationthat are going to be coming in
every few years and checking onthat as well.
So that's a great point.
Thank you.
So when we're talking aboutteaching inside or outside of
the Mason Core, because a numberof these recommendations really
(08:31):
apply in all situations, let'stalk about some of your
recommendations or strategies orconsiderations that you have for
faculty who are teaching some ofthese Core courses.
Laura (08:42):
So one of the challenges and also one of the joys of
teaching a Mason Core course isthat these are likely to be
students who are non majors, sothey're not going to have
initial vested interest in thetopic area and they may even
come into it with not always themost positive of perspectives on
the course, and they might beviewing it as something they
(09:04):
have to get done like a ticketto punch, a box to check, and we
are trying to get away from thatkind of positioning in Mason
Core, hence the idea thatteaching these courses are a
privilege.
So I think one of the mostimportant things, and probably
applies to any course you'reteaching, is to do a little bit
of foregrounding.
Let students know how thisparticular topic area relates to
(09:27):
other areas.
So nothing happens in a vacuum.
So you want to help studentsmake those connections.
What may be obvious to you as aconnection may not be so obvious
to a brand new student,especially if you're teaching a
one or 200 level course wherethis may be a student's very
first exposure to college leveleducation.
You really have to be aware ofwhere they're coming from.
(09:47):
I call those moments actually inclass when I teach I just bring
them out and I call them so,"Whydo we care?" I just ask that
question, and I answer thequestion for them, and then I
ask them what they think too andsometimes it sounds a bit.
I guess, abrupt or obvious, butin fact, I have found that it is
not as obvious as we would thinkbecause most faculty are experts
(10:10):
in their fields and our studentsare what we call novices.
They're just learning.
So an expert knows the keythings to pay attention to
whereas a novice thinkseverything is important and they
can't even filter out what mayjust be sort of extraneous so
you have to keep that in mind.
Which also then leads to thenext point of maybe loosening up
your content a little bit.
(10:31):
And a lot of instructors feelthat if they have a textbook,
they have to cover everything inthat textbook and they have to
do it.
It's an introduction topsychology because I could talk
about psychology, having taughtthat class,"I've got to cover
every aspect of psychology frombeginning to end.
I have only 14 weeks to do it.
I need to hurry, hurry, hurry,get it covered." And in fact,
what we know is that studentsdon't learn that well with that
(10:53):
much content.
It's better to loosen up.
So instead of 14 differenttopics, pick the eight most
important topics and spend moretime on each topic, so students
get a chance to engage moredeeply with the material and
make the connections throughreflection or other exercises
that help them understand how itfits into the scope of the world
(11:13):
and into their lives.
If they can see why it mattersto them, they're going to buy
into the material better andperform better at the end,
right?
It also works for your majorstoo.
They're going to come in andthey're going to learn the
material a bit more deeply.
You will also know what you'vecovered in that class and it can
be communicated to the majorclass that comes after that, so
they know where to pick up so itcan be done if you're doing what
(11:35):
we call scaffolding and buildingthat basis for your students.
Rachel (11:40):
So to this point, we've talked about the end goals, some
of the activities, the outcome,some of these other big picture
things.
So can you tell us a little bitmore, or can we talk a little
bit more about how we get thereand the process with the
students?
Laura (11:56):
One thing to really keep in mind that I've noticed that I
have to do is to focus not onlyon the outcome or the product,
but also the process that isused by getting there.
It's particularly important in aMason Core class.
If you are asking them to do aresearch paper, you need to ask
yourself if they've got thoseresearch skills that are
necessary to successfully writea paper.
(12:18):
So, at the end of the day, youas an instructor factor into the
equation as well as the studentsdo.
You do not want to be grading abunch of poorly conceived
research papers.
This is not fun for anybody.
They don't want to write them.
You don't want to grade them.
So why would you be doing them?
So think a little bit morecreatively about the kind of
assignments you give.
If you're asking them to work ina team.
(12:40):
Ask yourself, do we really knowhow to work in a team?
And maybe you take a few minutesto go over best practices for
working in a team about, youknow, deadlines and schedules
and not letting other peopledown and just remind them
because they may have had amillion and one group projects
when they were in high school,but these should be different
and most of them are going tocome in slightly sour because of
(13:02):
all those group projects in highschool where people drop the
ball.
So it's your job to give themsome clues on how to be able to
do this.
There's a lot of material outthere that can help you with
that.
And also really remember thatour students come from a wide
variety of backgrounds.
So their preparation for collegeis going to be different and
we're going to have somevariety.
(13:24):
So again, many Mason Corecourses are the first that
students are taking.
So think about maybe helpingthem with their student-ing
skills suggest time management.
If you can integrate in sometest taking strategies into your
course managing test anxiety,providing them with resources to
(13:46):
get help if they need it in away that makes it approachable
to them.
I think it will help them quitea bit.
And at the end of the day, iftheir student-ing skills are
stronger, it helps you toobecause the assignments will be
better and you'll be gradingbetter material.
So think about if they'vedeveloped critical reading
skills, which they probablyhaven't, if they are clear on
(14:09):
deadlines and what that means,and make sure that you
communicate a lot of thismaterial back to them very
clearly in your syllabus andmaybe mentioning it in class
too, you'll notice they don'talways read the entire syllabus.
So that's something just to keepin mind.
Keep it in there, but make itobvious through Canvas or
Blackboard, whatever you happento be using this semester.
Rachel (14:29):
I think these are really great points.
And one of the things that wetalk about quite a bit is
scaffolding.
I mean, so no matter what thecourse is, scaffolding is
important.
Whether you're teaching in theMason Core or teaching a 400
level majors course, scaffoldingis essential.
So we're looking at building alarger project over time from an
idea, that maybe you reviewthose ideas, maybe you look at
(14:53):
an outline, a draft, maybe havesome peer review in there,
whatever scaffolding looks likein your area, this can be really
useful and a best practiceacross the board.
I really like the idea that youwere talking about, Laura, with
the, why do I care?
Why should we care?
Or whatever your favoritevariation might be.
Having that in there, becausethat really relates very
(15:15):
strongly to when we're talkingabout increasing relevance.
One of the things that highereducation broadly can struggle
with is the why is thisworthwhile?
Why is this worth the money?
But here we're talking about,especially with the Mason Core,
preparing the Mason graduate.
What does this look like for,like you were talking about,
(15:36):
Laura, with the employers, butalso just the people going out
into society as a Mason graduateand what they are and can be and
can do as lifelong learners.
And so as we're talking aboutthis, we can look at that and we
can extend that out into all thecourses.
So whether you're teaching inthe Mason Core or not, having
that increased relevance andthose connections is always
(15:58):
useful.
Because as you were mentioning,novices don't always see that.
Novices aren't always making allof those connections, and they
shouldn't be expected to beeither.
So with that, I really want tothank you, Laura, for joining
us.
This was a great conversation.
Thank you so much for talking tous about the Mason Core and some
of the exciting opportunities.
(16:19):
And I look forward to having youback soon.
Laura (16:22):
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate theopportunity.
Rachel (16:25):
And catch our next episode as we continue to talk
about keystone concepts inteaching.
Please subscribe to our podcastto get some notifications, or
we're happy to have you join usin whatever space that you'd
like to listen.
Thank you.
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