Archive of ‘teaching’ category

Gamification as Design Thinking

Hung, A. C. Y. (2018). Gamification as Design Thinking. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 30(3), 1812–9129.
https://hyp.is/go?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fdocument%2Fd%2F1k79afSI7WEvAnJGgy5ANs8Xw_wfJ8XWEuk9ri6exIVQ%2Fedit&group=9ypxjpYK
By reflecting-in-action,  the practitioner is able to gain metacognitive awareness  and perceive his/her intuitions and biases, test  hypotheses, and take on new perspectives. The  approach of having students learn by designing their  own games combines design thinking and game-based  learning (Kafai, 1995, 2006; Li, Lemieuz,  Vandermeiden, & Nathoo, 2013). Design thinking also  supports new forms of literacies brought on by new  media technologies as well as game-based learning.

It is likely that the effects of gamification cannot  easily be measured satisfactorily through surveys of  motivation, engagement, attendance, or grades because  there are too many variables that could affect how students  respond. Critics of gamification argue that it over

simplifies complex problems (Bogost, 2015; Robertson,  2010). However, both gamification and design thinking  are approaches to problem-solving. With design thinking,  gamification may be used in more meaningful ways  because design thinking offers a different lens through  which to conceptualize the problem.

teaching

The Damaging Myth of the Natural Teacher

Despite decades of evidence, good teaching is still considered more art than science. That’s hurting faculty and students alike.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-damaging-myth-of-the-natural-teacher

Even as universities have become more bureaucratic and centrally controlled, teaching continues to operate largely independent of oversight

when she was a college administrator, before becoming a professor, she was expected to spend two to four hours a week on professional development. It was written into her job description. Her training as a faculty member, by contrast, “has all been self directed, self led, things I want to do. It’s never been part of my annual evaluation.”

At most research universities if you were publishing in pedagogy journals they would not be counted or weighted as heavily as if you were publishing in a traditional journal.

Valencia College, a community college in Central Florida that relies heavily on part-time instructors, encourages them to improve their teaching by offering certificates and pay increases for participating in 60 hours of professional development.

Some of the most notable reform efforts are coming from external funders and academic associations. The National Science Foundation, the Association of American Universities, the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, the American Historical Association, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and others have sponsored research and projects on teaching reform, including work on how to advance discipline-based education research.

a pilot program at Kansas to reinvent the evaluation process, as part of a multi-campus project called TEval. The new process, she says, considers seven benchmarks, including course planning, class climate, and evidence of student learning. Teaching reviews consider, for example, how well course content is aligned with the curriculum, whether a faculty member is involved in scholarship about pedagogy, and how much time they spend advising and mentoring students. Departments are also encouraged to develop “peer triads,” in which small groups of faculty members whose coursework is related meet regularly to talk about their teaching and course design.

He and his peers were heavily involved in pedagogical innovation on campus, including the Center for Project Based Learning and discipline-based education research.

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More on teaching in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=teach

Discord for teaching purposes

A discussion thread in the Higher Ed Learning Collective:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/853609748603058/

“Has anyone ever used Discord to communicate with their students and to deliver short lectures or have office hours? We don’t use Zoom and MS Teams only covers one section. I have four sections of the same course. I found one article in favor of it, but figured I’d check with the general community.”

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more on Discord in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=discord

7 Strategies to Change the Norms of Class Discussions

How to Hold a Better Class Discussion

ADVICE GUIDE

https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-hold-a-better-class-discussion/

7 Strategies to Change the Norms of Class Discussions

Norm No. 1: Civil attention.

nodding their heads, taking notes, chuckling at the instructor’s attempts at humor, or making brief eye contact. And by the things they don’t do: sleeping, texting, whispering to classmates.

Norm No. 2: Consolidation of responsibility.
a few students assume responsibility for most of the discussion

  1. No. 1: Ask better questions.
  2. No. 2: Set the stage on the first day.
  3. No. 3: Use a syllabus quiz to show that you value participation.
  4. No. 4: Try a discussion about discussion.
  5. No. 5: Don’t give up on discussion in a large class.
  6. No. 6: Have students pair up.
  7. No. 7: Take the conversation online.

How to Keep a Discussion on Track

  • Slow down the dominant talkers.
  • Quizzes are good for more than just the syllabus.
  • Use discussion questions to focus their reading (and the resulting debate).
  • Shine a light on the “muddiest” point.
  • Encourage comments from students of varied backgrounds.

Should You Grade Class Discussion?

  • The argument against:
  • The argument in favor: 

What If a Student’s Remark Is Wrong or Misguided?

  • Affirm, then correct.
  • Be respectful when they’ve lost the plot.

How to Handle News Events and Controversial Topics in Class

  • When to raise controversial issues.
  • Should you stake out a position?
  • Be clear about the ground rules.
  • Ask students to take sides.

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more on discussions in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=discussion

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