Category: Blog 3: Core Seminar 3 Prep

https://cgscholar.com/community/community_profiles/baruch-fa21-eng-2100-gmwc/community_updates/143896

Screen sample of the module:

And the first video in the module…

Cover letter

The material for my class includes history of drug laws, cultural impact of drugs (and how it has changed over time) as well as very biological based descriptions of how drugs work on the brain and how that then affects behavior. I use a wide range of assessments, including exams, papers and in-class activities. These in-class activities are the teaching artifacts I am seeking to revise, to try and achieve more interaction from the students.

In previous versions of the activity assignment for each Module, students mostly did the assignment on their own time, and we only had a limited class discussion for some of the activities.

To revise these assignments, I will make all of them more interactive and include peer review as part of the assignment. The type of interaction and review will vary by module assignment.

Revision

Module 1 Activity:

The past version of this involved the students individually completing the worksheets/questions and then discussing them briefly in class. As is typical, only a few students did most of the discussing.

For the new version, I will create a google doc with the assignment, and put students into groups and have them complete the worksheet/ questions in class.

Following the group work, each group will present their completed worksheets, and then we will discuss any differences between each groups worksheet results.

Another option I am considering is converting the first three parts of this activity into some type of in class game, but I would first have to figure out how to do that!

Module 1 Worksheet

Part 1

Match the following Functions and Structures:

Structures                                           Functions

A) Receptors                                       1) Contains the cell’s machinery to keep it alive

B) Dendrites                                        2) Long wire-like component that transmits the electrical signal

C) Cell body                                        3) A protein with a specific size and shape. Neurotransmitters and drugs bind to it

D) Axon                                               4) The part of the neuron from which neurotransmitters are released

E) Axon terminal                                 5) Branches that come off the cell body and contain most receptors

Part 2

Arrange the following statements in the correct order for neurotransmission (Make a list of the

number of each statement in the order of the steps in neurotransmission)

1) Neurotransmitter is released into the synapse

2) Calcium enters the axon terminal and causes the vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane

3) Neurotransmitter binds to receptors on postsynaptic cell

4) The action potential opens up voltage-gated calcium channels in the axon terminal

5) An action potential travels down the axon into the axon terminal

6) Neurotransmitter is synthesized and stored in vesicles in the axon terminal

7) The neurotransmitter is removed from the postsynaptic receptor

8) When a neurotransmitter binds to a postsynaptic receptor it causes a postsynaptic ion channel

to open or close, producing a change in the postsynaptic cell

Part 3

Match the following brain areas with their functions

Brain Area                                                       Functions

A) Frontal lobe                                                1) Control of hormones, ANS, sleep, pleasure, hunger, sex

B) Parietal lobe                                               2) “Addiction center”

C) Temporal lobe                                            3) Calming, “business as usual”

D) Occipital lobe                                             4) Vision

E) Basal ganglia                                              5) Basic vegetative processes

F) Cerebellum                                                 6) Fight or flight

G) Hippocampus                                             7) Sense of touch

H) Hypothalamus                                            8) Sleep and smoothing out respiration

I) Nucleus accumbens                                    9) Hearing, memory

J) Medulla                                                       10) Balance, posture, coordination

K) Pons                                                           11) Reasoning, judgments, decision making

L) Sympathetic nervous system                     12) Fine tuning movements

M) Parasympathetic nervous system             13) Memory   

Part 4

Select two routes of administration of drugs and list pros and cons (at least two each).

Part 5

Name two ways a drug can be an agonist and an antagonist

Module 2 Activity

This assignment asked students to watch an assigned episode of “The Business of Drugs” and then each group (the assigned episode) had a brief discussion of the key points (in break out rooms) which was then presented to the class.

In revising this assignment, I will include a google doc for the students to include their thoughts on their assigned episodes during their breakout room session.

During the class discussion of the episodes, students from other groups will add questions about the episode presentations in the google doc, which will be part of the discussion.

Module 3 Activity

The previous version of this assignment was already pretty interactive (breakout rooms to discuss the myths and listening to songs chosen by students).

In revising this assignment, for part 1, I will include use of a google doc for the myths and I will ask them to come up with as many myths as they can (again, in groups), and then have the other groups decide which myth is true and which myth is false.

For part 2, I will have the groups each select on song, and then will ask the other groups to make the judgements about the song

Part 1

Choose from any drug from Module 2 or 3 and name 2 myths (common belief, rumor, etc) about the drug you chose, one of which is true and one of which is false. Submit a one paragraph on your findings (references are fine but not required).

Part 2

Find a song about any drug from Module 2 or 3; write a paragraph about the song, specifically thinking about some of the following questions: What perspective is the song writer expressing; one of a drug user or of someone who has been affected by a drug user? What message about the drug is the song writer expressing? Is it positive or negative?

Module 4 Activity

The previous version just asks for individual submissions.

In revising this, I will again divide the class into groups, and assign each group a drug prevention campaign to analyze (again utilizing a google doc). Each group will present their campaign and other groups will add questions to the google doc.

Part 1

Select an anti-drug/drug prevention program, such as a media campaign, or a school program like DARE, and describe the program (ie is it primary/secondary/tertiary, universal/selective/indicated). Include a description of the aspects of the program that define what type of program it is.

In creating these assignments, I was really thinking about how to avoid the typical problem of having only a few students speaking all the time. By using google docs, students who may not feel comfortable speaking can provide input non-verbally (all students will be required to provide comments in the google docs for each assignment). Additionally, by having other the groups review the work, there will be (hopefully!) more interaction and discussion of the assignments by the students.

The learning objectives of these assignments (especially the last three) is to go beyond the text material and see how our information and understanding of everything about drugs comes from a wide range of sources and not all of them are just empirical facts. I hope also to demonstrate in the discussions that there are many different opinions and understanding about drugs, drug usage and drug users.

My artifact is a two session lesson about Maya civilization for US/Mexico Border: Beyond and Before the Border. This lesson was very well received by past students in this course and a basic course of Latin American studies both for the fascinating content as well as the way the learned – in groups. So why make changes? During the course of our workshop, I realized that my “telegraphic” style of writing was not the best means of communicating with my students, and even less so, on-line.

The fact is that this style is connected in part to my philosophy of teaching/learning – that the student should make an effort to understand, interpret, think. I also like to give my students a lot of freedom in choosing, reading and expressing their ideas. The explicitness recommended by some runs counter to my ideas of intellectual maturity or maturing. Now I have taken a step back and looked at my presentation and see that it does not communicate what I wish it to with clarity. To this end, I am reworking the instructions to this lesson so the students will understand what I am looking for.

I have rewritten the instructions putting in more details, examples, deadlines while the assignment itself remains mainly the same. I was inspired and influenced by some of my colleagues posts.

                                                             MAYA CIVILIZATION

Part 1

I have posted a number of articles about  Maya civilization : Math, Writing, Astronomy/Calendar in Course Documents.

With your group, decide on each member choosing one topic which is of interest to them: Maya math, hierographyics (writing system), astronomy/calendar. You will read the articles I have posted (there is no need for further research). You will each become the “specialist” in that subject and get ready to teach the other members of your group about your topic.  For example, if you are the Maya math specialist you will be responsible for not only teaching about the numeral system of the Maya but also making certain that each member of the group has understood and learned from you. It’s up to each group how you communicate by text, telephone, email or another platform.

This is an important intellectual exercise in  distinguishing between what is important and what are details; that is what you should be focused on. This is something you can discuss together and arrive at conclusions,

Together the group will produce a short reflection   of 100 to 150 words  on how your group activity went. Did everyone cooperate? Were there problems communicating  your information to the other members of the group? How did you feel about teaching?  Good points? Frustrations?  What skills do you need  to improve in relation to collaborative learning? Any other comments about this exercise? Within the document , identify yourselves; for example, “I never taught a group before, it was awesome, to all of a sudden become the expert on math. I think, next time, I’d prepare more examples.” Jason   Note: this is a reflection of your process of group teaching and learning, please do not include any information about the Maya achievements.

PLEASE, INCLUDE NAME OF YOUR GROUP IN THE TITLE

This reflection will be Assignment 2 on Discussion Board. It will be due on Weds.Feb 9. If you have any special or delicate situation which arises from the group work, please communicate it to me privately by email ([email protected])

 Part 2

In  the first part of our Thursday, Feb 10 class, there will be time to discuss the different Maya achievements as well as to ask questions.

In the second part of class, I will present the situation of many Maya communities today, and their need to immigrate in order to survive.

Write a paragraph which will be submitted in “Assignments by midnight Monday, Feb 14..  Using your imagination, write a couple of sentences  which answer the questions 1.How is it possible that the Maya  civilization which was so dynamic and had made such strides in intellectual achievement could fall into such bad circumstances?  Here is a sample answer from my imagination: They were attacked and dominated by creatures from outer space. You can let your imagination carry you where it will . . . PLEASE: Do not research this; just enjoy your own invention.

Then write a couple of sentences in response to: What do you think you need to learn, in order to understand their present situation?  What information/ facts are you lacking to grasp the reality of the situation of contemporary Maya communities.

(This course objective of understanding the present in light of the past).

MATERIALS:

Mayan Astronomy

http://www.starteachastronomy.com/mayan.html

An excellent website on Mayan astronomy

https://maya.nmai.si.edu/sites/default/files/resources/The%20Maya%20Calendar%20System.pdf

This is excellent but after a couple of pages there are so. me blank pages and you need to scroll down to find the rest of the article.

 

Maya math

hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybvb7oy_WV0

hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAOm-i2ayWQ

 hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAOm-i2ayWQ

MAYA WRITING

http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/index.html

https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/maya/mmc01eng.html  (this has articles on math, calendar, writing and more about Mayan civilization

So I have some take aways after weeks of thought on what my teaching artifact will be as a result of this seminar. I now have two artifacts, or atleast I hope they will be considered thus so.

1. Teaching in chunks for the statistical review section of the course. I have decided I am not re-teaching the pre-requisite topics for my course. These first two weeks will instead be briefings and not lecture. Students will be asked to prepare a discussion on topics I will assign to them via groups. Each session, 20 minutes will be dedicated to discussing the briefings. Lets hope I don’t have dead air for 20 minutes. To support them in their preparation for the briefings, I have built a course site on BB (and will possibly move this to blogs@Baruch at some point) with references to OER on the review topics. Students will be assigned to groups in the first week, so they can work with their groups on developing the briefings.
2. Typically I assign groups project in week 5. By then students have developed some rapport among themselves and have gotten to know their classmates. I allow them to select their own groups, with the offer to assign students to a group if they are unable to find a group to join (i understand some students don’t get a chance to connect with their classmates when a class is completely online). So far, students have been really good about setting themselves up in groups and I have rarely had to help out with the assignment. Now since I am asking them to forms groups after day1, I have to help them out with getting to know their class mates. For which meaningful ice breakers are useful. The emphasis being on meaningful. After taking Ron Whitman’s workshop on “Work it, Own It” I intend to use his ice breaker. I think it has some many unintended benefits, (or maybe intended by design). Students are encouraged to understand what engagement in a class really means, and have to go though some amount of self-reflection and self assessment of how well they engage.

Wish me luck!

Roger McKechnie -(Management Dept/Organizational Behavior)- Zicklin School, Baruch/CUNY 

Baruch College (CTL Student Engagement Seminar) Session 3 Assignment

Assignment : Revised Artifact/Teaching Outcomes

Dear Team Colleagues, 

     Thank You for your time and attention in reviewing my “revised” Teaching Artifact/Activity, and the effort to connect it to identifiable teaching strategies; be they :Objective(s), Goal(s),  Learning “Outcome(s)”. An Artifact is a narrowed, clearly defined/described- “DELIVERABLE”; an unambiguous product – the result of a PROCESS. A process with observable steps conducive to building (Scaffolds), where a learner can logically assemble the pieces: the knowledge, the insights, the activities that will constitute a “leaning outcome”- a (Deliverable).   

      My Teaching Artifact – in first attempt of development was “Large” and “Actually” unwieldy.   It is intended as the core “Structure” for two Spring Semester class sections – both Hybrid – one 76 students and the other -45 students. I’ve taught at Zicklin for 15 +Years – teaching undergraduate: Conflict Mgt, Human Resources, Fundamental Management, Operations Management – an array of Independent Studies Topics and MBA Consultation Advising. Organizational Behavior is a teaching career – re-calibration – bridging careers in Psychology, Mediation with serial entrepreneur business  ventures.  

In joining O.B. and given “free reign” to “create” my version of People and Organizations, also taught by other instructors, my Artifact has been handily assisted by the choice of a “somewhat iconoclastic text” by Jone L. Pearce – Real Research for Real Managers. This text is a no-nonsense dedication, totally absent of patience for MANAGEMENT INFORMATION that is not firmly founded in RESEARCH/EVIDENCE BASED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION. Thank You. Sincerely, Roger

THE ARTIFACT

In short, the MBA Management section of 76 students; for example –  will be divided into 12 groups of 6 students. The format will examine the TRADITIONAL PROBLEM AREAS that plague Managers in the effective Management efforts regarding their people and organizations. Such focal areas as: workplace conflict, hiring and firing, diversity/discrimination, team performance, motivation, etc. 

     The Artifact, as a “Deliverable” will be student designed and maintained HANDBOOK. The Handbook will be divided into the 10 KEY PROBLEMATIC AREAS listed in the Syllabus and noted as “focal areas”. The handbook will contain (for each focal point) written and video summary narratives that will detail the strategies and conclusive solutions of (the real life and real time) the product solutions can be derived from class team involvement or any other appropriate academic source.    WORKPLACE PROBLEM(S)-unique to the given student’s career experience where that the student identifies and presents (options and corrections)  as a result of the application of MANDATORY !!!  EVIDENCE of RESEARCH/EVIDENCE BASED Solution Approaches.      

To succeed in the accomplishment of “REQUIRED” Notebook Artifact, will require the following of specific (STEPS) that will be carefully presented in the Syllabus and identified as – (Research/Evidence-Based “Mindsets”) The primary “mindset” identifies the student as a (Professional Manager), analogous to a medical practitioner, carefully observing and noting people and organization behavior and events that constitute disruptive circumstances.  A Rubric to guide the content and considerations regarding  “DIAGNOSTIC APPROACHES” will presented in class, carefully discussed and clearly observed in the course TEXTBOOK to promote individual and team interaction to assist the accurate and Research/Evidence Based student generated narrative that will be documented and entered in each student’s individual handbook. This course Instructor will periodically review and for the first 3 focal point sections assist each student in achieving course objective quality narrative HANDBOOK entries.  The remaining 7 sections will be graded as determined by the “Notebook Narrative Rubric” found in the Course Syllabus. 

My revised teaching artifact is a peer-review activity for a sync online course of ENG 2150, which combines genre, rhetoric, and research. Previously, the activity took place in Blackboard in the discussion boards, but I’m relocating it to either Bb + Discord or a blog + Discord (haven’t decided on where I’d host the class, yet). My motivation for using Discord as a tool is to deepen student engagement in modes other than writing in a discussion board, and I arrived at this decision after hearing from others who utilize discords or slacks for class; it seems as though students appreciate being able to participate beyond the limitations of Bb. (I also wonder if the use of a non-academic platform encourages participation in a way that a standard LMS doesn’t.) My only concern is asking students to incorporate additional technology into their practice, as I imagine they have other courses also involving multiple platforms.

This week, we’re working in our writing pods to move into P4. First, reread the project description in the syllabus; if you have any questions, email me or drop in during office hours to chat.

Second, in your pod’s voice channel, take turns answering the following questions. Presenters, talk through your ideas; everyone else, listen and ask any questions via text.

1. Remind everyone: what’s your topic?
2. Which approach are you taking in P4, an argumentative approach to persuade your audience of your position or an investigative approach to inform your audience? Why?
3. Which genre are you contemplating composing in? Options include news article, a blog, a podcast, or a short video such as a vlog or documentary.
4. With that genre in mind, which technological tools do you anticipate possibly using? For example, if you want to create an article like what you’d find on The New York Times or Newsweek, do you want to compose it online in a website or in a program like InDesign? I’ll share a more detailed list of options [in Bb/on the blog].

Third, pod members, after the presenter is done and has had a chance to answer any questions, take turns giving feedback based on the following points, either via voice or text.

• Comment on the presenter’s decision to be persuasive or informative: does it feel logical, given the topic and reasoning?
• Does their choice of genre seem appropriate, given the topic and above goal?
• Does their choice of technology seem realistic and manageable in terms of the time left in our class?

Last, [in Bb/on the blog], presenters, reflect on the feedback from your pod members (in a paragraph, in a list—however), considering the following:

• Does any of the feedback surprise you?
• What are your next steps?

Dear Fellow Seminar Participants,

I can’t believe we are at the end of this seminar! It’s been a journey learning from the instructors and participants this semester.

After attending workshops and sharing ideas via blogs/vlogs, I have decided to focus on two goals while working on my teaching artifact (my course syllabus.) My two goals are:

1. To increase accessibility for students, and readily provide access to the tools and resources available to them to set them up for success.
 
2. To move away from a “contract” style syllabus and embrace more humanizing community-building content.

I believe both will increase student engagement and allow students to get more out of the course.

Some (highlighted) changes I have made so far:
-I have added learning goals beneath course objectives.

-I have made some small adjustments regarding accessibility that I have encountered as a challenge for students this past semester.  

-I am adding a section entitled “How to get the most out of this course” which includes helpful tips and student resources. This is a work in progress.

Some changes I have yet to make:
-Every syllabus I have received in my life has looked the same and therefore the syllabus for my course has followed suit. The document is mostly text and I highly doubt my students are reading it in its entirety. I would like to revamp the look so the text is broken up with images, important information such as contact info is more prominent, and so that the doc is less boring/intimidating overall. I like how the Student Guide to Online and Hybrid Learning is laid out and I’m also considering a slide deck format that was presented in the “It’s on the Syllabus!” Workshop.

-My current introduction was taken from the standard course syllabus I inherited from my department. I am considering crafting a warmer introduction.

Finally, it has been challenging to keep up with the deliverables for this seminar while balancing life’s other priorities, but this has been a reminder that the students we serve are doing the same balancing act at a different, potentially more challenging time in their lives (in a pandemic no less!) It has been great learning with you all and I hope we can stay in touch. 

Please see my draft for my teaching artifact below.

For my teaching artifact, I’ve decided upon changing my lesson for that class. I finalized my decision for this because I realized there is artifact that could benefit the most from making it more student centered. In revamping the assignment, I actually decided to split the class into two days’ worth of material, meaning that we will discuss this chapter for a week. Given that this is a longer chapter in the textbook and students argue that it is an important chapter for applying it to their lives, I focused on ways to make it a combination of lecture and student-centric to make it more engaging. I’ve added in group activities with Google Slides, places for student discussion questions, and a Padlet where students can answer questions without raising their hands. This helps to facilitate student engagement in different ways so that all students can actively participate, rather than a handful of students talking in class. The seminar influenced my decision-making by looking at the different ways to actively engage students. Additionally, the different activities also helped me to develop a better understanding of how to incorporate engagement and attention to relevant topics around well-being and stress.

Open letter to participants:

Can I address this letter to both participants and organizers of this seminar?  Allow me to start by saying that I feel I have learned a lot– though I am sorry I was not able to take full advantage of the seminar since this was a very busy time for me. I want to give a special thanks to my fellow group members (Yeah! Go group 1!) and especially to Molly and Tamara for their excellent suggestions, their positivity and kindnes!!!

(I hope this does not count in the 150 word limit for this exercise!!)

• My artifact was a live oral presentation by students of their research project. Now it will likely be a 2 step project with step 1: students recording their “draft presentation” with VOCAT (so asynchronously) and  step 2 students presenting their final work “live”. [thanks for Molly and Tamara for this great idea]
• For step 1: students will get feedback from others — I am thinking about having students work with their small group for step 1 (I divide up my classes in pre-set work groups of 4-5 students).  Also step 1 might be a slightly different presentation than step 2; it could be a summary/discussion of a specific key readings (key for their project)… Still thinking about that idea though.

Lingering questions: will the students be ok using Vocat? Am I competent enough to assist them with it?

Draft of the Revised Artifact:

For this class, students are expected to carry out a research project on a topic of their choice.  The project can be done individually or as a group. The project will be presented orally in class both asynchronously (using VOCAT) and synchronously.

Key Deliverables:

1. Oral presentations using VOCAT. (practice presentation OR presentation of key materials for your project (week 4-5) 3-5 minute long.) Presentations will be peer reviewed.
2. Draft of PowerPoint presentation or written summary of your presentation. 7 days before your presentation.
3. In class presentation of your project 8-10 mn with Q and A. Presentation must include at least 1 question to ask the class for discussion
4. Final PowerPoint presentation.

Key steps for this project.

1. Choose research topic (list of possible topics to be posted on BB; other topics allowed with permission from me). Date: by week 3.
2. Decide whether you will work individually or in group. by week 3
3. Oral presentation vocat
4. Give feedback to students in your group
5. send me resource list (between 4 and 6) + your intro/conclusion if ready
6. send me draft
7. oral presentation
8. send me your PowerPoint

I will incorporate Kahoot! for my weekly short quizzes and to poll students during class. For this blog post, I will focus on the short quizzes. In my in-person Social Psychology classes, students used to take short quizzes at the beginning of class whenever a new topic was introduced. The quizzes consisted of five relatively easy multiple-choice questions that were based on the textbook. The purposes of these quizzes were to encourage students to read the textbook and to take attendance. I would display each question on separate PowerPoint slides. Students recorded their responses on an answer sheet, which I collected at the end of the quiz. Students who arrived late would miss some or all the questions.

The revised version of the short quizzes will be hosted on Kahoot!. Similarly to the old version, the quizzes will consist of five multiple-choice questions, and I will display only one question at the time. The main differences are that we will review and discuss the quizzes immediately after students completed them. I hope that this immediate feedback will help students learn the material and increase engagement by fostering discussion. I actually learned about Kahoot! from a fellow seminar attendee who has used Kahoot! in their online synchronous courses.

There are still some aspects I need to work out. For the short quizzes, I need a way to track each student’s score. Kahoot! provides assessment reports, but I will likely need to figure out how to track students’ usernames. I am also unsure to what degree I want to gamify my overall course. How many polls should I include in each class? Should I make some of my polls competitive (e.g., show leaderboards at the end of the class)? Should I include other features of Kahoot!, such as word cloud? 

Below is an example of the type of multiple-choice question I will use for my short quizzes:

________ attitudes are based primarily on people’s beliefs about properties of attitude objects.

a. Affectively based 

b. Intention-based

c. Evaluatively based 

d. Cognitively based