The Last Day, Really

After quite an absence from blogging, I’ve decided to write a bit more. I am now retired from active teaching and living in a new city. I’m pursuing other interests but I do reflect on my experiences as a professor. So, I’ll share a bit more in the next few weeks.

My last quarter was a difficult one with a full teaching schedule and a series of personal events that turned out OK in the end. We had previously decided to move to Cincinnati to be closer to our adult children and their growing families. We had already purchased a new smaller house and used it for week-ends and vacations for two years. But a permanent move involved selling the house where we had lived for 32 years. Fortunately a number of things worked smoothly for us and we completed the relocation three weeks before school was out. So I found a temporary place to stay and returned for the final events of the year.

Leaving a job that I loved and dear colleagues was difficult indeed. On the last day of class, I feared that I would not be able to handle it emotionally, so I wrote a note to my students and posted it on our course website. See below.

The topic for the last class was a review for the upcoming final. Some students may have heard that I was retiring, but most did not know. I thought the last weeks would be more productive for everyone if I didn’t address the topic. It was certainly easier to go ahead with business as usual.

With about 15 minutes left in the class session I had covered all that I had planned but was going over a few extra things. Suddenly, the doors opened to the lecture hall and three of my faculty friends barged in. They brought candies for the students and took over the class. It was all very touching for me. Yes, there were a few tears.

To My Students:

I’d like to thank you (and about 27,000 others) for your cooperation and attention in General Chemistry for many years. I will be retiring from OU this quarter and moving onward to other things. I have enjoyed my work tremendously and found it challenging and rewarding. As a student (years ago) I never intended to become a professor. But when the opportunity to teach at OU appeared, I decided to give it a try and here we are many many years later!! Hard-working students (like you) make all this a lot of fun.

As you select your career path, identify the things that energize you in areas where you can make a solid contribution. Work hard with passion, but do smile from time to time. Develop worthwhile professional colleagues and brainstorm with them. Make the best of any situation and grow from it. Exciting days do lie ahead for you.

Chem 152 is a rigorous course and my favorite to teach. Many concepts are linked together so that “we” really feel like chemists in the end! Well, I hope so!!

KEE

What is a "friendly" class session?

I’ve noticed while observing other professor’s teaching and sometimes with myself, that adding a “friendly” element to a class session is a good thing. It sets the students as ease, shows them that we are all in this together, and can take an individual student out of the self-imposed situation of thinking the professor links a grade to a face. Let me explain.

One day this week we had a snowfall. Our campus was especially beautiful for students walking to our building. I was disappointed with myself for not having my camera with me---because I wanted a photo. So I told my students to make sure they noticed the special beauty of the day….. and if anyone would sent me a jpg, I’d really like it. Then we went on with the class.

As the day went on I got friendly e-mails from students who had never talked to me before personally. As I checked their names, some were in a difficult grade position and struggling with the subject. Yet, this allowed us to discuss a “neutral” topic and agree. I asked these students to wave at me at the next class session…. and now I have a friendly face to go with the photo. We could agree on a topic...the weather! One student told me that he had never taken a moment to look closely at the scenery.

Attached is one photo sent by a student. All of us (180!) walk over a little bridge with this view as we come and go. Rather beautiful at any time of year, but truly special with fresh snow.

So, adding a friendly touch is a good idea. Try it!!

What is a "bad" class session?

You knew it was coming……. What is a “bad” class session?

Again, this is a simple, but complex question and I don’t have any concrete answers. Perhaps it is just in the eyes of the beholder. However, here are some elements that contribute to a “less than prime” class session.

Students are disengaged. The day after a mid-term exam clearly means that the students are not focusing on the “new” or the “old” material. They have not read ahead and they are may be preoccupied with the results of the exam. They may be fearing a bad grade or excited in anticipation of a good one. Attendance is down (unless the word is out that the exams will be returned at the end of class) and those present are in body only!

Often Fridays are a hard day to teach, but when the students get to know me, they know that I ALWAYS do something important on Fridays. Yes, it is true. In the real world, people work a full week…. And students need to learn sooner rather than later that Fridays are a work day.

Equipment mal-functioning can be a factor in a “bad” day, but I have some back-up plans. Normally I have at least one photo/diagram that can help if the video equipment isn’t working. We have a problem in that sometimes the previous user makes settings that can only be reversed on complete start-up. And sometimes, I do have to restart, but it is a distraction for the presenter and contributes to a bad day. It happens to all of us.

The reason I have this as a blog topic is that RECOVERING from a bad day is essential. What can you do? Make sure the next class goes well! Be super prepared, have all bases covered, and take charge. Normally students are forgiving when the inevitable “bad day” happens, but a good recovery is essential!

What is a "good" class?

What is a "good" class session?

This is a simple question but one for constant reflection for the professor. In fact, I suggest that a continuous self-evaluation is important for a professor at any career stage.

I find this an interesting question and I cannot say that I have an answer. However, I can certainly say that I do know when we’ve had a good class, when it was OK, and when it didn’t work as planned. I might term the “good” class with an analogy to the famour Tiger Woods “fist pump” moment. “Yes, that worked!”

In the past week, I’m had two classes (out of eight) that had a specialness that I classify as “good,” most were OK, and one was less than I would have liked. Why, why, why?

In one class, it clearly was the interaction with the students. Early in the class, a student asked a question that opened up a lot of things I had intended to discuss… but I did them in a different order than planned! And I liked it. I know that m enthusiasm peaked and I probably was able to link concepts together in a new way. I enjoyed it, the students were engaged, and I left feeling very energized! (I’m assuming they did too.)

In another class, it was actually an error. I was working a complex problem (one I’ve worked many times) but it took an interesting twists--- and for a second, I did a second look and it wasn’t working out. Then I took a different approach and it worked with a check! A new approach to an old problem.

I’ve noticed that these special class sessions do not happen in the first two weeks of the term, because it takes a while to establish communications with the class and to have shared common material. Linking concepts that have been well developed begins to occur in the third week. These are exciting and special times.

The commonality in my opinion is the freshness of a class---student interaction, or perhaps a newness for the professor. Powerpoint slides can have good information but do they provide the ability to be responsive? …… think about it, what happens when you depart from your notes? Give it a fresh approach.

When I feel connectivity with the students, these are very special teachable moments and contribute to a good class session. What is your definition of a good class??

Teaching with Technology II: Gradebook

TTY: Becky Barlag, Mykaylo Korda

The electronic course management systems(Blackboard, Web CT etc) have a gradebook. Whether or not to use the gradebook is the decision of the professor. I’m going to outline some pro’s and con’s based on my experiences with Blackboard (Bb).

I have been using the on-line gradebook exclusively for over two years. I am not an enthusiastic user but I believe the pro’s outweigh the con’s.

The pro’s for an on-line gradebook are fairly obvious.
1. The student sees the grades as you have them. If there were any errors in recording or a grade adjustment, the student knows what information you have. At the end of the term, there are no misunderstandings, the grades are as the student sees.
2. Bb allows a professor to control when a student sees the grades. Normally I post them on Bb immediately after an exam, but I do not make them available for students to see under about a week after the exam has been returned. That way, the student picks up his/her paper in class, has a week to request a closer look at any grading issues, I can make any minor changes, and then the real grade appears on Bb. Those students who have not attended class (to pick up graded exam) don't find out their grades until about a week after everyone else.... perhaps that's a hint to come to class!

The con’s as I see it are more technical.
1. The course managements systems have some (but not all) information that is on the university grade recording system (SIS). The reasons are associated with security mainly. In our system the courses have a unique number (the Call Number) for each offering but that number is not available to the Bb system. Instead the Bb system has to use a section number. Similarly each student has a unique Personal Identification Number(PID) on the university system (SIS) but the Bb system uses a different but unique number. Thus a professor who uses the Bb gradebook needs to be aware of the differences between the systems and be willing to work within the framework.
2. The rosters on our Bb system are updated daily in the first part of the term and those who drop the course no not appear. On the university system the names of those who withdraw after a certain date still appear and must receive a grade at the end of the term (like Withdraw Pass, Withdraw Fail etc)
3. Entering grades on-line can be by two methods: directly (a bit slow and tedious, in my opinion), and the download/upload method (my preference). This takes some experience because the dynamic rosters do cause problems with incompatible lists.
4. The downloaded spreadsheet comes in a simple version of Excel. So to do more complete types of calculations, you need to copy the downloaded spreadsheet into your favorite version of Excel. This is cumbersome, but manageable. I have accepted this drawback.

The gradebook has some features that you may or may not use including the percent of the course for each component (weightings) and some useful management tools. It does take some effort and patience. That's why I've acknowledged two of my colleagues in the TTY section who pushed me a bit two years ago to try this out. I'll continue to use it.

So, judge for yourself about the on-line gradebook. As I said, I’ve been using it exclusively for two years. My colleagues are split on the issue. Most do not use it, some do. It would be nice if the process were easier to manage, perhaps in the not-too-distant future. Other opinions? Other experiences??

Teaching with Technology Part I: General Things

Teaching with Technology is an exciting part of our field. It is a tool for learning to be used to enhance the productivity of both professor and student.

This is the first of several posts on the topic where I will discuss management technologies (like Blackboard –Bb or Web CT), authoring technology, and presentation technologies.

When I began teaching, it was the chalkboard (with chalk) and live demonstrations. Things have evolved to using excellent video libraries of chemical reactions, document cameras, and fewer live demonstrations, mainly due to safety concerns.

My experience is with Blackbaord (Bb) where we use it for distributing handouts, grade management, and preparatory quizzes. The preparatory quizzes (Prep Quizzes) are a method for students to prepare for class. Before each class they are to complete a short quiz (5-8 questions) on-line covering material for the upcoming class. The logic is that a prepared student will be receptive to understand more deeply during the class.

After much discussion, for our combined sections, we decided that a student should be able to complete the Prep Quiz at the 75% level for maximum credit. The quiz would be from reading material in the text. We use the scores as a bonus for some course, but the are required for other courses. In our labs, the preparatory quiz is required for all students and it counts in its entirety.

We now have libraries of appropriate questions written for five courses. In a coordinated course, the professors share the libraries and write a few questions on their own. We usually post the Prep Quizzes a week at a time. They are due two hours before the class begins. The professor can then access the statistics for the prep quiz. It is extremely useful to know the percentage of students who can (or cannot) handle a concept. Then during the class, the professor can emphasize the troublesome point. Having used this system for over five years, I believe it is a good addition to our program and helps us achieve our goal. Writing the questions initially was very time-consuming but now that we have a decent data base, writing just a few new questions for each year is manageable. I endorse the concept. Yes, there are some details that could be improved! Write me if you want to know more.

Bb has some quirks that require adjustment overall. However, it is the system we have and will continue to use.

The students particularly like having their materials available easily and, accessing their grades on-line. I'll address further aspects of this in future posts.

Exams Part VI; Returning Exams

Exams Part VI: Returning Exams

TTY: Tom Bowers

Emotions are a bit high on the day we return exams. We usually return them at the end of the class because otherwise, the students cannot focus on the class at hand. However, we do allow time for the process. The papers are alphabetized so the students can pick theirs up and leave the room.

Prior to picking up their paper, we post the statistics for combined sections including average, median, standard deviation, high-low score. We post the answers on Blackboard.

In the event of a grading error or need for further discussion, we ask the students to WRITE their concern and return the paper to the professor within one week. There are several reasons for this procedure. Some students are too timid or nervous to verbally make their case. It is much less threatening to write out a concern. Similarly, with written comments, I do not make any changes with the student present. I consider any challenges based only on their written comments. Some, of course, are obvious (points added wrong, clear error) but others require consistency to all students.

The professor needs to understand the wide variety of emotions for the students on this day. Some are delighted, others deeply disappointed. Being direct with clear explanation of the results without comments is how I handle this tough day.




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