April 9, 2013

Peer and self-evaluation of participation in discussion

We often focus on presentation skills as oral communication skills, but students more frequently need to either lead or contribute to productive group discussions. Small group discussions can easily go off the rails when students indulge in off-topic talking, inadequate listening, and disrespectful behavior. The dynamic quality of class discussion presents challenges to faculty who would like to hold students accountable for the quality of their participation in these discussions. 

Multhaup (2008) describes how to prepare students for substantive class discussions and suggests two strategies for evaluating student contributions to class discussion. Many of these strategies can be adapted for the online environment.

Establish ground rules for effective class discussion(first week of class)
Establish expectations for class discussions by facilitating a think-pair-share activity during the first week of the term.

• Think. Ask students to reflect silently on the characteristics of great class discussions they’ve experienced and identify things that undermine a good discussion.
• Pair. Students discuss their thoughts in pairs (not naming any specific courses, professors, or students).
• Share. Bring the class together as a group and ask pairs to discuss the highlights of their discussion.

Use the comments from the group discussion to identify some ground rules and expectations for individual participation in class discussion during the remainder of the term.

Adaptation for eLearning:  Create a threaded discussion based on questions such as

• What kinds of contributions to an online discussion make the thread worth reading?
• What kinds of contributions help you learn course concepts?
• What kinds of contributions are not helpful?

Peer evaluation of the quality of participation in discussion
Require students to complete a Participation Survey 3 or 4 times during the term. Each student must complete the following three evaluation elements for every student in the class, including themselves:

1. [Student name]: needs to talk more / talks about the right amount / needs to talk less
2. [Student name]: 6-point rating of the quality of  contributions to discussions  (1 = unacceptable, added nothing to discussions, 6 = outstanding, comments in every class have been helpful)
3. Open-ended comment about the student’s role either as a discussion facilitator or participant

Compile the collective (anonymous) feedback for individual students and distribute this feedback to each student. If necessary, edit comments or add your own comments.

Adaptation for eLearning: Create a drop box assignment or survey in eLearning in which students answer these questions. You can make completion of the feedback a graded assignment (completed/not completed), compile the feedback information for individual students, and distribute this feedback through the course email function or provide it as feedback in the dropbox.

If you ask students to facilitate discussion, gather peer feedback about this skill
After each facilitated discussion, members of a discussion group complete a peer feedback survey for the discussion leader. The peer feedback answers the following questions:

1. I was prepared for the discussion (true/false)
2. The discussion leader was organized and prepared (6-point rating scale)
3. The discussion leader asked good questions (6-point rating scale)
4. The discussion/activity helped increase my understanding (6-point rating scale)
5. Describe one thing the discussion leader did well
6. What might the discussion leader have done differently to make the discussion better?
7. Other comments (optional)
8. Overall evaluation of today’s class (6-point rating scale)

Provide feedback several times during the term to enable students to improve their participation and discussion skills over time.

Multhaup, K. S. (2008, Spring). Using class discussions to improve oral communication skills. Teaching Tips (APA Division 20 – Adult Development and Aging). 

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October 11, 2011

How should I respond to a student who uses insensitive language in the classroom?

Occasionally a student may engage in disruptive classroom behavior such as using insensitive and uncivil language during discussion of a sensitive topic.  For example a student might make homophobic comments during a discussion of sexual orientation.  What is the best strategy to use when responding to a student who makes inappropriate and insensitive observations? 

• Instructors should articulate their commitment to maintaining a safe classroom environment and civil discourse before beginning discussion of sensitive topics.  Let the class know that you do not endorse such language and that you do not tolerate public ostracism.  No student has the right to ridicule and shame others.
• Reiterate the ground rules for civil discourse as a first response to a student who uses insensitive language.
• After the class meeting concludes, follow up with the disruptive student and discuss appropriate strategies for expressing opinions without violating expectations for civility.  This can be an opportunity to teach the student about how language affects others.  
• Finally, monitor this student’s behavior in future classes. 

For more information about handling problems with classroom civility, the Counseling & Wellness Center invites faculty to attend a Faculty Coffee Workshop on Thursday, October 20th 2011 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in the UWF Conference Center.  Dr. Katz will train faculty in fostering classroom civility and violence prevention, with particular emphasis on handling male students who make objectionable or disparaging comments.  

UWF Counseling & Wellness Services will host a campus-wide presentation by Dr. Jackson Katz, co-founder of the Mentors in Violence Prevention program and a leading expert in gender violence prevention on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 6:30 PM in the University Commons Auditorium.

This tip is based on a suggestion from Dr. Patrick M. Preston, Psy. D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Counseling & Wellness Services, University of West Florida.

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December 7, 2010

Use T-charts to develop metacognitive skills in students

T-Charts are tables or matrices (graphic organizers) in which students list and examine facets of a topic, such as the pros and cons of a position, describe the advantages and disadvantages of several potential solutions to a problem, or identify pieces of information on a controversial topic as either facts or opinions.

Use T-Charts to develop skills.   We often assume that students already know the skills they need to thrive in our classrooms.  However, students often cannot describe the specific behaviors intended by words faculty use to describe their expectations for classroom behaviors, such as participation, preparation or listening.  Similarly, students do not necessarily connect behaviors such as punctuality, use of communication tools, and characteristics of their discourse with teachers and peers to the concept of civility. 

Consider the responses students might give to the following question:  What are the boundaries for an acceptable response when a peer makes a point you find offensive?  Students might not respond to this prompt by articulating specific behaviors.  The ability of students to articulate and engage in appropriate behaviors that faculty describe in response to this question represent team skills that are critical to successful functioning in a collaborative workplace. 

In addition to using a T-chart to develop firm expectations about team skill, this activity can be used to help students develop specific study skills, such as reading a textbook or listening for and understanding another’s point of view.  Create a T-chart to show visually what “active listening” sounds and looks like in terms of specific behaviors. 

An instructor could develop a T-chart to describe expectations and distribute this as a handout.  However, creating a chart collaboratively can have a more powerful effect because the activity will develop consensus and create buy-in.  Constructing a T-chart with student input requires about 5 minutes of class time.  The activity can also be used to encourage students to model some of the skills.  This activity is a great opportunity for creating student engagement and class participation, often with a refreshing touch of humor.  T-charts can be created to focus on any skill you would like to develop. 

This tip was adapted from a contribution to the Teaching and Learning Writing Consortium, (sponsored by Western Kentucky University) by Michael Dabney, Director, Teaching and Learning Center, Hawaii Pacific University (http://www.hpu.edu/index.cfm?contentID=9473&siteID=1).

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October 12, 2010

Responding to Students in Emotional Distress

Many college students experience emotional distress as they learn to cope with new responsibilities, academic and financial pressures, expanding independence and social demands, and separation from their home.  When should faculty or staff be concerned that this emotional distress has escalated to a dangerous level?  What is the most appropriate response to students who express emotional distress in your class or in personal interactions with you?

Counseling and Wellness Services has prepared a web page with tips for faculty and staff on how to help students in crisis:  http://www.uwf.edu/cws/selfhelp/Tips%20for%20Faculty%20and%20Staff.cfm

This site offers useful information for faculty and staff, including warning signs of a serious problem and guidance about how to respond.  Faculty who have questions or concerns about a student are encouraged to call Counseling and Wellness Services (474-2420) for guidance on individual cases.

Thanks to April Glenn, Counseling and Wellness Services, for contributions to this teaching tip.

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December 1, 2009

Electronic Information Literacy: Promoting Netiquette in your Class

The campus migration to Gmail provides us with an opportunity to revisit how faculty and students use e-mail for communication. Capitalize on this opportunity by discussing e-mail netiquette with students in your class.

The introduction of electronic communication (e-mail, online threaded discussions, Twitter feeds, etc.) to class interaction poses a new set of challenges for instructors: Teaching students to communicate professionally in electronic media. Faculty might initially think of this issue mainly in terms of their own response to inappropriate language from students in e-mail (Hey! Missed class yesterday. Did I miss anything?) and posts to online discussions (i don’t get the reading this week – booooooring  : - (   will this be on the test?).

Effective communication through electronic media is an important skill. Help your students develop this skill with the following strategies:

• Establish some guidelines and communicate these clearly at the beginning of class. Put your guidelines in your syllabus along with your guidelines for appropriate conduct in class. Post your guidelines with course materials and in the instructions for threaded discussions in an online course.
• Guidelines for effective communication through e-mail might include the following:
• Create meaningful subject lines. Some instructors require students to identify the course number in the subject line. Faculty can use this information to filter and label messages from one class and redirect these messages to a specific group outside the inbox in Gmail.
• Subject lines should briefly describe the topic of the message.
• Describe appropriate (and inappropriate) salutations. If you have a preference, state how you would like to be addressed. Students appreciate direct instruction about how their instructor wants to be addressed in face-to-face interactions, too.
• Senders should clearly identify themselves. Who is Jen who mails from hothonney@yahoo.com? Remind students of the impression these informal e-mail addresses have when students use them for professional communications.
• Pay attention to whether you are using reply or reply all to avoid distributing private messages to unintended parties.
• Remember to attach attachments.
• Encourage students to think of e-mail communication and posts to online discussions as a form of academic writing, which requires the use of standard grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Good web guidelines on netiquette can be found at the following:

Virginia Commonwealth University
Center for Teaching Excellence
http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/OTLRG/04_12_Behavior.html

Texas Tech University
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center
http://www.tlpd.ttu.edu/content/asp/blackboard/Resources/netiquette.asp

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September 8, 2009

Who are these new students?

Every August, Ron Nief and Tom McBride compile and publish the Beloit College Mindset List, in which they identify key cultural experiences and current events that characterize the life experiences and “mindset” of students we will meet in our classes as entering students this fall. As Nief and McBride note on their web site, this list is a helpful reminder of the sometimes dramatic differences between the life experience and cultural expectations of entering students and faculty. Advances in technology and popular culture can create divisions between generations that can impair effective communication. Knowing about these generational differences can help faculty better understand why some examples and cultural references that worked perfectly well a few years ago now draw puzzled looks or glazed expressions.

Access the current Beloit College Mindset List at the following URL:
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/

Note: The topic of the October 16 Faculty Friday will be Generations in the Classroom: Characteristics of New Students and Strategies to Promote Classroom Civility. Join colleagues for lunch and a discussion of strategies for coping with generational differences in the classroom.

 

Updated 04/09/13 cdw