2007 Conference on Teaching and Learning Evaluation Form

2007 Conference on Teaching and Learning Evaluation Based on 54 respondents who returned the questionnaire (~40% response rate)

What did you find most useful about the conference?

Responding to and Grading Student Writing  I appreciated the writing tips  Grading, Writing Assignments session  Writing effectively/evaluating writing  I really enjoyed the first session of “Responding to and Grading Student Writing.” I really liked the round table format and the discussion left me with some good ideas for not only grading student papers but also essay exams as well.  I was able to get a few practical pointers from the writing assignments section and the active learning in large classrooms section.

Group Assignments  Ideas on group work  Group management presentation  Evaluating groups assignments and discussions  I picked up many ideas to use for my classes, different ways of approaching topics, and insights into “group work.”

Active Learning in Large Classes  Brian Udermann’s examples  Using active learning techniques  I was able to get a few practical pointers from the writing assignments section and the active learning in large classrooms section.

Responding to Difficult Students  Responding to Difficult Students session  The last talk was very useful  I liked the directedness of the session 4 presenters  Short, concise examples and activities, especially the Responding to Difficult Students  Mick Miyamoto’s overview of the University support system for dealing with “difficult” students

Interaction with Colleagues  Round table discussions and examples from the classroom  Hearing others’ ideas  Sitting at a table with teachers from various depts. and one other from my department  The presentations and the chance to discuss with colleagues  Interesting presentations coupled with the chance to talk with colleagues across dept. and college lines…  Getting together to discuss teaching and learning  Talking with peers in other disciplines  Meeting and talking with people from across campus  The opportunity to discuss with other instructors at each table  The opportunity to talk about teaching practices  Sharing ideas between panel and audience  The opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on issues related to teaching and learning  Interaction with other faculty  It’s always good to gather with a group of different (not from the same unit) instructors to hear solutions to problems they’ve faced. It’s worthwhile to measure my practices against theirs. And then there are the random nuggets of information.  Talking with others in my field

Practical Applications  Enjoyed hands-on or concrete examples  Concrete, practical examples  Examples of teaching techniques shared by individual teachers  New ways and means  The techniques and perspectives of others have helped me to think about my approaches  Practical techniques that have been used/improved  Panel discussions to hear application ideas from a variety of disciplines  Hearing the personal experiences of fellow faculty  It was great to listen to experienced faculty and learn their methods—both those that work and those that didn’t. The voice of experience!  Discussions at the table regarding implementation of D2L in classrooms to improve efficiency

Structure & Tone of the Conference  Presentations from individuals and panels  Having different topics and all were very relevant to most instructors  Personal sharing by faculty of ideas that work  Format—large group but small discussions at the tables  I liked the big group with the common themes  I liked that we could go to all groups rather than having to choose  Some time to share (brief in length)  Casual nature  Q & A  Interactive  Each topic was helpful—good to see student affairs included  The group/audience remarks  Interesting topics  The long breaks—it is great to get up and move and share ideas  Humor

General Comments  Understanding that everyone teaching is dealing with similar issues  Realizing students in the upper division benefit from engaging lower division instructors (like Brian Udermann, Mary Leonard Anderson)  The insights that the presenters provided  Sharing ideas with more experienced professors  It helped me with my transition from “summer mode” to “fall mode”

What, if anything, do you think you will incorporate in your teaching?

Responding to and Grading Student Writing  Re-evaluate the # of papers assigned—focus on quality vs. quantity  Macros!  Macro for comments (repetitive feedback)  Macros in grading written assignments. Cool.  Ideas from the grading/writing assignments discussion  Feedback ideas  Some of the ideas for writing assignments  Self-grading sheets  Peer evaluations  Designing detailed rubric  Grading with rubrics  I will also use the points from the first session on writing.  Evaluation of writing suggestions  The phrase “good faith effort”  Designing rubrics to assess student writing  Ideas for grading writing assignments  Some of the suggestions on grading assignments

Group Assignments  Peg Finders point structure, etc.  Peg Finders’ advice on group discussion (great info I can incorporate this semester—very timely for me personally)  The linguistic hedges and checklist for students asked to prepare discussion prompts (Finders)  Creating hedge questions  The notion of discourse community from Peg Finders  Using safe discussion prompts for group discussions  Use discussion prompts  I will think about how I frame questions to the class to open discussion rather than close it  More small group work/discussion  Ideas on group work, ideas on time-saving techniques  Include students in creating group evaluation forms  Group grading  Group-grading  Evaluating group projects  Some of the ideas for group work  Different ways of forming and handling groups  Ideas about group projects  “Interview” into project groups  An audience suggestion to build group identity with a dinner party  Some of the evaluation techniques in groups  Group suggestions  Research with the whole group; write paper individually  Group evaluation done first by the group itself  Possibly assigning groups in lab sections, at least for the first few weeks  Group work  Increase use of groups in class  A few good ideas concerning group work and shifting lecture formats  Give in-class time for projects—grade as observed in class for group work  Ice Breakers for class and groups

Active Learning in Large Classes  Brian Udermann’s suggestions of using different power point styles  Brian Udermann’s suggestions  I liked Brian Udermann’s presentation; I will use a similar technique related to his Q & A in my ESL classes. Instead of discussing health, I’ll be working with writing techniques and grammar. It will still be fun, though.  More active ways of presenting basic info—questionnaires, catchy power point images, more humor, more concrete illustration, more i-pod and Utube  Quizzes imbedded into class lecture  T/F powerpoint to enhance discussion  Multiple choice question lectures  Active teaching activities—Utube, T/F Lecture  Scratch off, videos, T/F questions during class time  More graphic/less text on power points  Videos  Videos  Increase use of D2L for quizzes  D2L quizzes, exams  Use of the D2L drop box  The use of some active learning techniques in order to engage students  Try to mix up lectures, with regular assessment tasks or demonstrations to break up the class  Using clickers and other participation techniques for large lectures  Make my classes interactive and interesting with multimedia and other type of activities  I need to think about some things more—perhaps the power point idea for lectures  Active learning, fun activities  Large group interactive ideas  Using active learning techniques in large classes  Active learning techniques that were discussed  Some of the ideas for large class interactions  Active learning  Active learning techniques in large lectures  Inclusion of more active learning experiences in class  A few good ideas concerning shifting lecture formats  Dynamic lecturing

General Comments  Writing, large groups, group work—something from each (eg. The scratch off, the divorce clause)  Many of the tips on saving time  D2L, Utube, macros, myth busting quizzes, I have several examples to pass onto my dept.  Something from every session  Lots of little things mentioned throughout many of the talk/presentations  Modifications to what I do  Use of technology in class  Grading, groups  Some of the ideas were very helpful  I’m already doing several things that presenters discussed, but the workshop gave me a glimpse of some of the attitudes other instructors take while doing them.

What could have been done better or omitted?

Setting  Test technology in advance  I appreciated your using the microphone for the audience.  Sound during session 1

Format  Perhaps a way to ensure that more activities would be used would be to have speakers as opposed to panels. If there were more of a variety of speakers, I think this could have been even more effective.  Fewer panelists—more detail on “hows”  No suggestions at this time—maybe limit the sessions to three or put a break between the 2nd and 3rd sessions—sensory info overload  Limit post-panel comments from audience members to questions only vs. anecdotes  Mix up tables to meet other faculty members  It may be helpful to sit at tables with other members of our department, or similar disciplines in order to better facilitate discussion.  Concurrent sessions would have been better. Make it so everyone could attend any two of them, and it would be a more efficient use of time.  I liked this better than the concurrent sessions  More faculty sharing specific techniques that have proven effective  I really enjoyed the multiple parts with short breaks  I liked the table discussion format

Handouts and Visual Aides  A collection of handouts and recommended reading list (either available before or after) at the conference as suggested by presenters  I think that all the groups of presenters should have used visual aides. When presenters discuss concepts, ideas or activities without actually doing them, I think the likelihood of others using the activities decreases significantly. On the other hand, when the observers or audience “sees” and “experiences” the activity, there is a greater chance that they will actually use the activity in class. And, as most people are “visual,” I think that the use of such aides would be a great help.  More handouts from presenters would be nice (easier to follow).

Comments About Panel Sessions Responding to and Grading Student Writing  Grading writing assignments  More specifics on the 1st topic…will hopefully get more ideas on blog  1st table group discussion  A little more direction/practical advice from the writing workshop would have been useful

Group Assignments  Panel on group assessment/evaluation was not very relevant to me/my field, as I do few group presentations.  I liked the “evaluating group assignments” panel for the most part. For me, though, some of the contributions from the panel weren’t all that novel. Perhaps it was more interesting to others in the audience. I don’t know how you would change this. On the other hand, I wasn’t aware that group work was so prevalent on campus.  Session #2 presenters were too disparate (philosophically and pedagogically). Because of the title of session 3 (large class) some people left (they don’t teach large classes) BUT #2 was the most utilitarian.  Examples handed out by group panel

Responding to Difficult Students  More discussion on difficult students—identifying strategies for dealing with it before it reaches the level of Mick’s office  The discussion of borderline, unidentified problem students  Last topic was more different and did not fit. Good topic, but maybe a different time/place. General  Grading and learning—what do grades mean?  “Theoretical” concepts are a bit more difficult to explore in this type of venue  Suggestions re: student research project management?  Hot tea as a beverage choice No Complaints  All was helpful  Nothing—was great format!  It was excellent!  I enjoyed it very much  All good.  All great information  This was my first conference—I’ve got no complaints!  A good job!  You changed it—I couldn’t hear audience members—thanks for changing.  I thought it was fine.  I find myself appreciating the entire program.

Is there a topic or theme you would like to see included next year? If interested in presenting or helping to organize a session on that topic or theme, please sign your name.

Technology  Integrating technology into lecture  Effective use of technology  FaceBook and how to use it for academic purposes  Technology, podcasts, etc.  The “hidden” treasures of technology (like the macros, about which few of us know)  Significant, meaningful technology to support instruction

Teaching Approaches & Strategies  Are lectures really effective? A Return to the Socratic Approach  Unique didactic presentation styles! More active learning examples!  Writing good test questions  The creation of grading rubrics to meet course objectives/goals  Issues in the micromanaging of students in large classrooms  Balancing content coverage vs. in-class activities  Using Conversation Analysis as a learning device for Freshman and New Faculty

Student Learning  Switching the emphasis from grading to learning in the classroom  What is learning and how do we evaluate such an experience?  Integrating all of the basic skills (writing, reading, speaking, critical listening and thinking) to ensure comprehensive learning  Critical thinking….a common piece to all content areas…

Student Diversity  Working with ESL students  Dealing with students who are ESL/international  Incorporating race, class, gender, etc in course curriculum

Student Affairs/Life  Would like more sessions where student affairs and academic affairs partner. Maybe something on FYE type courses.  More info from student life—what are current student issues, concerns and dreams?

Other Suggestions  Open talk for “new” faculty  How to orient students or a professor of color and impact on SEIs as a result of race, etc.  What are the institutional factors at UW-L that mitigate against good teaching and what needs to change?  Building a professional context in the classroom for majors

What type(s) of presentation format(s) do you prefer for the annual teaching conference? Check all that apply

Concurrent sessions with presentations by UWL instructors and staff 16 Plenary presentations or panels on a common theme 28 Roundtable discussions with opportunities to discuss topics of interest with a few instructors 28 Poster presentations 0 A workshop on a single topic 11 A combination of concurrent and plenary sessions 15 An invited outside speaker 17  To discuss student life stuff in addition; UW-L Student Life Staff (who are great)  A keynote address could be one of our own (for instance the highest rated professor from students in gen. ed. classes or graduate school Other: Senior students recalling the best of instruction 1

Respondents Title/rank: Professor 7 Associate Professor 11 Assistant Professor 19 Lecturer 9 Associate Lecturer 5

College: Business Administration 5 Liberal Studies 26 Science and Health 20