Craft of Teaching – Fall 2019
Presenters: BK Griesemer, Julie Powers
Date: September 12, 2019, Thursday
Agenda/Topics: Meet and Greet
- Information gathering and organizational session
- Introduction of self: name, discipline, number of years teaching
- Finish the sentence: “One of the best days of teaching I have had was…” or “One of my most favorite teaching was… because…”
- Issues and concerns about teaching and being here at UHMC
Date: October 10, 2019, Thursday
Agenda/Topics: Faculty Characteristics and Behaviors that Make a Difference to Students
- ʻTeacher Characteristics and Behaviors that Make a Differenceʻ by Maryellen Weimer
- Key words for describing a teacher:
- Assertive – The teacher has a strong personality, is independent, competitive, and forceful
- Responsive – The teaching has compassion, is helpful, sincere, friendly, and sensitive to student needs
- Clear – The teacher presents content in ways that students can understand, answers questions, has clear course objectives
- Relevant – The teacher uses examples, explanations, and exercises that make the course content relevant to students’ careers and personal goals
- Competent – The teacher is a content expert, intelligent, and knows how to teach
- Trustworthy – The teacher is honest, genuine, and abides by ethical standards
- Caring – The teacher cares about students, understands them, and has their best interests at heart
- Immediate – The teacher’s nonverbal behaviors are expressive; the teacher smiles, nods, uses gestures, makes eye contact, and doesn’t speak in a monotone
- Humorous – The teacher uses humor frequently
- Discloses – The teacher reveals an appropriate amount of personal information when it’s relevant to the topic
- Key words for describing a teacher:
- Grading – Strategies for being a more effective and efficient grader
Date: October 17, 2019, Thursday
Agenda/Topics: Equity – Joint Session with FYE Equity Reflection & Discussion
- Article: Equity Education Matters: https://www.thinkingmaps.com/equity-education-matters/
- Article: Equity Definition: https://www.edglossary.org/equity/
- Article: Step Up Lead Equity: https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/StepUpLeadEquity.pdf
- Classroom Tips
- https://www.edutopia.org/blog/practices-promote-equity-in-classroom-shane-safir
- https://www.unlv.edu/provost/teachingandlearning
- http://www.teachhub.com/5-teaching-strategies-cultivate-classroom-equality
- https://www.edutopia.org/blog/equity-vs-equality-shane-safir
- https://www.thoughtco.com/promoting-student-equity-and-engagement-4074141
- Bias Exploration
Date: November 7, 2019, Thursday
Agenda/Topics: What’s On Your Mind?
- Comments on Equity session (10/17/19)
- Follow-up discussion on “Faculty Characteristics and Behaviors that Make a Difference to Students (10/10/19)
- What do you think our UHMC students would rate as making a difference?
- Key words for describing a teacher: assertive, responsive, clear, relevant, competent, trustworthy, caring, immediate, humorous, discloses
- Grading in all its forms
- Examples/explanations of rubrics and other grading devices
- Methods used
- Article: Ten Tips for More Efficient and Effective Grading: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/ten-tips-efficient-effective-grading/
- Article: In the Halls of the King Under the Mountain (of Grading): https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/under-the-mountain-of-grading/
Date: November 21, 2019, Thursday
Presenters: BK Griesemer, Julie Powers, Lantana Hoke
Agenda/Topics: What’s On Your Mind?
- Brief check-in
- Follow up on plans for polling students on “Faculty Characteristics an Behaviors that Make a Difference to Students”
- Department Chair view on CES
- Views on: The instructor adjusts to fit individual abilities and interests
- Grading
- Survey results on and intro to: “Who are our students and how can we help them to be successful at UHMC”
Presenters: BK Griesemer, Whitney Hashimoto
Date: December 12, 2019
Topics: Work/Life Balance
- Share ideas and strategies about how to achieve work/life balance
- Teacher Characteristics and Behaviors Survey to be entered into a Google Form and sent by Kathleen
More information about The Craft of Teaching Initiative
Craft of Teaching is a teaching cohort. Craft is open to faculty members, including full-time, part-time and lecturers, who have at least two semesters of teaching experience at UHMC. This faculty development program is interdisciplinary and interdepartmental.
Purpose: To build learning cohorts of instructors to support each other’s growth in the craft of teaching. Members will learn strategies for making courses more engaging, teaching content more effectively, improving and assessing student mastery, while enhancing professionalism and the intrinsic rewards and joys of teaching.
Being in a cohort provides opportunities to learn from research, articles, books, experts and discussions with each other in a positive, facilitated environment and then reflect on what you have learned and then apply it to make improvement for both UHMC students and yourself.
In cohort meetings members will present and discuss plans based on what they have learned during cohort meetings or from other sources, report on implementation, and get feedback from others. In addition to participation and supporting others in the cohort members will be responsible for two projects.
At the final meeting of a cohort members will submit a short, written summary of each of their projects:
- Making improvements for students:
- Identify a barrier for student learning in this course.
- Develop a strategy (ies) to assist students in overcoming this barrier. This could be a content issue or a student non-cognitive issue.
- Implement the strategy (ies) or make a plan to do so the next time the course is taught.
- Making improvements for yourself:
- Identify a barrier to your enjoyment, engagement and/or comfort teaching this course. This could be some of the content of the course or characteristics of students who take the course.
- Develop a strategy (ies) for increasing your enjoyment, engagement, and/or comfort.
- Implement the strategy (ies) or make a plan to do so the next time the course is taught.
Benefits: Many, including being more professional and enjoying your teaching more as well as developing new strategies to help your students both while learning and while they are engaging in the learning process at UHMC. For faculty members, this experience will enhance your tenure and promotion documents; while lecturers will receive a stipend when the projects are completed.
Email BK at bkg@hawaii.edu to let us know if you will be joining us or if you have questions.
