Reflections 2014

Hi everyone,

In this second year of participation, I found the entries were easier to write and that I developed more practice and comfort with adding graphics and links to the posts. Creating posts is an enriching experience because the practice forces me to stop and think for a few moments about what I do that is working, not working, and what I can share with others that may help them along their path to being a great instructor.

This semester I began by writing about two tools that I enjoy using: the iPhone and the iPad. Then I wrote about one free program, Jing, that I use for Screencast videos for multiple purposes. In this post, I focused on how I use Jing to help English reading students to develop better pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension.

Then I went to a conference. I had taken so many notes at TYCA-West in Mesa, Arizona that I felt compelled to pour back over my notes and share what I had learned. First I presented on the value of going to conferences period and highlighted a little of the keynote speaker's comments as well. Next I moved on to presenting three specific presentations that I felt were beneficial to my colleagues here at the college. Just so you know, I have material to write another entire 9x9x25 left in the notebook, so I may continue to write as I get time.

Concerning the experience as a whole, the gifts are great, but they were less of the reason for writing this year as compared to last year. Yes, Todd did go the extra mile to get me sorbet since I am allergic to milk, and it was very good, and the house plant and books were awesome, and the chocolate cookies were delicious, but seriously, I just enjoy being a part of something bigger where I can share with colleagues and actually go through the process of reflecting upon my own teaching and learning process.

Technically speaking, I really liked the opening page on the 9x9x25 blog where we could click on an individual's name and read just his/her posts. That way I could read all of my English teacher colleagues' posts at once, and then move on and read those from FYE classes, and more. The sad part about this year is that I didn't spend as much time commenting on people's posts or on receiving comments. I am not sure what the difference was, but I felt more like an island this time around.

Still and all, it was a great experience, and I will certainly participate again next year. I wish you all the best as we head into the final weeks of the semester. I will miss you all Friday at the luncheon, but I will be with you in spirit. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, and I look forward to seeing you all at Winter Institute.

Speaking of Winter Institute, I hope many of you will come and participate. I have heard there will be a session on December 8 for Quality Matters. There will be an opening panel discussing the new FYE103 class experience. I have also heard of an opportunity to come listen to people who have participated in the 9x9x25 experience, and that is just a taste of what is to come!

Sincerely,

Tina Luffman

Changing Mindsets and Motivation for the Basic Writer

Christine Helfers from Mesa Community College presented on the mindset research of Carol Dweck and Patrick Sullivan concerning how it relates to the Basic Writer. Helfers asked, "What would improve student attitudes toward learning while providing interesting content for student reading and writing activities? She encouraged participants to read Carol Dweck's book, Mindset: The new Psychology of Success. She claims that Google Books contains most of the chapters for free for those who don't want to purchase a copy. For those who want to test your mindset, go to Carol Dweck's Web site.

Teachers and students need to learn to hear the fixed and the growth mindset. Then we can recognize we have a choice. Just transforming thinking from "I can't do it," to "I can't do it yet," indicates I can do it. Students need to identify steps or actions toward the growth mindset. Here is the link to Dweck's TED talk titled The Power of Yet. Please view it to learn how the simple word "yet" reframes the situation for students who are still needing to work more to achieve a particular level of achievement. Students learn they are not failures, but that they have a choice to continue on to achieve. Now they can identify a step or action toward success.

Helfers mentioned to us that Habits of Mind and Mindset are similar. After doing a little online research, I found Habits of Mind rubrics for K-12 school systems using Common Core. As a college instructor, please consider what relates to the college classroom and what does not.

In addition to improving student mindset, building motivation for learners is essential. In Helfer's developmental writing classroom, she uses short writing activities and assignments. I believe these are beneficial because success in small assignments build student efficacy. Here are some she suggests:

• Freewriting
• Interviews
• Visual invention work such as creating posters on how to reach goals
• Discussion questions from Mindset research
• Chapter questions from reading materials

A way to build even more motivation is in the larger writing projects. Helfers creates essay units developed on themes that encourage positive thinking in the minds of the students. Here are some topics she suggests;

• Grit mini-essay based based on Angela Duckworth's research: TED Talk
• Successful person they know after reading or listening to Dweck and doing an analysis paper
• Career exploration possibilities to help students build toward an ultimate goal.
• SMART goal setting essay
• Character sketch of a person who positively influenced you. She suggests people like Malcom Gladwell.

When we comment on student work, she encourages us to incorporate mindset principles into our response practices. Don't just say, "Good work." Be specific. Commend effort, but write what is effective to encourage students where they are doing well, and point out specific areas where improvement is needed.

Later I spent some time meeting with Christine Helfers, I asked her what she uses for a developmental writing textbook. She does not. She uses free sites on the Internet for grammar support. The bulk of her class consists of students writing drafts, and then she edits the drafts and returns them to the students. Students learn best when seeing their own errors in writing and having them identified and having the opportunity to correct these errors.

I was drawn to Helfers' ideas since these relate so well to what I was taught at Northern Arizona University in the Composition training I had in graduate school. We read chapters from Mina Shaugnessy's Errors and Expectations, Peter Elbow's Everyone Can Write, and many others. All in all, I found the presentation very stimulating to challenge me in the way I approach basic writing here at Yavapai College. I encourage you to do the same.

Collaboration in Your Writing Classroom: Team Projects

At the recent TYCA West Conference in Mesa Arizona, October 2014, Levi Martin from the University of Texas at El Paso presented on "Creating Collaborative Spaces that Empower Students in Collaborative Writing Practices." His presentation was lively and enjoyable. To set the stage for this instructor, he is a doctoral candidate who primarily teaches Technical Writing, Professional Writing, and occasional composition courses for the university.

Martin creates short lessons and places students into small teams to apply the lesson. He first defines collaboration as joint writing to help students understand what the term means in this situation. Then he has students write a team paper on Success Strategies.

Factors to consider when creating these collaborative projects are motivation, time with the team, having the right tools, developing team contracts, and having multiple conferences with the instructor, both team and individual.

Martin bases his team projects on Achievement Goal Theory, Walters, 2004, 236. He believes that higher motivation equals higher achievement. Once students graduate from college, their future professional needs will require collaborative skills in the workplace. Therefore, team work has high applicability and relevance to students.

Martin also states that he doesn't call collaborative writing "group work." He calls it "teamwork," which has a better connotation. Other ideas for names to call this type of collaboration are agencies, partners, think tank. I mentioned that the term "partners" has not always met with a positive connotation in my classroom, and the others seemed to agree.

When creating a writing center for students, he named the tutors "writing consultants." This term similarly gave students more of a desire to go see someone for assistance.

Martin favors increased student involvement. When students have a voice in creating the assignments, this practice creates a deeper understanding of the work and greater sense of ownership. Discussion on the goals of the assignment also opens the conversation to discuss the assignment and its purpose in a more directed, useful environment.

Time with team members is essential. Martin claims that after the initial honeymoon, students need time to work with and get to know one another in non-threatening context, the opportunity to learn strengths and weaknesses of the members, and time for peer review. The instructor is the catalyst. Martin grades the comments peers make on paper, not the draft itself. He gives 20% of the final grade to the comments made on other students drafts and 80% to the student's own final version.

This instructor also uses tools. Martin uses "the Google."

• Google Drive and Google Docs provide (a)synchronous platforms
• Instructor can join the conversation in a non-threatening way
• Students can compose, edit, revise collaboratively without being in the same place
• All changes and comments are recorded for both students and instructor
• He also uses color-coded writing. Each student is assigned a different color for text.
• Presence is key. No matter the software used, the instructor needs to be present.
• Students need to know the instructor is aware and active in development of the work.
• Instructor presence develops accountability and builds motivation.

Students develop the contracts for team projects.

• In conjunction with developing guidelines, students have ownership of the process they use to complete the work.
• Students develop their own responsibilities, dates, and repercussions.
• All team members write the contract, which gives exposure to a new genre of writing.
• Writing the contract increases student awareness of the process and responsibilities.

Both group and individual student conferences are vital to team project development and success. Class time works well for group conferences, according to Martin. He uses office hours for individual one-on-one conferences. The instructor needs to be aware of up-to-date progress on the project. 

Open communication is also vital. Students need to be able to contact the instructor with any issues, questions, and concerns regarding the class.Limit rules to correspondence within reason. Work to get students talking to you. The more comfortable they are, the better questions students ask.

Martin created a Twitter account for his students so they could ask him short questions for quick answers. This type of easy access keeps the instructor from giving out personal contact information. 

If you are interested in developing team projects with your class, I hope you will read through Martin's ideas here and take what works for you. It is my personal opinion that these ideas would work best for second year college students, but team projects can also be used for first year and even developmental classes. I wish you all the best as you challenge yourself to try these team projects with your students. Data shows that classrooms doing project learning activities have higher retention as students get involved with one another and develop accountability.

New Developmental Education White Paper Coming Soon

The TYCA (Two-Year College English Association)  conference brought to my attention a new Developmental Education white paper that is coming out soon. I will devote this blog to information about that document. Be watching for it in the TETYC or other NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) journals.

The first topic broached in this session was that the national completion agenda "rests on good intentions but flawed assumptions." Reform is imposed, under resourced, and hasty. Such institutional and disciplinary divisions often lead to disarray and difficulty.

A Case Study: Florida SB1720 is one such hastily drawn piece of legislation set into effect in 2013. This law imposes the following, according to the white paper:

• exempts recent high school graduates and others from being required to take developmental education courses and from mandatory placement testing
• forbids standard semester format for developmental courses
• impacts curriculum, advising, workload, departmental structures, college-level instruction. Colleges were forced to hire more advisers and left no funding to hire more faculty.

Other Program Responses to  Legislative Interventions

• Some California admissions departments have turned developmental students away.
• Placement has been impacted.
• Program design has been impacted:
• mainstreaming with accelerated learning
• module courses developed
• studio courses developed
• stretch courses developed
• compression of programs

Recommendations for Institutional Administration and Educators

1. Include developmental instructors in designing reform.
2. Initiate improvement to developmental education programs and course through research-based pilots.
3. Prioritize evidence from local assessments and research on student success. (What works in Kansas may not work in Arizona.)
4. Assess students' needs for developmental education and readiness for credit-bearing courses based on multiple pieces of evidence including student writing.
5. Eliminate multiple-choice exit tests.
6. Fund and develop strong developmental education departments.
7. Support professional development for developmental educators.
8. More ideas were offered, but I didn't capture them all. Please eagerly await the real completed report for full and accurate information.

Anyone interested in the NCTE's Policy Analysis Initiative can follow this Web site for further information.  Also, the CCCC (Conference on College Composition and Communication) has a statement on preparing teachers of college writing. They ask, "How do we teach full-time and adjunct faculty how to teach for our institution?" The CCCC recommend that colleges offer training to show all English faculty how our institution approaches writing.

As a college, English teachers here can read the list and see areas of strength and places for continued growth opportunity at Yavapai College. Personally, I feel we are doing better than many colleges, and am grateful for thse potential of hiring a Developmental Education administrator in the near future. Colleges need to ask, "What issues are most pressing here?"

One state represented at the conference, Texas, said they have Reverse Transfer Agreements in their state (RMAs). When I asked for clarification on what an RMA is, I was told that their college tracks down students who transfer to another institution before they graduate from the university. The college gives credit for classes taken at the university toward completing a community college degree. They transfer back, and in so doing, students earn associates degrees, and the community college gets credit for completion. Do we have a system like this in Arizona? If not, perhaps this is an idea that Arizona colleges can seek to get instituted into our system.

Top Ten Reasons for Going to Conferences

This blog is a little late, but thanks to Todd's coupon, I still was eligible for the lovely house plant. I send thanks to the horticulture students here at Yavapai College! So here is my excuse  . . . no, the dog didn't eat my blog.  I went to a conference, and I have been playing catch up ever since, but when I post this blog, I think I will have done so . . . caught up, that is.

So why would an English teacher go to TYCA-West in Mesa, Arizona, right in the middle of October when so much work needs to be done on campus? Well, here are the top ten reasons for attending professional conferences that I could come up with after attending this one.

1) Promoting growth in our profession is a must, and what better way to gather than at a conference where we can bring our best ideas and present them to others, gather feedback, and polish them.

2) It is essential to protect the integrity of our profession from state and federal lawmakers who want to regulate and make laws to serve taxpayers and voters. Often these lawmakers do so without understanding the potential impact or the implications of these regulations and laws, and it is our responsibility to stand in the gap for our students.

3) Keeping abreast of new research and development in our profession is another great benefit we receive from keynote speakers and other sessions. Also, at conferences, we gain insight into professional journals and articles that will help us keep up with the latest.

4) Networking with fellow faculty helps us to sharpen one another.

5) Sharing tips on how to engage students in the classroom is another benefit.  Breakout sessions and meal time give us opportunity to do so.

6) Discovering new ways to teach curriculum is always a blessing. No one faculty member, nor no single college has ALL of the good ideas.

7) Meeting lifetime friends with fellow faculty members who have similar interests is so likely.

8) Textbook publishers bring textbooks, catalogs, software demonstrations, and offer suggestions to help bridge areas missing in curriculum.

9) Other vendors bring free book samples, guides, pens, and more. 

10) The conference itself usually gives you a cool bag to carry all of your handouts, flyers, and the guide to sessions.

Okay, besides all of these reasons for attending conferences, one must agree that a change of place, good food, a nice room, and a little out of town shopping is good for the soul.

So I mentioned keynote speakers can be a bonus. At this particular conference, the speaker took me back to college days. He got up and read a report on Paulo Freire, banking vs. praxis, and a lot of other professional jargon not spoken in the community college classroom, but indeed practiced on a regular basis.

So, he reminded us, is the teacher a sage on the stage? Or a guide on the side? According to Strauss, we should always assume there is one silent student in the classroom who is smarter than we are. For me personally, believing this student is there helps me to keep myself sharp and prepared for class. Believing this student is there helps me to call upon students in the classroom with expectation that they will have something essential to share, and often they do, and then we learn from more than Mrs. Luffman. We learn from the best ideas we have in common as a classroom, and that is what education is all about. Maybe I am overstating slightly, but not by much.

Then the keynote speaker encouraged us to check out They Say, I Say, a book that presents templates to help students write various types of prose for different purposes. Students gain help discovering how to write cognitive or narrative, investigative or reflective. And then students insert self into these templates to create meaning inside correct format. Okay, so that last part is all my own interpretation of what was being said on stage.

By the way, did I mention that at this conference the sage on the stage was actually reading his paper. Yikes, I would never do that in the classroom, but apparently this gentleman felt the precision of his prose was worth the risk of losing the audience. Apparently he didn't lose me since I did take voracious notes just in case I could write something about it in my blog.

Anyway, if anyone out there actually reads this blog, please consider going to a professional conference, participating, even presenting. It goes a long way in developing who we are and preserving our profession for posterity.

Sincerely submitted.
Tina Luffman

Oral Readings Plus for College Students

A few years ago I attended a SWADE (Southwest Association for Developmental Education) conference in the Phoenix area along with several other staff and instructional employees from Yavapai College. Along with presenting with three others, I also enjoyed learning from other developmental education instructors from colleges in our region. The best tip I picked up was the oral reading activity to assist students with fluency, pronunciation, and comprehension.

Here is how the oral reading works. First, I read a passage out loud for about two minutes. Then I mark how much text I had covered. Second, I type this text into slides. Third, I add a background and clip art to make the slides visually appealing. Finally, I record myself reading these slides in Jing.

Once these slides are recorded, I save the file in Screencast.com. Screencast gives me a link that I paste into Blackboard. You can use any site that you like, but this one has worked well for me. (11)

When introducing these readings to the class, sometimes I have the students do a pre-reading activity such as completing a K-W-L sheet. K-W-L sheets are broken down into three columns. In the "K" column, students write what they already Know about the topic in the reading. In the "W" column, students write what they Want to learn about the topic. 

If we do the K-W-L activity, now is the time to share the recording. I dim the lights and play the recording. Students have the choice of following along in their textbook or of watching the PowerPoint slides roll through as they listen to me reading the text. Hopefully the modeling of intonation, pronunciation, and pace train the class to use similar positive reading habits.

So what if we don't do the K-W-L activity? Sometimes we skim-read the passage. Some days we annotate the reading. Some days we just dive right in and create an outline or a summary later. But the main point here is that students do more with the reading than to just read it through one time.

After the class listens to the slide presentation, we get into pairs. If we have an odd number of students, one reads with me. I watch the clock and have student A read the beginning of the passage for thirty seconds. Then student B reads the same passage as A. Then both A and B read the same passage a second time.

Over the semester, students get better and better at being able to read out loud, they gain comprehension in a noisy environment, and they gain enjoyment reading in a social environment. If you have a class that needs to comprehend a lot of reading materials, please consider adopting some of these techniques, and you can always ask a reading teacher at Yavapai College for ideas to work with your specific curriculum and/or situation. Enjoy!

What about the iPad?

When I first started using the iPad, I was really excited. I could sit on the couch in the living room and work on this tablet in the evening. But what I learned is that I could not easily access assignments in Blackboard, but the Discussion Board posts were visible with no problem. In later updates, the assignments came up as well, but only if opened using the "Needs Grading" window. Although this is a minor issue, I still can't scroll through the entire grade book on the iPad, so I seldom use it for Blackboard access. I am sure that newer Blackboard apps will come out to correct and improve the functionality of grading on this device.

The iPad is great for checking my work and personal email, the bank account, and Facebook. I also have a Brother app so I can print files open on the iPad at home. I can also access Dropbox files with the Dropbox app, which makes life really convenient when needing to access work files even when not sitting at my office computer. The trick here is that I have to save the files to Dropbox and not the Z-drive. I am sure many of you have much to share that would encourage me to use this device for even more work-related purposes. Please share.

One of the best attributes of the iPad is the larger viewing screen for many of my apps such as Kindle, Overdrive, and others. I can make the screen view a full page or turn horizontally to have a split page that looks like a traditional book. I feel that the iPad is a Kindle on steroids, and much more. If you are considering getting a Kindle, don't, unless you really want the smaller screen. I have been very happy reading books on the iPad. The lighting options, ability to increase font size, and so on are great. Even an elderly relative with very poor vision was able to read text on this device.

Also, my husband and I bought a Fisher Price case for the iPad and purchased some really awesome games for our grandsons. We believe a solid case is a must. The iPad has fallen off the back of our couch onto the tile floor more times than we can count--with no damage. If you have preschoolers, please check out Endless Reader, Endless Numbers, the Toca games, Monkey Math, and Monkey Preschool. I am sure actual parents of preschoolers know far more than a grandma.

Honestly, when traveling across country, the iPad was more comfortable to work on than the regular laptop when browsing and reading. When I had to get down to serious grading, however, I did go for the laptop most of the time. A laptop computer has a better work interface because of the stability of the shape and size as well as the traditional keyboard. I am not a fan of using the touch keyboard on tablet computers. Also, using the laptop would nudge me to go sit at the desk, which is better for posture.

One last tip--with an iPad, less is more. What I mean by this is that although many apps are free, managing the updates for all of those free apps can be time consuming. My suggestion is to keep your apps to the minimum of those you really use. Also, keep apps in handy folders. This will make the iPad more user friendly for you and those with whom you share the device.

I hope this brief blog will help educators who are considering what type of tech tool to purchase for home, work, and family purposes. I wish you the best in your decision.

Why I iPhone

Why am I glad that I got an iPhone last year at Thanksgiving? Well, it certainly wasn't so that my bill would increase. But I certainly have experienced many benefits, and so have my students.

1. I can receive all of my personal and work email up to the minute in this device.

2. In addition, the college and personal email are separated, so I can choose to view either one, or ignore either one.

3. Students now hear responses back from me far more quickly because they don't have to wait until I sit down at a computer to respond to them.

4. The iPhone has the ability to become a hot spot, so even when I am in an area where there is no phone signal, I can log in and check email, grade papers, and so on. Yes, it does run up the data plan, but seriously, I do it so seldom, that even on the long trip I took this summer, I never came close to using up the data available.

5. And then there is the all-too-popular Yavapai College app. Okay, so it isn't too popular, but I can still log in and see what the dining opportunities are in Prescott just in case I need to work on the main campus.

6. Navigation with the Maps or Google Maps apps has gotten me many places. All I have to do is type the address of the location I want to go, and these heavy-weight navigation programs get me there at least 90% of the time.

7. "Reminders" is another useful app for teachers. How many times do we think of something when walking back to the classroom only to forget about it on the way? With "Reminders," all we need to do is tap the app, hit the microphone button, and speak the reminder into the device. It will remain their until we delete it. Okay, so we still need to check the reminder.

8. I really appreciate the Calendar app. When I am in a meeting and need to check my schedule, I can see what is already scheduled to see when I am available. I can also add new appointments on the spot rather than waiting until I get back to the office.

9. "Spider," a solitaire game, also comes in handy when my brain is on overload, when I am stuck in the airport waiting for the plane to take me to a conference, or when I need a diversion. I do not suggest using Spider during class or office hours, of course, but I do think that a healthy mind is one that finds moments for relaxation.

10. And last, but certainly not least, is the Dropbox app. I seriously use "Dropbox" for all of my work files these days. I can access all of my files from work, home, and even iPhone whenever needed.

I hope you have found at least one reason to consider using a smart phone to enhance the options available. I know I have found even more ways to use the iPhone than listed in this blog, and I am sure you will find ones I haven't even discovered. Blessings!