STU 101 Portfolio for Lori Riden

I am a NURSE – and I love it ! ! !

Years ago I did not know what I wanted to do with my life.

 

Canvas + Quality Matters = Time

“I don’t have time for that!”

Many instructors have either thought, stated, or even shouted this comment at one time or another during their teaching career. Time! Instructors never seem to have enough. The total amount of time teaching is minimal after calculating what goes into the actual preparation – designing curriculum, outlining assignments, grading papers, preparing assessments, and then having to enter it onto the Internet. Because of the limited time to teach students, it is necessary that instructors use excellent resources to develop quality courses, whether it be online, blended, or face to face classes.

Many resources for instructors are actually designed to provide more time, if learned to be used to their full capabilities. Two of the resources that are available at Yavapai College (YC) are Canvas, the learning management system (LMS) and Quality Matters (QM), a nationally recognized organization which promotes quality in course design. Quality Matters is actually designed for online courses, yet the concepts apply smoothly to both hybrid and face to face courses as well. Implementation of an established rubric is used to design the course, continue to develop it, and then submit for peer-review to receive national QM certification. The rubric is outlined in a simply format for continuous improvement of the course and yet academic freedom is still encouraged for the instructors personality to be appreciated. The other resource, the Canvas LMS, provides instructors all the digital tools needed to keep their course functioning, such as a grade book, attendance rosters, audio and video capabilities for lessons, a calendar, assignments, discussion boards, etc. One feature that has the capability of saving time is the Speed Grader, used to grade assignments online. The process is fast and it aids greatly in keeping the piles of papers off an instructors desk. The Speed Grader is able to allow instructors comments and/or highlight sections of the assignment for the students to review feedback and to reply back if necessary.

Used together, Canvas and QM compliment each other to support students learning more efficiently. One benefit to utilizing either, or both of these programs, is an instructor is not required to apply all of the QM rubric components into Canvas at one time. As a new semester or course begins, several of the rubric standards can be set into Canvas and then additional improvements may be applied later. It is an ongoing process, which does create an unfortunate opportunity for an instructor to occasionally shout, “I don’t have time for this!” And yet, if time is allocated to design the best possible course, students will have less complaints or questions because they are able to follow the course easily. Instructors will also be benefactors of having the extra time by not being needed to address the complaints or questions.

It may seem like many instructors may balk at the thought of applying a rubric with eight sections of standards. In all reality many of these standards are easily established in Canvas, such as, are the course materials current, is the syllabus available, or are the course objectives measurable. After each standard is reviewed and implemented appropriately, instructors would have to agree that the quality of their course is improving. When the course becomes easier to navigate, a students learning is improved and not hindered with searching through an unorganized course limiting their time on assignments. That’s right, students also have limited time.

During the academic year there will be opportunities to attend different training sessions related to Canvas and the QM process. The Teaching and Learning Committee is highly encouraging YC instructors to ‘make’ the time needed to attend these sessions. After the training, it is just as important to again make the time to apply what was learned. Practice using the resources, seek other instructors assistance, review the TeLS web page for videos, and then update Canvas for the students. Just don’t file the sessions papers away and state, “I’ll do this when I have more time.”

Perhaps the title of this submission should actually read,

Canvas + Quality Matters = Time Well Spent

My Latest Compliment Comes Complete With Goosebumps!

Last week I blogged about a struggle of mine to keep my FYE 103 students engaged in their weekly classes and assignments. Just when I thought I was not getting through to them, they surprise me. Really surprised me!
This past week we were discussing distinctive test-taking strategies and how using a variety of them at different times can benefit students in numerous ways. Such as how important it is to read the assigned chapters before a lecture. When asked if they read assignments in advance, many provided the same comment about not having enough time to read. I mentioned scanning the chapters and I saw their eyes actually start to roll to the back of their heads. Something in me clicked and I realized they really did not know how to do this process. We then talked about the actual steps of how to scan a chapter in fifteen to twenty minutes and the importance of it, especially right before the lecture. I got their attention when I pulled out a nursing textbook and actually demonstrated the steps of scanning a chapter.
Once we scanned the text pages as a class, a young man in front who is usually very quiet, asked, “Why were we not taught how to do this earlier?” After clarification, he wanted to know why he was not taught the scanning process in high school or even earlier in junior high. Before I could even try to address his question, a peer sitting behind him spoke. She’s a young mother of two children returning to college for a career change. She adamantly stated, “I didn’t learn this either, but I’ll be teaching my children how to do it.” Her children are only age two and four. Afterwards, I had that feeling that we as instructors get every now and then…you know that one, where you feel that you have actually made a difference! I do have to agree and ask with the young man, why do we not teach students how to study in grade school?
A second incident happened this same week that also confirmed that I may be making a difference. The current FYE 103 assignment was for students to meet with one of their course instructors for a short question and answer session. They were to ask a few questions that would help them understand more about the course, or to develop a better relationship with their instructor, or possibly both. It’s a win/win situation of both of them. And then I even win, as I then meet with my students to “debrief” their interviews with them. Many say the expected typical responses, “I feel more comfortable with my instructor now.”, “I found out there is no extra credit available.”, or even “He’s cool! I wish I had gone to see him weeks ago!” (That last comment was said about a math class – who knew a Math Professor could be “cool” – just kidding!!!)
During one of the recent interviews, a young female student (recent high school graduate) asked me an “out of the box” type question that indicated she had really been thinking about our class lectures. It was so much fun talking to her about the subject that I started getting goose bumps on my arms. We continued the conversation and I noticed I was actually getting “giddy” about how much she had recently learned. After congratulating her on her accomplishments, I drew her attention to my arms covered with goose bumps and told her, “I’ll be living off this moment for the next two weeks.” After we shook hands she left smiling ear to ear and I’m still giddy remembering the moment a week later.

My Latest Struggle: Teaching Adults vs. Older Adolescence Learners

For the past 20 plus years, I have been teaching within a variety of nursing programs at both the community college and university levels. Many of my students are adults (over age 25) returning for a career change, finding that what they have been working for decades may not be providing them with the satisfaction that they desire. Although there have been those occasional students coming straight from high school to apply to nursing, most are considered the adult learner.
This semester I have branched out with teaching in a different arena and I picked up a First Year Experience (FYE 103) course, which consists of all of my students being under the age of 25. Although society may determine a person is an adult by 18 to 20 years old, many of our nursing textbooks state that the span of adolescence begins around 11 years of age and concludes at the end of the 24 year. I am finding this semester that I am experiencing a culture shock in trying to apply the same teaching concepts that I have used for so many years.
Malcolm Knowles, an author of education for adults, has established the following five concepts for adult learners:
1. Adults understand why something is important to know or do
2. Adults have the freedom to learn in their own way
3. Learning is experiential
4. The time is right for them to learn
5. The process is positive and encouraging
Now I believe I have a full understanding on these concepts and I do apply them frequently within my classroom settings. But, do they apply equally to both sets of students that I am teaching this semester, that is my new struggle?
My challenge is to keep the attention spans of the FYE 103 students as engaged as the nursing students. I try to provide the experiential learning in a variety of methods to meet them each as individuals. I teach with a variety of techniques as many instructors do: interactive activities, videos, guest speakers, role play, learning games, computer activities, interviews, etc. It doesn’t seem to be the different teaching techniques that is the problem, as both sets of students are willing to try most of these activities. I believe that I provide both sets of students with a positive and encouraging environment in their classrooms. I have not heard otherwise which opens up another question, “would they even tell me?” (I’ll save that question for another day.)
The fact that the FYE 103 course is being taken during their first year here at Yavapai is the right time for them to be taking the course. But perhaps, it is not the right time for them to be in college. I would like to combine this thought with the first concept above, ‘Adults understand why something is important to know or do’. As a previous ‘adult learner’ myself, I realize the importance of having students in college after graduating high school, but are they really ready? Of course I can answer this, “some are ready and others are not, depends on the person.”
I wonder if the returning students applying to the nursing program were some of these actual students in the past. Perhaps they started some college classes or even completed a program, only to work in a field that was not fulfilling to them. Now they understand the importance of and are making the time to be back in college to learn something different; nursing. How many of my FYE 103 students may fall by this path? I so hope that I am able to keep them interested enough that even if this is not their time to be here, they will still stay. I will continue to give them my ‘ALL’ in preparing them to understand that now is the right time and that college is so very important for each of their futures.

Does it pay to Blog?

This 9x9x25 project of writing weekly blog posts has been something that I have been wanting to do now since it began several years ago. I enjoy writing, although I’m no Ernest Hemingway or J.K. Rowling’s by any means. How simple it was to have many ‘excuses’ to not join a project like this. As an educator, I feel comfortable with much of the technology we have available to use, but I just had this mental block about learning how to set up a blog site. Perhaps the site was ‘just one more thing’ that I felt I was going to have to maintain or maybe I just didn’t want to take the time to get it established, whatever it was I made it to be larger than it should be.
This year, I challenged myself to join my peers to work on this project. So all on my own (which is a big deal to me), I modified an old abandoned blog webpage that I set up many years ago with the help of the TeLS group. “So what,” you might say, “everyone has a blog these days.” Well now I can say that I do also. But just how am I going to focus this new site of mine.
I did a few Google searches to find the reasons as to why I should maintain this blog. I searched as an individual, a business owner, an educator, and as a nurse…and received hundreds of thousands of sites explaining how each of these personal roles can be improved by maintaining a blog. I found that many educators have their students use the blog process to provide reflection on their lessons learned. Nurses use them as a form to de-stress, network within the profession, and teach other nurses.
I also found that many of the bloggers are actually making money from their writings. As an example, another quick search, ‘making money with a blog’, took only 0.19 seconds for about 449,000,000 results to show. One that I found interesting was, Bob Lotich and his blog post at christianpf, where he has written a detailed description just about how to make money blogging, enough so that he quit his day job. What? I had no idea that blogging has become a form of employment!
Well I don’t think I’m ready to quit teaching nurses to blog daily for a paycheck. Nope it’s just not going to happen! I enjoy interacting face to face with my students way too much to sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end. But wait! I do both daily as it is, perhaps this blogging thing could start paying for itself after all. I understand our first 9x9x25 paycheck will be in the form of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, I guess blogging really does pay.

P.S. There is no such thing as “a quick Google search.” I found that I spent too much time reading others’ blogs. The time spent reinforced one my concerns stated earlier, do I have the time to maintain a blog? I’ll let you know in 9 weeks.