FIN CommonsJanuary 15, 2009
Adapted from Beverly DiSalvo and Shirley Kahlert (Merced College), “An Integrated Model: A Cluster of Pedagogies.”
We gain understanding by asking students what they are thinking
It is impossible to predict what a student might be thinking or how someone might be working to understand a concept. We have learned to watch for “moments of difficulty” and [...]
January 15, 2009
From Lydia Alvarez, Suzanne Crawford, and Lynn Serwin, “The Solution: The Power of the Pursuit”
Most instructors want to make changes to their classses in order to see their students improve, but many do not know what to do to guarantee that they succeed. We too had this dilemma. We often wondered if the changes we [...]
January 15, 2009
A Carnegie Perspectives repost
Lloyd Bond, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The notion that all students who take the same course at a given college should take common examinations has been around for a long time. But programs that regularly employ common examinations are still rare, primarily because they require a significant [...]
January 15, 2009
A focus on students and their learning is central to the faculty inquiry process. Consider Katalina Wethington, who participated in a scholarship of teaching and learning seminar at Los Medanos College in fall 2006. Wethington was puzzled by a problem in a developmental English course one level below freshman English. In Wethington’s case, the problem [...]
January 15, 2009
SPECC campuses explored many models for bringing people together in faculty inquiry groups, which varied depending on the circumstances of the college, the history of faculty collaboration in developmental education, the creativity of the coordinators, and the purpose at hand. Some groups emphasized individual projects; others focused on a theme of common concern. Some involved [...]
January 15, 2009
While one would think that mathematics would be less susceptible to the problem of coordination and grade variability (it is, afte all, more “objective” than reading and composition), that turns out not to be the case. Math teachers also vary in how they teach and how they grade, creating similar concerns about whether all their [...]
Common Exam, Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIG), Uncategorized | Comments (0)
October 14, 2008
Pat Wagener (Los Medanos): “Can Problem Solving Become a Habit of Mind”
Pat Wagener says:
Throughout the semester, my students were expected to present their solution of an application problem to the class. They were directed to make their knowledge visible so anyone who viewed their solution would clearly understand their thinking.
One principle benefit was to view [...]
Performance assessment, Teaching Problem Solving, Uncategorized | Comments (1)
August 20, 2008
Jose thinks aloud: Click here to view this video of a student working through a math problem Pasadena City College.
Think alouds are ways of getting a transparent glimpse of what students are thinking when they are trying to learn. Think-alouds prompt students to verbalize their thoughts as they solve a problem, case study, or [...]
August 20, 2008
Think-alouds prompt students to verbalize their thoughts as they solve a problem, case study, or interpret an important text. The focus in the think-aloud is to gain access to student processes when working on an important topic of the course, central to the discipline, not necessarily whether or not they successfully complete the task. Several [...]
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