About me
Jacqueline Turnage-Ferber
Activity
Discussion Comment
I think it is important to design tests that reflect the material that you covered in class. I also think it is imporant to design tests that use a combination of formats: multiple choice (I affectionately call this format multiple guess), true and false (aka fifty-fifty), and others. In all seriousness, instructors need to be aware of the principles of test design. In addition, I believe that instructors should do item analysis once students take the test; this will show whether or not there were testing issues that compromised the validity and reliability of test questions.
Discussion Comment
I cannot wait to try some of the CAT strategies introduced in this module and on the website provided in the module. I have used some of the techniques like the minute paper, but I have deviated from incorporating CAT into my classroom. I am thankful this module provided the CAT information. CAT is yet another means of keeping students actively involved in the classroom.
Discussion Comment
One technique that I use to encourage students to answer questions is the Think - Pair - Share strategy. I will ask a well formulated questions related to the "Learning Objectives for Today" (also known as the LOFT); the LOFT is always posted on the board and given to students in hard copy. After asking the question, I give students 30 seconds to 1 minute to jot down their thoughts and ideas. Then, I instruct students to tell the person sitting next to them what they think, and I allow 30 seconds to 1 minute. After a minute, I then… >>>
Discussion Comment
I start of many of my developmental classes with this VARK Questionaire. This questionaire gives me a beat on what dominant learning styles are in my class. This is the starting point for designing lessons that tap into students' learning styles.
The link to the PDF is http://www.vark-learn.com/documents/The%20VARK%20Questionnaire.pdf.
Discussion Comment
I teach four hour blocks at a health care trade school. This is really a challenge, especially when you consider that an adult's attention span is under eighteen minutes. As a result, I really try to focus on designing lesson plans that consider learning styles and that build in a lot of active learning strategies. For adult learners, connecting the learning to their future career path and building in active learning that incorporates learning styles is critical. Often, I view myself as a facilitator more than as an instructor. I facilitate mastery learning using research on learning styles and active… >>>
Discussion Comment
I really never thought about adding Safety Precautions to my course syllabus. Logically, I am responsible for knowing the safety precautions in regards to fire, tonado, earthquake, or other emergencies. I am well versed in these safety procedures, but it never occurred to me to go ahead and add them into my couse syllabus. I will definitely add this heading to my syllabus for future courses.
Discussion Comment
I just made a student mistake. I was reading quickly Quiz #2, and kept missing one question. The green would highlight the correct answer, but in my rush, I did not realize that the answer wanted you to check all that applied. I was getting more and more frustrated because the overachiever in me would not accept less than a 100 percent on the quiz. Finally, I figured out the mistake I was making. This reminds me of how frustrated students must feel! This was probably the most inmportant thing I learned in the second module of ED101. Frustrated students… >>>
Discussion Comment
I try to incorporate ice breaker activities into my first day lesson plan. Usually, I spend a lot of time introducing the class, the course objectives, grading criteria (i.e. the syllabus). Then, I do one or more ice breaker activities. I have many in my teaching bag of tricks, but I am always looking for new ideas. What are some of the ice breaker activities that you have effectively used? What makes an ice breaker activity worthwhile? Is the goal merely to get students to interact and establish classroom climate / rapport? Do activities have to be tied to the… >>>
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Ed104 was a great refresher course for me. Many of the concepts I learned in my undergraduate training as I was seeking Missouri teacher's certification for grades 7-12. The biggest benefit for me was reading different Posts from other instructors; these posts challenged me to take concepts from low level thinking to higher level application. Other instructors taking Ed104 and their posts made me reflect upon my own teaching strategies and practices. In short, yes the course was beneficial; the biggest benefit, however, came from reading the many Posts.
Jackie Turnage-Ferber