Paul Nussbaum

Paul Nussbaum

Location: 800 moorefield park drive, richmond, va 23236

About me

Campus Director of Academic Affairs

ECPI University

Feel free to contact me directly at PNussbaum@ECPI.edu or (804)330-5533. Our campus is in Richmond, VA and WE'RE HIRING!

 

Interests

engineering

Skills

track record of nurturing faculty, engineers, and director level teams to great success.

Activity

Discussion Comment

Kathy - you bring up a great point. Technology is there to assist the teacher, not replace them, and students need to be told that otherwise they not only feel cheated, they also feel alone and frightened.

For example, videos are a great reinforcement or advanced study tool, and they're also great for flipping the classroom. Specifically:

Reinforcement - some students aren't getting it, so why not point them to additional resources, such as videos, where they can catch up to the rest of the class and/or hear things from a diferent perspective? I use this especially effectively with mathematics… >>>

I have a bit of a different take on the training - and I think everyone on this thread probably has the same opinion, so forgive me if I'm stating the obvious...

I don't let technology get between me and my students, and I also don't feel I have to personally create every piece of course material.

Let me give a concrete example. I taught a class of dual enrollment High School students who are earning credit at our University. I assigned them to watch a short <2 minute YouTube video with their parents and then pose a question (that I… >>>

You and me both, Abdul!

I'm glad too Johnny. Very well done set of courses.

Discussion Comment

In the K12 environment, folks are trying to go beyond flipping, and having students engage their parents in the "at home lecture" portion. I tried this with a group of dual enrollment High School students who are earning credit at our University, and it worked out quite well. I assigned them to watch a short <2 minute YouTube video with their parents and then pose a question I provided to their parents and get their answer before coming to class. The lively and very active discussion we had in class about those "kitchen table" talks was fantastic. Very high energy,… >>>

Discussion Comment

Many of our students today have very chatoic personal lives. I would go so far as to say that sometimes things are not just chaotic but downright scary at home for some of our students.

The more you can be organized, show students what's about to happen, and even check off items as they are completed - the more you can provide that orderly environment where they can learn and thrive.

Discussion Comment

I fear everything, but I try to have my fearful thoughts well before the class starts - so I have time to think through my contingency plans. The usual suspects include:

 - Technology is not working

 - Some students come unprepared; and the related - Student(s) are disruptive/angry because they feel guilty about being unprepared

 - Some students are very advanced; and the related - Student(s) are disruptive becuase they are bored

 - Things go too quickly / slowly than I had thought

I think that we must prepare students to do a job, but we must also prepare them to manage their own careers within the PTA discipline. For this latter goal, higher levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are definitely needed.

Flipping can be as simple as having them read a chapter before coming to class to discuss. Just as in any class, you will have students who arrive unprepared (technology or not). They key is to not let these folks become disruptive (nor put them down in front of their peers). Maybe a short assessment where you can personally tell who came prepared, and then an active learning exercise where the unprepared can participate and "catch up." In this way you reward those who came prepared, and take points off (without shaming) the ones who didn't.

Speaking of the fidgeters Carolyn...

I recently used this exercise with great success. I had a short amount of time (not enough for a full lab) but I wanted active learning and teamwork. I took a process and put each step on an individual sheet of paper, folded to hide what was written. I then gave each page to a different person and told them not to peek until I said go. I then used a stopwatch to time how long it took them to organize themselves until they were standing in a line holeding each step of the process… >>>

Discussion Comment

I've recently had the opportunity to try a new LMS (CANVAS) that comes with a "Speed Grader" app for the iPad. This really makes it easy to flip through all the essays with the built-in word processor, and then go back to provide annotation, grades, and meaningful feedback. I especially like that I can record a video or audio feedback comment for the student.

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