|
|
|
Back to Table of
Contents for On Course Across the Curriculum
Strategies on this page can be used in any course. If a strategy was written for use in a particular course, it may appear there as well.
1.
Strategy: Silent Socratic Dialogue Application: Academic Improvement Program or any course Educator: Tawanya Garrett, Assistant Director, Academic Success Programs, Suffolk University, MA Implementation: Use the Silent Socratic Dialogue as a way to help students reflect on the topic discussed in class that day. At the end of class, reserve 15 minutes for this activity. On the board, write specific questions that relate to the topic. Have each student choose one question and write an answer. Then they exchange writing with a partner, read, and write a question in response to what they read. This is an effective way to get students to think critically about the material and see that their peers are doing the same.
2.
Strategy: Eagles & Hawks and VxE = M Application: English writing or any course Educator: Charlie Warnberg, Faculty, English (adjunct), Brookhaven College, TX Implementation: The goal is to help students find greater value in the content/skill of the course and thus increase their inner motivation to learn. Have students write a response to the question "How will learning the content/skill of this course help you in your chosen career?" Pair students and have them decide who is an Eagle and who a Hawk. Partners then share what they have written and take notes on what their partner said. Eagles (or Hawks) fly to another partner and share their ideas and those they have collected from others. After repeating the process four times, begin a whole-group debrief by asking, "What benefits did you or your classmates come up with for mastering the content/skill of this course?" OPTION: Before this activity, have students anonymously rate on a scale of 1-10 the value they see in learning the content/skill of the course. Collect the cards as a pre-assessment. Repeat after the Eagles and Hawks activity, and compare to see if class scores have gone up. Possibly repeat again at the end of the course.
3.
Strategy: Affirmation Milling Application: Student Success or any course- Activity Before Forming Groups Educator: Cindy Nichols, Coordinator of Retention and Student Engagement, Danville Area Community College, IL Implementation: The purpose here is to help students have successful group learning experiences. Before forming groups, have students brainstorm as a class the different positive attributes they want in their ideal group members; record the list of positive attributes on the board. Have each student choose three of these attributes that most appeal to him/her and write an affirmation on an index card as follows:" I am a _____, _____, and _____ group member." Follow the creation of affirmations with the affirmation milling. Afterwards, in a whole group discussion, explore why they chose the qualities they did and what it would be like to have group members with the qualities they heard in the milling. Students keep their affirmation with them throughout the semester to serve as a reminder that they must first have the qualities of an effective group member before they can ask or expect these same qualities from others.
4.
Strategy: Success Teams Application: Chemistry or Any Course Educator: Nagash Clark, Faculty, Chemistry, Washtenaw Community College, MI Implementation: I divided my general chemistry class into success teams. I chose the group members myself. This is class where historically student performance is all over the place. After I created success teams, the groups sat together, kept each other accountable; and worked on assignments together. They were also given bonus points if everyone got a C or above on a test. I have never seen such intra-group and inter-group camaraderie in a class. Attrition was very low, and grades were good. There was significant improvement on everyone's final assessment compared to the initial assessment that was given at the beginning of the semester (And this was a multiple choice department test--not one that I wrote).
5.
Strategy: Language of Responsibility Educator: Allison Carr, Faculty, Humanities, El Camino College, CA Implementation: The goal of this activity is to aid students in taking ownership of any reading/writing (or math, public speaking, etc.) fears, concerns or excuses and translate them into Creator language. Early in the course, have students anonymously write any fears they have about reading and/or writing on index cards and turn them in. Later in the course, introduce students to Victim/Creator Language. Give them an opportunity to practice translating general life Victim Statements into Creator statements. For example, "I never get a raise or a promotion because my boss plays favorites." When students have an understanding of how to identify Victim language and translate it into Creator statements, give out a handout on which you have typed Victim statements about reading/writing fears, concerns or excuses that you collected earlier. Model what you want them to do by demonstrating how to translate "I hate reading because it's boring" into a Creator statement ("I don't enjoy reading because I read so slowly. I'm going to practice reading faster without lowering my comprehension.") Point out that Creator language is characterized by accountability and a plan. Next, have students work individually to translate the Victim statements from the class members into Creator statements. Then, call out a Victim statement and invite volunteers to stand one at a time and read their Creator language statement. This allows students to fill in any blanks they have on their own paper. End by discussing the advantage of approaching the course (and life) as a Creator instead of a Victim.
6.
Strategy: Class Constitution Educator: Wei Li, Faculty, English, Lone Star College-North Harris, TX Implementation: Instead of making the course rules myself, I asked my students to come up with their own ideas about a number of common problems such as tardiness, late work, unexcused absences, cell phones, side-talking in class, etc. I asked them to give me suggestions on how to handle those problems by writing down their ideas individually. When they were done, I had them do a "handup-standup" to exchange and discuss their ideas with each other. Finally, I collected copies of their suggestions, which I compiled and distributed the next day. This approach worked really well because the rules were made by themselves; therefore there was very little resistance. For example, when students were late more than 10 minutes, they had to wait until break time to come into the classroom. As a matter of fact, I had the fewest number of tardy students this class in years!
7.
Strategy: Silent Socratic Dialogue Educator: Sarah K. Thomason, Faculty, English, Roane State Community College, TN Implementation: Use the Silent Socratic Dialogue to help developmental readers to dive more deeply into reading assignments and help some reluctant readers to experience the joy of reading. Give students an essay to read, such as Alex Haley's "Thank You." Have students write their initial response to the reading with the clear understanding that another student will be reading their response. As the Silent Socratic Dialogue unfolds, prompt students to think even more deeply about the reading.
8.
Strategy: Menu of Assignments (Self-Motivation-Autonomy) Application:
Religion 101 or Any Course Educator:
Sarah Hadmack, Faculty, Religion,
University
of Hawaii
and Implementation:
When students are asked to write a paper/essay, provide them with three to
five options for topics. The autonomy of choice often creates stronger
papers since the students are more invested in the topic. Or have the
students write on a particular topic but enable them to choose the format and
style. They could write on the topic in the form of an interview, poem,
eulogy, news article, children’s book, flyer, etc.
9.
Strategy: Hand-up/Stand-up & Flashcard Quiz Game Application:
Religion 101 or Any course with tests Educator:
Sarah Hadmack, Faculty, Religion,
University
of Implementation:
Each student creates a question on an index card as a review for an upcoming quiz/test.
Using Hand-up/Stand-up, students pair up.
They then present their partner with the question on their card. If the
other student answers correctly, the answering students get the card. If the
student answers incorrectly, he/she must move on to another card without any
“points.” Continue doing Hand-up/Stand-up until the allotted time runs
out. The student with the most cards wins! Example of card
question: Who is the one god of Zoroastrianism? [Editor’s note: An
alternative is to have students create 5 or even 10 question cards.]
10.
Strategy: Movers and Shakers Application: Test review for Religion 101 or Any Course Educator:
Sarah Hadmack, Faculty, Religion,
University
of
Hawaii
and Implementation:
The purpose of this activity is a test/quiz review. For a classroom of 24 students, create 12 index cards with one review
question on each card and the answer on the back. Have the students stand in two rows facing one
another. Give each student in one of the rows a card with a review
question. These are the Shakers. Shakers ask the student directly across from them their
question. The students answering the questions are the Movers. After 90
seconds of discussing the question, all Movers step to the right where they are
asked another question by a Shaker (the Mover at the end of the line walks to
the other end of the line to get a partner). Have the Movers move down the whole line of Shakers.
When all the Movers have answered each question, have the students switch roles
and repeat the activity. Option: Give the Shakers star stickers and the Movers
blank 3x5 index cards. If the Mover answers correctly, the Shaker gives
him/her a star sticker. The student with the most stars get +5 points on
his/her quiz/test.
11. Strategy: Changing Habits Application: Nursing or Any Course that gives tests Educator: No Name Given Implementation: The purpose of this activity is to help students discover and experience strategies to reduce test anxiety in a high risk environment such as nursing. Give students the “Changing Habits” handout and ask them to fill it out BEFORE the test is given using the following modified sentence stems: “One habit I have that helps my success on tests… One habit I have that hinders my success on tests… One new habit I would benefit from having when taking tests is…” Hold a class discussions for students to exchange what they wrote about habits. Additionally, because writing has been shown to reduce anxiety, devote a few minutes before the test to have students write about their feelings about the test. After the test, have students discuss new habits they applied to preparing for the test, how they think they did on the test compared with how they initially expected to do on the test, and what habits they will employ before, during, and after the next test.
12.
Strategy: Toss a Test Application: Engineering or Any Course Educator:
No Name Given
Implementation: The purpose of this activity is to help students review homework materials or review for a test. Buy small, soft balls at a craft shop. Have students stand in a circle. Ask a question and then throw a ball to a student. The student with the ball must answer the question correctly in order to keep the ball. If he/she answers incorrectly then he/she must throw the ball to another student to answer. Ask students another question and throw another ball. Student with the most balls at the end wins. 13. Strategy: Success Teams
I've used the Success Teams as groups, too. It is so easy for me just to tell them to discuss a concept with their success team. Overall, students just have more fun when they have others they can count on. I've already seen them encourage each other to read aloud and present in front of class. It is a lot easier to do something when you have a group of people encouraging and supporting you! This is really been a great experience so far. 14.
Strategy: Silent Socratic Dialogue Educator:
Karen Malaska, Faculty, School of Education, Montgomery College, MD Implementation: In
15.
Strategy: Hawks and Eagles Educator:
Karen Malaska, Faculty, School of Education, Montgomery College, MD Implementation: I use “Hawks and Eagles” regularly in all of my classes to check for understanding. I post chapter review questions/ concepts for the students to reflect upon and have them take turns “flying” to a different partner to ask and answer questions and explain concepts. You can have all students discuss one question or concept at a time, give one list of questions and concepts to Hawks and a different list to Eagles, or have one list of questions and concepts from which students can choose to ask/discuss at random. I find that this activity causes students to be more accountable for their own learning as well as learning from each other. 16.
Strategy: The Puzzle Application:
Clinical Nursing Course or Any Course Where Students Work in Groups Educator:
Lori Eithun, Nursing Faculty, Implementation: The puzzle activity can be utilized as an initial activity for groups of students who will be together throughout an 8-week clinical course. Divide the group into two groups, and have each group work to complete a small puzzle. After the activity, have students reflect on what they learned about themselves and about each other in terms of the benefits and challenges that come with working together. In addition, the instructors will have the opportunity to observe the activity and make initial assessments of group member personalities and work styles as the clinical period begins.
17.
Strategy: Success Team Constitution Application:
Speech Course or Any Course in which Students Give Presentations Educator:
Kelly Kaiser, Faculty, Communications, Implementation: To help students overcome their fears about giving speeches, create success team and have them create a "speech day" class constitution. First, in success teams of four or five students, have students discuss their anxieties about giving a speech. Then ask each team to develop five "speech day" rules (e.g., no talking while someone is speaking, cell phones off, no sarcastic comments). Have each group post their suggestions on a poster page or on the board. Compare results and combine similar ideas to create a master list for the "Speech Day Rules" to be honored by each member of the class. Distribute the rules or post them on your online platform.
18. Strategy: 32-Day
Commitment Educator:
Mary Schils, Department Chair, Human Resources, Fox Valley Technical
College, WI
19. Eight Choices of Successful
Students Implementation: Students in our self-directed lab courses receive a series of emails every 2-3 weeks. The content of the emails include information about the course, AND each week, and a nugget of information or an idea, to reinforce one of the eight choices of successful students. Some examples:
|
