DOCUMENT RESUME ED 390 481

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 390 481 JC 960 061

AUTHOR Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

TITLE Innovation Abstracts, Volume XVII, 1995.

INSTITUTION Texas Univ., Austin. National Inst. for Staff andOrganizational Development.

SPONS AGENCY Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Mich.; Richardson(Sid W.) Foundation, Fort Worth, Tex.

REPORT NO ISSN-0199-106XPUB DATE 95

NOTE 62p.

PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022)

JOURNAL CIT Innovation Abstracts; v17 n1-30 Jan-Dec 1995

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Classroom Communication; *Classroom Techniques;

*College Instruction; Community Colleges; CooperativeLearning; Cooperative Programs; *Faculty Development;Instructional Development; Instructional Improvement;*Instructional Innovation; *Learning Activities;Learning Strategies; Speech Instruction; TeacherEffectiveness; Teacher Improvement; *TeachingMethods; Teaching Styles; Two Year Colleges: Writing

Instruction

ABSTRACTThe abstracts in this volume describe innovative

approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topicscovered include: (l) the use of message mapping for speaking andwriting instruction; (2) group projects and portfolios as evaluation

tools; (3) helping students become strategic learners; (4) usingwriting assignments to ensure that students read class materials; (5)

using indicators of excellence in institutional outcomes assessment;(6) utiliz;ng technology for professional development and dailycommunication tasks; (7) a project to help teachers share ideas; (8)

the functions of a community college Ombudsman Service; (9) college

orientation for new students; (10) providing feedback to studentswith a word processor; (11) strategies for improving lecture formatclasses; (12) assigning relevant writing topics based on current

events; (13) the validity of prerequisite courses for studentsuccess; (14) difficulties of using a controlled vocabulary in

electronic research; (15) team teaching; (16) competencies classes;(17) improving teaching effectiveness through self-observation; (18)

having students create posters of main ideas of readings; (19) aninstitute for intercultural understanding to promote diversity; (20)

tutoring services at an innovative learning center; (21) the value of

interdisciplinary studies; (22) using electronic mail as an

evaluation tool; (23) teacher-student collaboration in writing

instruction; (24) teaching rescarch skills through interviews ofEnglish as a Second Language students; (25) using community-basedwriting assignments in introductory composition; (26) feedback

sessions to discuss exam results with students; (27) strategies forestablishing wellness programs; (28) integrating study skills intothe college curriculum; (29) grading collaborative activities; (30)the role of grammar in developmental writing classes; and (31) astaff retreat for improving communication skills. (BCY)

Innovation Abstractsvolume XVII,

Published byNational Institute for Staff and Organizational Development

College of Education, The University of Texas at AustinWith Support from the Kellogg Foundation and

the Sid W. Richardson Foundation

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VOLUME XVII, NUMBER 1

INNOVATION ABSTRACTSA 0 0 0

0 0 I I I 0

Message Mapping: An Instructional Toolfor Speaking and Writing

"Ahhh...1 see what you're saving."The message map is an instructional tool that helps

students adopt a receiver-centered perspective byproducing a visual "map" of the message they aretrying to deliverwhether oral or written. Maps helpstudents establish a holistic image of the message witha better understanding of its logical structure, encom-passing and surpassing many of the functions tradi-tionally attributed to speech or essay outlining. Stu-dents have used the maps to facilitate the writing ofresearch papers, news articles, and essay exams; and tostructure informative and persuasive speeches inclassrooms and business settings. Message mapping isan essential tool for the communication teacher's "toolkit."

BasicsThe message map is intended to represent a visual

image of the message a person intends to communicate,whether through speaking or writing. If a speaker orwriter constructs a message map with the followingbasic elements and the receivers can reproduce asimilar map while listening or reading, communicationhas been successful. Though the message map can bemade increasingly complex as the sophistication of themessage grows, at its most basic level, message mapsgrow from the following model:

On-Target Message Map

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There are three major elements of any message map:the introduction, main ideas, and conclusion. For theintroduction, the communicator is prompted to includethree key elements: (1) attention "getters," usually avisual image relevant to the topic, (2) revelation anddevelopment of the topic/argument with definitions orbackground statements as needed, and (3) a main ideaforecast. The conclusion section contains very similarelements: (1) summary of main ideas, (2) closingdevelopment of topic/argument, and (3) a visuallyoriented link back to the introduction attention "get-ter." The main idea blocks (as many as necessary) areworded in grammatically parallel terms to make thestructure clear and tightly focused; elements of acredible messagefacts, quotes, and examplesare tobe included under each main idea. With this structure,students completing long research efforts weavenumerous facts, quotes, and examples into the fabric ofeach main idea. Arrows drawn between the blocksremind the student of the need for summary/forecasttransitions as the message progresses.

A completed map includes the basic elementspictured here with a bulleted statement to cue thestudent as to the information to be included in a givensegment. For example, if a student was writing anessay on Martin Luther King, she might have a bulletunder a main idea focusing on his writings whichreads: "Q-Letters from Birmingham Jail." This bulletwould show the student where in the message they areincluding a quotation.

In practice, the student would begin the constructionof a message by focusing on the main ideas and sup-porting material. The introduction and conclusion aregenerated last. This development sequence helps tobypass the writers block or speech anxiety that oftenplagues inexperienced communicators. As the studentdevelops the main ideas with supporting elements suchas dramatic examples, startling facts, or compellingquotations, he or she begins to think of these elementsas logically interrelated building blocks that can beshaped to meet the needs of the audience. Signifi-cantly, some of the research that generates these

THE NA rIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdrninistrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

building blocks is conducted before the map is con-structed, but glaring gaps on logic or support, asvisually displayed on the map, prompt the student todo further research. Additionally, the map stimulatescritical evaluation processes as students are enc; uragedto consider each element of the map as independentthought capsules that can be moved or modified as themessage takes form. Put simply, whether writing orspeaking, students are less "tied to the text." Thisoccurs because the space available for ideas on anymap is extremely limited, and this helps students avoidfocusing on the complexities of grammar or paragraphconstruction during the planning stages of theirmessage. Rather than getting committed to a para-graph, students learn to brainstorm with bullet phrasesthat serve as visual referents on the map.

As a second major step, the student constructs theintroduction and conclusion blocks. Typically, studentshave already found useful attention- grabbing pieces ofinformation during their research that work well inboth the introduction and conclusion. Revealing thetopic and presenting a thesis/purpose for the messagebecomes much easier with the main idea structureclearly displayed. Further, the forecast of the messagestructure or argument is simplified by mapping,particularly if one insists on grammatically parallelmain idea titles. The conclusion is equally as straight-forward, with its summary of main ideas, closingdevelopment of topic or argument, and link back to theintroduction attention getter.

To complete this basic message map, all that remainsare the arrows, drawn to remind the speaker or writerto develop transition statements. These arrows aredrawn from the bottom of each main idea column tothe top of the map and are capped with branchingarrows to indicate main ideas to be summarized andforecasted by that transition. For example, in a mes-sage about the availability, scheduling, and interview-ing problems of a job placement service, if a studentsaw a transition arrow after the second main idea thathad two heads pointing to the prior main ideas and oneto the next, the transition constructed might sound likethis:

Clearly, we can see students having prob-lems with the placement service's availabilityand scheduling, but an even more criticalproblem arises as students begin to interview.

Once the map is constructed, the speaker or writer isready for the communication event. From the messagem.,p, the extemporaneous speaker can deliver memo-rable speeches, the essay exam writer can composeeffective answers, and the student author can constructcogent papers.

BenefitsThe message map, when viewed as a holistic mes-

sage model, facilitates the development of particularlywell-organized messages, f reeing the instructor to focuson other important communication issues such as proseor delivery. Moreover, since the map draws thestudent's thoughts toward the receiver (rememberingthat the map is actually a graphic representation ofwhat is happening in a receiver's mind as he processesthe message), the depth and appropriateness of thesupporting material tends to improve. Studentsrecognize their own logic flaws as the core logic of theirmessage is taking shape on a single sheet of paper withnothing but the essence of each idea or each bit ofsupporting data serving as the building blocks.

A particularly salient instructional benefit is thatmessage mapping helps students overcome the com-munication anxiety that leads to stage fright for speak-ers and writers block for writers. When students havea sense of confidence in the substana ..nd organizationof their message, the anxiety that dray% s ;heir attentionto superficial things, such as gestures or specific wordchoices, tends to diminish.

ConclusionThe message map is a flexible tool; however, limits

do exist. For subjects such as creative writing or oralinterpretation, mapping may not be appropriateitrray be too structured. Nonetheless, in our experience,.c have seen creative writers and dynamic speakerseffectively organize superior messages using thistechnique. Overall, maps have been useful tools,facilitating instruction, targeting significant skill issues,and increasing learning.

John E. Crawford, Associate Professor, Communication

Mark Milliron, Grattuate Stuilent, Community CollegeLea d ersh ip Progra n I

For further information, contact John Crawford atArizona State University, Department of Communica-tions, Box 871205, Tempe, AZ 85287-1205; or MarkMilliron at The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348,Austin, TX 78712.

4

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

January 20,1995, Vol. XVII, No. 1© The University of Texas al Austin. 1995

Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER

institutions for their own personnel.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD1.Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. EDB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas

78712. (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W K Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms ISSN 0199-106X


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS. .

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONANSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD). COLLEGE'OF EDUCATION,,THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ATAUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Showing What They Know

Ever had the nagging suspicion that two weeks afterthe exam your students do not know what they havelearned? I had always used a traditional lecture/discussion format in my marketing principles courseand evaluated with objective/essay exams. My justifi-ca ion was that marketing principles, like many othercourses, has terminology and methodology that mustbe mastered. But I think I always knew there was someproblem with my "if I have taught it, they have learnedit" m...ntality

At a recent conference on competency-based assess-ment, no one else seemed to like the lecture/examformat either. Local employers who served as programadvisors continually complained of recent graduateswho could not write a report, make a presentation, orwork cooperatively. Students complained they werereduced to memorizing definitions rather than learningskills for the "real world." I needed to find a way toassess that would allow students to experience problemsolving in a group, give them practice reporting theirideas to others, and provide them with an opportunityto demonstrate their knowledge of marketing prin-ciples to potential employers.

I decided to reform my syllabus to eliminate tradi-tional testing and replace it with a series of group andindividual reports. Students would compile finalreports into a portfolio; in the meantime they wouldpractice working in groups, learn to write reports, andhave a tangible product to show potential employers.Since I had used portfolio assessment successfully forseveral years in business writing, I was confident Icould make this method work for marketing principles.

The ProjectsTo introduce basic concepts and develop group

cohesion, groups worked on in-class case analysesduring the first week.. Students developed solutionsto the marketing problems presented in the short, end-of-chapter vignettes. Atter a lecture on how reports arecompiled and used in the marketing world, studentsmade brief, oral reports on case findings.

In order to get to know the students better, I as-signt,i an autobiographical memo, focusing on goalsand achievements, as the first portfolio project. Wetalked about reader focus, document purpose, appro-priate style, and memo form. After I reviewed thedrafts, students rewrote the memos until they weresatisfied with the final product. When the piece wasready, it went into the portfolio.

Next, the groups began a collaborative libraryresearch project. This project required groups toresearch potential target markets for a fund-raisingorganization, to select the most advantageous one, andto substantiate their decision in a three-page positionpaper. The reference librarian conducted mandatoryworkshops on secondary research methodology formarketers. For the month-long project, groups met oneclass period per week.

In class, students organized and delegated the tasksof the project within their groups; outside of class,students researched and wrote their papers. I helpedinterpret research materials, directed further research,and lectured on the mechanics of persuasive writing. I

functioned as editor by reading student drafts andmaking comments on additional information that %vasneeded, organization of information, effective substan-tiation of arguments, and overall form. When groupswere satisfied with the final product, they filed a copyof their paper into their own portfolio.

The third project was site location study for aretailer, and it was also a group undertaking. This wasthe most comprehensive project of the term andrequired four components: an executive summary, acompetitive analysis, a traffic pattern analysis, and asales forecast based on population composition anddensity. Students used out-of-class time for field work;I used in-class time for activity coordination, explana-tion of methods of data collection, and draft reviews.Students submitted interim progress reports. Conduct-ing conferences with individuals and groups was anintegral part of this project, and class time was used forthis purpose. Research groups presented oral reportson their recommended locations; the other groupsevaluated their findings and methods through discus-

after the presentations. The students and I worked

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education. The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

together to fine tune the reports before placing them inthe portfolios. The goal was to produce reports thatwere professional in both content and form.

Finally, I requested several individual projects becompleted and included in the portfolio: a memo tothe vice president of marketing critiquing acompetitor's marketing strategy, a memo to a potentialclient developing a pricing strategy for a serviceorganization, a sales letter to a defined target marketpromoting a magazine subscription, and a letter to acustomer recommending a media schedule.

As we covered the corresponding text chapters, Iused these projects as demonstration devices. Forexample, we discussed pricing methods in class beforethey worked at home developing a strategy to put inthe memo. I provided samples of the memos andletters they were to be writing. Again, students submit-ted drafts for me to edit. I pointed out how to increasereadability, use marketing terminology effectively, andwrite concisely. When each student believed that afinal form was achieved, the work went into theportfolio.

Students submitted portfolios for grading during thelast week of the term. I requested drafts be included toassist in evaluation. I envisioned the student's portfo-lio to be the showpiece of the course.

ReactionsI found it difficult to "let go" of exams, but I was

very impressed with the significant body of qualitywork students had produced in their portfolios. I wasable to look at their work as a whole and see howeffectively they had integrated course content, writingskills, decision-making skills, and group skills.

These projects truly demonstrated what the studenthad learned about the subject. As I Iyas able to evalu-ate growth in knowledge over time, the gradingprocess was fairer because it was a more accuratemeasure of actual performance in the course.

In spite of the extra work of editing and holdingconferences, the portfolios had many advantages froma teacher's perspective. By giving students morecontrol (via groups and opportunities to rewrite), theywere more committed to the projects, assessed theirown work, and performed more effectively. All stu-dents became active learners. I had more chances toprovide meaningful feedback. Students read and actedon the feedback because they wanted to improve theirwork and earn a higher grade. My classroom %vas anenjoyable place to be, as there was the sense of commu-nity within the gnmps that develops when individualswork toward a common goal. I became a partner in mvstudents' learning.


January 27, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 2© The University of Texas at Austin. 1995



This is not to say that problems did not exist; thesewere challenging tasks for community college students.Many underprepared students were unable to meetproject criteria. Some were unwilling or unable tocommit the amount of time the work required. As theportfolios were not due until the end of the term, manystudents procrastinated and experienced a time crunchat the end of the term. Sometimes they revealedinadequate preparation by a lack of cooperation ingroup work; often, they directed their frustration at me.

Although there were some student complaints,ranging from "the whole thing was too much work" topersonality conflicts within groups, students seemedsatisfied overall with the outcomes of the course. Mostwere justifiably proud of their accomplishments, asdemonstrated by their portfolios. One student usedher portfolio during a transfer interview and receivedcredit for the course in transfer. A number of studentssubmitted portfolios at job and internship interviews.

But the most common reaction %vas the sense ofcontrol and ownership the students found in the coursethrough this grading mechanism. They determinedwhen the product was ready for "the marketplace,"and they experienced the amount of work that is oftennecessary to achieve a project goal.

As a result of this experience, I have refined theprocess. Now, I provide sample portfolios and specificevaluation criteria in written form, invite formerstudents to discuss the course with current students,and review portfolios in individual conferences at mid-term. Group leaders must now provide weeklyprogress reports.

-Ellis method of evaluation is the best way I havefound to achieve my original goals for students: havean active group experience, improve business writingskills, and demonstrate knowledge of marketingpri nci ples.

Patricia G. Laidler, Instructor, Business Administration

For further information, contact the author at MassasoitCommunity College, One Massasoit Boulevard,Brockton, MA 02402.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development iNISOD1.Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. EDB 348. The (In.yo,sit) of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas

78712. (5121 471-7545 Funding in part by The W K Kollogg Foundation and the Sid W Richardson Foundation Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS-PUBLISHED By TliE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR-STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF.EDUCATION, THE

'UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE 1/9. K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Innate Ability Versus Acquired Ability: A Student Dilemma"What good is trying, I'm not good at math!" "It

wouldn't matter if I put in more time studying Englishliterature, I just can't understand Shakespeare!" "Why goto the writing lab, I'll never learn how to be a goodwriter!" Students with these beliefs about their abilitiesare less likely to make the time and expend the effortnecessary to learn the material or skills being presented intheir classes. They are less likely to use effective learningstrategies and are more likely to give up and abandonlearning tasks they find difficult. If you do not think thatyour efforts will make a difference, why try?

Many college students view their abilities, or lack ofabilities, as innate and fixed characteristics. While manyof our abilities and talents are innate, manv are not.Many, and perhaps most, of our abilities develop overtime and are heavily influenced by learning and practice.We are not born knowing how to ride a bicycle, but mostof us were able to learn and develop this skill to a greateror lesser degree. To do this we had to believe that wecould learn to ride a bicycle, we had to put in the effortnecessary for us to learn how to do it, and we had topractice so that we could develop the skill a levelnecessary for the type of riding we wanted to do. Noticethat the first step tvas believing we could learn how toride. What if we did not think we could learn this skill?What if we thought it was innateyou are either bornwith the skill to ride a bicycle or you are not! In this case,the person would not try to learn how to ride becausethey already "knew" they could not do it.

Self-Efficacy for LearningSelf-efficacy refers to students' beliefs about whether or

not they are capable of succeeding at particular academictasks and learning. Students with high self-efficacy, or astrong belief in their capability to reach learning andperformance goals, evidence greater effort and persistenceon academic tasks, particularly when the tasks aredifficult. Students with low self-efficacy evidence lowerpersistence and may even avoid the learning situation orlearning task. For example, a nursing student with highself-efficacy toward developing a plan for patient carewould regard a "difficult and crotchety" patient as achallenge to be mastered. Since the nursing ,,tudentbelieves that he can master this task, he would be likely tostrategically assess different care options and try the onehe felt was best. I f this did not work, he might feel some

disappointment, but he would not give up. The studentwould rethink his analysis and come up with a differentapproach. How might this scenario differ for a studentwith low self-efficacy toward developing a plan forpatient care? This student might not even want to try todevelop a plan because he is convinced that he cannot doit. A student with low self-efficacy often does not evenattempt to complete many academic tasks or assignments.If he did try to complete the task, it is also far less likelythat he would persist after one or two failed attempts.Now this student has another experience that tells himwhat he already "knew""I cannot do this type of task;I'm just not good at it!"

Many students with low self-efficacy believe that theirabilities are fixed. This belief has powerful negativeeffects. It can also become a self-fulfilling prophecy:students who believe they cannot perform a task do nottry very hard, fail or get low grades and have anotherreason to believe they are not good at this type of learningor performance. The next time a similar learning situationor performance task occurs, these students will be evenless likely to believe that they can do it.

Characteristics of a Strategic LearnerTo be successful learners in a college setting, students

need to become strategic learners. Strategic learners areable to take significant responsibility for their ownlearning. Strategic learners can set realistic, vet challeng-ing learning goals. They can use knowledge aboutthemselves as learners, the tasks they must perform, theirrepertoire of learning strategies and skills, their priorcontent knowledge, and their knowledge of the context inwhich they be expected to use new karning, now andin the future, to help them select effective ways to studyand learn new information and skills. Strategic learnerscan also use executive control processes to create alearning plan, select methods to implement it, use theplan, monitor their progress, and, if necessary, modifytheir goal or the approach that they are using. I lowever,these different types of knowledge, strategies, and skillsare not sufficient. Strategic learners must want to learn.Effective learning requires the integration of skill and willcompiments. Motivation and positive affect for learningderive from and interact with many factors. Ihese factorsinclude goal setting, *analysis, and utiliiation; efficacyexpectation.,; interest; and valuing.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)(,),4 Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration

r College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin FDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

Students' beliefs play an important role in theirbecoming strategic learners. Strategic learners take moreresponsibility for their own learning, which requires thatstudents believe they can take more responsibility fortheir own learning. Again, to improve one's learning-to-learn strategies, students must believe that they canbecome more strategic learners. If students believe thathow one learns is wired in at birth, or a function of fixedintelligence, then they will not be likely to work onlearning skills. Only if they believe these are at leastpartially developed abilities will they make the effort to:earn and use them.

Suggestions for Helping Students Develop MoreAccurate Beliefs About Acquired Abilities

Discuss with students their assumptions about theskills and abilities needed to succeed in your class.Putting their ideas into words (and awareness) andlistening to the thoughts and discussions of class mem-bers can be productive experiences.

Provide opportunities for experiences that will chal-lenge students' beliefs. Nothing succeeds like success andseeing the results of one's own efforts.

Invite students to share experiences about how theyaccomplished a task, such as studying for a test orworking a difficult homework problem. Highlight therole of effort and the use of strategic learning strategies inthe examples provided by the students.

Provide feedback that stresses effort or developedability. For example, if a student improves on a test, saysomething like, "Great! The effort you put into studyingreally paid off." Avoid general statements that could beinterpreted as referring to fixed ability or intelligence,such as, "Great! You are good at this type of problem"(rather than you have been working hard and it shows inyour improvement or performance).

Help students develop effective and efficient study andlearning strategies so that they have the tools the\ need tohelp build their confidence and create positive le,-irningexperiences.

Claire Weinstein, Profrssor, Laucath»htl Psucholou

Duane F. Shell.1si,tant Profesor. Educationa! PsycholoNy

For further informafion, contact the authors at TheUniveNity of Texa,.. at Austin, FD13332, Austin, 1 \ 78712.


February 3, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 3

it7' The University of Texas at Austin 1995

Further duolical,on is perrnitted by MEMBER

Institut:ens for their own personret

r.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS :s a pubboahon of Me Nabonal Insh lute for SM8 and O'pawahonal Development iNISOD,Department of Educabonat Atimimshation Co /lege of Eoucatron. EDB 348. The I In,ver;;Ity of Texas at Austin. Aushn Tebas

78712 51,7, 47/.7'848 Fund,og in paq the IV K Kellogg Foundahon and Me S,c1 W grmardson Founoahon fsstied

tsceMy When d,15S('S 1 I' ses,on during fall and spring lr''rns ISSN (1199 108h


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS'PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF 'AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVBLOPMENT(NISOD), 'COLLEGE OF EQUCATION, THE

". UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W.- K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE Se W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Writing "Reading Applications"It has been a long-standing dilemma. How can I

convince technical college students to read theirpsychology text? How can I help them understand thatthe textbook is a valuable resource which can helpthem gain a foundation in basic psychological prin-ciples? What activity would show them that what theylearn from their text can be applied to their lives?

For the past several years I have been using anactivitx which seems to be effective in helping studentssee the usefulness of their texts. It also requires thatthey actually read assignments--at least parts of them.They must write a "Reading Application" for eachreading assignment. This is a sentence completionactivity which includes the following sentence stems:

The one most helpful specific idea I can person-ally use from this chapter is...The way I plan to use this idea or put it into effectis...When I use this idca, I will benefit by...In order to use this idea effectively, I will need toshare my plans with...One "muddy point" I found in the chapter is...

[This assignment is required, but it is not graded.There are no right or wrong answers. Providingstudents with handouts containing the sentence stemsresults in more uniformity in the appearance of thepapers and makes the task of reading the paperseasier.]

Students often struggle to make personal applica-tions to the first one or two reading assignmentsbecause the initial material is primarily introductory innaturepresenting psychology as a science, describingsome of the historically significant events in its devel-opment, and spelling out the various methods ofobjectively observing behavior. Among the commonthemes to emerge from applications of the introductoryreadings are the need to be more objective about thebehavior of others and to recognize and appreciateindividual differences. The benefits cited include beingless opinionated and better informed, and getting toknow people better.

As the course content becomes focused on topicssuch as learning, emotion, motivation, and perception,

students are more involved in making the readingmaterial work for them. Typical applications includethe following sentence completions:

The one most helpful specific idea I can person-ally use from this chapter is the use of a tokeneconomy to bring about changes in behavior.The way I plan to use this idea or put it into effectis to develop a behavior modification plan to getmy three-year-old daughter to go to bed without afuss.When I use this idea, I wili benefit by havingquiet time in the evening so I can get my studyingdone.In order to use this idea effectively, I will need toshare my plan with my husband so that we can beconsistent in how we deal with our daughter.

Child-rearing is a frequent topic among older,nontraditional students. Parents in the class are oftenexcited to share the value of behavior modification ingetting their children to engage in various expectedbehaviors. Bedmaking, completion of homeworkassignments, and tantrum reduction are all positivebehaviors which my students' children are engaging inas a result of their patents employing goal-setting andreinforcement techniques.

Once the reading application is written, students areoften eager to share the results of carrying it out. It isrewarding for a student to tell of extinguishing anundesirable behavior in his or her child by putting alearning technique to use and a thrill to observe thestudent's obvious self-satisfaction. And, the otherstudents are much more convinced of the value of thereadings because testimony to that value is beingprovided by "one of them."

Perhaps most gratifying are the applications writtenon the readings related to emotional stress and abnor-mal behavior. Often, a student comes to recognize anunhealthy or inappropriate personal behavior andidentifies steps to remedy it. Many students, afterreading the material on abnormal behavior, gain agreater tolerance of people. They seem to understandthat there is more to "fixing" emotional disturbanceand behavior disorders than an individual's desire tochange. Students, after writing a reading application,

(1.01iTHE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program. Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin. ED8 348, Austin, Texas 78712

can see the importance of changing their own behavioror helping someone else seek out counseling or otherassistance.

Paving attention to the frequency of themes andtopics used by students in this sentence completionactivity has increased my understanding of whattextual material is most useful, and consequently, mostinteresting to them. It has provided me with someguidance as I revise the course syllabus and determinewhat to emphasize in the course.

In addition to being an effective teaching tool, I havefound that these reading applications provide me withanother means of getting to know my students. Asthey write, I come to understand some things aboutthem that I might not learn otherwise. The assignmentallows me to write a brief comment or suggestion toreinforce the student's understanding or further clarifya concept. It serves as a quick way to increase myinteraction with the student and fosters some in-depth,face-to-face discussions. Sometimes a student willbecome so involved in a particular circumstance orsituation that she will use it for several of the readingapplications. In so doing, a deep understanding ofhow psychological principles can be applied to one'slife is often achieved.

This activity is only one way to help students see thevalue of reading the text; it is simple to implement anddoes not require a large amount of student or instructortime. It also is useful in informing the instructor ofstudent needs and interests, and it can be employedeffectively in course revision and updating.

Linda C. Schwandt, Instructor, Psychology

For further information, contact the author at WesternWisconsin Technical College, 304 North Sixth Street,P.O. Box 908, LaCrosse, Wl 54602-0908.

Suartne D. Roueche, Editor


The University of Texas at Austin 1995Further duplication is permitted by MEMBFR

institutions for the.r own personne'

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publicatirm of the Nahona institute for Stall and O'gawationa Der e,opment .NISOD.liepartrnent of Educationai Administration College of Educaton FOB 348 The Univers,tr of Texas at Austin Austn Teras-8712. r512; 471-7545 Funding in Dart by the W K Kellogg Foundation and the S.1:1 W Rchardson Foundabon Issueda CAI), ryhen classes ,ire in session during 1,1!1 mr,(1:Tring terms ISSN 019? '06X


IC- INNOVATION ABSTRACTS. PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND 'ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD). COLLEGE OF-EDUCATION, THE'

UNIVRSITY OF TEXAS AT "AUSTIN WITH. SUPPORT FROM THE wk. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSbN FOUNDATION

A Pleasant Approach to Outcomes Assessment:Indicators of Excellence

Central Florida Community College has undertakena new and comprehensive approach to accountabilitythrough a process of involving every college employeewith a detailed series of indicators that seek to mea-sure every area of the institution. The mission state-ment of the college provides a broad general umbrellafrom which 12 strategic goals are produced. These 12general objectives provide the foundation for 48specific and quantifiable Indicators of Excellence.These 48 barometers relate to the summary goal: "theimprovement of teaching and learning and improve-ment of services to support the instructional mission ofthe college."

The Indicators of Excellence are quantifiable barom-eters that establish realistic goals for each area of thecollege. They are measurable, quantifiable, objectivestatements about college characteristics that are theresults of an ongoing planning and evaluation process;they are attempts to assess the quality of every institu-tional component and area of the college operation:e.g., instructional areas, student services, fiscal opera-tions, the nhysical facility, and community relations.

This list of indicators is distributed to all collegeemployees annually. At least annually, and often morefrequently, analytical data provide an accurate pictureof where the college stands with regard to theseindicators. Therefore, this list also documents wherethe college stands in achieving each goal and progresstoward each over the last several years. The success otthis endeavor builds slowly and increases in directproportion to the number of employees involved indevelopment and assessment of each barometer.

All employeescustodians and career servicepeople to the president and trusteesare involved ona regular basis in attending to these indicators. Staffmeetings periodically examine the indicators andprogress made in each area. When data indicate that agoal has been reached or exceeded, college personnelresponsible Ion that area (lex ate and mod ily thedesired outcomes, establish new goals, and., or discardexisting ones.

All goals require reie and appro\ al by an institu-,. i

tionwide committee responsible for the Indicators ofExcellence. This committee monitors and reviews theindicators on a regular basis. Additions, deletions, andmodifications to the indicators occur after examinationand approval by this committee. Planning, manage-ment, evaluation, and budgeting are closely tied to theindicators and do not take place without regard tothese barometers.

These major objectives, or indicators, have comefrom many sources. The State Board of CommunityColleges has established some measures of account-ability for Florida's 28 community colleges; thesemeasures are included as indicators. Federal require-ments, state regulations, and grant application guide-lines have provided nume,rous others. Still others havecome from contemporary literature about communitycollegesBuilding Communities, bulletins from theAmerican Council of Education, and contemporaryjournals. Guidelines from the Southern Association ofColleges and Schools and spocialized accreditingagencies, as \yell as suggestions from the administra-tion, faculty, and staff also have become indicators.

***

CFCC's Indicators of Excellence

The Transfer MissionCFCC graduates attending the state university

system will have cumulative grade point averages(GPAs) equal to or exceeding the GPAs earned byother community college graduates in the stateuniversity system.

The Career Preparation MissionNinety percent of all occupational and technical

programs will have an annual graduate placementrate of at least 70 percent.

The Basic Skills and Developmental MissionA minimum of 80 peicent ot postsecondary

occupational and technical students enrolled inbasic skills programs will successtuth CoMpletetheir developmental program.

THE NATIONAI INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community Co,iege Leadership Program. Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas ai Austin, SZB 348. Austin, Texas 78712

The Community Education and CommunityService Mission

A minimum of 90 percent of the responses ofsurveyed area businesses, induqries, etc., willindicate satisfaction tvith the business and industryprograms available at CFCC.

The Access MissionThe proportions of degree/certificate-seeking

African-Americans, Hispanicsmd other minoritieswill equal the proportions of degree/certificate-seeking whites who graduate.

The proportions of minorities, including women,employed by the college should equal the propor-tions of minorities in CFCC's service district.

GradesThe average number of withdrawals and

incompletes for all credit courses at CFCC vill notexceed 25 percent of the total enrollment in all creditcourses for a given term.

During a given academic year, the mean gradepoint average (CPA) of enrolled students in eachdegree/certificate program will not fall below a 2.0CPA or better.

Achieving Student SatisfactionA minimum of 90 percent of the graduates

surveyed will indicate satisfaction NN ith curricularactivities, inc .ding overall instruction, delivery,and content of courses, programs, and services.

Ninety percent of students surveyed will indicateknowledge and awareness of the programs andactivities available at CFCC.

The FacultyFull-time faculty will teach a minimum of 53

percent of the FTF. (full-time equivalent) generatedby college credit courses.

Faculty entry salaries shall be in the top 25percent of the community college entry salaries inFlorida.

Institutional SupportThe college foundation shall provide at least 150

scholarships for 130 students each Year.The annual ratio of security related incidents to

the total number of students will not increase.The number of arts/cultural events sponsored by

the college/college foundation will remain constantor increase annually.

* *

When employees develop, refine, and assess indica-tors, they develop a sense of ownership in the goak, intheir particular area of responsibilik, and in the



©The University of Texas at Austin 1995Further duplication is permitted by MEMPERinstitutions for their own personnel

college. The indicators have become a wav of life atthe college, and many employees have taken consider-able pride in institutional accomplishments andbecome unofficial, but competent college publicrelations spokespersons.

Working with the indicators is a journey along aroad of progress and development within the college.Frequently, the college may approach the destination;but the station usually is located just over the next hillor just beyond the little valley. The realization that thisjourney is both constant and ongoing causes a sense ofcommunity and shared ownership within the college.

William J. Campion, Piisidett t

For further information, contact the author at CentralFlorida Community College, P.O. Bo\ 1388, Ocala, FL

34478-1388.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS a publication of tri, National Institute for Stall and Organialional Detelopment INISOD.Department of Educational Administration College of Education SZB 348 The University of Texas at Austin AushI Texas78712 15121471-7545 Funding in part by the W K Kellogg Foundation and the Sd W Richardson Foundation issued

weekly when classus are in sess.on dui.n17 fail and spring terms ISSN 0199 :.6x


0 INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NA'IONAL the

UNIVER6ITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

UTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)OLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE

ITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG-FOUNDATION AND THEIID W. RICHARDSON. FOUNDATION

The Joys of Being a Club Advisor

In April 1993, morale at our college was terrible.The semester teaching load had been increased fromfive to six classes, and raises were a distant memory.had recently applied .`or two national grants and hadbeen rejected. MV mood was grim; my attitudetoward my career depressed.

Then one day an administrator came to my office toask if I would take on a new responsibilityservingas advisor of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honorsociety for two-year colleges. She was brave, and shewas also lucky that I did not verbalize my firstthought: "You must be kidding!" I knew next tonothing about the group, but I did know that I did notwant to do any more work without compensation.Yet I really liked this person, and my instincts pushedme to sav yes. I guess I thought a new experiencemight be good for me and for my work, and I couldalways back out.

Now, one year later, I look back at my ignoranceand am amazed. I had no idea how much extra workI was taking on. Phi Theta Kappa is an intenselyactive international group. 'Me enthusiasm of advi-sors is infectious. Before I knew it, I was squeezing inteaching and grading around my Phi Theta Kappaactivities.

A lifelong wallflower, I suddenly found myself in aleadership role. I have led membership drives andhosted inductions each semester; networked acrosscampus to search for funding and to seek out serviceopportunities for members; set up shop in my office tosell T-shirts, sweatshirts, M&M's, and first aid kits;and completed extraordinary amounts of paperwork.Because of the demands on my time, my anxiety leveloften has skyrocketed. Even my dreams at night havebeen taken over by planning activities. And thissummer I will make the hour-long drive to campustwice a month just for Phi Theta Kappa activities, eventhough I %yin not be teaching,

Perhaps I sound like a person obsessed. I am! I

!Wye found a yonderful new outlet for my talents.lkspite the extra work, there is no question that Iwould do it all over again.

I have found new energy that affects everythingdo. I have made a wonderful rv.lw friend in my co-advisor. I have become involved with my school in anew way; I feel a real sense of spirit and commitmentthat was lacking before. I have gotten to know morestudents and to know them in a more personal waythrough meetings, fundraisers, get-togethers, and out-of-town trips. One of my students, who was also aPTK member, said after taking her final exam that shewould have cried if she thought she would not see meagain. Such an experience is not unusual; I have metadvisors from all over the United States who say:"Kappans are your friends for life" and "Being a PTKadvisor is the best thing I've ever done."

I also have gained some technical skills. I learnedhow to "mail merge" mass mailings, for example, aswell as how to get things done on campus, fromreserving a room to scrounging for available funds.

There also have been Some unanticipated profes-sional rewards. ! entered an international competitionto lead a seminar at PTK's 1994 summertime HonorsInstitute in Ypsilanti, Michiganand I was one of thewinners! Because of that honor, my school paid myway to the international convention in Anaheim,California. And those experiences led to a personalregional award.

Taking on additional responsibilities as a clubadvisor can help an instructor grow. That is what hashappened to me, and I look forward to leading myorgani/ation and its members to greater heights nextYear.

Evelyn Beck, Instructor, InNlish

For further information, contact the author at Pied-mont Technical College, Box 1467, Greenwood, SC2%48-1467.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

Reconsidering Reading Quizzes

The reading quiz offers advantages to teachersstruggling to get their students to class on time andprepared to discuss the assigned reading. Startingthe class period with students composing well-developed paragraphs in response to a quiz questiongives them writing practice relevant to course objec-tives, focuses their attention on the text they will bediscussing during the hour, and encourages prepara-tioa for class.

The course syllabus advises the students to expecta reading quiz on most reading assignments. Whilethese writing assignments could be given as home-work, the advantage of having the students thinkthrough this material immediately before class beginswould be lost, and the students would miss thepractice of writing under some pressure.

Reading quizzes in my classes are all open-book,so questions involve some analysis and are unan-swerable for the student who has not read the text.Students use their books because I require them toincorporate at least one direct quotation into theirresponses, which is a technique they will be requiredto master when composing their essays. They gainpractice ...!arly with searching the text for evidenceand bringing that evidence to bear on some problem.If I have assigned a short story with the intention ofultimately requiring an essay on character analysis,then my quiz question might be: "Select one of themajor characters in Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'and discuss in a well-developed pragraph thatcharacter's most notable trait." If preparing for anessay analyzing setting in a story, the assignmentmight he: "Discuss in a well-developed paragraphthe two or three adjectives that best describe thephysical setting of James Joyce's 'Araby. Whentime is up, I always begin discussion with the quizquestion; sometimes I begin the class by reading oneor two of the responses aloud and asking the class toreact.

Students do surprisingly well when responding toa question on a story they have not yet discussed.These paragraph responses are mini-themes and areexcellent preparation for the essays the students willwrite later. If students can gather and present evi-dence from their reading to develop responses tothese quiz questions, then they will be prepared tocompose other essays (or responses to essay examina-tion questions). The best way for students to learn towrite is by writing, regardless of discipline. Requir-

ing students to write almost every class periodaffords them critical practice they must have tomaster analytical writing. These quizzes are excellentopportunities for instructors of all disciplines topractice writing across the curriculum.

My students look forward to showing me theyhave read the text with some care. They gain writingpractice appropriate to the requirements of theiressay assignments; and I am able to identifiy ob-stacles to writing about literature before the firstessay is assigned, focus the students' attention on thetext under discussion, and encourage timely classattendance in a positive manner.

Philip N. Cooksey, Dean, Humanities Dipision

For further information, contact the author at RoseState College, 6420 Southeast Fifteenth, Midwest City,OK 73110-2700.

Suanne D. Roueche, Ed /tor


© The University of Texas at Austin. 1995

Further duptication is permitted by MEMBER

institutions for their own personnel

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute tor Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin. Texas

78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session dwing fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS. . . .

PUBLISHED.Bi THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANOAT1ONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD);.COLLEGE OF:EDUCATION; THE

,UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH spppoAT FROM-THE W K KELLOGG.FOUNDATION AND THE SID W.RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Lising Media to Deliver the Message

Distance learning instruction is routinely deliveredvia Internet, cable TV, multi-media, CD-ROM, fiberoptics, loaned audio cassettes, and !TES, to name but afew methods. Speculation about future delivery mecha-nisms sounds like science fiction. We are witness'ing arevolution in teaching and learning.

Yet when we look beyond the curriculum, when weexamine the ways in which we communicate with ourstaff and students on a daily basis, we often are decid-edly low-tech. We are still comfortable with writing amemo, printing and mailing a class schedule, sticking apost-it note on a flier, or calling a meeting. We readilyassociate innovation and technology with instructionbut manage our own administrative affairs in a moreconventional fashion.

If we have the technology to make instruction moreexciting and meaningful, should we not use the sametechnology to make our professional developmentactivities and daily communication t isks easier andmore enjoyable? Many colleges do, and we offer someexamples here.

Communicating with Adjunct or Part-Time FacultyThere are more than 200,000 adjuncts nationwide.

Almost two-thirds of all community college classes aretaught by adjuncts, representing 30"., of all creditinstruction and nearly 100% of non-credit classes. InCalifornia, we often call them "freeway fliers," educa-tors who teach part-time at one or more communitycolleges, often logging 100 miles a day to teach classesat several locations for different employers.

Often (and unfortunately) they are hired at the lastminute; given a syllabus and a cursory orientation to thecollege, division, or department; and told not to wom.Professionak such as lawyers, accountants, and manag-ers, brought on board to teach because of their disciplineexpertise, can only shake their heads when given suchpoor preparation for their first teaching assignment.When this situation occurs, college statements abouteducational excellence, caring attitudes, and \ aluingstaff contributions are hollow and self-serving.

Nor should we become smug just because we havedeveloped a thick adjunct faculty manual. It will

probably be reviewed in haste by the harried adjunct,who gets no better sense of his new job or employer.Burying the adjunct in a mound of policies and proce-dures will not cause learning to take place in eitherteacher or student.

One innovative attempt to reach and orient this oftenunderserved but vital contributor to our educationalefforts is a recent video package from St. PetersburgJunior College, entitled "Excellence in Adjunct Instruc-tion." The program offers three video components Onteaching in a community college, preparing for success-ful teaching and learning, and responding to diversity.Augnlenting the videos are printed guides for both theprospective adjunct and the institution.

The videos touch all the important points withoutmaking them location-specific, thus allowing individualcolleges to fine-tune their orientation activities aroundthe St. Petersburg tapes. Issues such as ADA legislation,ethics, sexual harassment, standards of professionalconduct, college support services, and ethnic andcultural diversity are handled in a professional manner.The real-life situations and scenarios allow the viewer torelate immediately to the issue at hand, and the printedadjunct guide augments the visual presentation in aneffective way.

Many college orientation programs for adjunctsdecentralize the process, making it a departmentalchallenge (or problem). Incorporating this videopackage into the local orientation process ensures thateach adjunct will undergo a uniform experience, and theburden of repeating materials each time a new adjunct ishired is greatly reduced.

Developing Faculty and StaffIn a recent keynote address before the annual confer-

ence of the Association of California CommunityCollege Administrators, President Steve Mittelstet usedexamples of videos prod(iced at Richland College(Texas) to illustrate their approach and commitment tostalt development. .1he excerpts were informative andhumorous, and they ga e the iMpression that the collegewas a caring and I on place to be.

In one videotaped sequence, administrators partici-

iTHE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SrAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program. Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin. SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

pated in a demonstration of how campus e-mailworked. Slowly but surely, they mastered the nuancesof logging in, sending messages, and replying to others.By the end of the sequence, they agreed that this was anefficient and effective way to communicate. But as thecamera panned back in the final shot, while the adminis-trators were agreeing that it was a good exchange ofelectronic information, they were revealed to be in thesame roomall the computers were located on onetable.

This use of television as an orientation tool did morethan address policies, procedures, or how to "do it." Itgave the viewer a sense of the culture of the organiza-tion, how employees felt about working there, and howthey did not take themselves too seriously.

Reaching Out to Students and StaffWhen Maricopa Community College District imple-

mented interactive television for distance learning, acoordinating committee was created to schedule use ofthe system among the colleges. To reduce travel time,the committee meets electronically on the very networkit manages. The Maricopa Electronic Forum is a com-puter-based, asynchronous bulletin board open tostudents and staff. Recently, students throughout thedistrict electronically debated the pros and cons of artupcoming bond election. Phi Theta Kappa chapters atthe various campus locations communicate on-line.Currently there are 80,000 accounts throughout thedistrict, all linked to Internet.

At Palomar College, technology is used to communi-cate with students on the PASS (Palomar AutomatedSelf Service) system. At various locations throughoutthe district, students can swipe a Personal IdentificationCard through a card reader to gain information aboutthe college, student activities and services, the currentsemester schedule, their prior academic history, andinformation on eligibility for grants and financial aid.Interactive laser disk technology, combined with main-frame access, has eased the burden of front-line studentservices personnel who formerly performed these tasks.

Palomar's Educational Television Department alsoproduces documentaries and "infomercials" for aca-demic departments and services offered to the commu-nity. These electronic brochures serve as broadcast"commercials" for our academic programs and are usedwith traveling VCR's in outreach efforts in malls,shopping centers, and community locations. Localmunicipal governments and school districts also haveavailed themselves of the college's TV productioncapabilities.

Suanne 0. Roueche, EditorOws.

Ihreil 3, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 7© The University of Texas at Austin, 1995



SummaryWe have become a nation of television watchers.

Declining newspaper circulation rates prove it. If TV isthe way in which we absorb information, then usingvideo as an instructional delivery mechanism, as acommunication tool for our professional and staffdevelopment activities, and as a tool for administrativetransactions and student information access, makesgood sense.

George R. Boggs, Superintemient/President, PalomarCollege

William J. Flynn, Dean, Division of Media, Business andCommunity Services

For further information, contact:Yvonne Ulmer, St. Petersburg Junior College, St. Peters-burg, FLSteve Mittelstet, Richland College, Dallas, TXJanet Whitaker, Mesa College, Mesa, AZLynda Halttunen, Palomar College, San Marcos, CA

Contact the authors at Palomar College, 1140 WestMission Road, San Marcos, CA 92069.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas78712. (512)471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms ISSN 0199.106X

VOL UME XVII, NUMBER 8

,i2t- INNOVATION ABSTRACTS: 1

A Gift for Teachers

1* 1 1'

As teachers, we work behind closed doors. Our teach-ing successesanc. our failuresare our secrets, even ifwe do not want them to be. When something happens inthe classroom that seems to worka teaching strategy, or asolution to a problem that actually does solve the prob-lemthere are few ways to celebrate. And when one ofour colleagues strikes gold in the classroom, we have noway to benefit. Their doors are closed also.

The Developmental Studies Committee at JeffersonCommunity College decided to open those doors. Stealingan idea and a name, we decided to create an occasion forteachers to share ideas that work in their classrooms and toinvite their colleagues to celebrate, listen, and exchangeideas.. We called our celebration GIFTGreat Ideas ForTeaching.

We sent invitations to all faculty members, asking thatthey submit short proposals outlining successful teachingstrategies. We explained that they would be presentingtheir strategies in five 10-minute sessions; colleagueswould move from session to session, sampling a smorgas-bord of teaching ideas. We sent the invitations and waitedand waited. The deadline passed, and we had only ahandful of responses. So we extended the deadline, sentnew invitations, and engaged in some arm-twisting.Finally, we had enough proposals.

Despite the underwhelming initial response, GIFT was asuccess. About 30 faculty attended, and 10 of their col-leagues presented. The presenters represented a broadcross-section of the faculty. Titles included: Writing: AMoveable Feast; Using Improvisation in the Classroom;Relation Techniques; Using Film and Video Clips toIllustrate Important Concepts; and Visuali/ation Strategiesfor Helping Students Solve Math Word Problems.

Each presenter was assigned a numbered station withtable and chairs. Handouts were stacked on the tables, andoverhead projectors and other audio-visual equipmentwere set up at the stations. A moderator explained thatfaculty members could select any station for a 10-minutepresentation. At the end of the 10 minutes, a bell wouldsound; the guests were to move to another station, and thepresentations \vould be repeated. After 90 minutes, thefinal bell sounded, but many ot the participant,' remainedto discuss the presentations among themselves and withthe presenters.

1 1 1

1 S 1, 1 C 'IS 1 1, I

Given only 10 minutes, presenters found they had totrim their ideas to the essentials. One presenter said hethought he had done a better job with 10 minutes than hewould have with 60. "You really cut to the essentials," hesaid. "And, frankly, most people in the audience don'twalk away with much more than that anyway. I just triedto get them interested. If they ore interested, they can askfor more information or read more on the subject."

After the first GIFT, 91 percent of the respondents gavethe highest possible grade to "degree of usefulness ofinformation," 96 percent gave the highest possible grade to"level of sufficiency of information," "knowledgeability otthe presentation" and "overall quality of the presentation."Asked if they would recommend the program, 96 percentsaid yes. Asked if they could apply the information,respondents added such comments as, "All the ideas werewonderful" and "definitely."

The GIFT program was repeated a year later. Twenty-fi \ c faculty attended, and nine of their colleagues pre-sented. Topics included: Grin and Pair itSuccess withPaired Classes; The Use of Games in History; DreamAnalysis in Psychology 110; and With Taste and StyleResearching International Food \vays. More than 90percent of the attendees who evaluated the presentationsgave them a grade of A or 13. The GIFT program gavecreative teachers a chance to show off and share; it alsohelped faculty shop for ideas that may help them becomemore creative in their own classrooms.: 4:110

Authors' PostscriptGIFT wilt; an idea taken from the Annual Convention of

the Speech Communication Association, which Aos.1 t s"(;reat Ideas for Teaching Speech"; Raymond "I3ud"Zeuschner from California Poly State University whocreated the format; and Kerry Reynolds from l.ake 1 FahoeCollege who created the acronym.

Michael Ginsberg, I Vzilopuental SIud,e CommitteePatricia Case, L)ez,eliqiinent,i1 St udie,4 Committee

For further information, contact the author,. at IetTeNonCommunity :o..( 11 ege, 1000 Community (ollege I )rive,

ouisville, 40272.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin. SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

A Neutral Third Party: The College Ombudsman ServiceThe Ombudsman Service was established four years

ago at El Centro College because a growing number ofstudents were having difficulties resolving issues andconcerns. For example, verbal confrontational approachesoften were unsuccessful, and issues finally had to beresolved through formal means. Students needed anapproach that was non-threatening and outside formalresolution channels.

PurposeThe Ombudsman Service provides an expeditious,

informal, confidential level of problem solving andconflict resolution for students, faculty, and staff. It isbased on the assumption that most members of the collegecommunity, if given the tools and the opportunity, willprefer to settle differences peacefully, through civilizeddialogue and facilitated negotiation. Our practicalexperiences and informal research have convinced us thatwhen conflict resolution occurs before disputants areforced into formal disciplinary hearings or grievanceproceedings, the potential for productive, continuingrelationships is greatly increased.

Reactions to the ServiceStudents, faculty, and staff have used the Ombudsman

Service extensively. Students come with problems thatrange from frustrating bureaucratic hassles to perceived orreal classroom inequities. They also seek mediation forstudent/student conflicts. Some students are self-referred;others are referred by faculty and staff.

Division deans, faculty, and staff bring problems andconcerns about student behavior, intra- and inter-divisionfaculty relationships, perceived or real inequities, andsupervisor-supervisee misunderstandings. They also seekmediation for serious conflicts or differences.

There has been a decrease in the number of formalgrievances filed by students and a respectable number ofthreatened student and employee grievances have beenresolved informally.

Conditions for SuccessFormal evaluation responses and informal feedback

reveal certain conditions that seem to contribute to thesuccess of the Ombudsman Service:

The Ombudsman must be a credible, well-respectedexpert in facilitation/mediation. She/he must bethoroughly familiar with college policies/procedures(including sexual harassment, personnel evaluation,and student disciplinary/grievance policies andprocedures).The college president and other campus leaders mustdemonstrate a belief in and support of informal, no-fault problem solving as both an expectation andguiding principle of the organimtional culture.The Ombudsman must be able to respond quickly to"crisis" situations.The neutrality and objectivity of the Ombudsman mustbe protected by a neutral reporting line (in our case, tothe college president) and not viewed as belonging to aparticular division or area.The Ombudsman Office must be located in a neutralarea where all clients have easy access. The office mustbe large enough for four or five people to engage indiscussions or meetings.

The Ombudsman Service is being expanded to includea diverse panel of five conflict resolution specialists whowill be available to clients who express a preference forgender, physical ability, age, or race representation. Thepanel members are full-time counseling faculty or studentdevelopment administrators. What started as a reasonedexperiment has met a need and is working.

Wright L. Lassiter, Jr., PresidentBettie Tully, Counselor/Ombudsman

For further information, contact the authors at El CentroCollege, Main and Lamar, Dallas, TX 75202.

NISOD's SEVENTEENTH ANNUALINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TEACHING EXCELLENCE

AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTERMAY 21 - 24, 1995

Join educators from around the world for eight preconference seminars, five keynote presenta-tions, and more than 200 breakout sessions at this annual celebration of teaching excellence.

For more information, call Suanne D. Roueche, Director, NISOD512/471-7545.


March 10, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 8

©The University of Texas at Austin. 1995

Further duprication is permitted by MEMBER


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).

Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas78712. (512) 471-7545 Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.


*tet INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NIS60), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. hICHARDSON FOUNDATION

College Orientation for New Students

Central Florida Community College serves approxi-mately 6,000 students in a tri-county area. As withmost two-year institutions, CFCC serves a diversestudent population. These students range from thedisplaced homemaker who has earned a GED, to thehonors student who wishes to save money beforetransferring to the university, to the factory workerwho has been laid off, to the student who has recentlylocated to the Central Florida area and English is nothis/her first language. To effectively serve this broadconstituency, CFCC Counseling Department hasdeveloped an orientation program which recently hasbeen recognized as the 1993 Florida Association ofCommunity Colleges Student Development Commis-sion Exemplary Practice.

College Orientation is a one-credit-hour courserequired of all degree-seeking students at CFCC.Regardless if students are transfer, or first-time collegestudents, it they are planning to attend full- or part-time, all need to be familiar with the college's policiesand procedures.

CFCC counselors attempt to ensure that prospectiveand new students understand the admissions proce-dures. Everyone requesting information is given a"Getting Started" handout which outlines the initialsteps degree-seeking students must follow beforeattending orientation. Once these steps have beencompleted, the Records/Admissions office invitesstudents to the academic advisement/registrationportion of orientation, at which time they xvill registerfor their classes. "Getting Started" sessions, one hourin length, involve representatives from admissions,financial aid, and testing; from special programs suchas Student Support Services, Displaced Homemakers,and the Educational Opportunity Center; and fromanv academic disciplines that wish to publicize par-ticular programs. At the end of the session, applica-tions are accepted, financial aid packets are distrib-uted, and placement test appointments are made.

Seven Advisement/Registration (A/ R) sessions arescheduled each term and acconumfdate a ppro\ imatelv75 to 150 students. The sessions are offered during theday, evening, and on weekends. At the beginning ofeach A /P session, an institutional research question-

naire is distributed to identify demographics of theentering class. Differences and similarities betweendegrees are explained, and majors are discussed. TheCFCC catalog is explored. Counselors review dead-lines, withdrawal procedures, grade point averagecomputations, core classes, course descriptions, courseschedules, and full-time/part-time hours. A video onusing the phone registration (OSCAR) is included.

Students are divided into smaller groups accordingto their majors and meet in separate areas. Onecounselor is assigned the Associate in St.ence/health-related occupations, and another is assigned theAssociate in Science/non-health occupations. Stu-dents pursuing an Associate in Arts meet with twocounselors. During the smaller sessions, degreeprograms and academic requirements are explained indetail. University parallel program students aredivided into specific upper-division majors (a chitec-tune, agriculture, business, education, nursing/P.T./O.T., pre-med /pre-vet/chemistry/physics/biology /pharmacy, pre-law., etc.); preprofessional requirementsand the transfer process are explained. Transcripts areevaluated, and graduation checks are conducted todetermine the courses still needed for graduation.

At the end of the first day of orientation, all stu-dents register for their classes. Each group's time isstaggered to decrease the amount of waiting time. Thefirst day's activit:es take approximately five hours.

As part of their class schedules, students register forthe second seven-hour portion of orientation. Again,students have a choice of weekday or weekend times.During this session, students are introduced, via a 15-M inute presentation, to key campus people andresources such as Minority Affairs, Student Activities,Student Support Services, Community of Scholars/PhiTheta Kappa, Career Placement/Co-operative Educa-tion, Security, and LOC . In addition, students aregiven tours of the CFCC campus and the LearningResource Center and Skills Lab. At the end of the day,students take a multiple-choice test on academicdegree requii ements and CFCC policies/procedures,and are given an assignment to complete %vithin thefirst two weeks of classes. .1-hey are asked to read

SUCCess by Eric Jensen and vrite a 500-jTHE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program. Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education. The University of Texas at Austin. SZB 348. Austin, Texas 78712

word paper on study skills, or research the career oftheir choice and write a 500-word essay. A grade of"S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory) is awardedto each student, depending upon attendance, theresults of the multiple-choice test, and the completedassignment. The Counseling Department conductsGroup Academic Advisement Sessions to reviewacademic requirements during subsequent semesters.

Students report that they are more familiar withCFCC policies and resources after taking the collegeorientation course. They know how to select appro-priate classes, use phone registration, withdraw from

Snap Profiles

a class, apply for graduation, and who to see if theyhave problems. Exit surveys indicate that more than90 percent of CFCC students are now familiar withcampus offii es and resources.

Peter Barbatis, Director, CounselinN

For further information, contact the author at CentralFlorida Community College, P.O. Box 1388, Ocala, FL34478-1388.

* * *

Composition students have come to expect thepredictable: a number of assigned essays, a series ofgroup projects, and an instructor who follows thesyllabus. Try whetting your students' appetites forobservation, concentration, and personal profilewriting with this surprise tactic.

The first time I experimented with this strategy, Ichose the department secretary to make an annoucedvisit to the classroom. She wore three or four memo-rable accessories that I provided: a flamboyant hat,unusual glasses, a leather jacket, etc. She carried alate registration card, along with a cartoon-styleSnoopy folder, a textbook, and a foreign languagedictionary. She appeared suddenly, 20 minutes intothe class session, and asked for another instructor.She was insistent but did not stay more titan twominutes.

After the surprise visitor's exit, the class memberswere divided in their reaction. Some laughed at hereccentric appearance; others were perturbed andwondered if she was unbalanced. Before a ny furtherconversation, 1 asked the students to list six character-istics they observed while the mystery guestthe classroom. Then we compared notes and talliedresponses on the board.

The students who participated in this exercisoamafed themselves and me by recalling e\ toty,i yr.'details about a visitor they observed for only a lewmoments. I he\ riTalled her height range, hair odor,timbre of voice, and accent, and even speculated on





institutions for ther own personnel

age and college major. If these details are examples ofvhat students can glean from a two-minute encounterwith a stranger, think of what can be achieved whenwriting a personal profile of a friend or family mem-ber! Their next assignment was obvious: to write avivid personal profile of someone they had known formany \ ears. Another surprise awaited writers here; itis not easy to describe someone whose features arefamiliar.

Laurie Alkidas, Instructor. Composition

For further information, contact the author at OaklandCommimity Collew, 27055 Orchard l.ake Road,Farmington Hills, MI 48334-457q.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a pub;ication of the National Institute for Staff and Organization& Development INISOD

Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Tekas at Austin Austin TeNas78712 r5!;"'i 471 7545 Funding in p,e7 by the IN 11 Kellogg Foundation and the Sio IN Richardson FujnaationweeMy when classes are in session di, ng fall and spring terms ISSN 0199 106X

VOLUME XVII. NUMBER 10

INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPURLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF *AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD) , COLLEGEOP EDUCATION, THE.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Computerized Feedback as a Resource in the Educational ProcessOne of my pet gripes during my college days was about

professors who vould return term papers and essay testswith only a grade and little or no comment. Even whenthe grade was good, I did not know what they liked aboutthe paper and what criteria they had used to evaluate mywork. When the grade was not as good as I had hoped, Ihad no idea what to focus on to improve my skills andscore. I thought that while teachers had many papers tograde, they had a responsibility to provide feedback tostudents in order to nurture real learning.

Later in my graduate and postgraduate training, I wasfortunate to work with several professors who wroteinsightful comments on essay tests and term papers. Oneof my favorite wrote copious comments in a beautifullycrafted printing style. Through that medium he engagedin a dialogue with his students, critiquing grammar andstyle, and providing inspiration and deeper insight.

When I began my teaching career, I decided that Iwanted to emulate this professor's approach to teaching,hut I soon discovered that my handwriting was not up tohis penmanship abilities. In college, my cursive efforts haddeteriorated to the point that I was encouraged by teachersto bring a typewriter the day of tests and type my essays. I

attempted to solve the problem by printing, but that effortwas also hindered by a distinct lack of legibility.

Fall semester 1993 I devised a new approachprovid-ing feedback to students on their papers and tests by using

v.'ord processor. I could enter my comments on the harddrive and then provide the students with a printoutcritique of their work. I tested the idea in one section ofWestern Civili/ation and got such positive feedback that Iimplemented the procedure in my other classes and havecontinued to use it.

I have found the approach to have many advantages. Ican type faster than I can write legibly, so the process sa estime. 1 he feedback to students is presented in a neat andprofessional manner. I can enter comments on the wordprocessor and then edit them, making sure that my critiqueis clear, concise, and supportive. With a permanent recordof the critique and the grade, I have a copy of III \ com-ments t min which to respond to,,tudents' questions.Finally, the students can gain a clear understanding ofwhat I aiii looking for in a paper or on a test and why the\hae received their grades.

At the conclusion of last semester, I asked students toshare some written comments about the approach. Onestudent's observation is illustrative of the general tone ofall of the remarks. "I found it to be truly helpful. I wish allteachers would provide this type of feedback. It helped meunderstand why points were taken off, thus helping melearn more. It also helped rne in understanding what youwere looking for in my answers, thus helping me study forthe next test. I appreciate the work you put into thisprocess. 1 knew \'01.1 did not simply scan the tests but spenta great deal of time and thought on each one. When aperson has spent a great deal of time preparing for a test, itis appreciated that the instructor also did so in the gradingprocess. Thanks!"

There is one word of caution: be careful about being toocritical and not providing some positive encouragement.Perhaps this semester I was guilty of losing sight of thismaxim, which is evidenced by this student's remarks: "Ireally appreciated the fact that you actually took the timeto read and thoroughly analyze the papers. It was ratherdifficult understanding exactly what you wanted us to do;with the feedback I could learn what I could do to improveon the paper. The only thing I found hindering about it\vas the fact that I felt like I was always wrong, and Icouldn't do anything right. It was very discouraging tome. It also, though, helped me reanalyze my idea of goodwork. I am more critical of myself now and expect betterthings from myself." With a few morL positive commentson her paper, the same instructional goal could have beenachieved.

John C. Loucks, Chair, I Iumanities Dwision

For further information, contact the author at SewardCounty Community College, Box 1137, I iberal, KS 67(405-1137.

),c 1_

. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Ic)

\- Community College Leadership Program. Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education. The University of Texas at Austin. SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

Course Evaluations: Why Wait to See How You Did?

We tend to think of the course evaluation as a surveyadministered at the end of the term. Many institutionsrequire this activity as a way to solicit input on instructorperformance and monitor course content. This articledescribes a strategy for avoiding or diminishing thedisappointment we may experience upon reading anend-of-term eValuation that includes students' negativefeelings and concerns.

Involving the LearnersHow many times have we as participants in a class

wanted to give immediate feedback to the instructor onhow to make the content more understandable or thedelivery better? The feeling is common; however, manystudents/participants will not speak up or write a note.Androgynous training suggests that learners should havea say in how the course or session is structured and howit is being administered. Rather than wait for learners totell us at the end of the course what they liked or did notlike about our instructional methods, we should seekinterim feedback.

Interim evaluations serve two main purposes:They allow instructors the opportunity to modifydelivery style or materials while a significant portionof the course remains to be taught.They send a message to students that their input isvalued and that they have a say in the learningprocess.

Evaluation FormatInterim evaluations should tell us whether the course

material is meaningful and useful to the learner andshould identify the activities that most effectively pro-mote learning. They may ask more open-ended ques-tions than end-of-term instruments.

For example, these questions may be appropriate:How are you feeling about this course in terms of itsvalue to you now and in the future? Is there anythingelse that could be done to increase the value for vou?Explain your feelings about the depth of the subjectsbeing presented.What is the best/most disappointing aspect of thiscourse so far?How can it be improved?How might delivers' materials be improved?Is the instructor providing clear examples to reinforcethe material? Comment.Comment on the clarity ot handouts mid supplemen-tal reading.





institutions for their own personr.d

When to Get InputThe most common time for an interim evaluation to

occur is halfway through a course, but an importantconsideration is the point at which the learners will havea good feel for the course content and objectives. Admin-istering the evaluation too early or too late will defeat thepurpose.

Giving FeedbackStudents should be given the results of the evaluation

right away. They should be told what can and cannot bechanged, and why. These explanations will help themfeel that the experience was worthwhile. In addition,feedback can change the tone and feeling of the courses.

OutcomesFinally, interim evaluations help the instructor im-

prove or refine a course at a critical time. The evaluationmay take some extra time to construct and to conduct,but the potential to improve the learning experiencemakes the effort worthwhile.

Terry R. Lowe, Instructor, Managenuin

For further information, contact the author at LincolnCollege, 715 West Raab Road, Normal, IL 61761.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development INISODI

Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin Austin. Texas78712. (512i 471-7545. Funding in part by the W K Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W Richardson Foundation Issuedweekly when classes are .n session during fall and spring terms ISSN 0199-106X


* INNOVATION ABSTRACTS. PUBLISHEDBY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE ,

UNIVERSITY'OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATIOATAND THE SID W..RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Four Strategies for the Lecture Format Class

Over the past 22 years, I have developed many strate-gies for teaching mathematics in a lecture format. I havefound four of them to be particularly effective, withconsistent results. They are best suited to the typicalclassroom with up to 40 students, but could be adapted tolarger classes, other formats, and most disciplines.

0-**

Arrive in the classroom early. Some classes are more"friendly" than others. The time of day, the percentage ofdisgruntled students (perhaps repeaters), and the signifi-cance of the course to student degree plans (requirementor elective) can make creating a rapport with some classesespecially difficult. This prompted me to arrive early tothe classroom. I would simply be present, near my"command post." The students who sit in front inevita-bly would strike up a conversation (one reason they sit infront). The most recalcitrant students (in the back) wouldsee this and come to perceive me as a caring individual,perhaps with interests outside of my specialty. Afterseveral such sessions, these students often would partici-pate in the discussion and talk , lout their interests andmotivations.

This strategy has never failed. It is easy. By arriving inthe classroom at least 10 minutes before the class isscheduled to begin says that you value the class and thatyou are eager to get started.

Put review problems Or questions on hie board before classbegins. Some basic skills and themes are more importantthan others. I put four or five review problems on theboard at least five minutes before class is scheduled tobegin. A problem may go back to the beginning of thecourse or may review points in the homework which Iknow are problematic for students.

Students work on the problems as soon as they arriveand as I call the roll. When I do this on a regular basis,more and more students arrive early. This reducestardiness, which I find disruptive, but which I wouldrather combat with a carrot than a stick.

My motivation is to keep old skills current, both for thenext course, the comprehensive final, and, of course, tomaximize retention of the material. The result is thatstudents remember material covered early in the course

23

when it appears on the final examination. Also, thestudent learns to value all of the course material equallyand to realize that the course is not just a game in whichyou and the student try to move through the most currentmaterial as painlessly as possible.

Make every test cumulative. This is related to the secondpoint, but does not depend upon it. I do not require mystudents to review the text and notes for old material, butI do require that they review all previous tests. I usequestions from the old tests, but change the numbers sostudents cannot simply memorize answers and copythem onto the new test. Without this policy there is noincentive for a student to review a test after it is taken, orto attempt to master unlearned material prior to review-ing for the final. Anything the student did not under-stand on the first test is irretrievable at the end of thesemester. This policy promotes better performance on acumulative final exam, as well as information retentionfor the next course.

Give a half-hour test every two weeks. I do not give a one-hour exam at the end of each chapter. A chapter testseems to compartmentalize the material. Students aretempted to avoid studying until they see the end of thechapter comingperhaps four weeks into the course.Naturally, some teachers use daily or weekly quizzes tocounter this particular result, and they may be effective inthis regard.

However, testing every two weeks encourages stu-dents to keep up with assignments. They know the test isinevitable and regular. The tests are one-half hour inlength and are given at the end of a class period. Studentsdo not like to take tests at the end of the period becausethey want to ceam, then come to class and take the testbefore they forget the material. I tell them that I do notgive the test at the beginning of class because inevitablysomeone wants more time, and I do not have the heart totake the test away. Thus, I lecture on new material first,and let the clock do the dirty work. (1 accommodatestudents with learning disabilities or acute cases ot nathanxiety with untimed tests at other times.) I counselstudents to study regularly and know the material whenthey arrive in class. If they do, they will make goodmarks on each testmy experience bears this out.


A policy of testing every two weeks produces six orseven grades by the end of the semester (no make-up testsare allowed). Because tests and th- final exam arecumulative, I allow the final exam to replace two testgrades.

These strategies promote regular study, encouragemastery of material, reduce overall anxiety about gradeson individual tests, and produce better results on acumulative final examination.

Philip Mahler, Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science

For further information, contact the author at MiddlesexCommunity College, Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730.

General Education Science:A STAR Approach

The educational opportunities and experiencesoffered and enjoyed by science and engineering stu-dents in the U.S. are among the best in the world.However, educating the non-major college studentabout science and the scientific process is a pressingproblem.

My concern about this problem has led me toexamine my own general education physical scienceclass. Students typically come to this class with one ormore problems that inhibit the learning process. Manystudents have an indifferent, if not negative, attitudetoward science in general; they lack critical thinkingskills and appropriate study skills. In the past, I haveused a typical lecture format where several conceptsand facts were presented each day in outline form. Myexpectation was that the students would comprehendthe material and understand what science was reallyabout. This expectation was naive. Many students didwell in learning individual concepts, but I always feltthat most left the class without an appreciation forscience or the scientific process.

Several years ago I heard of Project STARa pro-gram designed to assist the teaching of astronomy atthe secondary level. The acronym STAR caught myeyeScience Teaching from its Astronomical Roots.This notion appealed to the amateur astronomer in me.Why not expand the concept even further to a wholecourse? From past conversation with students ail('

end-of-semester questionnaires, I knew that the as-tronomy section was the favorite of most students inthe physical science class. By applying the STARconcept to other areas, I hoped the popularity ofastronomy would spark interest in the entire course.

The basics of this program are very simple. Eachsection of the class begins with a short discussion of anastronomical concept or observation. The interest (bothmine and the students') produced by this concept orobservation is used to introduce students to the basicscience principles that help them understand theastronomy concept. For example, the idea of differentcolored stars can lead to the discussion of spectra ingeneral. The discussion of spectra leads naturally toatomic structure. The modern quantum theory is asimple extension of these concepts. All of these discus-sions can come from one idea that appeals naturally tothe students.

The resulting overlap of the basic science principlesallows me to clarify the nature of the scientific process.It also allows me to work with the students who haveskill problems. For example, critical thinking skills areenhanced by using the overlapping principles to pre-pare for the next section. That is, I always try to ask thequestion, "How else can we use this information?Students' interest in the trigger idea helps to overcometheir indifferent attitude. Once I gain their interest, Ican address study skills in a positive way.

There are some problems with this approach. Extratime is required to find appropriate readings in the textor supplemental books. Once students become in-volved, it is difficult (or impossible) to follow aninflexible plan for covering each section. Also, theamount of material that can be covered in one semesteris limited. Student feedback has indicated that quantityof material covered has been sacrificed for quality ofunderstandinga trade I will make any semester.

In the future, I would like to see a physical scienceclass use other basic fields of study, such as geology, asthe trigger subjects in this approach. Certain sectionsof other basic science courses, such as biology orintroductory chemistry, might profit from this ap-

. proach as well. While it does not solve the nationalproblem of scientific literacy, this method does promotea better understanding of science for students.

Kevin Pennington, Chair, Natural Sciences

For further information, contact the author at CowleyCounty Community College and AVIS, 125 SouthSecond, Arkansas City, KS 67005


April 7, 1995, Vol XV11, No. 11

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1995



INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Texas

78712. (512) 471-7545 Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Issued

weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms ISSN 0199-106X


* INNOVATION ABSTRACTS-

. PUBLISHED ay THENATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STA.FF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEYELOPMENT (NISOD) COLLEGE OP EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Writing Relevance: The Role of the Assignment

Several years ago when I decided to change careersand become a college writing teacher, I was faced withthe task of designing assignments. I remembered as anundergraduate thinking that many of the topics instruc-tors thought were important only touched the lives ofthe students tangentially and temporarily, if at all.These academic assignments attempted to get studentsto write so-called academic prose for poorly conceivedaudiences on subjects about which students had opin-ions but little information or interest.

Resolving to avoid these assignments at all costs, Ibegan searching for improvements. I discovered thatwhen academic instructors sought subjects from outsidethe humanitiesfor instance, in the general newsmediathese subjects tended to reflect the values orinterest of the instructors. Additionally, these assign-ments avoided or were critical of topics that might wellhave been of greater interest to students. Last, wheninstructors did choose assignments on subjects outsideof the humanities, the assignments frequently werephrased so abstractly that I had to wonder how well theinstructors understood the topics. One especially pootassignment compelled students to write on the subjectof leadership, using a ten-year-old, poorly written, andextremely superficial Newsweek article. The vaguelyworded prompt required students to defend theiropinions on an abstract level that appeared to be animpossible challenge for everyonethe instructor andstudents, especially the younger students.

My background in business, technology, and govern-ment convinced me that these writing assignments notonly lacked immediate relevance for the students but,more importantly, did not prepare them for anythingbut the rather narrow and temporary experience ofwriting for academicians. Therefore, I set about tocreate assignments that would engage students as wellas ( ) prepare them for the writing of academic argu-ment, which was, after all, the immediate task at hand;(' prepare them for the types of writing situations thti y would face tor the rest of their lives; and (3) givethem a sense of the relationship between audience,purpose, and self, the facts which combine to createproper tone and voiceall lacking in their writing.

What evolved was a series of situational and sequen-tial writing assignments designed to take advantage ofboth current research about the value of writing as aprocessincluding heavy emphasis on drafting,collaboration, peer review, and revisionand classicalrhetoric with its emphasis on the forms of presentation.I began with realistic and somewhat controversialsituations, mainly based on editorials or letters-to-the-editor from one of the local newspapers. Next, I createdstories from them, often beginning with a piece of text,but adding several voices (or characters) to give thevarious sides of the issue. In order to keep the situa-tions from becoming too ponderous and to provokesome humorous responses, I gave comic names to someof the charactersPeggy Mole and Delbert Moron, forinstanceand had them fit comically stereotypedmodels such as disinterested bureaucrats or self-absorbed public officials. Filially, I presented a problemthat personally affected the writers and asked them toframe a response.

One situation, for instance, was derived from a letter-to-the-editor complaining about high school studentsleaving school for "open lunch" to "drive around, racetheir cars, and smoke dope." The real letter was highlyinflammatory; I copied it very closek, going on, how-ever, to create a scenario that was the result of an outcryfrom the community for a closed-campus lunch hour.The resultand the reason for the writing assign-mentwas that the board of education was to considerthe issue, and it was the writer's task to take one ofthree possible positions and convey it to the board. Theother characters quoted in this assignment were themembers of the board, all of whom were highly stereo-typed and had agendasone member, for instance, wasthe owner of a fast food restaurant. Such an assignmentengaged the students and compelled them to be suc-cessful in convincing the board to vote their way.

Another assignment concerned a heavy metal group,called liuman Sacrifice, slated to appear in the students'hometown, the mythical city of Euphoria, Kansas. Atthe eleventh hour, the lyrics ol one (lb their songscreated a controversy among the townspeople, severalof iyhom were calling for the concert to be canceled.

5)--, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)'kk;),).? Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration

College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

The lyrics, which I invented, had some suggestiveimagery but essentially were nonsense. The voices(characters) that appeared in this assignment included alocal minister, the newspaper, an ACLU attorney, theself-proclaimed head of a concerned parents group, andthe band's lead singer, Maxxi Probe. The assignmentwas to write to the recreation commission, tyhich wasmeeting to discuss whether to cancel the band's permitto play. The issues the students generated includedfreedom of speech, censorship in general, youth-bashing, and hero-worship of entertainers and athletes.

Another assignment concerned the proposed open-ing of a battery manufactuirng company adjacent to thewriter's home in Euphoria. The characters in theassignment included the city's economic developmentdirector, the city comthission, the plant owner, andvarious state and federal bureaucrats. Althoughstudents were allowed to take any position theywanted, as threatened property owners they werecompelled to become their own advocates, and theirsuccess once again depended on adopting appropriatestrategies and voices to achieve whatever specific goalsthey designed. I pointed out that inflammatory rheto-ric, personal attacks, and highly abstract evocations

would not be helpful. The most successful essaysaddressed the technical, the political, and the economicissues engendered by the assignment and exploredworkable compromises and solutions.

Some assignments are suited to beginning writersand others to the more advanced, hut all follow essen-tially the same format that is adapta-le to almost anydiscipline. For example, pointed hypotheticals wouldbe especially applicable to writing in technical andbusiness fields, or to writing-across-the-curriculumprograms. Whatever the field, students are able toengage in writing situations on a personal level whileadopting the objective stance necessary for both real-world credibility and academic writing. They arrive atthis point because they have experienced writing with adefinite purpose for a well-defined audience, and theyhave developed confidence in their ability to adopt ameasured, mature voice.

Jeff Loeb, Instructor, Writing

For further information, contact the author at JohnsonCounty Community College, 12345 College Boulevard,Overland Park, KS 66210-1299.

International Business Communications ProjectChanges taking place in business and industry have

created a need for changes in educational processes andcurricula. In designing a new course in ProfessionalCommunications, we took a strong look at the conceptof a team-centered workforce. In addition to standardbusiness letter, memorandum, and report writing skills,students needed oral communications skillsspeakingand listening in meetings, presentations, and dailycommunicationas well as problem-solving and team-building skills.

Students also needed to see the world as a globaleconomy, to communicate and work with individuals ofdiverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The areaaround Piedmont Technical College is populated withsuch diverse industries as Sara Lee Knit Products,Monsato, Fuji, Pirelli, Kemet, Velux, Capsugel, Green-wood Mills, Pro Med, Kaiser Aluminum, GredeFoundry, Torrington, and Walbar Metals, to name a few.These companies are heavily involved in the globaleconomy and have a need for associates who canaddress and meet the challenges it poses.

We worked hard to incorporate all industry needs inthis course by including a team project requiring a mockbusiness transaction. During the semester-long project,


the teams select their countries, c'vide the work, andresearch the values, cultural beliefs, business practices,and other matters which would aid in doing businesswith another culture. The final product is a research-based written and oral presentation.

At first, some of the students are reluctant to try teamprojects, but most of the grades in such projects arehigher than the student's individual grades. (Anunspoken commitment is that a team grade will neverlower an individual student's grade). The students gainskills in listening, speaking, team-building, problemsolving, documentation, collaborative learning, re-search, cultural diversity, creating visual aids, proof-reading, report writing, and presenting in groups.

Sara Cushing Smith, Instructor, English

For further information, contact the author at PiedmontTechnical College, Emerald Road, I 'rawer 1467, Green-wood, SC 29648.

April 14, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 12

© The University of Texas at Austin, 1995



INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas

78712. (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms ISSN 0199-106X.


tt. INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL: INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLCEGE OF EDUCATION, THE'

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.. WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Validating the Effectiveness of a Prerequisite

It was heart-wrenching to see more than 50" of ourAnatomy and Physiology (A&P) students dropping outor failing. They spent hours studying, reviewing, andbeing tutored, but nothing helped. Students wouldflock into this course, filling every seat. Often our A&Pclasses were closed before the start of the semester. Butby mid-term, many students were not able to keep upand dropped out. The students simply were notprepared.

Although A&P had been considered a beginningbiology course, with no prerequisite, the course re-quired rapid acquisition of basic biology and chemistryknowledge before proceeding with body systems.Instructors, in their desire to retain their students, spentexcessive time on these beginning concepts, making thecourse even more difficult as the semester went on.Everyone was frustratedstudents, teachers, counse-lors, and advisers. A&P proved to be a major stum-bling block for many of our students going into health-related professions, particularly nursing.

But that has changed. It was decided that A&Pshould no longer be considered a beginning course; aprerequisite was needed. We created a course toprepare students from different backgrounds and at allstages of learning to enter A&P, readv to assimilateknowledge at the systems level. We called the newcourse Human Biology, to distinguish it from GeneralBiology, and provided an assessment exam for studentswho Ns ished to challenge this new prerequisite. Freedfrom the need to provide a lengths' review of basicbiology and chemistry at the beginning of the course,A&P instructors can now devote more time to higher-level material.

Once the prerequisite was in place, teachers immedi-ately noticed that students were no li,nger lost in A&P.Success rates were higher, and fewer students weredropping out. However, despite the apparent success,students began to complain and challenge the need forthe prerequisite. We heard such comments as: "I hadbiology in high school"; "I completed my biology atanother college"; "I had another beginning course youoffered"; "This takes me too long to get through ms.program"; "I'm a good student, why do I need this

course?"; "Other places don't have this prerequisite";"You never used to have this prerequisite."

We realized that it was time to address formally thequestion of whether the prerequisite was truly servingstudents and helping them succeed in A&P. To evalu-ate the effectiveness of the prerequisite, we decided tocompare attrition rates in our A&P classes before andafter the prerequisite was established. In our study wedefined attrition as students withdrawing or receivinggrades of D or F. We compared attrition rates amongbeginning biology courses.

For the past four years, all A&P students have takenthe prerequisite. In order to determine if taking thisprerequisite truly made a difference, we obtained thegrades for all A&P students for this past year andcompared them to the grades for all A&P students theyear before the prerequisite \vas established. We alsoobtained the grades for all beginning biology classesfor the past year.

Our results show that students now taking A&P orany of our beginning biology courses have achance of earning a grade of C or better. When wecorms:,red our current A&P grade rosters to thoseIN `ore the prerequisite was in place, we obtainedastonishing results. Only 46". earned a grade of C orbetter before the prerequisite was in place. Theseresults indicate a 50% increase in success and a 42".decrease in attrition for the post-prerequisite group (seeTable 1). A subset consisting of classes taught by thesame three teachers for both sample years was inyesti-o-ated in an effort to control for teacher variability.Within this large subset (over 500. of all classes), thepercentages of success and attrition were comparable tothe larger group.

We asked: "Are there more students passing sincewe established the prerequisite?" Using a chi-squaretest for two independent samples in a 2x2 contingencytable, we found that the difference in overall successand attrition rates was statistically significant at the.001 level of probability.

We also looked at grade distribution for t he pre- andpost-prerequisite groups and found a 44". reduction inwithdrawals and D's, a 66",, decrease in F's, a

9 7

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISCD)Community College Leadership Program. Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education. The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348. Austin, Texas 78712

increase in B's, and a whopping 80% increase in A's!As a result of our study, we believe that taking the

iuman Biology prerequisite positively affects thesuccess rate of students taking A&P. Students havegreater success, their learning environment is en-hanced, and retention in their program of study ismore ensured.

Now when students complain about having to takethe prerequisite, teachers feel justified in assuring themthat it is important; several quote the findings of ourstudy. It is convincing to say, "We know you have a50% greater chance of success if you take HumanBiology before A&P, and we really want vou to suc-ceed."

In addition, the administration is more willing toallocate time, money, and resources to curriculumdevelopment and improvement of the prerequisitecourse. We believe our study can serve as a model forother college departments wishing to validate theeffectiveness of any prerequisite.

L. Yvonne Maluf, Instructional Facultv, Departnwnt ofNatural SciencesCynthia A. Arem, Counselor, Math and Sciences Division

For further information, contact the authors at PimaCommunity College, West Campus, 2202 West AnklamRoad, Tucson, AZ 85709-0001.

Table 1. Comparision of 16 pre- and 19 post-prerequisite A&P classes in relation tosuccess (A, B, C grade) and attrition (D, F, withdrawal).

Year #Students #Success #Attrition %Success %Attrition

PrePost

385438

177301

208137

4669

5431

NISOD's 17TH ANNUAL IAUSTIN

Conference of AdministratorsDavid Pierce, President, American Associa-tion of Community Colleges

James Catanzaro, President, ChattanoogaState Technical Community College,Innovative Strategies fir Successfiel Fund -Raising.

James Tschechtelin, President; and MyrtleDorsey. Vice President; Baltimore CityCommunity College, Focusing on Retention:Rebuilding an Inner-City CommunityCollege.

Keynote Speakers

Juliet Garcia. President, The University oflexas at BrownsvilleCerving a DiverseStudent Population.

George Boggs, President, Palomar College.(CA); and Immediate Past Chair, AmericanAssociation of Community Colleges,Reinventing the Community (.ollege.

NTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TEACHING EXCELLENCECONVENTION CENTER * MAY 21-24, 1995

Preconference SeminarsJames Hammons, Professor of HigherEducation, University of Arkansas,Developing Faeulo, Pelformance AppraisalPlans that Work.

Larry Johnson, Associate Director, Leaguefor Innovation in the C.ommunity College,How Life in the 500-Channel Universe WillChange the Wry 1G Tiwch.

Mike McHargue, Provocateur of Profes-sional Development, Foothill College,What's Hot (and What's Not) in FacultyDevelopment.

William Moore, Jr.k.M. Aiken RegentsChair, Community College LeadershipProgram, The University of Texas at Austin,The Student At-Risk in the CommunityCollege.

Donald G. Phelps, W.K. Kellogg RegentsProfessor, Community College LeadershipProgram, The University of "lexas at Austin,A I ision lin. the Tiventy-Drst Century

John E. Roueche. Sid VI RichardsonRegents Chair, Community CollegeI.eadership Program, The University ofTexas at Austin, improving Student Motiva-tion.

Uri Treisman, Professor, Mathematics, TheUniversity of"l'exas at Austin, Making Accessand Curriculum Rcfirm Compatible Goal5:A Faculty Perspective.

Claire Weinstein, Professor, EducationalPsychology, The University of Texas atAustinStrategic Learning/Strategic liwehing:A Model fir the liventy-Fint (.entury

14)('

For More Information,call Suanne I). Rotteche, Directot; NISOD

512/471-7545

9 e,


Apr1121, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 13




INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (iVISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas

78712. (512) 471-7545 Funding in part by ths W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W Richardson Foundation Issued

weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.


* INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND.ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), CQLLEGE OE EDUCATION, THE'

UNIVERSITY OETEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND j'HE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Research in the Electronic LibraryOne of the most difficult concepts for students to grasp

as they conduct library research is "controlled yocabu-lary/' As do more and more libraries, our library has anon-line public access catalog (PAC) for books and an on-line general periodical index (GPI); both require rigidlycontrolled language as well as accurate spelling. Forexample, there may be hundreds of articles in the GPIabout Generation X, but they are found only under thesubject Post-Baby Boom Generation. Articles about televi-sion violence are located under the subject Violence inTelevision. There are no articles under the subject CrackBabies. Instead the library user must search one of thefollowing subject headings: Children of Drug Addicts, DrugAbuse in Pregnancy, Crack (Drug)Inf hwnce.

What makes this situation even worse is the fact thatthe GPI has virtually no cross references. It is a commer-cially produced index over which we have no control.The PAC, on the other hand, is produced by our staff andthe staff of our county library. Since our librarians areable to respond to the vagaries.of natural language byadding cross references, the catalog is user-friendly.

To use the GPI it is important to teach students to think"synonymously." If a student is writing about pigs, asearch in the GPI may indicate theroare no books orarticles on the subject. Perhaps material is listed underHogs or Sivine. It is even more difficult when the topic isnot concrete. Unfortunately, the Library of Congress SubjectHeading Thesaurus does not reflect natural language either.For example, a student looking for articles about teenag-ers moving out of their homes and living on their ownmay have trouble finding information. There are noarticles under the subject Leaving Home or Moving Out.Independence produces articles about political issues.Independent tiring covers the topic of people with disabili-ties living on their own. In the end, no satisfactory subjectheading is located, and the student leaves the libraryfrustrated by the inability to locate material.

For beginning students, it may be helpful to encouragethe selection of topics which lend themselves to searchingwith controlled vocabu1try. Generally, the educationalobjectives associated with library research concernteaching students to locate materials which support athesis topic. Allowing students to select topics that makeresearch a frustrating and unrewarding experience not

only defeats the original objective,-1 but also teachesstudents that the library is an unfriendly place. On theother hand, carefully selected topics which lend them-selves to subject searches with controlled vocabulary arelikely to produce a wealth of materials and also givestudents confidence in their research abilities.

Keyword searching, another component of the one-word databases, is an invaluable but very sophisticatedtool which should be used only as a last resort. As thelibrary acquires electronic databases, more and morelibrary users will rely on keyword searches to locatematerial. Although all electronic databases use rigidlycontrolled vocabulary to assign subject headings for eachitem indexed, most users do not have the patience tosearch subject thesauri for exact terms. Often they lackready access to thesauri. Thus, searching by keyword israpidly becoming the norm.

In the PAC and the GPI, the keyword function severelylimits the amount of information a library user receives.First, the keyword function of our database does not havefull-text capability. Therefore, a user searching by key-word will be able to develop and print a bibliography ofpertinent articles, but must return to the regular periodi-cal index to search each article by title to determinewhether the article is available as full text in the database.Second, a keyword search is likely to produce a lot ofexcess material. In English, the same word often hasmultiple meanings the computer cannot distinguish. Akeyword search for Saturn will bring up both the planetand the automobile without distinguishing between thetwo. A keyword search for REM found, among othertopics, articles about a rock group, psychological discus-sions of rapid eye movement, and a number of reviews ofthe work of modern architect Rem Koolhaus. l'anthersproduced a bibliography of 104 articles ranging insubjects from political movements like the Black and (;ravPanthers to the panther as an endangered species, afootball team called the Carolina Panthers, and a Navyfighter plane. Using AIDS as a keyword not only over-whelmed the searchers with several hundred articlesabout the disease, but also included a list of every articlewhere the word "aids" appeared in the title in anycontext. Keyword searching is like shooting into a

,,srowded room. You will probably strike your target, butJ

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)(ksk) Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration

College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

you also will bring down several innocent bystanders.Yet keyword works when controlled vocabulary fails.

The previously mentioned search through the keywordfunction for Crack Babies not only provided a goodbibliography of material where the term appeared in thetitle of the articles, it also taught the searcher that theappropriate subject headings used in the GPI were DrugAbuse in Pregnancy or Crack (Drug)lufluence. Ourlanguage changes more rapidly than any computer'ssubject thesaurus. By using keyword searching, a libraryuser can transform natural language into the controlledvocabulary needed to comprehensively search a databasefor information.

In the CD-ROM databases ihat are gradually replacingthe paper indexes in most libraries, keyword searchingmust be combined with a knowledge of Boolean logic. Inour natural language, using the connector AND creates alarger group. John AND Betty are more people than Johnis by himself. OR is used for exclusion. "I will buy thecoat OR the jacket" implies that both items will not bepurchased. In Boolean logic, however, AND limits ratherthan expands a group while OR expands the groupOpera AND Ballet will produce only the information

Team Teaching for Success

where both concepts are present while using OR (OperaOR Ballet) expands the set of information and creates agroup where either concept is present. Using the BooleanNOT further limits a search. Opera OR Ballet NOTSymphony will produce a list of articles about opera orballet, eliminating all the articles where symphony is akeyword. As the number of sophisticated databasesincreases, teaching Boolean logic may have to becomepart of any course that requires research.

As the college fulfills its commitment to the electroniclibrary, students, staff, and faculty will be learningtogether. It will be an exciting time, but critical thinkingskills and computer literacy will be essential to avoid thepitfalls inherent in using these new tools. Taking the timeto understand the nature of database searching and tomaster the necessary search skills will ease everyone'stransition from paper to electronic sources.

Andrea Caron Kempf, Librarian

For further information, contact the author at JohnsonCounty Community College, 12345 College Boulevard,Overland Park, KS 66210-1299.

***

Since fall 1993, we have experimented with studentsenrolling in one section of an intermediate-level readingcourse and in an introductory government course simul-taneously, the content and text of the government coursebecoming the content and text for teaching reading. Thiscollaboration was the result of desperationstudentswho were poor readers were failing the governmentcourse at extremely high rates. They not only had troublereading the text, but theic test-taking skills were poor, andtheir writing skills were nonexistent. However, theindividual attention these students needed to developtheir skills was often impossible to provide in largegovernment classes.

Thus, the collaboration Nvas bornthe reading teacheroften attending the government class, taking notes andusing them to create examples in reading class and thegovernment teacher often attending the reading classes tooffer tips on how to study or to lead current eventsdiscussions. What has been the result? We have foundthat students who remain committed to both classessucceed in both. In the reading class, students learn anddevelop reading strategies by using the content of thegovernment text and a teacher-produced handbook.


April 28, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 14



institutions tor their own personnel.

Students learn strategies for previewing text, markingtext, test-taking, recall, note-taking, and other componentsof active reading.

We have observed that as students implement thesestrategies, their increased confidence in their academicability carries into other courses. However, to date, wehave not collected data to document this general observa-tion; therefore, during fall 1995, we will use release timeto team teach these two courses in the true sense of theword. Our goals will be to conduct the research neededto examine the validity of this collaboration, to increasecommunication/coordination and interdisciplinarytraining between the faculty members, to determine thevalidity of this academic approach to instruction, and toexplore the feasibility of expanding this approach to othercontent areas.

Barbara Gose, Professor, Political SciencePauletta Augustine, Instructor, Renwdial Reading

For further information, contact the authors at CentralWyoming College, 2660 Peck Avenue, Riverton, WY 82501.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, SZB 348. The University of 1 exas at Austin. Austin. Texas

78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS. . '

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAI INSTITUTE FORSTAFF AND' DORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF E. UCA.TION, THE .4

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W .K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

The Competencies Class: An Old Idea ReconstitutedIn the era of outcomes assessment, the competencies

class is a method of teaching that deserves consider-ation. Simply defined, a competencies class requiresstudents to demonstrate acquired abilities and learnedskills. The idea works well in such courses as music orspeech, but it can be applied to any subject.

I use it successfully in a class entitled Music forClassroom Teachers. This class is required for mostelementary education majors (most four-year collegesrequire it). Seventy percent of my students come to thisclass with no previous knowledge of music; that is,they do not sing, and they do not read music. In onesemester, I must teach them to do both. The studentsare informed the first day of class that they will berequired to pass a competency test in each of thefollowing areas:

musical show and tell (demonstrate or explain amusical item)sing the class roll call (teacher will select the melodyand provide a list of names)play the tonette (teacher will select a melody fromthe tonette book)sing/teach a song to the class (student chooses aselection from the text)teach a musical game (a book of games is available)rhythmatize your name and perform it for the classperform a musical accompaniment (students arefamiliarized with autoharp, piano, and tone bells)perform, as required, patschen, African meter, andaleatory music.I demonstrate all of these skills several times before

testing student competency. The students are oftenvery reluctant to perform before their classmates;however, they agree that the ability to perform or speakbefore peers is essential for success. Not only do thestudents learn to perform musically, but they learn howto function and interact with other people while theyare the focus of everyone's attention.

The competencies do not need to be taught orlearned at a prolessional musician's level. For example,the accompaniment can be performed with two chords(pressing two buttons on an autoharp) and a halfhour's practice. The music room is available to stu-dents who wish to practice before and after class. The

;tlls1)

Q,

tonette is used to teach music notation and to help thestudents orient their voices to notated pitches.

On the day a competency is tested, each student putshis/her name and date on an evaluation sheet. I collectan I shuffle the sheets then call on the students in theshuffled order. Students receive their evaluation sheetsand their grades immediately after performing. Theyappreciate the instant feedback.

Name

Proficiency

Poor Excellent

Foot tap

Pitch and intonation

Dynamics

Note values

Eve contact & enthusiasm

Voice projection & quality

Te in po

Phrasing

Accompaniment

Following instructions

Grade

Date

Students enjoy the competencies class because theylearn specific, tangible skills; and teachers like themethod because it puts a great deal of responsibility foracquiring each competency on the student. Theoutcomes are obvious and easy to measure.

Robert Merkel, Instrudor, Humanities

For further information, contact the author at MonroeCounty Community (:o..ege, 1555 South RaisinvilleRoad, Monroe, MI 48161.

3THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

Improving Teaching Effectiveness Through Self-Observation

Teachers are accustomed to being observed by theirstudents, by their supervisors, and occasionally by theirpeers. However, feedback from these observations islimited. Student reactions usually are not documenteduntil the term has nearly ended. Supervisory observa-tion, for the purpose of overall evaluation, is a limitednumber of classroom visits, constrained by items on anevaluation instrument. Peer visits may provide moreimmediate information, but visitors usually observelittle more than a slice of classroom life.

Others, through their observations, may point outstrengths and weaknesses, but it is only when we seefor ourselves that we can internalize and act on newinsights.

There are many ways that we can observe ourselvesas teachers. Some techniques that offer the mostimmediate and detailed feedback include studentquestionnaires, audio or video recordings, and observa-tion sheets.

Student QuestionnairesTeacher-generated student questionnaires tap

directly into students' reactions. Typical studentevaluations are generic and given near the end of theterm. Questionnaires distributed throughout thesemester allow an instructor to address specific aspectsof course content or delivery and to make timelyinstructional decisions. A simple list of questionsrelating to the day's lesson can indicate whether reviewor elaboration is necessary the next day. Responses to abrief list of questions about a new technique canevaluate the activity quickly. Questionnaires can betiec a p uticular classroom activity or to the contentof a week-long lesson. The advantage of the teacher-generated questionnaire is that it can be tailored to fitthe needs of the instructor. Moreover, students can beasked to submit their own questions or comments onnotecards. A bulletin board in a CAI class can providea useful conduit for information.

TapingAudiotapes and videotapes can be painfully reveal-

ing, but many faculty who have used these techniquesadmit that they provided valuable insight. Perhaps abetter use of these methods, other than dissectingteaching performance, is to use them as tools fordiscovering what is going on in the classroom. A videocamera focused on the classroom-at-large or on.stu-dents involved in group work can provide useful

details. While involved in teaching or working withgroups, it is impossible for the instructor to observe allstudents at all times. Taping can provide some insightsinto the types of questions asked, amount of wait-timebetween questions and answers, patterns of interactionin the classroom, use of humor, group roles, comingsand goings from class, or off-task behavior.

Observation SheetsAn observation sheet is a useful tool for answering

questions about teaching tools and classroom behav-iors. For example, an observation sheet can be de-signed to include categories of questions about patternsof questions and answers; a colleague can use thesecategories to observe, take notes, and identify answers.An observation sheet can allow the instructor tocritique items and activities in the use of class time.

CombinationsObservation techniques can be combined. For

example, student questionnaires that ask students tocomment on a class activity combined with a taping ofthat activity can provide an opportunity for a morecomplete evaluation. Or, using a taped session withdifferent observation sheets can provide a variety ofinformation over longer periods of time.

ConclusionSelf-observation is an important tool for improving

one's teaching and attitude. This rejuvenation helps usstay interested not only in what we teach but in howwe teach. Moreover, self-observation is a means oftracking one's development as a teacher and a way ofsharing that development with colleagues.

Debra Denzer, Assistant Professor, Humanities

For further information, contact the author at DeKalbCollege, 555 North Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston, GA30021.


P'w 5, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 15University of Texas at Austin. 1995

Fuiiiier duOication is permitted by MEMBER


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas

78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.


* INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF ANb 08GANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (N1SOD), COLLEGE OFEDUCATION, THE.. .

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.. WITH SUPPORT FROM.THE.W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Visual Poster as Reading QuizTesting students' understanding of their reading

assignments and their preparedness for class discussionbased on these assignments is often accomplished by briefquizzes at the beginning of class. These quizzes mayrequire short-answer responses to questions about thereadings, true-false responses, one- or two-pagefreewrites, or examples of applications.

After several years of quizzing students and dealingwith their concerns about material and questions, Idecided to try another approach. Embarking on aparticularly complex section of readings about rights vs.responsibilities in American scciety (in preparation for aresearch writing assignment), I found several studentsconfused by the scholarly language of some of thereadings, and others overwhelmed by the complexity ofthe social issues in the articles. I decided to make thisassignment: Take one reading (of the six for today'sclass), evaluate it carefully, find the main ideas or topicareas of the article, and make a poster explaining yourunderstanding of the major ideas.

The students' looks of boredom and frustration turnedto expressions of stunned surprise and excitement. Theyasked questions.Question 1: "You mean this will be our homework

assignment?"My response: "No, this will be your quiz grade

visually analyze and explain one of thereadings in a poster."

Question 2: "What kind of posters should they behow should we set them up?"

My response: "Any way you likeuse colored markers,cut and paste, glue beans in a diagram,sew a pattern, make a collage, present adiagram or chart. They can take Nyhateverform you feel comfortable with in assess-ing one of the articles. But present thefacts in a way that is clear and easy tounderstand. Be prepared to present thesebriefly to us at the beginning of nextclass.""Hol,v will you grade them?""C hietly by the clarity, the points made(and understood), and the amount ofeffort demonstrated."

Question 3:My respolise:

3

I then presented an overview of the assignment ofsocial rights vs. responsibilities, including potentialtopical applications to issues such as gun control, capitalpunishment, smokers' rights, affirmative action, andseparation of church and state. The remaining 15 minutesin class allowed students to confer with each other, plan astrategy, or clarify directions.

Then they wt.re on their own to create individualposters. Was I ever surprised! An African Americanstudent had outlined a chart of legal cases claimingdiscrimination against blacks in the workplace, covering aperiod of nearly 100 years. (The case studies had been thefocus of one of the readings.) The case name, date of each,and brief outcome were outlined on a 36"x 30" cardboardposter. Dark, somber colors simulated the serious natureof this issue. All listened attentively while she reviewedthese cases and added her opinion about the probablefuture direction of such litigation.

Could she have done so thorough a job if I had askedher merely to memorize these cases? I doubt it. Based onpersonal interest and relationship to this social concern,she drew more meaning from this reading than fromsome of the others, but she also deepened the class'sunderstanding of this issue as we noted her passionatedevotion to the topic.

Another student had designed a 30"x 24" postershaped like the United States. She had pasted photos ofbabies' facesAfrican American, Asian, Native Ameri-can, Anglo, and so onto the poster and printed thewords: "Will they grow up equal?" Then she had printedexcerpts from three major political speeches emphasizingfreedom and placed them in various locations on her"map"highlighting the word FREE in each passage:THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, THE DECLARATIONOF INDEPENDENCE, and THE CONSTITUTION (14thAmendment). She explained that hope for greaterequality rests with todav's childrenan interestingperception growing out of one of the readings.

A third poster addressed gun control, the focus ofanother article. This student copied a variety of local andnational newspaper articles written about her ,,ide of theissue, reduced themmd arranged them chronologicallyin a flowchart on a 30"x 30" posterboard. She hadhighlighted the titles of each with a marker. As we


viewed the poster, she pointed out the various positionsthat some of the newspaper editorials and articles hadtaken on this issue, demonstrating her observation ofslanted writing style as well as media awareness of thissocial concern.

Most of the other posters were creative, insightfulrenditions of these readings. I posted them on theclassroom bulletin board and walls. Not only could thestudents visually learn from each other's displays, butposting them served as reminders as we moved throughdiscussions of the readings and into the writing stages ofthe research assignment. Furthermore, students tookpride in seeing their creations valued and displayed forother classes' viewings.

My students' enthusiasm sparked my excitement. Itwas fun to see what they had created and how they hadevaluated the readings. A variety of learning styles mustbe appealed to in every discipline, and I realized thatwriting is not always the onlyor bestway to teachwriting assignments. As students presented their posters,they often generated brief mini-discussions of relatedissues, reinforcing the readings and our understanding ofthem.

Students seemed to enjoy the change of pace as wellactive involvement made them smile and their eyessparkle. As opposed to heads-on-hands, quiet responsesto my previous short reading quizzes, animated faces andfront-of-class presentations enhanced the learning-teaching environment. Though I do not plan to use"visual quizzes" tor all reading assignments, I will usethem from time to time.

Theoretically, such an approach can be applied to anyfield of study. This technique is particularly helpful inteaching writing, however. Employing critical thinkingstrategies of this nature encourages students to think forthemselves as they mentally process and visually displaythe reading material, and to think again a.:, they plan classpresentations, so that they achieve a reader-orientedfocus.

Debra Johanyak, Assistant Professmc English

For further information, contact the author at The Univer-sity of Akron-Wayne College, 1901 Smucker Road,Orrville, OH 44667.

***Encouraging Students to Form Outside-of-Class Study Groups

During the first class of the academic year, I encour-age students to form outside-of-class study groups. Inmy first year of teaching at Piedmont Virginia Commu-nity College, without my knowledge, three studentswho were friends and who had high grades on eachtest for the first quarter formed a study group.

In the second quarter and on their second test, theirgrades dropped slightly, and I asked about them. Theyexplained they had not been able to have their usualstudy group for the last test. On the next test, the studygroup was meeting again, and their grades returned toformer levels. I decided then to encourage all of mystudents to form study groups.

Since most students do not know each other andhave never been in a study group before, I makeseveral suggestions:

Students can form study groups with students inany of my lecture sections, with students from anyother biology lecture section at PVCC or at thenearby University of Virginia, or with students theyhave met in any of the biology lab sections.There should be a minimum of three students in astudy group. (I do not tell them stories of the couple

that met in the biology study group at PVCC andlater married, or of the friendships they will form inthe study groups, but they are on my mind.)Study groups should meet weekly and have a mealas part of the event. (Some of my study groupsstarted with three members and finished the yearwith 15.)Students should draw straws to see who calls theteacher with questions while the group is stillmeeting.One measurable result of this encouragement is an

increase in the number of students who are willing toform groups. It is common to have 40-60" of thestudents involved by the end of the term.

Lloyd L. Willis, Associate Professor, Biology

For further information, contact the author at PiedmontVirginia Community College, Route 6, Box 1,Charlottesville, VA 22902.


August 25, 1995, Vol. AN, No. 160 The University of Texas at Austin. 1995



INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Texas

78712, (512)471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Issuedweekly when classes are in session during fall and spnng terms. ISSN 0199-106X.


INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF ANDORGANIZATIOI4AL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF\TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROMYHE W K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Institute for InterCultural UnderstandingThe student body at Baltimore City Community

College (BCCC) reflects the rich cultural diversity andracial mix of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Diversityis a hallmark of community colleges, which reflect theever-increasing cultural heterogeneity of the communi-ties they serve. Data on the current racial and ethnicdistribution of elementary and secondary studentsindicate that this trend toward a greater influx ofminority students into higher education will continueinto the next century. Many of these students willstruggle academically unless they are embraced by anopen, supportive, multicultural campus.

However, institutional initiatives designed tocapitalize on this diversity by promoting interculturalawareness and understanding are not keeping pace.Research has demonstrated that merely mixing stu-dents of different backgrounds is not sufficient.Collegewide models are needed to provide studentswith curricular and co-curricular activities and pro-grams to explore multicultural issues. When affordedthese opportunities, students have shown gains inacademic development as well as increased intercul-tural understanding.

The Institute for InterCultural Understanding (IIU)at BCCC was established in 1990 as a part of BCCC'sTransCentury Plan, designed to prepare students for21st century challenges. The IIU is committed topromoting knowledge of the world's cultures as well asappreciation and celebration of cultural differences andcommonalities. It has reached out to BCCC students,employees, and community members through work-shops, colloquia, and forums on such issues asethnicity, race, gender, and class.

Recently, the IIU led a two-year Kellogg Beacon/American Association of Community Colleges grantentitled "Promoting InterCultural Awareness andUnderstanding in Maryland Community Colleges."The grant afforded BCCC and six local communitycolleges the opportunity to pool and enhance theirmulticultural resources during a period of fiscalretrenchment. This collaborative effort focused on theareas of staff development, multicultural awareness,and curriculum transformation. The Beacon Projectculminated in a statewide Beacon Conference lastspring entitled "Cultivating Community and Diversity

,3o

Among Maryland Colleges."What factors have contributed to the I1U's success in

cultivating a community of communities?Diverse Membership. The membership and leader-

ship of the IIU are culturally diverse. HU members whovolunteer their time also represent a wide variety ofpositions. Among the 30 members are a security guard,three faculty members in the math department, theassistant to the president, and a nursing major.

Inclusiveness. Activities and programs typicallytarget the entire college community and, particularlygroups that are often excluded, such as evening stu-dents, support staff, and community groups.

Institutional Support. The HU is part of the Aca-demic Affairs Division. This position in the college hasprovided the IIU with visibility, credibility, funding,and academic integrity. Additionally, the leadership ofthe college has set the tone by supporting proactive,institutional initiatives that seek to promote a greatersense of community.

Faculty Involvement. Adjunct and full-time facultyhave been involved in a wide range of activities andprogramsincluding international fashion shows,diversity training seminars, trips to museums andconferences, and more informal functions such ascolloquia and social gatherings. A collection ofmulticultural resources has also been developed.

Professional Development. Professional develop-ment has been ongoing and funded. BCCC has made along-term commitment to training staff and faculty incultural diversity. IIU-sponsored programs haveranged from diversity training seminars that focus onindividual awareness and institutional change to aseries of lectures on diversity entitled B-Triple-C:Building a Caring College Community.

The work of IIU confirms that colleges can actproactively and institutionally to expand the comfortzone for all students. The following strategies, how-ever, are keys to success:

Celebrating diversity and cultivating communitymust be pursued togetheraggressively and sensi-tively. More focused and less risky activities, such asmulticultural welcomes and collegewide meetings, canbe followed by programs aimed at more sensitive andemotionally charged issues.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712-1293

Institutional commitment is essential. Commit-ment, or lack of it, is communicated in many differentways. These include the mission statement, budget,strategic planning, staff development, library holdings,and syllabi. For instance, initiatives aimed at promot-ing intercultural understanding cannot simply be"added and stirred" into the strategic planning processor "ghettoized" within certain areas, such as studentaffairs or curriculum development.

Misconceptions of diversity need to be challenged.Diversity and community are not polar opposites.Diversity on college campuses is an asset to be culti-vated rather than a deficit to be feared.

A research agenda needs to be developed to assesscampus climate and identify ways in which it can beimproved. Any assessment needs to be collegewideand constantly reevaluated. Anecdotal evidence is notsufficient.

Partnerships within and between institutions needto be explored and cultivated. Local, national, andinternational collaborations are now possible throughdistance learning, teleconferences, the Internet, andother applications of technology.

Valuing diversity and cultivating community is along-term, incremental, uneven, and slow process.Consequently, it is important for initiatives such as theIIU tc approach diversity as a critical component ofquality education. Ultimately, the process must movebeyond ghettoization and toward institutionalization.This is accomplished through interdepartmentalcollaborations, administrative funding and support,numerous and inclusive educational programs, andcommunity involvement.

Richard Bucher, Director, Institute for InterCulturalUnderstanding

For further information, contact the author at BaltimoreCity Community College, 2901 Liberty Heights Av-enue, Baltimore, MD 21215-7893.

36

Suanne D. Roueshe, Editor

September 1, 1995, Vol. XVII, No, 17

0 The University of Texas at Austin, 1995



INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra-tion, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Texas 78712-1293, (512) 471-7545.Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.


INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEE OF EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION.

The Learning Center: TLC for StudentsDuring the first semester The Learning Center (TLC)

was open, a math instructor asked if we could help oneof his beginning algebra students. In a few days, ayoung man came in to work. The student, Doran, feltuncomfortable with the tutors, but worked diligentlyon the computers for weeks. After some time we gotanother call from the instructor; Doran had made an Aon his most recent exam. We put a flier on the bulletinboard: "Congratulations on Your Exam, DoranWay toGo!" When Doran came back in TLC, he asked if hecould have the flier. I felt that perhaps we had hurt hispride with the announcement, but he said, "I want toshow it to my wife. No one has ever cheered me on likethat before." Doran is one of many successes at TheLearning Center (TLC).

TLC's flexibility has allowed it to become a hub foracademic support on campus. Geographically locatedin the center of the campus in the Learning ResourcesCenter, it is open 12 hours a day during the week and ahalf-day on Saturday. The TLC serves developmentalstudents primarily, but it is also home to a federal grantprogram and to all tutoring on campus. It has becomethe campus center for innovation.

Project REACH provided the vehicle that launchedThe Learning Center. Project REACH, a federal JobOpportunity and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program,is a cooperative effort between the Department ofHuman Services and OSU/OKC, which began inJanuary 1994 to help clients whose education had beeninterrupted. The majority of students who enter theprogram are single mothers receiving welfare benefits.It is the goal of the program to present instruction atindividual levels with the final objective of integratingthese students into college and ultimately into a jobindependent of supplemental income. There has been avery real need to provide a supportive environment forthese students. In the evolutionary process of support-ing this group, we discovered that the campus popula-tion as a whole would benefit from the policies imple-mented for Project REACH students.

First, we determined that it was necessary to assessstudents' educational requirements. Some had notcompleted their high school diplomas; they werecandidates for GED study and progressed at their own

pace working on computers, in small groups at TLC,and with tutors. Some had finished high school but hadnot been in school for many years and were not pre-pared to go directly into college courses. Furtherutilizing individualized methods of instruction, wecreated a category called Brush-Up that allowed thesestudents to identify their weak points and specific areasof preparation they needed before enrolling in regularcollege classes. At various points in this initial period,students would be advised to take the college assess-ment test to determine which developmental classes inEnglish, math, and reading would be suitable for them.Finally, there were those who were able to go directlyinto college-level work, and Project REACH staffworked as liaisons between the students and otherfaculty. Some students have already taken advantage ofa mentoring program which allows them to volunteerpart-time during the summer in businesses whichcorrespond to their career goals, helping them get theexperience they need to make a successful transitionbetween school and work.

Students who entered the REACH program did notwalk into TLC ready to participate in a classroom,budget their time, study, turn in assignments and taketests. Many doubted seriously if they were e% encapable of being college students, and this doubt had tobe addressed along with their potential scholarship.Early on we saw the necessity of creating a supportsystem that would be encouraging and enabling forthese returning students. The REACH for Success clubwas organized the first semester of the project. Thiswas a structure in which they could interact as a group;there were picnics, holiday celebrations that includedtheir families, money-raising projects, and communityservice activities. By the second semester, the REACHfor Success club had the largest membership of anystudent organization on campus. All at once, thesestudents had a voice. Encouraged by this experience,many members began to participate in other groups oncampus. Additionally, by this time, students weremaking the grades that deserved recognition of theirscholastic achievement; last semester, the ProjectREACH students boasted an average GPA of 3.02 on a4.0 scale.


Tutoring in TLC helps not only the Project REACHstudents, but all students on campus. It provides thekind of one-on-one instruction that most classroomteachers would like to give. Some students have beenreferred by an instructor for help in a specific problemarea, while others seek out help on their own. LearningCenter students enjoy the advantages of having alltheir tutoring in a centralized location. Rather thanhaving to go to a math lab, a chemistry lab, a writinglab, and a reading skills lab, and having to establish aworking relationship with several tutors, our studentscan have one or two tutors for all their needs. Studentswho would rather work on their own can also beassigned one of many different tutorials on TLC'scomputers. This "attack on all fronts" approach hasbrought results. Our studies have shown that 85percent of the students who come to TLC at least threetimes during a semester make C's or better in all theircoursework.

The tutors are invaluable assets, and the tutoring labis cost-effective. Some tutors can help students inseveral subject areas, and often a tutor can help severaldifferent students at once if they are all .Norking on thesame subject. In addition, if a student is unable tounderstand the explanation of a concept given by onemath tutor, he or she can ask another math tutor forhelp. Many of our tutors are students who have suc-cessfully completed the courses in which they tutor,some are adjunct faculty who tutor between classassignments, and a few are retired professionals whovolunteer their time.

The Learning Center is the center for innovation oncampus. At present, TLC is piloting developmentalindividualized paced instruction (IPI) courses designedfor the non-traditional student population. Becausemost of our students have full- or part-time jobs andsome of have irregular work schedules, we offercourses in which students can progress at their ownrate without attending class. In addition, students whoare motivated to move through course work quicklycan complete two consecutive IPI courses in a singlesemester.

At present, there are six IPI courses: two in develop-mental writing, two in developmental math, and two indevelopmental reading. When students sign up for anIPI class, they are required to attend an orientationmeeting during which they are presented with thecourse syllabus (which has been prepared by the leadinstructor in each field) and a course outline (whichdetails the specific requirements of the IPI class).Students in the IPI classes usually use the same texts asstudents in classes taught elsewhere on campus; they

are required to complete assignments in the text, takeexams, complete writirT assignments, and completework on the Center's computers which have beenprogrammed with corresponding software. They areencouraged to use the extensive tutoring. Students andinstructors use the Center's files to pass messages, andstudents can place their homework and/or tests in thefiles for instructors to grade and return.

In an IPI course, classwork is due at regular intervalsthroughout the semester, but the time frame is moreflexible than that of a traditional class. For example, ina traditional class, students may have three assign-ments due each week; in an IPI course, they may havenothing due until the third week, but the total numberof assignments may be greater. Instructors, for the mostpart, establish regular meeting times for these courses:once weekly during the daytime hours and onceweekly during the evening. These courses are not forevery student, but they are designed to meet the needsof special students whose schedules would ordinarilyprevent them from attending college.

So what does the future hold for The LearningCenter? This year we are piloting multimedia applica-tions in the classroom. We hope to teach both facultyand students how to prepare their lessons and researchpapers on disks using multimedia presentationalsoftware. Copies of these disks will be available forcheck-out so that not every member has to create amultimedia presentation on the research paper and sothat any student's research paper can be checked outby another who is studying the same topic. The possi-bilities in multimedia education continue to unfold,and several individuals on staff are now developingthese programs We are encouraged by current pro-grams, but TLC's tender loving care remains thehallmark of its services to all students.

Staff, OSU/OKC Learning Center

For more information about The Learning C. rttercontact: The Learning Center, Jeri Thornton, Director,OSU/OKC, 900 Portland, Oklahoma City, OK 73107

For more information on Project REACH contact:Martha Thompson, Coordinator, Project REACH,OSU/OKC, 900 N. Portland, Oklahoma City, OK73107.

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Septeinber 8, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 18




411,Mar.doldfa.seabnAhllira...........1-40....

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar by the National Institute for Staff and a ganizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra-tion, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1293. (512) 4717545.Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.


ill INNOVATION ABSTRACTS:

' I0' 0°..e. #

O I O

I l I ', I 0 I 0

Promoting Interdisciplinary StudiesMany institutions of higher learning have created

programs in interdisciplinary studies. Since specializa-tion traditionally has been the focus of higher educa-tion, engaging in interdisciplinary studies requires adifficult shift of consciousness for administrators,faculty members, and students. Specialization fostersfragmentation of the modern curriculum; interdiscipli-nary studies foster integration and synthesis. Themodern tendency to segment areas of knowledge isincreasingly seen as artificial, and it is to the students'benefit that educators make the effort to integrate theirstudies, building on the inherent connections andoverlapping content between disciplines.

Students often complain that required courses donot relate to one another nor to their lives outside theacademic arena. In response to these complaints,DeKalb College has created a collegewide committee offaculty from most divisions and disciplines to promoteinterdisciplinary cooperation in the classroom. Thiscommittee has pioneered several innovative techniquesand course offerings to enable students to create morelinks between disciplines. On the lowest level the entirefaculty was surveyed and asked to list their areas ofexpertise and to indicate if they had interest in teamteaching an interdisciplinary block course (two coursesfrom different disciplines paired and their contentthematically linked).

The survey generated a database of faculty andtopical areas of expertise under the title Cameos in theClassroom; it was distributed to all faculty, who wereencouraged to make use of the volunteers as guestlecturers in their courses. Faculty teachingShakespeare's Richard Ill in world literature, forexample, could find faculty members specializing inthe Renaissance to lecture on the historical conditionswhich led to the Wars of the Roses.

Another list of faculty interested in teaching interdis-ciplinary block courses was distributed to departmentheads and electronically published on the college'sFreeport system, to which all faculty have access.Faculty were provided with a vast list of potentialpartners for interdisciplinary team teaching and withideas for innovative interdisciplinary block courses.

The efforts of the Interdisciplinary Studies Commit-

tee have been very successful. To date, the faculty havepioneered several interdisciplinary course offerings in avariety of formats. World civilization courses have beenpaired with humanities courses, English compositionwith world civilization, American history with politicalscience, world literature with world civilization,political science with speech, and American historywith American literature courses, among others.Faculty are now considering pairing psychology withstatistics, and sociology with psychology; the possibili-ties seem endless.

Faculty also have experimented with several alterna-tive ways of structuring these ten-credit block offer-ings. Courses have been thematically linked by com-mon assignments, such as term papers, yet taught asseparate units. More extensive linkage has been madein the English composition and world civilizationblock, where composition students were required towrite about topics and readings from the world civili-zation course.

The world civilization/humanities and worldcivilization/world literature block courses have provento be particularly successful. In these interdisciplinaryofferings, the paired courses were completely inte-grated, with one syllabus and one set of writing andreading assignments. Topics from each course werematched and team taught as one unit. The two pairedcourses met sequentially on either MWF or TTH, andboth instructors were present for the entire meetingtime, providing students with multiple, interdiscipli-nary perspectives on all topics studied.

Assignments also were made to incorporate interdis-ciplinary perspectives. For example, in the worldcivilization/humanities block, students were asked toread some Zen historical and religious texts, design aZen landscape, and then write an essay explaining thisdesign. The perspectives of art, architecture, religion,historical contexts, and composition were united in oneassignment. Students read the Epic of Gilgamesh andcommented on literary aspects which demonstratedhistorical realities of antiquity.

Possibilities for linking disciplines are present in thesubject matter of most courses, and students benefitimmensely from these linkages. These initial interdisci-

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)BootiliemgeunolyECdoulcleageonLegeertsinhiipePrsrrtroarieDxaerartttLesnttinof EAcgtign:iul AstInmiceisxtarast%712.1293

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plinary offerings at De Kalb help students to retaininformation longer, master it more thoroughly, andenjoy the process of journeying through the intellectualheritage of humanity. At recent sessions of the annualSocial Science Colloquium, for example, the largestpercentage of the research projects honored at recentcompetitions came from interdisciplinary courseofferings; the winner of the World Civilization awardwas a student in an interdisciplinary block coursewhile a recent student in the world civilization/humanities block course has received a commission tocreate a sculpture for the United Nations complex.

Student responses to surveys indicated that theyfound this environment much more stimulating andeffective than the traditional, and that they realized forthe first time in their student careers that informationlearned in one course was valuable in and related toother contexts. This program is making it possible tocreate students who are more truly what the ancientsreferred to as philosophers, or "lovers of wisdom." Byfostering connections between disciplines, students willcome to know the true meaning of wisdom and beprepared to live in a world which demands not onlybreadth of experience, but the integration of thatexperience into a variety of contexts.

?so

In order to facilitate the creation of interdisciplinaryblock courses, readers may find the following sugges-tions helpful:

Advertise upcoming course offerings well inadvance and in prominent locations. Advertisementshould be directed to advisors, faculty members, andthe student body. Fliers for the courses should bedistributed at orientations and prominently located atregistration. If possible, faculty teaching these coursesfor the first time should also visit classrooms to intro-duce students to the concept of interdisciplinary work.

Interdisciplinary courses should be listed under aseparate section in the schedule of classes, as well ascross-listed under the heading of the respective disci-plines involved. An explanatory note should appearunder the separate headings of each course alertingstudents that they must cross-register for the pairedcourses.

The computer system should be modified so thatstudents enrolling in one course are automaticallyenrolled in the course with which it is paired. Thisadjustment should also apply to withdrawals.

Ideally, the paired courses should meet sequen-tially in the MWF sequence. Instructors found the TTHblock courses and the longer meeting time to be moredifficult for students and instructors.

If possible, faculty should be given rewards asincentives to promote the program, e.g., release time oradditional compensation. DeKalb faculty are nowgiven release time the first time the course is offered,and compensation each additional time the class istaught (limited to one time per year).

Faculty should be provided occasions to brain-storm with faculty in other disciplines and becomemore aware of areas of overlap.

Interdisciplinary reading lists for courses might bedeveloped and assignments made from these lists.Guest lecturers might be brought in to discuss topicsrelated to this list.

Students might be askec' to attend a lecture orother special event on an interdisciplinary topic anddiscuss the event with the class. For example, studentsin a literature class might attend a museum exhibit on ahistorical era relating to a piece of literature they arestudying and bring information back to the class.

All faculty can discover the joys of interdisciplinarycooperation and enhance both the students' perspec-tives and their own!

Deborah Vess, Chair, Committee on InterdisciplinanyStudies, and Assistant Professor, History and Philosophy

For further information, contact the author at DeKalbCollege, Department of Social Science, 2101 WomackRoad, Dunwoody, GA 30338.


September 15, 1994, Vol. XVII, No. 19



institutions tor their own personnel.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106Y) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academic-. 'ender by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra-lion, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1293, (512)471-7545.Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin. Texas POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.


NetA INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CaLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Using E-Mail as an Evaluation ToolAn interdisciplinary studies course lends itself very

well to group projects and discussions about diversetopics. When I first began to teach Human Thoughtand Learning, students would give me feedback aboutwhat they learned, about how well I presented thematerial, and how well they mastered the objective forthe day. Until this semester, that feedback usually tookthe form of "one-minute essays."

Since we have a computer network at our fingertipsand access to a world of information front our desk-tops, I decided to try something different. With the helpof our campus MIS director, I set up an electronicbulletin board for my 60 students and assigned themthe task of responding to my assessment questions.Early on, I had questions about potential problems:

(1) How can I give access to the largest number ofstudents using the smallest number of new useraccounts?

(2) Will students respond to the new system as well asthey did to the "in class" version since they mustgo to the terminals on their own time to respond?Will students benefit from learning how to use thecomputer as a communication tool?

(4) Because they have to go through the Internet menuto find my questions, will students begin acce.isingthe Internet more often?Will students benefit from being able to read oneanother's responses to the on-line bulletin board?

(3)

(5)

The answers to these questions are encouraging:In order to give access to the greatest number ofstudents while opening the fewest computeraccounts, our MIS director decided to create onestudent account, called INTER_STU, and have allstudents log onto that account to use the bulletinboard. This worked fairly well. The only com-plaint came from one of our newborn computerfans who wanted to receive e-mail. The campuscomputer experts are now working on providingaccess for all of our 2,500 students. [Question 11Not only have my students responded consis-tently, they now remind me to put something onthe bulletin board every day before I leave class.

Since this is coming from a group of studentsknown generally as "non-writers," with littlecomputer experience, I consider this a real accom-plishment. [Questions 2 and 3]Once students see the Internet menu, they can'twait to explore. One of my goals for the next yearis to get them to use Internet resources to com-plete other assignments. [Question 4]Students seem to benefit from reading oneanother's responses to the questions. Several ofthem mentioned in class discussions that they hactnever looked at a certain issue from a point ofview other than their own; reading their class-mates' responses appeared to broaden theirexperience. Another benefit came in the form ofimproved writing skills. Knowing that otherswere going to read their work made the studentspay more attention to the quality of what theywrote. Since some of them were "non-writers," Iencouraged them to work in pairs. Members ofeach of the pairs showed remarkable improve-:nent on other written assignments. [Question 5]

Computers can be used to enhance instruction, butwhat I hadn't considered before was using the com-puter for instructional assessment. My students notonly mastered the objectives, but they accomplishedsome other less obvious learning objectivese.g.,improved communications skills, greater tolerance fordifferent ideas, and a higher level of computer literacy.The experience has been good for all of us.

Mary Gene Ryan, Dean, Arts and Sciences

For further information, contact the author at A:kenTechnical College, P. O. Drawer 696, Aiken, SC 29802-0696.


Story Time for College StudentsI read aloud to my students. Early each quarter,

when I say, "Relax and sit back; it's story time," somestudents snicker. But after the initial gramblings, thesesame students quickly revert to the responsive postureof grade-schoolers listening to their teacher read aninteresting story aloud.

I have never had a research-documented reason forreading aloud, but I have felt it is important for stu-dents to hear the beauty of words and the flow ofbeautiful structure. I want them to relax and losethemselves in a story. Moreover, I want to cover mybases: even if my students don't read well, they will atleast hear well. Plus, the activity lends some variety tothe hour and satisfies my own selfish desire to perform.

Recently, as I wiled away an hour in a car dealer-ship, I turned to an article in Smithsonian (February1995), featuring the work of Jim Trelease. One particu-lar passage caught my eye and confirmed my beliefsabout the value of reading aloud to students of any age.

Trelease quotes a skeptical father: "Excuse me, sir.Now this I just don't understand. You say I should readto my son, but my son is in the fourth grade, and I'mmighty proud to say he's in the top reading group!Now, why should you read to a child who alreadyknows how to read? Why doesn't he just read his booksand I'll read my books, and we'll both be happy?"

Trelease responds: "You say your son is reading at afourth-grade level? Wonderful. But tell me: What's hislistening level?"

Listening level? "You see," Trelease explains, "listen-ing comprehension comes before reading comprehen-sion, and it's usually two to three years ahead. A childreading on a fourth-grade level may be able to listen tobooks written on a sixth-grade level. It is the child'slistening vocabulary that feeds his reading vocabulary."To illustrate, "Irelease reprints the opening paragraphfrom Roald Dahls' The Enormous Crocodile. "In thebiggest, brownest, muddiest river in Africa, twocrocodiles lay with their heads just above the water.One of the crocodiles was enormous. The other was notso big.' Now let's suppose a child does not know theword 'enormous.' Which is going to be more effective?Hearing the word in the context of a story, or seeing itisolated from meaning on a flash card? And remember,if a child has never heard the word 'enormous,' he'llnever say the word 'enormous.' And if he's neverheard it or said it, it's going to be pretty difficult whenthe time comes to read it."

Here was the affirmation I was seeking! The differ-ence between reading and listening comprehension is

two to three years! Yes, with students enrolled in myremedial courses in particular, I have noticed that, nomatter whether they're 19 or 39, their sentences just donot come out right, and they're contorted in ways thatdefy structural analysis. My students simply do notknow how good language sounds.

The most obvious reason for their trouble is thatthese students haven't been introduced to gc,3c1 lan-guage: it's not just that they haven't read or written;they have not even had the opportunity to listen. Howcan they mimic structures and vocabulary to whichthey haven't been exposed? Their reading skills are tooweak for them to read competently, but they cancertainly hear good language: the beautiful structure inMaya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake"; the poetry in theprose of Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" and LangstonHughes' "Salvation"; the power of analogy in Dr.Richard Selzer's description of abdominal surgery in"The Knife."

I will continue reading aloud to my students,confident that we are not only having a good time butwe are learning structures and vocabulary that are notaccessible in any other form.

Margaret Payne, Instructor, English

For further information contact the author at PierceCollege, 9401 Farwest Drive, Tacoma, WA 98498.

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September 22, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 20

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1995



INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra-tion, College of Education. SZB 348, The University ot Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1293, (512) 471-7545.Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.


iat INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHEDBY THE NATION*. INSTITUTE FO STAFF' AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLE' GE OF EDUCATI O N," THE:

UNIVERSITY-OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.? WIN 'S PORT FROM THE W S. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Collaboration in CompositionWhen I first taught composition, I behaved like a

writing expert who could not appreciate my students'struggles to create a coherent essay. I gave excellentadvice about how one wrote an organized paragraph orpunctuated a compound sentence, but I was not secureenough to tell my apprentices that I also struggled withthese tasks.

Today. I am proud to discuss both my strengths andweaknesses with my students. I even hand out earlydrafts of my own manuscripts without fear that I willlose the students' respect because, for example, mytopic sentence was placed in the wrong position. Farfrom losing credibility with my students, I find that Igain respect as they gradually recognize my fallibility.

Each semester, my students write diagnostic essaysin our first writing class. I read them carefully, not onlyto assess students' knowledge of mechanics, but tobecome acquainted with each writer's potential voice.In the second class, I read sections of these essays aloudand praise the quality of the writing. I have yet to reada paper that does not contain something laudable: agreat adjective, a sophisticated sentence structure, aunique imagery. Thus, students realize that they havethe potential not only to survive the next 15 weeks ofhard work, but to blossom as authors. I enjoy watchingthe smiles that inevitably decorate their faces.

The next few classes begin in an equally positivemanner. The class always "free writes" on a subject oftheir own choosing (sometimes with my suggestions),and I ask students to read aloud their favorite phrase,sentence, or paragraph. Inevitably, the class joins me inpraising the efforts of each student. Eventually, Icombine constructive criticism with my compliments.For instance, I discuss sentences that might be re-thought or ideas that may not be clear to the reader. Iask students to watch how I edit. We usually concludethat suggestions for improvement are most effectivewhen they follow positive comments.

A major part of my composition curriculum includesgroup editing: peer review is essential for understand-ing that writing is a collaborative process. Early on, Itell students that I use peer review for my own writingand acknowledge how vulnerable I feel when I ask mycolleagues to edit my work. I stress, however, that I am

grateful for my editors' comments because they enableme to see my work through the readers' eyes. In thenext sessions, I discuss the difference between judiciouscriticism and insensitive critical attacks; then I ask mystudents to edit each other's work. Students are usuallyreticent to critique others' essays. However, the morethey read, the better they can identify writing strengthsand weaknesses.

Collaborative authorship is as exciting as groupediting. I sometimes ask students to choose a writingpartner and create one essay together. Usually, thisexercise is productive because students are forced to beboth objective editors and personally involved authors.Inevitably, each writer acts as the other's editor;consequently, they must practice both writing andediting. Even more important, they are not relying onthe teacher as the expert. It is critical that the writingteacher remain uninvolved during the peer-editingprocess. Students must rely on each other or they willnever believe that their peers are substantial editors.

The physical environment of the classroom canpromote collaborative writing. My students sit attables; the intimate atmosphere provided by thisarrangement enables writers and editors to communi-cate easily. I lecture from one of the writing tables orwalk around the room. When we do "free writes," I sitat a table and compose with my students. In this way, Iemphasize that we all arrive at composition ideas byusing similar processes. Joining my students duringthese exercises also enables me to find time for my ownwriting. In fact, much of this article wa3 generatedduring the "free write" sessions in my compositionclasses.

Writing is rewarding when it elicits effective com-munication. And, when composition stimulates com-munication between teachers and students, a dynamiclearning environment is created. An effective writingclass is one in which the students are teaching as theylearn and the instructor is learning as he or she teaches.

Patrick Horan, Instructor, English

For further information, contact the author at SussexCounty Community College, College Hill, Newton, NJ07860.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, /Austin, Texas 78712-1293

The Value of GraduatesStudents enrolled in our nursing program have

numerous questions. Among the more common ques-tions are these: How will we pass the exam forlicensure? Can we find a job in nursing? How do wecompare to other schools of nursing? What do employ-ers ask when you go for your first interview as aregistered nurse? How long was your orientation? Didyou feel prepared for your new job? Do you regretgoing to school? How has your life changed? How didyou prepare for the licensure examination? Did takingthe licensure on the computer bother you?

Students need to hear the answers, not only fromfaculty members, but from graduates. Faculty com-ments carry some weight, but feedback from recentgraduates provides extraordinary encouragement anddirection to those struggling to finish their degree.

The students need to connect with graduates topromote the concept of "member of the discipline," asdescribed by the National League of Nursing guide-lines for the associate degree nurse. We determined thatthe most appropriate place to make this connection wasthe student nursing organization on campus. South-western Association of Nursing Students (SWANS) wasan active group providing educational opportunities,promoting leadership qualities in its members, andparticipating in community service.

SWANS decided to schedule a graduate panel forumfor early spring. By this time, recent graduates shouldhave been employed for at least six months and havehad the opportunities to experience the transitionsfrom student to graduate to registered nurse. Twomonths prior to the scheduled forum, the associationsent invitations to recent graduates and followed upwith personal contact by faculty and SWANS members.SWANS provided pizza and drinks for the forum,which was scheduled during a one-hour, Friday lunchbreak. Four graduates attended.

Initially, the advisor was concerned about how tostimulate discussion, but the students and graduateslaunched into an hour-long sharing without prompt-ing. What did they share?

thanks for a dedicated facultysituations which reinforced that nursing was theright careerstudy techniques promoting success on the licensureexamthe values of appearance and attendance to success-ful employmentthe need to commit to lifelong learning

difficulties during orientation and ways to avoidthemanxieties associated with the licensure exam andways to decrease stressdescriptions of work settings from home health,psychiatric, critical care, and medical-surgicalnursingWas the forum a success? One had only to see the

intensity in the eyes of the students to answer thatquestion. Some of the same people who were strug-gling with student roles last year were returning thisyear to discuss their current roles as RNs. Their advicereinforced the principles of professionalism that thefaculty attempt to address throughout the curriculum.The students ranked that SWANS meeting the best ofthe year.

M. Jane Swath, Instructor, Nursing

For further information, contact the author at IndianaVocational Technical College, 3501 First Avenue,Evansville, IN 47710.

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September 29, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 21




INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra-tion, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1293, (512) 471-7545.Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 346, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.


tit INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OFEDI)CATION THE- .

UNIVERSITY OF TEX.AS AT AUSTIN WITH SAPORT FROM THEW K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W.RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Interviewing ESL Students to Learn Research SkillsOn the summit of Snoqualmie Pass near Seattleits

very name a snatch of language from an indigenousAmerican tongueI am buying a French Roastespresso from the Asian American owner of an A-frameconvenience market. Earlier this same day, I listened asa Highline Community College instructor describedhow she used interviews of ESL immigrants by herAmerican communications students. I wondered how Imight incorporate the same technique into my writingclasses. I thought about it across Snolqualmie Pass; inCle Elum, where I ate dinner in an Italian diner patron-ized by blonde-bearded Swedes in flannel shirts; inYakima, where a Chinese restaurant named Hecha'smarked a long vowel "e" on its billboard, presumablyto clarify the menu for Spanish-English bilinguals whomight mistakenly drop by for a burrito; in the basinbelow Benton City, where "no one" lived before theHanford Nuclear Reservation was builtno one, ofcourse, except the tribes of Native Americans who hadlived there for millenia.

The next day I called my college's ESL coordinatorwho agreed to help set up the interviews which wouldserve as the starting point for an essay examining someaspect of culture. I thought this would allow me toteach research skills in a lively and important way inmy composition class. Specific skills we needed toaddress in the quarter included primary and secondaryresearch techniques, the recognition of other frame-works and theoretical perspectives (in this case,through cultural inquiry) and practice in higher-levelcritical literacy. In this way, multiculturalism mightactually serve all students by providing:

a powerful tool for thinking that honors andencourages the free exchange of ideas so crucial toa working democracy;actual preparation for the increasingly globalizedeconomy where diversity and not hegemony isthe rule;lifelong learning techniques, including informa-tion retrieval and document analysis.

The first activity for any kind of research is heuristic.Without good questions, I tell my class, I won't knowhow to find the information nor will I know what to doshould I stumble across some. Using EricaLindemann's A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers, Edward de

Bono's Six Thinking Hats, and Bloom's taxonomy, Imade a seven-page list of questions (including ques-tions about questions) for my students to consider. Ilater found out that this heuristic, while overkill for a50-minute interview, was valuable even for thosestudents who couldn't or didn't want to plan beyondthe old journalistic standby: who/what/when/where/why/how?

The questioning process allowed us to discussaspects of the situation: e.g., the probability that severalof them would find partners who were difficult tounderstand or who did not wish to answer a specificline of questioning (a woman from the People's Repub-lic of China, for example, wouldn't say anything untilshe was satisfied her responses would not be pub-lished). We discussed the clear need to think on one'sfeet, as well as the necessity of sticking to the preparedquestions while simultaneously being willing to ignorethem altogether.

A typical set o, juestions, the following heuristicwas developed by a student who was interested indiscovering if western ideas of feminism existed inLaos.

I. "Getting to know the person" questions: What isyour name? How old are you? What country are youfrom? Where in the country? Is that urban or rural?Had you lived there all your life? How long have youlived in America? Do you like it? Why? Why not? Whatare some of the differences you find interesting be-tween your native country and your new home?

These questions obviously serve as icebreakers. Bothparticipants answer or comment upon the questions ina conversational way.

2. "Learning about my subject" questions: What isthe role of women? Why? Can they work or do theystay home and take care of the children? If they dowork, what types of jobs/careers do they have? What istheir income, compared to a man's? Are they re-spected? In what ways? Are they allowed to get aneducation? At what age do women usually get mar-ried? Start a family? Do you notice any differencebetween American and Laotian women? Are therewomen in positions of power, such as in the govern-ment? Is there a class system which makes the answersto these questions different depending on status?


The ESL coordinator told me that we could expectstudents from the former Soviet block countries, Japan,China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Mexico, Guatemala,Colombia, and Brazil. Each of my students prepared aline of questioning related to some aspect of culturaldifference. The specific topic would then be supportedand developed with secondary research. Some of thesubjects that evolved into very interesting essaysincluded:

the martiage ceremony in Tadzhikistan;the wife's status in traditional Mexican society;micro-managed population control in the People'sRepublic of China;higher education in South Korea;unwed mothers in Japan;religious education in Mexican schools;the dearth of physicians in contemporary Viet-nam;the similarities between education and technologyfunding in Georgia and the U.S.;causes and effects of immigration from ruralMexico;the effects of Mexico City's pollution on touristrevenues;the psychological effects of the Chernnobyldisaster.

Obviously, these are subjects which need probingwith topic questions. To accomplish this, we use thevery simple Subject-Topic-Thesis heuristic, which Iexplain in the following way: the subject is the largestfocused area, the topic is the question that the writerasks about that subject, and the thesis is the workinganswer to the topic question. A writer has any numberof topics to choose from to generate interesting thesesfor short papers. Below is a scratch sheet of initialthoughts along the lines of this heuristic.

Subject:Dearth of physicians in VietnamTopic: How? Thesis: A process analysis of how this

situation occurred.Topic: Why? Thesis: A causal analysis of govern-

ment policy on health care before and afterthe fall of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh.

Topic: What? Thesis: A process description of whatmeasures are being taken to address theproblem.

Topic: Who? Thesis: A definition and classificationanalysis of who suffers or who profits fromthis phenomenon.

These are just a few possibilitiesthe better thequestion, the better the answer. After the studentdecides, I send him/her to the library to begin a surveyof literature to determine if there is enough informationabout the topic.

The paper is quite simple, but it requires some fairlycomplex skills. I ask students to address a lay audienceand to follow a typical Time or Newsweek report organi-.zation, highlighting the following superstructure:

1. Introduction: Allow the primary research tointroduce, in an anecdotal way, the subject, thetopic, and the thesis.

2. Background, contexts, history, basic facts, defini-tions of terms, and so on: Using that anecdotalevidence, pull out some of the implications andbegin to research them. Also research any state-ments made by the interviewee.

3. Summarize what you find out about the implica-tions of what your interviewee told you andsummarize whether this person's statements seemto be accurate, overly generalized, and so on.

4. Analysis: Using evidence from your research,begin to draw inferences and use your research toconfirm, dispute, refute, validate, support,develop, and so on, the terms of your thesis.

5. Conclusicri: go back to the primary research. Ifyour introduction began with your interviewee'smemories, use the conclusion to bring him/herinto the present. Use this return to the anecdotallevel as a way to summarize your essay's contentor, better yet, to draw inferences about the mate-rial: i.e., speculate about the future in terms ofyour topic or your interviewee.

This schedule assumes that the class members arefamiliar with techniques for analyzing evidence inwriting; with the differences between implications,inferences, and statements of fact; and with the tech-niques of summary, paraphrase, and analysis.

I recommend incorporating ESL interviews intowriting classes with a final, somewhat selfish argu-ment: you'll get interesting papers to read. Mostimportant, though, is that most students truly enjoy theproject and deepen their abilities as writers and think-ers.

Richard Cummins, Instructor, English

For further information, contact the author at ColumbiaBasin College, 2600 North 20th Avenue, Pasco, WA99336. ..

4 10

Suenne D. Roueche, Editor

October 6, 1995, Vol. XVII, No. 22

The University of Texas at Austin, 1995



INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administra-tion, College of Education, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1293, (512)471.7545.Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending at Austin. Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.


1 INNOVATION ABSTRACTS. .

PUBLISHED BY TRE NATIONAL'INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (N1SOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Teaching the Big PictureResearch is a concept that strikes fear into the hearts

of even the bravest, brightest, and best students at anyeducational level in any discipline. Visualizing andunderstanding the big picture of a research project, aswell as the intricate details of the process, can beintimidating. Project time constraints, solo-learnerfrustrations, and the typical end-of-project evaluationsheighten students' fears.

Despite awareness of such research anxieties, manyinstructors continue to teach research using the tradi-tional individual project assignment. An innovativestrategy described here demonstrates that a collabora-tive approach, in which all class members work as partof a team on a comprehensive project, offers severalmajor advantages over the more conventional tech-nique. Although the class described here is a graduate-level, qualitative research course, the pedagogicaldesign and theoretical principles are applicable to anycourse that includes a research project component (e.g.,English composition or statistical methods).

Course Design and Content ProcessesThis qualitative research class was organized into

micro-teams; these teams coordinated their efforts aspart of an integrated 16-member macro-team workingon a common research problem. Simultaneously, theclass studied the literature of qualitative research anddelivered presentations about selected topics from thereadingse.g., developing interview protocols, design-ing qualitative studies, and coding data.

The course instructor assumed a dual roleinstruc-tor and client. As client, the instructor hired the class asa team of researchers to conduct a large-scale o..ialita-tive study examining his organi/ation's office ofinstitutional effectiveness. Information about the goals,organization, and staffing of the office, as well asdocuments and working papers selected to orient theresearchers to the office, were prepared by the instruc-tor and distributed to the class. Using guidelinesprovided by the instructor, the class interviewed theinstructor/client to provide a base tor determining theobjectives and major evaluation questions to be an-swered by the evaluation study. Following this inter-view, the class developed a general design for data

1 7

collection and analysis: assessing the "internal" view ofthe office's operations by means of a focus groupinterview of the office staff and assessing the "external"view of the office by means of individual interviewswith representatives of the various offices that were themajor "consumers" or "customers." Analysis of theinterview data focused on comparing the internal andexternal views.

Student researchers were trained by professionalconsultants in developing interview protocols andleading focus group and individual interviews. Follow-ing this training, the entire class created protocols forboth types of interviews. Two class members thenmoderated a focus group interview with the office ofinstitutional effectiveness staff, two transcribed theentire interview, and the remaining class membersbecame observer participants. Subsequently, the entireclass coded and analyzed the focus group interview.

Next, 22 individual interviews were conducted withthe organization's employeesadministration, faculty,and classified personnel. Student researchers, workingin pairs, conducted and audio-recorded these inter-views, one serving as primary interviewer and theother as observer. Each pair transcribed and codedthese interviews. Each interview team produced a setof field notes for each visit and wrote at least oneanalytical memo summarizing its informal analysis ofthe interview data.

After all interviews were complete, a three-membercoordinating committee was formed to oversee sched-uling and production of the final report. The followingprocesses were involved in compiling and reporting theproject's qualitative analysis:

Each interview team developed a set of codes forits interviews, reducing he 22 interviews to eightsets of codes, one set per team.Interview pairs organized into two groups ofeight (four interview teams per group) to comparecodes, reconcile, extend, and produce a set ofcomprehensive codes for that group. This processultimately generated two tentative sets of codes.Representatives from the two groups then metand negotiated/produced a final comprehensiveset of organized codes inclusive of significant

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration

`,-,4 College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712-1293

quotes that were illustrative of each codingcategory from the individual interviews.Major coding categories previously identifiedfrom the focus group interview were defined, andilluminating examples were compiled.Based on these two major coding lists and repre-sentative quotes, a three-member team prepared acomparative analysis of the focus group andindividual interviews. The team's analysis %vaspresented to the class as a whole for discussionand development of the final comparison/contrast analysis.After analyzing the final interview results, theclass as a whole developed a set of responses andrecommendations which addressed the client'sconcerns.

After the project was underway, each session wasconducted according to a work schedule developed bythe coordinating committee. Updates to the schedulewere distributed at the beginning of each class session,which typically would involve a short review andplanning session, a meeting of the functional groups toaccomplish the work scheduled for that session, and aclosing review and planning session. Throughout theprocess, individual and small-group perceptions andanalyses were pooled and checked against one another.Initial observations and perceptions were continuallyreexamined, discussed, and often modified in the lightof these recursive exercises. The results were incorpo-rated into a final written document which representedthe significant contributions of several teams. Theseteams developed draft sections of the document, whichwere presented to the master document productionteam for revision, editing, and incorporation into thefinal report. The results were also presented to the clientand his office in an oral report.

ConclusionsFrom the instructor's perspective, the course design

provided the following benefits:(1) Individual research projects may give students

an understanding of the technical or conceptualskills (e.g., how to encode text), but working aspart of functional teams to complete a compre-hensive large-scale project gives students anunderstanding of the administrative and logisti-cal aspects of research. Students were requiredto do a task analysis of the entire project, toorganize into functional groups to accomplisheach task, and to coordinate the work of differ-ent groups to keep the entire project on track.

(2) From a pedagogical standpoint, the collaborative

Suanne D. Roueche, EditorOctober 13,1995 Vol. XVII, No. 23ID The University of Texas at Austin, 1995Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER


approach attenuates the anxieties that oftenstymie the individual researcher. The socialsupport received from classmates frees thestudent to get on with the task (e.g., coding).

(3) By providing on-going checkpoints of feedbackand evaluation, learning becomes a formativerather than summative process. For example,when the class came together as a group, stu-dents discovered that individually producedcodes were quite similar, giving real meaning tothe theoretical proposition that reality is sociallyconstructed.

From the students' perspective, the course provideda rich pragmatic and collaborative experience:

(1) The course'proved invaluable as a precursor tothe dissertation research process.

(2) The experience reinforced the increasing impor-tance of collaborative processes because it was apoignant reminder of how it feels to be thatsolitary student in the classroom.

Norvell Northcutt, Director of Analysis, Austin Commu-nity College, and Lecturer, The University of Texas at Austin

Sue Darby, Graduate Student, Community College Leader-ship Program, The University of Texas at Austin

Leann Ellis, Graduate Student, Community CollegeLeadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin

For further information contact the authors at theCommunity College Leadership Program, SZB 348, TheUniversity of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar, except Thanksgiving week by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas78712-1293. (512) 471-7545. Second.class postage pending at Austin. Texas POSTMASTER. Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1293


Itees INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY TtlE.NATIONq INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION," THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN e WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W IMELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Homegrown CompositionBeing asked to teach the honors section of an intro-

ductory composition course was not a cause for rejoic-ing. Previous instructors had told me that these stu-dents were interested only in the grade, had no reallove of learning, became hostile when grades werelower than anticipated, and were loners.

I decided to take a rather nontraditional approach tothis course: push the students out of the classroom andinto their community, and provide them with opportu-nities for social interaction. I called it "Your Home-town: A Great Place to Write From."

We began with a "mail delivery" the second day ofclass. This was to become a tradition throughout thesemester, as well as a source of great humor and acatalyst for cohesiveness among the students. The mailwas a letter which I wrote in the guise of an imaginaryformer native of the area, a Mr. Washington Ford, whohad moved away but was writing to request someinformation before moving his family back to northernNew York. Each student was handed his or her ownpersonally addressed, sealed envelope; one studentread it aloud to the class.

"Yo, compadre," the letters began, and poor Mr.Ford went on for two pages about his personal andoccupational troubles in a Los Angeles suburb. He hadlost three jobs in the past five years and wanted to openup a mail order business. His wife was into crafts andgenealogy. His son, Jefferson, had three earrings, woresurfer "rags," and wanted to play hockey. His daughterhad asthma and needed special medical care. Could thestudents help him resettle by finding out about housingcosts, schools, business regulations, social possibilities,medical care, as well as whether they thought thefamily could be accepted, coming as they did from sucha different environment? And could they reply, byletter, in about a week?

Such was our first assignment. As the studentsfanned out into their communities to collect informa-tion, we used class time to talk about letters as a modeof communication: their varieties and characteristics,strengths and weaknesses, as well as audience, toneand style. At the end of the required time, the studentsread their replies aloud, one of them beginning with,"Th, Washington!"

The next day another letter arrived (the studentsbegan to express amazement as to how rapidly the mailtraveled in this class!). This one was from a "friend" ofWashington's, who had heard from him about theexcellent research that had been done in reply to hisletter. Mr. Sinclair, as this correspondent was called,was an attorney who needed a report on the origins ofthe area for a client who felt his family might have aclaim to some lanki settled by an ancestor. Could thisreport be sent back in about ten days? Could a map ofthe area at that time also be included?

Although this assignment required formal research,we used the less familiar archives rooms of the collegeand local libraries, as well as the local historical societ-ies and the local historians. The college archiveslibrarian, who was also a local history buff, introducedthe students to the usual and not-so-usual sources attheir disposal and served as a resource person foranswering difficult questions. Because these letterswere coming from the "outside," the students began tosee me more as a resource person and less as a task-master. Thev began to initiate their own questionsabout audience, purpose, format, style, and tone inorder to solve their own writing problems; they lookedto each other for help.

Letter three was from a representative of the Na-tional Historical Society who had heard of the studentsvia Mr. Sinclair, whom he had met at a conference. Thisgentleman requested the identification and history of abuilding in their town that could eventually lead to itbeing preserved as a national landmark. For thisassignment, I invited the teacher of a local historycourse to speak to the class. He had been directlyinvolved in the process of restoring and preserving alocal, historically significant business and was able toprovide the students with the foundation for theirselection and research. Letter four was from a citycouncil member whoby the merest of chanceshadread this history. She explained that at that verymoment, the city council was considering demolishingthe building! Would the students come to the nextmeeting and read a persuasive paper against such ademolition? The fifth letter came from the editor of ahistorical magazine whoagain by chancehad been


sitting in the audience at the city council meeting. Shewas wondering if the students would be interested inwriting a human interest feature article on a street intheir hometown, specifically comparing its past to itspresent. Finally, letter six came from the city manager.She was seeking help on a specific problem the townwas facing and what the best possible solution wouldbe.

Six different letters, six different assignments, sixdifferent modes of writing, but all involved problemsolving, original research and documentation, directcontact with a wide variety of community resourcesand individuals, as well as more traditional instructionin writing. The class was successful. We all maintaineda high level of enthusiasm throughout the semester anddeveloped a strong sense of class unity. Two of thepapers written originally as assignments were eventu-ally published in the college's literary magazine. Wehad no dropouts, and all but one student signed up forthe next course in the honors sequence (somethingwhich had not happened before).

There were several reasons for this, I think. The mainreason was that the assignments were unusual, allow-ing students more freedom and creativity than theyhad before. Another, of course, was that they werewriting about places and people they knew and inwhich they had an interest. A final, and unexpected,reason for the success of the course was the camarade-rie that developed among the students as they faced acommon antagonist in these never-ending letters.

Although this was an honors course with the advan-tage of a small number of students, I think the ideashere could be adapted to both developmental and non-honors college-level composition classes, as long asthey are not too large. Most colleges have archivesavailable, and most communities, however small, havelocal libraries and historians, or people who serve asrepositories of local history and lore. Academic re-source people are plentiful.

Assignments can be longer or shorter, more or lesscomplex, depending on the academic level of thestudents. If research is not to be emphasized, instruc-tors can focus on description, narration, people pro-files, community lore, and letters to the editor. Mailfrom California is optional, of course.

Joanne M. Johnson, Assistant Professor, English

For further information, contact the author at JeffersonCommunity College, Outer Coffeen Street, Watertown,NY 13601.

"3-D" LearningThe learning experience is often limited to a two-

dimensional view of the subject matter. In traditionalcourses, the teacher paints word pictures of the mate-rial, then students move into a laboratory setting toconvert their mental perceptions into finished prod-uctse.g., a term paper, computer program, chemistryexperiment, piece of art work, or a tuned auto. Theseproducts are usually incomplete. So it is back torepainting word pictures, trying to fill in the gaps fromthe original lecture. Over several years, I have devel-oped a new strategy to avoid this instructional ineffi-ciencythe "3D" strategy of teaching, DescribeDemonstrateDo.

In a typical "3D" session, I give a short Describelecture, never more than 15 minutes, covering some ofthe highlights or key concepts in the chapter. Then I goback to the first major concept and Demonstrate how itcan be applied. This step can be accomplished with anoverhead projector, a videotape or videodisc segment,or any combination of media. The purpose of Demon-strate is to help students form better mental images ofthe process Described in the brief lecture. Here we allagree, to some extent, about what the finished productshould look like. The Demonstrate phase is also limitedto about 15 minutes.

The last step, Do, allows students to apply what theyhave heard Described and have seen Demonstrated; theycreate a product. Upon completion of this step, we takea short break and start the "3D" process again with thenext topic.

Since breaking the traditional lecture-lab time mold,I spenci slightly more time preparing for each classsession. The positive side of the changes I have made incontent and delivery is the increase in the amount ofmaterial that can be covered and retained. In the past, Ifound myself repeating parts of every lecture. Nowstudents busily reinforce what they just heard Describedand saw Demonstrated only moments before, and Iwatch this new knowledge and skill carry over to thenext class session with minimum need for review.

I have discovered that students and I cover 30-50%more material in each course with far greater retentionthan in previous years. Feedback indicates that almost100', of the students are in favor of this approach overtraditional lecture/lab methods.

Ron Lenhart, Faculty, Computer Information Systems

For further information, contact the author at MohaveCommunity College, Lake Havasu Campus, LakeHavasu City, AZ 86403.

Suanne D. Roueche, EditorOctober 20, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 240 The University of Texas at Austin, 1995

Further duplication is permitted by MEMBERinstitutions tor their own personnel.

"/

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar, except Thanksgiving week, by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD),Department of Educational Administration, College of Education. SZB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas78712-1293, (512) 471-7545. Second-class postage pending at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS, SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, rx 78712-1293,


at INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTEFOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION THE._

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE S10 W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Delivering Test Feedback to StudentsTesting communicates our academic expectations and

standards to students, and feedback about the test is partof the testing process. Feedback sessions enable us toexplain how the class performed as a whole, to identifyand clarify conceptual difficulties students had with theexam, and to explain the criteria by which the exam wasgraded. These feedback sessions, however, tend not to bepleasurable. Students may become quiet and unrespon-sive, challenge a grade that is lower than expected, oreven dispute the validity of the exam. We may feel s,.;meanxiety about returning exams to a class that testedpoorly, feel responsible about the achievement level of theclass, and become defensive in response to students'criticisms about the exam or the grading procedures. Insuch a heightened emotional atmosphere, communicationbetween instructor and student may become blurred andineffective. The following procedures can be helpful indelivering clear and effective test feedback to studentsand decreasing the tension associated with these sessions.

Explain the Characteristics of the ExamThe objective of administering most exams is to test

students' knowledge. It is perfectly legitimate, therefore,to give students detailed information about what theexam will include. Students can be informed about thetypes of questions that will appear, how much each typeof question will be "worth," what course material will becovered, and what criteria will be used for gradingpurposes. Giving students information enables them tobetter prepare for the exam.

Make Grading Criteria Clear and ConsistentMake certain students can determine how the grade

was achieved. Write out the criteria used to grade an itemand the rationale for awarding fewer points than thepossible total. Writing out criteria also allows for consis-tent application across all of the exam. A grading sheetthat clearly states criteria and how points are assigned canmake grading essay exams faster and Provides studentswith clear feedback.

Each section of the exam should be dearly labeled withboth the instructions and the number of points it ispossible to earn. For example, the multiple-choice sectionof an exam might begin, "Each multiple-choice item is

worth 5 points." The essay section might include the totalnumber of points possible; for example, "What is thedefinition of 'mainstreaming'? (15 points)." The student'stotal points or percentage score should be clearly labeled,along with the possible total. A clear and consistentgrading system simplifies the feedback process.

Prepare for the Feedback SessionOnce the exams have been graded, calculate several

descriptive statisticse.g, the average score on the exam.This average may be converted into a letter grade orpercentage score. The range and the distribution of scoresfor the class should be discussed.

The difficulty level of each item or question should becomputed. The difficulty level of multiple-choice items isthe percentage of students who correctly answered theitem; on an essay item it is the average score earned.When computing the difficulty level, determine whatalternate answers were favored by the class. Thesealternate answers will be those most likely debatedduring the feedback session, so it is important to reviewthem and explain why the alternate option is wrong andwhy the correct option is right.

Clearly explain grading criteria for essay items. Thisinformation, along with the descriptive statistics, can bewritten on the blackboard or on a transparency.

Establish a Structured Format for DiscussionStructuring the procedures for conducting the feed-

back session can make it run more smoothly. It is impor-tant to explain these procedures at the beginning of theclass period btfore returning the exams, as students will beless distracted. Explain how the parts of the exam will bediscussed. Give students directions for what they shoulddo if they disagree with the grading of an item. Decidewhat student interactions are acceptable during thefeedback session. Maintaining a calm, businesslike tonecan help sessions go more smoothly. The followingfeedback strategies provide a useful range of discussionOptions.

Whole-class participatory feedback: File instructorgives feedback to the class as a whole. Each test item maybe discussed. Students are invited to make comments andto ask questions about particular items.

, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)ilkkj)) Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration

College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712-1293

An advantage of participatory feedback is that theinstructor may learn about items that xyere not wellwritten or were ambiguous. Thi .. session can be a learningtool to reteach important points. Open discussion aboutthe exam is especially appealing to instructors who wantto foster interaction in their classrooms. These interac-tions, however, can become heated in a test feedbacksituation. The instructor may need to redirect hostile andescalating verbal behavior from the students.

Whole-class non-participatory feedback: Students areasked to reserve their comments and questions about theexam for a later time. The instructor may have studentscome during office hours to discuss the exam or havethem write out their comments and submit them forconsideration.

An advantage to this feedback is that it allows theinstructor to complete the feedback to the class veryquickly. Items tha..ew or no students ni issed may beskipped over and explanations limited to the mostdifficult items. Students are given an alternative format inwhich to voice their comments when they can calmly andlogically reflect on an argument. Both student andinstructor are given time to reflect on how an item shouldhave been answered and graded. However, only the moremotivated students tend to visit the instructor duringoffice hours or write out an argument about an item.Instructors will not be as likely to hear from less moti-vated studentsthe very ones that most likely haddifficulty with tlie exam. Moreover, the instructor will nothave an opportunity to monitor the class' understandingof an item.

Small-group feedback: The class is separated into smallgroups of three or four students, and the groups are askedto develop an "answer key" to the exam. Students discusseach item and come to a conclusion about the correctanswer. While the groups discuss the items, the instructorcan circulate among them.

There are a number of advantages to using a small-group feedback format. In these sessions all students havethe opportunity to be active participants in the discus,ion.Students who correctly answered items explain them tothose students who did not (a peer-tutoring experience).A disadvantage of this feedback session is that it is time-consuming. Also, some students may be reluctant toreveal their errors and discuss them..lhere may be atendency for those students who are more verbal andwho do %yell on the exam to dominate the group. Clearexplanati(rn ot how the groups should proceed and closemonitoring of the groups by the instructor can help of (setthese d kadvantage-,

hulivhbial feedIwk: I he ii i Lu R. tOr hOld', Individuallest -teedbat k sessions r Lii eat II ,sttitlettl.

$uanne 0. Rouoche, EditorOctober 27, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 25© The University of Texas al Austin 1995Further duplication is peimitted by MEMBERinstitutions tor melt ovm upt-onn,,

may be scheduled during extended office hours or duringa class activity that is not being led by the instructor. Theinstructor can help the student identify and remediatemisconceptions, and strategies that an individual studentmay use on future exams can be explored.

The advantage of these sessions is that the instructorcan target the feedback to particular student needs.Disagreements about particular items may be discussedin a non-public manner and addressed at length by theinstructor. The greatest disadvantage is the time they taketo complete; discussions with individual students in largeclasses must be brief.

ConclusionTest-feedback sessions can be conducted smoothly

vhen instructors help prepare students for the exam,clearly explain the criteria used to grade the exam,prepare for the subsequent feedback session, and struc-ture the feedback session appropriately to the characteris-tics and needs of the class.

Laura M. Stough, Visiting Assistant Professor, EducationalPsychology

For further information, contact the author at Texas A&MUniversity, College of Education, College Station, TX77843-4115.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar except Thanksgiving rveek. by the National Institute ler Staff and Organizational Development (NISOM.Department of Educatimal Administration College of Education. SZB 348. The Universq of Texas at Austin, Austin. TexasT712-1293 1512) 471-7545 Second-class postage pending at Austin. Texas POSTMASTER Send address changes to

INNOVATION ABSTFMCIS SZR 349 Pro linn.ersity of Texas ,it Austin. Austin, TX 78712-1293


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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS Ai *AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION'

A Well-Designed Plan: The Key to anAward-Winning Wellness Program

Today, more worksites than ever have either imple-mented or are investigating the need for wellnessprograms. While many organizations have successfullydesigned programs, others have experienced one ormore of the common obstacles to success: (1) lack of topmanagement support; (2) insufficient assessment data;(3) fragmented or inappropriate program activities; (4)assigning the wellness program as an "add on" respon-sibility to an existing employee already working a full-time job; (5) lacking an organized, step-by-step plan fordesign, organization, and implementation.

Experience indicates that many of these obstaclescan be avoided. Many organizations provide resourceswhich contain wellness program planning principles.In the process of developing the Pure Energy WellnessProgram at Chattanooga State Technical CommunityCollege, we have found the following resources to beinvaluable: (1) the six dimensions of wellness modelfrom the University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point); (2) aplanning book entitled Guideliiies.for Employee HealthPromotion Programs available from the Association forWorksite Health Promotion; (3) local wellness councils;and (4) a comprehensive planning modelThe HealthIntervention and Evaluation Strategy (HIEST) frame-work, an organized, step-by-step approach to thedesign, organization, and implementation of a wellnessprogram.

The HIEST framework provides structure, a consis-tent sense of direction, and a well-designed plan. It alsohelps avoid most of the common problems associatedwith many wellness programs.

The first step in the HIEST framework is an analysisof both the current behaviors of the prospective partici-pants in the wellness program and the organiiationalenvironment and practices. Individual lifestyle behav-iors are identified and analyzed in order to determinethe existence of health risk factors and the likelihood offuture health problems and work-related accidents. Theexisting organizational behavior is identified by areview of current buisiness policies and practices,ergonomic practices, lighting, potential exposure tohazardous chemicals, and anything else affecting thehealth of employees and students.

- o

The second step in the framework is the assessmentphase. This is a detailed look at the many aspects of thework environment as well as existing perceptions,beliefs, attitudes, and health practices of the potentialprogram participants. When the assessment phase iscompleted, the program director can better determinethe health needs of the individuals and the organiza-tion, and establish a baseline upon which to measureultimate program success.

The assessment phase includes: health data analysis(a review of worker's compensation claims, medicalclaims and rates of absenteeism); an analysis of indi-vidual health behaviors (risk factors, interest andattitude surveys); assessment of organizational healthand behavior (environmental health; safety; effective-ness of communication; productivity; job effectiveness;health culture audit).

The strategic planning step involves prioritizingneeds and interests, outlining goals and objectives,devising an incentive system, developing an imple-mentation plan, developing a communication plan, andcreating some mechanism for evaluation.

After establishing priorities, specific, attainable, andmeasurable goals can be developed. Written goals andobjectives provide a blueprint for program planners tofollow. These also help upper management understandthe role of a wellness program and its contributiontoward fulfilling the institutional mission. Anothercomponent of the strategic plan is an incentive system,which can help motivate individuals to seek changes in.iegative lifestyle behavior and to reinforce favorablechanges in health behaviors. A strategic plan shouldinclude an implementation plan which contains asummary of program offerings, when they are to beoffered, who will handle program administrativeduties, etc. This plan provides clarification regardingadministrative details and areas of respectability.

After writing an implementation plan, it is impor-tant to develop a communication plan. This shouldinclude an overall program orientation, a description ofhow specific program offerings will be promoted, adescription of ongoing program communication, andso on.


Finally, an evaluation plan is essential. It shouldinclude: (I) a review of the previously written goalsand objectives; (2) a list of evaluation questions which,when answered, indicate program success; (3) a list ofactivities for achieving the goals ,,nd objectives (i.e., alisting of the interventions to be implemented); (4) a listof the results which \vill demonstrate program success;(5) a summary of the methods to be used for collectinginformation which will be used to evaluate success; (6)and a plan for information collection (i.e., who willcollect information and when it will be collected). Thecompletion of the assessment strategic planning phasesprovides a solid foundation for the program develop-ment phase.

The fourth step in the H I EST framework is thedevelopment of specific programs. General categoriesof programs are health education classes, supportgroups, special campaigns, seminar series, kickoffevents, and wellness resource centers.

On the subject of program development, it is impor-tant to understand the dynamic effects of predisposingfactors (individual and organizational) and enablingfactors on ultimate program success. This interrelation-ship is a part of the HIEST framework since an under-standing of it can help program planners anticipatebarriers in the achievement of a program's goals andobjectives. A brief look at the subject of predisposingand enabling factors may help clarify this interrelation-ship.

Predisposing factors can affect program success. Ifan individual or an organization holds a deep-seatedbelief that there is little that can be done to improveindividual or organizational health, it will certainlyhinder programming efforts. However, if such a feelingwere detected during the assessment or programmingphase, it might be possible to find a wa \ to deal withthe feeling. Another predisposing factor is locus ofcontrolwhether an individual believes that health isdependent on personal habits (internal locus of control)or whether he believes he has no control over hisultimate well-being (external locus of control). Self-efficacy and self-esteem are other predisposing factors.When an individual or an organization has a strongbelief and confidence that significant change can occur,chances for programming success improve greatly.

Enabling factors include a sufficient knowledgebase, skills acquisition, social support, and availabilityand accessibilit\ of resources. As individuals and theorganization understand the internal and externalvariables which affect health, the foundation on whichskills, support, and motivation are built becomesstronger. Social support can be provided bv familymembers, co-workeN, supervisors, and I riends. Finall

Suanne D. Roueche, EditorNovember a 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 26© 1 he University of Texas at Austin. 1995Further duplication is rrmilted by MEMBERinstitutions for their ow, personnel

the commitment of resources encourages change,stimulates further growth, and enhances programsuccess.

Changes in individual and organizational behavior,described in the framework as "modified behaviors,"can be expected. These modified behaviors become thenew baseline behaviors and evolve to accommodateemerging trends within the employee population andthe organization. The dynamic nature of this processassures that wellness efforts continue to meet theunique needs of both the individual employees and theorganization itself.

The final phase in the framework addresses theinlportance of maintenance factors. As changes inindividual and organizational behaviors occur, it isimportant for the behaviors to be maintained. Mainte-nance factors are family support, organizationalsupport, social support, and motivational efforts. Whenmaintenance factors sufficiently reinforce the desiredbehavior for a sufficient time period, a successfulbehavior change can take place.

Throughout the development of the Pure EnergyWellness Program, we have attempted to utilize theresources and steps in the HIEST framework and toavoid many of the common obstacles. CSTCC hasreceived "bronze," "silver," and "gold" Well Work-place awards from the Wellness Councils of America(1993, 1994, and 1995) and the prestigious "Businessand Industry Award" from the Association forWorksite Health Promotion (1994). While much re-mains to be done, we have made some progress towardthe ultimate goal of integrating wellness throughoutthe organization and permanently changing thecorporate culture.

Tom Crum, Wellness Director

For further information, contact the author at Chatta-nooga State Technical Community College, 4501Amnicoia Highway, Chattanooga, TN 37406.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199. 1O6X is publishe,. weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar. except Thanksgiving nick, by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).Department of Educational Aoministration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Texas78712-1293. (512) 471-754: Seco'id-class postage pending at Austin. Texas. POSTMASTER Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS SZB 348. The University of Texas ar Austin. Austin TX 78712-1293


INNOVATION ABSTRACTS-PUB -I$HED E3Y THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE'FOR STAFF'AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD) ,'COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDArloil

Integrating Study Skills into the College CurriculumThe experience is all too familiar. As the semester

begins, a class with full enrollment begins slowly tolose students. As the semester ends, nearly one-fourthto one-half of the class may have officially dropped orjust quit coming to class. This particular experiencewas difficult for me to comprehend and adjust to as afirst-year instructor at an inner-city community college.I talked with my colleagues who confirmed the samephenomenon occurred in their classes. Their explana-tions ranged from a sensitivity to the overwhelmingdifficulties adult students in economically distressedareas encounter to a dismissal of students as tooimmature and unmotivated for college-level work.

I felt these explanations accounted for some of thefactors involved in the high drop-out rate but that otherfactors might be unacknowledged and uninyestigated.My hunch was that many of these community collegestudents enrolled in general education courses not onlystruggle with what to learn but also with how to learn.Fortunately, at the end of my first semester, one of ourlearning specialists approached me with the idea ofcollaborating on a pilot study of college studs' skills.Opportunity and motive connected.

Of 57 students enrolled in three General Psychologyclasses, 40 volunteered to participate in this study. Theexperimental group was composed of nine studentswho volunteered to complete a one-hour credit courseon college study skills taught by the learning specialist.The control group consisted of the remaining 31students. The instrument used in this study was theLASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory). Thisassessment tool consisted of ten scales (attitude,motivation, time management, level of anxiety, concen-tration, information processing, selecting main ideas,study aids, self-testing, and test strategies) that mea-sured the student's study strategies and methods. TheLASSI was administered to both the experimental andcontrol group after the first unit exam and thenreadministered after the fourth unit exam.

Results of this pilot study revealed that the averagescores on each scale of the pretest LASSIF for all 40participants was at or below the 50th percentile. Theexperimental group revealeo positive change inselecting main ideas, study aids, attention, level of

ti t

anxiety, and information processing. Also by the end ofthe semester, only three study skills remained at orbelow the 50th percentile for the experimental group,and all students enrolled in the experimental grouppassed the course. In the control group, five scores(motivation, time management, anxiety handling, self-testing, test-taking strategies) actually decreasedfurther over the course of the semester. Of the 31students in the control group, eight (26%) withdrewfrom the course and five (16%) completed the coursewith a D or F grade.

Following this pilot study, the learning specialist andI recommended developing study skill college creditcourses for incoming `reshman students. However, Ifelt that the results of the study presented anotherproblem. Of the 57 students, only nine (16%) actuallysigned up and completed the college study skills creditcourse. I understood that community college studentsare already overburdened with the responsibilities offamily, work, and traditional curriculum courses; formany, the addition of another class would be verydifficult. As I approached my second year of teaching, Idecided to redesign my General Psychology course byintegrating a metacurriculum of studs' skills. The fivenew instructional sections I added included timemanagement, test-taking skills, textbook reading, note-taking skills, and learning preferences. I implementedthis new metacurriculum during the next fall andspring semester.

As part of the introduction to General Psychology, Inow have my students fill out a time-managementsurvey and discuss time-management skills needed forsuccessful college work. We discuss how much time isneeded to study, how to set priorities, how to plan forlong-term tasks, and how to schedule daily study time.After the first multiple-choice exam, I give my studentsanother examon how to prepare for and take mul-tiple-choice exams. We then discuss how to review forthe test, some strategies for actually taking the exam,and test anxiety.

About hallway through the course, we focus ontextbook reading, and I demonstrate how to previewtextbook material, identify the.main idea, and analyzethe information. I then give students paragraphs to


111111111MA

read and require that they practice these skills. Note-taking skills fall naturally within our course materialon learning and memory. To demonstrate effective notetaking, I deliver a lecture on note-taking skills and askmy students to take the best notes they can over thislecture. I then give them a copy of the lecture and ofaccompanying notes taken by an expert note taker. Thestudents compare their notes to the "expert's," and wediscuss the difference. As we approach the end of thesemester, I administer the Gregoric Style Delineator, alearning preference instrument, and we identify anddiscuss the different learning styles apparent in theclassroom. In particular, we discuss strategies to usewhen student and instructor learning styles are differ-ent.

I request that students write a Personal ReflectionPaper at the end of the courseexplaining what theyhave learned about themselves as learners and whatcollege study strategies and skills they have developedor revised. These reflection papers have been verypositive about the metaciarriculum and have validatedmy hunch that students need and appreciate explicittraining in college study skills.

By offering both credit classes and metacurriculumin the classroom, more students have the opportunityto learn the skills and strategies for successful collegework. The loss of five sessions of content time iseffectively balanced by the larger gain of studentrecognition and understanding of the learning process.

Grace Kannady, Education Coordinator, and Instructor,DiPision Of Social Sciences

For further information, contact the author at Kan:;asCity Kansas Community College, 7250 State Avenue,Kansas City, KS 66112.

Learning Mathematics byHelping Others

What does service learning have to do with math?That was my response to the suggestion that I offer aservice option in one of my math courses. Despite mydoubts, I incorporated a service learning option intoCollege Algebra, giving my students an opportunity tobecome volunteer tutors.

The service learning option placed my studentvolunteers with a math instructor, or lab coordinator, totutor in either Intermediate or Elementary Algebra for16 hours during the semester. These volunteers could

Suanno D. Roueche, EditorNovember 10, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 27A The University of Texas at Austin. 1995Further duplication is permitted by MEMBERinstitutions for tlieir own personnel.

choose to tutor one !itudent, a group of students,students in a high school algebra class, or students inthe computer-assisted instruction (CAI) lab on campus.

Service learning was not another chore or topic, butrather an opportunity for my College Algebra studentsto review and explore mathematical concepts byassisting their peers who were in need of help. Itprovided the tutors with the opportunity to synthesize,analyze, and evaluate the mathematical concepts theyhad studied.

Student tutors in College Algebra showed a signifi-cant (25.3"0) increase in average test scores after takingpart in the service learning option. This increase mayhave occurred because students had to organize theirideas in order to present them, or they found gaps intheir own knowledge and filled them as they plannedtheir tutoring lessons.

Academic credit or incentive is given for learning,not for serving, in a service learning option. I chosetutoring because I knew students would be learningmath concepts while they were helping others. Thetutoring option must balance the needs of the tutorsagainst those of the tutees. The intellectual gains oftutors will usually be the.greatest when the studentsthey tutor are at, near to their own achievement level aspossible. Tutors benefit by reviewing topics they haverecently studied. Students who are being tutoredbenefit the most from haying older, more advancedtutors who will bring a wider range of knowledge andexperience to the sessions. If the academic level oftutees is within two courses of College Algebra, thereview of material is still useful to the tutors.

Tutors are placed by the service learning office oncampus, but I verify that students are located in acomfortable atmosphere where learning can take place.Also, I have students report their feelings and attitudesabout tutoring in a daily journal so problems can beshared and discussed openly. Students need support intheir new teaching roles, but teaching provides the bestopportunity to learn.

Service learning opportunities tie important math-ematical ideas to students' daily li es while improvingtheir understanding of mathematical concepts, increas-ing confidence in their mathematical abilities, improv-ing their academic achievement, and helping others inthe community.

Jacci Wozniak, Assistant l'n)(cssor, A1athernatics

For further information contact the author at BrevardCommunity College, 3865 N. Wickham Road,Melbourne, Fl. 32q35.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar. except Thanksgiving week, by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISODIDepartment of Educational Administration. College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. Texas78712-1293. (512)471-7545. Second-class postage pending at Austin. Texas POSTMASTER. Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin. 7X 78712-1293


it* INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE.NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFFAND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION THE.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION .

Grading Collaborative ActivitiesHow should individuals be graded for their contri-

butions to collaborative projects? Grading the team'sproject for quality and allowing team members tograde each other for relative contributions to the task isa workable strategy.

in my technical communications course, this assess-ment challenge frustrated me semester after semester.On several occasions, I considered abandoning collabo-rative activities altogether. Yet, when they were well-planned, collaborative projects proved to be a powerfullearning instrument. They provided students withmodeling for their own individual projects and helpedthem learn collaborative skills they would soon beusing in the workplace.

However, when I sat down to grade collaborativeactivities, I was trapped. I disdained blanket gradesthat rewarded achievers and slackers equally, butneither did I trust that my direct observations ofindividuals in their groups yielded accurate data. Ipestered groups heartlessly while they worked. Isnooped. I prodded. I interrogated. I nagged. I studiedservice charts, leadership models, interaction analyses,and metacognition journals. Semester after semester,method after method, I tried and erred, groped anddespaired. Then one wakeful night about six years ago,an idea for evaluating collaborative projects bubbledforth unexpectedly.

The logic was simple and nothing new: Effectivegroups consist of team members who share the time,effort, and work products equally. In other words, eachteam member gives her expected contribution, that partof 100% divided by the number of members in thegroup. Groups that function otherwise are relativelyunsuccessful and ineffective. For example, in a two-person group, each member represents an expectedcontribution of 50% of the time, effort and product. In afour-person group, 25%, etc. If a person's contributionto the group is significantly higher than what is ex-pected, then her grade should be proportionatelyhigher; similarly, if she contributed less, her gradeshould be lower.

If I developed a simple way for students to assessthemselves and their collaborators on the basis ofexpected contribution, I could use their assessment as a

r

plus or minus deviation from the grade which I give totheir group's collaborative product. In a nutshell, Iwould grade their product, and they would determinehow that grade should be divided among themselves. Icreated the following system.

1.

On the due date, I collect the collaborative projects,and grade them as products. At this point, thegrade belongs only to the product, not to itsproducers.

On the day they submit their projects (written, oral,etc.), the collaborators discuss among themselvesexactly what contributions they each made. Thisdiscussion clears up any misunderstandings or lackof awareness. Then privately they rate each otherand themselves, assigning percentages of contribu-tions to the whole (100%). Their "percentage ofcontribution to the whole" is a holistic individualjudgment based on their analyses of each other'swork as well as their own. The sum of their indi-vidual percentages must equal 100%.Example: Karen's Self- and Peer-AssessmentSally designed pages and produceddrawings; she was absent 3 out of 7meetings:Bart drafted most of the text andtyped and pasted up pages;no absences:Karen did a lot of overall planning

40%

and collated the roughs and finalversion copies; one absence: 35"TOTAI. (must be I 00%): 100%

I collect these assessments and calculate a simpleaverage of the actual contribution according toeach student's self- and peer-assessments.Example: Karen's Self- and Peer-AssessmentAverageKaren's assessment ot herself: 35%Sally's assessment of Karen: 40%Bart's assessment of Karen: 40%TOTAL: 115%Karen's Avg. Contribution: (115%/3=38%) 38%

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)''kc) Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration,-)1 College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712-1293

4. I compare each student's average contribution to adeviation chart. A portion of that chart is includedhere:Share of Total as part of 100",.:

2-PersonGroup

3-PersonGroup

' FA peeled Project ( ;radetot Or. grade)

35 23 70 _3/3

40 27 80 -2/345 30 00 - 1/350 33 100 055 37 1 10 +1 /360 40 I 20 +2/365 41 130 +3/3

9. I determine the plus or minus deviation for eachstudent and add it to the project's grade to arrive atthe individual's grade.Example: If Sally, Bart, and Karen's project receiveda B, then I would follow the chart to determine thatKaren's grade should be a 13+ since her share of thetotal according to the calculation of averages was38",

6. 1 report each student's grade in d summary similarto the following:Collaborative Project Grade: B (85")Your Deviation: +1/3 gradeYour Individual Grade: 13+ (89".)

This grading system for collaborative projects restson two assumption,,. First, I am going to grade theproduct. That's my territory of expertise, and I want tokeep it. The system would still work, however, if theinstructor graded the product with a student jurysystem. The point is that the product's grade stands asa separate factor from any judgment of individualcontributions. Second, students are going to judge theirrelative contributions since they are in a better positionthan 1 to observe the group and individuals at work. 1grade the product; the students grade each other.

This system depends upon insight, honesty, fairness,good judgment, and accurate memory and records. Itcan be used maliciously, of course. Also, I have found itnecessary to encourage students not to be too lenientand forgiving with each other; especially in relation toabsences and missed deadlines. After all, students areprone to avoiding the social discomforts of negativelysanctioning then peers.

Nevertheless, I have found that this method sharp-

Suanne D. Roueche, EditorNovember 17, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 28©The University of Texas at Austin. 1995Further duplication is permitted by MEMBERinstitutions for their own personnel

ens students' judgment skills. They find themselvesforced to weigh and balance the values of their variouscontributions from the beginning of the project. Intechnical communications, for instance, the individualtasks of planning the project, designing documents/pages, producing graphics, drafting text, keyboarding,editing and proofreading, and collating final versionsforce each participant to acknowledge the importanceof each others' time, efforts, and skills. To assessrelative contributions, they must compare apples andoranges, graphics production to graphics. Each mustreflectively answer the questions, "To what extent dideach of my colleagues and I fulfill our expected contri-butions to the collaborative project? What would thisdocument have been like without any one of us?"

I'm sure that I will rework and massage this systemevery time I use it. I may even find that it ceases towork well for some reason I don't foresee. In themeantime, with proper introduction, it's a valuableteaching tool.

Roger M. Phillips, Instruclor, Eitslish

For further information contact the author at AlpenaCommunity College, 666 Johnson Street, Alpena, M149707-1495.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199106X) is published weekly following the fall and spring terms of the academiccalendar, except during Thanksgiving week, by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD),Department of Educational Administration, College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas78712-1293. (5121 471-7545. Second-class postage pending at Austin. Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, TX 78712-1293.


INNOVATION ABSTRACTSPUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL' INSiITUTE FOR STAFF:AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MISOD),COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, 'THE

UNIVERSITYOF TEXAS AT AUSTIN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K. KELLOGG FOUNbATION AND THE SID W RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Oral Grammar and Written Grammar:The Place of Grammar in the Developmental Writing Class

N. lam. teachers of developmental students are hard-pressed to define the eit-coh)pmentai Si iti t . We respondin an intuitive and impressionistic way, much like theperson asked to define great art: "I don't know what itis, but I know it when I see it." Our analysis of develop-mental texts often gets stuck at the level of the sentenceand the word, and there we see what we would quicklylabel bad Nrammar. We see bad grammar and shortcompositions: the developmental student's composi-tions seem to be shorter than the "regular" student's.Thus, many developmental courses begin with sen-tence- and word-level work and move to paragraphdevelopment. Ihe curriculum concentrates on sentenceand paragraph exercises; its aim is to help studentsacquire standard grammar and formal development. Inshort, it strn es for formal correctness.

I3ut many of us have known for years that thiscurriculum does not work. Students may improve theirgrammar and write more formally correct paragraphs,but they do not seemby our impressionistic stan-dardsto become better writers. 'this kind of trainingdoes not appear to prepare these students tor theregular freshman l-nglish course. Fhis curriculumwould seem to confirm that the teaching ot gran tardoes not improve writing. Rut I disagree with thisconclusion. Years of experience with developmentalstudents and analyses of developmental texts give mereason to believe that there is a place for grammar inthe developnlental cu rricu I urn. If taught in a timelyand relevant way, the study of grammar can helpstudents become xv riters strong enough to move onsuccessfully.

Analyses ot de\ elopmental writers' compositionsprovide a useful description ot the developmentalwriting student. I his student brings an aural/oralmode of knowledge to the writing task. In short, thestudent is competent in Ora] rhetoric-- discourseshaped by the sense of sltared knowledge with animmediate anilit'lltc, people partit. ipating in theconversation. I he oral writer has internalized discourseas dialogue with others who share certain knowledgeand who are right there. Obviously, the developmental

53

student perceives that fellow conversers and listenersare not really there, but the writing implications of theirabsence are not apparent to them. The student bringsthe immediacy of direct address to his or her writing.Conceptualizing the reader as an audience close bywith whom context and knowledge are sharedcausesthe student to leave out necessary orientation andinformation. The developmental writer leaves out theappropriate context for readers, assuming they wouldknow the context or help shape it. In making thisassumption, the oral writer creates absences for aca-demic readers, absences about which the writer isunaware. While the developmental student brings thecompetence of speaking to the writing situation, thedifferences between speaking and writing are sosignificant that this competence may be misleading.

Oral cornpetence brought to \Yriting results incompositions that appear as transcriptions of speech.The writing looks different to us, but we may not have

wav of understanding the differences and havenoticed only the non-standard grammar.

On the other hand, we arts quite familiar Withacademic cornposition. This coMposition ma \ bedefined as the rhetoric of distance, a rhetoric whichrecognizes and accounts for the distance from audi-ences and readers that writing imposes and which thewriter, paradoxically, must overcome by more writing.As such, the writing is marked by elaboration ofcontext, coherence, discussion, and meaning. In theintroduction, the writer invites the reader to join acommunity of readers, where shared meanings arecreated, contexts pro\ ided, purposes made clear, andpropositions advanced. The introduction careful! \structures Ow text to orient readers and to overcomethe distance that writing imposes. In the body, thewriter elaborates upon anti amplifies the information inorder to anticipate objections and responses fromabsent listeners and to compensate for that abwnce. Inthe tone lu,ion, the writer reflects upon the signiticane eof the inhermation just developed in order to assignvalue and utility that would be granted by immediatelisteners. I his description of academic texts is broadly

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational AdministrationCollege of Education, The University of Texas al Austin. SZB 348, Austin, Texas 78712-1293

conceived, but it can be seen across such diversedisciplines al., the hard sciences, the social -.,Cielut l'!", andthe humanities.

In other words, the distance which kk riting im-posesand the ok ercoming of which allows for readersto enter the world of academic writingis not yetpart of a student's oral knowledge. Oral knowledge iscommunal and immediate. Developmental writeN donot feel distance as they write and consequently makeno effort to overcome distance; or, as they learn thisknowledge and begin to sense the distance, they do notknow how to overcome it. These factors help explainkylw developmental writing, at best, is insufficientlydeveloped or, at worst, disorienting.

The Grammar of TranscriptionsIhe grammar of transcriptionS IllaV he Called oral

grammar and is different from written grammar. Oralsyntax may be called conversational: sentence structureis collapsed, little detail is added to main ideas; subor-dination is restricted mainly to adverbials of time.Vocabulary is conversational: verb endings are re-ducede.g., "I'm goin' to school" or "I'm gonna go toschool," "had walk," "had live"; erb forms are limitedin tense, aspect, mood; tense moves between past andhistorical present, as it does in conk ersational storytelling---e.g., "Yesterday, I w ent to the student centerand I M't.' my best friend"; pronoun case is oral--e.g.,"Nle and nw sister are goin' to school." Mese are thef( Irms and the syntax that s()rne developmental stu-dents hear and speak. Not being fluent readers, devel-opmental students have not internali/ed the fullyelaborated forms and syntax of writing and, therefore,cannot reprodslie them when they write.

The Place of Grammar within the Writing ProcessThere is a place within the writing process for an

insightful discussion of grammar, but the timing of thediscussion is erv important. File discussion of gram-mar should take p.ace onlk ithin the larger, self-conscious shitt to written rhetoric. kVe cannot begin ourteaching ot k riling 1.1\ discussing grammar and punc-tuation. tVe cannot require oral writers to switch to awritten grammar while the\ are still writing oraltranscriptions. lVe must first immerse them in writing,in a recursk e process of dratting and revising, actingnol as orrectors but as readers, showing them realreaders' needs. ()illy then is the riter prepared to seethe dif ference between cm oral grammar and a writtengrammar as a part ot the larger strategy of elaborationand precision xvhich writing imposes. rho writers'per-Tech\ e requires ,1 t oinnntmcnt to the strategies otelaboration of rhetorii and grammar. (;rammar and

Suanne D. Roueche, EditorDecember 1, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 29© The Ur i'versity of Texas at Austin. 1995Further dupIrcatron is permitted by MEMBERinstitutions for thel ,14nper:.onni,1

punctuation can be discussed as a part of the revisingprocess, which, in this sense, may be seen a:, a Move-mcnt from transcribing to writing. In this process, wehelp the student see the necessity for contextualiuing,elaborating, amplifying, and making coherent.

'the study of written grammar and sk ntax is appro-priate within a curriculum which promotes acquisitionof wriLen rhetoric. Within this context, the sentencemay be seen as intik. and prei isely explicating a claim.Subordination mav be studied as a kvav of makingprecise qualifications. Verb forms may be show n tooffer writers greater precision of tense, aspect, mood,and voice. Punctuation may be seen as an essentialguide to readers, cis indicators of the ria tme of relation-ships between sentences and parts of sentences, and asopportunities for a writer to further meaning andcontrol the relationship of ideas. 'rho study of writtengrammar at the right time may aid the student in thetransformation from raitcriber to writer.

Marilyn Cleland, Assistant Profsessor, Department or.in;;Ii4i and PliihNopliii

For further information contact the author at PurdueUniversik Calumet, I 1,11111-11011d, IN 4k-,-123.

60INNOVATION ABSTRACTS IISSN 0199-10(00,5 pubirshort hee1kh tOPOA '19 The f,: and 4,,.N rcrp.s r me ,h a,calendar. except Tharksniving iieek by the Nat.onai Inst,tute for Staff and Organvationai Devc41cnrentDepartment at Educational Administration. College ol Education. SZB 348 The Univetsily I), Tem:: Au:40n Ausbn

78712-1293 (512) 471-7545 Second.class postage pendmo at Austin. TOWS POSTMASTER Send address changes to

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS 5713 348 Me Urriersily of Texas at 4uM+1, -571;'


INNOVATION ABSTRACTSa.

The Reflective Retreat

I e

The reflective retreat at Richland College (1.;\ is aprofessional de\ elopment activity for administrators,instructors, staff, and students interested in improvingtheir communication skills, especially in multiculturalsituations. l'he retreat allows time aw ay from the bustleof e ervday colk.ge activities and provides the neces-sary time for intimacy and focus. Participation is lwinvitation or expression of interest in the retreat topic,\yhich usually centers around personal development.Between 23 and 40 people attend the i-etreats. Adminis-trators, faculty, and staff are granted professional leaveto attend. Students are invited, as space permits, andare excused from classes if necessary. The retreat lastsfor two days, including an O\ ernight stay at a woodedretreat center, and is often facilitated by an outsideexpert in some area of interest related to culturalsensitivity.

\ luch of the success of the retreat is due to theleveling of the college hierarchical playing field. At theretreat, all participants are equal, from occasionalappearances by the president to students. Althoughlevels of authority inevitably follow people to theretreat. every attempt is made to reduce the culturaltrappings of status. First names are used withoutregard to titles. For two days nd one night, ev or\person in attendance is regarded as a person withoutrank. 'the participants communicate with each other aspeople first and foremost, irrespective of their positionat the college.

Iwo types of act iv Hies fill the majority of retreattime. The first is the group session, led by an experi-enced facilitator in group dynamics. rho second is thereflective writing sessions, which gi \ e participantsopportunities to process and synthesi/e informationobtained at the retreat. Nlany choose to use the writingsessions to walk through the many acres of woodedgrounds at the retreat site, or to reflect silently in theirown rooms. the rigidity of structure is minimi/ed. It isto the advantage of the group to attend the largesessions; otherwise, participants are encouraged to usethe time in \\ ,lys Of most benefit to them.

Specitic topics \ arv but are constant \\ ithin eachretreat and used as ,1 means of focusing the group. Risttopics have int luded the impact ot attitudes in the

11. at a IP a1I D D.

t3

classroom, cultural inclusiveness, and global aware-ness. Interpersonal communication is at the forefront ofall activities, with an ear turned towards the potentialstrengthening of classroom techniques. Given thecircumstances and opportunities, it is not surprisingthat the participants establish many strong ties at theretreats and carry them back to the college and beyond..rhose who choose to attend the retreats are privy to aunique and intimate culture.

Each retreat usually begins with an orientation withample opportunity for the participants to get to knowone another. The facilitator gradually brings the grouptogether with an activity designed to focus everyone'sattention on the topic. Lectures are used sparingly,giving way instead to more participatory activities.From this point on, everyone becomes engaged ingroup processes, interspersed with time-outs forreflective writing or thinking. 'The evening is spent ininformal, and often animated, discussion of relatedissues. Friends are made, partnerships are formed, andlinks are established between people usually separatedby walls of formal titles and ranks. Throughout theretreat, relationships are explored in contexts beyondthe scope of normal college boundaries. Culturalawareness, minority sensitivity, and learning styles arebrought to the table and magnified through the visionof the facilitator. The result is a level of awareness thatfollows the group back to the college, where it is sharedwith other educators and students.

\lam relationships have been built at this retreat.Part-time faculty have bonded with administratorswhom ordinarily they would not have met. Studentsget to know faculty, staff, and administrators on a first-name basis, and faculty learn to interact across disci-plines. The congeniality spreads across campus and isreflected in the classroom. Deans of the departmentsrotate invitations each semester so that each person hasan opportunitv to attend. Every year, a growing'lumber ot individuals throughout the college countthemselves as gratetul participants.

I lie retreat is not a replacement tor other forms otprofessional development at Richland College. Rather,it supplements the more traditional programs that havea more narrow focus, such as the Yearly cons ocation


sessions. These formal programs are designed forspecific groups, such as faculty only, and cover topicsof a less intimate nature. The retreat is much more--achance to reach through the levels of formality andculture that inhibit open communication between thediverse groups which function within the communitycollege.

Tony Stanco, Graduate SHidc,it, Cononunitu ColleNcLeadership Program: Adiunct lacultu, Dallas (ount&Commumtu Collre

For further information, contact the author at TheUniversity of Thxas, SZB 348, Austin, IA 78712-121)3.

Cultural Reflections of aCollege

Organizational beliavior theorists observe thatemployees can derive a sense of belonging, achie\ epositive motivational gains, and develop a healthysense of security from a strong organizational culture.Organizational culture is unique in that it is more thana group's commitment to the mission of an organiza-tion. It entompasses a dimension of loyalty thatemerges from \vithin the individual. The degree towhich an individual feels secure and accepted by peersis critical to the development of a positive culture.

Yet, organizational culture is an obscure concept.I low can something as intangible and delicate asemotional commitment to an organization be deter-mined, much less measured? Experienced organiza-tional behavior analysts delve into the language of anorganization to gain insight into its cultureuniqueexpressions and acronyms in the shared vocabulary ofan organization are sometimes cited as evidence of theculture's current status. However, beyond statementsand beliefs about the organization and the use ofacrom ms, organizational culture becomes nebulous,and theorists search for other ways to identify culturalinfluences.

Clovis Community College has found several waysto express its own organizational culture- -one wasdiscovered quite by accident. Some CCC art studentshad envisioned a project that would involve all of theemplo\ ces at the college and asked everyone to takepart in creating a mosaic.

Foch employee who joined the project chose a singletile from the general design (that the students had

Suanne D. Roueche, EditorDecember 8, 1995 Vol. XVII, No. 30© The University of Texas at Austin. 1995Furter duplication is permitted by MEMBERinslit,itions for their own personnel

created) and made the tilel :land. The tile's patternwas cut into wet clay, and the major lines were carvedin low relief. These lines matched the adjoining tiles,and each tile pattern followed a particular colorscheme. Other than meeting the line and color specifi-cations, employees were allowed to customize theirtiles. Mans- personalized their work by including theirinitials, small drawings, or favorite imagery.

Participants committed an average of one hour tothe project; the time spent in carving and painting wasone great hour of escape. While work was in progress,it was apparent that participants were immersed insomething important. Group cornments and laughterwere evidence that the activity was a welcome diver-sion from regular vork-related activities.

After all the tiles were fired, thev were arranged andfixed permanently to a ph wood panel for display oncampus. The finished mosaic is an originalthe designreflects the entire organization, and each tile representseach indi\ idual's place and uniqueness within thegrand scheme. The most astounding revelation forparticipants was that art can be a reflection of anorganization's culture. The finished project is a goodconversation piece and has become something we allenjoy sharing.

Kyril Defoor, Department Chair. I alt,ua,e and Art

Terry Christesson, Department Chair, 13u,ine.:s Admint,trot ion and Computer Informattm SI/SteMS

For further information contact the authors at ClovisCommunity College, 417 Schepps Boulevard, Clovis,N\I 88101-8381.

6 4,1

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS (ISSN 0199-106X1 is published weekly following the fall ano spring terms of the academiccalenda except Thanksgiving ',seek. by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development ;NISODiDepartment of Educational Administration College of Education. SZB 348. The University of Texas at Austin Austin Tem:.78712-1293.(512) 471-7545 Second-class postage pending at Austin. Texas POSTMASTER Send address changes toINNOVATION ABSTRACTS SZB 348 The University of Texas at Austin. Austin TX 78712-1293

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