Congratulations 1996-97 Teaching Award Winners:

Jennie Brown, Community College

David Coffey, Agriculture

Felicia Lassk, Marketing

         and

Larry Snyder, Philosophy & Religion, 

1997 University Award for Excellence in Teaching





WKU Distinguished Professors:

Robert Hoyt, Biology

Gary Dillard, Biology



Articles by award winners in this edition

Jennie Brown, Community College

Gary Dillard, Biology

Robert Hoyt, Biology

Kathy Matthew,  Teacher Education

My reflections on the teaching experience

My reflections on the teaching experience? Teaching, for me, is as joyful and natural as breathing; I can't imagine not doing it. But, as I sit here thinking about what is important in the teaching experience, I think about a handout I received from a professor in one of my graduate education courses (mid-seventies). It was written by Naomi J. White and titled “I Taught Them All.” Ms. White reflects that over a period of ten years in a high school setting, she had "given assignments to, among others, a murderer, an evangelist, a pugilist, a thief . . . ." She then wondered if she helped those pupils by teaching them the rhyme scheme of the Elizabethan sonnet or how to diagram a sentence.

The essay made an impact on me at the time, and formed a basis for my teaching philosophy. In short, regardless of the subject matter and its relative importance to the student, what is truly important is assisting the student in developing a pattern of learning that transcends subject matter. Course content is vital and necessary, but not if it is simply memorized, recited, and forgotten.

Teaching then is assisting students to acquire the skills of critical thinking and problem solving. It is helping them develop the ability to integrate facts and ideas, to build on previous knowledge, and to assimilate new material. It is instilling a sense of confidence in those skills which leads not only to academic accomplishment and curiosity, but, if we are all lucky, a lifetime love of learning.

I have taught for approximately twenty years now and I have never wavered in the belief that it is better to be a facilitator of learning than simply a disseminator of information. But yes, I do still teach nouns and verbs and dangling participials and even an occasional sonnet.

Reflections Why I am What I am

Since having been appointed a Distinguished Professor, I have been repeatedly asked by colleagues and students as well as other friends who are not associated with the University, “Why did you choose university teaching as a career?”

I became a university teacher because I came under the influence of people whose actions upon my behalf led me — step by step — in that direction. I was born and raised in a small rural community in southern Illinois where employment opportunities were — and are —very limited. My Mom and Dad were determined that I should attend university; they made it possible for me to do so by making significant personal sacrifices, the extent of which I came to understand only in later years. I was, as are most of Western’s students, a first generation college student. As is the case with most young people, I had no firm idea as to what I wanted to be when I grew up! It seemed to me that pharmacy represented a career in which one could be assured of employment, have regular hours, and earn a respectable living. So, I started my undergraduate career at SIU/Carbondale as a chemistry major with the intention of securing, at the appropriate time, admission to a school of pharmacy. Prior to the spring quarter of my sophomore year, I stumbled and floundered, easily distracted from my student role by the opportunities presented by a variety of extra-curricular activities, the exact nature of which is best left undisclosed. In the spring quarter of that year, I enrolled in a course in general botany offered by a young assistant professor, Dr. Robert H. Mohlenbrock. At the risk of sounding too dramatic, I was awed by the extent of his knowledge and the excitement he generated in the classroom. By the end of that quarter, I finally became a student with a clear objective; I wanted to do what Dr. Mohlenbrock did and do it as well as he! That was the beginning of my long and continuing relationship with Bob as student, colleague and friend. He served as my mentor for the remainder of my undergraduate years and directed the research for my MS degree, during which time we collaborated on a number of publications. Dr. Mohlenbrock, now Distinguished Professor Emeritus, showed me the way.

If I were to realize my dream of becoming a university teacher-scholar, it was clear that I would have to obtain the Ph.D. to qualify. Another individual who was to play a critical role in my development as a teacher-scholar was Dr. Larry A. Whitford of the Department of Botany, North Carolina State University, who served as my dissertation advisor. Larry was an internationally recognized authority on a group of organisms, the freshwater algae, the group upon which I wanted to specialize. Larry, as is the case with Bob Mohlenbrock, was a gifted teacher-scholar with whom I had a very special relationship beyond that often characteristic of the professor/student. Larry instilled in me a desire to know as much about the biology of the freshwater algae as did he. We became close friends and collaborated on a number of publications before his death.

Among the many individuals who have influenced my life and career choice, there remains one who deserves tribute above and beyond. My wife, Sue, and I were married while we were both undergraduates. Sue finished her baccalaureate degree and taught high school for one year while 1 finished my MS degree. Many who read this article know Sue as an intelligent, decisive, and committed individual who could have become a teacher-scholar in her own right. Sue, however, chose to spend her life nurturing me and our children in order that we could grow and fulfill our own dreams. She endured some “lean” years, as is the usual fate of faculty spouses, both before and after I completed the Ph.D. and secured an academic position.

This fall marks the beginning of my thirty-fourth year of university teaching. It has been and continues to be an activity from which I take great joy. I have always tried to conduct myself professionally in a manner that would be pleasing to Bob Mohlenbrock and Larry Whitford. I believe I have done that. I am confident that Bob is pleased, as would Larry be, that I, as a former student, have been deemed worthy of being appointed a Distinguished Professor. The ultimate measure of a teacher lies in the achievements of one’s students.

Patty Silfies, Consumer & Family Sciences:

http://www.wku.edu/~hrtm_pjs





Rich Patterson, Consumer & Family Sciences:

http://www.wku.edu/~hrtm/

My Personal Philosophy of Education

I believe that all students can learn, and when educators come to believe in that philosophy, then they begin to see the myriad of possibilities for learning. Additionally, when educators accept this philosophy, they begin to focus on what students know instead of what they haven’t already learned. Keeping the attention of academic achievers and those who are already motivated to learn is an easy task for teacher. The greatest challenge is to grasp the attention of those who have a negative attitude toward learning and/or those who have extra personal responsibilities and problems with which to contend. These are the students who need extra challenges and motivation, and I accept this challenge willingly. I truly enjoy working with these students and watching them blossom as learners.

Learning is a process, not a product. Learning is a journey, not a destination. All learners have their own paths on their learning journeys. Each requires the learner to experiment with different modes of transportation through the learning journey. In other words, many ways of teaching and leaning exist, and my job as a teacher educator is to encourage and assist all learners in discovering what works best for them.

This individual attention is just as important in assessment as it is in the implementation of pedagogical approaches. If assessment is not properly conducted, the teacher can not fully evaluate the requirements necessary to insure individual learner progress. When assessment is properly conducted, the teacher can implement appropriate instructional strategies and techniques to allow the learner to reach his or her full potential. I firmly believe that children and adults learn best when models are provided, including models of life-long learning. In addition, they need hands-on experiences, task performance, and multiple ways of teaching and learning that address a variety of modalities and learning styles. I model life-long learning by disseminating information on current trends and participating in out of class activities involving state and community projects. Additionally, when I attend national conferences, develop and conduct workshops, and review research literature, I use the information I gain to enhance my students’ knowledge of current practice.

My students feel positive and comfortable about the process of learning and about themselves. When students are excited about good teaching and learning experiences and can view themselves as learners, then they will gain more for their learning experiences. Success breeds success.

Every student I teach has positive qualities. It is my responsibility to discover those qualities and capitalize on them. Although I thoroughly enjoy my students, it is not important that they like me. What we must have is an atmosphere of mutual respect where failures can be turned into successes, learning can be fun, and risk-taking is valued. This takes more time and creative thought on the part of the teachers, but the results merit the effort when learning is considered.

Welcome Dr. Carol Graham to the CTL!

Dr. Graham received her Ph.D. in Management from Vanderbilt University in 1994 and was previously employed as a statistician and medical researcher in Huntsville, Alabama. Since coming to Western Kentucky University in 1992, she has been involved in the activities of the CTL as a member of the Faculty Advisory Council, workshop presenter and participant, and contributor to CTL booklets. Her interests in teaching and learning also include research in management education and corporate training.

Carol’s focus will be new faculty (orientation and mentor programs), evaluation (effectiveness of CTL programs), and faculty liaison. To contact Carol: phone - 745-6508 or e-mail - carol.graham@wku.edu

On Teaching

In drafting this essay on teaching that was supposed to be completed in one hour, I have found myself squirming and sweating for up to two hours before writing the first sentence. In taking great care not to condemn myself by suggesting that I am less than a good instructor, I would qualify my feelings by saying that I am at the very least a very “insecure” one, even in my twenty-ninth year at Western. I have read with great interest and envy those eloquent passages in this newsletter and other university media in recent years describing my university colleagues impressions and philosophies on teaching. They have been inspiring and contained many useful tactics and techniques in reaching and motivating students.

Please bear with me for a moment while I digress and grope for excuses or examples in attempting to describe my feelings of uncertainty in today’s classroom and how I have responded. Thirty years ago, I graduated from a Ph.D. program replete with biological information and confident in my ability to conduct original and publishable research. Having had no formal training in the classroom, other than as a graduate teaching assistant, I was destined to apply for the most available source of employment consistent with my terminal degree, a university professorship. During my first fifteen years at Western Kentucky University, my graduate and professional experiences served me well, “be competent, be respectful, be fair, and go into the classroom and give to them as your professors gave to you”. The students worked hard, learned the material, moved on into the real world usually in the profession or career they wanted, and I enjoyed a “happily ever-after” mentality. And then the system became confused, students became concerned with how much they had to learn instead of how much there was to learn, performances in some past school life should be worth credit at the next level, essay questions should be replaced with short, objective questions, and on, and on, and on. Classroom note taking was a new adventure for many and mastering some of the fascinating biology words was, at the least, a monumental challenge. Also, about this time university enrollments began to decline and students were given an instrument to evaluate the teaching performances of their professors. The traditional 3 R’s had taken on an entirely different meaning, Recruitment, Reward, Retention. Dilemma! What to do?

From this background, my present philosophy and techniques on teaching were drawn. Since a university by definition is a place of and for students (faculty are in place only as long as students are present), obviously their interests and well-being should be of primary concern. Recognizing this, how could the students be best served without compromising the integrity of the body of knowledge imparted to them (grade inflation) and at the same time prepare them to successfully compete on standardized professional school entrance exams. Most students taking the first two or three biology courses for majors plan on careers in Chiropractic, Dentistry, Medicine, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Podiatric, or Veterinary fields, the majority of which have entry exams which include materials from the beginning biology courses. Clearly the body of material presented in these courses could not be altered, in spite of changing student attitudes or abilities. The alternative then was to develop new or improvised teaching techniques and an attitude adjustment regarding changed student perceptions and values.

In institutions such as Western, classroom audiences will always include those few outstanding students who learn far and above more material than the rest of the class, in spite of the professor; those few individuals who are not sufficiently motivated to perform at a level worthy of themselves or of a passing grade; and the majority of students who have unlimited ability but for whatever reason fall somewhere in between the two extremes. The challenge for me then, as well as for all my fellow professors, was how to best meet the needs of all the clientele. The adages “you can’t be everything to everybody” or “you can’t please everyone all the time” had to be challenged in order to meet all the students needs and yet honor our responsibilities to our respective disciplines and still receive adequate student evaluations in order to protect the viability of our livelihoods.

In teaching the most up-dated, contemporary course possible, I append new information from a variety of sources into my lecture notes each year. Consequently, one textbook will never match the complete body of information presented in a semester course. Because of this, and since the body of lecture information could not be changed, new delivery techniques had to be developed to guarantee that each student receives all the lecture material. I began “canning”, my lecture material by hand-writing the information in concise three line statements on transparencies for projection in front of the class. Material was organized perfectly so that time formerly spent on repetitiveness could be used in introducing new information. Examples used in illustrating lecture concepts were presented orally or drawn on the blackboard for inclusion in the body of notes. Audio visual aids in the form of transparencies or projector slides were shown to supplement lecture topics. Students with limited vision or hearing abilities were encouraged to seat themselves in the front of the class and everyone was admonished to ask questions or provide comments. Several immediate benefits were realized, all students received the same body of information providing a level playing field for preparing for tests and the idiosyncrasies of scientific word spellings were eliminated. Having the lecture material physically set in the presentation sequence prevented me from wandering from the central topic, and students disconnecting if I did wander was minimized by the physical presence of information on the screen.

Immediate disadvantages included the class not being able to proceed faster than the slowest note-taker, some students felt cheated by being fed “canned” material, and interrupting the lecture content sequence with audio-visual examples produced distractions.

With the advances in computer technology during the most recent four years, I have employed the computer to project lecture material and it has provided many additional benefits. Our students approve of this projection method and the product is highly professional in appearance. Just this year I have succeeded in scanning all the supporting concept illustrations that were formerly distracting and now they represent a continuum with the lecture information.

Other “people” problems still remain, however. Students are as grade conscious as they are effort conscious. They are still very much interested in “how much of this do I have to learn? Why don’t you put your notes on the Internet so I can access them there and not come to class?” I don’t have answers for many of these kinds of questions. With more widespread use of computers in classroom instruction, perhaps a general consensus regarding its use will be reached and direction will be provided people such as myself. Writing tests and grading are easily the most difficult parts of teaching for me. While I enjoy very much, perhaps even “love” the classroom environment, the handling of semester grades causes me perennial stress. It is easy to deal with the high achievers and even the non- achievers, but being fair to all in-between is not as simple as it might seem. I have changed my test formats so they now include a variety of different sections including multiple choice, true-false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, word association, and essay questions, or other devices as the material allows. This prevents any student from performing poorly on a test because of an inability to score well on one type of test question. During the last lecture before a scheduled test, I put the format of the upcoming test on the board so the students can actually see the number of questions included in each test section and in many cases negotiate the weight of particular sections.

Because of the importance that each of these foundation biology courses might have on the success of a student fulfilling their future professional dreams, I take the classroom experience very seriously. I attempt to impart this feeling of importance on to the students and exhort the students to a higher effort level. In doing so, I have earned the reputation of being a hard teacher. I am not fond of the label, especially in light of the weight of student evaluations, but if it fits then it has to be worn. It is comforting to know that many of the students from my classes have scored well on their respective tests to enter professional school and have performed well above average at that level. Because of these, and the kind remarks I have received from students from 5 to 25 years ago, I adhere to my philosophy that “too much” and “too hard” only describe today’s discomfort and that real academic investments won’t be fully realized until tomorrow.

Articles in this newsletter	CTL home page	WKU Home Page	Articles Index

Dear CTL

I have a rotary phone. I detest answering machines. I avoid using the air conditioner in my car and only use it at home due to allergies to corn, tobacco, grass, and molds (why do I live in Kentucky?). I am a Luddite at heart. I'd rather have a face-to-face conversation than talk on the phone.

So why am I teaching a class via the Internet next semester? Because I attended a conference on Virtual Learning and saw that right now, I can teach students from all over the world and, with care, at least as well, if not better, for many topics. I also saw that if I do not make my class available to a growing population of adult learners, then someone from somewhere else will. And my students from Warren County, Kentucky, could more easily learn my material from a teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Imagine being a nontraditional student and not having to find a parking place or to commute an hour to classes. Imagine being able to study your material after the children are in bed or before work in the morning-- at your pleasure/leisure. Which course would you take?

A key "if" is having the pedagogical “knowhow” to teach via the Internet. There is an emerging literature on effective ways to convey information and help learners using new technologies. A thoughtful approach to course development is even more critical (and that is another aspect of Internet instruction which appealed to me--the intellectual challenge of building a course in a new medium).

With my department head's support, I will be offering a course next semester in which this literature will be explored. Psy 501, Issues in Utilizing the Internet in Instruction, (http://edtech.tph.wku.edu/~internet/) will be a 2 hour, pass/fail course designed for college instructors and administrators. Assignments will help you work toward building an Internet course of your own and will allow you to experience what it is like to learn via the Internet. It is designed for the relative novice-- the skills you must have to take the class include being able to send and receive e:mail, being able to access an address via an Internet browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator), and some means of posting material to a web site (you can have someone else do it for you but you will need a web site-- Speak with Microcomputing Support). It is enough to be able to do simple text. The course will not cover how to do technology but rather, what are the issues/decisions that an instructor needs to consider
.

Participants will be expected to contribute to discussions, read a textbook, and follow posted assignments/commentary. When does it meet? Whenever you want during the week. Where does it meet? In your office, at your computer. Can you audit it? I don't know what that means in cyberspace-- you have to contribute to be acknowledged as being present-- do you begin to see the implications for learning?

On November 12, 1997, Dr. William Graves, hosted by CTL and Academic Computing, will be on campus to speak about some of these implications at three presentations. Food will be provided. (Please see the ad on the back page of this newsletter for details.) He is an outstanding speaker. I hope you will attend.

Correspondence Study

Did you know that the Office of Correspondence Study has been in the business of distance learning on this campus for at least 45 years? Of course, we have had a variety of names: Field Study, Extension Services, Independent Study, and now Correspondence Study. We have also had several locations on campus. We recently moved to Wetherby, and you can find us in Room 203.

We offer both high school and college courses. Our enrollment has been steady in the college division for the past twenty years. Last year, there were 1627 enrollees with a gross income of about $233,000. Currently, there are 34 faculty and 79 courses offered.

Our staff includes Dr. Elmer Gray, Director, Sharon Wassom, and Beth Laves. Dr. Gray is very interested in new courses being developed for correspondence. We are also hoping to offer web-based courses through correspondence. We are planning a web page and hope to go global soon. Our office is a perfect showcase for web-based courses.

Enrolling in a correspondence course is different than regular registration. First, a student is not required to formally be admitted to Western or have ACT scores on file. Second, a student has a calendar year to complete the course and can enroll any day of the year. So the student picks the time and place to work. Third, we have a testing facility on campus, and a system of testing sites all over the state, and beyond.

We have students from across the country and around the world. Why do they take courses by correspondence? I ask most of the people I talk to everyday and here are some of the answers I have received: “I live 100 miles from WKU and have two small children. I can’t commute.” “I’m taking a full load at U of L but need one more course to graduate by December and it won’t fit in my schedule.” “I’m 60 years old and want to expand my knowledge base, but I won’t drive on campus everyday.” “I live in Ohio and am going to a community college part-time. I need another English course and I like working at my own pace.” “I’m in the Reserves and am going to Bosnia. I want to take a course while I’m over there to work on my degree during my spare time.”

If you are interested in developing a course for correspondence, either a print course or a web course, please contact our office at 4158.

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable Conference

If we want our campus to be transformed, to get really up to speed with hardware and educational uses of technology, we could turn it over to a cadre of 19-25 year olds, give them an unlimited budget with the command to make it happen. And they would. These are the people I saw using very sophisticated technology with the same grace and casual attitude as young monkeys swinging from perilously high branches, while we older adults approach this new professional phenomenon with the same awkwardness and apprehension we’d have learning to use a skateboard.

Perhaps this “generation gap” analogy is most helpful to make us aware that since it’s not realistic to turn our campuses over to a group of whiz kids for a quick technology transformation we need to do the job ourselves and with some urgency. It is for our students--not for ourselves in most cases--that we do this transformation. To deny our students a technologically enriched learning environment is tantamount to taking the trees away from the young monkeys. They will survive in a world of our limitations but they will not flourish.
---Barbara Erdman, Teacher Education

I really enjoyed the small group meetings with people from other institutions that were also in the process of establishing a teaching/technology roundtable. It was apparent that some schools had already formed a steering committee to assist in the development and direction of technology resources. I believe we could draw from these schools some valuable input from their experiences. Our group felt the effective and appropriate use of technology resources must be employed.
---Lee Emanuel, Community College

I attended a presentation by Phil Long of William Patterson University of New Jersey on the institution's innovative Student Technology Assistant Program. There was also a follow-up teleconference with student participants that verified the earlier session.

The William Patterson University of New Jersey Student Technology Assistants Program is a student-run organization with an annual budget of $370,000, $45,000 of which is used to pay a full-time permanent director. Student participants have many responsibilities, including:
*Serving as highly trained and skilled lab technicians.
*Working with faculty in teaching new computer skills to classes by sending in 2-3 computer trained student technicians to work in classrooms for 2-3 sessions until the skills are mastered.
*Training ALL staff, faculty and students in use of office and classroom computers at the university.
*Assisting faculty one-on-one with private research projects.
*Creating a K-12 relationship with area school children.
*Training junior high and high school teachers in computer technology. Why has it worked? Student lab technicians:
*Are treated as equals by faculty and staff and supported by the school.
*Are extremely well trained through both on and off-campus sessions with experts during a required week-long camp each August prior to the beginning of school and during required weekend sessions.
*Are well paid and frequently evaluated; malingerers are placed immediately on probation and ousted if necessary, while the stars get frequent salary increases.
*Receive specific coaching in "people" skills.
*Are rewarded with parties, special assignments, and recognition, including by the governor and N.J. legislature.
*Want to be part of this prestige team (Hats, sweaters & tee shirts are part of it.) Only 1 in 5 applicants is accepted.
*Create a clear career path. One graduate who had participated in the program took a job with Johnson & Johnson in web page development at a starting salary of $48,000.
---Paula Quinn, Journalism

New at the Center -

Book Review by Ted Hovet, English

Peter Sacks, Generation X Goes to College: An Eye-Opening Account of Teaching in Postmodern America (Chicago: Open Court, 1996)

Sacks, who enters the classroom after spending several years as a successful journalist, is stunned to find a group of students who seem to demand high grades, refuse to work hard, and expect to be entertained (and who are supported by an administration that seems to always side with them). He thus decides to tackle the ambitious topic of "Education in Postmodern America" in an effort to explain the cultural circumstances that produced the prototypical Gen X classroom.

Sacks touches on many important issues; his examination of the encroachment of a consumer model into higher education (chapter 13) raises some especially troubling problems that need to be addressed. But the book never recovers from his overly monolithic portrait of the typical student. Early in the book he creates a dichotomy between motivated students who appreciate education and apathetic students who demand spoon-fed information and an easy grade. He assumes that this line is fixed, not considering the possibility that an individual student may be more inspired by certain topics or classes than she is by others.

To assume that students are incapable of learning or changing and that a class has no opportunity (or responsibility) to help students find value in education is a defeatist view of pedagogy that represents a much deeper problem than any of the specific trends or changes that Sacks examines. As Sacks points out, we must be prepared to address changes in education brought on by new technologies, economic pressures, and even what he terms the "postmodern condition" that has challenged traditional authority in the classroom. However, addressing changes (by studying them, to begin with) should always be a fundamental principle of pedagogy and of the wider mission of higher education. The challenge for individual classes--and the institutions that support them--is to continue to define and demonstrate education in a way that helps students to discover its value and apply it to a variety of circumstances. 

Alternative Classroom Techniques for Testing and Reviewing

Tips Sheet 34

presented by Greg Baur, Computer Science

& Darleen Pigford, Computer Science

1. Investing time in review is worthwhile and valuable not only for pretesting purposes.

2. Anonymous questioning: small groups of students or individuals have two minutes to generate questions or three areas for review. The professor or a panel of students answers the questions.

3. Blind multiple choice: a regular multiple choice test is graded only with respect to the total number correct (individual items not scored). Students must review to decide which of the items are correct/incorrect.

4. Reverse questioning: somewhat like “Jeopardy” in that the answer is given and students must come up with the question.

5. Oral test/review: questions are written on index cards and randomly drawn for individuals or teams to answer. Student responses vary from an answer, pass, add to or correct previous question. Professor scores the oral responses. Questions are posted after the review.

6. Bluebook quizzes: the same test booklet is used for frequent quizzes.; a template is used for the format of quizzes; written feedback is given by professor; a composite record of the student is maintained and used to help determine the final grade; personal demographics, records of attendance and conferences are also kept in the bluebook.

For more information about this workshop, contact the CTL staff or any of the following individuals who attended: Linda Parry, Jan Peeler, Matt Pruitt, Sherry Reid, Roger Scott, Kathy Tehrani, Linda Todd, Robert Wharton, or Carol Graham.

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