A Newsletter from the Center for Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University

September/October  2000                    "Ideas not Absolutes"                      Vol. 11, No. 1

by Karen Schneider, English
WKU 2000 Outstanding Teaching Award Recipient and
Potter College Teaching Award Recipient

     Like all teachers, sometimes I fear I’m not making a meaningful difference in my students’ lives.  Those are dark times.  But then I am encouraged to remember that some of my teachers did for me exactly what I hope to do for my students: instilled in me a hunger for learning, taught me the rewards of hard work, challenged me to exceed what I thought were my limitations, encouraged me to cast off imposed restrictions, forced me to question what I thought I knew.  They not only inspired me to teach, but modeled worthy ways to go about it.  Like me, though, they had no way of knowing this, for I never told them.  So, belatedly, and in honor of all teachers like them, I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge those whose exceptional talent and devotion prepared me for my teaching journey:
     The sophomore English teacher whose name I have forgotten but whose legacy will be with me always:  He made us study Word Power Made Easy from cover to cover, thus increasing my vocabulary exponentially and opening a door on language and the world.
 Vivian Taylor (junior English), who after seeing my list of woefully trashy summer reading, countered with a list of her own and challenged me to read every book on it.  Because of her encouragement, literature became my passport and my passion.
     And, fresh from college, Jeanne Alsup (senior English), whose joy in teaching was utterly infectious and whose high standards—painful at the time—made me a more conscientious reader and writer.
     In college, of course, fundamentals were taken for granted, and my teachers presented greater and even more satisfying challenges.  To Dr. Robert Stevens, a Victorianist now retired from the University of North Texas, I owe a particular debt.  Even though he occasionally munched on apples while talking, thus making the front row a somewhat dangerous place to be, I couldn’t get enough of his class.  By forcing me to acknowledge and question my every assumption, by asking me to think and not merely react, he introduced me to critical thinking.  Being made to examine my own opinions for their unconscious bias, for their logic (or lack of it) led, of course, to examination of ideas in general.  It was as if lightening flashed in my brain; the world as I saw it was transfigured—and so was I.
     It is to the example of these most excellent teachers—their passion for intellectual inquiry, their love of language and ideas, their persistence and caring, their high expectations—that I frequently turn for inspiration.  I wish they could know how well they succeeded, how valuable their gifts.  The only way I can repay them is to do my best to pass those gifts along.
 

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by Joseph Bilotta
College of Education & Behavioral Sciences Teaching Award Recipient

     This summer, I had an unusual number of former students visit me. Some of them had graduated, while others were still students at our university. They came to say “hi” and to “thank me for everything I did for them.” Since I was thinking about what to write for this article, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and asked each student, “What exactly did I do for you?” Surprisingly, most of the students said the same thing. They told me that “I was always there for them when they needed help,” and that “I challenged them.” They felt that my courses (some of them had me for more than one course) were difficult and they had to work hard in order to get a good grade. However, they knew that if they had trouble, I was willing to help. They could stop by my office, or make an appointment to see me, and that I would do whatever I could to help them learn the material.
     We all like to hear good things about our classes, especially from students, but I realized that I enjoyed hearing “I learned a lot from this class” more than “I really enjoyed the class.” The two do not have to be mutually exclusive.
     You can have fun in the classroom but still expect a great deal from the student, as long as it is clear that there is an expectation that a good grade will require hard work. Most students will perform at the level they are expected to perform. The ones who do not perform well are typically those who do not spend much time on the course work. I really do not believe that there are many students who do not have the ability to learn the material in my class. I have seen too many students who may not have had the background outperform the rest of the class through diligence and hard work (and spending as much time in my office as I do).
     In some respects, a good teacher is similar to a good personal athletic trainer. You are there to help a person reach a particular goal. Not everyone has the same goal so the way you work with the person may be different. However, a good trainer (physical or mental) knows how far to push and motivate, and has the expertise to teach efficient skills. The physical trainer analogy is actually not that far fetched. There are a number of scientific studies that have shown that the phrase “use it or lose it” applies to mental activity as well as physical ability.
     A former student of mine once told me, “There is a fine line between pushing enough and pushing too much. There is a fine line between leading one to a goal and guiding one to a goal. Finally, there is a fine line between being a friend and being a mentor. A good teacher knows exactly where these lines are.”  What an intelligent young woman – I hope that she learned some of that from me.

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Do your students need help with writing assignments?
The Writing Center can help . . .

What happens in the Writing Center?
  In the Writing Center, your students can talk with trained writing instructors about any aspect of  writing.
Students can get help if they have:
  *received a writing assignment and can not figure out how to begin
  *written two pages of a five-page paper and can not figure out what to do next
  *finished a paper and want to be sure it is well organized
  *had trouble with grammar in the past and want to brush up on editing skills.

     Though our tutors cannot edit a paper for students, they can help them master the editing and  writing skills needed to produce better papers.

When are tutors available at the Writing Center in Cherry Hall?
(Notice for Sunday only, tutors are available  in Zacharias Hall. See hours below.)
   MONDAY  10:00 a.m.  -  1:00 p.m.  & 1:30 p.m.  -  3:30 p.m.
   TUESDAY  No Hours
   WEDNESDAY  10:00 a.m.  -  2:00 p.m.
   THURSDAY  11:00 a.m.  -  2:00 p.m.
   FRIDAY   10:00 a.m. -  Noon
   SUNDAY  No hours in Cherry Hall Writing Center
   SUNDAY ONLY** 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Zacharias Hall only

 The Writing Center welcomes drop ins and appointments.  When students make appointments, they are ensured that they will get to see a tutor.  Call 745-5719.
For more information, visit:     http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Academic/AHSS/English/wcenter/wcpage.htm
 

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     The lifeblood of the University is arguably the faculty.  Or is it the students?  Where do staff members fit?  Regardless of the value of the other constituents, a university does not exist without its students.  Most in Kentucky agree there are far fewer students in our universities and colleges than there could be.  Furthermore, the retention and subsequent graduation rates of those students is lower than the national average.
     In Kentucky, there is an expression “Thanks for Mississippi.” In the past, that expression has often been used to suggest “at least in Kentucky, we are not last among all of the states” in education indicators.  Recent data show the educational level of the citizenry of Kentucky is still alarmingly low.  Many of Kentucky’s high school age students do not complete high school giving Kentucky a near bottom ranking of forty six among the fifty states.  Of those who graduate from high school in Kentucky, only one half seek higher education.  This compares with over sixty seven percent of high school graduates at the national level choosing to seek higher education. Only twenty percent of Kentucky residents have higher education degrees giving Kentucky a forty-second ranking among all states.
     Those with economic development expertise suggest the low number of college graduates in Kentucky is also preventing an improved standard of living for the commonwealth’s citizens.  Increases in employment opportunities have been concentrated mostly in the lower salary
service areas of the economy.  A relatively highly educated workforce is needed to encourage business interests to invest in Kentucky in more white collar career opportunities.  Western Kentucky University has a responsibility to provide some of these more highly educated citizens.  This can only be accomplished by increasing retention of students, obviously necessary for progression to graduation.
     Retention is defined as the percentage of a cohort of first year students returning for a second year.  Western’s retention rate is approximately seventy percent.  While that rate is at the national average, a higher retention rate is necessary and is attainable.  The faculty at Western must be the lifeblood of successful retention efforts.  Much effort has been put into the recruitment of students.  In most instances less effort has been given to thoughtful efforts of retaining those students.  Faculty members at Western have had a history of caring for its students and providing the guidance necessary for retention.  Many WKU graduates have provided rich testimony describing how key faculty members have made the difference in their lives and careers.  Those faculty have encouraged them to strive to reach heights resulting in medical and graduate schools admission, outstanding artistic performance, professional, business and other outstanding career opportunities.
     Retention is NOT about lowering standards, but rather providing motivational and creative ways for students to overcome real and perceived obstacles to become the best they can be and to achieve success at academic levels deemed suitable for degree attainment.  Some students are clearly self motivated and succeed seemingly without additional support.  Many other students need a significant academic support system in order to overcome problems hindering success.  First, students need excellent advisement.  Again, Western has a rich history of excellent faculty advisement—most of the time.   Advisement needs to be coupled with good assessment of writing, mathematics and reading skills to provide “placement for success” in appropriate courses.  It does not make sense to place a student into an algebra course if success in high school algebra has not yet been achieved.
     In working with a group of students on academic probation during the summer of 2000, Western’s Community College staff discovered almost every student had a major reading skill level deficiency.  Should developmental courses be provided or should students with those deficiencies simply not be admitted to college and encouraged to find other career choices not requiring baccalaureate degrees?  Western’s Mathematics Department has had significant improvement in the success rate of students in College Algebra by providing additional class time for homework.  Are there not ways to correct other academic deficiencies in addition to mathematics?  Yes!
     Many of our students are more sophisticated and better informed in many areas than students only a few years ago.  Some are not.  Others do NOT know of the resources available to them in the University.  These include the availability of financial aid and counseling to name only two.  At Western, the Freshman Seminar, has not reached its full potential.  However, it does serve as a valuable opportunity for faculty and staff to provide students ways to develop good study habits, critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as informing new students of those needed resources that are available.  Sometimes one may fail to realize that excellent students can also benefit from these enhancements and skill improvement.
     Prediction of attrition is not easy.  Studies have shown that many students with high probability for attrition more often than not have greater financial needs, weaker high school preparation and live farther from home than those less likely to drop.  Other studies show that class attendance is a key indicator of students in trouble in the classroom.  If we believe our classroom teaching is effective for increased learning, then class attendance must be impactful.
     If students’ problems and needs are known, corrective interventions are possible.  However, how are student needs and problems known?  Once again faculty members are essential in determining student needs.  During a Department Head retreat in late summer, the need for a university wide retention program identifying students with classroom problems at an early date along with ways to solve those problems was discussed.  Several indicators identifying students in trouble were discussed.  From that discussion, four indicators were chosen for assessment.  They are 1) Absenteeism, 2) Personal Concerns, 3) Unprepared for Class and 4) Tutoring Needed.  Thus, faculty members have been asked to provide a Fourth Week Student Assessment of all first time full time freshmen enrolled in 100-level courses in the Fall 2000 Semester.  These indicators will be quickly reviewed using the Academic Advising and Retention Center and instructors in the Freshman Seminar to evaluate and suggest appropriate interventions.  Interventions may include tutoring, counseling, one on one conversations with students, suggesting ways to make a “connection” to the university through campus organizations, etc.  Using any and all available university resources in a reasonable way to increase the likelihood of academic success in the classroom is the desired result of this effort.
     As the title of this article noted, “How important is retention?”  How important are students?  Do we want to ensure educational opportunities for enhancing the standard of living and general life satisfaction of young Kentucky residents and future leaders of our state?  How much effort is appropriate for ensuring academic success of Kentucky students?  Certainly students have a responsibility and a role to play for their own success and so do faculty. A philosophical question has been frequently posed, “Do faculty really teach if students do not learn?  Our professional mission at Western Kentucky University is surely caring that our students learn and that we do our part to strengthen and improve the plight of Kentucky’s 42nd ranking in the number of college educated citizens.  Retention is important.  As a faculty member, what role will you play?  How many students will your efforts “save”??  Recently, someone said “Every student can learn.  Teachers (professors) can make a difference.  Education is power.”  Faculty have the opportunity to be powerful...in shaping the future of Kentuckians’ educational status, standard of living and life satisfaction.

147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups:
Essentials of Web-Based Education
by Donald E. Hanna, Michelle Glowacki-Dudka, & Simone Conceicao-Runlee.  Madison, Wisconsin: Atwood Publishing, 2000.
 

    “The online teaching and learning environment is a new and largely unexplored ‘space’ for learning. While face-to-face learning environments can at times be mysterious and overwhelming even to the most experienced teachers, the online environment is so new that we can offer very little in the way of time-tested truths and effective practices, or even of consistent observation by those closest to it . . . . the authors of . . . [this book] have made a major contribution to the development of online teaching and learning . . . . The authors’ ideas have the potential to create a foundation for effective practice on this new eduactional frontier (Parker J. Palmer, “Foreword,”  xi).”

Some MYTHS associated with online classes . . .

•  Teachers need less time to teach online classes than face-to-face classes. (24)
•  Online classes tend to be less “social” than face-to-face classes  (25).
•  You can teach an unlimited number of students in an online class (25).
•  “Technology will always work (26).”

•  “Expect learners to be present online and to avoid passively observing (16).”
•  “Expect learners to manage their time effectively.”  Students should participate in class activities at least every other day (18).
•  “Expect learners to troubleshoot problems.”  Having a help-desk for technology is great, but having a “buddy” in class who can provide help is a back-up most students will need to survive the occasional downed server or the crashed computer two hours before the assignment is due.  Students should be able “to approach a problem with multiple points of advice and solution (19).”  After all, this is excellent training not only for class, but work and life as well!
•  “Expect learners to Teach  others and facilitate the [online learning]  experience (20).”  Again, you must teach your students what they must do.
•  “Expect learners to be proactive (22).”

And finally. “Understand that you’re not the only one who feels a little overwhelmed once in a while (64).” Change is the catch phrase of the online world.  We may all get a little behind every once in a while!

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