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

February/March 2001                   "Ideas not Absolutes"                      Vol. 11, No. 2

Check out our complete workshop listing at: http://www.wku.edu/teachingevents.htm
 

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Setting Up E-mail Message Filters
by Cristina Abrell, Graduate Student Worker in CTL

Want all student e-mail from a particular class to go to one folder for quick review?
Looking for a way to organize your e-mail messages?
Then, e-mail filters may provide the solution to your problem.

     E-mail filters are a way for beginners and advanced users of e-mail systems to keep their inbox manageable by separating and prioritizing e-mail messages by subject, sender, date, and so on.
     E-mail filters are very simple to use.  On a Windows system using Netscape Messenger, perform the following steps to define the message filter.
     1) Choose Edit...Message Filters from the menu.
     2) At this point, the Message Filters dialog box will display.  From the dialog box, choose whether to create a new filter, edit a filter, or delete a  filter.
     3) Assuming you chose to create a new filter (New from the Message Filters dialog box), the dialog box displayed now is the Filter Rules dialog box.
     From this dialog box, you will specify the options for the filter.  First, give the filter a name (If you want to put all e-mail for a class you teach, say Eng 100, you might want to name it that).  Then, choose how you want the messages separated -- by subject, sender, or one of the other options listed.  If, for instance, you choose to separate the messages by subject, you will need to include the subject line that you want to be used as the criteria for filtering out these messages.(In our instance of Eng 100 above, advise your students to always use Eng 100 as their subject line.) Do this in the blank text box on the far right of the dialog box.
     You will then want to specify a folder to put the filtered messages into.  You can create a new folder from within this dialog box if necessary.  You can add/delete as many constraints as you like.  If separating messages by sender, include the person's e-mail address in the blank text box.  The process is very similar for all the other types of message filters.  Choose OK when finished.
    The next message you  receive will be filtered if it meets the criteria specified.
     You can delete or edit the message filters at any time.  The process of creating message filters takes only a few minutes, but if done properly can save you hours of time.  If you need additional assistance setting up  e-mail message filters, contact 7000.  You can also use the online help provided by Netscape.  From the Help menu, choose Help Contents. Select Index and do a search for filters (or browse the list until you see filters, mail).
 

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The rest of the state is traveling to Bowling Green to hear about scholarly teaching.
Will you be one of the presenters?

     The Call is available on-line at: http://www.cpe.state.ky.us/kfdw/Currentconf.htm.
     This annual conference, sponsored by the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky Virtual University, offers an excellent forum for college faculty and administrators to meet and discuss topics on teaching and learning.
     Conference topics in the past have included:
          *enhancing and enriching learning,
          *effective use of technology-based instruction,
          * and other faculty development related issues.
     Scholarly presentations, interactive resource sessions, and poster displays will provide delegates and visitors the opportunity to discuss the scholarship of teaching and learn about innovative technologies and their pedagogical implications.
     This year the conference will focus on the integrative ways in which to build a scholarly structure for effective teaching and learning.  Each presentation will address one or more of the “Six Criteria for Scholarly Teaching” as delineated in Scholarship Assessed (1997).  See the Ky. Faculty Development Workgroup’s website for more information:  http://www.cpe.state.ky.us/kfdw/Currentconf.htm.
     The six criteria for Scholarly Teaching are Clear Goals, Adequate Preparation, Appropriate Methods, Significant Results, Effective Presentation, and Reflective Critique.
     WKU faculty have outstanding, innovative teaching ideas. Many of you have shared them with other WKU faculty in CTL booklets and materials, most notably our recent series on the Scholarship of Teaching (http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Support/AcadAffairs/CTL/booklets/goals.htm).
    I hope you will share these ideas and experiences through conference presentations when the rest of the state comes to visit us.
 
Don't forget, submit soon.
 

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In September 2000, Karl Laves and Barb Kacer conducted a workshop for the CTL on the above topic.  The question, “I would like to hear more about specific tactics for dealing with disruptive behaviors and chronic absenteeism,” was asked on a workshop evaluation form.  The presenters prepared these answers to distribute to workshop participants and we would like to share them with you.

     The handout I used for my part of the presentation contains some suggestions and techniques for handling disruptive students (These are available at the CTL).
     In a nutshell, I would say that one needs to first decide what are the rights and responsibilities of the instructor, and what are the rights and responsibilities of the student.  From here on all your behavior as an instructor should come from a solid belief of your rights.  Don't try to demand a right until you believe you have it.  Only you can claim a right. Expecting others to allow you a right can lead to disaster.
     Invite, don't scold, until you know the student's motive for the behavior you see as disruptive. Anger is justified on the part of the teacher when the student is clearly taking the offensive stance. But teachers need to use their anger, not react to it.  So we recommend inviting students to reflect on their behavior and make adjustments.  Remember that anxiety is contagious; if you are worried about how a student will react, the student will sense that worry, and probably misinterpret your anxiety for indifference or anger.
     A shorter answer would be to use the golden rule; call a student on his/her behavior the way you would want to be called on your behavior (yes, you..... we all posses the ability to be obnoxious from time to time).
     My view on chronic absenteeism may be different from others.  To foster healthy development in college students we need to expect them to be autonomous, but we must not assume a parental role and "take care" of students.  Supporting students is good; hand-holding is not.  Simply printing and announcing one's attendance policy and/or views about attendance is sufficient.  Students who are chronically absent are choosing to not attend class.  I think it is appropriate to remind the class from time to time that attendance is important, and to suggest that those who are not attending due to personal reasons can use the Counseling Services, but do not think instructors are responsible for "fixing" attendance problems.  Students have a right to choose whether they will attend class; with this right comes the responsibility of accepting the consequences of not attending.  Think of it this way.  A community hospital might engage in a public education program to inform citizens about the symptoms and causes of heart disease, and provide services to citizens who come to hospital with heart disease, but a hospital has no responsibility to call everyone in town to check and see if they have symptoms of heart disease.
     Please read the handout section (available at the CTL) that discusses techiques.  As a psychologist at the University Counseling Center, I would be happy to speak with you about specific situations you encounter this school year.  We can talk by phone, e-mail, or in person.  I can make suggestions and, more importantly, listen to your thoughts as you ponder the course of action you wish to take.  While we can be trained to be better instructors, being a good instructor goes well beyond training.      Experience is our best teacher, and being honest and fair with ourselves is our best tutor.

    (You can contact Karl Laves at 745-3159.)
 

    Here are some comments about behaviors and absenteeism.

      •    For disruptive behaviors I begin with the usual high school behavior management techniques (the "teacher look," and management by proximity).  I  rarely make public pronouncements and when I do I make them pretty generic. If the problem persists, I have private conversations with offenders.  I've never had a problem persist beyond this.  If it did I would either speak with the department head or the dean of students.

      •    Given that I have an absence policy/late work policy statement in my syllabus, excessive absenteeism rarely becomes a problem for me.  Sometimes it does become a problem for students, though!!  Since the undergraduate day classes that I teach are all 2+ hours in length, absences are pretty serious. This semester I've already spoken with two students who've been absent way too much.  Beyond this there isn't really much I can do, but then again this issue is the students' responsibility.  These students sometimes call and ask me what they've missed, what the assignment is, etc.  When students who have chronic absenteeism or absenteeism without an apparent good reason, I tell them (with a smile on my face!!) that the first thing they will need to do is contact a classmate for the information.  (I have phone numbers and e-mail addresses for all my students.)  I inform them that if, after receiving this information, they have questions or concerns I will be glad to make appointments.  The reason I handle the situation in this manner is because I do not want to reinforce lack of responsibility.  I believe I would be condoning irresponsibility by basically reteaching the class to people who missed for no apparent good reason.

      If you have other suggestions I, too, would be interested!  It's nice to have a well-stocked toolbox.

(You can contact Barb Kacer at 745-4430.)
 

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Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms. 
by Barbara J. Shade,  Cynthia Kelly, & Mary Oberg. APA Publishing; Washington, D.C.: 1997.
(Available for checkout at the CTL Ask for  LC1099.3.S48)
A Review

By Kimberly Erwin, Assistant  Director of the Office of International Programs
 

    I find Shade, Kelly, & Oberg’s Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms, necessary, novel, and nurturing to the education professional of all academic levels.  The authors succeed in their goals in every area, from the design of the book, to its content, and overall tone.  In the following review, I point to where I particularly find their successes, while also noting that however well timed, and engaging this work may be, there are certain improvements that may be had with the next edition.  (CCRC had its second printing in September 1998.)
    When looking at the design or layout of the book, I recognize the combination of creativity and preciseness.  In the introduction section, the authors list their five goals.  The goals are then the headings of what would usually be considered chapters.  For example: “Goal 1: Understanding Cultural Backgrounds” and “Goal 2: Understanding How Culture Influences Motivation.”  This supports the tone, reminding the reader that these sections focus upon helping to maintain goals and not just on providing information, serving the authors’ design goal of being both “inspiring” and “practical.” (As stated on the back cover.)
    Many of the design strategies support the authors’ goal of maintaining practicality.  The usefulness of the “Suggested Readings” section at the end of each “chapter” is clear.  I do question the small “glossary,” preferring that the terms be described near their actual usage.  Doing so would aid the new educational professionals who may not seek to look up words in a glossary because they are unaware it exists at the end of the book.  I would improve upon the overall effectiveness by adding an index.  Clearly the information provided would warrant one and be helpful for the more culturally adept professional, who may be using the work as more of an aid for specific instances or cultures.
    As stated in the opening, and found above in the discussion of the design, the content of CCRC is thoroughly functional and inspiring.  The authors are able to discuss the facts without alienating the individual who may not be either knowledgeable of or readily able to accept them.  To aid in both, the book offers illustrative models, authoritative quotes, and graphics reaffirming all ethnicities and “color” of people.
    In “Introduction: A Vision of the Future,” (p. 6) the authors include a clipped USA Today article with headlines touting U.S. Census figures (One in 11 Residents Foreign-Born), and also uses this as an opportunity to soften the cultural divide by depicting the “Cover Story,” titled ‘Diverse’ fits nation better than ‘normal.’  Paradigm models used within are many—Principles for building a learning community (p. 57) and  “Information Processing” (p. 66), to name two.
    The work in this area is that it seeks to “put its money where its mouth is.”  Not only does it state in the text that the coursework and materials should be reflective and representative of the cultural makeup of the classroom students, but shows that very commitment on its cover (a photo of an ethnically diverse group of students) and in its one graphic showing four pair of hands of four different “colors.”
    What I cannot comment positively on is the terminology usage of some of the ethnicities because they may lead to the confusion of the reader.  For example, “Native Americans” and “American Indians” were used it seems interchangeably, and who exactly are Hispanic/Latino Americans?  Also, I question the inclusion of some groups.  For example, German Americans and the Hmong were listed, but not Jewish Americans.
    I recognize that the authors may not have wanted to include religious sectors.  However, would the addition of these types of cultural groups be more inclusive, thereby making this book more diverse?  After all, religion plays a large role in the Southern classroom, though maybe not as much as in the Minnesota region (the area where the authors reside).  Still, the African Americans, Asian Americans, and those of Spanish-speaking origins were mentioned.  The very fact that they mention the Hmongs, a group not much discussed in the media, but still well represented by numbers in the U.S. is inspiring.
    Shade, Kelly, & Oberg write that they seek to inspire the reader, and surely they succeed.  Their spirit shows in the tone of the book.  Throughout the text, they “suggest,” “encourage,” and “invite” their readers to “self-analyze” and “re-design.”  They are able to do this because the primary focus is not on others but on the education professionals themselves, how they see and respond to their students.  Note the title of Appendix I, “An Invitation to Personal Growth.”  Their word choices are well noted.
 

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