Paul Fain has written an interesting news story about the idea of college for all. In it he says, "The backlash to college tends to be cyclical. But this latest iteration, in which pundits and politicians have questioned a supposed crusade for “college for all,” has been bolstered by the double whammy of a prolonged recession and a presidential election. Often lost in the debate is the distinction of what, exactly constitutes “college.” Critics of “college for all” often focus entirely on degrees, particularly the bachelor's degree, and neglect to account for other credentials, like certificates, which Obama and co. have been careful to include in their completion push. To listen to some, one might think politicians and foundations want every American to attend a liberal arts college, a far-fetched idea nobody has proposed." What may be getting lost in this prolonged discussion is the voice of the student. American democracy will confront an increasingly bleak future unless colleges make civic learning a central part of students' education, says a report released by the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. "This is a moment of serious reckoning for our democracy," said Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and one of the members of the task force that produced the report, "A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future." It was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education. It calls for colleges to renew their commitment to civic education at a time when higher education is talked about chiefly as a means of job training. Civic learning and democratic engagement should become explicit goals of college, and take more forms than civics courses, the authors say. For example, every discipline should teach relevant civic issues and debates. In the same vein, S. James Gates Jr. and Chad Mirkin have written an op-ed piece on STEM education. They say, "This year a report issued by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, on which we serve, concluded that if the United States is to maintain its historic pre-eminence in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—and gain the social, economic, and national-security benefits that come with such pre-eminence, then we must produce approximately one million more workers in those fields over the next decade than we are on track now to turn out. At first glance, that may seem to be a daunting task—but it doesn't have to be. At current rates, American colleges and universities will graduate about three million STEM majors over the next decade, so an increase of one million would require a whopping 33-percent increase. Yet the report's lofty goal can be seen as quite feasible in the light of two other statistics: First, 60 percent of students who enter college with the goal of majoring in a STEM subject end up graduating in a non-STEM field. And second, reducing attrition in STEM programs by 10 percentage points—so that half of freshmen who enter college with the intention of majoring in one of those fields complete college with a STEM degree—will produce three-quarters of the one million additional graduates within a decade."

Metacognitive thinking has come to be described as thinking about thinking by most of us. Matt Birkenhauer wants us to apply that to our teaching by making thinking visible. He suggests that we become "helicopter instructors" mimicking the best of what helicopter parents do, which is basically "pestering." I am not sure I would agree with him but the basics of his idea bear further discussion. Many of our students at LU are not only first-generation but may not have ever thought that they would be attending college. Some of them may have decided at the last moment to pursue a college degree. We know that without the proper preparation for anything, you typically set yourself up to fail. Realizing this, then the pestering or hovering that Birkenhauer recommends may have merit. We should certainly offer to mentor our students and that is a form of hovering. Asking questions to prompt deeper thinking and perhaps advanced planning can only be beneficial for our students. As we prepare to offer the first sections of the University Success Seminar or LMAR 1101, we should begin to think of "intrusive" ways that we can influence our students, who incidentally have a lot on their minds. Here are just a few ways that you can begin to build an engaged relationship with your students that may pay off in the form of higher retention and graduation rates for LU. Remind them that this is not year thirteen of high school. College will require less time of them in the classroom but subsequently more time on things like homework, reading, and pre-class assignments. They will more likely experience being in larger classes in college. This can create problems for them but also opportunities to network extensively and usually larger classes allow them the opportunity to work in groups, a valuable life-skill that will be used in the workplace. The negative may mean less personal attention in some cases but they should be encouraged to make the effort to talk with you. College is typically less concerned about attendance although some folks still capture this information. The idea here is to help them realize that they are “driving the bus.” That means they need to create a schedule and attempt to stick to it to help them manage their time wisely. Finally, you should remind them that they may have come from a culture that valued standardized tests but college requires them to think critically using empirical and quantitative methods. They will be asked to communicate their thoughts in various ways and they will be evaluated. Don’t forget to remind them that the rewards on the other side are substantial both economically and otherwise. The National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) captures data from students at over 800 universities across North America. The survey is administered to first year and fourth year students and the results provide a sense of how a given university is perceived by both commencing and graduating students. The data can be mined for all sorts of things. Some interesting trends have merged recently related to designing teaching and learning spaces, something that has been the focus of CT+LE as well as several University-related groups. Learning spaces that support student learning, according to results from NSSE, should be designed for active and collaborative learning. Student-faculty interaction should be enhanced rather than impeded by the layout. Instructors and students should always be able to hear one another as well. Technology should be realized as a valuable tool but not the panacea to all of our ills. Classrooms designed to enhance learning sends a clear message to our students that we are committed to their success.

Are you finding it harder than ever to attract and keep your student's attention during class? Have you noticed that your students are more easily distracted than in the past? Attention Deficit Trait may be the culprit. First introduce by Dr. Edward Hallowell as a very real but under-recognized neurological phenomenon, the core symptoms are distractability, inner frenzy, and impatience. ADT sufferers have trouble staying organized, setting priorities, managing time, and staying focused. We have continued to research the effects of ADT and have uncovered interventions that have produced positive results in the classroom. Dr. Todd Pourciau will present results of some of this research at the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum conference this coming October in San Antonio. This topic was previously discussed in a post in April that highlighted the idea of switching in the brain (what many have described as multi-tasking). Our research begins with the assumption that you cannot change something if you are unaware of its existence. In this case, many students are unaware that forcing their brain to switch very quickly between many tasks is actually "training" this behavior. Obviously this type of habit is not conducive to deep learning that is required for complex tasks in a college setting. Dr. Joe Kraus contends that we are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction mostly linked to the plethora of technology available to everyone. This phenomena illustrates that teaching is a complex process that requires its practitioners to continuously learn and practice and the CT+LE is here to help on that front. Dr. Naomi Eisenberger argues that the brain reacts to social pain much as we react to physical pain. She lists five social rewards and threats that are deeply important to the brain: autonomy, certainty, fairness, relatedness, and status. It explains why people receive feedback in a negative way because it is an attack on a person's status. This aligns with research by Dr. Barbara Gross Davis that grades are a sigh of approval or disapproval and can be taken very personally. She says, "If you devise clear guidelines from which to assess performance, you will find the grading process more efficient, and the essential function of grades–communicating the student's level of knowledge–will be easier. Further, if you grade carefully and consistently, you can reduce the number of students who complain and ask you to defend a grade." What would classrooms look like if teachers asked fewer questions and students asked more? That is the premise of the book Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions by Dan Rothstein and Luz Sanatana. They argue that is our adult learners are not asking questions in class or even learning how to refine that skill, how will they ever participate at a more macro level as active citizens of a democracy? They suggest that it also explains why many people never ask questions when visiting a doctor or a banker.

We are currently updating the QEP Active Learning Manuel with new ideas. If you have tried some of the teaching methods that promotes active learning from the manual, remember to send us feedback. We want to share your experiences with your colleagues as we refine the Lamar way. If you have not received a copy of the manual, please contact a member of the CT+LE staff. There is additional help for those who are looking to promote responsibility for all LU students. The annual Faculty Development Blastoff will include a number of sessions focused on active and collaborative engagement for students including presentations by current and former ACES Fellows. Save the date of August 21 and look for more information later in the summer. Jason Jones has written a number of posts on his blog about David Allen's Getting Things Done. Allen proposed the method in his book released in 2002 and the four main tenets include: Get your thoughts out of your head; Convert your to-do list into a series of action items; Organize your action items by context; and, Review your list of projects, in-box, and action lists weekly. Nels Highberg then took the concept and applied it for students in his blog post. Besides providing his students with a syllabus and schedule, he says, "I now end each class meeting by going over an Action List that I have posted on the course blog or management system (my school uses Blackboard), and each list item is formatted as a GTD action item. I start with an action verb that states what exactly should be done, the same kind of format I use on my personal action lists. I include all the things that are already on the syllabus and schedule (e.g., reading assignments), but I also include other things that students should be doing to handle the larger course projects." Lucy Taylor, Susan McGrath-Champ and Henriikka Clarkeburn's article Supporting Student Self-study: The Educational Design of Podcasts in a Collaborative Learning Context offers some solutions for supporting students during pre-class preparation and offering students communication from the teacher. Their article is about collaborative or team-based learning (TBL) which requires students to do their pre-class readings and preparation before coming to class and the researchers suggested that podcasts supporting the subject matter would provide the appropriate intervention to enhance student learning. They write, "The results of this study suggest that the combination of TBL and supportive podcasts guide students with their pre-class preparation. Most students agreed that TBL helped them learn progressively throughout the unit of study, and that it encouraged them to prepare for classes. The majority of students used the podcasts as they were intended, with some students also using the podcasts to reinforce ideas and revise." We want to recommend to two more new books that can be checked out from the MJGL. Dylan Wiliam's Embedded Formative Assessment argues that formative assessment is a process, rather than a tool, that should focus on improving teacher quality which in turn enhances student learning. Wiliam's says that we should focus on feedback that moves learning forward. He says that the word feedback "was first used in engineering to describe a situation in which information about the current state of a system was used to change the future state of the system, but this has been forgotten." He has a very interesting section that points out there are eight things that can happen when we give students feedback and "six of them are bad." Terry Doyle's latest book, Learner-Centered Teaching: Putting the Research on Learning into Practice, is filled with great ideas to optimize student learning. He argues that many faculty are already student-centered teachers but may not have the full conceptual understanding of the process to maximize results. Doyle urges us to share with our students that there is new research emerging everyday about how humans learn and remember. He says, "We need to help our students to begin learning in harmony with their brains."

CT+LE has donated three new books to the MJGL for circulation. The first is Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford's Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings. The authors identified five core communication skills that, when implemented appropriately, help students hold productive academic conversations in all content areas. Their strategies help to move the classroom from one dominated by lecture to an active learning space that encourages students to develop the life-long skill of asking questions and developing critical thinking abilities. The second book, Engage: The Trainers Guide to Learning Styles, is by Jeanine O'Neill-Blackwell. The idea of the instructor as trainer has gathered support due to the rapidly growing body of cognitive science research. She uses a four-step model for engaging all learning styles in any learning situation. Debate continues on the topic of learning styles but most agree that engaging all types of learners means the instructor must use a variety of teaching methods. The latest in brain research is used to validate her approach. George Lakey's Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners is the third book. We have received many requests for methods to help implement group-based work in the classroom. Collaborative work, the research shows, is very beneficial for all types of learning and is an important life-skill that translates well to the real world. Most of our students will be asked to work with diverse groups of people at their job. Lakey's use of compelling stories based on his experiences provides authenticity to this book. All of these books can be found on the CT+LE faculty resource bookshelves on the 6th floor of the MJGL. English teacher David McCullough Jr. has created quite a stir with his graduation address at Wellesley High School. McCullough says what a lot of faculty are saying about today's students but maybe with a little more eloquence. He says, "When every kid has soccer trophies and glowing report cards,you are not special. You are not exceptional.... No matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you ... you’re nothing special." While most people are focusing on McCullough's criticisms, it should be noted that he closed on a more uplifting note related to his theme: "The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special. Because everyone is." The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) invites proposals that examine the new contexts for student learning and explore evidence-based, student-centered strategies that seek to align the multiple definitions of and practices in student success with the end goal of providing all students, especially those from traditionally underserved groups, with a quality education. They also invite proposals that describe frameworks that bring all campus practitioners together within a single campus and/or with other campuses to support innovation and leadership, and strengthen students’ abilities to integrate, transfer, and apply their knowledge for the sake of their own lives and the common good. The annual conference will be held April 4-6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The deadline for proposal submissions is Wednesday, July 18, 2012. The Journal of Learning Spaces has just published its latest issue. D. Christopher Brooks' article Space and consequences: The impact of different formal learning spaces on instructor and student behavior has some interesting thoughts that may cause you to want to redesign your classroom.

Congratulations to the members of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning FLC who will give a panel presentation at the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum 19th annual conference to be held in San Antonio October 4-6. The presentation Engaging Students with Course Content: A Cross-curricular Perspective from a Faculty Learning Community will be facilitated by Chiung-Fang Chang, JJ Chen, Charlotte Mizener, Vanessa Villate, and Christina Wilbur. As promised yesterday, here is the first book review. It is provided by Nick Viator, who works with the Office of Planning and Assessment, and the book is Maryellen Weimer's Learner-Centered Teaching:Five key changes to practice (LB2331 .W39 2002). Nick writes, "Maryellen Weimer, who is one of the nation’s most highly regarded educators on effective instruction and learning, offers insight on the topic of learner centered teaching as it relates to the college and university setting. As Weimer explains, learner centered teaching focuses on what the student is learning, how the student is learning, conditions under which the student is learning, student retention and application, and how the learning techniques assist the student for future learning. In order to be learner – centered, Weimer suggests that instructional design needs to be changed in five key areas. Each change is detailed throughout the chapters and offers instructors how to implement each change easily and thoroughly. The chapters, as the author states again and again, are the heart of the book. These five changes as discussed by Weimer are Balance of Power in the classroom, the Function of Content, the Role of the Teacher, the responsibility for Learning, and the Purpose and Process of Evaluation. The final three chapters offer instructors advice on how to implement the previously discussed strategies and techniques in to the classroom environment without resistance. Learner–Centered Teaching not only offers instructors a new angle for connecting with their students, but also a better understanding of how to connect teaching to the process and objectives of learning." James Lang has a fascinating article on student learning. He writes, "In January 2011, a trio of researchers published the results of an experiment in which they demonstrated that students who read material in difficult, unfamiliar fonts learned it more deeply than students who read the same material in conventional, familiar fonts. Strange as that may seem, the finding stems from a well-established principle in learning theory called cognitive disfluency, which has fascinating implications for our work as teachers. As the researchers pointed out in their article in the journal Cognition, both students and teachers may sometimes judge the success of a learning experience by the ease with which the learner processes or "encodes" the new information. But learning material easily, or fluently, may sometimes produce shallower levels of learning."

Less is more. By now you have heard this mantra from a variety of sources and hopefully one of them was CT+LE. But how can we use this to make our teaching lives more productive and efficient. Remember, the bottom line on teaching is doing everything you can to enhance the learning by your students. There is a terrific op-ed by Peter Bregman that informs our post today. He tells us that we should read two lists everyday as we begin our work. We are modifying his suggestion to make it pertinent to the education field. First make a list of what is important in your class. What is it that you want your students to be able to do when they complete your course? What should they understand and be able to apply? What information will enhance their lives? As Bregman suggests (and we concur), design your class around the things on this list. Now make a second list and place the things that you should avoid. This is the place where you might want to remind yourself not to stand and lecture for 50 minutes or not to put questions on the test about items you failed to discuss. This is the list that you want to use to remind yourself of the habits that are self-defeating or about the time wasters in your life (staring blankly at the Web for hours or stewing over one bad student rating in a class of 35). Sometimes the things we miss (or ignore) put us in the spot to see and hear the things that will make us successful. The trick (if there is one) is to look at the lists each day as you get started. When you are building your course, take a look at the lists. Organization is a good thing and can save us copious amounts of time even if it appears they are time-consumers at the start. The summer is a good time to begin this exercise. Remember, in order for things to become a habit, we need to start doing them on a consistent basis. Habits aren't necessarily bad so let's start some good habits as we look to the Fall 2012 semester and beyond. Have you thought about flipping your class? This has nothing to do with gymnastics, although the Summer Olympics are coming up. It also does not have anything to do with buying a rundown house, repair it and selling it quickly (although it might be a way to help our rapidly diminishing retirement funds). Flipping the classroom is very much about creating a student-centered course. It involves student's taking ownership of their academic experience. We have written about this concept in the past and provided you with some resources. Now you can plan to attend a session on this important topic at the annual Faculty Development Blastoff to be held August 21. The staff of CT+LE has just returned from the TFDN annual conference held in nearby Kingwood. In addition to presenting some of our own scholarship, we learned a number of new things from our colleagues and will be sharing some of that in workshop session planned for the next academic year. In the meantime, if you are looking for some student-centered learning experiences, formative assessment methods, or just some advice about teaching and learning, do not hesitate to contact us. Finally, we wanted to introduce you to a new feature that you will see very soon on the blog. We are going to be adding book reviews to our toolbox. If you are interested in writing a brief review about a book you have recently read or if you would like to review a book from the CT+LE collection, please let us know. Obviously the books we are looking for must be related to the scholarship of teaching and learning in some way.