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The Value of Timely Feedback
[social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler “It’s a challenge to try and be flexible… If we can’t do something when it needs to happen, then its timeliness is gone and we’ve missed the opportunity.” – Gordon Knoble* When the outcomes and assessment strategy for assignments have been plotted and we know what feedback students will receive, there still remains the question of “when.” When will students receive feedback? And why does timing matter? Timing of feedback is one of the predictors of students learning as outlined by Grant P. Wiggins’s 1998 book, Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and improve student performance, and summarized by David Wees in 2010 post The…
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Philosophy for Children: Experiential Learning at the U of S
[social-bio] Philosophy in the Community of Saskatoon Philosophy as a discipline is often thought of as an individual pursuit. However, it is my view that philosophy has always been about connecting with others, as shown by Philosophy in the Community, which has been offering public lectures off-campus for eight years. Philosophy can engage diverse audiences, even children. Philosophy for Children As a method of teaching, philosophy can be a tool to facilitate not only the development of communities of inquiry in primary and secondary schools, but also critical, caring and creative thinking skills among students of all ages. Philosophy for Children (P4C) programs have been growing in popularity all over…
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“Hey Students! I Care; Be Aware”: An Academic Integrity Researcher’s Approach to Teaching
[social-bio] Having read and thought about students’ understandings of academic dishonesty, students’ responsibilities, and our own as teachers, I am very intentional about how I present my expectations and commitment to academic integrity in my teaching practice. Here are some principles I strive to follow: Create and foster student-teacher familiarity—I tell students about myself and express my interest in learning about them, especially through their writing and contribution to class discussion. Establish the value and relevance of the course content and learning outcomes—I explain why this course exists in the curriculum, why it may be useful to them now and in the future, and why students have a unique and…
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The Complexity of Meaningful Learning Outcomes
[social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler I was reminded this week of the similarity between designing a research question and writing a learning outcome. In undergraduate research the most common challenge is determining the appropriate scope for a research question. Not too broad, such as what causes addiction or what is the role of kings? Yet not too specific or too shallow that one struggles to find sufficient data or literature. There is an art to writing research questions that is informed by prior experience, colleagues, as well as a good dose of trial and error; similarly for learning outcomes. In addition to feedback from colleagues and personal reflection, there are…
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The Recipe of Adult Education in Today’s Reality
[social-bio] Is there just one essential ingredient in the field of adult education or should it be considered as one essential process of adult education? Can a recipe be perfected with just one ingredient, or is it a mixture of many: social movements, history, lifelong learning, technological impact, diversity, the recognition of differing learning styles and the role of the adult educator? My opinion is that there are many ingredients in the field of adult education but without ‘respect’ the recipe may not be as appetizing. Respect is required as the foundation to build a learning society. Simultaneously to achieve a learning society, lifeworlds must be provided with the right…
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Google Docs for Teaching and Learning
[social-bio] Google Docs have been around for about five years now and it “…is a free, Web-based office suite and data storage service offered by Google within its Google Drive service. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users” (Wikipedia) I originally found Google Docs to be very convenient to be able to have access to my files on multiple computers. As I have experimented with them more, I have found them to be extremely useful in an educational setting. I have used them as both a teacher and also as a grad student. Note that once you create a document you…
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Learning to Teach “My Way”
[social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler Every so often I return to the question I first thought about when I started teaching my first lab: Who am I as an educator? I remember attending a workshop early in my career about using humour in the classroom. With a sense of humour tending towards puns and irony that might be misunderstood, I remember watching the amusing presenter but quickly realizing that this particular approach was not quite for me. I did take away the importance of enthusiasm that was an element I could embed in my own teaching. “You have to…develop your own style”, Dr. Patrick Winston shared, because what works for…