How does empowering versus compelling students influence participation attitudes?

A group of researchers at Brigham Young University collaborated to write an article in Active Learning in Higher Education.  It was published in 2007 and discussed a gap in the research on clickers or Audience Response Systems (ARS).  Many studies have looked into the participation factors: how they prompt discussions, how they uncover misconceptions in the learning, how they offer immediate feedback.  They write: "Studies that explored direct measures of student learning with audience response systems have shown mixed results [...] Although these studies showed mixed results, most studies that looked at indirect measures of student learning (including levels of participation and engagement) found positive results" (236-37). 

What about the groups of students who typically hold back and do not participate?  They cite studies showing that females tend to participate less, "because of they worry that they might appear to dominate discussion" (237).  Students from other cultures also participate less frequently, not wanting to give incorrect answers, "fearful of 'losing face'" (237).  These researchers call this group "reluctant participators," saying that other studies on ARS have not looked into this demographic (237). 

Reluctant Participants.  by Middle Age Biker.

They found that students perceive the ARS to be less helpful when they are used to grade or mark attendance.  Also, technical difficulties with the systems came back as the number one negative aspect of the systems, followed by their cost to the student, grading, and mandatory attendance.  Students had to pay $40 a piece, so "a significant number of students were critical of cost effectiveness" (240).   However, when the ARS were used to provide formative feedback, students perceived the use of the technology as positive.

On the whole, however, "the overall reaction to the use of the ARS in the pilot was positive.  [...] For all of the measures except one, a strong majority of the students 'agreed' or somewhat agreed' that the ARS was helpful to them in the learning experience" (238, 240).  Nonetheless, reluctant participators tended to view it as less helpful than the rest of the group.  Moreover, "students in classes where the ARS was not used for grading viewed the ARS to be a more helpful tool" (242).  This seems to be a major advantage of using Audience Response Systems (ARS).

During the survey, students were given opportunities to comment on what they liked as well as what they did not like about ARS.  "One student wrote, 'It was nice to have an immediate response so I could know whether or not I was doing something right'" (248).  Other students appreciated knowing what their peers thought on issues or content related to the class. The authors included this positive comment as well: "'The best part is that we could see the results of the surveys and what not instantly, and they were applicable to us in the class, not some foreign group of individuals.  It brought the issues to life which we were discussing in class'" (248).  This emphasizes the potential power of these systems, bringing forth relevant issues that can energize discussions.

At this point it seems appropriate to go back to the article's introduction to mention what happens when student have limited opportunities to participate and the method involves raising hands.  The authors write: "When classes have limited opportunities for students to respond, participation can be unbalanced in favor of the most knowledgable students who are most willing to respond in front of their peers" (234).  Personally, I have experienced this countless times.  Students often have good things to share, but it often happens that one or two students dominate any sort of discussion.  The strength of the ARS is that eveyone can participate anonymously.

While we are talking about active learning in general, it may be helpful to consider what the authors of this study wrote: "A diverse body of educational research has shown that academic achievement is positively influenced by the amount of active participation of students in the learning process" (233-34).  In the past, response cards have been used, and they helped to increase student participation and performance in higher education.  Today many have taken the ARS to invite participation and performance.  Active learning makes a difference, but it helps to consider the subgroups who reluctantly participate. 

Again, it is better to avoid using these systems for grading and attendance purposes, considering how many variables obstruct the success of the system.  The authors included this student comment: "'I think it's an unfair grading system.  I think they're great, as long as grades aren't based on them.  There are too many variables like battery failure, problems with being on the correct channel and so forth that interfere.  These variables make it unfair to base grades on clicker systems'" (240).  Clickers can be a powerful tool; however, students seems to dislike the tool when it appears faulty and they will be assigned a grade via the performance of this faulty tool.

Instructors should review the purpose of the tools or methodologies they use in the class.  The authors write: "The researchers in this study believe that the central concern of instructional technologists should be that of 'helping' students" (248).  Though the grading and attendance features may be helpful for instructors, if they create negative feelings in the students that inhibit potential learning, then perhas it should not be used to grade student work.  In their concluding remarks, the authors wrote: "Students perceived strategies that provided formative feedback and empowered them to evaluate their own performance as more helpful than strategies oriented towards grading and compelling participation" (251).  This explains the title of their article rather succinctly.

For researchers it may be helpful to know what they suggest for later studies with ARS.  "Future research could investigate a wider range of pedagogical strategies and the environments in which they are successful.  A measure of the goodness of the strategies could be student and instructor perceptions of their helpfulness in the learning process" (250).

Work Cited

Graham, Charles R., Tonya R. Tripp, Larry Seawright, and George L. Joeckel III.  "Empowering or Compelling Reluctant Participators Using Audience Response Systems."  Active Learning in Higher Education 8.3 (2007): 233-58.  Print.

What's Happening to All the Creative Writing PhDs?

Guest post: by Sofia Rasmussen

Sofia is a graduate student in journalism, concentrating primarily in education and technology.  After spending years in crowded classrooms where most felt left behind, or held back, and listening to years of debate surrounding funding for education, she is fascinated with the whole industry of higher education.

Writers considering a graduate degree face a number of dilemmas when choosing an institution and program, especially now that distance learning and online doctorate degrees are available. Many are often unsure if the value of a graduate degree in that particular field will warrant the expense of attaining one at all.

For students seeking a position in teaching creative writing at the university level, the acquisition of an MA, MFA or PhD is a foregone conclusion. But for writers seeking gainful employment as an editor, full-time blogger or freelancer, the situation is not so simple. For novelists and poets, the decision to pursue a graduate degree is even more complicated.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, a full 70% of professional authors and writers were self-employed in 2008. This category includes freelancers who essentially work a regular job with one company, but the numbers should give pause to creative writers who are seeking employment outside of the educational sphere.

The University of Iowa’s world-renowned Creative Writing program and Writer’s Workshop consistently ranks at the top of prominent lists for quality of education in poetry, fiction and nonfiction. In addition to high job placement and fellowship placement rankings, UI’s MFA grads regularly move on to win prestigious awards for poetry and novels. However, like most creative writing MFA programs, the University of Iowa focuses on literary fiction.

For literary writers, there are dozens of excellent programs to choose from. The well-regarded annual Poets & Writers Top 50 list provides statistics on funding and job placement.

Would-be novelists seeking a degree in popular fiction are harder pressed to ascertain the quality of a graduate degree program and there simply aren’t as many to choose from.

Like many literary programs, Seton Hill University’s MFA in Popular Fiction and the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing offer expert guidance and feedback, as well as the time needed to pen a polished manuscript and different opportunities for employment after graduation. Grads who fail to land a profitable publishing contract can seek editing work with a publishing house or magazine.

For creative writers, the axiom is true: Writing is rewriting. Perhaps the best that can be said for genre creative writing programs is that they offer regular interaction with intermediate and professional writers alike, as well as the dedication of time to honing craft. The mention of a graduate degree may or may not cause a manuscript to garner extra attention for a manuscript in an agent’s slush pile; in the end, it’s the quality of writing that will secure a contract for novelists.

Funding is of course the key deciding factor for many graduates pursuing matriculation in literary fiction programs. Like that of the University of Iowa, others generally offer at least partial assistance. Genre and popular fiction programs usually require out-of-pocket expenses and student loans. PhD students are likely to find substantial tuition assistance, discounted or free housing and even a monthly stipend.

PhD students frequently find employment through or with the institution from which they earn their doctorate, often as professors. The additional time and money required for a PhD ultimately results in access to secure, reputable positions that afford the creative writer opportunities at publication.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6% job growth for writers and authors from 2010-20, compared to a 14% growth in all occupations. The BLS foresees a 13% growth in jobs categorized as Media and Communications - something many writers could pivot toward. Creative writers seeking job security outside of academia may find better prospects when equipped with an undergraduate degree in Journalism, Technical Writing or English, which are beneficial in many fields.

Being a writer has never been easy, and now that the costs to learn how to do so in college are so high, it is likely that many aspiring writers will need to find alternate means of being the next Kurt Vonnegut.
 
You can contact Sofia for more information at sofia.rasmussen11 [at] gmail.com.

College Students and Information-Literacy Realities

Some of the YouTube videos on information literacy topics are quite fascinating.  Every once in a while I re-discover them again.  Project Information Literacy at the University of Washington still has some great videos up.  These are create by the Information School Here are a few that I enjoy watching

1. "PIL InfoLit Dialog, No. 1: Wikipedia"
2. "PIL InfoLit Dialog, No. 2: Procrastination"
3. "PIL InfoLit Dialog, No. 3: Frustration"
4. "PIL InfoLit Dialog, No. 4: Strategies"
5. "PIL InfoLit Dialog, No. 5: Context"

These videos may be good ways to start a class discussion about information literacy or the topic of the day.  They might also be good for starting discussions with library instructors, campus faculty, administrators, etc. 

Have you seen these videos?  How have they been useful?  What do you think of them?

"Information Literacy Toolkit."  by heyjudegallery

Studies about College Students, Libraries, and Information Literacy

A friend of mine, who used to be the library director here at the ISU Library, shared the following link to an article from Inside HigherEd: "What Students Don't Know."  It confirmed a lot that I already knew, experienced, or suspected.  Students hardly know where the Library is, rarely ask for help from a librarian (even though it would help them immensely, ease their anxiety, and increase their efficiency), often overestimate their (re)search skills, rely entirely too much on Google, apply Google search statement logic to database searching, do not search Google effectively, and do just enough research to get by or to "satisfice."

The article mentioned that librarians and faculty are partly to blame.  Librarians sometime overestimate the "digital natives" abilities, sometimes intimidating them further.  Faculty look at librarians as good for finding sources but not good at conducting research.  Steve Kolowich writes a good article here, citing several studies that back up the claims listed above.  He writes: "The most alarming finding in the ERIAL studies was perhaps the most predictable: when it comes to finding and evaluating sources in the Internet age, students are downright lousy."  What can we do as librarians to help students?  How can we get them to ask us for assistance beyond locating the restroom?  We can help students with research.

Students could benefit from instruction on how to use Google, so they can understand how it differs from the academic databases:

Throughout the interviews, students mentioned Google 115 times -- more than twice as many times as any other database. The prevalence of Google in student research is well-documented, but the Illinois researchers found something they did not expect: students were not very good at using Google. They were basically clueless about the logic underlying how the search engine organizes and displays its results. Consequently, the students did not know how to build a search that would return good sources. (For instance, limiting a search to news articles, or querying specific databases such as Google Book Search or Google Scholar.) (Kolowich)

Perhaps we can ask that classes come to the Library for more instruction, maybe we can visit their classroom, share contact information and handouts, or maybe we could even ask to be embedded in the course management software, i.e. Blackboard or Moodle.  Moreover, we can smile more frequently at the reference desk and be more approachable. 

With more students working another job and/or dealing with family responsibilities, librarians need to be practical in working with students.  Librarians can tout their skills to students by telling them they can teach skills and strategies that will help them save time and become more efficient with their research.  Give some tips that will make the research process less frustrating.  Kolowich references one of the studies to support the claim that librarians are more relevant than ever: "The evidence from ERIAL lends weight to their counterargument: librarians are more relevant than they have ever been, since students need guides to shepherd them through the wilderness of the Web."

If you are a librarian, read this article.

What can librarians do to garner more trust from students and faculty?  What can we do to increase the information literacy skills of the students?

"Shepherd and Baby Lambs." See FreeFoto.com. by Ian Britton.

LearningExpress Library: Great for Skill Development & Test Preparation

Here's a Prezi presentation I created to help people understand what kinds of great resources are made available through the LearningExpress Library.  All residents of Idaho may access these resources.

We often see students who wish to prepare for the GRE, the LSAT, and other graduate entrance exams.  Additionally, international students come looking for materials to help them get ready to take the TOEFL test, and it is nice to have easy-to-reference materials we can recommend that speak to all of these tests.  The Idaho Commission for Libraries has secured funding for the subscription of this resource over two years, so this subscription ends in November 2012.

LearningExpress Library Demonstration on Prezi

It also offers many computer, math, and reading tutorials.  Anyone interested in becoming a U.S. citizen can also prepare for the necessary test(s) with resources here.

Creating Significant Learning Experiences in Libraries

Last week I attended and presented at the Idaho Library Association's 2009 Annual Conference, which was held in Burley, Idaho. The theme of the conference was a cowboy/western theme: "Round 'em Up in Burley."

In recent years I have been interested in the scholarship of learning. In fact I have been reading L. Dee Fink's book titled Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach. It has been interesting to think about how people learn and that certain kinds of learning augment and increase other kinds of learning. Learning how to apply knowledge shores up a person's foundational knowledge in that sphere of knowledge.

Take a look at his Taxonomy of Significant Learning. It shows how interconnected learning methods can be. Students that work in groups to solve problems often increase their knowledge, their application skills, and their understanding of others in the process. The synergy can really be quite powerful.

One value of asking students to reflect on what they have learned and how they might learn more about the topic could be that they become more capable and motivated life-long learners.

Do any librarians ask their students to reflect on their learning?

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Creating Significant Learning Experiences in Libraries

View more presentations from Spencer Jardine.

For those interested in finding criteria for evaluating information take a look at "Evaluating Information--Applying the CRAAP Test."

PDF version of L. Dee Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning.

The last two questions on the slideshow come from Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross's Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

I also like Mel Silberman's Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996.

Keeping Up on the Professional Literature

Professionals in any field tend to do better if they keep up on the professional literature. This kind of blanket generalization is certainly fodder for debate, but when supervisors and administrators higher up the chain talk about how the professionals ought to be keeping up on their field's research it means it ought to be done.

Unfortunately, with so many projects it can be difficult to keep up, so it's important to develop strategies. If you work in a library where they route your favorite periodicals to your desk, it may not be a bad idea to develop some strategies like looking at the table of contents and deciding which, if any, of the articles you have time to read, which are worth reading in other words.

Academic librarians would do well to keep an eye on The Chronicle of Higher Education to keep abreast of the salient issues in academe. Library journals can be quite useful as well. One periodical that I have come to appreciate is Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning. It focuses on issues of teaching, learning, assessment, and academic life in higher education.

For example, in the most recent May/June 2009 issue Michael Fischer writes an article titled "Defending Collegiality." He argues that a code of conduct should be written that advocates civility and collegiality. Starting his article, he references Robert I. Sutton's book The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't. Some might argue that a code of conduct might inhibit free expression or intellectual freedom, but the reality is that those who attack others keep the rest in the group from speaking up:

The individuals Sutton is criticizing--the bullies, jerks, and so on--themselves chill debate through personal attacks, intimidation, and invective. One sign of this is the relief felt when they are away. Instead of disappearing, dissent blossoms, as individuals can now express ideas without fear of vicious recrimination and unfounded attack. (22)

Fischer addresses the negative atmospheres that exist in many academic departments and calls for more collegiality and less political in-fighting. One gets the sense that collegiality would go a long way toward improving the institution as a whole while also fomenting innovation and academic rigor. Fischer concludes:

In my experience, most people treat others in the academic workplace with respect, consideration, and care, conduct code or no conduct code. My intent here has not been to legislate collegiality but to make sure that in those rare instances when enough is enough, when egregious behavior persists and reaches a carefully defined tipping point, faculty members and administrators are in a position to do something about it. (25)

Another article in the same issue is authored by Barbara Ischinger and Jaana Puuka, "Universities for Cities and Regions: Lessons from the OECD Reviews." It talks about the importance of universities to work with their local and regional economies to improve both research and the economy. If a university wants to become a world-class institution it needs to develop this supportive, collaborative environment.

Buried at the back of the issue is an article titled "Books Worth Reading" by Mary Taylor Huber. With a title like this, how could a librarian like myself not be interested? She reviews two books that discuss the ideas of the best books programs. Her discussion of these books prompted me to recommend these titles for purchase by our general collections bibliographer.

Title #1: A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books. Alex Beam. New York: Public Affairs Publishing, 2008, 256 pgs, $24.95 hardcover.

Title #2: Racing Odysseus: A College President Becomes a Freshman Again. Roger H. Martin. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008, 280 pgs, $24.95 hardcover.