Teaching at Trent...received back from students that they found the assign-ment to be a valuable...

A publication of the Instructional Development Centre Vol. 7, Issue 1, Fall 2004

Teaching at TrentIn thisIssue

1Mirroring the

Journal ReviewProcess with PeerReviewed Essays

3Calibrated PeerReview: IT to

Engage Students inWriting & Critical

Thinking

4Reflections of a

First-time User ofPeer Editing &

Assessment

5Culture,

Communication,Créativité: ShapingChange in Higher

Education

6The Peer Review

Process

7Facilitators Sharetheir TeachingExperiences

82003–2004

AIF Disbursements

Editor:Angie Best

Assistant Editor:Hilary Wear

Mirroring the Journal Review Process with PeerReviewed EssaysBy Alison Bain, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography

Peer review is an underutilized, yet valuable, resource forundergraduate student learning. While the use of peerreview for student assignments may require additionalorganization and planning in the preparation of the coursesyllabus, it is worth the investment of time and effort.Peer review can facilitate the sharing of ideas, the devel-opment of independent study and research groups, andthe building of seminar morale. This article will discussmy use of peer review in an upper-year course at TrentUniversity, and will share student feedback on perceivedlearning outcomes and benefits from participation in thisteaching strategy.

I used a peer review exercise for a third year urbansocial geography course that I taught in the Winter termof 2003. Initially, I had scheduled a final exam and Ideveloped this assignment in the last few weeks of thecourse as an alternative to the exam. The assignment wasdesigned to mirror the journal review process: submit amanuscript, have it anonymously reviewed, revise themanuscript, and resubmit it with a cover letter detailingthe changes made. The student feedback on this assign-ment was so positive, and the quality of the final work sonoticeably improved that I would use this teaching strat-egy again.

The Assignment

I asked the students to produce a research paper of 2500–3000 words on a topic that explored some aspect of theurban Geography of Canada or the United States. (Thisresearch paper was weighted 25% of their final grade.)In a one-page research proposal they identified a researchquestion, outlined the signficance of the topic, and clari-fied the spatial and temporal scope of the study. The firstdraft of the research paper was due in class two weeksbefore the last lecture.

Peer Evaluation

In order to keep this an anonymous process, I removedthe cover pages and attached a marking guide with thename of the peer evaluator on it. I made an effort to pairup students who shared an interest in a particular topic.The students had two weeks to complete their peer re-view.

Before the students began their evaluation, I askedthem to read over the research paper marking guidelineto ensure that they were familiar with the features that Iwould be looking for when I marked the final paper. Iasked them to keep these guidelines in mind as theyevaluated the paper. I explained to them that I expectedthem to mark up the draft they had been given withcomments, questions, and grammatical changes, in muchthe same way that I do when I evaluate their writingassignments. I wanted the margins and body of the textto show written evidence of editorial suggestions. I askedthem to write a paragraph summarizing their commentsand outlining the main strengths and weaknesses of thepaper.

As I explained it to them, the point of the exercisewas for them to critically evaluate the work of othersand to provide constructive feedback that will help theirpeers produce a more polished piece of academic writ-ing. 10% of their grade for this assignment was based on

... continued on page 2

Teaching at Trent, Vol. 7, Issue 1, Fall 2004

Teaching atTrent

Newsletter

The Teaching at Trentnewsletter is intended toprovide Trent's instruc-tional community with ameans to exchange ideasand information on pro-fessional development is-sues, pedagogical tech-niques, and effectiveteaching practices.

The Instructional Devel-opment Centre (IDC) in-vites submissions of ar-ticles and teaching tipswhich will provide read-ers with practical, creativeideas they can use to en-hance teaching and learn-ing in their courses.

Please direct queries andsubmissions to:

Angie Best

IDC Coordinator andTeaching at Trent Editor

InstructionalDevelopment CentreOC 221.11600 West Bank Dr.Trent UniversityPeterborough, ONK9J 7B8

Phone: (705) 748-1011, ext. 1254

Fax: (705) 748-1143

E-mail:[email protected]

Web Site: http://www.trentu.ca/idc/

their peer evaluation. They were evaluated on thequality, thoughtfulness, and detail of the commentsthey provided.

In the last class I returned the reviewed papers tothe students. They had ten days (until the date of thecancelled final exam) to make any changes to the origi-nal paper. With the revised version of the paper theywere required to submit a one-page explanation ofany changes they had made at the recommendationof the reviewer. I explained to them that they couldchoose to not follow the reviewer's advice, but, if thiswas the case, I expected them to justify their decisionand explain why they didn't think that the changeswere necessary. I received three items from each stu-dent to evaluate: the original draft of the paper withthe reviewer's comments; the revised version of thepaper; and the one-page explanation of the changesmade.

Student Feedback

All of my students took this assignment seriously. Theyprovided each other with detailed and constructivesuggestions for improvement:

"I feel that my evaluator for this project did anexcellent job by providing me with both positiveand negative feedback. They were reasonable sug-gestions that allowed me to better my paper inmany ways. This assignment was a great idea anda wonderful learning experience for the class, espe-cially for students planning to be teachers in thefuture" (Heather, 2003).

For many students it was the first time they hadthe opportunity to read the work of their peers:

"I would like to tell you that I thought this was areally beneficial exercise. I have never really criti-cally examined anyone's work before, nor have Ihad my work critically examined before (other thanby a professor). The comments provided on my pa-per were thorough and very insightful. There weresome minor areas where I let the comments go butfor the most part, I altered the paper according tothe comments that were provided ... This exercisehas helped me to be more critical when writing myown papers" (Linsday, 2003).

In evaluating the work of their peers, studentslearned to look more critically at their own writing:

"This is my first experience formally reviewing some-one else's paper and also receiving criticism on mywork. I think this assignment was great, and taughtme a lot. Having someone review your work is a greatrefresher and offers ideas and suggestions that one maynot have thought of. I find when I edit my own workI often miss easy mistakes because in my head I knowwhat it is supposed to sound like and I don't pick upon the mistakes. Also, it is great to be critical and usemarking skills on someone else's paper anonymously. Ifind when people have to edit other people's work,they often make changes that are subtle since they donot want to offend anyone by changing the structureof the paper. I know the paper that I re-read had somemajor mistakes that I did not expect to see, and I wasnot afraid to point them out. After reviewing thecomments and proposed changes for my paper, I real-ized that I have made a lot of 'dumb mistakes'. Thecomments and proposed changes will help my paperflow and read easier, which will hopefully improvemy mark ... I recommend this to your upcoming classesand thank you for doing it this year" (Matthew,2003).

This assignment allowed students to share ideasand to learn from one another. It allowed them to com-pare the quality of their work with their peers and togauge what a numerical grade might differently trans-late to in practice. Some students were impressed at thecreativity and writing skills of their peers. Other stu-dents were surprised at the poor quality of work (we, theprofessors would normally be expected to read), thatstudents produced in terms of spelling, grammar, orga-nization, and argument development:

"The idea to have students edit and revise papers wasa great idea. Although the paper I edited had ex-tremely poor grammar and sentence structure, it wasinteresting to critically edit the work of another stu-dent. The student that edited my paper was very criti-cal and I found some of the ideas useful and some of theideas not useful ... Overall, this was a good exerciseand I recommend that you do this again in the fu-ture" (Trevor, 2003).

You can see from the range of comments that Ireceived back from students that they found the assign-ment to be a valuable learning activity. I would recom-mend that if you haven't already, you too should givepeer assessment a try on a small scale in one of yourclasses next year!

Office: Environmental Sciences Building, 315Phone: 748-1011, ext. 5382E-mail: [email protected]

Mirroring the Journal Review Process... continued from page 1


Calibrated Peer ReviewTM

IT to Engage Students in Writing & Critical ThinkingBy Dr. Geri Van Gyn, Professor and Director, The Learning & Teaching Centre, University of Victoria

The following article was published in Cur-rents, a publication of the Teaching & Learn-ing Centre, University of Victoria, Vol. I, No.3, January 2004. It is reprinted with permis-sion of the author.

Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) is an in-structional tool available on the Internet thatgives students the opportunity to write andlearn about specific topics in a course, to learnto review and assess these topics and then toengage in a review of their peers' and their ownwork, all in an online environment. Developedby Orville Chapman, Professor of OrganicChemistry at UCLA in collaboration withMichael Fiore, an IT specialist, CPR was mod-elled after the processes followed by scientistsas they write research proposals and review theproposals of others. Intended initially for sci-ence courses, it has proven to be transferable tomany other disciplines.

You can develop your own CPR assign-ments or you can draw from a library of assign-ments. The work is in the design of the assign-ments as once they are developed the rest ofthe process is up to the students. The follow-ing is a brief description of each of the steps tocomplete in a CPR assignment:

1. Following the study of resource materialand review of the assignment goals andguided by your prepared questions,students write a short essay on a specifictopic.

2. Students submit their essay electronicallyand receive in return three versions of anessay on the topic, which you haveprepared. The first version is an excellentexample of the assignment and isaccompanied by a series of questions thathelps them to understand what isimportant to include in such an essay

and how it should be written. Thesecond and third versions are less welldone, and guided by the same questions,students learn to recognize the flaws andgaps in these poorer essays. In each case,they assign a score to the calibrated essay.Once students demonstrate that they arecapable of reviewing the topic, theyreceive a calibration report indicatinghow well they did on the reviews andareas for attention.

3. Students then receive and must reviewthree peer essays and assign a score toeach along with feedback to the authorjustifying their score.

4. Once these are submitted, then studentsreceive their own essay to review.

5. Students receive a report containing all ofthe peer reviews.

At the end of this process, there is littledoubt that students will have acquired theknowlege intended in the assignment and willhave practiced many of the important processesof describing, forming arguments and con-structing support, and abstracting and criti-cally analysing. The design of an excellent as-signment will ensure prolonged and critical en-gagement with the source material which isthe key to student learning. The design is inyour hands; the set of digital tools that makeup CPR handles the process.

You may want to identify course conceptsfor CPR assignments that are particularlytroublesome for students. Then, the studentcan work on the concepts outside of class time,allowing you time to address difficulties andparticularly complex questions in class. CPRassignments can be equally useful for address-ing those topics that you do not have quite

enough time to include comprehensively inyour course but that you think are importantfor students to understand.

CPR is designed for learning, not assess-ment, and is precisely the type of IT use towhich Jonassen, Car and Yueh (1998) werereferring when they stated that students shouldlearn with IT not from IT.

Reference

Jonassen, D.H., Carr, C., & Yueh, H-P.(1998). Computers as mindtools forengaging learners in critical thinking.Technology Trends 43(2), 24-32.

Phone: (250) 721-8572E-mail: [email protected]

Interested inusing CPR?

If you are interested in previewingCPR, visit the web site at:

http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu

After taking the tour and reading theFAQs, and you wish to explore it fur-ther for use in your course, please con-tact the Instructional DevelopmentCentre (IDC). CPR designers requirean administrator for an institution tomonitor access for courses. The IDChas been designated in this role andwill help you to set up an account.

Office: OC 221.1Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1254E-mail: [email protected]


Because the students were working (in the peerediting and assessment portions of the course)with each other’s poetry, and not with academicessays or academic projects, their experience willnot be identical to that of students editing andassessing each other’s essays, but it is surely com-parable in a number of ways, and some aspectsof their and my experience may be revealingfor others who are employing or consideringthe use of peer evaluation. I should say firstthat the assessment of the students’ poetry andof their exercises and critical work was for themost part done by me. There were weekly ex-ercises in poetic technique during the year; therewas a large manuscript with commentary atthe end of the year. But I asked the students tocomment on their partners’ work in the twopeer edit exercises, and I asked them at the endof the year to assess the other students’ contri-bution to the weekly small group discussions.

Peer Edit Exercises

Part of the intention of the course was thatstudents would acquire editorial skills and ex-pertise (as well as extend their poetic technique),and so on two occasions (once each term) theyworked in pairs as editors for each other’s writ-ing. We refined the guidelines for the second-term exercise, based on experience of the firstone; we explicitly built in the stages of the pro-cess: they were required to do more than onerevision of the poem and to submit to me even-tually the original and the two revisions of thepoem, to keep records of the advice received, toexplain the reasons for accepting or rejectingadvice, and to give an account of the processand experience as a whole. I learned that it iscrucially important to give clear guidelines anddeadlines. I left it to the students to arrangetheir meetings with each other; they were al-lowed to work online if they wished. (Theircomments at the end of the year on the experi-ence of working in pairs suggest that there are

distinct advantages to working in person, thoseadvantages including: immediate query and re-sponse, immediate clarifications and minor cor-rections.)

I received good advice from them at theend of the course about a number of aspects:the editorial pairs had been chosen by draw,and the results of this selection method weremixed, not surprisingly, depending on the re-liability and commitment of the participants.As one poet/editor delicately phrased it, “therandom selection of partners reduced the use-fulness of the exercise.” Would it be better forme to have created the pairs myself, or to haveallowed them to choose their own partners? Ihaven’t decided. I think that the experience ofhaving to deal with a disorganized or unmoti-vated or evasive partner might actually be use-ful, since it is not unheard of in the real worldof poetry (if that is not an oxymoron!), butthat means the playing field will never be ex-actly level. Then again, allowing partners tochoose each other creates inequities as well. Andwhat about those who aren’t chosen by any-one? Another student suggestion was that classtime might be used for at least the first mutualediting session, to ensure that the first drafts ofthe poems were ready promptly, to kick-startthe exercise in sufficient time, and to use a per-sonal exchange as at least the basis for the laterwork.

Assessment was anecdotal, and given tome in their commentaries on the process. Thegrade for the exercise was divided equally be-tween their poet and editor functions, and wasinfluenced by their partner’s account of theirperformance as both poet and editor.

Field Mode

The unwillingness to be critical or even bluntwas demonstrated early in the other peer edit

component of the course, which we called FieldMode: the weekly small group meetings inwhich they talked about each other’s poems.Again, clear guidelines are absolutely necessaryfor these sessions to work. The sessions requireda fairly elaborate set-up in which the studentsalways had to have a certain number of poemsin the larder (on WebCT), and the poems forthat week and the changing membership ofthe groups had to be announced in sufficienttime for them to prepare. At the beginning ofthe year, the discussions were fairly unstruc-tured, and very tentative, characterized mostlyby mutual support and praise, with very ten-tative suggestions about details.

The quality of the preparation and par-ticipation varied considerably, and because Icould not attend all of the small groups’ dis-cussions, since they happened simultaneously,we agreed that part of the grade for Field Modewould be assigned by the students themselves.Again with this component it is necessary toprovide clear guidelines. The three componentsof the grade were: “estimated level of prepara-tion,” “amount of participation,” and “qualityof contribution.” I gave them sheets with tableswhere those categories were listed and with allthe students’ names, including their own. I re-quired of them that they also assign themselvesa grade (as a kind of benchmark for their assess-ment of the others). I explained that if theydid not feel they knew enough about any par-ticular student in any particular category theyshould not give a grade. I also explained that ifanyone assigned all perfect grades to all stu-dents, those grades would not be used in theaverage. The students’ assessments were in somecases quite different from my own, suggestingthat the kind of advice they were getting fromeach other was sometimes more useful than Isupposed. There were some signs in some oftheir evaluations of personal preferences and

Reflections of a First-time User of Peer Editing & AssessmentEnglish 375 (Creative Writing: Poetry)By Gordon Johnston, Professor, Department of English Literature



loyalties, but there was no vindictiveness orapparent distortion. The average of the stu-dent assessments counted for half the FieldMode grade, the other half of that grade beingassigned by me.

Students described Field Mode (in thecourse evaluation) as “of paramount impor-tance,” “excellent,” “probably the most infor-mative part of the course,” and “very helpful inacquiring a better understanding of the reader’sexpectations.” They also pointed out that thequality of the discussions increased during theyear: “as the year progressed we opened upmore.” “The discussions were relevant andworthwhile, especially as the year progressed.”This is partly because they developed moreconfidence in their critical judgment and in

each other. As with the other components, thesetup needs to be thorough and needs to beopen to any necessary revisions; the expecta-tions need to be clear from the outset.

The WebCT version of Field Mode (inwhich they posted poems in their own foldersat any point during the year and the otherstudents were able to comment, advise, sug-gest improvements) was not as successful, intheir opinion, for various reasons: there wereno grades attached to it, and so not as muchmotivation to participate, even though the ad-vice offered online was often very perceptiveand helpful. It was hard to sustain a dialoguefor any length of time online, to expand oncomments, or clarify them. They were inclinedto respond to the work of students they knewpersonally, and felt less comfortable dealing withothers’ work. They didn’t like discussing oth-ers’ work without them there.

The peer editing process (either the one-on-one exercises or in groups) and the peerassessment exercise raise questions clearly oftrust, as do all the elements involving peer ed-iting and assessment. It was helpful to themfor me to model the kinds of responses andadvice which might be useful in the groupdiscussions. My own reservations about thequality of students’ assessments have been en-tirely removed by their thoughtfulness, intelli-gence and candour in helping each other andevaluating each other’s work. Some of the edit-ing relations established during the course willclearly continue privately now that it is fin-ished. They were good for each other, useful toeach other, and that was good for me to see.

Office: OC 229Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1522E-mail: [email protected]

Culture, Communication, and Créativité: these three key words were chosen as the theme for this year’s conference because of their actualand potential impact on the teaching and learning enterprise in higher education.

Change is a constant in most educational institutions today. However, efforts to innovate and adapt in higher education must take fully intoaccount the cultural context to be successful. Here we refer to institutional culture, the culture of the professoriate or academic culture,student cultures, and the broader cultural context—the environment in time and space—that provides the setting for teaching andlearning. How do we identify these cultures? How can we achieve our goals as faculty, as educational developers and as administrators inthese cultural contexts? How can we influence these cultures to allow for innovation and change?

Effective communication is a pre-requisite to achieving teaching and learning outcomes in higher education. Effective communicationrequires the honing of reading, writing, speaking, and listening competencies on the part of all actors in the higher education community.Language lies at the heart of the communication process: initiatives aimed at improving pedagogical practices rely heavily on our skilled andsensitive use of language. Language is also at the core of change since the way we talk about what we do helps to define our everyday reality.How do we communicate about teaching and learning? How do we foster effective communication strategies in the classroom and on ourcampuses? How can we hone the communication competencies of faculty and students?

To shape change in higher education, to innovate in program design and in classroom practice, also requires creativity. Creativity helps todrive discovery, to channel scholarship, to fashion new models for teaching and learning. Members of the academic community remain vitalby maintaining contact with sources of creative inspiration, both traditional and avant-garde. What helps you to be creative? How can weincrease our own or others’ creative potential? What are our visions of higher education beyond what is known today?

Session Tracks: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Issues in Higher Education; Faculty Development Research and Theory; DiversityIssues in Higher Education; Professional and Organizational Development at Small Colleges; Teaching Assistant Development andPreparing Future Faculty; Organizational Development and Change

Reflections from a First-Time User... continued from page 4

Culture, Communication, Créativité: Shaping Change in Higher EducationProfessional and Organizational Development (POD) Network, Hyatt Regency Montréal, Montréal, Québec, November 4-7, 2004

http://atech2.wku.edu/skuhlens/podsubmit/program/index.html


The Peer Review ProcessBy Sarah Keefer, Professor, Department of English Literature

How Peer Review Works

• Students in a seminar submit a draft foreach stage of their project. The instructordoes not see the draft at this stage.

• Students are responsible for reading andcritiquing the drafts of their classmates.

If the seminar is a large one, divide thelabour so that every draft gets at leastthree readers (but no more).

• The drafts are returned (unseen by theinstructor) with commentary after oneweek. Students then have another weekto rewrite based on the commentary andsuggestions they received.

• Fair copy, draft and signed commentariesare handed in to the instructor. The faircopy is graded with use of the draft to seewhat improvements have been made.The commentaries are assessed for thepeer review grade.

• The next stage builds on the research ofearlier stages rather than being cut offfrom them. The goal is a year-longproject that demonstrates the process of“real-life” research and scholarly under-taking.

Peer review works best for full-year courses,third- and fourth-year students, and coursesthat can accommodate a project built over anumber of months, preferably in blocks thatthe students can easily review.

What Peer Review Does

• It builds a sense of academic communitywithin a seminar of students.

• It provides modelling that is entirelystudent-driven, and gives ownership ofresearch pedagogy to students in the

course. This allows more space for theinstructor to provide parallel pedagogyon course material.

• It allows students to work independentlyon their projects in a student-centredenvironment without the instructor’sinfluence, generating independence ofthought, method and execution.

• It allows genuine depth of research overa year, more closely emulating “real life”projects than the artificial “three assign-ments” design of a university course.

• It allows students to develop lateralexpertise on research topics by readingand critiquing the research of theirclassmates.

Peer Review Models I Have Used

An early model (2002–2003) of the peer re-view process focused on students preparing acritical edition of one poem over the course ofthe year. There were nine students in the course.At each stage, students reviewed each other’swork, commented on it, and made suggestions.The end result of this year long project was:one poem in semi-diplomatic and critical textform; an introduction to the poem; an anno-tated bibliography and status quaestionis es-say; and the choice of a glossary to the poem, acritical essay on the poem, or a conference pa-per on editing problems connected with thepoem.

In 2003–2004 the course work devel-oped toward a single cumulative project: a stu-dents' online course journal called Anglo-SaxonStudies in Middle Earth. Each student preparedand presented an article to submit for consid-eration for this journal, based on the model ofacdemic study that makes up a scholar's re-search record. As course instructor, I served asthe journal editor with all members of the class

acting as the editorial review board who adju-dicated, commented on, and suggested revi-sions for all stages of every project before anygrading took place. The stages of this projectare outlined below.

• In-class presentations that led to anhistorical study (peer review ninesubmissions in the seminar group).

• In-class presentations that led to apreliminary study for the journal article(peer review five submissions in theseminar group).

• Blind-review of the other seminar group'ssubmissions (peer review three submis-sions closely [based on expertise], andread the other seven for discussion).

• Six articles were chosen by the editorialboard for each seminar, which led to theproduction of two issues of the onlinejournal.

What Needs Doing

• Design your syllabus with all datesworked out in advance to allow for turn-around of review process and re-drafting.

• Spell out all details so that everyoneknows what to do next.

• Restrict number of pieces to be read (thiswas the main mistake we made).

• Make the work as accessible as possible.Consider designating a location/time forthe peer review, or allow students to takethe work home overnight (though thiswould necessitate multiple copies).

Office: Traill College, Wallis Hall 117Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1813E-mail: [email protected]


Encouraging excellence and innovation in teaching and learning is at the heart of the Instructional Development Centre's mandate. This mandate isachieved in part by providing faculty with a forum to discuss professional development issues, pedagogical techniques, and effective teachingpractices through the Centre's Teaching Effectiveness Program (TEP) and newsletter, Teaching at Trent.

The TEP offers a forum to promote talk about teaching among Trent instructors. It is a space/place where instructors bring their teachingsuccesses and challenges. It is a forum for creative problem solving, building on the practices of others. Since we strengthen our learning communityby sharing ideas with others, participants are encouraged to bring specific ideas of teaching and learning approaches that have worked well for themto the sessions. This program relies on a volunteer model of participation, not only in attendance, but also in session facilitation.

The Instructional Development Centre (IDC) would like to extend a special thank you to the following twenty-four individuals who generouslyshared their time, experience and insight with the Trent University instructional community:

• Jocelyn Aubrey, Associate Professor, Psychology: Teaching Large Classes• Alison Bain, Assistant Professor, Geography: Peer Assessment of Student Work• Deborah Berrill, Director, School of Education and Professional Learning: 1) Creating Teaching Portfolios: Getting Started; 2) Promoting Student

Participation; 3) Assessment as Pedagogy; 4) Encouraging and Promoting Critical Thinking; 5) Teaching Large Classes; 6) Occasioning;7) Online Teaching Strategies

• Vern Douglas, Cultural Advisor, Native Studies: Working Successfully with Aboriginal Students: Not all the "Indians" are in Native Studies• Sarah Keefer, Professor, English Literature: Peer Assessment of Student Work• Maged El Komos, Writing Instructor, Academic Skills Centre: Infusing Critical Thinking Skills into Assignment Requirements• Michael Konopaski, Lecturer, Business Administration: Learning to be a Critical Thinker using the Case Study Approach• Aline Germain-Rutherford, Director, Centre for University Teaching, University of Ottawa: facultydevelopment.ca• Wilf Gray, Course Instructor, School of Education and Professional Learning: Online Teaching Strategies• Lisa-Anne Hagerman, Lecturer, Nursing: Learning to be a Critical Thinker using the Case Study Approach• Carolyn Kay, Associate Professor, History: Our Do's and Don'ts of Lectures and Seminars• Wendy Kelly, Course Instructor, Psychology: Academic Emotions: Simple Ways to Reduce Anxiety in our Students• Peggy Kruger, ESL Instructor, Academic Skills Centre: Working with ESL Students: Challenges and Strategies• Jean Luyben, Information Services Librarian, Bata Library: Library Skills Program• David Page, Associate Professor, Ancient History and Classics: Our Do's and Don'ts of Lectures and Seminars• Darryl Papke, Liason Officer, School of Education and Professional Learning: Online Teaching Strategies• Tania Pattison, ESL Instructor, Academic Skills Centre: Working with ESL Students: Challenges and Strategies• David Poole, Associate Dean of Arts and Science (Teaching and Learning); Professor, Mathematics: Teaching Large Classes• Robert Silvestri, Learning Strategist, Disability Services Office: Teaching to Learning Styles• Nancy M. Smith, Academic Coach, Disability Services Office: Teaching to Learning Styles• Denise Stockley, Adviser on Teaching and Learning, Instructional Development Centre, Queen's University: Building Learning Communities

Online and in the Classroom• Shirley Williams, Professor Emeritus, Native Studies: Using Technology to Teach Ojibway Language• Rachel Wortis, Assistant Professor, Physics: Teaching 1st Year Classes• Kelly Young, Lecturer, School of Education and Professional Learning: Occasioning

During the 2003–2004 academic year, the IDC hosted twenty internal sessions, and sponsored faculty participation in two external events.245 attendees shared their experiences in this year's Teaching Effectiveness Program, 119 of which were unique participants (71 faculty, 33 graduatestudents and 15 teaching support staff).

The IDC invites faculty, staff and graduate students to share their teaching strategies and experiences with the Trent instructional community.If you are interested in contributing to the Teaching at Trent newsletter or (co) facilitating a Teaching Effectiveness Program session, please contactAngie Best (phone: 748-1011, ext. 1254; office: OC 221.1; E-mail: [email protected]).

Facilitators Share their Teaching Experiences


The 2003–2004 disbursement of the Aca-demic Innovation Fund (AIF) provided$80,475 for 19 projects that support teachingat Trent University. The internal fund is de-signed to support projects that strengthen TrentUniversity’s undergraduate programs and tosupport professional development and peda-gogical research. To date, this fund has com-mitted $406,912 to 76 projects.

The following projects received funding in the2003–2004 allocation:

Angus Cleghorn: $1,000 to broaden students’knowledge of 20th century poetry and relatedEnglish 440 course materials while allowingaccess to an exceptional academic environment:the Wallace Stevens Conference.

Lynne Davis: $2,028 to support students inthe later stages of their Ph.D. program througha writing retreat in which students will interactwith Native Studies faculty and guest speakersin a stimulating and peaceful environment.

Bernadine Dodge: $5,382 to digitize letters ofthe Yeats family and to create a contextualizedweb exhibit. The digitized resources will allowstudents and scholars to conduct research us-ing these original documents, while protectingthe documents from undue handling.

John Earnshaw: $907 to deliver a paper to theEducation Section of the Canadian Associa-tion of Physicists about engaging students inthe learning process and to interact with otherresearchers about reformed teaching methods.

Ivana Elbl & Michelle Sparkes: $1,500 to fur-ther support the development of a student lifebranch to the Peer Mentoring program, whichrepresents an important learning support func-tion for Trent students.

Neil Emery: $3,262 to construct bench-toplaminar flow hoods that will enable students tocarry out experiments on sterile cells and viruscultures.

Joanne Findon: $1,500 towards the filmingand video production of the rarely producedlate medieval Digby Mary Magdalene play foruse as a teaching tool.

Richard Hurley: $975 towards the purchaseof a tablet PC to enhance digital lectures andsupport the further use of electronic lecturedelivery methods.

Allan Law: $6,715 to provide students with asemi-professional work environment that meetsthe demands of intensive and time-sensitiveresearch projects, through the purchase of threededicated work stations.

Alan Law and Gillian Balfour: $10,455 toprovide students with hands on experience inqualitative data management and transcript,document, video or audio analysis, and to ex-tend faculty resources for research and cur-riculum development through the purchaseof software and training.

Jean Luyben and James Watson: $2,065 toenhance student learning and satisfaction byadding full-motion video and audio to the Li-brary Skills tutorials and the Bata Library website.

Native Studies Department: $4,388 to assistin the implementation of professional coach-ing strategies that are coincident with thepedagogies of the Medicine Wheel. Thesecoaching strategies will facilitate self-awarenessand growth for Native Studies Diploma andGraduate Program students, within the TrentUniversity culture.

James Parker: $9,227 to redevelop the on-line version of Introduction to Psychology bytaking advantage of recent evolutions in tech-nology and to enhance the content modules.

Marcus Pivato: $1,200 to develop softwarewhich automatically generates computationalproblems involving partial differential equa-tions to be used in teaching and evaluation,

and to create unlimited opportunites for stu-dent practice and self-testing.

Marco Pollanen: $7,755 to develop a web-based interactive and adaptive learning envi-ronment of modifiable course templates thatwill be accessible by instructors across campus.

Raul Ponce: $5,336 to support the develop-ment of new content for undergraduate andgraduate courses using Geographical Informa-tion Systems.

Modern Languages Department: $1,505 topurchase multi-media software and audio-vi-sual materials to foster a more interactive, co-herent and meaningful learning environmentfor students.

Joseph So: $7,963 to purchase a specimenscollection and partially fund the equipmentnecessary to develop dynamic Anthropologyworkshop modules that ensure equitable coursedelivery across sections.

Paul Wilson: $7,312 to support the develop-ment of novel forensic science training mod-ules that utilize problem-based learning peda-gogy.

2003-2004 Academic Innovation Fund Disbursements

AIF applications exceeding $1,500 areaccepted by the Associate Dean of Artsand Science (Teaching and Learning)biannually through the InstructionalDevelopment Centre. This year's com-petition dates are Friday, November 5,2004 and Friday, March 4, 2005. AIFapplications under $1,500 are ac-cepted throughout the calendar year.AIF application guidelines are availablethrough the Instructional Develop-ment Centre and online at:

http://www.trentu.ca/idc/aif.htm

AIFApplications

A publication of the Instructional Development Centre Vol. 7, Issue 2, Fall 2004

Teaching at TrentIn thisIssue

1Developing Critical

Thinking Through aCase Study Approach

3AIF Applications

4Icebreakers

5IDC Advisory Board

6Suggestions for

Leading Small GroupDiscussions

7Refworks: PotentialUses in the Instruc-

tional Context

Supporting AcademicIntegrity

8Upcoming Teaching

and LearningConferences

Sharing TeachingExperiences with

Colleagues

Editor:Angie Best

Assistant Editor:Hilary Wear

Developing Critical Thinking Through a CaseStudy ApproachBy Lisa-Anne Hagerman, Assistant Professor, Nursing

The complex nature of today’s society has resulted inmany post secondary curricula emphasizing critical think-ing skill development as a required learning outcome.The ability to think critically has been identified by re-searchers, both past and present, to be a skill that isreflective of higher-order thinking. Students enteringpost secondary institutions often demonstrate lower-order thinking that is developed as a result of rote memo-rization in prior educational settings. In contrast, gradu-ates of post secondary institutions are expected by manyprograms of study to be able to demonstrate higherorder thinking skills such as the ability to analyze a prob-lem, seek the truth and have the confidence necessary todevelop solutions for the problem, and to evaluate thosesolutions. The ability to move a student from lower-order to higher-order thought remains a challenge formany post secondary programs. One method identi-fied as an effective mechanism for the development ofhigher-order thinking, or critical thought, is that of casestudy utilization in classroom instruction.

Defining Critical Thinking

It is important for researchers and educators to under-stand what it means to think critically and the role thatthis plays in day-to-day activities. Without a clear under-standing of how critical thinking is defined and evalu-ated, educators will be unable to effectively create a criti-cal thinking instructional model.

The 1980’s was an era in the field of education thatfocused on better understanding critical thought anddesignating it as an essential educational outcome forstudents and a necessary skill for professional practice(Facione 1995; Facione & Facione 1996; Tusi 2002). Theneed to instruct students to think critically, regardlessof their academic level or speciality, has been identifiedas essential in most post secondary programs. The dif-ficulty in creating program curricula that include critical

thinking as a learning outcome relates to the existenceof multiple definitions.

Richard Paul's definition of what it means to thinkcritically is often cited by researchers as one of the keydefining theories. Richard Paul, the founder of theFoundation for Critical Thinking, defines critical think-ing as “the art of thinking about your thinking whileyou are thinking in order to make your thinking better…” (1993, 643). According to Paul, there are three es-sential components to critical thinking: (a) elements ofthought, (b) intellectual standards, and (c) affective traits.Paul writes that it is the individual’s ability to look be-yond the problem and to be consciously and uncon-sciously aware of the process of thinking, that will makefor an effective critical thinker. Paul notes that criticalthinking is a complex form of thought that requires anindividual to examine what it is they are thinking andhow their decisions may be affected.

In 1989 the American Philosophical Associationinitiated a Delphi study involving international expertsin the field of critical thinking with the purpose ofcreating a stronger understanding as to how critical



Teaching atTrent

Newsletter

The Teaching at Trentnewsletter is intended toprovide Trent’s instruc-tional community with ameans to exchange ideasand information on pro-fessional development is-sues, pedagogical tech-niques, and effectiveteaching practices.

The Instructional Devel-opment Centre (IDC) in-vites submissions of ar-ticles and teaching tipswhich will provide read-ers with ideas they can useto enhance teaching andlearning in their courses.


Angie BestIDC Coordinator andTeaching at Trent Editor


Phone: (705) 748-1011, ext. 1254

Fax: (705) 748-1143



thinking can be identified and defined. In 1990, aftersix rounds of questions specially designed to elicitconsensus, a panel of international experts identi-fied six critical thinking cognitive skills and sub-skillsand seven critical thinking dispositions (Facione1990, 6). The identified cognitive critical thinking skillsand sub-skills include: (a) interpretation, (b) analy-sis, (c) evaluation, (d) inference, (e) explanation, and(f) self-regulation. The identified critical thinking dis-positions include: (a) the confidence to engage in thecritical thinking exercise, (b) the desire to seek thetruth, (c) the willingness to be open-minded andaccept the views of others, (d) to possess a degree ofcritical thinking maturity, and to be (e) inquisitive, (f)analytical, and (g) systematic in their thinking. Criticalthinking is a purposeful cognitive process that re-quires the thinker to examine the problem, issue, orsituation at a great level of depth and complexity.

The Transition from Lower-OrderThinking to Higher-Order Thinking

The transition from lower-order thinking, where thestudent depends upon recall rather than understand-ing to answer a question, to higher-order thinking isa complex process that utilizes a variety of instruc-tional methods. Instructional methods that are de-signed to promote higher-order thinking often donot focus on the student’s ability to recall informa-tion. Instead, they focus on the student’s under-standing of concepts and theories, and their abilitiesto analyze a problem or situation, gather the neces-sary data or information, evaluate information, andthen arrive at possible solutions.

One method of enhancing a student’s ability toexamine an issue, problem, or topic with great depthof understanding is through the use of an activelearning methodology such as the “Learning Col-lege” theory. This theory views the learner as onewho collaborates in the experience and one who isengaged in discussion and the exchange of ideas withother members of the learning community. Accord-ing to the Learning College theory, there exists a sharedresponsibility between the educational institution andthe student in the learning process (Cohen & Brawer1996). Rane-Szostak and Robertson (1995) proposedthat students will learn more effectively when they

are actively involved in the learning process. The tradi-tional lecturing style of instruction should not neces-sarily be abandoned; instead lectures are reinforced withactive and collaborative learning activities. The use ofcase studies as a method of active learning reflects theideals of the Learning College theory.

Case studies provide multiple opportunities forstudents to incorporate a variety of concepts, theories,and solutions in a safe and controlled manner. In theprocess of seeking an answer, the student must exam-ine all the elements of the case, isolate relevant data,analyze the data, and question the meaning of the in-formation before them. As such, the use of case stud-ies to promote higher-order critical thought is viewedas an effective method of engaging in active learning.Where passive learning is founded upon the theoriesof didactic learning with the student as a passive recipi-ent of knowledge, active learning encourages the stu-dent to become part of the learning experience. By ac-tively engaging the student in this learning experience,the student gains not only a greater understanding ofknowledge, but a greater awareness of self as learner.To understand how case studies promote criticalthought it is important to first understand what casestudies are and how they engage critical thinking.

Case Studies and Critical ThinkingDevelopment

Case-based instruction is a teaching strategy that utilizesstories to encourage students to actively solve complexproblems that mimic real world experiences. Studentsare presented with a real-world scenario which they mayencounter in the work place. Built within this scenarioare key concepts and theories that the student haslearned through class instruction. The students are en-couraged to analyze the case scenario through speciallydesigned questions, either individually or in smallgroups. This student centered approach aids studentsin actively engaging in discussion and sharing throughdirected questioning by the instructor. Students drawupon not only their understanding of class content,but their life experiences to analyze the case and arrive atpossible solutions. Each student brings to the learn-ing experience their own unique and diverse under-standing based upon knowledge, life experience, cul-tural identity, and maturity. This diversity of experi-ence and world views, when shared in group discus-sion, creates knowledge that is not only new and com-plex, but also rich in insight.

Developing Critical Thinking Through aCase Study Approach

... continued from page 1


Traditionally, lecture-style teaching pre-sents information in a logical flow with iden-tified learning categories. Case-based instruc-tion utilizes stories or scenarios that reflectreal world experiences in order to tie togetherimportant concepts in an engaging manner.A student will have greater success in the learn-ing experience when they are interested in thematerial. Often instructors will hear a studentsay “this is all very interesting, but how will ithelp me?” When a student is able to make theassociation between knowledge and the ap-plication of that knowledge in a real worldsetting then they are better able to understandhow the learning benefits them. In case-basedinstruction a student learns to work througha problem and applies potential solutions ina safe and controlled environment. For ex-ample, a nursing student who practices pri-oritizing nursing and medical interventionson a hypothetical patient will be better able totransfer this knowledge to the clinical settingwithout risk of harm to others. The analysisof the scenario, the identification of theories,concepts and essential data, the developmentof possible solutions, and finally, the evalua-tion of these suggestions to identify the bestapproach, takes time. Practicing the strategiesof case study analysis allows students to de-velop critical thinking skills that they can buildupon, gain confidence with, and use in theirchosen professions.

Engaging in a student centered learningexperience that is both positive and reward-ing will prove to be a successful and enjoyableexperience for both student and teacher. Stud-ies have proven that a student who learnsthrough reading alone will remember 10 per-cent of what they read, 20 percent of whatthey hear, and 80 percent of what they hear,see, and do. Active learning strategies such ascase study utilization promote critical think-ing skill development and knowledge reten-tion by encouraging students to read, listen,and participate in the learning experience.

Works Cited:

Cohen, A. M., & Brawer, F. B. (1996). TheAmerican community college. (3rd Ed.).San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Facione, P.A. (1990). Executive Summary ofCritical thinking: A statement of expertconsensus for purposes of education assess-ment and instruction. Millbrae, CA:California Academic Press.

Paul, R. (1993). Critical thinking: What everyperson needs to survive in a rapidly changingworld. 2nd Ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Rane-Szostak, D. & Robertson, J. F. (1995,January). “Issues in measuring criticalthinking: meeting the challenge.” Journalof Nursing Education, 35(1), 5–11.

Bibliography:

Arburn, T. M. & Bethel, L. J. (1999).“Assisting at-risk community collegestudents: Acquisition of critical thinkinglearning strategies.” 1999 AnnualConference: National Association forResearch in Science Teaching, Boston, MA.

Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educationalobjectives, handbook 1: Cognitive domain.New York, NY: Longmans Green.

Bonwell, C. C. & Eison, J. A. (1991,September). Active learning: Creatingexcitement in the classroom. Retrieved April07, 2003 from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/91-9dig.htm

Campbell, L., Campbell, B. & Dickinson, D.(1999). Teaching and learning throughmultiple intelligences. (2nd ed.) Boston,MA: Allyn & Bacon.

DeVito, J. A. (2002). Messages: Buildinginterpersonal communication skills. (5th ed.)Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatementof the relation of reflective thinking to theeducative process. Boston, MA: D.C. Heathand Company.

Facione, P. A. (1998). Critical thinking: what itis and why it counts. Millbrae, CA:California Academic Press.

Facione, N.C., & Facione, P.A. (1996).“Externalizing the critical thinking inclinical judgment.” Nursing Outlook,44(3), 129–136.

Facione, P.A., Facione, N.C., & Giancarlo,C.A. (2000). “The disposition towardcritical thinking: Its character, measure-ment, and relationship to criticalthinking skill.” Informal Logic, 20(1), 61–84. Retrieved July 03, 2003 from http://www.insightassessment.com/pdf_files/J_Infrml_Ppr%20_2000%20-%20Disp%20&%20Skls.PDF

Geertsen, H.R. (2003). “Rethinking thinkingabout higher-level thinking.” TeachingSociology, 31(1), 1–18.

Gokhale, A.A. (1995, Fall). “Collaborativelearning enhances critical thinking.”Journal of Technology Education, 7(1).Retrieved June 17, 2003 from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/jte-v7n1/gokhale.jte-v7n1.html

Office: Peter Gzowski College (Argyle) 237Phone: 748-1011, ext. 7507E-mail: [email protected]

The Academic Innovation Fund (AIF)is designed to support projects thatstrengthen Trent University’s under-graduate teaching program and to sup-port professional development andpedagogical research. There are two com-petitions for applications greater than$1,500. The second competition date isMarch 4, 2005. Requests less than $1,500can be submitted at any time. Membersof the IDC’s Advisory Board review thegrant applications from faculty and de-termine the financial allocations of thefund.

For additional information see:http://www.trentu.ca/idc/aif.htm

AIFApplications


What is an icebreaker?

An icebreaker is a class activity that serves anumber of different functions. Icebreakers—• introduce people.• create a more comfortable environment.• help students meet one another in a

nonthreatening, fun way.• set the tone for the class.• help jump-start and energize the class.• improve group dynamics.• encourage involvement and interaction.• inspire creative and divergent thinking.• relieve tension.• help build cohesiveness and trust.• break up cliques.• help establish the basis for a good

relationship between instructor andstudents.

• let students know that they will be“active” learners.

• help instructors evaluate the skills andprior knowledge of their students.

• keep people from falling asleep!

When do we use them?

Icebreakers can be used in the first class as away of facilitating introductions. They can alsobe used throughout the year to liven up aclass, introduce a new topic, to review mate-rial, or create a strong organizational team.

How long should they be?

The length of the icebreaker activity should bein proportion to the length of the class. If theclass is only an hour long, you probably don’twant to take up half of it with an icebreakeractivity. You also want to take into consider-ation the number of participants. Some activi-ties work better with small groups and otherswork better with larger groups. With a verylarge group you needn’t have every studentshare, all could participate in the activity and afew can be selected to report back to the larger

group. Icebreakers used as opening activitiesshould be short. They can also be modifiedinto more lengthy teambuilding activities.

What kinds of activities are there?

There are dozens of different kinds of ice-breaker activities. Your choice of activity de-pends on your goals and your audience. De-termine what your goals are and then connectthe activity to the goal. If the class has metbefore and students already know one another,then you wouldn’t use a get-to-know kind ofactivity. If you’re working with a class thatcould potentially have a good level of priorknowledge, the icebreaking activity might bedesigned to probe this knowledge so that theinstruction could be modified to best serve thestudents. Here are some examples:

1. Introduce yourself—ask students in theclass to introduce themselves. Rather thanhaving them simply tell you what theirname is, ask them to tell you somethingabout themselves that is related to thecourse (e.g. if it’s an English course, askthem to tell you the best books they haveread in the last year). In order to personal-ize a class the instructor and students mightbe asked to share an experience, interest, orattribute that the class would not other-wise know.

2. Introduce one another—divide the classinto pairs, give them 5 or 10 minutes tochat with one another and learn about theother person and then ask each pair to in-troduce their partner to the rest of the class.

3. Two Truths and a Lie—divide the classinto pairs or small groups, have the studentstell each other three things about themselves,only two of which are true, then have therest of the group or class try and figure outwhich one of the three statements is false.

4. Talent Search—make up a list of talentsand hand it out to everyone in the class.Ask the students to circulate and findsomeone in the class who has one of thosetalents and ask them to sign their namenext to it. If each classmate can only signbeside one talent, how many names canthey gather?

5. Knowledge Quiz—make up a list of ques-tions related to the course or discipline, handit out to everyone in the class and ask themto find someone in the class who knows theanswer to one of the questions and sign theirname beside it. Here is an example of aknowledge quiz that I use in my Anthro-pology class.

Instructions: Find a classmate who knows the answer to

one of the following questions. Have himor her fill in the answer and sign his or hername beside the question. Only use eachclassmate once.

• The woman who studied chimpanzeesfor 30 years.

• The author of On the Origin of Species.• A famous palaeoanthropologist who

worked in Africa.• The long name for DNA.• A cartoon show depicting the Stone

Age.• Our closest non-human relatives.• The book that first featured the

character Ayla.• The number of bones in the human

skeleton.• A famous archeological site in Canada.• The star of Gorillas in the Mist.• The forensic anthropologist who

wrote Deja Dead and Death du Jour.• The region of the world where

orangutans live.• An individual known for his humor-

ous anthropological cartoons.

IcebreakersBy Anne Keenleyside, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology


6. People Bingo—make up a bingo gamewith squares describing things that peopleknow or have done which are related to thecourse. Ask students to circulate in the classand find a student who fits each descrip-tion. Each student will put an X througheach square they solve until they completea row.

7. I’ve Done Something You Haven’t—have each person introduce themselves andthen state something they have done thatthey think no one else in the class has done.If someone else has done it, the studenthas to think of something else to say untilthey find something that no one else hasdone.

8. Common Ground—divide the class intopairs and give each pair two minutes tofind five things they have in common. Atthe end of the two minutes, put two pairstogether and give the foursome five min-utes to find something that all four stu-dents have in common. They can thenpresent their list to the class. You can usethis activity to form student groups forother tasks.

9. Scavenger Hunt—have each studentwrite down their name and an obscure factabout themselves that few people knowabout. Compile a list of the facts minusthe names and ask people to circulate andmatch the obscure facts with everyone’sname.

10. Interview, Write, and Introduce—di-vide the class into pairs, have the studentsinterview one another, and then write ashort biographical sketch of the personthey have interviewed. After they have fin-ished writing their paragraphs, ask each stu-dent to introduce their partner by readingthe sketch that they have written. If youask them to hand in their sketches you willhave a sample of their writing.

11. Take As Many as You Think You’llNeed—pass around a bowl of Smartiesand ask students to take as many as theythink they will need. Don’t give any fur-

ther instructions until each person has takentheir Smarties. Once everyone has some, goaround the class and ask each student to sayone thing about themselves or a given sub-ject for every Smartie that they’ve taken. Asa twist on this activity, you could assign acategory to each different colour of Smartie(e.g. red could mean personal informationso if they took two red Smarties, they’dhave to give two pieces of personal infor-mation about themselves; green could equalhobbies and interests).

12. The Mind Map—this is an exercise thatcan be used to assess prior knowledge. Placea word or concept in the centre of the black-board or large piece of paper and have theclass come up with sub-categories and as-sociated characteristics or related ideas. Thisexercise can be used as an icebreaker in thefirst class to see how much students knowabout a particular topic, or it can be usedlater in the year as a topic lead-in.

Bibliography:

Forbess-Greene, S. (1983). Encyclopedia ofIcebreakers: Structured Activities that Warm-up, Motivate, Challenge, Acquaint, andEnergize. San Diego, CA: UniversityAssociates.

Jones, K. (1991). Icebreakers: A Sourcebook ofGames, Exercises and Solutions. Erlanger,KY: Pfeiffer and Company.

Myers, S. and Lambert, J. (1994). DiversityIcebreakers: A Guide for Diversity Trainers.Amherst, MA: Amherst EducationalPublishing.

Pfeiffer, J.W. (1989). Encyclopedia of GroupActivities: 150 Practical Designs for SuccessfulFacilitating. San Diego, CA: UniversityAssociates.

West, E. (1999). The Big Book of Icebreakers.New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Centre for Adolescent and Family Studies.(1996). “Icebreakers.” Retrieved Septem-

ber 6, 2004 from http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v3i1/icebreak.html

Griffin, D. (2004). “Bright Idea—Icebreak-ers.” Retrieved September 6, 2004 fromhttp://lts.bellarmine.edu/fdc/icebreakers.asp

Honolulu Community College. (n.d.).“Break The Ice.” Retrieved September 6,2004 from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/breakice.htm

Ohio State University. (n.d.). “Icebreakers.”Retrieved September 6, 2004 fromhttp://www.ohiounion.com/studentorgs/csl/icebreakers.asp

Varvel, Jr., and Virgil, E. (2003). “Breakingthe Ice.” Retrieved September 6, 2004from http://www.ion.illinois.edu/Pointers/2002_01/page3.html

Wallace, M. (2002). “Ice Breakers and OtherRelated Activities.” Retrieved September6, 2004 from http://www.llrx.com/columns/guide67.htm

Wright, D. (2003). “Ice-Breakers.” RetrievedSeptember 6, 2004 from http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIPD/sourceguide/environment. htm#Ice-Breakers

Office: Archeology Building, 101.1Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1452E-mail: [email protected]

David Poole, ChairHilary Wear, SecretaryJean Luyben (TUFA)Anne Keenleyside (TUFA)Kevin Peters (TUFA)To be announced (CUPE-1)William Knight (GSA)Greg Nepean (GSA)Helen Wallis (JBCSA)To be announced (TCSA)

IDC Advisory Board


A lecture is the best venue to deliver a largeamount of information to a group; a semi-nar, on the other hand, provides an excellentopportunity to develop the analytical skills ofindividual students. Seminars provide a fo-rum for students to grasp concepts in moredetail and then to apply those concepts criti-cally. This important difference in objectiveunderlies all the strategies below. If a seminarwere approached in the same way as a lecture,it would not be a “discussion.”

Leading a small group discussion can bean intimidating and disappointing experiencewhen things don’t go well. Adequate prepara-tion and a few simple strategies can improvediscussions considerably.

• Know your students and encourage themto know each other. Although class sizemay limit the amount of interaction, dis-cussions will be more animated if the par-ticipants feel that they are among friends.If possible, have students introduce them-selves in the first class and refer to each otherby name afterwards (Holmes 2002b).

• Establish clear boundaries of respectand behavior early in the semester. Ifstudents feel threatened, insulted, or ex-cluded when they first participate, they maynot participate again. Use your position asmoderator and motivator to include andencourage quiet students as well asunderrepresented and non-traditionalviewpoints (Hadwin & Wilcox 2002).

• Keep your own comments to a mini-mum. Allow students to respond to oneanother, but use your role as facilitator tointervene when necessary to summarize,synthesize, and keep the discussion on track(Hadwin & Wilcox 2002).

• Plan the discussion in advance. Prioritizegoals for each session. Always know what

is essential material, what can be done nexttime, and what can be done if there is extratime (Holmes 2002c). Planning a seminarcan take as much time as planning a lecture.

• Provide a model of the critical skillsthat you would like your students to use.For example, when you don’t know theanswer to a student question, try to reasonfrom basic principles of the course, estab-lish analogies with subjects familiar to thestudents (Hadwin & Wilcox 2002), or sug-gest the appropriate reference work (Holmes2002a). Let them know what you are doingand why.

• Ask questions that are open-ended, ratherthan factual. Instead of asking “Does ev-eryone understand the point of the article?”(nods and blank looks), ask a more stimu-lating question such as “Could someoneplease summarize what they believe are themost important points in the article?”(Hadwin & Wilcox 2002, 13).

• Use visual communication to encouragestudents to speak. Eye contact, extendedsilence, gesture, or even a smile can encour-age students to participate without callingon them (Weimer 1997). These techniquesenable you to facilitate discussion without“intruding.”

• Encourage comments with positive, per-sonal feedback. Move from comment tocomment with positive reinforcement.“E.g. Jane has made an excellent point, butJohn doesn’t seem to agree. Why not,John?” (Hadwin & Wilcox 2002, 15).

• Assess the effectiveness of readings andlectures by observing seminar perfor-mance. Poorly understood or misunder-stood concepts and themes are more easilyidentified in seminars and can be correctedimmediately or reported to the course in-

structor for review or re-presentation in alecture.

These suggestions are based on personalexperience and on the excellent selection ofreadings available in the Ready ReferenceBinder “Small Group Discussions,” availablefrom Trent University’s Instructional Devel-opment Centre, OC 221.1.

Works Cited

Hadwin, Allyson and Susan Wilcox. (2002).“Leading seminars & tutorials,” in AHandbook for Teaching Assistants, 10–20.Kingston, ON: Instructional Develop-ment Centre, Queen’s University.

Holmes, Trevor (ed.) (2002a). “Are there anyquestions?” in TA Survival Guide 2002–2003: A guide for first time TeachingAssistants at the University of Guelph, 22.Guelph, ON: Teaching Support Services,University of Guelph.

Holmes, Trevor (ed.) (2002b). “Leadingeffective discussions,” in TA SurvivalGuide 2002–2003: A Guide for first timeTeaching Assistants at the University ofGuelph, 15–17. Guelph, ON: TeachingSupport Services, University of Guelph.

Holmes, Trevor (ed.) (2002c). “Running areview/tutorial session,” in TA SurvivalGuide 2002–2003: A guide for first timeTeaching Assistants at the University ofGuelph, 20. Guelph, ON: TeachingSupport Services, University of Guelph.

Weimer, Maryellen. (1997). “Self confidenceand participation.” The Teaching Professor,11(6), 5. Madison, WI: Magna Publica-tions Inc.

E-mail: [email protected]

Suggestions for Leading Small Group DiscussionsBy R. James Cook, Ph.D. Student, Classical Art & Archeology, University of Michigan Tutorial Leader, Ancient History & Classics, Trent University, 2002–2003


The Bata Library is pleased to presentRefWorks, a web-based research and writingtool that has been made available through apartnership with the Ontario Council of Uni-versity Libraries. RefWorks allows users to cre-ate a personal database to organize and man-age bibliographical citations which can be usedto support both teaching and research.

Building your database

First time users create an account by followingthe links on the library’s RefWorks informa-tion page (http://www.trentu.ca/library/help/refworks.html). Once you have createdan account, you may build a database withcitations of works that interest you. It is pos-sible to import citations directly from onlinedatabases like PsycINFO or Web of Science; oryou can manually add citations for books, ar-ticles, and web sites.

In addition to gathering citations in yourdatabase, you can create folders and organizeyour citations however you prefer. For ex-ample, you may wish to create folders for eachof your courses and fill them with resourcesused for teaching those courses.

The big advantage of RefWorks is theease with which it allows users to create bibli-ographies in any format they choose. Thisputs an end to last minute fiddling with spac-ing and punctuation. Once you have addedcitations to your database, you can create aninstant bibliography with the touch of a but-ton. An added bonus is the “Write-N-Cite”feature which facilitates easy and accurate in-text citations.

Instructional context

It is easy to see how RefWorks can enhanceyour research and writing. The question is: howcan you use RefWorks in the instructional en-vironment?

• Stay organized. I have already alluded tothe first way in which RefWorks may im-pact your instruction. That is, you may sim-ply wish to implement RefWorks in yourorganizational strategy. A folder for eachof your courses may be a quick and easyway to keep track of resources you’ve usedin past classes and those you may wish touse in the future.

• Encourage student use. Students wholearn to use RefWorks will save hours thatthey may otherwise spend creating bibliog-raphies. Student citing will improvethrough an increased familiarity with properbibliographic citation styles. RefWorks is anovel means for introducing students tothe range of citation styles and the impor-tance of accuracy in bibliographies and ref-erence lists.

• Support collaboration. While it may notbe immediately apparent, RefWorks is awonderful tool for supporting collabora-tion. RefWorks users can create as manyaccounts as they like. This means that, forwork done in groups, students can createaccounts and share passwords with groupmembers. With a shared account, eachgroup member can add, edit, and deletecitations.

• Create reading lists. RefWorks providesaccount holders with the ability to createread-only passwords. This feature providesfaculty and teaching assistants with the op-portunity to create reading lists. A read-onlypassword allows users to provide colleagueswith the ability to search and view the con-tents of the RefWorks database withoutallowing editing rights. This option is madeeven more appealing because RefWorks in-corporates links to the new “Get It! Trent”resource locator service which enables us-ers to link directly from the reading list tothe full text of articles available at Trent.

While there is a learning curve when be-ginning with RefWorks, it is not a difficulttool to use. With practice, RefWorks can be-come an important resource in supportingyour research and teaching endeavors. Addi-tional information and answers to frequentlyasked questions about RefWorks are availableon the RefWorks information page. Work-shops are available through the InformationServices department at the library. For furtherinformation or to setup a RefWorks work-shop in your department or classes, please feelfree to contact me.

Office: Bata Library 202Phone: 748-1011, ext. 5106E-mail: [email protected]

RefWorks: Potential Uses in the Instructional ContextBy Sarah Wickett, Information Services Librarian, Bata Library

SupportingAcademicIntegrity

January 14, 2005, 12:00-3:00 p.m.

Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes (Univer-sity of Guelph) has conducted a Canada-wide survey on student academic mis-conduct, involving 11 degree granting in-stitutions and approximately 15,000 stu-dents. This presentation will provide anoverview of the extent and types of aca-demic misconduct university students re-port engaging in, TA and faculty viewsof this behaviour, and possible explana-tions for why academic misconduct is oc-curring. Following an interactive presen-tation, participants will be asked to iden-tify specific steps they might take in sup-port of academic integrity at Trent.

Register online at:http://www.trentu.ca/idc/

events-coming.htm


McGraw Hill Ryerson 2005 Teaching & Learning Conference SeriesAssessing Teaching in Higher Education: Practice, Problems and ProgressFebruary 21–22, 2005, Guelph, ONhttp://www.open.uoguelph.ca/mhrconference/index.cfm

American Association of Higher EducationCourage, Imagination and Action: Rallying the Trendsetters in Higher EducationMarch 17–20, 2005, Atlanta, GAhttp://www.aahe.org/National/2005.htm

Eastern Ontario Symposium on Educational Technology 2005May 3, 2005, Peterborough, ON

McGraw Hill Ryerson 2005 Teaching & Learning Conference SeriesTransforming Networks: Creating Learning CommunitiesMay 11–13, 2005, Edmonton, AB

Teaching Professor ConferenceTeaching & Learning: Growth, Resilience and ChangeMay 20–22, 2005, Shaumburg, ILhttp://www.teachingprofessor.com/conference/index.html

Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 2005 ConferenceA Fine Balance: The Student Experience of LearningJune 8–11, 2005, Charlottetown, PEIhttp://www.mcmaster.ca/stlhe/events/annual.conference.htm

American Association of Higher Education20th Anniversary Assessment Conference: Charting New TerritoryJune 12–14, 2005, Toronto, ONhttp://www.aahe.org/assessment/2005/Assessment2005.htm

The European Learning Styles Information NetworkJune 13–15, 2004, Surrey, UKhttp://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/research/conferences/elsin.asp

The First Annual International Conference on Enhancing Teaching and LearningThrough AssessmentJune 13–15, 2005, Hung Hom, Kowloon, HKhttp://www.polyu.edu.hk/assessment/

Banff Summer RetreatReflecting on our TeachingJuly 7–10, 2005, Banff, ABhttp://www.iathe.org/BanffRetreat

Upcoming Teaching and LearningConferences

For an up-to-date listing of teaching and learning conferences,please see http://www.trentu.ca/idc/conferences.htm

Sharing TeachingExperiences with

ColleaguesThe Teaching Effectiveness Program of-fers a forum to promote and supporttalk about teaching among Trent instruc-tors. It is an opportunity for creative prob-lem solving, building on the practice ofothers. Since we strengthen our learningcommunity by sharing ideas with oth-ers, participants are encouraged to bringspecific examples of teaching and learn-ing successes and challenges with themto the sessions.

This program relies on a volunteermodel of participation, not only in at-tendance, but also in session leaders (i.e.,faculty and teaching support staff whovolunteer their time, experience and in-sight).

The IDC invites faculty, staff, andgraduate stuents to share their teachingstrategies and experiences with the Trentinstructional community. Consider thefollowing opportunities.

• Writing an article for the Teaching atTrent newsletter.

• Participating in the IDC's TeachingEffectiveness Program by leading ateaching conversation, workshop orpresentation, participating in a paneldiscussion, attending events, or sug-gesting suitable speakers or topics.

If you are interested in sharing your teach-ing experiences with the Trent instruc-tional community, please contact the IDCCoordinator Angie Best.

Office: Otonabee College, 221.1Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1254E-mail: [email protected]

http://www.trentu.ca/idc/events-coming.htm

A publication of the Instructional Development Centre Vol. 6, Issue 3, Winter 2004

Teaching at TrentIn this Issue

1Learning How to Run

a First Year Tutorial

2Academic Emotions

4The Use of Rubrics in

UndergraduateAssessment

5Sharing TeachingExperiences with

Colleagues

6Teaching Large

Classes

8Upcoming Teaching

and LearningConferences

Editor:Angie Best

AssistantEditor:

Hilary Wear

Learning How to Run a First Year TutorialBy Mathieu Feagan, M.A. student, Frost Centre for Canadian Studies & Native Studies

In September 2003 I began a Master’s program in theFrost Centre for Canadian Studies and Native Studiesand became, for the first time, a tutorial leader for a first-year undergraduate course. The opportunity to teachthrilled me—but what exactly should a tutorial leaderdo?

Drawing on my own undergraduate experience, Ichose to have two students present a point of interestfrom the assigned readings each week. After the six weeksof class presentations concluded I was in search of a newtutorial format, one that would challenge the studentsand enhance their ability to learn. I asked the students toE-mail me suggestions, encouraging them to identifythe strengths and weaknesses of the current seminar for-mat. The students cited insufficient time to cover all thereadings, difficulty to express one self in front of others,and confusion over what exactly to take away from thetutorial, as the main weaknesses.

Taking into consideration their specific concerns andsuggestions I proposed a new tutorial format. This pro-posal included the requirement of students to undertakeadvance preparation for each tutorial session, and to ac-tively participate in group discussion. Each of these re-quirements is described below.

In preparing for each tutorial session, students wrotea one-page interpretation of the arguments presented inthe assigned readings, as they related to the tutorial dis-cussion questions in the course syllabus. This writtencomponent encouraged students to indulge in coursematerials outside of the one-hour weekly seminar, pro-vided valuable feedback on each student’s reading com-prehension, and provided an opportunity to help stu-dents with their written expression.

The class was divided into several groups of two orthree students, with each group tackling one discussionquestion. After six or seven minutes the class would form

a single group and discuss each question, noting eachgroup’s contribution on the blackboard. This small-groupdiscussion, large-group reporting format provided stu-dents with an opportunity to talk individually, the ben-efit of receiving feedback from the entire class, and aclear sense of what they should get out of the discussion.This activity takes twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. Inthe time remaining we would examine a contemporaryexample that would illustrate arguments made in theassigned readings, thereby providing further opportu-nity for debate and application of theory to real life situ-ations.

The proposed change in tutorial format was ac-cepted with a few minor amendments. Students werestill concerned about time. Indeed, one hour is hardlyenough time to allow twelve students to debate read-ings, a lecture, or a film. The change in format has fos-tered a strong sense of community and has helped toovercome many of the difficulties originally faced. Mostimportantly, the students have learned to make the mostof their tutorial time by communicating their needs andactively participating in the design of a tutorial formatthat suits them best. I will certainly continue to incorpo-rate students’ suggestions into the design of tutorials. Iinvite any further suggestions from others that have dif-fering experiences from mine.

Mailbox: Traill College, Kerr House, Reading RoomE-mail: [email protected]

Teaching at Trent, Vol.6, Issue 3, Winter 2004

Teaching atTrent

Newsletter

The Teaching at Trentnewsletter is intended toprovide Trent's instruc-tional community with ameans to exchange ideasand information on pro-fessional development is-sues, pedagogical tech-niques, and effectiveteaching practices.

The Instructional Devel-opment Centre (IDC) in-vites submissions of ar-ticles and teaching tipswhich will provide read-ers with practical, creativeideas they can use to en-hance teaching and learn-ing in their courses.


Angie BestIDC Coordinator andTeaching at Trent Editor


Phone: (705) 748-1011, ext. 1254

Fax: (705) 748-1143



Why is it that we develop greater proficiency in taskswe enjoy?

Psychologists have documented the complex in-terplay and influence among thoughts, feelings, andbehaviours in many settings. Although it is clear thatfeelings result from varying achievement outcomes(e.g., feeling joy about scoring well on an exam), it isalso evident that the way in which we perform tasksor activities, to a large degree, is driven by the way wefeel about them (e.g., spending more time on a projectwe are passionate about). In other words, emotionsare not only consequences of behaviour (e.g., doingsomething) but are also antecedents of that, and sub-sequent, behaviour. As an antecedent, emotions candirect what you pay attention to, determine how mo-tivated you are to expend personal resources on a task,promote your persistence to that task, and ultimatelyoptimize your performance.

In academic settings, it is obvious that studentsexperience a rich and intense emotional life. Pekrunand colleagues (2002) identified nine academic emo-tions that influence students’ thinking and achieve-ment, as well as their physical and psychological well-being.

Positive Emotions Negative EmotionsEnjoyment AngerHope AnxietyPride ShameRelief Hopelessness Boredom

A review of the literature revealed that of thesenine emotions, most investigators have considered onlythe effect of anxiety on students’ achievement. A searchof literature from 1974 to 2000 found more publica-tions on the role of anxiety than all other emotionalconstructs combined (Pekrun et al., 2002). Thus, therole that this emotion has on achievement is the bestunderstood. For example, anxiety reduces working(conscious) memory resources which impairs the abil-ity to perform well on complex mental tasks. Theability to hold an idea in consciousness while per-

forming a mental operation on it (e.g., organizing/se-quencing thoughts) is greatly impaired and will reflectin poorer performance on a test or assignment. In short,the negative feeling robs the individual of precious cog-nitive resources necessary for the optimal completion ofthe academic task.

Positive emotions are no less related to academicoutcomes. If academic emotions initiate motivational,attitudinal and cognitive processes that shape students’achievement, how can instructors maximize opportuni-ties for positive emotions and minimize or manage thepresence of negative emotions in the preparation of theircourses? How can we purposefully plan for the emo-tional experiences of students? Emotional objectives maybe class-related, learning-related, or test-related. For ex-ample, a class-related goal may result from the instructor’sclear demonstration of enthusiasm towards, and enjoy-ment of, course content. The effect of this alone is ofteninfectious. A learning-related goal might offer opportu-nities for students to study a topic of their own designindependently and in addition to prescribed curricula.A test-related goal may focus on the explicit discussionof the effect of anxiety on test performance and tech-niques for managing this. Fair and flexible evaluationkeeps students hopeful and willing to expend effort inorder to improve their standing throughout the course.

Emotions influence and are influenced by thoughtsand behaviours. This is important to recognize withineducational settings. The acknowledgement of emotions’roles in academic achievement and the attempt by in-structors to optimize students’ emotional experience isencouraged. Through the development of explicit class-, learning-, and test-related objectives, students’ academicachievement may be enhanced.

In preparation for my January 21, 2004 Instruc-tional Development Centre workshop, "Academic Emo-tions: Simple Ways to Reduce Anxiety in our Students,"I compiled a list of class-, learning-, and test-related strat-egies to share with participants. These strategies, out-lined on page 3, represent a compilation of advice fromcolleagues, web sites, and my personal experience.

Academic EmotionsBy Wendy Kelly, Instructor, Department of Psychology and Learning Disabilities Consultant/Counsellor, Disability Services Office


Class-related and Learning-relatedStrategies

• Introduce yourself. Tell students about your-self beyond your educational accomplish-ments and research interests. Let students seeyou as a person, not just a professor.

• Have your course outline prepared and readyto hand out during the first class. Try to makesure that required and recommended textsare available in the bookstore or the library.Many students will panic if they cannot im-mediately get all of the materials you suggest.

• Include a 'one free extension' coupon withthe course outline. Explain that this may beused once for reasons outside medically-documented ones and may be applied for a'short' extension on any course assignment.

• Attach a set of sample final exam questions tothe course syllabus and distribute both onthe first day of class.

• Be enthusiastic about your course materialand your students’ learning. Murray (1997),of the University of Western Ontario, hasobserved that instructor enthusiasm is asso-ciated with both course success and motiva-tion for further study.

• Make anxiety reduction a goal in your course;talk about it explicitly.

• Encourage the development of relationshipsamong students. Facilitate study group de-velopment by staying after class to meet withinterested students.

• Set up discussion forums through web-basedcourse tools such as WebCT. Be honest abouthow much you plan to contribute to the dis-cussions.

• Come to class prepared and organized. Startand end class on time.

• The appropriate use of humour can be a stress-reliever. Be careful though, what you think isfunny may offend one of your students.

• Meet with students in private when you are

not rushed or preoccupied. Give your undi-vided attention to the student by forward-ing phone calls to voicemail, for example.

• Ask students how you can help them feel lessanxious.

Test-related Strategies to ReduceStudent Anxiety

• Review the scope of the exam. Talk to theclass about the content, format, and weight-ing of the exam several weeks in advance.Announce what materials will be needed andwhat aids will be permitted.

• Offer practice tests.

• Be clear about time limits.

• Be accessible for questions before the examand make provisions for last-minute ques-tions.

• Allow for breaks during long exams.

• Coach students on test-taking techniques.

• Make the first exam relatively easy. Researchon motivation indicates that early success ina course increases students’ motivation andconfidence (Lucas, 1990). In particular, stu-dents who do well on the first test generallyimprove their grades on subsequent tests(Guskey, 1988).

• Provide reassurance and encouragementrather than dire warnings about a test’s diffi-culty.

• Avoid 'pop' quizzes.

• Put old exams on file in the library.

• Minimize temptations for cheating so youdon’t have to hover over the class.

• Give students the opportunity to commenton the test (e.g., direct them to write a shortjustification for any answer they felt neededmore explanation or for questions they per-ceived to be tricky).

• Let students prepare and bring in their own'cheat sheet.'

• Include 'bonus' questions for incentive andto offset incorrect answers.

• Include a blank question and ask students towrite a question or pose a problem that theywere well prepared to answer. Grade the qual-ity of their answer.

• Let students evaluate the exam.

• Give students 'a second chance to learn' bygiving them a second copy of exam to takehome and complete.

• Give more tests than will actually be counted(e.g., best 5 of 6 count).

References

Guskey, T.R. (1988) Improving StudentLearning in College Classrooms. Spring-field, Ill.: Thomas.

Lucas, A.F. (1990) Using models to under-stand student motivation. In M.D.Svinicki (Ed.) The Changing Face ofCollege Teaching. New Directions forTeaching and Learning, San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.

Murray, H.G. (1997) Effective teachingbehaviors in the college classroom. InR.P. Perry, & J.C. Smart (Eds.) EffectiveTeaching in Higher Education: Researchand practice. New York: Agathon Press,171–204.

Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R.P.(2002) Academic emotions in students’self-regulated learning and achievement:A program of qualitative and quantita-tive research. Educational Psychologist,37(2), 91–105.

Office: Bata Library, 109.5Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1281E-mail: [email protected]


The Use of Rubrics in Undergraduate AssessmentBy Anne Keenleyside, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology

A rubric is a chart or template used to evaluatea student’s performance based on the sum of arange of criteria rather than a single numericalscore. A rubric is particularly useful in evaluat-ing criteria which are complex and subjective(Pickett and Dodge, 2001). A typical rubriccontains a scale of possible levels of performanceranging from Level 1 (below the standard) toLevel 4 (exceeds the standard), a set of criteriaused to evaluate the performance, and descrip-tors for each level of performance. They can becustomized to suit any type of task in any dis-cipline. For example, they can be used to evalu-ate essays, oral presentations, book reviews, andlaboratory reports.

The Ontario Ministry of Education(points 1–6), and Pickett and Dodge (points7–10) provide descriptors that define the quali-ties of a good rubric. A good rubric —

1. clearly establishes the criteria forassessment.

2. provides clear criterion descriptions foreach level of performance.

3. provides examples for clarity whereneeded.

4. clearly establishes the difference inperformance from one level to the next.

5. describes performance using positive,constructive language.

6. makes provision for suggestions orimprovement.

7. communicates to students whatconstitutes excellence.

8. allows assessment to be more objectiveand consistent.

9. provides useful feedback to students andindicates how they can improve.

10. provides a benchmark against whichprogress can be measured and docu-mented.

I have included an example of a rubricthat I have used to assess reaction papers (seepage 5). I recommend giving students a copyof the rubric when you hand out the assign-ment (Chicago Board of Education). By re-ceiving the rubric in advance, students will gaina better sense of how their work will be evalu-ated and what is expected of them.

When creating rubrics I use the followingsteps which are based on recommendations bythe Ontario Ministry of Education.

1. Decide what the students will learn froma particular task or assignment and whatexpectations will be demonstrated.

2. Create a task or assignment that willallow students to demonstrate achieve-ment of these expectations.

3. Identify a set of criteria for assessing thetask. Example criteria include content,knowledge/understanding, organiza-tion/layout, creativity, graphics,communication, presentation, applica-tion, use of technology, and teamwork/cooperation.

4. Look at some actual examples of studentwork to help you develop the descrip-tors for each criterion.

5. Describe clearly what success looks likefor each criterion. Provide examples forclarity.

6. Describe performance for each criterionat each of the other levels, keeping

language consistent along the line, butmaking a clear distinction from one levelto the next.

References

Chicago Board of Education. (2000) How tocreate a rubric from scratch. Onlineresource accessed on February 26,2004. (http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/Assessments/Ideas_and_Rubrics/Create_Rubric/create_rubric.html)

Family Education Network. (2003)Assessment — Rubrics . Online resourceaccessed on February 26, 2004.

(http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/curriculum/assess/rubrics.html)

Family Education Network. (2003)Assessment —The Advantages of Rubrics:Part one in a five-part series. Onlineresource accessed on February 26,2004. (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4522.html)

Gateway Software Productions. (2002) The Rubric Builder. Online resource

accessed on February 26, 2004. (http://www. rubricbuilder.on.ca/learn.html)

Ontario Ministry of Education. (nd.)Understand the Ontario Curriculum,

pp. 29 and 32.

Pickett, N. & Dodge, B. (2001) Rubrics forWeb Lessons. Online resource accessed onFebruary 26, 2004. (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm)

Office: Otonabee College, 118Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1452E-mail: [email protected]


Rubric for a Reaction Paper

Criteria Level 4(80-100)

Level 3(70-79)

Level 2(60-69)

Level 1(50-59)

Mark

Content Concise summary of thearticle; clear thesisstatement; thoughtfuldiscussion of the topic;convincing and informedopinion

Good summary of thearticle; fairly clear thesisstatement; gooddiscussion of the topic;convincing andinformed opinion

Fair summary of thearticle; fair discussion ofthe topic; lack ofconvincing andinformed opinion

Poor summary of thearticle; poordiscussion of thetopic; no convincingand informed opinion

/10

Organization Excellent organization;smooth-flowingargument; clear thesisstatement and topicsentences

Good organization; fairlysmooth-flowingargument; clear thesisstatement and topicsentences

Fair organization;argument hard to follow;unclear thesis statement;lack of topic sentences

Poor organization;total lack of argument;no clear thesisstatement; no topicsentences

/5

Writing Style No grammatical orspelling errors; correctlength

Few grammatical and/orspelling errors; correctlength

More than a fewgrammatical and/orspelling errors; paper toolong or too short

Numerousgrammatical and/orspelling errors; paperis too long or tooshort

/5

References Two additional andappropriate referencesused; proper citations andbibliography

Two additional andappropriate references;improper citationsand/or bibliography

Two additionalreferences used; one orboth not appropriate;improper citationsand/or bibliography

Fewer than twoadditional referencesused; inappropriatereferences; impropercitations and/orbibliography

/5

Encouraging excellence and innovation inteaching and learning is at the heart of theInstructional Development Centre's mandate.This mandate is achieved in part by providingfaculty with a forum to discuss professionaldevelopment issues, pedagogical techniques,and effective teaching practices through theCentre's Teaching Effectiveness Program andnewsletter, Teaching at Trent.

The Teaching Effectiveness Program con-tinues to offer a forum to promote talk aboutteaching among Trent instructors. It is a space/place where instructors bring their teachingchallenges and a forum for creative problemsolving, building on the practices of others.Since we strengthen our learning communityby sharing ideas with others, participants areencouraged to bring specific ideas of teaching/learning approaches that have worked well forthem to the sessions.

This program relies on a volunteer modelof participation, not only in attendance, butalso in session leaders (i.e., faculty and teach-ing support staff who volunteer their time, ex-perience, and insight). This past term the Cen-tre hosted 10 sessions to a total of 153 partici-pants, 86 of which were unique participants(60% faculty, 28% graduate students, and12% staff).

The Instructional Development Centre(IDC) invites faculty, staff, and graduate stu-dents to share their teaching stategies and ex-periences with the Trent instructional commu-nity. Consider the following opportunities.

1. Participating in peer observation of teach-ing by inviting instructors to observe yourteaching and offering to observe theirteaching in return.*

2. Volunteering to be a resource person forothers who are seeking teaching advice.*

3. Writing an article for the Teaching at Trentnewsletter.

4. Participating in the Teaching EffectivenessProgram by—• leading a teaching conversation.• giving a presentation or workshop.• participating in a panel discussion.• attending events.• suggesting suitable guest speakers.• suggesting suitable topics.

* The IDC will maintain a list of interestedfaculty.

If you are interested sharing your teachingexperiences with the Trent instructionalcommunity, contact the IDC CoordinatorAngie Best.

Office: Otonabee College, 221.1Phone: 748-1011, ext. 1254E-mail: [email protected]

Sharing Teaching Experiences with Colleagues

In late November I attended the McGraw-HillRyerson Active Learning: Connect, Engage andIntegrate conference and the Using CollectiveExperience to Generate Effective Strategies for LargeClass Teaching pre-conference at Ryerson Uni-versity. What follows is a summary of the manyuseful ideas that were presented to help courseinstructors ensure that students in their largeclasses are engaged and participating in thelearning process. I have organized the sugges-tions under four themes that were emphasizedthroughout the conference: structure of thecourse, care and respect, active learning, andtechnology. Although the suggestions pertainto classes of all sizes, they are particularly im-portant for the large class setting where con-necting with students and classroom manage-ment are more difficult.

Structure of the course

“I am not here to teach you,I am here to help you learn.”

Take time during the first lecture to explainthe pedagogical reasons for how the course isstructured. Ensure that students understandthe rationale for the text chosen, how the courseis organized, and why particular assignments,tests, and activities are being used. Considerthe following suggestions.

• Examine your lecture and reading objectives— are they clearly linked to the various typesof evaluation you employ?

• Reduce the anxiety associated with only twoor three evaluation instruments and utilizeseveral. Ideally, these evaluation instrumentsshould be of various types (e.g., essay, pre-sentation, group work, and exams that arenot comprised solely of multiple choice ques-tions). If marking time is an impediment toutilizing a variety of evaluation instruments,consider using WebCT to grade comprehen-sion quizzes and include assignments which

Page 6 Teaching at Trent, Vol.6, Issue 3, Winter 2004

are not graded, but receive credit for havingbeen completed (e.g., journal writing).

• Begin every lecture with a brief review of theprevious lecture and an outline of what willbe covered in the current lecture. Presentmaterial in a clear, well organized, andsmoothly paced manner. Provide a summaryat the end. Clarity and enthusiasm are abso-lutely necessary.

• Choose a text that is highly readable; a textthat is content light, but heavy in pedagogyis okay.

• Lectures should be value-added rather than aregurgitation of the text. Use examples thatlink with the 21st century.

• Instead of relying solely on end of term courseevaluations to inform your teaching, seekfeedback from students throughout thecourse. Consider asking students to hand inanonymous comments about the course mid-way through the term; share these commentsat the next class and let the students knowhow you plan to deal with the issues theyhave raised. If you have a class web site, posta questionnaire that students can access elec-tronically. Electronic questionnaires can becreated using FAST©, a free assessment sum-mary tool (http://www.getfast.ca) or WebCT(contact Mary-Jane Pilgrim, Trent's WebCTAdministrator).

Care and respect

Respect for students is paramount and can beeasily conveyed to your students in the follow-ing ways.

• Start each class with a phrase or action thatindicates you are aware of the students asindividuals. Instead of “quiet please, I wantto start the lecture,” try “would you pleasebring your conversations to a close?”

• Encourage questions and respond with cour-tesy; reiterate the question for the benefit ofthe whole class.

• Even when the information is staring thestudent in the face (e.g., on the syllabus),provide the answer courteously and withoutsarcasm (e.g., "yes, Ch. 3 is on the test; youwill find the test information on the sylla-bus"). No matter how inane the question,never assume that the student is trying toprovoke you or that the student is lazy. Re-member that many students are experienc-ing considerable stress, especially in their firstyear of study.

• Design the course with students in mind. Beaware of their different learning styles. En-sure that your lectures, forms of evaluation,and supplementary materials (e.g., text, hand-outs, course web site) provide a wide varietyof presentation and interactivity modes toaccommodate those different learning styles.(See http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Learning_Styles.html for a thorough discus-sion of learning styles.)

• Demonstrate that you are accessible by hold-ing office hours, interacting with studentson E-mail or on-line discussion groups, andmaking yourself available, if only for a littlewhile, after class for individual questions.

• Get to know the names of as many of yourstudents as possible. Don’t just walk to thefront of the class, stay there, and never moveamong the students. Walk through the classat the beginning and stop to talk to indi-vidual students.

• Get to know your students and what theylike to do. Consider hanging out, now andthen, in places where students are likely togather (e.g., dining halls or college commonrooms) and read Wired or Shift (MikeAtkinson, University of Western Ontario).

Teaching Large ClassesBy Jocelyn Aubrey, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology

Active Learning

“Tell me and I will forget;show me and I will remember;

involve me and I will understand”(attributed to various authors).

Research on pedagogy suggests that a changein format is needed every twenty minutes inorder to maintain attention and student en-gagement. Consider the following suggestionsas ways to promote active learning in your class-room.

• Break up the lecture with video clips, dem-onstrations, quick thought questions, or teststhat students can do alone or together.

• Include face to face seminars, workshops, orlaboratories. Consider alternating class semi-nars with on-line discussion groups so thesame topic is covered in different ways over atwo-week period. This approach allows formore efficient use of classroom space becausethe same room is alternated between twogroups of students (John Mitterer, BrockUniversity).

• Include quizzes, crossword puzzles, interac-tive demonstrations, and online discussiontools on the class web site. The online discus-sion tool can effectively break a large classdown into smaller groups. It is advisable tomonitor the online discussions (e.g., occasion-ally interject comments), but be careful notto dominate the discussion or act as an au-thority figure. Allow students to figure outanswers to problems on their own and jumpin only if something needs to be corrected. Itis advisable to set the ground rules for appro-priate ‘net etiquette.’ Consider having yourstudents generate the rules during the firstclass; this is an ideal way to include studentsin the decision making process.

Technology

Modern technology, when used appropriately,can aid in successful large class teaching andclass management. Several uses of technologyhave been mentioned above. Here are a fewmore suggestions.

• While Power Point slides are a great way topresent information, the overhead projectoris also satisfactory. Handwritten notes on theoverhead or blackboard should be avoided.Take time to carefully prepare overheads orPower Point slides. Use fonts that are largeenough to read from the back of the room,choose easily discernible colours (e.g., blackand white or yellow and navy) and makesure each slide isn’t too cluttered.

• Consider making copies of the overheads orPower Point slides available for students inadvance of the lecture; these copies can beposted on the web site or provided as acoursepack. This may eliminate the need forextensive note-taking and allows students tolisten more attentively and become more en-gaged in class discussions. Leaving some ma-terial off the printed notes and including ac-tivities that engage students, will help to en-sure good attendance.

• Provide a class web site (WebCT is ideal).The website, however, should be more thanjust a source for the syllabus and handouts.Make it a place where learning can happen.Include quizzes (may or may not be forcredit), interactive activities, discussiongroups, and a bulletin board for frequentlyasked questions.

Survey of first-year students

Mike Atkinson surveyed approximately 1200students, asking them to state what they con-sidered to be the most important characteris-tics of a good course instructor. Their top fiveresponses are included below.

1. Don’t be boring!

2. Care and show respect—don’t treat us asif we are stupid.

3. Discuss post-grad training even if onlybriefly—what can I do with a degree inX?

4. Focus on the real world—real worldhooks make information come alive.

5. Lectures should not be redundant withthe textbook.

Useful web sites

A number of useful web resources were referredto at the conference. I’ve listed a few of thembelow and when checking those out I keptfinding more. There is a tremendous amountof valuable information out there—get onlineand start surfing!

• http://www.facultydevelopment.ca

facultydevelopment.ca is a learning resourcedesigned to enable new and existing facultyin Canadian universities to enhance teach-ing and learning. The project is currentlyhosted at the University of Ottawa and is co-directed by Dr. Aline Germain-Rutherford,University of Ottawa and Dr. Tim Pychyl,Carleton University.

• http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/index.html

Carnegie Mellon University provides a com-prehensive set of resources for assessing courseprogress and online assessment techniques.

• http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infotrac/tipsheets.html

The University of Waterloo's Teaching Re-sources & Continuing Education office pro-vides a comprehensive set of teaching tips oncourse planning, classroom management andvarying instructional methods.

• http://cte.umd.edu/library/large/index.html

The Centre for Teaching Excellence at theUniversity of Maryland provides an excel-lent source of information on teaching largeclasses.

Office: Otonabee College, 150.2Phone: c/o 748-1011, ext. 1535E-mail: [email protected]


Upcoming Teaching and Learning Conferences

American Association of Higher EducationConnecting Public Audiences to Our WorkAdam's Mark, Denver, ColoradoJune 12–14, 2004http://www.aahe.org/assessment/2004/

EDiNEB International ConferenceThe Changing Face of Globalization: Its Impact on Educating FutureLeadersCollege of Staten Island, Staten Island, New YorkJune 16–18, 2004http://www.fdewb4.unimaas.nl/edineb/conference.asp

Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher EducationExperiencing the Richness of the University Mosaic: from Diversity toIndividualityUniversity of OttawaJune 17–19, 2004http://www.uottawa.ca/services/tlss/stlhe2004/

The International Consortium for Educational DevelopmentDefining a Profession, Redefining Actions: The Convergence of Goals ofUniversity Professors and Faculty DevelopersUniversity of OttawaJune 21–23, 2004http://www.uottawa.ca/services/tlss/iced2004/

American Association of Higher EducationOrganizing for LearningStoweflake Resort & Conference Center, Stowe, VermontJuly 11–15, 2004http://www.aahe.org/SummerAcademy/index.htm

Faculty Development Summer InstituteActive Learning and Teaching in University and CollegeUniversity of Prince Edward Island, CharlottetownAugust 2–6, 2004http://www.upei.ca/%7Eextensio/FDSInstitute.htm

Professional and Organizational Development (POD) NetworkShaping Change in Higher EducationMontréal, Québec, CanadaNovember 4–7, 2004Submission deadline: Tuesday, April 13, 2004http://atech2.wku.edu/skuhlens/podsubmit/callforproposals2004.html


International Alliance of Teaching ScholarsLilly (West) Conference on College and University TeachingKellogg West Ranch at Cal Poly Pomona, CaliforniaMarch 19–20, 2004http://www.iats.com/conferences/west2004_info.shtml

15th International Conference on College EducationInnovation, Motivation, Education: Tying It All TogetherThe Adam’s Mark Hotel, Jacksonville, FloridaMarch 29–April 2, 2004http://www.teachlearn.org/final.html

American Association of Higher EducationLearning in 3-D: Democratic Transformations, Diversity Redefined,Digital EnvironmentsSheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, San Diego, CaliforniaApril 1-4, 2004http://www.aahe.org/learningtochange/2004/index.htm

International Alliance of Teaching ScholarsLilly (East) Conference on College and University TeachingTowson, MarylandApril 2–3, 2004http://www.iats.com/conferences/schedule.shtml

American Educational Research AssociationEnhancing the Visibility and Credibility of Educational ResearchSan Diego, CaliforniaApril 12–16, 2004http://www.aera.net/meeting/index.asp

4th International Conference on Scholarship of Teachingand LearningGoing Public — Traditional and Non-traditional Approacbes to theScholarship of Teaching and LearningLondon, EnglandMay 13–14, 2004http://www.city.ac.uk/edc/SoTLConference.htm

The Teaching Professor ConferenceCelebrating Teaching and Promoting LearningHilton, Philadelphia/Cherry HillMay 21–23, 2004http://www.teachingprofessor.com/about/index.html

Canadian Association for University Continuing EducationStanding the Test of Time — Setting the Stage for the FutureWhite Oaks Resort and Spa, Niagara on the Lake, OntarioJune 2–5, 2004http://www.wlu.ca/pts/cauce2004/index2.html

See http://www.trentu.ca/idc/conferences.htmfor up-to-date conference listings.

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