During the spring ’05 semester, I participated in the FACETS program to improve my skills as a teacher. During a series of three seminars, the FACETS team presented the attributes of the current generation of students, the science behind how people learn, and how to design a course. Following the presentations, our assigned small groups discussed specific issues and examples related to that evening’s topic. This experience gave me valuable resources while inspiring me to continue improving my teaching skills.
Soon into my second year, I became increasingly concerned that I was morphing in to one of those boring monotone professors whom students stare blankly at until they think their heads will explode.
A Bumpy Transition from the “Real” World into Education
I am smart and well educated. Just a year earlier, I was an Assistant Vice President running a $52 billion banking branch for one of the largest banks in the world. I successfully satisfied customers, managed and motivated employees, and made sales goals with ease. How hard could teaching be? After my first year, 2003, I quickly learned that knowledge alone was not going to make me a good teacher. Soon into my second year, I became increasingly concerned that I was morphing in to one of those boring monotone professors whom students stare blankly at until they think their heads will explode. Being unable to translate more than adequate content knowledge and practical real world experience into effective teaching, I could feel my frustration mounting. I was confident in my knowledge of the subject matter, but I needed to develop an effective and stimulating teaching style. I needed to understand whom I was teaching and how they learned. I went into the FACETS program expecting academic lectures about Millennials and general teaching styles. I was very impressed with the depth of the content presented. Each seminar, as well as the general atmosphere, helped me gain insight about the collective mindset of students, how to interact with my peers, how learning styles differ, and generally helped me reflect on my overall perception of my purpose as an educator.
I was surprised that many of the concepts presented in FACETS were very familiar to me. As a manager, I regularly applied concepts of motivation and learning to develop employees. I had never thought to apply those theories and concepts to education. In addition, I would have never known where to look to find the exceptional resources provided after each seminar that gave me additional support for reframing my perspective. Studying the books on the reading list and exploring the websites have given me a greater understanding of how to develop a teaching style that will improve my value as a teacher.
After the first seminar, Teaching Millennial Students, it occurred to me one of my biggest teaching challenges was my inability to meaningfully connect the students with the material.
My Biggest Teaching Challenge
After the first seminar, Teaching Millennial Students, it occurred to me one of my biggest teaching challenges was my inability to meaningfully connect the students with the material. I am relatively close in age to my students, so I erroneously assumed they also viewed the world from my point of view. While I do not necessarily agree with the idealized version of Millennials presented by the book Millennials Rising by Howe and Strauss, I did realize after the first seminar they are, in fact, very different than I was at their age. Based on my perception of the MTV driven, technologically advanced, too busy for school attitude of this generation, my first reaction was to develop a teaching style to cater directly to them. However, while discussing our current students’ attributes with a colleague, I realized that as educators we should be cautious not to become so wrapped up with tailoring our style to suit needs of a specific group that we loose sight of accountability, and the students’ responsibility to learn the material. This conversation made me aware of the important balance between understanding and relating to students, as opposed to compromising the learning process to accommodate them.
From the Millennial seminar and subsequent conversations, I began to think about accountability, which led me to the subject of assessment. I teach Introduction to Business, a survey business course at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County (UWMC) and in order to make the course more relevant to this current generation, I like to integrate as much real life subject matter as possible. One of the ideas I generated from this project was to evaluate the students using a typical corporate performance appraisal tailored to the goals of the course. I like this concept because it acts not only as a framework for assessment, but also provides students an illustration of what to expect on the job.
My Strategies to Encourage Involvement
I found the second seminar, Impact of Cognitive Science on Teaching and Learning, fascinating. While I have successfully used theories of motivation and cognitive science in a management capacity, it never occurred to me to apply it to teaching a class. After hearing the seminar, it makes perfect sense. If I understand why students are taking the class, I can be better prepared to encourage involvement and increase their interest and learning. I would like to think that each student who walks into my classroom is completely committed to learning and understanding what I am teaching. Realistically, I know that as I teach lower level courses, it is more likely the case that most of the students I see have very a low level of commitment and desire to learn. Like it or not, I must take this into consideration. I found the idea that “attention follows emotion” very useful. I am planning to use current events often glamorized by the media to illustrate and highlight concepts in the text that are otherwise dry and boring. For example, in my Business 110 course, I teach a section on estate planning, which may be of great interest and importance to most grandparents, but is usually irrelevant to my students. I plan to use the case of Terry Shivo, the young woman in a coma whose family had to go to court to determine whether she should be removed from life support, to discuss the how estate planning and having a living will can affect people their age. I plan to use the fall 2005 hurricane destruction on the golf coast to illustrate the need for proper insurance coverage. In another of my courses, I intend to use the rising gas prices, which affect all of my students in some way, to teach the economic concepts like supply and demand, inflation, and disposable income. In doing this, I will also increase their awareness of the world around them.
During our facilitated discussions, we addressed the question, "What is your vision of your learners as they leave your realm of influence?" I was alarmed that I could not answer that question.
I Want My Students to Relate to the Real World
By far the most significant insight I gained came from the last seminar, When “backwards” is just right! When I begin teaching at UWMC, for lack of a better place to start, I developed my courses with the intention of thoroughly covering the text. But, I discovered that the lectures, organized around publisher’s slides, were so dry and boring that I could barely stay awake delivering them. It did not take me long to realize this approach was not effective. By focusing so myopically on covering all the information in the text, I had lost sight of the purpose of my course. During our facilitated discussions, we addressed the question, “What is your vision of your learners as they leave your realm of influence?” I was alarmed that I could not answer that question. After looking at the material for reflective learning and backward design, I was surprised to find that my answer had very little to do with the material I found in the text I had focused so much energy on. I realized that my current approach to teaching made it impossible to achieve that purpose. Ultimately, I realized, I want my students to develop an awareness of the world around them and be able to relate, ethically, the content learned in my classroom back to the real world.
A Road Map to Redevelop My Courses
Before I participated in FACETS, I had grown increasingly frustrated with teaching in general. I knew what I was doing was “ok” but I really wanted it to be better. I wanted the students to be interested in and even inspired by my material or at the bare minimum, I wanted them to view it as useful. What I was doing was not accomplishing that. As I had worked under the premise that I was to teach the text, cover to cover, the impending task of redesigning my courses became overwhelming. I had no idea where to start. The theory of backward design, particularly the process of filtering content by distilling material to down to what is necessary to create a more permanent and lasting type of learning, provided an ideal jumping off point. Using the material presented in the third seminar, as well as a list of required topics to be covered obtained from my department, I reviewed the text and sorted concepts into “nice to know,” “need to know,” and “must know” categories. This simple filter model made the monumental task of redesigning my course very manageable. Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe has become my road map to redeveloping my courses.
I knew what I was teaching, but I was also aware that I lacked the knowledge of how to teach it. I did not know where to go to learn how to teach.
FACETS—The Tools and Resources for Change
Transitioning to academics from the private world, as I did in 2003, proved more difficult than I had anticipated. As a novice teacher, I was getting very discouraged with my perceived failure to teach to the standards I had created for myself. I knew what I was teaching, but I was also aware that I lacked the knowledge about how to teach it. I did not know where to go to learn “how to teach.” Consumed with learning the basics my first year teaching, I did not have much time to get to know the people around me. Being new to the university, I also found interacting with my peers to be very intimidating. I knew I wanted to teach but, for the first time in my career, I felt lost. It was difficult to accept that I lacked the expertise and skill in teaching that I once enjoyed as a business professional. Unfortunately, the academic environment can be contusive to become a recluse. In fact, until just recently, some of the professors in my hall thought I was a student. FACETS created a comfortable setting for me to get to know my peers. Speaking with my colleagues helped me realize that, as educators, we each face many of the same challenges and frustrations. Their collective knowledge and experience resolving typical issues that come up in the course of teaching was very helpful, as was their willingness to share their experiences.
I expected FACETS to give me tools and resources I needed to start developing a more effective style and improve my teaching. This experience fulfilled my expectations by providing me with valuable information that facilitated a greater understanding of the students I am teaching, ways to motivate student learning, and practical techniques to design a course. What I did not expect was the confidence that grew from interacting with other professors I was previously too timid to approach. I am grateful that FACETS provided a non-threatening, inviting, encouraging atmosphere that inspired and motivated me to not only commit myself to improve my teaching, but also become more involved in the teaching community on my campus.
Afterthoughts—Looking Backwards
When I think back on my experience in academia, the word that clutters my mind is assumptions, which simply defined means to take for granted; to suppose. Assumptions help me bring mental order to the chaos around me. I am familiar with the warning old adage, “never assume- It makes an a** of you and me.” Regardless, I admit to being guilty of making many assumptions. I assumed that transitioning to teaching would be easier; that I had an adequate understanding of how students learned; that I would be brilliant as a teacher; that students will simply understand directions and want to learn. Over the last few months, I have realized how many assumptions I had made and continue to make. I also realized how doing so sometimes hinders my quest to grow. I have resolved to be more careful about assuming in the future, however, it comforts me to know that I find myself here facing these challenges because I assumed teaching would make me happy.