Professional discussion
Professional discussion¶
Note
These are my notes on some of the discussion topics provided. I thought it would be good to register them here and ellaborate for future reference.
Outline to us a piece of literature, article or book around the scholarship in teaching, either generally or within your discipline which you have found of value. How has this text influenced your own teaching practices during the course of the module?
Most of my teaching involves computer programming, either as the main topic or as a tool to teach something else. [Brown and Wilson, 2018] compiled 10 evidence-based techniques that have been found to improve teaching of programming. By far the most impactful was the use of live coding. Student understanding and retention was very good. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
A close second is the use of authentic tasks, which is in line with Curriculum 2021.
Would you like to tell us one thing that you are particularly proud of in your teaching practices during time you have been completing the ADEV700/710 module? Have you disseminated this, or other aspect of your teaching practices, to your team/department/faculty/externally?
The section of ENVS258 on remote sensing. Combines the techniques of Brown & Wilson (2018) and Wilson (2019) with an authentic assessment. Students go from little to no programming knowledge to coding complex independent analysis of satellite images in just 4 weeks. The reports they produce really astound me, some being at the level of post- graduate work. Feedback is incredibly positive from students and moderators. I have shared tips and practices repeatedly during meetings, chats, and moderation.
What has been the range of learning technologies that you have so far made use of in your own practice? What do you now see as being the strengths and limitations of these technologies for your own particular teaching purposes?
I have used many things over the years:
Chalk and blackboard
Slides
Digital whiteboard
Videos
Homebrew interactive apps
Coding environments
Geophysics kit
Canvas
All video conferencing: Teams, Zoom, Jitsi, YouTube, Bluebutton
Chat apps: Teams and Slack
So far what has worked for me:
Chalk/blackboard + digital whiteboard are great for explaining complex concepts slowly but visuals depend too much on drawing ability
Slides are great for better visuals but easy to cram too much stuff on them
Videos are great for students to have material to refer back to but need to be short and can be incredibly boring for students. Also easy to overdo.
Coding environments are great to empower students to explore and reason about real applications. Plus it’s one of the most desirable transferable skills. Needs to be taught carefully and slowly to avoid overwhelming students.
Describe for us methods for monitoring and evaluating your own teaching practice that you have so far used in your current post and role. How have any of these methods directly impacted on your own practice to date?
Asking for direct feedback from students after module sections are done
Formative assessment: quick polls and questions to determine progress and understanding of material
Peer observation
External/internal moderation
EvaSys
Building in frequent formative assessment was hard but really helped adapt as the modules progressed. Issues I faced in the first 4 weeks of teaching were addressed in the following weeks (student performance and feedback/EvaSys confirms this). Peer observation confirmed that some practices were working well and helped plan changes to pacing/amount of content for next year.
In what ways have you tried to ensure that your practice takes account of varying needs amongst your students? How do these aspects of your practice reflect your own concerns for widening participation in higher education?
I offer a variety of delivery modes: short videos, reading assignments, live lectures, live practicals, Q&A sessions, individual work, group work, lecturing mixed with think-pair-share activities, etc. For the coding based practicals in particular, I do live coding and ask students who can to follow along typing on their computers. [Rubin, 2013] suggests that this is the most effective way to teaching intro to coding. Not all are able to do this so I give them the full code ahead of time and the option to read instead of type. I’m also very forgiving of deadlines, absences, and go out of my way to make adjustments and ensure that students don’t get left behind. Feedback was very positive on all aspects.
I don’t think that many of these factors are the most important to consider for widening participation in HE from underrepresented groups. Institutional racism, lack of opportunity and incentives, and cost are probably much larger factors. What I can do in the classroom is encourage and support the students we do have by providing a positive judgement-free learning environment and being flexible to those with caring responsibilities, illnesses, etc.
What impact has Curriculum 2021 had on your curriculum planning and design and/or developing your teaching practices over the module?
To me, the most impactful facet is the push for authentic assessment.
All of the continuous assessment I deliver involves real data and some form of transferable skill: coding, report writing, visual design, data analysis. The idea is that the assessment is also an opportunity for the students to explore what their jobs will be and other skills that may interest them.
My discipline suffers from frequent downturns which can leave many without job prospects. With this type of assessment they are able to gain experience and transition into other industries if needed. Many of my past students and colleagues have done just that.