Thriving in Higher Ed

It is often said by many instructors that they spend a lot of their time just getting by. Some have developed a reactionary routine based on a "binge and bust" mentality. We become reactive to updating courses, planning lessons and  selecting resources. "Just In Time" teaching can be exciting and magical when everything works out. However, it is not enough to survive but to be an effective and well-rounded instructor, we must aim to  thrive. There are several methods and tips that have become increasingly more popular as it pertains to getting ahead of the curve. Let's discuss!

Maximizing online learning, especially post-pandemic, can significantly impact the quality of instruction you are offering students. At the beginning of the pandemic, much of our online instruction was built on a survival approach. The goal was to simply create some semblance of instruction while wading the uncharted waters of remote teaching. At this point, it would behoove instructors, departments and universities to strongly consider beefing up their online teaching efforts to ensure they are always ahead of the game should another social crisis leave us relying too heavily on the Internet. 

If the pandemic hasn't proved anything else, its definitely proved that higher ed has the ability to pivot towards advanced technology faster than what is normally expected. If instructors are able to purchase and use the most cutting edge tech tools before they become antiquated, thriving would become easier. There is nothing like having the proper tools to get the job done efficiently and with ease. Don't use a hammer when you actually need a screwdriver. The right tools are a gamechanger.

Instructors might also benefit from scheduling a full day free for recalibrating or reevaluating some integral teaching practices. This might include, whether or not classroom projects are the most efficient use of time or considering a new plan that can be used for the next three or four semesters. Taking time to reassess some long relied upon practices and whether they still serve us, will save us time and energy for many years to come. 

Focus on the next logical step towards completion of a long overdue project. Many instructors are teaching and simultaneously writing or researching for publication. In an effort to not be overwhelmed, it is important to focus on what can be done today and what the next plan of action must be in order to move forward. For example, it's very hard to truly focus on the classroom when there are other projects overdue. Find a way to schedule some time each day to work on the long-term project so that when it's time to prepare and teach a course, that nagging feeling of a project unattended to has subsided, allowing you the mental space to truly engage your course activities and your students. 

Lastly, be proactive about what your time constraints are in every area of your career and home life. It is very hard to thrive when we are not honest about how much time is needed to complete a specific task. Be clear about the resources needed upfront, especially whether this might hinder your progress if not addressed. 

Teaching in survival mode can be enough when it is necessary but positioning ourselves to thrive by making time to research, plan and adjust our current practices can be so much more rewarding. It's the difference between floating with the current and swimming against it. While floating can sometimes be nice, should the currents become turbulent, we want to be prepared to take charge and swim to shore. The shore, of course, being our plans and practices put in place to help guide us through both times of high stress and those times of ease and flow. 

If you have some interesting ways that you use in order to thrive in higher ed, feel free to share in the comment section below.

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427    

         

      

      

The Importance of Ongoing Teacher Training

The professional world is always evolving and therefore, so should educational institutions. After all, we have been tasked with the responsibility of preparing our students with the tools and knowledge necessary for them to be a valuable asset to any organization they eventually become a part of. Below I've compiled a list of some important reasons why continued teacher training is so important, for not only the instructor but also for the institutions and students they serve.   

We don't know what we don't know. This has been said time and time again, yet we still need reminding that the limitations of our exposure to innovative concepts and ideas impact what we believe to be possible in our teaching. It's like trying to describe a color you've never seen. 

Non-traditional students require more from us. Each semester the criteria for what comprises the "average" student tends to expand. We no longer have a classroom full of single students with no kids and/or no jobs or part-time jobs, who can dedicate large amounts of time to their education while no other areas of their lives are impacted. We must always be working to meet the needs of the students we have and not the students we would like to have.     

A wealth of resources is always readily available. Since the onset of the democratization of information that has been occurring for the past 20 years, information has never been easier to access from reputable sources on any topic we might choose. Ongoing teacher training is no longer limited to professional development activities scheduled and facilitated only by our departments. We can join a plethora of professional development sites and complete training for free or very little money. The best part is that most programs are self-paced.    

Students deserve the best education their money can buy. For me, there is no greater disservice than to have students sit in a series of antiquated courses with lack-luster teaching approaches and then send them off into a cutting edge job market. We continue to develop ourselves and the courses we teach so that our students will enjoy solid success during their academic career and beyond.

A great opportunity to network. Throughout our teaching careers we are often looking for accountability buddies, subject matter experts for research projects and professional confidants. What better place to connect than in a professional development program. You know the person you are connecting with is likely as driven as you are in their professional growth and can be relied upon for various colleague related endeavors.

While teacher training can sometimes become repetitive and time-consuming, the possibility that you may attain a new skillset, a new connection or a better understanding of "why" you teach in the first place, far outweighs any perceived drawbacks. What are some of the reasons you continue to engage in professional development? Feel free to share in the comment section below. 

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427    

        

Tips for Developing A Course From Scratch

Developing a course from scratch can be a very daunting task without the proper plan and guidance. Often the excitement of developing each aspect of the course is overshadowed by the amount of work it will entail. But fear not, I've compiled a very comprehensive list of some areas to consider, some decisions you probably should make and a few specific tasks that might impact your approach for the better. This list is in no particular order.      

Consider the baseline level of knowledge a person should have when taking your course. Sometimes instructors are so caught up with the subject matter and the excitement of creating a new course that they fail to acknowledge that not everyone will be their target audience. Some are beginners in the subject matter, some intermediate and some advanced. It is nearly impossible to design a course that encompasses level appropriate rigor that is all inclusive. Know your intended audience.   

Consider your teaching style and how that might impact your delivery. Often, we are so focused on the students and how they will receive our course, that we pay little attention to our own teaching style and how that might impact the delivery of the course material. Our teaching style can range anywhere from being a full lecturer, to hands-on, visual, employing many active learning activities, to a full-on flipped classroom. It is so important to remember that if we are delivering a course in our most comfortable teaching style, this will benefit the ease in which the information is conveyed and our level of clarity.      

How diverse are the learning styles of your students? Student learning styles can vary so much that it pays to consider a multi-layered approach to delivery, such as audio recordings, videos, books, articles, etc. There should always be available, more than one way to retrieve and consume data for your courses. In this contemporary digital world, creating several options has never been easier to do.  

What specifically do you intend for students to learn? When creating a new course, it goes without saying that comprehensive learning objectives must be one of your primary tasks. Knowing exactly what you would like students to learn not only creates clarity, but it also helps to keep you on task when preparing lectures, implementing classroom activities, developing assessments and even through the process of selecting your course material.     

Decide whether the course will be online, F2F or hybrid. The manner of course delivery greatly impacts all other aspects of the course. For example, if it’s a f2f course you may spend more time on developing active learning activities as opposed to creating videos for Canvas. Both can work in either platform, but the goal is to place valuable resources in the areas where they might be most impactful. The platform can also influence whether or not students can or cannot take the course, some courses historically do better when delivered in a specific platform, it’s important to know what is already working in your department.      

Create an outline specific to the course schedule. Developing a course for an 8-week time slot as opposed to a 16-week time slot, is much more than a matter of getting rid of half the material, or even worst, trying to squeeze 16 weeks of instruction into 8 weeks. Striking a balance between what is necessary and what will keep your course in alignment with the learning objectives is a much easier task when considered before the course is created. 

Research other courses similar to yours. Whenever you're in doubt, it never hurts to carve out a few hours for researching various colleges and whether or not your new course is already being offered in some form or fashion. While we like to think that our new course is a novel idea only thought of by us, this is usually not the case. You may find some cool ideas and also avoid some pitfalls you might have not otherwise seen.   

Do a beta test, (or get feedback from other instructors). It may not always be possible to beta test a course, but another good practice is to share the course design with a colleague. Remember to remain open to suggestions. Keep in mind that suggestions are just that, suggestions. If you can use their feedback do so, if it’s not in alignment with the core values of the course, feel free to leave it behind. Treat the first semester you teach the course as a trial run, take lots of notes, give the students surveys for honest feedback and stay open to consistently adjusting your new course for the better.     

While this list seems full, items like deciding how students will be assessed, leaving room for change over time or making considerations for equity and inclusion, are also very integral aspects of developing any course from scratch. If there are practices you already have in place in other courses you teach that are working, don't reinvent the wheel just for the sake of it. Building a course on a great foundation should always be the primary goal. Once a solid foundation is established, updating information over time should be a breeze. 

Please feel free to share any useful practices you implement when creating a course from scratch in the comment section below.    

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427     

 

Encouraging "Deep" Reading in the Classroom

Encouraging students to engage with course readings in meaningful ways is a consistent desire for many instructors. I can't express how many times I've heard the phrase, "students don't read..." from a plethora of instructors in various disciplines and at many levels in their teaching careers. It’s not so much that students don't read, but more likely it’s that they are not choosing to read the material offered for a particular class. "Deep" reading, sometimes referred to as "slow reading", is more intentional and often the concepts and ideas in the readings are more likely to be retained by students long-term. 

Fortunately, there are several proven methods that encourage students to engage with course readings in a significant way. It’s not only important to get students to read the material but teaching them methods for retaining information are also important. 

Always provide tangible options when introducing digital text. According to Katrina Schwartz, "Reading print media is undeniably different from reading digital content. Researchers have been trying to understand how and why people interact differently with the two media and have shown that when students read online they comprehend less. But there isn’t enough longitudinal data to know if those deficits can be remediated by learning strategies specific to digital content," (KQED.org). Always point students to an option to print their readings and also places on campus where printing might be free of charge. 

Make information available in chunks. "The American Psychological Association (APA) defines chunking as the process by which the brain divides larger pieces of data into smaller units (chunks), so they are easier to retain in short-term memory," (BetterHelp.com). Chunking is essentially the difference between eating an entire burger in one bite as opposed to biting only one mouthful at a time. It’s sometimes overwhelming for students to see an entire article at once, in comparison to seeing only one paragraph at a time. Chunking works!  

Use headers, links, graphics and highlighting. Making your data more visually appealing draws the eyes to the most important concepts and ideas, while at the same time creating a sharp distinction between topics to ensure that students are clear when the text transitions or provides a "call to action" option they may have ordinarily overlooked. Graphic novels are very popular with middle grade and young adult readers, simply because graphics provide a break from the monotony of text and allows their attention to relax before they engage with text again. Think of High Impact Interval Training (HIIT), this type of exercising, which allows for brief resting periods in between high impact movement, is said to be more effective than working hard nonstop. This method also helps students who tend to read in a non-linear fashion.     

Try playful strategies like scavenger hunts. Another great way to get students to cover important readings before class discussions is to create homework assignments that ask specific questions about the placement of key terms. For example, if the word "foundation" appears in the readings twelve times, you might ask the students to summarize the paragraph where the word "foundation" appears for the sixth time. Or, you might challenge them to find a sentence that best explains what is meant by the word "foundation", and then have them share why they didn't choose two other sentences in the readings that seems close but were maybe not the best explanation. You could even ask them to find hidden phrases. This can be a fun way to encourage a playful approach to covering the readings.    

Choose sensational material. It is very common for students to stop reading when the material is not intriguing or engaging. There is always a way to explain any subject matter in a way that awakens the interest of the reader. It is safe to say that most students aren't against learning new things but they do have a problem with boring approaches. This is an especially useful method when covering controversial topics. When students become emotionally invested in the readings, this not only promotes deep reading but also future independent research.   

Create assessments that encourage deep reading. This method does require instructors to dig a bit deeper as it pertains to the types of questions on their quizzes and exams. Using essay questions are pivotal but do require more creativity and more grading time. However, the payoff is having students actually engage with the readings on a deep and meaningful level. This way students aren't likely to feel as though the readings are a waste of time since they can see a clear connection to their assessments. While reading the material for fun is the goal, often time constraints might sometimes hinder a student's ability to engage in leisurely reading. Make the readings count!

Students read all day, in fact. They use search engines to find message boards, blogs, articles and ebooks, where they often skim through, read deeply and then skim through again. Students seem to only want to spend time on material that is useful for them or captivating in some way. They do not however, spend a lot of time on reading class material just for the sake of it. Unfortunately, many assigned readings fall into the "just for the sake of it" category, and we want to do our best to shift this perception whenever we can.

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University      

 

       

Humanizing Your Course

When we think of humanizing a course, we might often believe it applies more to an online environment than a F2F. While figuring out ways to specifically humanize an online course is more common these days, there is definitely still a need for F2F humanizing too. Many of the most basic teaching concepts that apply to online spaces have simply been transformed to address the lack of a F2F environment. However, the idea of humanizing a course dives a bit deeper into both the social and psychological impact an instructor has on the students' overall classroom experience. Some of these areas involve empathy, presence, inclusion, awareness; just to name a few. I've compiled a list of some specific tasks and concepts you might incorporate if your goal is to make students feel as welcomed and connected  as possible, in both the online and F2F classroom. 

• Learn and address each student by name. This practice is as old as the classroom itself. If you address students by name they are more likely to pay attention, feel included and speak up during class discussions. When grading virtual courses, always be sure to respond by name in the comment section so they know that you are giving them and their submission your undivided attention even though you are not F2F. 

• Create a welcome video to post on your LMS. This works well both on and offline. Before the class begins for the semester, students can get a glimpse into who you are and what you're like. Seeing you in the flesh, per se, can also make the first meeting day less awkward since students might be less intimidated and more willing to open up. The ice has already been broken.  

• Speak conversationally in your syllabus. While it might be tempting to create a syllabus using our utmost professional language, this approach can sometimes come off as stoic or too formal. Its not a bad idea to get students prepared for the professional world through the wording in your syllabus but be sure there are enough conversational components that it doesn't come off as distant and cold. 

• Answer emails and inquiries in 24 hours or less. When students believe they have "instant" access to their instructor they feel comforted even if they don't need anything. It is often surprising to instructors that decide to have open office hours, online office hours and who utilize instant messaging tools, that how little these services are actually used by the students. But ask students on the other hand, what's important to them as it relates to their instructors, and many will often say quick responses and knowing that if they had a question or concern it would be answered in a timely manner.

• Post a new announcement and discussion each week. Never leave a class lying dormant online, even if you meet F2F. Today's students tend to be virtually focused. Sending a short announcement or video as a reminder to read before class or to complete an assignment can truly help students stay on track and feel supported.

In many discussions related to online courses among instructors, there is often a focus on the lack of interaction some experience with their students. They feel that because there is no F2F interaction that it is nearly impossible to connect on a meaningful level. The connection many instructors feel with their students in F2F courses is not necessarily based on being physically in the classroom. Many times these connections are primarily strengthened through understanding, recognition and the exchange of ideas. All of these things can occur in online courses too.

In humanizing your course, the goal is always to ensure that there is a sense of community, that students feel comfortable with you, that they feel connected to their fellow classmates and that no one is invisible; especially the instructor.

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University          

How the Pandemic Is Reshaping the Role of the Instructor

The idea that teaching and learning has been "transformed" in the realm of higher ed, is an understatement when we think of the college learning environment before and now, during the pandemic. Both instructors and learners often share their stories of chaos as they navigated the initial requirement to school online. While many students adapted much quicker to online courses, for instructors who have NEVER taught online, providing quality course work is something altogether more complex.

Many instructors now find themselves in more of a technical space, where facilitating better describes their role than "one who professes knowledge". This is not to say that the instructors' skillset and expertise are not needed, it is quite the opposite. Not only is the subject expert required but the subject expert herself is being challenged to find new ways to remain relevant while imparting much needed knowledge through a variety of virtual platforms and modes. 

Through this shift, there has also been an unquenchable appetite for online teaching and learning resources. These resources have been available and used for some time, but the urgency is now much more apparent. Instructors want to, not only meet the needs of their students and institutions, but they also seem to want to thrive in technical spaces. This desire to thrive during these uncertain times has encouraged a community of teaching learners in a way that has rarely been seen or valued in the past. 

The responsibility of this transformation is being shouldered in every aspect and on every level of the university, from instructional designers, to campus security. The work of ensuring the university continues to provide a quality learning experience has been an Adaptive Challenge to say the least. Meaning, the technical approach to problem solving has been greatly surpassed and now we forge ahead even when the day-to-day challenges pushes us pass our current capacity and the capacity of those who depend on us. 

While expanding us beyond our comfort zones, many instructors have found it both easy and refreshing to say, "I don't" know" or "Can you help me?" Which in the past might have been a very tricky proposition to broach. In this new and emerging higher ed climate, we are all learners and pioneers, which truly lays the groundwork for an atmosphere of empathy that moves beyond theory and ignites practice in a way we have yet to see the full scope of.

And lastly, but arguably one of the most impressive outcomes, has been the willingness for everyone, including institutions as a whole, to share information, tips and tricks, new technologies, etc. as it relates to coping with this paradigm shift. University departments are also sharing and collaborating both externally and internally to further solidify the "we're in this together" spirit often touted via social media outlets. There has also been a similar sentiment with educational technology vendors, many offering  free trials, huge discounts and open access to their products indefinitely. 

This reshaping of the role of the instructor is actually a reshaping of the very world we live in and what it truly means to be a citizen or a member of a learning community. The premise of competition is not as palatable as it historically has been. 

It seems socially distanced face-to-face and virtual learning spaces are here to stay for a while. Meaning the big question looming is, can/should we return to some of the old ways after the pandemic has subsided and more importantly, what aspects of our historical best practices do we want to drag into the present that will present in a way that continues to move us forward, both technically and socially? 

In the comments below, please feel free to share some of your own observations as it relates to the reshaping of higher ed roles, especially those of instructors.

      

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427    

             

Start with Your Why...

I'm sure this isn't the first time you've heard the phrase, "Start With Your Why". If you're into professional development literature you might have heard of Simon Sinek's book, which is entitled with this familiar phrase. In Sinek's 2008 book, he discusses the importance of always know the reason why you are doing something well in advance. 

If you think about it, our "why's" often help us navigate the uncertainty that commonly comes along with taking on a new job or developing a new project. When the next steps are not as clear as we would like them to be, we can draw back to our initial reason for embarking upon the endeavor in the first place. Even our approaches to trail and error should be reflective of our "why". This is how environments can have a great idea, create a mission around that idea and hire people to carry out the purpose and never truly have to deal with disorganization or projects going off the rails. The "why" is firmly established and that message is clear to all who are concerned. 

As an instructor, this train of thought can definitely be applied to several aspects of classroom instruction such as:

Learning Outcomes: This mean that the learning outcomes in your syllabus should align with the assignments, the class description and even the reading material. Learning outcomes should always be clearly stated and easy for students to comprehend.

Assignments: Assignments should never be viewed as busy work or time fillers. Creating empty assignments is the quickest way to derail the learning process. Assignments are best engaged when they incorporate elements of the initial mission of the course. 

Class Activities: Whether the class activity is watching a documentary, going on a virtual fieldtrip or completing a research paper, when students understand "why" they're completing the task, this motivates them to participate. Class activities should always be tied into the quizzes, learning outcomes and even final exams and research papers. 

Class Sessions: It is not uncommon for instructors to teach a course and have some days where there is no real direction. In F2F courses that meet frequently it is easy to fall into a pattern of, "just in time" teaching. While this can work sometimes, being prepared and staying on track is much easier when class sessions are consistently planned according to the "why".  

Book Choices: Even your choice for both the mandatory and optional material should reach back towards the "why". Class participation is built on the strength of the ability for instructors to make all readings a pertinent part of the class discussions, the assignments and the overall understanding of the subject matter. It's really hard to get students to read material when there is no direct benefit as it relates to their overall performance in the course. 

Our entire purpose behind why we teach in the first place must be reevaluated over time to be sure we remain committed to developing, designing and facilitating to the best of our abilities, while always searching for new ideas to file under the "why" section of our purpose.

In what ways do you keep your "why" as a primary thought when teaching your courses? Feel free to comment below.

    

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427       

Navigating "Zoom" Life!

I don't know about you all but I can honestly say I have never "Zoomed" so much in both my personal and professional life. Who knew this is where we would be when 2020 began?! There are so many meetings, courses and webinars that I would love dearly to attend in person but as I read through the adverts for these events, they always come with a link to a virtual location via Zoom, WebEx or Google Meet. I'm sure I'm not the only one all "Zoomed out", no pun intended. But since this is the new temporary norm, how do we manage our lives around this virtual meeting space without experiencing video conferencing fatigue? So I thought I'd poke around the web to see how others might be handlining this new phenomenon, "Zoom fatigue". 

On Vidyard.com, they suggest that we keep these meetings as short as possible and turn our cameras off often to be sure we're not always trying to fix up before every meeting. Sometimes the fatigue comes from getting ready for the meetings rather than the meetings themselves. As much as we may not be the vain type, no one wants to show up for Zoom meetings looking like they just rolled out of bed. It takes work to prepare and on some days more work than on others. 

The Harvard Business Review, believes that the most fatiguing part of the Zoom call is that many of us think we can multi-task and still receive full benefit. "We’ve all done it: decided that, why yes, we absolutely can listen intently, check our email, text a friend, and post a smiley face on Slack within the same thirty seconds. Except, of course, we don’t end up doing much listening at all when we’re distracted." It is so tempting to reach over and tap on the keyboard when its sitting right in front of us. By the time we complete four or five 3-minute tasks, we've missed 15-20 minutes of our meeting. Release yourself from jumping through mental hoops and save the other tasks when you can give them your undivided attention. 

The Harvard Business Review primarily contributes the mental fatigue to the constant gazing into the camera. Showing that we are listening and paying attention on a Zoom call requires us to be still, look forward and sit without having the benefit of engaging with others the way we would if we were in the same room with them. A quick phone call might be a better option when possible. 

According to, The Daily Clog, there are several physical remedies for Zoom fatigue, such as lying flat on the floor or listening to some soothing music or sounds. "Spending the entire day parked in front of Zoom can leave your body feeling all sorts of achy — especially your back. So let gravity do its thing and become one with the floor." Going from a prolonged vertical position to a horizontal position can be very relaxing for both our minds and bodies. As for soothing music, I often opt for listening to singing bowls, with my eyes shut, while enjoying some deep, belly breathes. I can feel the effects of this exercise almost instantly. 

Keep in mind that not all communication requires a visual, real-time meeting. There's still email, phone calls, text messages and Google Docs (for updating shared documents). It seems that when the pandemic hit, everyone scurried to make the abnormal as normal as possible and a large portion of what is normal for most is seeing people regularly, having face-to-face discussions and building community through frequent interactions. But how much is too much? I would say that enough Zoom has to be determined by the individual. Many have no Zoom fatigue while others are cringing every time a new webinar is suggested. Therefor it is good to keep in mind the frequency of your meetings and whether or not they truly require a Zoom session. taking this approach will lighten the Zoom load for both the meeting organizers and the attendees. 

It does not seem as though masks or Zoom meetings will be going anywhere anytime soon. Practicing some mental and physical exercises to lighten the load may be your best option for now. If you have any tips to share related to combating Zoom fatigue, feel free to share in the comment section below!

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427     

    

 

The Importance of Having A Good Mentor!

While it is often the choice of many go-getters to go it alone, having some guidance along the way has proven to be a priceless asset at all levels of a person's career. I have personally always had a mentor, as an undergrad in college, as a new grad student, throughout all of my college internships and now as I work through the uncharted territory of completing my PhD. There is nothing like having someone who has accomplished what you're working towards, in your corner, cheering on and guiding you towards success. Below I have listed ten big reasons why having a mentor at all stages in one's career is a must!  

1. There is always someone who is further along than we are. Whether it is our supervisor or a respected colleague, there are always people around us that hold positions of greater influence and responsibility. If you're attempting to take on a leadership role or expand your current duties, who better to lean on than someone close who is already a master at the duties you aspire to undertake.   

2. Personal and professional development is a life-long pursuit. No matter how far we have come, in any position there is always a long way to go. This ever-expanding approach is rooted in technological advancements, our ever-growing social needs and our desire to always bring innovation into the workplace. 

3. We don't know what we don't know. It is so easy to forget that we don't have all of the information needed to do our best on any given day. A mentor can be a promising source of course correction should we find ourselves taking the long way around when addressing an issue there is already a solid solution for. 

4. Mentors can open the door for career advancement. On more than one occasion I have been hired by the very person who mentored me and help mold me into a valuable candidate for a specific position. They tend to know exactly who to talk to, how to talk to them and what areas you might be best suited for in their institution. Mentors have also secured me internships, since they tend to be connected in their field of expertise.     

5. Its never a good idea to be the smartest person in the room. While some might find it flattering to be the person in the room with all the answers and who believes they are the most capable when it comes to making the best decisions, having a mentor handy might encourage us to humble ourselves, and in essence make room for the possibility of new ways of seeing our role.  

6. You can avoid making career mistakes. There is nothing worst than lacking direction that would save you a year or two of your very precious time. When nurturing our careers, if we don't have a specific direction or a solid path to get from one point to the next, we might misuse our most valuable resources. It is much easier to learn from the mistakes of others rather than making them ourselves.  

7. Mentors can see our professional and personal blind-spots. We might think we have a task handled or that our project is airtight, but having the right mentor can act as a career proofreader. They can see aspects of our personality where we might have become complacent.    

8. Mentors offer both encouragement and constructive criticism. A good mentor should never make us feel bad about our shortcomings. They should notice when we're on track and when we need some much needed guidance. Both the great and the not so great should be acknowledged equally.  

9. Long-term friendships can blossom. Although we often outgrow our mentors, this does not mean that we have to dissolve the relationship. Some of my favorite people in the world are former mentors who know exactly how far I have come and to this day, they never miss the opportunity to congratulate me for meeting a goal or rocking a new position.   

10. They help us steer both our personal and professional lives towards success. A good mentor should not only help us advance our careers but they should also help us better balance our professional and personal lives. There is no benefit in being a workaholic. While nurturing a solid career might require some late nights and overtime, free time should always be made for socializing and reconnecting with the people, places, hobbies and pets we care deeply about. 

Feel free to share your own mentor stories in the comment section below!

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A 

940.898.3427

The Benefits of Getting to Know Your Students

There are  many benefits to getting to know your students. Creating a more personable experience makes the classroom a place for both growth and nurturing, which often improves engagement. In some traditional environments it is common for students to remain at a distance as it relates to their instructors, however there is a lot to be said for spaces that foster a communal approach to education. Outlined below are five important aspects of teaching and learning that can all be positively affected when there is purposeful effort put towards getting to know your students. 

1. Builds Community. Building community is especially important in the current season of "social distancing", now more than ever instructors are being tasked with the challenge of creating high levels of engagement in both their online and face-to-face courses. It is so easy to feel disconnected when you have very little contact with your instructor. Building community creates a sense of belonging. Through community students are more likely to help each other and lean on each other for basic troubleshooting and assignment clarity. When there is a strong sense of community, students become more self-reliant, which helps to build their confidence. Through a solid foundation of community, instructors and students can create long-lasting academic relationships that are both supportive and authentic.  

2. Allows for personalized instruction. With recent technological advancements in the area of teaching and learning, there has been a rise in personalized instruction. It is no longer a hassle to teach and assess students who are performing at different levels in the classroom. Many students now understand that even if they feel left out or behind in the classroom setting, there are tools and tutorials they can use on their own time in order to further explore the concepts and ideas they found hard to grasp at the same pace as their peers. Personalized instruction is also a benefit for the instructor in the classroom, meaning they can move forward with the majority and provide short tutorials on both internal and external websites to further support those students who might need it. Through getting to know the student, we can address their individual learning requirements which are expressed through conversations and thoughtful feedback on assignments.   

3. Fosters Empathy. It goes without saying that empathetic instructors are quite favorable to students. When they feel as though the instructor is putting effort towards understanding what's happening in their lives such as, a recent financial problem or their arduous work schedules, students often become more dedicated to both the instructor and the coursework. Getting to know why a students is always five minutes late or why they miss class every third Wednesday of the month taps into both the instructor's and the student's humanity. There may be services the instructor might be able to direct the student to, in an effort to make the student's life a bit easier. Through this process bond between student and instructor is allowed to flourish. The student understands that they are not just a number and that the instructor truly cares about them as a whole person and that they are not just another face in a crowded lecture hall.    

4. Promotes Inclusion. Most recently, there's been lots of talk related to diversity and inclusion. Some of this talk stems from the idea that students who might be considered outliers as it relates to areas such as their academic background, their race or ethnicity, a special need or their socioeconomic status; do not feel fully included in classroom instruction and conversations. Some students feel as though assumptions are made about them, which reveal unconscious biases instructors might be harboring. The best way to combat this is by getting to know them. The more we get to know about the lives and experiences of each student the more we are exposed to broader ideas as it relates to who is sitting in our classrooms.      

5. Creates Mentorship Opportunities. I don't know about you but I can honestly say that my entire academic career has been advanced through relationships with mentors. I have had subject matter mentors, personal mentors, teaching mentors and career mentors. Many of those relationships started in the classroom with a professor who decided to take time out to get to know what my aspirations were and to eventually share with me how I might achieve my goals. These mentors might have given up two hours per month of their, but their impact was vast and priceless. As a mentor myself, I find that the these relationships are mutually beneficial. I gain an abundance knowledge, if not more than when I myself was a mentee. 

This short list of reasons why it can be beneficial to get to know your students is just the tip of the iceberg, but keep in mind that there are many, many more positive outcomes. It is so important to engage the whole student since we see more and more how the outside lives of our students effect their behavior in the classroom. It effects how connected they feel to the university, their peers, the instructor and their academic journey as a whole. We should take every opportunity we can to promote academic success and getting to know your students is an excellent starting point!

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A

940.898.3427 

Creating Engaging Micro-Lectures

Micro-Lecture Sample

Micro-lectures have become an increasingly common staple in college courses. In light of recent changes to higher ed instruction due to Covid-19 health precautions, many instructors find themselves migrating a ton of F2F material into an online platform. In a previous discussion, “Migrating a F2F course to an Online Platform,” I share some tips and tricks to moving preexisting material and how to handle the shift as it relates to time management and student interaction. One of the suggestions is to record some video. I am firm believer in having a visual component in class instruction whether it is F2F, fully online or hybrid. Creating a catalog of video clips for students to return to at a later date or that can be used from one semester to the next, has the ability to provide long-term benefit for both the instructor and the student. 

Below I have outlined some specific elements to consider when creating engaging micro-lectures for your courses:

Be specific about what the video is addressing

It is not necessary to have the entire video fleshed out before hitting the record button but having clarity on why you need a specific video and exactly what learning outcomes it will support and/or address can streamline the process.

      Look professional

Having a professional appearance doesn’t necessarily include hair and makeup but instead background, lighting, sound and your demeanor. My rule to creating online video is to always dress as if I were conducting a lecture live in class. The lighting is also important, being able to see your face is more engaging than trying to listen to a shadowy figure moving back and forth on the screen. Your background does not have to be perfect, but be sure to remove any distracting posters, props or people. Having loved ones walk about in the background can detract from your presentation. Be relaxed, sit up straight and try to have your camera at eye level for maximum visual engagement.

Have a script or guide prepared

While I am all for shooting from the hip or improvising, when you are not very experienced with creating engaging micro-lectures it always helps to have some pre-written notes at your disposal. There is a fine line between preparation and improvisation that the most engaging micro-lectures are able to balance seamlessly. Don’t be afraid to improvise but come prepared.

Keep it short

No matter what needs to be covered, information can always be presented in short blurbs that truly captivate the attention of viewers and leave them wanting more. Be sure to chunk your information into bite-sized portions that are easily digestible. Having several parts for the same lecture is fine. Even if you have recorded longer lectures in previous courses, it is a good idea to break them down into sections. Not only are these short videos more engaging, but they are much easier to incorporate into various areas of an online course. This especially works well when the same concept or term is covered across multiple courses. Record it once and use it infinitely.

Incorporate Multi-Media Elements

Incorporating a slideshow presentation, existing video or pictures (animations, memes, GIFs, graphics, etc.) can truly take your micro-lecture to the next level. Students get a break from a talking head and are also offered visual components that further explain the subject at hand. Background music is not necessary, but if you find some clever sound effects that work well with your presentation, don’t be reluctant to take a chance. Your videos can always be edited again later. If using a slideshow, it is good practice to record the voice-overs for each slide separately, this way you aren’t trying to be mistake-free (some mistakes are okay) for a full 5-7 minutes at a time.

Be sure your micro-lecture is accessible

In an effort to be fully inclusive of our entire student body and the special needs they may have, be sure your video is captioned and that the audio is loud and clear. For a more in-depth look into accessibility, feel free to reach out to TLT.

The most important thing to remember is that creating engaging micro-lectures is a work-in-progress. They don’t have to be flawless the first time around. The more you create, the better you will become. Students aren’t judging us as much as we might think, most simply have a strong desire to connect with an actual instructor, be it F2F, online or hybrid. It is so hard to cover all aspects of engaging micro-lectures in one presentation, but I encourage you to research the topic online and check out my 2min micro-lecture example here. 

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A

940.898.3427    

Some inspiring TED talks that promote great leadership...

TED Talks have become a very integral part of the professional development world. Many business owners, social media influencers and educators vie for a spot on the TED stage in order to share their stories of success, triumph over adversity or some novel way that they see the world. When I'm searching for inspiration related to a specific subject matter like, "the future of higher ed", "connecting with students" or "professional development", I tend to type the letters T-E-D behind it just to be sure I find a great presentation that's both entertaining and engaging. For me, that's what TED offers, Ideas Worth Spreading. Below, I have compiled a list of some very inspirational TED talks as it relates to personal and professional leadership skills.  

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sinek's official title is Leadership Expert. He explores how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust and change. He's the author of the classic "Start With Why"; his latest book is "Leaders Eat Last." This TED talk taps into the leadership aspect in a way that it can be applied to both our personal and professional lives. Sinek discusses good leadership as a lifestyle and not merely a specific job description. Leadership can happen in many different ways but inspiring those around you to do their best has a much more viable lasting effect than manipulation or fear. This is a great tool for anyone who is considering their "why", and how knowing why you do anything you do can provide the clarity needed to make a real impact in any environment and institution we happen to be connected to.  

Trial, Error and The God Complex

Tim Harford is an Economics writer who studies complex systems. For this TED talk he shares his findings of a surprising link among the successful systems: they were primarily built through trial and error. Harford asks the audience to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes. He purports that the more ideas we try the higher the likelihood of our success. He believes variation and selection boils down to trial and error. This idea can be applied to educational institutions, businesses, and economics. Harford discusses how trial and error should be taught in schools and should be the platform that most politicians run on. He believes humans benefit a great deal from admitting their own fallibility and ultimately ditching the God complex in order to create more successful systems. 

Listen, Learn, then Lead

Stanley McChrystal is a four-star general who shares what he learned about leadership throughout his 25-year career in the military. He begins by sharing a story about jumping out of  a plane and how that moment impacted the way he feels leaders should conduct themselves. His focus is building shared purpose across different age groups and across various skillsets. McChrystal explains the value of listening and learning while always addressing the possibility of failure. His storytelling abilities tap into an almost campfire feeling. He's direct, personable and authentic, while educating the audience on specific ways to improve their leadership skills, which would ultimately improve the culture of their institutions.   

Why We have Too Few Women Leaders

As the COO of Facebook and author of the best-selling book, Lean-In, Sheryl Sandberg has dynamic insight on why there are so few women in leadership positions. She discusses how there is a negative correlation between likability and women leaders and how this might discourage many women from reaching for those high positions. This is a great TED talk for not only women who are looking to lead but for men who want to further understand the importance of female representation and its impact on future generations of women. The main takeaway is understanding our own biases when interacting with women leaders or women who are developing their careers to lead. Sandberg does a great job of outlining some of the common challenges women face in many institutions and how to address them.    

The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding

Another great story-teller and renowned UCLA coach John Wooden shares his perspective on success and some especially profound tidbits of wisdom he received from his father. He shares a deep understanding for the importance of doing your personal best and not focusing your attention on doing better than others. This personable approach to success is attributed to his simple upbringing on a farm. He discusses his "golden" rules; "never be late, be neat and clean when you do show up, no profanity and never criticize a teammate". This is a simple but very reasonable approach to great leadership, while always operating under the premise that success is about much more than simply winning.
     

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A

Cultivating Positive Classroom Culture

In my experience, every instructor wants a class that is attentive, studious, thoughtful, respectful and a host of other characteristics that we have likely seen more of in a movie than in our actual classroom. The expectation of these outcomes is not unrealistic, but what can often be unrealistic is the idea that it should come with very little effort on the part of the instructor. In my previous blog I discussed the importance of instilling confidence in your students, which outlined a few practices that might assist in that process. For this blog, lets look at the flip side of that coin and discuss some attitudes, habits and practices we should avoid in order to create the thriving space for teaching and learning that we desire.

• Avoid accusatory behavior. We've all had students who miss class, show up late to class or ask to turn in late assignments. This is not new. However, it is important to remember that accusing students of being lazy, being careless, being entitled or that they aren't taking their education seriously will create the type of negativity that has the ability to clutter the classroom for weeks on end. Of course the student should do a better job to stay on top of their academic career, but accusing them with our tone, our words or even our facial expressions does not create the relationships in the classroom we might desire. It is better to assume that we don't know and to ask thoughtful questions first.

• Don't allow the positive aspects of the students efforts to be cancelled out by one act that you might perceive to be negative. Its the same idea as having one bad moment in a day, not being equal to having an entire bad day. Be sure to put both their strengths and weaknesses into perspective before coming to a conclusion about who the student is and what they are capable of. We may be missing some great qualities that could contribute to the classroom culture in a very productive way. 

• Avoid taking a students' approach to your course too personal. I know how passionate most instructors are about their subject matter. Most of us have learned to eat, sleep and breathe it for the purposes of being a solid resource for students in the classroom. However, keep in mind that we are generally only experts in one subject area, while many of our students, especially undergrad students, are enrolled in 3 to 5 different courses. Many students are not even sure about what their major will be and are possibly taking our course to fulfill a requirement. This does not mean that we should match the lack luster approach some students might display, but it does mean that we should keep in mind that not all students are in love with our subject matter to the same extent that we are. And that is okay.  

• Do your best to be clear about what is expected at all times. One of the most common student complaints is that the instructor is not clear about what is expected. They turn in research papers and often get an arbitrary score with very little feedback. Or they submit a discussion board post and get points taken off for something along the lines of, "not being thoughtful enough". When students see comments like these, they have no idea what is being requested of them. Usually they just submit a longer response the next time which does not always mean their approach to the discussion was any more "thoughtful". Clarity can also wane when instructors only chime in when they feel a student is not doing something right as opposed to also chiming in when they do well.   

• Be as efficient as you want your students to be. When we expect students to be flawless we leave no room for our own inevitable human mistakes. This becomes an issue when an instructor is very hardcore about something like tardiness. The instructor may deduct points for late arrivals or unknowingly treat students who are late as if they aren't taking their education seriously. But what happens when the instructor is late? If the behavior of the instructor is allowed to be judged by a double-standard, the students might build up a bit of resentment. This also applies to things like requesting that students have no grammatical mistakes in their papers, discussions or emails. This puts the instructor under a microscope too, and since we all make mistakes, this approach often does not work for the instructor in the long-run. This doesn't mean high standards are no good, but it does mean that we should always leave room for human error. Nobody is perfect.

I hope you've enjoyed these pointers on behaviors to avoid in order to create a more positive classroom culture. If you feel something was missed, please drop it in the comments below!

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A           

Instilling Confidence in Your Students

Our students come to us from a variety of backgrounds, all with different motivations for being in our classrooms. Finding commonalities among students can be challenging if they never open up or participate during the class. Sometimes a lack of participation might be a sign that the student doesn't feel their opinion is valuable or there may be a general sense of alienation. These feeling might stem from having had a series of less than positive interactions in previous academic settings. When we see a smart student who exhibits waning confidence, there are a few useful tools we might use in order to boost their self-worth, as it relates to how they feel about themselves in the classroom. 

• Remember that our opinion of their work product is highly subjective. In subject areas where there is wiggle room to interpret the meaning of theories and concepts differently, we can try validating the student's perspective even if it is vastly different from our own. In my personal experience as a new graduate student many years ago, I can remember feeling really defeated if an instructor ripped my perspective apart instead of first validating it and then explaining to me why another perspective might be a better approach. It made me feel as though I didn't belong and that I was in over my head. These same ideas I later tested in papers for other professors were praised for their uniqueness. Its important to remember how much our opinions mean to students and while our opinions are backed by years of study and experience, it doesn't mean there isn't a new way to see an old concept. This type of exploration should be encouraged.     

• Try multiple methods of assessment. For those who don't perform well on tests a multifaceted presentation might be a better fit. For those who don't present well, building a website could be where they shine. For someone who doesn't have the skill-set to build a website, try allowing them to develop and shoot a short film. Many of these methods can be used in combination with others. In recent years, traditional ways of sharing information have been challenged by innovative tools that are now available for personal use. With current technological advancements, there is so much room to try various ways of assessing whether or not students have gained a working knowledge of the material. A research paper maybe be safe but the possibilities are truly endless.     

• Share stories about yourself and how you were once just like them. Many students deal with impostor syndrome, which is also commonly experienced by instructors. At the end of the day, we are all human, therefor it should be easy to understand how a student might feel intimidated in an environment they are not accustomed to. I know I have personally dealt with the feeling of not feeling as though I was qualified enough to be in a position or to attain a specific degree. But after getting my footing, I quickly got over that "not enough" feeling. I remembered that no matter the position or how much others seem to be thriving, they are also dealing with some type of insecurity I have no knowledge of. I found that sharing some of my early struggles with being a first generation college student allowed students the space to be easier on themselves. I had created an opportunity for them to settle into their new role as a student and the expectations that come along with it.

The ultimate goal of any instructor should be to facilitate student success to the best of their ability. This doesn't mean that the onus of responsibility is all on the instructors but it does mean the instructor should do their best to not be another place of insecurity for the student. I hope you have enjoyed reading this short list of ways we can assist in instilling confidence in our students. Feel free to share a few of your own in the comment section below. 

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University 

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A