Fall 2013 Reading Week Meeting

Some hard thinking going on!

Faculty strategizing for teaching excellence!

Sharing ideas and adding sticky notes to the charts!

In teaching, our work is never done. 

12 Dynamic Strategies to Engage Students

Are you challenged with getting your students engaged in your classes? Try structuring several activities in your teaching to help draw out students and get them involved in the class. Involvement and doing will assist in student learning. Learning occurs more easily when the brain is triggered by something that makes the learning memorable. Anytime you, the instructor, actively engage your students in the material, then you are creating a dynamic learning environment. 

Students remember 10% of what they read,

20% of what they've heard, 

30% of what they've seen, and 

50% of what they've seen AND heard!

How Do You Decide Which Methods to Use?

Instructors must know their learners! Are your students visually oriented? Do they need to see things in order for it to make sense? Are they hands-on oriented? Do they need to manipulate things before they learn the concepts? Or, are they auditory learners? In that case, they need to hear a lecture on the subject. Most of our teaching is auditory oriented, yet most students do not learn best that way. Understanding your students preferred learning styles will help you determine which dynamic teaching techniques to use. 

 Remember that the goal of teaching is to make it memorable!

Grading Using Rubrics

Rubrics are attempts to quantify and make more objective the grading of a paper or project; they are grading matrices describing specific criteria to be evaluated in a paper or project. Each grading criteria, (i.e. writing style, content, grammar, etc.) is described on a continuum which is assigned points. When grading papers, the instructor assigns a numerical score for each criteria. For example:

CRITERIA	BELOW EXPECTATIONS 6 or below Points	MEETS EXPECTATIONS 7-8 Points	EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS 9-10 Points	SCORE
Clearly organized introduction, body, conclusion	Disorganized, leaves reader wondering what is being said	Paper has intro, body, conclusion	Smoothly written easy to read, topic introduced, organization clearly evident	7.7 The body of the paper didn’t always relate to what you promised in the introduction.
The paper has a clear focus, controlling idea and purpose; the student’s reaction to the topic is clearly stated	Fails to offer a main idea; the student does not clearly identify his/her reaction to the topic	The entire paper’s content relates to the main idea; the student explains his/her reaction to the topic	The student’s reaction to the topic is explained in captivatingly worded language; immediately interesting and supported with detail	7.2 Your ideas didn’t always stick to the topic.

The advantage to using rubrics is that the instructor will be able to more easily explain to students why they got the grades they did on their assignments.

Instructors need to remember to discuss the rubrics with students before the assignment is due! It’s good practice to share the rubric with students at the same time you hand out the assignment requirements. Students need to know how they will be evaluated.

Most writing assignments are graded on several topical areas, such as organization of ideas, content, writing style, grammar, and adherence to APA style. Each of these topical areas usually have several criteria by which the paper or project is judged. 

Here is an example of a rubric used to evaluate Reaction Papers:

RUBRIC for REACTION PAPER

CRITERA	NEEDS IMPROVEMENT 6.9	MEETS EXPECTATIONS 7.9	EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS 10	YOUR SCORE
ORGANIZATION
Clearly organized introduction, body, conclusion	Disorganized, leaves reader wondering what is being said	Paper has intro, body, conclusion	Smoothly written easy to read, topic introduced, organization clearly evident
The paper has a clear focus, controlling idea and purpose; the student’s reaction to the topic is clearly stated	Fails to offer a main idea; the student does not clearly identify his/her reaction to the topic	The entire paper’s content relates to the main idea; the student explains his/her reaction to the topic	The student’s reaction to the topic is explained in captivatingly worded language; immediately interesting and supported with detail
Supporting Ideas: All of the supporting ideas are developed with evidence	Supporting ideas are not developed; the paper seems to jump from topic to topic and is disorganized	Supporting ideas are developed and may, or may not, include evidence	Supporting ideas are well developed and supported with evidence from the text while at the same time maintaining an interesting tone and making the paper interesting to read
Writing Style: Ideas are clearly connected and make sense	Ideas are not connected; little or no supporting facts or use of material from the text	Ideas are connected, important points make sense, citations are used, and facts and examples support the main ideas	Ideas are connected, important points make sense, citations are used, and facts and examples support the main ideas. Uses evidence from the text
Evidence of evaluating the topic	Weak or no evaluation of the topic	The student describes the topic and then evaluates the topic but may be lacking clear evidence or supporting citations	The student both describes the topic and then evaluates the topic; supports assertions with citations and examples
GRAMMAR
Fewer than 10 mechanics, spelling, usage, grammar, or punctuation errors	Exceeds 8 grammatical and/or punctuation errors	Between 4-5 errors, but they are minor and do not detract from the summary	No errors whatsoever!
Use of transitions to connect sentences and ideas	Choppy, sentences are not connected	Paper expresses the ideas of the author; sentences relate to one another; may take a re-reading to understand	This paper is easy to read and makes sense the first time it is read. It is interesting to read and smoothly written.
Correct choice of words, verb tenses, avoidance of wordy phrases, etc	Improper use of language or slang, wrong word choice, appears “padded”	Occasional wrong word choice, somewhat wordy but not enough to detract from the summary. May occasionally use wrong verb tense	No wrong word choice or slang, uses correct verb tenses. Tightly written and uses words to convey meaning rather than take up space.
FORMATTING
Follows academic writing style of using 12 point Times Roman font and uses one-inch margins all around	Fails to meet this criteria by obvious disregard for the expectations stated in the criteria	Meets this criteria with only minor exceptions	Exceeds this criteria by completely meeting ALL of these requirements with NO exception!
APA_style cover sheet, citations, and references; appropriately use in-text citations in APA style formatting	Fails to meet this criteria by obvious disregard (+8) for the expectations stated in the criteria	Meets this criteria with only minor (3-4) exceptions	Exceeds this criteria by completely meeting ALL of these requirements with NO exception!

Teaching Online? The easiest way to grade papers using rubrics is to download a student’s paper first and save it to your hard drive. Then copy and paste the rubric to the end of the student’s paper. Now you can simply turn on Track Changes in MS Word and make your comments and corrections on the student’s paper. When you get to the end of the paper, enter your score for each criteria in the rubric. The total score on the rubric will determine the student’s grade. Now the student will be able to see how you graded each area of his/her paper.

We live in an age of accountability, and instructors need to be accountable just as we hold students accountable. Assigning a paper and simply giving a grade of A or B or C does not help  students improve their writing skills. Just as you and I like to know how our performance will be judged, so too, students need to know how their work will be judged. It will also be much easier for you, the instructor, to explain to students how their papers measured up against the rubric.

If you need help constructing rubrics for your assignments, let your department Chair know, or simply do a Google search for academic rubrics. There are lots of them out there and with a simple bit of tweaking, you can easily create your customized rubric for your class!

You can also email me at johanna.p.bishop@wilmu.edu to ask about rubrics. 

Professional Associations

Developing your professional persona as a university adjunct faculty member will benefit greatly from belonging to a professional association. Listed below are some of the better-known professional associations related to the behavioral sciences. If you click on the slide it will show up big enough so that you can actually read it!

August 2013 Program Meetings

While September always starts off a new school year, August is always busy month for Faculty in the Behavioral Science program as they work to get ready for the upcoming Fall semester. This week they've been meeting upstate and downstate to discuss what's new, what's going on, the results of outcomes assessment data, and planning for new courses and assignments. 

We began with reviewing the Wilmington University Mission Statement, which can be found under the "About" tab in the yellow bar on the Wilmu homepage. Then go to "More" and voila! there is the Mission Statement. Faculty were asked, "How does this mission statement translate into what you do in the classroom?" As an open enrollment institution, we realize that we have our work cut out for us, and we also realize that it is our job to maintain academic quality and academic integrity. 

Besides the usual Wilmu updates, we also focused attention on how to better helps students be successful in doing those dreaded group projects. 

Faculty agreed that in almost every job, workers have to work in groups to accomplish tasks and achieve the organization's goals. 

In groups, the faculty  brainstormed ideas for how to make group projects more productive, and how to help students be more successful. 

Our goal is to develop a guide for faculty in how to manage and for students in how to be successful in group projects. So... STAY TUNED!

Understanding Sociological Perspectives

Understanding & Applying Sociological Perspectives

When we study society, it is important to explain the sociological perspective, or lens, through which society is viewed. Sociologists typically use one the 3 following sociological perspectives: (1) Conflict theory; (2) Functionalism; and (3) Symbolic interactionism.

Each of these perspectives provides a unique lens through which to view a social phenomenon. Helping students understand different lenses with which people see society is an important step in teaching sociology.

For example, suppose a sociologist wanted to explore social status and opportunity of young, unmarried mothers in the community. The conflict theorist might approach this topic from the point of oppression or scarcity of resources. He or she might argue that young, unmarried mothers are at the lower end of the social hierarchy in society and belong to the group of “have-nots.” Conflict theorists often rely on social views offered by Karl Marx, known as a conflict theorist.

A sociologist studying the social status of young, unmarried mothers from a functionalist perspective would employ the theories of Durkheim, and argue that there are many types of status, and whether or not a young, unmarried mother had social status would depend on her relationship with her community. Functionalists examine the inter-connectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences, and is influenced by, another. They view society as having many inter-connected parts that make up the whole of society. Because communities vary in types of resources offered, the sociologist using a functionalist perspective could examine the mechanical solidarity, which would provide social support, within the community. Functionalists would also examine the organic solidarity, or the extent to which a community provides resources and assistance. These resources might include various types of assistance for education and job training.

Sociologists studying the social status of young, unmarried mothers from a symbolic interactionist perspective might approach this by seeking to understand how young, unmarried mothers view their own social status. Drawing on the theories of George Herbert Mead, young, unmarried mothers might be asked to explain how they see their social status within their communities.

Each of these perspectives also offers a different level of analysis. Conflict and functionalist theory examine social phenomena from a macro level of analysis, whereas symbolic interactionism examines social phenomena from a micro level of analysis.

Here’s a quick summary of the 3 sociological perspectives and their levels of analysis:

Sociological Perspective	How it views society	Level of Analysis	Associated Theorist
Conflict theory	Haves and Have-nots Scarcity of resources Power struggles	Macro	Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Functionalist theory	Society is a complex system composed of many different parts that inter-act with the whole	Macro	Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Symbolic interactionism	Meanings are derived from social interaction	Micro	George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

Understanding these sociological perspectives can be a fun assignment for students--- give them a current social problem and ask them to explain the social problem from one of these perspectives. This exercise will help them to see that everything is multi-dimensional and every problem has many parts and multiple perspectives. Understanding sociological perspectives provides clarity in seeing a social problem, and can also help students understand the social lens with which they see a social phenomenon.  

© August 2013 Johanna P. Bishop 

What Is Behavioral Science?

What Is Behavioral Science?

Behavioral Science is an inter-disciplinary field informed by concepts from anthropology, psychology, and sociology. This is what makes behavioral science so much fun!

The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Behavioral Science as “a branch of science (as psychology, sociology, or anthropology) that deals primarily with human action and often seeks to generalize about human behavior in society

— behavioral scientist noun"

First Known Use of BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE 1951

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d., retrieved 08/16/2013 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behavioral%20science)

Much of the interest in behavioral science came from experimental psychology. The early 1950's was the time when behaviorism in psychology experiments became popular. Experimental psychologists conducted animal experiments that focused on controlling behaviors with the reward and punishment methods. However, subsequent decades in studies of human behavior has contributed additional knowledge about how humans respond or react to stimuli or phenomena. This additional knowledge has focused on understanding how social forces influence human behavior, along with contributions from cognitive science which offers that human beings have a rational mind, and that language, thought, and emotions are intertwined with human action. 

As Behavioral Scientists study social phenomena, they are not bound by just one perspective alone-- they can view social problems through different lenses. For example, if working class women were studied from a psychological perspective, one could examine their self-esteem as it relates to the low-wage jobs they perform. Studying working class women from an anthropological perspective could focus on their work or peers and how they socialize and support themselves in work groups. Studying working class women from a sociological perspective could examine how social forces influence what low-wage work working class women perform, or how working class women survive. 

The focus of behavioral science is on studying and understanding human action. Understanding human behavior and what and how social forces shape human behavior in society helps behavioral scientists analyze and recommend strategies to build healthy, sustainable, resilient communities.

When you teach in the Behavioral Science Program, it is a good idea to discuss with students what behavioral science is, and how its orientation examines social action.