Gardening and Cooking

Richer the better.

How does your garden grow? How well does your cake rise? These are important questions that we ask ourselves working here at the college daily, either explicitly or implicitly.  Really, we are grappling with one central choice: am I the gardener or the cook?

As a gardener, you need to find the soil rich with nutrients.  You need to provide access to fresh and clean water.  You need to be sure there is plenty of sun. Plants struggle in the shade and perish in the dark.  You must pull out the weeds.  You must how rows to hold and protect the seeds.  You will need to add fertilizer. You must pull out the occasional burlap sac when the frost arrives.  You must sharpen your tools.  Clean the dirt off the shovel.  Wear gloves.  You must then harvest your garden crop and share with others.

Not easy being green.

As the cook, you need to measure carefully.  Find the correct ingredients. You need to mix thoroughly.  You must make sure the correct temperature is met and maintained.  You must stir on occasion, especially to make some things happen.  Be sure to add frosting or gravy as applicable: the sweet things. Apply generous helpings of chocolate, but do not forget the green vegetables.  Serve chilled or warm as appropriate with all your friends.

From the garden to the dinner table, a lot of work needs to be done continually.  You must pick a role.  You must play both at times.  You need to ask, "Where do I use my skills?  How do I keep myself well fed? What makes me happy?" But most importantly, you will need to do it with friends, however fabulous.

Celia Herodek and Carey Hilgartner

Being Organised Promotes Professional and Personal Success - Jenniel Taylor-Samuel

During the 12FALL semester, I had the opportunity to attend the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) and as someone with no formal experience, I was apprehensive about taking a course on teaching. The idea of delivering three 10-minute lessons (to my peers) filled me with such trepidation that I almost bowed out. Thankfully I did not, as this turned out to be one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I`ve ever had.

So what is the ISW all about?

The workshop is built on the BOPPPS model and was conducted over a four day period.

Founded in 1978/79, the workshop required participants to prepare and teach three, 10-minute mini lessons spanning the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Following each lesson, participants were given positive and constructive feedback in both verbal and written formats. Each teaching session was also videotaped, so participants could later review their instructional techniques and make adjustments or improvements where necessary.

The BOPPPS model utilises five steps when formatting a lesson plan:

Bridge-in:      Used to gain the learner’s attention and can serve as an introduction to the lesson

Objectives:    States what the learner should know by the end of the session

Pre Assessment:      Surveys what the learner already knows about the topic

Participatory Learning:    Learners have the opportunity to get actively involved in the learning process and this forms the lesson body

Post Assessment:    Survey to assess the learner’s knowledge and understanding of the information delivered

Summary:    Period of reflection, closure of the learning cycle

I have always been interested in teaching/presenting, facilitating workshops etc, but I just did not know where to start and how to build a lesson. Well thanks to the ISW training, that is no longer a problem. The workshop manual contained easy to follow guidelines, useful information and this was supplemented by real life experiences from fellow participants and instructors.

You might be wondering, what can this course teach someone who already has years of teaching experience. Well, nine of the 11 participants in this workshop were experienced instructors and based on their feedback, these seasoned instructors commented that they took with them a model that would assist in planning and delivering more effective lessons.

In addition, the model provided a guide to help them to remain focused from the preparation stage to delivery. Also, as a result of improved organisation there was increased confidence and thus improved effectiveness of the content that was delivered. Over the four day period, it was clear to see growth and development in all the participants as we explored, utilised and adapted the BOPPPS model to suit the different domains.

Of all the great features of this workshop, I found the main advantage of the model was the clear direction it provided for developing an objective and thus building the lesson plan to achieve it. Using the model helped me to stay on topic and even when questions or suggestions were raised, because my objective was at the forefront of my mind, there was little danger of going ‘off script’.

I would encourage anyone interested in developing their teaching skills to attend this workshop with an open mind. There are so many nuggets of information available; you may only need one or two applicable ideas to compliment or improve the way you work.

Why not give it a try?

Happy Teaching….

Webinar Summary: Bringing Humanness into Online Learning with Video - Jennifer Tzanakos

The history of online education is built on text-centric learning, but instructors who rely only on text-based discussion boards have difficulty building communities and creating a feeling of humanness. The online program at BYU-Hawaii has pioneered the use of asynchronous video as a mechanism for student assignments, discussions and teacher feedback. A majority of students in the program have consistently reported that they feel connected to and learn from other students, and feel a close connection to their teacher. Many students also say that their connections in courses using asynchronous video as a central communication method were superior to those formed in face-to-face classes. (from the webinar)

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As someone who has not had considerable experience with online learning, this webinar gave me insight into the potential for creating meaningful learning via asynchronous video. Using Canvas as the learning platform, students and their instructor first created video introductions to develop relationships with one another. Conversations began as students created video responses to posted videos. Many assignments were handled in a similar manner, with students producing video presentations and then having the opportunity to respond to each other’s work. In the end, students said they felt a stronger connection with their online instructor and peers than they had in previous traditional classrooms. For the student who is perhaps too shy to raise his hand in class, video can provide a safe space for giving voice to his ideas.

In terms of presentation, the webinar could have been much more dynamic through the use of stronger visuals and opportunities for viewer participation.

Software mentioned in the presentation which might be of interest:

Canvas
Kaltura
Crocodoc
Screencast-o-matic

The webinar can be viewed here: http://help.instructure.com/entries/21409919-webinar-bringing-humanness-into-online-learning-with-video