November Summary

November Summary

This month, we were able to coalesce all our efforts and assignments into a final presentation, which is the culmination of the project we’ve been doing all semester.  The first half of the month, though, was focused on finding two professionals to evaluate the syllabus we created at the end of October.  We each were able to find one professional, and the feedback was indeed helpful.  Both reviewers offered suggestions on what was missing and what could be improved.  Some of the suggestions were to add basic contact information for those who would be running the seminar and to also indicate, at the beginning of the syllabus, both start and end times for each day of the seminar.  Other suggestions were to add a specific example of the type of activities that would be performed, and to also clarify the details of the take-home assignment.   

The reviewers also had positive responses to the syllabus, such as the specificity of the daily schedule, the clear list of objectives, the mixing of varied activities, the organization of the syllabus, and the layout and brevity of the syllabus.  Upon reflecting on the feedback, we responded to it as part of our syllabus evaluation assignment.  As has been done before, the assignment was completed separately and then merged at the end. 

Following Thanksgiving break, attention was fully given to the final project demonstration.  It was decided that a thorough powerpoint presentation uploaded to Voicethread would be the best way to communicate the essence and progress of the project.  The work effort was again split in half, with one person focusing on all the syllabus-related assignments, and the other person working on the introduction, literature review, and program investigation.  The designed slides were then merged into a cohesively-themed powerpoint and uploaded to Voicethread to allow others to comment.  Overall, the project demonstration has gone as smoothly as the rest of the project throughout the semester.  Designing a seminar has been both challenging and rewarding.  The syllabus design skills that have been gained will offer a big advantage in the future.  

Syllabus Evaluation

EDAC 635

Syllabus Design Evaluation

Ben England, Andjulon Richardson

Professional Review #1

1.     His/her role and position - Assistant professor of biology. 

I primarily teach introductory biology courses for majors and non-majors.  I also coordinate our introductory majors course in cellular and molecular biology, which involves overseeing the graduate teaching assistants.

2.     What he/she likes most about the syllabus

-       I like the listing of the objectives at the start and the explanation of the goals and what attendees will get out of the seminar.

-       I like the schedule, always nice to know exactly the breakdown of events.

-       Also nice to have included breaks.

-       I also like the mixing of activities to help keep attendees engaged and participating.

-       The Standards section is also nice with laying out criteria expected.

3.     What could be improved? Why? And how?"

Contact information could be provided so that attendees know how to contact you either between meeting dates or for follow-up information.  Could be given at the seminar, but I think it is always better to have it written down somewhere.

I would also indicate when the second meeting starts at the beginning as well.  You only give a dismissal time.  I would assume it also starts at 8:30am, but better to give the specifics.  This is shown later in the schedule, but I would also include at the start.

In regards to the assignment, perhaps make it clearer as to whether the questionnaire to be administered is the same given to them in the seminar or are they to find another or create their own.  I am a little unsure in reading the information provided. 

Could be useful to add more information on how evaluation of participation and readiness for discussion will occur.  Also might be interesting to have peer evaluation of small group work and discussion.

Response

            The professional review that our syllabus underwent provided some helpful suggestions along with clarifying areas where the syllabus was not as clear as it could be.  Failure to include contact info was an oversight, as was failure to include a start time for the 2^nd day.  The plan for the seminar is to have the questionnaire in the assignment be the same one administered to them, but this was not clear in the syllabus either.  The reviewer’s fourth suggestion could be useful, but it may not be essential.  The peer evaluation of the small group work is also a useful tool, but may not be essential given the purpose of this seminar. 

            After reflecting on the feedback, I think there are three main changes to make to the syllabus to improve and clarify it.  Contact information would need to be added, the start time of the second session would be delineated at the beginning of the syllabus, and it would be clarified that the questionnaire they will assign is the same one that they will take during the first session. 

Professional Review #2

1.     His/her role and position- Director of Career Services

I work as the Director of Career Services, overseeing the professional development of current students. I set up workshops in order to assist students in developing their skills in a variety of fields. I am also in charge of organizing and facilitating career days to give potential employers and students an opportunity to meet and network. I also meet with current students to assess their educational and career goals, and work with them to determine a suitable plan to reach those goals.

2.     What he/she likes most about the syllabus

a.     Syllabus design was organized in a way that the reader is able to understand with ease. The sections were concise and to the point. The layout was very reader friendly, and information provided was not overbearing.

3.     What could be improved? Why and how?

a.     A great job with the syllabus design, however an example or possible type of activity involved would be helpful. This could possibly give students a better direction and rationale of the activities planned.

Response

Based on the previous professional evaluation, there is one main change I believe could be made to improve the syllabus. As mentioned earlier, one addition that could be made is to include examples of the activities to provide a greater direction to the students. For example, for the small group discussion section, there could possibly be a brief clarification as to how the discussion should be completed. This could possibly assist students in providing them with a suitable way to begin their discussion, conducting their discussion, and ending their discussion.

As for whether I agree with the evaluation, I believe there are some good points to take away from it. I do think that providing examples for students is an effective means of providing direction, and can drastically reduce the amount of time wasted on trying to find clarification after the activity has begun. However, I believe that this must be done sparingly, for if there is too many breaks and stops in the learning activities, we run the risk of losing students’ interests in the activities and become disengaged. With this being said, I believe the best course of action would be to provide examples of how the discussions and other activities should ideally be conducted. However, after the initial direction is provided, students will be allowed to take the learning in the direction they choose. This will effectively satisfy the need for direction while minimizing the risks of losing students’ interests.

October Summary

The month of October proved to be a very busy and productive month with regards to our group project. As far as assignments are concerned, there were two assignments that were part of the larger group project. The first of the two assignments was the program investigation assignment. With this particular assignment, our group was required to analyze programs that were relevant to our topic, which is learning styles.

Our team decided that the best method in which to complete this assignment was to let each team member complete an analysis of a program of their choosing. The results were then combined and reformatted to bring cohesiveness. This was a rather simple way of completing the assignment, and helped ensure that each team member was able to make a contribution. The key however to this assignment being a success was the communication that was involved. Prior to beginning the assignment, there was a clear consensus to what direction the assignment was going to take. This allowed each team member to complete their own part of the assignment individually without worrying about providing separate parts of the assignment that when combined would seem incoherent.

The second assignment that was completed as part of the group project was the syllabus design assignment. This was a fun and engaging assignment to complete, and was a great opportunity to begin incorporating concepts that have been learned in previous weeks into effect. The work was evenly distributed in this assignment as well, and communication was yet another factor that proved valuable. There was a clear distinction of the direction that would be taken for the syllabus, and the end result was a culmination of two separate parts combined.

As for the next assignment, which is the syllabus evaluation, the same approach for the previous two assignments will be implemented for the syllabus evaluation. Each team member will complete an equal share of the assignment, and bring the results together and ensure cohesiveness.