Description
Demonstrate an understanding of ways students learn by providing learning opportunities that support intellectual, career, and social development.
Content
Teaching Guides
Generating Choices for Course Assignments
Students experience learning in both mastery oriented learning and performance oriented learning. To build on both types of learning, allow for students to choose ways to engage with the curriculum where possible. Student generated questions for quizzes and classwork and options to demonstrate learning with different types of media can lead to deeper understanding of […]
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Stories
The Master Teacher Program: Building Community through Sharing
There is a wealth of literature on the power of PLCs (professional learning communities) as contributory to faculty growth. The Master Teacher Program (MTP) at Kirkwood Community College is a form of PLC, whereby faculty grow through their collective efforts on the Kirkwood faculty competencies as related to student success. MTP Year 1: Introduction to […]
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Growth vs. Fixed Mindset – Debunking the Dichotomy
In a recent article in Education Week, Carol Dweck revisits her seminal work on Growth Mindset and offers news ways of thinking about this concept that maybe helpful for both classroom and organizational application.
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Study Abroad Experiences Spark Student Aspirations
“I truly believe that through participating in the Kirkwood Study Abroad trip to India, I now have a better idea of what I want to do after I graduate,” wrote one student. “The trip helped reiterate my desire to live and work abroad someday and aided in solidifying my want to work with underprivileged kids.” […]
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How the Community College Mission Trumps On-the-Job Training
The following is written by George Trotter, instructor in Industrial Maintenance Technologies. I think my teaching philosophy has come to reflect the idea that education, especially technical education, is the process of delivering the principles governing our vocation in a manner and sequence that can be digested by the student until they not only have […]
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Learner Success Exceeds Expectations
This semester, in the Principles of Selling course, instructor Todd Saville had a class that exceeded his expectations concerning a fundraising challenge, which he said, “proved to be a really good successful learning experience and charitable activity… They’re learning from it. They’re giving back. It’s a good cause.” You can listen to Todd describe this […]
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Boundless Energy for Learning Renewed in Japan
Earlier this year, Loughton Smith, bakery instructor in the Hospitality Arts department, went to Japan with several culinary students to learn and get the whole experience of Japanese cuisine and the traditions and culture associated with it. At the end of his narrative, he describes his biggest takeaway, “Even small town people from a small […]
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Every student needs a champion
Last year about this time, PBS aired a special on TED Talks Education. You can check out the whole playlist here: http://www.ted.com/playlists/tv_special_ted_talks_educatio In the first video, posted above, Rita Pierson address challenges that many community college students face: poverty, low attendance, and negative peer influence. As she states in the talk, these challenges predict poor […]
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The Self-Directed Learner
Now that the academic year is coming to a close, we at KCELT are taking time to reflect what it means to be a self-directed learner. The video above provides some engaging and provocative ideas to help teachers imagine or re-imagine their students as self-directed learners. We would also like to imagine our faculty as […]
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Engagement and Empathy
Yesterday, KQED’s Mind/Shift published an article by the Hechinger Report’s Anya Kamenetz that asked the question, “How engaged are students and teachers in American schools?” The article and the survey it reports on was mainly about students and teachers in grades 5-12. Earlier today, we tweeted this article asking, “How engaged are students and teachers […]
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Introversion in Teaching
This post was written by Judith Wightman, Professional Development Fellow and faculty in the Psychology department. I have been interested in introversion for some time. When I started reading about the introversion/extroversion continuum, it helped me to understand many experiences I have had, including my general desire to be alone or with one or two […]
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How can Kirkwood faculty better understand their students?
Library Services published a couple photos of a whiteboard they put up in the Cedar Rapids main campus library, which you can see by clicking on the link below: Kirkwood students say…how their professors can better understand them. One helpful resource comes from the March 2011 issue of Educational Leadership, which says, “Perhaps the most […]
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Face-to-face vs. Online Student Interaction
This narrative blog entry was written by Willie Barbour, Professional Development Fellow and faculty in the English department. I was looking forward to teaching this summer. This was going to be my first time teaching online. It would be a great learning opportunity for me, teaching my first 100% online course, well two courses. I […]
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