Copyright (c) 2013 Utah State University All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy Recent Events in Innovations in Pedagogy, General en-us Wed, 15 May 2013 18:05:06 PDT 3600 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy/3 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy/3 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:30:00 PDT Whether as future professionals, citizens, or both, students in Natural Resources curricula benefit from guided opportunities to reflect on their own way of being in and with nonhumans, places, and other dimensions of the natural environment. The daily professional and personal decisions they make, which impact that world in ways small and large, are shaped by (among other forces) their values, their past experiences, their sense of identity, their relationships, and their visions for the future; and each of these influences is complex and multi‐faceted. Well‐designed reflection can be a key pedagogical strategy, within and across Natural Resources courses, to support students in understanding these influences and, in turn, in living and working intentionally as agents in the natural world; and such reflection can take a myriad of forms, limited only by the creativity of instructors and students. Sharing their reflective thinking with one another can deepen students' understanding of different perspectives and culturally ‐ based values, build their capacity to appreciate and navigate differences in environmental values and identities, and expose them to often‐unimagined possibilities for relationships with and choices involving nonhumans and natural environments. Participating in these reflection activities as learners alongside their students can deepen instructors' own understanding of themselves, their students, and the dynamics of lifelong personal and professional development. In small groups, participants in this session will experience and critically evaluate a range of reflection mechanisms (e.g., environmental life writing, artistic productions, structured oral discussion) that have been implemented with undergraduate and graduate students in environmental studies and related curricula. They will generate a set of criteria for high quality reflection and a list of choice points underlying their design. They will apply this collaborative thinking to their own courses and curricula, sharing and critiquing their own reflective pedagogies. Participants will leave the session with several examples of reflection activities, with guidelines for designing them effectively, and with an enhanced appreciation for the role of reflection as a teaching and learning strategy in the development of self‐critical citizens and professionals.

]]> Patti Clayton http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy/2 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy/2 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:00:00 PDT Writing a teaching philosophy can be a daunting task, regardless of whether you are a graduate student applying for a job, a young faculty member seeking promotion and tenure, or a grizzled veteran preparing for post‐tenure review. It needn’t be. Despite numerous guidebooks and internet pages devoted to this topic, it remains a mystery to most who stare at a blank page and find nothing staring back. The challenge is to de‐mystify the process. I believe that the key lies in identifying the barriers to getting started and in simplifying the task so that it seems manageable. In this presentation, I’ll share a process that has worked for me for nearly 20 years. It can be used by individuals, in small groups, or with a class of 30‐50 students. I’ll model how I would present it in a class, and then give those in the audience a chance to get started writing their own teaching philosophy—one that is simple, concise, and meaningful to them.

]]> Edward C. Jensen http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy/1 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Pedagogy/1 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:30:00 PDT After working with almost forty undergraduate teaching assistants over the past six years, I have developed and refined a program to effectively utilize these students as teaching assistants. At first I registered one or two students for individual independent study projects, but this has since evolved into a new formal course offering and a group or “class” of three to five teaching assistants per semester. This presentation explores some of the advantages and disadvantages of using undergraduate students to fulfill responsibilities that are typically assigned to graduate students. An undergraduate teaching assistantship program can benefit both students and instructors. Instructors can find classroom assistance in times of "eroding resources" and fewer GA allocations, while students can learn leadership and management skills. In many ways, undergraduate teaching assistants can provide the same kind of benefits and support as graduate teaching assistants. They can answer questions and tutor students, which decreases an instructor’s contact hours and e‐mail load. My TAs hold two “library hours” per week. They can also grade exams and assignments depending on an institution’s policies. (At my institution, they must be hired as Graders in order to evaluate and grade subjective work.) I have also had students interested in teaching help write exams, explore ways to improve assignments, and investigate student perceptions of teaching and learning methods. Conversely, there are some disadvantages that come with undergraduate teaching assistants. Most undergraduates require more management and oversight. One cannot delegate responsibility with the same degree of confidence as with graduate students. I find that I must send e‐mail reminders about grading sessions or meetings. Since these students tend to have very full schedules‐‐ between classes and jobs and activities‐‐ scheduling must be done early in the semester. Utilizing TAs for grading requires thorough training on grading rubrics and initially close supervision. Another potential difficulty is adequate communication. After being disappointed many times, and after serious misunderstandings about independent study projects, I have learned to be exceedingly clear about my expectations. All of these pitfalls can be easily avoided with sound administration, communication, and oversight. And the promises of undergraduate teaching assistants can be realized.

]]> Sarah Vonhof