NUTSHELL NOTES "Teaching tips in a nutshell" - The University of Colorado at Denver's One-page Newsletter for Teaching Excellence

In the last issue, we noted that William G. Perry, Jr.,  identified the stages of intellectual growth of college students, and we considered each stage from the standpoint of views about knowledge and the roles students see for the instructor and for themselves. Four  developmental instructional variables: structure, diversity, experiential learning and personalism  (Knefelkamp, 1981, in Perry, 1999, Table I.2) can be employed to address the stages. We introduced these briefly in NN v. 7 n. 7, but in this issue and the upcoming workshop, we are going to focus on  PERSONALISM.

Knefelkamp (1981) discusses the aspect of personalism as follows: “The classroom is a community of scholars where it is safe to learn, where risk-taking is encouraged, where students learn rational dialogue and objective discussion, and where they learn to listen to one another and to evaluate ideas and concepts. Personalism includes the amount of interaction in the classroom, the amount of legitimacy given to helping students make connections between subject matter, and the ways they are thinking about out-of-class-issues. It does not include inappropriate self-disclosure. It varies from moderate to high on the continuum.”

The literature of faculty development shows that the above discussion is a  bit incomplete, because important amounts of teaching and the promotion of student growth take place outside the classroom. Some studies have shown that one of the largest distinctions between superbly successful teachers and those less successful lies in how these faculty interact with their students outside of the classroom. If we want to use “personalism” as a term that applies to classroom communication, then we must recognize that maximizing success as a professor requires doing more than just this. Outside communication with students that involves teaching includes advising, leading field trips, supervising independent research, sponsoring and working with student clubs, and having discussions with individual students concerning their future study or employment.

Deeper inspection reveals that personalism and interaction with students outside of class are not only  skills involving communication, but  practical employment of these skills is rooted tightly in ethics.

What happens when Knefelkamp’s ideal classroom as a “...community of scholars...” isn’t?  How can we provide advice when asked for help with a situation that requires experience that really is not in our backgrounds?  What happens when we find ourselves in a situation that is neither ideal nor “safe?” What happens for us, and our students when rational dialogue and objective discussion give way to something less? We cannot always exist in an ideal environment even if we always behave in the most ideal way (and who among us always does?). So how can we make the most of less than ideal situations? Most often, nothing—not our  training for our disciplines, not our backgrounds, not even formal teacher training —gives us preparation for the difficult challenge and poignant moment that  is likely to be remembered for the rest of the life of someone involved. Rest assured that such moments will be remembered for good or for ill.

If you are looking for “the answers” to the above situations in this issue, I now have to disappoint you—temporarily. The vehicle  needed to  provide  practical  knowledge to deal with  unusual challenges and difficult situations is not a one-page newsletter.  But, while I can’t give you the answers here, I can sponsor a one-day workshop and provide two books with it that will indeed be helpful! See back of this sheet for details.

Next, let me conclude by noting why your presence at this workshop is important. If you are a faculty member who is experiencing difficult situations, you are no anomaly. These situations are, nationally,  increasingly common. If you are in a  department or  unit in which such situations seldom occur, become aware of the situations your colleagues are facing. They too are part of UCD, and you may be judging these colleagues later on a review committee. Finally, if you  have handled difficult situations especially well, please attend and share your experience, skills and innovations. They are needed by others here. The basis for this workshop will be the real cases that are occurring in our institution.
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Challenges of Teaching and Learning — Ethical Guideposts and Practical Resolutions
February 25 8:30 - 3:00 P.M.. Executive Tower Inn - Columbine Room.

This year’s annual Teaching Effectiveness workshop will offer our usual perks of a Continental breakfast (8:30 - 9:00) and a first-rate lunch on site. In accord with the format begun in 1993, this workshop will provide primary resources to registrants--this year two books: (1) Becoming a Master Student - updated 8th edition, and  Coping with Misconduct in the College Classroom: A Practical Model will be provided.

Becoming a Master Student is a book that is usually employed as part of a “college success” course offered to new students at many institutions. However, since 1994, we have used this book as the core resource for the workshop on student advising, which is provided as part of  CU-Denver’s  summer “Boot Camp for Profs” program. The latter use will be made at this workshop.  Advising by faculty is much more, as we know, than helping to schedule courses and meet graduation requirements. This book is especially valuable as a resource for advising students, particularly when the request for help comes for resolving a situation that has no parallel in our prior experience.

Coping with Misconduct in the College Classroom (1999) was selected because it was written in response to a growing trend nationally in which college professors now find themselves confronting self-indulgent demands, false expectations, contempt for others (often for educators), incivility, and class disruption. There are ways in which we can behave that can bring some of these problems on ourselves, but even outstanding professors who are highly regarded as teachers are now encountering difficulties as result of the trend. CU-Denver, with its mix of graduate colleges and undergraduate service units, results in different distribution of challenges. Some faculty have not seen such problems in their classes, and therefore may tend to disbelieve or trivialize when they hear of others’ problems.

This year’s workshop has one departure from tradition: it will feature the CU-Denver community rather  an outside presenter.  The teaching committee decided that this issue is not only important, but is also one we can best handle ourselves. The workshop will begin with obtaining a working knowledge of ethics. It is based largely on the initial “kickoff” workshop that sets the basis for the entire week of “Boot Camp for Profs.”  Thereafter we’ll be into a real workshop mode—applying this basis to resolve challenges that come with personalization and working with students outside the classroom. We’ll compare options of handling problems and review campus sources for  getting additional help that may sometimes be needed.

The cases to be considered come directly from CU-Denver, and we invite more “grist for the mill”  as follows: You may register by phone (303) 556-4915 or email (enuhfer@carbon.cudenver.edu). If you register by email, please contribute by including a two sentence description of either (a) an especially challenging out-of-class teaching/advising situation you have had in the past five years, or (b) an especially challenging classroom situation. The cases you submit will be added to the pool of those we have already collected and will be used at the workshop. Your name will never be identified with the case you submit.

Please register ASAP--this year we would like to have the books in many hands prior to the workshop.
 

Ed Nuhfer, Director Teaching Effectiveness & Faculty Development
CU-Denver Campus Box 137 PO Box 173364 Denver, CO 80217-3364
(303) 556-4915 Fax (303) 556-5855