The Office of Faculty Development

October 2018 Tuesday Tips

2 October 2018:

Ever catch a student cheating on your online exam? Studies consistently reveal that over half of college students have cheated at least once. Years ago, a student informed me that his peers were using smartphones to photograph the screen during my online exams and then texting friends who hadn’t taken it yet. I was disappointed but also unsure what to do about it. Chico State now has a solution to address online exam cheating in all its various forms. A remote proctoring service called Proctorio(opens in new window) provides the convenience of online exams along with the security of proctored exams. This service, which is free for all Chico State faculty, allows you to:

  • Block internet searching and other applications during the exam.
  • Observe the student and their test environment via camera to ensure they are following your testing rules.
  • Customize the strictness of the rules used to best fit your expectations.

After the online exam, Proctorio provides you feedback on each student including data on browser clicks, eye-movements, and an audio/video recording. You then decide how, if at all, to proceed with the data.

If you’re interested in using Proctorio in Spring 2019, you must first attend a training. If you’re interested in learning more, please attend a virtual initial information session (via Zoom) on Monday, October 15th at 11am to see an overview of this new technology to see how it can fit your needs. RSVP(opens in new window) if you’re interested.

If you have any questions about the information session or about bringing remote proctoring to your course, contact ATEC(opens in new window) at 530-898-6167(opens in new window).

Proctorio logo.

9 October 2018:

Event Invitation #1

What: Rose Garden Room open house - check out the quiet faculty space for writing, grading, reading, and relaxing. Stop by and enjoy popcorn, snacks, coffee, prizes, juice shots, and other fun activities (see attached flier) sponsored by FDEV and Meriam Library.

When: Wednesday, October 10th – drop in any time between 8am-5pm

Where: MLIB 459

Faculty working in the Rose Garden Room Faculty Space.

Event Invitation #2

What: Viewing party for the livestreamed 2018 Graduation Initiative 2025 Symposium keynote and afternoon presentations focused on improving degree completion and addressing equity (see below). FDEV will provide coffee, hot tea, and snacks so we can listen and discuss how the presentations relate to our campus. Please let us know if you plan to drop by so we can ensure we have a large enough room(opens in new window).

When: Wednesday, October 17th – stop by any time between 1:30 – 4:30pm. The symposium agenda(opens in new window).

Where: SSC 150

Poster for Graduation Initiative presenters: Timothy Renick, Jim Larimore, Ryan Smith, Goldie Blumenstyk, and Jamienne Studley.

16 October 2018:

Ever know someone who was a really bad driver but thought they were especially good? Their perceived competence was high but actual performance was low. This could be a result of poor metacognitive skills (i.e. awareness of one’s own thought processes) as discussed in this Tedx Talk. The same concept holds true for some students in the classroom. Those who feel confident about their understanding, but do poorly on exams, may lack awareness of their own true knowledge or skill. That inability to accurately judge their own competence can affect how much they study. Students with poor metacognition will often shorten their study time prematurely, thinking they have mastered course material when, in fact, their learning may actually be fragmented or inaccurate. As we prepare students for lifelong learning by developing their critical thinking, creative thinking, and interdisciplinary thinking, we should also weave metacognitive thinking throughout our curricula. Below are eight ways to integrate metacognition in your courses.

  • Use formative assessments throughout the semester (i.e. short, low-stakes assessments). Clickers are a great way to accomplish this and ATEC can help you get set up.
  • Implement Exam Wrappers.
  • Use the active learning strategy “think-pair-share” so students can reflect on their own learning before sharing in a group.
  • Have students create a practice exam and then answer their questions as a homework assignment. Then, ask them for a judgment of their confidence in their understanding of the material.
  • Ask students to reflect on the strategies they’ve used in the past to learn. Were they effective? Could they be improved?
  • Assign a 60-second in-class writing where students reflect on a prompt about their learning from the homework.
  • Assign students to generate two questions from the assigned reading and think about them throughout class.
  • And perhaps most importantly, role-model your own metacognitive practices

Have other ideas? Post a comment on this tip(opens in new window) to the FDEV blog.

Reminder: Graduation Initiative Livestream Viewing Party tomorrow (10/17) in SSC 150 – stop by any time between 1:30 – 4:30pm. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be ready as we discuss the sessions.

23 October 2018:

The “trigger warning” below is a quote from Jonathan Rauch, a first amendment advocate and best-selling author who spoke at Chico State in 2016 (video of author speaking at Chico State here). He recommends that every university add this statement to their course catalog and website…

“Warning: Although this university values and encourages civil expression and respectful political behavior, you may at any moment without notice, encounter ideas, expressions, and images that are mis-taken, upsetting, dangerous, prejudice, insulting, or deeply offensive. We call this “Education.”

Do you think Chico State should include a trigger warning in our catalog?

Do you have a trigger warning on your syllabus?

Do trigger warnings threaten your academic freedom or ensure it?

Post your comment on the FDEV blog(opens in new window).

30 October 2018:

This week’s tip brought to you by Chico State professors Susan Roll and Kim Jaxon

The Office of Civic Engagement is excited to announce the launch of a new website on Co-teaching & Community Engagement.  Co-teaching and community engagement afford faculty innovative opportunities for blending content from different fields into a specialized course that provides a unique learning experience for students. In addition, interdisciplinary teaching and community engagement are well-researched and established high impact practices shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds, especially historically underserved students.

One of the outcomes of the Provost’s Special Initiative on Co-teaching & Community Engagement last spring was a new website for faculty to connect, learn, and try out interdisciplinary teaching and to add a civic engagement component to their courses. The site includes examples of co-teaching here at Chico State, how to find the resources you need, current research related to co-teaching models, and FAQs about the process.

 Students working with community consultants in a co-taught POLS/PSYC/SWRK course on research and policy

Students working with community consultants in a co-taught POLS/PSYC/SWRK course on research and policy

(photo by Jason Halley)

Post a comment(opens in new window) on the FDEV blog.