4 Book Review
Continued from page 3 Thus if we frame what we say to students as conditional (“could be,” might be”) we inspire both more critical thinking and creativity. Bain claims that even changing the way textbooks are written can make a difference. “Students who read phrases like ‘which could be’ and ‘may be’ could imagine far more solutions than students who read the same passages without those words.”
In another experiment Langer assigned one group of students to “complete a task” and another group to “play a game.” The activities were the same, but the students who were playing a game consistently outperformed the students who were completing a task. Ill-structured problems, framing, and gaming are all simple strategies that faculty can incorporate into their classes to help engage students.
Did You Know? Professional Development Opportunity for Faculty: “ Applying the Quality Matters™ Rubric” Seminar for Online Courses The Center for Online and Blended Learning (COBL) is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a full day seminar for faculty, “Applying the Quality Matters Rubric” on Thursday, May 9th, 2013. Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses. Quality Matters has generated widespread interest and is becoming the national standard for quality assurance and continuous improvement in online education. The May 9th seminar consists of learning about the usage and implementation of the Quality Matters rubric, a rigorous set of criteria based on current standards and best practices in online course development. Faculty who complete the training can opt to take a certification course to become national Quality Matters online course peer reviewers. This is an excellent professional development activity for faculty who teach online or who want to teach online. The Center for Online and Blended Learning has included BGSU as part of a consortium of institutions who are implementing Quality Matters in the state of Ohio. Due to our participation in this consortium, we are able to provide this training locally at no cost to faculty or departments!
The training will run from 9-4 and includes lunch. Seating is limited in this training to 15 BGSU faculty and we will accept reservations on a first-come-first-served basis. Faculty can register online at: http://cobl.bgsu.edu/BGSU_ QualityMatters_training_register.php For more detailed information on Quality Matters at BGSU, go to: http://cobl.bgsu.edu/QualityMatters.php or contact Connie Molnar at cmolnar@bgsu.edu
Spring 2013: Issue Two Spring 2013: Issue One