Strong Engaging First Days

STRONG, ENGAGING FIRST DAYS < #1 from the TLC, 8.20.11 > The most successful college students are seen for their strengths, not their deficits. Instead of focusing on what students lack, higher education should build on what they do well. ~ Laurie Schreiner, in The Thriving Quotient: a new Vision for Student Success, in About Campus (May-June 2010/Volume 15, Number 2)

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step ~ Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism (d 600 BC)

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. ~ Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish inventor, d 1922

People are at their most productive when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself and not by external pressures or incentives. ~ Louis Schmier, in email 7.7.11, citing research findings of Carol Dweck, Ed Deci, and Teresa Amabile

Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, begin their brief, dangerous adult life out of chrysalis

HO’OKAULIKE (opportunity to learn and grow in balance together) a teaching, learning and community-building forum for all staff, faculty and administrators Please pre-register online! Deadline: 400 pm Wednesday August 24, 2011 You can walk in, but pre-registration is affirmation of your willingness to help us plan seating and meals, and it makes event sign-in quick and easy

Click below to register now (and open/browse the morning’s program inside): Click Here to Register for HO’OKAULIKE: Saturday AM 8/27 at Hawaii Loa Register at the Events Manager link above.

There’s free and easy parking at Hawaii Loa; breakfast and lunch and onsite sign-in from 730-830 AM,

Dr. Bannister will address the gathering! also:

Click Here to Register for FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP DAY (Thu Sep 1 at HL) Executive Summary We sometimes begin a new term pleased with the results of our previous instruction; at other times we know energizing changes are needed. The following links provide a vast array of resources to inform instructional beginnings, which set tone and are the foundation of future peer-to-peer and student-instructor relationships.

You will find something that tempts you and fits your style, and at the same time promises to increase student engagement, trust and retention. You will find TLC and Distance Education in a new location next to the Faculty Support Center, and we are part of a new team, the Office of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, led by Dr. Stephanie Schull.

The single most valuable adjustment to practice During the summer I presented three workshops (in Washington DC at Lilly-East and at the University of San Diego and Tacoma Community College) ---from 40 minutes to 2 hours-- on how to manage classroom behavior: how to proactively prevent behavior problems, and how to manage them when they occur anyway. (I’ll do this again, with Milica Barjaktarovic, in a 2-hour session in Scholarship Day.) In these sessions I am often asked for one important piece of counsel that would most benefit all teachers. Without question, it is this: If you are not already doing so, begin systematically to use simple selfassessments of teaching. They take little time, inform helpful changes, tune you in to what students need from you and from each other, generously build trust when properly used, and proactively deter poor behavior. Doing this will change positively the climate in your class and will likely boost end-of-term ratings above anything you imagined. Start here, in our own FAQ: ASSESSMENT OF TEACHING (from TLC FAQs) After the orientation item, this is our most-

consulted FAQ. Linked at the page bottom are documents including Malia Smith’s quick assessment of teaching (thank you, Malia). Stop-Start-Continue is only a tiny bit more trouble, but follows the same logic. You’ll deter problems, raise trust and engagement, and probably vastly increase end-of-term evaluation numbers.

What is the FAQ? It’s part of TLC’s web site, originally built about 3 years ago but updated and supplemented constantly. Bookmark its home, so you can return anytime: http://faq.hpu.edu/tlc/faq-pro/index_hpu.php?

Click on any category to see subcategories and items inside. These are sub-categories in the largest category of Q/A, Teaching Enhancement and Reflective Practice (these links are live) Classroom Management/Skill Development (4)

Professional Development (13)

Instructional Planning (20)

Motivation (7)

Strategies to Prompt Thinking (6)

Teach Writing (4)

Online Teaching (5)

Assessment (3)

FAQ: Tips for Successful Navigation of Early Classes Each of the links below has helpful attachments and sometimes internal links, sometimes both. The attachments include my previous email on this topic. You’ll find these full of helpful ideas; some you’ll want to copy.

Hints for First Days of Classes (TLC FAQ)= FAQ: Startup Activities for a New Term (TLC FAQ) Here, find useful hints for term starts.

FAQ: Teaching for the First Time (TLC FAQ) This is adapted from an article by Mano Singham, a dean of faculty development art Case Western Reserve University.

Starting Strong: Your First Days on Campus (from Inside Higher Ed) The author of this blog,

Heather Alderfer, is the Associate Registrar at Yale Law School. She offers counsel for how to pay attention—and to what—when you are beginning work at a new institution.

CRITICAL REMINDERS



Carry your HPU ID. It is needed to borrow library books, to enter the computer center, and may be required as a swipe to enter some classrooms.

If you don’t have an ID, have your picture taken at ETS on 8/27, or contact HR. If you need a replacement card, visit the Registrar’s Office (downtown) to pay a replacement fee and receive a new card. At the Hawaii Loa Campus, visit the Bookstore to pay the fee and the ETC to get the card.

 Make sure you have created and that you know your HPU wireless login and password: sign in to Pipeline, go to the Support Tab, create a wireless password: it is needed to log on to computer classroom consoles. 

IN ADVANCE: Visit the classroom(s) you’ll be teaching in, so you know the layout, know the rest room location, can check your access to computer consoles, and know what you need to bring with you!