Margie & Me: Take You to ACUE

Have you ever thought, “I wish there was a way to quickly learn new effective teaching practices to embed in my courses?” What if we told you there is such a tool? Would you take a chance on trying it? Or would you continue down the path you’re already on? No, I’m not Laurence Fishburne, and we’re not in the Matrix (even though Margie wants to be Trinity). Well, we could be in the Matrix, but that’s an entirely different topic. I’m talking about ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practice Certificate. 

You may recall a talk at Fall Planning about the opportunity to take part in this series of courses. The courses are structured to introduce evidence-based teaching strategies that are compact and provide choices about which strategies you would most like to implement. You have the flexibility to choose from multiple strategies that address a similar theme, and to reflect on the effectiveness of that strategy on your teaching. I’m Mike here with my fellow fellow Margie. Did you follow that? We are fellow fellows. Ok, it’s time to move on.

Mike: ACUE to you Margie!

Margie: ACUE to you Mike! What has been the biggest surprise to your participation in ACUE?

Mike: Realizing how hysterical you are and that people apparently think you are really into horror movies. (Long story, be sure to ask her about it.) How about you?

Margie: That you must also play in a band, who has hair that cool? Seriously, were you apprehensive to join? I know you have a ton going on.

Mike: Initially, I thought, I don’t need more stuff on my plate that will have little impact on what I do, have even less impact on my students, and will only take up my valuable time and leave me even more stressed than I already was.

Margie: So what made you click that registration link? (shameless plug for ACUE)

Mike: I think it was my index finger. No, seriously, I thought it was time to try something new, to venture outside of my comfort zone, and rather than succumb to my own passivity, actively seek out new strategies in a program that encourages me to walk a new teaching path of my choosing. In other words, do something that gets me off my, er, tush and explore new ways of teaching. How about you? Why did you decide to get off your, um, let’s go fancy—derrriere?

Margie: I’m always looking to implement effective practices in my classes. I’ll attend a training, and think woah, that was great. I’ll put that in next semester. And then, my memory tends to fail me and I don’t use the fantastic new idea. Full disclosure, ACUE drew me in because they advertised that I would be held accountable for immediately implementing the new practice I learned. They also let you plan for future implementation if it doesn’t work for you now with the timing of your course.

Mike: I can relate to that more than you know. I also tend to feel guilty because I think I’m not doing enough for my students. I try things that aren’t terribly effective or forget all the cool stuff I had planned to do entirely, start feeling helpless, fall into old habits, feel guilty, rinse and repeat.

Margie: Me too! I have the best intentions, but life gets in the way and I fall back on my tried and true practices. BTW, Is that how you get the great hair?

Mike: In that case, rinse and repeat actually works. So, what’s been challenging for you since you started ACUE’s program?

Margie: First, learning how to say ACUE correctly, AQ, like IQ. Second, finding the weekly rhythm of the course. It’s helpful to review the modules at the beginning of the week so you can make a plan for review, implementation, and reflection.

Mike: Yes! At the beginning of the semester, I have a plan, but fitting the new ACUE strategies changes that plan. I guess to use the rhythm analogy, it’s like planning to do a salsa but incorporating the worm into it. With a new plan, you can make it work.

Margie: Here’s where we pause for a demonstration...we are waiting, Mike.

Mike: You don’t want to see that. Trust me.

Margie: Something I really like in addition to your worm/salsa visual is a Professional Development I can attend and then immediately implement what I’ve learned. ACUE checks this box for me.

Mike: Since we’ve already set the precedent of shameless plugs, let me do my part. I think ACUE provides an opportunity in an area where other training fall short. Each module is not a huge time commitment, perhaps a couple of hours per week depending on your choices. I appreciate that the training is highly targeted, so I quickly learn about new strategies. The best part, and we can’t state this enough (even though we’ve already said it a few times), is that we implement strategies (of our choosing) as part of the module and reflect on their impact. So, for those already involved or those motivated by our witty sales pitch, what advice would you give?

Margie: Start with the end in mind. I review the entire module for a few minutes before I jump in. I review the practices so I can start to approach them with the practicality of what I can use and what I need in my class. I also use that strategy to determine which strategies I already use and how I can refine them.

Mike: Any wise and witty final thoughts? Anything to motivate those still unsure about ACUE?

Margie: Come meet us and chat, especially if you’re on the fence about choosing to do ACUE. My last words of advice--.Don’t be foo-, try something new, you know what to do, sign up for ACUE.

Mike: No, Margie. Just no.

Margie: I can’t leave on that, can I? Well, I think it’s about that time. Time to come meet us in person! Shameless ACUE plug again, but with food. Mike and I will each host a snack and share. Details are below. If you’re thinking of ACUEing or are already in the club, come by!

Margie’s Snack & Share: Tuesday, Oct. 25, Daytona campus, Faculty Innovation Center 1-2pm, Virtual option on Teams.

Mike’s Snack and Share: Wednesday, Oct. 26, Deland campus, Bldg. 7 Room 160 (administration conference room) 11am-12pm, Virtual option on Teams.

Margie Hensler, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
School of Education
margie.hensler@daytonastate.edu | 386-506-3487
 

Mike Mallott, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Social Science & World Languages
michael.mallott@daytonastate.edu | 386-506-3487