For those of you who have been following our Teaching and Learning fellowship journey, we are approaching the finish line. Before we break the tape on what is undoubtedly our gold medal worthy tenure as fellows (cue eye rolls), we thought we’d share our debriefing of the experience.
Mike: So my fellow fellow, here we are nearing the end.
Margie: Wait! Why are you killing us off already?
Mike: No, nothing like that. I just mean our time as fellows is coming to an end.
Margie: Well, that is like death to me…
Mike: Touché. It has been a great experience. What do you think you’ll most miss about it?
Margie: Besides staring at your hair every meeting?
Mike (stares blankly for an uncomfortably prolonged period): I thought we talked about not bringing the hair into conversations.
Margie: Oops. Sorry. I guess I’ll miss the dedicated time to talk about our craft. I’m not exaggerating when I say how incredible it’s been to kick around ideas, trying different teaching techniques and getting feedback about them, and just generally having my experiences and ideas validated by a group that I respect.
Mike: I’m not so sure some of my ideas should have been validated, but I too appreciated the validation.
Margie: I’m with you. That’s what’s been great too. Being about to have some not-so-great ideas, but with some processing with everyone, I was able to really turn them into great ideas.
Mike: You know what I’ll cherish from this experience. Getting to know you and the rest of our honey badger crew better (That means you, Cheryl Kohen and John Brady).
Margie: (with huge tears building in her eyes until they erupt causing streams of salty sorrow to pour down her face) (Note to our audience, Mike made me type that). It’s been an incredibly fun experience, which is kind of a weird way to talk about a teaching and learning fellowship even though it’s true.
Mike: (stoically but with implicit empathy) (Note to audience: Mike made himself type that). It was a pleasant surprise to have such a fun, enjoyable time in the fellowship.
Margie: I also want to mention the Snack and Shares. One, because I know Cheryl is getting cranky that we haven’t plugged the last one yet but also because I think they’ve mirrored our broader experience in the fellowship.
Mike: Yes, they were fun but also edifying.
Margie: Seriously, for those reading this, if you didn’t make it to the last one, you really missed an enjoyable conversation about some awesome stuff people at the college are doing. How would you describe our plans for the next Snack and Share?
Mike: Is this one of those projective tests where the word I use to describe it tells everyone something about my personality? I guess I would say...celebratory. Let’s see you do something with that.
Margie: Woah! Tone down the defensiveness. I was just asking you to talk about the topics we plan on discussing.
Mike: (shifts in his chair uncomfortably): Yes, ha ha. I was just trying to inject humor into this. Yes, that’s what the audience expects from us. Some levity along with some nuggets of teaching wisdom.
Margie: Anyway...
Mike: Active learning. Our last module has focused on active learning and how to engage our students better to achieve deeper, longer lasting learning.
Margie: Here’s where we pause for a demonstration...we are waiting Mike.
Mike: No pressure or anything. Let’s save the demonstrations for the Snack and Share. (sighs in relief that he was able to get out of that one) Or at least wait until then to learn from the great minds at DSC and ACUE and how we can up our game in the active learning arena. Something simple, like a think-pair-share activity, can elevate a normal discussion into something more.
Margie: I think, no matter what level you’re at in using active learning techniques, there’s always room to enhance what you’re doing. I’m excited to invite some all-stars at DSC to the Snack and Share to help us all learn how to be active learning pros. I think you’re right that doing something a little more active in the classroom can make a big difference.
Mike: Yes, I think I’ve learned from this module that this is the biggest area of improvement I need to make in my teaching. I’d like to think that I engage students, but in the never-ending quest to achieve adequate coverage of material in my class, I’ve discarded techniques that would help my students better retain the material in the long-term.
Margie: I think that’s an important point they made in the module. Basically, what’s the point in covering a whole bunch of material if your students don’t remember it?
Mike: Yep, I worry that I sometimes sacrifice retention of material in the pursuit of comprehensive coverage.
Margie: Like the demonstrations, let’s save some of this conversation for the Snack and Share. I don’t want to give away all of our secrets in this blog.
Mike: Yes, my bad. If you want to celebrate a great year of learning with ACUE and engage in a thoughtful discussion about how to improve your active learning game, join us Tuesday, May 2, 1-2 pm in the Faculty Innovation Center or by Microsoft Teams: Snack and Share May 2, 1-2pm
Margie: Let’s leave our audience with a little poem to close out our final blog post:
As we say adieu, to our time with ACUE
We extend a warm welcome to you.
To sit for a hair, and hope that you share
Some of your great teaching flair
So don’t be dismayed, we’ll see you in May
To put our talents and ideas on display.
With sharing and snacks, there’s nothing you’ll lack
Plus, who wants to miss the jokes that we’ll crack
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
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