For Viji Sathy, hitting the halfway point of a course is a good time to regroup with students to hear how things are going. But it’s easier said than done, Dr. Sathy explains in this month’s ACUE Expert Series. The timing has to be just right, and it’s important to respond to students’ midsemester feedback without making dramatic changes.

Dr. Sathy, who teaches psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a featured instructor in ACUE’s online Course in Effective Teaching Practices, shares additional insights in the full interview below. Please add your own insights and questions in the comments section!

What’s the biggest challenge to getting feedback in the middle of the semester?

VS: One challenge to midsemester feedback is simply finding the time and place for it. That’s something I struggle with myself—just figuring out when I’m far enough along in the semester that students have a sense of how things are going, but not so far along that I can’t make changes. So finding that sweet spot is helpful.

One of the ways I encourage new faculty to think about feedback is to find a colleague whom you trust and ask them if they’d be willing to exchange their students’ feedback with you. So you read feedback from their students, and they do the same for you, and then you both report back to one another. It allows the other person, who might be a bit more objective, to summarize what they’re seeing from the feedback with a different perspective.

Video: Reasons to collect student feedback at the halfway mark

What are some of your favorite ways to collect midsemester feedback?

VS: I’ve used the same two prompts for a few years now.

First, I ask students, “What aspects of the course (class, videos, in-class exercises, assignments, quizzes, readings, etc.) do you find helpful? That is, what aspects of the course are working well for you and should be continued as they are?” It focuses students on the learning and resources, and less on me as an instructor.

The second prompt asks, “What changes should be made to the way the course is taught? That is, what can I do differently to make the course a more valuable learning experience for you?”

I put the questions up on the screen and hand out index cards, but I tell students not to put their names on them. I also give them a good amount of time to think and respond, because I don’t want them to be rushed.

After I’ve had a chance to review their feedback and debrief, I make sure to circle back to what they could be doing better to learn the material. Doing so communicates that we are in partnership to achieve a common goal.

I also do a little bit of instruction related to feedback, and I talk about how important it is to give really useful feedback. If you think something is going great, tell me why it’s going great. Offer a reason or an example of something that’s working for you, so that I can use that information more effectively. I find that students often haven’t had any formal or informal instruction on providing constructive criticism, and this can be a helpful way to broach the topic.

How do you determine which changes to make based on the results you collect?

VS: I try to be reasonable about what changes I have time to take on, because I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew. Part of it is also thinking about fairness and not switching midstream in a way that can create a disparity for students. It’s important to be really mindful about any changes you create and how they may unduly affect students.

For me, it’s a matter of seeing if I can have some small wins and if there are little things I can offer that don’t involve a great deal of effort or strain on the course or schedule.

For example, my assignments used to be due at noon on Fridays. But a lot of students said they were in class during the day on Friday, so they had to finish the assignments Thursday night. They wanted more time on Fridays, so we talked about it and made a change to make assignments due at midnight on Fridays. For them, that little change demonstrated I was willing to listen, take their feedback seriously, and change something that would be helpful to them. It is important to do that.

What inspired you to begin taking notes about your teaching?

VS: It was a matter of practicality, actually. There were certain class periods or exercises that weren’t quite working for me, and I knew that if I wrote them down immediately after class was done, I would be much more likely to remember them the next time that topic came up in the next semester. Originally, it was a really crude system. I had PowerPoints every class, and I would put comments in the notes of the title slide, like “this exercise took much longer than I thought it would,” or “think about cutting this out,” or “this is something I should really expand on the next time around.”

Video: Taking notes on your teaching

Now I have a different system, but it’s a similar idea. While it’s fresh, I jot down a few things that will help me improve next time around. Using the online tool Trello, I make a board for each week of the course and add a note about different things to think about that week to each board. They can include revisions to the slides or polls, new examples I identify that I don’t want to lose track of, or copies of emails I’ve sent out to the whole class that week so that I don’t have to craft them again from scratch. The aim is both to improve my teaching and help me be more efficient in some of the administrative tasks for a course.

What’s something that you’ve recently learned about some aspect of teaching and learning that’s excited you?

VS: I’m always experimenting with my office hours. For a while, I’ve had students sign up for a five-minute block and use the time for personal introductions. I usually hold them in a central place on campus and ask that they come prepared with a question for me—and encourage them to ask me anything. I make sure to welcome them to my official office hours should they have course material to discuss, want to talk about future plans, or to simply check in.

Recently, I started experimenting with a bring-a-friend format. I would allow two or three people to sign up for the same time slot of around 10 or 15 minutes. Some students feel more comfortable doing this with other people, and I don’t want there to be any barriers in coming to talk with me.

I’ve also added another office-hours format where I pick a common location and bring a few snacks, and we work together in the same space—a coworking community. Students have taken me up on that, and it’s another informal way for us to connect. Little things like this can foster inclusion and acknowledge that a diversity of methods may be needed for a diverse set of students.

New Jersey City University’s Daniel Julius

Editor’s note: This piece is by Daniel Julius, Provost and Senior Vice President of New Jersey City University. It originally appeared in Education Dive and is published below with permission. 

Greater fiscal stability for the nation’s colleges and universities can be achieved right inside our classrooms. That’s the important finding of a new paper released this month by the American Council on Education (ACE). The report, Instructional Quality, Student Outcomes, and Institutional Finances, demonstrates that efforts to improve instructional quality lead to stronger rates of student retention and graduation, generating tuition revenue that outweighs the cost of the investment.

The report could not be better timed. The erosion of financial support for public higher education institutions over the past decade is starting to look permanent. For example, here in New Jersey the governor’s executive budget keeps our operational funds flat, at levels 23% below what they were in 2008.

Meanwhile costs have gone up, and there’s only so much we can save through operating efficiencies. Nor can we raise tuition without the risk of putting college out of reach for the very students who will most benefit. As it stands, 50% of New Jersey residents hold a postsecondary credential but by 2020, 68% of jobs in our state will require at least that level of education. For the sake of our students and state, closing this degree gap is an economic imperative.

On this count, we must do better. Nationally, three out of ten freshmen don’t return for their sophomore year. At our community colleges, 70% of students don’t complete their degree in three years; at our baccalaureate institutions, 50% don’t complete in six. Within a global knowledge economy, these failure rates represent a real and present threat to our country’s prosperity.

For all of these reasons, ACE’s paper is a breath of fresh air. Research shows that when college students receive quality instruction their rates of course completion and program retention go up, achievement gaps narrow, and graduation numbers improve. ACE’s report takes the benefits of good teaching one step further: Investments in faculty development and other pedagogical training efforts can generate positive financial returns, given the cost savings from stronger student retention and the increased tuition revenue when more graduate. Simply, fulfilling our educational mission is good financial stewardship.

At New Jersey City University (NJCU), we’ve made instructional excellence a top priority. Over the last year, we’ve joined with colleges and universities nationwide to train and credential our faculty in effective instruction through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). NJCU was recognized at the ACE Annual Meeting, along with 13 other institutions, for our commitment to student success through great teaching. As an institution we’ve decided that the only thing more expensive than supporting our faculty and preparing them to teach, with the approaches that help student succeed, is not doing so.

This week, higher ed leaders discuss how they are promoting great teaching with ACUE’s Course at ACE2017. Plus, an instructor uses a competition based on March Madness to teach students about biology.

Prioritizing great teaching.College and university leaders shared fresh insights on how they are implementing ACUE’s Course in Effective Teaching Practices to scale effective teaching on their campuses. (The Q Blog)

Cost-effective pedagogy. The American Council on Education released a new white paper by Ithaka S+R that examines the financial benefits of improving instructional quality. (Higher Education Today)

Leadership excellence. Gail Mellow, president of LaGuardia Community College, is the winner of the 2017 TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence. The award recognizes outstanding leadership on the part of a college or university president or chancellor. (Higher Education Today)

Rethinking exams. Kevin Gannon broke the exam mold he’s used since his TA days and redesigned assessments to make them more aligned to learning outcomes. (Vitae)

March Mammal Madness. Faced with distracted students during March Madness, a human evolution professor created a tournament in which students fill out brackets predicting the biological fitness of 64 animals. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Teaching through tears. Several instructors explain how they deal with crying students, with responses ranging from showing deep sympathy and empathy to dutifully assuming the role of the rigorous professor who holds fast to high academic standards. (Vitae)

Technology tools. These four digital platforms can help instructors design more creative lessons. (Teaching Culture)

Open pedagogy. Not only does open access provide a cheaper alternative to textbooks, but it also allows students to contribute to educational materials as opposed to merely consuming them, Robin DeRosa says. (Hybrid Pedagogy)

Uncharted territory. From controllers that enable geology students to “fly” through the earth’s layers to body sensors that allow dance students to interact with 3D models of their skeletons, virtual reality is giving instructors new ways to liven up course material. (EdSurge)

Journeys, not destinations.Education should not merely be a stepping stone to future careers; rather, college coursework and seminars should help students find their passions and encourage them to pursue meaningful work, Angel Pérez says. (The Washington Post)

How can institutions ensure that effective instruction is a key component of their student success plans?

That question was at the center of a lively discussion at ACE2017 on Sunday afternoon. In the concurrent session titled Great Teaching Is No Longer Optional, college and university leaders shared fresh insights on how they are implementing new programs designed to improve instruction on their campuses.

Lenore Rodicio, provost at Miami Dade College, said the traditional “menu” of student success initiatives does not address the core teaching and learning that takes place between faculty and students.

“What’s critical is the experience that students have with faculty on a day-to-day basis inside the classroom,” said Rodicio.

Caption: A slide from ACUE’s presentation at ACE2017 shows that many student success initiatives do not directly focus on classroom instruction.

Joining Rodicio were Amy Chasteen, Vice Provost at the University of Southern Mississippi and Jane Gates, Provost of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, a system of 17 institutions and 85,000 students. All three leaders have implemented ACUE’s online training and credentialing program as part of efforts to improve student outcomes on their campuses.

Panel moderator and ACUE’s Chief Academic Officer Penny MacCormack shared that the dramatic increase in adjunct faculty reinforces the need for a comprehensive training program in effective instruction. “Faculty whose primary responsibility is to teach deserve support to do the job we expect them to do,” she said.

Caption: A slide from ACUE’s presentation at ACE2017 reveals a transformation of the professoriate over the last 40 years. 

College and university presidents often express concerns that faculty may bristle at efforts to improve teaching. The panelists said their own reservations quickly dissolved once their faculty had an opportunity to learn about and participate in the program.

“Across the system there is excitement from faculty,” said Gates, the provost of CSCU, which launched ACUE’s program at four campuses in January. “They’re saying ‘Ah here’s a new approach that I haven’t thought about before.’ There is now a waiting list of faculty who want to become a part of this project.”

At Southern Mississippi, Miller said faculty were sold because ACUE’s recommended teaching techniques are steeped in four decades of research. “That was critical for faculty buy-in,” said Miller.

As the discussion came to a close, the panelists discussed the positive impact that their initiatives are having on faculty and students. Rodicio shared a moving story about a seasoned humanities professor who said he struggled for years to engage his students in material for an introductory course. After the professor implemented a series of techniques he learned from ACUE’s Course, Rodicio said he became emotional when talking about how it had improved his classroom.

“The experience literally moved him to tears because for years he’s been teaching and he had never seen that level of engagement.”

This week, Rutgers University—Newark launches ACUE’s Course, and a professor stresses the importance of training new PhDs in effective pedagogy.

Teaching excellence partnership. Rutgers University—Newark has made ACUE’s Course a cornerstone initiative of its P3 Collaboratory, a new program to support the existing and emerging professoriate. (Star-Ledger)

Emphasis on instruction. Donna Fletcher stresses the importance of teaching new PhDs how to improve their instruction, adding that ACUE can help universities make quality teaching a higher priority on their campuses. (University Business)

Peer fears. Students often get frustrated by the peer review process, but small refinements can ensure that these sessions are helpful to students, David Gooblar writes. (Pedagogy Unbound)

Tabling traditional teaching. The changing role of faculty means that professors are increasingly expected to focus on their work as instructors, says Steve Mintz. (Higher Ed Gamma)

Administrators in the classroom. A CUNY dean writes that teaching at least one class per semester has helped him stay connected to both students and faculty at his institution. (The Chronicle of Higher Education – Paywall)

Growing as professors. Bonni Stachowiack shares highlights from the latest Lilly Conference, including a presentation from Stephen Brookfield about the need to continually evolve as an instructor. (Teaching in Higher Ed)

Compelling critical thinking. Instructors can develop students’ critical thinking skills by crafting assignments that include relevant issues and opportunities for students to ask questions, John Warner writes. (Just Visiting)

Documenting drafts. A professor explains how video-grading software has helped him improve his feedback. (Higher Ed Professor)

We are excited to share news about our partnership with Rutgers University–Newark, which RU-N announced this week. Educators at Rutgers-Newark have made ACUE a cornerstone initiative its innovative P3 Collaboratory, a comprehensive new faculty development center. Check out details from the announcement below, which has been cross-posted from Rutgers’ official news site.

Effective college teaching is a moving target. Staying on top of your game as an instructor across generations requires constant attention to what drives student learning. But unlike K-12 education, higher education has not had in place the kind of professional development infrastructure needed to support faculty members in making evidence-based refinements to their teaching. That is why Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N) has launched a five-year partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to train and credential instructional faculty through ACUE’s Course in Effective Teaching Practices. Faculty are a central part of RU-N’s strategic vision and student success plans, and the program is part of a long-term partnership to significantly improve student learning outcomes through instructional excellence.

The ACUE program is a cornerstone initiative of RU-N’s new P3 Collaboratory for Pedagogy, Professional Development, and Publicly-Engaged Scholarship, a comprehensive faculty development center that supports excellence in teaching, scholarship, and leadership while maintaining a healthy work-life balance for the emerging (that is, Ph.D. students) and existing professoriate.

“Research confirms that students’ success and instructional practices are directly correlated,” notes Bonnie Veysey, professor and director of the P3 Collaboratory. “Because we believe in investing in faculty and student success, RU-N is providing the ACUE program to participants at no cost.” The university will be evaluating the impact of the program through a combination of metrics, including participant skill assessments, course taker evaluations, and measures of student learning. Veysey expects that RU-N’s already high graduation rates will rise, along with faculty and student satisfaction.

The ACUE program is endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE), one of the nation’s most respected leaders in higher education, which has invested in a landmark collaboration with ACUE to promote effective college instruction.  “ACUE’s course offers higher education institutions a comprehensive and scalable opportunity to support instructors through tools and techniques proven to help students succeed,” said Molly Corbett Broad, president of ACE. “ACE and ACUE have an important shared goal to dramatically expand the use of effective teaching practices to benefit students, faculty, and institutions.”

This semester, a total of 32 faculty and Ph.D. students are participating in the 13-week hybrid online/in-person program. The program features 25 modules designed to encourage classroom development, promote learning and higher thinking, increase participation and enthusiasm for learning material, and establish a more productive classroom environment. These modules feature more than 180 instructional videos, with interviews and classroom demonstrations of over 70 leading subject matter experts and award-winning faculty, which includes top instructors and experts at Rutgers-Newark.

Dr. Robert Puhak from the Department of Mathematics discusses strategies to connect with students and increase their motivation.

  Dr. Jerome Williams, Rutgers Business School, discusses the importance of embracing diversity in the classroom.

Participants view the modules, try out new learning techniques each week, then discuss the modules, refining their skills and teaching styles. At the end of this process, each participant will receive the ACE-recognized teaching certificate.

“Comprehensive support and training for instructional faculty are necessary for ensuring that all students benefit from effective instruction,” said Penny MacCormack, ACUE’s chief academic officer. “Rutgers-Newark has made great teaching central to its student success strategies and ACUE is proud to support faculty in this important initiative.”

Although the program has only been in place a couple of months, it’s already making an impact. “I feel like my job in the classroom changed from lecturer to facilitator of student learning,” explains Christina M. Zambrano-Varghese, who teaches psychology.  “In the beginning, I was just testing out new techniques each week, but now that I am putting all of the strategies together, I envision my time with my students differently and set better goals to make sure they are really learning the information, not just hearing me talk about it. I see how much the students are enjoying and learning, and I think my passion for the course material and helping my students learn has really had a chance to shine.”

Zambrano-Varghese adds, “I am most excited for teaching next semester, when I can plan out my whole course structure and syllabus based upon these new principles I have learned and implement them throughout the entire semester.  I am also looking forward to assessing whether students are performing better during the class because it seems like they are truly comprehending the material on a deeper level.”

This week, the ACUE Faculty Development Institute expands at Southern Mississippi and Miami Dade College wins a prestigious recognition.

Achieving the Dream. Miami Dade College, a founding ACUE partner, received the 2017 Achieving the Dream’s Leah Meyer Austin Award for outstanding achievement in designing a student-focused culture. (MDC News)

ACUE in action. After a successful launch last fall, The University of Southern Mississippi is expanding its ACUE Faculty Development Institute. (Southern Miss Now)

Wiki-learning. Asking students to create and contribute to Wikipedia pages can help them learn how to research topics and share their knowledge with a larger audience. (nprEd)

Dealing with diversion. In the age of distraction, instructors can engage students by sharing clear learning objectives and employing activities such as quizzes, polls, or writing prompts to stimulate students’ thinking before or after a lesson. (GradHacker)

First-year innovation. There are myriad ways to transform the freshman-year experience, such as fostering a sense of belonging and involving first-year students in the institution’s research studies. (Higher Ed Gamma)

Professors on board. Faculty are more likely to support campus initiatives when they benefit teaching and learning; for instance, a Maryville professor backed the campus-wide distribution of iPads when he discovered ways of incorporating interactive apps into his lesson plans. (The Chronicle of Higher Education – Paywall)

Superstar scholars. A Brookings Institute study suggests that there is no discernible link between the quality of professors’ research and their teaching skills. (Inside Higher Ed)

Instructing instructors. A new book of student commentary aims to show instructors how they can meet the learning needs of their students, offering advice ranging from “go easy on jokes” to “proofread your emails to students.” (EdSurge)

Measuring success. A report from the Association of American Colleges and Universities shows that instructors should emphasize teaching transferable and critical thinking skills. (Inside Higher Ed)

Design thinking. An instructor advocates for an expansion of evidence-based teaching practices and exploring new ways to create learning experiences that cater to students’ needs. (Medium)