Renton Technical College February 2003

Office of Instructional Improvement Volume 9 No. 6

Helping Students with Memorization

Think there's nothing we can do to improve our memory? Think again! There are many ways to develop both short and long-term memory. Try a Doodles activity at http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/droodles/index.html to see for yourself!

Here's a great activity to help students improve memory skills:

Break the class into groups and have each group try a different memory method (from the listings below). Each group should work with the same piece of information. Then have them compare: the merits and limits of each method, which group had the best success rate, what type of information would each method work best for, and which group was the fastest. For a listing of memory methods, go to this website, http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/makinggrade/mnemonic.html.

For more information check out http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/makinggrade/improving.html.

Other memory fun is at http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/mnemon.html or play one of these memory games at http://www.exploratorium.edu/memory/dont_forget/index.html

Students who are better self-assessors are better performers

Here are some examples of rubrics to help teachers explain and students understand their level of mastery. The examples are based on math and science, but it is easy to see how they can be applied to self-assessment in any course to-support educators in assessing their students' performance, while teaching students to self-assess their own work. Click here to see Exemplars rubrics for teachers and students http://www.exemplars.com/rubrics.html

What makes an effective teacher?
The best teachers tend to set high expectations and avoid standing still while giving lectures, according to an ongoing study by the Public Education Foundation. The most experienced teachers tend to be more effective. The study has also found that those who differentiate instruction based on individual students tend to be more successful. The steps to read this article are a little more complicated than usual – click on the link, go to the back issue for December 30, 2002, click on schools on the left-hand column. It is the third article listed What Traits do Good Teachers Share? Click on the following web site for the Detroit News article http://www.detnews.com/

Teacher-Friendly Websites

Here’s a useful gateway website that indexes some teacher-friendly websites in an organized, easy-to-use way. The sites listed have themselves been screened against a 23 step criteria, so there is a lot to explore here. Although some of the topics are labeled as K-12 activities, you will find many activities, interactive sites and useful web places from this site. Do not be put off by the “registration.” You can search without registering just by clicking on the menu topic you are interested in. http://www.teachers-work.com/USAnews.htm

Lessons from a Site Visit

Gary Neill recently visited Spokane Community College in an advisory capacity. Spokane is beginning an ITEC program. Gary’s comments give insight, among other things, into the strength of block programs in student retention and completion and the value of the instructor’s mentoring role. Click here to read Gary’s report.

Scholarship Opportunity for Instructors

If you are looking for funding to return to school, might investigate the Horace Mann Scholarship for Educators. This insurance company offers funds to help public and private school educators to attend college. The 2003 program will offer thirty-six scholarships totaling $30,000. The awards include one $5,000 scholarship; fifteen $1,000 scholarships; and twenty $500 scholarships. Horace Mann will pay the scholarships directly to the college or university of the recipient's choice for tuition, fees, and other educational expenses.

To be eligible, an applicant must be an educator employed by a U.S. public or private school district or U.S. public or private college/university planning to enter a two- or four-year accredited college or university and have a minimum of two years' teaching experience. Read more about the Horace Mann Scholarship program at Feel free to contact Instructional Improvement to discuss your educational plans. We can help you identify schools and programs that will meet your needs. https://www.horacemann.com/edscholarship/

Authentic Assessment

If you are developing or revising curriculum and trying to match an assessment to a competency, you will find some ideas at this great website created by Jon Mueller. Jon discusses how authentic testing differs from traditional academic testing. His site is divided into three major parts:

·  What is Authentic Assessment?

·  Why do it?

·  How do you do it?

A special feature is methodology for creating two types of checklists to measure student’s demonstrated competency level. Both holistic and rubric assessments are explained in everyday English. This is a very concise and readable collection of definitions, methodology and principles. You can access the "Authentic Assessment Toolbox." at http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/

Try out the Game-O-Matic!

The Game-O-Matic website is a really quick way for you to make web-based activities for practicing vocabulary. You customize it by adding your own content. There are 8 different game formats available, including Concentration and Multiple Choice. Click on the game icon from the home page, and you are ready to enter your content. Save your game onto disk to use later with students. (or, have students create games for each other!) Game-O-Matic is provided free by the Center for Language Education and Research at: http://clear.msu.edu/dennie/matic

Quotable

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." ~ Henry Adams

The mission of the Office of Instructional Improvement is to advance educational strategies, seek to improve the quality of learning environments, and support RTC staff as they prepare a diverse student population for work.