Mark Burtch, Mathematics, Scottsdale Community College
The goal of my research project is to investigate the role conjecturing can play in a mathematics classroom. I am developing a robust characterization of conjecturing as a mathematical activity in the classroom which will include a classification of the different types of conjectures that occurred during two different teaching experiments. Ultimately, I hope to understand the effects these conjectures had on student learning. Additionally, I will attempt to understand the role that conjecturing played in the development of social norms (e.g. making sense of othersı reasoning and explaining oneıs own reasoning) as well as the development of classroom math practices. Finally, I will also study instructional moves and aspects of the curriculum that either hinder or facilitate conjecturing as a mathematical activity in the classroom.
Being a part of the MIL fellowship has been the difference between being reflective about teaching and learning only occasionally and often haphazardly and being reflective consistently and with purpose. The time required to make quality, in-depth observations about the very complex phenomena of teaching and learning is extensive and would be possible only at a minimal level were it not for the MIL fellowship.
Diane Clark, Language and Humanities, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
A surprisingly number of students have writing anxiety, which can be a debilitating condition that often leads students to avoid courses, majors, and jobs that require writing. In addition, this anxiety can have a strong impact on a studentıs ability to learn. Despite substantial evidence supporting these statements, very little has been written that addresses how writing teachers can help their students actually overcome their fears to increase their success as writers. This project begins to fill this gap through the exploration of an English 101 course designed specifically to help students overcome their writing fears while learning how to write more effectively. The primary goals of the project are to: 1) determine if the Overcoming Writing Anxiety English 101 course helps students significantly reduce their writing anxiety; 2) determine which anxiety reduction techniques are effective and develop additional techniques as needed; and 3) communicate with colleagues across disciplines to enhance our understanding of anxiety and the kinds of practices that will help reduce studentsı fears and allow them to focus on their learning.
Even though I have only been an MIL Fellow for a few months, my participation has already had an impact on both my teaching and my view of myself as a professional. Though I come from a campus that highly values collaboration, in reality, we often work in isolation. And as full-time faculty, we all have many important responsibilities that take us away from our primary focus, which is our studentsı learning. Thus, no matter how often we try to meet to discuss what we do in the classroom, our busy schedules seem to preclude sustaining any such exchange. But teaching is not a profession that thrives in isolation. Teachers need to keep abreast of the most recent research in learning theory; teachers need to talk to other teachers about their students, their experiences, and their ideas. For me, then, the most important things MIL has provided are time and a forum for sharing and creating knowledge. MIL gives us the availability, and more importantly, the venue to rededicate ourselves to our teaching and to reexamine our practices through the lens of scholarship and collaboration. MIL creates an exciting, dynamic environment that fuels our love of teaching and encourages us, as professionals, to continually examine our classroom practices in the search for ways to enhance our studentsı success. For a teacher, there is no greater gift.
William Farrar, Ph.D., Psychology, Estrella Mountain Community College
In my MIL project, I am looking at the role that collaborative learning activities can play to enhance student learning and success in hybrid (e.g., partially in-class and partially internet) classrooms. The focus of my research is on two issues: Can hybrid courses be used to teach students to take more personal responsibility for their own learning than they usually do in a regular classroom? And, can strategies for creating group identities be implemented in the hybrid environment to ensure that students get the social support that makes learning more meaningful?
On a personal level, I am also investigating how to effectively use action research paired with quantitative methodologies to rapidly assess, improve, and change teaching techniques.
I enjoy the MIL fellowship because it allows me to participate in the same dream I have for my students: To be part of a community of intellectually-focused peers who enjoy sharing their experiences of improving teaching and learning and are committed to excellence in their profession.
Dean Stover, English/Humanities, GateWay Community College
As an MIL Fellow, my project is based on two questions: Will I be able to help students become better independent/self-directed learners in hybrid courses? Do students become more or less interested in civic engagement by researching a social issue and writing letters to civic leaders?
For each of the questions, I am reviewing the latest research on independent/self-directed learning and civic engagement to develop a framework from which to address the data I collect. I have developed a pre-post quantitative instrument and pre-post qualitative reflection to (1) assess studentsı perception about their ability to be become better self-directed learners and (2) measure social efficacy or the studentsı perception of the ability of an individual to affect social change.
I chose to participate in this program because Elizabeth Skinner was an MIL Fellow when I was Chair of Liberal Arts at GateWay. With her help, we integrated teaching and learning discussions into our division meetings. Everyone was energized by sharing and discussing classroom issues and ideas, and I wanted to deepen my experience in the scholarship of teaching and learning. By keeping a teaching journal and making my teaching decisions public with other MIL Fellows, I am assessing my effectiveness in teaching students how to become better self-directed learners and better citizens, goals that I believe are essential for a quality Liberal Arts education at GateWay.
Ly T. L. Tran-Nguyen, Ph.D., Psychology, Mesa Community College
As an MIL fellow for 2003-04, I have a unique opportunity to empirically test my ideas about teaching and learning and to interact with colleagues who share similar interests. I have learned a great deal and appreciate this wonderful MIL experience!
Neursoscience research suggests that the brain is an incredibly plasticı organ that is capable of lifelong changes, a concept referred to as neural plasticity (Greenough & Chang 1989). Neural plasticity can occur in response to various factors; one factor that has important implications for teaching and learning is experience. Several studies have demonstrated that experience in an enriched environment or behavioral training can lead to changes in specific brain structures in animals (for review see Kolb & Whishaw, 1998; Rosenzweig, 1996). One implication from these studies is that the richer the learning experience, presumably the better the learning. Thus, the question for my MIL project is whether the type of experience can affect the amount of learning and retention. This project compares the effectiveness of various teaching strategies on student learning and attitude. Students enrolled in Introduction to Psychology were recruited to participate in the experiment during the Brain and Behavior unit. The neuroanatomy of the brain was used as the topic of investigation because of the complexity of the topic matter. Student volunteers will be assigned to one of three conditions that involve the study of basic neuroanatomy terminology and exploration of brain structures through: 1. computer-animated CD, 2. hands-on sheep brain manipulation, or 3. traditional transparency-style lectures. It is hypothesized that exploration of basic brain neuroanatomy via computer-animated CD activities and hands-on sheep brain manipulation will lead to greater learning and retention compared to the traditional lecture-style strategy because the former teaching strategies are likely to be more interactive/ stimulating in nature.
Maureen Zimmerman, Ph.D., Food and Nutrition, Mesa Community College
I am energized by the study of teaching and learning, so was naturally drawn to the MIL fellowship. The primary purpose of my project is to identify and teach students the academic self-regulatory behaviors necessary for success in a domain-specific, web-based course. While academic self-regulation and its constituent forms of self-reflection are seldom taught, a body of literature does exist to support the notion that strategies for academic success can be taught to students. These strategies can be learned through a core set of instructional and personal practice experiences by diverse students, ranging in age from elementary school to college and differing widely in ability.
My design includes administering the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire a tool that measures different scales to determine degree of self-regulation. A qualitative analysis of student e-mail will also be used to shed light on difficulties students are having in the course. Students drawn from a random sample will be asked to participate in a topical interview, a qualitative interview that focuses on process and is concerned with what happened, when, and why. These interviews will help ascertain self-regulatory skills that were developed during the course. Through a study of the literature, I will map out descriptions of the process required to develop self-regulatory behaviors by identifying the steps or logical sequences for learning these behaviors. I will engage students in the learning process, and will model academic self-regulation.
The MIL fellowship has not only rekindled my focus on teaching and learning, but elevated that focus to include the scholarship of teaching and learning. There are two strong components to MIL: the project itself and building a community of learners with other fellows. Those two aspects of MIL are reinforcing the notion that research and research-based activity provide the requisite depth and breadth of pedagogical understanding necessary to fortify my teaching practice. The fellowship has given me the time to immerse myself in the literature on teaching and learning; the many and varied dialogues with the fellows have helped me to crystallize concepts I am learning from that research and subsequently applying to my project. I am certain that this experience will be one of the highlights of my teaching career at Mesa Community College.
 MIL 2003 Fellows
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