by Katie Beres, Instructional Liaison, CTTL

Dr. Patti Clayton facilitated a workshop for the SLU community on May 7 on the topic of critical reflection. As a follow up to her workshop this article provides a summary of various metacognitive activities (including Clayton’s DEAL model) to support student learning.

What are metacognitive activities?

Metacognitive activities engage students to reflect on their thought processes: their learning, understanding, etc. The extent of the activity may range from a prompts framing the introduction and conclusion of a lecture or a stand-alone assessment activity.

Students who are more aware of how they engage with their learning experience are more committed to learning and can identify patterns in their behavior that either help or hinder their learning process. The ability to articulate their learning strategies, in turn, helps to refine and improve their behaviors to become more effective. Teaching metacognition is also an opportunity to explicitly discuss the philosophy behind decision-making in your discipline. Examples of types of metacognitive activities, models, and corresponding tools to facilitate them include:

For further reading (and listening):

• Ash, S. L. & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, Deepening, and Documenting Learning: The Power of Critical Reflection in Applied Learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1(1), 25-48.
• Jaschik, S. (2011, Jan 31). Colleges Try to Use Metacognition to Improve Student Learning. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/31/colleges_try_to_use_metacognition_to_improve_student_learning
• Lovett, M. (2008). Teaching metacognition [Presentation recording]. Retrieved from ELI Annual Meeting 2008 Resources  http://www.educause.edu/eli/events/eli-annual-meeting/2008/teaching-metacognition
• The role of metacognition in teaching geoscience (n.d.) http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/metacognition/index.html
• Weimer, M. (2012, Nov 19). Deep learning vs. surface learning: Getting students to understand the difference. Faculty Focus. [Web log]. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/deep-learning-vs-surface-learning-getting-students-to-understand-the-difference/

Dr. Beccy Aldrich explains how and why she partnered with a colleague at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden this spring 2013 semester to teach students about how culture influences the understanding of occupational therapy, geopolitics, and disability.

by Michaella Thornton, Assistant Director for Instructional Design

It is an inspiring and instructive privilege to be able to peek inside others’ classrooms to experience how others teach, hear how and why teachers make the choices they do for students, learning goals and objectives, and respective disciplines, and to consider how such possibilities may be transformed by those who teach elsewhere and/or do research on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

On Friday, April 19th past and current Innovative Teaching Fellows shared their perspectives about teaching in the Learning Studio, a state-of-the-art teaching space designed by a team of Saint Louis University faculty and students as part of the Herman Miller Learning Spaces Research Program.  Almost 40 full-time SLU faculty and administrators attended this at-capacity event.

Presenting CTTL Innovative Teaching Fellows included:

• Jenny Agnew, Ph.D., School for Professional Studies (Fall 2012), who discussed how her “ENGL 150:  The Process of Composition” students used theme-based writing projects via a public WordPress blog to explore the collaborative and on-going nature of writing, food, and culture, in addition to sharing how flexible classroom design may enhance the teaching of composition, especially in hosting teacher-student conferences, brainstorming sessions, and peer review.
• Beccy Aldrich, Ph.D., Department of Occupational Sciences and Occupational Therapy (Spring 2013), who shared how her “OCS 372: Occupations in Diverse Contexts” class uses immersive, collaborative learning technologies such as Fuze Meeting to connect with the Karolinska Institutet, a premier medical university located in Stockholm, Sweden, to foster a more globalized and diverse student perspective about occupational therapy.
• Paul Lynch, Ph.D., Department of English (Spring 2013), who shared how his graduate-level “ENGL 501: Teaching Writing” class uses a course blog and Google Docs to empower first-year composition instructors to co-construct assignments, the course syllabus, and model effective writing feedback for first-year composition students.
• Nathaniel Rivers, Ph.D., Department of English (Fall 2012), gave the audience a first-hand look at what he and his students have learned through the course, “ENGL 401: New Media Science Writing,” by sharing a snippet from his forthcoming jointly-created webtext, “Articulation.”  To see and/or hear a  different Vimeo video that sets the tone for the course Dr. Rivers held in the Learning Studio last fall, please click here.
• Thomas Stewart, J.D., School of Law (Fall 2012), who discussed how his first-year Evidence students used Google Docs and team-based and case-based learning to identify, apply, and contextualize the Federal Rules of Evidence (and the Missouri counterparts) to prepare students to practice law as professional attorneys.

We are so grateful to the Symposium panelists, who make this annual event possible by generously sharing their teaching and learning reflections with the larger Saint Louis University community.  [update on Tuesday, May 15th]: For those in the SLU community who were unable to attend the Symposium and would like to view a password-protected video, please email me at mthornt7[at]slu[dot]edu and I will enroll you in the CTTL Events course via Blackboard Learn.

Special thanks is also due to Flannery Burke, Ph.D., Department of History (Spring 2012), who prepared and introduced the Symposium panelists and deftly facilitated the Q&A session that immediately followed the panelists’ presentations.

We especially look forward to continuing the reflective conversation next April (2014) when we host our 3rd Annual Learning Studio Symposium.  Since the Innovative Teaching Fellowship program began in Fall 2011, the faculty who teach in the Learning Studio have much to share with the broader community about what teaching practices and educational technologies resonate with them, transfer to classrooms outside of the Learning Studio, the role of instructional design, and how providing space, time, and support to be in a new or refreshed mindset can make all the difference in reinvigorating or creating innovative learning environments for 21st Century students.

Most of The Notebook’s on-going posts (or articles) each Wednesday will explore the following standing editorial categories:

• The Center’s 15-year Anniversary: Articles and reflections related to the 15-year anniversary of the Center
• CTTL in the News: Newsworthy or noteworthy posts about the Center, Innovative Teaching or Faculty fellows in the News, etc.
• CTTL People: Profiles on CTTL staff, advisory board members, Faculty and Innovative Teaching fellows, etc.
• Engaging All Learners: Our programming theme for the Fall 2012-Spring 2013 academic year
• From the Director, Dr. Debra Rudder Lohe
• Spotlight on Teaching: Insightful and transformative pedagogical strategies from SLU faculty and CTTL staff
• Teaching with Technology: A place to highlight best practices and pedagogical approaches to incorporating purposeful technology into the classroom
• Upcoming Events
• Weekly Reflection: A podcast series focused on Ignatian pedagogy, among other topics, that will kick-off in the fall 2012, written and produced by Dr. Gina Merys

The biggest benefit in hosting The Notebook as a weekly blog instead of a quarterly newsletter is that our connection to stakeholders — Saint Louis University faculty, graduate students, administrators, and fellow centers of teaching and learning — is even more immediate and interactive. We hope the newest iteration of The Notebook will encourage readers (especially SLU faculty) to share comments, ideas, approaches to teaching and learning, and consider contributing to The Notebook as a guest blogger. For more information on contributing to this blog, please review our style and submission guide, or read more about the mission of The Notebook in the About page.

Last but not least, subscribing to The Notebook can be done in one of two ways: via email subscription (see the “Updates by Email” section on the right-hand side of the blog) or via RSS feed. To see how to subscribe to the blog, please check out the following short, three-minute video on our Vimeo channel:

• How to Subscribe to The Notebook via Email or RSS Feed

If you would like more information on how RSS works, please visit the following resources as well:

• RSS in Plain English by Common Craft [YouTube Video]
• What the Heck is RSS? [short yet comprehensive Web article]
• A Basic Tutorial Introduction to RSS Feeds for Non-technical People [short yet comprehensive Web article]

Greetings from the newly-christened Paul C. Reinert, S.J. Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.  Officially, this year marks the 15^th anniversary for the Center (formerly, the Reinert Center for Teaching Excellence), but the fact is, we’ve been transforming teaching at Saint Louis University even longer than that.

Twenty years ago, in 1992, the then-Graduate School created the Graduate School Teaching Resource Room, in an effort to better prepare graduate students for their future academic careers.  The idea for the Resource Room – like so many good ideas that have taken root at SLU over the years – came from the late Don Brennan, who was Dean of the Graduate School at the time and who was deeply committed to the formation of excellent university teachers.

The story goes that Dean Brennan, along with the late J.J. O’Brien (professor emeritus of education), put a small library of teaching resources and a handful graduate assistants in a corner room in the Graduate School, and the first formal resource for instructional development at SLU was born.  In an interview several years ago, Dr. Jim Korn, professor emeritus of psychology, explained that, informally, graduate students and faculty alike had been consulting with Dr. O’Brien – whom Korn called “the saint of teaching” at SLU – about pedagogy for years, hanging around in hallways and chatting with him while he smoked.  (To hear more of the interview with Dr. Korn about the Center’s history, listen to the podcasts found on the following page)

By early 1997, the Resource Room had made such an impression on campus that Dr. Korn, in his new role as associate graduate dean for teaching, headed a faculty committee that petitioned University administration to establish a formal teaching center, which would serve both graduate students and faculty across the campus.  The committee was successful, and in the fall of 1997, the Center for Teaching Excellence officially began its work.  Just a few years later, in 2001, it would be christened the Paul C. Reinert, S.J. Center for Teaching Excellence, in honor of the long-time SLU president whose commitment to innovation and excellence are unrivaled.

First located in O’Brien House (named for that aforementioned “saint”), the Center officially began by offering a small number of services for faculty, in addition to consulting with graduate teaching assistants and offering the Certificate in University Teaching Skills.  The Certificate – originally designed for graduate students – is still alive and well.  Recently, we’ve even seen an increase in the number of faculty participants, which is a strong indication of the quality of the program. (In May, we celebrated our largest group of recipients to date: 50 total Certificates were awarded to SLU graduate students and faculty, which brought our total for the academic year to about 60.)

The Center has continued to grow since those early days.  Thanks in large part to the reflective, thoughtful leadership of Dr. Mary Stephen, who led the Center for almost a decade (until her retirement in January 2011), and to a robust, dedicated faculty Advisory Board, we have continued to deepen our roots in the SLU community and to set a high bar for the quality of programs and services we offer.

Today, a mere 15 years after our founding as a formal Center, we now enjoy a rich diversity of faculty and graduate students attending our programs and seeking our services, and we increasingly are invited by departments and colleges to hold unit-level workshops on teaching and assessment of learning.  Additionally, we often are called upon to share our expertise on effective teaching practices with other educators on campus—others from whom students learn (such as academic advisors, Learning Communities residence hall coordinators, and the like), in this holistic, Jesuit effort to care for and educate the “whole person” (cura personalis).

Ultimately, strong leadership, faculty commitment, and ongoing administrative support have made the Center’s first 15 years (or is it 20?) successful ones.  As we look ahead to the next 15, we can only hope that our presence and sustained growth continue to serve as evidence that “teaching is valued and has a high priority at Saint Louis University,” as Dean Brennan hoped (correspondence with the founding Advisory Board members).

All year long, this blog will explore the rich history of the Center – and the faculty who have contributed to its formative years – as well as offering 15-year themed suggestions, tips, and reflections.  So, join us as we celebrate this important milestone!

The Center celebrated a record number of 50 Certificate in University Teaching Skills graduates on May 4, 2012 with Dr. Gina Merys, Assistant Director, and Dr. Debra Rudder Lohe, Director of the CTTL.

The Center honored a record number of 50 Certificate in University Teaching Skills recipients at our Spring Ceremony on Friday, 4 May.

After warm welcomes from Dr. Debra Rudder Lohe, Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, and Dr. Paaige Turner, Associate Vice-President for International and Academic Affairs, keynote speaker, Dr. Lynda Morrison, professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, imparted her words of wisdom on teaching and learning to the recipients, friends, and family in attendance.

The Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning enhances the quality of undergraduate and graduate education by offering two certificates for graduate students and (full- and part-time) faculty: the Participation Certificate in University Teaching Skills and the more comprehensive Certificate in University Teaching Skills. The Participation Certificate can be earned by attending ten Effective Teaching Seminars, which are offered on a regular basis by the CTTL. The Certificate in University Teaching Skills, with more complex requirements, results in a professional Teaching Portfolio. Certificates are awarded twice a year, at the fall and spring semester Certificate Ceremonies.

For more information about our Certificate programs, please visit: http://slu.edu/cttl/programs-and-services/certificate-programs

Dr. Lynda Morrison, Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, congratulates and addresses the Certificate in University Teaching Skills (CUTS) graduates (May 4, 2012).

Participants gave high marks to the hands-on collaborative environment of the CTTL's Online Teaching and Learning Institute, which also promoted interdisciplinary cooperation. From left to right: Dr. Cynthia Stollhans (Art History); Dr. James Scott (English); Mark Wilson (Theatre); Dr. Joya Uraizee (English); Dr. Ann Meechai (English for Academic Purposes); Dr. Dan Bustillos (Health Care Ethics); and Dr. Leslie Hinyard (SLU Center for Outcomes Research). Not pictured: Dr. Nina Westhus (Nursing) and Dr. James Gilsinan (Public Policy Studies).

It’s a popular question for the contemporary academic — How do I transfer a face-to-face, traditional classroom experience to an online or blended setting?

This summer the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning explored this question by hosting its first Online Teaching and Learning Institute (OTLI) from May 21 through June 1. Nine full-time faculty members from a variety of disciplines spent one week in the CTTL Learning Studio developing online and blended courses. During the second week of the Institute, participants had several options to explore synchronous learning environments: peer review of in-progress online courses in SLU Global; a Wimba presentation; and Google+ Hangouts.

The Institute is especially relevant to full-time faculty at Saint Louis University who are building or refining an online or blended (hybrid) course for the semester following the Institute or who have an online course in progress. The Institute uses Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) framework of the “Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education” to present, discuss, and explore concrete strategies and pedagogies for teaching online. Institute participants also receive Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (2011) by R.M. Conrad and J.A. Donaldson and a Certificate in Online Teaching.

Due to the success of the first Online Teaching and Learning Institute, the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) will be offering a second 2-week session later this summer (July 30 – August 10, 2012). More information will be forthcoming on The Notebook, SLU Newslink, and elsewhere. If you have questions about the Institute please contact Michaella Hammond; if you would like to register for the next Online Teaching and Learning Institute, please click here.

Related reading: What does the excellent online instructor look like?

The first Online Teaching & Learning Institute cohort and the CTTL's Instructional Design Team.