Quiz is the Biz - Amanda MacDonald

In this first entry from our Maths. and Numeracy colleagues, Amanda outlines really well, how an enforced teaching challenge (lockdown methodology) has turned into an inspirational and interactive way of learning for our learners. Amanda takes the story up below. 

In March 2020, we were all thrust from our traditional way of 'teaching at the chalkface' to having to navigate the digital world. There are some aspects from the online learning that I found were beneficial to students and so have continued with these since we returned to face to face teaching. One of these is the use of the Quiz feature within Moodle.

During online learning, the Maths & Numeracy Team at NCL used this to assess Numeracy as it allowed students to answer questions by inputting numerical answers, selecting multiple choice answers and dragging and dropping information into spaces within sentences and on to graphical pictures to name but a few features. Importantly, as soon as the student completes the 'quiz', it automatically corrects it for them so they know how many are correct and which one's they should revisit.

This seemed too good a resource to not continue to use when we returned to the 'chalkface' again. So I adapted what we were using so that students can still answer questions as I mentioned but it can give them feedback as well. It led to a useful revision tool and is also more interactive for a subject that can be seen as dry.

In the main, students seem to like this feature and many make use of the fact they can complete them multiple times as well. Students live in a world where technology allows them to have 'instant gratification' such as using You-Tube for walk through videos on how to complete something. So instant feedback on their Numeracy is perfect for engagement and leading to higher retention of material.

This is a great example of active learning, and when we are servicing our classes, engagement is key, always.

Public speaking idea under construction - presentation karaoke - Mark Hetherington

The respective teaching teams are committed to trialling different and innovative methods to stimulate learner engagement, and this idea is one which is under construction from Mark at the moment.

The idea was formulated after he heard a short excerpt on the radio about a pub in England who have been looking at ways to attract more custom doing something a little different, and their idea of presentation karaoke was hatched. In that setting, customers would be asked to come up and speak about a random subject picked by the compere. This made Mark think about the possibilities of how this could work within a Communication class setting. So here is how he sees it being implemented.

Many of our learners are involved in delivering an oral presentation in their classes, whether it be an individual delivery, a group discussion, presenting an agenda item within a meeting situation and such like.

The idea for Mark's latest teaching idea is predominantly for the Oral Presentation Skills Unit, which is aimed at New College Lanarkshire employees. This is why there is a slight onus on the college, working with colleagues as well as some very left field ideas, but any subject could be shoehorned in, to suit a vocational need. That is the beauty of the content, it can be adapted, updated and applied to any given scenario. 

Mark often looks at ways for learners to present and think differently. To this end, a series of slides have been put together for the students to try and talk on an unknown subject. Effectively they are asked to step up to the plate and deliver a short 60 seconds pitch where they are invited to give a structured talk mentioning the two words on the screen within their presentation. 

The focus of this short exercise is on structure, articulation, projection and timing. The slides are attached below.

Mark also steps up when doing exercises like this, and when the students wish him to deliver, he duly does so. The advantage he has in this case, is that he knows what the subjects are, but like the students, has no notes and is thrust onto the stage, as it were. He notes that he hopes he doesn't get picked for the Love Island topic, as that is not his area of expertise!

Here is the link to the slideshow: Presentation karaoke - gone in 60 seconds

Khadija's Race for Life - Khadija Hadji

Whilst this blog is primarily used to showcase and disseminate Good Practice within the respective teaching teams, sometimes a colleague within will ask for an important extra curricular story to be posted, and this is such an article.

Our colleague, Khadija Hadji, is running the 'Race for Life' on Sunday 21st May 2023, and to provide some context to her story, here is some background information in her own words, noted below.

"Cancer is happening right now, which is why I'm taking part in a Race for Life 5k to raise money and save lives.

 

1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. 

Every single pound you donate makes a difference to Cancer Research UK’s ground-breaking work, so please sponsor me now".

We all wish Khadija well on the day, and hopefully she will send me some photos from her run, so we can add this to this post.

The link to her fundraising page can be seen here. Thank you: Khadija's Race for Life (cancerresearchuk.org)

The very best of luck on May 21st, Khadija!

Lecturer and learner reflection - Mark Hetherington

One of the most important aspects of a proactive and meaningful LTA strategy is for the lecturer to lead from the front, to put their thoughts on the line and sometimes do what they ask their students to do.

In this post, is such a working example. 

When we teach SWAP classes, or indeed any cohort who take the Communication (NC) FA1W 12 unit, we will work with those groups for 24, or more commonly, 36 weeks. This enables a particularly effective working relationship to develop.

The link below is from one of Mark’s blogs, where he compiled a ‘Last Post’, outlining his own learning for the duration of that class from start to finish, encouraging class members to do the same. It was worth spending the time on, as the students clearly saw the value and raison d’être for learning the subject of Communication, in all its guises. 

Here is that final reflective post: https://nclswapscience2022.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-last-post.html?m=1

The students became expert self-reflectors, and this in turn assisted and helped inform their UCAS applications and work in the Prep. for HE Unit with Sinead.

It was important that every comment made by a member of the class on our blog was read and responded to, in order that a transparent model of two-way communication was observed at all times. 

Communicating clear and meaningful assessment decisions (feedback phrasebank) - Andrew Ure

One of the themes and hallmarks of the Communication and English teaching team is the ability to shape feedback to suit all learners, in any vocational group at any level of study. It should be meaningful, contextualised, clear, appropriate and supportive.

When I think of feedback, and how and why it should be utilised, I am oft reminded of this handy quote - "Learning without feedback is like archery in the dark." (Cross, 1996)

An innovative method of providing feedback to learners is taken up here by Andrew. What follows is a set of feedback prompts, which was devised primarily when we were in lockdown, with all delivery online. What is inventive about this, is that whilst they are directives, they are cleverly student focused and can be tweaked if necessary.

The feedback that is showcased below was used in the Communication (NC) Unit, which is a level 6 Communication and English Unit and is demanding. Like much of our innovative Learning, Teaching and Assessment strategy philosophy, this was discussed by Andrew at a team meeting and circulated to all members of the teaching team. 

The questions are broken down into three main sub-headings, namely Summary, Analysing the effect of the style, language and structure used and Evaluation.

Andrew's feedback phrasebank can be used in a formative and summative context, and is entirely flexible by nature of its design. 

The style of supportive language used in Andrew's feedback model should be commended. Here it is...

Communication (NC) feedback phrasebank

Q1 - You looked to pick out some of the writer's piece and were straight to the point when it came to relaying information. You included the most important points included in the text and were able to provide a solid overview. You used your own words as often as possible and avoided using technical terms or jargon. 

Q1. You summarised well and avoided using technical terms and jargon. You focused only on the main information and supporting details which helped you to form a strong answer. You knew to use your own words as often as possible.

Q1 - You gave an excellent summary of the text which stuck to the main points and supporting details. You knew to use your own words and managed to not overcomplicate the relayed information. 

Q1 - You summed up the main points well and in your own words. You made sure your answer remained free from bias and opinions. You avoided using overly technical language and relayed the information really well. 

Q1 - You fully understand how to pick out the main points of an article in your own words. You avoided using the writer's words wherever possible and stuck with clear, concise language. You knew to remain neutral when relaying the key information from the text. 

Q1 - You clearly understand how to summarise and pick out the main points in a text. You were able to relay the writer's information in your own words. The key information was short, sharp and concise. Supporting detail was provided at the end of the question.

Q1 - Excellent example of a summary. You made sure you relayed the information in a sharp, concise way. You didn't overcomplicate the question and made sure your answer was free of analysis and opinion.

Q1 - Your summary contained the key information from the text. You were careful to use your own words wherever possible. Your ability to avoid technical language and jargon was useful when answering this question.

Q1 - Your summary was clear and picked out the main points that the writer had made in the passage. You used your own words as often as possible and made sure you also included some of the supporting detail from the text.

Q1 - Excellent summary that hammered home all of the main points made by the writer. You made sure you used your own words as often as possible. Your writing was clear and to the point. 

Q1 - You summarised the passage well and made sure to use your own words as much as possible. You steered clear of using technical terms unnecessarily and provided a clear run down of the main points for the reader. 

 

Q2 - I'm going to get you to provide some quoted examples of the language you described. This will help you to fit the evidence criteria.

Q2 - I'm going to get you to look at the structuring part of this question again. You should look at recurring ideas in the text and how they are ordered. For instance, is there a point that is made at the beginning, is expanded later on and then is referred to at the end?

Q2 - I'm going to get you to look at structure again. For this, you should looking for a recurring idea in the passage. For instance, something that comes up in the beginning, the middle and the end. We will talk through this in class. 

Q2 - An excellent level of analysis on show here. You looked carefully at the style, structure and word choice of the writer and commented on the reasons behind each. Your answer was very carefully thought out. 

Q2 - You commented on the style of the piece and provided quotations where the writing exemplified this. Your analysis of the language and structure were very well measured. All examples provided were relevant. 

Q2 - I'm going to get you to look at structure again. For this you're looking at ideas that occur multiple times in the passage. For instance, is something mention at the beginning of the text, in the middle and at the end of the text to reinforce a point? 

Q2 - I'm going to get you to look at structure/ordering again. Look to pick out some ideas that develop throughout the text ie. what seems to come up in the beginning, middle and end of the text and what point is the writer aiming to make?

Q2 - You commented on style, structure and language in a way that provided analysis of the text overall. You used relevant examples to show where the writer was aiming to appeal to a certain type of reader. 

Q2 - This is the question I'm going to get you to look at again. I need a wee bit more from you on the structure of the piece. In this context, the structure refers to the development of ideas. For instance, does an idea come up again and again? If you could find an example of that in the beginning, middle and end, you're sorted.

Q2 - You referred to language, structure and style in your second answer and provided relevant examples from the text. You offered a good amount of analysis in this section and commented on the different strategies used by the writer.

Q2 - You knew how to pick out the writer's style based on the words and phrases that were used in the text. You also highlight how the language added to the arguments the writer was making. You knew to make reference to the beginning, the middle and the end when referring to structure. 

 

Q3 - Your evaluation offered an insight into how you rated the piece based on the ability to reach the target audience and meet its purpose. You offered indicators of strength and weakness and backed up arguments with evidence from the text where possible.

Q3 - You evaluated well and put forward arguments on the general successes of the document. You were keen to use evidence where necessary and ordered your answer in such a way that made your points flow.

Q3 - A very good evaluation that was full of evidence and strong arguments from yourself. You commented on the writer's strengths and weaknesses and were keen to point to specific examples throughout. 

Q3 - Your evaluative skills were on show in your final answer. You knew to make sure you used evidence to strengthen your arguments on the writer's successes and blind spots. You were fair and balanced in your approach. 

Q3 - You picked out the key strengths and weaknesses of the text. Each time you highlighted a strength or weakness, you point to an area in the text that exemplified this. Your evaluative skills were very a strong point. You were able to comment on the overall effectiveness of the piece in relation to the purpose and target reader.

Q3 - Your evaluation skills were well documented in your answer to Q3. You picked out some of the writer's key strengths and weaknesses and backed up your take on the article with evidence. 

Q3 - Your evaluation was strong and covered a lot of material from the text. Your ability to pick out strengths and weaknesses in the writing while maintaining an analytical approach helped you to create a robust answer.

Q3 - This is a good evaluation. You used evaluative language throughout the answer and commented on the overall effectiveness of the document based on the evidence you explored. A very solid answer with lots of quoted examples. 

Q3 - A very good evaluation that offered some good analysis of the writer's choices. You picked out some of the key strengths and weaknesses and provided quoted examples to back the arguments you made. 

Q3 - Very good evaluation that summed up the strengths and weaknesses of the piece. Relevant evidence was referred to which only made your argument stronger. You provided an excellent level of analysis.

Q3 - Your evaluation was carefully thought out. You provided examples of the writer's strong and weak points in the form of quoted material. You gave us some good overall analysis of the piece in terms of its target audience. 

Mentoring - Stephen Colbert

This is an excellent piece of observation from Stephen, on a subject that I am sure all members of the team can relate to. As the author of this blog, I believe the points within to be as important as ever as we move into difficult times in the FE sector, and where Quality Assurance mechanisms are under scrutiny. No words have been altered in this piece of writing whatsoever. Thank you, Stephen, this is both strong and necessary. 

Mentoring

When I began teaching in FE in 2004 I was informally mentored by my line manager. His knowledge, experience and approachable nature made my transition from community based to classroom-based tuition much easier.  His help has stayed with me.

Supporting new colleagues is important and mentoring can play a valuable role in this. Mentoring already takes place in New College Lanarkshire, mostly in an informal manner. I think putting into place a basic, but flexible framework would be useful for both the mentor and mentee.

The process shouldn’t be overly bureaucratic and time will need to be allocated in order for it to be successful.

Mentoring should not be part of the normal manager-staff relationship but should be a peer to peer guidance, support and feedback process.

Departments should have a number of senior lecturers who could be provided with remission to act as mentors. However, we should be open to using colleagues from other departments if appropriate.

Both parties should agree to meet regularly (weekly or bi-weekly) during the initial teaching period and less frequently as the academic year progresses. 

The sessions would provide a safe space for the new lecturer to discuss anything and everything that concerns their teaching practice.  

Only significant issues of concern should be brought to the attention of the manager.

Once the formal mentoring process has ended one would hope that a positive, collegiate working relationship has been built between both parties. This should help embed good relationships within teaching groups and integrate good practice throughout teaching teams.

Teaching formal register to learners - easy to follow guides - Stephen Colbert and Mark Hetherington

One of the areas of our work as a team, is the import of teaching writing in a formal manner, which can often be a difficult concept for learners to grasp.

We use a range of teaching and learning techniques, such as using dummy reports with errors in them for learners to analyse in groups and pick out where the errors in form, content and language are, PP teaching pinpointing common areas of discrepancy and discussions about different types of register and tone.

Mark created a report with numerous deliberate errors in them, where groups of students try to identify problems in writing style, spelling, punctuation, syntax, proofreading and so on. The group task becomes a light-hearted but competitive and healthy intra-group task, but crucially, it is an active and relevant part of the lesson, as they will be writing formally on an individual basis in the weeks after. 

Stephen created an excellent resource which outlines a great deal of common problems we encounter as educators. Feedback on this document has been universally positive from groups who have used it, and some screenshots of this and some writing for learners to self-critique are displayed below.

In the case of Stephen's well crafted short document, he raises the following specific points. This can also help when teaching reading analysis too. 

His document is entitled 'Formal Writing Voice' and is broken down into the following areas for learners:

1. Using formal writing voice
2. Do not use first-person pronouns
3. Avoid addressing readers as 'you'
4. Avoid the use of contractions
5. Avoid colloquialism and slang expressions
6. Avoid abbreviated versions of words
7. Conclusion

The document uses lots of interesting and helpful working examples for the students to refer to and is very user friendly indeed.

Adapted from: http://facultyweb.ivcc.edu/rrambo/tip_formal_writing_voice.htm

Below are screenshots from both documents as a clear signpost. Please click on the image to view the documents in part.