by – Edward Blanchard

In the world of conferences, food and location are often significant considerations in the minds of participants. Since I live in Austin these thoughts were not uppermost in my priorities for this year’s Lilly Conference. I rather encountered scores of sincere and energized folks eager to enhance their skills and understanding of that mysterious profession in which we claim to be engaged: education. The following impressions and newly acquired viewpoints will, hopefully, help us all to hone our skills and be inspired to pursue a most honorable career.

Having taught now for more than thirty years, I was initially attracted to organizational concerns regarding systems, assessments and learning, and connections. The idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is very useful in education, business, art, and life in general. We do not paint-by-the-numbers if we want to create a quality product. There are steps in a process of learning that need to be evaluated on a regular basis to insure the achievement of a stated goal. This is what T. Berry and K. Smith were getting at when they suggested that any class project be graded in steps (see “Systems Thinking for the Classroom”). The product, however, is not merely the sum of the proper steps. The desired outcome of effective process in learning is that a new idea emerges which is of a different order from process because it is both a part of the process and stands apart from the process by virtue of its revelatory nature. This is apparently little understood by those who propose “best practices” as a solution to learning issues. That technique is only a first step to understanding because there is something more that must be considered. That further goal of enlightenment involves the making of valid connections to other areas. J. Prince (see “Mastering the Basics: Course Design”) insists that courses be concept-based so that general observations may be applied to many different disciplines. For instance, the requirement of so-called entrance tickets (i.e. preparation) in class can be applied across disciplines as an effective way to get students to read material before coming to class to discuss it.

One way to keep students engaged and to apprise them of their academic status along the way is to give frequent low-stakes opportunities to display understanding and to propose relevant questions (see C. McCarron and T. Partridge, “Enhance Student Learning”). This technique increases communication and reduces the “mystery” of the subject matter. McCarron and Partridge also point out that storytelling is an effective vehicle for teaching. This can, of course, vary depending on the particular discipline, but it is always available to enhance interest in a subject by injecting a time-honored human practice that dates back thousands of years to the beginnings of the oral tradition.

This brings us to the issue of technique in teaching. Elizabeth Barkley starts her comments (see “Terms of Engagement”) by pointing out that motivation and active learning must coincide for desirable outcomes to occur. She explains a four part consideration of expectancy and value perception in which the high expectations and high value quadrant is the only one that produces academic success. These considerations state explicitly how to achieve good results. In one section Barkley outlines a workable process by which a subject can be comprehensively presented and analyzed. An initial discussion must stress importance, relevance, and applicability. When the groundwork is laid students can engage in reciprocal peer teaching through small group encounters. There are always problems to be solved in any subject and questions to be answered. One effective way of organizing these inquiries, according to Barkley, is to create graphic information organizers such as charts and graphs. After evidence is amassed the students are obliged to write up conclusions based on discussions and research. A way to make such projects more palatable is to incorporate games into the process. The play instinct is a universal attraction.

Active learning is fine, but will necessarily be combined with effective lecturing Claire Howell Major contends (see “Reframing the Lecture as a Pedagogy of Engagement”). In an interesting “against the grain” presentation she urges balance and says that a good lecturer must fascinate, inspire, engage, and perform. This is apparently a high bar for many professors. She suggests that students like handouts (hard-copy) and that PowerPoint presentation would be enhanced by the dictum “less is more.” The core idea here seems almost subversive vis-à-vis “progressive” techniques currently fashionable. The intent, however, is not to displace newer practices, but rather to urge instructors to embrace caring, enthusiasm, and expressiveness. This is the essence of good acting and is equally applicable to the stage that is the classroom. This point is well-made and is often at the heart of success or failure in the classroom setting.

This leads naturally to a consideration of psychodynamics that P. Szczygiel makes in the “Relational Approach.” Personal and social issues are always important components in any encounter and the college classroom is especially fraught in this regard. The suggestion is that the person in a position of authority should be approachable and should appreciate the backgrounds of the various students. This is a bit of a balancing act since familiarity must be kept in tension with authority and professionalism. One perhaps counterintuitive product of this relationship is that, as Szczygiel suggests, when a necessary disruption occurs in the learning process it is followed by repair (i.e. possible solutions, or answers). This describes an organic process of progress in learning. It is not unlike the Deconstructionist project of Derrida’s to question everything and then rebuild. Education should dispel darkness and replace it with light (see the Seal of the University for the University of California, Berkeley).

Curriculum design is that framework that effective teaching relies upon. An idea that borrows structurally from the Great Books concept is a program of Signature Courses presented by Micks and Holleran (see “Signature Course Stories”). This is an interdisciplinary offering designed to appeal to student interests and to provide a well-rounded foundational experience. The package is more specific and less random than typical “general education” requirements in college. Students move through the program while getting to know their peers who are studying with them throughout.

A variation of this idea is presented by Ortiz, Haas, and Canham in “The Scholars Academy: Cultivating a Sustainable Model of Evidence-based Teaching.” This project focuses on teaching involving research that includes learning issues and utilizes infographic assignments. Often a concept can be represented succinctly by creation of graphic representations of elements involved. Graphs, charts, pictures, illustration, and even cartoon representations can aid in understanding. This kind of visualization is also covered by Paul Solomon in “Using the Power of Skilled Observational Techniques.” He not only explains the usefulness of charts and graphs, but establishes valuable interdisciplinary connections between art and science. For instance, chemical representations of molecular structures show up in visual artistic creations again and again. He succeeds in establishing a link between Picasso and Einstein. This is where data, vision, and graphics intersect.

Creativity, as it relates to qualitative research, is a subject covered by J. Riley in “Integrating Student-Created You-Tube Videos into the Classroom.” The general orientation around project-based learning has proven valuable over time. These products are considered authentic and public, and have a real investment of time, energy, and ownership, not to mention pride, by the creators. The results often provide for student-to-student teaching opportunities as well. Creative products stay around, so to speak, as evidence of student involvement and enthusiasm. C. Burns emphasizes this in “Benefits and Challenges of Publishing” which states that published products are more than a one-time performance on a test and may be very effective as jumping-off points for further student research and opinion fashioning.

The combination of thoughtful design and effective execution is at the heart of these presentations. Organized curricular efforts are only as good as their implementation. Practices and products must be accomplished with clear reference back to curricular goals and with enthusiasm and involvement that leans forward to an engaging and enlightening process. The desire of all learning is to enrich individuals and the society to which they belong. My strongest impression from this conference was that educators need to attend to engaging classroom practices that make connections outside the school with realities experienced by students as they relate to the health of our shared culture. Most techniques seem to boil down to enthusiasm and sincerity which, together, will produce student engagement with the wider society by making the necessary connections to the world we all inhabit.