Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Lorraine Carroll, Opscan Supervisor.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Helping faculty make sure their exams are processed quickly and accurately.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
Worked at the Carol Baldwin Breast Care Center in Radiology.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
Greenland
What was the last book you read?
What Happened To You? by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Joseph C. Lodato, Instructional Support, Video & Media Specialist.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Helping offices become more efficient by utilizing Navigate and creating fun videos for students, staff, and faculty.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
I was an Admissions Counselor at a private college in NY.
Coffee or tea?
Both!
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
The Shire, Middle Earth (After the ring was destroyed).
What was the last book you read?
A Spell For Chameleon by Piers Anthony
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Yiren Kong, Postdoc.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love that this job opens up numerous possibilities of learning in a nurturing environment. I also love that I am working in a caring and supportive team where everyone grows together.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
I have been conducting educational research for the past decade, specifically in the field of educational technology and foreign language education. I enjoy working with different researchers and getting involved in different research projects.
Coffee or tea?
I mostly just drink water. If I have to pick one, I am more of a coffee person.
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
In real life, I want to visit Finland to stay in one of those glass igloos and see the northern lights. Fictionally, I’d like to visit OASIS from Ready Player One.
What was the last book you read?
I have been reading “Automate the Boring Stuff with Python” by Al Sweigart recently.
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Carol Hernandez, Senior Instructional Designer.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Meeting people from throughout the university and learning about their work.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
I worked at Long Island University as an instructional designer.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
Colorado
What was the last book you read?
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Dini Diskin-Zimmerman, TV Producer/Director.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Teaching and Directing television, seeing students’ lights go on!
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
Directed television for ABC News, CNN, the Food Network and others.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
Prague
What was the last book you read?
My cookbooks….in particular, “I Love NY” by Daniel Humm and Will Guidara – such fun!
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Jennifer Jaiswal, Instructional Designer and Senior Instructional Technologist
What is your favorite part of your job?
What I love the most about my job is getting to learn from the faculty that I work with. Each meeting gives me the opportunity to learn about their discipline as we talk through teaching and learning practices. I love that I can move from a conversation on medical ethics to the Mahabharata, the longest epic poem ever written, to designing assessments for how we can adapt the human body to extreme climate. There is always more to learn.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
Prior to working in CELT or its predecessor, TLT, I worked in instructional technology support at Hunter College.
Coffee or tea?
Tea! I love going out with friends for a traditional high tea service with scones and clotted cream. They give you a moment of calm and companionship with no rush to return to work or other responsibilities
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
Bali, temples, history, local culture and beaches.
What was the last book you read?
For work: On Teaching Science by Jeffrey Bennett. Good common sense approaches to science education.
For myself: Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America’s Most Storied Hospital by David Oshinsky. One of the best books I’ve read on the history of medicine and combining it with the history of New York City and the United States.
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Marla Gorman, Testing Center Coordinator.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I thoroughly enjoy my interactions with the students. I am, most times, the first instructor/professional they meet because I proctor the mandatory Math Placement Exams throughout Orientation Week(s). I feel it’s my obligation to answer questions or address concerns they may have and I strongly encourage them to be their best advocate. I remind them that we (SBU Faculty and Staff) are here to make their higher education successful and should be accountable for any shortcomings.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
I worked 20+ years in Corporate America as a Production/Project Manager for a Point-of-Purchase Display Company. I negotiated pricing and oversaw production and delivery of goods with firm delivery dates. I definitely had to soften my tactics when it came to accepting contracted prices and lax delivery times. 15 years later and I’m still adjusting!
Coffee or tea?
I prefer tea unless I need a caffeine boost. Tea is soothing for mind, body and soul. Sharing a cup of tea is how I spend lots of my quality time with my family and friends. No flavored teas… just a nice, smooth black leaf blend.
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
I would love to visit Iceland and see the Northern Lights. They seem so mystical to me and I’m convinced if I made a wish on those cosmic lights, my dreams would come true.
What was the last book you read?
Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Alright
Kimberly Bell, Teaching Assistant Development Specialist
Ok, you are taking a stab at this whole group work thing. You planned a multi-week activity that you think your students will find relevant and (not too) challenging. Then, you took Jennifer’s awesome advice, created a group contract with roles, and planned for group reflection after the activity. Your students diligently completed their contracts, chose their roles, and agreed to work cooperatively and respectfully. The first day seemed to go well, the groups worked efficiently, members were friendly with each other, they utilized their roles. So you thought, “hey, this isn’t so bad!”. The second day…well, not so much. Don’t lose hope, your careful planning did not go to waste. Group dynamics, as we know, are complicated. Here is some advice on what you can do to help your students work more effectively together when things don’t go according to plan.
Backtrack
Group Behaviors
As part of your contract creation process, you can have your students reflect on constructive and destructive group behaviors. You can call them “not-so-constructive,” or similar, as to not demoralize your students. This short reflection can make students more self-aware of their group behaviors, accountable for them, and prevent conflict.
Facilitation: Provide groups with the following list. Give them time to read and reflect, then have them choose and write down one of each type that they can relate to and share with their group. Reassure them that people do both and ask them to reflect honestly about how they have worked in groups in the past or share a story about when you worked in a group.
Constructive Behaviors
Not-So-Constructive Behaviors
Adapted from Brunt (1993). Facilitation Skills for Quality Improvement. Quality Enhancement Strategies. 1008 Fish Hatchery Road. Madison WI 53715
Group Roles
You may consider switching up the group roles. Perhaps a student chose their role in an uninformed manner, and it is not aligned with their strengths. A more suitable role can help students be motivated to work with their group and feel they can contribute meaningfully. If you will utilize groups in each class for the entire semester, consider changing them completely once or twice, especially if you are receiving complaints or notice groups aren’t working well. Sometimes, you may have to switch members before you planned, in order to manage conflict.
Incorporate peer-instruction
Use the think-pair-share strategy within groups to spark cooperative learning and discussion. Groups can then be combined to expand on this and build up to a whole class discussion.
Assess & Reflect
As part of your assessment plan for the group work and student contributions, consider the following:
Is each member contributing?
Did your groups use their roles during the second class? Discord can form in groups when work is not evenly divided. Since students were motivated for the new project the first day, they may have all contributed equally. Then, on the second day their typical group behaviors were more apparent. In addition to the suggestion above about group behaviors, perhaps you can incorporate a way to make them use their roles more explicitly, and/or have them submit an individual work component. This will hold each person accountable and may alleviate some of the tension.
Will your students tell you there are problems?
It may seem a group is working well together, but that may not be the case. Students can be struggling with their group and not inform you. Students are often hesitant to provide honest feedback, even if explicitly asked for it because they think it may affect their grade, alter your perception of them, or that somehow their group members will find out what they said. If you are using a survey or another tool to collect feedback from students to their group, be sure to make it clear that you are truly asking for their honest feedback because you want them to work well together and succeed.
Provide additional resources to help your students
You students may need time management tips, more explicit instructions, follow-up information, or direct help managing group conflict, despite your best efforts. Are there other resources you can give them to help? Consider sharing the following guide with your students when starting the group work or project:
References:
Guide: Group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively by Cynthia J. Brame and Rachel Biel https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/
Group Projects: A Conflict Resolution Guide for Students by Heidi Burgess, Co-Director, university of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium https://www.beyondintractability.org/educationtraining/group-projects
Article: How to Survive Virtual Groupwork https://www.elearners.com/education-resources/online-learning/how-to-survive-virtual-group-work/
Essay: Facilitating Group Discussions: Understanding Group Development and Dynamics
Kathy Takayama, Brown University
https://podnetwork.org/content/uploads/V21-N1-Takayama.pdf
Please join us for the next CELT panel discussion hosted by SBU’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT): Accessibility on Tuesday, April 5th at 1pm.
Panelists:
Facilitators:
This panel is the third in the Spring 2022 series on Inclusive Pedagogy. You must register in advance to attend this Zoom meeting. Questions? Please email Instructional Designer, Jennifer Jaiswal, jennifer.jaiswal@stonybrook.
Get to know CELT better! This week we find out more about Kristin Hall, Instructional Designer.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I enjoy creating learning content and building courses so they are engaging, easy to navigate, and based on research in the learning sciences.
What did you do prior to working in CELT?
I was an Academic Advisor for 8 years and also worked in the Library as a Learning Outcomes and Assessment Specialist for 2 year before joining CELT.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee!
Where would you like to visit (real or fictional)?
I would love to visit New Zealand and Australia one day.
What was the last book you read?
Uncommon Sense Teaching by Barbara Oakley