Reading Time: 2 minutes In this episode, Rob and Jared continue the series on the basics of education by discussing assessments. Check out this episode to hear them use their road trip analogy once more to explain the differences between formative and summative assessments. Podcast links Show notes In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss how objectives relate to assessments, including four important terms. All four terms work together to create a properly aligned course structure. A good assessment is directly tied to an objective. Consider using your objective verb in your assessment to emphasize the connection between the two. Formative assessments serve as opportunities for students to try, to…
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Backward Design: Starting at the Finish
Reading Time: 2 minutes Let’s take a moment and think about this statement: “Our flight is at 5 AM.” As you think about it, consider the various questions you must answer to be on that plane at 5 AM. What questions would you ask yourself to prepare? Here are some that I have on my list: You may have similar questions or ones that I didn’t ask (or maybe fewer questions…my hamartia is overplanning), but hopefully you see that those questions need to be answered before you show up at the airport. You may also need to qualify how well they’re answered: Did you pack well or throw everything at…
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Transform Your Teaching: Back to the Basics – Objectives
Reading Time: < 1 minute In this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles start a new series titled “Back to the Basics,” beginning the conversation with a discussion on objectives. Check out the episode for an acronym to help instructors identify areas for improvement. Podcast links Show notes Objectives are the targets for every course. Jared and Rob provide an easy-to-remember acronym (DRIVE) to help instructors create or refine their course objectives. Objectives must be: Designing courses with these steps helps instructors identify areas that need refinement and provide students with resources to ensure success in reaching their end goal. We would love to get your feedback!…
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Transform Your Teaching: What is ChatGPT’s Philosophy of Education?
Reading Time: < 1 minute In this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles have a live conversation with ChatGPT. They ask it for its philosophy of education and discuss its responses. Check out their conversation and hear how Jared is going to implement ChatGPT into his summer course. Podcast links Show notes Rob and Jared discovered that ChatGPT (version 3.5) presents a rather constructivist philosophy of education, focusing on being student-centered, developing critical thinking, and creating opportunities for collaboration and cooperation. When pressed for the origins of this philosophy, ChatGPT referenced several prominent theorists, including Piaget and Vygotsky. Overall, Jared and Rob were relatively impressed with the answers but…
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Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – Mental Models
Reading Time: < 1 minute In this episode Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles continue to talk about technology integration, this time focusing on helpful mental models for educational technology best practices. Check out the episode to hear about the planning cycle model and how Backward Design illustrates those principles. Podcast links Show Notes Building mental models can help educators approach using technology in their courses. One such mental model is “the planning cycle” which begins with identifying needs and determining whether they are real needs or felt needs. Once the real needs are identified, SMART goals can be created based on those real needs. After goals are established, it’s…
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Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – A Conversation with Dr. Miller
Reading Time: < 1 minute In this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles welcome Dr. Chris Miller, Senior Professor of Biblical Studies at Cedarville University, onto the podcast. Dr. Miller has been integrating technology into his teaching for decades. Check out the episode to hear about the results he sees from his students because of integrating technology as well as the shifting landscape of student needs and learning habits. Podcast links Show Notes From his years of teaching, Dr. Miller recognizes that his students’ needs change from year to year and from class to class and adapts his teaching based on his observations of his students. He recognizes that…
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Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – The How & Accessibility
Reading Time: 2 minutes In this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles continue to talk about the “how” of tech integration, but they discuss it from the perspective of accessibility with Lauren Eissler–User Experience Designer and Editor for the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University. In their conversation, they define accessibility and discuss best practices for making more content accessible to students. Check out the episode to hear more about how structuring written content with headings, captioning videos, and using alt text can help your students in their learning. Podcast links Show Notes Before digging into how to effectively make content accessible, it’s important to ask: “what…
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Transform Your Teaching: The What, the Why, and the How of Technology Integration – The How & SAMR
Reading Time: 2 minutes In this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss the “how” of technology integration and the practical framework SAMR. Check out this episode to hear about how instructors can utilize this framework to integrate technology with their courses. Podcast links Show notes SAMR, an acronym for the four levels of technology integration, was created by Ruben Puentedura and is a practical framework for technology integration. According to Puentedura, substitution is the lowest level of integration; redefinition is the highest. Substitution and augmentation are seen as methods of improving learning tasks. Modification and redefinition can lead to transformed learning tasks. Research has shown that educators…
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Transform Your Teaching: A Debrief of Servant Teaching
Reading Time: 2 minutes In this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles wrap up the servant teaching series, highlighting crucial points from their various guests. Check out the episode to hear their own takeaways on applying servant teaching. Servant teaching defines who we are as believers in Christ, but any instructor—regardless of belief—can use servant teaching principles in their instruction. To implement servant teaching, consider these takeaways from our series. Resources Amerstorfer, C. M., & Freiin von Munster-Kistner, C. (2021). Student Perceptions of Academic Engagement and Student-Teacher Relationships in Problem-Based Learning. Front Psychol, 12, 713057. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713057 Sybing, R. (2019). Making Connections: Student-Teacher Rapport in Higher Education Classrooms. Journal…
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Transform Your Teaching: Servant Teaching with Dr. Thomas Mach
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dr. Robert McDole and Jared Pyles have a conversation with Dr. Thomas Mach, the Vice President for Academics and a professor of history at Cedarville University. Dr. Mach—who received his PhD from the University of Akron—talks about motivating students to understand the importance of the content of a course. Check out this episode to hear how he removes ambiguity while caring for his students. Podcast links Show notes Dr. Mach runs study sessions with his students which have a direct correlation to his philosophy of education. He wants to remove ambiguity and help students understand what is important as well as pique their interest in…