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Personal Action Implementation Plan

Personal Action Implementation Plan
Amanda Postel
Summer 2008

I feel like the general intention of the Personal Action Implementation Plan is to help instructors improve their courses and teaching methods. In an ideal world, I would want to be proactive in implementing ideas such as using creative new ways to engage students, designing a new student project or learning activity, incorporating more active learning opportunities, or including a community service opportunity within at least one of my courses. I am full of big ideas!

However, this fall I will be facing a number of significant changes to the classes I teach. Given the magnitude of changes before me, I feel I realistically will have to table some of my grand ideas, and approach my Personal Action Implementation Plan in a more reactive manner.
Here are the changes I will be negotiating this fall:

The location of my classes will change. For the first time, I will teach weekday classes at the main campus (Truax) as opposed to weekend classes at satellite campuses and community centers (South Madison, Centro Guadalupe, Bridge Lake Point Waunona Neighborhood Center, etc.).

The time of my classes will change. Instead of teaching 3-hour classes meeting once a weekend, I will be teaching weekday courses that meet 1 hour 15 minutes twice a week, and one 2 ½ hour evening course, both of which are new time frames for me.

The language I teach in will change. In the past, I have taught Microsoft Office and most other computer classes in Spanish or a bilingual format, but this fall I will be teaching Microsoft Office courses for the first time in English only.

Due to the new location, time frame, and language of transmission, I expect that the student population in my classes will be different than in the past. I expect to have more native English speakers, and more "traditional" college students than in the past. I do not yet know just how this change will affect classroom dynamics, teaching strategies, and a number of other variables, but I imagine I will have to adjust in some way to the different types of students I will have in my classes.

The content of my courses will change. Two of the software courses I am scheduled to teach have been upgraded since the last time I taught them. In the past I taught Windows 2000 and Excel 2003, but due to the upgrade, I will be teaching Windows XP and Excel 2007 for the first time.

The materials for my courses will change. Again due to the upgrade, new textbooks are being issued. New textbooks mean new readings, new in-class activities, new assignments, new quizzes, etc.

I will be teaching for the first time in a new department. In the past, I have taught computer classes for Adult Continuing Education, Diversity and Community Relations, and Business, Industry, and Community Services. This fall, I will be teaching for the Business Technology Department, so I am dealing with a new supervisor and administrative procedures.

This written Personal Action Implementation Plan will help me to identify specific steps I can take to respond to the changes I am facing. It is also my hope that having and following a written plan will help me to negotiate some of the anxiety I feel in facing all of these changes. Having an organized and methodical plan of action should be useful tool that also reduces stress as I move into this new phase of teaching.

The Plan
Action Items
Target Date
1) Acquire the textbooks and any curriculum that exists for the new courses I will be teaching (Windows XP and Excel 2007).
June
2) Spend time reviewing the textbooks and curriculum. Pay special attention to the number and nature of assignments and the grading system used by other instructors.
June-August
3) Develop a syllabus Windows XP. Determine the pacing, assignments, and grading for the course. Consider how to adapt my classroom routines and teaching methods to shorter, more frequent class meetings.
August 18
4) Wait to develop the syllabus for Excel 2007, which begins mid-semester. Reflect on "lessons learned" from Windows XP and incorporate any necessary changes in the plans (and syllabus) for Excel 2007.
October
5) Prior to the start of classes, become familiar with classrooms I will be teaching in for the first time. Make a note of what software is installed on the student computers (particularly all Microsoft accessories that are used in Windows XP curriculum, Microsoft Excel, and PrintKey which alters the procedures for any assignments requiring a screen print). Make a note of any special passwords or log-in procedures. Turn on all equipment at instructor station to make sure everything functions and I know how to work the equipment. Call the helpdesk to inquire what procedures to follow if a student does not know their log-in information or has not activated their MATC account.
August 11-15
6) Create a blog to document insights, challenges, and progress. Write at least 10 reflective blog entries during the semester, as well at least 5 during summer preparation. I have a lot to learn from this new experience, and I expect that journaling will help me to process what I experience, deepen my own learning, and improve my teaching in the face of new challenges.
June-December

Assessment
I will assess the effectiveness of this change in three ways. First, I will assess my ability to accomplish the tasks on my list of action items. Second, I will assess effectiveness through blog entries. Finally, I will write a conclusion to tie these elements together and provide closure for this project.

MATC Resources Instructional Plan

Learning to Learn Camp Summer 2008
Instructional Plan

Title: MATC Resources—Scavenger Hunt
Purpose: Explore several available MATC resources
Time: 1 hour

Before workshop/upon arrival
Establish groups for the scavenger hunt
Depending on the timing of the workshop in the week’s activities, determine ahead of time whether students will remain in pods or split into new groups for the scavenger hunt.
Greet students and guide them where to sit.

Icebreaker: Create Original Resource Questions
Meet other students and visualize a time when you may need an MATC resource
Have students write a scenario (real or hypothetical) in which they may need to seek out an MATC resource. Provide examples: car breaks down, feeling stressed out, need financial aid. . .
Facilitate a quiet thinking and writing period.
Facilitate quick pair share (introduce yourself and share your scenario)
10 minutes

Scavenger Hunt
Explore the building and make contact with several MATC resources
Establish return time and emphasize promptness. Participation points will be granted only if students at the appointed time. Before setting off on the scavenger hunt, quickly brainstorm using this prompt, "How might you find these things? Does anyone have a beginning idea?" In groups of 4 or 5, students will complete the first 5 items on the Scavenger Hunt Worksheet. Each student must collect the required information and signatures. Students have until the end of the week to complete the remaining items and will include the worksheet in their portfolio for final evaluation.
Small group activity.
30 minutes

Debrief & Match Icebreaker Questions to Resources
Share experiences and unanswered questions
Ask students to share anything interesting about what they found or any problems they encountered. Have students place their Icebreaker question on the corresponding resource sheet. The group may help direct students to the correct resource.
Open-ended discussion and large group activity.
5 minutes

No One is an Island—Potential Resources for Me
Visualize where to get help and identify resources you may consult in the future
Students fill out the "Island" Worksheet with 4 resources they may turn to for help.
Individual activity and silent reflection
5 minutes

Assessment Plan: Students will gain 5 points upon returning to class for debriefing. Final assessment will be accomplished by including completed scavenger hunt in portfolio.


Instructional Resources & Equipment needed:
For Instructor For Participant
Chalkboard / whiteboard Post-it notes
Session notes Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
Resource Sheets placed around the room "Island" Handout
Room Arrangement 25 chairs arranged around 5 tables. Table and chair for instructor.

Characteristics of an Effective Facilitator

Here are the three "characteristics of an effective facilitator" that I want to work on this semester:

1) Adding Humor
2) Using Silence Effectively
3) Lecturing Engagingly

Dreams and Nerves

I am nervous about moving from my evening and weekend classes at community centers to daytime classes at the technical college.

The students will be different, the environment will be different, and to top it all off, I will be teaching the newer version of Microsoft Office, which I have not taught (or even used extensively) yet.

I don't even have the textbook yet.

I have always taught in 3 hour blocks, and now I will be doing 1 hour 15 minute classes.

Last night I was dreaming about how to conduct my class, brainstorming in my sleep.

Journalling

QUOTE JOURNAL
FROM THE ON COURSE WEB SITE

INTRODUCTION: I have taught English and Speech for the past thirty years, and recently, I had a remedial English Composition class that met for two hours twice a week beginning at 8 a.m. Most of the students in the class had waited until the last minute to register and, because other sections were full, ended up in my 8:00 class. They resented getting up that early to attend a class they "had to take." My challenge was to break through the students' negative attitude. A second challenge was to find a way to jump-start the writing/composing process. In previous classes I had relied on exercises in the text as writing prompts. They were more like writing prods and were unsatisfactory. They seemed too limiting and mechanical. They smacked of high school busy work. I knew I needed to do something different, so I introduced "The Quote Journal."

PURPOSE: The purpose of this activity is to help students.
Have a positive experience with writing and learn to enjoy it.
Be Creators rather than Victims when it comes to writing.

SUPPLIES/SET UP:
*3-ring binders (I ask students to purchase a binder, put their name it, and decorate it any way they want).

DIRECTIONS:
1. You will each create a "Quote Journal" consisting of twenty-five entries. The quotations can be from any source you choose: from the Internet, books, conversations, song lyrics, advertisements, bumper stickers, posters, etc. Quotations must come from a variety of sources and be on a variety of topics (not twenty-five quotes from one location or on only one subject). [As a variation, instructors could have their students choose quotations from the course text or from articles related to your course topics.]

2. Each journal entry must contain the following:
A quotation.
Who said it (the attribution)
The source of the quote (where, specifically, did you find the quote).
Your personal commentary, evaluation, or opinion regarding the quote.
For entries 1-10, your commentary must be 25 words or more.
For entries 11-20, your commentary must be 50 words or more.
For entries 21-25, your commentary must be 100 words or more.

3. At the beginning of each class, we will discuss one or more quotes from your Quote Journal. During the semester, everyone will have to volunteer at least twice to read an entry from his/her journal.

4. The criteria for acceptability of each entry are simple: Complete the four- part format for each journal entry, and turn it in on time.

5. In my class, I handed out a Due Date List so that everyone knew when journals were to be handed in. This also served to discourage procrastination. Basically, the Due Date List was one journal entry per class meeting.

OUTCOMES/EXPERIENCES:
I was mildly surprised and quite pleased with the results. After the first two weeks, students decided this assignment was something they could do. So they did. I think that by my making the journal a series of 25 bite-sized assignments ("3-foot tosses," for those of you who have taken the On Course Workshop), the intimidation factor was eliminated.

In my grade book I kept track of who read and when. After two instances of no volunteers, I began selecting a volunteer to start the class. A couple of days of "selected volunteers" led to real volunteers from then on. Everyone read at least twice, which was good, because I wasn't sure what I was going to do if they didn't. Several students even volunteered more than twice. (A good quote or a good response was something to show off.) As more and more quotes came in, students discovered that if they had a quote that had already been read in class, it didn't look so good. (I never said that, but they seemed to think that originality had value.)

I found that after the first couple of complaints about the length of the writing assignments, there was very little attention paid to length. The students found that they were writing more than the minimum anyway, and that they had no difficulty doing so. In addition, they discovered that they actually had something to say when they were in charge of their journal topics.
Quote selection and resulting comments ranged from the serious to the silly, although some times it was hard to tell which was which at first. For example, one student chose "Made in China" for one of his quotes. He first wrote a sort of rant about how nothing was made in the USA any more. Lots of anger, but not much else at that point. Later he wrote one of his final essays about the problems of international trade costing jobs. Another student, an ex-marine chose "Semper Fi" for one of his quotes. His essay about how joining the Corps changed his life was a very good Cause/Effect paper. On the other hand, I also received more song lyrics than I really wanted, often with commentaries the equivalent of "Like, I mean, this really says how it is." Still, I had good overall results, and I had the added benefit of many quote researchers out gathering material for me.

Those students who stayed the course and completed their Quote Journals generally did well when it came to the final writings. The students wrote more frequently (25 journal entries does that) and they wrote more words and more paragraphs per entry without apparent strain. Some actually said they liked doing the writing.

I still get occasional e-mails from students in the original group. They forward a quote or let me know how they are doing. I think the best comment came from the student who said that I was pretty sneaky getting them to write by letting them have fun. Hmm. I'll take her comment as evidence of a positive step in Life Long Learning. I didn't realize until later how important it was to break the old attitude patterns, but once we got past the idea of "having to" do assignments because some outside enforcer "made them do it," a good number of students found that education wasn't an antagonistic relationship. When it became clear to them that we were all on the same side, they bought into the program.

The students, for the most part, took charge of their own learning. That was an immense change for many of these remedial, at-risk students. They discovered they could accomplish tasks that they previously didn't know they could. Self-esteem seemed to improve. I base this observation on the changes that students made during the semester. They stood taller. They showed up on time. They smiled. Their interactions with others were more friendly. They participated willingly in class. They were willing to take academic risks: embracing a new idea or behavior pattern. Now, not everyone leaped tall buildings at a single bound by the end of the course, but most had made changes in attitudes and actions. They were much more prepared for the college culture than when they began.

PERSONAL LESSONS:
I learned that by giving students a challenge and some suggestions about what to do, and then getting out of the way, we all are frequently surprised at what is accomplished. I also learned that I really can do more by doing less. I think that before this project, I was trying to do too much of the work, and the students were letting me. This situation was not good for any of us. (It wasn't until after taking the On Course I Workshop that all this came clear. Thank heavens for On Course.)

I will continue to use the Quote Journal, making adjustments in the Directions to Students as I get more data. Overall, this assignment is a positive experience for me and for the students, too. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to sneak some writing into a class and reap the benefits. Economists have quotes. Historians have quotes. Even mathematicians have uttered a quote or two. Having students do some research could be part of the class requirements or could be a logistically easy extra credit project. The "Quote-Source-Attribution-Personal Comment" format is easy. And from personal experience, I know that it works.

I have rediscovered that people can do more and better than they initially think they can when they are given the opportunity to do so. Most important for me, I learned that letting go of old behaviors and attitude patterns is difficult. Even when the old ways don't work, there is comfort in the familiarity. Old scripts die hard

--Chuck Swannell, Faculty, English & Speech, Burlington County College (NJ) CSWANNEL@bcc.edu