Rekindling Inspiration: Nurturing Your Passion for Facilitating Online Learning

At Belhaven, online courses are developed by content-area experts and follow a set formula or protocol.  Professors who teach in this environment often wonder how to incorporate their knowledge and personality into every course they teach. What practical strategies can you implement to help you maintain your passion for teaching?

Personalize the Learning Experience

Belhaven’s online courses are pre-developed, but you can still personalize the learning experience. Here are some ways to infuse your personality and expertise into the online classroom:

  • Add Supplementary Materials: Enhance the course with supplementary resources such as articles, videos, or case studies that align with your teaching style and expertise. If you’ve taught the course before, you know where students tend to struggle with the content or assignments. You can highlight these areas in your course announcements and upload additional links or files to help your students master the material.
  • Create Discussion Prompts: Most courses contain pre-prepared discussion prompts that students must address, but you can add to this discourse. When you hold Zoom meetings with your class, ask questions that encourage critical thinking and foster lively debates incorporating your unique perspective and insights. REMEMBER – you can grant your students full credit for the week’s written discussion posts if they participate in that week’s Zoom meeting. If you give them credit, please put a comment into SpeedGrader stating that the requirement for that assignment was met via Zoom participation.
  • Share Personal Stories: Relate course content to your experiences, creating a more engaging and relatable learning environment. Again, this can be accomplished through course announcements or Zoom meetings.

Foster Student Engagement

Everyone knows that students must be engaged with the course material before they have a chance to learn that content. Here’s how you can enhance student engagement:

  • Use Interactive Tools: During Zoom meetings, you can incorporate interactive elements like polls, quizzes, and online games to encourage participation and interaction. You can set up no-stress games and quizzes using Kahoot, Socrative, or other platforms. During your meeting, have your students log into one of these sites, answer the question, and then share your screen to show everyone the class response and trigger great discussions!
  • Offer Real-World Applications: “Why do I have to learn this?” That’s a question from students that teachers grow to hate. What is the connection between the concepts you teach and real-world applications of that content?  Making this connection for students will help make the content more relevant and engaging.
  • Encourage Peer Collaboration: Prior to the start of your course, you can organize your assignments to allow students to work together in groups. The October 4 Faculty Development Zoom meeting will explain setting up these groups.  Especially if your class enrollment is large, subdividing students into smaller groups will promote student interaction and collaborative learning.

Continuously Refine Your Teaching Approach

Teaching online in pre-designed courses doesn’t mean you have to remain stagnant. Keep refining your teaching approach:

  • Collect Student Feedback: Your students complete the TEBS report at the end of the course. This feedback instrument lets students provide input on your effectiveness as an instructor and on the effectiveness of the course in achieving the course goals. But – this feedback is only shared with you after your course ends.  Regularly soliciting feedback from your students as you teach the course can help you identify areas where your personal touch can enhance the learning experience. While your course is still running, ask your students for specific suggestions about how the course can be improved and how you can improve your instructional techniques.
  • Professional Development: Stay updated with the latest trends and technologies in online education through professional development opportunities, webinars, and workshops.
  • Reflect and Adapt: Based on feedback from your students and the formal TEBS reports, reflect on your teaching methods, identify what’s working well, and adjust as needed to align with your teaching philosophy. Student comments on the TEBS reports can be a great place to start your reflection. Because the TEBS report is anonymous, students have the ability to be very honest in their feedback, both positively and negatively.

Connect with Your Online Learning Community

Online teaching can sometimes feel isolated, but you’re not alone. Connect with other online professors for support and inspiration:

  • Collaborate with Colleagues: Reach out to colleagues who teach similar courses or in the same discipline to share ideas, resources, and best practices. If a course has multiple sections with multiple professors, consider working together to offer combined-class Zoom meetings for your students. Collaborate on how to assess student assignments, share announcements, and work together to help make courses equivalent.
  • Join Online Educator Networks: Participate in online forums, social media groups, or professional organizations dedicated to online teaching.
  • Attend Virtual Conferences: Explore virtual conferences and webinars focused on online education to network with peers and gain fresh insights.

These are just a few ways to infuse your expertise, creativity, and passion into your online courses. Incorporating these four strategies into your teaching can reignite your passion for teaching and provide your students with a m

Disclaimer: ChatGPT was used to help develop the outline for this blog.

Illuminating Growth: The Transformative Power of Reflection

Introduction: Our lives are busy and filled with “must do” and “oh no, I forgot to do” moments. An old saying comes to mind, “The hurried-er I go, the behind-er I get.” How can you slow down, disconnect, and re-center yourself?  By reflecting, when you examine your thoughts, actions, experiences, and outcomes. Reflecting is a conscious choice you make to help you understand the events of your daily life.

Benefits of Reflection:

Enhanced Self-Awareness: Reflect on your teaching style and interactions with your students. What are your areas of strength, and where do you show a need for more growth?  What can you do to address those areas you identify as needing improvement? How can you share your strengths with others so they can grow?

Continuous Improvement: By reflecting on past experiences, you can identify what worked well and what could be refined, leading to constant growth in your teaching methods. By adapting your lessons based on the insights you gained through reflection, you increase your effectiveness as an instructor and create a more engaging and inclusive learning environment.

Informed Decision-Making: Reflection informs your decisions by helping you make choices rooted in a deeper understanding of your values, goals, and the needs of your students. As you review your students’ weekly assignment submissions, reflect on what is and is not being understood by your students.  Is the misconception widespread or limited to a small group of students? Would a course announcement be sufficient to address these observed areas, or would a Zoom meeting be a better option?

Deepened Connection: As a direct result of your enhanced self-awareness, where you reflect on ways to grow in your teaching and the decisions you make, you can build stronger connections with your students and meet your students where the need is greatest.

Strategies for Effective Reflection:

End-of-Day Reflection: Dedicate a few minutes daily to reflect on your interactions, successes, and challenges.

Journaling: Maintain a reflective journal where you jot down thoughts, observations, and insights from your teaching experiences. What went exceptionally well in your teaching today?  How can you build on that experience?  What was a challenge you faced today?  How did you respond to it, and how would you respond if something similar occurs in the future?

Peer Collaboration: Engage with colleagues to share experiences, exchange perspectives, and gain new insights. Are other professors teaching a different section of your course?  What other professors teach in your program?  Collaborate with others to help build a supportive learning community and increase personal and professional growth.

Student Feedback: Regularly seek feedback from students about your teaching methods, and reflect on ways to implement their suggestions. Belhaven has the end-of-course student feedback report, TEBS, where students anonymously provide instructor and course feedback, but you can solicit their feedback throughout your course.  Ask open-ended questions in your responses to student discussions, ask for feedback during your Zoom meetings, and post announcements asking for student input.

Scheduled Reflection Time: Allocate dedicated time in your schedule for deep reflection, allowing you to engage in the process without distractions. Some find using reflective protocols helpful in guiding the reflective process.  One protocol is to answer three questions (What? So What? Now What?).  Another protocol revolves around the Four Rs (Recall, Relate, Reflect, Revise).  Using a protocol allows you to structure your reflection time to more effectively analyze your practice and make an action plan for growth.

Conclusion: Reflection provides you with an opportunity for personal growth.  By analyzing your areas of effectiveness and need, you can identify ways to adjust your instructional practices to better address the requirements of your course and the ever-changing needs of your students.

References:

Cochran, C. (May 19, 2023). Transformative Practices: Harnessing the Power of Reflections for Teacher Growth and Student Outcomes. SchoolEd. https://www.schooledhousemedia.com/transformative-practices-harnessing-the-power-of-reflection-for-teacher-growth-and-student-outcomes/

Gavett, G. (2023). The Power of Reflection at Work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/05/the-power-of-reflection-at-work

Mindfulness for Educators

Introduction: What exactly is “mindfulness”? Mindfulness means you are focused on what is happening in the present. You are “in the now” in your life through your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. Practicing mindfulness frees your mind from its whirlwind of thoughts and worries. By focusing on the “now”, you learn to develop your sense of inner calm and clarity of thought.

Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness:

  • Reduced Stress: Mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing and meditation, have been shown to lower cortisol levels and alleviate stress, enabling educators to face challenges with a clearer mind.
  • Enhanced Mental Focus: Mindfulness trains your attention, improving your ability to concentrate on the current task and increasing your effectiveness as a teacher.
  • Improved Emotional Regulation: Mindfulness helps you develop a healthier relationship with your emotions, enabling you to respond to situations calmly instead of impulsively.
  • Increased Empathy: By practicing mindfulness, you can cultivate empathy and compassion for you and your students, leading to more supportive and positive interactions.
  • Work-Life Balance: Mindfulness encourages you to be present in your personal life, helping you create boundaries between work and leisure and ultimately contributing to a better work-life balance.

Practical Tips for Mindfulness: The key to becoming more mindful is to start where you are comfortable, i.e., start small. Here are easy ways to start becoming more mindful.

  • Sit quietly and focus on your mind. Let your mind wander freely; refocus on the present moment whenever your mind wanders into negative, obsessive, or stress-inducing thoughts.
  • Pay attention to your physical body. Mentally scan yourself from head to toe. Where do you feel stress the most? Your jaw, shoulders, next, back? Focus on a tense area and physically tense yourself, hold for a count of 10, then relax. Focus on the new, more relaxed sensation in that area. For example, if you hold tension in your jaw, clench your jaws, hold, then consciously relax the area. How is the tension different?
  • Mindful Walks: Take a break, take a short walk, and pay attention to your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing as you Listen to the sounds of your breathing in and out. Focus on just breathing as you notice nature all around you.
  • Develop an “Attitude of Gratitude”: Reflect on the positive aspects of your day, both big and small, to foster a sense of gratitude.

Conclusion: Mindfulness can help you respond more appropriately and effectively to stressful situations. By addressing your own emotional strengths and needs, you can better respond to the needs of others.

References:

“The (Nontraditional) College Student’s Guide to Mindfulness.” Purdue Global, 2019, www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/student-life/college-students-guide-mindfulness/.

I used AI to help organize the content of this blog.

 

Are you really okay?

How many times each day do we ask each other, “Are you okay?” Most of the time, it feels easier to say, “I’m okay or I’m good”. It is faster than trying to unpack the things that might be bothering us. The fact is that we are not always really okay. We need to be honest with ourselves and others.

When we are not at our best, we are unable to help others. We need to be able to connect, identify, and process our emotions…including the daily stresses that we face. Stress is a funny thing. It can come from the anxiety of what we are hearing, seeing, or have been through in the past. From a Christian perspective, God wants us to be healed and operate at our best. This takes work. We must learn to lay our fears, stress, pain, and anxieties at the foot of the cross.

I hope that this podcast from Focus on the Family encourages you as it has encouraged me.

What Do Modern Learners Expect from their Instructors

I was reviewing some of the videos available through Mentor Commons to find one I thought you would find helpful and I ran across this one.  It is about 18 minutes and I definitely think you will find something useful here.

You can access it at this LINK.

Blessings,

Rick

Student Testimonial

Sent by a Chattanooga Student:

To my esteemed instructors & staff at Belhaven,

I want to thank you for the significant impact you have had on my heart, my mind, and my spiritual growth over the past four years during my undergraduate studies.  You inspired me to take each subject into my heart, infusing each one with a biblical application that brought meaning and importance never before seen.  You helped me to assign words to my Christian worldview, and to embrace my biblical beliefs boldly.  You pointed the way for me to look back at my life, to identify how my worldview was formed and to appreciate the gifts I was given in my upbringing.  You were patient when life got tough and I needed Grace on a deadline here and there.  You directed me to the One who would provide exactly what I needed in every course, every day, and every week.  You helped to identify the talents God gave me and encouraged me to believe it is never too late to become the person He planned for me to be.  You gave me a safe place to be in community each week, in prayer, in vulnerability with one another, and in trusting friendships.

Because of you, I became a more effective employee, a more compassionate friend and a closer-walking disciple of Jesus.  The BSM diploma and the James W. Park award are humbling honors I will always cherish, but they hold more meaning because of the many ways my life was enriched by you.

Thank you, and God bless you,
Susan (Scarbeck) Anderson

4 Square Instructor

At each of the faculty workshops I visited, or sent video to, for the Fall 2018 rotation for Belhaven University, I challenged the faculty to become a “4 Square Instructor.” When this idea first came my way from an article by Neil Haave, titled “Teaching Squares Bring Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives” I thought there might be something there which could be used to help overcome the chronic problem every teacher faces: becoming trapped in their own pedagogical ruts. After discussing this with the Deans at Belhaven’s Regional Campuses in our Summit in August, we decided on a model that provides an interesting option for improving or refreshing their practice of teaching.  The 4 Square Instructor model below is the result.

Instructors who have been through the approval process for Belhaven can become 4 Square Instructors by:

  1. Visit 3 other classes outside your normal course assignments or discipline for a couple of hours to find new teaching ideas (this is not for critique, but to find new ways to make the subject material come alive).
  2. Implement at least one new idea into a class you are teaching.
  3. Write up summary, at least 2 pages, including which classes you visited, what you learned, what you tried and how it worked. Don’t be afraid to describe failures as they can be an excellent source of learning.
  4. Present at an upcoming faculty workshop as called upon by the Dean at that Regional site.
  5. Receive a 4 Square Instructor Polo shirt for that year
  6. Repeat every year.

Not everyone will do this, or even be able to, but I see the possibility of some interesting cross-pollination of ideas which will definitely benefit our students.  Note, there may be some variation from one site to another so check with your Dean for specifics.

Give it some thought. If you want suggestions on which classes to visit, contact the Dean at your campus.

 

Worldview and the U.S. Constitution, Part 1

By Dr. Paul T. Criss

In honor of Constitution Day, September 17, 2018, I thought it would be appropriate to write about the worldview from which the Constitution was written. There are a whole bunch of people out there that think the United States Constitution has nothing to do with God. There is even a book out there used in law schools called The Godless Constitution where a couple of professors from Cornell say that we have a secular government governed by a secular document. Modernism is at the root of the problem because it separates history from its context. What was the context of the writing of the Constitution? What did the founders intend by what they wrote? These are the questions we should be asking as we interpret and apply the Constitution. Those who penned the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights did so from a Christian Perspective. There are seven reasons why the Constitution is not a godless document, but rather stems from the Christian worldview.

The first reason the Constitution stems from a Christian worldview is found in Article 7. It is the clause that incorporates the Declaration of Independence into the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence acknowledges God four times, but opponents say that we are not under the Declaration, we are under the Constitution. Eleven years later, the framers left God completely out. Really? That makes the mistake that the two documents were meant to be separated. The Founders intended that the two documents were irrevocably intertwined; they go together. Samuel Adams said, “Before the formation of the Constitution, the Declaration of independence was received and ratified by all states in the union, and it has never been disannulled.” The Declaration has never gone out of force. It was completed before the Constitution and it is a key document. Even the early U.S. Supreme court said, “The Constitution is but the body and letter of which the Declaration is the thought and the spirit…it is always safe to read the letter of the Constitution in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.” They could not be separated.

The Constitution cannot be understood without the Declaration. John Quincy Adams said, “The Declaration of Independence was the platform from which the Constitution of the United States had been erected. The principles proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence were embodied in the Constitution of the United States.” The foundation cannot be pulled out from under the structure of the Constitution. Consider the Constitution and Declaration as you would the documents needed to call a corporation into existence. Two papers must be created and filed: the first is the Articles of Incorporation; the document that calls the corporation into existence – the reason the corporation is to exist. The second document that must be filed is the Bylaws – this is how the corporation will operate under the Articles of Incorporation. So the Articles of Incorporation provide the purpose and the Bylaws provide the practice; the “what/why” and then the “how.” The Bylaws are never allowed to violate the Articles of Incorporation. The way you operate the company cannot violate the reason it was called into existence. This is why the Declaration and Constitution cannot be separated. The Constitution cannot exist without the Declaration.

The Supreme Court pointed out that you cannot understand the Constitution without the Declaration. They said that if you want to understand the intent of something in the Constitution, then “determine the evil which was intended to be remedied.” If you want to understand why the Second Amendment was added, then determine the evil or abuse they meant to prevent.  They wrote this material down to ensure that these abuses never happen in America. Within that framework, look at the articles in the Constitution. If you go to Article 1, Section 5, Paragraph 4: “neither house during the session of Congress shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days to any other place in which the two houses shall be sitting.” Why? Go back to the Declaration and look in the 27 grievances, where they pointed out 27 abuses that Great Britain enforced upon the thirteen colonies. Grievance four in the Declaration discusses how the King would adjourn one body of Congress for months or move their meeting location away from needed resources to frustrate their progress when they were proposing something against his will. This was designed to prevent a specific problem going on at the time. Article 1, Section 4, Paragraph 2: “Congress shall assemble at least once a year and such a meeting shall be on the first Monday in December unless they shall by law appoint a different day.” Why? It is the solution to grievance five in the Declaration. Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 4 says “the purpose is to establish as uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcy throughout the United States.” Why? This is the solution to grievance seven in the Declaration. The grievances stated in the Declaration directly correlate to what is stated in the Constitution; therefore, the two documents cannot be separated. It is the only way to understand the two documents.

For the same reason Article Seven, the last line of the Constitution, says, “done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the Year of Our Lord, one-thousand seven hundred and eighty seven.” But then there is another clause: “and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth.” Why did they date the Constitution back to the Declaration? They did not believe they had created a new document, they were expressing that it was an extension of the Declaration from 1776. To this day, Constitutional Acts signed by the President do not date back to 1787, rather they date back to the Declaration and 1776. That is why it cannot be separated and the first reason we can know it stems from a Christian worldview. Article Seven connects the Constitution to the Declaration; the Declaration acknowledges God four times and sets forth the value system under which America is to operate which is “the law of nature and of nature’s God” – natural law and the Scriptures.

The second reason the Constitution stems from a Christian worldview is the source of its ideas. The Constitution contains ideas that had never before been set forth in a previous government’s documents. A full republic with checks and balances – a marvel among humankind. Where did they get these ideas? Political science professors at the University of Houston collected representative writings out of the founding era (1760-1805) and analyzed who they quoted to find out where they got their ideas. They collected fifteen thousand writings and identified 3,154 direct quotes of the founders; it took them ten years, but they took every quote back to its original source and discovered the top one hundred sources. They published their findings in a book called The Origins of American Constitutionalism. Out of all the writings that were out there – Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Hume, Hobbes – the one that was quoted more than any other was Baron Charles Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws at 8.3% of the quotations. The next quoted source was Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Law at 7.9%. The third most cited individual is John Locke’s Two Treatise’s of Government at 2.9%. These are the top three cited individuals, but the number one source cited was the Bible at 34%. That is a good indication that they did not think this was a secular document because this was their primary source. Article 1, Section 8 about immigration compares with Leviticus 19:34. Article 2, Section 1 says the President has to be a natural-born citizen from Deuteronomy 17:15 which says the head of your nation has to be born from among you. Article 3, Section 3 deals with witness for capital punishment for treason, but two people must testify to it in open court; this compares with Deuteronomy 17:6 says you cannot be put to death unless it is established in the mouth of two to three witnesses. Article 3, Section 3 prohibits bills of attainder; Ezekiel 18:20 prohibits these in the Scripture. You can see the Bible throughout the Constitution, but because secularists never read the Bible, they are blind to these connections.

More reasons to come…

Recommended Resources used in this blog: GOD and the Constitution and Original Intent by David Barton. www.wallbuilders.com

Peak Moments

by Dr. Paul T. Criss, Dean – Memphis/DeSoto

Coming back from the Christian Adult Higher Education Association Conference 2018, I have been reflecting on several ideas that were presented that I would like to unpack over a couple articles.

The plenary speaker, Dr. Mary Kay Park, Executive Managing Director of the Far East Broadcasting Company – Korea in Los Angeles, presented several intriguing ideas. The one that greatly intrigued me personally was this statement: “Currently there is a ‘boundary-less-ness’ in careers. The shape of the career has changed – today’s young people will change employers twelve to fifteen times and careers nine to eleven times. We are not preparing students for a single job market, we are preparing them for twelve to fifteen employer scenarios and nine to eleven career scenarios.”

That provoked some reflection on how our classrooms will likely change. In addition to focusing on the content of the course, the faculty member must also focus on all of the intangibles that need to be brought to bear on student learning. Not only the typical hard and soft skill development, but also teaching and developing flexibility, resilience, and grit/perseverance. These essential skills are needed for the diverse future that may lie ahead.

Dr. Park continued to explain three areas that disrupt a student’s pathway to success. The first is situational barriers – things like time limit and cost. The second is institutional barriers – policies and procedures that may discourage or exclude students. The third area is dispositional barriers – personal perception, attitude, and support. As faculty, we may not be able to address the first and second barriers, but we certainly can address the third. But how? How do you help improve a student’s perception of themselves,  of Belhaven, and of the future that God has in store?

Disneyland and Disneyworld conducted a study by asking attendees to rate their experience throughout their day at their amusement park. On a scale of 1-10 how good is the experience at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., noon, and throughout the day. The average experience was 8.6. How would one look back at that a few months later? Would you remember? Everyone remembers the higher scores. WE only remember the peaks and then we average the peaks. What are students remembering from their experience in your classroom? What are they sharing at dinner parties? With current Belhaven Students? With potential Belhaven students? How is that an anchor point for them as they maneuver through their career journey?

Dr. Park suggested focusing on the “power of moments” – teachable moments – peak moments that will be remembered. How do you create more peak moments in your classroom? Perhaps find ways to embed God’s truth into practical life application. Share personal and professional experiences that have shaped you. Bring into the forefront those experiences that changed the trajectory of your career. Moments that made you more resilient, flexible, and gritty. Students in Tennessee attest that the number one reason they persisted in their studies is that they had a meaningful moment with a faculty member outside of the classroom. Be available in the hallway, prior to class, or at a student appreciation event. Be intentional about learning each of your students’ name. Find something about each student to which you can relate – it will help you remember them. Create those peak moments in your classroom and improve the trajectory of your students’ lives.

Webinars to Inform and Improve

Greetings,

We are working on a re-design for the Faculty Resources tab of our site and in the process the webinars, which have been listed there, have all been moved to YouTube for easier access.  As I was compiling these links I reviewed some of the webinars and was reminded of the wealth of information these contain.  I’m posting that information below and encourage you to look over the list and review a couple yourself – I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Don’t forget to register for the upcoming Webinar of the Faculty’s Role in Student Retention – see the calendar link on this page to register.

APA and Grading Writing Across the Curriculum. Presenter: Dr. Everett Wade https://youtu.be/HFeLIpg2lUk

Bring Life to Your Classroom. Presenter: Dr. Ed Garrett https://youtu.be/urKi7DGVGQM

Christian Worldview: Practical Applications for the Classroom. Presenter: Dr. Paul Criss https://youtu.be/jFm9nNoFoXc

Effective Use of Library Resources. Presenter: Dr. Kim Priesmeyer https://youtu.be/CxpBGF8AHAs

Introducing Critical Thinking into the Classroom. Presenter: Rosemary Foncree https://youtu.be/HotogEC0PEc

Plagiarism: Helping Your Students Avoid It. Presenter: Dr. Kim Priesmeyer https://youtu.be/jFmhBggVdzw

Student Engagement Strategy: Experimentation. Presenter: Dr. Thomas Randolph https://youtu.be/vvOAQl2Q_48

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Foster Critical Thinking. Presenters: Dr. Jerald Meadows & Elizabeth Juneau https://youtu.be/Qdt7Mu5sGno

Using Canvas to Facilitate Team Projects. Presenter: Dr. Rick Upchurch https://youtu.be/RWuMnPtAvZA

Millennials in the Classroom. Presenter: Emma Morris https://youtu.be/0kgNsVN3SDs

Canvas Updates 2017. Presenter: Joe Villarreal https://youtu.be/0wWkVfKNNbA

Andragogy: Adult Learning Theory Applied. Presenter: Dr. Rick Upchurch https://youtu.be/KnDc3zfpvrs

Accessing Case Studies from Belhaven Library. Presenter: Charles Gaudin https://youtu.be/3k_X6RQ5jvM