Lunch and Learn: From Plato to Pixar – Using Storytelling Frameworks to Drive Learner Engagement and Improved Outcomes

Posted on October 24, 2024 by abrusini

On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI) hosted the first Lunch and Learn of the Fall 2024 semester. Brian Klaas, Assistant Director for Technology and instructor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, presented: From Plato to Pixar – Using Storytelling Frameworks to Drive Learner Engagement and Improved Outcomes. Caroline Egan, Teaching Academy Program Manager, moderated the presentation.

Brian Klaas opened the presentation by highlighting the valuable role storytelling plays in the classroom. While sharing facts is essential, building a narrative around those facts provides the context that gives them meaning. When we teach, we enact a narrative; we are telling a story. Stories help students connect abstract or complex ideas to real-world applications, making the content more relatable and engaging. Students are more likely to recall and retain information that resonates with them on some level. Storytelling also encourages students to think critically as they analyze characters, events, and outcomes, which can deepen their understanding of the material.

Klaas went on to describe the four cornerstones of narratives and encouraged audience members to think about how they might apply them to their teaching:

Conflict: What problem are we trying to solve? What are we trying to overcome? What stories as a presenter can I frame through conflict? Conflict gives us drama and tension.
Character: How can you draw people into your lectures or stories? We need facts and data, but we also need to engage with the emotional part of the brain. There are many opportunities to include characters/people into your data – including yourself!
Segmenting: Organizing and chunking information, such as chapters in books, acts in plays, etc., gives our presentation a logical flow. We present one idea at a time, declare why it’s important, before moving on to the next one. Segmenting gives us a sense of moving forward.
Reflection: What does this mean to me? Why is this important? As educators we can incorporate reflection into our teaching in various ways, including think-pair-share, self-assessment, journaling, etc.

Klaas acknowledged that it can be difficult to make the shift from sharing facts to telling stories. He introduced the audience to two storytelling frameworks that can help with this process: the Hero’s Journey and the Pixar Framework.

The Hero’s Journey is a popular template that follows the adventures of a hero who faces some sort of conflict, overcomes various obstacles along the way, and eventually emerges victorious. In the process, the hero is transformed in some way, embracing newfound knowledge and lessons learned. Examples of stories that follow this template include: The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. Originally 12 steps, The Hero’s Journey template can be divided into 3 main acts:

Departure/Separation: Where do things stand? This act presents the background, the current cultural context, followed by an event that pushes the hero to begin the journey.
Initiation: What went wrong? What is the issue? Why can’t we move forward? This act explores the series of challenges faced by the hero that help to create tension and conflict.
Return: What lessons did we learn? Why does this matter? This act shows what was learned and how the world is changed, why it is meaningful.

Klaas gave an example of a Hero’s Journey story:
He told the audience about one of his former students who traveled to Nigeria to study that country’s waste disposal and sewage system. While there, she noticed a woman repeatedly leaving her hut to go out into the grass. When the student asked why, she was told that the woman recently had a baby, was having some problems, and wasn’t able to engage with the community. The student learned that the woman experienced an obstetric fistula, a serious complication of childbirth that causes women to suffer incontinence, shame, and social segregation. The student went to community leaders and tried to explain to them that this is common, that the woman just needed proper care. The leaders rejected her plea. For the student, this was a lesson in cultural humility. She learned that local hospitals are not equipped to deal with this issue. This encounter led to her to shift her studies to help women deal with this problem. She ended up working on a project to help women in this region.

Klaas noted that the hero does not have to be a person – it could be a cell, for example – and that this framework could be a powerful way to present research to the world.

The Pixar framework, which forms the foundation of animated Pixar films, such as Finding Nemo and Toy Story, uses the following format:

Once upon a time… (context of the world)
And every day… (everyday life in that world)
Until one day… (incident that launches the story)
And because of this… (the character’s journey)
And because of that… (new journey the character takes)
Until finally… (resolution of the story)

This framework can be applied to a number of different areas, such as literature, health sciences, and history. It can be used to tell a story about why things fail or why things change – it doesn’t always have to be a success. Klaas gave the example of how this format could be applied to narrate a problem such as antibiotic resistance:

Once upon a time… You get an antibiotic every time you go to the
doctor
And every day… Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise,
and here’s the data to prove it!
Until one day… Strategy for reducing antibiotic
overprescription and sparking new research
And because of this…Reduction in antibiotic-resistant microbes;
increase in funding for new antibiotic research
And because of that… Better health outcomes for people; better
incentives for private research
Until finally… Generations of new antibiotics without living
in fear of paper cuts killing us

Audience members were asked to share their ideas of how they might use this framework in their courses: One guest suggested using the framework to share research findings about high cholesterol with students in a concise manner. Another guest suggested using it to describe the history of drunk driving and the evolution of the breathalyzer test, leading to the development of a handheld alcohol detection device. And another guest suggested using it to talk about climate change in order to facilitate discussion.

The presentation wrapped up with a brief Q and A session:

Q: How vital is it to center our teaching around one protagonist as opposed to many? BK: Use storytelling where you can. It’s hard to use all the time, but having context makes it relevant. Always look for meaning, something that will be remembered down the line.
Guest: It helps when trying to make data meaningful. Seeing the story of one person works well. Sometimes too many people [as protagonists] is overwhelming, it becomes abstract. But sometimes showing the numbers affected [in terms of data] can be very powerful.

Q: Students have to write personal narratives for their medical school applications; they try to present themselves as the perfect candidate. Do you recommend using storytelling here?
BK: Yes, you can use storytelling in an application. Storytelling comes from written form, so yes, it will work in writing. My son is in the process of writing his college essays – he’s using the Pixar model right now. It made it easier on him to tell the story once he had a backbone.

Q: Could storytelling be used to help students solve math-based problems? Do you see this?
BK: I haven’t used it this way, but a colleague used it to share complicated math and statistics results from his research. I can see it working, through logical proofs. You don’t have to use the whole Pixar framework – you can use 4 of the 6 steps, for example, to make it work for you.

Amy Brusini, Senior Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

Image source: Lunch and Learn logo, Writer’s Digest, Disney/Pixar

Quick Tips: Low to No Prep Classroom Activities

Posted on August 30, 2024 by abrusini

Student engagement is a critical component of higher education and a frequent topic of interest among instructors. Actively engaging students in the learning process helps increase motivation, supports collaboration, and deepens understanding of course material. Finding activities that instructors can implement quickly while also proving worthwhile to students can be a challenge. I recently attended a conference with a session titled, “Low to No Prep Classroom Activities.” Jennifer Merrill, psychology professor from San Mateo County Community College, shared some simple classroom activities that require very little or no preparation ahead of time that I thought were worth sharing:

Music:
Playing music as students enter the classroom creates a shared experience which can encourage social interaction, inspire creative thinking, and lead to positive classroom dynamics. It can be used as an icebreaker, to set a particular mood, or specifically relate to the course in some way. Research shows that music stimulates activity in the brain that is tied to improved focus, attention, and memory.

Incorporate music as part of a regular classroom routine to indicate that it’s time to focus on the upcoming lesson.
Use it to introduce a new topic or review a current or past topic. Ask students to articulate how they think the music/artist/song relates to the course material and then share with the class.
Allow students to suggest/select what type of music they would like to hear.

Academic Speed Dating:
Like traditional speed dating, academic speed dating consists of short, timed conversations with a series of partners around a particular topic. In this case, students are given a prompt from the instructor, briefly discuss their response with a partner, and then rotate to a new partner when the time is up. Partners face each other in two lines, with one line of students continuously shifting through the other line until they return to their original partner. This can also be done by having students form inner and outer circles, instead of lines. A few of the benefits of academic speed dating include:

Sharing and questioning students’ own knowledge while gaining different perspectives on a topic.
Enhancing communication skills as students learn to express their ideas quickly and efficiently.
Providing a safe space to share ideas as students interact with others, which can lead to a positive classroom climate.

Memory:
The classic “Memory Game” consists of a set of cards with matching pairs of text or images. Cards are shuffled and placed face down; players take turns turning over 2 cards at a time, trying to find matching pairs. In this version, students take part in creating the cards themselves, using index cards, before playing the game. Memory can be used to reinforce learning and enhance the retention of course material.

Suggested steps for implementation:
1. On the board, the instructor lists 10 terms or concepts related to the course in some way.
2. Students are divided into groups of no more than 5 people. Each student in the group selects 2 terms/concepts from the list.
3. Using index cards, students write the name of the term/concept on one card, and an example of the term/concept on another card (e.g., “supply and demand” and “gasoline prices rising in the summer with more people driving”). Examples could also include images, instead of text.
4. When the groups are finished creating their sets of cards, they exchange their cards with another group and play the game, trying to match as many pairs as they can.

Use Memory to review definitions, formulas, or other test material in a fun, collaborative environment.
Enhance cognitive skills, such as concentration, short-term memory, and pattern recognition.
Facilitate team building skills as students work in groups to create and play the game.

Pictionary:
In this version of classroom Pictionary, students are divided into groups that are each assigned a particular topic. Each group is tasked with drawing an image representation of their topic, e.g., “Create images that represent the function of two glial cells assigned to your group.” Ideally, it works best if drawings are large enough to be displayed around the classroom, such as on an easel, whiteboard, or large Post-it note paper. When each group is finished with their drawings, all students participate in a gallery walk, offering feedback to the other groups. Facilitate a small or whole group discussion to reflect on the feedback each group received.

Enhance problem solving skills and creativity by asking students to think critically about how to represent information visually.
Use Pictionary to get students up and moving around the classroom, which will help keep them actively engaged with course content.
Help students develop constructive feedback skills as they participate in the gallery walk part of the activity.

Hawks and Eagles:
This activity is a version of “think-pair-share” that gets students up and moving around the classroom.

Suggested steps for implementation:
1. Students pair with someone nearby and decide who will be the Hawk and who will be the Eagle.
2. Give all students a prompt or topic to discuss and allow them time to think about their response (1-3 minutes).
3. Students share their responses with their paired partner (1-3 minutes).
4. Ask Hawks to raise their hands. Ask the Eagles to get up and go find a different Hawk.
5. Students share their responses with their new partner.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, if desired, to allow students to pair with multiple partners.
7. Debrief topic with the whole class.

Use Hawks and Eagles as an icebreaker activity for students to introduce and get to know one another.
Use this activity as a formative assessment to gauge student comprehension of a particular topic.
Expose students to multiple perspectives or viewpoints on a particular topic by having them engage with multiple partners.

IQ Cards:
IQ cards (“Insight/Question Cards”) is an exit ticket activity that acts as a formative assessment strategy. At the end of a class or unit, ask students to write down on an index card any takeaways or new information they have learned. On the other side of the card, ask them to write down any remaining questions they have about the lesson or unit. Collect student responses and share their “insights” and “questions” with the class at the next meeting.

Gather instant feedback from students and quickly assess their grasp of the material, noting where any changes or adjustments might be needed.
Reinforce knowledge by asking students to recall key concepts of the lesson or unit.
Use IQ Cards as a self-assessment activity for students to reflect on their own learning.

Do you have any additional low or no prep activities you use in the classroom? Please feel free to share them in the comments. If you have any questions about any of the activities described above or other questions about student engagement, please contact the CTEI – we are here to help!

Amy Brusini, Senior Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

References:
Baker, M. (2007). Music moves brain to pay attention, Stanford study finds. Stanford Medicine: News Center. Retrieved August 26, 2024, from https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2007/07/music-moves-brain-to-pay-attention-stanford-study-finds.html

Image source: Jennifer Merrill, Pixabay

The Teaching Fellows Project: Community-based Learning in Baltimore City Schools

Posted on July 15, 2024 by abrusini

[Guest post by Katharine Noel, Associate Teaching Professor, Writing Seminars, Johns Hopkins University]

As a grad student, I was given three days of teacher training before being thrown into a classroom. This was a composition class with fifty first-year students. My pedagogical training – if you can call it that – included how to grade on a curve and how to confront cheating and plagiarism without using the words “cheating” or “plagiarism,” a dodge that would supposedly protect the university from lawsuits. The focus on school protocols implied that teaching itself would be straightforward. After all, as grad students, we were working at advanced levels; shouldn’t imparting a simplified version of our subject be easy?

Without any real idea of how to convey my “expertise,” I thought back to my own professors. I wanted, of course, to emulate the best of them, teachers who’d connected with their students, creating excitement while at the same time expressing warmth and engagement. And yet I’d learned just as many lessons – possibly more – from the ineffective teaching I’d observed: the professor who was charismatic and funny but seemed more concerned with making the students adore him than helping them engage with the subject. Or the one who started discussions with questions so long and complicated – filled with backtracking, amendments, and counterarguments – that by the time she was finished, students had no idea what they were meant to discuss. Teachers who seemed dismissive or defensive. Teachers too rigid to pivot; teachers too lax to have an overarching plan.

The Teaching Fellows and WBS mentors outside of a building in Baltimore.

The Teaching Fellows and WBS mentors on a teaching field trip to Baltimore Youth Arts, a creative entrepreneurship and job training program focusing on young people involved in the justice system

Recently, I’ve been reminded of this early teaching experience. At Hopkins, I teach in The Writing Seminars department. In addition to standard creative writing courses, for the last five years I’ve taught a community-based learning class in partnership with the nonprofit organization Writers in Baltimore Schools (WBS), founded by Hopkins alum Patrice Hutton. Thanks to a grant from CTEI, this past year we expanded the class to become the year-long Teaching Fellows Project.

The Teaching Fellows – twelve undergraduates chosen by application from across KSAS – lead weekly creative writing groups in under-resourced elementary and middle schools across the city. The class they take with me provides training and support, as well as the opportunity to work closely with WBS mentors. We study topics like student-centered pedagogy, educational equity, and the social and political context in which Baltimore schools operate. Writers in Baltimore Schools provides curriculum for teaching elementary and middle-school writing groups, but near the end of the year, each Hopkins student creates, teaches, and revises an original lesson plan based on the interests and needs of their students.

A guest lecture by Ms. Araba Maze, founder of Storybook Maze, which aims to increase book access in Baltimore’s book deserts

The CUE-2 final report stresses the importance of community-based and applied learning, stating that “we should aspire to transform the college experience from one composed solely of traditional elements – lectures, papers, problem sets, and exams – to one in which these elements sit amid a much broader range of learning activities.” The Teaching Fellows Project is designed to provide this kind of community-based and applied learning opportunity, connecting academic theory to real-world impact. Students bring what they learn in our classroom to their worksites, and bring what they learn in their worksites back to our classroom. Knowledge gained from meaningful engagement in the community is deepened by the knowledge gained through reading, discussions, and guest lecturers, and vice-versa. At times, it all feels very meta: as I teach students to teach, I also point out the techniques and tactics I’m using as a teacher; as students encounter challenges at their worksites, I adjust my curriculum to address those topics that feel most relevant and vital.

One of the first exercises the Teaching Fellows do, based on my own early groping for models, is to think back to their best teachers and try to isolate what made them so effective. Some of these “teachers” are the ones they had in classrooms; others turn out to be coaches, bosses, ministers, co-workers, or relatives. The next week, we repeat the same exercise by discussing frustrating learning experiences. The complicated interwoven skills of teaching can be most visible when they work together imperfectly, since excellent teachers achieve a kind of magic that means – as with any magician – their moves can be too deft to make out.

My scant training as a grad student seemed predicated on the idea that teaching could and should be easy. What the WBS mentors and I try to convey in The Teaching Fellows Project is very different: that teaching is often hard, confounding, overwhelming, and awkward – as well as thrilling, meaningful, revealing, and joyous. It can even – at rare moments – feel nearly effortless.

Katharine Noel
Associate Teaching Professor, Writing Seminars
Johns Hopkins University

Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, Katharine Noel was the Writer in Residence at Claremont McKenna College (2009 to 2013). From 2002-2009, she was a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, where she held Wallace Stegner and Truman Capote fellowships in 2000–2002. Before teaching at Stanford, she worked for two years at Gould Farm, a program in the Berkshire Mountains for adults with mental illnesses, and for four years at an Oakland, California shelter for women and children experiencing homelessness. At Hopkins, in addition to teaching fiction writing, she directs The Teaching Fellows Project.

Image Source: Writers in Baltimore Schools

Preparing to Teach: Lessons from a Gamemaster

Posted on March 6, 2024 by abrusini

Once upon a time, just before the age of COVID-19, I was asked to teach a course for an undergraduate minor program through JHU’s Center for Leadership Education. I began my journey to teaching my first course by meeting the program director for lunch. After the proposition, it became clear to me that there was sparse content for this new course on data visualization, and it would be up to me to develop and deliver it the following semester. With only a few months to prepare, I quickly realized that my quest to create something from nothing would be full of challenges that might result in a perilous journey, but the bounties were rumored to be plentiful.

When I started to delve into the instructional design of my course including developing content, setting learning goals, and creating a syllabus, I was delighted by the discovery that there are many parallels between designing a course and creating an adventure for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). D&D is a type of role-playing game where players take on roles of fictional characters and attempt to complete a fantasy adventure designed and delivered by the Dungeon Master (I will use the term “gamemaster” for its broader applicability). In a D&D adventure, the gamemaster introduces the fantasy world to the players and presents challenges for them to overcome by performing actions as their characters. As a gamemaster, I realized that I had resources that would help me structure the course, plan activities, and engage my students.

Learning Goals vs Plotline

One of the first parallels I found was that the learning goals provided a structure much like plot elements would provide a structure to a D&D adventure. The gamemaster tells stories and sets the stage for the players to interact, and, with the stories, they build on each other to an eventual climactic event. In both cases, you have to sequence the elements in a logical way that builds up to the desired result such as a learning goal or a successful adventure. For instance, one of my learning goals was to have students apply visual design principles to different types of presentations of data. I invested time up front in my course structure to ensure students knew a variety of data visualization types, could identify design principles that work for each, and had practice applying those design techniques. Ensuring your participants are adequately prepared for their true test is important, whether it be acing their final project or slaying an evil dragon.

Activities vs Encounters

Planning activities for each class felt closely related to the gamemaster’s balancing act of creating encounters for their players. In D&D, each player controls a character with specific abilities set by their current level. As a character gains experience, they unlock more abilities as they reach the next level. The gamemaster has to make sure that at each level, the challenge of each encounter is commensurate with the players’ levels to keep them engaged.

For many weeks in the course, I highlighted a topic that would span two class periods that bookended the weekend. Before the first day, there would be a reading to introduce the topic, followed by a lecture at the beginning of the first day to expand on the topic (the background). Then, the students would work on an activity in class, most times in groups, that utilized the concepts presented in the introduction (an encounter). At the end of the activity, we would chat about the results and the related assignment that would be due the following week (rest and reflect). During that weekend, the students would have a short reading that was relevant to the topic and would complete their assignment (continued journey). On the second day for that topic, we would begin the class with a zero-stakes quiz that was based on the readings and mini lecture (another encounter). We then discussed the assignment submissions in a class critique, offering feedback and best practices in a safe setting (the aftermath). The last portion of the class would expand on the topic with one last activity on the topic (gain experience).

Being a Good Host

Just like sitting down for a game of D&D, when teaching your class, you are welcoming students into your space. It’s not a space you own, but it is one in which you have control over the tone and the proceedings. As a good host, whether for a dinner party, a classroom activity, or a D&D adventure to clear out a cave of kobolds, you must be aware of how your guests are responding to the experience. In the case of D&D, that means being aware of how each player is interacting and contributing to the story you are building together. From the classroom perspective you should be similarly mindful of student engagement and progress. You can achieve this not only with summative assessments (the results from quizzes, assignments, etc.) but also formative assessments (ungraded quizzes, surveys, etc.). For example, a mid-semester survey can help inform you of what the students are enjoying about the class, what could make it better, and any issues with the content that they are having trouble with.

Side Quests

The concept of a Side Quest in gaming refers to an optional task to achieve a supplemental benefit for your character. I used this concept to offer extra-credit assignments that would allow the students to gain bonus points towards assignments, participation, or the final project. The Side Quests provided the opportunity for the students to reengage with the content, give them more data visualization practice, or reflect deeper on topics. The following are examples of a few of my favorite Side Quest assignments:

“Find the Gestalt!”: Students find a data visualization and describe what gestalt technics were used and where. This provided more practice identifying technics in the wild.
“You be the Instructor!”: Students develop up to five challenging quiz questions from the course content that had accurate answers. This allowed them to think deeper about a topic.
“Journal of the Journey!”: Students submit pages from their class notes/sketchbook. This incentivized them to record tidbits from class that they found interesting, which gave me feedback on the parts of the course that resonated with the students.

Final Thoughts

D&D helped me to pull from years of experience as a gamemaster. In the end, as long as you are thoughtfully guiding your participants/students/adventurists to new heights through balanced challenges, they will all surely level up to be ready for their next adventure.

Reid Sczerba, Digital Solutions Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

Image Source: Reid Sczerba, Pixabay

This blog post was adapted from the full article, “Lessons from a Gamemaster,” which is part of our printed Innovative Instructor series.

Lunch and Learn: Canvas Show and Tell

Posted on December 11, 2023 by abrusini

On Wednesday, November 1^st, the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI) hosted a Canvas Show and Tell: Share and Learn about Engaging and Effective Uses of Canvas. Alison Papadakis, Teaching Professor and Director of Clinical Psychological Studies in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, hosted the discussion. She was joined by Emily Braley, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Mathematics, and Jamie Young, Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry. Beth Hals, Brian Cole, and Caroline Egan from the CTEI helped facilitate the event.

Alison Papadakis opened the discussion describing how her interest in Canvas began with her kids, who were using it during COVID. (JHU was still using Blackboard at that time.) Watching her kids struggle with poorly designed Canvas classroom interfaces influenced the way she organized her own Canvas classroom once JHU adopted it as our new learning management system (LMS). One big decision she made was to stay away from using the Module function, which is often the most common way to organize content in Canvas. Instead, Papadakis explained how she used the Canvas Page function to create a page with a table outlining her course schedule with hyperlinks to the rest of her content. The homepage of her Canvas site looks like a calendar with hyperlinks for each class day. She regularly checks in with her students, asking if they have trouble finding anything in the course and they always assure her that they do not. Papadakis also makes the Files area in Canvas available to her students, as an additional way for them to access course content, but they tell her they don’t use it. She says the course schedule page is not the “prettiest” display of content, but the functionality works very well for her course and students can easily find what they need for each class period.

Papadakis also does a lot of student advising and needed a place to post links and share information with students. She decided to use a community site, which is similar to a website, but built inside of Canvas. All majors and minors have access to the site as well as other faculty; it is also possible to add other users to the site if necessary. Brian Cole clarified that the key difference between a standard Canvas course and community site is that a standard site is for credited courses and is automatically generated by JHU’s Student Information System (SIS). Community sites, which all faculty have the ability to request, are for non-credit activities and are intended to share information and resources across multiple populations.

Emily Braley described how the mathematics department is using a community site to host their math placement exam. The university’s switch to Canvas provided an opportunity to revise the exam, which was previously hosted in Blackboard. In Canvas, students are provided with more information about why they are taking the exam as they are guided through a series of steps to help them decide which exam to take. With the help of CTEI staff, Braley described how they embedded a Microsoft form inside of Canvas that asks students what math courses they took in high school, including AP courses. The branching feature of the form then directs students to the appropriate placement exam based on their answers. There are also practice tests that students can take before the actual exam.

The exam itself is set up using a Canvas feature called Mastery Paths. This feature allows an instructor to set up to three ranges of scores for the exam; once they take the exam, student scores are translated into a recommendation for enrollment. Braley also created a customized grading scheme for the exam, which contains information about interpreting the results as well as the actual score for the students.

Braley is very excited about the potential for data analytics with the revised exam process. Using the form provides the department with data which can help identify trends and determine if students are being placed correctly. All incoming math students are encouraged to take a math placement exam; so far this fall, close to 1100 students have taken the placement exam.

Jamie Young was looking for a way to avoid having to answer the same questions repeatedly from the 640 students in his Introduction to Chemistry lab course. Using HTML code, he was able to create a dropdown FAQ page in Canvas containing embedded links. He estimates he has received 50-60% less questions this semester so far since posting the FAQ page. He also used HTML to add buttons and links to his syllabus that link out to everything in the course, similar to Alison Papadakis’s course schedule. He believes this saves time for students as they are able to find many things very quickly. Additionally, Young embedded a live Google Document into the course that contains his course schedule. This makes it really easy to update the schedule when necessary as any changes made will immediately be pushed to Canvas – no need to upload an edited document each time a change is made.

In another course, with a combined lecture and lab, Young struggled with displaying a large amount of content. He initially put everything into modules but wasn’t happy with how disorganized they became after adding so much material. He has since turned each module into its own page and links everything from the page. This has been working out much better – again, students are able to find things quickly and easily. Young insists you don’t need much coding knowledge to take advantage of these features in Canvas; you do need to know – or have access to – a few HTML commands.

The discussion included the following questions from the audience:

Q (for Alison Papadakis): Do you need coding experience to create this [the course schedule]?
AP: I just created it in Word and cut and pasted it in – no coding necessary.

Q (for Alison Papadakis): How do you link the “tone” of your course to the course schedule?
AP: This is an in-person course, so there is a lot of in-class discussion around the course and how it works at the beginning. The course schedule is just the pragmatic piece so we can keep things organized.

Q (for Alison Papadakis): It looks like you assign readings before the semester begins – do you plan everything ahead of the semester, before it starts?
AP: I have taught this course over ten times, so I know basically what’s coming. I put placeholders in for things I don’t know yet. You’ll notice it says ‘Tentative Schedule’ so I can allow for shifting things around if needed. I do need to remember to update the Canvas calendar when making changes to my course schedule.

Q (for Alison Papadakis): Can anyone access the community site?
AP: No, they have to be added to the roster.

Q: (For Beth Hals, CTEI’s Sr. Instructional Technologist) Can you explain Mastery Paths? Is it the same as locking/unlocking a Module?
BH: Mastery Paths are affiliated with some sort of assessment in Canvas. As the instructor, you can set three different sets of score ranges that you use to then send students on their next ‘path’ based on their results. Unlocking modules is a little different – you first set prerequisites on a module that must be completed before the module will unlock.

Q (for Jamie Young): To a neophyte, it’s a little overwhelming to see what you’ve done – there seem to be many ways of doing the same thing. Could you compare and contrast the ways of organizing your syllabus?
JY: You can use the Rich Content Editor (RCE) in Canvas to build your syllabus. If you want to add something like buttons, you would then toggle the RCE to view the HTML editor. Using HTML is more complicated for sure, but with some basic knowledge you can do it. I would be happy to share what I’ve done and then you can just fill in your information and cut and paste it into your course. To embed the Google Form, I followed online directions that I googled.

Brian Cole, CTEI’s Associate Director for Instructional Technology: You don’t need any HTML knowledge to embed anything into Canvas. You can use the Rich Content Editor (RCE) to do this. There is an “embed” option in the menu of the editor. You also don’t have to do every page. You can pick and choose what parts of your course to make pretty.

Q: Did Jamie build his syllabus in AEFIS?
BC: No, Jamie built his syllabus using the Canvas Syllabus page. You can still use your own syllabus in conjunction with the AEFIS syllabus – they can coexist. (Note: New name for AEFIS is Heliocampus.)

Q (for Jamie Young): Could you provide a little more information on creating tabs?
JY: They are just HTML code. I used HTML 5. You have to go into the HTML editor in Canvas and use “div” tags to build tabs. Start with the blank tabs in html, then go back to the RCE and fill in the text as needed. You can use copy and paste to make it easier.

Q: Can I move JavaScript headers into Canvas?
BC: No, Canvas will strip them out. An alternative is to embed the page into the Canvas page.
BH: There is something called the Redirect tool that may help. This tool adds an item to your navigational menu. You pick the text for what will display in your menu and it will link to a particular page.

Q: Any ideas about making grading easier?
EB: We use auto grading on all quizzes. We also use banks of questions, so that each quiz pulls from different banks. New Quizzes has matching question types that are more work for students, more robust, but still auto graded. Another thing about New Quizzes is the ability to render Latex [a typesetting software for math symbols]. This has been very useful for us – it’s so much cleaner for students. It renders as accessible MathML, which can be read by a screen reader. This is much better than posting a PDF that is read as an image.
We also use Gradescope, which is an external tool that helps us streamline grading. Students upload their work to Gradescope (inside of Canvas) and you can set it up to help auto grade problems.
JY: We also use Gradescope extensively in Chemistry. We scan written work into Gradescope and it is automatically graded. The system has gotten better at reading handwriting. It has made handwritten assignments so much easier to grade. One caveat about Canvas quizzes: they don’t allow for numbers past 4 decimal places, which we need.

A word about accessibility in Canvas:
EB: You can have Canvas tell you if your material is accessible or not. Use the accessibility checker in the RCE to help you with this.
BH: I also wanted to mention that it’s very easy to duplicate pages in Canvas – build it once, duplicate the page, then fill in what you need to change. It’s like building a template for yourself and reusing it.

For more information about topics discussed at the event, please see this Canvas resource developed by Beth Hals.

Amy Brusini, Senior Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

Image source: Canvas logo

Facilitating Difficult Conversations in Class: Considerations when Teaching Online

Posted on November 21, 2023 by abrusini

In a recent blog post, the CTEI shared strategies that can be used to facilitate difficult conversations in the classroom. The center also hosted a community conversation on the same topic, featuring perspectives from three different faculty members from across the institution. In response, we heard from some instructors who are interested in specific strategies they can use in an online environment. While many of the ideas previously shared can be applied to the online classroom, such as setting ground rules, the following considerations are worth keeping in mind when facilitating difficult conversations online.

Establish a positive classroom climate. This is especially important in an online environment where subtle gestures, voice inflections, and facial expressions may be missing. Creating a safe, inclusive environment from the start will encourage student participation and respect among peers. Some ideas include:
- Engage students in icebreaker or other collaborative activities to ensure multiple opportunities for students to get to know one another.
- Include a syllabus statement with language expressing a commitment to respecting diverse opinions and being inclusive. Model this commitment by using students’ preferred names, pronouns, inclusive language, and diverse examples. See a recently shared example from Professor John Mercurio in The Chronicle.
- Communicate regularly with students. Send weekly reminders, post regular announcements, and commit to responding promptly to discussion board posts from students to help them feel connected to the class and to each other.
As part of setting ground rules, remind students of “netiquette;” be very clear about rules for online discussions, group interactions, when/if it’s okay to use the chat feature, etc. Consider involving students in creating these rules.
Lack of privacy – remember that students on Zoom are not necessarily in a private space and may not feel comfortable speaking or engaging freely with others. Communicate alternate ways for students to engage, such as using chat, polls, or an asynchronous discussion board.
In hybrid classes, make sure to include Zoom participants in the discussion. This may require additional or amended ground rules such as requiring everyone to raise their hand (Zoom and in-person participants) before making a comment.
Acknowledge and accept that there may be (uncomfortable) pauses due to a bad online connection or people gathering their thoughts.
Consider using breakout rooms for students to discuss issues in small groups which may be more comfortable/less intimidating for some.
Consider using the chat feature to allow students time to reflect on their response before sharing. The faculty can then selectively address comments shared by students including contextualizing or reframing points made. If you have a co-instructor or teaching assistants, they can help with replying directly to comments posted in the chat.
Establish a set of gestures/emojis to be used when asking a question, adding a follow-up idea, agreeing or disagreeing, etc. to keep interruptions to a minimum. (This requires everyone to be in grid view.)
As much as possible, keep an eye on Zoom participants for indications of distress. Encourage students to take advantage of university wellness resources.
For larger discussions, consider using a Zoom webinar in which you can moderate questions and comments submitted before sharing them. In typical Zoom classrooms, you can ask students to send their comments directly to you in the chat instead of posting to the entire group.

Do you have additional ideas to share? Please post them in the comments.

Amy Brusini, Senior Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

Image Source: Unsplash

References:

Rudenko, N. (August, 12, 2020). Facilitating discussions via Zoom (in a college-level classroom). Medium. https://medium.com/@natasharudenko_37929/facilitating-discussions-via-zoom-in-a-college-level-classroom-619d3ac4343b

Supiano, B. (November 9, 2023). Teaching: How to hold difficult discussions online. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/teaching/2023-11-09?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_8238698_nl_Teaching_date_20231109&cid=te&source=ams&sourceid=&sra=true

Community Conversation: Facilitating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom

Posted on November 16, 2023 by abrusini

The Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI) hosted a community conversation on Facilitating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom on Thursday, November 9^th, as a follow-up to our recent blog post on the same topic. The faculty panel included: Sherita Golden, Chief Diversity Officer at the School of Medicine & Hugh P. McCormick Family Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Andrew Perrin, SNF Agora Professor and Department Chair of Sociology, and Mike Reese, Associate Dean of the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation & Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology. Caroline Egan from the CTEI facilitated the event.

Mike Reese opened the conversation by acknowledging that current events are an opportunity to apply course concepts but the instructor’s goal is to maintain civility on sensitive topics. He described some of the strategies he uses in his classroom, such as setting ground rules for class discussions. Reese explains the intentions of the rules to his students, which is to create a space that makes everyone feel comfortable participating. Some of his ground rules include:

Support arguments with evidence
Use ‘I’ statements – do not speak for others in the class
Do not generalize about groups
Allow students to speak without interruption (with caveat that the instructor can cut them off if they go on too long)
Listen actively – be open to what others are saying
Name-calling, sarcasm, inflammatory accusations are not permitted

Reese noted in his classes that historically the issue is less conversations becoming heated and more that students are hesitant to talk about politically-charged topics. He mentioned strategies to spark engagement, such as having students first work in small groups to discuss a topic. He also uses structured debate activities where students are assigned a specific perspective. In the debate activity, the pressure is taken off of the student since the role/perspective is assigned by the instructor.

In cases of traumatic events, Reese stated that instructors are not required to discuss the topic if they are not comfortable doing so, but should at least acknowledge the event. Research suggests students want events to be acknowledged, not ignored. Reese shared that a student this past week shared they don’t need to discuss the issue in every course, as the constant reminder may be counterproductive, but would prefer to discuss the event in courses that speak directly to the issue. The main message is be intentional about how you plan to discuss traumatic events and what boundaries you will place on the conversation before arriving to class.

Andrew Perrin continued the conversation by describing two principles he subscribes to:

While all people deserve safety, no ideas deserve safety. The way we honor ideas is by submitting them to rigorous argument and evidence and testing them out.
Emotions running high is not a reason to avoid discussions – it’s a reason to have better discussions. Explain and demonstrate to students how to listen thoughtfully to ideas and make judgments based on evidence.

While he supports Reese’s ground rules, Perrin takes a slightly different approach: he will often set the context for students, explain a scenario, and have them listen to their peers discuss the issue, recognizing their own ideas may turn out to be wrong. His pedagogical goal is to make sure that all reasonable ideas are raised so that they may be examined and challenged. At times Perrin will make arguments that he doesn’t believe in because he feels it’s important for them to be part of the conversation.

He believes most students politically are not committed either to the left or the right; they might be in between, they might not have thought about it much, or they might have mixed opinions. The instructor’s job is to make sure the debate includes more ideas than just those from the 5-10% on the right and left. Perrin acknowledged that it might be hard to engage on difficult topics and students might be uncomfortable, but that is an acceptable outcome in a university classroom. He stated, “Too often we think the goal is to come to consensus. I think the goal is to understand why people feel the way that they do.”

Sherita Golden teaches medical students in a clinical environment as well as staff from all parts of the medical establishment. One of the issues that she addresses in her classroom is why we continue to see inequities in health, for example, the inequity of non-whites consistently having a higher prevalence of diabetes than whites. Golden explains to her students how historical discrimination and racism dating back to the time of enslavement have led to the current situation; eugenics theory suggesting the biological inferiority of non-white populations, trust violations by the medical establishment due to unconsented experimentation on enslaved and marginalized communities, as well as healthcare clinician bias against minoritized patients. These are all factors adversely affecting healthcare quality and access today. Another example is the historic practice of redlining, which made it more difficult for African-Americans to obtain mortgages and build wealth through their homes. Golden uses these historical contexts to explain the roots of current social movements to her students and health system staff.

Golden acknowledged that conversations can become politically charged and offered the following suggestions to help diffuse the situation:

Acknowledge the humanity of the person speaking – listen with compassion and intent to respond rather than react.
Commit to providing information to the person if you aren’t sure how to address the issue in the moment.
Adopt a learner’s mindset:
- What is the historical context of the issue?
- What do you know about the lived experiences of those expressing the concern?
- How might you benefit from knowing more in your teaching/leadership role?
Recognize that there are two sides to every story and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The discussion continued with panelists taking questions from participants.

Q : I appreciate your [Perrin’s] idea of exploring other ideas of a particular subject, but at the same time, as we examine these charged issues and try to be objective, sometimes the discussion becomes politically neutral. I’m struggling with how I can resolve this issue of technical neutrality.

AP: I don’t think there are 2 sides, but actually 4, 5, or even more sides to every story. There are lots of different dimensions. One reason I don’t ask students to debate positions according to what I’ve set is because I think it is important for them to feel like what they’re saying matters and that they care about the issue. I’m not trying to say, “all ideas are fine” but instead, “all ideas deserve to be listened to.” I do think historical context is important, as well as real world evidence, so it’s important not to let them stick with things that aren’t true.

MR: The classroom space allows students to voice lots of different ideas, and sometimes students come out not knowing where to go from there. Here is where reflection may help – ask them to articulate how they have moved on a particular issue, if at all.

SG: The goal is not to come to a resolution, but help them improve their argument and use of evidence. I encourage students to read constantly – learning is a lifelong process. Reading will help me (and them) back up why I feel a certain way, with evidence.

Q: How do you create space to honor opinions that you feel are wrong or will harm others?

AP: The key is how we say things. There is a reason to challenge the idea because it’s there – it is also submissible to evidence. The person should be able to explain why they think what they think. It really is important for people to be pushed to explain why they think this or that, where is the evidence, what makes this true. I like to ask, “Is there anything you could learn that, if true, would end up changing your position on this?” It is important to distinguish between what is true and what people think. So even potentially harmful ideas need to be discussed, if only to bring evidence to show why they are harmful. That said, it is also important to protect students who may be hurt. I will sometimes remind students that there are probably other students in the room who may be negatively affected by what they’re saying.

Guest: This makes me think about a case in class: we watched a film about a kidnapped woman in China who was sold to a villager as a wife. In the film there was a sympathetic attitude to the men in the villages that I disagreed with. This kind of sentiment was hard to watch.

MR: This is why reflection as the instructor is important, too. If the discussion did not address your goals for the class, then perhaps reflect on how you might structure it differently next time.

SG: One of my favorite phrases to use in these situations: “Help me understand why you made that comment… What is at the root of what you’re saying?” I work in a clinical setting as well as an educational setting. We must show dignity and respect to all patients. We fall back to the core values of JH medicine: we need to be respectful of different points of view and perspectives.

Q: How do you de-escalate a conversation when it becomes highly charged?

AP: I like charged topics, I don’t feel scared of them. I like to ask students: “Why do you think that, what makes you say that, what do you think your opponents think?” It’s not useful for me to throw around “flashpoint” words; it works better for me to stick to the questions I just mentioned. In the classroom, you do have to move forward at some point. I ask the questions and try to keep the conversation moving.

MR: It’s also ok to take a break.

SG: I suggest listening sessions. This is a very important way to learn – let the person talk, we can all learn from that.

Amy Brusini, Senior Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

Image Source: Unsplash

Lunch and Learn: Generative AI – Teaching Uses, Learning Curves, and Classroom Guidelines

Posted on November 9, 2023 by abrusini

On Tuesday, October 3rd, the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI) hosted its first Lunch and Learn of the academic year, a panel discussion titled, “Generative AI: Teaching Uses, Learning Curves, and Classroom Guidelines.” The three panelists included Jun Fang, Assistant Director of the Instructional Design and Technology Team in the Carey Business School, Carly Schnitzler, KSAS instructor in the University Writing Program, and Sean Tackett, Associate Professor in the School of Medicine. The discussion was moderated by Caroline Egan, project manager in the CTEI. Mike Reese, director of the CTEI, also helped to facilitate the event.

The panelists began by introducing themselves and then describing their experiences with generative AI. Jun Fang loves new technology and has been experimenting with AI since its inception. He noticed the faculty that he works with generally fall into two categories when it comes to using AI: some are quite concerned about students using it to cheat and are not ready to use it, while others see a great deal of potential and are very excited to use it in the classroom. In speaking with colleagues from across the institution, Fang quickly realized these are common sentiments expressed by faculty in all JHU divisions. This motivated him to lead an effort to create a set of AI guidelines specifically geared toward faculty. The document contains a number of strategies for using AI including: designing engaging course activities, providing feedback for students on their assignments, and redesigning course assessments. The section on redesigning course assessments uses two approaches: the “avoidance approach,” which involves deliberately designing assessments without AI, and the “activation approach,” which intentionally integrates AI tools into the curriculum. The document includes specific examples of many of the strategies mentioned as well as links to widely used generative AI tools.

Fang described a recent scenario in which a faculty member was concerned that students were using ChatGPT to generate answers to online discussion board questions. To mitigate this situation, Fang suggested the faculty member revise the questions so that they were tied to a specific reading or perhaps to a topic generated in one of his online synchronous class sessions. Another suggestion was to have students submit two answers for each question – one original answer and one generated by ChatGPT – and then have the students compare the two answers. The faculty member was not comfortable with either of these suggestions and ended up making the discussion more of a synchronous activity, rather than asynchronous. Fang acknowledged that everyone has a different comfort level with using AI and that one approach is not necessarily better than another.

Carly Schnitzler currently teaches two introductory writing courses to undergraduates and is very open to using generative AI in her classroom. At the start of the semester, she asked students to fill out an intake survey which included questions about previous writing experiences and any technologies used, including generative AI. She found that students were reluctant to admit that they had used these technologies, such as ChatGPT, for anything other than ‘novelty’ purposes because they associated these tools with cheating. After seeing the results of the survey, Schnitzler thought it would be beneficial for students to explore the potential use of generative AI in class. She asked students to do an assignment where they had to create standards of conduct in a first year writing class, which included discussing their expectations of the course, the instructor, their peers, and how AI would fit in among these expectations. The class came up with three standards:

AI tools should support (and not distract from) the goals of the class, such as critical thinking, analytical skills, developing a personal voice, etc.
AI tools can be used for certain parts of the writing process, such as brainstorming, revising, or editing, but students must disclose that AI tools were used.
If there appears to be an over-use or over-reliance on AI tools, a discussion will take place to address the situation rather than disciplinary action. (Schnitzler wants students to feel safe exploring the tools without fear of repercussion.)

This assignment comes from an open collection of cross-disciplinary assignments that use text generation technologies, mostly in a writing context. TextGenEd: Teaching with Text Generation Technologies, co-edited by Schnitzler, consists of freely accessible assignments submitted by scholars from across the nation. Assignments are divided into categories, such as AI literacy, rhetorical engagements, professional writing, creative explorations, and ethical considerations. Most are designed so that the technologies used are explored by students and instructors together, requiring very little ‘expert’ technological skills. Schnitzler noted that there is a call for new submissions twice each year and encouraged instructors to consider submitting their own assignments that use text generation AI.

Sean Tackett was initially fearful of ChatGPT when it was released last year. Reading article after article stating how generative AI was going to “take over” pushed him to learn as much as he could about this new technology. He began experimenting with it and initially did not find it easy to use or even necessarily useful in his work with medical school faculty. However, he and some colleagues recognized potential in these tools and ended up applying for and receiving a JHU DELTA grant to find ways they could apply generative AI to faculty development in the medical school. Tackett described how they are experimenting with generative AI in a curriculum development course that he teaches to the med school faculty. For example, one of the tasks is for faculty to learn to write learning objectives, so they’ve been developing prompts that can be used to specifically critique learning objectives. Another example is developing prompts to critique writing. Most of Tackett’s students are medical professionals who do not have a lot of time to learn new technologies, so his team is continually trying to refine prompts in these systems to make them as useful and efficient as possible. Despite being so busy, Tackett noted the faculty are generally enthusiastic about having the opportunity to use these tools.

The discussion continued with a question and answer session with audience members:

Q: How do we transfer and integrate this knowledge with teaching assistants who help manage the larger sized classes? What about grading?
ST: I would advocate for the potential of AI to replace a TA in terms of grading, but not in terms of a TA having a meaningful dialogue with a student.
JF: Generative AI tools can be used to provide valuable feedback on assessments. There are a lot of tools out there to help make grading easier for your TAs, but AI can be used for the feedback piece.

Q: How might professors provide guidelines to students to use generative AI to help them study better for difficult and complex topics?
MR: One possibility is to generate quiz questions – and then have students follow up by checking the work of these quizzes that have been generated.
CS: Using a ChatGPT or other text generation tool as a reading comprehension aid is something that has been useful for non-native English speakers. For example, adding a paragraph from an academic article into ChatGPT and asking what this means in plain language can be helpful.

CE: This gets to what I call ‘prompt literacy,’ which is designing better prompts to give you better answers. There is a very good series about this on Youtube from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sean, what have you experienced with prompting right now, in terms of challenges and opportunities?
ST: We’re trying to put together advice on how to better prompt the system to get more refined and accurate answers. After a few iterations of prompting the system, we refine the prompt and put it into a template for our faculty, leaving a few ‘blanks’ for them to fill in with their specific variables. The faculty are experts in their subject areas, so they can tell if the output is accurate or not. We’re in the process of collecting their output, to put together best practices about what works, what does not work.

CE: What would you all like to see in terms of guidelines and best practices for AI on a web page geared towards using AI in the classroom?
Guest: And along those lines, how to we move forward with assigning research projects, knowing that these tools are available for students?
ST: I think it could be useful for students to learn research skills. They could use the tools to research something, then critique the results and explain how they verified those results. It can also be useful for generating ideas and brainstorming. Another thought is that there are a number of domain specific generative AI databases, such as Open Evidence which is useful in the medical field.
CS: To Sean’s point, I think a comparative approach is useful with these tools. The tools are very good at pattern matching genre conventions, so doing comparative work within a genre could be useful.
JF: I think ChatGPT and other generative AI tools can be useful for different parts of the research process, such as brainstorming, structure, and editing. But not for something like providing or validating evidence.

Q: As a grad student, I’m wondering how the presence of AI might force us to refine the types of questions and evaluations that we give our students. Are there ways to engineer our own questions so that the shift of the question is changed to avoid the problem [of having to refine and update the question] in the first place?
CS: There is an assignment in our collection that talks about bringing an assignment from past to present. Again, thinking in terms of a comparative approach, ask ChatGPT the question, and then ask your students the same question and see how they compare, if there are any patterns. I think it can be helpful to think of ChatGPT as adding another voice to the room.
JF: We have a section in the guidelines on how to redesign assessment to cope with generative AI related issues. We suggest two approaches: the avoidance approach and the activation approach. The avoidance approach is for faculty who are not yet comfortable using this technology and want to avoid having students use it. One example of this approach is for faculty to rework their assignments to focus on a higher level of learning, such as creativity or analysis, which will hopefully reduce or eliminate the opportunity for students to use AI tools. The activation approach encourages faculty to proactively integrate AI tools into the assessment process. One example of this approach I mentioned earlier is when I suggested to a faculty member to rework their discussion board questions to allow students to submit two versions of the answers, one created by them and the other by ChatGPT, and then analyze the results.

Q: What is the ultimate goal of education? We may have different goals for different schools. Also, AI may bridge people from different social backgrounds. In China, where I grew up, the ability to read or write strongly depends on the social status of the family you come from. So there is some discomfort using it in the classroom.
CS: I feel some discomfort also, and that’s what led to the development of the guidelines in my classroom. I posed a similar question to my students: if we have these tools that can allegedly write for us, what is the point of taking a writing class? They responded by saying things like, “writing helps to develop critical thinking and analytical skills,” to which I added, “being here is an investment in yourself as a student, a scholar, and a thinker.” I think asking students to articulate the value of the education that they want to get is really helpful in determining guidelines for AI.
ST: Going to school and getting an education is an investment of your time. You pay now so you can be paid later. But it’s not as transactional as that. AI is already in the work environment and will become more prevalent. If we’re not preparing students to succeed in the work environment, we are doing them a disservice. We teach students to apply generative AI in their classes so they are prepared to use it in the workforce.
JF: In the business school, everything is market driven. I think education can fit into that framework as well. We’re trying to provide graduates with the confidence they need to finish the work and meet the market’s need. We know that generative AI tools have really changed the world and they’re starting to emerge in every part of our life. We need to train students to realize that ChatGPT might be part of their education, part of life in the future, and part of the work in the future as well. There are things AI can help us do, but there are still fundamentals that students need to learn. One example is calculators: we still need to learn from the beginning that 1 + 1 = 2.
CE: This question also reminded me of asking your students, what is the ultimate purpose of a research paper? Where do they think ChatGPT should fit into the research process?

Q: I work at the library and we’re getting lots of questions about how to detect if students are using AI. And also, how do you determine if students are relying too heavily on AI?
JF: We also get this question from our faculty. The most used detection tool right now is Turnitin, which is embedded in Canvas. But the level of accuracy is not reliable. We encourage faculty to always validate before accepting the results. For faculty who are actively using AI in the classroom, we also encourage them to provide clear guidance and expectations to students on how they are allowed to use it. This may make it a little easier to determine if they are using it correctly or not.
MR: There are some other tools out there, such a GPTZero, ZeroGPT, but to Jun’s point, the difficult thing is that it’s different than plagiarism detection which says this is copied, and here’s the source. These tools say there’s a probability that part of this was taken, but you can’t point to a direct source. It’s up to instructors whether or not to use these tools, but consider using them to facilitate a conversation with students. In my own classes if I suspect academic misconduct, I usually start by asking them to explain, talk to me about what is happening before I make accusations. With these tools, there tends to be no hard evidence, just probabilities that something may have happened. This is definitely an area we’re all still learning about.
Guest: I was just thinking that having a conversation with students about why they are turning to the tool in the first place might prevent misconduct. Instead of sending them to an academic misconduct committee, we could have these conversations, like Carly mentioned. Making students aware of the limitations of the tool could also be helpful.
CS: Yes, I say that in our guidelines that I’m prioritizing conferences with students over immediate disciplinary action. I try to pre-empt anxiety students might feel around using these tools. Designing your assignments in a way that reduces anxiety is also helpful. For example, I tend to design assignments that build on one another throughout the semester in smaller bits, rather than one giant chunk all at once.

Q: Is there any discussion around combining AI with teaching, such as generating personalized explanations of a topic? Students will have different levels of expertise and comfort with different topics.
ST: We’re trying to do this, to create a teaching aid for the future. We’re planning to use it to create assessment items.

Amy Brusini, Senior Instructional Designer
Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation

Image Source: Pixabay, Unsplash

Facilitating Difficult Conversations during Class

Posted on October 18, 2023 by abrusini

As a faculty in sociology, I often teach content about which people have strong opinions. For instance, public debates about the changing use of pronouns and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay Law” are a good opportunity to apply theories on the social construction of gender and sexuality but can be flash points for students. Discussions about structural racism can be challenging when your classroom includes students hailing from diverse countries with different histories of acceptance or oppression. I also encourage students to bring current events into our discussion to exemplify concepts in class, but again, students may hold different opinions on those events. In this post, I share strategies I use or learned from others about how to facilitate conversations about sensitive or politically charged topics.

Ground Rules

Ground rules can be the foundation for facilitating respectful conversations that also help students feel more comfortable participating. Ideally this is done at the start of the semester but can be done during the semester if current events require it.

I set the tone in my class by stating on the first day that “We can attack ideas in this class, but not people.” I explain there is a difference in critiquing an argument versus dismissing someone’s point or groups of people more broadly. It can also help to give examples in your discipline of both productive and unproductive critiques.

Below are ground rules I use, but it can help to search online for additional ideas. Involving students in co-creating these rules is an excellent practice as it generates buy-in and motivates their acceptance of and adherence to guiding principles. Displaying these recommendations prominently in your Canvas site or distributing them to students is a good idea as well, especially if students need reminders of these rules. The recommendations below apply to both instructors and students, though there are additional guidelines for instructors as needed.

Support your arguments with evidence. – Use known facts, published research, relevant readings, and previous arguments to support your argument.
Use “I” statements. – It’s OK to articulate your perspectives, feelings, or relevant personal experiences, but don’t try to speak for other people in the class.
Do not generalize about groups. – This relates to the previous point. We can make arguments with known actions or statements by groups, but we should not make overgeneralizations about them.
Allow students to speak without interruption. – This requires people to listen more to others. My only caveat is that as the instructor I have the right to nudge students if they talk too long or I feel their points are drifting.
Listen actively. – We need to do more than not interrupt. We need to pay attention to what is being said so we can respond appropriately. Taking written notes on what others are saying is a good way to practice active listening.
Keep an open mind. – Our goal is to learn from each other. I share that my own opinions and beliefs on numerous topics have evolved over time thanks to engaging with others in open discussions including with students in my class. Give specific examples of this when possible.
Name-calling, sarcasm and inflammatory accusations are not permitted. – We need to maintain respective dialogue when we are debating ideas from different perspectives.
Take a break – If the discussion becomes too heated or intense, suggest a five- to 10-minute break to allow people’s minds to reset and disengage from threat mode. Getting water, a snack, or taking a short walk can all provide just enough respite to bring the temperature down in the room.

Establishing ground rules and then practicing them in class, even very explicitly, can help students understand how to engage not just in class but in various situations. The academic environment may be new for them, however, and they may need guidance. Gently acknowledge comments without judgement that don’t follow the ground rules. Point out your goal is to help students learn how to debate ideas in a way that facilitates open conversation.
Strategies for Facilitating Conversations

As the instructor you can leverage different strategies to facilitate open conversations.

Be intentional about what topics you bring into the conversation. Consider your learning objectives when you choose topics to discuss or apply to course concepts.
Start discussions in small groups to give students a safer space for initiating their discussions. Designate one person to summarize the group’s discussion instead of asking each student to speak.
Consider assigning conversational moves in advance. For example, “Make a comment that brings two other comments together,” or “Disagree with someone respectfully, using evidence to support your claim,” or “Summarize the conversation and suggest a question that still needs consideration.”
For smaller classes, use the round robin format in which each student speaks in succession and builds on the previous comments made.
Include time for quiet reflection – possibly through a short writing activity – to help students prepare their responses.
Choose readings and materials that present different perspectives. This can help students understand that complex ideas can be applied in different ways and that researchers or practitioners are not always in complete agreement.
If you notice conflict between students, use assigned seats for the whole class to provide some separation.

Dealing with Traumatic Events

Even if your course does not cover sensitive or politically charged topics, there may be times when the community is affected by traumatic events. Consider changing your lesson plan as appropriate to address the situation.

Acknowledging the event is important. If you aren’t comfortable facilitating a discussion on the topic, at least recognize the event that occurred.
Provide an opportunity for students to share. Listen openly and ask for confidentiality in what is shared during class. Articulate ground rules as appropriate. Consult Inclusive and Equitable Teaching Practices as well.
Encourage students to use wellness resources and services if they need emotional support or mental health services.
Be aware of student behavior that may suggest you need to talk to them individually. Students may be directly impacted by the event. While most faculty are not qualified to counsel students, you can connect them with resources available through the university. Allow students to take a break outside of the classroom if needed.
Consider extending deadlines on assignments as needed.

It’s important to remember we learn by working through challenges whether in math, design, or textual analysis. For this reason, we should not shy away from discussing sensitive or difficult topics. The role of the instructor is to create an environment where people understand how to make arguments and feel comfortable engaging to help us understand and extend ideas or situations we study.

Add your thoughts in the comments below.

Mike Reese
Mike Reese is Associate Dean of the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation and associate teaching professor in Sociology.

Additional Resources

Getting Started with Establishing Ground Rules – Published by the Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation
Guidelines for Discussing Difficult or High-Stakes Topics – Published by the U of Michigan Center for Research on Teaching and Learning
Addressing Disruptive Social and Political Events – Published by the Stanford Teaching Commons
Teaching in Times of Crisis – Published by the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
Addressing Difficult Events in the Classroom – Published by the MIT Teaching + Learning Lab
Teaching in Difficult Times – Published by the UC Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning
Handle Difficult Moments with Respect and Sensitivity – Published by the Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation
Using Cognitive Empathy in the Classroom – Published by UNC Charlotte Center for Teaching and Learning

Image Source: Mike Reese, Pixabay

Adapting to AI in the Classroom for Time-Strapped Instructors

Posted on August 21, 2023 by abrusini

In the past few months, we have spoken to many instructors – faculty, graduate students, even undergraduate teaching assistants – who are doing very interesting things with artificial intelligence tools in their classes this coming fall. Some are writing grants to support research into classroom uses of AI, some are designing interactive online modules to help teach about the ethics of AI, and some are integrating AI tools into their instructional activities.

This blog post is for another instructor population: those that have not had the time or capacity to redevelop their courses, their assessments, or their activities to accommodate an AI world. “Redesigning assessments with AI in mind” might be the 20^th item on a long list of to-dos for the coming semester. Adapting to new technologies that could change the classroom experience – and AI is certainly one of them – seems like an overwhelming task. Classes start in one week, and wrestling with the teaching and learning opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence may not be an achievable goal.

However, there are some concrete steps and curated resources to take into account in terms of AI when planning and teaching your courses.

Recommendations for Starting with AI

Here are six recommendations (and one extra credit assignment). Following all of these suggestions will put you on good footing with the learning curve associated with AI in the classroom, but even doing one or two is a good way to start.

Experiment with ChatGPT and other AI tools. Just get in there and start using them and see what they produce. In an article for the Chronicle of Higher Education, one writer said, “I started by reminding myself, anytime I was about to Google something, to ask ChatGPT.”[1] ChatGPT-ing (or using Google Bard) instead of Google-ing is a good on-ramp to AI usage. You may even find them useful to you as an instructor. Here are four basic generative AI models to start with along with prompt suggestions:
1. ChatGPT – The first (and by some reports, still the most accurate) text-based generative AI. Prompt suggestion: Ask a basic question about teaching, e.g., “How can I grade exams more efficiently?” or “How can I provide written feedback more efficiently?”
2. Google Bard – Less text-heavy than ChatGPT; potentially geared towards more logic-based questions, e.g., “How do I create a website in WordPress?”
3. Microsoft Bing – Able to generate images as well as text and simultaneously harness the power of a search engine. Potential question: “Name the characteristics of neo-classical architecture and provide an example.”
4. Fotor.com – Image-generator AI. Potential question: “Provide an illustration for my chemistry class syllabus.”
Run your assignments through an AI tool. This will help benchmark possible AI-generated responses to your assignments. More sophisticated AI users will engage in prompt engineering that could make uncited or incorrect usage of AI harder to detect, but getting at least one example of an AI response is helpful. It will not only provide a sightline into possible academic integrity issues but also point to whether your assignment may need to be revised or redeveloped, which could include integrating AI itself. Derek Bruff, a writer and higher education consultant, provides good guidance on assessment design in light of AI:
1. Why does this assignment make sense for this course?
2. What are specific learning objectives for this assignment?
3. How might students use AI tools while working on this assignment?
4. How might AI undercut the goals of this assignment? How could you mitigate this?
5. How might AI enhance the assignment? Where would students need help figuring that out?
6. Focus on the process. How could you make the assignment more meaningful for students or support them more in the work? [2]
Add an AI policy to your syllabus. This may require doing some or all of the recommendations above, but even if you do not have the capacity to take a deep dive into AI tools before courses start, it is a good idea to take a stab at a policy, even if it is brief. As mentioned above, you will be adapting this policy fairly quickly. The sooner you develop a benchmark policy and determine what works and what does not, the better. Lance Eaton, a doctoral student in higher education at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, has crowdsourced a Google Document with many helpful examples of AI policies for syllabi. This is an excellent place to start.
Determine your academic integrity policy for AI. This may be part of your general AI policy or it could be separate. Regardless, this will probably be V.1 of your academic integrity policy, but again, starting now will put you in a good position to iterate as needed. To start, review Academic Integrity Policies for Johns Hopkins Schools. Lance Eaton’s Google Document (above) has many examples of AI policies that include academic integrity statements.
Teach your students how to cite AI tools. This information could be incorporated into a syllabus policy and/or academic integrity policy, but correct citation – at least according to August 2023 recommendations of these style guides – is step number one. Making your students aware that they need to cite uses of AI tools and giving them the tools for doing that will (hopefully) incentivize compliance with your academic integrity policies.
Talk to your local center for teaching and learning. All Hopkins Schools have teaching and learning centers, some have been publishing guidance on how to teach and learn with artificial intelligence tools, and many have been considering the possible consequences of AI in the classroom. Here’s a list of teaching and learning centers at Hopkins, and here are two rich resources developed by two CTLs at Hopkins:
1. Teaching & Learning in the ChatGPT Era. This website was created by the Center for Learning Design & Technology at the Whiting School of Engineering. It provides a great overview on generative AI as well as providing guidance on academic integrity questions, student use of AI, and assessment design with AI. Kelly Orr, Nathan Graham, Olysha Magruder, Mel Rizzuto, and Edward Queen of the CLDT all contributed to the website as did adjunct faculty David Porter.
2. Johns Hopkins University Generative AI Tool Implementation Guidance and Best Practices. Jun Fang, Assistant Director in Teaching & Learning@Carey in the Carey School of Business led the development of this resource with contributions from representatives at other schools and teaching and learning centers at Hopkins. This guide provides substantial guidance on using generative AI to design engaging course activities, provide assignment feedback, and gives a list of AI tools for higher education.

Extra credit assignment for those with a little more capacity:

Learn a little about prompt engineering. Prompt engineering is developing and refining questions and statements for AI models such that they generate results with the desired specificity, tone, length, citations, etc. This will give you a sightline into AI capacities beyond a simple one-time command (e.g., “Compare and contrast models of femininity in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Taming of the Shrew”) which may yield an overly broad answer that lacks specificity and nuance. Prompt engineering will also help you learn to direct and guide AI models and not just react to them. For a useful beginner’s guide to prompt engineering, check out the brief video on prompting AI from Wharton School instructors.

Why You Should Do This

Here is why you should take the (small) leap: Artificial intelligence will change the way we teach and learn. The internet did this, email did this, and so will AI. Taking small steps to acculturate to this new reality is the best way to build the flexibility needed to successfully teach and learn with AI – and, very importantly, teach your students how to teach and learn with AI. Here are more reasons to begin to shift your behavior:

You can start small. Take this semester as an opportunity to begin to build your AI teaching and learning skills. You do not have to overhaul your syllabi or classroom activities to accommodate AI; you just have to begin to think through the implications of teaching in a world where AI tools are easily available and could pass your homework assignments. Ask yourself how you would coach students encountering your subject matter for the first time, and then apply those principles to your own learning about AI.
You will have to learn to adapt quickly. Artificial intelligence tools are evolving rapidly; your course design and instructional approach will do so, too. Each semester will require additional revisions to your syllabi to accommodate our increasing use of AI tools and AI’s increasing capacities. Starting to build those muscles now with lower-effort activities will pay off in the long run.
You actually know how to do this. Researching? Developing hypotheses? Evaluating resources? Check, check, and check. Iterating, revising, and adapting as you go along? Teaching students how to evaluate resources? Guiding students to think about the definitions of “artificial,” “intelligence,” and “human”? Check all that, too. The skills required to become AI-literate from a teaching and learning perspective are skills you already have. It is just a matter of applying them to this particular challenge/opportunity/problem (however you frame it).

Finally, give yourself and your students some grace. This is a huge part of beginning to learn how to teach and learn in an AI world; most likely, neither you nor your students will be proficient AI practitioners this semester. You may miss an academic integrity issue or overlook good opportunities to use AI in a classroom activity. Your students may not cite AI correctly or may not cite it at all. They may be far more fluent with AI than you are, or they may be too trusting of AI. Whatever happens, try to remember that you all are new at this and, as new learners, you all may take missteps and make mistakes with the technology.

Caroline Egan
Caroline Egan is a Project Manager in the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation, supporting instructional training and development for Hopkins faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and staff.

[1] Darby, Flower. (27 June 2023). 4 steps to help you plan for ChatGPT in your classroom. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www-chronicle-com.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/article/4-steps-to-help-you-plan-for-chatgpt-in-your-classroom

[2] Bruff, D. (19 July 2023). Assignment makeovers in the AI age: Essay edition. Agile learning: Derek Bruff’s blog on teaching and learning. https://derekbruff.org/?p=4105

Selected Resources

From Hopkins:

Teaching & Learning in the ChatGPT Era. Comprehensive website created by the Center for Learning Design and Technology at the Whiting School of Engineering.
Johns Hopkins University Generative AI Tool Implementation Guidance and Best Practices. Great pedagogical information for instructors about the ways to use and not use generative AI models in the classroom. Includes examples and detailed instructions. Compiled by Jun Fang in the Teaching and Learning team at the Carey School of Business in partnership with other schools and teaching and learning centers across Hopkins.
And refer to other Instructional Innovation blog entries from the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation:
- ChatGPT: A Brief Introduction and Considerations for Academic Integrity. January 30, 2023. Overview of ChatGPT with suggestions to safeguard academic integrity.
- Panel Discussion: “Teaching and Learning in the Age of Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence.” April 19, 2023. Summary of a panel discussion with concrete recommendations for implementing AI in the classroom and student insight into its uses.
The Sheridan Libraries’ Guide on Citing AI Tools.
Academic Integrity Policies for Johns Hopkins Schools.
Teaching and Learning Centers at Johns Hopkins

Additional resources:

Should You Add an AI Policy to Your Syllabus? A Chronicle of Higher Education article with useful resources on AI syllabi statements.
4 Steps to Help You Plan for ChatGPT in Your Classroom: Another Chronicle of Higher Ed article with good “getting started with ChatGPT” advice.
Practical AI for Instructors and Students by the Wharton School at the University Pennsylvania: A youtube series of brief videos (all about 12 minutes) produced by two instructors at the Wharton School with practical tips and advice about using AI in the classroom.
Teaching: What You Need to Know about ChatGPT: A good overview from the Chronicle’s Teaching Newsletter; published in March 2023, it is a little old for the AI news cycle but still a solid introduction.
Chronicle Trends Snapshot: AI on Campus: A longer broader look at the variety of ways AI is and will continue to impact campus life.
Resources for exploring ChatGPT and higher education: A wide variety of resources from higher ed futurist Bryan Alexander’s blog.

Image Source: Unsplash

The Innovative Instructor

Pedagogy – Best Practices – Technology

Category Archives: Best Practices

Lunch and Learn: From Plato to Pixar – Using Storytelling Frameworks to Drive Learner Engagement and Improved Outcomes

Quick Tips: Low to No Prep Classroom Activities

The Teaching Fellows Project: Community-based Learning in Baltimore City Schools

Preparing to Teach: Lessons from a Gamemaster

Learning Goals vs Plotline

Activities vs Encounters

Being a Good Host

Side Quests

Final Thoughts

Lunch and Learn: Canvas Show and Tell

Facilitating Difficult Conversations in Class: Considerations when Teaching Online

Community Conversation: Facilitating Difficult Conversations in the Classroom

Lunch and Learn: Generative AI – Teaching Uses, Learning Curves, and Classroom Guidelines

Facilitating Difficult Conversations during Class

Adapting to AI in the Classroom for Time-Strapped Instructors

Recommendations for Starting with AI

Why You Should Do This

Selected Resources

From Hopkins:

Additional resources: