education

Ready to Write Again

/ Ritamarie Hensley / Leave a comment

It has been several months since I’ve posted any writing on my site.

Why?

AI.

When ChatGPT came on the market, I experimented with it and eventually discovered many other tools. I found tools that could make my life easier and save me time so I could explore other hobbies. When I entered my writing and asked ChatGPT for suggestions, corrections, or citations, I received fully revised articles. The revisions may have lacked my voice, but no matter, I now had time. What used to take me hours, sometimes days, to complete was done in seconds. Literally seconds. I no longer had to wrack my brain for the perfect word or phrase. Deleting entire paragraphs and moving sentences around was no longer part of my struggle with writing. I should be happy.

I’m not happy.

I actually like reworking paragraphs and struggling to find the perfect word. I enjoy the initial brainstorming where I think about topics that might be beneficial to my target audience. Playing with my writing (yes, playing) is my kind of fun; it’s my hobby. The ease of writing does not necessarily equate to satisfaction, especially when the process is what I enjoy most. I don’t want a tool to take my fun away.

Even though this might be “my” kind of fun, I think about all the students who give away their voices to a bot. They are giving away what writing does for all of us: thinking, meaning-making, and creativity. Writing is a valuable process; it’s how we discover more about ourselves and the world around us. But now, many may never know the benefits of writing because they will always have a tool ready to take it over for them. The thinking, the writing, the revising, the editing—all gone.

I understand that many students do not see the fun in writing and allow large language models (LLMs) to take away their burdens and struggles. But when students outsource their thinking and drafting to AI, they lose the learning that happens through writing. I worry about students losing their voices to AI. Voice is formed through practice and intellectual friction. It can take years to develop, but it is the unique voice of each student that needs to be heard.

My suggestion for students who struggle with writing is this: take a chance and write down any thoughts you have on the topic. Get out all your ideas in whatever way feels natural. Then, after the struggle is over, ask the LLM to make grammatical corrections and offer suggestions for clarity, but tell the tool to maintain your voice.

Although much of the struggle is gone, the voice remains, but only if we insist on keeping it. AI can polish our writing, but it cannot replace the joy of wrestling with an idea until it finally clicks. As I return to writing, I’m choosing to embrace the struggle again, the many drafts and all the rewriting, because that’s where my voice lives.

And I hope our students discover that their voice is worth wrestling for too.

Relax, Rejuvenate, and Reflect

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The school year has ended and the summer has just gotten underway. Educators actually have some time to themselves before thinking about the start of the next school year. What will you do with the time?

It’s essential for educators to take a step back and embrace the summer break as a time to relax, rejuvenate, and reflect. Teaching is a demanding profession that requires immense dedication, energy, and emotional investment. The constant pursuit of excellence in the classroom and desire to meet the needs of students can often lead to burnout if educators do not take the necessary time to recharge. The summer break provides the perfect opportunity to pause, breathe, and restore the balance needed to approach the new school year with renewed enthusiasm and vigor. But let’s not think about the following school year just yet. 

Taking time to relax is not just a luxury; it is a necessity for maintaining overall well-being. When educators allow themselves to unwind and engage in activities that bring joy and relaxation, they can reduce stress levels, improve mental health, and boost their overall happiness. Whether it’s spending time with loved ones, traveling, pursuing hobbies, or simply enjoying the peace and quiet, these moments of relaxation are crucial for recharging both body and mind. By prioritizing self-care during the summer, teachers can return to their classrooms feeling refreshed and ready to inspire their students with renewed energy and creativity.

The summer break offers a valuable opportunity for reflection as well. Reflecting on the past school year allows educators to celebrate their successes, acknowledge their challenges, and gain insights into their teaching practices. This period of introspection is essential for personal and professional growth. It provides a chance to identify areas for improvement and set meaningful goals for the upcoming school year. By taking the time to reflect, teachers can gain a deeper understanding of their strengths and areas for development, which ultimately leads to more effective and impactful teaching.

In essence, the summer break is not just a time to escape from the demands of the classroom but a vital period for self-care and reflection. Educators who take the time to relax and rejuvenate are better equipped to face the challenges of the new school year with resilience and enthusiasm. So, as the summer unfolds, embrace this well-deserved break, indulge in activities that bring joy, and take the time to reflect on the past year. In doing so, you’ll be investing in your well-being and ensuring that you return to your students as the best version of yourself.

Mastering the Art of Note taking

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Taking effective notes during class is a crucial skill for college success. Whether you’re jotting down key points from a lecture or capturing insights from a discussion, good note-taking can enhance your understanding of the material and help you retain information for exams and assignments. Here are some essential tips to help you master the art of note-taking:

1. Come Prepared

Before each class, review the previous lecture’s notes and skim through the upcoming material. This process will give you a framework for understanding the new information and help you anticipate what to focus on during the lecture. You don’t want to enter the class cold, where you spend part of the time trying to remember information from the prior class or your homework. Make sure to bring all the necessary note-taking tools such as pens, pencils, highlighters, and notebooks or a laptop. 

2. Develop a System

Experiment with different note-taking systems to find what works best for you. Some popular methods include the Cornell method, outlining, mind mapping, and the charting method. Choose one that aligns with your learning style and the type of material being presented. Although there are AI tools that can take notes for you, it is essential for you to take your own notes to stay active and engaged in class, especially if the class is primarily lecture. During lectures, it is easy for the mind to drift, but if you are taking notes yourself, you will be actively listening. If you choose to use AI for note taking, you can then compare your notes with the tool. How did you do? How did the tool do? 

3. Listen Actively

Stay engaged during class by actively listening to the instructor and participating in discussions. Focus on understanding the main concepts rather than trying to transcribe everything word for word. Listen for cues such as repeated phrases, emphasis, and tone, as these can signal important information. Many students work too hard to capture each word; however, this does not allow time for you to process the information or distinguish what’s important from what’s not. During the lecture or reading, important points are typically repeated and/or emphasized, so make sure to include this information in your notes rather than every word. 

4. Organize Your Notes

Keep your notes organized and easy to review later on. Use headings, bullet points, and indentations to structure your notes hierarchically. Leave plenty of white space for annotations and additional comments. Consider color-coding or using symbols to highlight key points, definitions, and examples. It’s always a good practice to return to your notes shortly after the class so you can fill-in information where you may have missed an important point or connection. Set aside time after each class to review and revise your notes. Fill in any gaps, clarify confusing points, and reinforce your understanding through summarization and paraphrasing. 

5. Collaborate with Peers

Consider forming a study group or partnering with classmates to compare notes and discuss the material. Collaborating with peers can provide different perspectives and insights, fill in any missed information, and reinforce your learning through discussion and debate. Once again, being active during the learning process helps you make sense of the information. 

Effective note-taking is a skill that can significantly enhance your academic success in college. By coming prepared, developing a system, actively engaging with the material, and regularly reviewing your notes, you can optimize your learning experience and retain information more effectively. Experiment with different strategies, stay organized, and don’t hesitate to seek support when needed. With practice and persistence, you can master the art of note-taking and excel in your studies.

Planning a Workshop

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When was the last time you planned a workshop for colleagues? Presenting workshops is part of my job, so it is something I enjoy doing. However, I tend to forget how long it takes to create, prepare and then practice a workshop before presenting it. Below you’ll find some tips on how to create an engaging workshop. It will still take plenty of time, but with preparation, you are sure to present a quality workshop. 

Define clear objectives: 

Determine what you want participants to learn or achieve by the end of the workshop. Clearly outline these objectives at the beginning to set expectations.The objectives can be in the form of an agenda or part of your introduction. This backwards design framework is also how courses are developed. Begin with the end in mind. 

Know your audience: 

Understand the demographics, interests, and knowledge level of your participants. Tailor your content and delivery style to resonate with them. I’ve been to too many workshops where the speaker assumed I either didn’t know anything about the topic or I knew almost everything about the topic. In either case, it was hard to follow the presentation because I was either bored or lost. 

Structure your workshop effectively: 

Divide your workshop into clear sections with a logical flow. Start with an introduction, followed by the main content, interactive activities, and a conclusion. This structure seems to make perfect sense, but you’d be surprised how many workshops do not follow a clear and organized plan, so it becomes hard to follow and pay attention. 

Keep it interactive: 

Incorporate activities, group discussions, and exercises to keep participants engaged. You may need to encourage participation since many virtual presentations allow participants to do other tasks. It’s so easy as an audience member to disengage and not pay attention as soon as a distraction occurs. However, when the workshop includes activities, discussions, and questions, it becomes much more difficult to disengage. When the audience is engaged and actively participating, the workshop comes to an end quickly for both the presenter and the audience, and participants leave with a positive impression.

Keep it relevant and practical: 

Focus on delivering information that is useful and applicable to participants’ needs and interests. Provide practical tips, examples, and case studies they can relate to. In order to do this appropriately, it is important to know your audience and your goals for the workshop.  If it’s impossible to know your audience before the workshop begins, ask a couple of questions in the beginning to find out more. You may need to somewhat adjust your presentation to fit their needs, so be prepared with a plan B to keep your audience engaged. 

Engage with storytelling: 

Use anecdotes, real-life examples, or case studies to illustrate key points and make the content more relatable and memorable. People love stories and will remember your main points more readily when you get their attention with a story. The story should be short but also engaging. It is a great way to begin the presentation and then at the end, you can cleverly work your way back to the main point of the story.

Encourage questions and feedback: 

Create a welcoming environment where participants feel comfortable asking questions and sharing their thoughts. Address queries promptly and encourage peer-to-peer interaction. If you present an approachable and supportive atmosphere where the audience members feel valued, they will participate more readily and learn so much more. Whenever possible, solicit feedback from participants after the workshop. Ask them to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Use this feedback to refine future workshops and enhance your presentation skills.

Conclude with a call to action:

Be sure to summarize key points and challenge your audience members to take the first step. Make suggestions as to what they might do to make a change or seek more information.

Digital Literacy and Why it’s Important

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Browsing the internet is part of our everyday world. We encounter news stories, blogs, videos, advertisements and so much more. Each shares its own worldview, which influences our own opinions and outlooks. With the introduction of artificial intelligence into the field of education, we now have even more examples of bias entering the classroom. It is imperative that students have the skills to question what they are seeing and reading and feel empowered to do something about it. 

Digital literacy is not just about knowing how to use technology; it’s about understanding how it works, its implications, and its impact on society. In today’s world, where information is abundant and readily accessible, digital literacy has become a crucial skill for students to develop.

One important aspect of digital literacy is the ability to critically evaluate information found online. With the vast amount of content available on the internet, it’s easy for misinformation, bias, and fake news to spread. Students need to be equipped with the skills to discern credible sources from unreliable ones, to fact-check information, and to recognize potential biases or agendas behind the content they encounter.

Students should understand the algorithms that govern the content they see online, including those used by search engines, social media platforms, and recommendation systems. These algorithms can influence the information students are exposed to, shaping their perceptions and beliefs.Tools like ChatGPT only understand what they’ve been asked to do. They are not sentient tools and do not comprehend what they are doing. They have been trained on hundreds of thousands of data and merely respond with the most probable answer, which often includes biases.  By understanding how algorithms work and the biases they may contain, students can better navigate and interpret the digital landscape.

Digital literacy is essential for career readiness, educational success, and social interactions. With the proliferation of artificial intelligence, students must build their digital skills in order to successfully navigate online tools. They must possess an understanding of algorithms and their biases when generating AI results. It is necessary to understand the shortcomings as well as the benefits of AI. When students understand more about the biases and shortcomings that are connected to AI, they can then consider what is true and what is not. In a world of deepfakes that create false images, videos, speech and text, students must know the necessary steps to take to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate. 

In addition to being critical consumers of digital content, students should also be creators and contributors. Digital literacy involves knowing how to effectively communicate and collaborate online, as well as understanding issues related to online privacy, security, and ethics. Students should be aware of their digital footprint and how their online actions can impact their reputations and future opportunities.

Overall, digital literacy is essential for students to thrive in the digital age. By developing these skills, students can become empowered, responsible, and ethical digital citizens who are capable of navigating and contributing to an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

Building Trust for Peer Review

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Allowing others to read your writing can be stressful at any age, but when you are returning to school after a significant break and beginning a new course, letting others read your writing can feel like running naked outside: exposed. 

Although unfair, there’s a certain amount of expectation surrounding the writing abilities of students in a college level course and yet an even higher expectation when the student appears a little older than the “average” or traditional college student.  Many students are making the decision to return to school decades after their last course. The last time they wrote anything significant or academic could have been in high school or maybe a college course along the way.  So writing an academic paper for class and then sharing it with relative strangers is difficult. 

When I taught a writing course to non-traditional students, my focus was on building a community of learners that worked together to improve everyone’s writing. Afterall, receiving feedback from more than just me would help students improve. I created peer revision groups and went to work on building trust within each small group.

I often utilize peer revision groups to optimize feedback. Although most students do not have formal training in how to teach writing, they are all readers and have opinions about how welI a piece of writing informs. I just needed to help them believe they had the credentials to respond to writing. 

Getting people comfortable with sharing their writing begins with sharing their history as writers. I had students write about and then share a pivotal experience that involved writing. Some shared papers that were read aloud in class when they were in middle school and others shared times when they were embarrassed by all of the red marks and comments the teacher wrote on their papers. Whether the experience was positive or negative, this activity gave students an opportunity to share with their peers and begin the long and important process of building trust. 

After the initial reflective journal, students were placed in small groups that would remain the same throughout the semester. In these groups, students shared their writing weaknesses as well as their needs concerning feedback. Some needed help with organization and others wanted more suggestions about clarity or passive voice. Straightforward feedback was the preferred method but a few said they needed more kindness because of past experiences. All of the small group conversations helped students progress towards sharing their first writing drafts. 

Authors read aloud their first drafts to the small group. Each student had a copy of the paper so they could closely follow along and mark places where they had questions or comments. Each student received 30 minutes of discussion where members gave suggestions for improvement along with praise for areas of strength. Students could then rewrite the drafts based on the feedback and share them again at a later date. 

Before revised drafts were shared with their small groups, I explained the importance of different types of feedback and tried to build confidence by explaining that everyone is a reader. As readers, we know what good writing is. We know when we’ve read something that clearly explains the topic. We also know when a sentence doesn’t make sense or when a paragraph seems out of order.  I encouraged them to ask questions about the writing. I explained that if they had to reread a sentence or paragraph then something is probably missing or out of place. It wasn’t necessary to give a name to the problem because sometimes we don’t really know what’s wrong. But asking a question or pointing out the confusion was enough to help the author understand if the writing was clear. This attempt to build confidence in giving feedback helped students understand that pointing out grammar and punctuation mistakes was not as helpful as asking questions or describing places of confusion.

After being uncomfortable with sharing their writing at the beginning of the semester, students understood the benefits by the end. Many continued sharing their writing for other classes. They reaped the benefits of lowering their defensive walls and putting themselves and their writing out there for others to read. Yes, sharing writing with fellow students can be stressful and even scary, but taking time to build trust and believe in the process creates stronger writing and builds confidence at any level. 

Incorporating Critical Thinking in the Classroom

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Last week I wrote a blog about the importance of developing critical thinking skills. These skills empower individuals to navigate the complexities of life, make informed decisions, and contribute meaningfully to personal and societal progress. Since artificial intelligence has been introduced in the classroom, it is imperative students continue to develop critical thinking skills rather than relying on AI to think for them. This blog provides several activities instructors can utilize to help students hone their critical thinking skills. 

Socratic Questioning

In many classrooms teachers ask the questions and students respond. Try flipping this method and teach students how to create questions by using Bloom’s taxonomy. When students understand how to ask questions as well as the different levels of questions, class discussions become richer and a Socratic style discussion can begin to be the norm. The Socratic Method involves a shared dialogue between teacher and students. The teacher leads by posing thought-provoking questions, and students actively engage by asking questions of their own. The discussion goes back and forth. In other similar methods, students create all of the questions using the different levels of Bloom’s before the discussion. The teacher chooses which questions will be used and shares them with students before the discussion begins. Giving students the opportunity to jot down a few ideas for each question before the discussion begins allows time for processing, which often helps bolster confidence. 

Problem Based Learning

In problem based learning students solve real world problems through collaboration and research. PBL is a dynamic process where the teacher becomes the facilitator and students are given voice and choice as they develop solutions to problems. Since many topics for PBL are based on current problems, the information can change daily, so students must be fully engaged and cognizant of the research. Typically, small groups of students engage in an extended period where they find resources, conduct research, pose more questions, and apply information. They are encouraged to contact experts in the field for guidance. Although learning takes place throughout the entire process of PBL, it is during this time of inquiry when students must apply the 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and problem solving. 

Debate and Discussion

Students are capable of lively and interactive discussions centered on assigned readings, case studies and assignments.  Since they are forming their beliefs and opinions as they grow, class discussions are vital to engage students and augment learning. When students are given the opportunity to ask the types of questions that create discussion, they are more willing to participate and interact with their classmates. They become excited when the questions they created stir thoughtful conversation and debate. Taking part in a discussion or debate, sharing ideas and opinions, requires critical thinking skills.

Reflective Journaling

When students are able to write down their thoughts about what they learned, they are able to consider how the different parts of learning work together. Ask them  to analyze their own thought processes, decisions, and the reasons behind them.  Reflective journaling encourages metacognition, thinking about one’s thinking. When students are metacognitively aware, they understand their strengths and weaknesses as learners. Teachers can encourage students to think about how they learn. Ask students questions such as: How did you approach the problem? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What did you find difficult about the lesson and how did you overcome the difficulty? What parts of the lesson were easy for you? These questions allow students to critically think about their process for learning and what works and what doesn’t. The more a student understands their process, the easier it is to apply what works to the next learning experience. 

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual tool that was developed as an effective method for generating ideas by association. In order to create a mind map, you usually start in the middle of the page with the central theme/main idea and from that point you work outward in all directions to create a growing diagram composed of keywords, phrases, concepts, facts and figures.  It is an ideal strategy to use as you brainstorm a topic. When done correctly, mind mapping helps with organizing thoughts and discovering relationships between concepts. This technique enhances analytical and organizational skills and is one of the best ways to begin a project or essay.

These are just a few of the strategies teachers can use to encourage critical thinking within the classroom. Other ideas include critical reading, field trips, ethical dilemmas, role playing and guest speakers. Exposing students to a variety of teaching strategies and diverse viewpoints help them grow as learners and human beings. In this era of AI, let’s continue to work on critical thinking skills and allow the chatbot to assist us rather than do all of the thinking for us.