First Monday

Asilocampus



March 6, 2000

In this issue, First Monday continues its report of the Asilocampus 2000 retreat, "The Changing University." The following session reports were provided by staff from the Office of Public Affairs.

Humor in the Classroom

On the surface, there is nothing particularly funny about geology. Limestone and granite alone are hard pressed to leave a person anything but stone faced. Toss geosciences professor Ray Pestrong into the mix, however, and even the most hardened student will crack a smile. Pestrong, who led the Tuesday morning Asilocampus 2000 workshop titled "Storytelling and Humor in the Classroom," believes that stimulating a student's funny bone will stimulate their mind. "Humor is a good way to reach students," said Pestrong, "because it's impossible to sleep and laugh at the same time." Using the same tools he employs in the classroom, Pestrong made his point to the attendees at the 8:30 a.m. seminar with anecdotes, jokes, questions, and even readings from one of his favorite books on the topic: "Professors are From Mars, Students are From Snickers." According to Pestrong, humor and storytelling are the essence of quality teaching at any level, particularly if they tie-in to the classroom. Parables, he added, are especially effective at highlighting the point of a lecture. He uses an example from a medical training program, where the instructor is trying to communicate to students that effectively diagnosing illness requires approaching a problem from different angles: A patient goes to see his doctor, complaining that he hurts all over. "Everywhere I touch myself it hurts," says the patient. "When I touch my arm, it hurts. When I touch my leg, it hurts. It even hurts when I touch my nose." "Ahhh," says the doctor, "I see the problem. You have a broken finger." While the stories and jokes are different for every discipline, Pestrong emphasized that the ground rules for employing such pedagogy are universal. "First, you have to be respectful of students. Don't try to embarrass or intimidate them. Instead, be a little vulnerable yourself. Make yourself the butt of the joke. If you reveal yourself, students will identify with you. "On the other hand," he said, "you also have to be honest. You can't fake being funny. If you're uncomfortable telling stories or jokes, don't do it. It will show. But by the same token, if you like using humor, but you really bomb at it, it doesn't matter, because students will appreciate the honest effort." Pestrong added that humor also could be used effectively to control unwanted behavior in the classroom. He treats the perennial problem of tardiness in a manner he said gets the point across without embarrassing or alienating the student. "When a student walks in late, I throw a yellow flag on the floor, which, as football fans know, is a signal for inappropriate behavior." By not putting the student on the defensive, said Pestrong, they are more inclined to respect rules established by instructors. And what about for good behavior? "That's easy," he said, "I hand out chocolate rocks. Do what feels right to you." Writing in the Disciplines "Many upper division and graduate students are incapable of writing a competent sentence, let alone a paragraph," said the English Department's Eric Solomon. Such concerns have led a University task force to propose a program in which all disciplines, not only English, emphasize writing assignments. "Studies show that practice in writing skills engages students more fully in learning in all content areas and increases literacy levels in writing and speaking," a document adapted by the task force noted. Session attendees offered suggestions for improving writing, including:

"There are no quick fixes. We need long-term solutions," pointed out Deborah Van Dommelen of the Learning Assistance Center, who conducted the session along with Deborah Swanson of the English Department. Additional ideas for dealing with the problem can be sent to them or to other task force members, who include Betsy Blosser, Ernest Brown, Nuria Cuevas, Jack Curtin, Helen Goldsmith, Stuart Hyde, Joel Kassiola, Art Kuhn, Ray Pestrong, and Vicki Casella. "This session should have been longer than an hour," several participants averred as the discussion concluded. Library Requirement Mutation The library requirement for new students will soon be transformed into the "Information Competency Requirement." A new online test and tutorial on the use of information services will replace the former pencil-and-paper version this fall, a move that will make it more accessible to students. The new requirement also tests more skills than the previous version and is based on the CSU definition of information competence: the ability to find, evaluate, use, and communicate information in all its various form ats, including electronic communication. "The library requirement is almost 20 years old. This version is the most dramatic revision since it was instituted," said the library's Ned Fielden. Freshmen must complete the requirement in their first year, transfer students in their first semester. Those who don't may lose their Touch-Tone Registration priority. The content, adapted from a version at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is "a mix of theoretical and practical material," explained the library's Jeff Rosen. Its eight chapters include: At the end of each chapter, students will take a 10-question quiz that requires eight correct answers to pass. Questions for each retest will differ from previous sets. The tutorial site, now under development, is located at . Preparing for WASC In preparation for the WASC accreditation team visit in 2001, the campus began a self-evaluation in 1998. The self-evaluation report will be finished this spring. An Asilocampus session dealt with the dimensions of the self-evaluation. The self-evaluation is based in part on the CSU's accountability in 13 fundamental performance areas. These areas are based on the mission of the California State University system and its campuses: quality of baccalaureate degree programs, access to the CSU, progression to the degree, graduation, areas of special state need, relations with KŠ12, remediation, facilities utilization, university advancement, quality of graduation and post-baccalaureate programs, faculty scholarship and creative achievement, contributions to community and society, institutional effectiveness. These performance areas should help guide evaluations of mission statements and goals throughout the university. Gary Hammerstrom, CSU associate vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, indicated that the individual campus' data-gathering responsibilities would not increase greatly. Most of the data is already collected by the CSU. Some of the performance areas require additional reports be made to the CSU chancellor's office. The first annual campus accountability report is due to CSU Executive Vice Chancellor David Spence in August 2000. Reports will be due each year thereafter in August until 2003. After 2003, report s will be made on a four-year cycle.

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