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Monday, August 27, 2018

Promoting Academic Integrity in Our Course | TAPP Episode 25



Greg Crowther sings A Physiologist's Blessing (3.5 min)
Button & zipper junctions in the lymphatic capillaries (7.5 min)
Methods to promote academic honesty and reduce cheating (28.5 min)
If you cannot see or activate the audio player click here.
Follow The A&P Professor on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Nuzzel, Tumblr, or Instagram!

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
Harper Lee

(0:44) If you keep up with the HAPS Blog from the Human Anatomy & Physiology Society (HAPS), you may have already accept Dr. Greg Crowther's challenge to incorporate songs into your A&P course this semester. With his permission, here's a song from Greg that's great for the first day of class!
Dr. Greg Crowther teaches anatomy and physiology at Everett Community College (WA).  His peer-reviewed articles on enhancing learning with content-rich music have collectively been cited over 100 times.
keyboard


(4:14) Are you familiar with the button junctions that connect overlapping endothelial cells in lymphatic capillaries in a way that forms valves? What about zippers? Where do they fit into the story? (They do.) Here are some links to the details behind a great demo that Kevin shares for understanding lymphatic structure and function.
 buttons


(11:55) One way to approach "the cheating issue" in our courses is to promote a culture of academic honesty from the start. But how do we do that? Kevin shares some practical tips you can use for a comprehensive approach to creating and maintaining a culture of professional and academic integrity in your A&P courses (or any courses, really).
Please call in with your ideas and tips for promoting academic integrity:
  • 1-833-LION-DEN or 1-833-546-6336
  • podcast@theAPprofessor.org
 class
If the hyperlinks here are not active, go to TAPPradio.org to find the episode page.
Amazon referrals help defray podcasting expenses.

Click here to listen to this episode—or access the detailed notes and transcript.
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Monday, August 20, 2018

The First Ten Years of The A&P Professor!

On July 4, 2008, I published the first post on this blog—thereby launching The A&P Professor. 

I picked July 4—U.S. Independence Day—as my start date so that it would be easy for me to remember. It didn't work, though. It just yesterday occurred to me that I'd missed the tenth anniversary! Better a tiny bit late than never, eh?

I started The A&P Professor as a way to share what I'd learned—and am still learning—about the teaching of human anatomy & physiology. Having had a wonderful mentor in my early years of teaching of A&P (thank you, Sr. Virginia), and scores of colleagues sharing their A&P teaching wisdom in the Human Anatomy & Physiology Society (HAPS), I felt like I wanted to pass along the many treasures I'd collected over three decades.

And, well, I'm a writer. Meaning it's my nature to write things and share them. So I guess a blog was a natural fit for me, eh?

At first, I thought it might also be a way to share the "inside story" of my various textbooks, lab manuals, and other publications. But I soon realized that The A&P Professor works best when I don't do that. So I soon moved that aspect to other outlets and focus on the art and science of teaching A&P, period.

Soon came the website at theAPprofessor.org where I posted a lot of resources for teaching A&P. A year or so ago, the website got a big makeover and more modern design that works well on mobile devices. During that process, a lot of old stuff was tossed out and the website streamlined to be more of a professional development venue.

Along the way, I added a newsletter version of the blog, so that you can get an emailed copy of each new post as soon as it's posted—so you don't have to keep an eye on the blog.

The A&P Professor has long been registered as a trademark in the U.S., so we can all count on it being what it is and with the same person running it—and not something else entirely.

Along the way, I've added social media presence in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and other channels. And a daily, curated roundup of science and teaching headlines at Nuzzel.

And, oh boy, have I heard from many of y'all over the years! It warms my heart when you stop me at a HAPS meeting, drop me an email note or tweet, or give me a call and tell me how much this or that thing I mentioned in my blog or another outlet has helped you. Or better, has got you thinking about a new direction to go in. You know, that feeling you get when a student or alum has told you that something you shared with them has truly helped them—or lit their own creative spark. There's not a feeling like it in the world, is there?

You're probably tired of hearing about (or just hearing) my podcast featuring content updates and teaching strategies for A&P. This latest (ad)venture is just the latest of the many ways I've been working to promote continuous improvement in the teaching of human anatomy and physiology. Mostly my own. As they say... when we teach, we learn. They're right!

I hope you'll continue your support of The A&P Professor for the next ten years.


For those who have not yet heard any of the new podcast series, try the first episode and move forward from there.




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Monday, August 13, 2018

The Syllabus Episode | Bonus | TAPP Episode 24


Introduction (2 min)
Do students read the syllabus? What is a syllabus? (8 min)
Reading and raiding the syllabus (14.5 min)
First-day activities | A syllabus quiz? (18.5 min)
Basic elements of a syllabus (13.5 min)
More things to put in a syllabus (12 min)
Study strategies, extra topics, & FAQs (8.5 min)
Conclusion (1 min)

If you cannot see or activate the audio player click here.
Follow The A&P Professor on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Nuzzel, Tumblr, or Instagram!

There is a peculiar aesthetic pleasure in constructing the form of a syllabus, or a book of essays, or a course of lectures. Visions and shadows of people and ideas can be arranged and rearranged like stained-glass pieces in a window, or chessmen on a board.
A. S. Byatt

woman leaning forward

(0:58) It's a BONUS episode, meaning that you get bonus minutes, meaning that it's a really, really long episode!
  • How eccentric do you think Kevin is? Other listeners want to know! Really.
    • 1-833-LION-DEN or 1-833-546-6336
    • podcast@theAPprofessor.org

 

(3:03) Do students read the syllabus? Maybe half? It's the other half who drive us nuts. Wait! do we always read the directions before asking questions?
What is a syllabus? It can be different things, right? Why do administrators seem to love the syllabus so much?

who needs a syllabus?


(11:09) Some general considerations when designing a syllabus include make sure that students can both read the syllabus through, and raid the syllabus for key information when they need it. The key is simplicity and logic in syllabus design.

(25:36) Is it just "here's the syllabus; see ya next class"—or is it an engaged look at important syllabus elements? The first day of class is key to starting things off on a good foot. What I learned from Krista, Michael, and Richard—and my own sideways twist on those first steps. What about a syllabus quiz? Is that a good or bad idea?

lecture hall

(44:24) What exactly goes into a syllabus? Who decides? What are the essentials? This isn't comprehensive, but it gets you

(57:47) Frank O'Neill recommends video walk-throughs, which have the added benefit of letting students know that you really do care about them. Consider also a table contents, abstract/summary, and/or index if the syllabus is long. How about a disclaimer, some playful tidbits, and links to external resources. And make sure your supervisors know what's in your syllabus!

(1:09:38) Consider putting hyperlinks or URLs in the syllabus to take students to other resources. Consider linking to a FAQ page, wher you explain your rationals for doing things the way that you do them in your course.

(1:18:07) Final thoughts. Okay, no real thoughts. Just be glad you made it this far!

If the hyperlinks here are not active, go to TAPPradio.org to find the episode page.
Amazon referrals help defray podcasting expenses.


Click here to listen to this episode—or access the detailed notes and transcript.
No comments:

Monday, August 6, 2018

EVEN MORE Tricks for Retention & Success in Online Courses | TAPP Episode 23


Medical mitochondria (4 min)
Syllabuses: I need your help (1 min)
Review of first two parts of this series (3 min)
Featured: EVEN MORE Tricks for Retention & Success in Online Courses (18.5 min)

If you cannot see or activate the audio player click here.
Follow The A&P Professor on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Nuzzel, Tumblr, or Instagram!

(0:42) New research proposes using mitochondria isolated from healthy tissue in a patient's body to treat ischemic heart muscle and perhaps other dysfunctional tissues or organs.

mitochondria


(4:44) Syllabuses, syllabi. Whatever. It's almost time to think about tweaking our course documents for the fall semester. I'll cover that in an upcoming episode, so I need you to send your contributions now!
  • Please share your syllabus ideas, questions, or comments at:
    • 1-833-LION-DEN or 1-833-546-6336
    • podcast@theAPprofessor.org

 

(5:55) It's too long for one episode, so it's a series of three episodes: 21, 22 (previous episodes), and 23 (this episode).
If you're not teaching online now, you will be someday! Most of these tips apply to face-to-face courses, anyway.
In  the previous two episodes, Kevin suggested:
  • It's all about connections.
  • Cultivate a friendly, informal, and supportive "online teaching persona"
  • Express empathy, don't just have empathy.
  • Use customer-service skills when communicating with students
  • Use our own pain points and frustrations to tap into how our students might feel
  • How we can literally make our online course a face to face course
  • How to use faces, voices, and scheduled course announcements to enhance the connections necessary to retain students and promote student success.

 (8:47) Online courses are notorious for high dropout rates and high failure rates, compared to traditional face-to-face classes. Kevin continues to share even more strategies he has found to work in creating and nurturing the kinds of connections that help retain students and support their success in the course.
This episode focuses on:
  • Why reaching out to individual students who may be at risk is important--and how to do that.
  • Why feedback to students is important in nurturing connections.
  • Some final thoughts.
communicating online
If you experience a repeated section starting about about timestamp 21:36, it's not your imagination. Probably. A pre-release version had such a hiccup and it may have been downloaded into your app. If so, you can simply re-download in the app. Or enjoy twice the fun by leaving the repeat in there!
If the hyperlinks here are not active, go to TAPPradio.org to find the episode page.
Amazon referrals help defray podcasting expenses.

Click here to listen to this episode—or access the detailed notes and transcript.
No comments: