In April The CELTUA blog premiered the results of the psychology pedagogy journal Teaching of Psychology‘s (http://teachpsych.org/top/) analysis of its most influential articles based on citations of the articles. In “ToP’s Greatest Hits: The Most Frequently Cited Teaching of Psychology Articles” (Volume 40, Number 2, 2013, pp. 76-87), authors Richard A. Griggs and Brian Collisson used citation counts for the articles appearing in the journal from its inception in 1974 through 2011 to compile top-20 lists for total citations and average citations per year. Their findings shed light on research trends in the teaching of psychology as well as college teaching in general. The fact that many of the articles cited are over a decade old attests to the continuing interest in these topics.

In this blog entry we look at the most-cited articles in the category of “Assessment.”

Two articles in this category are connected to the Teacher Behavior Checklist (TBC) developed by Buskist et al. (2002), an instrument for identifying “student and faculty perspectives on the qualities and corresponding behaviors of effective teachers” (p. 83):

Schaeffer, Epting, Zinn, & Buskist (2003): “Student and Faculty Perceptions of Effective Teaching: A Successful Replication” The authors surveyed students and faculty at a Midwestern community college using the TBC. Student and faculty rankings of the top-10 effective teacher behaviors were highly similar, replicating Buskist et al.’s (2002) earlier findings.

Keeley, Smith, & Buskist (2006): “The Teacher Behaviors Checklist: Factor Analysis of Its Utility for Evaluating Teaching” The authors offer evidence that the TBC is a valid instrument for identifying specific behaviors that instructors can modify to improve their teaching.

Another article in this category deals with outcomes assessment:

Halonen et al. (2003): “A Rubric for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing Scientific Inquiry in Psychology” The authors present “a comprehensive multidimensional rubric to describe the progress of students’ acquisition of scientific inquiry skills throughout their academic experience and [provide] an example of an authentic assessment that demonstrates use of the rubric” (p. 83).

Two other articles focus on student assessment issues:

Benjamin, Cavell, & Shallenberger (1984): “Staying With Initial Answers on Objective Tests: Is It a Myth?” The authors reviewed 33 studies on this topic and found that most students who change their answers on tests do improve their scores, thereby debunking the myth that it is a mistake to change one’s first answer.

Leeming (2002): “The Exam-a-Day Procedure Improves Performance in Psychology Classes” The author found that giving an exam at the beginning of every class resulted in better student grades than in the same classes where there were only four exams. Students also liked the exam-a-day procedure and felt it improved their study habits and their learning.

The University is adopting six common questions relating to Classroom Climate and Student Learning for all course evaluations. The Idea Papers series (published by Kansas State University) offer help with understanding students’ responses to these particular items and activities and assignments for improving both Classroom Climate and Student Learning.

Click to see the Course Evaluation Questions with links to corresponding  Idea Papers.

Dakin Burdick, Director, Center for Teaching Excellence, Endicott College, has created several teaching tips for the last day of class. As he says, “Just as the first day of class sets the tone for the rest of the course, the last day of class creates the students’ final impression of the class. The last day of class can serve as a culminating experience or as a transition to continued learning by the student.”

Burdick shares activities designed to get at both of these types of final course/classroom experiences here: Last Day of Class.

The psychology pedagogy journal Teaching of Psychology (http://teachpsych.org/top/) has published an analysis of its most influential articles based on citations of the articles. In “ToP’s Greatest Hits: The Most Frequently Cited Teaching of Psychology Articles” (Volume 40, Number 2, 2013, pp. 76-87), authors Richard A. Griggs and Brian Collisson used citation counts for the articles appearing in the journal from its inception in 1974 through 2011 to compile top-20 lists for total citations and average citations per year. Their findings shed light on research trends in the teaching of psychology as well as college teaching in general. The fact that many of the articles cited are over a decade old attests to the continuing interest in these topics.

Six categories of content by which the authors categorize the most cited articles are of potential interest to all college teachers: “Critical Thinking, Writing, and Active Learning,” “Mentor-Student Relationships,” “Academic Dishonesty,” “Technology in Teaching,” “Diversity,” and “Assessment.” Over the coming weeks we will feature the articles in each of these categories.

In this blog entry we look at the articles in the category “Critical Thinking, Writing, and Active Learning.” Two articles in this category appear on both lists: most total citations and most average citations per year:

King (1995): “Inquiring Minds Really Do Want to Know: Using Questioning to Teach Critical Thinking” The author developed a model for helping students “develop a habit of inquiry by learning to ask thoughtful questions” (p. 82). Critical thinking is one of the tenets of the Miami Plan. In addition, the efficacy of inquiry-based learning that this article promotes is reflected in Miami’s Top 25 Project (see http://www.units.muohio.edu/celt/engaged_learning/).

Yoder & Hochevar (2005): “Encouraging Active Learning Can Improve Students’ Performance on Examinations” The authors offer empirical support that active learning techniques improved students’ performance on exams compared to lecture and other traditional methods. The fact that active learning is at the heart of the shift to a student-centered teaching paradigm over the last 20 years is a likely contributor to the article’s enduring popularity.

Several other articles in this category appeared on one of the two lists:

Angelo (1995): “Classroom Assessment for Critical Thinking” Angelo has credibility due to his being coauthor of the widely influential Classroom Assessment Techniques (1993). The article brings together two areas of high interest for teaching and learning.

Wade (1995): “Using Writing to Develop and Assess Critical Thinking” Like Angelo, Wade is another acknowledged expert in the field, in this case critical thinking. Using writing to teach critical thinking is a topic of continuing interest.

Hettich (1990): “Journal Writing: Old Fare or Nouvelle Cuisine?” Hettich’s article focuses on journal writing for connecting student’s experiences with course material. This technique has long been popular in many academic fields.

Two articles focus on teaching large classes.

Benjamin (1991): “Personalization and Active Learning in the Large Introductory Psychology Class”

Poirer & Feldman (2007): “Promoting Active Learning Using Individual Response Technology in Large Introductory Psychology Classes”

Large classes are a challenge, from how to deliver content to giving and grading assignments. Both Benjamin and Poirer & Feldman articles focus on teaching large classes, exploring ways to make these classes seem smaller through active learning and technology (personal response systems, or “clickers”), respectively.

Gier & Kreiner (2009): “Incorporating Active Learning With PowerPoint-Based Lectures Using Content-Based Questions” These authors showed how to incorporate active learning methods into PowerPoint-based classrooms. It should be of interest to any instructors who use PowerPoint with lecture as a primary teaching method.

A new issue of the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching is now available online at the Journal website:

www.miamioh.edu/ject/

Volume 24, number 2 (2013) focuses on What Do the Best College Teachers (and Students) Do? The issue’s articles offer evidence-based practices to engage readers in the dialogue about how to put into practice Bain’s (2004, 2012) findings regarding exemplary teachers and students.

The articles in this issue are:

What Do the Best College Teachers (and Students) Do?: A Message From the Editors, G. W. Wentzell et al.

Learning on-Location: Evaluating the Instructional Design for Just-in-Time Learning in Interdisciplinary Short-Term Study Abroad, J. E. Coryell

My Journey With Inquiry-Based Learning, J. J. Gonzalez

More Than Recall and Opinion: Using “Clickers” to Promote Complex Thinking, R. Cook & S. Calkins

Teaching Through Film: Utilizing Popular Criminology in the Classroom, M. C. Atherton

Student Participation Under Random and Delayed Credit Contingencies, K. B. Aspiranti et al.

Teaching Strengths, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Professors That Contribute to the Learning of African-American and Latino/a College Students, K. F. Case

Constructive Ambiguities: The Inspiring, Deflating, Transformative, and Limited Possibilities for Assessment in Higher Education, D. Grassian

For those who are not aware, the Journal is a peer-reviewed venue published four times a year at Miami University by and for faculty at universities and two- and four-year colleges to increase student learning through effective teaching, interest in and enthusiasm for the profession of teaching, and communication among faculty about their classroom experiences. It answers Ernest Boyer’s (1990) call for a forum to present the scholarship of teaching and learning. The Journal provides a scholarly, written forum for discussion by faculty about all areas affecting teaching and learning, and gives faculty the opportunity to share proven, innovative pedagogies and thoughtful, inspirational insights about teaching.

We invite you to use the Journal as a resource for teaching and learning. On the website, click “Issue Archive” to access all issues of the Journal published since its inception in 1990; to locate teaching and learning topics you wish to research, click on “Search Archive.” This electronic version of the Journal is provided by funding from the Committee for the Enhancement of Learning, Teaching, and University Assessment (CELTUA) for all Miami faculty and staff.

For information about submitting manuscripts or other inquiries, click “Submitting Manuscripts” on the website (www.mimioh.edu/ject/) or contact Gregg Wentzell, Managing Editor, at the Center for the Enhancement of Learning, Teaching, and University Assessment, 317 Laws Hall, on Miami’s Oxford campus (telephone: 529-9265; e-mail: wentzegw@miamioh.edu).

Enjoy reading, and watch for the next issue of the Journal (volume 24, number 2), due out in Summer 2013.

Brenda Quaye

As the semester winds down, do you have questions about suspected cases of academic integrity in your classes that you need to discuss with someone? Brenda Quaye, Miami’s Coordinator for Academic Integrity, is available as a resource to faculty both for understanding and enforcing Miami’s policy on academic integrity and for helping educate students. She welcomes inquiries about integrity issues via email (quayebr@miamioh.edu or AcademicIntegrity@miamioh.edu) or phone (529-2284).

You may also wish to review the videos of sessions in an academic integrity series that Brenda presented for CELTUA this spring: Cheating Undefined: Understanding How Students Define and Make Decisions About Academic Dishonesty; Building a Culture of Integrity in the Classroom: Addressing Academic Integrity Rather Than Policing Academic Dishonesty. They are available on the CELTUA website here:

https://www.units.muohio.edu/celt/resources/videos/index.php

For further information about Academic Integrity at Miami, including student resources, and for submitting feedback, visit http://www.miamioh.edu/integrity/