Lilly Series - Pulling the Rug Out

By CTE staff member and biology instructor, Meg Elias.  The Lilly Series is a set of posts based on sessions held at the Lilly Conference for Evidence-Based Teaching, October 2015.
 
To teach independent thinking in the college classroom, it is important to give students opportunities to take risks without the penalty of “being wrong.” In my experience teaching science to non-majors, students often hesitate to voice their opinion on any subject, perhaps because they aren’t sure how they would defend themselves if challenged. Jeff Murray’s Pulling the Rug Out session at the Lilly Conference gave me an idea for a learning activity based on an ethical question which would allow students to reflect on and challenge their own beliefs in a safe environment.

In one of the varied activities during Murray’s workshop, we were given a list of 16 living things ranging from broccoli to dolphins. We were instructed to assign each item to a category.  Here are my answers:

Acceptable to kill for want	Acceptable to kill for need	Never acceptable to kill
Broccoli Rose	Chicken        Cow Turtle          Salmon Butterfly      Rat Mussel          Mosquito Snake	Dog Monkey Cat Horse Dolphin

I found it to be a very simple exercise, until Jeff asked us to define the rules we used to separate the organisms. Even though I am a biologist, it was hard for me to verbalize why I had listed a chicken as acceptable to kill for need, but not a dolphin (brain size, maybe). In comparing notes with my neighbors, I was surprised to find out that one of them disagreed with my decision that it was okay to kill a rose bush “for want.”  That conversation forced me to put into words the difference I see between harming a plant versus harming an animal (the presence of a nervous system).  How then, do I justify swatting a mosquito that might bite me?  Is that really a need?

The discomfort at having to defend an ambiguous opinion is part of the “pulling the rug out” that Murray wanted us to experience. I can foresee using a similar activity within a genetics unit, asking students the acceptability of various ethical scenarios involving genetic manipulation in plants and animals. Is it acceptable, for example, to give prospective parents the right to select embryos that are healthy and free from genetic diseases? Is that different from artificially selecting the gender of their offspring? 

We need to teach our students that there is value in digging deep and revisiting our perceptions of the world, even allowing them to change their minds in the process.  Activities that challenge us to remove subjectivity can expand scientific literacy and build a sense of ethical responsibility, objectives that should be considered as important as retention of content.

Read more of Jeff Murray’s work here:

Murray, Jeffrey.  “Critical Thinking Activitiesand the Enhancement of Ethical Awareness: An application of a ‘Rhetoric ofDisruption’ to the undergraduate general education classroom.”  Open Review of Educational Research 2:1 (2015): n. pag.  Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

If you'd like to learn more about the Lilly Conference, visit the CTE or contact Meg Elias at clarkm1@star.lcc.edu.

Lilly Series - Empathetic Teaching to Meet Student Needs

By guest blogger and Early LCC Laboratory Instructor, Heidi Jordan.  The Lilly Series is a set of posts based on sessions held at the Lilly Conference for Evidence-Based Teaching, October 2015. 

Rowell used this picture as a visual representation of empathy.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of frustration with the learner when students are not understanding course content or keeping up with the course load. At the Lilly conference, I attended a keynote presentation by Katherine Rowell on The Importance of Teacher Empathy in Student Success. It was an appreciated reminder of how I can use empathy to better meet the needs of our traditional and non-traditional students, helping them to succeed at Lansing Community College. 

We often think of having to water down the curriculum in order to show empathy for our students, however there are ways to do so without expecting your students to do or learn less. Getting to know your students is the first step. What are their personal and academic goals? What are their fears? You can better prepare yourself to meet their needs when you know what those needs are. Building rapport with students can be an important part of helping them feel comfortable in a college classroom setting. You might inject appropriate humor into your lectures to do this, or you might consider adapting a more authentic approach and teaching style. 

Building positive relationships with students can take time but there are practical and simple things that can be done immediately to show empathy and understanding of your student’s needs. Your syllabus could be “warmed,” reviewing the language and adapting it with terms that are easily understood by your students. Emailing or calling students when they miss class can be a personal way to connect with them to let them know it was noticed. Some instructors might even consider encouraging activities outside of the classroom, i.e., peer lunches or study groups in the park. 

Reviewing your tardy and attendance policies, or offering a limited amount of test retakes might be another idea. Many colleges and universities are moving to policies that scaffold their expectations based on the course level and student population. Our work as educators is becoming increasingly complex as our students have increasingly varied needs. Using empathy with our students may be the key to their success. 

If you'd like to learn more about the Lilly Conference, visit the CTE or contact Heidi Jordan at jordanh@star.lcc.edu.