So, we won Trivial Pursuit. It was a freaking juggernaut; down 3-1 one minute, victorious 7-3 a half hour later. But first:
I went to that optional library research thing. It was alright. The speaker was that Kelly again, and she's really good. To be honest, I didn't learn anything I didn't already know, but it didn't hurt to have a refresher, I suppose. I think that Kellogg takes people from fairly diverse backgrounds, which is cool. There are people here that have never really done serious library research, and I'm sure the presentation was invaluable to them.
I went and had a slice of pizza at the Centralized Dining Food Emporium before the Mexifest, which was good thinking on my part because they put meat in everything. The meat dish had meat in it, of course, but the vegetables had pork in them, the biscuits had sausage with them, the salsa had bacon, the rice had chicken, and the potatoes had bacon and chicken and beef with them. What's up with that? Does freaking everything need a slab of flesh tossed on it? Regardless, I had a salad, which was quite good - red peppers with lettuce and radishes and other stuff.
Trivial Pursuit was great. We held our own - I did well at first, but I messed up a question midway through. What fighting machine was originally called a reservoir or cistern? I guessed submarine because it's freaking logical and makes perfect sense. Jan said "tank" because reservoir is synonymous with tank. I said, both a reservoir and cistern are filled with water, as is a submarine, and I guess I was convincing because we went with it, but the answer was tank. All modesty aside, I'm usually right. Not this time. It was tank.
Anyway, toward the end, Frank caught fire. He was answering all these weird questions. One of them had to do with some bizarre Swedish pornographic filmed called "I Am Curious (Yellow)." I had never heard of it, but I googled it, and it's a real thing. Everyone of a certain age in the room knew of it, and everyone under a certain age did not. I think it's a watermark.
I'm tired, and my back hurts. My rubber mattress is killing me. Tomorrow looks good:
9 - 11:30 / Assessment and placement continued
1 - 4 / Accuplacer and Compass
It is true. Tomorrow, I take the Accuplacer and the Compass. At our Institution, I'd bet that I place in college level in both enc and rea, and mat9024 in math. We'll see. I looked at a 9013 final once, and I thought it was easy, but not so easy that I think I'd sail through 9024.
I ended tonight on the phone with Amanda - the same way I begin every day and end every night. Before that, I hung out with Michael and Joe and talked about the Border Trilogy and films adapted from Cormac Mccarthy novels. I'm still interested in the gray area placement testing; I think it's a good idea.
On XM: Sour Times by Portishead. Awesome.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
It could have been a brilliant career
This morning's session was good - getting more towards the answers (though I believe tomorrow will be the reveal). Breakfast: potatoes, biscuit, banana, and coffee. Lunch: fake Moe's, day three. Went with the roasted habanero salsa this time: good, but it was cold. They must have taken it out of the fridge recently or something, and it kinda wrecked the temperature aesthetic. Toppings should be ambient, at least thermodynamically.
I asked Ed about the right to fail as it pertains to EAP situations, and his answer was "it depends." He said sometimes, it's a no-brainer, but others get more complex. The 1.5s, the people who grew up speaking English but with a Spanish syntax, older students, etc. He said that everyone should get the accuplacer regardless, though - then maybe the LOEP if needed. He didn't understand the concept of EAP without the same types of exit processes found in college prep. I guess if an EAP student tested in 9020 or 9003, then maybe it becomes their choice, but if they test into 10 or 01/02 it isn't? Beats me.
But here's what doesn't: the idea of gray areas on a placement test. Ed suggested something like this, and I'll use arbitrary #s just to make it easier.
0-5 / Lowest level
6-10 / Gray area
11-15 / Middle level
16-20 / Gray area
21 - 25 / Highest level
26-30 / Gray area
31 - / College level
Now, and this is kinda getting back to what Marianne said a few comments back, what if there were opportunities to look at placement a bit more holistically? Even though we might now say that someone testing anywhere between 11 and 20 should go to, let's just say, 9013, what if we said 11-15 goes into 9013, period, but if you scored 16-20, you should come on in - we have something to talk about.
And maybe there we say - look, you were close; how do you feel about math? When was the last time you took a math class? What's your attendance likely to be affected by? Are you willing to commit to lab hours? Tutoring? Maybe if someone in that gray area looks like a safe bet, we bump them up.
Not sure what to have for dinner. They're making something in the kitchen - the woman who organized it is a tesol person, and she recited the menu in Spanish. After a few people asked for clarification, she recited it more slowly in Spanish. Super nice person, and really smart, but c'mon - throw me a hueso. I heard carne, though, and I don't need to be an experto to figure that one out. I chipped in a buck, just to be social, but I'm thinking I might grab a slice before heading down.
Trivial Pursuit at 7:30. Tonight, we take back the crown.
I asked Ed about the right to fail as it pertains to EAP situations, and his answer was "it depends." He said sometimes, it's a no-brainer, but others get more complex. The 1.5s, the people who grew up speaking English but with a Spanish syntax, older students, etc. He said that everyone should get the accuplacer regardless, though - then maybe the LOEP if needed. He didn't understand the concept of EAP without the same types of exit processes found in college prep. I guess if an EAP student tested in 9020 or 9003, then maybe it becomes their choice, but if they test into 10 or 01/02 it isn't? Beats me.
But here's what doesn't: the idea of gray areas on a placement test. Ed suggested something like this, and I'll use arbitrary #s just to make it easier.
0-5 / Lowest level
6-10 / Gray area
11-15 / Middle level
16-20 / Gray area
21 - 25 / Highest level
26-30 / Gray area
31 - / College level
Now, and this is kinda getting back to what Marianne said a few comments back, what if there were opportunities to look at placement a bit more holistically? Even though we might now say that someone testing anywhere between 11 and 20 should go to, let's just say, 9013, what if we said 11-15 goes into 9013, period, but if you scored 16-20, you should come on in - we have something to talk about.
And maybe there we say - look, you were close; how do you feel about math? When was the last time you took a math class? What's your attendance likely to be affected by? Are you willing to commit to lab hours? Tutoring? Maybe if someone in that gray area looks like a safe bet, we bump them up.
Not sure what to have for dinner. They're making something in the kitchen - the woman who organized it is a tesol person, and she recited the menu in Spanish. After a few people asked for clarification, she recited it more slowly in Spanish. Super nice person, and really smart, but c'mon - throw me a hueso. I heard carne, though, and I don't need to be an experto to figure that one out. I chipped in a buck, just to be social, but I'm thinking I might grab a slice before heading down.
Trivial Pursuit at 7:30. Tonight, we take back the crown.
Wrapped up in books
I finished The Passage by Justin Cronin last night. It was good - sort of like Stephen King's The Stand, though I think King's was better. The first two or three hundred pages were really, really good, and the last two thirds of the book was just pretty good. It got a bunch of advance praise, probably because Cronin is somewhat a serious writier.
Today is a half day, sort of. Assessment and placement from 9 - 11:30, break, and then the not-really-optional research session in the library. I'm thinking it's probably just basic research stuff, but it's only an hour long and probably couldn't hurt.
Today is a half day, sort of. Assessment and placement from 9 - 11:30, break, and then the not-really-optional research session in the library. I'm thinking it's probably just basic research stuff, but it's only an hour long and probably couldn't hurt.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The stars of track and field
I wound up going to that library thing. I was putting it off, and then Amanda called, and she was all like "you really should go to make a good impression," so I caved and went. My phone said it was 6:49 when I left, and I arrived at the library at 6:54, slightly out of breath. The campus is so beautiful, and well laid out. Going down hills, through tunnels, over creek beds - it's like a lesson in prepositions every time I go somewhere.
The ASU library is impressive. It was built in 2005, and it employs 41 librarians. I didn't ask how many were full time, but I suppose I should have. It's a five story structure (basement and four floors proper), and the fourth floor has a stunning view of the entire campus. Weird fact: they encourage food and drink in the library. You can actually order a pizza and have it delivered to the library, and they're cool with that. Our guide, Librarian Kelly, said there's never been a problem, though they were quite worried initially. Kelly was really cool, gave a great tour, was the kind of person you'd love to have working for your organization - energetic, smart, funny, etc.
I didn't really learn much in the library, but I'm glad I went. Afterwards, I went back to the dorm and beered up for Trivial Pursuit.
We lost.
Look - the way this guy plays Trivial Pursuit is weird. Day one, you divide into two teams - count off - one two - teams divided - game played. It's a team game - each team consults, talks, makes their choice as a team, and goes from there. The twist is this: the winning team stays the same, but the losing team gets everyone new who joins. Last night, it was nine on nine. Tonight is was seventeen against seven. We were like Butch and Sundance, guns blazing (Australia! Mary Queen of Scots! Eli Whitney!), drenched in sepia - you knew we were never gonna make it, but we fought tough 'til the end. The other team acted like they had won the World Cup or something. Great game, fun time - but I wonder: what will tomorrow night bring? Will it be 17 on 7 again? We need to recruit, yet there are so few free agents.
I plan on arriving to class early tomorrow to ask Ed his opinion of Ann's Level 4 EAP student question. I think that's the trick - begin at the beginning.
I was talking to Amanda tonight, and she asked if the Kellogg thing has been good, and it really has. I really miss being home; I feel like time's passing me by, and I miss my family, but this is good up here.
And now The Album Leaf's "there is a wind" has come on the XM I'm streaming through the laptop - time for bed.
The ASU library is impressive. It was built in 2005, and it employs 41 librarians. I didn't ask how many were full time, but I suppose I should have. It's a five story structure (basement and four floors proper), and the fourth floor has a stunning view of the entire campus. Weird fact: they encourage food and drink in the library. You can actually order a pizza and have it delivered to the library, and they're cool with that. Our guide, Librarian Kelly, said there's never been a problem, though they were quite worried initially. Kelly was really cool, gave a great tour, was the kind of person you'd love to have working for your organization - energetic, smart, funny, etc.
I didn't really learn much in the library, but I'm glad I went. Afterwards, I went back to the dorm and beered up for Trivial Pursuit.
We lost.
Look - the way this guy plays Trivial Pursuit is weird. Day one, you divide into two teams - count off - one two - teams divided - game played. It's a team game - each team consults, talks, makes their choice as a team, and goes from there. The twist is this: the winning team stays the same, but the losing team gets everyone new who joins. Last night, it was nine on nine. Tonight is was seventeen against seven. We were like Butch and Sundance, guns blazing (Australia! Mary Queen of Scots! Eli Whitney!), drenched in sepia - you knew we were never gonna make it, but we fought tough 'til the end. The other team acted like they had won the World Cup or something. Great game, fun time - but I wonder: what will tomorrow night bring? Will it be 17 on 7 again? We need to recruit, yet there are so few free agents.
I plan on arriving to class early tomorrow to ask Ed his opinion of Ann's Level 4 EAP student question. I think that's the trick - begin at the beginning.
I was talking to Amanda tonight, and she asked if the Kellogg thing has been good, and it really has. I really miss being home; I feel like time's passing me by, and I miss my family, but this is good up here.
And now The Album Leaf's "there is a wind" has come on the XM I'm streaming through the laptop - time for bed.
The magnificent seventies
Long day; back in the dorm. I did wind up having a latte this morning. I got it with an extra shot, and it was better than yesterday's. Still not great. Today was two sessions, both led by Ed Morante. The day's topic was assessment.
The whole day was about placement assessments. People talked about they way they did things at their colleges, and some of them are pretty messed up. One college had optional placement testing, another had some weird test that was essentially an eighth grade test. The tesol people started in, and some of them argued for EAP type classes while others argued for all EAP students to go into developmental, and the whole thing kinda gave me a headache.
I had fake Moe's again for lunch, and it was again really good. Even the tortilla chips were good. The guy put a toothpick in my burrito after he was done making it, and he said "this is to let the cashier know that it's vegetarian. It's cheaper that way." And I remember having a toothpick in my burrito yesterday, too, so I guess they don't charge you the same price for a steak enchilada or whatever. My mistake.
I had lunch with the facilitator, Ed, and a guy who lives in WV, but teaches in MD. Light talk, but Ed said he had been working with Brazosport College, which was one of the colleges I looked at in my dissertation, and we talked about their baccalaureate program. FWIW, Brazosport, is a complementary institution, according to my typology, and Edison in a competing one.
In the afternoon, we talked a lot of numbers: standard deviation, SEM, etc. I kept thinking about the stuff we had talked about in the morning and yesterday afternoon. That we should get to our students before they take the placement exam to impress upon them the importance of the exam and that we should look at other things when making placement decisions. The way Ed was talking, he was even saying things like we should ask how many hours per week they work, how they get to school, when did they last attend a class, etc. It seems pretty invasive, but it could also really work. Maybe you do all of that and tell them "you placed here, but based on what I'm seeing, I'd say you're better off there instead." I don't think that would work with our levels - certainly not in a downward fashion, but maybe in an upward one? Like if someone tests into 9013, but has all these variables going for them, maybe they take 24 with additional supports? Maybe they have that option?
After class, Hunter and Barbara gave a brief, optional presentation on ASU. I stuck around, as did five others. I figured it couldn't hurt to be noticed, and it turned out to be an interesting conversation. I went over to the Plant, had some dinner (slice of pizza, salad, and diet coke), and here I am. There's an optional tour of the library at 7, but I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll go. The way Kellogg is set up there are mandatory things, optional things, and optional (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) things, which doesn't sound too optional to me. The library tour is a purely optional one, so I think I'm good either way.
Class photo was today. They took three shots. We'll see.
Trivial Pursuit is at 8. I'll either nap or tour the library - maybe read. Up for tomorrow:
9 - 11:30 / Assessment and placement, con't
1 / Research workshop (Optional but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
The whole day was about placement assessments. People talked about they way they did things at their colleges, and some of them are pretty messed up. One college had optional placement testing, another had some weird test that was essentially an eighth grade test. The tesol people started in, and some of them argued for EAP type classes while others argued for all EAP students to go into developmental, and the whole thing kinda gave me a headache.
I had fake Moe's again for lunch, and it was again really good. Even the tortilla chips were good. The guy put a toothpick in my burrito after he was done making it, and he said "this is to let the cashier know that it's vegetarian. It's cheaper that way." And I remember having a toothpick in my burrito yesterday, too, so I guess they don't charge you the same price for a steak enchilada or whatever. My mistake.
I had lunch with the facilitator, Ed, and a guy who lives in WV, but teaches in MD. Light talk, but Ed said he had been working with Brazosport College, which was one of the colleges I looked at in my dissertation, and we talked about their baccalaureate program. FWIW, Brazosport, is a complementary institution, according to my typology, and Edison in a competing one.
In the afternoon, we talked a lot of numbers: standard deviation, SEM, etc. I kept thinking about the stuff we had talked about in the morning and yesterday afternoon. That we should get to our students before they take the placement exam to impress upon them the importance of the exam and that we should look at other things when making placement decisions. The way Ed was talking, he was even saying things like we should ask how many hours per week they work, how they get to school, when did they last attend a class, etc. It seems pretty invasive, but it could also really work. Maybe you do all of that and tell them "you placed here, but based on what I'm seeing, I'd say you're better off there instead." I don't think that would work with our levels - certainly not in a downward fashion, but maybe in an upward one? Like if someone tests into 9013, but has all these variables going for them, maybe they take 24 with additional supports? Maybe they have that option?
After class, Hunter and Barbara gave a brief, optional presentation on ASU. I stuck around, as did five others. I figured it couldn't hurt to be noticed, and it turned out to be an interesting conversation. I went over to the Plant, had some dinner (slice of pizza, salad, and diet coke), and here I am. There's an optional tour of the library at 7, but I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll go. The way Kellogg is set up there are mandatory things, optional things, and optional (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) things, which doesn't sound too optional to me. The library tour is a purely optional one, so I think I'm good either way.
Class photo was today. They took three shots. We'll see.
Trivial Pursuit is at 8. I'll either nap or tour the library - maybe read. Up for tomorrow:
9 - 11:30 / Assessment and placement, con't
1 / Research workshop (Optional but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
On my way
It rained terribly for about ten minutes last night, and this morning looks overcast. It's "group picture" day here at Kellogg, which solves my daily "what should I wear" dilemma. Today: it's jeans and the Kellogg t-shirt.
The Kellogg t-shirt is one of the more tastefully designed free garments I've been given by an institution. It's a cardinal red with the Kellogg logo (that flame thing) and the words Kellogg Institute 2010 centered in the upper part of the front. nothing on back.
I brought a small umbrella, so I'm good for the walk down toward the Central Dining Eatery District. I know I said I was going with straight coffee from here on out, but I might order a latte or a breve or something. I'd hate to see my first coffee inadvertently turn into such a high stakes assessment tool.
And speaking of, that's what's on tap for all of today: assessment. Good speaker, good topic, should be a good day, yeah?
The Kellogg t-shirt is one of the more tastefully designed free garments I've been given by an institution. It's a cardinal red with the Kellogg logo (that flame thing) and the words Kellogg Institute 2010 centered in the upper part of the front. nothing on back.
I brought a small umbrella, so I'm good for the walk down toward the Central Dining Eatery District. I know I said I was going with straight coffee from here on out, but I might order a latte or a breve or something. I'd hate to see my first coffee inadvertently turn into such a high stakes assessment tool.
And speaking of, that's what's on tap for all of today: assessment. Good speaker, good topic, should be a good day, yeah?
Monday, June 28, 2010
A schoolboy's charm
We won the Trivial Pursuit contest. I have to give it up to Pat from KY; he scored a solid 1/3 of the pie piece answers (dead man's hand and Mongolia). I did well, all modesty aside, but if I had to crown a MVP, I'd be lying if I didn't say it was Pat. I think I was responsible for 1/3 of the pie, too, but the ones I contributed to were pretty easy.
Not many people showed up; I'd say about 14 did. I'm guessing Ed will make a big deal of it tomorrow and more people will be prompted to come along.
Afterwards, we retired to Michael's room, with myself, Joe (WV), Jason (TX), Pat (KY), and (briefly) Frank (?). Frank looks just like JK Simmons. He's really cool. When he first met me, he said: "someone has been telling lies about you" and I was like "ah - the trial."
We talked about: rafting, hiking, video games, open v. closed worlds, Noam Chomsky, grammar, and parenting.
Tomorrow:
9 - 11:30 / Assessment and placement con't (Morante, the defeated Trivial Pursuit champion)
11:45 / Class photo (I have to wear my Kellogg t-shirt, provided)
1 - 4 / Assessment and placement, con't
4:15 - 5 / Info session, graduate studies at ASU; Boylan (optional)
7 - 7:30 / Library tour (optional)
7:30 / Trivial Pursuit
Further.
Not many people showed up; I'd say about 14 did. I'm guessing Ed will make a big deal of it tomorrow and more people will be prompted to come along.
Afterwards, we retired to Michael's room, with myself, Joe (WV), Jason (TX), Pat (KY), and (briefly) Frank (?). Frank looks just like JK Simmons. He's really cool. When he first met me, he said: "someone has been telling lies about you" and I was like "ah - the trial."
We talked about: rafting, hiking, video games, open v. closed worlds, Noam Chomsky, grammar, and parenting.
Tomorrow:
9 - 11:30 / Assessment and placement con't (Morante, the defeated Trivial Pursuit champion)
11:45 / Class photo (I have to wear my Kellogg t-shirt, provided)
1 - 4 / Assessment and placement, con't
4:15 - 5 / Info session, graduate studies at ASU; Boylan (optional)
7 - 7:30 / Library tour (optional)
7:30 / Trivial Pursuit
Further.
Using the Hope Diamond as a doorstop
I ran up to Wal-Mart to buy laundry detergent. They sell Woolite in a bag. It's essentially a giant Capri Sun looking thing, but it's filled with Woolite instead of whatever Capri Sun is. On the way, I stopped at Panera because I wanted their black bean soup, but they didn't have black bean soup. Their vegetarian option was garden vegetable with pesto. I risked it and lost out. The soup just didn't know what it wanted to be. A few noodles, a little barley, just random vegetables. There was one julienned thing in there that I couldn't figure out what it was - like a turnip maybe? Anyway - avoid that soup.
When I got back, Jerry came over to my room, and Michael stopped by shortly after. We talked about orientations, mostly, and different ideas as to how to make them more effective. They both work in NC and talked about some listening tour their president went on. I talked about the partnership between HOPE, UB, and the lab. The dorm itself is pretty miserable (ac doesn't work well, carpet needs ironing, etc), but the dorm experience has been a pleasant surprise.
The Trivial Pursuit tournament starts in a half hour or so. I wasn't going to go initially, but Ed has a pretty infectious enthusiasm. The whole day has been like that. Seeing Hunter and Ed talk about the field is inspiring. I don't know how I cam across when I talked about Hunter having this certainty about him, but I meant to say it in a very positive light. It's this really cool altruistic, egalitarian view of higher education. Onward.
When I got back, Jerry came over to my room, and Michael stopped by shortly after. We talked about orientations, mostly, and different ideas as to how to make them more effective. They both work in NC and talked about some listening tour their president went on. I talked about the partnership between HOPE, UB, and the lab. The dorm itself is pretty miserable (ac doesn't work well, carpet needs ironing, etc), but the dorm experience has been a pleasant surprise.
The Trivial Pursuit tournament starts in a half hour or so. I wasn't going to go initially, but Ed has a pretty infectious enthusiasm. The whole day has been like that. Seeing Hunter and Ed talk about the field is inspiring. I don't know how I cam across when I talked about Hunter having this certainty about him, but I meant to say it in a very positive light. It's this really cool altruistic, egalitarian view of higher education. Onward.
Weather report
It had been unseasonably warm in Boone for the past few days, but the weather's changed a bit, and it's much nicer now. I had breakfast at the Central Dining Processing Plant, and it was pretty good. I got a latte and some hash browns. The guy sitting at my table said he thought the latte (he got one too) was better than he had thought. I said it was pretty good too, but truth be told I was a little disappointed. I think it's plan coffee from here on out. The hash browns weren't really hash browns. They were processed potato and oil disks, kinda like how Burger King makes, and they were really good. First up: Hunter.
Walking into the classroom, I noticed some coffee, tea, fruit, and stuff set out for us. Now, any jerk can set out some apples and coffee and stuff, but here's where the details swoop in and make a difference: toothpicks so you don't have to just grab a strawberry with your hands, and yogurt dip, kinda like the stuff Jason's deli gives you with the fruit when you order something healthy and forget to ask them to just give you potato chips.
Hunter started on time and went twenty minutes over, and he was "on" the whole time. I think the thing I like about him best is his absolute certainness of purpose. There's a guy who wakes up every morning thinking he's right, and there isn't anything that's going to happen during the day that's going to make him feel otherwise. He's going to go to bed being right, and then probably dream about how right he is, and then wake up refreshed the next morning to repeat step number one. And it works because he can back it up, which is always nice.
His big thing, far as I can tell, is that you have to accept students as they are and not judge them. It's easier said than done, and there's a little more to it, but that's the gist; that's the constant. He said developmental education covers everything from remedial classes to GRE prep, and that makes a lot of sense, too. He said that even much of our remedial coursework probably isn't remedial, and I'll attest to that. Some of that 9024 doesn't look remedial to me. And can you say that the grammar we cover is remedial if it was never taught in high school? The whole idea is to take students as they are and move them as far as they can go.
Here's a few things I wrote down: "gradually accept responsibility for their own learning;" "envision every student as a potential graduate of your institution;" "we tend to look at things that are easy to measure."
More stuff, obviously, but on to lunch: for lunch, I had fake Moe's. It was really good. There's this Mexican place in the Central Nourishment Feedplant called Calientes or something, and it's basically a generic Moe's. I had a black bean burrito with pico de gallo. It was awesome, but the attendant tortilla chips were kinda stale. Apparently, you pay by the pound, too, so my black bean burrito, chip, and diet Coke were $8, and someone probably could've gotten a steak chimichanga or whatever for cheaper, which doesn't seem right. Regardless....
Ed Morante was really good, and he talked about assessment. He was a dean at a college in California for years, but now he's a consultant. Animated guy, New Yorker - he reminds me of Antonio Scalia, but if you removed the part of Scalia's brain that makes him wrong about everything and replaced it with a moral compass. Ed's alright by me. The two best things I learned from him today are: "placement decisions should involve multiple variables," and "we need to get to the students before they take the placement exam." I think both would really benefit our institution, and it's something I'd like to work on when I return. In a freaking month.
Ed apparently lives in the dorm with us, which everyone thought was quite odd. He runs a Trivial Pursuit/Beer tournament nightly during his week of the Institute, so I have to make a beer run before 7:30. Buy in is one beer; it's like a tithe I guess.
One last thing: Ed said that the "right to fail" was pernicious (his word), and I wasn't sure I agreed at first, but then he clarified and said that entering students don't have the right to fail, and I agree with that. I usually say, explicitly, that I believe in the right to fail, and I do, but I also always throw in the caveat that everyone has the right to fail, provided they have given informed consent. Entering students can't really give informed consent.
Walking into the classroom, I noticed some coffee, tea, fruit, and stuff set out for us. Now, any jerk can set out some apples and coffee and stuff, but here's where the details swoop in and make a difference: toothpicks so you don't have to just grab a strawberry with your hands, and yogurt dip, kinda like the stuff Jason's deli gives you with the fruit when you order something healthy and forget to ask them to just give you potato chips.
Hunter started on time and went twenty minutes over, and he was "on" the whole time. I think the thing I like about him best is his absolute certainness of purpose. There's a guy who wakes up every morning thinking he's right, and there isn't anything that's going to happen during the day that's going to make him feel otherwise. He's going to go to bed being right, and then probably dream about how right he is, and then wake up refreshed the next morning to repeat step number one. And it works because he can back it up, which is always nice.
His big thing, far as I can tell, is that you have to accept students as they are and not judge them. It's easier said than done, and there's a little more to it, but that's the gist; that's the constant. He said developmental education covers everything from remedial classes to GRE prep, and that makes a lot of sense, too. He said that even much of our remedial coursework probably isn't remedial, and I'll attest to that. Some of that 9024 doesn't look remedial to me. And can you say that the grammar we cover is remedial if it was never taught in high school? The whole idea is to take students as they are and move them as far as they can go.
Here's a few things I wrote down: "gradually accept responsibility for their own learning;" "envision every student as a potential graduate of your institution;" "we tend to look at things that are easy to measure."
More stuff, obviously, but on to lunch: for lunch, I had fake Moe's. It was really good. There's this Mexican place in the Central Nourishment Feedplant called Calientes or something, and it's basically a generic Moe's. I had a black bean burrito with pico de gallo. It was awesome, but the attendant tortilla chips were kinda stale. Apparently, you pay by the pound, too, so my black bean burrito, chip, and diet Coke were $8, and someone probably could've gotten a steak chimichanga or whatever for cheaper, which doesn't seem right. Regardless....
Ed Morante was really good, and he talked about assessment. He was a dean at a college in California for years, but now he's a consultant. Animated guy, New Yorker - he reminds me of Antonio Scalia, but if you removed the part of Scalia's brain that makes him wrong about everything and replaced it with a moral compass. Ed's alright by me. The two best things I learned from him today are: "placement decisions should involve multiple variables," and "we need to get to the students before they take the placement exam." I think both would really benefit our institution, and it's something I'd like to work on when I return. In a freaking month.
Ed apparently lives in the dorm with us, which everyone thought was quite odd. He runs a Trivial Pursuit/Beer tournament nightly during his week of the Institute, so I have to make a beer run before 7:30. Buy in is one beer; it's like a tithe I guess.
One last thing: Ed said that the "right to fail" was pernicious (his word), and I wasn't sure I agreed at first, but then he clarified and said that entering students don't have the right to fail, and I agree with that. I usually say, explicitly, that I believe in the right to fail, and I do, but I also always throw in the caveat that everyone has the right to fail, provided they have given informed consent. Entering students can't really give informed consent.
A means to an end
This morning is Hunter Boylan talking about the background and scope of developmental education, and this afternoon is Dr. Ed Morante talking about assessment and placement. I'm hoping Hunter talks a bit about student development and its relationship with remediation. I was talking with someone the other day, trying to figure out the big Venn diagram of it all. There are students who never learned it; there are students who need to relearn it; and there are students who are going to do poorly despite knowing quite a bit. All three need development, but if you try to remediate the third one, it'll go poorly. And maybe some in the first two categories only need slight development whereas some need a significant amount.
Off to breakfast and class. Breakfast is in the Orwellian sounding Central Dining Hall, which is actually quite nicer than it sounds. It's a quarter mile or so walk - down a hill, though a tunnel, up some stairs, and between the student union and gym. Classroom doors open at 8:30, coffee and tea 'til nine.
Off to breakfast and class. Breakfast is in the Orwellian sounding Central Dining Hall, which is actually quite nicer than it sounds. It's a quarter mile or so walk - down a hill, though a tunnel, up some stairs, and between the student union and gym. Classroom doors open at 8:30, coffee and tea 'til nine.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Atmosphere
First quasi-real full day done; it went well. The guided tour was done well - it came in two flavors, long and short. I took the long one - about 2/3 of us did. No one can say that the Kellogg people don't put on a good show. Everything is a class act; they get all the details right. Everywhere you go, there's coffee, water, sodas, snacks. etc. That kind of stuff goes a long way with me. It's so easy to screw up the small things, and it's so hard to get them right. Kellogg gets those small things right. I think it's mostly Denise, who seems like the coordinator of the place.
The experiential learning exercise wasn't soymilk. OK, it was kinda soymilk, but if like soymilk actually tasted good and had health benefits commensurate with its advertising. Here's the drill: you and a group of five others are in the middle of a forest fires, and you have a series of ten events in which you must come to a consensus on what to do (eg - the uphill slope leading to the ridgeline is 200' long and free of fire, do you a) continue on the trail; b) traverse the incline, etc. etc. ) There are real "right" answers, but you have to suss out what you'd do and compromise and stuff. I'll tell you: the random stuff people come up with never ceases to amaze me. I mean, some of it's right and some of it's wrong, but I'll go to my grave not knowing how the hell people's heads work.
Afterwards I went to the dining hall. On the right hand side is all you can eat for $x and on the left is a food court; I went to the food court and had something small. Next: appetizers and open bar. Waste not, want not. At the food court, I was afraid my ID (which has $ loaded onto it) wouldn't work, but it did. It's the small things. the details.
The reception was again a class act. Good food, open bar, just Corona and Yuengling, though. I know plenty of people that swear by Yuengling, but I'm not one of them. It has a grit to it or something. Corona's not my favorite, but I had two. I met my advisor; his name is Mick, and he's sharp. In the hour or so I spent with him, I was able to steal two high-quality ideas, both of which I plan to take back. Here they are:
Short term: Move housekeeping to the end of class. Housekeeping at the beginning of class discourages timeliness. Have them submit their own attendance via index cars with any feedback. Needs tweaking, but it's good.
Long term: etc. Edison together with the community. His was ACT. Appalachian and the Community Together. I think etc. is cooler than ACT.
All in all a good night, a good day. Here's the itinerary for tomorrow:
9 - 11:30 / Welcome (Hunter Boylan)
1-4 / Introduction to assessment and placement
Formation of special interest groups
The experiential learning exercise wasn't soymilk. OK, it was kinda soymilk, but if like soymilk actually tasted good and had health benefits commensurate with its advertising. Here's the drill: you and a group of five others are in the middle of a forest fires, and you have a series of ten events in which you must come to a consensus on what to do (eg - the uphill slope leading to the ridgeline is 200' long and free of fire, do you a) continue on the trail; b) traverse the incline, etc. etc. ) There are real "right" answers, but you have to suss out what you'd do and compromise and stuff. I'll tell you: the random stuff people come up with never ceases to amaze me. I mean, some of it's right and some of it's wrong, but I'll go to my grave not knowing how the hell people's heads work.
Afterwards I went to the dining hall. On the right hand side is all you can eat for $x and on the left is a food court; I went to the food court and had something small. Next: appetizers and open bar. Waste not, want not. At the food court, I was afraid my ID (which has $ loaded onto it) wouldn't work, but it did. It's the small things. the details.
The reception was again a class act. Good food, open bar, just Corona and Yuengling, though. I know plenty of people that swear by Yuengling, but I'm not one of them. It has a grit to it or something. Corona's not my favorite, but I had two. I met my advisor; his name is Mick, and he's sharp. In the hour or so I spent with him, I was able to steal two high-quality ideas, both of which I plan to take back. Here they are:
Short term: Move housekeeping to the end of class. Housekeeping at the beginning of class discourages timeliness. Have them submit their own attendance via index cars with any feedback. Needs tweaking, but it's good.
Long term: etc. Edison together with the community. His was ACT. Appalachian and the Community Together. I think etc. is cooler than ACT.
All in all a good night, a good day. Here's the itinerary for tomorrow:
9 - 11:30 / Welcome (Hunter Boylan)
1-4 / Introduction to assessment and placement
Formation of special interest groups
New dawn fades
First morning waking up at Kellogg. In the light of a new day, I notice that the carpet is kinda wrinkled or something. It looks like a graphic relief map of Peru. Still, the room is growing on me, and I can see how they say that the dorm experience is an integral part of the Institute.
I walked around Boone - small town, very beautiful. The altitude change is slight, but noticable. I wasn't winded or anything, but breathing was different. I went to a coffee shop and ordered an iced latte; they made it with soy milk. I forgot what it was like in a college town. If you don't want something all weird put in your food, you should probably ask first. "Hey, are you going to make that normal or hippy it all up?"
I saw Michael walking around the northern end of town and scoped out a few restaurants. We parted ways. He asked me where I got the coffee; I told him and warned him about the soymilk.
We have meetings from 1PM through 8PM today. Here's the itinerary.
1:15 / guided walk to classroom
1:45 - 2:15 / Orientation & Q&A
2:15 - 4:45 / Experiential Learning Exercise (sounds like soymilk to me, but I'm open)
6-8 / Welcome reception - meet your advisor
I walked around Boone - small town, very beautiful. The altitude change is slight, but noticable. I wasn't winded or anything, but breathing was different. I went to a coffee shop and ordered an iced latte; they made it with soy milk. I forgot what it was like in a college town. If you don't want something all weird put in your food, you should probably ask first. "Hey, are you going to make that normal or hippy it all up?"
I saw Michael walking around the northern end of town and scoped out a few restaurants. We parted ways. He asked me where I got the coffee; I told him and warned him about the soymilk.
We have meetings from 1PM through 8PM today. Here's the itinerary.
1:15 / guided walk to classroom
1:45 - 2:15 / Orientation & Q&A
2:15 - 4:45 / Experiential Learning Exercise (sounds like soymilk to me, but I'm open)
6-8 / Welcome reception - meet your advisor
Saturday, June 26, 2010
First night
First night is almost over, and things went well. I wandered around campus a bit; our first event was a dinner at 6:30. Pizza and salad; Diet Coke in paper cups. Hunter came out and gave a talk. I don't fall into that cult of personality thing, but I could see it working for him. He said the first rule of developmental education is to accept your students as they are. Where they are. More than just intellectually or academically or whatever, but also politically, and philosophically, and spiritually, etc. That makes a lot of sense to me.
I spent a few hours afterwards talking to Michael and Jerry, both from different community colleges in North Carolina. Both writing people. I knew Michael was solid because he caught me in the parking lot and asked if I needed anything fom the liquor store, and Jerry is my suite mate and an all around good guy. We talked about: EAP students in developmental classes; the inaccuracy of placement testing; NAFTA and the furniture industry; student leaders; something called "studentship" (which I probably should google); southern gothic literature; and students who go to school because that's where they get their money.
All in all a good evening. I miss my wife, I miss my pets, but it's pretty alright here.
I spent a few hours afterwards talking to Michael and Jerry, both from different community colleges in North Carolina. Both writing people. I knew Michael was solid because he caught me in the parking lot and asked if I needed anything fom the liquor store, and Jerry is my suite mate and an all around good guy. We talked about: EAP students in developmental classes; the inaccuracy of placement testing; NAFTA and the furniture industry; student leaders; something called "studentship" (which I probably should google); southern gothic literature; and students who go to school because that's where they get their money.
All in all a good evening. I miss my wife, I miss my pets, but it's pretty alright here.
Through Charlotte
I slept well and woke up at 5, 6, and 7 before finally getting out of bed. The shower was cold, so I figured I'd let it warm up, but it didn't. It just kept running cold. I called down and asked if there was a problem with the hot water, and the woman said "no." I asked if there was a trick to it or something, and she said "no, there's no trick." So I went back over and turned it on cold and left it on cold and after a minute or so, the water went warm. So the cold water handle works the warm water, and the warm water handle works the cold water. After I showered, I called down there and told woman that the handles had been reversed, and she said "yeah, I knew there was a trick to that." So there's that.
Going through Charlotte worked well, but for a few things. First: Mapquest says to take 485 West, and when you get to the intersection, you have two options - 485 East and 485 Inner. I don't know why you would have two of something, name one east, and not name the other one west, particularly if it's going west, but someone did, and mapquest didn't catch it. Second: they measure their mile markers in 10ths of a mile. So, you're driving and on mile 2, which makes sense, and then you're at 2/2, and I'm thinking that I'm at the end of the road or something, and then it's 3/2, and it looks like they've started using irrational numbers or something to measure miles. It was only about ten miles of that though.
I fueled up in Blowing Rock. The gas pump didn't have a credit card swipe thing on it - you actually had to go in and pay someone inside. It was really weird.
I pulled into Appalachian State University around 1:30. The campus is beautiful; I'm in Newland Hall. The room I was given looks like what I'd imagine a really nice minimum security federal prison cell to look like. My pillow is an odd rubber/vinyl textile, and the walls are bare cinderblock. It's kind of exciting, but I still went to Wal-Mart to buy a proper pillow case and blanket.
I have the World Cup going on my computer, and I've met a few people on the hall. The guy in the room next to me is from just a few miles down the road. Dinner's at 6:30.
Going through Charlotte worked well, but for a few things. First: Mapquest says to take 485 West, and when you get to the intersection, you have two options - 485 East and 485 Inner. I don't know why you would have two of something, name one east, and not name the other one west, particularly if it's going west, but someone did, and mapquest didn't catch it. Second: they measure their mile markers in 10ths of a mile. So, you're driving and on mile 2, which makes sense, and then you're at 2/2, and I'm thinking that I'm at the end of the road or something, and then it's 3/2, and it looks like they've started using irrational numbers or something to measure miles. It was only about ten miles of that though.
I fueled up in Blowing Rock. The gas pump didn't have a credit card swipe thing on it - you actually had to go in and pay someone inside. It was really weird.
I pulled into Appalachian State University around 1:30. The campus is beautiful; I'm in Newland Hall. The room I was given looks like what I'd imagine a really nice minimum security federal prison cell to look like. My pillow is an odd rubber/vinyl textile, and the walls are bare cinderblock. It's kind of exciting, but I still went to Wal-Mart to buy a proper pillow case and blanket.
I have the World Cup going on my computer, and I've met a few people on the hall. The guy in the room next to me is from just a few miles down the road. Dinner's at 6:30.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Driving
It's said that the enjoyability of travel is inversely related to its rapidity, and I find that to be more or less true. Flying is usually pretty miserable, and walking is usually pretty enjoyable, and driving is somewhere inbetween. I left Ft. Myers at noon, hit the Georgia border somewhere around 5:30, and pulled into Walterboro, SC around 8. And that's where I stopped.
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