Revising the Faculty Interview Assignment

Revised Assignment Utilizing LEM
July 21, 2016
Brad Griffith

I have become more aware of how Learning Environment Modeling can be used to modify existing assignments and I'm excited to show you a revised version of my Faculty Interview Assignment. 

As for the original, even using LEM to map it out in the beginning made me aware that there were additional opportunities to expand this assignment and its impact on my students.

You can see that I only provided one space for dialogue within this assignment and that there's not much that occurs in the classroom other than setting the stage for the assignment.

Now I present to you my updated model!

You'll notice that I have added more dialogue into this learning environment in the beginning, middle, and end.

I have decided to begin with a discussion of how students analyzed their relationships with high school instructors.  Considering the target audience of this course is freshmen, I wanted to contextualize this assignment because its true goal is to change their view of instructors from high school to college.

I have also shifted email etiquette to the point in the assignment after which we discuss Q/A for the requirements and begin a discussion about their discipline interests. 

Following that, I will now present email etiquette and the campus directory before I have them draft the sample emails and provide feedback in class.

The online/asynchronous component of this learning environment has not changed.  I will still have students email their faculty member to set up an appointment, provide them with sample interviews and proper questions, while requiring that they participate in online discussion boards to share their questions with myself and their peers.

Following, the students interview the faculty member.

They then submit their portfolio online and I provide feedback electronically.

I have added an additional level of dialogue at the end of this assignment because there was a lacking element of group reflection.  Students have similar experiences, misconceptions, and discoveries during this assignment.

Finally, I felt it was important to clearly define the learning objective for this assignment and to discuss more details regarding the evidence contents.

Now that I have revised this model, I certainly understand why it's important to use analog tools in the beginning.  Originally, I created too simple of a model that failed to capture the complexity of my assignment.  Having the ability to easily move the sticky notes, make new dry erase marks, and discuss this with others has allowed me to create a more robust model.  Concerning the zoom for this assignment, I see that this model could be translated for other objectives in my course.  I would find great benefit in contextualizing most of my assignments in terms of students' experiences in high school, while providing exemplary content and opportunities for dialogue and feedback throughout the whole assignment.

I hope too, that with these revisions, that this model better supports the decision making process by providing greater amounts of dialogue and feedback. 

I look forward to continuing to hear your comments about this exercise!