Archive for year: 2015

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve read an article that has inspired me to write a post on a Sunday afternoon. But today, I saw a link to an article in my Nuzzel feed titled “Is the lecture unfair?” and it piqued my interest. This recent article from the New York Times discusses findings from recent studies that show how lectures privilege students who come from privileged backgrounds. The author, Annie Murphy Paul, explains, 

“…a growing body of evidence suggests that the lecture is not generic or neutral, but a specific cultural form that favors some people while discriminating against others, including women, minorities and low-income and first-generation college students. This is not a matter of instructor bias; it is the lecture format itself — when used on its own without other instructional supports — that offers unfair advantages to an already privileged population.” 

The idea that lectures create a biased learning environment that privileges certain students is not surprising to me — and it may not be surprising to you either. If you are familiar with my work, you’ve likely read other posts where I examine this notion. However, to see studies that excavate the lecture as a method of teaching that reinforces social inequities is worthy of discussion. The article reminded me of a video presentation I made back in 2011 titled “Expanding the Funnel,” which connected the flipped classroom model (a form of active learning) as a strategy for increasing degree attainment rates in community colleges (which saw an enrollment explosion in 2010-11, the time of the U.S. economic downturn). 

Community colleges have an open access policy, which means everyone one is welcome. They are the gateway to higher education in the United States and, as such, community college students are the most diverse group of learners in higher education. It is not uncommon for a single community college class to include students from multiple generations, ethnic minorities, first generation college students, ESL learners, students with cognitive differences (dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.), and students with physical disabilities. This diversity creates a powerful, fertile soil for students to learn from each others’ experiences. However, not all instructors use active-learning strategies in their classes and, as such, the learning environments that students confront while in college are not as inclusive as the open-access mission of CCs.  Often, when I’ve discussed this topic with my peers, I’ve heard professors note that active learning does students who wish to transfer to a 4-year a “disservice,” because it doesn’t provide them with the skills needed to excel in the lecture environment.

Let’s keep this conversation going. It’s time to start examining the broader, social implications of pedagogy on degree attainment in higher education. All students are capable of learning and obtaining a college degree. Let’s support all of them.

Finally, we must not cast blame on faculty. We need to support faculty to understand how the way they teach a class impacts the percentage of students who experience deep learning.  Active learning is one step towards a more inclusive classroom.

Our friends up at OpenROV have (almost) formally opened up their new Kickstarter project to fund their next generation ROV named Trident.  This was the unit vetted this summer up in Lake Tahoe (see the pic below) while we were dealing with our Oil Spill down here in SoCal.

By all accounts this unit is much more maneuverable and solves several of the mechanical issues we have dealt with in the current iteration/design.  OpenROV has opened up their Kickstarter page, but not formally launched.  The first few folks who sign up for one will be able to get one for half off…except we are about a year out from delivery.

No word on when their Kickstarter campaign will formally go to “on” but I suspect it will be coming up soon.

Check out our other posts (e.g. here or here or here) on our blog where we have very successfully used existing OpenROV models or their regular OpenROV page to find out more about this great open-source robotics company.

After reading the articles assigned this week I have to admit I was very shocked with some of the facts mentioned in the articles. the one that specifically stood out to me was Children as consumers. I mean I was aware of how much time children and adults spend watching TV and other electronic devices but I never thought it was this bad. Spending more time watching television 15,000 to 18,000 hours of television than 12,000 hours spent per year in school is scary. What is ever scarier to me is the amount of children that watch thousands of advertisement commercials targeting them and some of the children aren’t able to comprehend the messages behind the advertisement and as a result believe the whole commercial. This is when the big problem begins, not only for children but also adults leading to obesity and body issues . The article also mentions how  children and teens influence parental purchases totaling over $130-670 billion a year. That explains why media’s main target is children. Several solutions in Europe regarding media regulation were brought up as a way to improve children’s overall health and stability by banning many of the advertisements, but my question is if this will even work or make things better? What is the U.S. doing in regards to this issue? What do you guys think?

Hey guys! We really need to get on this! Maddie posted some really good thoughts on the book! What did you all think about the articles in eReserves?  (That was a lot of reading!).
I found the University of Michigan Health System 2015, “Television and Children” to be instense.  There was so many reasons why we shouldn’t be allowing our children to be watching so much tv, that I found the article to almost seem like satire!

Some examples the article stated were that TV affects children’s brain development, it produces violent behavor, it can traumatize children, or make them overweight!

Do you guys believe all those facts and studies to be accurate? If so, should our society be doing more to stop the excessive amount of time in front of the tv?

As a person goes through their lives the amount and importance of different genres that they communicate in can be lost on the average person. The understanding of different genres affects the way a person communicates and their understanding of communication in different scenarios. A person will communicate differently with different people depending on the genre of communication that is expected with the given situation. The reason for this is the genre that is chosen is meant to express the point in the most clear possible form given the particular situation. If a person is writing a love letter they would use a style of writing that the reader would expect to see in a love letter. It would be endearing, persuasive, and emotional. If a person was writing a legal brief they would not choose the same genre that they would for a love letter, it would convey the wrong message. Kerry Dirk states in “Navigating Genres” that “Picking up a text, readers not only classify it and expect a certain form, but also make assumptions about the text’s purposes, its subject matter, its writer, and its expected reader”(Dirk,2010).
In a persons everyday life they will use several different genres to communicate most effectively. During work at The Brewhouse my understanding of the genre of communication used in the workplace is essential to my success as an employee. In order to understand something like our schedule a person would need to understand the genre in which the schedule is written. Telling the date and time an employee works might be clear to everyone looking at the schedule, however where their shift is, is only clear to employees who understand how the sections are communicated between each other. The genre of communication would be understanding where the backroom, booths, or front room are.
One of the main purposes of developing a specific genre for intercommunication between employees is to speed up the communication process. The Brewhouse has specific terminology that would only be understood by employees in that specific restaurant.
86 is a common term in restaurants for something that the restaurant is currently out of stock. Even more specific to The Brewhouse would be 86 Poppers, referring to the restaurant being out of jalapeno poppers. This type of short hand communication speeds up intercommunication and makes the restaurant more efficient.
Another way The Brewhouse speeds up intercommunication between its’ staff is the use of computer printouts from the waiters to the kitchen staff. This genre allows the wait staff to quickly punch in orders on touch screen computers located throughout the restaurant, and the order is delivered immediately to the kitchen staff.
These tickets tell the kitchen what to make, but they also inform other servers where the food should be delivered. This allows the restaurant to run significantly more efficient and without an understanding of the genre of communication used by the staff a person would not be able to work effectively.
Different genres are used throughout a person’s daily life. An understanding of which genre to use in a particular situation is what makes someone an effective communicator. According to Dirk, “If they encounter a situation new to them, it is the genres they have acquired in the past that they can use to shape their new action. Every genre they acquire, then, expands their genre repertoire and simultaneously shapes how they might view new situations”(Dirk,2010). The understanding of new genres allows a person to expand their ability to communicate properly in different situations.

Lowe, C. (2010). Writing spaces: Readings on writing. West Lafayette, Ind.: Parlor Press.