Ellen Boltizar wins the 2012 SPS Adjunct Excellence Award

Dr. Deirdre Letson (l), Ellen Boltizar (c) and Anthony Yacullo

Each year we ask the SPS students to nominate instructors who best use their talents and character to stimulate deep thinking and true learning. They take the task seriously and provide us with often lengthy explanations of how this adjunct inspired them to lead and that adjunct changed their lives. How this one helped them exceed expectations and that one armed them with potent, new skills.  Reading the nominations is one of the most gratifying aspects of my job. [FN1]

We are pleased to announce that Ellen Boltizar has been named the 2012 recipient of the SPS Adjunct Excellence Award.   Ellen has been part of the SPS family for over seven years, teaching Organizational Behavior, Management Information Systems, and Business Statistics.  Speaking highly of Ellen is easy.  But this is a student driven award so I will rely on their words, taken directly from the nominations, to explain why Ellen took home the prize:

• Ellen Possesses characteristics that show she genuinely cares about the material and the students;
• She has a desire to ensure everyone understands and learns;
• She is patient, positive, genuine and VERY intelligent;
• She was present with us every step of the way;
• She gave feedback that was very helpful;
• I found myself referencing our class sessions almost daily; we still reference things we learned in her class today;
• She works hard and genuinely cares;
• Her organization and prompt responses made the class a CHALLENGING DELIGHT;
• I never witnessed an instructor so passionate with their lectures;
• She made each activity interesting and some even fun;
• I knew Ellen’s lecture would be a great “pick me up” and looked forward to attending her lectures;
• I can take her lectures and always utilize them, whether in class, at work, or socially;
• She interacted with all classmates and made you feel part of a GROUP not just a class she was teaching; and
• Her mix of passion, life experience, patience, and positive attitude are the perfect mix for excellence.

On nights she teaches, Ellen comes in early with her bag of teaching tricks in tow, black bags on wheels filled with unique incentives, handouts, activities, and who knows what else (I only catch occasional glimpses of them at the copier!). Seeing Ellen on those occasions I can count on receiving at least three things:  a smile, some constructive feedback, and several good ideas.  If having her in class is “a challenging delight” then having her on staff is our unending good fortune.

Congratulations Ellen and thank you for all that you do.

[FN1]  After all student nominations were received, I convened a panel consisting of myself and four other SPS staff members to review the nominations and ascertain, using the student feedback, which instructor most closely fulfilled the criteria of the award.

Buck Showalter's "Sixth Tool" - Measuring Heart

Allow me a brief baseball interlude during this October playoff season (for relevance sake, I will tie this into teaching, with only limited intellectual acrobatics, by the endpoint). 

The Baltimore Orioles were supposed to stink this year.  On paper, they looked terrible. Statistically speaking?  Terrible.  In the eyes of the experts?  Terrible.  A last place team waiting to happen.  Some predicted they would lose about 100 games.  Yet a funny thing happened on the way to cellar – the Orioles became….good.  Not good in the sense of setting your expectations to curb level, jumping onto the sidewalk, and celebrating exceeded expectation.  They are Yankee good.  That’s right, I said it:  Yankee good.   They are in the playoffs, a black and orange David, hurling change ups and curveballs at the bloated “Yankee, Inc.” Goliath.

How did this happen?  In baseball, players traditionally are measured on five different tools – power, batting average, throwing arm, fielding ability, and speed.  Prognosticators assessed too many Orioles lacking too many of these tools.  In the era of Big Data and Sabermetrics, nonplussed statisticians kept predicting an Oriole demise that never came.  Now, this is a logical point where this post could morph into a “Dear Buck Showalter, I am your biggest fan” valentine to the Orioles’ manager. [FN1]  I will resist, knowing that the greatness of Buck’s attention to every winning detail is documented elsewhere. [FN2]

I'll just say that for Buck and the Orioles, it must have been exhausting, politely answering the same question for six months, a million poorly disguised iterations of “why don’t you stink as much as we think you should?” [FN3] There are two constants in their year-long responses.  One is the reliance on setting high expectations.  We covered that last post.  Buck knows pygmalion.   The second is a reference to the cryptic “sixth tool”.   Here are two illustrative quotes from Buck:

“People kind of shake their heads about us statistically and how's this happened. But people who evaluate that sixth tool know what's going on. Put that on a pie chart.”

-and-

 “It’s hard to put a number on somebody’s heart and gut.  It’s the sixth tool.” 

The point:  looking beyond impressive credentials and good technique, character and courage matter, too.

All of this has relevance to teaching, too, I suspect.  

First, we can ask ourselves “what are the instructional equivalents of baseball’s five tools, the measurable abilities that lead to teaching success?”  Perhaps it is actually “seven tools,” as per Arthur Chickering's Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education? [FN4]

Secondly, what might be the teacher equivalent of Buck’s intangible “sixth tool”, the elements of character that fuel good teaching?  

Do “heart” and “gut” apply in the classroom as they do in baseball?  Or is that concept too sportsy and combat-ish?  Is there a different intangible that eludes the adjunct’s resume but can greatly impact learning?  Maybe passion? Passion for people?  Passion for the subject matter?  Passion for life?  Or maybe courage?  How about authenticity?

Some will say, if I cannot measure it, I will not invest in it.  My response is:  then let’s figure out the best ways to measure passion and courage and invest in them as much as we can.

Let’s go Orioles.

 [FN1] I recently found a letter in my basement, a draft letter to the Yankees written when I was eight. Adult life often is a search for clues about where in childhood the train left the tracks.  This letter does not explain all of the derailments but provides, perhaps, some insight to current vices: “I watch every game.  I bet my father and always take your team”.  The letter was proofed by my Mom and that line remained in the final letter to George Steinbrenner, et. al.

[FN2] Buck sets detailed organizational expectations that serve as a measuring stick for each member; either you are or are not the type of person who can play for the Orioles.  I like to think of you, the SPS adjunct, as being part of a likewise honorable select.  As part of the SPS family you are the type of person who can inspire adult students.

[FN3] I wonder if people sometimes underestimate adjunct instructors in the same fashion.  By focusing on the wrong credentials a good adjunct might be undervalued a la a Moneyball market inefficiency.  Give us a good person of sound character, someone with diverse knowledge and relevant experience, someone who possesses a desire to teach for the right reasons, and we can equip them with all the rest.

[FN4] Chickering’s Seven Principles of Good Practice are as follows:  (1) encourages contact between students and faculty, (2) develops reciprocity and cooperation among students, (3) encourages active learning, (4) gives prompt feedback, (5) emphasizes time on task, (6) communicates high expectations, and (7) respects diverse talents and ways of learning.   

The Power of Setting High Student Expectations - by Dr. Deirdre Letson

Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle

The correlation between setting high student expectations and student success has been established though research over the past number of years. Studies have shown that students achieve more when teachers expect more.  One study, conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968), posits that student success is largely a response to faculty expectations and their belief in success. Positive expectations influence performance positively, and negative expectations influence performance negatively. Rosenthal and Jacobson originally described the phenomenon as the Pygmalion Effect (a reference to the 1912 George Bernard Shaw play "Pygmalion") .  We might best let Shaw's dialogue explain the effect.  In a brief exchange between Eliza Doolittle and Colonel Pickering, Eliza says to the Colonel:

 “I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me as a lady, and always will."

This exchange highlights the idea that a teacher’s belief in student success marked by the setting and communication of high expectations will, in fact, yield positive results. In part the Pygmalion effect is similar to a self-fulfilling prophecy where a person’s behavior is affected by an expectation, negative or positive, about a certain situation and where that expectation becomes fulfilled.

So you may be wondering how, as an instructor, do I set high expectations that motivate students to be successful in meeting the challenges of a rigorous curriculum. Below are but a few ideas.

•  Keep a positive attitude and promote enthusiasm. Promoting a “can do” environment will have a positive effect on student success.

•  Communicate your expectations clearly and concisely prior to the first night of class.  You can do this in your welcome message.  Let the students know that the work will be challenging and at times hard but that this is manageable and achievable with the right amount of effort.  

• Review with your students the course expectations set forth in the syllabus. Discuss grading, the amount of time you expect the student to dedicate to their studies, participation, attendance, content mastery, and skill development.  Let your students know what it takes to be successful.

• Provide continual and frequent feedback that is connected to the course goals. Let them know what they are doing well, what needs improvement, and what you expect.  It is easy to give positive feedback and avoid giving feedback that seeks improvement, but if delivered well, this type of feedback will help the student improve their performance.

• Set high expectations for yourself.  Raise the bar on your own teaching standards and set milestones to meet these standards.  Be prepared, provide meaningful, frequent feedback, and never underestimate the influence you can have on a student.

In conclusion, setting high student expectations is a fundamental part of the learning environment, and how we communicate these expectations cannot be underestimated. As we know, students will rise to meet the challenges we set forth, and it is our job to assist our students in doing so.

Robert Frost describes in his poem The Road Not Taken how he came to two diverging roads and selected the one less traveled. He states, “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Perhaps the road less traveled was more challenging, but by taking it, Frost becomes a better person for having done so.

Dr. Deirdre Letson is the Dean of Centenary College's School of Professional Studies.  She holds an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership - Higher Education and a M.A. in Administration & Supervision of Adult Education.

"Tense Present" - In Defense of Standard Written English

Eleven years ago David Foster Wallace wrote “TensePresent,” an essay defending Standard Written English (SWE).  The essay is brilliant, a descriptor I use sparingly and reserve for the truly magnificent things in life. [FN1]  It is one of those things you read and, when through, get a wobbly shocked-and-awed sensation and feel the need to share it, immediately, with everyone you care about and respect. 

The essay fronts as a book review of a dictionary but ultimately explores salvaging Standard Written English as our common and unfailing means of communication.  DFW was a prescriptivist, arguing in favor of preserving the rules of language rather than bending to a relativistic acceptance of usage-is-as-usage-does.  Just because people are butchering the language regularly, it does not follow that the rules have been butchered and served raw to the ghosts of snobbery past.  [FN2] Mass misusage does not dictate surrender for usage proper.   Otherwise, ham-fingered text messages and choppy “sent from my iPad” emails become the norm.  Is that what we want?  Are we willing to absorb the loss of clarity and precision that follows?   

    

Many English teachers use the article as a stage setter in their comp and rhetoric classes.   The rules of the English language can be archaic and untidy;  DFW realized this;  hence, students need to learn the “why” – the function, the beauty of SWE -- before they learn to accept it and love it and use it (and then become evangelical and spread it).  I super-highly recommend this article to our English instructors.  I highly recommend it to all others.

As caretakers of the SPS educational product, the duty is ours – all instructors, whether we teach English or philosophy or science or, dare I say it, math! –  to ensure all SPS graduates can communicate clearly, concisely, and precisely.

Our students must be able to write and present their ideas clearly.  And that will not happen by means of one great English class.  Communication must be taught and reinforced, class by class.

 

I know, I know.   You’re not an English teacher so how can you be entrusted to teach writing?  Consider each discipline as a separate dialect, a variation on Standard Written English, with special rules and unique words and particularized formats.  Start with that because that you know.   Law instructors can teach students to communicate as lawyers (and no, that doesn’t mean teaching them to lie; don’t be cute).  Quantitative instructors can teach students how to talk in statistics (if you are fluent in Excel are you bilingual?).  You know more than you think about writing and communicating. 

Writing-across-the-curriculum is an institutional and departmental goal.  We should make it part of our individual goals too.   

We will be holding a workshop on this topic in the fall and providing resources and materials throughout the year.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, please read TensePresent.  It is worth your time. [FN3]

[FN1] For illustrations of what qualifies as truly magnificent consider Bill Murray in Wes Anderson movies, Marcella Hazan’s cookbooks, anything with a Werner Herzog voiceover, Breakfast Stout, or placing pork cheek on top of French Fries (bless you, Jennifer Jasinski, of Euclid Hall and Rioja).

[FN2] The beautiful thing about DFW as an advocate for SWE is that he was not a George Will-ish type adorned with bow-ties and crisply parted hair.  This was a scruffy, long-haired, occasionally doo-ragged writer preserving snooty, conservative ground. 

  

[FN3] This footnote simply is a nod to the greatness that is DFW’s use of footnotes.  He once wrote a 67-page letter, replete with footnotes, to break up with his girlfriend.