Farewells at ISETL

Today's conference ended well. I learned about some fantastic apps to use with students and engaged in thoughtful conversations about assessment. At the Board meetings, I was selected as Chair of the Membership Committee. I'm really excited for this new role, and looking forward to connecting with everyone in the ISETL organization.

As people said their good-byes, I asked my students about their thoughts on the conference. While both Sarah and Corrine had a great time and felt the conference was a tremendous learning opportunity, I was especially touched by Sarah's comment. She told me that she's now considering a career in higher education. It doesn't get better than that!

Presentation Day

 

This morning, Sarah and I gave our presentation, entitled, "Travel abroad: Fostering multicultural competence, group cohesion, and individual growth." The presentation was based on voyage to Europe this past spring. Sarah did a fantastic job! I was so proud of her; she was poised and confident, speaking well about how her experiences connected with the literature. I remember my first conference presentation well; being on the other side is interesting, to say the least. I'm thankful for the mentorship I had and hope I can do the same for my students.

Later in the day, I co-presented with my colleague and friend, Tisha Duncan. Our presentation was entitled, "Collaboration... More than a conversation" and focused on interactive, learner-centered activities. Everyone who attended the session was truly engaged in the activities. It was fascinating to hear people's thoughts on how they could apply these techniques and strategies to their own disciplines. Best of all, there was a lot of laughter. It's a good reminder that learning should be fun.

ISETL 2013

The 43rd Annual Conference of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning (ISETL) begins today!

We've got participants from all around the United States and countries as far as Austria, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, and Germany (just to name a few!)

Our day is off to a great start. We're enjoying breakfast with new friends, getting ready for the keynote address. Tomorrow, my undergraduate student, Sarah, and I are presenting. Today is just for enjoying!

"A Wish for My Grandson"

As promised, here are the beautiful concluding remarks from Dr. Judith McConnell-Farmer. Each "wish" is a clever reference to one of the presentations from our Oxford Round Table. Very impressive!

"A WISH FOR MY GRANDSON"

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT THE GREATEST GIFT IS THE GIFT OF READING AND THAT HE DEMONSTRATES, DEMONSTRATES, PRACTICES AND PROVES THROUGH OUT HIS LIFE.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE IS A HELICOPER PARENT.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE IS NEVER LEFT-OUT EVEN IF IT IS NICELY.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE HAS A SENSE OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY AND VALUES SERVICE LEARNING.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HIS LIFE IS VALUED IN PROCESS, NOT AS A PRODUCT, AND THAT IT IS ALWAYS MESSY WORK.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE NEVER GETS A PHONE CALL AT 6:00 IN THE MORNING SAYING, “BOOTS ARE ON THE GROUND!”

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT IF HE IS ON A LADDER REACHING FOR A STRAWBERRY, HE DISCOVERS HOW TO GET IT.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE KNOWS PLAY IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT AND THAT LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE IS LEARNING A NEW CULTURE.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE HAS LITE IN HIS ENVIRONMENT.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE IS IN A STATE OF ENCHANTMENT EVEN WHEN A BEAR IS NEAR.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT ALTHOUGH HE HAS A VOLKSWAGEN PARENT HE IS NEVER EXPELED FROM PRESCHOOL.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT,” HIS TASK IS NOT TO REASON WHY BUT TO INVERT AND MULTIPLY”.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HIS ACHIEVEMENT GAP DOES NOT BECOME WIDE AND HE LEARNS TO CONNECT THE POINTS OUTSIDE THE BOX.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE RESPECTS TEACHERS FOR THE EXPERTS THAT THEY ARE EVEN THOUGH HE MIGHT BE CONVERTED TO THE DARK SIDE OF ASSESSMENT.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT IN HIS LIFE INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IS THE NORM INSTEAD OF THE EXCEPTION.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE SPEND LESS TIME TALKING AND MORE TIME LISTENING AND THAT HE HAVE INTIMATE DISCLOSURES AMONG HIS FRIENDS.

 I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HIS FRONTIAL LOBES DEVELOP BEFORE HE IS 26 YEARS OLD AND HE REMEMBERS THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT CONNECTIONS.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE LOVE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND REALIZES IT IS A LIVING LANGUAGE.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE LEARNS FROM THE INSIDE OUT USING HIS HERITAGE LANGUAGE AND IT IS NOT A SECRET.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT ALTHOUGH HIS PARENTS DID NOT PICK CHERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES ON THE CIRCUIT, HE KNOWS THAT BEHAVIORS CAN CHANGE THROUGH EDUCATION.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE IS ABLE TO GO TO BELIZE AND EVEN IF THE GROUND SHAKES HE DOES NOT SLIDE AWAY.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE KNOWS AFRICA IS A CONTINENT, NOT A COUNTRY, AND THAT THERE IS A MISSING LINK IN THE STUDY OF AUTISM.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT THERE IS A HUMAN-ANIMAL BOND, A DOG CAN BE A CO-THERAPIST, AND THAT A HEART ALWAYS HAS A HOME.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE IS TAUGHT IN HIS MOTHER TONGUE AND CELEBRATES THE NOISINESS OF THE CLASSROOM.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE REMEMBERS THAT IT IS HARD TO UNLEARN BAD HABITS AND TO KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT HE DOES NOT ACT LIKE A WOMBAT AND KNOWS WHAT “AHM” MEANS.

I WISH FOR MY GRANDSON THAT IF HE IS EVER FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO COME TO AN OXFORD ROUND TABLE THAT HE STANDS WHERE I AM STANDING NOW AND SEE YOU GAZING BACK AT HIM.

© 2012 by Dr. Judith Lynne McConnell-Farmer All rights reserved

Last Day of Round Table

Today was our last day, and it was absolutely incredible. I took 5 full pages of notes! The presentations involved work with vulnerable populations, and all emphasized the importance of establishing trust with those communities and respecting the people there. There is so much I’ve learned… but here are just a few pieces from today’s discussions:

1) True shifts in language patterns tend to occur every several hundred years, so English (as we know it) is due for a change. “Correctness” refers to society’s acceptance of the so-called rules, which don’t always match the standards of the highly educated. Does this mean my students “text talk” might actually become standard?

2) In Belize, almost 50% of the total population is under the age of 18. It also has the highest HIV/AIDS. What kind of access is there to treatment- are people living with HIV/AIDS in Belize or are they dying from it? What are the consequences for this young population?

3) There are several important differences when comparing Autism in Africa to the condition known to the Western world. African children with Autism rarely show stereotypical behaviors (rocking, hand flapping) or self-injurious behavior (biting, scratching, head banging). It is also over-represented in the upper class. There are many challenges in getting true numbers- world statistics did not track Africa in the past. One of major cultural roadblocks is that the treatment of choice is exorcism, reflecting beliefs in witchcraft and madness.

4) Back in 1962, Boris Levinson published a paper on the dog as "co-therapist” in Mental Hygiene. Today, we’re seeing incredible success, including new work using dogs to promote literacy. When children read with dogs, the dogs provide a sense of emotional support to struggling readers.

5) When educating children in Nigeria, a new approach basically uses bilingual education in which children are taught in both their Mother Tongue and English. In expanding to other areas, one challenge will be that many oral languages do not have a written form. Without a written form, how do you create books?

6) Some of the first sponsors of environmental education were companies like Wrigley’s gum, Coca-Cola and Anheuser Busch. These organizations don’t want their company logo to be associated with litter!

Our Round Table closed with some lovely comments from our facilitator, Dr. Judy McConnell-Farmer. She’s promised to send them to me to post at a later date. A summary just won’t do it justice.

I spend the afternoon visiting Christ Church with conference friends. For those who don’t know, Christ Church served as inspiration for the Alice in Wonderland adventures. Much of the filming of the Harry Potter movies took place there too. Perhaps even most amazing, students currently attend the college! The buildings and grounds are stunning, and the Cathedral is gorgeous.

My trip to Oxford concluded with a formal reception, dinner and presentation of certificates. There were so many wonderful moments… some captured in photos. I write this last Oxford blog entry while sitting on the bed in my Oxford dorm wearing my new Oxford T-shirt. The past few days have been so intense, and I am truly grateful for the knowledge I’ve gained. Thank you to Del Val for sponsoring this trip. I should warn you--- I’m coming back with lots of ideas!

2nd Day in Oxford

My day got off to a cold start-- no hot water! The quirks of an old building... Luckily, the sessions were so fascinating that I quickly forgot about it. Today's presentations were about fractions, culture, language and brain development. Despite being quite different topics, they all focused on the importance of affect, and more specifically, how emotional connections are critical to learning. A few bits of interesting information:

1) Chinese teachers have multiple approaches to teaching fractions. They understand fractions from multiple perspectives and can communicate them with students. American teachers are lucky if they have one approach.

2) Indian language has several letters/sounds that don't exist in English. By age 1, English-speaking children can't differentiate these sounds- but youngsters can!

3) The frontal lobe of the brain is not fully developed in females until age 22... and age 26 for males.

Today, I presented on "Intimate disclosure and internalizing symptoms among best friends of young adolescents". (It's a fancy title for a presentation basically about the relation of teens' conversations and anxiety/depression.) It went really well, except for some technical difficulty. The projector shut down in the middle of my presentation- another quirk of an old building! I just kept going, and it came back on a few minutes later. The group gave me some wonderful feedback- lots of new ways to think about this topic along with ideas for future research!

Our sessions ended at lunchtime, so I spent the afternoon touring around Oxford with Dr. Julie Phillips of the University of Northern Iowa. We went to the Ashmolean Museum of art and archeology. The Egyptian exhibits were my favorite. Then, we headed through town to the Carfax Tower, which was the center of town many years ago. We climbed 99 steps (up a TINY spiral staircase) to the very top and were rewarded with an incredible view of Oxford. As always, here are some pics.

On tomorrow's agenda- more presentations and a visit to Hogwarts! (aka Christ Church)

1st day of Oxford Round Table

Things got off to a lively start today. Each presenter has 15 minutes to tell the group his/her topic. Then, another person leads a 15 minute discussion. The overall theme is childhood education, but the presentations have varied- everything from helicopter mothers to civic responsibility to preschool explusion rates!

There was a lot of discussion about integration and connections (peer-peer, parent-child, teacher-child, parent-child). It's really interesting to see how experiences differ-- both across the United States and around the world. While most of the conference participants are from the field of education, there are also representatives from psychology, neuroscience and linguistics. Each discipline brings with it a specific perspective, and looking at an issue through a new lens is really wonderful.

In the last afternoon, I took a short walk around Oxford with a new friend, Dr. Arnold Nyarambi. He's originally from Zimbabwe, but teaches at East Tennessee State University. He gave me a preview of his presentation- a discussion of Autism in Africa. Truly incredible information! While talking & walking, we stumbled across Oxford Castle and had a quick look around. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see more of Oxford tomorrow afternoon. We had to head back to the College for dinner, where we celebrated another new friend's birthday, Dr. Penchusee Cefola from California Lutheran University. Happy birthday Penny!

Click here for a few pictures from today