TEACHING PORTFOLIO | WORK SAMPLES TRISHA J. TIAMZON

revised May 2018

Reflective Course Syllabus 2Sample Assessments 6Self-Assessment 7Sociological Imagination: Visual Essay 10Example of Student Work 11Online Instructional Design Portfolio 13

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Reflective Course Syllabus This is a representative course syllabus annotated with reflective comments.

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The overall design provides visual interest and helps students identify key elements of the course. Here I include a photo of C. Wright Mills, whose concept of the sociological imagination is central in the course. I also highlight key terms of the analytic approach I teach—the social structure framework.

I try to develop course objectives that are measurable and align with assessments. I recognize that these objectives need a bit of updating. The first objective more clearly aligned with a series of autobiographical analysis papers I have assigned in the past, but did not this particular semester.

Instructor and TA information is foregrounded to encourage students to seek assistance. I leave the TA information blank because some prefer to give their phone number for texting and others prefer email.

I believe quality educational materials can be found at little to no cost for students. I use open license, peer-reviewed textbooks when available. I consider substantive readings from academic journals and books as the core of my curriculum, and supplement with journalism, current events, and other media. Everything is distributed electronically on the LMS course website. In the future, I would like to work with the campus bookstore/copy services for an optional reader, as some students prefer hard copies.

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Students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the material. Grades are distributed across categories related to proficiency, process, and reflection.

I intentionally use “Engagement” to emphasize the students’ active role in learning. Rather than taking attendance, I use informal writing, participation in small group discussions, and the occasional reading pop quiz. I provide specific criteria in anticipation of their self-assessment at the end of the semester.

I use low-stakes quizzes to for myself and students to evaluate understanding of basic concepts. For a long time I eschewed multiple-choice questions because I thought they tested memorization more than understanding. However, I have learned that they can be useful for formative (but not summative) assessments. Mid-semester, I provided an option to write a reading memo in lieu of an in-class quiz; many students found this option more useful, particularly when writing papers later on. This allowed students to choose modes of assessment based on their strengths and priorities.

Meaningful learning happens when students actively engage with and construct knowledge. On the first day, I describe my approach to teaching so students know what to expect from the class. Because it is designated as a lecture course, they often do not expect to consistently engage in discussions and activities. Indeed, I start with a short activity to introduce sociological themes before delving into the syllabus. This helps set the tone for the rest of the semester.

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A course schedule gives students an overview of the topics and allows students to plan their semester. This gives a sampling of the materials I use: textbook sections, academic blog posts, journalism/news articles, and audio/visual media. Due dates are included alongside to give a visual aid to the timing of assignments.

I use a flipped classroom when discussing research methods, primarily on the topic of causality. To learn more about this, please visit my online portfolio.

I integrate catch-up days to account for delays in covering material, weather, and current events. Sometimes it takes longer to get through the day’s material because the discussion went in a new direction or because the news provides a relevant, real-world connection. Rather than rushing or cutting material, I prefer to build space into the course to allow for unanticipated circumstances.

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Polices on academic integrity, accommodations, and religious holidays should be included in all syllabi and are often required by institutions. It is particularly important that students are aware of available accommodations and services.

My classroom policies are simple: engage in respectful dialogue, come on time, and don’t multitask.

I inform students of my email policy to set their expectations about response times. The majority of student emails are not time-sensitive. This encourages them to either ask me in class or to drop by my office.

It is important to share information about campus resources. Though students are exposed to them during orientation, they may forget that a variety of services are available for academic and health support. I also encourage mindfulness practices.

Sample Assessments When designing a course, I work to align my learning goals and objectives with the course content, lecture material, activities, and assessments. I first learned this approach when I worked with an instructional designer to build an online course, and have incorporated it into my course design ever since.

The following are assessments I have developed and used. I include two halves of the final assessment for Introduction to Sociology, which involves a self-assessment and visual essay. I have used the self-assessment multiple times, with minor tweaks for improvement, experimentation, and/or curricular fit. The visual essay is based on a longer photo essay on gender I have assigned in the past. 1

These assessments highlight key elements of my pedagogical approach, which I discuss in the accompanying narratives.

In addition to developing my own materials, I draw on evidence-based practices from 1

scholarship on teaching and learning. The gender photo essay was adapted from this article in Teaching Sociology.

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Self-Assessment Engagement/participation can be difficult to evaluate because students have different ways they engage with the material. Some students feel comfortable articulating their thoughts in discussion, while others benefit from informal writing. I give students the opportunity to evaluate their own engagement with the self-assessment. Research suggests that personal goal-setting is central to self-regulated learning and helps improve student performance.

In the beginning of the semester, I ask them to write about their personal learning philosophy and create specific goals. Around midterms, they revisit their goals and assess the strategies they have been using to achieve them. At the end of the semester, I ask them to reflect on their progress and assign themselves a grade based on a rubric that includes specific elements of engagement and alignment with personal goals. Anecdotally, students tend to evaluate themselves fairly and find the mid-semester check-in useful for identifying weaknesses and opportunities for course-correction. The final self-assessments have also provided insights on aspects of the class that were meaningful and pedagogically effective.

The following are actual prompts, assignment guidelines, and rubrics I have used for ongoing student self-assessment.

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Week 1: Personal Learning Philosophy and Goals Write a reflection in which you consider your general approach to school/learning and your specific learning goals for this course. Its purpose is to help you think through why you are taking this particular course and how it fits in with your overall learning goals.

First, describe your general learning goals and what you hope to achieve through the higher education process. Why do you want to obtain a degree? Other than the diploma, what else do you want to gain from the experience?Think about what you want to develop about yourself – acquire some skills, gain some new knowledge, become more aware in some area, develop a new identity or sense of competency? Review the course syllabus, and think about the topics and how the course is designed. What do you hope to learn? How does this fit with your overall learning goals and reason for attending college?

List three "SMART" goals for this course: specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-related. If you have a broad goal (e.g. pass the class), develop sub-goals that will help you achieve it. Remember, these are your personal goals, not mine or anyone else’s, so make them reflect your needs and values.

Describe a specific strategy you will use to approach each goal.

As we progress through the course, some of these things may change. Consider this your starting point; you will revisit it later in the semester.

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Week 7: Mid-Semester Check-In Review your personal learning philosophy and goals that you wrote at the beginning of the semester. Were your goals specific, measurable, action-oriented, and time-related? If not, it will be harder to objectively assess your progress; thus, you should revise them as needed. Honestly assess your progress towards your goals, in general as well as in relation to this class.

If you do not feel satisfied with your current progress, try to specifically identify what you can do differently. Next, identify what you think you have been doing well with and identify your approaches that have been successful.

Self-Assessment EssayFormat: 1 page, single-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman or similar

In your final self-assessment, you will reflect on and evaluate your work and engagement over the course of the semester. In one paragraph, respond to the following questions: What were your goals for this class? Given your performance on formal assessments, as well as your work in and outside of the classroom, do you think you achieved your goals? What strategies did you use that were successful? Were there any that did not work for you? How did you manage your overall course workload, other personal responsibilities, and self-care? Next, include a subheading of the grade you give yourself, e.g.Engagement Self-Assessment Grade: #Assign yourself a numerical grade between 0 and 100. No letter grades, no ranges. The reminder of the essay will be your explanation of why you assigned yourself that grade, using the attached rubric as a guide. As with any argument, it is strengthened by referring to specific evidence/instances. It is unsatisfactory to simply reproduce the descriptions in the rubric; I reserve the right to change your self-assessment grade if you do not provide a convincing case.You should discuss each of the components in your evaluation, individually and/or in relationship with each other. To assign yourself a grade, consider your performance in each of these categories. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you think you performed well or fell short in areas? Again, you should refer to specific examples to support your evaluation.

For your reference:What constitutes engagement?Consistent engagement in course material enhances individual student learning, understanding, and retention as well as the learning environment. However, it can be difficult to assess using a universal standard when students have different goals, approaches, and ways of expressing engagement. Thus, you will assign yourself a portion of your grade at the close of the semester.

Expectations for classroom engagement:Regular attendance is a given. Examples of quality class participation include exhibiting active listening practices, sharing relevant experiences, observations, and original thought, and engaging in intellectual debate and exchange. This means you are not “multitasking.” Quality participation also involves coming to class prepared to discuss the readings.

Expectations for engagement outside the classroom:The bare minimum is that you read the assigned readings before class. Being ready  for discussion means you have annotated the readings and/or prepared notes and questions. The level of detail is up to you; observations suggest that students whose work shows more thought/detail have higher satisfaction, deeper understanding, develop more sophisticated arguments, and perform better on other assessments.

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Sociological Imagination: Visual Essay Next, I would like to share the other half of the final assessment for my Introduction to Sociology course. In addition to the Self-Assessment, I ask students to creatively demonstrate their understanding of the sociological imagination. Together, they are worth 10 percent of the course grade. I purposely structure my assessments in this way for a few reasons.

First, my main objective for this course is for students to understand and apply the sociological imagination, “the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society.” I assess their application of this concept (alongside others) in several writing assignments over the course of the semester. By the end, students have practiced applying the analytic framework numerous times and most have a solid grasp on how to use it to explain or evaluate concrete social phenomena. A traditional multi-exam model with a high-stakes cumulative final exam would not effectively demonstrate student learning of this concept. Moreover, students often experience heavy workloads, high stress, and poor sleep at the end of the semester, unideal circumstances for evaluation. Because assessment has been ongoing throughout the semester, I find it more useful to end the course with more holistic and reflective exercises.

Second, the visual aspect of the assignment challenges students to think differently about what they have learned. Drawing on insights from multiple intelligences theory, I provide students with various ways to demonstrate their knowledge. Sometimes this comes in the form of an option, e.g. choosing between an in-class midterm or a video project, or between a reading response memo or short in-class reading quiz. However, I do not always provide an option because I think it is important for students to engage in different ways of thinking.

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Sociological Imagination: Visual Representation The sociological imagination is a foundational concept in sociology and lies at the heart of every social analysis. As part of your final assessment, I would like you to demonstrate your understanding of the sociological imagination through visual media and accompanying text. Requirements:

• 1-5 original photos/images (medium/large)• You should have personally shot or sat for the photos, or created the images,

specifically for this assignment. • I will not accept non-original photos/images like clip art, magazine images, memes,

stills from movies/television, or other images taken from the internet. These can be included as part of an original image, but not constitute the entire image. A collage of non-original images will not count.

Your text should include:1. The date and time each photo was taken2. How the photo(s)/image(s) represent the sociological imagination3. Length: 300-400 words (roughly ¾ page of single-spaced text; this can be broken up

if there are multiple images)Please have fun and stretch your creativity with this final assignment! You’ve gotten through all the major assessments; think of this as way to reflect on and show what you’ve learned.*You can insert/resize images in Word, Google Docs, and Pages. I recommend using a word processor so you can complete the self-assessment essay in the same document.

Example of Student Work I am particularly proud of this student’s work because of the progress she made over the semester. Taylor performed very poorly on her first written assignment, but visited office hours and the writing center for subsequent assignments, to incredible improvement. She was a first-year transfer student in her first semester at Trinity and initially had trouble adjusting to the new environment.

With this final assignment, she came to me because she was unsure if she had “done it right.” She had completed a draft and, in speaking with other students, grew concerned because she had approached it “kind of more abstract[ly].” Most other students did well in using the images to accompany a sociological analysis in a similar mode to previous assignments, which makes sense given their experience in the class.

Taylor, however, used the skills she developed to closely analyze the guidelines and captured the spirit of the assignment. She also took a risk by approaching it in a way that differed from her peers and what she had gotten accustomed to. As an educator, I value risk-taking and divergent thinking, and strive to create a learning environment that encourages these processes.

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Online Instructional Design Portfolio I created a personal academic website using WordPress. In addition to detailing my research and teaching interests, it includes a portfolio with some of my instructional design work.

Projects include: • Online lectures • Flipped classroom • Grading rubrics • Interactive participation Each project page includes a description and actual examples of instructional material, the tools used, and my rationale. In most cases, I also discuss the challenges I faced and possibilities for improvement.

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