HighER Ed Lessons

My preferred method of teaching at the graduate level is the "flipped classroom." In this model, students do the readings beforehand and then we use those readings during class in discussions, role-plays, or case studies to better understand the marriage of practice and theory. I tell students up-front that they will receive formal or informal participation grades based upon the following three qualities of their discussion:

Quantity of Contributions: Does the student participate enough without dominating the conversation?)
Quality of Contributions: Does the student make erudite points that specifically reference both the assigned readings and information from their independent research to advance the discussions?
Reflective Contributions: Does the student actively listen to others and build upon or counter others’ arguments in a coherent, professional manner?

Since using this general rubric, I have found that the quality of discussion has increased dramatically, and students take away much more from the classes.

Below are example lessons that use this model.

COPY OF ELS 831_Week 2

PhD-Level Class: Accountability

In the second week of our Accountability class, students read an article from Eisner on the "null curriculum," which is what is not taught in schools (whether intentionally or unintentionally left out). Students then do a search for the History Standards from other states and compare and contrast those standards with the Virginia History standards. I always love this lesson because students realize how very different accountability systems can be, even across our own country. They also realize how many states deliberately avoid controversial topics in their history standards, which means it's up to the individual teacher, school, or district as to whether and how those concepts are even taught. This helps set the stage for understanding

Copy of ELS 811 Leadership Theories Week 2

PHD-Level Class: Leadership Theories

In this class, students use leadership frameworks from an article to unpack a real-life case study. First, we review some quality dissertations that used the case-study format to better understand the methodologies of this kind of research. Then, students are provided with documents from a 2020 case study and work in small groups to use the lens of a chosen leadership framework to understand how "successful" a district was in handling the particular crisis.

Students reported that seeing quality dissertations using different research methodologies, and then implementing those methodologies in a class with instructor guidance, significantly improved their understanding of the research and dissertation process---as well as helping them understand different leadership frameworks as a deeper level.

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