Inclusive STEM Teaching Spring 2023

Stat 1: Introduction to Statistics

Engagement, Connection, Reflection

Reflection on Instructional Change:

The first things I will be focusing on from the course is the portion with cultivating connections. A large part of classes have time where we do groupwork and have constant communication between students and myself and the students with each other. I selected this practice becasue initially when I started teaching I realized that a large amount of the students did not want to actively participate in the course. After a few weeks most of the time students would warm up and start asking questions which would make the classes not only more engaging, but also fun in the process. This portion of the FLC had me reflect on how and what I do that way I could look at changes that can be made to make the students more open to communicating with me and the other students around them faster and with less resistance.

One of the biggest changes I made this semester was changing the name portion of the groupwork assignment. Each students paper required their name and the name of their group members. Most students in the courses that do groupwork regularly now communicate without using names and have more open discussions without being hesitant to start the conversation. Another portion of the course that I experimented with this semester was making a more personal collection with the students so that they were open to ask questions and looked forward to enjoying class. This semester I have changed the main page of my course to have the different animals I keep and take care of. This ranges from dogs, lizard, quails, pheasants, chickens, emu, and many more animals. Each week I would put a new photo on the main page of the class and the students would always want to know what was coming up the next week. This generally gets our discussions started in the first couple minutes of the class where it is not officially the class time yet but most students are present.

The next portion of the class that I plan to implement is part of the growth mindset module. I have made it a common practice to include an assignment after the exam that reflects on test study strategies and test taking errors. The purpose of the assignment is to look back at what was done prior to the exam and during the exam to consider things that can possibly changed. It asks questions such as how did you study, what type of errors were made and a few other concepts that have students think about what was done and could be done differently to benefit them in the future. During a discussion I had with another member of the FLC he mentioned a similar assignment that he did prior to the exam that allowed the students to explore different learning strategies and reflecting on what worked for them and what did not work for them.

I plan to incorporate a pre exam study assignment in the beginning of the semester that helps students develop learning strategies that they learn well with. My idea for the future courses is to use both the pre exam reflection for what styles of learning work and then also using the post exam reflection to reflect on what worked and what did not work. I am hoping that the two assignments pair well with each other and assist students learn better study practices.

Evidence of Instructional Change

Emu

Part of my canvas page with Emu

Test taking errors

Course Syllabus

Math 1 Syllabus Equity Final Deliverable-2.docx

Faculty Bio

My name is Bryan Healy and I am part of the Mathematics and Statistics department. I am an outdoor enthusiast who is interested in anything outdoors and enjoy finding ways to bring the real world applications into math.

75 years as Sacramento's University 1947-2022

This work was supported by:

Grant funding from Sacramento State Division of Inclusive Excellence

*Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sacramento State.