Judy Magee - Tertiary Teaching Excellence Teaching Profile

Senior Lecturer, School of Foundation Learning

Introduction

I am currently programme manager and a senior lecturer in the Certificate in Health at Otago Polytechnic. This is a qualification developed to provide a pathway for those without relevant qualifications, and to meet the academic entry criteria to the degree programmes within the Health Group.

In my teaching role I work alongside students, both distance and those who attend on campus, who are primarily second chance learners of varied age, ethnicity and academic backgrounds. Patience, sensitivity and understanding are required, combined with a student-centred learning environment: one that builds their confidence and acknowledges each diverse and unique individual as an adult and as an equal.

The main influence on my teaching practice comes from the students themselves. By valuing their place in the learning process, I work to provide opportunities where they can become more aware of themselves as learners and ultimately, use that knowledge to assist them to complete their desired qualification.

Creating a supportive learning environment in a flexibly delivered programme

Personal experience has revealed that many students begin their studies with a high level of motivation and enthusiasm which can wane as the year progresses. I have noticed that students’ motivation is easier to nurture and sustain if they come into the programme with a clear appreciation of what is expected of them. They need to feel they have a personal relationship with their lecturers and that they are valued and supported as individuals. They also need to feel they are part of a cohesive learning group in which individuals can collaborate with one another.

I have identified and implemented several strategies that give early support to students, such as an initial welcome letter which describes not only the advantages but also the reality of studying in a flexibly delivered programme. In the letter I explain blended delivery in terms of lecturer-to student contact time and the types of support I can provide. The students also receive a study guide that provides crucial information related to feeling part of a class rather than being isolated from classmates. It gives suggestions on how they might bridge the physical gap between each other with various technologies. Other strategies that work to manage feelings of isolation include establishing early email relationships and phoning the students before the programme begins and again before the students’ first major assessment. I assist students to feel supported and valued both on and off campus, by teaching them how to plan and manage their ‘at home study time’, coupling this with interactive weekly tutorials that follow the teaching outline. I provide the students with assessments that are spread out, small and regular, enabling them to move forward and I also send out spreadsheets of marks regularly to keep the students informed of their current progress as they work toward completion.

Along with these strategies, student engagement with the programme is closely monitored. I track attendance, physically and online, and monitor the “Summary of Usage’ facility on Blackboard. I act on data collected with phone calls, follow up emails and arrange for a meeting with students to discuss any issues they may have that could adversely affect their learning.

Facilitating learning in the Certificate in Health programme.

Adult learners bring rich and broad learning experiences to the classroom. They are often selfdirected and expect to take responsibility for their decisions. They learn with enthusiasm when they recognise the value their own experience has to the learning of the whole class. Adult students also tend to be experiential learners: they learn by doing.

To maximise these attributes, I choose strategies and activities that are task-oriented, as well as requiring the students to reflect on their own knowledge. For example, chemical reactions are difficult to memorise and this type of learning is best facilitated by demonstrating the reaction in the laboratory where students can work and reflect in groups on what they know from the world and their classes. This approach allows them to use each others’ understandings and reflections, to help make links between the symbolic world (the equation on the board), the unseen world (the molecular interaction) and the real world (what they are seeing happening in the test tube).

I provide opportunities for experiential learning activities that suit various learning styles. To illustrate, a kinaesthetic exercise I utilise is an extremely effective exercise to support understanding of how ions form, the use of the symbols to represent them and the proportions that interact to form the ionic compound. The students themselves become the ions. The students write the symbols for the ions on paper and sellotape them onto the front of their bodies. Students who are 1+ ions then hold their fist on their waist to form a hole (to mirror the loss of an electron that occurs when an atom forms a positive ion). Students who are 1- ions then wave their arm about (this mirrors the gain of electrons when an atom forms a negatively charged ion). All the ions interact until there are no arms or holes left and all the ionic compounds are formed (i.e. neutrality).

Wherever possible I choose teaching materials and activities that encourage learning, boost self esteem, relate to the students’ needs and future goals and provide lots of interactive fun.

Assessment strategies

My assessment strategies aim to achieve a balance of formative and summative assessments. Students work toward a passing grade while obtaining an emerging picture of where they are relative to the learning outcomes. The more information I can gather about individual students, the better I can adjust the assessment processes to ensure they continue to achieve and move forward in their learning.

Delivering my programme flexibly also allows me to design technologically driven assessments, so that students increase their technical capabilities and develop confidence in accessing online information. This is a giant leap for those who have not used a computer prior to beginning the course. It is crucial that all students feel comfortable and safe putting their comments and questions out electronically into the public arena. I have developed an assessment strategy that is based on an online discussion. For some students, this will be their first attempt at engaging in an online discussion. The students are assigned an object which may be represented as a visual image invoking a physical sensation, or it may be represented as a graph that illustrates the information or, it may further be offered as a question or a piece of text. Students choose the version (that suits them) that acknowledges and accommodates their personal learning style. They write and post comments about the object and then comment on a different object, not their own. The object itself is of relevance to the students and the course. To ensure the experience is positive and to provide a sense of safety, I offer it in a small tutorial setting. Students see only their own posting and response and those of two other classmates. In this way they feel less exposed.

This assessment significantly caters for self-directed adult learners. It provides them with opportunities to gain acknowledgment and recognition from peers and lecturers, allowing them reflective opportunities to reassess their assumptions about themselves as learners. Many other assessment strategies in the course are explicitly included to build up student confidence and capability in the online environment.

Closing statement

Dalton described the atom in 1803 as simply a particle. Likewise, I walked into my first classroom assuming the students would be merely the sum of what I observed. I was motivated by my passion for chemistry but it did not occur to me to consider what was happening in the minds of the students. However, this view changed two minutes into the class when a student asked a question. Completing my teaching portfolio has given me a rare opportunity to spend a significant amount of time reflecting on my teaching practice. The result has been to recognise that my understanding of the student lecturer relationship has evolved significantly from that aligned with Dalton’s atom. I have learned to reflect on what I am doing in the classroom and how it affects the students. Much that was happening for the students I have learned to incorporate into their learning experiences. No two classes are ever alike. To revert to my analogy, each class, like each type of atom, is unique. It provides an individual snapshot. Satisfaction for me occurs when students take their first of many significant steps along the road of lifelong learning, a road with countless opportunities to become all they can be and to reach goals not yet thought of.

Peer and Student Comments

“Hey Judy, I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me this year, you’ve been such a great lecturer and so helpful and have been there for advice whenever I’ve needed it. I think this is such a great course for people like me, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself at school and instead of keeping all my options open I stuffed around and shut a lot of doors, thankfully there was the certificate in health! I don’t know what I would have done this year if it wasn’t for this course! It’s been the best year of my life education-wise because I actually have applied myself because I now have a goal, being a nurse. So thank you so much for everything!!”
Student email, 2008

“Judy has always been proactive in seeking support for individual students who she felt would benefit from Learning Centre services, frequently bringing the students along personally and introducing them to us, thereby removing the shyness barrier that sometimes stops students from making an appointment. Students often give us unsolicited feedback about their lecturers and many students have spoken not only of Judy’s professionalism but also of her enthusiasm and sense of fun which has helped to engage their interest.
Judy is totally student-focused and works extremely hard to promote effective learning for all her students. Her passion and enthusiasm for her subject and her commitment to her students makes her a great teacher and a valued colleague.”
Janet M C Black, B.A., M.App. Ling, Dip Tching, Cert TESOL, Senior Lecturer, Learning Centre

“I have known Judy for more than 20 years. Firstly, when she was my student studying for the New Zealand Certificate of Science. Following that, as science supervisor, I employed her as a tutor for introductory chemistry. Over the following years we were colleagues, teaching a variety of chemistry courses between us.
When Judy was a student early in my teaching career, I was astounded by this young woman who was so dedicated to learning, had such a deep interest in science, and such an empathy for others.
I could see that such qualities were those that would make her an excellent teacher, and after her graduation we employed her. My research related to teaching in tertiary education and it was obvious that in her work, Judy indeed showed all the attributes of an exceptional teacher. She had limitless enthusiasm, huge empathy and patience with students and a strong desire to improve her teaching. She liked using interactivity as well as having a great sense of humour. Judy was an inspiration, in fact she became a role model to many, such as myself.”
John Waddick, BSc, Dip. Tchg, Dip. Bus. Admin. MEd(Hons), PhD