Teaching/Learning Center

Angela Alcerro was recently featured on the USC Rossier website talking about her work at Otis College.

"If you require students to produce writing to evidence their learning in your class, then guiding students in creating that outcome should be a part of your teaching. It’s not all about grammar and correctness; good writing is good thinking. With some insight into proven best practices in student writing, you can help your students improve their writing and thinking skills." - Debra Ballard

1. Top Tips For Assisting Students 
   • Require all written work reviewed by a tutor and signed off
   • Complete Academic Support Referral Forms, especially if students are encouraged to concentrate on a particular aspect of a given assignment
   • Review other work posted in student's Learning ePortfolio to get a sense of what a student can and cannot do
   • Provide clear step-by-step instructions in written form and verbally

Colleges Help the Faculty Adapt

Teaching for Foreign Students

Chronicle of Higher Education

- Karen Fischer, 5.5.16

"The number of foreign students on American campuses has ballooned in the last decade, increasing by nearly 75 percent. The presence of so many foreign students is internationalizing American classrooms. Now colleges are recognizing that their faculty members, too, must become more internationally minded to meet the cultural and pedagogical needs of this new crop of students."

Top Tips:

• Scrap academic jargon.
• Post your lecture slides, and even recordings of your lectures, online so that students can go back and review them at their own pace.
• If you’re worried about plagiarism or cheating, don’t just note prohibitions on your syllabus or mention them once on the first day of class. Bring up the policies repeatedly, especially before examinations.
• Give your students samples of correct — and incorrect — citations when assigning papers.

Otis College: Rowel Salvador "Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning"  (0:44:10)

Veteran educator Rowel Salvador has over 20 years of experience working with at-risk students within LAUSD.  He specializes in inspiring instructors to increase student engagement, improve student achievement and close the achievement gap at low-performing schools.  This presentation is derived from the work of Dr. Sharroky Hollie, author of Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning: Classroom Practices for Student Success.