Welcome to ROUNDS!

This weekly e-newsletter goes out to all OU-HCOM and CORE personnel and students.

The ROUNDS archive is here.

NEWS

Check your parking permit for expiration

            Ohio University Parking Services reminds all staff and faculty with DG09 parking permits that they must be renewed by Sept. 1 to avoid an “expired/invalid permit” citation. Permits may be renewed anytime Mondays through Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Parking Services at 100 Factory Street.

            Parking Services recommends permit renewals be completed sooner than later in order to avoid long lines when students return to campus in August.

            When renewing parking permits, bring your current DG09 permit, your university faculty/staff identification and know your vehicle(s) license plate number.

            For information, go to http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu/parking/.

            For information about the university’s new “pay to park” program, or to opt out of the program, go to http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu/parking/documents/P2PTransitionDescriptionandFAQ_002.pdf.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Logos, poster templates with new college name now available

            To help with your research poster production and power point presentations, a number of downloadable poster templates and logos now are available with the college’s new name, the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
            A guide containing information on creating and printing a research poster is available at PDF. Please allow a two-week lead-time for poster design. Contact Danette Pratt at 593-2296 or pratt@ohiou.edu if you have questions or to set up an appointment.

            To download poster templates, go to

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/communications/posters2009.htm.

            To download the college logo or seal, go to

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/communications/LogoSeal2011.htm.

Staff changes

            Effective Aug. 1, please welcome Melanie Rule, administrative assistant at the Summa Western Reserve CORE office in Cuyahoga Falls. You can reach Melanie at 1900 23^rd Street, Cuyahoga Falls, OH  44223 or 330-971-7439. 

CALENDAR

Class of 2015 Orientation picnic

• Event: July 25, 5 p.m.

2011 Convocation/White Coat Ceremony

• Event: Aug. 13, 2 p.m., Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Alumni Auditorium

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Faculty Development Tidbit: Pop Quizzes Students Like

            Although as a student I seriously disliked pop quizzes, the night before my first Research Methods and Data Analysis lecture I needed a plan. Over the past few semesters, students had become lax about attendance for my 9:30 a.m. lecture class of about 100 students. I decided to give "Comprehension Checks," a new name for a regular pop quiz, and the students' initial response was less than enthusiastic.

            Comprehension checks were short unannounced quizzes, given once every week or two. There were 3-4 questions, usually fill-in-the blanks or multiple choice, which covered the major points from the previous lecture. I put the questions on an overhead. After the quiz, students graded their own papers (and signed the pledge) as we discussed the answers.

            The crucial factor that made the comprehension checks a positive experience was that they could only help, not hurt, students' grades. Since I came up with the plan after the syllabus was printed, I couldn't factor them in as part of the course grade. Instead, I announced that I would sum the comprehension check points at the end of the semester. Those whose comprehension check scores were in the top half of the class would have their mid-term/final percentage weighting (normally 60/40) automatically reweighted ten percent in the direction that benefitted them most (i.e., 70/30 or 50/50).

            For the small cost of entering scores into my spreadsheet, the benefits (some unanticipated) were tremendous:

• Class attendance was better;
• Students were generally better prepared for class;
• Students got feedback about what they didn't understand;
• Students got practice on concepts covered on exams;
• I had records of which students missed some classes;
• Students got instant negative feedback when they missed a previous class;
• I got feedback about what I hadn't explained well enough;
• Exam scores were higher than in previous semesters.

            Course grades were not much different than without the reweighting, mostly because mid-term and final grades were similar. By the middle of the semester, students forgot the details of the incentive and remembered only that it was important to attend class and keep up with the material.

            Several students commented positively about the comprehension checks on the final evaluations; no one complained. The checks were a rare win-win situation.

Source: Toni Wegner, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Fall_1996/TC_Fall_1996_Wegner.htm

Find more tips at your OU-COM & CORE faculty development web resources:  www.oucom.ohiou.edu/fd/programs.htm or www.ohiocore.org/cf/index.htm.  If you have a great strategy that seems to always work, please send it to me, and I’ll include it in a future Faculty Development Tidbit. Tidbits courtesy of your Office of Faculty Development with Steve Davis, Ph.D.; Robbin Kirkland, Ph.D.; and Olivia Sheehan, Ph.D.

Please send your news/announcements to rounds@oucom.ohiou.edu each week by Wednesday, 3 p.m. for consideration in the following ROUNDS. If you have questions, suggestions or corrections, please contact Richard Heck, writer/editor, at 593.0896 or heck@oucom.ohiou.edu.