Faculty Interview Patrice McMahon-UNL

Brad Severa Author

10/06/2022 Added

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OER Seed Grant interview Patrice McMahon

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[00:00:04.947]Well, I teach classes in international relations,
[00:00:07.910]which means that things are changing all the time
[00:00:10.450]and when I use a textbook,
[00:00:12.130]I always find myself apologizing to students,
[00:00:14.600]saying, "I know this has changed a lot,
[00:00:16.657]"and this is what's in the textbook.
[00:00:18.407]"And I've given you some additional articles."
[00:00:21.100]So when you teach classes on international relations
[00:00:23.640]and on politics more generally,
[00:00:25.320]I think you have to have materials
[00:00:27.610]that are really up to date.
[00:00:28.650]And usually textbooks, maybe they're published
[00:00:31.360]every other year, sometimes it's not for a few years,
[00:00:34.540]so they're outdated pretty quickly
[00:00:35.970]in international relations and in political science.
[00:00:41.880]Yeah, well it wasn't so difficult
[00:00:43.500]because as I suggested, I have always used articles
[00:00:47.620]in addition to a textbook.
[00:00:49.290]So what I did is I worked with a graduate student
[00:00:51.620]who has been working with me
[00:00:52.800]in my Introduction to International Relations class.
[00:00:55.160]She actually took the class as an undergraduate student,
[00:00:57.510]and as a graduate student she taught it at least three times
[00:01:00.930]with different faculty members,
[00:01:02.690]so she had already been involved
[00:01:04.750]in identifying articles that supported
[00:01:06.760]what we were doing in the class,
[00:01:08.240]and so she and I talked about ways in which
[00:01:10.840]and places where she could identify additional materials
[00:01:13.700]to supplement the textbook
[00:01:15.050]that we were deleting and getting rid of,
[00:01:17.110]and then also trying to find other materials,
[00:01:19.880]not just articles, but videos or even exercises,
[00:01:24.230]and we also talked about ways
[00:01:25.610]that she could create activities for students to do
[00:01:28.690]instead of just having them read book chapters or articles.
[00:01:32.220]So it was pretty easy.
[00:01:36.710]Yeah, I received feedback about the class
[00:01:39.670]before the class started, during the class and at the end.
[00:01:43.040]And it was overwhelmingly positive.
[00:01:45.420]What students said is, "Thank you
[00:01:46.737]"for not having a boring textbook."
[00:01:48.470]And it's not always the case
[00:01:49.710]that textbooks are always boring,
[00:01:51.200]and I really thought that I had identified a textbook
[00:01:53.390]that wasn't boring.
[00:01:54.570]But students still complained
[00:01:55.990]that it wasn't so interesting, it was outdated.
[00:01:59.540]So students from the beginning,
[00:02:00.970]what they liked is that in the middle of the summer,
[00:02:03.540]I could say, "Here's our tentative syllabus.
[00:02:06.287]"You don't have to buy a textbook,
[00:02:08.617]"and you can start doing the readings."
[00:02:10.380]So students also, some of the students
[00:02:12.720]who are on financial aid have to wait
[00:02:14.750]'til they come to campus to buy a textbook
[00:02:17.540]that's $100 or $150.
[00:02:19.840]So this way they could start doing the readings
[00:02:21.770]and looking at the syllabus over the summer,
[00:02:23.560]and then when they came to campus, it was just,
[00:02:26.680]you know and I said, "This is a draft, it'll change."
[00:02:30.240]But they already had a sense
[00:02:31.180]of what the class would look like,
[00:02:32.450]so students said, "Hey, thank you for sending this.
[00:02:34.417]"I actually already did some readings
[00:02:35.887]"for the first few weeks."
[00:02:37.140]And that was good for them, and it was really good for me
[00:02:39.680]because then I knew that students were doing the reading.
[00:02:45.500]Yeah, I wouldn't say that anything didn't work
[00:02:48.520]in terms of online electronic resources.
[00:02:51.240]What I would say is now I'm gonna continue
[00:02:54.940]doing what I've done in the past,
[00:02:56.320]which is updating the articles,
[00:02:58.430]making sure that they're the most recent
[00:03:00.530]when I'm changing different parts of lectures.
[00:03:03.170]Again, this is a 200 student class,
[00:03:06.200]so I have to be very organized,
[00:03:07.790]and so I will continue to adjust,
[00:03:10.430]modify and update the syllabus,
[00:03:12.560]but now I don't have to do that
[00:03:14.010]in addition to an expensive textbook for students.
[00:03:16.760]The other thing that I'll add
[00:03:17.770]is that there were several semesters
[00:03:19.320]where I had students both buy a textbook
[00:03:21.350]and then do exercises online
[00:03:25.430]that were related to the textbook,
[00:03:27.050]which was an additional fee,
[00:03:28.240]and with online electronic resources,
[00:03:31.250]my graduate student and I could create our own quizzes,
[00:03:34.600]our own exercises, our own activities
[00:03:37.480]that students could do.
[00:03:38.470]So I'll continue to update and change those as needed.
[00:03:44.990]I don't know why they wouldn't.
[00:03:46.470]I mean it doesn't make sense.
[00:03:48.090]And a lot of times, many faculty are really dissatisfied
[00:03:51.770]with their textbook anyway, and they're supplementing.
[00:03:54.450]It's just a matter of saying, "You know what,
[00:03:56.387]"do I really need to do this?"
[00:03:59.080]and then looking to see what online resources are available
[00:04:03.010]to supplement or to do the whole class without a textbook.
[00:04:08.420]And I was surprised, but I found
[00:04:11.260]that there were plenty of things online
[00:04:13.210]for students and for the class.
[00:04:14.660]So I don't think, I mean maybe there are some classes
[00:04:17.390]where it isn't possible to find online electronic resources,
[00:04:21.380]but I'm not sure what discipline that would be.
[00:04:23.430]And it's probably entirely possible
[00:04:25.970]for most faculty to do away with their textbooks
[00:04:28.610]and to change the way they've been organizing the class.
[00:04:30.873]It's just a matter of kind of deciding
[00:04:32.940]that's what you wanna do and getting rid of the textbook.
[00:04:39.160]I don't think so.
[00:04:40.690]I think it's been really nice for me
[00:04:43.210]to have more control over the content
[00:04:46.090]of what students are getting
[00:04:47.610]and also making sure that they're not doing a lot
[00:04:49.650]of additional reading, because that's part of the textbook,
[00:04:51.930]so when you assign a textbook,
[00:04:54.060]you know a chapter from a textbook,
[00:04:55.500]they have to read the whole chapter,
[00:04:58.010]and sometimes I don't feel like it's that relevant,
[00:05:00.430]so I would say to students, "Well, read Chapter 14,
[00:05:02.887]"but not parts one and part three,
[00:05:04.847]"and really you don't have to read part six," or whatever,
[00:05:07.660]so this way I have a lot more control
[00:05:09.370]over what they're reading,
[00:05:10.330]and it can be more targeted and more strategic.
[00:05:12.570]And also I can highlight with online,
[00:05:15.600]with the way we've done the class now,
[00:05:17.980]I can highlight the concepts
[00:05:19.580]and the things I really want them to focus on,
[00:05:22.040]and do that in advance and tie that to learning outcomes.
[00:05:25.760]So that's been also an advantage
[00:05:28.650]to having online electronic resources.
[00:05:34.600]No, I was gonna say that I think it does help
[00:05:36.970]level the playing field a little for students
[00:05:39.960]who come into a class with a background
[00:05:42.220]in international relations and students who don't.
[00:05:45.010]And again, this has to be faculty
[00:05:47.410]who send out the syllabus and send out at least a draft
[00:05:50.550]of what the class is gonna look like
[00:05:52.380]so students can start doing that reading.
[00:05:54.640]But for me, what I found is students were saying,
[00:05:56.757]"Hey, thanks for this, 'cause I was able to do this reading.
[00:05:59.867]"I didn't have to wait for the textbook."
[00:06:01.350]And they came to class feeling a little more comfortable
[00:06:04.800]than I think in the past they have,
[00:06:06.210]'cause for some students a class on international relations
[00:06:09.090]is totally new for them.
[00:06:10.980]And for other students it's not,
[00:06:12.210]so there seemed to be this kind of big gap
[00:06:14.130]between students who knew things
[00:06:16.050]about international relations and students who didn't.
[00:06:18.480]This semester I felt like from the beginning,
[00:06:20.740]students were more or less on the same page.
[00:06:23.820]And then also with the way we did it this year
[00:06:26.290]is we provided a lot of extra additional readings.
[00:06:28.840]If you're interested in this, look here.
[00:06:30.560]If you're interested in this, look there.
[00:06:32.100]And so it provided us with, I guess, a chance
[00:06:34.940]to be more reflective and thoughtful
[00:06:37.040]about what we wanted students to have
[00:06:38.840]and what we wanted them to gain from the class.
[00:06:44.220]Yeah, I don't know how much they changed.
[00:06:46.830]I know that this semester was problem-free,
[00:06:49.840]meaning in the past, I had students who had a textbook
[00:06:54.280]and then they were using online materials.
[00:06:57.260]And what I found, particularly one year,
[00:07:00.343]is students couldn't get on to their online materials.
[00:07:03.270]They had problems interfacing with the online resources
[00:07:07.270]that were available.
[00:07:08.520]This year students, we didn't have a single problem,
[00:07:11.770]a single complaint.
[00:07:13.160]Students knew where to look for the materials.
[00:07:15.280]We also, I made sure that all of the online materials,
[00:07:18.500]all of the links worked so we didn't have a situation
[00:07:21.230]where students couldn't get access to the textbook
[00:07:23.250]or couldn't get access to the online quiz.
[00:07:26.510]Everything was in our control,
[00:07:28.250]and we had it available in Canvas.
[00:07:30.200]So this year I just have to say
[00:07:31.480]that it's the first time that I've taught
[00:07:32.920]this monster international relations class
[00:07:35.460]where I haven't had any problems big or small with students,
[00:07:39.040]so that's quite an accomplishment, yeah.
[00:07:44.970]None, I think that the most important challenge or issue
[00:07:49.240]with moving to online resources
[00:07:51.570]is just making the time and making sure
[00:07:54.070]that you have some control
[00:07:56.320]over the quality of the resources,
[00:07:59.470]and making sure it matches
[00:08:00.790]what you're doing in the classroom
[00:08:02.490]so there were some articles that I, again I'll change
[00:08:06.380]based on student feedback because they were either too long
[00:08:09.420]or too difficult, or didn't really match up
[00:08:12.080]with what I ended up talking about in class in my lecture.
[00:08:15.820]But that's, I mean it wasn't a significant challenge.
[00:08:19.390]It's just something that we have to constantly do in classes
[00:08:22.700]to update the materials that we're providing for students
[00:08:26.290]and what we want them to do.
[00:08:31.120]Yeah, again, I don't know if it was having everything online
[00:08:35.320]and having the class more or less prepared much earlier
[00:08:39.240]and having more intentionally thought-about
[00:08:43.230]interactive exercises and learning outcomes.
[00:08:47.410]But students seem to participate a lot more
[00:08:49.630]in a 200-person class.
[00:08:52.050]In the past, I'd have maybe,
[00:08:54.380]I don't know, a tenth of the students
[00:08:56.260]who said something or talked in class.
[00:08:58.810]I would say on a regular basis, meaning weekly,
[00:09:02.060]I'd have at least I don't know, a fifth or sixth
[00:09:06.490]of the class say something,
[00:09:07.750]that it was much more interactive,
[00:09:09.490]and I felt like I was lecturing less.
[00:09:11.900]And again, I don't know if it's just
[00:09:13.430]because I kind of started to transition the class
[00:09:16.300]and felt like those are great resources,
[00:09:18.900]those are great articles,
[00:09:20.320]I don't need to do that much more lecturing.
[00:09:22.950]In the past it was providing that basic framework.
[00:09:25.900]So this semester and having everything online,
[00:09:28.493]I've said, "I know what you're reading.
[00:09:30.427]"It's really good, so tell me what you've read."
[00:09:32.620]So I feel like it was much more interactive
[00:09:34.830]and much more participatory
[00:09:36.510]than this class has been in the past.
[00:09:41.850]Yeah, I think in general I've just made the class
[00:09:44.040]much more participatory,
[00:09:46.640]much more on a flipped classroom model,
[00:09:50.320]again, 'cause I, you know I also was able to find articles
[00:09:55.350]that are super interesting,
[00:09:56.670]some of them that are incredibly provocative,
[00:09:59.000]and to include things that I knew
[00:10:00.610]that students would be more likely to read.
[00:10:02.620]And so I felt like that kept students more engaged.
[00:10:07.550]So I do think that it changed my style,
[00:10:09.840]and it changed my expectations for students
[00:10:12.670]because I was like, "You didn't read
[00:10:13.967]"just an introductory chapter on topic X.
[00:10:17.237]"You read a really great article in the New York Times.
[00:10:20.027]"You read an article from the Washington Post
[00:10:21.987]"or Foreign Affairs."
[00:10:23.510]So I was sure that those were articles and resources
[00:10:27.200]that were written in a more interesting way,
[00:10:29.610]so I had higher expectations for students.
[00:10:31.950]And for the most part I would say that I was right,
[00:10:34.470]that students engaged with the materials more.
[00:10:36.840]That was the other thing that I did this semester,
[00:10:39.200]but only this semester could I look at how much,
[00:10:42.620]or did I realize I could look
[00:10:43.950]at how much students were engaging in the materials.
[00:10:46.700]And in the past when I looked
[00:10:48.510]at students' engagement in the materials,
[00:10:52.600]it seemed like they engaged
[00:10:53.710]right at the end of the semester.
[00:10:55.400]This semester, anecdotally it seemed
[00:10:57.560]like students were engaging with the material
[00:11:00.110]from the beginning through the end,
[00:11:01.620]you know, not just right before a quiz
[00:11:03.370]or right before a test.
[00:11:04.480]It seemed like they were engaging with the material
[00:11:06.210]throughout the semester.
[00:11:08.490]So I wish I had a way to compare if in fact that's true,
[00:11:11.460]and maybe there is a way to go back
[00:11:12.830]and look at that on Canvas
[00:11:14.400]and see if students were engaging as much
[00:11:17.410]with the material throughout the semester,
[00:11:19.750]but that was my sense.
[00:11:25.645]No, I will say it takes time
[00:11:27.600]to think about if you're gonna get rid of a textbook,
[00:11:31.240]what are you gonna put in its place?
[00:11:33.090]It also provides you with a great opportunity,
[00:11:36.310]with a real opportunity
[00:11:37.640]to say what do you want students to get out of this class,
[00:11:40.610]you know, in a big way,
[00:11:41.900]and also specifically in terms of your learning outcomes,
[00:11:45.490]what do you want students to get?
[00:11:47.010]So you can tailor those materials
[00:11:48.610]around those learning outcomes and the goals,
[00:11:50.870]so it's not just about the content,
[00:11:52.780]but also about the process that you want students to have
[00:11:58.400]when they're taking this class.

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Faculty Interview Patrice McMahon-UNL

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