Episode 33: Zooming In on Study Habits with Dr. Bethany Milner
How to reach Dr. Bethany Milner:
Email: Bmilner133@gmail.com
Transcript:
(transcribed by kayla.r.fainer@gmail.com)
Melissa Milner 00:09
Hi, this is Melissa Milner. Welcome to The Teacher As... podcast. The goal of this weekly podcast is to help you explore your passions and learn from others in education and beyond to better your teaching. The Teacher As... podcast will highlight innovative practices and uncommon parallels in education.
I'd like to welcome Dr. Bethany Milner to The Teacher As... Bethany is my sister in law, and she's awesome. So what do you want The Teacher As... listeners to know about you?
Bethany Milner 00:38
Well, first and foremost, I am your sister in law and happy to be your sister in law. I am a teacher and a mom, currently working remotely. My students are college age students. So a lot of the things that I do are similar to what elementary and secondary school teachers do, just in a slightly different format with slightly different details.
I was originally an audiologist. And I practiced as a clinical audiologist for years. And I have been on the faculty at University of Rhode Island for the last 15 years.
Melissa Milner 01:18
Cool. What made you decide to do the teaching piece of audiology?
Bethany Milner 01:24
That's interesting. So I kind of fell into it. When I was a doctoral student, I needed a job. And a lot of doctoral students teach classes at undergraduate institutions in order to get teaching experience. Theoretically, you're preparing to go on to a faculty also to work a part time job, which is what I was looking for.
So an opportunity came up for me to teach a class at one of the senior colleges of the system where I was doing my PhD. And I took it. And I found out that I really liked it. Although, I will say that my first teaching experience was terrifying.
And I took a year off after that to be completely honest. And then I got the nerve to do it again, and it was a much better experience. It was absolutely terrifying.
Melissa Milner 02:14
Okay, what happened? Nope, nope, you're not getting off that easy. What happened?
Bethany Milner 02:18
I was not particularly good at it. I was really young. And I just didn't really know how to manage a classroom. I didn't really know how to pace my lectures. A lot of the students in the class - it was a Master's level class - were more experienced than I was.
So it definitely set the stage for a difficult time. And I wasn't terribly confident about what I was doing. I knew the material that I was teaching. But there's so much more that goes into teaching and helping people to maximize their potential in an educational setting. I just didn't know anything about that part of it.
So as a result, I just kind of fumbled my way through week to week. And then I needed a little bit of time before I was willing to try it again. But I learned a lot of lessons about how to set things up in terms of the class so that it's optimal for the students in terms of learning, in terms of organization, in terms of being able to complete the work.
I learned how to communicate with students. And I learned how to figure out within the context of a class if they were with me or not. Because that's a really big part of what I do
Melissa Milner 03:35
Absolutely. I know you've talked about proximity to the students as you're not just up in front. You're moving around.
Bethany Milner 03:41
It is a huge thing. And I teach some pretty large classes that meet in auditoriums. And I still walk up and down the stairs at different points. Depending on where a student is sitting, I'll be standing right next to someone. And I can see facial expressions. And that's a huge piece of information for me. Because sometimes people are not willing to raise a hand and say, can you please repeat that or I didn't get that even if I asked for that feedback.
You have all kinds of things that work, reasons why people might not be willing to publicly say, I didn't get it, I don't understand. But when I can see the students and stand next to them and have almost like a one to one conversation in the context of a big class, it's so much easier for me to figure out where they're at, and what they need, what they need more of, and what they need less of.
Melissa Milner 04:32
So proximity and being able to see facial expressions, being able to read your students. What are some other important things that made you become a much more successful teacher when you came back?
Bethany Milner 04:45
You mean after the year hiatus?
Melissa Milner 04:47
After the crazy year. Or what were some takeaways for you? If you were to help somebody become a teacher, what would you say are the most important things to know?
Bethany Milner 04:58
Okay, so probably the first thing that comes to mind, which is a totally predictable item, would be the preparation piece. In my early teaching days, I would literally study the lecture. And I would ask myself questions or I would try to anticipate questions that students might ask. I remember being really worried that someone would ask a question that I didn't know the answer to, which of course inevitably happens all the time.
So that prep piece is a really big part of things. And it helps you feel confident when you walk into the room. And even if something unexpected happens, like someone asks a question out of left field that you really just don't know the answer to it, you actually feel more confident in being able to deal with that and answer that. So that was one.
The second one is that communication with the students is crucial for everybody. When the class knows what the expectations of them are and when those expectations will come to pass, it's much easier to anticipate problems. And it's much easier to anticipate things that will go successfully, that will go well, too.
So that part, I got a lot better at making a really, really detailed syllabus or even a lesson plan. But knowing exactly what would be happening on this date, this date, this date, every single class meeting. And it's super beneficial to the students.
One of the things that I learned is that students need predictability. And they need to have a pretty set schedule, not that you can't deviate from the schedule. But it really helps a lot if they have a sense of what's happening when in advance.
So I learned things like in my classes, usually the midterm exam in a fall class is the week before Halloween. So as soon as we round the corner into October, I start talking about the midterm. So those types of things in terms of scheduling, planning, super helpful.
Melissa Milner 06:59
You've gotten into a real-- it seems to be something that you're really good at is help talk to somebody about how maybe this is not-- maybe audiology isn't for them. What do you do when you have struggling college students?
Bethany Milner 07:16
So yeah, that's a good question. Because that's a very hard situation. So I am an advisor also. So I do have to have that type of talk with someone from time to time. And it's my experience that when someone is struggling really hard in a certain type of class - so say in the major classes, whatever the major may be - that usually tells me that that's not a good fit for that person.
And that's usually how I'll bring up the conversation. Not a condemnation of, you can't do this, or you're not cut out for this, or this is wrong for you. But more, this may not be the most comfortable place. And I've seen it many times where sometimes when students will have a different major other than ours and they don't do well, and they've realized that that may not be the right place. And then they come into our major and start to do really, really well.
So when it's a good fit, when it's comfortable, it makes sense. The information clicks along. The student looks forward to learning this material, going to these classes. It makes a huge difference.
So usually, I'll start to ask questions about what a student's ultimate goal will be in terms of professional life and where they see themselves. And then we kind of talk about it. We kind of enter the conversation from that perspective. Usually I will say, it's my experience when somebody is not doing well in a set of classes, it's not necessarily the right place. And then there might be a better place that's more comfortable and makes more sense.
Melissa Milner 08:59
Yeah, that's got to be hard, though.
Bethany Milner 09:01
It is hard. And I try to just keep it as a conversation more than me just saying, this is what you should or shouldn't do. Basically, I approach it from a standpoint of: you tell me what you want, and then we'll talk about how feasible that is and how to get there or where else you might be able to get to and how we can help to do that, as well.
Melissa Milner 09:25
Are you mostly working with freshmen, sophomore? I mean, is there a certain level?
Bethany Milner 09:30
Yes. So I am the advisor for all freshmen in the program and all first semester sophomores. And then I have a selection of upperclassmen.
Melissa Milner 09:39
So Bethany with her busy household had to move to a different room. And so it might sound different from here on out. I'm a K-12 person, and you're working with people just out of the K-12 system. Are you finding that the writing skills are subpar or are good to go? Are you finding that people know how to read, people have work study habits? How is K-12 doing?
Bethany Milner 10:07
It's so funny. I had a feeling you would ask me about writing. So I'll address all of those individually. I find that writing is generally a weaker area that needs some help. I don't know how much writing students are doing.
But we do talk in our program about ways to get students writing more. Because we definitely feel like they need it. And I feel like in the last 10 years or so, that's become more and more of an issue. That's just my opinion on it.
Melissa Milner 10:40
Is it organization of their writing?
Bethany Milner 10:43
Yes.
Melissa Milner 10:43
Is it elaboration of their writing?
Bethany Milner 10:45
Yes.
Melissa Milner 10:46
All of it. Wow.
Bethany Milner 10:48
And there have been a lot of changes. So now we're fully seeing students who have grown up completely digital, and that definitely makes a difference. I can see it for sure. These are kids who text and who use a lot of shortcuts. It just looks different. And it needs a little bit more work on our end.
So what is the way to become a good writer? You just write a lot. That's what I would love to see. Once they get to us, we are also thinking of and trying to incorporate more ways for the students to write more, because it's an essential life skill.
No matter what your job, you will have some type of writing that you'll need to accomplish. And it needs to be clear, and it needs to be grammatically correct, and it needs to be spell checked, that kind of stuff. We do talk about it as well and work on it.
Reading is generally okay. I don't see a lot of issues with that.
Melissa Milner 11:47
Work study habits, though?
Bethany Milner 11:49
Right. So in terms of characteristics of good learners or behaviors, I don't know. It really depends a lot on the school a student came from. There are some schools that emphasize those skills. And there are some schools that are really rigorous, and therefore, those skills are a must. And students will come to us with those skills fully developed.
I also hear students say, oh, I did really well in high school, and I didn't have to work that hard. So those are students that typically will have to work on those skills. One of the classes that I teach, which is an anatomy and physiology class-- so it has nothing to do with this. But the students that come in are first semester sophomores primarily. And I work on work study habits with them from day one.
And I really propose it as you need to develop these skills in this class in addition to learning the material. And then you'll take these skills with you everywhere you go in every class that you take from this point forward, not just in the major. But that's really important. So in this class, there's a very large amount of information.
So I give a quiz every single week, a short quiz, but just so that students don't experience a huge pile up of the material. And they're basically forced to deal with it in chunks, which students love. They have gotten tons of positive feedback.
Melissa Milner 13:09
So you're basically scaffolding the studying?
Bethany Milner 13:12
Yes. Because if you wait to-- and listen, I did it as an undergraduate student, where you wait until the midterm exam or wait until the big exam comes up. That's not possible to take in this amount of information and do it well.
So about six or seven years ago, I incorporated this quiz every week. And the students love it and hate it at the same time. It actually helps a student to figure out where their trouble spots are before they get to a big exam.
Melissa Milner 13:46
Absolutely.
Bethany Milner 13:47
And it helps them to figure out what their actual work study habits are and what particular habits work for them. Because it's different for every person. There's a set of skills, but not every skill works for every person. And some people will use a combination. So part of the class, this particular class, is figuring out what works for you.
And I talk to them about that directly from day one. So I will say to them, I don't care if you use flashcards, or Quizlet, or you rewrite notes, or you read the slides, or you do a combination. But I do care that we figure out what works for you so you can take that with you.
Melissa Milner 14:30
It's a shame that they don't have that coming into college, some of those skills and strategies.
Bethany Milner 14:38
Yeah, I agree. But I feel like when you're coming into college, there's still lots of room for growth. And yes, it's ideal if you have that already nailed down when you walk in the door. But in high school in particular, teachers have so much to cover that it's hard to get to all these little areas.
There's material and then there's learning. And sometimes there's not enough time to cover all the material. And then to teach the learning part as well or to examine it, I guess.
On the early quizzes in this class, there's a section on the back of the quiz, and it's not worth any points. So there's no assessment attached to it. But I have the students answer questions like, how many hours this week did you study for this quiz? What methods did you use? And I give them a set of choices: Quizlet, flashcards, rewriting notes, rereading notes, studying with a partner, whatever.
And then I'll pick a question from the quiz that's challenging. And I'll say, on a scale of one to five, one being not confident, five being completely confident, what is your confidence level in did you answer question number five correctly? How confident are you that you answered question number five correctly?
So the idea is to get them thinking about what they're doing and to match up what they think their performance is with what it actually is. So if you're a five, I'm completely confident I got this question right, and then you missed it totally, it's valuable information.
It's valuable for me, too, because I can say, okay, so let's talk about this a little bit. Students will come to me and say, here's what I'm doing to prepare for the quizzes. And I'm not seeing the results that I was hoping for. What advice do you have for me? So I have that conversation regularly with students, which I appreciate.
Melissa Milner 16:34
Yeah, that's amazing. I know you've had a lot of accomplishments. And what's your proudest moment in your work so far?
Bethany Milner 16:44
Oh, that's a hard question.
Melissa Milner 16:46
Or one of the proudest moments.
Bethany Milner 16:48
I'll tell you, and I don't know that it's a moment, but it's something that happens occasionally. Once students leave us-- so all students that graduate from our program to be a speech pathologist or an audiologist have to have a graduate degree.
So the majority of our students go on to graduate programs. I actually just received an email like this a couple of weeks ago. I had a student who graduated and went to a Master's program. And in one of the first classes that this student had to take as part of the Master's curriculum, it was actually a large volume of anatomy and physiology.
And the student emailed me to tell me that there was a particular question or a particular concept that we talked about a lot in my class. And she was like, well, nobody in my class knew the answer but me. So thank you for that. Which I love! I'm like, okay, what do you know?
Melissa Milner 17:41
That's awesome.
Bethany Milner 17:43
It is awesome. And I love the fact that having a good connection with my students means that they take the time to send an email and tell me those types of things. And it happens a few times a year in some form. I definitely think that that's one of the best parts.
Melissa Milner 17:58
Yes. And you just became-- I don't know what it's called, full professor or whatever.
Bethany Milner 18:03
Well, so I was a lecturer. I'm a teaching professor, yes.
Melissa Milner 18:07
Officially a teaching professor.
Bethany Milner 18:09
Yes.
Melissa Milner 18:09
Didn't you win an award or something?
Bethany Milner 18:11
I did. I won the Outstanding Teaching Award in-- it was a while ago, though, now, I want to say it was 2014 or 2015.
Melissa Milner 18:21
Oh, so it's a while ago, so you're not going to mention it? Okay. I'll mention it. I'm proud. I'm a proud sister in law.
Bethany Milner 18:27
Well, thank you.
Melissa Milner 18:29
In your work right now, are you full remote? Are you still going in sometimes to teach?
Bethany Milner 18:35
No. So we're full remote. I'm teaching three classes this semester. And two of the three are large, over 60 students each. So those are all remote. So that's been-- it's been a very different looking semester. And I'm answering your next question before you ask it.
And the connection that we talked about a little bit earlier in this discussion, where I like to walk around the room and see facial expressions, that's much harder. I would say that it's going, I think, as well as it could. So my classes are meeting on Zoom. And I do ask the students to turn their cameras on. It's just for the reason that we talked about, so that I can see them, know them, and read their facial expressions.
So sometimes I'll ask a question and someone will be nodding. And I'll say, okay, Melissa, you agree? You know, that kind of thing. It allows you to almost have a personal interaction with someone. Sometimes people will answer, but they don't turn their mics on. And I can read their lips. I can be like, okay, you got the answer.
I do allow students to put questions and answers in the chat as well. Because not everyone is comfortable talking over the mic, and I'm fine with that. I just want the participation. I'm not picky about how it happens. We use a learning platform also where the students can access all of the class materials. They take their quizzes and exams. And it has this option for a discussion post, like a forum.
And each week in my big class, my anatomy class, I ask the students a different question or ask them to discuss a different point. And they actually, as part of the assignment, they have to respond to the prompt. And they also have to respond to the posts of two classmates. It's a way of having them interact with one another in addition to interacting with me.
Melissa Milner 20:26
Sounds great. That's very similar to what we're doing in the lower grades. I love it.
Bethany Milner 20:30
Yes.
Melissa Milner 20:31
Yeah. So what are you zooming in on right now? Just making remote learning the best it can be? Or are you all prepared and you're doing something else that you're zooming in on as far as your professional work?
[ZOOMING IN SOUNDBITE]
Bethany Milner 20:45
So I can say that going all remote this semester has been pretty all encompassing. So that's what I'm spending majority of my time and energy doing right now. And I'm teaching three classes. And then I also have 150 advisees. So those meetings are on Zoom, as well. They're all face to face meetings.
Melissa Milner 21:08
And three children.
Bethany Milner 21:09
Three children who are-- one is on full remote learning. And the other two are on hybrid. Although they are self propelling at this point. My two older kids, as you know, are in high school. And I have a sixth grader, but she's very responsible and mature. And she kind of manages herself. I kind of poke my head in here and there.
Melissa Milner 21:29
She's pretty awesome. All three of them are pretty awesome. This was amazing, first of all. And I have one last question. What is your favorite movie, and why?
Bethany Milner 21:40
Oh, can I pick two?
Melissa Milner 21:42
Okay.
Bethany Milner 21:43
Actually, no, I'll pick one. My favorite movie is Avalon.
Melissa Milner 21:47
Oh, I love that movie.
Bethany Milner 21:49
Right? It's part of a trilogy, the Barry Levinson trilogy, Diner, Avalon, and I forget what the third one was. But they're all set in Baltimore.
And Avalon is this story about Sam Krichinsky. In fact, I just watched it with my daughters about a month ago. And he immigrates from Poland to Baltimore in 1912. And it's the story of this whole big family. And it's really just a movie about this family.
Melissa Milner 22:15
So good. I haven't seen it since it came out.
Bethany Milner 22:19
Oh, okay. Well, you have to come by here, because we watch it literally once every couple months. Yeah, it's just everything that I love. It's just about a family, about relationships. It's about the American Dream. It's about how people grow and change and how difficult that can be sometimes.
Melissa Milner 22:39
Yeah, it's a good one.
Bethany Milner 22:41
So that is why I love it. It just reminds me of all families and my family. And it just hits all the points for me.
Melissa Milner 22:50
Cool. Well, thank you for taking the time out, because I know you're super busy. And I just-- you're awesome.
Bethany Milner 22:58
Thank you for having me. I actually am loving your podcast. It's super interesting and really, really informative and helpful. So thank you for having me on, Melis, I really appreciate it.
Melissa Milner
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I am sending a special thanks to Linda and Lester Fleishman, my mom and dad, for being so supportive. They are the voices you hear in the Zooming In soundbite. And my dad composed and performed the background music you are listening to right now. My intro music was "Upbeat Party" by Scott Holmes.
So what are you zooming in on? I would love to hear from you. My hope is that we all share what we are doing in the classroom in order to teach, remind, affirm and inspire each other. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap!