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برچسب: Call

  • Community college faculty call for union to take stance against accused professor

    Community college faculty call for union to take stance against accused professor


    Fresno City College campus.

    Credit: Ashleigh Panoo / EdSource

    The post has been updated to correct the position held by one of the union leaders mentioned in the story and to say that 50% of senators must be present and 75% must vote to remove the president.

    Some professors in the State Center Community College District are calling for their union leaders to be transparent about their knowledge of the 2020 sexual misconduct findings against a colleague at Fresno City College who formerly taught at California State University, Fresno. 

    “Shocked” by EdSource’s report of the “alarming” allegations involving Tom Boroujeni, Laurie Taylor, an anthropology professor at Clovis Community College, which is also part of State Center, said she questioned union leadership and called for leaders to resign during a Dec. 1 meeting. Two professors at the meeting confirmed Taylor demanded union leadership resignations. Boroujeni is a Fresno City College communication instructor and also president of the school’s academic senate.

    Union president Keith Ford forwarded EdSource’s interview request to the union’s executive vice president Ria Williams; Williams has not yet responded.  Lacy Barnes, the union’s immediate past president and the Secretary Treasurer of the California Federation of Teachers, declined to comment. 

    “We, as union members, demand to know what our union leadership knew and when they knew it,” Taylor said in an interview with EdSource. 

    Boroujeni was found to have committed an “act of sexual violence” against a professor and colleague at nearby Fresno State in 2015 when he was a graduate student and adjunct instructor. The alleged victim is also a professor and Boroujeni’s colleague at Fresno City College. The State Center Community College District, parent agency to City College, learned of the “sexual misconduct investigation” when the alleged victim requested a no-contact order against Boroujeni, which was granted in the spring 2022 semester.

    Boroujeni has taught at Fresno City College since 2015, the same year he began his academic career at Fresno State while still a graduate student. Fresno State couldn’t discipline him because he was a graduate student when the alleged violence occurred, Debbie Adishian-Astone, the school’s vice president for administration, told EdSource. Boroujeni resigned from Fresno State last year after officials said the act-of-sexual-violence report would be placed in his personnel file. 

    In his resignation, he agreed not to seek or accept work in the California State University system again.  

    But the matter had no immediate impact on his teaching career at Fresno City College, where the alleged victim teaches part-time in addition to her tenured position at Fresno State. State Center Community College District granted Boroujeni tenure in March. He assumed the academic senate presidency in May, after a two-year term as president-elect. 

    But the district put Boroujeni on paid leave on Nov. 30, a day after EdSource’s report. 

    This week, State Center officials remained tight-lipped over Boroujeni’s administrative leave because of “personnel matters subject to legal considerations related to privacy and to protect the integrity of any ongoing investigations,” a district spokesperson, Jill Wagner, wrote in an email. 

    A person familiar with the matter said the decision to put Boroujeni on administrative leave was because his presence on campus was disruptive and impacted the college’s ability to serve students, following EdSource’s report on the alleged sexual violence. Three instructors canceled class in response to the report.

    Union response 

    The State Center Federation of Teachers represents faculty in the community college district. According to a statement obtained by EdSource, union officers would not comment on the sexual misconduct allegations publicly but could talk with members individually. 

    “We cannot comment specifically on this case or any other,” according to the union’s formal statement. “In no way does the Federation endorse or condone acts of harassment or violence in any circumstance.” 

    The union’s statement, Taylor said, seemed “dismissive and placating,” and “more could have been said.” 

    And Liz Romero, an early childhood education instructor at Clovis Community College, said she is also angry with the union over their response. She said she expected the union to take a position on the allegation of sexual violence against Boroujeni. Romero said it was “disheartening” that the union, through its statement, said their responsibility was to “defend the contract” and “defend the faculty’s rights to due process.” 

    “It seems like a disparity in power structure with a full-time faculty versus a part-time faculty,” Romero said about the union’s statement, “a man versus a woman, a person in leadership versus a person not in leadership. It feels very unbalanced.” 

    Academic Senate response

    Professors who spoke to EdSource also directed their frustration at the Fresno City College Academic Senate, which Boroujeni leads.

    In May 2023, Boroujeni started a two-year term as Fresno City College’s academic senate president, a role requiring that he works with the college’s administration in setting academic policy among other responsibilities. He became president-elect in May 2021 for a two-year term before ascending to the senate presidency seven months ago.

    Romero, who has previously served as academic senate president at Clovis Community College, said the academic senate should remove Boroujeni as the president and hold a new election for the next president-elect. According to the bylaws of the Fresno City College academic senate, removing an officer requires a written petition detailing the rationale for the removal, with signatures from 25% of the academic senators; 50% of the senators must be present and 75% must vote to remove the president. 

    While Boroujeni is on administrative leave, the senate’s executive committee is using an acting president. 

    Past president Michael Takeda is the acting president while current president-elect Jackie Williams is on a sabbatical leave.  Williams will become acting president in January if Boroujeni remains on leave. 

    The executive committee did not discuss Boroujeni during its Wednesday meeting.

    “For now, there’s nothing really to discuss,” Takeda said.

    Boroujeni did not respond to EdSource’s questions on Thursday.

    As some faculty members expect more from the union, the college’s academic senate as well as the college and district, professors are finding ways to show solidarity with the alleged victim and to demand action. 

    For example, Romero said she won’t stay a union member if the union doesn’t take a stance on the matter. 

    “I don’t want my money to fund an organization that’s going to protect abusers,” she said. “That’s my only power in this situation. Everyone needs to do what they think is best for them, and I hope it’s always supporting victims of sexual assault and standing up for those with less power.”





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  • Homeless youth advocates call for dedicated state funding, local flexibility

    Homeless youth advocates call for dedicated state funding, local flexibility


    Credit: Alison Yin / EdSource

    Advocates are calling for $13 million in dedicated state funding and for the adoption of a bill that would support homeless students and youth exiting foster care as schools face the expiration of significant pandemic-era federal funding this year.

    The call comes from the Oakland-based National Center for Youth Law, which is also co-sponsoring Assembly Bill 2137.

    The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, proposes making it easier for local organizations that serve foster youth to provide direct services. It also mandates those same programs be informed when foster students opt out of applying for federal financial aid, and it requires districts to detail how they plan to increase identification of students experiencing homelessness.

    Youth exiting the foster care system face a disproportionate risk of homelessness, and some state programs dedicated to offering them housing support would be eliminated if the state’s proposed budget is approved as it currently stands.

    “If we do not have the basic infrastructure in the state to identify them and do any preventative work, we are going to continue to fail this population and then see chronic adult homelessness grow, which is the issue everyone says they care about,” said Margaret Olmos, director of the National Center for Youth Law’s compassionate education systems team in California.

    The proposed funding allocation would partially replace the federal money — which must be obligated before October and spent by January next year — while the bill seeks to implement three provisions, directing existing resources toward supporting foster and homeless youth while working to increase their high school graduation and college enrollment rates.

    The bill “really highlights the need that we have to do all we can … to be very intentional about our foster youth and outcomes of them maybe having a pathway straight into homelessness unless we intervene,” said Quirk-Silva. “This is a way to work with them through the education system.”

    The call for state funding specific to homeless youth, which school staff and advocates have long campaigned for, and for the adoption of the bill, come in a year that California faces a budget deficit in the billions and as rates of student homelessness in many counties have surpassed pre-pandemic rates.

    “We’re not deaf to the environment. … What we know is when there is a budget deficit that the number of families and children experiencing homelessness is just going to go up,” Olmos said.

    Advocates see both the call for $13 million in dedicated state funding and the adoption of Assembly Bill 2137 as necessary steps in preventing the rise of youth homelessness.

    State data and recent studies show that students experiencing homelessness and those in the foster care system are significantly more likely to be chronically absent from school, be suspended, have lower grades, experience higher school instability, or drop out of school.

    Dedicated state funding

    In 2021, California received nearly $100 million to aid in the identification, enrollment and school engagement of youth experiencing homelessness. This was one-time federal pandemic-era funding under the American Rescue Plan.

    Since then, school staff have hailed the funding as critical in their efforts to stay current on which of their students were homeless and how to best support them, whether by offering their families short-term stays in motels after an eviction, hiring staff to contact families they believe might be experiencing homelessness, distributing debit cards for gas, and more.

    Students identified as homeless in California are eligible to receive some resources, but the state does not dedicate funding that is specific to this population of students. Some states, such as Washington, have allocated state dollars toward replacing the American Rescue Plan funds before they sunset.

    While the state’s funding formula for education gives some funds for high-needs students, including those identified as homeless, it’s not proportionate to the number of homeless students living across the state. In practice, homeless students account for less than 1% of planned spending in the funding formula, according to a report published last year by the Public Policy Institute of California.

    Additionally, this state funding is tied to first identifying students who are homeless — an effort that school staff say in and of itself needs to first be funded.

    “This is the one subgroup that has to self-identify,” said Olmos. “None of this works if you do not have somebody who is there to count and care about that population.”

    There is some dedicated funding at the federal level, such as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, but those grants are distributed in California as part of a competitive grant process, making them extremely limited. During the 2018-19 school year, for example, just 73 of California’s nearly 2,300 local education agencies were awarded McKinney-Vento funding; only 103 applied for the grants, according to a state audit.

    McKinney-Vento grants to California totaled about $13 million annually prior to the pandemic, and the call for $13 million in state funding would match that amount.

    That amount would not have the same statewide impact that schools felt with the American Rescue Plan funds, but Olmos said that “it’s at least, for the first time, a commitment” from the state.

    Proposal to refine current resources

    Quirk-Silva, the legislator who introduced Assembly Bill 2137, hopes the bill will help prevent youth homelessness by supporting current foster youth in schools. She was an elementary school teacher for 30 years before being elected to represent District 67, which includes cities from Cerritos in Los Angeles County to Fullerton in Orange County.

    “We know they’re part of the population (of homeless youth), and we have to do everything we can before they leave their placements,” said Quirk-Silva. “Some do go to college, and that does help them, but many of them aren’t on that track, and that’s where they become even more vulnerable.”

    In refining existing resources, the bill seeks to implement three provisions with the goal of keeping foster youth engaged in school by addressing their individual needs.

    The first of the bill’s provisions would increase flexibility for county Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs, which coordinate with local educational agencies to provide resources such as tutoring and FAFSA support for foster youth students, when offering direct support services to students.

    Currently, the county programs, known as FYSCPs, can only offer such services after receiving written certification from the local educational agency confirming they are “unable, using any other state, federal, local, or private funds, to provide the direct services.”

    This requirement, according to the bill co-sponsors, which also includes advocacy organization John Burton Advocates for Youth, is a barrier because many local educational agencies, or LEAs, “are reluctant to provide written certification that they cannot address the needs of foster youth resulting in FYSCPs having to forgo providing these services, even when clearly indicated and when funding is available to do so.”

    The second provision would request that the coordinating programs be informed if students fill out a form opting out of applying for federal financial aid, so they may intervene and advise foster youth about their options post-high school.

    The third and final provision in the bill would require districts to detail in their three-year strategic plans how they plan to increase identification of students experiencing homelessness.

    Assemblymember Quirk-Silva said she expects her colleagues to support the bill. There are currently no estimates for how much the bill would cost, if adopted.

    “What I’ve seen as a classroom teacher is this is a very vulnerable population,” she said. “Often they need the most support and many times they get the least amount of support.”





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  • It’s Dangerous to Call Him “TACO” Trump

    It’s Dangerous to Call Him “TACO” Trump


    Tim O’Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion News. He writes here about why it is dangerous to call Trump “TACO Trump,” a moniker given to him by Robert Armstrong of the Financial Times.

    TACO means “Trump Always Chickens Out.” It refers to his brash statements about draconian tariffs, followed by his usual backing down and deferring them. It happened on “Liberation Day,” April 2, it happened with his shakedown of Canada and Mexico, then his latest occurred when he announced 50% tariffs on the EU and the very next day, postponed them until July 9.

    O’Brien writes about Trump’s huge and fragile ego. Although he evaded the draft when he was draft-eligible, he needs to be perceived as strong, tough, fearless, and fierce. A super-hero. A warrior. A man with nerves of steel.

    O’Brien has a long history with Trump. In 2006, he wrote a book about Trump called TrumpNation. In the book, he said that Trump was not a billionaire, that he was worth only $150-200 million. Trump sued him for $10 billion for defamation. The suit was tossed out in 2009.

    Being called “chicken” makes Trump very angry, O’Brien says.

    “That’s a nasty question,” he told a reporter who asked about the TACO moniker at a White House press briefing on Wednesday. “Don’t ever say what you said. That’s a nasty question. … To me, that’s the nastiest question.”

    Trump, who fashions himself a brilliant dealmaker and strategist despite ample evidence to the contrary, is, of course, always going to bristle at the notion that he is a chicken — and a predictable one at that. He also routinely peddles himself as an infallible winner, so the nastiest question is also one that speculates about whether he’s mired in a losing streak. His tariff policy, unleashed on allies and competitors alike, has been rolled out on a seesaw and riddled with economically damaging ineptitude.

    O’Brien says we must prepare for a Trumpian show of force. He must show the world that he is no chicken. Not Putin’s puppet! Not a chicken! Tough! Strong! Never chicken!



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  • Call records show vast police presence in California schools

    Call records show vast police presence in California schools


    I hav several friends who were attacked while working at public schools in CA. Our law enforcement officers are not allowed on campus of schools unless an emergency.

    The principal and vice principal are not allowed to make kids responsible. The kids can do anything, throw things at teachers, talk when teachers are trying to teach, calling teachers names, sexual harassment, and that’s why teachers are leaving CA. Another issue is CRT … Read More

    I hav several friends who were attacked while working at public schools in CA. Our law enforcement officers are not allowed on campus of schools unless an emergency.

    The principal and vice principal are not allowed to make kids responsible. The kids can do anything, throw things at teachers, talk when teachers are trying to teach, calling teachers names, sexual harassment, and that’s why teachers are leaving CA. Another issue is CRT and sex offenders using girls bathroom and sports changing rooms and showers. One big mess. Sex offenders not made responsible. DAs paid off by Soros.





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  • The rise of microschools: A wake-up call for public education

    The rise of microschools: A wake-up call for public education


    Superintendent Michael Matsuda speaks with students in a technology classroom in Anaheim Union High School District.

    Courtesy: Anaheim Union High School District

    The demise of great corporations like Kodak, Sears and others serves as a stark reminder of the perils of failing to innovate and evolve with consumer demands. Kodak famously ignored the rise of digital cameras despite inventing the technology itself. Similarly, Sears, once a retail giant, failed to adapt to the changing landscape of e-commerce. These cases highlight a common theme: success breeds complacency, whereby nimble competitors can quickly exploit new technologies and consumer trends. 

    Will public education, ensconced in outdated brick-and-mortar buildings and traditions, be next? 

    The pandemic forced schools to close but did not necessarily stifle learning. New models of teaching, such as neighborhood learning pods run informally by local parents, called “microschools,” were created. These microschools, many now monetized for profit, have grown exponentially, serving over 1.5 million K-12 students, mostly unregulated and taught by noncertified, noncertificated “teachers.”  The jury is still out on this new model, but, in the meantime, microschools are gaining momentum with parents who want more choices for their children.

    Arguably, the rise of microschools poses a significant threat to the traditional public school system, challenging its long-standing dominance in the American educational landscape. While California doesn’t specifically track homeschools or microschools, the number of private schools with fewer than five students has more than doubled to nearly 30,000 from prepandemic 2018-19 to 2023-24.

    Microschools, with their aggressive marketing to adapt quickly to the evolving needs of students and families, offer a “fresh” approach to education that starkly contrasts with the bureaucratic, often stagnant nature of public schools. As microschools grow in popularity, they expose the deep-rooted issues within the public education system, particularly its resistance to change and reliance on traditions tethered to a “teach to the test” culture making schools mostly unengaging and irrelevant to students’ lives. 

    According to a recent article in Politico, startup companies backed by investors like Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, act as the support system for teachers running microschools by handling issues like leasing classrooms, getting state approval and recruiting students. One such startup, Primer, recruits the “top 1 percent” of teachers and pays them 25% more than they would make on a school district salary. The company also offers teachers a revenue share for bringing in more students, treating them as “entrepreneurs.” It doesn’t currently operate in California, but is planning on expanding to more states. 

    Microschools, which typically serve small groups of students in personalized learning environments, have gained traction as families seek more flexible and tailored educational options. This flexibility is particularly appealing in an era when traditional education models are increasingly seen as one-size-fits-all, leaving many students either unchallenged or overwhelmed.

    One strength of microschools is their ability to innovate rapidly. Unlike public schools, which are often bogged down by layers of bureaucracy, microschools can implement new teaching methods, curricula and integrate technologies quickly. This agility allows them to meet the needs of students who may not thrive in a traditional classroom setting, such as those with learning disabilities, gifted students or children who simply learn better outside the confines of a traditional school day.

    However, without regulation or oversight, uninformed parents and students may be shortchanged in that classes are often not taught by well-prepared certificated teachers (who are more likely to be steeped in the science of learning and development) and schools may exclude students who do not “fit” into the model, thereby leading to more segregation and “otherness” — not a good outcome for society. Unfortunately, because of a lack of accountability, it is unknown whether microschools are meeting their student learning outcomes or preparing students for college and career readiness.

    In stark contrast to the nimble nature of microschools, public schools are often viewed as educational behemoths — large, slow-moving institutions that struggle to adapt to the changing needs of students and society. This inflexibility is rooted in the very structure of the public education system, which is designed to serve large numbers of students in a standardized manner, which is seen as outdated in a world that demands more personalized and flexible approaches to education.

    Furthermore, the bureaucratic and compliance-driven nature of public schools often stifles innovation. This makes it difficult for schools to implement new ideas or respond quickly to the needs of their students. In contrast, microschools, which are often run by small teams of educators or even parents, can make decisions quickly and adapt to new challenges as they arise.

    The growing popularity of microschools represents a significant threat to the traditional public school system. As more families opt for microschools, public schools may find themselves facing declining enrollment, which could lead to reduced funding and resources. This, in turn, could exacerbate the challenges that public schools already face, such as overcrowded classrooms, insufficient funding, and a lack of access to modern educational tools and technologies.

    Moreover, the growth of microschools highlights the shortcomings of public schools and puts pressure on them to reform. As parents and policymakers become increasingly aware of microschools, they may demand more flexibility, choice, and innovation from the public education system. 

    The threat posed by microschools is not just a challenge to the public education system, but also an opportunity for redesign and reform. If public schools are to remain relevant in the face of growing competition from microschools, they must find ways to become more flexible, innovative and responsive to the needs of their students. This may involve rethinking traditional methods of instruction, reducing bureaucratic obstacles, and placing a greater emphasis on personalized learning augmented by technology. 

    There are a number of obstacles to innovation. One is the difficulty in shifting from a traditional “seat based” instruction, tethered to the old Carnegie unit of attendance, to more “work-based” instruction to support internships, mastery grading and flexible scheduling. Another requires a mind shift beyond a top-down standardized test culture to teaching to the “whole child” with a focus on relevance and engagement. 

    As microschools continue to grow in popularity, public schools must either find ways to innovate and meet the demands of today’s students or risk becoming increasingly irrelevant in the rapidly evolving educational landscape.

    •••

    Michael Matsuda is superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • How Doug Doblar Uses Cold Call to Solve the “Endemic Problems” of Group Work

    How Doug Doblar Uses Cold Call to Solve the “Endemic Problems” of Group Work


    The challenge is real…

     

     

    I’m pretty cautious about “group work.”

    It can be beneficial but the “can be” should be in italics because it has endemic problems that are often over-looked. One of which is the fact that it can be really hard to ensure that everyone is working, thinking and benefitting.

    The happy buzz of voices in the classroom, just far enough away that you can’t really hear what they are saying, can be a recipe for happy collusion: I will let you go off to the corners of the room and we will both pretend the optimal case is occurring.

    So I was very happy to read a brilliant blog post by my friend, colleague and TLAC Fellow (see below) Doug Doblar of Bay Creek Middle School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, that uses the TLAC technique Cold Call to solve some of group work’s endemic problems. 

    Here’s how Doug describes the endemic problems of group work:

    One of the challenges that requires constant vigilance … is assuring that every member of a group thinks and learns during the day’s thinking task.  There are quite a few ways this can go wrong, I’ve found:

      • One or two students in the group form a quick understanding of the new topic and race forward, leaving the other member or members of the group in the dust
      • One or two students in the group do not form a very quick understanding of the topic, but are afraid to say so, so they feign an understanding, allowing the other member or members of the group to similarly leave them in the dust
      • One or two students in a group “aren’t feeling it today,” so they don’t participate, feign an understanding, and get left in the dust

     

    Or some other iteration of this situation where part of the group is off to the races while another part of the group is stuck at the starting line, willingly or not.

     

    Perfectly put. I love an advocate for an idea who is keenly aware of the potential downside!

    Doug advises addressing these challenges through a variety of tools, which is supremely practical and realistic. A complex challenge in the classroom is rarely solved by one tool alone.

    First Doug advises building strong routines and setting clear expectations that address the pitfalls.

    But Doug also advises using Cold Call and I think this application of the technique is brilliant.

    As you walk from group to group, he advises you should Cold Call students who are at risk of non-engagement.

    Here’s how he describes it:

    Cold calling is my go-to technique during thinking tasks when I’m worried that a member of a group might be getting left behind, willingly or unwillingly.

    As I actively observe during thinking task time, it usually isn’t too hard to spot these students.  They stand a little farther from the group, maybe don’t face the whiteboard, rarely have the marker, and might be ones I already know are “not feeling it” today and who feel that their bad mood should excuse them from learning and participating.  They’re also ones with personalities who make them regular disengage-ers who I’m always aware of.

     

    As Doug circulates he finds these students and Cold Calls them in one of three ways, which I will let him describe:

      1. Directly asking a student to do the next “thin slice”: During thin-sliced thinking tasks– which I use more days than not –I’ll often just show up to a group and ask a student who I’m afraid might be disengaged to lead the next example or to explain a prior example to me.  “Bryce, will you lead the next one?”  or “Maddie, will you explain this last one to me?”
      2. “What’s he/she talking about?: When I come to a group whose leader is doing great of explaining thinking and trying to make sure the group is following along, but I’m worried that a member of that group is either disengaged or feigning an understanding to keep things moving, I’ll often just slide up to that student and ask “what’s he/she talking about?”  It’s a quick and easy cold call that holds the student accountable for explaining the leader’s example.
      3. “​What’s he/she doing?”: This version of cold calling works just like the “what’s he/she talking about” one, except I use it when the group’s leader isn’t doing as good of a job.  Sometimes I’ll catch the student with the marker silently and independently working a slice on his or her own with just the other members of the group watching.  Usually this is ok, but I’ll frequently slide in and ask another group member “what’s he/she doing?” while it’s happening to make sure that the rest of the group actually understands what’s going on.
    2.  

     

    As if that’s not helpful enough, Doug has posted videos of himself doing this and I’ve made a short montage of them here:

     

     

    Doug wraps by talking about how important it is to keep the Cold Calls positive and how that helps  build what we sometimes call ‘loving accountability.’

    They know I might move over at any moment and cold call one of them, and not a single one looks anxious about it…the students understood and they were proud to be able to explain that to me…. Accountability is hard to build into any instructional setting, but once it is assumed, kids really take ownership of their learning most of the time. 

    It’s great stuff and there’s plenty more insight in Doug’s full post, which you can read here.

    Want to know more?

    Check out:

    Doug’s Blog: Doug writes beautifully about implementing Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics and how TLAC techniques support that framework. He provides practical advice and video. To read more, visit his blog here: http://www.dougdoblar.com/

     

    TLAC Fellows: Doug is one of twelve of our talented TLAC Fellows – Cohort 3. We’re opening the application for Cohort 4 on February 18th! All application materials and more information about the program can be found here: https://teachlikeachampion.org/teach-like-champion-fellows/

     

    Upcoming Engaging Academics Workshop: Interested in exploring Cold Call with us? We’re in LA on February 27-28 for an Engaging Academics workshop where we’ll study high engagement strategies like Everybody Writes, Cold Call, Means of Participation, and Lesson Preparation. Join us here: https://teachlikeachampion.org/engagingacademicsfeb2025



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  • Fellows at Work: Using Cold Call to Develop Better Doctors

    Fellows at Work: Using Cold Call to Develop Better Doctors


    It’s not this…

    Dr. Bob Arnold, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedmans Chair in Palliative Care and Vice Chair for Professional Development at Mount Sinai’s Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and Dr. Rene Claxton, Director of Palliative Care Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Education at UPMC, are two of our twelve Teach Like a Champion Fellows from cohort 3. For their final projects. Bob and Rene studied Cold Call in the medical educator setting. They shared the following brief summary of their project! 

    If you are interested in becoming a TLAC Fellow or know someone who might be a good fit, applications for our fourth cohort are open and available here: https://teachlikeachampion.org/teach-like-champion-fellows/ and are due by May 30, 2025. 

     

    Cold Calling in Medical Education 

    For decades, medical educators have employed questioning as a teaching strategy. Senior doctors quiz learners, asking them questions until they do not know the answer and then moving on to a more senior member of the team. The focus is building on knowledge deficits.1 While learners felt this practice known as “pimping” (a gendered term for a demeaning practice) was a rite of passage, it did not cultivate psychological safety and its impact on learning is unclear. In the era of physician wellness, some educators called for the elimination of this form of questioning practice.2 

    Teach Like a Champion Fellows and physicians, Bob and Rene, honed in on the dissonance between their experience of pimping and their observation of exceptionally skilled educators employing questioning strategically to ensure voice equity, demonstrate loving accountability and ensure learning. They came up with the following differences: 

      Pimping  Cold Calling 
    Teacher intention 

     

    		 Highlight knowledge shortfall  Celebrate knowledge acquisition and maximize voice equity 

     
    Group dynamics 

     

    		 Reinforce hierarchy 

     

    Create supportive learning environment 

     
    Pre-requisite knowledge 

     

    		 None explicitly provided 

     

    		 Provided prior to questioning sequence 

     
    Learner errors

     

    		 Underscores learner knowledge deficit 

     

    		 Provides teacher insight into the success of their teaching (allows for checking for understanding) 

     

     

    As they brainstormed replacing the antiquated method of pimping with Cold Calling, they agreed on several core steps:  

    1. Start by outlining the rationale for cold call and distinguishing it from pimping in a short roll out speech. In Rene’s roll out for the first day of a series of fellows’ education, she makes sure to say:  

    What she’s doing 

     

    		 I’m going to call on people even if their hands aren’t raised 

     
    Why she’s doing it 

     

    		 Helps us gauge how good of job we are doing teaching…to help us stay engaged…what we pay attention to is what we learn 

     
    What to do if a learner doesn’t have the right answer 

     

    It’s okay if you don’t know the answer. That means you’re learning…that’s why you’re here … just say pass 

     

     

     

    2. Carefully craft and place Cold Call questions in the lesson to set students up for success. Don’t call on someone as a punishment or to call out that they were distracted. To ensure learners have pre-requisite knowledge, assign pre-reading prior to the class session. Use Wait Time to give the students time to think about a thoughtful answer. Use formative language by starting cold call questions with low-stakes phrases like, “Who can start us off?”   

     

    In this example, Bob planned a Turn and Talk before a Cold Call to help learners teach each other (increase motivation) and feel more confident in their responses. He transitions from the Turn and Talk to the Cold Call using low stakes phrasing by directing the group, “We’re going to go from team Becca to team Courtney and see how we do.”  

     

     

    3. Positively frame the Cold Call practice by repeatedly setting expectations that mistakes are part of learning and respond to mistakes with supportive phrases such as, “You’re 80% there” or “Who can build on that?” When the answer is wrong, use it as an opportunity for the group to learn together by using phrases like, “That is a common mistake that we can all learn from.” These phrases maintain accountability for learning while enhancing psychological safety. Learners are more excited to contribute when they know their answers will be taken seriously and used to promote their learning.  

    In Bob and Rene’s experience, medical students reported high satisfaction with Cold Calling – the key was making sure teachers perform the technique effectively–setting it up carefully and making it safe which allowed students to bring their best answers and appreciate what they do know. 

     

    References 

    1. An example of pimping from the television show ER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoT5QkGBjOA
    2. Chen DR, Priest KC. Pimping: a tradition of gendered disempowerment. BMC Med Educ. 2019;19(1):345. doi:10.1186/s12909-019-1761-1 

     

     

    Want to learn more?  

    Join us for our remote Engaging Academics in the Medical Educator Setting (four 90 minute remote sessions on May 22nd, May 29th, June 5th, and June 12th). Bob and Rene will be co-facilitating with the TLAC Team! Learn more and register here.  



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