Engaging more of the Brain in More of the Students Ed Nuhfer – Phone Henderson State University February,

A little review… Learning is helped by knowing how the brain works The brain is a fractal entity and its products (thoughts, actions) have fractal qualities – This explains why producing learning is so complex – In the last session, we’ll see why it is so hard to measure Good teaching and effective learning are helped by some of the same understandings – The more of the brain we engage, the better the learning Interactively with others Actively with ourselves – Cognitive knowledge and skills can be learned in courses – Higher order thinking requires a coordinated curriculum – Affect is no touchy-feely nonsense. It is huge.

Dweck’s “Fixed” vs “Growth” Mindsets avoid challenges give up easily see effort as fruitless ignore feedback be threatened by success of others embrace challenges persist in face of setbacks see effort as path to mastery Iearn from criticism find lessons and inspiration in success of others

Self-Efficacy “If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning.” Mahatma Gandhi

Affective domain-- Students’ apprehensions I know that I want to gain value by being able to do something specific at the end of this course that I cannot now do. Yet, I think that my own single greatest apprehension about achieving that outcome successfully might be…

An exercise for changing apprehension (for all of us!) Pick one of the following qualities (perhaps it is an antonym of your personal dragon causing your apprehension) – Awareness – Commitment – Confidence – Courage – Enthusiasm – Focus – Joy – Vitality – Wonder – Other… Focus on that quality for one day by acting minute by minute through this quality. – After you have done this, you’ll have a chance to reflect upon the feel of your experience of having engaged life through the focus afforded by emphasis on that special quality that you chose for yourself. Modified from Rosamund Zander, 2007

Movie! With Assignment Where are Dweck’s mindsets evident? When does true hearing occur? When does willingness to pay attention take place? We are witnessing the formation of a new generator here—the proverbial teachable moment. What actions of the instructor might have thrown away the opportunity?

"Freedom Writers" 2006

Movie! With Assignment Where are Dweck’s mindsets evident? When does true hearing occur? When does willingness to pay attention take place? We are witnessing the formation of a new generator here—the proverbial teachable moment. What actions of the instructor might have thrown away the opportunity?

The brain learns by building and stabilizing neural connections. (see Leamnson, 1999). “Thinking about WHAT we are trying to “wire in” Thinking about the biological basis for learning

We are trying to wire in… Making distinctions for ourselves between these different kinds of learning challenges takes some thought. We should guide students to do the same. As a start for “thinking about,” students should think how to distinguish the three and how to engage with all three effectively. Knowledge Skills Reasoning

Usage in this presentation Information, mostly disciplinary content, obtained through experience, observation, and study. Abilities and basic competencies that develop and improve with intentional practice and training Thinking process that employs knowledge for the purpose of gaining understanding or taking informed action. With practice, stages of development bring increased intellectual, affective, and ethical capacities. Knowledge Skills Reasoning

Metacognition Knowledge Skills Reasoning Metacognition Key to: building ‘expertise’ transfer creativity & innovation lifelong learning

Some Tools for Engaging the Brain Interactive Engagement

Effects of Small-Group Learning on Undergraduates in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology: A Meta-Analysis 0.51  = average improvement in learning – move from 50 to 70 %-ile on standardized exam 0.46  = persistence improvement 0.55  = attitude improvement – Not affected by type of group work, time used, selection, year, discipline. L. Springer, M.E. Stanne, and S.S. Donovan Review of Educational Research, 69, 21-51, 1999 (Paper in your flash drives)

From Hake, 1998, 2000 (Paper in your flash drives & notes) Can see effects of our choices through use of standardized tests used to compare results from varied pedagogies. Ineffective approaches may even show “no significant difference ”

Did you ever consider why With no new input of information… – We can understand a topic better after a second revision – We have confidence in our understanding after the third revision… – And we can ask questions we could never have thought to ask after a fourth revision – All without additional information…

The Power of Reflective Writing and Revision

Some More Tools for Engaging the Brain Reading reflections Exam Wrappers

Reading and Reflecting Reading Reflections: Completed after each reading assignment Short responses to a few questions Submitted online before class Credit awarded for “reflective” submissions What is the main point of this reading? What did you find surprising? Why? What did you find confusing? Why?

Metacognitive Goals of Reflections What is the main point of this reading? Summarizing (Anderson & Thiede, 2008) Keywords (Thiede et al., 2005) What did you find surprising? Why? Misconceptions (Bransford et al., 2000) Affect (Winne & Hadwin, 1998; Pintrich and Zusho, 2007) What did you find confusing? Why? Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reflection (Ertmer and Newby, 1996; Zimmerman, 2002)

Reading Reflection Employ the three queries and a rubric Download the template from

Some Results Reading Reflections vs. Course Grades MACALESTER GEOLOGY Pearson = p-value = <0.001 HAMLINE ECONOMICS Pearson = p-value = <0.001

Classroom Activities Effect Size = 1.35 (Large) Clicker Questions Effect Size = 1.08 (Large)

“Exam Wrappers” 1.What did I do well on and why? 2.What did I do less well and why? 3.When I encounter a similar challenge, what strategy will I use to perform better? 95% for the exam plus 5% for submitting the following metacognitive reflection:

James Rhem "The affective field"

When students take a general education (GE) course, what do they “think about” as being the main objective? Do they think about: “If I can take an anthropology, biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, or a physics course interchangeably for GE science credit, why can I do that?” For that matter, how good an answer might we give to that question? “We easily assume that students are doing it, or can develop doing it on their own; both assumptions are wrong.”

Reading Reflection What is the main point of this reading? What did you find surprising? Why? What did you find confusing? Why?

Available Learning-Across-the-Curriculum Modules From CSU Faculty Developers

Metacognition, like the affective domain, was dismissed as a serious topic for decades. Good Resources on Metacognition

For continued learning about metacognition, we recommend that participants enroll with the Improve with Metacognition forum at

Metacognition… is a way of reflecting on: “What am I really trying to do here?”

What quality do you MOST wish your students will gain from their undergraduate experience? Reflection Show of hands: How many picked or heard something to do with elevated thinking ability? How many picked or heard additional content knowledge?

What We Mostly Want To Do Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Improved Thinking & Awareness of Learning Wiggins and McTighe (1998)

What We Mostly Find Ourselves Doing Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Disciplinary Knowledge & Skills Wiggins and McTighe (1998)

Metacognition “Metacognition is thinking about thinking.” "Metacognition refers to one's knowledge concerning one's own cognitive processes or anything related to them….” (Flavell, 1976)

Metacognition “Metacognition is thinking about thinking.” "Metacognition refers to one's knowledge concerning one's own cognitive processes or anything related to them….” (Flavell, 1976)

Metacognition So, if “metacognition is thinking about thinking…” …Just how does one do this? What are students supposed to be “thinking about”? Let’s consider some things that are candidates for “thinking about.”

G iven each of the three introductory course experiences, how might each influence students in valuing what is most relevant to becoming educated? Knowledge Skills Reasoning

Knowledge Skill Reasoning On a piece of paper, draw your own circles to the size scales that show the emphases you might wish to give each in your own “Ideal Course”

Knowledge Skill Reasoning We wanted something like this

Reasonin g Knowledge Skill We discovered that we had built something else. In our second workshop today, we will address how we discovered this and what we did about it.

When students hear “higher order reasoning,” “critical thinking” or “higher level thinking,” what are they “thinking about?” Example exercises to try with your students to find out. Choose one – Critical thinking is… (Complete the sentence.) – How can I distinguish a person with well- developed thinking capacity from a person who has not yet developed it? (Answer to the best of your present ability.)

Traditions of Critical Thinking (Brookfield, 2012) Logic and philosophy Science Pragmatism Psychoanalysis Critical theory

Traditions of Critical Thinking and where these occur TRADITIONS Logic and philosophy Science Pragmatism Psychoanalysis Critical theory METADISCIPLINES Humanities Science All metadisciplines Social science Social science, humanities

“Metadisciplinarity” 1.Identifying groups of disciplines that hold in common an overarching framework of reasoning/way of knowing that unites them. 2.Articulating the major unifying concepts and restating these as assessable student learning outcomes (SLOs)

Major Academic Metadisciplines Arts Humanities Mathematics/quantitative reasoning Physical/Life/Natural Science (or “Science”) Social Science Technology

Metadisciplinary Ways of Knowing You have a handout with outcomes for six metadisciplines If not, grab it from

Metadiscipline Example - Art Performing arts (music, dance, theatre ), visual arts (drawing, painting, sculpting, jewelry making), media arts (photography, filming) and literature (creative writing and poetry) These hold in common the overarching framework of reasoning/way of knowing in the arts that students can be directed to “think about” when taking a GE art course

DRAFT: Metadisciplinary Outcomes for the Arts Students should be able to… 1.Explain the significance of creative expression and art to the human experience. 2.Discern objective vs. subjective scholarship, criticism and analysis of the arts. 3.Articulate in his/her own words a definition for what constitutes the arts. 4.Communicate ideas and emotions through the practice and study of the arts. 5.Recognize and value creative expression from various cultural and historical perspectives. 6.Explain in his/her own words reasons why critical thinking and problem solving have value in the arts. 7.Describe, using at least two specific examples, how art literacy is important in everyday life. Instruction must be explicit (Pintrich, 2002)

Adult Intellectual Development in a Nutshell Level 1 & 2 thinkers believe that all problems have right and wrong answers, that all answers can be furnished by authority (usually the teacher), and that ambiguity is a nuisance that obstructs getting at the right answers. Level 3 thinkers realize that authority is fallible and doesn't have all answers to all things. They respond by concluding that all opinions are equally valid and that arguments are just about proponents thinking differently. Evidence doesn't change this. Level 4 thinkers recognize that not all challenges have right or wrong answers, but they do not yet recognize frameworks through which to resolve how evidence best supports one among several competing arguments. Level 5 thinkers accept that evaluations that lead to best solutions can be relative to the context of the situation within which a problem occurs. Level 6 thinkers appreciate ambiguity as a legitimate quality of many issues, can use evidence to explore alternatives. They recognize that the most reasonable answers often depend upon context and value systems. Levels 7, 8 and 9 thinkers incorporate metacognitive reflection in their reasoning, and they increasingly perceive how their personal values act alongside context and evidence to influence chosen decisions and actions. William J. Perry Jr. (1968) Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years Our challenge is to keep students in constant contact with their metacognition

SCALE - Change in Levels of Thinking by Design

Critical Thinking’s Relationship to Adult Intellectual Development A modest correlation (r =.370, p <.01) was found between critical thinking and reflective judgment indicating a positive relationship between these two variables. However, the results supported the hypothesis that these are separate concepts; while the students achieved an acceptable level on the measure of critical thinking, they did not exhibit the skill level of an effective reflective thinker. Maskey, C. L., (2011). An Evaluation of the Relationship between Reflective Judgment and Critical Thinking in Senior Associate-Degree Nursing Students.. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Indiana University, Indianapolis

Another exercise to try with your students “I know I am achieving a truly good education at this University when the following occurs: …” – On opening day, ask students to complete that sentence in class or as an assignment. – Collect the responses to learn how students perceive their goals for becoming educated in comparison with how you perceive providing education in their best interests. – Save these as baseline data. During your course, strive to have students make progress in understanding what is truly important. – Re-run this exercise again near the end of your course. See if pre-post- measures reveal change.

A Thought on Motivation Are we maybe coming at this in the wrong way, through expecting most students to be motivated to learn the subject matter of our course or discipline … while perhaps wondering where the responsibility lies: that the students motivate themselves or that we motivate the students? Suppose we focused together as a whole… on motivating students to understand how to learn anything? Thereafter, might all subject matter become fair game for a challenging practice?

Metacognition Involves Reflection What kind of problem is this? What is the best strategy for solving it? What kind of reasoning is most appropriate? How will I know if I solved it correctly? What additional information do I need? How can I use my new understanding to solve other kinds of problems?

Metacognition Metacognition is a “self-imposed internal conversation” Shown to improve transfer (Bransford et al. 2000) We easily assume that students are doing it, or can develop doing it on their own; both assumptions are wrong Our challenge is to keep students in constant contact with their metacognition Instruction must be explicit (Pintrich, 2002)

Geologic Time Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Task Appropriate Strategies

GSA (2009) Geologic Time

Expert Learners - Knowledge Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996), Butler (1997), Winne and Hadwin (1998), Pintrich (2000), Lovett (2008) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies

Expert Learners – Self-Regulation Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996), Butler (1997), Winne and Hadwin (1998), Pintrich (2000), Lovett (2008) EvaluateMonitor Plan Metacognitive Control (self-regulation) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies

Schoenfeld (1987) Solving a Problem Elapsed Time (mins) Read Analyze Explore Plan Implement Verify Experts Elapsed Time (mins) Read Analyze Explore Plan Implement Verify Novices

Expert Learners - Affect Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996), Butler (1997), Winne and Hadwin (1998), Pintrich (2000), Lovett (2008) EvaluateMonitor Plan Metacognitive Control (self-regulation) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies Goals Beliefs Attitudes Motivation

Affect – Beliefs About Intelligence “fixed” versus “growth” theories of intelligence Affects motivation to learn and persistence Students taught study skills and brain plasticity outperform control groups

Dweck’s “Fixed” vs “Growth” Mindsets avoid challenges give up easily see effort as fruitless ignore feedback be threatened by success of others embrace challenges persist in face of setbacks see effort as path to mastery Iearn from criticism find lessons and inspiration in success of others

Change in Self-Efficacy with Performance N = 644

Performance Predicted by Motivation Key Factors: Self Efficacy Effort Test Anxiety Metacognition Key Factors: Self Efficacy Effort Test Anxiety Metacognition Model Performance Calculated From Post-Course Motivation

Effect of Pedagogy on Motivation

Expert Learners - Reflection Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996) EvaluateMonitor Plan Reflection Metacognitive Control (self-regulation) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies Goals Beliefs Attitudes Motivation Reflection

Reflection & Learning DimensionDescription Habitual Action Minimal thought and engagement; memorization is emphasized; correlated with surface learning; tasks treated as unrelated activities; an attitudinal state of unreflectiveness Understanding Focuses on comprehension without relation to one’s personal experience or other learning situations; book learning that is understanding-oriented; learning stays within boundaries of preexisting perspectives Reflection Learning is related to personal experience and other knowledge; involves challenging assumptions, seeking alternatives, identifying areas of improvement; active engagement; characteristic of deep approaches to learning Critical or Intensive Reflection Highest level of reflective learning; learners are aware of why they think, perceive, or act as they do; as a result, learner likely alters or changes firmly held personal beliefs and ways of thinking Modified from Mezirow (1991) by Kember et al. (2000)

A More Holistic Model of Learning Knowledge Skills Reasoning Metacognition

What do you already do to support student development of metacognitive knowledge and skills? Which elements of metacognition seem like ideal or essential targets for your instruction? Design an activity that will promote metacognitive development while supporting course content. Opportunity for Reflection

What kind of learning challenge is this? Knowledge? Skills? Reasoning? At what scales might I best achieve these? Lessons Courses Curricula (major, GE) Degrees (major + GE)