Sharing Teaching Activities On Line Cathy Manduca Science Education Resource Center Carleton College

Goals Today Discuss what makes a good teaching activity? Guidelines for reviewing your own work (and that of others) Explore some on line activities Consider what makes someone else’s teaching activity a good resource for you (and yours for them) Try a hand at publishing on line – creating a Whitaker Center activity collection Reflect on why and where you might want to publish on line

Pedagogies in Action A Library of Resources Customized Collections for Disciplines, Schools, Projects Linking Information to Examples

Excellent Teaching Relies On Knowledge of the Content Practical Experience Knowledge of Learning and Educational Research

What Makes Activities Work Really Well?

Wisdom from Learning Science (How People Learn, NRC,1999) Learning is additive, it builds on current understanding Understanding is actively constructed This requires an engaged learner Different people construct/learn most easily in different ways Learning to learn (metacognition) is an important aspect of becoming an expert Metacognition is context specific ( Cognitive and affective domains are both important in learning (

Wisdom from Curriculum Design Goals, assessments, activities (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998) Scaffolding ( /index.html) Developing knowledge that can be used flexibly (Edelson, 2001)

Principles of Design 1) Students must be engaged to learn How does the activity engage them? 2) Students must construct new knowledge incrementally as a results of experience. What experiences will they have in this activity? 3) Students must refine and connect their knowledge to be able to use it further How will the activity promote reflection on and application of the new knowledge? Edelson, 2001, Learning for Use A Framework for the Design of Technology-Supported Inquiry Activities: Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol 38, no 3, p

Wisdom from Educational Research 1)Clear learning outcomes in mind. 2)Thoughtfully sequenced into the flow of classroom science instruction. 3)Integrate learning of science content with learning about the processes of science. 4)Incorporate ongoing student reflection and discussion.

Questions to Consider when reviewing your own work or that of other serc.carleton.edu/29934 Will the activity lead to the desired learning? Will I be able to tell? Does the pedagogy promote learning? Are the materials I provide for students complete and helpful? Could someone else implement this from the information I provide?

Reviewing Resources serc.carleton.edu/30238 Find a group First look at an activity that others think is good Then, pick one you think is interesting Goals are –to let you try out the reviewing criteria – do they work? –To prepare for a discussion of what makes activities useful to others. Be ready to discuss lessons learned from reviewing regarding activity design and presentation

Motivation: Why Publish Give a little – get a lot Documenting your case Developing a network Fame

Supporting Excellent Teaching: What needs to be shared? Resources that help us teach l l Descriptions of what we do and how we do it Reflections on and studies of our teaching and students learning Reviews and reactions

Who are our ‘publishers’? Ourselves - via the open web Merlot NSDL MerlotNSDL Our institutions - via their websites Carleton Carleton Our disciplinary groups and societies Teach the Earth, CAUSE, ComPADRE BEN Teach the EarthCAUSEComPADRE BEN SoTL and other interdisciplinary groups focused on education Carnegie PKALMerlot JoSoTL MountainRise NationalTeaching and Learning Forum, OCW CarnegiePKALMountainRise NationalTeaching and Learning ForumOCW Commercial publishers

Is it Good? Will the activity lead to the desired learning? Will I be able to tell? Does the pedagogy promote learning? Are the materials I provide for students complete and helpful? Could someone else implement this from the information I provide?