Participatory Learning Deeper Learning by Putting Students in Charge of the Problem Lifecycle Michael Bieber Information Systems Department College of Computing Sciences New Jersey Institute of Technology web.njit.edu/~bieber June 2016

Participatory Learning --- Problem Lifecycle Create Problem Revise Problem Instructor (quality control) Solve Problem Grade Solution (x2) Resolve Grade This is what we mean by engaging student in the entire problem lifecycle… Dispute Grade Instructor (quality control) Resolve Dispute

Participatory Learning Create Problem Revise Problem Solve Problem Grade Solution (x2) Read Everything Resolve Grade In addition, students can read everything their peers write… Motivation: For students to learn more deeply by engaging and taking ownership in all the types of learning afforded by the entire problem lifecycle. Problem-based Learning Peer Assessment Traditional Learning Dispute Grade Learning by Example Self Assessment Resolve Dispute

Motivation Deeper learning and interest in subjects How? Learn through active engagement (involve students as active participants) Give students ownership of entire problem life cycle Use online system to scaffold process (& streamline management)

What is Unique? PL relies on active participation by students in every Problem Lifecycle stage for assignments, quizzes and other course activities. (Instructors mentor and provide quality control.) Researchers have studied, and many instructors utilize individual PL stages. PL uniquely combines these stages into a comprehensive framework for deeper learning.

Fall 2014 – Spring 2016 w/prototype Engineering Ethics Essay questions about ethics scenarios Quizzes (true/false, matching, short answer) Computer Ethics PhD Seminar – Social Media Essay questions Computer Science – MatLab MatLab homework assignments MIS – IT for Business Excel spreadsheet homework assignments Results from student surveys… Various courses with assignments, quizzes and exams; Conducted student surveys…

Perceived Enjoyability Cronbach’s Alpha=0.68 Questions SA A N D SD Mean S.D. # I enjoyed the flexibility in organizing my resources 26.2% 48.9% 16.7% 3.6% 4.6% 3.88 1.00 221 I was motivated to do my best work 23.5% 42.9% 28.2% 3.4% 2.1% 3.82 .92 238 I enjoyed the process 17.2% 42.3% 22.6% 10.5% 7.4% 3.51 1.13 239 Survey results from prior set of courses before we developed a prototype support system… (Similar results with the support system.) SA - strongly agree (5 points); A - agree (4); N - neutral (3); D - disagree (2); SD - strongly disagree (1); the mean is out of 5 points; S.D. - standard deviation

Perceived Learning Cronbach’s Alpha=0.88 Questions SA A N D SD Mean S.D. # I learned from making up questions 17.9% 42.5% 21.3% 13.8% 4.5% 3.55 1.08 240 I learned from grading other students answers 17.7% 48.1% 19.4% 9.3% 5.5% 3.63 1.06 237 I learned from reading other people’s answers 15.8% 45.0% 22.1% 11.3% 5.8% 3.54 1.07 I demonstrated what I learned in class 13.6% 50.2% 22.6% 10.9% 2.7% 3.61 .95 221 My ability to integrate facts and develop generalizations improved 21.8% 49.2% 25.6% 2.1% 1.3% 3.88 .83 238 I learned to value other points of view 17.6% 51.9% 27.6% 1.6% 3.82 .81 239 I mastered the course materials 7.4% 51.6% 31.4% 6.9% .84 188

Recommendation: Do Again! Question SA A N D SD Mean S.D. # Would you recommend in the future that this process be used? 20.7% 40.1% 24.5% 8.9% 5.8% 3.60 1.10 237

Participatory Learning Issues: Which problem types? Which subjects? Level (K-12, UG, Grad, T&D) MOOCs? More flexible structure e.g., grading problem quality The few who don’t participate Create Problem Revise Problem Solve Problem Read Everything Grade Solution (x2) Resolve Grade Dispute Grade All sorts of interesting research issues and opportunities… Resolve Dispute

Participatory Learning Issues: Fostering good arguments Scaffolds e.g., effective rubrics Groups Higher levels of learning Learning interpersonal skills Interest in “uninteresting subjects” Motivating further education Create Problem Revise Problem Solve Problem Read Everything Grade Solution (x2) Resolve Grade Dispute Grade All sorts of interesting research issues and opportunities… Resolve Dispute

Participatory Learning Create Problem Invitation to Collaborate! bieber@njit.edu web.njit.edu/~bieber For more on PL: web.njit.edu/~bieber/pubs.html#p Revise Problem Solve Problem Read Everything Grade Solution (x2) Resolve Grade Dispute Grade I’d like to work with people in various fields to try engaging their students to deepen learning with PL in their courses, and also looking for research collaboration on some of these very interesting issues. Resolve Dispute