STEM Retreat Facilitators Karl Wirth Kaatje Kraft Macalester College Whatcom CC This retreat is supported by Award#: 1347711. All opinions are those of the workshop conveners and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation. Support also provided by Whatcom Foundation

The National Association of Geoscience Teachers 23 October 2015 Works to foster improvement in the teaching of the Earth sciences at all levels of formal and informal instruction, to emphasize the cultural significance of the Earth sciences and to disseminate knowledge in this field to the general public.

Create an adaptive model for improving undergraduate STEM education Improve undergraduate STEM teaching and learning in participating institutions Increase the engagement and success of underrepresented minority students in STEM majors Create an adaptive model for improving undergraduate STEM education C Core Project Goals Improve undergraduate STEM teaching and learning in participating institutions Increase the engagement and success of underrepresented minority students in STEM majors Create an adaptive model for improving undergraduate STEM education

Retreat Goals Identify goals and essential questions of their courses Articulate big ideas for student learning Articulate learning targets and design aligned assessments (success criteria) Design/modify a learning activity based on best practices from research on learning Align learning goals, assessments and instruction Build a community of practice that supports student learning across STEM at WCC

Retreat Program Tuesday Eve Overview & Enduring Concepts Wednesday AM Essential Questions, Goals and Learning Targets Wednesday PM Success Criteria, Instructional Design I (Metacognition & Motivation) Thursday AM Instructional Design II (Active Learning) Thursday PM Group & Individual work time Report outs Workshop Evaluation

Kinesthetic “mixer” Arrange yourself in how you see yourself on the “pure science” continuum and introduce yourself to your neighbors. XKCD.com

Kinesthetic “mixer” Place “yourself” on the x-y axis Practitioner of student-centered instruction Knowledge of Research on Teaching & Learning

Please enjoy appetizers and mix with your fellow STEMers

“BIG Picture” Gallery Walk Count off (1 - 7) Start at poster with your number Discuss prompt with others in group (2-3 mins) Add a few responses to Poster Add “*” to previous response to indicate agreement Move to next poster when indicated (~5 mins ea.)

Gallery Walk What are the goals of higher education, particularly at a community college? What is the MOST important thing you want students to take away from your course? What do you MOST wish students understood about their own learning? What is important to consider when designing a course? How will you know when your students have learned something? How do you motivate students to act on feedback about their learning? When are students most effective and engaged in their learning?

Approaches to Course Design 2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Approaches to Course Design 15 August 2016 “Traditional” “Backward” Enduring Understandings and Learning Goals Acceptable Evidence Instructional Activities List Course Topics Design Instruction Design Exams/Papers Wiggins and McTighe (1998)

2016 NFO Course Design Workshop “Backward Design” 2016 NFO Course Design Workshop 15 August 2016 Identify Desired Results Determine Acceptable Evidence What do you want them to learn? How will you know they learned it? How will you teach to help them learn it? Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Course Design Template

2016 NFO Course Design Workshop An Example: Driver Education 2016 NFO Course Design Workshop What does a beginning driver need to know? What does an experienced driver understand that a beginner does not?

Driver Education Worth being familiar with Important to know and do 15 August 2016 Knowledge Basic car features and functions State and country driving laws Rules of the road for legal and courteous driving Skills Procedures for safe driving Signaling/communication Parallel parking Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Big Ideas & Enduring Understandings Understandings Defensive driving Required reaction times Adapting to traffic, road, weather conditions Essential Questions What must I anticipate and do to minimize risk and accidents What makes a courteous and defensive driver

Establishing Curricular Priorities 15 August 2016 Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Big Ideas & Enduring Understanding Wiggins and McTighe (1998)

2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Course Design Template

Enduring Understandings Filter 15 August 2016 Unit Topics, Standards, Goals & Objectives Enduring, course-scale goals (big ideas), having lasting value beyond classroom Course-scale goals (big ideas) and core processes at the heart of the discipline Abstract, counterintuitive, and often misunderstood ideas Big ideas embedded in facts, skills, and activities Wiggins and McTighe (1998) Possible Enduring Understandings

Checklist for “Big Ideas” 2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Checklist for “Big Ideas” 15 August 2016 Broad and abstract; universal Represented by one or two words Universal in application Timeless – carry through the ages Embedded in facts, skills, activities Provides a focusing conceptual “lens” for any study Points to ideas at heart of expert understanding of subject Connects and organizes many facts Meaning is counterintuitive or prone to misunderstanding Has great transfer value, both across subjects and life Often manifest as a helpful: concept, theme, point of view, paradox, theory, assumption, recurring question, principle

Questions To Illuminate “Big Ideas” 2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Questions To Illuminate “Big Ideas” 15 August 2016 Why study...? So what? What makes the study of... universal? If the unit on… is a story, what’s the moral of the story? What’s the “big idea” implied in the skill or process of…? What larger concept, issue, or problem underlies…? What couldn’t we do if we didn’t understand…? How is… used and applied in the larger world? What is a “real-world” insight about…? What is the value of studying…?

2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Example Nouns 15 August 2016 Adaptation Change Connections Correlation Cycles Environment Equilibrium Evolution Interactions Interdependence Patterns Perspective Proof Rhythm System Variability

Big Ideas & Enduring Understanding 2016 NFO Course Design Workshop Big Ideas & Enduring Understanding 15 August 2016 Identify a 1-2 “Course-Scale Goals” or “enduring understandings” for your course ~10 minutes individual ~10 mins share in small groups Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Big Ideas & Enduring Understanding