Experts in the classroom Julanna Gilbert Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Knowledge Experts Experts are not necessarily able to teach their field to others Experts need knowledge about how to teach in particular disciplines (“pedagogical content knowledge”) Shulman, L., “Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform”, Harvard Educational Review 57:1-22 , 1987.

Knowledge Processing Experts Novices Significant knowledge of field, new information easy to retain/interpret See patterns of information & organize knowledge to support understanding Have “conditionalized” knowledge Can easily retrieve & use relevant information Novices Little knowledge of field – new information hard to retain/interpret See surface characteristics, organize information sequentially to support recall Have difficulty considering conditions Struggle to retrieve & use relevant information Disconnects that exist between experts and novices in knowledge processing National Research Council, “ How people learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School”, eighth printing, 2003.

Feedback Summative assessment – measures what students have learned at the end of a course or part of a course Formative assessment – learner friendly feedback to improve learning & teaching Formative – not the Friday quiz for which info is memorized the night before, or anything for which the student is given a grade that ranks him or her with respect to classmates. – Provide student with opportunities to revise and improve their thinking, help students see their own progress over the course of weeks or months, help teachers identify problems that need to be remedied. Summative: When students participate in formative assessment techniques, they will be better prepared for the TEST!

Learning Issue Teaching Strategy Little knowledge of field, new information hard to retain/interpret Teaching Strategy Be aware of knowledge level of students Frequent formative assessment helps here. The knowledge and misunderstandings they bring with them into the class will shape what they learn in the class. Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them. In the beginning: Ask students to write a brief description of what they think your course (field) is about Ask students for a brief description of any experience they have in your area As course proceeds:

Learning Issue Teaching Strategy Make thinking visible See surface characteristics, organize information sequentially to support recall Teaching Strategy Make thinking visible Student thinking. Frequent formative assessment helps here. Have students engage in activities that make visible the processes of their thinking, rather than merely the conclusions of their thinking. Provide a template of general points to be considered, have small groups interact so that students bounce their thinking off of each other before reporting in class Expert thinking. Model expert thinking, being careful to make explicit the strategies and techniques that are implicit in expert thinking. (don’t just give the result, but explicitly show all of the steps that you take to lead to the result)

Learning Issue Teaching Strategy Have difficulty considering conditions Teaching Strategy Make use of contrasting examples Contrasting cases – two examples whose differences highlight a particular point or set of points – can illustrate the particular points you are highlighting as an instructor. Note that experts are more likely than novices to see the relevant contrast between two complex cases that are similar in many respects. So, it’s best to start with relatively simple cases and then move to complexity as understanding deepens. Provide a list of issues/problems ask students (in small groups) to categorize the list. Ask different groups for their categories. Discuss Give examples that appear similar, but will be treated differently because of the conditions of the examples.

How did I really learn law? How can I implement some of my successful learning techniques directly into my classroom?

Final comments Depth vs. breadth Just because it was “covered” doesn’t mean that the students got it Focus class time on the essential elements The most important people in the classroom are the students who are there to learn. Rejoice in their learning. Students are smarter than you think! Elements from which students will be able to elaborate if they really understand these

To learn more The New Faculty Workshop Series The Center for Teaching & Learning Penrose Library, top floor southeast corner 303-871-2763