August, 2014 Diane Salter, Vice Provost Teaching and Learning Basics and Beyond Day 1

Overview of Day 1 Overview of Day 2

What was your best learning experience? What made it the best? Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? How did the experience change you?

What are these people doing ? Bligh, 2000; Bonwell & Eison, 1999; Hartley & Davies, Hello How Are you Heart beats per minute Time involved in the activity

Heart Rates in Uninterrupted Lectures Bligh, 2000; Bonwell & Eison, 1999; Hartley & Davies, 1978.

To foster a ‘deep’ approach to learning and achievement of LO’s Biggs and Tang (2007) suggest a shift: From To Coverage mode Assignment/Task Centred Mode What am I going to teach? What do I want the students to learn? I must cover … They must do… Teaching Tasks Learning Tasks Monologue Dialogue Teach content Engagement with content/class as assess for mastery dialogue/assess for deep learning

The Old Britannia School House, Ontario

What type of Learning Spaces … Around a table in ‘real’ space’? Individual or Group… ? In a lecture classroom? In a ‘virtual world’ ? In class Blog or Wiki ? Discussion ? Online or face to face ?

“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting our answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves." (Chickering and Gamson, 1987, p. 3)

Content – the knowledge of the discipline People - Peers - Instructor - The World Importance of Interactions

Lecture Breaks Increase Students’ Attention Bligh, 2000; McKeachy, 1999.

Lesson Planning for Active Learning

Create your ‘Active Learning’ Lesson Plan

Lunch Discussion Your Questions

‘Father Guido Sarducci ‘ The 5 Minute University – Saturday Night Live What do most people remember five years after graduation? What is the most difficult step we can take to becoming great teachers? Craig Nelson, Indiana University. Reducing Content

To foster a ‘deep’ approach to learning and achievement of LO’s Biggs and Tang (2007) suggest a shift: From To Coverage mode Assignment/Task Centred Mode What am I going to teach? What do I want the students to learn? I must cover … They must do… Teaching Tasks Learning Tasks Monologue Dialogue Teach content Engagement with content/class as assess for mastery dialogue/assess for deep learning

Discussion – How much content? How do we ensure students are ‘exposed’ to appropriate course resources without feeling the compulsion for the professor to ‘deliver’ content? What is the problem with too much ‘information density’? How do you (as a student) ‘learn’ best? a.) Listening to a key note speaker? b.) Reading material? c.) Preparing to teach the material? d.) Other? Why do most teachers’ continue to deliver content? Response to the Reading

The Student Experience Melissa and Anthony Both students had similar entrance scores, were taught from the same syllabus, by the same university teachers. They went to the same lectures and tutorials and completed the same assignments in a core mathematics course. Why were their experiences so different?

STUDENT APPROACHES TO LEARNING Surface Approach Intention to reproduce - rote memorise information needed for assessment - failure to distinguish principles from examples - treat tasks as external impositions - focus on discrete elements without integration Ramsden, 2003

STUDENT APPROACHES TO LEARNING Deep Approach Intention to understand - meaningfully memorize information for later use - relate new ideas to previous knowledge - relate concepts to everyday experiences - relate evidence to conclusions

STUDENT APPROACHES TO LEARNING Why is a ‘Deep’ approach important? Surface Approach Intention to reproduce - rote memorise information needed for assessment - failure to distinguish principles from examples - treat tasks as external impositions - focus on discrete elements without integration Deep Approach Intention to understand - meaningfully memorize information for later use - relate new ideas to previous knowledge - relate concepts to everyday experiences - relate evidence to conclusions

What type of teaching encourages a ‘surface’ approach to learning? What type of teaching encourages a ‘deep’ approach to learning?

Factors Relating to Approaches - Students’ Perceptions If students think the teaching is good goals and standards are clear students get help and advice on how to study subject is well organised then they are likely to be adopting deep approaches to study If students think the assessment is inappropriate workload is inappropriate then they are likely to be adopting surface approaches to their studies. Ramsden, 2003

Ramsden, 1992 SURFACE approaches encouraged by: Assessment methods emphasising recall or the application of trivial; procedural knowledge Assessment methods that create undue anxiety Excessive amount of material in the curriculum (Too much content) Poor or absent feedback on progress Lack of interest in and background knowledge of the subject Previous experiences that encourage such approaches DEEP approaches encouraged by Teaching methods that foster active and long term engagement with the learning tasks Stimulating and considerate teaching - demonstrating the lecturers personal commitment to the subject matter - stresses its meaning and relevance to the students Clearly stated academic expectations and learning outcomes Interest in and background knowledge of the subject matter Previous experiences that encourage such approaches

Overview of the student learning perspective Figure 1: Model of Student Learning Prosser, M. and Trigwell, K. (2001). Understanding learning and teaching: The experience in Higher Education. Philadelphia, USA. The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. Note: there is not a direct link from course/departmental learning context to achievement of LO’s – rather must consider students’ perception of the context and this Influences their approach to learning

Alignment Outcomes-based Approach Intended outcomes What do we expect our students to be able to do or demonstrate as a result of the learning? Content What specific knowledge, skills, and attitude do they need to learn to achieve the outcomes? Teaching & Learning What are the most appropriate teaching and learning method for helping students to achieve the outcomes? Assessment What methods of assessment are most suitable for measuring students’ attainment of the outcomes? Ensure alignment

What type of Tasks … (a few examples) Online Quiz … Short answer ‘tests’ Class blogs Or wikis… Discussion forum Peer feedback Individual or Group…. Generate the questions/about topic.. Preparation for Assignments….

Your Plan