Course Design: Concurrent Sessions I Expanding Your Teaching Toolkit Karen Kortz and Sarah Penniston-Dorland With material from Rachel Beane, Heather Macdonald, David McConnell, Barb Tewksbury, Karl Wirth & Richard Yuretich Chuck Bailey photo

Our goals for this session: When you have completed this session, we want you to be able to: Compare and contrast a variety of interactive methods to use during class Justify the use of interactive methods Create activities that you can use in your own courses Interact with three new people at this workshop

What are advantages of using active learning methodologies during lecture? 1. Divide into groups of 2 or Compare your brainstorms and create a list of the 4 most important advantages.

Active learning methodologies can promote: 1. Higher order thinking 2. Metacognition (thinking about thinking) 3. Social interaction 4. Quick feedback (instructor, student) 5. Active engagement with material X

Example Interactive Activities Think-pair-share Jigsaw Conceptests Minute papers Gallery Walk Worksheets (e.g. Lecture Tutorials) Collaborative documents Concept Maps Two-stage exams Gallery Walk introducing REE in 30 person, non-majors course. Photo by Kevin Travers, Bowdoin College.

Our activities to reach our goals for this session: Think-pair-share Jigsaw Conceptests Minute papers Gallery Walk Worksheets (e.g. Lecture Tutorials) Collaborative documents Concept Maps Two-stage exams

Think-Pair-Share Think individually Pair into small groups and discuss Share back out with larger groups

From Barbara Tewksbury Jigsaw

Plate tectonics. Teams analyze earthquake, volcano, seafloor age, and topography data maps, then combine to draw plate boundaries and interpret processes. Google Earth. Each team analyzes different locations that show similar features (e.g., barrier islands, folds, valley glaciers, volcanic cones, etc.), then combine to discuss similarities and differences of the feature. Jigsaw Examples

Divide into teams, with teams specializing in: Conceptests Minute papers Gallery Walk Worksheets (e.g. LTs) Using the info in the slide printouts, answer the following questions in your team: 1.Summarize your technique in your team. 2.For what situations or topics would your technique be especially useful? 3.For what situations or topics would your technique not work as well? 4.How much preparation before class does your technique require? Active Learning Methodology Jigsaw

Redivide into groups, with each group having at least one member from each team. Answer the following questions in your group: 1.Share each method with your group. 2.In what situations or topics would each technique be especially useful? 3.Rank the methods in terms of how much preparation is required before class. 4.Which methods allow students to reflect on what they know and do not know? 5.Pick a general topic (e.g. plate tectonics, global circulation) and brainstorm 3 activities using different interactive methods. Active Learning Methodology Jigsaw

Which method reaches the highest levels of student learning (highest order thinking)? a. Jigsaw b. ConcepTest c. Minute Paper d. Gallery Walk e. Worksheets (e.g. Lecture Tutorials) ConcepTest Example

Use online methods to encourage student interaction outside of class time Wiki pagesGoogle Docs Review Collaborative Documents

Concept Maps Allow students to learn by Synthesizing Integrating Allow faculty to Assess student learning Students connect topics By seeing how are 2 D diagrams with Concepts Named Links and Concept Maps

Goal: Exam is learning experience where students work problems & understand the process of their reasoning Method: Students take exam first individually, then again collaboratively Grading: Weighted average of individual and collaborative components Photo by Mark Leckie. Two-Stage Exams

1.What techniques are you MOST likely to use in your own classes? 2.What techniques are you LEAST likely to use in your own classes? Minute Paper Example On your note card, answer the following questions (clearly number which question you are answering):

Creating Your Own Activity Think of a topic you’d like to teach more interactively in your own class. Think of a new activity using one of the techniques you just learned. Things to consider: What are your student learning goals? What is the size of your class? How much class time do you have? What is your personal teaching style? How will you assess student learning?

What it is: A thought-provoking question is posed to students who think about the answer then discuss it with their neighbors. Implementation: Ask a question Students think about or write down their answer (usually 1-2 minutes) Students pair up Students share their thoughts with each other and discuss the answer Instructor can ask for responses from some, all, or no pairs The question should: Be open-ended Promote student engagement Think-Pair-Share

What it is: Group discussions where students become experts in one aspect of a problem and then teach each other to answer questions. Implementation: Instructor carefully divides a problem into different aspects Students become experts (by completing an assignment) on one aspect and work in teams to make sure all understand it Students redivide into groups, with each team represented in the group Students teach each other their specialties and work together to solve the problem The problem should: Be easy to divide into different specialties Not require students to be experts in everything Be complex enough to result in useful discussions Jigsaw

What it is: Conceptual multiple-choice questions posed to the students who can vote on an answer, and discuss their votes with each other. Implementation: Ask a ConcepTest question Students think about the answer and vote 40-70% should have the correct answer Students pair up and discuss, if necessary Students vote again The question should: Focus on a single concept (not terminology-intensive) Have good multiple-choice answers Be of intermediate difficulty ConcepTests

What it is: Questions that require short responses from students, often asking them to reflect on a class period. Implementation: Ask a question, often at the end of the class period Students respond, often anonymously and on notecards Students turn in their responses Instructor spends a couple minutes addressing student comments during the next class period The question can: Ask the main points of what they learned that day Ask the muddiest point of what students are still unclear about Ask students to relate information to prior information Minute Papers

What it is: Students respond in small groups to a prompt, and then respond to other student’s responses as well. Implementation: Instructor posts a series of prompts around the room Each group of students responds to one of the prompts Students rotate through prompts, responding both to the prompt as well as prior groups’ comments Students briefly summarize and share key points The questions should: Be open-ended Allow for a variety of opinions Gallery Walks

What it is: Short worksheets aimed at reducing misconceptions or working through difficult concepts that students complete in groups in class. Implementation: Give a short, introductory lecture. Students pair up and complete a worksheet (Lecture Tutorials are in a published workbook). Briefly review select questions. Collecting the worksheets is optional. The worksheet should: Address topics with which students have difficulties. Require mid- to high-level thinking. Worksheets (e.g. Lecture Tutorials)

What it is: Online activities that encourage students to work together outside of the classroom by using tools such as Google Docs or Wiki tools. Implementation: Wiki Page Give an assignment with specific instructions and grading rubric. Students work in pairs or small groups over the course of a week. Students research facts and images for a given mineral (or other topic of your choosing) and create a part of a web page (Wiki page or Google Docs page) that describes the fact, includes images, and cites sources. Evaluate their creations! The assignment should: Allow students to investigate and learn information that is outside the prescribed coursework and that is interesting to them. Implementation: Class Review Provide a review sheet online through Google Docs or a similar tool. Invite students to share the document and study together virtually. Collaborative Documents