1 Problem based Learning in Engineering and Science – Development of Facilitator A Course given by: Xiangyun Du Department of Education, Learning and Philosophy Sohngårdsholmsvej 2 room 3-24, DK Aalborg Phone: , Lars Peter Jensen Department of Control Engineering Fredrik Bajers Vej 7C, DK Aalborg East Phone: , URL: Associated Professors at Aalborg University

Wednesday, the 29th of February 2012: Facilitation 9.00 Unanswered questions from day one 9.30 Introduction to role play. Exercise: Role play of a supervising situation Lunch Facilitation skills and experience exchange Intercultural Communication in a PBL Environment Forming Peer groups and planning experiment End of day two

Supervision3 Role-play Six role plays illustrate supervising situations (meetings) Imagine that your group is working on the project from this morning The group members assign roles between themselves, so that the outlined situation in the role play occurs Each role play lasts approximately 15 minutes Each role play is commented by 4-5 observers

Supervision4 Lunch until 13.00

Supervision5 Teach me… and I will forget ? Tell me and I will forget Show me and I will remember Involve me and I will understand Step back and I will act Chinese proverb Student centered learning

Supervision6 Carl Rogers on teaching at Harvard in 1951 I have come to feel that the only learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning. It seems to me that anything that can be taught to another is relatively inconsequential, and has little or no significant influence on behavior.

Supervision7 Active involvement, discussing a topic is an effective educational strategy, for students as well as for teachers.

Supervision8 Teacher roles and PBL The teacher as: Expert Facilitator Designing a stimulating environment for learning Management of the learning process, including evaluation Stimulates students to define their own learning goals and to direct their own learning process

Supervision9 Teaching styles How do you teach? Can give a metaphore?

Supervision10 Teaching styles After: Dennis Fox, 1983 Shaping Guidance Transfer Nursing

Susan Is academically committed, bright, interested in her studies and wants to do well Has clear academic or career plans What she learns is important to her. She goes about learing in an academic way Comes to the lectures with sound, relevant background knovledge and possible some questions, she wants answered – or it may not be the answer she is looking for, and she speculates, wondering why it isn’t Students like Susan virtually teach themselves, with little help from teachers

Robert Is at university not out of a driving curiosity about a particular project or a burning ambition to exces in a particular profession, but to obtain a qualification for a decent job He is not studying in the area of his first choice He is less committed than Susan, possible less bright (adacemically speaking), and has a less developed background of relevant knowledge He comes to the lecure with few questions He wants to put in sufficient effort to pass Robert hears the lecturer saying the same words as Susan, but he does not se a keystone, - just another brick to be recorded in his lecture notes He belives that if he can record enough of these bricks, and remember them on cue, he will keep out of trouble on examn. We are told that there ar many Robert’s!

Which type of students do you have?

Types of supervision Four types of supervision: Product supervision Process supervision Laissez-faire supervision Control supervision © SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet

Product Supervision Focus on professional knowledge Emphasis on a consistent and coherent project reports Is solution oriented Provides ideas, suggestions and answers Is product oriented Be sure to make ​​ an outline of the report as early as possible © SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet

Process Supervision Focuses on the understanding process Supervises team collaboration Asks questions rather than provide solutions Promotes reflective processes Is process oriented Try to set up some questions that can control your work the next period of time... © SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet

Laissez-faire Supervision Allows the ideas of the team to guide the project Praise and encourage the team to work independent of supervisor Demonstrates a lack of commitment Provides general, noncommittal and random comments Minimizes the time spent on supervision Well, it goes very well, so there's no reason why I... © SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet

Control Supervision Testing the group Make the project one long exam Focuses on the assessment Focuses on the individual student's knowledge Please go to the blackboard and derive the formula you have used on page 10, so we can see if you have all understood it. © SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet

Supervision20 Situated supervision Where in the process Where in the education Type of projects and objectives Type of students –Experienced? –Brilliant or poor students –Social competence Ability to read the situation ….

Supervision21 project supervision “supervisor ” “Students”

Supervision22 Communication maps during a project Beginning of the project Progressing in the project

Supervision23 Forms of groups - 1

Supervision24 Forms of groups - 2

Supervision25 Characteristics for a well functioning group: Common goal or objectives Agreement about group norms, rules The members ”play” all the necessary roles All group members respect each other

Supervision26 Co-operation: group classification IntegratedInstrumentalHierarchicChaotic Role castingAllSome No Work sharingAllSome No Control/LeadershipAllYesFewNo PowerEqualEqual ?UnequalNo Personal EngagementHighFairDifferentLow Group identityHighLow Conflict solvingYesNo

Supervision27 Ideal Learning environment from the perspective of students – group work  Ideal group size: 3-4 people  Most important things that make group work function Positive attitude Constructive communication Cooperation Compromise New perspectives

Supervision28 Students’ opinions on supervision Good Supervision: Overview in chaos Cut through in critical situations Solutions are not presented by the supervisor Ask facilitating questions The project is not controlled by the supervisor but by the group itself Supervisor is well prepared and well informed

Supervision29 Students’ opinions on supervision Poor Supervision: Supervisor does not express opinions about affective questions Supervisor does not give constructive feed back/criticism Lack of interest in the project and/or the students The supervisor has poor knowledge about the students’ work and work process Supervisor takes ownership of the project and controls the students’ learning process

Supervision30 Learning environment from the perspective of students –supervision Functions of supervisors  Beginners of each project / the study program More direct inputs regarding how to the project work started and relevant technical knowledge  Later part of the project / education Structural comments, emergency support ‘In the first year, we had no idea what we can expect from them and how to communicate with them. So lots of problems coming out along the way. Now we know what we can do from our part. If we have specific problem we have to solve, we will tell him and be clear about what specific help we expect to get. We prepare something for him to read for comments.’ – student group

Supervision31 Learning environment from the perspective of students –supervision Expectation to supervisors  clear information about what can be expected  Technical knowledge  The art of teaching (more important)  Engagement, willingness to help  Accessibility  Mental support, especially in case of problems  Instruction of methods (how to learn) regarding how to solve the project and do the project rather than facts answers  Constructive communication – with clear knowledge about the expectation from both sides

Supervision32 Tasks of a supervisor Before the semester start: –Prepare project proposals –Plan project courses In the beginning of a project: –Help to find appropriate literature –Help to establish contacts with companies etc. –Discuss the potential of the project proposal with students During the whole project period: –Give comments to both oral and written presentations/memos/working papers –Monitor the progress and professional level of group and individual students At the end: –Prepare for the examination –Chair the examination

Supervision33 Tools for supervision Contracts

Cooperation agreement example

3. Group Leader: The group leader is responsible for seriousness is maintained, and the schedule is followed. The position rotates (alphabetically), a new group leader selected by. 14 days. The group leader should keep the agenda at supervisor meetings. Tools available for the group leader is a meeting hat when placed on the meeting bottle should establish a profound seriousness in the room, and a bell to use in case of the group being unserious. Only the group leader that has rights to use these tools, but if the leader don’t interfere the bell can be used by others. Cooperation agreement A NANO Billede:

4. Friday Meetings Summary of the week's progress in relation to the project. Comparing schedule with where we are in the process. Discussion of the work sheets. Red thread, where do we go with the project? Project Relevant topics for discussion. Evaluation of the group leader's performance. Constructive criticism of the group members. Payment of fines! Rotating logbook writer, mail man and leader (every 14 days). Logbook writer shall keep minutes of the Friday meetings, supervisor meetings and the times when it is otherwise appropriate. Over the weekend the minutes of the week's course is uploaded on the forum, if not done by Monday falls a fine of 25 kr. Cooperation agreement A NANO Billede:

Supervision37 Tools for supervision Contracts Students’ peer assessment

Supervision38 Students’ peer assessment Students in the same group reviewing each other’s written material Students in the same group giving mini- lectures for each other Two groups acting as opponents for each other at seminars and exams

Supervision39 Tools for supervision Contracts Students’ peer assessment Process analysis

Supervision40 Process analysis - content

Supervision41 Process analysis – example

Supervision42 Tools for supervision Contracts Students’ peer assessment Process analysis Facilitation

Supervision43 Facilitation Summarize Reflect students’ work Ask open-ended questions using 6-W Encourage students to keep a dynamic list of questions Give feedback by rethinking aloud

Supervision44 Facilitation

Supervision45 Tools for supervision Contracts Students’ peer assessment Process analysis Facilitation Questioning the team work

Supervision46 Questioning team work - 1 Put on the students’ agenda when starting the project: level of ambitions how much time to be used how to share the work meeting discipline how to solve conflicts social relations

Supervision47 Questioning team work - 2 During the project: ask to the way the students organize the work and discuss the working process ask to special project functions discuss objectives for the organizational aspects give individual consultations feel the atmosphere - be present let the students discuss try to involve all the students

Supervision48 Project supervision - preparation The group (two days in advance) : What have we accomplished (working papers) What are we doing right now Requested supervision Agenda The supervisor : Read the working papers Reflect upon and formulate questions to structure, form and content Prepare for input to requested supervision

Supervision49 Project supervision – meeting The group : Chairs the meeting Takes minutes Presents the points of the agenda All students participate in discussions The supervisor : Facilitates the students’ own reflection by asking questions Involves all students in discussions Secures reflections on: –Contracts, working processes, progress, time schedule etc.

Supervision50 Project supervision – follow up The group : Sends minutes of the meeting to the supervisor Discusses and assesses the input from the supervisor Revises working papers, time schedule etc. The supervisor : Reads the minutes and replies Follows up on requested tasks

Supervision51 Experimenting/sharing experiences with supervision/facilitation. In each Peer Group there is at least one who is going to supervise a student group in the autumn semester. The rest of the Peer Group should help him/her in the planning and assessment of one of the supervisors meetings with the student group. The supervisor selects a planned meeting soon. BEFORE the meeting the Peer Group gets together and discusses the meeting with the supervisor, and makes a plan for how he should supervise the students at the meeting. It will be an excellent chance to experiment by doing something differently than usual.

Supervision52 DURING the meeting the rest of the Peer Group acts as observers (this is legalized by the student group beforehand) and notes down what happens. AFTER the meeting the Peer Group gets together and the observers tell the supervisor about their observations and they all share the experience and reflect upon how to improve their own supervision. The experiment/discussions are documented in a small report (3-5 pages) telling what was planned, what actual happened and what is to be learned. The report is handed in to the lectures (XD, LPJ) in electronic form no later than the 4th of April. Prepare a short presentation (10 min) of the outcome of the experiment to be presented during the morning of the last day of the course.