WHAT MAKES A GOOD AND BAD ACTIVITY? CAUSE/SERC Workshop May 16, 2007 Joan Garfield

Opening discussion: What do you think of when you hear the word “activity” used in the context of teaching statistics? What is an activity? Activities vs. Active learning?

GAISE 4: Foster active learning in the classroom. A valuable way to promote collaborative learning, allowing students to learn from each other. Allows students to discover, construct, and understand important statistical ideas and to model statistical thinking. Engage students in learning and make the learning process fun.

Benefits of Good Activities Practice communicating in the statistical language and learning to work in teams. An informal method of assessing student learning It is important that teachers not underestimate the ability of activities to teach the material or overestimate the value of lectures,

Suggestions for teachers Ground activities in the context of real problems. Collect data (including student data) to answer a question Precede computer simulations with physical explorations Encourage predictions from students about results

Suggestions Continued Do not use activities that lead students step by step through a list of procedures, but allow students to discuss and think about the data and the problem. Plan ahead to make sure there is enough time. Make sure there is time for recap and debriefing,

Suggestions for Teachers Provide lots of feedback to students on their performance and learning. Include assessment as an important component of an activity.

Examine an activity In pairs: discuss: What is good about this activity (if anything)? What is bad about it? How could it be improved?

Discussion What are the different components involved in implementing an activity that can affect student learning?

Implementation The task (activity): is it aligned with learning goals, can it be used to motivate, engage students in developing understanding or reasoning, etc The lesson plan: how is the activity used, introduced, monitored, summed up The teacher: how do the teacher’s beliefs and background affect the implementation of an activity

Parts of an Activity What makes a good task? –Accessible –Not to much busy work –Fun –Accomplish learning goal –Collaborative –Time efficient- little wasted time –Makes them think –Ready to go What makes a good lesson plan? –Emphasize the learning outcome/goals –What can go wrong and how to react/manage –What has to come before-how connected to what comes next- make explicit –How much time is needed for each part (5 minutes/1.5 hours) –Guiding discussion questions Motivation/lead in Wrap up –Assessment What makes an effective user of an activity? What are some criteria to use to critique and improve our activities for SERC?