1. Picture yourself in France in a cave with prehistoric drawings on the wall. These drawings tell a story and were perhaps the first use of technology for educational purposes. Now, thousands of years later, teachers are still drawing on walls! (Author unknown)

2. Active Learning

3. Cooperative Collaborative Active Common Terms to Describe Student-Centered Learning Getting students to do anything active (individually or in groups) Getting students to work in pairs or groups Getting students to work together in a structured group activity that meets specified criteria + Inductive learning: Start with problems, then teach solution methods (PBL, inquiry,…)

4. But Professor, according to the new university guidelines, this is a small class.

5. Experimental study: Gave 50-minute lecture, tested immediately afterwards. Results: 70% 20% % retained 0 50 t (min) t =time in lecture when information was presented was presented Give active exercises or breaks

6. The Romans taught their children nothing that was to be learned sitting. (Seneca)

7. Active Learning Structures

8. In-Class Teams Form teams of 2-4, choose recorders. Give teams 30 seconds--5 minutes to –Recall prior material –Answer a question –Start a problem solution –Work out next step in a derivation –Think of an example or application

9. –Figure out why a given result may be wrong –Brainstorm (object is quantity, not quality) –Generate a question –Summarize a lecture Collect some or all answers, calling on several individuals first. This always works, regardless of class size.

10. Think-pair-share Students think of answers individually, then form pairs to synthesize response. Pairs share responses. More time-consuming, more instructive than immediate group work.

11. Cooperative Note-Taking Pairs At several points in the lecture, pairs summarize & compare what they have in their notes. Goal: More accurate & complete notes. Especially helpful in courses where students need note-taking support.

12. Guided Reciprocal Peer Questioning  Each student prepares questions on the lecture or reading using high-level generic question stems. Examples: What is the main idea of ___? What conclusions can I draw about ___? What is the difference between __ & __? How are ___ and ___ similar? How does ___ affect ___? What is a new example of ___?

13. What if ___? Explain why… Explain how… How would I use ___ to ___?  In class, groups of 3-4 students take turns answering their questions.  Whole class comes together to discuss unanswered or interesting questions.

14. Writing Assignments Assign frequent, short writing assignments Students “write to learn” gaining deeper understanding of course material Student entries may be kept in a learning log

15. Minute Paper Stop the lecture with two minutes to go. Ask students to write 1. the main point(s) 2. the muddiest (least clear) point(s) Collect the papers. Use responses to plan the next lecture.

16. Possible First Week Activities  Establish expectations (yours and theirs) –Hand out syllabus, review rules. Have student pairs read syllabus and raise questions –Have students write expectations they have of you as a teacher (individually or in groups).

17. Have students anonymously hand in rumors they’ve heard about the course or you. (Next period, address them.)

18.  Motivate Interest –Have students list (1) things they know about the course content and (2) questions they have about it. –Survey (or get students to brainstorm) real- world applications of course topics

19. We hold these truths to be self-evident If I get students actively involved in class, ____________ –I’ll never cover the syllabus. –I’ll lose control of the class. –The students will complain that I’m not teaching them –Some of the students will refuse to participate CW

20. Inductive and Deductive Presentation General (principle, axiom) Specific (observations, data) InductionDeduction

21. Course topics and entire courses can be taught Deductively -- start with principles, deduce specific consequences and applications (traditional in engineering and science) Inductively -- start with specifics, move by inference to general principles (problem- based learning, discovery learning, inquiry learning, just-in-time teaching)

22. Which one works better? Deduction  short-term retention of information Induction  long-term retention, transfer of knowledge

23. Purely deductive teaching makes students think the material –was straightforward for author/instructor –is impossible for them Both ideas are wrong.

24. Problem-Based Learning Use complex real-world problems to provide context for course material. Have student groups –define the problem –build hypotheses to initiate the solution process –identify what is known, what must be determined, and how to proceed –generate possible solutions & decide on the best one –complete the best solution and defend it –reflect on lessons learned

25. PBL Strategy. Give an open-ended real world problem that requires course material to solve. Have students work in groups to generate ideas for solving it.  Use to illustrate each main topic.  Assign the same problem near the end of the course. Compare results with the first effort.

26. TAPPS (Thinking-Aloud Pair Problem Solving) l Students in pairs (dyads)--one explainer (or problem solver), one questioner l Explainer talks through solution. Questioner questions, prompts, gives clues. l Instructor asks questions to make sure everyone is together. l Pairs reverse roles and continue. Time-consuming, but powerful.

27. Why do it? Let Reeves Anderson explain it.Reeves Anderson

28. TAPPS (Thinking-Aloud Pair Problem Solving) l Get students in pairs (dyads)--one explainer (or problem solver), one questioner. l Give students initial task, get them started. Explainer talks through solution. Questioner questions, prompts, gives clues. DemonstrationDemonstration (3)

29. l Instructor asks questions to make sure everyone is together. Pairs reverse roles and continue. Demonstration (3) Demonstration l Instructor interacts with groups during activities, imbeds teaching between them. Demonstration (2) Demonstration l Students sometimes work on high-level questions. Demonstration (1)Demonstration

30. l Instructor occasionally lectures. Demonstration (1) Demonstration l If time is running out, outline remainder of solution. Demonstration (3)Demonstration

31. l Some students may initially resist, but most eventually see the benefits for themselves. Interviews (3) Interviews

32. Implementing Active Learning –Explain what you’re doing and why –Call randomly on individuals to report first, then ask for volunteers –Keep exercises short (30 sec – 3 min) –Vary format (pairs, groups, think-pair- share, intervals between exercises) –Put some course material on handouts, leave gaps & insert questions. Use time saved to do more active learning.

33. What might happen if you start using active learning? Initial awkwardness (the students & you), noncompliance Rapidly increasing comfort level except for a few students who remain resistant Much higher levels of energy & participation More & better questions and answers  Improved class attendance Greater learning

34. Exercise Think of a difficult concept you’d like students in a course you teach to understand. Think of one or two high-level learning objectives for that concept – something you’d like the students to do (explain, derive, calculate, design,…) to demonstrate their understanding. Think of an in-class activity that would give them useful practice toward meeting that objective.