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Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classes Karl A. Smith Civil Engineering University of Minnesota [email protected] http://www.ce.umn.edu/~smith Opening the Door: Sharing the Craft of Teaching University of Minnesota April 2001

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Page 1: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Strategies for EngagingStudents in Large Classes

Karl A. SmithCivil Engineering

University of [email protected]

http://www.ce.umn.edu/~smith

Opening the Door:Sharing the Craft of Teaching

University of MinnesotaApril 2001

Page 2: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Large Classes:The Current Situation

Classes with Over 50 students – Prevalent andIncreasing; ditto for Classes with Over 100 students

Classes of 50 students or more:Best National Universites (Top 50) – 1-28%, Avg =

12.4, S.D. = 6.3

National Universities (Next 50) – 0.3-50%, Avg =12.1, S.D. = 7.7

U.S. News & World Report (www.usnews.com (Accessed10/16/00)

Page 3: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Large Classes:How Well are They Working?

Carbone and Greenberg (1998) indicate a generaldissatisfaction with the quality of large-class learningexperiences• Lack of interaction with faculty members (in and

out of class• Lack of structure in lectures• Lack of or poor discussion sections• Inadequate contact with teaching assistants• Inadequacy of classroom facilities and

environment• Lack of frequent testing or graded assignments

Page 4: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Large Classes:How Well are They Working?

Students’ Comments

Wulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987):• “It is easier to do anything you

want, sleep, not attend, or loseattention”

• “No one knows I’m here”• “Rude people come late, leave

early, or sit and talk to theirbuddies”

Page 5: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Wulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987)Conclusion & Recommendation

Foremost among the dimensions of largeclasses that hindered students’ learningwas the lack of instructor-studentinteraction with opportunities forquestions and discussion.

The key seems to lie in finding ways toprovide instructor-student interaction inthe large-class context.

Page 6: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Lila M. Smith

Page 7: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Lila M. Smith

Page 8: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

To teach is to engage students in learning; thusteaching consists of getting students involved in theactive construction of knowledge. A teacher requiresnot only knowledge of subject matter, but knowledge ofhow students learn and how to transform them intoactive learners. Good teaching, then, requires acommitment to systematic understanding of learning. ..The aim of teaching is not only to transmit information,but also to transform students from passive recipients ofother people's knowledge into active constructors oftheir own and others' knowledge. The teacher cannottransform without the student's active participation, ofcourse. Teaching is fundamentally about creating thepedagogical, social, and ethical conditions under whichstudents agree to take charge of their own learning,individually and collectivelyEducation for judgment: The artistry of discussion leadership. Edited by C. Roland Christensen,David A. Garvin, and Ann Sweet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School, 1991.

Page 9: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Cooperative Learning is instruction that involvespeople working in teams to accomplish a commongoal, under conditions that involve both positiveinterdependence (all members must cooperate tocomplete the task) and individual and groupaccountability (each member is accountable forthe complete final outcome).

Key Concepts

! Positive Interdependence! Individual and Group Accountability! Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction! Teamwork Skills! Group Processing

Page 10: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions
Page 11: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Advance Organizer“The most important single factorinfluencing learning is what the learneralready knows. Ascertain this andteach him accordingly.”

David Ausubel - Educational psychology: Acognitive approach, 1968.

Page 12: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

P Reorder the stepsP Paraphrase the ideaP Correct the errorP Support a statementP Select the responseJohnston, S. & Cooper,J. 1997. Quick thinks: Active-thinking in lecture classes and televised instruction. Cooperative learning and college teaching, 8(1), 2-7.

Quick Thinks

Page 13: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Formulate-Share-Listen-Create

Informal Cooperative Learning GroupIntroductory Pair Discussion of a

FOCUS QUESTION

1. Formulate your response to the questionindividually

2. Share your answer with a partner3. Listen carefully to your partner's answer4. Work together to Create a new answer

through discussion

Page 14: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

P What was the most useful or meaningful thingyou learned during this session?

P What question(s) remain uppermost in yourmind as we end this session?

P What was the “muddiest” point in this session?P Give an example or applicationP Explain in your own words . . .

Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. 1993. Classroom assessmenttechniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco:Jossey Bass.

Minute Paper

Page 15: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Informal CL (Book Ends on a Lecture)with Concept Tests

Physics Peer InstructionEric Mazur - Harvard – http://galileo.harvard.edu

Peer Instruction www.prenhall.comRichard Hake (Interactive engagement vs traditionalmethods) http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/SDI/

Chemistry Chemistry ConcepTestsArt Ellis - UW Madison – www.chem.wisc.edu/~conceptModularChem Consortium –

http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/

Thinking Together videoDerek Bok Center – www.fas.harvard.edu/~bok_cen/

Page 16: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Richard Hake (Interactive engagement vs traditional methods)http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/SDI/

http://www.asme.org/educate

Page 17: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions
Page 18: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Informal CooperativeLearning Groups

Can be used at any time

Can be short term and ad hoc

May be used to break up a long lecture

Provides an opportunity for students to process material theyhave been listening to

Are especially effective in large lectures

Include "book ends" procedure

Are not as effective as Formal Cooperative Learning orCooperative Base Groups

Page 19: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Session Summary(Minute Paper)

Reflect on the session:

1. What were the most important points for you?2. What is one thing you would be willing to try?3. What questions do you have?

Discuss with a partner:

1. Points that were useful, meaningful, interesting,applicable, etc.

2. Questions that you have.

Page 20: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Cooperative Learning Research Support(Johnson, Johnson & Smith, Change, 1998, 30(4), 26-35)

! Over 300 Experimental Studies! First study conducted in 1924! High Generalizability! Multiple Outcomes

Outcomes

1. Achievement and retention2. Critical thinking and higher-level

reasoning3. Differentiated views of others4. Accurate understanding of others'

perspectives5. Liking for classmates and teacher6. Liking for subject areas7. Teamwork skills

Page 21: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Small-group (predominantly cooperative) learning inpostsecondary science, mathematics, engineering,and technology (SMET). 383 reports from 1980 orlater, 39 of which met the rigorous inclusion criteriafor meta-analysis. The main effect of small-group learning onachievement, persistence, and attitudes amongundergraduates in SMET was significant andpositive. Mean effect sizes for achievement,persistence, and attitudes were 0.51, 0.46, and 0.55,respectively.

Small-Group Learning: Meta-analysisSpringer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. 1999. Effects of small-group learning on

undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69(1), 21-52.

Page 22: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Strategies forEnergizing Large

Classes: From SmallGroups to

Learning Communities:

Jean MacGregor,James Cooper,

Karl Smith,Pamela Robinson

New Directions forTeaching and Learning,

No. 81, 2000.Jossey- Bass

Page 23: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

The Harvard Assessment Seminars – Richard J. Light

All the specific findings point to, and illustrate, one main idea. It is thatstudents who get the most out of college, who grow the mostacademically, and who are the happiest, organize their time to includeinterpersonal activities with faculty members, or with fellow students, builtaround substantive, academic work.

Environmental Factors That Enhance Students’ Academic and Personal Development and Satisfaction

Alexander Astin in What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. Jossey-Bass, 1993.

Student-student interactionStudent-faculty interactionA faculty that is very student-orientedDiscussing racial/ethnic issues with other studentsHours devoted to studying – Time on taskTutoring other studentsSocializing with students of different race/ethnicityA student body that has high socioeconomic statusAn institutional emphasis on diversityA faculty that is positive about the general education programA student body that values altruism and social activism

Page 24: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions

Good teaching comes from theidentity and integrity of the teacher.. .Good teachers possess acapacity for connectedness.

Parker J. Palmer in The courage toteach: Exploring the innerlandscape of a teacher’s life. Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Page 25: Strategies for Engaging Students in Large Classespersonal.cege.umn.edu/~smith/docs/umnadt401ho.pdfWulff, Nyquist & Abbott (1987) Conclusion & Recommendation Foremost among the dimensions