strategies for engaging students in large...
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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
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)
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
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”
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.
Lila M. Smith
Lila M. Smith
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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/
Richard Hake (Interactive engagement vs traditional methods)http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/SDI/
http://www.asme.org/educate
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.