From Seed to STEM

1. Sponsored by UMD’s Center for Teaching Excellence From Seed to STEM Cultivating Understanding of Student and Faculty Classroom Expectations 2011-2012 Lilly Graduate Fellows: Presenters: Elise Larsen, Karl Schmitt Andrea Andrew, Abdel-Hameed Badawy, Mara Dougherty, Katie Marie Hrapczynski, Matthew Walker Miller, Breanne Robertson, Artesha Taylor Sharma Co-Investigators: Spencer Benson, Sabrina Kramer, Alexis Williams

2. Sowing the Seeds… • Student expectations for a course? • Teaching techniques? • Technologies and tools? • Different Assessments? • Student expectations for instructors? • Types of Communication?

3. Sowing the Seeds.. II • Do these student expectations match faculty’s impressions? • How can we identify similarities and discrepancies? • How do we address these?

4. Cultivating the Garden… • Motivation and Introduction • Summary of (Pilot) Tool & Responses • Audience Choice of Two Data-sets • Misconceptions Students think Faculty Have • Conclusions & Discussion

5. A Simple, Deployable Seed (Tool) Tool Requirements: • Address areas of concern raised previously- • Learning Activities • Learning Assessments • Technology • Instructor Communication • Broad Applicability • Appropriate length • Sufficiently Informative • Flexibility

6. Participant Summary Pilot Student Survey Instructor Survey • 27 Instructors; 25 courses • 816 students enrolled in STEM courses • 288 instructors across all disciplines at UMDCP

7. Fruits of our LaborWhich would you like to discuss? • Learning Activities Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations • Learning Assessment Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation • Technology PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media • Instructor Communication Types of Communication/Availability- Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Names Activities Assessment Technology Instructor • Afterwards: • Misconceptions Students think Faculty have…..

8. Learning Activities: Which do you think students expect the most? • Study Guides • Discussions • Readings • Demonstrations • Chalk-/White-board

9. Learning Activities II Expectation of Learning Components Spring 2012

10. Learning Activities III Expectation ofLearning Activity Components by Class Spring 2012

11. Fruits of our LaborWhich would you like to discuss? • Learning Activities Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations • Learning Assessment Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation • Technology PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media • Instructor Communication Types of Communication/Availability- Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Names Activities Assessment Technology Instructor • Afterwards: • Misconceptions Students think Faculty have…..

12. Learning Assessment: Which do you think students expect the most? • Multiple Choice Exams • Essay-Based Exams • Individual Projects • Group Projects • Written Papers • Homework • Class Participation

13. Learning Assessment II Expectations of Learning Assessment Components Spring 2012

14. Learning Assessment III Expectations of Learning Assessment Components by Class Spring 2012

15. Fruits of our LaborWhich would you like to discuss? • Learning Activities Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations • Learning Assessment Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation • Technology PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media • Instructor Communication Types of Communication/Availability- Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Names Activities Assessment Technology Instructor • Afterwards: • Misconceptions Students think Faculty have…..

16. Technology: Which do you think students expect the most? • PowerPoint • Learning Management System (ELMS, etc) • E-Textbooks • Social Media • Clickers

17. Technology II Expectations of Technology Components Spring 2012

18. Technology III Expectations of Technology Components by Class Spring 2012

19. Fruits of our LaborWhich would you like to discuss? • Learning Activities Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations • Learning Assessment Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation • Technology PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media • Instructor Communication Types of Communication/Availability- Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Names Activities Assessment Technology Instructor • Afterwards: • Misconceptions Students think Faculty have…..

20. Instructor: Which do you think students expect the most? • Office Hours • Interaction with Students in Class • Accessibility Outside Office Hours • Know Student Names

21. Instructor II: Availability Expectations for Each Instructor Component Spring 2012

22. Instructor III: Availability Expectations for Each Instructor Component by Class Spring 2012

23. Fruits of our LaborWhich would you like to discuss? • Learning Activities Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations • Learning Assessment Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation • Technology PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media • Instructor Communication Types of Communication/Availability- Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Names Activities Assessment Technology Instructor • Afterwards: • Misconceptions Students think Faculty have…..

24. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions • Open-Ended Question: • “What misconceptions do you think faculty have about students?” • 473 student responses

25. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions • What themes do you think were voiced in their responses?

26. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions • We identified the following themes in student responses: • Dominate Themes (>100): • Student time commitments • Student effort, attitude • Secondary Themes (~40): • Effectiveness of pedagogy • Pace and student comprehension • Tertiary Themes (<30): • Students goals and grades - Teaching tools • Prerequisites - Student-instructor communication • Major or class specific comments - Other • Cheating - No Misconceptions

27. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions Student time commitments (130 responses) “I think professors frequently underestimate the average workload of a full-time student” “[Some faculty believe] That we are only in THEIR class and don't take any other time-consuming courses or have jobs “ “They forget not all the students are traditional college students some work a lot and have responsibilities beyond school”

28. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions Student effort & attitude (145 responses) “[Faculty believe] That students are lazy and try to take the easy way out whenever possible” “[Faculty believe] That our grades on exams directly correlate to how we feel about the course material..i.e. a bad exam grade means the student does not care” “[Faculty believe] That if they don't show up to office hours/review sessions then they do not care about their grades” “[Faculty believe] That we only want to get a good grade and typically aren't very interested in learning. Or that we should know everything we are told to learn, even when that includes minor details that aren't emphasized in lecture”

29. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions Pedagogy (49 responses) Faculty believe “That students prefer an excessive amount of "easy" questions on exams in comparison to a shorter amount of more difficult questions. “ “When teaching a large class, it is easy to overlook the fact that there are individuals in your class with individual needs. Also, I feel that chemistry professors in particular have trouble explaining concepts to students. They assume that it makes sense to the students because it makes sense to them.” Faculty believe “That PowerPoints are an effective teaching method. They are good for presentation of material, not retention. A presenter is not synonymous with a teacher.”

30. Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions Many students touched on several themes: “[Faculty believe] That we don't want to learn -- if we show up to class, we are there to learn -- it is not hard to "skip" a class. In that vein, if we are in class, please -- do not baby us, do not mock us for asking questions, and do not waste your time or ours going into information that is irrelevant. Good lectures are key to a good class, whether or not the course material is interesting.” “I think they think that if we are using our lap tops we are on facebook but that is not always true. I also think they think we don't do the reading but in reality many people do, its just that there is so much reading that it might take a few reminders of which reading we are talking about before the faculty should jump to the conclusion that no body did the reading.”

31. Conclusions • Students and instructors do not always agree on expectations • Many students feel that instructors do not value student time, attitude and effort. • This tool provides an opportunity early in the semester for instructors and students to communicate about expectations in the classroom

32. Thanks • UMCP Center for Teaching Excellence • Spencer Benson, Sabrina Kramer, Alexis Williams • Instructors and students who participated in the surveys • Faculty who distributed the student survey