Facilitating Learning in Large Lecture Classes

1. Facilitating Learning in Large Lecture Classes Karl A. Smith Engineering Education – Purdue University Civil Engineering - University of Minnesota ksmith@umn.edu - http://www.ce.umn.edu/~smith/ Michigan State University College of Natural Science Workshop September 2009

2. Workshop Layout • Welcome & Overview • Integrated Course Design (CAP Model) • Content • Assessment • Pedagogy • Active & Cooperative Learning • Informal – Bookends on a Class Session • Formal Cooperative Learning • Design and Teamwork Features • Wrap-up and Next Steps 2

3. Workshop Objectives • Participants will be able to • Explain rationale for Active and Cooperative Learning in Large Classes • Describe key features of Cooperative Learning • Apply cooperative learning to classroom practice • Describe key features of the Backward Design process – Content (outcomes) – Assessment - Pedagogy • Identify connections between cooperative learning and desired outcomes of courses and programs

4. Background Knowledge Survey • Familiarity with • Approaches to Course Design • Wiggins & McTighe – Understanding by Design (Backward Design) • Fink – Creating Significant Learning Experiences • Felder & Brent – Effective Course Design • Active and Cooperative Learning Strategies • Informal – turn-to-your-neighbor • Formal – cooperative problem-based learning • Research • Student engagement – NSSE • Cooperative learning • How People Learn • Responsibility • Individual course • Program • Accreditation • Other

5. Backward DesignWiggins & McTighe Stage 1. Identify Desired Results Stage 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence Stage 3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction Wiggins, Grant and McTighe, Jay. 1998. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

6. CAP Design Process Flowchart Integrated Course Design (Fink, 2003) Initial Design Phase Start 1. Situational Factors Context Backward Design 2. Learning Goals Content 3. Feedback and Assessment Assessment 4. Teaching/Learning Activities 5. Integration Pedagogy C & A & P Alignment? No Yes End

7. CAP Design Process (Shawn’s Model) Start Context Content Cloud of alignment Assessment Pedagogy End

8. Goals and Objectives Instruction Effective Course Design (Felder & Brent, 1999) ABET EC 2000 Bloom’s Taxonomy Course-specific goals & objectives Classroom assessment techniques Technology Cooperative learning Students Assessment Other experiences Tests Other measures Lectures Labs 8

9. Resources • Integrated Design Approach • Pellegrino – Rethinking and Redesigning Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment • Backward Design Process (Wiggins & McTighe): • Smith, K. A., Douglas, T. C., & Cox, M. 2009. Supportive teaching and learning strategies in STEM education. In R. Baldwin, (Ed.). Improving the climate for undergraduate teaching in STEM fields. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 117, 19-32. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Bransford, Vye and Bateman – Creating High Quality Learning Environments

10. Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology – National Science Foundation, 1996 Goal – All students have access to supportive, excellent undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology, and all students learn these subjects by direct experience with the methods and processes of inquiry. Recommend that SME&T faculty: Believe and affirm that every student can learn, and model good practices that increase learning; starting with the student=s experience, but have high expectations within a supportive climate; and build inquiry, a sense of wonder and the excitement of discovery, plus communication and teamwork, critical thinking, and life-long learning skills into learning experiences. 10

11. Lila M. Smith

12. Pedago-pathologies Amnesia Fantasia Inertia Lee Shulman – MSU Med School – PBL Approach (late 60s – early 70s); Stanford University, Past President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of College Teaching Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking learning seriously. Change, 31 (4), 11-17.

13. What do we do about these pathologies? – Lee Shulman Activity Reflection Collaboration Passion Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking learning seriously. Change, 31 (4), 11-17. 13

14. Lila M. Smith

15. It could well be that faculty members of the twenty-first century college or university will find it necessary to set aside their roles as teachers and instead become designers of learning experiences, processes, and environments. James Duderstadt, 1999 [Nuclear Engineering Professor; Dean, Provost and President of the University of Michigan] 15

16. Pedagogies of Engagement 16

17. MIT & Harvard – Engaged Pedagogy January 13, 2009—New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?em January 2, 2009—Science, Vol. 323 www.sciencemag.org Calls for evidence-based teaching practices

18. http://web.mit.edu/edtech/casestudies/teal.html#video

19. http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html

20. Cooperative Learning •Positive Interdependence •Individual and Group Accountability •Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction •Teamwork Skills •Group Processing

21. Cooperative Learning Research Support Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Smith, K.A. 1998. Cooperative learning returns to college: What evidence is there that it works? Change, 30 (4), 26-35. • Over 300 Experimental Studies • First study conducted in 1924 • High Generalizability • Multiple Outcomes Outcomes 1. Achievement and retention 2. Critical thinking and higher-level reasoning 3. Differentiated views of others 4. Accurate understanding of others' perspectives 5. Liking for classmates and teacher 6. Liking for subject areas 7. Teamwork skills January 2005 March 2007

22. Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom • Informal Cooperative Learning Groups • Formal Cooperative Learning Groups • Cooperative Base Groups See Cooperative Learning Handout (CL College-804.doc) 22

23. Cooperative Learning is instruction that involves people working in teams to accomplish a common goal, under conditions that involve both positive interdependence (all members must cooperate to complete the task) and individual and group accountability (each member is accountable for the complete final outcome). Key Concepts •Positive Interdependence •Individual and Group Accountability •Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction •Teamwork Skills •Group Processing

24. Individual & Group Accountability • ? 24

25. 25 http://www.ce.umn.edu/~smith/docs/Smith-CL%20Handout%2008.pdf

26. Book Ends on a Class Session 26

27. Advance Organizer “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.@ David Ausubel - Educational psychology: A cognitive approach, 1968. 27

28. Book Ends on a Class Session • Advance Organizer • Formulate-Share-Listen-Create (Turn-to-your-neighbor) -- repeated every 10-12 minutes • Session Summary (Minute Paper) • What was the most useful or meaningful thing you learned during this session? • What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session? • What was the “muddiest” point in this session?

29. Advance Organizer “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.” David Ausubel - Educational psychology: A cognitive approach, 1968. 29

30. Quick Thinks • Reorder the steps • Paraphrase the idea • Correct the error • Support a statement • Select the response • Johnston, S. & Cooper,J. 1997. Quick thinks: Active- thinking in lecture classes and televised instruction. Cooperative learning and college teaching, 8(1), 2-7. 30

31. Formulate-Share-Listen-Create • Informal Cooperative Learning Group • Introductory Pair Discussion of a • FOCUS QUESTION • Formulate your response to the question individually • Share your answer with a partner • Listen carefully to your partner's answer • Work together to Create a new answer through discussion 31

32. Minute Paper • What was the most useful or meaningful thing you learned during this session? • What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session? • What was the “muddiest” point in this session? • Give an example or application • Explain in your own words . . . Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. 1993. Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. 32

33. Session Summary • (Minute Paper) • Reflect on the session: • 1. Most interesting, valuable, useful thing you learned. • 2. Things that helped you learn. • 3. Question, comments, suggestions. • Pace: Too slow 1 . . . . 5 Too fast • Relevance: Little 1 . . . 5 Lots • Instructional Format: Ugh 1 . . . 5 Ah 33

34. MOT 8221 – Spring 2009 – Session 1 Q4 – Pace: Too slow 1 . . . . 5 Too fast (3.3) Q5 – Relevance: Little 1 . . . 5 Lots (4.2) Q6 – Format: Ugh 1 . . . 5 Ah (4.4) 34

35. Informal CL (Book Ends on a Class Session) with Concept Tests Physics Peer Instruction - Eric Mazur - Harvard – http://galileo.harvard.edu Richard Hake – http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/ Chemistry Chemistry ConcepTests - UW Madison www.chem.wisc.edu/~concept Video: Making Lectures Interactive with ConcepTests ModularChem Consortium – http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/ STEMTEC Video: How Change Happens: Breaking the “Teach as You Were Taught” Cycle – Films for the Humanities & Sciences – www.films.com Harvard Thinking Together, From Questions to Concepts Interactive Teaching in Physics & Interactive Teaching DVD: Promoting Better Learning Using Peer Instruction and Just-In-Time Teaching: Derek Bok Center www.fas.harvard.edu/~bok_cen/ 35

36. UMn-CL+PS X X UMn Cooperative Groups UMn Traditional The “Hake” Plot of FCI 35.00 SDI 30.00 ALS WP 25.00 20.00 PI(HU) 15.00 ASU(nc) WP* 10.00 ASU(c) HU 5.00 0.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 36 Pretest (Percent)

37. Richard Hake (Interactive engagement vs traditional methods) http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/ Traditional (lecture) Interactive (active/cooperative) <g> = Concept Inventory Gain/Total

38. 38

39. Physics (Mechanics) Concepts:The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) • A 30 item multiple choice test to probe student's understanding of basic concepts in mechanics. • The choice of topics is based on careful thought about what the fundamental issues and concepts are in Newtonian dynamics. • Uses common speech rather than cueing specific physics principles. • The distractors (wrong answers) are based on students' common inferences. 39

40. Informal Cooperative Learning 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 they have been listening to (Cognitive Rehearsal) Are especially effective in large lectures Include "book ends" procedure Are not as effective as Formal Cooperative Learning or Cooperative Base Groups

41. Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom • Informal Cooperative Learning Groups • Formal Cooperative Learning Groups • Cooperative Base Groups See Cooperative Learning Handout (CL College-804.doc) 41

42. Formal Cooperative Learning Task Groups

43. http://www.aacu.org/advocacy/leap/documents/Re8097abcombined.pdfhttp://www.aacu.org/advocacy/leap/documents/Re8097abcombined.pdf 43

44. Engineering Total Design – 36% Computer applications – 31% Management – 29% Civil/Architectural Management – 45% Design – 39% Computer applications – 20% Top Three Main Engineering Work Activities Burton, L., Parker, L, & LeBold, W. 1998. U.S. engineering career trends. ASEE Prism, 7(9), 18-21. 44

45. Teamwork Skills • Communication • Listening and Persuading • Decision Making • Conflict Management • Leadership • Trust and Loyalty 45

46. Design team failure is usually due to failed team dynamics (Leifer, Koseff & Lenshow, 1995). It’s the soft stuff that’s hard, the hard stuff is easy (Doug Wilde, quoted in Leifer, 1997) Professional Skills (Shuman, L., Besterfield-Sacre, M., and McGourty, J., “The ABET Professional Skills-Can They Be Taught? Can They Be Assessed?” Journal of Engineering Education, Vo. 94, No. 1, 2005, pp. 41–55.)

47. Teamwork 47

48. Characteristics of Effective Teams • common sense of direction • Expertise in the group, especially complementary expertise • Common agreed upon goal • Diversity of ideas, background, experiences, etc. • Good coordination among members • Sense of consultation, involvement in the framing • Buy in • Fun • Respect for others • Good communication • Clear expectation • Avoid negativist, be positive, no whining or complaining • Be critical but not personal • Accountability with compassion • Having people do what they’re good at • Work well with supervisor • Social trust • Leadership without dictatorship • Good listening • Clear, well defined timeline and deliverables 48

49. A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable • SMALL NUMBER • COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS • COMMON PURPOSE & PERFORMANCE GOALS • COMMON APPROACH • MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY --Katzenbach & Smith (1993) The Wisdom of Teams

50. Hackman – Leading Teams • Real Team • Compelling Direction • Enabling Structure • Supportive Organizational Context • Available Expert Coaching Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS) https://research.wjh.harvard.edu/TDS/ 50