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Innovative Teaching Methods for LargeUndergraduate Classes
May 2011
Simon BatesEdinburgh University, UK
Lorne WolfeGeorgia Southern University, USA
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Who am I?• BSc – McGill; MSc – Toronto; PhD – Illinois
• Postdocs: California (UCSB); ! ! Hebrew University (Israel)
• GSU (1995) – diverse student body (like UKZN)
• UKZN (Sabbatical 2007)
• Research: Evolutionary Ecology
• Teach: – Biology majors and graduate students
– Non-majors (core): Environmental Biology
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Who am I?BA (Cambridge) PhD (Manchester)
Postdocs in the Netherlands & England
Academic posts in Edinburgh (Chemistry) 97-98Dublin (Chemistry and Physics) 98-99Edinburgh (Physics) 2000-
Research: * Physics Education Research * Atomistic simulation of materials / liquids
Teaching (currently): * Year 1 ‘Foundations of Physics’ course * Year 4 projects / education projects
Admin / management: DoT (2006-9) DoLT (2010-)
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Group discussion:
You set the agenda by telling us what you think are the key challenges for teaching large classes.
(Break into groups of 4-5, mixed disciplines5 minutes discussion then feedback in plenary)
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Feedback points – DurbanLanguage issue (1) – not unique to language (poor skills)
Passive student – don’t ask questions
Students don’t take responsibility for own learning
Lecture notes – provide? How detailed? When provided?
Technology – good, bad and ugly
Laptops in lecture
Attendance? (no)
How to break into small groups? Venues not conducive.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Feedback points – Durban
How to motivate students in dry subject
Student:Lecture ratio (needs Tas)
Resources for additional time students need
Variation in the level of interest in course
Venues (size, climate); Demonstrators
Admin and Logistics of assessment (MCQ)
Crowd control stop and wait till they shut up, split up the talkers threaten to leave, identify student, respond by talking softer settling down time (constant distraction)
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Feedback points: Pietermaritzburg
Administration and organisation of large classes. Field trips. “Teaching them is the easy part”
Student attitudes to learning; making it relevant (L)
Short attention span. Distraction / multimedia, but can / should capitalize on that? (Multimode lectures: S ) Asking / encouraging questions. Cultural? (S)
•Differentiation in mixed ability classes •Assessment and feedback; impracticalities in large classes•Language and comprehension: including native speakers•Expectations of studying / life at university•‘Knowing your students’ How to do this in a large course
Sunday, 22 May 2011
May 4, 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
More is not Better Skills > Content
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Amount of material presented
Am
ount
reta
ined Students retain ~ 5% of
the material in a course after the final exam
Identify key concepts!! Less is more.
Content Coverage vs. Mastery
Sunday, 22 May 2011
The Large Class Becomes Small
Engaging 300 like 50
Sunday, 22 May 2011
A Successful Lecture
1. Relevant
2. Informative
3. Dynamic
4. Challenging
5. Entertaining
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Big Class Dynamics
1. There really is no difference between a large and small classroom if you approach it properly.
– Do the same things as you do in small class
• Start with ‘Good Morning’• They will automatically be actively engaged
• Move around the classroom
• Group discussions: you visit groups - give them tips and challenge them
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Get to know individual students
Connect with individuals and the group will follow.
Before class, each do go to a different part of the room.
“Good morning. What’s your name? How are things going?
Sunday, 22 May 2011
But there is no way I can remember more than 3 names!
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Extra-Credit Discussions• Pose a thought question
– What goes into making the pair of jeans you are wearing?
– What is the relationship between a revolution in Libya and how much you pay for a liter of gasoline?
– Would you prefer to live next to a coal-burning power plant or a nuclear plant?
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Think - Pair - ShareDebrief
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Extra-Credit Discussions
• Group discussion: 4-5 students; 5 minutes
• Write answer on sheet with all names
• Whole class discussion (with microphone)
• Each student present receives 1 point
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Using the Data!
Sunday, 22 May 2011
UKZN Challenges
1. Very large classes2. Students vary in ability3. Diverse cultural and demographic body4. English not first language5. Therefore, variable preparedness for
university6. Home life separate from science
• Must make it relevant
Sunday, 22 May 2011
The Role of the 1st Year Course
1. To prepare students for upper level courses2. The conundrum: tools vs. details
• Details can be googled• Tools are for life
• Requires setting learning outcomes for the entire curriculum.
• What do you expect students to know coming out of the freshman class for your upper level course?
• Requires faculty-wide agreement on goals and strategies.
• Need honest evaluation of what is and what is Sunday, 22 May 2011
Main Goal of 1st Year Course
1. Provide students with ability to become effective learners
! - to handle information ! - to ask the right questions to inform their own learning
• What skills do they need?• Basic mathematics• How to read and understand• Curiosity and a desire to learn
• Get them excited!Sunday, 22 May 2011
How to improve
Wolfe Env. Bio. Fall 2002
Total/400 By ExtraCredit
Tota
l/40
0
200
250
300
350
400
0 5 10 15 20 25ExtraCredit
Linear Fit
Linear FitTotal/400 = 258.782 + 4.83538 ExtraCredit
Summary of FitRSquareRSquare AdjRoot Mean Square ErrorMean of ResponseObservations (or Sum Wgts)
0.2733330.27022734.07154313.8559
236
Analysis of VarianceSou r ceModelErrorC Total
D F 1
234 235
Sum of Squares 102177.59 271643.52 373821.10
Mean Square 102178 1161
F Ratio 88.0181Prob>F
<.0001
Parameter EstimatesT e r mInterceptExtraCredit
Est imate 258.7818
4.8353773
Std Error6.275314 0.5154
t Ratio 41.24 9.38
Prob>|t |<.0001<.0001
Extra credit– 400 + 20 pts– attendance data
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Language Challenges
1. Have students pair up with another student or quickly gather into! small groups to explain concepts or figure out a problem. Peers! often can find ways to explain things to ESL students that we! have trouble explaining.
2. Pace your speech. Pauses help students assimilate and understand! what is being discussed. Short sentences helps as well.
3. Encourage the use of gestures and visuals to illustrate key! points and concepts.
4. Humor gets lost in translation.
5. If possible, incorporate phrases in students' native language! to help them connect more with an English word or phrase
6. Record (podcast) the lecture to let non-native speakers review as they wantSunday, 22 May 2011
ATHERTON J S (2010) Learning and Teaching; Lectures [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/lecture.htm
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Interac0vity…the essen0al ingredient
“ The complex cogni/ve skills required to understand Physics cannot be developed by listening to lectures…
… any more than one can learn to play tennis by watching tennis matches.”
Hestenes, D. Am. J. Phys., 66, 465-‐7 (1998)
Sunday, 22 May 2011
“Lectures (in physics) can be incredibly passive experiences for students, particularly dangerous for those who believe that if they follow the professor, they’ve mastered the material”
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Interactive engagement with clickers
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Underpinned College Learning and Teaching strategy
‘Loanership’ of 3000 handsets
Wide range of disciplines
Science, Eng, Vet. Med.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
34
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Use scenarios (3) • Peer Instruc0on
– Ques0on
– Individual poll
– Students discuss
– Repoll
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
The Evolution of a Research Talk at 3 Chinese Universities
Sunday, 22 May 2011
The SQ3R• Survey – overall idea of what you will study before you begin
(roadmap)• Question – ask yourself questions (what, how, why, when?);
benefit from making up the question and the answer• Read – don’t just run eyes over text; answer your questions;
attention to tables, graphs, bold/italicized text• Recite – stop reading, recall what you have read; use your own
words, connect new to old knowledge• Review-reread notes immediately after and then before next
class; info moves to long-term memory; reduces time needed to study before exam
Sunday, 22 May 2011
We need something ‘in conclusion’ or to sum up.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Sugges0on
Follow on discussion via email list aGer this workshop:
enrol par0cipants, presenters
share ideas, successes, failures ?
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Student Tips to New Prof in Big Class
Imagine you are teaching a class of 10
Get to know the students (on their level).Talk about what is related to them and could affect them.Make students feel comfortable. Treat them like familyMake them feel like you care about them Don’t be afraid to cuss. Just be yourself. Don’t just stand there and read ppt slidesDon’t be monotone. Act like you want to be there then we will want to Be entertaining and funny. If college kids are bored we do not learn. No need to be cookie cutter. Make your course memorable.Move around and engage studentsDo activities students like Its ok to make us laugh. Talk to us about more than lectures.Share past life experiences. Not everyone learns the same so find different ways to make your class interactAsk questions they can discuss in groupsGet the stick our of your ass and have fun teaching
Sunday, 22 May 2011