Does size matter? Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LTHE)

Module Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice

University of Salford

Twitter @pgcap March 2012

The plan

• Discuss with you (large group) teaching through an immersive learning experience to trigger thinking, reflection and action

What I would like you to take away to be open to new approaches, to be creative, reflect on practice and try new things

What would you like you to take away

Three main theories of teaching in HE

Theory 1: Teaching as telling, transmission or delivery - PASSIVE students are passive recipients of the wisdom of a single speaker – all problems reside outside the lecturer Theory 2: Teaching as organising or facilitating student activity - ACTIVE students are active – problems shared

Theory 3: Teaching as making learning possible – SELF-DIRECTED teaching is cooperative learning to help students change their understanding. It focuses on critical barriers to student learning (Threshold Concepts – Meyer and Land, 2003) Learning is applying and modifying one’s own ideas; it is something the student does, rather than something that is done to the student. Teaching is speculative and reflective, teaching activities are context-related, uncertain and continuously improvable. (Ramsden, 2003, 108-112)

How large is large? a. 30 + b. 50 + c. 100 +

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/MTEzMzA2MDY1

How do you feel when you teach large

groups?

sticky notes image

Discuss with the person next to you your

experiences of large group teaching.

origami: let’s make something ;o) NOT boats!!!

What is happening in your sessions?

What would you like to happen in your

sessions?

Benefits Challenges

Large-group teaching co-ordinators

Task (5min): Share findings with the other group.

What do we need to do?

scenarios: [1, 2] [3, 4]

• Task 1 (10min): Work in groups of 4. Critique, debate, suggest

• Task 2 (10min): Share your thoughts with another group

scenario 1 “I employ teacher-focused methods when I deliver lectures to large groups of students. With a large group of students, it is difficult to be interactive.”

scenario 2 “I have minimised lecture material in my courses and maximised individual and group research projects, group problem-solving, and in-class discussions. Although I don’t cover as much material this way, the students learn and retain this material better. Also, standard lecture format is not the way that we learn after university. Instead, we are expected to read for ourselves and get the information that way. Thus, I feel my teaching approach better prepares students for life after university.”

“The lecture delivers the necessary core knowledge and content that the student needs to succeed.”

“Though I needs sometimes to lecture and may even enjoy doing it, lecturing all the time simply bores me: I usually know what I am going to say, and I have heard it all before. But dialogical methods of teaching help keep me alive. Forces to listen, respond, and improvise. I am more likely to hear something unexpected and insightful from myself as well as others.” (Palmer, 2007, 25)

“Most of the things that used to work don’t seem to work anymore. The technique in the book on lecturing you lent me didn’t work either. They all ignored the buzz group questions and talked about Saturday’s game or something. They’re basically idle and won’t do a thing unless it gets a mark. I tried a few labs differently, I asked them more questions and tried to explain things better, but there were problems becasue some of the students reckonded I was spending too much time on explaining and not enough on getting the stuff across, covering the syllabus. Which was true of course. And now with my student appraisal coming up, I’m worried. Remembering what we tell them is the big thing for students. The amount of knowledge in this subject increases every few minutes and the syllabus is now twice as big as it was when I was a student. I am thinking about some video presentations to get the stuff across, to transfer it more efficiently from my mind to the students’ head. If something is visual, they’ll remember it better. Isn’t that right?” (Ramsden, 2003, 15-16)

Donald Clark: Don’t lecture me!

from delivering to facilitating(flipped classroom Aaron Sams, and Jonathan Bergmann , PBL etc.)

from isolation to conversation, collaboration, questioning, connecting, networking, negotiating

from passive to active

from just low or no-tech to also high-tech

from one for all to personalisation

from just in-class to everywhere and anytime

video clips

http://www.wlv.ac.uk/Default.aspx?page=25525

Task: Watch, observe and comment (what did you like, what could be improved and why)

pairs

• not groups

• difficult for one member to be completely in active

threes

• small enough to avoid the risk of “shy violets”

• big enough to bring together more experience than a pair.

• disadvantage can be two ganging against one.

fours

• still small for everyone to contribute – this is the preferred group size!

• disadvantage group might split into two pairs

• no case vote if pairs disagree how to approach a task.

fives

• large enough to have the “odd passenger” or “bystander” – getting away without contributing much to the group work.

sixes and more

• the main danger is passenger behaviours or non-participation.

Grouping and size Phil Race: In at the deep-end: starting to teach in higher education, Leeds Metropolitan University

We are all different!

”They should not feel compelled to adopt a persona that is unnatural or seems to go against the grain of his or her personality” (Light et al 2009:124)

Would you like a break?

Constructions of PBL • Early descriptions – Cognitive psychology

– “PBL described and measured against three principles of learning: activation of prior knowledge, elaboration and encoding specificity” 1

– Outcomes of individuals as ‘unit of analysis’

– Cohort comparison methodologies

• Late 90’s onward – social constructivist theory – “these [PBL] processes actually occur in small-group tutorials

…processing of new information is indeed facilitated by discussion of a relevant problem”2

– Group becomes ‘unit of analysis’3

– Interactional analysis methodologies4

– Influence of communication and relational management and on learning5,6,7

Concept of Face and Face Threat

1 Goffman E (1967) in Miller and Fox (2004)

• Face is the positive social value a person claims for themselves in interaction

• In ‘normal’ conversation tacit agreement between interactants to uphold face of other

• Face Threatening Acts (FTAs) - Interactions which threaten face

• Observation of how these are managed allows analysis of interactant relations and impact on learning

PBL, Face and FTAs

• PBL requires students to engage in FTAs

• FTAs are essential for social constructivist learning processes

• Reducing the impact of FTA

– Reduce ‘social distance’

– Legitimise FTAs through ground rules but…

– …eliminate notion of ‘right and wrong’

References- PBL

• 1. Schmidt, H. G. (1983). "Problem-Based Learning - Rationale and Description." Medical Education 17(1): 11-16.

• 2. Schmidt, H. G. (1993). "Foundations of Problem-Based Learning - Some Explanatory Notes." Medical Education 27(5): 422-432.

• 3. Tipping, J., Freeman, R. F., et al. (1995). "Using faculty and student perceptions of group dynamics to develop recommendations for PBL training." Academic Medicine 70(11): 1050-2.

• 4. Clouston, T. J. (2007). "Exploring methods of analysing talk in problem-based learning tutorials." Journal of Further and Higher Education 31(2): 183 - 193.

• 5. Walker, A., Bridges, E., et al. (1996). "Wisdom gained, wisdom given: instituting PBL in a Chinese culture." Journal of Educational Administration 34(5): 12-31.

• 6. McLean, M., Van Wyk, J. M., et al. (2006). "The small group in problem-based learning: more than a cognitive 'learning' experience for first-year medical students in a diverse population." Medical Teacher 28(4): E94-E103.

• 7. Singaram, V., Dolmans, D., et al. (2008). "Perceptions of Problem Based Learning (PBL) Group Effectiveness in a Socially-Culturally Diverse Medical Student Population." Education for Health 21(2): 1-9.

Do you have a question?

1. Ask me now, 2. Ask the person next to

you 3. Write it on a sticky note

and leave on the door

Reflect: Does size matter?

What would you consider changing as a result of this

session?

References

Light,G., Cox, R. and Calkins. S (2009) Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, The Reflective Professional, London: Sage Publications. Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (2003) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: linkages to ways of thinking and practising, In: Rust, C. (ed.), Improving Student Learning - Theory and Practice Ten Years On. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD), pp 412-424. Palmer, P. J. (2007) The Courage to Teach. Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Race, P. (2009) In at the deep-end: starting to teach in higher education, Leeds Metropolitan University Ramsden, P (2003) Learning to teach in Higher Education, Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer.

extras

extensions

This could be used for an activity

• 10 big problems with lecture-based learning at http://www.onlineuniversities.com/10-Big-Problems-With-Lecture-Based-Learning

Flipped classroom

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc

Stimulating Physics through PBL

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHhWWhl1Zd8&feature=PlayList&p=3458B7D62DFF0E1B&playnext_from=PL&index=1&playnext=2

Six principles of effective teaching in Higher Education

1. Interest and explanation

2. Concern and respect for students and student learning

3. Appropriate assessment and feedback

4. Clear goals and intellectual challenge

5. Independence, control and engagement

6. Learning from students

(Ramsden, 2003)