![Outline: Polling, retrieval, attention, accountability
• Polling/Audience Response System [ARS] basics (and
beyond…..)
• Large classroom “management”; multiple benefits of
retrieval practice
• Thought-provoking questions for:
Classroom Teachers
– What can you do with student polling data?
– Can you shape the classroom environment and culture?
– Are you fostering good study habits in your students?
Those in the CEI/CETL space
– What are the metrics being used at your institution to measure
teaching & learning success?
– Ever thought of “tipping points” for attendance?
– Learning space occupation across the university?
• Time permitting: other ways to take advantage of “scale"](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/usinglmspolldataandretrievalpracticetoencourageaccountabilityandattentioninlargelecturesettings-191011161957/85/Using-LMS-poll-data-and-retrieval-practice-to-encourage-accountability-and-attention-in-large-lecture-settings-8-320.jpg)
![Outline: Polling, retrieval, attention, accountability
• Polling/Audience Response System [ARS] basics (and
beyond…..)
• Large classroom “management”; multiple benefits of
retrieval practice
• Thought-provoking questions for:
Classroom Teachers
– What can you do with student polling data?
– Can you shape the classroom environment and culture?
– Are you fostering good study habits in your students?
Those in the CEI/CETL space
– What are the metrics being used at your institution to measure
teaching & learning success?
– Ever thought of “tipping points” for attendance?
– Learning space occupation across the university?
• Time permitting: other ways to take advantage of “scale"](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/usinglmspolldataandretrievalpracticetoencourageaccountabilityandattentioninlargelecturesettings-191011161957/85/Using-LMS-poll-data-and-retrieval-practice-to-encourage-accountability-and-attention-in-large-lecture-settings-31-320.jpg)
Using LMS poll data and retrieval practice to encourage accountability and attention in large lecture settings
- 1. Using LMS poll data and retrieval practice to encourage accountability and attention in large lecture settings Dr. Gavin Porter Lecturer Faculty of Science University of Hong Kong
- 2. External examiner site visit commentary “Students appeared generally not even to pretend to listen…….the students’ classroom demeanor was frankly awful. Loud conversations, inattention to the lecture, surfing on the internet, walking in and out of the room randomly and continually, even walking directly in front of the professor as he strode across the stage”
- 3. Low attendance in large lectures….. • This colours many other things that you may not have thought of!!!!!
- 4. • This colours many things that you may not have thought of!!!!! – Low SETL (student evaluation) response rates for a course…..if the SETL is administered in a mostly empty lecture, it’s no wonder that response rates would be low – Teaching space occupancy/optimization issues – Teacher motivation to pay attention to delivery/classroom atmosphere/culture? If 2/3 of the students are not showing up, they are only consuming the notes and then doing the assessments – prone to “cramming” Low attendance in large lectures….. Teacher doesn’t care Student doesn’t care ++
- 5. • This colours many things that you may not have thought of!!!!! – Low SETL (student evaluation) response rates for a course…..if the SETL is administered in a mostly empty lecture, it’s no wonder that response rates would be low – Teaching space occupancy/optimization issues – Teacher motivation to pay attention to delivery/classroom atmosphere/culture? If 2/3 of the students are not showing up, they are only consuming the notes and then doing the assessments – prone to “cramming” Low attendance in large lectures….. Teacher enthusiasm Student enthusiasm ++
- 6. On the HKUST organizer’s radar too
- 7. On the HKUST organizer’s radar too
- 8. Outline: Polling, retrieval, attention, accountability • Polling/Audience Response System [ARS] basics (and beyond…..) • Large classroom “management”; multiple benefits of retrieval practice • Thought-provoking questions for: Classroom Teachers – What can you do with student polling data? – Can you shape the classroom environment and culture? – Are you fostering good study habits in your students? Those in the CEI/CETL space – What are the metrics being used at your institution to measure teaching & learning success? – Ever thought of “tipping points” for attendance? – Learning space occupation across the university? • Time permitting: other ways to take advantage of “scale"
- 9. • Audience response systems (ARS) – Low tech okay – #s by hand (1,2,3,4……) • “Poll, peer instruction, re-poll” – Watch the audience’s thinking change and the # of correct answers go up – Also great in an ESL environment – provides a breather for the re- explanation of material student-to-student, in their native language Eric Mazur “Lecture” period choices…….getting away from uni-directional info flow…… Teacher Student Teacher Student Student Student Teacher Classroom looks like???
- 10. Add more nuance to polling……. How are you obtaining Audience Response (ARS) data? • Room for more than MCQ and quick comprehension checks? • Clicker-type device, Mentimeter, another application? • Key question: is the poll data you are getting linked to the student’s identity?
- 11. Beyond Polls: more than MCQ and comprehension checks…… “In making student data a focal point of instruction/activities, instructors can lead an exploration of concepts using not only textbooks and other academic materials, but also the perspectives of individuals in the room as well.”
- 12. “Using students themselves as subjects in this experiment validated the concept of ‘party cues’ in ways other teaching methods might not. Students realized that the effects they saw were localized, operating even within our relatively small classroom community. Party cues in this context are not abstract or academic – they are at work in the room.” Media has a….. Basically he is doing social science experiments in real-time in the classroom -- exploring bias and how information is filtered via one’s own political leaning
- 13. Examples from my own teaching….. 1st lecture: “Asian flush” response to alcohol • We want to understand this on a molecular level!!! Need to know: – Basics of metabolism – Central dogma of molecular biology (DNA-RNA-protein) • Hands-on in the lecture time -- RNA to protein translation using a codon table – Sequence-structure-function relationships for proteins • Student motivation to learn the molecular details is much stronger, IF, there is something driving the inquiry that is tangible, interesting, and relatable to their daily lives
- 14. Which combination of enzyme activities will lead to the highest alcohol flush reaction? a) Low ADH, high ALDH2 b) High ADH, high ALDH2 c) Low ADH, low ALDH2 d) High ADH, low ALDH2 Log onto Moodle and answer……
- 15. We can re-create some experiments in class……
- 16. Henry Roediger James Lang Ever bet on a baseball game???? Power of prediction to pique student interest Ever bet on a Horse race????
- 17. Make a prediction based on the lecture content of the past 15-20 minutes…… • Accountability for in-class activity, salient and tangible – it goes on the screen. • It requires a commitment and can be followed-up on later…… Teacher Student Teacher Student Student Student Teacher
- 19. What are some issues with large chains like Starbucks setting up shop in cultural icons??? • Do you agree or disagree with Rui Chenggang’s position? Why or why not? Please talk with your neighbour and input your answer on Moodle…… 경복궁 For Korean students, what about a Starbucks inside Gyeongbokgung Palace? For Taiwanese students, what about a Starbucks inside Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall? For all of the Norwegian students, what about popping a couple of Starbucks up into Nidaros Cathedral? 中正紀念堂 For all of the French students, what about popping a couple of Starbucks up into Notre Dame Cathedral?
- 20. Show student answers in real-time, project on the lecture hall screen……… Ask out loud in a 120 person lecture and wait for response…..
- 21. Add more nuance to polling……. How are you obtaining Audience Response (ARS) data? • Room for more than MCQ and quick comprehension checks? YES!!!! • Promote predictions, small-scale experiments, sentiment analysis, longer form answers; obtain and show the data in real-time….. • Hopefully institutional/faculty/departmental metrics for eLearning “success” are going beyond merely eLearning usage…..need to ask HOW…..and look at the course’s effectiveness rating • Clicker-type device, Mentimeter, another application? • Key question: is the poll data you are getting linked to the student’s identity?
- 22. Add more nuance to polling……. How are you obtaining Audience Response (ARS) data? • Room for more than MCQ and quick comprehension checks? YES!!!! • Clicker-type device, Mentimeter, another application? • Key question: is the poll data you are getting linked to the student’s identity?
- 24. “Mid-semester drop” in student attendance
- 25. Other ways of checking attendance in a large lecture setting • Important question: the RMIT folks very justifiably want to ensure that they optimize teaching spaces; don’t want overcrowding or underutilization • “Motion sensor” may rub some people the wrong way…….similar methods using student card scans upon entering a lecture hall Sweet zone
- 26. Add more nuance to polling……. How are you obtaining Audience Response (ARS) data? • Room for more than MCQ and quick comprehension checks? YES!!!! • New avenues for professional development – Most universities are good at technical outreach (Moodle IT style workshops), room for improvement in technical outreach that is more pedagogy-focused • Clicker-type device, Mentimeter, another application? • Key question: is the poll data you are getting linked to the student’s identity?
- 27. Identity-linked polling can: • Serve as an attendance proxy – More performance-based than just walking into a room (motion-sensor) or tapping a card; students must expend some effort to engage and answer questions posed to them • Provide fodder for follow-up – Is the student putting in an above average effort with open- ended responses?.....commend those students – Is the student constantly getting the wrong answers?....can act as a prompt for remedial work/extra help • Be shown in the classroom time itself, as the results are generated, as a signpost for accountability – Shows the students that the teacher knows whether they are attending AND actively participating in class by answering the questions, even in a >100 student class
- 28. Mentimeter, multi-button “clickers” • Mentimeter will provide very good functionality, some might say the display of answers is a bit more aesthetically pleasing • Clickers -- depends on sophistication of device (expense!!!), have traditionally only provided MCQ functionality Via the LMS – i.e. Moodle Choice or Feedback • Feedback – orange megaphone icon • open ended • Choice – blue question mark icon • MCQ • Responses are automatically linked to student identity • Students are used to logging into Moodle all the time anyways Add more nuance to polling…….
- 29. The teacher sees (and cares) whether you are participating in the large lecture setting……. • Accountability for in-class activity, salient and tangible – it goes on the screen. • It requires a commitment and can be followed-up on later…… Teacher Student Teacher Student Student Student Teacher
- 30. “Tipping points” for attendance? Let’s take a 120 person class • a student goes to lecture and sees 110 other students there – Everyone else is going……not just my close friends, but everybody else. I’d better show up again next week……. • a students goes to lecture and sees 40 other students there – The majority of students enrolled in the class are not here, thus, I can probably skip next week and it’s not a big deal………. “TIPPING POINT” LIES SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 40 AND 110, WOULD BE GREAT TO PIN THIS DOWN…..will talk to RMIT folks to look for this in the future
- 31. Outline: Polling, retrieval, attention, accountability • Polling/Audience Response System [ARS] basics (and beyond…..) • Large classroom “management”; multiple benefits of retrieval practice • Thought-provoking questions for: Classroom Teachers – What can you do with student polling data? – Can you shape the classroom environment and culture? – Are you fostering good study habits in your students? Those in the CEI/CETL space – What are the metrics being used at your institution to measure teaching & learning success? – Ever thought of “tipping points” for attendance? – Learning space occupation across the university? • Time permitting: other ways to take advantage of “scale"
- 32. What are students often doing at the beginning of class? • Catching up on gossip, buying shoes on Tao Bao, posting on social media, watching NBA highlights……. • Possible to get at least some device-free, protected time for the teacher to convey key concepts???
- 33. Review from previous Lecture……. • Different ways to do this……. – Traditional: recap 5-6 key slides from prior ppt…….. • Better way……. – Let’s take 5 min for some retrieval practice – Advantageous • tells you what you know and what you don’t know…. • the act of struggling for information helps to “prime” your brain to hold onto that information later……improves retention Great book written by cognitive and educational psychology experts
- 34. So, close your laptops, put away your tablets and phones……..
- 35. Which two brain areas make up the “reinforcement” loop that we discussed in the context of the neurophysiology of love?
- 36. • This brain region has long been known to be involved in the mediation of reward/euphoria in drugs of abuse • Feelings of romantic love appear to activate brain areas that overlap with those of drug abuse euphoria •The VTA (VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA) gushes out a chemical called DOPAMINE onto another area of the brain called the Nucleus accumbens region Addicted to Love??? Love as a drug??? www.thebrain.mcgill.ca dopamine
- 37. What does an agonist do to a receptor? What about an antagonist? What did a dopamine receptor antagonist do to pair bonding in the prairie voles?
- 38. What does an agonist do to a receptor? What about an antagonist? What did a dopamine receptor antagonist do to pair bonding in the prairie voles?
- 39. Receptor analogy Same same ear Cell Cell Sounds good Buy on iTunes sound chemical Signal Effect agonist – turns “on” the receptor
- 40. From Insel, T. Is social attachment an addictive disorder? Physiology and Behaviour 2003 Blocking the dopamine receptor can block the conditioned place preference associated with the pair bonding. Stimulating the dopamine receptors can create a partner preference even in the absence of mating….. Dopamine receptor antagonist Dopamine receptor agonist
- 41. https://www.retrievalpractice.org/ Additional benefits of start-of-class retrieval practice: • This “low (zero) stakes” testing gives the students a great self-diagnostic: • If you were sitting in class and couldn’t answer any of the 6-7 retrieval questions, then you’d better change your study habits and build in some review time each week!!!! • Indicates to students the points that are good to focus on for future assessments • Separates students from their devices – Lecturer can then take ~30 min after the retrieval practice, of device-free-time, for dealing with the current week’s ‘hard content’, then the students can re-engage with their devices in a way that’s relevant to course content when the poll questions are posed later on
- 42. Taking advantage of the ‘crowd’ in a large classroom setting One example where scale is an advantage, not a disadvantage…..
- 43. Advantage of circulating throughout a lecture hall -- I noticed that multiple students were doing this......... Learning science (or business, or engineering, or law…….anything!!!!) involves learning a bunch of new vocabulary
- 45. Power of student crowdsourcing – evolving “corpus” of science vocabulary
- 46. Summary: Using LMS poll data and retrieval practice to encourage accountability and attention in large lecture settings • Identity-linked polling, such as via an LMS like Moodle, can act as an attendance proxy and accountability signpost in a large lecture setting. Once you’ve used it, you’ll wonder if you can ever teach without it again – students get acclimated and look forward to providing their predictions and giving feedback……they know the teacher is watching • Retrieval practice can temporarily divorce students from their phones, during the start of class time when attention is typically compromised • Scale can sometimes be an advantage – crowdsourced multi-language course vocabulary lists; very easy to obtain!!!
- 47. Helpful hyperlinks….. • Crouch, Catherine H., and Eric Mazur. "Peer instruction: Ten years of experience and results." American journal of physics 69.9 (2001): 970-977 • Brown, Peter C., Henry L. Roediger, and Mark A. McDaniel. Make it stick. Harvard University Press, 2014 • Lang, James M. Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. John Wiley & Sons, 2016 • Loepp, Eric D. "Beyond Polls: Using Science and Student Data to Stimulate Learning." Journal of Political Science Education 14.1 (2018): 17-41 • Brennan, Amelia, Christina Peace, and Pablo Munguia. "Classroom size, activity and attendance: scaling up drivers of learning space occupation." Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. ACM, 2018 • Roediger III, Henry L., and Andrew C. Butler. "The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention." Trends in cognitive sciences 15.1 (2011): 20-27
- 48. Thanks for your attention!!! • Feel free to reach out – thoughts, suggestions, collaborations: – gavinwporter@gmail.com – porterg@hku.hk – HKU Scholar’s Hub – Twitter: @gavinporterhku https://commoncore.hku.hk/ccgl9053/ https://commoncore.hku.hk/ccst9052/ https://commoncore.hku.hk/ccst9046/