ICBL Active Learning
- 1. Strategies for Enhancing Active Learning Communities Matt Russell, Ph.D. & Gerald Bergtrom, Ph.D. Learning Technology Consultants Learning Technology Center University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- 2. Solving Pedagogic problems and Achieving Instructional Goals
- 3. Some problems we wanted to address: Too many college students have poor writing skills . Too many college students have poor communication skills . Too many college students have poor quantitative skills . Students don’t complete reading assignments before class. Students spend too much time playing with cell phones, mobile devices & social media on the internet and not enough on academics. Students often perform poorly on objective assessments; they rely too much on memorization because we rely too much on assessment of memorization rather than analytical skills. Assessing analytical skills requires too much time . Covering much content leaves no time to model critical (scientific) thinking in the classroom. Classes are too large to permit structured interactive, collaborative learning. Online assessments may allow ‘ cheating ’.
- 4. The Reality Blended Learning is a path to addressing misperceptions, solving these problems and strengthening classroom and online communities of learning… Misperception Solutions to these problems take too much instructor time.
- 5. Some problem-solving strategies Carefully constructed group and solo short writing exercises can assess critical thinking and analytical skills. Collaborative (peer) learning exercises improve analytical as well as quantitative skills. With good rubrics, grading assessments of deeper learning does not have to take too much time. These exercises can often be implemented in small and large classes. Increased use of online assessment techniques and technologies do not increase ‘cheating’, but they can enhance collaboration in pedagogically useful ways. Social media skills that students already have, as well as devices they already use can be co-opted to effective pedagogy.
- 6. Overview What is active learning? What are some goals for active learning? What rubrics will you use to assess active learning? Active learning strategies for web-enhanced, blended and online courses Specific examples of active learning techniques and how they work. The key considerations to implementing active learning strategies.
- 7. What is active learning? Active learning occurs when reading, listening and viewing (passive learning) are integrated with individual and group projects such as discussion, problem solving, writing or presenting. When learning actively, students engage and interact with course content and the instructor, and collaborate with each other in carefully constructed activities.
- 8. Active learning strategies for your technology-enhanced, blended and online courses Decide on the learning objective(s) - what you want students to be able to do , rather than know, after going through an active learning module. Decide on a rubric for assessing whether students have achieved your learning goals.
- 9. Examples of active learning techniques Synchronous: in-class writing and clicker exercises foster collaboration in tech-enhanced and blended courses. Web-based strategies for real-time engagement and collaboration Asynchronous: online Discussions and Dropbox - supported group projects , social media and virtual world pedagogies.
- 10. Some F2F Active learning Strategies that promote collaboration Designed for small groups. Useful in any face-to-face context, but especially effective in a blended course. Group discusses a case study, problem, etc. and collectively write a response (hypothesis or approach to explain/solve the problem). Examples…
- 11. I heard about clickers from an advertisement a colleague(s) a student(s) a textbook publisher(s) A teaching technology seminar Other I have not heard of clickers 0 Collecting Group Data Clickers
- 12. Which of the following is the least likely proposition? Increased personal savings will accelerate economic recovery. The development of solar and wind energy will accelerate economic recovery. Increased government spending will provide jobs and stimulate the economy. Increased government spending will increase the national debt and slow the recovery. Analysis/Synthesis
- 13. If they were to become widespread, which of the following will have the biggest impact on global warning? individual recycling and energy conservation efforts. industrial recycling and personal energy conservation efforts. use of hybrid and electric cars. use of solar and wind energy instead of fossil or nuclear fuels Conceptual understanding/ Analysis
- 14. What were the learning objectives of this clicker exercise? After finishing this activity, you should be able to… Compare levels of experience of students with clickers. Evaluate action that might improve the economic climate in the U.S. Compare & contrast approaches to remediating or slowing down global warming.
- 15. Short in-class collaborative writing exercise (group or individual)
- 16. An Index Card Exercise… A beautiful piece of driftwood picked up from the shore of Lake Michigan is art. Discuss this statement in groups of 3-5 & then individually defend or dispute this statement on a 4X5” index card. Record your arguments in 100-150 words on the index card. Sign and hand in the card. For this exercise students may have viewed different kinds of 2D and 3D art (painting, sculpture) and have discussed what made a piece a work of art. Maybe notions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ art would also have been discussed.
- 17. Jackson Pollack was criticized by some art critics because his canvases could be reproduced by a monkey. he had no formal training as an artist. he was a sculptor, not a painter. he was an alcoholic. A Clicker Follow-up Factual Recall
- 18. What were the learning objectives of this s hort collaborative writing exercise? Upon finishing this activity, you should be able to… An swer the question (at least for yourself) “What is art?” List criteria that distinguish art from other human activity. Articulate why we might want to pay attention to (i.e., appreciate) Jackson Pollack paintings. Identify, describe & effectively argue a controversy in the art world.
- 19. Here, students would have already read about the role of biological evolution in creating the diversity of life on earth… Yet Another Index Card Exercise A ship’s captain visiting a far away paradise island saw much livestock and produce. Years of breeding had yielded a variety of maize with more and larger kernels on the cob. Island farmers stopped growing the other varieties of maize. Some years later, the captain returned with her ship to find the island desolate, strewn with animal and human remains. Why? Work in groups of 3-5 (no more, no less); write your response on a 4X5” index card signed by your group members.
- 20. Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Since Intelligent Design and Darwinian evolution are both theories of how we became human, they should both be taught in grade school science classes. Polling opinions A Clicker Follow-up
- 21. What were the learning objectives of this s hort collaborative writing exercise? After completion of this activity, you will be able to… Write about the benefits of diversity in biological terms. Sense the value of diversity in human social terms. Explain the role of evolution in increasing diversity within and across species. Analyze & identify statements as either a theory or an hypothesis.
- 22. Classroom Exercises like these are easy to grade (automatic for clickers, 15 minutes for 15-25 minutes for two index card exercises per class) and they engage students in enable peer instruction and collaboration i.e., Active Learning
- 23. Why use these techniques? No one can hide – all students participate Instant feedback for student and teacher Increased student engagement with content & each other They lead to valuable learning outcomes: deeper learning, critical & analytical thinking skills, quantitative literacy, etc. Assessment - students come to class better prepared Increased attendance Students enjoyed classes more
- 24. Some Asynchronous Active Learning Strategies for small groups
- 25. Example of a small group online Discussion Forum http://uwm.edu ou=242556 (migrating cells - Disc. D)
- 26. A Biology Semester Project Discussion topics and DropBox folders in the service of active Learning ou= 91234 (Group Project Instructions)
- 27. Overview Groups of 7-8 students will be assigned one of the following projects: Did Abraham Lincoln suffer from a genetic disease? Pros and cons of human cloning Making sense out of health-care reform proposals The goal of the project is to create a 15-30 slide PowerPoint presentation, providing enough factual detail to tell an audience about your topic, to say what is at stake for our society, and to take a side in any controversy in your topic.
- 28. Overview cont. Tools and Documentation: While you may communicate with group members in different ways, each group is assigned an asynchronous Discussion space , DropBoxes for submitting project artifacts, & a synchronous web-conferencing space for collaboration in planning and implementing the group project. Group assign members one of several roles (group leader, secretary, slide editor, script editor, lead editor, etc.). The project is divided into phases with separate due dates . Phases could include e.g., assigning roles, finding research sources, submitting individual slide contributions, group drafts etc. The record of your timely contributions to the project will be a factor in your project grade.
- 29. Summary of ideas for small group activities: co-authored term paper ( any course ) co-authored survey tool ( a psychology course ) group presentation ( any F2F, blended, even online course) collaborative art installation or display (an art course) co-authored poster presentation for a conference or workshop ( any course) Creation of a lesson plan (an education course) Implementation of activities in a virtual world such as Second Life ( any course) Group activities in social media venues including Wikis, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. ( any course)
- 30. The key considerations to implementing active learning strategies Manageable group size Challenging, provocative, value-added assignments, whether long- or short-term An automated scoring system (clickers) or a rubric that you can use!
- 31. Active Learning Strategies Breakout In small groups, pick one of your courses and collaborate to design an active learning module.
- 32. END
- 33. An Index Card Exercise You are one of 3 clients that your home healthcare agency has assigned to an elderly client. You arrive a few minutes early for your shift and witness your co-worker ask the client if they can borrow $10.00 until payday (the next day). The client agrees. What if anything should you do? Work in groups of 3-5 (no more, no less); write your response on a 4X5” index card signed by your group members.
- 34. Another Index Card Exercise You work for an eldercare agency in town and have developed a close relationship with a client you have been caring for. It is clear that the client, who is alone with no living relatives, has come to enjoy your company and appreciate your services. One day the client confides to you that she has put you into her will and that she is going to leave you everything she owns. What if anything should you tell your supervisor? Work in groups of 3-5 (no more, no less); write your response on a 4X5” index card signed by your group members.
- 35. What were the learning objectives of this writing exercise? After completion of this activity, you will be able to… Analyze potential ethical dilemmas in situations involving caregiver-client relationships Identify the parameters of ethical issues involving caregivers and clients. Decide when a financial transaction between a client and caregiver is unethical or inappropriate Write about the an ethical issue.
- 36. Broadly speaking, my field is in the Social Sciences Humanities Fine Arts Natural Sciences Professions Other 0 Slicing Data… Collecting Group Data Something fun (optional)