Rules of Student Engagement: Active Learning Strategies

1. Rules of Student Engagement: Active Learning Strategies January 16, 2015

2. Welcome • Introductions • Agenda • Objectives • Tools

3. Section 1: • Identify challenges or frustrations you have experienced in engaging students in learning

4. What do all those words mean?

5. “Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn.” HERBERT A. SIMON, one of the founders of the field of Cognitive Science, Nobel Laureate, and University Professor (deceased) at Carnegie Mellon University. (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010)

7. What is Learning? • Learning is a process, not a product • Learning involves change in knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes • Learning is not something done to students, but rather something students themselves do (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010)

8. Flipped Homework Discussion

9. What is Active Learning? • Usually involves two key components introduced in the classroom – “doing” and “reflecting” • Students engage in activities that involve reading, writing, discussing or problem-solving (Millis, 2012)

11. Research – Benefits of Active Learning • Increases student achievement academically (Nelson, 2010) • Helps address and change students’ misconceptions (Hake, 1998, 2002) • Can significantly improve recall of information (Prince, 2004) • Can foster more favorable attitudes toward learning (Springer, Stanne, Donovan, 1997)

12. Research – Benefits of Active Learning (cont.) • Can help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Brookfield, 1987; Prince, 2004) • Promotes interpersonal relationships, improves social skills and fosters self-esteem (Prince, 2004) • Can influence students’ social integration, commitment to institution, and decision to remain in school (Braxton, Milem, Sullivan, 2000)

13. Incorporating Active Learning into Lecture At several points during lecture, stop and ask students to: • Answer a question • Sketch a flow chart, diagram, plot • Outline a problem solution • Solve all or part of a problem • Carry out all or part of a formula derivation • Interpret an observation • Critique a design or argument • Come up with a question (Felder & Brent, 2003)

14. Incorporating Active Learning into Lecture • Pause Procedure – lecturer pauses periodically for 2 minutes and has students clarify their notes with a partner • Short-term and long-term recall of information significantly improved with pause procedure vs. straight lecture (Prince, 2004)

15. Examples of Active Learning Approaches for Individual Work • Minute paper • Direct paraphrasing • Application cards • Lecture summaries • Clicker Questions • Exam Wrappers (Millis, 2012)

16. Examples of Active Learning Approaches for Pairs or Groups • Thinking-Aloud Pair Problem Solving (TAPPS) • Think-Pair-Share/Write-Pair-Share • Visible Quiz (Poor Teacher’s Clickers) • Send/Pass-a-Problem (Gallery Walks) • Case Study Discussions (Felder & Brent, 2003; Millis, 2012)

17. Section 2: • Were there any ideas during the flipped homework or active learning discussions that you want to remember for your classroom?

18. Faculty Panel

19. Section 3: • What ideas were generated in listening to the faculty panel that might address some student engagement issues?

20. How to ask the right questions and elicit student responses

21. Section 4: • What could you implement in your classroom to improve questioning strategies and elicit student responses?

22. Breakout Sessions • DELTA Labs • Gallery Walk/Wikis • Problem-Solving Ideas • Exam Wrappers • Tools of Engagement

23. Section 5: • What was useful to you from the break-out sessions you attended?

24. Putting it all together: • What changes do you want to make/steps you want to take ... and when?

25. Thank You for Attending! • Announcements • Faculty Calendar, certi.mst.edu • February 11, noon-1:30 p.m. – How to Get Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades – Dr. Saundra McGuire • March 12-13 – Teaching and Learning Technology Conference Please fill out an evaluation of the workshop!

26. For these and other active learning resources, go to ... http://edtech.mst.edu/teach/services/workshop/sp2015

27. References • Ambrose, S.A., Bridges M.W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M.C., & Norman, M.K. (2010). How Learning Works. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • Braxton, J.M., Milem, J.F., & Sullivan, A.S. (2000, September/October). The influence of active learning on the college student departure process: Toward a revision of Tinto’s theory. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 669-690. • Brookfield, S.D. (1987). Developing critical thinkers: Challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Felder, R. & Brent, R. (2003) Learning by doing. Chemical Engineering Education,37(4), 282-283. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2015, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Active.pdf • Hake, R. R. (2002). Lessons from the physics-education-reform effort. Ecology and Scoiety, 5(2), Article 28. Retried Jan. 8, 2014, from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol5/iss2/art28/ • Millis, B. J.. (2012). IDEA Paper #53: Active learning strategies in face-to-face courses, University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved Jan. 6, 2014, from http://ideaedu.org/sites/default/files/paperidea_53.pdf • Nelson, C.E. (2010) Want brighter, harder working students? Change pedagogies! Some examples, mainly from biology. In B.J. Millis, Cooperative learning in higher education: Across the disciplines, across the academy (pp. 119-139). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. • Prince, M. J. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of engineering Education, 93(3), 223-231. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2015, from www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/Prince_AL.pdf • Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. S. (1997). Effects of small-group learning on undergraduates. In Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology, A Meta-Analysis. National Institute for Science Education, University of Wisconsin.