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Engaging Learners at Higher Cognitive Levels During Class Sessions. Dr. M. Susie Whittington. Associate Professor Department of Human & Community Resource Development The Ohio State University Supported by the Price Chair for Teaching, Advising, and Learning. A Cognitive Experience.
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Engaging Learners at Higher Cognitive Levels During Class Sessions Dr. M. Susie Whittington Associate Professor Department of Human & Community Resource Development The Ohio State University Supported by the Price Chair for Teaching, Advising, and Learning
A Cognitive Experience • You are given four black cards and four red cards from an ordinary deck. You have to arrange them in a stack, face down, so that you can deal them out (until no cards remain) as follows:
A Cognitive Experience • You place the top card on the table face up. It is black. • You place the next card (now on top of the deck) on the bottom of the deck. • You place the next card on the table, face up. It is red. • You place the next card on the bottom of the deck. Continue the pattern until no cards remain in the deck.
A Cognitive Experience • Answer: BBRBBRRR
Objectives for Session II To acquaint you with cognition studies • Professor Discourse (Session I) • 3-year intervention • Academic Challenges • Think-aloud Protocols • Teaching Techniques, Questioning
Objectives for Session II • To review your: • Syllabus (before class begins) • Angelo & Cross, others (during class) • Assignments/Tests (outside class)
Objectives for Session II • To apply the results of cognition studies to your teaching
3-Year Intervention: Instrumentation • FTCB • Validity • Reliability • Assessments • Participants
Knowledge = 47% Comprehension = 33% Application = 8% Analysis = 10% Synthesis = 1.5% Evaluation = .6% Results: Phase IAssessments
Phase II: Methodology • Treatment Level I • Awareness • a two-hour workshop
Phase II: Methodology • Treatment Level II • Resources • a two-hour workshop • a monthly reading • feedback regarding applications
Phase II: Methodology • Teaching for Critical Thinking • What Happened to Thinking? • Thought and Knowledge • Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World • Discussion Method Teaching • Learning as Problem Solving
Phase II: Methodology • Treatment Level III • Development • a two-hour workshop • a monthly one-hour workshop
Phase II: Methodology • Writing objectives across the levels of cognition • An introduction to learning styles • Problem solving: Teaching across the levels and reaching all learning styles • Sharing your best kept secrets • Questioning: teaching across the levels • Documenting your teaching effectiveness • Barriers to teaching at higher levels
Academic Challenges: Introduction • “Academic challenges” provided by professors can be vital to the learning process” -Doyle & Barber, 1990; Meyers, 1986 • Effective use of academic challenges has been shown to increase student achievement” -Foyle & Baily, 1985; Ziegler, 1986
Academic Challenges • Assessment • Spreadsheet Handout
Academic Challenges: Findings Number of academic challenges provided per course ranged from 3-32. Mode = 15
Academic Challenges: Findings Variety of academic challenges provided within a course ranged from 3-8. Mode = 3
Activity – Index Card • Answers to these questions may positively impact the way in which professors think about teaching • What difference is being made in students’ thinking processes, when comparing being challenged 3 times with the same type of academic challenge versus 32 times with 8 types of academic challenges?
Activity – Your Syllabus • Am I providing thinking opportunities via the academic challenges I am selecting?
Activity – Your Syllabus • Which types of academic challenges are better for developing thinking skills?
Activity – Your Syllabus • What is the appropriate variety and number of academic challenges?
Activity – Your Syllabus • What contribution is each academic challenge making toward learning?
Assessment of Final Exams (N=27) Knowledge = 34.4% Comprehension = 36% Application = 14% Analysis = 6.2% Synthesis = 9.4% Evaluation = 0% Academic Challenges: Findings
Academic Challenges • Activity • Example Tests • Test Item • Example • Handout
Teaching Techniques: Introduction • Using a variety of teaching techniques enables students to continue developing their own thinking abilities(Gregory, 2001). • Teachers need to vary their teaching techniques depending on the situation in which they are teaching(Newcomb, McCracken, Warmbrod, & Whittington, 2004).
Teaching Techniques: Findings Percent of group teaching techniques utilized
Teaching Techniques: Findings Percent of individualized teaching techniques utilized
Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching • Students are able to learn at higher cognitive levels when the teacher employs multiple techniques, because each student learns in different ways(Sternberg, 2002). (X)
Lecture does not allow for active student learning (Manguarin, Feldman, Clements, Boucher, 2001) “SAGE on the STAGE”* Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching
Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching • Students should USE content as it is presented (King, 1993; McKeachie, 2002)*.
Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching • That which learners DO determines the level of understanding they ultimately achieve” -Glover, Ronning & Bruning, 1990
Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching • Professors should use higher cognitive level QUESTIONS (Hunkins, 1989; Blosser, 1991).
First word… Who? How? Why? Where? When? What? Second word… Will… Should… Is… Could… Might Would… Critical Thinking Stems
Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching • Engage learners in metacognitive EXERCISES (Angelo & Cross, 2003).
Application: Previous Researchers’ Strategies for Higher Cognitive Teaching • Teach with your mouthshut (Finkel, 2000).
Planning Premise • “If teachers can teach students to paint, sing, or dance, they can teach students to think (Mohanan, 1997, p. 1).
Closing Thought • “Thinking is hard” (vanGelder, 2004, p. 2)
Cognitive Connection • In Session I we . . . • In Session II we . . .
Teaching Techniques: Activity • Table group move to the wall charts • Take a marker with you
Teaching Techniques: Activity • Random Reporting