Dr. Claudia Schippert

1. Improving Peer Review, Team Work and Collaborative Learning Skills in Humanistic Traditions I and II Dr. Claudia Schippert University of Central Florida

2. Introduction University of Central Florida

3. The Challenge HUM 1 and 2 are GED courses with mostly first and second year student enrollment. The challenges to group projects such as a peer reviewed multi-stage discussion paper have been (in my experience at UCF): • Many students are unfamiliar with collaborative work and need to be taught basic collaborative skills throughout the course (and before they start the paper-process!) • Students have expressed frustration because they encountered insufficient structure and monitoring and procrastinated/neglected to complete steps/the project. • Technical facilitation needs to be improved by making the process paperless and more efficient. University of Central Florida

4. Pedagogical Objectives My teaching approach is aimed at critical thinking in an interdisciplinary and collaborative learning environment. In teaching Humanistic Traditions I and II, my objectives are for students (a) to gather information about significant aspects and periods of human cultures and civilizations (b) to think critically (and philosophically) about this knowledge, and (c) to learn to position themselves vis-à-vis this study of culture and values. University of Central Florida

5. I want to incorporate into my course objectives a central commitment to collaborative learning by adding the objective (d) to problem solve collaboratively by engaging in peer-review and group work. University of Central Florida

6. The Concrete Project Students in this (gen-ed and Gordon-rule) course have to complete as part of their course requirements a “critical media discussion paper” in which they critically discuss an aspect or artifact of contemporary culture - and the ways in which it emerged out of broader historical-cultural trajectories studied within the course. As part of the process required in this project, students have to peer-review their proposal, outline, and first draft of their paper before handing in the final version later in the semester (together with their peer’s critical comments). University of Central Florida

7. Insights from the FCTL seminar • Collaborative learning and team work involve essential skills and competencies that students need to learn and practice in order to benefit beyond one course - and beyond time at UCF. • Several workshops at the the summer seminar have enabled me to imagine new or better ways to provide students with opportunities to learn and practice these skills and competencies. University of Central Florida

8. Implementation in Fall Semester Clarity of Purpose • The peer reviewed project will be introduced early and the significance of collaborative learning will be pointed out in writing, repeatedly discussed, and demonstrated in class. University of Central Florida

9. Monitoring, Communication, Evaluation • Clear guidelines for determining the peer, beginning the process, and reporting about progress and/or problems will be established by me and by the students early on. These will constitute major rubrics for their evaluation. University of Central Florida

10. Peers: Preparation and Practice • Short exercises on homework or related in-class exercises will target communication and problem solving skills with the peer prior to the critical media paper project. University of Central Florida

11. For example: Tossing the Paper… Currently, students are given extensive descriptions and guidelines, including a schedule. They are also given a proposal form to fill out and exchange with their peers before handing it in to me early on in the process. However, due to the paper format, the turn around is slow and due to the time investment of peer-exchange, I was not able to monitor the crucial first stage of the project. University of Central Florida

12. University of Central Florida

13. … and moving onto Web-CT Web-ct functions will assist in the communication and planning and also in monitoring and the evaluation: • As the project begins, I will require weekly reports about the activities and progress of the peer-group. • Students will include drafts, communication, comments, rewrites, and revisions in their final paper. Throughout the project, results of several stages will be entered in a drop box or specific discussion-group assigned to the student pair. This will enable me to monitor their progress – including the quality and content of their work. University of Central Florida

14. Anticipated Outcome: • As I improve skills and ability to introduce and explain the goal, method, and process of collaborative learning and peer review, students will gain a clearer understanding of the requirement. • That is: the students will understand and be able to process what they are asked to do in this kind of project earlier, with less anxiety on their part, and with greater confidence and access to tools and resources to assist them in their group-task. What does that look like? University of Central Florida

15. I anticipate that I will be able to record • significant improvement in accuracy of student perception of the task at hand • improved student ability to plan, engage in and evaluate their peer review process • improved quality of performance in collaborative learning tasks How do I know if it is happening ? How will I know if it worked? University of Central Florida

16. Success will be evident in… • Improved clarity in perception of requirements: -> noticeable decrease in student questions and requests for clarification (‘what is this project about’). • Improved frequency and quality of student collaboration and group learning: -> more interactions on website and other discussion venues beyond basic requirements -> discovery of collaboration and team work as useful resource within learning process. • Positive self evaluation of students regarding their learning and development of collaborative learning competency. -> measurable in answers to such a question in course evaluation. University of Central Florida

17. Success will be evident in… …. happy students …..juggling obsolete pieces of paper …with their peers ! University of Central Florida