Experiencing Collaborative and Constructivist Teaching to Engender Pedagogical Change

1. Experiencing Collaborative and Constructivist Teaching to Engender Pedagogical Change John S. Peters, Ph.D. Department of Biology, College of Charleston Director, Natural Science Supplemental Instruction *A link to this presentation will be available at the end of the session..

2. “Learning can be externally encouraged, but only internally initiated. Such a statement, however, in no way relieves a teacher of serious responsibility and the effort that goes into effective classroom behavior. These ideas, in fact, point out clearly that good teaching entails a great deal more than abundant knowledge clearly articulated. The real goal of teaching is to persuade students to initiate their internal learning processes.” -Robert Leamnson, Thinking About Teaching and Learning.

3. Which ball will reach the end of the track first? A Write a briefly explanation of your choice…why do you think the ball you chose will reach the end of its ramp first? At the end of this activity, I will collect these and read a few of them, anonymously, to the rest of the class. B C They will get there at the same time! 14

4. Potential Energystart = Kinetic EnergyFinal mgh = 1/2mv2 mgh A h 1/2mv2 mg(2h) KEB > KEA B 2h KEB = KEA 2(1/2mv2)

5. A B C They will get there at the same time! Which ball will reach the end of the track first? Discuss your answer with your team, reach consensus and have your team leader “click in” with your team’s choice. 15

6. B B Which ball will reach the end of the track first? A B 15

7. What happened here? • We “construct” our understanding based on past and current learning experiences… • Prior conceptions & misconceptions • Prior experiences • What we are currently learning (lecture, reading, discussion…) • We tend to use “everyday experiences” rather than abstract knowledge to inform our conceptions or fill in gaps in our understanding of complex phenomena or ideas. • We tend to hold tightly to familiar or comfortable preconceptions, often even after being “taught”. Constructivism

8. Kids on Love What is the proper age to get married? • “Eighty-four! Because at that age you don’t have to work anymore, and you can spend all of your time loving each other in your bedroom.” (Judy, 8) • “Once I am done with kindergarten, I’m going to find me a wife!” (Tom, 5) • When is it okay to kiss someone? • “You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, ‘cause she’ll want to have videos of the wedding.” (Jim 10)

9. Kids on Love Why does love happen between two people? • “No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” (Jan, 9) • “I think your supposed to get shot by an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be so painful.” (Harlan, 8) • What is the role of “good looks” in love? • “It isn’t always just how you look. Look at me, I’m handsome like anything, and I haven’t got anybody to marry me yet.” (Gary,7) • “Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time.” (Christine, 9)

10. Considering pedagogy…. • Effective teachers consider both pedagogy and content knowledge. • First engage learners • In “non-threatening” way…explore, reveal and challenge current views • Explanations come after engaging and exploring • Opportunities to elaborate on knowledge and receive learning feedback

11. Query, observation, issue, problem Engage Summative Assessments – projects/exams What do we know? What do we need to know? Evaluate Explore Lectures, Research, Readings Explain Elaborate Teamwork – organize knowledge, share & apply ideas/viewpoints, reveal conceptions

12. Another more commonly used approach… Explain Lectures/Reading • Teacher mainly disseminates knowledge…didactic. • Individual work is emphasized. • Little opportunity to reveal, assess, challenge and refine conceptions during in-class learning. • Student communication of knowledge predominantly through exams. Evaluate Summative Assessment

13. Query, observation, issue, problem Engage Summative Assessments – projects/exams What do we know? What do we need to know? Evaluate Explore Lectures, Research, Readings Explain Elaborate Teamwork – organize knowledge, share & apply ideas/viewpoints, reveal conceptions

14. The Helping Puzzle

15. Picture #1 • Large circle whose diameter is approximately ½ the width of a standard notebook page.

16. 4 rectangles at the north, south, east and west points of the circle. • Rectangles protrude outward from the circle. • Shorter side of the rectangle is half the length of the longer side • Shorter side of each rectangle is tangent to the circle.

17. Inside there are three overlapping circles of equal diameter forming a Venn diagram. • Venn diagram circles = ~1/3 diameter of outer circle. • Center of the Venn diagram is the center of the outer circle.

18. Surrounding the Venn diagram is an isosceles triangle. • Each of the lines of the triangle is tangent to two of the Venn diagram’s circles. • Top of triangle protrudes out of the larger circle and forms a small triangle inside the north rectangle. • Bottom two points of the triangle intersect with the larger circle at points ~1/3 the distance from the west to south rectangles, and east to south outer rectangles respectively.

19. On a scale of A-E rate how confident are you that the puzzle picture you drew is correct? (E = Least confident)

20. Picture #2 • There are three diamonds of equal size lined up side by side across the center of a notebook page oriented landscape. The middle diamond is in the exact center of the page, and its east and west points touch the two points formed by the inner two lines of the outer diamonds respectively. The total width of the three diamonds is about three-fifths the width of the page. • Below the three diamonds are two circles whose diameters are equal to the length of one side of one of the diamonds. The two circles are tucked up inside the two partial triangles that form from the meeting of the three diamonds. The two lines of each of these two partial triangles are almost, but not quite, tangent to the respective circles. Inside each of these two circles are equilateral triangles, whose points intersect with the circle. • A third circle, of equal diameter to the former circles, overlaps the middle diamond and the peak of the middle diamond is at the center of this circle. • A vertical line runs down the diameter of this circle so that a “peace sign” is formed from the circle, the top of the diamond and the circle’s vertical line.

21. On a scale of A-E rate how confident are you that the puzzle picture your team drew is correct? (E = Least confident)

22. Give yourself a grade… • Looks exactly like this one. • Pretty darn close! • Not too bad…just a couple of differences. • Pretty bad…lots of differences • Not even close!

23. Give yourself a grade… • Looks exactly like this one. • Pretty darn close! • Not too bad…just a couple of differences. • Pretty bad…lots of differences • Not even close!

24. Think, Team, Share • How did I structure the collaborative activities (rolling balls & Helping Puzzle) in this session to insure • that the team worked together/shared knowledge • that teams were motivated to think “deeply” about the task, and produced a high-quality product? • individual accountability for learning

25. Effective Team-based Learning • Give explicit instructions as to what is expected of each member of the team, and what “product” the team should create. • Require that teams use newly acquired concepts to make a choice, solve a problem, defend a position… • Ask teams to share individual choices or solutions, argue their merits, and reach a team consensus. • Hold individuals accountable for their learning by randomly assigning a team reporter. • Team product should be presented in a way that allows for immediate and direct comparisons with other teams. • Provide opportunities for teams to reflect on, and critique other teams’ products. • Structure the class discussion so that it mainly focuses on why or how the choice/solution/position was arrived at rather than simply “the answer”.

26. Teaching Resources… • http://www.cofc.edu/~petersj/ - click on the “Grant Funded Projects” link - Civic Engagement in Non-Majors Biology: Connecting Problem-Based Learning and Scientific Inquiry