Stop Enabling Students! Break the dependency and Help Them Learn to Think Critically

1. Stop Enabling Students! Break the dependency and Help Them Learn to Think Critically Gavin House November 14, 2013 Teaching and Learning Strategies Strand

2. Pick-me-up

3. ReEnergize Your Mind! Take a moment and identify a top five takeaway from the conference Share it with your neighbor(s)

4. Refresher Teaching and Learning Strategies are methods to help students learn more successfully Enabling is making it easy Dependency is relying on someone else to take care of you

5. A little More Refresher Critical Thinking is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence Accountability is being responsible and answerable a Student is a person formally engaged in learning a Journey is progress from one stage to another (as in educational journey)

6. Crux of the Matter Student’s higher-level cognitive skills are under-developed Solve Problems Analyze Arguments Synthesize Information from different sources Apply Learning to new and unfamiliar contexts

7. Plausible Reason Students have learned that someone, outside themselves, will tell them what to do when to do it and how to do it

8. Opinion Poll Take a moment to think about your experiences with student autonomy To what extent is this true Please share your thoughts with us

9. Metacognition

10. Metacognition Connection Successful students connect with their learning “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” ― Albert Einstein Less successful students disconnect from their learning

11. Classroom Assessment “… an approach designed to help teachers find out what students are learning in the classroom and how well they are learning it.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

12. Classroom Assessment Characteristics Learner Centered Teacher-Directed Mutually Beneficial Formative Context Specific Ongoing Rooted in Good Teaching Practice Angelo & Cross, 1993

13. Classroom Assessment Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross developed their Classroom Assessment approach with seven basic assumptions in mind Angelo & Cross, 1993

14. First of Seven Basic Assumptions “The quality of student learning is directly, although not exclusively, related to the quality of teaching. Therefore, one of the most promising ways to improve learning is to improve teaching.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

15. Second Basic Assumption “To improve their effectiveness, teachers need first to make their goals and objectives explicit and then to get specific, comprehensible feedback on the extent to which they are achieving those goals and objectives.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

16. Third Basic Assumption “To improve their learning, students need to receive appropriate and focused feedback early and often; they also need to learn how to assess their own learning.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

17. Fourth Basic Assumption “The type of assessment most likely to improve teaching and learning is that conducted by faculty to answer questions they themselves have formulated in response to issues or problems in their own teaching.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

18. Fifth Basic Assumption “Systematic inquiry and intellectual challenge are powerful sources of motivation, growth, and renewal for college teachers, and Classroom Assessment can provide such challenge.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

19. Sixth Basic Assumption “Classroom Assessment does not require specialized training; it can be carried out by dedicated teachers from all disciplines.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

20. Seventh Basic Assumption “By collaborating with colleagues and actively involving students in Classroom Assessment efforts, faculty (and students) enhance learning and personal satisfaction.” Angelo & Cross, 1993

21. Classroom Assessment Techniques

22. Classroom Assessment Techniques Simple toolsfor collecting data on student learning in order to improve it Feed-back devices Immediate and useful answers to very focused questions about student learning Supplement and complement formal evaluations of learning Angelo & Cross, 1993

23. the CAT’s out of the bag Our activities earlier in this presentation were modified CAT’s “Share The Wealth” Susan Bowman (2010) and “Opinion Polls” Angelo and Cross (1993)

24. Lessons Learned from Faculty Faculty adapt CAT’s to provide appropriate feedback Academic Disciplines, Individual Goals, and Students Classroom Assessment feedback stimulates and guides faculty as they adjust their teaching to improve learning Angelo & Cross, 1993

25. Effect on Students Increases active involvement in learning Promotes Metacognitive development Increases cooperation and a sense of the classroom as a “Learning Community” Increases Student Satisfaction May improve course completion rates Angelo & Cross, 1993

26. Many Thanks The following individuals and organizations supplied much of the support and content within this presentation Classroom Assessment Techniques Angelo and Cross Win Them Over Patricia Linehan How to Give It So They Get It Sharon Bowman Ellen Radel and Patricia Linehan Pine Technical College MN State Colleges and Universities

27. and Thank You For attending and participating in this session “I will teach you and you will learn not to need me.” ― Gavin House