“Active Learning” Isn’t Rocket Science!

by the anonymous author of “The Raised Hand”

 

Question:  I’m in the midst of a mid-life teaching crisis. I’ve taught a large introductory course (175 students) for 13 years and am growing increasingly dissatisfied with lecturing day in and day out. My teaching has become lackluster; I’m in a rut. I have established myself as a productive researcher in my discipline, but I don’t think I’m viewed by colleagues or students as an accomplished instructor. My student evaluations have begun to slip during the past year, to boot.  I’ve heard some noise about “active learning” and would like to incorporate some of these strategies into my classes, but I’m really not sure where to begin.

Signed,

Chained to the Lectern

**

Dear Chained:

You don’t have to dry up into an old prune of a professor just yet—it’s not too late. You can still shake free of those shackles binding you to your lectern.

You know, there’s only such much listening a person can do until she drifts off or starts fiddling with her Blackberry. Even I can hang in there only so long. By the time we’re 10 or 15 minutes into what we consider our wonderful lectures, we’ve already lost about 10% of our students’ attention. But there are things we can do—starting right now—to change that.  

You ask about “active learning.” Lucky for us, “active learning” isn’t exactly rocket science… the concept suggests only that we get students doing something and that we get them thinking about what they’re doing…simple as that.  Jumping jacks would work if you could connect it to something in your lecture. Seriously.

Now, if you’d like more details, including examples of some active-learning ideas, feel free to read further.  

—Lecture-Note Edit can be used once or twice during each lecture. During a pause in the lecture, ask students to work in pairs and discuss what they’ve included in their lecture notes, and why.

—Think-Pair-Share is a well-known strategy in which we present students with a question related to what we’ve just covered in the lecture. Ask students to reflect on their answers individually and then discuss their answers with a peer to arrive at a consensus.

—Quickwrites, One-Minute Papers , or the Muddiest Point of All requests that In general, students respond to a lecture-related question, share areas of confusion, identify main points from the lecture, etc. These documents can be collected as a means of monitoring student understanding.

—Go to Your Post gets students moving—both intellectually and physically—and is an excellent strategy for long classes. The instructor asks a question that has multiple answers. Students select one of the answers and then move to an area of the classroom where they discuss the question and their response with peers. For example, Should all children with disabilities be educated in regular education classrooms? ,  is a  “yes/no” question you might pose.

—Summarize the Summary takes the posing of questions during a lecture a step further. The instructor asks a question, and a student provides a response. The instructor then randomly chooses another student to summarize and possibly clarify the first student’s answer . This is a particularly effective strategy when discussing complex topics. Moreover, if used regularly, students listen more closely to their peers’ responses as there is the high likelihood that they will be called on to provide the follow-up response.

—Question of the Day, developed for a large oceanography class, is an active-learning strategy appropriate for any discipline. Presented with a question related to the day’s lecture topic, students spend a few minutes together discussing their answers. Following their discussion, each student writes a brief answer and submits it to the instructor. This strategy can be implemented in a variety of ways.  You can find additional information including sample questions  at http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/interactive/qotd.html

—Many instructors have adopted the use of clickers or personal response systems (PRS). This technology maintains student attention and provides a mechanism for monitoring student learning. Students use an input device to record their answers to questions posed by the instructor, and results can be shown in real time on a screen. Additional information about PRS at UC can be seen here: http://www.uc.edu/UCit/eclassroom/prs.asp

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) are a specific group of active-learning strategies that can be used to monitor student learning throughout a lecture, a unit, or a course. The following are but 3 of the 50 identified by Angelo and Cross in their classic 1993 book on the subject.

*Focused Listening helps students attend to important concepts contained within a lecture, discussion, video, etc. For example, as an introduction to a lecture on behaviorism, the instructor in a psychology course shows a video on the life of John Watson.  Before starting the lecture, she asks students to spend a few minutes developing a list of words or phrases describing important events in Watson’s life presented in the video. Following the lecture, the instructor asks students to review their lists in preparation for the discussion of how these events might have contributed to the development of Watson’s theory. 

*Pro and Con Grids encourage students’ critical thinking about diverse perspectives on issues under discussion in class. The following examples demonstrate how these lists can be used in a variety of ways in nearly every course.

—Literature: As a discussion starter for Wuthering Heights, students are asked to take on the role of Cathy and develop a pro/con list for defying her brother, Hindley, and running away with Heathcliff.

—Business: As a CEO of a floundering business, develop a pro/con list for the merger of your company with another corporation.

—Economics or Political Science: As a US senator, develop a pro/con list for voting for President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package.

*Directed Paraphrasing requires students to restate technical or complex information from lectures or readings in the text so it can be understood by others. For example, at the end of a lecture, biology majors are instructed to write two or three sentences providing evidence of the existence of global warming so it can be shared with a class of junior-high students. In a teacher-education class, students are asked to paraphrase what they have learned about constructivism and how it can be implemented in a 1^st grade classroom in such a way that it can be shared with parents at a school’s open house. Student paraphrases can be discussed in pairs or small groups and then shared with the entire class.

Working in Groups
I’m sure you’re aware of the well-documented benefits of student learning as they collaborate in groups. Nonetheless, using groups in larger classes can be challenging. Students aren’t just born knowing how to be successful in groups—and as strange as it may seem, many have never been trained in how to do it during their educational careers, either.  It also takes time for instructors to develop skill in facilitating groups as well as in developing appropriate group-work activities.

There are numerous collaborative strategies that can be implemented more easily than formal or structured group assignments. Several of the CATs and interactive-learning techniques discussed previously involve students pairing with peers for discussion. Additionally, there are more formalized group methodologies such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Team-Based Learning (TBL) that can be practiced in large classes, but they require considerably more planning than do less formal strategies. I will add, however, that Dr. Larry Michaelsen, developer of TBL and professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma, regularly taught classes of 200 or more students and lectured only about 20% of the time!

A complete discussion of small-group use is beyond the scope of this response, but I encourage you to explore the use of groups in your classes using the resource list below.

In closing, I would like to provide some general guidelines as you move forward toward a more active classroom and engaging more-active students:

*It’s important that you make changes slowly; there is no need to completely revamp your course overnight. Give yourself some time to become comfortable with this “new” way of teaching. 

*Start with active learning strategies on the first day of the quarter. This demonstrates your expectation that in your class “learning is not a spectator sport!”

*Don’t give up the ship after one or two failures. Implementing active-learning strategies is a developmental process. The more you use them, the more comfortable you will be.

*Get yourself active! Move away from the podium or desk and move around the classroom. If necessary (and if possible), use a wireless microphone.    

*Consider how students probably view you. Do you show interest in them before and after class…asking questions about how their quarter is going or seeking their opinions regarding a recent current event? Depending on the size of your class, you may consider sending emails each week to 15 or 20 students. With Blackboard, this becomes an easy task as you can send the same email to a large group. Ask them how their quarter is going, if they have a question about anything discussed in class, suggestions, etc. The truth is, most students will not have questions or suggestions, but many will respond thanking you for touching base.

 

Finally, this seems like a good time to offer a commercial for our own CET&L! They regularly offer workshops addressing a variety of active learning strategies that can be used in both large and small classes. If you prefer a “one-on-one” mentoring arrangement, take advantage of the UC peer consultancy program in which you can be paired with a faculty colleague who has experience in active learning. Details can be found here: http://www.uc.edu/cetl/Peer_Consultancy_Program/Main_Consultancy_Page.html    

 

Signed,

The Teacher

Anonymous
—Once each quarter during 2009, this author will provide a response to your questions about teaching and learning. During the summer quarter, the CET&L will solicit your responses to a question we pose via the UC faculty list serve; and we’ll invite the winning response to write ”The Raised Hand” column for the next academic year.

 

RESOURCES:

Adams, S. (n.d.). Quick before it dries: Setting the stage for active participation from day one. Available online: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/guides/quick/index.html

Amador, J.A., Miles, L., & Peters, C.B. (2006). The practice or problem-based learning: A guide to implementing PBL in the college classroom. Bolton, MA: Anker.

Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Franciso: Jossey-Bass.

Bonwell, C.C., & Eison, J.A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom.

Felder, Richard (Professor Emeritus from NCSU). Large repository of resources on active learning can be found on his website:  http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/

Heppner, F. (2007). Teaching the large college class: A guidebook for instructors with multitudes. Jossey-   Bass.

Ives, S.M. (n.d.). A survival handbook for teaching large classes. Online: http://www.fctel.uncc.edu/pedagogy/focuslargeclasses/ASurvivalHandbook.html

McManus, D. (2005). Leaving the lectern: Cooperative learning and the critical first days of students                                         working in groups. San Francisco, CA: Anker Publishing.

Michaelsen, L.K., Knight, A.B., & Fink, L.D. (2002). Team-based learning: A transformative use of small groups. Praeger.

Nilson, L.B. (2003). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (2^nd ed.). San Franciso: Jossey-Bass.

Oakley, B., Felder, R.M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I. (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams. Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2(1), 9-34.

Seldin, P. Tired professors can be rejuvenated. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Online: http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i26/26a03601.htm

Stanley, C.A., & Porter, M.E. (2002). Engaging large classes: Strategies and techniques for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Team-Based Learning website: http://teambasedlearning.apsc.ubc.ca/

The Thiagi Group. Interactive lectures–Summaries of 36 Formats. http://www.thiagi.com/interactive-lectures.html

Tags: active learning, introductory courses, lecture, rut, student evaluations

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