2008 Cdi Presentation Laumakis

1

Are We There Yet?My Teaching and Learning Journey

Mark A. Laumakis, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Department of Psychology

Faculty in Residence, Instructional Technology Services

[email protected]

2

Our Roadmap

• Where I am now

• How I arrived there…• Our Theme Music

3

Themes in My Story

1. A journey from teaching to learning

2. Measure, measure, measure

3. Strive for continuous improvement

4. Leverage what’s available

5. Enjoy the journey

4

A Journey from Teaching to Learning

“In its briefest form, the paradigm that has governed our colleges is this: A college is an institution that exists to provide instruction. Subtly but profoundly we are shifting to a new paradigm: A college is an institution that exists to produce learning.”

-- Barr and Tagg, 1995

5

A Journey from Teaching to Learning

• Flashback to May 2005…

• pICT fellowship helped me to identify this problem: student passivity in a large lecture course

6

May 2005: First pICT Fellowship

• Goal: increase active learning

• Tools to achieve this goal– In class: clickers– Outside of class: Discussion Board

7

CPS – Have you ever heard of clickers?

8

Clicker Activities

• Initially…– Just ConceptCheck Questions– Like this one

9

CPS – Lori gets a backache…

10

Clicker Activities

• Eventually expanded from just ConceptCheck questions to include:– Attendance– Demonstrations– Anonymous polling– Predicting outcomes– Peer instruction (Mazur)

11

CPS – Peer Instruction Example

12

Theme 2: Measure, measure, measure

• pICT fellowship taught me to assess and measure the effects of my course redesign efforts

• So, I evaluated those Fall 2005 innovations via the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG)

• SALG

13

Theme 2: Measure, measure, measure

• What did the data show?

Question MWF Section

TTH Section

ConceptCheck Questions 4.1 4.1

Discussion Boards 2.9 3.1

14

CPS – So, what would you do?

15

Even More Clicker Data – Spring 2008

Question % Agree or Strongly

Agree

Class clicker usage makes me more likely to attend class. 92%

Class clicker usage helps me to feel more involved in class. 84%

Class clicker usage makes it more likely for me to respond to a question from the professor.

92%

I understand why my professor is using clickers in this course. 94%

My professor asks clicker questions which are important to my learning.

92%

16

Theme 2: Measure, measure, measure

• Assessment, measurement, and evaluation efforts have flourished over time

• SDSU Evaluation Toolkit now includes:1. Week 7 “How’s It Going?” Online Survey2. In-class Observations3. IDEA Diagnostic Survey4. Student Focus Groups5. Departmental Course Evaluations6. Course Grades

17

CPS – Do you want to see some more data?

18

Good, Here They Are…

• First, IDEA Diagnostic Survey data:Fall 2006 Blended

Fall 2006 Traditional

Spring 2007

Blended

Spring 2007

Traditional

Progress on objectives

70 73 77 77

Excellent teacher

65 68 69 68

Excellent course

62 72 73 71

Note: Top 10% = 63 or more

19

Evaluation Findings:Course Grades (Fall 2006)

Fall 2006 Grade Distribution

43

8.1

13.5

14.7

35.3

7.9

7.5

33.4

32.9

3.7

0 10 20 30 40 50

F

D

C

B

A

Gra

de

% in Category

Fall 2006 Blended

Fall 2006 Traditional

20

Evaluation Findings:Course Grades (Spring 2007)

10.8

13.7

31.7

34.6

9.3

13.6

14.8

28.4

33.6

9.6

0 10 20 30 40

F

D

C

B

A

Gra

de

% in Category

Spring 2007 Blended

Spring 2007 Traditional

21

Evaluation Findings: Course Grades(Fall 2007)

Fall 2007 Course Grades

12.8

15

34.6

35.8

3.9

15

12.1

33.1

31

8.9

0 10 20 30 40

F

D

C

B

A

Gra

de

% in Category

Blended

Traditional

22

Evaluation Findings: Course Grades(Spring 2008)

Spring 2008 Course Grades

14%

13%

29%

32%

13%

16%

28%

13%

30%

14%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

F

D

C

B

A

Gra

de

% in Category

Blended

Traditional

23

Theme 3: Strive for Continuous Improvement

• Course redesign is an iterative process• Measurement permits you to make data-

informed decisions about your course• As my teaching and learning journey

suggests, the road is a long one, so…• Start with baby steps

– Dream big, but start small

• Course redesign is a gradual process, not a quick fix

24

Theme 4: Leverage What’s Available

• There may already be lots of material available to facilitate your course redesign efforts

• Web-based materials– Anterograde Amnesia– Utah Mouse Party

• Publisher-developed materials– Worth Publisher’s PsychPortal

• I use these extensively because they help me reach my goals– Increase active learning and student engagement

25

Theme 5: Enjoy the Journey

• Course redesign is a lot like parenting– It’s hard work– It’s tiring– It takes a lot of time AND…

• It’s incredibly rewarding when you do it right

26

The End…

• Thanks for your time and attention!

• Here’s my contact information:

Mark A. Laumakis, Ph.D.

[email protected]

619-594-1933