Being a Scholarly Teacher in the 21st-Century - Keynote - March 2014

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Being a Scholarly Teacherin the 21st Century

@ Teacher-Scholar Forum, 2014

Dr. Jeff LoatsAssociate Professor of PhysicsFaculty Associate to the Center for Faculty Development

Be sure to get a clicker!

Outline

The way we think about teaching

Scholarly-Teaching as a decision aid

Themes of evidence-based teaching: Active engagement during class time Effective preparation (students & instructors) Feedback loops and iterative learning

(Slides available at www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats)

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http://www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats

How much training and/or experience do you have in judging what “scholarship” means in your academic field?

In other words, what do you bring to bear when you judge the quality of scholarship of a peer in your discipline?

A) I’ve had explicit training

B) Lots of experience, little or no training

C) Moderate experience, little or no training

D) No experience or training

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How much training and/or experience do you have in judging what “scholarship” means in relation to teaching in higher-education?

A) I’ve had explicit training

B) Lots of experience, little or no training

C) Moderate experience, little or no training

D) No experience or training

This is a different question than “Can you judge good teaching when you see it?”

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Judging Good Teaching5

So… Can you judge good teaching?

Three pieces of evidence:

1. Aleamoni (1998): This article cites 17 studies showing that “students are discriminating judges of instructional effectiveness.”

2. Ambady, et. al (1993): Strangers can judge teaching effectiveness from three 2-second silent clips. Highly correlated with student ratings (0.76).

Judging Good Teaching6

So… Can you judge good teaching?

Three pieces of evidence:

3. Deslauriers, et al. (2011): Equipping novice teachers with evidence-based teaching techniques more than doubles the amount of student learning, compared to an experienced and highly-rated traditional instructor.

Scholarly Teaching7

Goal 1:Apply the rigor and scholarship of our academic disciplines to the discipline of teaching.

A sheepish statement from a colleague: “I’ve borrowed ideas and techniques from my own teachers and from colleagues. Of course, I always change them a bit to make them my own.”

Consider the sense of guilt relating to using the ideas and techniques developed by others. Focus on your emotional reaction.

A) I strongly identify with this sense of guilt

B) I moderately identify with this sense of guilt

C) I don't identify with this sense of guilt

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A sheepish statement from a colleague: “I’ve borrowed ideas and techniques from my own teachers and from colleagues. Of course, I always change them a bit to make them my own.”

Now consider the sense of guilt from an analytical perspective.

A) It is very appropriate

B) It is moderately appropriate

C) It is inappropriate

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Please Steal This Idea!10

Are there fields in which “stealing” ideas is acceptable? Encouraged? Required?

Practical skills: Electrician, “How To” videos

Safety concerns: Where do you store poisons?

Medicine: Ask your doctor, “Where do your methods and ideas about treating my condition come from?”

I want a scholarly doctor:Aware of the best, most up-to-date research on how to treat my condition .

Scholarly Teaching11

Goal 2:Choose teaching methods that are strongly informed by the best empirical evidence available.

Feel bombarded?

Scholarship can help guide us…

The Scholarly-Teacher Approach

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Adoption “Rubric”13

How compatible is it with my teaching style?

High ↔ Medium ↔ Low

Does it addresses an area I feel is currently lacking?

Yes! ↔ Somewhat ↔ No

How broad is the empirical evidence of effectiveness?

Broad ↔ Moderate ↔ Preliminary□ None/Not addressed

Is the effect size/likely impact known?

Large ↔ Moderate ↔ Small□ Not known/addressed

How much additional prep (compared to a new prep)?

_______% (of a new prep)

How much class time? _______% of class time

User friendly version: bit.ly/AdoptionRubric (case sensitive)

http://bit.ly/AdoptionRubric


Evidence-Oriented Parts14






Ideal: Well-controlled comparisons with data analysisPreliminary: Case studies or anecdotal descriptions

Effect size: 0.2 = Small, 0.5 = Medium, 0.8 = LargeOr… some sense of how big a difference to expect.



Take 2 minutes… apply it!15















Discuss this with your neighbor

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Consistent Evidence-Based Themes

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• Active engagement during class time

• Effective preparation (students & instructors)

• Feedback loops and iterative learning

In a typical day in your class, what fraction of class time is spent on lecture-based delivery of content?

A) 0% - 20%

B) 20% - 40%

C) 40% - 60%

D) 60% - 80%

E) 80% - 100%

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2%

10%

13%

38%

37%

~100 others

CHANGING THE CLASSROOM

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Are you best lecturer in the world on the topics you teach?

Does the best lecturer in the world have a YouTube channel?

In the 21st-century, how should students spend their 15 hours per credit with you?

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT20

Evidence:

US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) 2012 report:

“The research indicates that many different types of active engagement can accomplish learning gains.”

Using a classroom response system, having students solve a problem before class, use of group discussion, individual writing or “one-minute papers,” and combinations of these.

Consider a typical day in your class. What fraction of students did their preparatory work before coming to class?

A) 0% - 20%

B) 20% - 40%

C) 40% - 60%

D) 60% - 80%

E) 80% - 100%

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27%33%20%14%6%

~200 others

Changing Our Preparation22

How do we “make room” for an active-engagement classroom?

Shift appropriate parts of teaching & learning outside of the classroom:

• Student preparation is a “low hanging fruit” that enhances everything else.

• Instructors prepare by learning what our students already think about the subject.

Pre-class Work23

Evidence:

Sappington (1998): Students who did well on a surprise reading assessment “scored significantly better than the Zero or Fail groups.” Effect size was 0.25.

Marrs (2003): Students showed an average normalized gain of

52% on test questions reinforced by either ∼Warm Up questions or Cooperative Learning (~60% if reinforced by both!).

How Do People Like to Learn24

Do we ever enjoy learning?Possible candidates:

Common Elements?25

Feedback is (nearly) instantaneous

Failure is expected (desired?)

The cost of failure is very low

Mastery requires iterative learning

Pause: Consider typical feedback loops in the college classroom…

The “Many Chances to Fail” Model

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A line adopted from business:

“Fail early, fail often, fail well…”

Grounded in constructivist learning theory:• Constructing new ideas often requires facing the

failure of previous ideas.

• Confusion and conflict make clear the need to build functional ideas in place of those that failed.

Iterative Learning Loops27

On a given topic…

Before class: Engage with Just-in-Time Teaching “warm-up” questions that enforce reading & require thought

During class: Respond (digitally) to difficult questions, peer discussions

After class: Online homework with immediate feedback and low(ish) stakes.

Perhaps 10-20 chances to test their understanding before they encounter a high-stakes exam.

Combined Impact28

Deslauriers, et al. (2011): Novice teachers with evidence-based teaching techniques more than doubles student learning, compared to an experienced and highly-rated traditional instructor. Effect size of 2.5!

“[…] other science and engineering classroom studies report effect sizes less than 1.0. An effect size of 2, obtained with trained personal tutors, is claimed to be the largest observed for any educational intervention.”

My Summary29

Challenge yourself to be a scholarly-teacher

Follow the evidence!

Be moderate… follow the 10% rule

Engage with peers! Share, steal, and combine.

Your Summary30

For yourself… or to share?

What nugget(s) do you want to be sure you come away with from this discussion?

Contact: [email protected]: www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats

I love talking and working with faculty, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats

References31

Aleamoni, L. M. (1999). Student rating myths versus research facts from 1924 to 1998. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 13, 153-166.

Ambady, Nalini; Rosenthal, Robert (1993). Half a minute: Predicting teacher evaluations from thin slices of nonverbal behavior and physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 64(3), Mar 1993, 431-441. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.64.3.431

Louis Deslauriers, Ellen Schelew and Carl Wieman (2011). Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment Physics Class. Science, Vol. 332 no. 6031 pp. 862-864 DOI: 10.1126/science.1201783

Sappington, J., Kinsey, K., & Munsayac, K. (2002). Two Studies of Reading Compliance Among College Students. Teaching of Psychology , 29 (4), 272-274.

Marrs, K.A. (2003). Just in Time Teaching enhances cognitive gains in biology. J. Coll. Sci. Teach.

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. (2012). Engage to excel: Producing on million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-engage-to-excel-final_feb.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-engage-to-excel-final_feb.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-engage-to-excel-final_feb.pdf

Being a Scholarly Teacher in the 21st-Century - Keynote - March 2014

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