Discuss this definition with others at your Table. Does anything surprise you? Active Learning 1 “Active learning engages students in the process of learning through activities and/or discussions in class, as opposed to passively listening to an expert. It emphasizes higher-order thinking and often involves group work.” Freeman et al.(2014) pp 8413-8414
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Discuss this definition with others
at your Table.
Does anything surprise you?
Active Learning 1
“Active learning engages students in the
process of learning through activities
and/or discussions in class, as opposed to
passively listening to an expert. It
emphasizes higher-order thinking and often
involves group work.” Freeman et al.(2014) pp 8413-8414
Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.
(How People Learn [1], p. 14)
Instructors must
draw out students’
pre-existing
understandings.
Instruction must be
student-centered.
Key Finding 2
Active Learning 6
To develop competence in an area, students must:
a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge,
b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and
c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.
(How People Learn [1], p. 16)
These are
characteristics of
expertize
Instructors need to give
students opportunities
to practice being more
expert-like.
Key Finding 3
Active Learning 7
A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
(How People Learn [1], p. 18)
Instructors need to
provide opportunities for
students to practice being
metacognitive
Metacognition: that
voice in your head
that checks if you
understand
Constructivist theory of learning
Active Learning 8
Students need to construct their own understanding of the
concepts, where
each student assimilates new material into his/her own
framework of initial understanding and preconception
each student confronts his/her (mis)understanding of
the concepts
A traditional, one-way lecture doesn’t give students
opportunities to “try, fail, receive feedback and try again,
before facing a summative evaluation.” [2]
Freeman et al. (2014): Meta-analysis of
225 studies of STEM education.
Active Learning 9
Two important conclusions:
1. In classes with effective, active learning, student
performance increased by 6% on final exams (about
half a letter grade.)
2. The average failure rate decreased from 34% to 22%.
Under-represented minorities and women make up a
disproportionate number of students who fail STEM
classes. Fewer failures means enhanced success for
URM and women.
Active Learning 10
student-centered
active learning traditional lecture
Active Learning 11
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos student-centered
active learning
(Question: Sujatha Raghu from Braincandy via LearningCatalytics)
(Image: CIM9926 by number657 on flickr CC)
Discussion (peer instruction)
Melt chocolate over low heat. Remove the chocolate from
the heat. What will happen to the chocolate?
A) It will condense.
B) It will evaporate.
C) It will freeze.
Active Learning 12
Typical Episode of Peer Instruction
Active Learning 13
1. Instructor poses a conceptually-challenging
multiple-choice question.
2. Students think about question on their own and vote
using clickers, colored ABCD cards, smartphones,…
3. The instructor asks students to turn to their neighbors
and “convince them you’re right.”
4. After that “peer instruction”, students may vote again.
5. The instructor leads a class-wide discussion concluding
with why the right answer(s) is right and the wrong
answers are wrong.
In effective peer instruction
Active Learning 14
students teach each other while
they may still hold or remember
their novice preconceptions
students discuss the concepts in their
own (novice) language
each student finds out what s/he does and doesn’t know
the instructor finds out what the students know
(and don’t know) and reacts, building on their current
understanding and preconceptions.
students practice
how to think,
communicate
like experts
To learn more about peer instruction
Active Learning 15
Upcoming Weekly Workshops at the CTD:
To register, look for the
Teaching and Learning Weekly Workshops
at ctd.ucsd.edu
May 20 Peer Instruction 1: Writing Good Peer Instruction (“Clicker”)
Questions A good episode of peer instruction requires a good question. In
this session, we’ll see a variety of questions and contrast good vs bad
questions, that you can adapt to your discipline
May 27 Peer Instruction 2: Best Practices for Running Peer Instruction
with Clickers In this session, we’ll discuss best practices for
choreographing an episode of peer instruction in your class including how to
pose the question, when to open and close the poll, how many votes, and
how to get the most out of the class-wide discussion.
Active Learning 16
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos student-centered
active learning
Active Learning 17
Chemistry Day 4 by pennstatenews on flickr CC-BY-NC
In-class demonstrations
Active Learning 18
1. Instructor (meticulously) sets up the equipment, flicks
a switch, “Taa-daaah!
2. Students
don’t know where to look
don’t know when to look, miss “the moment”
don’t recognize the significance of the event
amongst too many distractions
To engage students and focus their attention on the key
event, get students to make a prediction (using
clickers, for example)
Prediction
Active Learning 19
Ice cubes are floating in a glass of water
that is filled to the brim.
As the ice cubes melt, what happens to
the water level?
A) it stays the same
B) it rises and spills water over the brim
C) it falls to a level below the brim.
Interactive Lecture Demos (ILD) [3]
Active Learning 20
By making a prediction, each student
cares about the outcome (“Did I get it right?”)
knows when to look (can anticipate phenomenon)
knows where to look (sees phenomenon occur)
gets immediate feedback about his/her understanding
of the concept
is prepared for your explanation
Active Learning 21
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos student-centered
active learning
Learning Outcomes 22 Flight Deck by Wayan Volta on flickr CC
CTD Weekly Workshop:
Learning Outcomes
Start teaching before the bell rings
Active Learning 23
Students arrive, ready to engage with you, your content:
Project a picture related to today’s lesson
Add prompts:
“What do you notice? What do you wonder?” [8]
Spend first few minutes leading a discussion:
o every student can contribute because everyone can wonder
o you learn their pre-existing knowledge
o activates concepts in their memories
Don’t let their enthusiasm slip away!
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
“The 5 Es”
Active Learning 24 The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model
bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model
Active Learning 25
student-centered instruction
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos
What do you see?
Active Learning 26
A) old lady
B) young woman
Let your students contribute
authentic data, especially when
studying about their behavior.
(For issues when privacy is
important, clickers can be set
to “anonymous”)
Active Learning 27
student-centered instruction
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos
Showing video in class
Active Learning 28
There are times when a video is the perfect resource.
Archimedes’ Principle
In today’s Physics class, we’re
going to study buoyancy and
Archimedes’ Principle.
http://tinyurl.com/TCCdemo
(Paul Hewitt video) (Image: Wikimedia Commons – public domain)
Showing video in class
Active Learning 29
The students do not
select the video
check it contains key events
anticipate key events
recognize key events
interpret key events
relate key events to
class concepts
instructor does this
before class
instructor does this unconsciously,
the “curse” of expertise
This is what you want to do in class!
anticipate and recognize are
necessary for rich discussion/analysis.
Videos: implications for instructors
Active Learning 30
Coach the students how to watch the video like an
expert:
As you watch this video, try to…
watch for when the A starts to B.
count how often the C does D.
watch the needles on the scales as water drains.
Don’t “give away” the key event (Notice the buoyant force
is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.) That’s what
the follow-up discussion is for: help the students get
prepared for that discussion.
Is Lecture Dead?
Active Learning 31
No! There is still a time and place for lecture. You can
lecture (for 10-15 minutes) when the students are
prepared to learn:
active learning has activated the concepts in their
memories
they’ve tried, failed, received feedback, tried again and
are waiting for confirmation
they’re prepared to intellectually appreciate the
expertise you’re about to share with them
Alternatives to Lecture
Active Learning 32
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos
To enhance
students’ learning and
retention, some instruction
must be active and student-centered.
That’s how people learn.
References
Active Learning 33
1. Freeman, S., Eddy, S.L. McDonough, M., Smith, M., Okoroafor, N., Jordt,.
H. & Wenderoth, M.P. (2014) Active learning increases student performance
in science, engineering, and mathematics. PNAS 111, 23, 8410–8415
2. National Research Council (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience,
and School: Expanded Edition. J.D. Bransford, A.L Brown & R.R. Cocking
(Eds.),Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
3. Bain, K (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
4. Get the full story of interactive lecture demos (ILDs) at