Innovative Teaching Methods for Large Classes Bates Wolfe UKZN

Innovative Teaching Methods for LargeUndergraduate Classes

May 2011

Simon BatesEdinburgh University, UK

Lorne WolfeGeorgia Southern University, USA

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Who am I?• BSc – McGill; MSc – Toronto; PhD – Illinois

• Postdocs: California (UCSB); ! ! Hebrew University (Israel)

• GSU (1995) – diverse student body (like UKZN)

• UKZN (Sabbatical 2007)

• Research: Evolutionary Ecology

• Teach: – Biology majors and graduate students

– Non-majors (core): Environmental Biology

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Who am I?BA (Cambridge) PhD (Manchester)

Postdocs in the Netherlands & England

Academic posts in Edinburgh (Chemistry) 97-98Dublin (Chemistry and Physics) 98-99Edinburgh (Physics) 2000-

Research: * Physics Education Research * Atomistic simulation of materials / liquids

Teaching (currently): * Year 1 ‘Foundations of Physics’ course * Year 4 projects / education projects

Admin / management: DoT (2006-9) DoLT (2010-)

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Group discussion:

You set the agenda by telling us what you think are the key challenges for teaching large classes.

(Break into groups of 4-5, mixed disciplines5 minutes discussion then feedback in plenary)

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Feedback points – DurbanLanguage issue (1) – not unique to language (poor skills)

Passive student – don’t ask questions

Students don’t take responsibility for own learning

Lecture notes – provide? How detailed? When provided?

Technology – good, bad and ugly

Laptops in lecture

Attendance? (no)

How to break into small groups? Venues not conducive.

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Feedback points – Durban

How to motivate students in dry subject

Student:Lecture ratio (needs Tas)

Resources for additional time students need

Variation in the level of interest in course

Venues (size, climate); Demonstrators

Admin and Logistics of assessment (MCQ)

Crowd control stop and wait till they shut up, split up the talkers threaten to leave, identify student, respond by talking softer settling down time (constant distraction)

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Feedback points: Pietermaritzburg

Administration and organisation of large classes. Field trips. “Teaching them is the easy part”

Student attitudes to learning; making it relevant (L)

Short attention span. Distraction / multimedia, but can / should capitalize on that? (Multimode lectures: S ) Asking / encouraging questions. Cultural? (S)

•Differentiation in mixed ability classes •Assessment and feedback; impracticalities in large classes•Language and comprehension: including native speakers•Expectations of studying / life at university•‘Knowing your students’ How to do this in a large course

Sunday, 22 May 2011

May  4,  2011

Sunday, 22 May 2011

More is not Better Skills > Content

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Amount of material presented

Am

ount

reta

ined Students retain ~ 5% of

the material in a course after the final exam

Identify key concepts!! Less is more.

Content Coverage vs. Mastery

Sunday, 22 May 2011

The Large Class Becomes Small

Engaging 300 like 50

Sunday, 22 May 2011

A Successful Lecture

1. Relevant

2. Informative

3. Dynamic

4. Challenging

5. Entertaining

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Big Class Dynamics

1. There really is no difference between a large and small classroom if you approach it properly.

– Do the same things as you do in small class

• Start with ‘Good Morning’• They will automatically be actively engaged

• Move around the classroom

• Group discussions: you visit groups - give them tips and challenge them

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Get to know individual students

Connect with individuals and the group will follow.

Before class, each do go to a different part of the room.

“Good morning. What’s your name? How are things going?

Sunday, 22 May 2011

But there is no way I can remember more than 3 names!

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Extra-Credit Discussions• Pose a thought question

– What goes into making the pair of jeans you are wearing?

– What is the relationship between a revolution in Libya and how much you pay for a liter of gasoline?

– Would you prefer to live next to a coal-burning power plant or a nuclear plant?

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Think - Pair - ShareDebrief

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Extra-Credit Discussions

• Group discussion: 4-5 students; 5 minutes

• Write answer on sheet with all names

• Whole class discussion (with microphone)

• Each student present receives 1 point

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Using  the  Data!

Sunday, 22 May 2011

UKZN Challenges

1. Very large classes2. Students vary in ability3. Diverse cultural and demographic body4. English not first language5. Therefore, variable preparedness for

university6. Home life separate from science

• Must make it relevant

Sunday, 22 May 2011

The Role of the 1st Year Course

1. To prepare students for upper level courses2. The conundrum: tools vs. details

• Details can be googled• Tools are for life

• Requires setting learning outcomes for the entire curriculum.

• What do you expect students to know coming out of the freshman class for your upper level course?

• Requires faculty-wide agreement on goals and strategies.

• Need honest evaluation of what is and what is Sunday, 22 May 2011

Main Goal of 1st Year Course

1. Provide students with ability to become effective learners

! - to handle information ! - to ask the right questions to inform their own learning

• What skills do they need?• Basic mathematics• How to read and understand• Curiosity and a desire to learn

• Get them excited!Sunday, 22 May 2011

How  to  improve  

Wolfe Env. Bio. Fall 2002

Total/400 By ExtraCredit

Tota

l/40

0

200

250

300

350

400

0 5 10 15 20 25ExtraCredit

Linear Fit

Linear FitTotal/400 = 258.782 + 4.83538 ExtraCredit

Summary of FitRSquareRSquare AdjRoot Mean Square ErrorMean of ResponseObservations (or Sum Wgts)

0.2733330.27022734.07154313.8559

236

Analysis of VarianceSou r ceModelErrorC Total

D F 1

234 235

Sum of Squares 102177.59 271643.52 373821.10

Mean Square 102178 1161

F Ratio 88.0181Prob>F

<.0001

Parameter EstimatesT e r mInterceptExtraCredit

Est imate 258.7818

4.8353773

Std Error6.275314 0.5154

t Ratio 41.24 9.38

Prob>|t |<.0001<.0001

Extra credit– 400 + 20 pts– attendance data

Sunday, 22 May 2011

 Language Challenges

1. Have students pair up with another student or quickly gather into! small groups to explain concepts or figure out a problem. Peers! often can find ways to explain things to ESL students that we! have trouble explaining.

2. Pace your speech. Pauses help students assimilate and understand! what is being discussed. Short sentences helps as well.

3. Encourage the use of gestures and visuals to illustrate key! points and concepts.

4. Humor gets lost in translation.

5. If possible, incorporate phrases in students' native language! to help them connect more with an English word or phrase

6. Record (podcast) the lecture to let non-native speakers review as they wantSunday, 22 May 2011

ATHERTON J S (2010) Learning and Teaching; Lectures [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/lecture.htm

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Interac0vity…the  essen0al  ingredient

“    The  complex  cogni/ve  skills  required  to  understand  Physics  cannot  be  developed  by  listening  to  lectures…  

     …  any  more  than  one  can  learn  to  play  tennis  by  watching  tennis  matches.”

     Hestenes,  D.  Am.  J.  Phys.,  66,  465-­‐7  (1998)

Sunday, 22 May 2011

“Lectures (in physics) can be incredibly passive experiences for students, particularly dangerous for those who believe that if they follow the professor, they’ve mastered the material”

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Interactive engagement with clickers

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Underpinned College Learning and Teaching strategy

‘Loanership’ of 3000 handsets

Wide range of disciplines

Science, Eng, Vet. Med.

Sunday, 22 May 2011

34

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Use  scenarios  (3)  • Peer  Instruc0on

 – Ques0on  

– Individual  poll

– Students  discuss

– Repoll  

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sunday, 22 May 2011

The Evolution of a Research Talk at 3 Chinese Universities

Sunday, 22 May 2011

The SQ3R• Survey – overall idea of what you will study before you begin

(roadmap)• Question – ask yourself questions (what, how, why, when?);

benefit from making up the question and the answer• Read – don’t just run eyes over text; answer your questions;

attention to tables, graphs, bold/italicized text• Recite – stop reading, recall what you have read; use your own

words, connect new to old knowledge• Review-reread notes immediately after and then before next

class; info moves to long-term memory; reduces time needed to study before exam

Sunday, 22 May 2011

We  need  something  ‘in  conclusion’  or  to  sum  up.  

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sugges0on  

Follow  on  discussion  via  email  list  aGer  this  workshop:  

   enrol  par0cipants,  presenters

  share  ideas,  successes,  failures  ?

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Student Tips to New Prof in Big Class 

Imagine you are teaching a class of 10

Get to know the students (on their level).Talk about what is related to them and could affect them.Make students feel comfortable. Treat them like familyMake them feel like you care about them Don’t be afraid to cuss. Just be yourself. Don’t just stand there and read ppt slidesDon’t be monotone. Act like you want to be there then we will want to Be entertaining and funny. If college kids are bored we do not learn. No need to be cookie cutter. Make your course memorable.Move around and engage studentsDo activities students like Its ok to make us laugh. Talk to us about more than lectures.Share past life experiences. Not everyone learns the same so find different ways to make your class interactAsk questions they can discuss in groupsGet the stick our of your ass and have fun teaching

Sunday, 22 May 2011