Transcript presentation - The UNC Center for Faculty Excellence

Less Lecturing, More Learning
Jen Krumper and Carribeth Bliem - Chemistry
Viji Sathy - Psychology
CFE Faculty Showcase 2012
“I enjoyed the videos […].
They allowed the student
to learn the material at
their own pace. In-class
problems allowed the
teacher and the students
better interaction with
regards to difficult
concepts.”
Chem 101 Student Summer 12
“I thought the in-class
problem-solving was
incredibly useful. Frankly, I
wish my department
would do the same as I find
it to be incredibly effective.
“In addition, though, I
think homework should
still be assigned, as inclass work has the
downfall of giving the
illusion of
understanding […]
when in actuality there
is simply the
understanding of how
someone else did the
problem.”
“I really liked the group assignments
because it forced you to work problems in
class (and it gave you a way to meet
people).
“The videos were a good intro to the
lectures. While I may not have
understood everything watching the
video the night before, the concepts were
reinforced the next day in class.”
-Chem 101 Student Summer 12
“The structure of the course
was great for me. I found it
very helpful to be required to
look ahead before each
day’s class and to be
expected to complete
problems every day.”
-Chem 101 Student Summer 12
Overview
 Motivation for change to courses
 Does less lecture = more learning?
 Why lecture less? Existing literature
 Our efforts to add to what has been demonstrated
 Implementation through support of CFE grant
 Initial impressions, preliminary feedback
 Q&A/Discussion
Motivation Psyc 210
Managing
Variety of starting points in statistics course
Variety of levels of comfort/anxiety about
statistics
Engaging
As many students as possible in a core pre-req
course
Incorporating
More practice, authentic work
Chem 101 Motivation: A Strange Observation
A disproportionate # of low grades
in Chem262 were going to URM
students….
Checking with the registrar,
the trend held throughout
our chemistry curriculum….
Lecture Less? An Evidence-Based
Approach
Got Lecture?
Top 3 Reasons to Lose It
1. Lectures can turn students to passive observers.
Participation → Learning, Accountability
2. Ability to retain info only in 10-20 minute
“chunks.”
Pauses, change-up activites → Learning
2. Better use of class time
Structured Learning Opportunities
In Our Classrooms
 classroom response systems (clickers),
 in-class group work,
 peer mentoring, and
 online content delivery techniques
Outcomes
 Student achievement/academic performance
 Problem Solving Skills
 Student engagement
 Student attitudes
 Persistence
 Retention
 Closing achievement gap
Large body of research over 20 years related to
a variety of methods
Research:
Classroom Response Systems
 Clicker research mixed in achievement, highly positive
in student attitudes
 Example Preszler et al. (2007)
 71% said it they strongly agreed or agreed that it
influenced their attendance
 70% said it they strongly agreed or agreed that it
improved their understanding
 62% said they would recommend a clicker class
From Preszler,R.W., Dawe, A., Shuster, C. B., and Shuster, M. (2007). Assessment
of the effeects of student response systems on student learning and attitudes
over a broad range of biology courses. CBE-Life Sciences Education.
Research:
Group Work/Cooperative Learning
What constitutes
cooperative learning?
1. Positive interdependence
2. Face-to-Face interaction
3. Individual accountability
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Group processing
Bowen, C. (2000) A Quantitative Literature Review of Cooperative
Learning Effect. Journal of Chemistry Education
Research:
Online Content Delivery
 Relatively new area of research
 Gaining interest but possibly most
controversial of methods
 Our attempt to learn more about this
method
A Chemistry Experiment
Pilot High Structure Chem 262 Class (Sp’12)
 Replaced 1 lecture with online video.***
 Instead, used CRS + PLTL in class 1 day/week.
 Grade data inconclusive, but some THMs:
 Students comment that high attendance matters!
 Course evaluations: mixed bag
 Poll results…
Late-Semester In-Class Poll (n =
105)
If you were designing this class, would you:
a. Keep the structure as it is. (22%)
b. Turn Wednesdays back into straight lectures (no
quizzes, no problem sets) (10%)
c. Use the same structure, but students choose own
working groups. (25%)
d. Modify the structure to do a little bit of problem
solving every day. (43%)
The General Chemistry Experience
CHEM 101 (3 credit hr)
MWF 50-min class or TTh 75min class
Sections of 200-400 students
each
Nearly 1600 students every
academic year
Question: How to test Structured-Learning
model in this context?
Experiment Goals
Evaluate Structured-Learning model on several
dimensions:
Level of student engagement
Sense of community & collaboration
Performance
Retention in STEM major
Data Collection
 Surveys
Compare SL sections with Lecture-only
sections
 Performance on common exams
Compare SL with archived exam data
 Longitudinal study of retention in STEM major
Follow SL students into future
Baseline data: Chem 101, F’11
How often did you come to class without
completing the readings or assignments?
(1=often)
Asian/
URM
Caucasian
2.79
2.51
How important were conceptual
questions discussed in class to your
understanding?
(1= very important)
2.77
2.39
How important was the Resource Center
to your understanding?
(1= very important)
3.38
2.90
101 Course Re-design
 Videos and reading for
“easy” content.
 Start each class
with a quiz .
 Students in sit
in assigned seats:
groups of 3-4.
Forming groups on the fly
101 Course Re-design
Replace ~50% of class time
with 10-15 minute GRADED
(CRS) problem solving
activities.
Polling is fun for everyone!
use 15-20 in-class peer
mentors (~20:1 ratio) to
facilitate in-class problem
solving
Mentors make it possible...
... they really do!
We Kept Some Elements of the “Old”
Chemistry 101 Experience
• Online homework (Mastering Chemistry)
 Interventions for bottom ~25% of students after
each exam.
The Chemistry Bonanza
Invitations to office hours
Nitty Gritty
 Used commercial clickers
(TurningPoint) to create a
Laptop/cell free (JRK) OR laptop
minimal (CB) classroom.
 Registering clickers = a pain!
…but worthwhile once the
semester gets rolling.
Nitty Gritty
 Youtube videos work great, just
reference ‘em in class.
 Helpful to recap video at lecture
start. “From the video, you
should have learned…”
Peer Mentors
 attend class
 Monitor sakai
discussion boards
 1/wk (or less)
training meetings
Successes
 Students attend class (!) and they are highly engaged
in class activities.
 The expectation that students are responsible for
their own learning is explicit.
 Instructor can spend class time discussing nuances
and extensions of course material as well as
addressing common misconceptions.
 Multiple ways of addressing course material: videos,
online homework, structured activities.
Challenges
 Organizational effort required by students to succeed
 Group work may install false sense of understanding
for some individuals
 Less time to model problem-solving strategies (model
is better suited to 75-min classes)
 Concern: Do students have a narrower understanding
of chemistry as a discipline? How to weave all the
parts together into the larger picture?
Pilot data: Chem 101 (Summer)
“I thought the in-class problem-solving was
incredibly useful. Frankly, I wish my department
would do the same as I find it to be incredibly
effective.
“In addition, though, I think homework should
still be assigned, as in-class work has the
downfall of giving the illusion of understanding
[…] when in actuality there is simply the
understanding of how someone else did the
problem.”
Large course redesign support
CFE100+
cfe.unc.edu/100plus/
New RFP for grants program will be
announced in November
CFE contact: Bob Henshaw
Pilot data: Chem 101 (Summer)
“The structure of the course was great for me. I found it
very helpful to be required to look ahead before each
day’s class and to be expected to complete problems
every day.”
Pilot data: Chem 101 (Summer)
“I enjoyed the videos […]. They allowed the student to
learn the material at their own pace. In-class problems
allowed the teacher and the students better interaction
with regards to difficult concepts.”
Pilot data: Chem 101 (Summer)
“I really liked the group assignments because it forced you
to work problems in class (and it gave you a way to meet
people).
“The videos were a good intro to the lectures. While I may
not have understood everything watching the video the
night before, the concepts were reinforced the next day in
class.”