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INTER/ACTIVE LEARNING, AND STUDENT FEEDBACK

Masdar Institute of Science & Technology 24 March 2013

Dr. Janet Rankin and Dr. Glenda Stump MIT Teaching and Learning Laboratory

Juggling: as easy as…

F = time ball’s in the air D = time ball’s in a hand V = time a hand is vacant N = # balls H = # hands.

[1] Scientific Aspects of Juggling. In Claude Elwood Shannon: Collected Papers. Edited by N.J.A. Sloane and A. D. Wyner. IEEE Press, 1993.

[2]The Science of Juggling, by Peter J. Beek and Arthur Lewbel, Scientific American, November, 1995, Volume 273, Number 5, pages 92-97.

3-Ball Cascade

[2] x(t) = x(0) + vx(0)⋅t y(t) = y(0) + vy(0)⋅t - 0.5⋅g⋅t

2

(F+D)H=(V+D)N [1]

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Constructive Alignment What

should learners know or

be able to do?

How will the learners

learn to that level?

How will learning be measured?

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

Assessment Tasks

Teaching Learning Activities (TLAs)

J.B. Biggs, (2003)

Intended Outcomes for the Session By the end of the session, you will be able to: • Explain the impact of inter/active learning exercises in the

classroom. •  Identify/develop inter/active learning exercises that will

help students achieve the desired learning outcomes. • Select assessments that measure student achievement of

learning outcomes.

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1:1 Teaching is Extremely Effective

Tutorial"1:1

Achievement Scores

Conventional Lecture"1:30

# S

tude

nts

Why Inter/active Learning??

• Why is 1-on-1 teaching so effective??

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Active and Interactive

• What’s the difference?

• Active and interactive learning provide opportunities for students to cognitively engage with material as they are learning it, and….

Allow for assessment …

• Systematic collection, review, and use of information • Used to monitor success of teaching in helping students

to achieve intended outcomes.

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When Can You Do Assessment? • Before instruction

•  Baseline of learner characteristics or knowledge

• During instruction - Formative •  Feedback to faculty - know what learner is learning over the short

term so instruction can be adjusted if needed •  Feedback to students about their progress

• After instruction •  Feedback to students / faculty regarding student learning •  Accountability to stakeholders (institution) •  Feedback used for future improvement of the class

Formative Assessment • During inter/active learning activities

• Feedback to student, “ I can / can not do this task” “ I do / do not understand this”

• Feedback to faculty re. student misconceptions and progress

• Group oriented – may not able to assess every student

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Formative Assessment • More formal - End of class period or between classes

•  Quizzes, Problem-sets, ‘Mud’ cards, 3-Minute papers, Self-reflective journals or logs

•  Feedback to student •  Quizzes, Problem-sets “I can / can not do this task” “This is what I

understand / do not understand” •  ‘Mud’ cards, 3-Minute papers, Self-reflective journals or logs “This

is what I understand / do not understand”

•  Feedback to faculty re. student misconceptions and progress

•  Individual oriented – can assess every student

Short active learning exercises

• Summarize previous class • Synthesize presented material • Support a Statement • Solve a practice problem/ answer a question • Create a solution • Explain reasoning • Answer / formulate questions

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Questions for Active Learning / Formative Assessment

•  Recall Questions •  Conceptual Understanding Questions •  Application Questions •  Critical Thinking Questions •  Student Perspective Questions •  Confidence Level Questions •  Monitoring Questions

** Technology can be useful here Go to m.socrative.com Room # 745356

Constructive Alignment What

should learners know or

be able to do?

How will the learners

learn to that level?

How will learning be measured?

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

Assessment Tasks

Teaching Learning Activities (TLAs)

J.B. Biggs, (2003)

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How many countries are there in South America? a.  9 b.  10 c.  12 d.  15 e.  17

What learning outcome might this question measure?"

It’s important to be thoughtful about what questions you ask, and why

If living cells similar to those found on earth were found on another planet where there was no molecular oxygen, which cell part would most likely be absent? a.  Cell membrane b.  Nucleus c.  Mitochondria d.  Ribosome e.  Chromosomes""""What learning outcome might this question measure?""

It’s important to be thoughtful about what questions you ask, and why

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Based on research at NASA, what was the approximate net global change in temperature between 1880 and 1975?*

a)  + 2 °C b)  + 0.4 °C c)  + 0.08 °C d)  - 0.08 °C e)  - 0.4 °C f)  - 2 °C

What learning outcome does this question measure?" *Hansen J et al. PNAS 2006;103:14288-14293

It’s important to be thoughtful about what questions you ask, and why

When tapped, do you think the thicker block will display a tone that is: a.  higher than b.  lower than c.  the same as

the thinner block? What learning outcome does this measure?

Longer Inter/Active Exercises: Demos & Experiments

•  Vote •  Discuss with partner •  Vote again

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Longer Inter/Active Exercises: Open-ended, Small-group Brainstorms You have been called by the manufacturer of this hammer to determine: •  why their hammers keep

breaking like this; •  what they can do to prevent

this.

What information, tests, etc. do you need to make your recommendations?

Think-Write-Share: Aligning Formative Assessments & Learning Outcomes Consider an intended learning outcome from your course

• What active learning strategies could you use to: •  Help students achieve that learning outcome;

•  Provide you and your students with information on whether or not students have met the learning outcome?

• What are the potential benefits or pitfalls of the activities?

Be prepared to share your responses with the group

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WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS?

Thank you!

EXTRA

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Summative Assessment • After instruction • Used to:

•  Measure student understanding – relative to criteria or peers •  Provide feedback to students about their attainment of particular

intended learning outcomes •  Provide feedback to faculty about instructional strategies •  Provides accountability to stakeholders (institution, funding

agencies)

•  Formal - quizzes, exams, projects provide quantifiable data to show that students have met learning outcomes. Focus groups and surveys provide student feedback.

How you use clickers makes a difference!

Clicker use in an intro Chemistry Class @ MIT

Study conducted with Dr. Rudy Mitchell in the Teaching and Learning Laboratory

Fall ‘09: •  Clicker questions used primarily for attendance •  1-3 questions per lecture •  Minimal explanation to students on clicker policies/benefits

‘08,’10,’11: •  Clicker questions designed to practice problem solving, reveal misconceptions, etc. •  3-5 per questions per lecture •  Motivation for using clickers and clicker policies explained in detail in lecture 1

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How you use clickers makes a difference! % of students that agreed with the following statements

Study conducted with Dr. Rudy Mitchell in the Teaching and Learning Laboratory

Fall ’09 (N = 171)

’08,’10,’11 (N = 314)

Answering clicker questions helped me to identify weaknesses in my understanding.

51% 82%

Clicker questions stimulated me to think conceptually during lecture.

36% 82%

I enjoyed using the clickers

35% 67%

I made an effort to answer clicker questions as well as I could.

77% 92%

Desert Island Questions • You’re stuck on a desert island and you need to…

…get a value for the coefficient off thermal expansion of Si …find out how long it will take your tea to cool down …find the 5th root of 900 …etc.

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Longer Activities: Large-group participatory demonstrations ▪ Vacancy diffusion

Students are the atoms on a 2-d lattice. Apply “jump” rules.

▪ Tensile test Students are the atoms in a test specimen.