Strip-Mining Facts

Meaningful Discussions in the Google/Wikipedia Era

Overview

Introduction The Importance of Discussions The Blessing and Curse of Readily-Available

Information Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions My Conclusions Your Ideas/Comments

Introduction

Who I am: Dan Branan (Ph.D., University of Denver, 2003)

What I do:– teach chemistry for CCCOnline (1.5 years)– teach chemistry at USAF Academy (off and on

since 1996)– active-duty Air Force officer (16 years)

Introduction

Remember when…– at least half your effort on a research paper was

gathering a body of information?– you had to pore over your wealthy neighbor’s

copy of Encyclopedia Britannica for information?– you needed a Reference Librarian to help you find

facts?

Introduction

“Google is like God. God is wireless, God is everywhere and God sees everything. Any questions in the world, you ask Google.”

– Alan Cohen, president of Airespace, quoted in The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman

How do we engage students in a discussion about a topic when they can discover everything about it by spending a few minutes at the altar of Google?

Importance of Discussions

Constructivist Cycle: – conceptualize– construct knowledge– dialogue

“Dialogue provides the vehicle for conceptual movement. It facilitates the transition between the stages and the advance from one re-conceptualisation cycle to the next. To emphasise the central role of dialogue even further we now view it not as a separate stage, but as integral to the whole cycle.”

– FOWLER, C.J.H., & MAYES, J.T. “Learning relationships: from theory to design.” Association for Learning Technology Journal, 7, 3, 6-16 (1999)

Importance of Discussions

“…learning is…made more effective when it is social, is engaged…”; “…learning happens best when students are active…writing, thinking, experimenting, creating and devising.” - Malcom Brown, “Mashing up the Once and Future CMS.” EDUCAUSE Review, March/April 2007

“Many studies have suggested that actively participating in inquiry dialogue is beneficial and that the quality and not the quantity of inquiry is central.”

– Pilkington, R., “Analysing Educational Dialogue Interaction: Towards Models that Support Learning.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education (2001), 12, 1-7

Importance of Discussions

My own experiences:– Enthusiastic participation– Survey of last class: 91% reported that the

discussions were “Valuable” to “Extremely Valuable”

Comments: – “The discussions definitely enhanced the course”– “I loved the discussions, but they did not relate to the

material being tested over”– “Provided a more traditional classroom feel and reminds

you that you are not suffering through this alone.”

Importance of Discussions - Summary

Necessary for the constructive learning cycle

Main source of social interaction in an on-line class

The blessing and curse of readily-available information

Blessing: – You can find information rapidly and easily

Curse:– Knowing ≠ understanding

The ability to find lots of facts can lead students to believe they understand a subject – this is a discussion-killer

– Issues with source reliability Students may not understand the difference between

primary, secondary, tertiary and extremist sources.

Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions

Starting things off– Find topics that are current, potentially interesting,

socially relevant, objectively important, and perhaps just a little controversial.

Have FUN with the topic. Your interest and enthusiasm is contagious!

– Give substantial background information – guide their data-gathering a little bit.

Demonstrate the choice of reliable sources Take as neutral a stance as possible. Unless you want

to drive them to an opposing point of view

Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions

Starting things off– If possible, link the topic to their course material– Pose multiple questions– CRITICAL: Ask the student to decide or interpret

something on a personal level This helps get them involved as an individual, and will

help avoid pulling opinions off the internet Single most effective defense against “know it all”

discussion killers – everyone has an opinion and no one else can talk about what YOU believe

Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions

Examining some topics (handout)– Global Cycles

90% of the class was involved Postings per student ranged from 1 to 18 (Avg = 5) Similar results between two separate sections High interest among student population (several

Boulderites, for example) Sources listed were fairly neutral on the subject of global

warming, per se Students found many other sources – surprisingly few

were polemic or extremist in nature

Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions

– Genetically Modified Food 86% of the class was involved Postings per student ranged from 1 to 10 (Avg = 4) Similar results between two separate sections Also high interest among students Sources presented were both pro and con Many more student sources and positions were

extremist on this topic.– I had to intervene in one exchange and tell them to be

more respectful of one another

Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions

– Gold! New discussion, few posts so far. Similar results between two separate sections This topic does not seem to be inherently interesting to

the students Lack of background information is a problem Most postings are regurgitations or outright copies from

relatively reliable sources I have had to interject several times and try to focus

them on the deeper aspects of the questions.

Initiating and Guiding Effective Discussions

Guiding the discussion– Be clear about your expectations and standards

Rubrics are a good tool for this

– Your involvement and guidance are critical Provides standards enforcement Shows that you are interested in their opinions

– Watch for inappropriate references/comments Wikipedia is NOT a primary or secondary source! If they cite a Wikipedia article, ask them what the sources

were for that article Be especially watchful for extremist sources and flag them Guard against inappropriate criticism

My Conclusions

Discussions are vitally important to learning Discussions enhance the social atmosphere Engaging the students is the big challenge

– Connect your topics to relevant, interesting ideas– Pose a wide variety of questions in each topic– Encourage personal involvement in the topic

Guiding the discussion is critical– Encourage appropriate sourcing of information– Discourage inappropriate criticism

Your Ideas/Comments

Success/Non-Success Stories? Favorite Topics? Hooks or Techniques? Pitfalls?