SGTS Theory 1

Summer Graduate Teaching Scholars

April 25, 2013

Theory 1: Introduction and HPL

Who Am I – Peter

Peter Newbury

PhD (Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) 1998

in applied math

Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative, 2008 – 2012

Associate Director, Center for Teaching Development

since August, 2012

Teaching and learning interests:

how people learn astronomy, physics, math

how to convince instructors to transform the way they teach

finding the most effective ways to implement peer instruction (clickers)

establishing and maintaining an online personal learning network

@polarisdotca peternewbury.org SGTS Theory Stream - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

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Who Am I – Liz

Liz Specht

PhD candidate in Stephen Mayfield’s lab in the UCSD Division of

Biological Sciences

The College Classroom alumnus (Fall 2012)

TA Consultant for TCC Wi13

@lizspecht

In addition to her research on algae, she is interested in science

education at all levels, and has been actively involved in several

teaching endeavors beyond the TA requirements for the

department. She has taught a lab course for post-graduate

adults, a summer course for high school students, and she

volunteers regularly at local middle schools through the Salk

Mobile outreach program.

SGTS Theory Stream - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

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A quick survey:

We have people with different backgrounds in our

audience: Raise your hand if this is you:

Who experienced undergraduate education in the US?

Who has had a teaching experience before?

Who has given a technical talk?

Who has English as a second language?

Who has been a student in a large (150+ students) class?


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Introduction to teaching and learning

in higher education

Survey


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Which of these do you associate with a typical

university lecture?

A) listening

B) absorbing

C) note-taking

D) learning

The traditional lecture is based on the

transmissionist learning model


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(Image by um.dentistry on flickr CC)

Scientifically Outdated, a Known

Failure


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We must abandon the tabula rasa

“blank slate” and “students as

empty vessels” models of teaching

and learning.

Let’s have a learning experience…


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Here is an important new number

system. Please learn it.


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1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

Test


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What is this number?

Important New Number System


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Here’s the key to the “tic-tac-toe” code:

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

Test


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What is this number?

New learning is built on and from existing knowledge.

You store things in long term memory through a set of connections that are made with previous existing memories.

Constructivist Theory of Learning


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(Images by Rebecca-Lee on flickr CC)

Creating memories (aka learning) involves having neurons fire and neurons link up in networks or patterns.

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How People Learn [1]


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Key Finding 1


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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 , p 14.)

Implications for Teaching – 1

Teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting

understandings that their students bring with them.

(How People Learn, p. 19)

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New Coding System 19

Please memorize this code:

1 = 4 = 7 =

2 = 5 = 8 =

3 = 6 = 9 =

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

unsupported, unfamiliar content built on pre-existing

knowledge

(tic-tac-toe board) SGTS Theory Stream - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Designing Classroom Environments – 1

Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.


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Learning requires interaction [2]


21



22

% of class time

NOT lecturing

Normalized learning gain:

pre-test 0

100%

post-test

0.50



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1 2

3 4

Key Finding 2


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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, p 16.)


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Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth,

providing many examples in which the same concept is at

work and providing a firm foundation of factual

knowledge.


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Discussion


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1. Turn to you neighbor and introduce yourself.

2. Tell your neighbor about how, in the class you

observed, the instructor talked about the framework

of concepts and organization/retrieval of the

concepts. (5 minutes)

3. Group discussion: Was there a time when the

instructor failed to do 2? How did you know?

(5 minutes)


To provide a knowledge-centered classroom environment,

attention must be given to what is taught (information,

subject matter), why it is taught (understanding), and

what competence or mastery looks like.


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learning outcomes

Theory 3,

Practical 3

development of expertise,

assessment

Theory 2 & 3, Practical 4

Key Finding 3


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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, p 18.)

Aside: metacognition


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Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s

own cognitive processes or anything related to them.

For example, I am engaging

in metacognition if I notice

that I am having more

trouble learning A than B.

([3], [4])

Key Finding 3


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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, p 18.)


The teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated

into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.


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Formative assessments — ongoing assessments designed

to make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and

students — are essential. They permit the teacher to grasp

the students’ preconceptions, understand where the

students are in the “developmental corridor” from

informal to formal thinking, and design instruction

accordingly. In the assessment-centered classroom

environment, formative assessments help both teachers

and students monitor progress.


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student-centered instruction traditional lecture


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peer instruction with clickers

interactive demonstrations

surveys of opinions

reading quizzes

worksheets

discussions

videos

student-centered instruction

Clicker question


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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.

(Question: Sujatha Raghu from Braincandy via LearningCatalytics)

(Image: CIM9926 by number657 on flickr CC)

Typical episode of peer instruction


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Alternating with 10-15 minute mini-lectures,

1. Instructor poses a conceptually-challenging,

multiple-choice question.

2. Students think about question on their own.

3. Students vote for an answer using clickers,

smart phones, colored/ABCD voting cards,

Poll Everywhere,…

4. The instructor reacts, based on the

distribution of votes.

In effective peer instruction


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students teach each other while

they may still hold or remember

their novice preconceptions

students discuss the concepts in their

own (novice) language

the instructor finds out what the students know (and

don’t know) and reacts, building on their initial

understanding and preconceptions.

students learn

and practice

how to think,

communicate

like experts

How People Learn [1]


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Effective peer instruction requires


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1. identifying key concepts, misconceptions

2. creating multiple-choice questions that

require deeper thinking and learning

3. facilitating peer instruction episodes that

spark student discussion

4. resolving the misconceptions

before

class

during

class

Practical 1

Practical 2

How People Learn


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Learning is not about

what instructors do.

It’s about what students do!

How People Learn


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Learning is not about

what instructors do.

It’s about what students do!

Students don’t learn

just by listening to the

instructor explain.

References


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1. 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.

2. Prather, E.E, Rudolph, A.L., Brissenden, G., & Schlingman, W.M. (2009). A

national study assessing the teaching and learning of introductory

astronomy. Part I. The effect of interactive instruction. Am. J. Phys. 77, 4,

320-330.

3. Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.

Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ:

Erlbaum.

4. Brame, C. (2013). Thinking about metacognition. [blog] January, 2013,

Available at: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2013/01/thinking-about-

metacognition/ [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013].