Title III Faculty Development/Teachers for a New Era workshop Dr. Serena Roberts March 23, 2010 Teaching Learning Institute

Title III Faculty Development/Teachers for a New Era workshop Dr. Serena Roberts March 23, 2010 Teaching Learning Institute

What do you hope to accomplish each time you enter your classroom? How do you usually plan to accomplish it? How effective are you at realizing your desired outcomes?

Remember and understand key concepts and terms related to active learning. Be comfortable enough to implement at least one active learning strategy in his or her teaching. Be able to relate active learning to other teaching methods. Understand some of the personal and social implications of using active learning in his or her classroom. Care about learning more about active learning. Have a list or resources for learning more about active learning. Based on Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses (p. 34). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

The lecture is as effective as other methods for transmitting information. Most lectures are not as effective as discussion for promoting thought. Changing attitudes should not normally be the major objective of a lecture. Lectures are relatively ineffective for teaching values associated with subject matter. Lectures are relatively ineffective for inspiring interest in a subject. Lectures are relatively ineffective for personal and social adjustment. Lectures are relatively ineffective for teaching behavioral skills. Bligh, D. A. (2000). What s the use of lectures? (p. 3). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Use lectures to teach information. Do not rely on them to promote thought, change attitudes, or develop behavior skills... Bligh, D. A. (2000). What s the use of lectures? (p. 20). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

How do we define active learning? Bonwell and Eison define active learning as "instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing." Active learning is based on two assumptions: Learning is by nature an active, not a passive, endeavor Different people learn in different ways

Student engagement Student centered learning Learner centered teaching Meeting needs of diverse learners

Active Learning at Illinois State Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology http://www.cat.ilstu.edu/resources/teachtopics/tips/ newactive.php

Active learning helps students produce knowledge in context rather than as an abstraction. Active learning engenders application rather than just knowledge or comprehension. Active learning assists students to retain information. Active learning facilitates student understanding of the relevance of material.

Lectures can be broken up to make them more interactive. One technique is to stop every so many minutes or after each major point to have students interact with each other and the information you have just presented. This takes some planning. Another way to make lectures more interactive is to use classroom assessment techniques.

Minute paper Muddiest point One sentence summary Student generated test questions Self Assessments of ways of learning Punctuated lectures Think pair share Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

What will change in your classroom if you begin to introduce active learning techniques?

Opening activity used adult learning theory (Kolb) to value what participants already know and are able to do Objectives stated near the beginning of the lesson Objectives formulated using significant learning terms and framework Quiz to test prior knowledge with immediate feedback Classroom assessment technique used (one sentence summary)