Moving Lectures Out of the Classroom to Make Room for Learning

1
Moving Lectures Out of the Classroom to Make Room
for Learning

• Carl R. F. Lund
• Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering
• UB TLC Teaching Effectiveness Workshop Series
• April 7, 2008

2
Conversation at a Faculty Meeting

• Professor A I cant believe this years junior
  class. They dont know how to insert a topic
  from a pre-requisite course!
• Professor B Thats inexcusable. I covered that
  in detail in name the pre-requisite course
• General conversation that follows cites probable
  reasons including laziness, not as good as they
  used to be, shouldnt be here, todays work
  ethic, the media, primary education system,
  parents, society, name some other department
  that teaches a service course, current cultural
  context,

3
Questions Raised by that Conversation

• Why dont the engineering faculty question the
  effectiveness of their teaching methods?
• What teaching methods are they using?
• Which alternative methods are more effective?
• Why dont the engineering faculty change their
  teaching methods?
• What is being done to foster change in
  engineering teaching methods?
• What else could be done to foster change in
  engineering teaching methods?
• How would it work?

4
Caveats and Disclaimers

• I am not trained as an educator
• My research activities have not been in the field
  of education Im not an education specialist
• Most of the information presented here is my
  opinion or based upon my personal observation
• When I actually rely on the literature, Ill try
  to point it out
• The frame of reference for the presentation is
  engineering education
• I believe much of the content would transfer well
  to other fields

5
Why dont Engineering Faculty Question the
Effectiveness of their Teaching Methods?

• They are trained engineers, not trained educators
• Traditional lecture format is all they know
• Unaware that more effective methods exist
• Arrogance and/or skepticism
• Traditional lecture format was good enough for
  me its good enough for them
• Alternative methods are another education fad
• Fear that the answer would require change
• Dont know how to change
• Dont have time to change
• Laziness, not as good as they used to be,
  shouldnt be here, todays work ethic, the media,
  primary education system, parents, society, name
  some other department that teaches a service
  course, current cultural context,

6
Engineering Educations Reliance upon the
Traditional Lecture Format

• National Center for Education Statistics (2001)
• 87.7 of engineering faculty used lectures as an
  instructional approach in classes they taught
• 5 indicated the use of methods other than
  lecture, seminar, lab or field work
• Wirt, J., S. Choy, D. Gerald, S. Provasnik, P.
  Rooney, S. Watanabe, R. Tobin, and M. Glander,
  The Condition of Education 2001, B. Kridl and A.
  Livingston, Editors. National Center for
  Education Statistics, U. S. Dept. of Ed., Office
  of Educational Research and Improvement
  Washington, DC. p. 309, 2001.

7
When does Learning Occur when the Traditional
Lecture Format is Used?

• The fact is that what routinely goes on in most
  college classes is not teaching and learning, but
  stenography professor transcribes notes from
  notebook to chalkboard, students transcribe from
  chalkboard back to notebook. Even if the notes
  are supplemented with all sorts of insightful
  commentary, research shows that students in
  lectures generally retain a reasonable percentage
  only of what they hear in the first ten minutes
  and relatively little of anything that happens
  thereafter. They really only learn by thinking
  and doing, not watching and listening.
• Richard Felder, It Goes Without Saying, Chem.
  Engr. Education 25(3), 132-133 (1991).
• Students then go off on their own and work on
  questions assigned as homework.
• Heres where they get to do some thinking and
  doing, that is learning
• The professor isnt (immediately) available to
  help and guide them as they do
• If homework isnt carefully chosen and if
  students arent conscientious in doing it, many
  may never move beyond the lower three levels of
  Blooms taxonomy (know, comprehend and apply)

8
Which Alternative Methods are More Effective
(when used properly)?

• Active Learning Methods
• Michael Prince, Does Active Learning Work? A
  Review of the Research, J. Engr. Education
  93(3), 223-231 (2004).
• Active Learning
• Collaborative Learning
• Cooperative Learning
• Problem-Based Learning
• Implementations of these also incorporate
• Inquiry-Based Experimentation or Learning
• Learning Games or Contests
• Case Study Approach

9
Questions Raised by that Conversation

• Why dont the engineering faculty question the
  effectiveness of their teaching methods?
• What teaching methods are they using?
• Which alternative methods are more effective?
• Why dont the engineering faculty change their
  teaching methods?
• What is being done to foster change in
  engineering teaching methods?
• What else could be done to foster change in
  engineering teaching methods?
• How would it work?

10
Why Dont Engineering Faculty Change their
Teaching Methods?

• Curmudgeons
• A person full of stubborn notions
• Alternative teaching methods are the latest
  educational fad
• Skeptics
• Honestly question the efficacy of alternative
  teaching methods
• Havent examined the relevant literature or dont
  believe its findings
• Practical, time-pressured majority
• Very interested in being a more effective teacher
• But not if it consumes more of their time than
  the lecture format
• Efficient
• Return on time investment (career advancement,
  etc.) is greater for time spent in research and
  creative activity
• Comfortable
• Lecture notes are already developed and refined
• They learned via traditional lectures and feel
  comfortable with it
• Quite possibly already recognized as a good
  teacher while using the traditional lecture
  format

11
What is being done to Foster Change in
Engineering Teaching Methods?

• NRC Community of Education Scholars also
  National Academy, Project Kaleidoscope
• Evaluating and Improving Undergraduate Teaching.
  M.A. Fox and N. Hackerman, eds. The National
  Academies Press, Washington DC 2003.
• Recommendations for Action in Support of
  Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering
  and Mathematics, 2002. Available from
  http//www.pkal.org/documents/ReportonReports.pdf
  .
• Improving Undergraduate Instruction in Science,
  Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Report
  of a Workshop. R.A. McCray, R.L. DeHaan, and
  J.A. Schuck, eds. The National Academies Press,
  Washington, DC 2003.
• Meets the needs (addresses the fears) of those
  who
• want to change and
• have time to change but
• dont know how to change
• Not necessarily a proactive approach
• Relies on individual initiative by faculty

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What Could be done to Foster Change in
Engineering Teaching Methods?

• Stop writing and using textbooks replace them
  with TExTs
• TExT (Toolkit for Exceptional Teaching) Project
  (NSF CCLI)
• Comprehensive course delivery package
• Incorporate components used traditionally
• Lectures delivered outside of class time via
  video
• Learning activities for class time and beyond
• Detailed lesson plans
• Necessary resources
• Assessment instruments
• Integrated, yet extensible
• Goals
• Teach using effective methods with time
  investment comparable to traditional lecture
  format
• Increase teacher comfort with methods
• Use a variety of proven active learning
  approaches that are properly implemented
• (Long term) topic-specific TExT communities that
  bring education specialists, subject-area
  specialists, and teachers together

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How Would a TExT-Based Course Work?

• Students
• Written Materials
• Learning Objectives
• Readings
• Examples
• Solutions
• Exams Homework for current year and past
• Handouts, additional solved unsolved
  assignments
• Assignments
• Video Materials
• Lectures
• Examples Lectures
• Computational Tools

• Professors
• Student Materials
• Slides for in-class Review of Readings
• Learning Activities
• Several for each reading topic
• Detailed lesson plan and list of necessary
  supplies
• Variety of approaches
• Inquiry, case studies, games
• Active, collaborative, cooperative, problem-based
• Assessment Instruments
• Student Learning
• Teaching Methods

14
A Mini-Example using Kineticsto Illustrate How
One CanMove Lectures Out of the Classroom to
Make Room for Learning
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Before Class

• Professor
• Assigns one or more study units for this class
• Downloads review slides for the unit
• Reviews the subject matter and selects
• (optional) pre-class assessment instrument
• Learning activities to be used in class
• Reviews lesson plans for selected activities
• Gathers necessary supplies and resources that
  will be used in class
• (optional) combines slides for review, assessment
  and activities into one PowerPoint presentation

• Students
• Downloads
• Written objectives, reading and examples
• Video information and examples
• Reads written materials and views video materials
• Write down questions or notes any points that
  they didnt understand so they can ask in class
• Downloads any materials that have been posted for
  use in-class
• PowerPoint presentation that the professor will
  use in class
• Computational tools for class
• Examines in-class materials
• Prepare for possible quiz

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First Bump in the Road

• Engineering students are pre-conditioned to the
  lecture format
• Majority DO NOT read assignments before class
• Used to professor telling them whats important
• Then theyll just read that part, and often only
  if they didnt understand the lecture
• Only read if professor has reputation for testing
  on things not covered in class
• Many never read the textbook (except as discussed
  later)
• Must form different habits in TExT-based course
• Pre-class assessments (quizzes) - especially
  early in the course
• Still doesnt work for some
• Students present the review at the start of class
• Pre-assigned, or called on in class
• Im open to any and all ideas!!!

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Further Thoughts on Student Motivation

• Students wont come to class prepared unless they
  find some benefit to doing so
• If one uses all kinds of learning activities in
  class that cause students to think at higher
  levels (analysis, synthesis, evaluation)
• But then assigns homework and gives exams that
  only requires thinking at the lower levels (know,
  comprehend, apply)
• Then some (many?) students will find they can
  succeed just as they do in the traditional
  lectures
• Find an example similar to the problem at hand
  and mimic that example
• So some fraction of the out of class and exam
  work must require higher level thinking like that
  used in the learning activities
• To succeed here, students need to mimic the
  learning activities, and to do that, they need to
  participate in the learning activities, and to do
  that, they need to come to class prepared.

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In Class

• Class starts with a review of the topics they
  should have read and heard about prior to class
• Opportunity for students to question and seek
  clarification
• Optionally administer a brief quiz
• Trivial for those who read and listened to
  provided materials
• Motivational for those who didnt
• Lowest level of Blooms taxonomy (know
  understand)
• First learning activity
• Might incorporate or end in a mini-lecture that
  summarizes, draws out salient points, annotates,
  etc.
• Second learning activity (usually of a different
  type than the first)
• Might continue after class in the form of a
  homework assignment
• Optional Summary of Class

19
Variety in Learning Activities

• Appeal to different types of learners (auditory,
  sensory, etc.)
• Repeated use of one type of activity may not be
  any more effective than repeated use of the
  traditional lecture
• Maintains student interest
• Or at least wards of student boredom
• Some individual, some group

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Types of Learning Activities

• Object Lessons
• Collision theory using ping-pong balls
• Rate limiting step dealing cards
• One minute papers or memos
• Small group problem solving
• In seats, all groups at board
• Explanation of solution to rest of class
• Teams - contest, buzz in when disagree
• Professor presenting solution
• One group presenting if buzzer is correct,
  they take over
• Debate or panel discussion
• Three-slide presentations

21
Types of Learning Activities

• Case studies
• Facilitated through a series of learning
  activities that span a period of time as long as
  the whole semester
• Can be structured as inquiry-based
• Simulators
• Inquiry-based activities
• Data gathering for subsequent analysis
• Explain why the system responded as it did

22
Second Bump in the Road

• Many students have been quite successful without
  ever thinking at the higher levels of Blooms
  Taxonomy
• Typical student methodologies when presented with
  a problem to solve
• Find a solved problem in the notes, book, old
  exams, etc.
• Mimic that solution
• In many cases, dont recognize that the problems
  are different
• Find equations that contain the same quantities
  that are given in the problem statement and use
  those equations
• Go to office hours, without any written attempt
  at the problem and state I cant figure out how
  to solve
• Starting in class, and continuing after it,
  students must be challenged to think
• Explain, in physical terms and without equations,
  what will happen when.
• Give problem statements that include lots of
  extraneous quantities
• Whenever approached by a student (train yourself
  AND YOUR TAs to)
• Ask to see what theyve done so far
• Ask them what they think they should do next
• Confirm or guide them to the correct action
• Tell them to do that (right there in your office
  if they want) and then come back if still stuck

23
After Class, Before Exams and Beyond

• Students
• Written Materials
• Learning Objectives
• Readings
• Examples
• Solutions
• Exams Homework for current year and past
• Handouts, additional solved unsolved
  assignments
• Assignments
• Video Materials
• Lectures
• Examples Lectures
• Computational Tools

• Professors
• Student Materials
• Slides for in-class Review of Readings
• Learning Activities
• Several for each reading topic
• Detailed lesson plan and list of necessary
  supplies
• Variety of approaches
• Inquiry, case studies, games
• Active, collaborative, cooperative, problem-based
• Assessment Instruments
• Student Learning
• Teaching Methods

24
The Key Difference

• Traditional Lecture Format
• Before Class
• ?
• In Class
• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• ?Application
• After Class
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

• TExT-Based Format
• Before Class
• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• ? Application
• In Class
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation
• After Class
• Higher level thinking persists

25
Student Feedback

• 2006 and 2007 classes were taught partially using
  the TExT materials and partially using the
  traditional lecture format
• 43 Anonymous responses to student course
  evaluations
• 19 responses listed the TExT materials (pre-class
  readings and videos) as an aspect of the course
  they liked while only one listed it as a dislike
• 9 responses mentioned the active learning
  activities as a like none listed it as a dislike
• 17 responses suggested that the last part of the
  course (traditional lectures) should be taught
  the same way the first part was taught (TExT)
• 1 response suggested the opposite that the
  course should be taught using a traditional
  lecture format
• 5 responses listed the written materials as a
  like and the video materials as a dislike or vice
  versa
• no responses that expressed dissatisfaction with
  the TExT approach
• positive responses about the teaching methods,
  for example easy to learn, and great learning
  environment

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Final Thoughts

• If Ive been preaching to the congregation
• Moving lectures out of the classroom can be
  highly effective if
• They (or an equivalent) still occur before class
• They are replaced by learning
• The goal is to foster higher-level thinking
• If Ive been preaching to the preachers
• Consider initiating or participating in the
  creation of a TExT in your area of expertise
• Make it just as easy for a teacher to (properly)
  use more effective methods as it is to lecture.