Excellent teaching and learning students background and study behaviour

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Excellent teaching and learning students
background and study behaviour

• Teacher Training
• course 27.10.09
• Lone Krogh

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Group diskussions

• Which are (in our opinion) the most important
  competences (learning ourtcome) students have to
  achieve during university studies
  (professionally, technically, generally and
  personally)?
• Please, write statements on flipover paper

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What do we have to learn students?

• The kind of learning we are interested in is
  learning which implies that the learners develop
  capabilities for seeing or experiencing
  situations or phenomena in certain
  ways..Students must be prepared for the
  unknown variation among situations in the future
  through experiencing variation in their
  education, which will enable them to discern
  critical aspects of novel situations (Bowden og
  Marton, 1998, s. 24).

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Aims/Objectives (ref. Bologna declaration)

• Employability 2) Mobility 3) Lifelong Leaning,
  devided into
• Intellectual competencies, (analysis and abstract
  thinking, knowledge searching attitude,
  communicative skills and the ability to structure
  personal learning. (Competencies not attached to
  individual subjects or programmes)).
• Professional competencies, (special competencies
  within a specific subject, knowledge of limited
  subject, inter-disciplinary competencies, -
  competencies related to individual subjects or
  programmes).
• Practical competencies, (practical skills,
  professional ethics and responsibility. These
  competencies are explicitly focused on managing
  operational functions).
• (Bologna Expert Monitoring group, 2003)

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A new Qualification framework

• The new QF is being implemented in Danish
  accreditation legislation
• Goals are here defined as the learning outcome,
  which you may expect new candidates to have
  achieved.

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Learning outcome

• Learning outcome is statements of what a
  learner is expected to know, understand and/or
  able to do at the end of a period of learning
  (Bologna Conference in Edinburgh 1-2 July, 2004)
• Learning outcome statements are typically
  characterized by use of active verbs, which
  express knowledge, understanding, application,
  analyses, synthesis and evaluation

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The learning outcome in the new QF has to be
divided into 3 overall categories

• Key words
• Knowledge Knowledge, understanding and
  reflection
• Skills Different type of skills related to
  workplace occupation, evaluation of
  theoretical and practical problems and
  decision, Communication of subject relevant
  problems and solutions
• Competences Action, collaboration,
  responsibility, learning
• Still within the framework Employability 2)
  Mobility 3) Lifelong Leaning,

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A qualification framework

• Is a systematic description of qualification
  levels and types within a given education system,
  mainly based on a description of learning
  outcomes. It increases the transparency and
  comparability of qualifications and may thereby
• facilitate credit transfer and mobility on a
  national and international scale
• facilitate recognition of foreign qualifications
• make the degree structures more transparent
• improve the basis for educational planning and
  evaluation.
• Information about the hew Qualification
  framework can be found here http//www.udiverden.
  dk/Default.aspx?ID3792

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Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956/Anderson Krathwohl, 2000)
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SOLO-taxonomy (Strucured Observed Learning
Outcome) (Biggs, 2003)

• Deep
• Learning
• Surface
• learning

Extended abstract
Apply, transfer, relate, question and go beyond
existing principles, reflect scientifically,
theorise, gene- ralise, set up hypothesis,
critizise known theory a.s.o.
Relationel
Analysing, integration of data. Understanding
how to apply the concept to a familiar data set
or to a problem
Multistructural
Disorganized collection of items (shopping-list),
Knowledge-telling
Unistructural
Unistructural
Simple naming, identifying, rote-learning,
referring, summarizing a.s.o.
Prestrucural Misses points
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Dimensions of students learning/competence
development

• Level of knowledge and abilities
• (Bloom or SOLO)

• Learning goals (examples)
• When the course/seminar/project a.s.o. is ended
  it is expected that the student
• is acquanted with//has knowledge about and
  masters .,can
• understand, explain and make use of basic
  methods and results.
• identify and precisely understand.
• argue deeply
• analyse and evaluate
• demonstrate the ability to use
• Formulate..
• Carry out
• A.s.o.

Learning goals/Com-petence goals
X
Content
Insp. Rump, 2007
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Group discussion

• Try to characterize your students what do you
  know about them, how is their study behaviour?
• Please, write statements on Flipover paper

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Students
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Who are the students?

• Studens have very diverse background and
  motivations
• Very much motivated (20 )
• Moderate motivated (30-40)
• The minimalists (40-50)
• Challenges Among the minimalists we find an
  unknown group of late bloomers
• (Lauvås, 2004)

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Different learning strategies

• Deep approach to learning
• Focus on understanding
• Demonstration of the relationship between
  connections and the whole
• Connections beyond the immediate subject area
• Generalisation and transfer of the principles
  from the specific to the abstract
• (Biggs, 2007)

• Surface approach to learning
• Focus on demands
• Try to remember
• Acquiring pieces of unconnected information
• No organization no overall sense
• Simple and obvious connections
• The significance of connections is not
  demonstrated (a number of connections)
• The significance of the relationship between
  connections is not demonstrated

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Susan

• Is academically committed, bright, interested in
  her studies and wants to do well
• Has clear academic career plans
• What she learns is important to her. (She goes
  about learing in a more traditional academic way)
• Comes to the lectures with sound, relevant
  background knovledge and possible some questions,
  she wants answered or it may not be the answer
  she is looking for, and she speculates, wondering
  why it isnt
• Students like Susan virtually teach themselves,
  with little help from teachers

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Robert

• Is at university in order to obtain a
  qualification for a decent job
• He is not studying in the area of his first
  choice
• He is less committed than Susan
• He comes to the lecure with few questions
• He wants to put in just sufficient effort to pass
• Robert hears the lecturer saying the same words
  as Susan, but he does not se a keystone, - just
  another brick to be recorded in his lecture notes
• He belives that if he can record enough of these
  bricks, and remember them on cue, he will keep
  out of trouble on examn.
• We are told that there ar many Roberts!

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Johnny

• Study oriented
• Strategic
• Goal-oriented (the most necessary things)
• Focussed on exams
• Strategic-minimalistic
• (Pettersen, 2005)

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http//www.youtube.com/watch?vdGCJ46vyR9o

• YouTube video A vision for students today a
  short video summarizing some of the most
  important characteristics of students today - how
  they learn, what they need to learn, their goals,
  hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like,
  a.s.o.
• Michael Wesch is Professor of Cultural
  Anthropology at Kansas State University, among
  other things head of the project Digital
  Ethnography with intensionsto exploring and
  extending the possibilities of digital
  ethnography.See some of the groups YouTube
  videos for instance. Web 2.0 The Machine is
  Us/ing Us, der

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How can we plan and conduct excellent and
effective teaching? possibilites and challenges

• To be continued..

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Group discussion

• Now please, suggest some examples on/or
  principles for excellent and relevant teaching
  and lesson plans, which take into consideration
  and meet some of the formal demands for
  students learning outcome within different areas
  and at the same time meet students diversity.
  what do you have to consider in the planning and
  which would be the best methods and enviroments
  to support students in their learning processes?
• Please, write suggestions on the flipover-paper

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Some kind of evidence for good teaching and
learning enviroments

• Well defined and clear structure for teaching
• Enough time for learning
• Learning supported working climate
• Clearness and transparency in terms of content
• Meaningful communication
• Variety of teaching methods
• Individuality (students individual learning
  needs)
• Intelligent training
• Transparency in expectations to the students
• Stimulating learning environments
• (Meyer, 2005 p. 17 f)

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Excellent teaching from the teachers and
students point of view . The teacher. (Ramsden,
1996 p. 86-87)

• The teacher
• Has a desire to share his/her love of the subject
  with the students,
• Has abilities to make the material being taught
  stimulating and interesting,
• Has facilities for engaging with students at
  their level of understanding,
• Has a capacity to explain absolutely clear what
  has to be understood, at what level, and why,
• Shows concern and respect for students,
• Feels committed to encourage student
  independence,
• Has abilities to improvise and adapt to new
  demands,
• Uses teaching methods and academic tasks that
  require students to learn thoughtfully,
  responsibly and cooperatively,
• Uses valid assessment methods,
• Focuses on key concepts, and students
  misunderstandings of them, rather than on
  covering the ground,
• Give the highest-quality feedback on students
  work,
• Has a desire to learn from students and other
  sources about the effects on teaching and how it
  can be improved.

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Study programmes are to develop study-activities
which support the students in their learning
processes towards the objectives and goals for
the sudies

• A good teaching system alligns teaching
  methods and assessment to the learning activities
  stated in the objectives, so that all aspects of
  this system act in accord to support appropriate
  learning
• Biggs, 2007

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The didactics Constrsuctive alignment (inspired
by Biggs 2003)
Students background and diversity Motivation Expe
riences
Study- and learning activities Problem-oriented
project-work in groups (or individually) Problem-s
olving Courses etc. Students freedom of choices
students perception of knowledge and skills
Learning outcome Higher order skills and
knowledge (analytical, methodological,
transferable skills, and inter-disciplinarity
etc.)
Study context Regulations Required
competencies Students freedom of choice Study
enviroments Exam regulations
Product
Process
Presage
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Stratetic Johnny
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Research-based teaching?

• Ideal
• You work together with the students and discuss
  the basis of the subjects not just educational
  books and theories
• Basic activities, related to the subject and its
  methods are being practicised not only
  mentioned
• Students are invited to participate in the
  community of professional researchers and
  teachers
• Students are being guided in working and writing
  academically
• Students are involved in authentic research
  projects
• The professional academic community (the
  university) is in contact with academic
  practioners outside the university
• The teachers are researchers
• (T. K. Jensen, 2006)

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Læringens 3 dimensioner
Brainwork Knowledge, understanding Skills,
qualifications
Content
Motive power
Feelings/emotions/ motivation
Inter- action
Collaboration with other students, teachers
and surroundings
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The theory and practice of teaching and
learning Didaktik - A frame for analysing,
planning and teaching Alignment
Context
Context
National and International Politics
(Bologna) Stakeholder inerests Economy Law Organiz
ation Traditions Values a.s.o.
Aalborg PBL model
Research based teaching
Subjects/ disciplines
Knowledge Skills Competences
Aims/objectives
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Evaluation/assessment - 3 integrated functions

• The summative function assessment of students
  learning outcome
• The formative function feedback to students
  about their strengths and weaknesses (feedback)
• Students evaluation of teaching and the
  educational system. Goal to improve practice
  (also formative)
• NB Summative evaluation must have formative
  functions

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Evaluation/assessment of students have a much
greater influence on how and what students learn
than any other single factor  

• 3 critical points
• The validity of exams are generally low (it often
  does not measure learning outcome such as
  understanding and relevant competence
  development)
• Tests and exams have very strong controling
  effect on study activities (not in a way that the
  students learn leading subject related concepts,
  principles a.s.o but rather learn to solve
  predictable assignments)
• Exams often keep students in a passive role
• Ref. Lauvås and Jakobsen, 2002) and (Sadler,
  2005),
• (Boud,1988), (Gibbs,1999), (Cowan, 2003).

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• If we want to encourage them (the students) to
  take a deep rather than a surface approach to the
  development of ..skills, we need to design
  practical assignments intelligently. We need to
  think not just about the assessment criteria but
  also about weighting, timing, agency and fitness
  for purpose, with imaginative consideration of
  methods and approaches that can challenge
  students, be inclusive and suit the topic,
  context, cohort and level (Boud in Pickford and
  Brown, 2006)

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Some advices for assessment in higher education

• Link assessment to learning (alignment)
• Never assess without giving comments to students
  about how they might improve
• Learn from your students mistakes. Use assessment
  to discover their misunderstandings, then modify
  teaching to address them
• Deploy a variety of assessment methods
• Try to get students participating in the
  assessment process, through
• a. Discussions of appropiate methods and how the
  methods relate to the (course) goals
• b. Joint staff-student design of assessment
  questions and negotiation of criteria for success
  and failure
• c. Self- and peer assessment activities
• d. Offering students responsible choices among
  different methods
• Focus on validiy (what you are measuring
  important?) and then reliability (is your test
  consistent?)
• Do everything in your power to lessen the anxiety
  raised by assessments
• (Ramsden, 1996, s.
  204-205)

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• Formative evaluation of teaching is a tool for
  the teacher to be wiser about the teaching and
  then afterwards improving it
• But
• never ask the students directly if they are
  satisfied with the teaching without asking them
  about their own work-rate?

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People learn

• 10 of what they read
• 20 of what they hear
• 30 of what they see
• 50 of what they see and hear
• 70 of what they talk over with others
• 80 of what they use and do in real life
• 95 of what they teach someone else
• William Glasser, quoted by Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Department, Guide 1988.

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Different teaching and learning situations