brenda mccoy, ph.d. university of north texas. dalton state course redesign workshop – october 28,...

COURSE REDESIGN…WHEN SHIFT

HAPPENS

Brenda McCoy, Ph.D. University of North Texas

DALTON STATE COURSE REDESIGN WORKSHOP – OCTOBER 28, 2011

CHANGE WHO? CHANGE WHAT?

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…” Good teaching evaluations and well-

rated on Pick-a-Prof What does that mean?

It’s getting hard to cover content in all types of courses Students are not reading, slowing

lecture and class discussion Critical thinking skills are declining

Writing skills are deteriorating Plagiarism is becoming common

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REFLECTION

Moving away from blame Trying to understand what is

needed to engage my students

Reaching for understanding Trying to understand or imagine

how my students must see the classroom and the world

Acknowledging the urgency Coming to grips with the idea that

“the train is leaving the station…and, I must adapt if I want to be on board”

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THE SOCIAL CHANGES ARE PROFOUND

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Both in the United States and elsewhere, many people simply do not have access to a high quality education….We hope to teach

some of the latest computing technologies to anyone who wants to learn it—for free.”

~ Dr. Andrew Ng, Associate Professor~

Affecting both students…

and the shape of higher education.


SHIFT HAPPENS…

5

Video: Did You Know 4.0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&feature=related

1971 Cell

phone

1981 IBM PC

1990 Intern

et

1992 1st text

1995Yahoo

1998 Googl

e

2001 Wikipedia

iPod

2003 MySpace, Linkedin

2004 Faceboo

k

2005 YouTube

2006 Twitte

r

2007 iPhon

e

2008 Texting exceeds

calls

2009 Foursquar

e

2011 Googl

e+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&feature=related


CREATING A DIGITAL DIVIDE

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Digital “immigrants”Born before 1980

Digital “natives”Born after 1980

Source: Digital Natives Digital Immigrants – Marc Prensky


DIGITAL NATIVES

The first truly digital“native speakers” Millennials (Gen Y) – born between early

1980s and 1999 Late Generation X

Different thought and work patterns than predecessors

Multi-taskers – music, texting, Internet search, etc.

Instant information and hypertext Electronic intimacy Mindset: http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/

More rapid change ahead Social media creators are Millennials

7Digital Natives Digital Immigrants – Mark Prensky

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/


DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS

Speak the language with an accent—if they speak it at all Baby boomers and earlier

You might be an immigrant if you print your email or think it

is current technology you call more than you text

others you are suspicious of Wikipedia you refuse to have a Facebook

account

8Digital Natives Digital Immigrants – Marc Prensky

http://www.wimp.com/messingaround/

Old People Messing Around with Webcam





JUST “GOOGLE IT”

It has never been easier to find answers Most immigrants have become

addicted to Google Natives—our students—have never

known another way

Radical impact on instruction Instructor as expert: “The

professor is an idiot. I just fact-checked him…”

Content relevance: “Why do I need to learn that? I can look it up when I need it.”

“Gen Y” is “long on answers” but “short on experience”

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Doodle 4 GoogleHannah Newsom, age 17

2011 National Winner


LEARNING THE HARD WAY?

How can I facilitate experiential learning? How can students safely

experience collective action? How can I entice students to

espouse a position based on personal investment rather than repeat “sound-bites?”

How can students easily draw random samples of varying sizes and explore the results?

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I hear and I forget.I see and I remember.I do and I understand.


WHAT IS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING?

A process of learning through doing Helps students develop better critical

thinking and problem-solving skills Fosters empathy or introspection

through application of a concept Increases the sense of connection

between academics and the “real world”

An umbrella term that refers to Collaborative learning Problem-based learning Service learning Undergraduate research

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

Planned activity or exercise that is intended to satisfy a specific learning objective

Vary in length and complexity

The type of exercise is affected by Class length, setting, or arrangement Availability of instructional support Delivery mechanism (individual, group,

online)

A simple concept, but Sometimes hard to develop an activity Easily misapplied

Create your own or use/modify those developed by others

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EXAMPLES

Philosophy of Individualism Course: Civic Engagement Length: 1 – 3 hours Type: individual, but processed in a

group setting

Stratified Monopoly Course: Social Stratification Length: 1.5 hours (minimum) Type: group exercise (5 – 6 members)

Gender Reversal Course: Gender Roles Length: 4 days Type: individual out-of-class

assignment

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EXAMPLES

Philosophy of Individualism Course: Civic Engagement Length: 1 – 3 hours Type: individual, but processed in a

group setting

Stratified Monopoly Course: Social Stratification Length: 1.5 hours (minimum) Type: group exercise (5 – 6 members)

Gender Reversal Course: Gender Roles Length: 4 days Type: individual out-of-class

assignment

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Different view of

issue, self, or others

How it

works

Content


WRITING AND REWRITING HISTORY…

History is happening…

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October 20, 2011

“The official version of events offered by Libya’s new leaders — that Colonel Qaddafi was killed in a cross-fire — did not appear to be supported by the photographs and videos that streamed over the Internet all day long, raising questions about the government’s control of the militias in a country that has been divided into competing regions and factions.”

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/new-videos-piece-together-qaddafis-last-minutes/?hp


NOW YOU TRY…

Pick a topic What topic lends itself to experiential

learning?

Brainstorm on an experiential learning activity Type: simulation, competition,

debate, role-play, think-pair-share What do you want students to learn?

Describe the experiential activity What is needed (instructions, hand-

outs, materials, etc.)? Estimated length and group size How will students reflect?

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©2001 Rick London & Johann Wessels


LACK OF CONTENT--MENT?

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“If I use experiential learning in my class, how am I going to cover all the material?”

Talk to my shrink… “I like being the expert…” “I LOVE the content…it is all

important.”

“I am a control freak and I feel better knowing what to expect in class…”

How do you test on that experiential stuff?


WHAT ABOUT CONTENT?

What do I really want my students to learn? Why? Student learning outcomes

What instructional approach best facilitates achieving those learning outcomes? Lecture/discussion Experiential learning Other mechanisms

How will you assess the various learning outcomes?

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Memorizing facts leads to“surface learning”


MOVING AWAY FROM CENTER STAGE

Free up time by using lecture for Covering difficult concepts Clarifying and expanding upon

material—not merely delivering content

Modeling the acquisition of knowledge in the field

Use online resources for Basic concept delivery Low-stakes assessment Video instruction Experiential learning objects

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9hePvtu3Vc




RETHINKING A COURSE Introduction to Sociology

Large classes of 100 – 120 students Too big for small group exercises Need for greater student interest and engagement

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• LectureM

• LectureW

• LectureF

M •Lecture or formal discussion•All students

W •Experiential learning•Group A (half of class)

F •Experiential learning•Group B (half of class)

• Online textbook and testing• Online learning objects

Old SystemRedesigned Structure


A REAL EXPERIMENT

Use 8 different experiential learning activities Vary in length and complexity Group size: 5 – 50 Only had experience using 2 exercises

More examples: Survey questions

Using clickers, students respond to survey items

Evaluate the impact of altered wording Flash mobs

Semester long project on collective behavior that culminates in a flash mob

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2eEsRwJn6E


STUDENT COMMENTS

“I enjoyed all of the group activities because they gave me a chance to apply what I learned to real situations.”

“I really enjoyed the course and felt like the discussions helped me understand groups in a better way. We were able to interact and understand the concepts we read about in the book and it was nice not always taking notes…”

“One thing this class did better than the rest was implement hands on learning, using thought provoking experiments to encourage group thought and learning.”

“…was taught in a very student oriented way where [the professor] and the students learned from each other, making real world connection of actual application of knowledge they learned in the classroom.”

RELEVANT

INTERACTIVE

STUDENT-ORIENTED

THOUGHT-PROVOKING


START ONE BYTE AT A TIME…

Start with a course or content that you know well Identify the material/concepts the

students find difficult Greater confidence experimenting

Technology helps “Virtual” guest lecturers Current and easily accessible video Great animations from reputable

websites Online assessment BUT, avoid “shiny object syndrome”

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WHO REALLY IS THE STUDENT?

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” (John Cotton Dana)

Our tendency is to focus on ever-changing subject content

Teachers as students of new pedagogical approaches Away from “sage on the stage”

Students as teachers of culture Technology, social media, new

humor Wiki-world

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HIGHER EDUCATION

What are we really modeling today in higher education? Cutting edge research, but archaic

approaches to instruction? How to deal with a changing world?

We must be masters of understanding Seeking it in our search for knowledge Promoting it through teaching Modeling it by reaching into the world

of our students

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QUESTIONS?

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Dr. Brenda [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

brenda mccoy, ph.d. university of north texas. dalton state course redesign workshop – october 28,...

Documents

webcam slide

stratified monopoly

national winner slide

members gender reversal

class length

hours type

type of exercise

process of learning