Redesigning Courses for Research-Based Learning:

Who Benefits?

Jeremy Ashton HouskaDepartment of Psychology

OVERVIEW

Defining research-based learning and rationale

Models for integrating empirical research components into courses

Content Area Research vs. SoTL Research

Student reactions to this course structure

Please share reflections and best practices!

Let’s brainstorm and establish SoTL collaborations

RESEARCH-BASED LEARNINGLiterature reviews, canned studies, demonstrations

vs.

Original, empirical research (Firmage, Tiegtenberg, & Cole, 2005)

Collecting data for the purposes of a course project

IRB-approved studies that contribute to knowledge

Why?

APA (2007) GUIDELINES FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR

Goal 2: Research Methods in Psychology

Goal 3: Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology

Goal 6: Information and Technological Literacy

Goal 7: Communication Skills

Goal 10: Career Planning and Development

OTHER REASONS FOR RESEARCH-BASED LEARNING

Students transfer skills and reasoning to future courses

Students actively develop from passive consumers of knowledge into scholars (Temple, Sibley, & Orr, 2010)

Foster a departmental research spiral, institutional research culture

Provide students opportunities for research experience

Faculty productivity

MODELS FROM PSYCHOLOGY California State University, San Bernardino’s Experimental Psychology Laboratory section

Experimental Psychology (e.g., Hebert, 2008)

Research Methods & Statistics sequence (e.g., Brown & James, 2007; Garbin & Hansen, 2008)

Belmont University’s Introduction to Psychological Science Lab Component (Jones, Giordano, Shen-Miller, Yandell, & Bailey, 2011)

Integrating research components into core psychology courses (i.e., “Making research a course” : Lewis & Lorig, 2010)

Examples from Nevada State College, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Concordia University - Chicago

DEGREE OF INSTRUCTOR CONTROL

MODELS VARY IN

Complete Instructor Control(No Student Choice)

Some Student AutonomyNo Instructor Control(Complete Student Choice)

CSUSB EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGYQuarter system

Three short (4-5 page) APA style research write-ups Increasing point value Decreasing hand-holding

Students participate/ collect data/ assist graduate student TAs

Project topics chosen by instructor/ TAs: e.g., Social, Cognitive, Animal Learning

Whole class writes up Method and Results, varied Introduction and Discussion. No presentation.

Canned, and original research

OTHER MODELSExperimental Psychology (e.g., Hebert, 2008)

Instructor chooses topic, class helps refine

Canned studies

Students provided foundational, empirical articles

Paper written in stages

OTHER MODELSResearch Methods & Statistics sequence (e.g., Brown & James, 2007; Garbin & Hansen, 2008)

Undergraduates solicit data sets, develop course projects

Course projects grow into undergraduate honors theses,

Presentations at Psi Chi research conferences,

at “Brown Bags,” and eventually... University, local, regional, national conference presentations for students

CREATING A RESEARCH SPIRAL

Upper Division

Methods courses

Lower Division

Capstone Experiences

Core coursesStudent

Researchers

Belmont University’s Introduction to Psychological Science Lab (Jones, Giordano, Shen-Miller, Yandell, & Bailey, 2011)

Research as team-based

Group research report and oral presentation

Topic initiated by student, approved by instructor

One correlational research study

One experimental research study

Integrating research components into core psychology courses

Nevada State College Social Psychology

Assurance form. Small class. Each student conducted original research. Assisted with data analysis. Wrote APA style research report.

University of Nevada Las Vegas Statistics, Research Methods

Assurance form. Groups collected and analyzed data for original research projects. Instructor initiated. Class Symposium as culminating activity.

Other Examples of Research Components

Concordia University - Chicago Research Methods, Interface IRB-Approved research. Small class. Group presentation. Research write-up.

->Undergraduate research conferences (TriState) In-house: Doorway to the Mind

Follow-up study: Midwestern Psychological Association.

Concordia University - Chicago Statistics Code articles for a meta-analysis.

Present tentative findings in class.

SoTL = Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

“Pedagogical Research”

- Formal investigations of our own teaching and our students’ learning

VARIETIES OF SOTLDiscipline-specific SoTL

General / Interdisciplinary SoTL

http://www.kennesaw.edu/cetl/resources/journals.html

SOME STARTING POINTS FOR SOTL:TOPICS

Teaching Effectiveness•Teaching Inventories•Student Feedback (session, week, midsemester)

Effectiveness of Activities, Demonstrations, Course Design

How Students Learn•Study Strategies/Behaviors •Metacognition •Student Variables/ Individual Differences• --> Performance on tests, assignments

SOME STARTING POINTS FOR SOTL:DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

“Less compelling” to reviewers•Self-reported learning, self-reported enjoyment•Pre-Post data•No comparison group (no control group)•Semester to semester comparisons

“More compelling” to reviewers•Multiple, objective assessments of learning*•Experimental designs for casual statements•Match groups on student variables•One Group Pretest - Posttest Design with Alternate Forms•*Repeated measures designs are a must with small class sizes and medium effect sizes

✴(see Bartsch et al. 2008; also Gurung & Schwartz, 2009 for other considerations)

SOME STARTING POINTS FOR SOTL:PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

•IRB http://cuchicago.edu/academics/academic-research/

Winning?

CHALLENGES

Developing critical thinking skills

Writing abilities

Highly structured educational system

Wide variability in background, student interest, future plans

Time! Practical challenges with implementation, design, class size

Houska, Satyawadi, Burmeister, and Pfortmiller (2012)

STUDENT REACTIONS

SUMMARY“Making research a course” (Lewis & Lorig, 2010)

APA (2007) Guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major Provides regular research opportunities and experiences Increased Productivity

Great resources are available Models for research components, practical considerations (Council on Undergraduate Research; Firmage et al., 2005; Garbin & Hansen, 2008; Jones et al., 2011)

Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration through SoTL

Caveats: Challenges, The Student Perspective

Redesigning Courses for Research-Based Learning:

Who Benefits?

Skill Acquisition, Development as Scholars, Productivity, Enjoyment...and cake.

Both students and faculty benefit

Jeremy.Houska@CUChicago.edu