WEEK 1 principles of learningTypes of misconceptionsProposition level-only use 10% of brain, something heard but easy to dispel.Flawed mental models-circulatory system is a single loop. Students must accommodate the function of the lung. The challenge is to make student reason on their flawed mental model until they find a contradiction. Then they will be able to accommodate a new idea. Somewhat hard to dispel.Ontological misconceptions-electricity as fluid?Embedded beliefs-earth is 6000 years old, tied to other beliefs. Very hard to dispel.Activating prior knowledgePeer instruction. If most students answer correctly, prior knowledge sufficient. Discuss briefly. If most answer incorrectly, not enough prior knowledge. Discuss further. IF split, there is useful prior knowledge (this is the best type of question). Have students discuss in pairs and revote, then whole class discussion. Actually it activates a time for telling as well.Surfacing prior knowledge-brain storm solutions, minute papers about a new topic, doodles of their mental models. Explicit-past topics are relevant for new ideas. Show demo first, make predictions then discuss explanations (time for telling).Adaptive expertRoutine expert can quickly solve problems efficientlyAdaptive expert can solve non-trivial problems, transfer knowledgeKnowledge organizations Experts have rich, meaningful knowledge structures with many interconnected nodesSeeing the big pictureDevelop concept maps, counted average number of connections for primary conceptsthe more connections, the higher the exam score (Ashley cetnar).Signposts make connection between prior concepts and present concepts. When students take notes and are provided with a graphic organizer, they remembered what they learned at higher rates.Open ended questions allows for connection between different topics, multiple solution strategies.Practice, feedback, and masteryStudents focus on final answer, unconscious expertStructuring practice, improving feedbackTest corrections motivate students to learn from mistakes, summative assessments turn into formative assessmentsFeedback from peers PI, challenge cycles-challenge problem, generate ideas, get other perspectives, research and revise, testing, go public. Peer assessmentAll skate metaphor all students get practice and feedback. No time?! Trust students to understand the easier stuff outside of class. Limited amount of class time together. MotivationAware that you are trying to elicit their misconceptions, they have lived on earth for 20 years and they think they know physics. Some students have managed to memorize through their other classes, hard to get their head around that!Students are already discussing class topics before class. Active learning can motivate some students.Motivating students to learn: what motivates students to learn?Grades grad school achievement praise curiosity jobs parents fear of failure learning itself money teachers social issues role models.Intrinsic motivations-internal motivations, stronger but harder to shapeExtrinsic motivations-external motivations such as grades, money, getting in grad school, weaker but easier for instructors to changePuzzles application of extrinsic motivation (payment) can inhibit existing intrinsic motivations (fun to solve puzzles). Ryan and deci 2000. Strategic learning extrinsic motivation engage in strategic learning. Learn just enough to get a good grade. Deep learning learning for mastery, conceptual understanding, prepared to do something with it. Intrinsic learners. How to motivate students to engage in deep learning?Show them the beauty and elegance of mathematics lolClassroom climateChilly climate-affects student learning, critical thinking, persistence, preparation for a careerClimate engenders emotions that impact learning, regulates the circulation and construction of knowledge, impacts meta curricular and citizenship skills, channel energy away from learning or toward it, communicates expectations placed upon students, communicates power dynamicsClimate is a continuumExplicitly marginalizing, implicitly marginalizing, implicitly centralizing, explicitly centralizing. Implicitly centralizing puts the burden on the student. May be best to be explicitly centralizing. DeSurra and Church (1994) students perceive classroom climate differently (marginalizing) from instructor (centralizing). Climate is the perception of students.Tone of syllabus rewarding or punishing syllabus (Ishiyama and Hartlaub 2002) when both syllabi given to students, differences in approachability of instructor, and desire to take the course, first year students most affected by wording.Stereotype threat-simply activating a stereotype for a minority group before a test produces a decrement in performance. Mental processes about the stereotype interferes with performance.Microinequities (hall and sandler 1982, 1993). Male students get more eye contact, called on more, get more praise more follow up question, has names used more, given credit for their contributions. Done by both male and female and instructors. How to be vigilant in avoid inequities? Seymour and Hewitt 1997 students leave stem partly because of faculty unavailability. Students who were critically thinking about leaving, had interaction with a faculty member and they stayed.When students perceive instructors as being interesting in their academic problems, approachable, treat students as persons, care about concerns of minority groups, positively impacts self reported critical thinking, analysis, problem solving skills, retention, number of students who go on to graduate schoolInstructors can improve in these area: examine assumptions, learn and use students names, model inclusive language, use multiple and diverse examples, establish ground rules for interaction, strive to be fair, be mindful of low ability cues, dont ask people to speak for an entire group, be careful about microinequitiesPoint outWEEK 2 learning objectives and assessmentModule 3 Learning objectivesBackward design start with learning objectives, develop assessment tool, then create learning activities.The frustrated student: instructor clearly defines what is expected, prepares students for the types of questions on exams. Communicate expectations, homework sets students up for exams.Writing clear learning objectives can communicate expectations for yourself and students!What are learning objectives? Operational , what students should be able to do after instruction, measureable, reflects what you value in student learning.Why do we need learning objectives? Arent they in the syllabus? Syllabus includes topics/material covered and time spent. Learning objectives are outcome and student oriented identifies what students will be able to do as a result of learning defines what students are expected to learn. Teaching goals are not learning goals. Solves problem of: helps in planning of course and what instructors focus on, how do instructors narrow their focus, tells students what is expected of them, what students should focus on, why are students doing this, how do departments build student expertise across courses? Exams might be easier to write, communicates expectations to students. How is it helpful? Students see coherency, students use them as review, sense of fairness to exams, preparation for class and targeted efficient use of time, faculty communication, How do learning goals guide instruction?Where do you want to go? Where are you? How to get there?Backwards design : define learning goals, decide on assessment, design instruction help students achieve goals. Alignment between instruction, assessments, and learning goals.Mismatch between what we are teaching and what students are learning because we dont know students prior knowledge. Learning goals: broad, course level. Learning objective: specific per topic.What is a course level learning goal: students do at the end of the course? Learned something about the discipline as a whole.What does it mean to know something?What would be difficult to unpack learning goals? As an expert, it is difficult to articulate the steps. Expert blindness. Strategies from list of topics to creating concrete learning objectives? Write down all of the concepts and ideas you want students to learn about that topic. Teaching about the topic in different representations.Strategies to figure out learning objectives:Find someone elses objectivesLook at end of chapter summariesLook at education researchWork backwards from an exam questionTalk to colleaguesMapping the terrain: what should students know, and how deeply?Different types of learning: 1. cognitive abilities: facts, info, details, concepts, classifications, reasoning principles2. Procedures and skills: techniques, methods, problem solving3. Metacognitive: self awareness about what helps you learn studying and learning strategies4. Attitudes and beliefs: appreciate enjoy and value science.Basic recall=>application (blooms taxonomy)Remember (recall basic facts and concepts), understand (can the student explain ideas and concepts), apply (can the student use information in new situations, integrating new skills?), analyze (can the student draw connections between ideas, or interpret ideas, making predictions, interpreting, differentiate, organize, compare and contrast), evaluate (can the student justify a stand or decision, appraise, argue, defend, judge), create (can the student produce new or original work? Design, assemble, construct, formulate). Levels build on each other. Flip the pyramid? Dont necessarily need to master the skills on the bottom to use the skills on the top. Blooms taxonomy not topic specific. Higher level skills in physics might look very different than higher level skills in biology.Making objectives usefulHard to pick objectives with respect to the big picture and operationalize them. Only content based objectives forgetting skill based objectives. Objectives make sense to students? 1. Goal expressed in terms of what the students will achieve or be able to do2. The goal is well-defined? How would you measure achievement?3. Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning?4. is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology itself a goal?5. do objectives align with your course scale goals?6. is the objective at the appropriate level? Should be a mixture of higher and lower order objectives. Students can get lost if all objectives are high level objectives. Higher level objectives can be supported by lower level objectives.7. do your goals cover a range of different types of knowledge?8. is the objective relevant and useful to students?The broader context: institutional considerations. Engineering accreditation (ABET)Show goals to colleagues, multiple faculty teaching the class, all students should get a similar learning experience. Start with big course level goals, perhaps faculty agree on 75% of the objectives. Learning objective is shared but taught differentlyImportant to talk to colleagues when the course is:1. core to the major.2. Prerequisite to other course3. Part of a sequence.4. has goals related to certificationFinal thoughts, tips, and tricks:1. important to write learning goals and objectiveslearning objective: what a student should be able to do, measureable, and what you value in the domain car analogy learning goals vs. learning objectiveWhen do you write your goals? Too close to instruction may be too late, needs to be advanced, figuring it out along the way? Unit by unit learning objectives? Do it before you teach. One you have materials you wont want to go back and redo the course.Give it a try, even if you have to revise later.If youve already taught the course, work backwards from the exams.2. important to have learning goals that are clearly defined and appropriate.3. important to have learning objectives that are useful, realistic and attainable.4. be choosy. Keep your syllabus focused.5. use objectives to design assessments and instruction using backwards design. AlignmentWhen do you refer to your objectives: while lesson planning, designing homework and exams.6. keep the broader context of you institution in mind (ABET, prerequisites, colleagues ideas)Module 4 assessment of learningIntroduction to assessment and feedbackObject action>measure>measurement>communicate>feedback>formulate>plan>revise (peers, mentors, mentees involved all along the way)Two feedback cycles1. student feedback cycle (improve learning process)2. instructor feedback cycle (improve instruction)Assessment spectrum-who is information for? (hw set and oral presentation fall in the middle, peer feedback falls on student side, end of semester research based surveys falls on instructor side)Formative: information that students and/or instructors can use to improve at shorter timescales (clickers minute papers)Summative: information that assesses whether students and/or instructors have succeeded in meeting a goal (Final exams, RB survey)Types of summative assessments:Multiple choice good for comprehension, analysisOpen ended good for evaluation, creationCreation of videosOral presentationsPostersTraditional assessment and mc questionsLarger percentage of lower order questions on typical traditional exams, higher order questions very small percentage (0-20 percent)Scan blooms taxonomy verbs, transfer (application) or analyze data, multiple T/F format Question stem and must choose T/F for each answer option (like Singhs concept tests with I, II, III) Comparing MC question to open ended questions: students got answer wrong on MC question, but when asked to explain their reasoning in open ended format, the self-explaining sometimes helped them get the question right (Sabella)!Open ended problems-focus on the studentOpen ended-multiple solution paths, more qualitative, reflect on their learning (metacognitive)1. students can get a sense of multiple ways to solve problems2. what do they need to get used to in stem courses, math and science should only take a couple minutes, can start to understand what is important to solve stem problems, developing persistence skillsPAR (peer assisted reflection) problem special open ended, conceptually rich and difficult and involves self reflection, give written feedback and discuss feedback and revise their assignment. Over 98% revise their work. Needs framing. Calculus sections who used PAR had a 13% higher passage rate. Second semester, 23% higher passage rate. No incentive to go back and look over homework. Compare their hw to posted solution and explain why they were incorrect.Most students think that working on a problem for more than 20 mins says that the problem is impossibleAdapting traditional textbook problems: give a real world context (or ask students for real world context) explain their reasoning, try to solve it using a different technique, ask them to engagein problem solving skills as checking. take the idea further. Use the tools they learned in one task in a new problem that they are interested in. homework as developing a set of tools to help students do cool things in the future. Open ended problems focus on the instructorGives a window into student reasoning. When to let students struggle with the wrong idea? Simply correcting students ideas doesnt mean students will correctly apply the concept in a new situation.Practical tips: small set of talk moves? say more. who thinks they understand what so and so just say in their own words? hold back first impulse to make an evaluative statement. Ask for more explanation, be patient.Try not to ask too many leading questions, allow them to think about and confront their misconceptions.Working with the wealth of student ideas:Have a few ideas brought out and look at pros and cons (cant talk about all student ideas). You will see a pattern in student responses, common misconceptions. Student-instructor trust-students must feel comfortable sharing answers (need rapport) and see its a place to test out ideas. Working against students experiences in other classes which are not inquiry based.When to give the answer/when to let students struggle? Requires practice over time. the art of teaching comes into play here.Growth Mindset and its role in practice and feedbackFixed mindset-intelligence is fixed, certain amount of brainsGrowth mindset-qualities as things that can be developed7th grade-students in the growth mindset intervention improved classroom motivation, students in control group displayed decline in grades and vv in experimental group.Fixed minset praise: youre so brilliant you got an A without studying (if I cant get an A without studying, then Im not brilliant.Growth mindset praise: I like the way you tried all kinds of strategies, you found the one that worked. Praising hard work and skill development1. how we frame learning and assessment (struggle as a learning opportunity)2. normalizing struggle (weve all gone through this) you dont know the contentYET, catching up is possible.Consider student background and how our course structure can support students coming in from different pathsFrame assessment and learning as skill developmentNormalize struggle.Student with growth mindset was a big factor in majoring in CS.Faculty mindset-not everybody can do CS, a particular mental outlook, reinforces the innate ability message, you dont belong here, you dont have it!Research based surveys: conceptual surveys

MODULE 5 COOPERATIVE LEARNINGIntro to cooperative learning-goals1. Group work can be a learning experience-uncovering information2. Describe the principles of effective cooperative learning activities3. Provide examples of effective cooperative learning activities4. Develop cooperative learning assignment for your classCooperative learning build community within classroom, use strengths of peers, think pair share. What is cooperative learning? The instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each others learning. Cooperative learning principles: 1. does activity promote positive interdependence sink or swim mentality, f people dont contribute expertise and strengths, the group will sink.2. Individual and group accountability3. Face to face interactions, best ways to critique and make progress on a project4. Teamwork skills5. Group processing and facilitation do they know how to critique each others workWhat are the weaknesses of lecture? students are passive participants, may not understand the context of the information, students may not be applying or using the information (practicing). Cooperative learning gives opportunities for practiceIdeally, we want: 1. activity (engagement)2. reflection (material in relevant context, has meaning)3. collaboration (peer learning)4. passion (raising student interest)why use it?1. Emulates work environment of professionals, STEM professionals work in teams!2. Enhances communication skills3. Improves efficiency, effectiveness, and success of team work-all members benefit.4. Can deal with/solve complex problems, performance>sum of individual parts.Ways to implement cooperative learning? Depending on your teaching and learning objectives, various group types1. Informal groups-need advanced planning, good for large classes, be explicit (what is the goal for the activity, what do you want students to do, how much time do they have?), use turn to your neighbor to complete these activities, e.g., minute papers. Can be used at any time, can be short term, can be used to break up a long class period. Gives students an opportunity to process material they have listened to, especially in large lectures, book ends procedures.book ends 10-12 mins lecturing, 3-4 discussion, 10-12 mins lecture, 3-4 mins, minute paper, 10-12 min lecture, 5 min summary. Class summary questions: most important points? Questions or muddiest point? (anonymous). If you ask for input, you should respond.2. Formal groups-more closely emulate working teams (e.g., stakeholders, academic controversies).What do instructors do? Specify objectives, make decisions, explain task, build in positive interdependence and individual and group accountability, monitor and intervene to teach skills, evaluate students achievement and group productivity, accomplishments. 3. Base groups-long term, stable membership to accomplish a large, complex task. 3-5 members, usually last a semester, are heterogeneous, meet periodically to work on tasks, review, share resources (e.g., references data), provide support for one another. Need to scaffold students throughout the projectHow to use cooperative learning successfully?Signs of a non-cooperative group lack of group maturity (instructors havent talked about how to work in a group), free riding (need positive interdependence, individual accountability), motivation loss (staying in touch, checking on progress), lack of heterogeneous skills/abilities Signs of a good cooperative group positive interdependence, individual and group accountability, ace to face interactions, small group and interpersonal skills, group processing and facilitation.Teach students to work in cooperative groups: 1. Positive team member traits (respective positive communications, listen)2. Team building and management skills (be organized, stay on task, take notes, member responsibilities)3. Be inquiry based (critique information, clarify statements, assess the implication of recommended actions)4. Practice conflict resolution skills5. Practice presentation skills

MODULE 6 PEER INSTRUCTIONIntroduction to eric mazur: the illusion of good teaching. But students did not learn the basic principles of the course! The curse of knowledge. Emphasis on transfer, but the assimilation and accommodation is left to the student outside the classroom.Asks concept question, students work alone for a time (about 30 seconds, depending on the question), instructor says how many have it right and discuss with a neighbor, then they redo the question individually. Practicalities of implementation- it is pedagogy not technology that matter. Need the three steps to mean peer instructionHow questioning works? provide time for students to think (1-2 mins), then they commit to answer, write down a free response answer. Discuss with a person who has a different answer, and try to convince them. Revote and the wrap up by asking students to explain why they chose the particular answer. Students must commit to an answer individualize, externalize their answer, become emotionally invested in the learning process (is this answer correct?!)Motivating students use assessment as a motivating factor. On te midterm, use questions which look like questions like the ones used in class. Also framing the benefits, significantly larger learning gains and better thinking skills (conceptual)Participation points: advises against giving points for correct answer, do not bribe with participation points (eh)Best questions: questions that come in the students minds. Tying the out of class to the in class component. Keep track of common mistakes students make. Look for questions that are already made (dont reinvent the wheel!)Not too hard or too easy if more than 70% of students get correct answer, dont have to justify their answer and will be off task. If most get it right, they do not talk to each other. If it is too hard and only 25% of people get it right, but many people talking to each other who have the wrong answer and gains will not be large, abort the question and lets have an easier question. 30-70% correct is where discussion leads to largest gains. Adopting peer instruction top down, how do people learn in the field and then can develop good questions, twitter? Overcoming barriers cost of clickers, apprehension of technology, the biggest barrier - you cant use multiple choice questions in my class! Think of the questions of the beginning of conversations you want students to have, a platform for how an expert would think in this domain. MODULE 7 LECTURINGFailure rates 34% in lecture vs 22% in activeExam scores: active learning about 6 points higher.For transmitting info, lectures are about as effective as other methods. Lecture are not as effective as discussion for promoting thought. Lectures are not effective at changing attitudes and inspiring interest. Lectures arent that effective for teaching skills!Why so many lectures?1. We teach how weve been taught.2. Not lecturing can feel like a loss of control.3. Preparing a lecture is easier.4. Theres so much to cover!5. Classrooms are built for lectures. 6. Lectures worked for usWhy program conferences contain lectures? Motivation (want to get something out of lecture, make connections) prior knowledge (bringing the prerequisites to make sense of a conference lecture). in the college classroom, students are not necessarily motivated and do not have the right prior knowledge. Attention span factor! In the classroom, students attention span is about 10-20 mins before they check out.

Roles for lectures: 1. Creating a time for telling: good to lecture after students have done a peer instruction question. A time for telling! Lecture after the peer instruction sequence is a time for telling is good because students are motivated to learn it when they see they were wrong or others were wrong, and they have the prior knowledge by discussing with a partner. A small lecture afterward fits within the attention span of students. Resequence activities, starting with examples, working on it, getting stuck, and then getting to the theorem. Problem based learning good for creating times for telling. 2. model expert thinking: occasionally need to see experts in action, MUST make explicit the things we are doing internally. Students may not realize this is what were doing were modeling a problem solving process, and students MUST have the opportunity for practice. 3. Storytelling: help see the relevance, personal stories, case studies, motivation?4. A first step: introduction to a sequence of learning activities. Flipped classroom. Must think very carefully about the scaffolding.

Lectures and visual thinking death by powerpoint (so much text on slide, do you read slide or listen to person talking cognitive overload!) the slideument

1. Assertion evidence slides (statement of assortment, and a diagram/picture of evidence)2. data visualization - if too complex, students may need handouts. 3. The big picture, Prezi (allows for zoom out, students may see connection). 4. Images metaphor (two rivers converging signifies dual coding of verbal and visual)Introduction to screencasts- combination of computer screen, action of clicking/writing, and voice over. Screen casts should involve:1. Direct instruction on basic concepts/computations2. Model expert problem solving (thinking out loud as they solve the problem)3. Permanent (?) corpus of free learning resources (can use for review in future classes)Screen cast design principles1. Keep it simple2. Keep it short3. Keep it real (modeling)4. Keep it good (professional quality, dont wing it as we record)

WEEK 4 labs and learning through writingModule 8 inquiry based labsExample of inquiry based lab: astronomyBackward scaffolding-give a lot of scaffolding at the beginning, then gradually lessenHow is lab structured: given topic, question, procedure, gradually you are given more and more personal decision-makingHow does instructor provide autonomy: gradually backed away to have personal freedom, but always there for help and guidanceBenefits of student presentations?: many people must present and communicate informationHow does it fit into bigger picture? Skills to plan and achieve answers, confidence to ask questions and be OK if the answer is unexpectedInquiry based lab in bio: how to research?Longer labs, more collaboration, more control over the questionsInquiry based approach to lab instruction: students engage in many of the same activities and thinking processes as scientistsWhat do scientists do? Ask questions, propose hypotheses and models, design, carry out, and analyze studies to evaluate hypotheses, communicate results, revise results in response to critiques.6 elements of inquiry1. Observing and question2. Designing experiments3. Collecting data4. Analyzing data5. Repeating6. Reporting and responding to peer review.In traditional labs, students collect and analyze data. In the basic inquiry labs (which exist in a continuum), adds the element of designing experiments.

When students design an experiment: evaluate, analyze, apply, understand and rememberWhen students also define their own research question: they also create an interesting question. When students report their results, they have to evaluate what it is they need to tell the audience, and synthesize their results into something their audience will understand!

Is it important that the questions are novel? As scientists, we search for novel questions. But in inquiry based labs, the questions are sometimes novel, and sometimes not. What is key is that students do not know the answer. In the continuum, traditional labs are never novel questions, whereas undergraduate research novelty is essential.

What benefits have been demonstrated for inquiry based lab pedagogy?Lead to cognitive gains (increased content understanding and transferable skills)More positive attitudes/greater motivation for learning science

Are there limitations?Its vital to include scaffolding and opportunities for practice to help students develop needed thinking processes.How to provide support: provide a lot of support right away, and gradually take away supports within the labs. Help to point research question in the right direction, allow for feedback from peers and instructors before proceeding further.

What are key elements to include? Instructor guide to help students develop inquiry skills (define research problem, formulate hypotheses, planning an experiment) Opportunity for peer to peer interactions and teaching Opportunity for students summative presentation of work (oral or written)What challenges can you expect? Messy data Unexpected results Questions that are too broad ..chaosAssessment options for inquiry based labsBackwards design : what do you want your students to learn, how will you know if they learn it, what are you going to do help them learn it? (objectives, assessments, activities).How to determine answers, how to verify results, how to communicate results.Process is highly scaffolded, teaching them to do each step before integrating the steps. Assessment is closely tied to learning activities with ongoing opportunities for formative assessment as they move through the lab. Self assessment tool helps students become more metacognitive.Objective: students are able to apply principles of experimental design to answer questions. Possible assessment tool (if not graded) Experimental design ability test (EDAT).Goal: student demonstrates increase in scientific literacy Test of scientific literacy skills (TOSLS).Goal: student demonstrates improved attitudes about learning science Colorado learning attitudes about science survey (CLASS)

Module 9 writing to learnWhat is writing to learn? Part of the learning process, not solely for the purpose of communicating information, a way of reflecting and understanding. Traditional writing assignment: usually a homework, typically finished when turned in, evaluated by instructor, may or may not have the opportunity to edit the document, determines and documents what the students knows, asks the student to be very sure about responses, unless a perfect score, student is penalized.Writing to learn assignment: assigned in the classroom, completed in class, short impromptu, pop ups, part of a larger process of thinking, learning, and understanding; may or may not be turned into instructor, ungraded, think and discover (engagement is goal, errors are okay) purpose is to explore questions and play with ideas.Writing to learn: specifics.Example writing to learn assignments: journaling, free writing, self reflection, self evaluation, self assessment, generic and focused summaries, learning log, project notebook, peer response.What is low stakes writing? Smaller assignments, more often, turn students into active learning, helps students find their own language, no need to tangle with elaborate prose, allows instructor to check understanding, allows students to give full attention to their thoughts (rather than lecture). E.g., minute writes, micro themes, quote responses, mid lecture feedback, guided journals or learning logs, question/comment box, lab notebooksWhy writing to learn? Creates a safe place for self reflection, allows students to think through ideas, focus interaction with material, asks students to summarize/synthesize/respond to class materialTwo reminders to instructors: you are not teaching a writing class, you are looking for evidence of understanding.Writing to learn: consider the powerWriting to learn pushes the boundaries of several notionsteacher as examiner, short answer essay and term paper, writing as a process, lecture/exam pedagogy.Module 10 problem based learningWhat is problem based learning? Teaching approach that challenges students to learn concepts/principles by applying them to real life problemsStudent centered, before lecture, it creates context and relevance, link prior knowledge and see how concepts apply to professional problems.Analyze data, synthesize info, evaluate that data, apply info to solve problems. Clearly define problem, assess knowns/unknowns, brainstorm solutions pros/cons, craft and justify resolutions. how to be a wildlife biologist.Why use problem based learning? introducing problems through the use of decision cases and constructive controversies. Emulates the environment of working professionals (tell this to students). Enhances abilities to gather and analyze data to support discussion points Builds critical thinking skills, e.g., integrating concepts Practice defending positions, do students understand concepts well enough to teach and convince others? Higher achievement and retention of material Stimulate student involvement with active learning especially for 8 am classes!What do employers want? Life long learners, analysis and synthesis skills, critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, interest, quality, education, work ethic, competencies, personality match, listening skillsBefore develop decision cases and structured controversies, What are your teaching and learning objectives for the class? Are constructive controversies or decision cases the best means to meet those objectivessetting up with backward design:the PBL process (problem based learning): problem identification-what shows up on your desk what will you need to know-identify goals and objectives collect necessary information learn the information apply the info to the problem or take management action evaluation-what was learned?Generally students are taught via subject based learning: Told what they need to learn Taught material (why do I need to now this?) Students learn info Provide students with examples of how to use infoTwo approaches:A controversy: general controversy description given to all stakeholders, detailed specific info available from respective stakeholders, stakeholder collect, analyze data, make requests from others, must share info, develop position within stakeholder groups, multidisciplinary groups (roleplaying, working together)A decision case-entire case presented to all student, present interpretive question to class to solicit discussion about issues that need to be discussed, learned, instructor provides additional info to student groups to conduct research, case revisited to evaluate the problem with class.Planning for controversy in your classGive context of problem. Start with general info about issues. Be explicit about goal: come up with best management practicesThis is not a debate.Instructor gives background and assign individuals to stakeholder group.Students-read descriptions for respective stakeholder group, prepare comments, who are they, issues they have, possible solutions? Questions for other stakeholders?Form multidisciplinary teams each stakeholder has an equal amount of time to disucss their info/issues/questionsA representative from each multidisciplinary group reports on their best policies/solutionsControversy length can be altered depending upon the teaching and learning objectivesScaling back a constructive controversy: use active lecturing and effective lecturing. Organizing, 10-12 min lecture (teaching and learning goals, background info for case or controversy), 3-4 min discuss with partner (single stakeholder group), 10-12 min lecture (additional info needed, emphasize best solutions approach, make task explicit), 3-4 min discuss with partner (multidisciplinary group, recommend best solution and justification), 10-12 min lecture (facilitate reporting out from groups), 5 min summary (critique student responses, what is really happening, big picture)

WEEK 5 diversity and motivation

Persistence in STEM fields, part 1Why do so many math and science majors leave STEM fields? 40% would leave before they graduate.Disproportionate number of women and minority students leave pipeline. What happened? Seymour and Hewitt (Talking about leaving)4 issues that mattered least1. Proficiency of instructor to speak English2. Class size3. Poor teaching by TAS4. Quality of lab or instructional facilities5 factors that mattered most1. Loss of interest in science in general2. Non-STEM fields were more interesting to them.3. Poor instruction by faculty affected their interest in science(even those who stayed said this was a major factor in their persistence) 4. Curriculum overload moving too quickly5. Rejection of STEM careers/lifestyles

National data still indicate that students are still switching from STEM! undergrad students in STEM leave by the time they graduate. Only 2/10 BA, BAs go to students in STEM fields.It wasnt ability that stopped them, it was that they were pushed out by other factors such as fitting in.

Motivation and learning

Intrinsic motivations (internal motivations, love of learning, curiosity)-more powerful, cannot control them as professorsExtrinsic motivations (grades, parents, job)-less powerful, but somewhat easier to control as professors

Strategic learning (Bain, 2004) do just enough to get good grades, but no more. Theyll do what they need to, but may not learn deeply.

Deep learning (Bain, 2004) interested in learning and transfer, to use in future courses and careers, but really hard.

Competence (Ryan and Deci, 2000) we are motivated when we are engaging in tasks which are hard, but not too hard.Autonomy when we have certain degree of autonomy, more motivated to engage in the activity. We want choice, free willPurpose why are we doing what were doing, what is the goal? Community (Binkler and nissenbaum 2006) contributors to Wikipedia, for no financial award? People are motivated by being part of a community and contributing and sharing with that community. Classrooms are not necessarily learning communities, but they can be. Students may not like math, but they might like the learning process if it involves other students.

Strategies to inhibit strategic learning

Lower the stakes giving multiple opportunities to show what they know, not having one giant exam at the end, multiple smaller tests along the way, final assignment is a paper or poster, opportunity to revise and resubmit, build some slack (can drop lowest score). BUT we cant remove the stakes entirely. Not grading on the curve (Sets up a competitive environment, raises the stakes).

Leverage intrinsic motivators challenge students but not so much they give up, giving students a choice in how they earn participation points or the format of assignments, helping students see the connections between their personal professional and vocational interests and the course itself, having authentic audience (explain complex topics to a lay audience, service learning project for community organizations, having external client for a product in engineering). Create learning community by giving opportunities to students to learn from each other. E.g., Social bookmarking posting links to articles about cryptography within a specific context that the students were interested in. (tapped into autonomy and purpose motivators and also created learning community feel)MCATS as motivation for introductory physics premed studentsTwo low stakes assessments are part of participation grade 1. online warm up questions, what do you find difficult/hard. They get credit for effort. 2. Clicker questions. Premed students are grad motivated. Students dont know how to learn physics, a few points on the line to get them to try that helps them learn how to learn physicsClicker questions set up the expectations Twitter for birdsPersistence in STEM fields part 2Contributors to motivation1. Important to have role models, who look like them, relatable, enthusiastic2. Quality of instructional experience. Students should feel as though they can engage, addressing real world learning, collaborative learning. 3. Assessment important that there is feedback on assessments rather than grading on a curve. Seeing that many people got Cs, not just you4. Curriculum lends relevance5. Creating environments in department, classroom, and in student groups that are inclusive and offer variety of perspectives6. Student investment, students feel as though they have some ownership and control over what they do and demonstrate what they know7. Message from instructor and department that success for all students is a priority. 8. Increase representation of women and minorities. Reach out to them, encourage participation, resources available to them, and they have somewhere to turn when they need help.WEEK 5 LESSON PLANNINGDramatization of physics TAs first day of class Have students introduce themselves and say their major, build community, gives everyone a voiceStereotype threat people from communities who know that theyre stereotyped as not being good in math and science, and performance on a pretest is diagnostic of ability.Growth mindset pretest can be used to determine how to address difficulties and an opportunity to learn as opposed to whether youre in the right box. Share your own failures/experiences/successesSonning both women and men hold low expectations of women or judge other women unfairly. Just because youre a member of a minority group, doesnt exclude you from being sensitive to inclusivenessIf you make a mistake, apologize.Students accents encourage them to speak more, conversation circles, ask their name and make sure they are pronouncing it correctly, apologize for taking so long to understand the accent, think pair share (allows for practice), ask them to write down the question (written better than spoken language), acknowledge that the question is a good question.Do not single out students. Spotlighting students from underrepresented groups are both hypervisible and invisible. Do not lump everyone together, say some of you might or most of you probably havent. acknowledge room for variationInterview with STEM faculty and students discussing the social belongingUse gender as a lens of social analysis. Feminist works toward social change.social justice.