teaching large classes department of statistics rachel fewster
TRANSCRIPT
Teaching Large Classes
Department of Statistics
Rachel Fewster
What is a teacher?• A communicator
What sort of communicator?
Broadcaster
Flight attendantArtist
Loudspeaker
Broadcaster
Flight attendantArtist
LoudspeakerMessenger
Messenger
Inanimate objectWhat sort of communicator?
Artist
Messenger
Messenger
Inanimate objectWhat sort of communicator?
Artist
• Discerns the essence of the subject• Distils the essence of the
subject• Finds a balance between
concept and detail• Recreates it in a form fit for
everyone
This communicator:
This is water!
That’s creativity!
Impression – Sunrise, by Claude Monet (1872)
Messengerwith
personality
Messenger
Inanimate object
Don’t aspire to be…
Or even…
Teaching is a creative art
A good teacher creates something all of their own
A Subject for Everyone?Scenes of 19th century industrialism are really not my thing…
- but I love this picture!
How can I do for Mathematical Statistics what Monet has done for 19th century industrialism…?
• Understanding chance
• Communicating concepts
• Encouraging critical thinking
• Doing something creative with my subject
Why teach Statistics?
What the Stats 10x team did for me
In my first week of teaching, I learnt that:• Most students are not in the least like me
After 3 more weeks of teaching, I discovered:• Most students have no desire to be like me
After 12 weeks of teaching, I comprehended:• The Stats 10x team were reaching far more students than I would reach with my approach
Me? or Them?
Theorem Proof
TheoremProof
CorollaryProof
Example
Motivation Example
Bit of theoryMore example
More theoryExampleExampleExample
How I learnt…
How I teach
Engage curiosity
Give history andpersonalities
Use examples and diagrams
Build intuition
Everything has got a moral, if only you can find it…
• Listen to your colleagues
• Listen to your students
• Learning how to teach is a job we never finish
• It’s OK to teach very differently from the way you preferred to learn
The Student
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
You
Ingredients for learning
The Student
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
You
Ingredients for learning
Insight!Understanding!
Enthusiasm!
Ingredients for learning
12 weeks later…
The Student
Ingredients for learning
• Background knowledge
• Aspirations
• Career plans
Get a Degree
Performance or Perfection?
• Focuses on OUTCOMES• Mistakes are disasters• Prefers to use familiar tools to solve problems
Performance Perfection
• Focuses on the learning process• Mistakes are opportunities• Embraces new tools and deep understanding
• Focuses on OUTCOMES• Mistakes are disasters• Prefers to use familiar tools to solve problems
Performance Perfection
• Focuses on the learning process• Mistakes are opportunities• Embraces new tools and deep understanding
Most academics are perfection-oriented in our own fields
Most students are performance-oriented in our field
We can empathise!
We are performance-
oriented ourselves in other fields
• Focuses on OUTCOMES• Mistakes are disasters• Prefers to use familiar tools to solve problems
Performance Perfection
• Focuses on the learning process• Mistakes are opportunities• Embraces new tools and deep understanding
1. Empathise with the student’s approach2. Aim to make them WANT to switch
modes
The Student
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
You
Ingredients for learning
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
ABLANKPAGE
Course notes like a map
Aim to build a landscape
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
Lake
Saddle
Ridges
Essential features clear for everyone
Course notes like a map
Aim to build a landscape
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
Lake
Saddle
Ridges
Finer points there for the taking
Course notes like a map
Aim to build a landscape
Don’t overdo content!
Ridges
LakeSaddle
This is what you know and
love
This is most of what you
will get across
But if you try to put across
all this…
…you’ll succeed in
communicating this!
Ridges
LakeSaddle
This is better!
Statisticians never gamble, but…
• I’ll bet you will be SURPRISED at how far YOU have come since you first saw this material
• Before the course, decide upon your lake!
Ridges
LakeSaddle
What are the key concepts you
MUST get across?
Design your course and assessment
around these!
Begin with low-context example, to focus on the ideas
Progress to more intriguing examples
Aim to stimulate CURIOSITY
Pictures and colour do this
best!
The Student
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
You
Ingredients for learning
The Student
Course Materials& Lecture Notes
You
Ingredients for learningDon’t assume I’m the same as you!
Less
content
=
more
gain
What’s left for… You?
Your job is to breathe life into the landscape!
The Conceptual Landscape
• Instinct for the material• Concepts spring to life• A beautiful / satisfying place to explore• Personality and character
CB
A
??
• Learning is a social activity
• We are social animals
What’s left for… You? I don’t think
you are my role model…
Please yoursel
f!
The importance of psychologyMy head is full of other stuff too!
• The atmosphere of the classroom will be the take-home impression of the subject for many students
• Aim for a critical mass of engaged students
There must be something positive!
Students will associate a positive vibe with the subject matter - even if by accident!
Creativity
Spontaneity
Elegance or liveliness
The Really Boring Statistics LectureGive us a
cheer for…Raise the
roof!Make those people next door think
they are missing something!One, two,
three…
What engages students in class?
• Humour - most teachers avoid sarcasm
• Your enthusiasm- alternatively energy or liveliness- material has to appear likeable!
• Your engagement with the students- be friendly and approachable- learn names where possible
What engages students in assignments?
• Intrigue, curiosity, fun- can you spot a liar?- will I be able to catch you cheating? - does heavy metal music help your plants grow?
• Usefulness to the student- how many boy/girlfriends should you have before you settle for one you like?
• Their progress- now they can do something they couldn’t do before
It’s all about them!
• Students are most interested in themselves!
• Usefulness to immediate lives is more compelling than usefulness to future (unknown) careers
• Popular literature in your subject area is a good source of engaging material
Conclusions:
• Teaching is creative work in your subject area
- just like Research
• Don’t assume that students are like you, or that they should learn the way that you did
Conclusions:
• Less content will often deliver more total gain
• Your job is to give the material some personality- must be a likeable personality!
Ridges
LakeSaddle
My Top Tips:
• Be nice
• Smile
• Invest creativity into your teaching
• Don’t take yourself too seriously