the college classroom week 6: cooperative learning
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The College Classroom collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu Peter Newbury Fall 2013TRANSCRIPT
The College Classroom
November 5 and 7, 2013
Week 6: Cooperative Learning
Cooperative Learning Strategies 2
PBL – problem-based learning
POGIL – process-oriented guided inquiry learning
PLTL – peer-led team learning
PI – peer instruction
Why are we talking about these today?
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2010–2011 Higher Education Research
Initiative (HERI) Faculty Survey [1] 3
published October 23, 2012
based on responses from 23,824 full-time faculty at
417 four-year colleges and universities
“faculty member” = any employee of an accredited
4-year college or university who spend at least some
of his or her time teaching undergraduates
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What do you see? 4
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What do you see? 5
Identify the most interesting item in Table 1. Record
your thoughts on the whiteboard and be prepared to
share your group’s opinion.
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What do you see? 6
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What do you see? 7
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What do you see? 8
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HERI: Cooperative Learning 9
[C]ooperative learning is a teaching practice that has
the most well-defined literature base, and research
consistently has revealed positive effects of cooperative
learning on student achievement across experimental and
quasi-experimental studies on college students.
([1], p. 8)
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HERI: Cooperative Learning 10
It is important to note, however, that we see the starkest
gender gaps across fields in faculty’s use of cooperative
learning. The majority of women in all other fields
(71.8%) use cooperative learning techniques in all or
most of their courses, and it is encouraging that 60.3%
of women teaching in STEM use cooperative learning in
the classroom, a figure that exceeds both men in STEM
(40.7%) and men in all other fields (52.6%).
([1], p. 8)
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Cooperative Learning Strategies 11
PBL – problem-based learning
POGIL – process-oriented guided inquiry learning
PBL is driven by the premise that basic science concepts will be understood
and remembered longer when they are learned, discussed, and applied in a
practical, real-world context. An essential and distinctive feature of the
approach is that problems come first and introduce content, rather than
problems following a presentation of facts and concepts. Students learn on a
need-to-know basis by group-directed exploration with the idea that they gain experience on the way to becoming self-directed learners.[Eberlein et al. [2]]
Students work in self-managed teams during class on specially designed
materials. These activities consist of a series of carefully crafted questions
(the ‘‘guided inquiry’’) that generally follow the three-phase ‘‘learning cycle’’
approach [14–17] which includes an exploration phase, a concept invention
phase, and an application phase. [2]
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Cooperative Learning Strategies 12
PLTL– peer-led team learning
PI – peer instruction
peer-led groups meet weekly (separate from the lecture and the instructor) to
work together on problems that are carefully structured to help students build
conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. [2]
a class taught with PI is divided into a series of short presentations, each
focused on a central point and followed by a related conceptual question
which probes students’ understanding of the ideas just presented. Students
are given one or two minutes to formulate individual answers and report their
answers to the instructor. Students then discuss their answers with others
sitting around them; the instructor urges students to try to convince each other
of the correctness of their own answer by explaining the underlying reasoning.
Finally, the instructor calls an end to the discussion, polls students for their
answers again (which may have changed based on the discussion), explains the answer and moves onto the next topic. [Crouch & Mazur [3]]
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recognizes that knowledge
is constructed in the mind
of the learner by the
learner
([1], p.262)
implies that this “building”
process is aided through
cooperative social interactions
([1], p. 262)
13
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constructivism social constructivism
not just constructivism but social constructivism
Key ideas
Key ideas
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14
PXnL activities and PI “intentionally create learning
environments…” [1, p. 263]
“the best teachers try to create a natural critical
learning environment” [6, p. 99]
students encounter the skills, habits, attitudes, and information they are trying to learn embedded in questions and tasks they find fascinating – authentic tasks that arouse curiosity and become intrinsically interesting
students learn to think critically, to reason from evidence, to examine the quality of their reasoning using a variety of intellectual standards, to make improvements while thinking, and to ask probing and insightful questions about the thinking of other people
What is the role of lecture?
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15
PBL
instructor facilitates discussions, keeping students on-track
may deliver lectures between PBL classes
PI
lecture for 10-15 minutes when the students are prepared to learn:
PI has activated the concepts in their memories
students have tried, failed, received feedback, tried again and are waiting for confirmation
students are prepared to intellectually appreciate your expertise you’re about to share with them
Students’ preparation – PBL
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“Students need to identify what they need to learn,
look it up wherever they can, and be able to judge
reliable sources.” [1, p. 269]
students prepare extensively before class each team
member in charge of a specific component
in class, share their expertise with the others in the
team to develop a solution
Students’ preparation - PI
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Effective peer instruction requires
students be prepared to engage in conceptually-
challenging conversations
TIME! (alternate 5-minute episodes of PI with 10-
15 minutes mini-lectures)
Where does that time come from?
reduce course content by 25%
reduce class content by 25%
Traditional classroom
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18
1. Transfer: first exposure to material is in class,
content is transmitted from instructor to student
2. Assimilate: learning occurs later when student
struggles alone to complete homework, essay,
project
1. learn easy
stuff together 2. learn hard
stuff alone
(Mazur [7])
Flipped classroom
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19
1. Transfer: student learns easy content at home
through reading, video, etc.: definitions, basis skills,
simple examples. Frees up class time for...
2. Assimilate: students come to class prepared to
tackle challenging concepts in class, with immediate
feedback from peers, instructor
2. learn hard
stuff together 1. learn easy
stuff alone
(Mazur [7])
Ease of implementation 20
Rank the 4 cooperative learning activities
PBL POGIL PLTL PI
by ease of implementation (how hard they are for the
facilitator to carry out)
1 = easiest
…
4 = hardest
When your group has reached consensus, write your
rankings on the spreadsheet.
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Student buy-in
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Key elements in assuring acceptance from students include
clear explanation of the classroom format and
expectations
an understanding of how the format is connected to
research on learning, and
frequent reinforcement of how the classroom activities
will benefit them.
([1], p. 269)
Communication 22
All of the [cooperative learning techniques] emphasize
communication of conceptual understanding of course
content.
([1], p. 269)
What about MOOCs ?
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xMOOC Participants, watch video lecture, complete
assignments, learn about a subject or skill,
usually by themselves.
cMOOC – connectivist MOOC
The course is developed with a weak ‘centre’.
While etmooc.org will provide a level of
aggregation, detail, and direction, the majority
of interactions are likely to occur within groups
& networks, facilitated through various online
spaces & services. [4]
MOOCs 23
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etmooc.org
What is a MOOC? by Dave Cormier @davecormier
24
From the video: A MOOC is a step on road to life long
learning. It
promotes independence among learners
encourages participants to work in own spaces
creates authentic networks that last beyond the course
How do we design a MOOC so this happens?
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http://tinyurl.com/TCCMOOC
MOOCs 25
Educators who care about student-centered,
cooperative learning are building interaction and
communication into their MOOCs.
if you do nothing, it will happen “organically” (on it’s
own) but maybe only by/with/for higher-
achieving students
cannot assume students know how to build and
participate in an online community:
set it up for them
coach them how to use it
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MOOCs 26
Interested in learning more about MOOCs?
History and Future of Higher Education – January 2014
Cathy Davidson (Duke University, HASTAC) www.hastac.org/collections/history-and-future-higher-education
@CathyNDavidson
cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/online-education/moocs/
@derekbruff
derekbruff.org
educationaltechnology.ca/couros/
@courosa
#etmooc (educational technology MOOC)
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Learning Communities
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bring people together for shared learning,
discovery, and the generation of knowledge
all participants take responsibility for achieving the
learning goals
learning communities are the process by which
individuals come together to achieve learning goals
Center for the Integration of Research, Leaching, and Learning (CIRTL)
www.cirtl.net/CoreIdeas/learning_communities
LC Core Ideas
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1. Shared discovery and learning.
Collaborative learning activities where participants
share responsibility for the learning that takes place
help the development of a learning community.
Rather than relying on traditional "expert centered"
lecture formats, practitioners should include
collaborative learning techniques so learners can see
their contribution to the learning goals.
Center for the Integration of Research, Leaching, and Learning (CIRTL)
www.cirtl.net/CoreIdeas/learning_communities
LC Core Ideas
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2. Functional connections among learners.
Learning communities develop when the interactions
among learners are meaningful, functional and
necessary for the accomplishment of the "work"
within the courses or learning activities.
meaningful connections must extend throughout the
entire learning community - for example, among
students, post-docs, faculty, and staff-rather than
simply among cohort- or role-related peers
Center for the Integration of Research, Leaching, and Learning (CIRTL)
www.cirtl.net/CoreIdeas/learning_communities
LC Core Ideas
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3. Connections to other related learning and life
experiences.
Learning communities flourish when implicit and
explicit connections are made to experiences and
activities beyond the course or program in which one
participates.
connections help situate one's learning in a larger
context by solidifying one's place in the broader
campus community of learners and life experiences.
connections decrease one's sense of curricular and
personal isolation. Center for the Integration of Research, Leaching, and Learning (CIRTL)
www.cirtl.net/CoreIdeas/learning_communities
LC Core Ideas
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4. Inclusive learning environment.
Learning communities succeed when the diverse
backgrounds and experiences of learners are
welcomed in such a way that they help inform the
group's collective learning.
activities should be sought that help participants
reach out and connect with others from backgrounds
different from their own.
Improving the classroom climate:
They’re not dumb, they’re different.
Next Week: 32
References
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1. Hurtado, S., Eagan, M. K., Pryor, J. H., Whang, H., & Tran, S. (2012). Undergraduate teaching faculty: The 2010–2011 HERI Faculty Survey. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. www.heri.ucla.edu
2. Eberlein, T. Kampmeier, J., Minderhout, V. Moog, R.S., Platt, T., Varma-Nelson, P., & White, H.B. (2008). Pedagogies of Engagement in Science: A Comparison of PBL, POGIL, and PLTL. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 36, 4, 262–273.
3. Crouch, C.H., & Mazur, E. (2001) Peer Instruction: Ten years of experience and results. American Journal of Physics, 69, 9, 970–977.
4. #etmooc Massive Open Online Course on Educational Technology & Media etmooc.org
5. Hanson, D.M. (2006). Instructor’s Guide to Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning. Lisle, IL: Pacific Crest. http://www.pogil.org/resources/implementation/instructors-guide
6. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7. Mazur, E. (2009). Farewell, Lecture? Science, 323, 5910, 50-51.