When we ask students to work in groups or turn to their neighbor to discuss course content, many of us wonder whether this kind of collaboration is worthwhile. Students aren’t experts, so could they be teaching each other incorrect information? Or perhaps what they discuss is superficial or watered down? Not to mention the drama and interpersonal conflict that can arise when students try to work together. Is peer teaching really worth it?

Despite these concerns, and many others, a significant amount of empirical research indicates that there are numerous benefits of peer teaching. For example, a recent study published in Teaching in Higher Education, found that working with peers has a positive influence on students’ psychological wellbeing, including autonomy, environmental mastery, and personal growth. The research of Eric Mazur, who popularized peer instruction in the sciences, demonstrates learning gains frequently double and sometimes triple when peer instruction is integrated into class time.

Beyond the research, we must also recognize that peer teaching happens informally all around us. Maryellen Weimer argues that students instinctually learn from one another. When they have a question about course content, they often turn to their peers before their instructor. Students are often intimidated by professors and don’t want to appear “stupid,” so they approach their classmates first. I can’t tell you how many times I overhear students in the hallways turn to a classmate and say “I have no idea what Dr. so-and-so wants for this assignment. Do you?” Students are constantly learning from one another, so why not use our classes to cultivate stronger collaboration and communication skills?

Here are a few simple peer teaching strategies to try:

Microteaching: Students choose or are assigned class periods during which they are responsible for teaching the entire class. They act as the professor for the day and are charged with developing a lecture, crafting activities, and facilitating discussion.

Think-Pair-Share: The professor poses a complex, challenging, or controversial question and asks students to think about their responses alone. To encourage deeper thinking, students should write down their thoughts. Then, ask the students to turn to a neighbor and compare answers. The students are tasked with reaching a consensus or formulating arguments to support their views. Finally, students report back to the rest of the class.

Peer Instruction using an Audience Response System: Students are assigned a reading or video lecture prior to class and then quizzed on the more difficult or complex topics using an Audience Response System, such as Poll Everywhere, to submit their answers. Students then form small groups, discuss the quiz question, come to a consensus, and re-submit a group answer. Instructors can then instantaneously see where clarification is needed based on incorrect answers provided by both individuals and groups.

Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique: This is the low-tech version of the above strategy. Students are presented with multiple-choice questions that they discuss with group members. Then, using cards that are similar to scratch-off lottery tickets, students choose their answer by removing the foil covering options A, B, C, or D. If their choice reveals a star, they know they’ve answered correctly. If they don’t see a star, they must problem-solve with their classmates and endeavor to determine the correct answer. If you are interested in this technique, TLT can provide IF-AT cards to try with your students.

The Jigsaw Technique: In this strategy, the instructor first divides a topic, problem, or assignment into parts. Next, students are split into “home teams” with one member assigned to each topic. Working individually, each student learns about his or her topic. For example, if the content is divided into parts 1, 2, 3, and 4, group one would contain four students and one student would work on part 1, one student on part 2, and so on. Next, groups are reformed into “expert teams” so that everyone in the group worked on the same topic (e.g. all the ones become a group, all the twos, and so on). These students share their findings and collaborate to discuss, verify, and synthesize all the information gathered. Finally, the home teams reconvene and listen to presentations from each member. These final presentations provide students with a better understanding of their own material, as well as the findings that have emerged from other groups.

These are just a handful of popular peer teaching strategies that do not require a significant amount of labor on the part of the instructor. Consider giving one a try. But remember, it’s important to recognize the benefits of peer teaching do not result from simply putting students together in groups. Group work that promotes learning and other positive outcomes is carefully designed, implemented, and assessed.

This post is part of a series which presents low risk, high reward teaching ideas, inspired by James Lang’s book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning.

Reference: Hanson, J. M., T.L. Trolian, M.B Paulsen, and E.T. Pascarella. 2016. Evaluating the influence of peer learning on psychological well-being. Teaching in Higher Education 21 (2): 191–206.

Best Practices, Pedagogy, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice

Small Teaching Tip #10: Creating Connections

January 24, 2017January 31, 2023 leea5

One of the most challenging aspects of education is getting our students to use prior knowledge and to connect that with the new information we are trying to teach them. It seems as if students walk into each class and compartmentalize it in their brain, often, it feels as if they do this for each unit within a single class. So how can we have them see the bigger picture? How can we get them to view their education as a living, changing whole instead of a segmented path? James M. Lang (2016) offers some tips and strategies to bring in prior knowledge before building upon it.

Have the students take a short quiz prior to class asking them to pull from prior knowledge, use the first few minutes of class to go over the results.

In the beginning of class tell the students what the lesson is about and have them write down everything they know about the topic, take the next 5 minutes to solicit responses.

At the start of the semester pretest or use group activities to assess prior knowledge

After the first class of the semester have the students write down three things the know about the subject matter and three things they would like to learn, discuss these during the second class.

Have the students create a minute thesis connecting different themes throughout your course. You can have them do this in a few minutes or over a whole class period. Have them share their ideas and discuss it as a class.

Create concept maps linking together ideas throughout the course. Have the students share and explore their peer’s ideas. They can add to these maps for the whole semester or make new ones depending on the topic at hand.

Remember, as experts in your field it is easy for you to draw connections and see the big picture but for your students it may take more time and coaching. Make sure to provide the framework for these connections and refer back to them often. Again, James M. Lang (2016) offers “Quick Tips” on helping your students to connect concepts.

Ask students about their prior knowledge at the beginning of the course with oral questions or a “class knowledge dump”

Give students the scaffolding or framework of your lecture ahead of class time and let them fill it in using their prior knowledge.

Offer examples from everyday life and allow students to offer their own. Help them to connect the “real world” with class concepts.

In order for us to really educate our students we need to help them see the bigger picture, help them create connections and guide them along the path of a whole, connected, educational career.

This post is part of a series which presents low risk, high reward teaching ideas, inspired by James Lang’s book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning.

Assessment, Best Practices, Collaboration, Distance Ed, Events, Innovative Instruction, Pedagogy, Teaching Advice

DE 2.0 Workshop: Humanizing Your Online Course

December 20, 2016January 31, 2023 Amy Ostrom

“I miss getting to really know my students. It’s just not the same.”

“There’s no way of knowing who is on the other side of the screen.”

Sound familiar? If so then you aren’t alone.

Not only do some instructors feel this way about online learning, but students do as well. Often they feel isolated, disconnected, and insignificant. These feelings of seclusion can often lead to decreased motivation, attention, and engagement. As part of the online learning process, it is vital to intentionally design elements to make sure that that the human connection isn’t lost in the online learning process.

What is Humanizing?

Humanizing your course involves considering the teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence of all participants in order to build community and enhance communication. The ultimate goal of this process is to make online education as personal and individualized as possible while building relationships between your students, the content, and yourself.

About the DE 2.0 Workshop

This 3-week long, self-paced session will take you through some strategies that you can use in your online class to make you and your students feel more connected. While this course is held fully online, it does contain three optional synchronous sessions with experts in humanizing online education from around the world!

Workshop Goals

Discover the elements of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence as it applies to the online learning environment, particularly in the areas of facilitation, learning domains, and course design.
Research assessment and engagement strategies, community building/maintaining platforms, and technology tools for increasing the humanized element.
Discuss elements of humanized learning with other faculty teaching online at College of Charleston.
Ask questions, exchange ideas, and meet other CofC faculty teaching distance education courses.
Create engaging content and online activities that foster the elements of teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence.

Learning Outcomes

Explore instructional theories that lead to a more humanized online class.
Identify areas of your course that can be made learner centered and/or interactive.
Revise and/or create course interactions, including social learning experiences, content delivery methods, and assessment of student learning.

Register now on TLT’s DE Readiness Blog!

Applications are open until January 31, 2017!

Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice

Small Teaching Tip #9: Self-Care Strategies for Faculty

December 7, 2016January 31, 2023 Jessica Smith

For most faculty (and students), the end of the semester is an exhausting race to the finish. Endless cups of coffee, maybe even a Red Bull or two, sustain you through grading marathons and conversations with students that begin with “I really need an A.” Once you surface for a breath of fresh “I just submitted final grades” air, I encourage you to think seriously about instructor burnout and self-care.

Self-care is not limited to expensive spa retreats, Pilates classes, and bubble baths. It simply refers to practices that enhance your physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. This may mean snuggling with your pet or child, baking 6 dozen cookies to give to colleagues, going for a lunch-time run, or playing Dungeons and Dragons when you get home from work. Self-care also means implementing rituals and practices that make your life easier, such as time-management strategies. Here are a few ideas for the overworked and exhausted faculty member.

Examine how you spend your time

Have you ever kept a log of how you spend your time each day? I know what you’re thinking (“No, Jessica, I haven’t because I don’t have time!”) but since many of our habits are both unconscious and unproductive, it’s actually a useful exercise to determine where your precious time goes. For example, how long are you really spending scrolling through Facebook in the evenings on the couch? After completing your time inventory, you may be surprised by how many pockets of your day could be better spent.

Brainstorm ways you could eliminate those time-sucks or reimagine them. For example, if you have a weekly meeting with a colleague, would it be possible to go for a walk rather than sitting in an office or conference room? (read about the benefits of a walk-and-talk) For those who are easily distracted while using your computer, try an application that monitors your time, such as Rescue Time. If you’re watching too many cat videos on YouTube, this app will tell you.

After completing an inventory of my own time, I started setting limits on how long I could spend on mundane tasks and setting a timer on my phone. When that timer goes off, I must wrap up what I’m doing and move on. I also find it useful to use Steven Covey’s time management grid, which characterizes tasks based on urgency and importance (refer to the image below).

Whatever the results of your own time inventory, make it a priority to reduce tasks in quadrants III and IV, delegate what you can, and create rituals that will help you stay focused on quadrants I and II.

Stephen Covey's Time Management Grid — Stephen Covey’s Time Management Grid. Image via Bruce Mayhew

Give the Pomodoro Method a try

As a chronic procrastinator, I have the bad habit of allowing grading to pile up until it becomes so overwhelming that I actually move through the stages of grief. One of the contributors to procrastination is facing a task so large or complex that we don’t know how to start. Feeling overwhelmed prevents us from taking action.

The Pomodoro Method seeks to remedy this by asking practitioners to break down tasks into manageable chunks and take regularly scheduled breaks. When I first heard about this technique, I immediately thought it could make the grading process less painful. So how do you begin?

First, set specific goals for what you want to achieve. In the case of grading, maybe it’s “by Friday, I will grade 20 of my 40 research papers.” Given your goal, how many pomodoros do you need (pomodoros = 25-minute segments)? Perhaps you typically devote 15 minutes to each student’s paper. That means you’ll need 12 pomodoros to reach your goal.

Next, set your timer for 25 minutes and work in a distraction-free setting. When the timer rings, you must take a short break. It’s required. Get a cup of coffee; walk a loop around your neighborhood; play with your pet. When you return, set the timer for your second pomodoro. After four pomodoros, you must take a longer break (30 minutes is recommended). Go for a run; cook dinner; watch an episode of a favorite TV show. Maintain this cycle until you reach your goal. If you have tasks remaining, set a new goal and determine how many pomodoros you still need.

Although not revolutionary, this technique can result in greater productivity by encouraging us to set concrete goals, commit to short segments of concentration, and take regular “brain breaks.”

Respond to students efficiently

One of the constant complaints faculty make about students is that they don’t listen. They repeatedly ask questions that have been answered in class, in OAKS, in the syllabus, etc. Thus, faculty waste a lot of time answering the same questions again and again. It’s time to end this madness!

My first suggestion is to establish an “ask three, then me” policy. This policy states that students should consult three sources before contacting the professor. Those sources could be the syllabus, OAKS, classmates, the textbook, etc. Explain to students that you will not respond to emails if the answer to their question is readily available from other sources. As long as you have clearly explained this policy to students (and remind them of it multiple times), this isn’t as cruel as it may sound. It has worked wonders in my own classes, promoting student self-sufficiency and initiative.

One way to encourage students to help one another is to set up a “course lounge” discussion board inside OAKS (for those who have taken our Distance Education Readiness Course, this should sound familiar). This discussion board serves as a space for students to ask questions related to the course, such as due dates, clarifying instructions, and logistical issues. You will find students are often willing to jump in and answer one another’s questions.

If a student asks you a question via email that the rest of the class could benefit from hearing the answer, tell that student to post their question and your reply in the discussion board. And if you receive multiple emails about the same problem, rather than replying to each student individually, post the answer in the discussion board (or in the News tool). If you’re not a fan of the OAKS discussion tool, there are countless other ways to facilitate the “course lounge” concept, including Slack, Realtime Board, Trello, and Facebook groups.

Make self-care a priority

When we’re facing a giant stack of student papers or a looming manuscript deadline, it’s easy for us to abandon self-care practices. But when we’re stressed and overwhelmed, self-care is essential. Make your mental and physical health a priority and schedule it like you would a dentist appointment. It’s non-negotiable. This may require you to say “no” to people from time to time (easier said than done, I know. But your health comes first).

Remember that self-care practices don’t need to be expensive, time-consuming, or elaborate. For example, when writing, set a timer to go off every hour and walk around the campus (when was the last time you realized how beautiful CofC is?). Or, establish a policy of not responding to emails past 9:00PM (and stick to it!). Or, keep healthy snacks in your office to prevent you from either going too long without sustenance or stress-eating Cheez-Its by the boxful.

Self-care isn’t all-or-nothing. Every practice makes an impact on your health. Start small and work simple techniques into your daily life. When one practice becomes habitual, incorporate something else. While self-care will not eliminate stress, it will set you on a path towards greater vitality and job satisfaction.

If you’re interested in more productivity tips and apps, check out our session “Tips and Tools for the Busy Professor” on February 15th at 2:00 PM

This post is part of a series which presents low risk, high reward teaching ideas, inspired by James Lang’s book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning.

Teaching Advice

What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You

December 2, 2016January 31, 2023 ratcliffcr

One of the things that I enjoy most about being an Instructional Technologist is that I am constantly required to stay up to date on the newest learning technologies and instructional strategies. Part of my job involves designing and delivering professional development sessions to faculty at the College of Charleston. As we all know, technology is constantly evolving, new tools are being developed and released daily, and old tools are updated with new features multiple times throughout the semester. On several occasions, I’ve spent weeks or months preparing a session on a particular web tool, only to realize an hour before faculty members are set to arrive that the site navigation has changed, the tool’s features have been removed, altered, or upgraded, or the tool was pulled from the web. In those moments when I’m scrambling to pull together a session on something totally unfamiliar, it’s easy to become stressed or anxious, wondering whether attendees will see me as unprepared or unqualified. Surprisingly, some of these sessions have been among my favorites and have received the highest ratings, and I believe that the reason for this is that I was able to better understand how my attendees viewed the content since it was new to me, too.

I recently had the opportunity to read “Teaching What You Don’t Know” by Therese Huston, who is the Founding Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (now the Center for Faculty Development) at Seattle University. As the title suggests, the book provides strategies to help faculty members who are tasked with teaching outside of their areas of expertise. As part of her research for this book, Huston interviewed 28 faculty members on topics related to teaching what you don’t know, which seems to often be the norm in academia.

While Huston understands the disadvantages of teaching what you don’t know, she also identifies some of the benefits to being what she calls a “content novice” early in the book along with a reminder that instructors should focus on creating an environment conducive to learning rather than feeling discouraged because they see themselves as givers of information.

How can your lack of expertise in a certain area actually help you in the classroom? According to Huston, some of the advantages are:

Content novices can better predict the steps that it will take a beginner to complete a task. It makes sense that someone who has only recently studied a topic in depth would be able to predict the steps that a student would go through to learn the same information.
Content novices are capable of relating difficult concepts to what the student already knows. Without higher level knowledge in a particular content area, content novices often make sense of difficult concepts by considering how they apply to everyday scenarios rather than connecting them to abstract theories.
Novices are better able to assess the amount of time it will take a learner to complete a task. Because they are rather new to a particular topic area themselves, content novices remember the amount of time it takes to learn new concepts, and according to research, people who have a little experience in a particular area are actually better at estimating the time that it takes to do something than both people with no experience and experts. In fact, experts were actually worse at predicting the amount of time it will take a beginner to complete a task than someone who has never completed the task before.

So next time you’re tasked with teaching a class that may be a bit outside your comfort zone, remember that there are benefits to your situation. That new course that you’re prepping may just become one of your most successful due to your ability to reach your students in a different way.

Huston, T. (n.d.). Teaching What You Don’t Know. Cambridge, MA 2009: Harvard University Press.

Small teaching tip number 8: incorporate informal early feedback rather than rely solely on end-of-semester course evaluations

Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice

Small Teaching Tip #8: The Problem with Student Course Evaluations

November 22, 2016January 31, 2023 Jessica Smith

We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester. Soon, faculty will receive the results of their course and teaching evaluations. . . Well, perhaps it’s more accurate to say some will receive evaluations of their teaching. Many more will receive evaluations of their personality, wardrobe, voice, sense of humor, and physical attractiveness. . .

When I first began teaching, I agonized over my students’ evaluations. I can still quote some of their comments five years later. Some evaluations made me feel like I could soar while others crushed me. I’ve since learned to take student course evaluations with a grain of salt. There are simply too many flaws that make these evaluations an unreliable measurement, including that they are administered at the very end of the semester.

This is problematic for numerous reasons: First, human memory is notoriously unreliable so student recollections may not be accurate. Second, the end of the semester is when student stress peaks, which could result in venting negative feelings about their professors. Finally, students’ opinions can only be used to change future courses rather than being used to improve the course during the semester.

Despite these weaknesses, student perceptions matter and it’s important to provide a platform for their voices to be heard. What can we do as individual instructors to better assess student learning and satisfaction? I believe the simplest and most effective solution is to administer student evaluations throughout the semester. This is sometimes called “Informal Early Feedback.”

How to Incorporate Informal Early Feedback

Gathering students’ opinions multiple times during the semester solves many of the problems associated with end-of-term evaluations. Also, responding to students’ comments by discussing them in class and making changes as appropriate can have a powerful and positive impact on the classroom culture. Here are a few ideas to incorporate into your classes:

Exit Tickets: These are quick formative assessments that allow instructors to check students’ understanding and identify areas of struggle. They’re called exit tickets because they are typically administered at the end of each class period. They can take any form and ask any question. For example, some instructors simply ask students to write responses on scrap paper. Others incorporate instructional technologies, such as Poll Everywhere, Socrative, Plickers, or Google Forms. These are two of my favorite exit ticket prompts:

3-2-1: Ask students to list three concepts they learned, two ways they contributed to today’s class, and one question they still have about the material. This allows the instructor to compare the learning outcomes he/she set for that class with what students are actually retaining. It also provides insight into how students perceive their participation as well as identifies concepts that students may need further help understanding.
Muddiest point: Ask students to identify the most challenging concept discussed in class or in the readings. This provides a safe way for students to communicate what they’re struggling with so you can determine if additional class time is warranted or if individual interventions are needed.

Keep, Stop, Start: Ask students to write on a Post-It note one thing they wish would remain the same, one thing they wish would stop, and one thing they wish would start happening. For example, a student may comment that they like the flipped classroom structure, but they wish the weekly quizzes would be eliminated, and instead be replaced with journaling. I ask students to not write their names on the Post-It and to stick them to the wall on their way out. This helps to ensure anonymity and, therefore, more honest feedback.

Describe Our Class: Around midterm time, I ask students to compose a letter to a friend who is interested in taking the course. I ask them to describe the class, including how each class period is typically structured, how I interact with students, what types of readings are assigned, what types of assignments are completed, what he/she is learning, and whether or not he/she is enjoying the experience. This exercise gives me fantastic insight into how students’ perceptions compare to my own.

It’s easy to allow student course evaluations to distress us. When so much of our identities is connected to teaching, it’s painful to be criticized or even attacked. If you receive negative evaluations, seek out the counsel of your Department Chair or ask a colleague to observe your teaching. And instead of relying only on this one snapshot to assess your teaching, consider implementing informal early feedback throughout the semester. I’ve found that these exercises have actually improved the quality of my end-of-semester evaluations.

This post is part of a series which presents low risk, high reward teaching ideas, inspired by James Lang’s book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning.

Incorporating frequent quizzing encourages students to practice memory retrieval, which results in deeper, long-term learning.

Assessment, Best Practices, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice

Small Teaching Tip #6: The Benefits of Frequent Quizzing

October 18, 2016January 31, 2023 Jessica Smith

In a previous post, I discussed the important role memory retrieval plays in learning. To briefly review: each time we recall a piece of information, we strengthen the neural pathways that move the information from our long-term memories to our working memories. So the more times we retrieve the information, the more deeply we learn it. This is known as the “testing effect.”

There are numerous ways to encourage students to practice memory retrieval, but one of the best strategies is frequent quizzing.

Tips for Frequent Quizzing

While quizzing is an effective method to practice memory retrieval, not all quizzes are created equal. There are a few empirically-tested stipulations that must be considered:

First, make the quizzes count towards the course grade. While we would love our students to complete quizzes simply for the joy of learning, most require extra incentive. That being said, the quizzes should be relatively low-stakes. The purpose of these quizzes is to practice retrieval, not to have an anxiety attack each week.

Second, avoid the pop quiz. Pop quizzes are only effective at intimidating students into coming to class. For most students, they do not encourage actual learning. But quizzes that students know about in advance do. Rest assured, these assessments do not need to be lengthy or require labor-intensive grading (there are countless instructional technologies that can help facilitate this process).

Third, design quizzes to be at least partially cumulative. This requires students to reach back to concepts covered earlier in the term, developing deeper understanding and more complex mental models. Remember: greater retrieval efforts equal greater learning (note the emphasis on the word effort).

Fourth, include question types that will be similar to what students can expect on exams. This allows students to familiarize themselves with those formats so the exam is a test of knowledge instead of exam-taking ability.

Finally, occasionally assign quizzes that students complete before they learn new material. This may seem strange, but a pre-quiz encourages students to consult their previous knowledge to help them grapple with new ideas.

If you don’t have enough class time to devote to frequent quizzes, consider using online quizzes through OAKS. Most textbook publishers provide gigantic test banks that provide more than enough questions to create multiple quizzes throughout the semester. These banks are designed to be quickly imported into OAKS and quizzes can be automatically-graded, making quiz creation and administration simple. But to ensure students are practicing retrieval, restrict the time limit so they don’t have the leeway to look up every answer in their notes or book (20-50 seconds per multiple choice question is advisable).

Providing frequent opportunities for retrieval will not only help your students remember important information, it will also open the door to higher levels of cognition. I’ve shared one simple but powerful way to help your students learn that does not require an overwhelming amount of grading or extra preparation. Want more ideas? Check out the rest of our Small Teaching Tips series!

References

Roediger, H. L., Agarwal, P. K., McDaniel, M. A., & McDermott, K. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: Long-term improvements from quizzing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 17, 382-395.

Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 181-210.

Leeming, F. C. (2002). The exam-a-day procedure improves performance in psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 29, 210-212.

Lyle, K. B., & Crawford, N. A. (2011). Retrieving essential material at the end of lectures improves performance on statistics exams. Teaching of Psychology, 38, 94-97.

Richland, L. E., Kornell, N., & Kao, L. S. (2009). The pretesting effect: Do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15, 243-257.

This post is part of a series which presents low risk, high reward teaching ideas, inspired by James Lang’s book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning.

Best Practices, Pedagogy, Small Teaching Tip, Teaching Advice

Small Teaching Tip #3: The First Five Minutes of Class

September 6, 2016January 31, 2023 Jessica Smith

The crux of a class period, and perhaps the most challenging to plan, are the beginning and ending. Unfortunately, these are the two parts of a lesson that faculty typically devote the least amount of attention. Often, the first few minutes of class are spent taking attendance, setting up technology, or rattling off reminders. This type of housekeeping is necessary, but it shouldn’t be the only way you begin class. As Kate Sussman, Professor of Biology at Vassar College, points out, we all need time to “warm up”:

“Maybe they just woke up. Maybe they rushed over from their previous class. Maybe they just finished a big paper or assignment. Whatever the cause, it’s most likely that your students are distracted and not really mentally ready to be in your classroom when they first get there. We need to add a little transition time to the beginning of class to help our students get mentally ready to focus.”

To prepare students for learning, the beginning of a lesson should prioritize engaging students’ attention, setting goals for the class period, and activating students’ prior knowledge. Here are a few simple methods to accomplish these aims:

Incorporate teasers

Teasers are provocative statements, sometimes called “hooks,” that serve to grab students’ attention and draw them into the upcoming lesson. To be most effective, the teaser must clearly relate to the subject matter and it must deliver. If you use a teaser that makes students wonder what the heck you’re talking about, it will simply confuse rather than pique curiosity. And if your lessons don’t live up to the hype you’ve built, the anticlimax will eventually cause students to tune out.

A classic way to begin class is to ask a question that creates a compelling need for students to know the answer, appealing to what Carnegie Melon University professor George Loewenstein calls the “curiosity gap.” You could also begin with an unusual photo, humorous video clip, perplexing statement, or a shocking statistic. I once had a professor who began each class with a promise, such as “by the end of class today, I promise you will be equipped with three strategies for handling passive-aggressive people.” He told me that making such promises gives students confidence that they will leave each class with something useful and it also holds him accountable for reaching those objectives.

Close the circle

You are probably much more organized than I am, but I sometimes feel like my lectures lack enough structure and, therefore, veer off course. One strategy to address this comes from James Lang, author of Small Teaching. He suggests providing students with a few questions to guide their homework and asks them to bring their responses to class. Ideally, the questions you ask cannot be answered by simply looking up a definition in the textbook and also require students to connect the current topic with those you’ve discussed previously.

At the beginning of the next class, display those questions so students can refer to them as they enter the classroom and get settled. As you take attendance and complete other housekeeping tasks, ask students to turn to a neighbor and share their responses. Then, towards the end of the period, return to the questions and ask if students’ responses have changed since listening to your lecture. This could spark discussion or serve as an exit ticket. Using these questions at the beginning and end of class metaphorically “closes the circle” and reminds students that each session has a clear purpose and structure.

Activate prior knowledge

According to James Lang, research suggests that whatever knowledge students bring into a course has a major influence on what they take away from it. Thus, student learning can be improved by consistently revisiting, not just what they learned in the previous class, but what they already know about the subject matter. So at the beginning of class, you could say something like: “Today we are going to focus on _____. What do you know about _____ already? What have you heard about it in the media, or learned in a previous class?”

Another memory recall strategy is to simply ask students to remind you of the key points from the previous class period. But rather than calling on a single student, consider asking all students to participate such as prompting them to complete a “minute paper,” draw a process, create a diagram, or illustrate a main point. Any effort students make to recall course content — without the help of notes or textbooks — benefits their learning.

No matter the strategy you choose, I challenge you to put more thought into how each of your class periods begin. Those few minutes offer us a fertile opportunity to build anticipation and prepare students for learning. How do you start class? Please share!

This post is part of a series which will present low risk, high reward teaching ideas. Inspired by James Lang’s book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, this series will inspire you to implement small but powerful changes to your teaching.

Best Practices, iPad, Teaching Advice, TLT

Take Note: Self-Assessment Improves Teaching

April 11, 2016January 31, 2023 Jessica Smith

As the semester winds down, I’ve begun reflecting on the successes and failures of my class. Which topics led to fruitful discussion? Which assignments caused students the most trouble? Which instructions did I constantly have to clarify? Which activities backfired? As important as this type of self-reflection is, when I wait until the end of the semester, my memory sometimes fails. So I’ve established the habit of journaling throughout the semester. But if you’re like me, your days are full and it’s easy to put self-assessment on the back burner. How do you find the time? The answer is to make the process as quick as possible. Here are some suggestions:

Add Post-Its® to your lecture notes:

If you use paper lecture notes, Maryellen Weimer, the editor of Faculty Focus, suggests attaching sticky notes that contain your teaching to-do list:

“A colleague once shared with me that after class ends, she attaches a small sticky note on the materials from that day, and then imagines she will only have 15 minutes for prep the next time she teaches that material. She writes her to-do list on the sticky note: find more examples of X, create a better question about Y, add another graphic to the Powerpoint slide about Z, etc.”

This is an incredibly simple way to reflect in the moment before you forget what worked and what didn’t. This will ensure you know what improvements need to be made when next semester rolls around.

Use a note-taking app on your phone:

Both iPhones and Androids come with apps already installed that allow you to quickly type notes (iPhones come with a “notes” app and Androids tend to come with a “memo” app). After a particularly successful or terrible class, I will take 1-2 minutes to type what occurred. Were my instructions unclear? Did I not allow enough time for group work? Did that reading spark an enthusiastic discussion? This takes very little time and could be done while you’re still in the classroom. If you have to hurry to your next class or meeting, use the voice memo app that also comes standard on iPhones and Androids. As you’re walking, talk into your phone’s microphone, and record your observations. By recording my questions, ideas, and concerns after each class, I’m creating a fantastic resource to use when I prepare for the next semester. Here’s an example of my iPhone notes:

Use a note-taking app on your tablet:

For those who own tablets, there are a multitude of sophisticated apps that make note-taking quite delightful (just ask my colleague, Mendi, who takes some of the most beautiful notes I’ve ever seen!). These apps work best if you use a stylus (which you can borrow from TLT). It takes only moments to open the app and jot down your thoughts about the quality of each week’s classes. Here are some of TLT’s favorite apps:

Mendi’s recommendation: Notability ($4.99, iOS) combines typing, handwriting, photos, PDFs, and audio recordings to create multi-layered notes. If you’re a frequent notetaker, it’s worth every penny.

Laura’s recommendation: If you’re an Evernote rockstar like Laura, you can’t get much better than Penultimate (free, iOS). Its inking technology looks and feels like real pen and ink, and as you write, the page keeps up with you so you never run out of space. Plus, it syncs with your Evernote account so you have access to your notes from just about anywhere.

Amy’s recommendation: Squid (free, Android) allows you to easily markup PDFs to fill out forms, grade papers, or sign documents. Import images, draw shapes, write on a virtual whiteboard, and add typed text to your handwritten notes.

Other options include:

ColorNote Notepad (free, Android)

Inkpad Notepad (free, Android)

UPAD ($5.99, iOS)

Paper (free, iOS)

Add notes to your Powerpoint slides:

Kathleen Janech, adjunct professor of Biology, adds notes to herself below each Powerpoint slide:

“This way my ideas are right where I need them every year, when I am ready to think about and work on that topic. And if it is something that I realize I need to do weeks in advance, I put a slide note into a lecture earlier in the semester to remind me to work on that.”

For those who aren’t keen on using apps and worry about losing sticky-notes, this is a fantastic way to keep an ongoing record of your teaching observations. Most presentation software have a designated area for notes, including Google Slides, Keynote, and Haiku Deck.

Why bother with all this?

Teaching is a continuous process of exploring, learning, and evolving. If we fail to prioritize self-reflection, we become stagnant and ineffective. So do yourself and your students a favor by getting in the habit of routinely evaluating what happens in your classroom. You don’t have to do it after every class period, or even every week, but don’t wait until the end of the semester. You’ll forget less if you write it down. As poet and author Harley King notes: “So much is buried in our lives that we forget what we have learned.”

Best Practices, Pedagogy

Energize In-Class Discussions

November 13, 2015January 31, 2023 Jessica Smith

Last week, I was commiserating with an instructor about her struggle to engage students in discussion during class. “Sometimes it’s like talking to a brick wall,” she lamented. Facilitating lively conversations that require students to apply, synthesize, and evaluate their knowledge is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Even the most brilliant lecturer can be stymied by an unresponsive class. So these are my top tips for improving class discussions:

Plan your discussion prompts in advance. Thought-provoking questions are challenging to come up with on the fly. So when planning your lectures and in-class activities, craft prompts as well. Without prior contemplation, we may resort to asking “any thoughts about that?” and be discouraged by the blank stares we receive.

Use hooks to launch the discussion. Rather than starting a discussion with a single question, consider building up to that prompt with a hook to pique your students’ interest and start their thinking process. For example, present a short case study, tell a story, recite a witty quote, show a video clip, or share a current event. These serve as points of departure that contextualize your questions and give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge.

Ask better questions. Often because we haven’t given them much thought in advance, our discussion prompts fall flat. Our questions are too vague, too long-winded, or limited to yes-no answers. Instead, make sure your questions are succinct, clear, and open-ended. This may seem obvious, but I often ramble a bit when asking questions forcing students to inquire, “so what’s the question again?” Some ideas for discussion prompts:

Ask for students’ input: What should ___ have done? What would you do in this case? Have you had a similar experience in your life?
Ask “how” and “why” questions: How might this argument be made more persuasive? Why do you think the author made this argument? How does ___ compare to ____?
Ask evaluative questions: How compelling is the author’s argument? What are the implications of ____?
Ask prediction questions: What will occur next? What might happen if. . .?
Ask justification questions: What evidence led you to conclude that…? What is the reason…?

Give your students a chance to think. Many of us are uncomfortable with silence, so when students don’t immediately respond to our questions, we continue talking. It’s easy to forget that students are disciplinary novices who need greater time to ponder than we do. So when asking a question, pause for a good 30 seconds before probing further. Don’t surrender and answer the question for your students. Force yourself to endure the silence.

Think-pair-share. Many faculty turn their noses up at strategies implemented in K-12 classrooms, but that’s where a majority of innovative pedagogy comes from. Think-pair-share is a simple but brilliant way to encourage conversation. First, after presenting your hook and prompt, let students jot down their ideas on scrap pieces of paper. Then, ask them to turn to their neighbors and share their ideas. Finally, bring the entire class together and have the pairs report what they discussed. This gives students the chance to think and talk through their ideas before being put “on the spot” in front of the entire group.

Use positive reinforcement. When students contribute to class discussion in ways that demonstrate higher-order thinking, acknowledge it. Saying, “that’s a great question” or “good point” is an effective start, but be more specific with your feedback. For example, “Sam makes an excellent point. I appreciate how you supported your claim with evidence from the reading.” This demonstrates to students what a “good” response sounds like, providing a model they can all use.

Ask follow-up questions. When students respond with brief or incomplete answers, don’t miss the opportunity to ask a follow-up question such as, “Could you tell me more?” or “Why do you say that?” or “How did you come to that conclusion?” You can also pull in other students to contribute: “Let’s help Jamie out, why might we reach the conclusion that. . .?”

End discussions purposefully. Before moving on to the next lecture topic or question, summarize what was discussed or ask a student to do so. This helps students to synthesize new information and integrate it with existing knowledge. You could also consider ending your class with some type of “exit ticket” such as a minute paper or Poll Everywhere poll (which is a free tool for CofC students and faculty). Exit tickets are a quick and easy method to help students solidify their understanding as well as communicate to the instructor what they still have questions about.

Do you have other suggestions for facilitating engaging class discussions? Please share!

For help improving discussions in your online course, check out this post written by my colleague, Mendi: https://blogs.charleston.edu/tlt/2015/10/28/tips-for-more-effective-online-discussions/

Tag: Teaching Advice

Small Teaching Tip #10: Creating Connections

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