Active Learning

[HigherEd7]

Is anyone using any active learning strategies in their classes? I am thinking about having my students do a 1-minute paper at the end to write down everything they learned from the lecture. I am also thinking about using the jigsaw method were students teach students. Thoughts?

[spork]

See the publications of people like Diane Ebert-May, Eric Mazur, and Jessica Watkins. Also MIT's TEAL project.

[Ruralguy]

I would also search the websites of various Teaching and Learning Centers associated with many colleges and universities. Many colleges have them, and almost any of those list these sorts of resources.

[HigherEd7]

Sounds good and thank you

[the_geneticist]

Also check out University of Colorado, Boulder (publications by William (Bill) Wood and Jenny Knight) and the "Scientific Teaching Program" at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

[HigherEd7]

Great response and information. Has anyone tried it in their class and how would you grade it or do you grade it? What if a student does not do the reading?

[spork]

Yes. Yes. Students fail the course because they are not able to do assignments.

[polly_mer]

Yes. Yes. Students fail the course because they are not able to do assignments.

I've had students fail classes that were designed as "show up, make any sort of effort, and get at least a C".  One particular student took three tries to pass a class with that design because he kept not attending and not handing in anything, even when he was present and everything was done in class with a team so the grade was merely "submitted/not submitted".

[marshwiggle]

Yes. Yes. Students fail the course because they are not able to do assignments.

I've had students fail classes that were designed as "show up, make any sort of effort, and get at least a C".  One particular student took three tries to pass a class with that design because he kept not attending and not handing in anything, even when he was present and everything was done in class with a team so the grade was merely "submitted/not submitted".

I had that guy in a lab! Came every week, did all the labs, never handed in a report.

I never figured out what his point was.

[ergative]

I think if your lectures are designed so that students can write down in 1 minute everything you taught them over the course of 45 minutes, something's askew. Maybe better to do a one-minute writing prompt that's something like 'what's still unclear after today'--something that gets them to sort through their ideas, and also gives you a sense of where the lecture needs work.

[HigherEd7]

That is a good point. I am also thinking about doing the jigsaw method and have members in the group send me an evaluation on each members contribution in the group. If I do not this how will I be able to tell who did the reading and was able to present or discuss their topic to the rest of the group members?

[ciao_yall]

The flipped classroom model worked well for me. Students were expected to have done the reading and an assignment, then come to class prepared to discuss and reflect.

The assignment was due before class and graded, so while they may have tried to skate, at least they did something and were aware that they were expected to participate actively.

Jigsaws - As a grad student, I still did the reading myself and preferred my summaries to my classmates' versions which tended to be rewordings of the whole darn article instead of key points.

[the_geneticist]

Jigsaw activities can be excellent, but they require a lot of guidance even for graduate students. 
I am a huge fan of the "1 minute paper" as a summary activity.  Ask them to write down the main point/thing the understand the best out of the reading/discussion/whatever and the muddiest point/question they still have.  It's not intended to be a summary of everything you did in class that day.

[phattangent]

Readers of this thread may also be interested in: Deslauriers, L., McCarty, L. S., Miller, K., Callaghan, K., & Kestin, G. (2019). Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(39), 19251–19257. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821936116

[xerprofrn]

Readers of this thread may also be interested in: Deslauriers, L., McCarty, L. S., Miller, K., Callaghan, K., & Kestin, G. (2019). Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(39), 19251–19257. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821936116

I love this article.  I found a similar article a few months ago that tested essentially the same thing--students felt less inclined toward active learning due to the cognitive effort required in doing so, although their assessments showed better performance. 

Today, I became frustrated with 50 minutes = 1 semester hour in a class that I have revamped to be 50% active.  I realized that this weighting was done way back when instructors only lectured.  The classroom is now becoming a laboratory, so that method is no longer relevant. 

FWIW, I am not a fan of the totally flipped classroom--I have had better experience with an integrated one, as have my peers.  Flipped has resulted in a U-shaped curve for my peers that have tried it, while integrated results have been bell-shaped with more grades at the higher end.