How Do You Get An Old Dog To Learn New Tricks?

This past week it was all about the different forms of assessment in GRAD602.  Due to No Child Left Behind, many students entering college only think in terms of...

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As we discussed in class, there are many college courses which assess students by other means than filling in circles on exams.  Lately, I have been sitting in on undergraduate biology classes at various universities surrounding Richmond.  What I have found from shadowing and speaking with the instructors are that students hate thinking outside the box.  Even true/false scares them away.  Which doesn't make sense to me at all.  You have a 50/50 shot of getting a true/false correct...which is better odds than a typical multiple choice question.  They have been conditioned to think in terms of multiple choice and nothing else.  When sitting in on these classes I share the frustration of this teacher...

    

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But how do we, as future higher ed faculty, undo 8 or so years of conditioning kids to think only in terms of 4 choices and become a more "outside the box" thinker?  I am not sure that I have the best answer for this question right now.  However, I do firmly believe that the classroom atmosphere often gets people excited to think outside the box.  Therefore, increasing student engagement, active learning practices, hands-on experiences, relevance, and exuding passion for the subject can hopefully get students to thinking outside of the multiple choice circles and lead to...

  





Involvement and Engagement Facilitates Active Learning and Knowledge

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At the start of our class discussion on active learning, I kind of took the approach of several in the class that many of the active learning exercises were gimmicks.  I took this approach for several reasons:

1) Students who are seeking higher education should be self-disciplined enough to listen to a lecture, study for the test, and retain and build on their knowledge.

2) It takes away from valuable class time and might hinder the ability to cover more information.

3) As a scientist, my take on classes was coming from a different angle.  To me, the class is where we obtain the basic information/concepts and the lab was the active learning, hands-on portion which reinforced the class and help build higher-level thinking.  They compliment each other and one cannot happen without the other.

Thanks to Laura and the handout she gave several of us on specific techniques for active learning and their outcomes, I realized that:

1) Active learning is not a gimmick.

2) The way science is taught in higher education doesn't help faciliate learning and greater level of thinking.

So about point 1, I think Laura's handout identifies some amazing techniques for facilitating active learning in the classroom.  These include: 

Face-to-face discussions

Symposiums

Panels

Debates

Case studies

Games

Videos

Simulations

When reading the article, to my surprise, I had participiated in classes which used several of these techniques.  When I reflect back on those classes today, I can still remember the subject that was taught and the take-home point from the lecture.  Clearly, those active learning techniques helped me remember a subject matter that I do not reflect on constantly.  About point 2, recently, I have sat in on several upper level science classes at a couple of universities within the Richmond area.  The lectures resemble the picture above.  The professor at the front of the class...speaking (i.e.raining) out information to students.  However, from speaking with the students, they are not absorbing or learning it.  Yes, the lab is meant to reinforce the class via active, hands-on learning.  However, the lab and the class seem disjointed to students; therefore, they do not identify how it reinforces the class lecture.  Maybe it is because they didn't absorb the class lecture due to their low involvement and engagement in the class.  Shouldn't we as future educators try to make science come alive in the classroom rather than just in the lab?  Maybe this will facilitate retention of the information, building on the knowledge, and facilitate a higher level of thinking.  As I am preparing for my teaching internship next spring, I am going to make it my goal to bring active learning to the classroom as well as the lab!         

A Hunger For Pedagogy!

First off, I would like to start out by saying thank you to the instructors of GRAD602 for doing a mid-semester assessment of the class.  I think it is very informative on both sides!

I think Helen hit the nail on the head last week when she said that there was a hunger for pedagogy in GRAD602.  In fact, I am one who thrists for more pedagogy.  However, I completely understand how Jeff mentioned there isn't alot of time built into the schedule for an in-depth coverage of pedagogy.  Something he proposed last week really resonated with me and will fulfill my hunger and quench my thirst for pedagogy.  If an outsider came to me asking for a list of scientific papers, research labs, scientists, and pivotal stories that unveil the last 20+ years in viral immunology research (my expertise from my Ph.D. work)...I would be able to hand them a detailed list with references.  It would help paint a picture of the prevailing theories in immunology.  This list by no means encompasses every aspect of viral immunology.  It would just give the individual a starting off point and would help facilitate further more in-depth research.  Therefore, that is what I would like in GRAD602.  A potential list of papers, books, and authors that will identify prevailing theories in pedagogy.  Because it is out of my expertise, I am often overwhelmed when I start to delve into the research.  As I am sure someone in education would be overwhelmed had they tried to figure out viral immunology research without some help.  So, Jeff mentioning a potential reference list for pedagogy would be a great supplement to the class.  Because it is just that-a supplement, it will not take up valuable time and it will hopefully fulfill the hunger for those searching for more pedagogy in this GRAD602 class!