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Strategies to bring your teaching to life
Sally Brown & Phil Race
Liverpool John Moores
University
18th January 2012
By the end of this session you should have had the chance to:
Add to your repertoire of ways to bring your teaching to life;
Challenge some conceptions (including your own) about teaching and learning ;
Consider some different tactics to implement in your own practice;
Watch inter-marital negotiation take place live.
How can we bring teaching to life? A tale from NTFS Paul Maharg
Back in 2004 or so when we were implementing webcasts at Strathclyde we persuaded one law professor who was delivering the same lecture course THREE times a year to different student groups, to film them as pieces to camera. We (a learning technologies development unit -- five of us in the law school) found that the design activity drew in the entire module (the best instances of technology-implementation, we found, nearly always involved this) -- and fortunately the Prof was up for it. So we redesigned lecture content, delivery, length (much shorter), slides, paper resources, readings,
seminars, tutor training, the lot.
The result? Prof loved it -- he had much more time, flexibility, etc + an online
resource. Part-time students love it. Full-time students -- they said great, we get to view-again, but we miss the Prof, who was pretty entertaining. Back to design... We talked with Prof and decided that he'd give what we called 'large-group surgeries', ie students were told to watch eg w/casts 1-4 over 2 weeks, then come to the face to face sessions where Prof would NOT lecture but answer questions on the w/casts and have a large-group conversation with students about the complex issues arising from the webcasts. Student attendance at these -- nearly 100% (and actually these could be digitized too, or at least happen digitally, captured & shared with tutors). In the process we changed the nature of the lecture, the teaching experience, learning experiences for a range of students (and has anyone mentioned alumni yet, and the economics, to say nothing of intellectual stimulation, in having lifelong access to these constantly updated resources?).
Ken Bain in “What the best College Teachers do” argues...
“But lectures from highly effective teachers nearly always have the same five features of natural critical learning ... They begin with a question (sometimes embedded in a story), continue with some attempt to help students understand the significance of the question (connecting it to larger questions, raising it in provocative ways, noting its implications), stimulate students to engage the question critically, making an argument about how to answer that question (complete with evidence, reasoning and conclusion) and end with conclusions. The only exception? Sometimes the best teachers leave out their own answers whereas less successful lecturers often only include that element, an answer to a question that no one has raised.”
(Bain 2004, p.107)
www.phil-race.co.uk
Post-it exercise On a post-it, in your best handwriting, please write
your own completion of the starter:
“Bringing my teaching even more alive would be much better for me if only I …”
Please swap post-its so that you’ve no idea who has yours.
If chosen, please read out with passion and drama the post-it you now have.
Please place them all on the chart as directed.
www.phil-race.co.uk
Post-its… A small, equal opportunities,
non-threatening space. Just about everyone is willing to jot something
down on a post-it in answer to a question, whereas they may not offer a spoken answer to a question, or write responses on a blank sheet of paper.
Post-its allow everyone the same opportunity to respond, including the quiet or shy students.
Post-its can be swapped, and students can read out someone else’s ideas, in the relative comfort of anonymity.
www.phil-race.co.uk
Finding out where a group is starting from…
Post-its are particularly useful for open-ended questions, such as ‘economics would be much better for me if only I …’
Responses can be posted on a flipchart or wall, and used as an exhibit.
Post-its can be a fast way of finding out what the real intended learning outcomes are for a group.
They can also provide a measure of the learning incomes of the group.
Integrating learning outcomesLearning incomes What learners
can already do; What they
already know; What they are
bringing to the learning situation.
Intended learning outcomes What we’re
focusing on today;
What we’re going to assess;
What we’re going to give learners feedback on
Intended learning outgoingsOther things that learners won’t necessarily evidence during their time in higher education, but which they will need in their careers, and indeed their ongoing lifelong learning.
Emergent learning outcomesThings students are taking away from the session or course, which weren’t on the formal agenda, but which may well be of great importance to the students both at the time, and in their future development.Very frequently, these turn out to be sufficiently important and relevant to add to (and sometimes replace) the intended learning outcomes.
Bain asks “What reasoning abilities will students need to possess or develop to answer the questions the discipline raises?” (pp.85-6)
1. Consciously raising questions- What do we know? How do we know? Why do we accept or believe? What is the evidence?
2. Being aware of gaps in information- conclusion reached in absence of complete information- tolerate ambiguity, taking something on faith;
3. Discriminate between observation and inference- between established fast and subsequent conjecture;
4. Recognize that words are symbols for ideas- not the ideas themselves- use words prior definition (shared experience) avoid technical jargon;
5. Probing for assumptions- particularly implicit and unarticulated ones;
and
6. Drawing inferences from data, observations, and evidence - recognize when firm inference cannot be drawn;
7. Performing hypothetico-deductive reasoning - visualizing possible outcomes given principles and constraints;
8. Discriminate between inductive and deductive reasoning - general to particular versus particular to general;
9. Testing a line of reasoning for internal consistency;
10. Developing self-consciousness concerning one’s own thinking and reasoning processes.
How can we bring teaching alive? We propose we can: Offer high quality programmes; Provide a curriculum that is activity rich; Ensure assessment is linked to learning outcomes; Offering flexible modes of delivery; Provide inclusive learning materials and tasks
contextualised for the UK and international students; Design flexible and integrated course design.
Engagement: why talk about it? Because: Academics and learning support staff report
increasing levels of disengagement by students of the ‘iGeneration’;
Potentially the nature of student behaviour in higher education is changing radically in terms of academic and other literacies;
Institutions need to ensure that new students enter with, or have the opportunity to acquire, the skills needed for academic success;
HEIs must devise programmes in which the emphasis is on maximising students’ development.
Engagement of international students: some important considerations Is recruitment undertaken to ensure students have
the potential to succeed? Is induction framed appropriately to welcome
international students? Are steps taken proactively to ensure international
students have a good chance of integrating with their study cohorts?
Are we training our staff to be aware of diverse international approaches to HE learning and teaching, or are we just expecting students to get on with our systems?
Is the right kind of support offered (language, crisis support, befriending etc.)?
Teaching for learning Is there a coherent model of progression across
programmes? Are there clearly way-marked sources of student
support throughout their studies? Are students using critical thinking and high levels
of analytical thought? Are students working autonomously? Do students have opportunities of working together?
www.phil-race.co.uk
Doing
Ripples on a pond….
Wanting/Needing
Doing
Feedback
Assessing
making informed
judgements
Making sense
Coaching, explaining, teaching
1. Striving to enhance our students’ want to learn;2. Helping students to develop ownership of the need to
learn;3. Keeping students learning by doing, practice, trial-and-
error, repetition;4. Ensuring students get quick and useful feedback – from
us and from each other;5. Helping students to make sense of what they learn.6. Getting students deepening their learning by coaching
other students, explaining things to each other.7. Allowing students to further deepen their learning by
assessing their own learning, and assessing others’ learning – making informed judgements.
We can bring teaching alive by:
Supportiveness: we must Adopt a holistic approach to the development of
skills, particularly information literacy, so that this is fully integrated into the learning programme;
Enable students to become self-aware and reflexive learners who become robust in the face of problems;
Help students build resilience through ‘a diet of early successes’ and positive reinforcement.
Inclusivity: it’s helpful to ask from the outset: Is the content of learning materials excessively or
exclusively focussed on materials from a single context?
Can students recognise their own experiences in at least some of the examples used?
Are students with disabilities enabled to participate fully in group tasks and assignments?
Are reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities identified from the outset?
Active learning: we can: Explore how we can best use the early stages of a
programme to induct students into good study patterns and practices to enhance learning and improve engagement early on (Yorke, 2009);
Reconsider the kinds of activities students engage with, to maximise ‘learning by doing’;
Rethink the way in which we use all learning opportunities to include activity as well as delivery;
Consider how we can best make use of technologies to support learning and engagement.
Some active learning!
Mike Russ of the University of Huddersfield sent a post to the NTFS list saying:
“Over the last few years the University of Huddersfield has expended considerable effort in improving our NSS scores for assessment and feedback, efforts that have resulted in a considerable improvement in our positioning in the NSS. We are now turning our attention to improving scores for Q.4 'The course is intellectually stimulating'. While we don't perform badly in this area we want to do better”.
Task briefing
Mike asked NTFS colleagues what approaches they would suggest.
The handout provides extracts from the responses received. Review in your pairs three extracts and discuss what is being proposed.
Distill one learning point per pair from this, and be prepared to share them with the group.
Robust quality: we argue for Rapid turnaround of assignments with detailed and
useful feedback; Proactive and positive initial training for teaching staff
and ongoing CPD; Regular developmental Peer Observation; Teaching based on a supportive / reflective model; Clear and widely publicised mutual expectations for
students and staff; Recognising and rewarding good teaching and
learning support, and having obvious career pathways for those who dedicate their lives to enhancing the student experience;
Taking student s’ views very seriously.
Now for some students’ views:
Aaron Porter: former NUS controversial President extract from from Pearson’s Blue Skies project thinking about the future of Higher Education (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9uzJc1nVs&feature=player_embedded#
“What can I do when....?” Think of particular instances where you’d like to
bring your teaching ‘more alive’ and explore possibilities you could try out.
Turn such instances into a very short ‘what can I do when...?’ question.
Volunteers: please try out your question on Sally and Phil and the rest of us.
How can we bring teaching alive? We propose we can: Offer high quality programmes; Provide a curriculum that is activity rich; Ensure assessment is linked to learning outcomes; Offering flexible modes of delivery; Provide inclusive learning materials and tasks
contextualised for the UK and international students; Design flexible and integrated course design.
Conclusions: bringing teaching to life requires that Staff at all levels and across all roles must be
involved in enhancement processes for them to be effective;
We keep ourselves informed of current developments and review innovations critically;
We need to balance evidence-based guidance with practical experience on the ground;
The student voice is central to ensure effective enhancement.
Bain, K (2004) “What the best College Teachers do” Cambridge Harvard University Press
Biggs, J. and Tang, C.(2007)Teaching for Quality Learning at University:3rd edition Maidenhead: SRHE & Open University Press).
Bloxham, S., and Boyd, P. (2007) Developing assessment in Higher education: a practical guide. Maidenhead: Open University Press .
Bowl, M. (2003) Non-traditional entrants to higher education ‘they talk about people like me’ Stoke on Trent, UK, Trentham Books.
Boud, D. (1995) Enhancing learning through self-assessment London, Routledge.
Brown, S. (2011) Bringing about positive change in higher education; a case study Quality Assurance in Education Vol 19 No 3 p195-207
Blue Skies (2011) New thinking about the future of higher education: download from http://pearsonblueskies.com/
Cook, A. (2005) Guidelines for the Management of Student Transition: the STAR Project (Student Transition and Retention), Belfast: University of Ulster
Dweck, C. (2000) Self-theories: their role in motivation, personality, and development Psychology press: Essays in Social Psychology Taylor and Francis, Philadelphia.
Useful references 1
Gibbs, G. (1999) Using assessment strategically to change the way students learn, In Brown S. & Glasner, A. (eds.), Assessment Matters in Higher Education: Choosing and Using Diverse Approaches, Maidenhead: SRHE/Open University Press.
Kneale, P. E. (1997) The rise of the "strategic student": how can we adapt to cope? in Armstrong, S., Thompson, G. and Brown, S. (eds) Facing up to Radical Changes in Universities and Colleges, pp.119-139 London: Kogan Page.
Flint, N.R. and Johnson, B. (2011) Towards fairer assessment: recognising the concerns of students London: Routledge.
Falchikov, N. (2004) Improving Assessment through Student Involvement: Practical Solutions for Aiding Learning in Higher and Further Education, London: Routledge.
Knight, P. and Yorke, M. (2003) Assessment, learning and employability Maidenhead, UK: SRHE/Open University Press.
Mentkowski, M. and associates (2000) Learning that lasts: integrating learning development and performance in college and beyond, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Morgan, M. (2011, at press) Improving and Enhancing the Student Experience - A practical guide, London: Routledge
Pickford, R. and Brown, S. (2006) Assessing skills and practice London: Routledge.
Useful references 2
Useful references 3Northedge, A. (2003) Enabling participation in academic discourse Teaching in Higher
Education, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2003, pp. 169–180 Carfax, Taylor and Francis.
PASS project Bradford http://www.pass.brad.ac.uk/
Peelo, M and Wareham, T (eds.) (2002) Failing Students in higher education Maidenhead, UK, SRHE/Open University Press.
Rust, C., Price, M. and O’Donovan, B. (2003) Improving students’ learning by developing their understanding of assessment criteria and processes Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 28 (2), 147-164.
Sadler, D. R. (1989) Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems Instructional Science 18, 119-144.
Yorke, M. (1999), Leaving Early: Undergraduate Non-Completion in Higher Education, London:Taylor and Francis.
Yorke, M. and Longden, B., (2004), Retention and Student Success in Higher Education, Maidenhead, Open University Press.
