Collaborative Learning Spaces: Tips & Techniques

Overview Teaching in a collaborative learning space (CLS) can be both invigorating and challenging. Luckily, at the UA, we have many experienced faculty with a wealth of information to share. Dr. Amy Graham, Assistant Professor of Teaching, faculty fellow, Faculty Learning Community Facilitator, and member of the NSF IUSE Instructional Teams Project, has put together the following list of tips and techniques for teaching in a CLS.

Asking Questions

When you ask students if they have any questions make sure you give them enough time to come up with questions and resist the urge to jump in when nobody responds. Give them at least 3-5 seconds to form a question.
Use technology (such as Socrative) so students can ask questions at any time. A TA or preceptor can monitor it and keep you apprised

Assigning groups

Assign groups. Just do it. (particularly with first-year students). It removes social distractions from friends/acquaintances.. Change groups periodically -- I do every 5 weeks.

Peer Evaluations

Consider having students do Peer Evaluations. I evaluate them on these 3 criteria:

Were they routinely in class the entire time?
Were they regularly prepared for class?
Did they participate in the discussions?

Inclusion and Diversity

Insist that no one in the room is better than anyone else. We might be better AT things, but that doesn’t mean we carry more value or worth
Explicitly tell students to try not to judge other students too harshly. You never know what another person is going through (breakups, personal health issues, family issues, grief, etc.; I use my own personal experience of what I was going through when I entered college)

Calling on students

The first question you should ask a student after getting a volunteer or randomly calling on someone is: “What is your name?” Easy question, reduces tension.
Picture rosters to learn names and randomly call on students: https://picturerosters.oia.arizona.edu. Login and select your class

Ask TAs/preceptors to “pick a number” (e.g. if I have 44 tables, I have one pick a number between 1-22 have another pick a number between 1-22 and add them together and call on the table.
Instead of asking “What do you think?” ask them “What did your group discuss?”

Constructing Activities

Include language that encourages students to talk to their groups/tables/neighbors (e.g., What does potential energy mean to you? What does it mean to your group-mates? Do you all agree?)
Pair vague questions with more structured/directed questions.
Be sure to consider how much time it will take for students to process the question and answer it fully. (If you need to, set a timer to manage your time.)
Don’t always regroup with a full explanation of the answer—it creates a culture of “sitting and waiting” for the answer
Structure the activity so that students have individual time to process the question, as well as group time to discuss options for answers

Have a teaching “team”

Get TAs and/or preceptors to help you out in class as “Learning Assistants.”
Keep them apprised of activities that you plan to use in class, as well as the anticipated sticking points. I email mine before every class.
Talk with them during class to get a read of what students are struggling with.
Train them (or get them trained) to work with educating students (constructing knowledge), instead of just “giving out” answers. The UA offers a CLS Quickstart Program and a Learning Assistant Training Online (in pilot now).
Be open to your teaching team asking you for clarifications; everyone forgets. Everyone. Acknowledging that and creating an environment where students AND your teaching team can ask questions is essential (we want them to be vulnerable and show their ignorance in an area, we all know how hard that can be).
Meet with them weekly to discuss content.
Give them access to the resources the students have (D2L, online homework sites, the book, emails you send to students, etc.).

Resources that inspire(d) me:

Make It Stick, by Peter Brown and Mark McDaniel
Small Teaching, by James Lang
Teach Students How to Learn, by Saundra Yancy McGuire
https://www.edutopia.org/ (designed for K-12, but still a lot of great ideas)

Resources for Further Exploration of Active & Collaborative Learning

Brame, C., (2016). Active learning. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/active-learning/.

Freeman, S., Eddy, S., McDonough, M., Smith, M., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 111(23), 8410-8415.

Whiteside, A., Brooks, D., Walker, J. (2010). Making the case for space: Three years of empirical research on learning environments. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 33.

See the University of Minnesota’s Center for Education Innovation’s website on active learning.

UA Resources for Teaching & Learning

The Office of Instruction & Assessment has many resources for faculty and instructors:

https://oia.arizona.edu/

The UA Learning Initiative focuses on supporting student learning through evidence based teaching and learning practices:

https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/uali

Collaborative Learning Spaces provide instructors and students with flexible ways to teach and learn:

https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/collaborative-learning-spaces

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Graham, A. (2019). Collaborative learning spaces: Tips & techniques. Real Teaching. Real Learning. Real Classrooms. 1(2), 1-3