1 of 15

Helping students engage content remotely

Linda Adler-Kassner

Faculty Director, Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning

ladler@ucsb.edu

​

Get the slides for embedded links! https://tinyurl.com/engagingcontent

2 of 15

Planning: A reminder

Week

Goals/objectives

Content: readings, lectures

2-3 things students must know how to do to engage with content, readings, lectures (e.g., read appropriately, follow points in lecture)

Formative Assessments: discussions, quizzes, writing, peer review, threaded forums, homework problems

Takeaways

1

���

�

�

�

�

�

�

​

Get the planning grid here!

3 of 15

The takeaway:

To engage students in your course, you must explain and connect to all activities/assessments:

​

  • What they’re doing

​

  • Why they’re doing it

​

  • How they’re expected to do it

4 of 15

Three (typical) types of learning/activities

  • Knowing how

​

  • Knowing that/knowing what

​

  • Knowing/showing why

​

​

5 of 15

Knowing how

What it means

In reading (textbook, sources, equations, films, or anything else)

  • Explaining reasons for reading
  • Showing how a text does what it does

What you need to show or explain

  • Why are students reading this text?
  • How does the text “work”? How is it put together?
  • How do people know where to pay attention?

6 of 15

Knowing That/Knowing What

What it means

Knowledge:

    • about things
    • that is subject to verification
    • that is or can be replicated
    • that is consistent

Typical questions

  • When did things happen?
  • What does a text say about x?
  • What is the process of y?
  • How does z occur?

Biggs and Tang, Teaching for Quality Learning at University

7 of 15

Knowing/Showing Why

What it means

“Analysis” or “Critical Thinking.”

  • Performance underpinned by understanding

​

  • Application (in the context of your course)

Typical questions

  • What is the relevance of <q> for <r>?
  • How does concept <z> help us understand phenomenon <RR>?
  • What do you make of <this thing> in light of <that thing>?

​

Biggs and Tang, Teaching for Quality Learning at University

8 of 15

To illustrate:

Bransford et al. (2001). “How Novices Differ from Experts.” from How People Learn (Washington, D.C. : National Academies).

9 of 15

Knowing how

Noticing or describing: How does the text do what it does?

​

Watch the video!

10 of 15

Knowing that/knowing what

Identifying key points: What knowledge/facts do students need to take away?

​

Watch the video!

11 of 15

Knowing why

Applying the ideas.

​

How does x inform thinking about/analysis of y?

​

Watch the video!

12 of 15

Prioritize!

  • Students need to know:

​

    • What content to engage: how and why?

​

    • When to engage content at different times?

​

    • How will they be assessed?

13 of 15

Tell students:

  • Roughly how much time should they spend with text?

​

  • What should they pay the MOST attention to? How can they tell what to pay most attention to? (Think: abstracts, headers, text formatting, lists…)

​

  • What will they do with the text that you are asking them to read (textbook, film, primary source, scholarly study, image, etc.)?

14 of 15

Planning grid

https://tinyurl.com/contentplangrid

​

�

Knowing How

Knowing That

Knowing Why

Most important reading takeaways (How/that/why)

Example: How Experts Differ from Novices

How to find the purpose and most important parts of the text

�How sources are incorporated

�How important ideas are highlighted

�How connections are made between ideas

Most important differences between novices and experts identified in the research

�Key terms:

Prior knowledge

Patterns

Novice-expert

Patterns

Context

How I can apply ideas about differences between novices and experts:

--influences of prior knowledge

--connections between ability to see meaningful patterns and understanding

--importance of situating knowledge in context

--expertise is developed over time and through explicit, guided practice

(For you to fill in, depending on what purpose you want students to engage, when, and why.)

�

​

15 of 15

You’ve got this!