Active Learning
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Learning Outcomes for AL Segment
By the 11 am on August 7, NFOW participants in the Active Learning segment will be able to …
1. explain why lecture may not be the best way to help their students retain the course material into future classes,
2. adapt a specific active learning technique for a specific class segment,
3. critique a class period to detect active learning,
and (as a stretch goal), �4. structure class time to meet specific learning outcomes.
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“But I learned from lecture just fine!”
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Yeah, but students aren’t the same
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And most of them are not like you
Research in Active Learning
Storytime
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Story Debrief
What habits did Jordan build? Read the Habits of the Wolfpack Engineer.
Discuss with your table. Put habits demonstrated on sticky notes.
Bring your sticky notes to the front.
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Implementing Active Learning
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Don’t Forget the Debrief!
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Active learning should focus on the challenging parts.
Goal of Teaching
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Activity
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I will roll a die to pick which person will need to answer for the group.
Debrief: Think-Pair-Share
Think
Pair
Share
Goal of Teaching -- Prior answers
Convey knowledge
Inspire
Equip students to solve problems
Prepare students for jobs
Accountability
Feedback
Structure
Teach independent learning
Build community
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Goal of Teaching
Three questions for you:
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Teaching Goals
Teachers will:
Learning Goals
Students will:
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Step 2:
Attributed to Benjamin Franklin
Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn.
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Traditional lecture:
Active classroom:
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Materials with Gaps
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Once you’ve got your worksheets, consider publishing a course pack!
Handouts with Gaps for Today
We know that retention of new material goes down over time. In fact only ____% of the students later remember facts they were told. That number goes up to ____% when students do the work themselves.
�
�
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Handouts with Gaps for Today
Learning outcomes are great when they’re SMART. Those letters stand for:
S:
M:
A:
R:
T:
�
We know that retention of new material goes down over time. In fact only ____% of the students later remember facts they were told. That number goes up to ____% when students do the work themselves.
�
�
�
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What is a Jigsaw?
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Home Group
Home Group
Expert Groups
Each member is given one part of the assignment (Expert Group)
Use expertise to solve the problem
What is a Jigsaw?
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Who ate Kara’s lunch?
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Expert Group Guidance
Who can you eliminate from our field of suspects?
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Homegroup Guidance
Discuss the knowledge and data from each expert group. Be ready to make your accusation. (Don’t say it out loud!)
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Who ate Kara’s lunch?
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Jigsaw Schedule
Steps:
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Activity Deconstruction
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Key Takeaways for Jigsaws
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What are ways you might use a jigsaw
in your courses?
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QFT: Grab a piece of scratch paper…
2 minutes
Write down as many questions as you can.
Don’t second guess yourself.
Don’t worry so much! Just write
Change statements into questions
Topic: What other prompts can we provide in class instead of “Any questions?”
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Ask Varied Questions
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Is this particular step understandable?
What if….?
Why might this procedure fail?
How should ____ vary with ____?
How could we improve _______?
Why….?
What part is most confusing?
What would you do next?
What’s wrong with what I just did?
How might _____ apply to a real-life situation?
How….?
Question Formulation Technique (QFT)
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Where are we?
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As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do? If your answer to the question is yes, don’t do it. (Ruben Cubero)
Lead Learning
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lecturing as little as possible
activities to reinforce material
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Use Classroom Technology
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https://go.ncsu.edu/nfow-tech-brainstorm
Higher Exam Grades?
Actively taught class
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Traditionally taught class
½ letter grade higher!
Higher Failure Rate?
Actively taught class
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Traditionally taught class
1.5 times higher!
Lower Gap in Exam Grades?
Actively taught class
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Traditionally taught class
Gap 33% smaller!
Lower Gap in Passing Rate?
Actively taught class
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Traditionally taught class
Gap 45% smaller!
Insufficient:
Insufficient to convey technical details without context
�Why should they care?
Note: Your students will create the world you will (hopefully) grow old in!
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How can you structure your class to include active or problem-based learning?
Standard Class structure:
10 min Introduction (review)
10 min First Principles
10 min Example 1, Review
10 min Example 2, Review
10 min Further Topics (introduction)
PBL Class structure:
2 min quiz on previous material
5 minute problem statement, hook
10 min group work
10 min lecture, explanation
10 min group work
13 min explanations and closing
Example: moment of inertia
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Provide prompts to spark connections
How might this example relate to societal issues?
Society
What does this example remind you of another concept you have learned?
Concept
Does anything in this example remind you of anything in your own life?
Self
Demo: Mass Moment of Inertia
The mass of each is the same.
Which one rolls down the table fastest?
Predict and check! Calculate to prove
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New Employee Orientation
Welcome to Hutchinson Steamroller division! We’re happy to have you on board!
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Role Play
https://youtu.be/q3VPgZywvVY
New hire, recently one of our executives was watching old Road Runner cartoons with her daughter Sophia. (See for example) The next day, that exec came across the children’s toy shown above. She shuddered to think about what our steamrollers could do to Sophia! She has asked us whether our steamrollers would have enough torque to stop the vehicle if her daughter ran out in front of one of Hutchinson’s steamrollers while it was in motion. (No flattened little girls, please.)
Our steamrollers are built to hold water which is less dense than the outside steel but easily available on a job site. Would it be safer if we used hardened aluminum on the outside and something like denser sand on the inside? I had to tell my boss that I didn’t know. I need you to find out.
The engineer who had the job before you had built these, but then he left the company. The first one seems to be nylon on the outside and aluminum on the inside; the second has these reversed. Might this help you answer my question? I am available to answer any questions you may have during business hours.
Measurements:
Nylon density: 0.04111 lb/in3, Aluminum density: 0.0975 lb/in3
Length: 4.0 in. Inner diameter do: 2.12 in. Outer diameter di: 3.00 in.�
Experiment. Answer the boss’s question.
Audience response system questions:
If you don’t know how to do it, Google it.
Lecturing vs Active Learning
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Experimental Study: 50 minute lecture w/ monitoring of student attention.
100%
0%
50
0
% attentive
t (min)
t = time from start of lecture
What would the curve look like?
Takeaway: give regular exercises or breaks!
Activity Ideas
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Explain a concept in everyday language
Brainstorm a list
Make a prediction
Critique a sample lab report
Recall prior material
Start a solution, derivation, or case study analysis
Work out the next step
Think of an example or application
Summarize a class session
Answer a clicker question
Submit a minute paper (main points & muddy points in a lesson)
Activity Ideas
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Design experiments
Predict outcomes
Run simulations or labs
Explain results
Activity Ideas
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Classify a problem
Start a problem solution or derivation or work out next step
Explain a worked-out solution
Gallery Walk
What else did we do?
In-class responses (makes every student have an opinion, reinforces content)
Classroom demos
Real-world applications
Role play
Cartoons (or other humor)
Problem-based learning
Other activity ideas
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First Day of Class Active Learning
Design an active learning activity for the first day of class
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Connections — Application Snapshots
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Determine the speed of block A if block B has an upward speed of 6 ft/s. Determine the tension in the cable.
Trajan’s column in Rome (AD 113) was constructed of individual marble blocks stacked using pulley systems. What do you want to know about this system? What information do you need to analyze it? Where can you find it?
Projects: Centers of Gravity
Adapted for my Statics class as an open-ended mini-project.
Project description for students:�https://go.ncsu.edu/balance-sculpture
Graded in two ways:
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Activity being used: Real world problem�Out of class time allotted: perhaps 30 minutes extra
If I had assigned a homework problem this complicated, my students would have revolted!
Students feel ownership of what they build.
Concept mapping
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Activity being used: Concept mapping�Class time allotted: 2 minutes each topic
35 Activity
bit.ly/EMmicromoments
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Take a white index card.
On the blank side, divide your card into five boxes.
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1
2
3
4
5
35 Activity
What are you most afraid of about teaching?
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Camping Trip!
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How can I do all this new stuff and still cover my syllabus?
?
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Anna Howard
gives the bearer permission to:
leave out derivations, provide background material online, and skip stuff if necessary.
Mindset and Skillset
Skillset: the technical stuff from the lectures and textbook
Mindset: the attitudes and habits developed by our students
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Mindset and Skillset
Skillset: the technical stuff from the lectures and textbook
Mindset: the attitudes and habits developed by our students
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We are used to focusing on this.
We also need to help our students develop these.
Learn More
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Design-a-Story Equalizer
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Name
Group
Who
Org
Here
Local
Tribe
Where
Ancient
Distant
Past
Past
When
Region
Global
Now
Future
Distant
Future
All
How & What
Why
Contextual motivation: Tension in the story
Technical motivation: Learning objective
Task
Time
Team
Target
Technique
Mindset Class (Handout)
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Wolfpack Engineering Unleashed
The 6 C’s: Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value
Communication, Collaboration, and Character
WEU is a network of NC State faculty and staff who work to embed the 6 C’s into our teaching, research, and leadership to inspire and enhance student learning.
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go.ncsu.edu/weu
WEU Certificate Program
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From Day 1:
One last thing:
American Society for Engineering Education
Professional society where “engineering education” encompassses the full academic spectrum of instruction, research, scholarship, practice, and service.
New members get two years of membership for free!
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Links
DELTA materials:
https://teaching-resources.delta.ncsu.edu/active-learning-with-digital-tools/
Felder & Brent one-pagers:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bzXHha-PzQHaYeObt05kZpDiYluIbN3b?usp=sharing
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Hot Question
Change the “Submit your question here” if appropriate
Labels are important i.e. “Vote” or “Heat”
Heat Column = Student “votes”
Student view with some questions and votes already submitted
Note: instructors can also add questions/posts
Instructor View:
Note the priority column and ability to remove questions and in this case see the identity of post authors
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