Reaction to Readings (Blog #8)

This week's reading focused primarily on active learning, as well as using technology in the classroom. For the first part of the blog, I have described three class activities I'd like to implement in my final project when designing my "dream course".

1. The first activity involves Low Stakes Writing. On the first day of class, I plan to have students "free write" for 5-10 minutes. Before I officially provide students with a definition of abnormal behavior (which by the way needs to be defined before one can understand psychopathology), I will ask students to free write about what they believe abnormal behavior is, without stopping, putting down whatever comes to mind. This is important because according to the reading, this type of low stakes writing helps students involve themselves in an idea that matters in the course. It's more beneficial for students to allow their minds to work and actively think about what "abnormal behavior" means to them than for me to straight out provide the definition in a lecture format.
2. The second activity I plan to implement in my course design is an Active Learning activity. I like the idea of using The Learning Cell suggestion when motivating my students to read for class. I would have students develop a few questions based on the required reading for the week, then randomly pair students together to discuss the questions. Student A asks student B one question, student B answers, and discussion ensues. Next, student B asks student A one question, student A answers, and discussion ensues, and so one until the majority of questions have been discussed. I will wander from pair to pair to check the progress and make any suggestions/corrections that might be necessary. This is a useful activity because not only does it increase motivation to read, it increases understanding of the reading, and, as stated in the reading, students learn more from interacting with each other and are more likely to discuss in small groups than in large ones.
3. The third activity I found interesting is a Problem-Based Learning activity. I would implement this in my course design in a way that combines two suggestions from the reading: Case Method and Games & Simulations. Prior to the activity, I would create a few roles for a few of the students. Each role would portray a case study of an individual with one or two psychological disorders, although they would not explicitly state which disorder. The individual would demonstrate some of the diagnostic criteria. In class, I would divide the class into small groups. One group would consist of the mock patients. These individuals would each receive one of the case studies in a sealed envelope and be asked to read, rehearse, and prepare portray the case. While they are preparing, I would ask the remaining groups to review diagnostic criteria and descriptions of primary disorders. I would assign one individual with a case to each group. The groups job would be to draw a conclusion about which disorder(s) the case study has. The group would need to provide evidence and make recommendations based on their conclusion. Any group that correctly identifies their case study will receive extra credit! This activity is important because not only is it fun, but it also helps students develop skills that are important in the class and will help the class meet a primary course objective of understanding diagnostic criteria of major psychological disorders.

The remainder of the blog outlines best practices for conducting learning activities in class:

Procedural Issues

• Provide clear instructions for the learning activity. These instructions should be (if possible) provided in both a verbal and written format.
• Inform the students of time constraints for the activity.
• In a similar suggestion, allot sufficient time for instruction, participation, questions, and processing
• Be sure to ask for questions from the students and to walk around the classroom and be actively involved in the activity yourself
• Conclude the activity with a time to process what the students should have learned, discuss what they thought about the activity, and summarize major points.

Demeanor Issues

• Be enthusiastic about the activity
• Emphasize the importance of the activity and connect the activity to prior, current, and future information covered in the course, as well as overall course goals
• If discussion is involved, and class conduct has not been discussed, review conduct policy and helpful discussion techniques
• Be interested in student responses, questions, conclusions drawn
• If a question is asked that you do not know the answer to, don't lie, but instead let the student know that it is a great question, so great that you don't know the answer but will be sure to look it up and let everyone know what you find.

Pedagogical Issues

• Include a "debriefing session" following the activity, during which the class will discuss and summarize what was learned
• Learning activities that actively involve student participation have been shown to increase interest in class and amount learned in the class
• Include these activities in order to allow students to demonstrate learning in a "non-graded" method, which removes anxiety over grades
• Ensure that each activity is made apparently relevant to class goals and course material in order to help motivate students to complete the activities

Additional Information:

These will be useful in developing my "dream course" design - Psychology Applied Learning Scenarios

More information about High and Low Stakes Writing

From the Center for Teaching Excellence, some Low-Stakes Writing Assignments

An article about Teaching Naked (without technology that is :) )

Handbook for Instructional Technology in the Classroom