The very first suggestion that I feel is extremely useful is the concept of organizing students to meet either in class or out of class for discussion and study. This is useful for many reasons. First, it allows for active learning through discussion in small groups when the class is very large (which makes discussion and active learning for every student difficult). Second, organizing students into study groups or discussion groups helps to reduce some of the anonymity some students may be experiencing in a large class. And third, as I've stated in a previous post, study groups allow students to compare notes, gain information they might have missed, and clarify issues that may be unclear. By utilizing groups in a large class, students can get to know each other, discuss important issues, and struggling students can benefit from students who are doing well.
I think a great way to implement the creation of discussion groups would be to prior to the first class, randomly assign students to groups of 5-7 (depending on class size). Then on the first day, since most of the first day is syllabus and getting acquainted to the class anyways, introduce the groups and let the students know that this is their discussion group for the first part of the semester and give the students the remainder of the class to find one another and exchange information. I would then plan to create new groups part way through the semester to ensure students are hearing new ideas. I liked the suggestion of creating a student availability schedule for study groups as suggested in the text. This would allow students who would like to study in groups to see when others are available. Otherwise, I thought I could utilize the discussion groups created or have students who are interested in studying in groups email me and I would connect them.
The second suggestion I felt was useful was utilizing technology in a large classroom to ensure active learning. This is important because active learning has been proven to be more effective in retaining information and learning more. I plan to implement the concept by forming online discussion boards for the students to react to on a weekly basis. Once per week I will pose a question or problem for the students, who will then have to react/answer within a week to either my question or problem or to another student's post. I plan to use this activity as a low-stakes writing assignment, for which will not be graded but simply checked to see if students have participated. I will of course also participate and put my two cents in but will ensure the students I will not grade or evaluate their posts (other than for effort). I believe this is commonly used in the psychology field. Since psychology is one of the most common undergraduate majors, it is often the case that class sizes are very large. At NDSU for example, I've TA'ed classes that have been anywhere from 200-500 students. In order to ensure quality discussions, teachers often use blackboard to post questions for the students. I think this is the best option available, in addition to dividing the students into smaller groups.
The third concept brought up in this week's reading that I feel is useful concerns "distance education." The reading suggested that those instructing at a distance do not underestimate the workload of the class. This is a very important idea because, according to McKeachie, too high of a workload is the number one reason for dropping out of distance courses. This is important for me in particular because, currently, my plan is to gain teaching experience with my master's degree at a community or technical college. These colleges commonly offer psychology classes online or in distance education courses. I plan to implement this suggestion by using everyday language, keeping topics concrete and simple, and choosing familiar examples when explaining a concept. A large part of my ensuring I am not assigning to much of a workload, especially during my first few years of teaching, will lie in my next important concept from the reading: student feedback.
The final concept from this week's reading that I believe is very useful concerns both formal and informal student feedback. First, I felt it is an important idea to inform the students at the beginning of the term that I am interested in feedback and thoughts on the course throughout the semester. This is important because it allows students to provide input on assignments, lectures, readings, discussions, and the class format overall. Getting this information is vital because as a teacher, I want to verify that my teaching is effective and the course activities and assignments are accomplishing my goals. I plan to request informal feedback from students by asking them to email or stop by office hours with thoughts/concerns and having them provide a one-minute paper a few times throughout the semester about their current thoughts and feelings about the class.
Next, I plan to implement formal feedback at the midterm and final weeks of the semester. Other than the university's required form, I will ask questions adapted from appendix H of First Day to Final Grade (page 200). These questions will more than likely include:
- How could our discussions be made more helpful and relevant to you and your own interests?
- For the next paper, how much or little freedom in the choice of topic would you like, compared to the previous assignment?
- How could I make my comments on your papers more helpful?
- In what ways would you adjust the assignments for the second half of the term?
- Please complete the following:
- I would like to see more time devoted to:
- I would like to see less time devoted to:
- I am still confused about:
- Please comment on any other aspects of the course that are on your mind.
I think it will be important to remember to encourage students to be honest and remind them that I appreciate their suggestions and take them seriously. Finally, I think it is vital to remember to talk briefly about the feedback in the next class. This could simply be commenting on a few general trends that I saw in the feedback or even mentioning a change I've decided to make. This is important because it reiterates the fact that I take the suggestions to heart and actually read what they write. The students therefore might be more likely to contribute useful suggestions in the future.
In my experience, I feel the field of psychology doesn't request student feedback often enough. It could simply be the classes that I have taken, but I recall usually only completing an end of the term evaluation and never being asked to provide feedback at any other point in the semester. The professors in psychology would benefit by regularly requesting feedback from their students in order to ensure what we are teaching them is benefiting them in the way we believe it is.
Further Information:
A great website full of information and suggestions for those of us who might have to teach an online course some day: Teaching Online and also a good find: Three Kinds of Online College Instructors
Evaluation of your own teaching: Tips for Designing Course Evaluation Forms
This entry did an excellent job connecting discussion groups to multiple pedagogical objectives, and considering the logistics of implementing discussion groups in a large class. I would encourage you to be explicit about these pedagogical objectives with your students, so they can have a better sense of why you are using discussion groups and what their group discussion should help them accomplish (better retention/comprehension of the material for exams, for instance).
ReplyDeleteI liked your ideas for using an online discussion board to facilitate active learning but worry about the teaching workload it would create for you. Having to check (even if just for effort) and follow the conversations of 200-500 students would be a monster undertaking. One way to deal with this challenge would be to work out a sampling strategy where you select a certain number of posts to read each week (keeping your selection strategy a secret so students don't get too complacent), or have different groups of students post in different weeks. You could also combine this idea with the discussion group idea, and have the group "spokesperson" post the group's response to the discussion question for the week. This would reduce the total number of posts to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the size of the groups.
I agree that formative (rather than just summative) feedback is very important. Instead of a midterm course evaluation, I'm starting to embrace the idea of a 1/3 and 2/3 point feedback loop. In the past, I did formative assessment approximately halfway through the course, but have found that it works better to get generalized feedback earlier in the term and check in again as students approach the final exam/project/paper.
Your blog has been very good this semester. You have included lots of details on the techniques/tips/theories selected from the readings, why you found them useful, and how you would implement them in the classroom. I think that you've also done a great job contextualizing your pedagogical training in the field of psychology. Nice work.