The College Classroom Week 6: Cooperative Learning

Week 6: Cooperative Learning
The College Classroom
November 5 and 7, 2013

Cooperative Learning Strategies
2

PBL – problem-based learning
POGIL – process-oriented guided inquiry learning
PLTL – peer-led team learning
PI – peer instruction
Why are we talking about these today?

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

#tccucsd

2010–2011 Higher Education Research
Initiative (HERI) Faculty Survey [1]
3

 published October 23, 2012
 based on responses from 23,824 full-time faculty at
417 four-year colleges and universities
 “faculty member” = any employee of an accredited
4-year college or university who spend at least some
of his or her time teaching undergraduates


#tccucsd

What do you see?
4


#tccucsd

What do you see?
5

Identify the most interesting item in Table 1. Record
your thoughts on the whiteboard and be prepared to
share your group’s opinion.


#tccucsd

What do you see?
6


#tccucsd

What do you see?
7


#tccucsd

What do you see?
8


#tccucsd

HERI: Cooperative Learning
9

[C]ooperative learning is a teaching practice that has
the most well-defined literature base, and research
consistently has revealed positive effects of cooperative
learning on student achievement across experimental and
quasi-experimental studies on college students.
([1], p. 8)


#tccucsd

HERI: Cooperative Learning
10

It is important to note, however, that we see the starkest
gender gaps across fields in faculty’s use of cooperative
learning. The majority of women in all other fields
(71.8%) use cooperative learning techniques in all or
most of their courses, and it is encouraging that 60.3%
of women teaching in STEM use cooperative learning in
the classroom, a figure that exceeds both men in STEM
(40.7%) and men in all other fields (52.6%).
([1], p. 8)

#tccucsd

11

PBL – problem-based learning
PBL is driven by the premise that basic science concepts will be understood
and remembered longer when they are learned, discussed, and applied in a
practical, real-world context. An essential and distinctive feature of the
approach is that problems come first and introduce content, rather than
problems following a presentation of facts and concepts. Students learn on a
need-to-know basis by group-directed exploration with the idea that they gain
experience on the way to becoming self-directed learners.[Eberlein et al. [2]]

POGIL – process-oriented guided inquiry learning
Students work in self-managed teams during class on specially designed
materials. These activities consist of a series of carefully crafted questions
(the ‘‘guided inquiry’’) that generally follow the three-phase ‘‘learning cycle’’
approach [14–17] which includes an exploration phase, a concept invention
phase, and an application phase. [2]

#tccucsd

12

PLTL– peer-led team learning
peer-led groups meet weekly (separate from the lecture and the instructor) to
work together on problems that are carefully structured to help students build
conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. [2]

PI – peer instruction
a class taught with PI is divided into a series of short presentations, each
focused on a central point and followed by a related conceptual question
which probes students’ understanding of the ideas just presented. Students
are given one or two minutes to formulate individual answers and report their
answers to the instructor. Students then discuss their answers with others
sitting around them; the instructor urges students to try to convince each other
of the correctness of their own answer by explaining the underlying reasoning.
Finally, the instructor calls an end to the discussion, polls students for their
answers again (which may have changed based on the discussion),
explains the answer and moves onto the next topic. [Crouch & Mazur [3]]

#tccucsd

Key ideas
13

 not just constructivism but social constructivism
constructivism

social constructivism

recognizes that knowledge
is constructed in the mind
of the learner by the
learner

implies that this “building”
process is aided through
cooperative social interactions

([1], p.262)


#tccucsd

([1], p. 262)

Key ideas
14

 PXnL activities and PI “intentionally create learning
environments…” [1, p. 263]
“the best teachers try to create a natural critical
learning environment” [6, p. 99]
students encounter the skills,
habits, attitudes, and
information they are trying to
learn embedded in questions
and tasks they find fascinating
– authentic tasks that arouse
curiosity and become
intrinsically interesting

#tccucsd

students learn to think critically, to
reason from evidence, to examine
the quality of their reasoning using
a variety of intellectual standards,
to make improvements while
thinking, and to ask probing and
insightful questions about the
thinking of other people

What is the role of lecture?
15

PBL
 instructor facilitates discussions, keeping students on-track
 may deliver lectures between PBL classes

PI
 lecture for 10-15 minutes when the students are
prepared to learn:




PI has activated the concepts in their memories
students have tried, failed, received feedback, tried again
and are waiting for confirmation
students are prepared to intellectually appreciate your
expertise you’re about to share with them


#tccucsd

Students’ preparation – PBL
16

 “Students need to identify what they need to learn,
look it up wherever they can, and be able to judge
reliable sources.”
[1, p. 269]
 students prepare extensively before class each team
member in charge of a specific component
 in class, share their expertise with the others in the
team to develop a solution


#tccucsd

Students’ preparation - PI
17

Effective peer instruction requires
 students be prepared to engage in conceptuallychallenging conversations
 TIME! (alternate 5-minute episodes of PI with 1015 minutes mini-lectures)
Where does that time come from?
 reduce course content by 25%
 reduce class content by 25%

#tccucsd

Traditional classroom
18

1. learn easy
stuff together

2. learn hard
stuff alone

1. Transfer: first exposure to material is in class,
content is transmitted from instructor to student
2. Assimilate: learning occurs later when student
struggles alone to complete homework, essay,
project

#tccucsd

(Mazur [7])

Flipped classroom
19

1. learn easy
stuff alone

2. learn hard
stuff together

1. Transfer: student learns easy content at home
through reading, video, etc.: definitions, basis skills,
simple examples. Frees up class time for...
2. Assimilate: students come to class prepared to
tackle challenging concepts in class, with immediate
feedback from peers, instructor

#tccucsd

(Mazur [7])

Ease of implementation
20

Rank the 4 cooperative learning activities
PBL POGIL PLTL PI
by ease of implementation (how hard they are for the
facilitator to carry out)
1 = easiest
…
4 = hardest
When your group has reached consensus, write your
rankings on the spreadsheet.

#tccucsd

Student buy-in
21

Key elements in assuring acceptance from students include
 clear explanation of the classroom format and
expectations
 an understanding of how the format is connected to
research on learning, and
 frequent reinforcement of how the classroom activities
will benefit them.
([1], p. 269)

#tccucsd

Communication
22

All of the [cooperative learning techniques] emphasize
communication of conceptual understanding of course
content.
([1], p. 269)

What about MOOCs ?


#tccucsd

MOOCs
23

 xMOOC
Participants, watch video lecture, complete
assignments, learn about a subject or skill,
usually by themselves.

 cMOOC – connectivist MOOC
The course is developed with a weak ‘centre’.
While etmooc.org will provide a level of
aggregation, detail, and direction, the majority
of interactions are likely to occur within groups
& networks, facilitated through various online
spaces & services. [4]

#tccucsd

etmooc.org

What is a MOOC?
by Dave Cormier

@davecormier

24

http://tinyurl.com/TCCMOOC

From the video: A MOOC is a step on road to life long
learning. It
 promotes independence among learners
 encourages participants to work in own spaces
 creates authentic networks that last beyond the course
How do we design a MOOC so this happens?

#tccucsd

MOOCs
25

Educators who care about student-centered,
cooperative learning are building interaction and
communication into their MOOCs.
 if you do nothing, it will happen “organically” (on it’s
own)
but maybe only by/with/for higherachieving students
 cannot assume students know how to build and
participate in an online community:



set it up for them
coach them how to use it


#tccucsd

MOOCs
26

Interested in learning more about MOOCs?
 History and Future of Higher Education – January 2014
Cathy Davidson (Duke University, HASTAC)
www.hastac.org/collections/history-and-future-higher-education

@CathyNDavidson
 cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/online-education/moocs/
@derekbruff
derekbruff.org
 educationaltechnology.ca/couros/
@courosa
#etmooc (educational technology MOOC)

#tccucsd

Learning Communities
27

 bring people together for shared learning,
discovery, and the generation of knowledge
 all participants take responsibility for achieving the
learning goals
 learning communities are the process by which
individuals come together to achieve learning goals

Center for the Integration of Research, Leaching, and Learning (CIRTL)
www.cirtl.net/CoreIdeas/learning_communities

#tccucsd

LC Core Ideas
28

1. Shared discovery and learning.
Collaborative learning activities where participants
share responsibility for the learning that takes place
help the development of a learning community.


Rather than relying on traditional "expert centered"
lecture formats, practitioners should include
collaborative learning techniques so learners can see
their contribution to the learning goals.


#tccucsd

LC Core Ideas
29

2. Functional connections among learners.
Learning communities develop when the interactions
among learners are meaningful, functional and
necessary for the accomplishment of the "work"
within the courses or learning activities.


meaningful connections must extend throughout the
entire learning community - for example, among
students, post-docs, faculty, and staff-rather than
simply among cohort- or role-related peers


#tccucsd

LC Core Ideas
30

3. Connections to other related learning and life
experiences.
Learning communities flourish when implicit and
explicit connections are made to experiences and
activities beyond the course or program in which one
participates.




connections help situate one's learning in a larger
context by solidifying one's place in the broader
campus community of learners and life experiences.
connections decrease one's sense of curricular and
personal isolation.


#tccucsd

LC Core Ideas
31

4. Inclusive learning environment.
Learning communities succeed when the diverse
backgrounds and experiences of learners are
welcomed in such a way that they help inform the
group's collective learning.


activities should be sought that help participants
reach out and connect with others from backgrounds
different from their own.


#tccucsd

32

Next Week:
Improving the classroom climate:
They’re not dumb, they’re different.

References
33

1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

6.
7.

Hurtado, S., Eagan, M. K., Pryor, J. H., Whang, H., & Tran, S. (2012).
Undergraduate teaching faculty: The 2010–2011 HERI Faculty Survey. Los
Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. www.heri.ucla.edu
Eberlein, T. Kampmeier, J., Minderhout, V. Moog, R.S., Platt, T., Varma-Nelson, P.,
& White, H.B. (2008). Pedagogies of Engagement in Science: A Comparison of
PBL, POGIL, and PLTL. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 36, 4,
262–273.
Crouch, C.H., & Mazur, E. (2001) Peer Instruction: Ten years of experience and
results. American Journal of Physics, 69, 9, 970–977.
#etmooc Massive Open Online Course on Educational Technology & Media
etmooc.org
Hanson, D.M. (2006). Instructor’s Guide to Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry
Learning. Lisle, IL: Pacific Crest.
http://www.pogil.org/resources/implementation/instructors-guide
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Mazur, E. (2009). Farewell, Lecture? Science, 323, 5910, 50-51.


#tccucsd

The College Classroom Week 6: Cooperative Learning

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (13)

Similar to The College Classroom Week 6: Cooperative Learning

Similar to The College Classroom Week 6: Cooperative Learning (20)

More from Peter Newbury

More from Peter Newbury (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

The College Classroom Week 6: Cooperative Learning