ActivitiesMetacognition

INTRODUCTION TO INSTRUCTIONAL

STRATEGIES

2

SESSION LEARNING GOALS

After the session, participants will be able to . . .

• Explain some things that research tells us will improve student learning in our classes

• Identify the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to classify geoscience learning activities

• Describe at least three strategies that can foster metacognition among students

The Montillation of Traxoline

Directions: Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristerlate large amounts of fevon and then brachter it to quasel traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge.

1. What is traxoline?

2. Where is traxoline montilled?

3. Why is it important to know about traxoline?

AVOID SHALLOW LEARNING!

(attributed to Judy Lanier)

1. Students learn key concepts better when they have opportunities to actively monitor their understanding in a variety of activities during class.

2. Students become more successful learners when we challenge them to answer questions that require the use of higher order thinking skills.

3. Knowledge is socially constructed and people learn best in supportive social settings (e.g., in small collaborative groups).

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US ABOUT STUDENT LEARNING

Learning gains increase if we design lessons with these characteristics.

STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING

Provide assessment and feedback opportunities during class:

• Think-Pair-Share

• ConcepTests

• Concept Sketches

• Concept Maps

• Venn Diagrams

• Lecture Tutorials

• Reading Quizzes

• Minute Papers

• Classroom Notebooks

1Based on research findings from Zimmeran, B. J. (1989); Kaatje Kraft, pers. comm.

Create an environment that fosters learning to learn1

• Provide assessments that encourage effort (e.g., allow for revisions)

• Provide visual, graphic and organizational structures to help students “chunk” information (e.g., graphic organizers, concept maps, reading reflections)

• Encourage self-comparison over social comparison (e.g., reflective prompts, exam wrappers)

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY EXERCISE

Teaching and learning goals can be ordered using Bloom’s Taxonomy

KNOWLEDGE SURVEY

Before today:

A. I had never heard of BT

B. I had heard of BT but couldn’t explain much about it.

C. I could have named the six categories of BT.

D. I could have classified exercises into the six BT categories.

E. I could have made up questions representative of the six categories of BT.

Learning goals can be ordered using Bloom’s Taxonomy – but how do you assess student work?

Remembering

Understanding

Applying

Analyzing

Evaluating

Creating

Degrees of correctness

Right/Wrong answers

Open-ended questions can be used for all categories.

ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING GOALS

Variation in form/content of

answers

More complex questions call for more sophisticated guides and responses

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY INTRODUCTORY EXERCISE 

Apply Bloom’s Taxonomy to classify the assigned tasks and compare your interpretations with others.

Examine the six activities.

Rank the activities from easiest to most challenging.

Rank the activities using Bloom’s Taxonomy. Compare your interpretations with colleagues.

Exercise Bloom’s Taxonomy Level

1. Observing the Earthquake machine R U Ap An E C

2. Introducing topographic maps R U Ap An E C

3. Oil vs. Coal Venn Diagram R U Ap An E C

4. Carbon Cycle Concept Map R U Ap An E C

5. Groundwater Consulting Case R U Ap An E C

6. Comparing Erosion Sources R U Ap An E C

7. Economic Development & Resource Use R U Ap An E C

8. Avoiding a Hurricane: Stay or Go? R U Ap An E C

9. Groundwater Rubric R U Ap An E C

10. Global Warming Definitions R U Ap An E C

11. Who Cares about Phosphate? R U Ap An E C

12. Agricultural Fact Sheet R U Ap An E C

13. Climate of Change Reading Quiz R U Ap An E C

14. Greenland Ice Data R U Ap An E C

15. This Activity R U Ap An E C

Bloom’s Taxonomy Classification ActivityComplete the table below by circling the abbreviation of the appropriate taxonomy level for your assigned exercises.

Exercise Bloom’s Taxonomy Level

1. Observing the Earthquake machine R U Ap An E C

2. Introducing topographic maps R U Ap An E C

3. Oil vs. Coal Venn Diagram R U Ap An E C

4. Carbon Cycle Concept Map R U Ap An E C

5. Groundwater Consulting Case R U Ap An E C

6. Comparing Erosion Sources R U Ap An E C

7. Economic Development & Resource Use R U Ap An E C

8. Avoiding a Hurricane: Stay or Go? R U Ap An E C

9. Groundwater Rubric R U Ap An E C

10. Global Warming Definitions R U Ap An E C

11. Who Cares about Phosphate? R U Ap An E C

12. Agricultural Fact Sheet R U Ap An E C

13. Climate of Change Reading Quiz R U Ap An E C

14. Greenland Ice Data R U Ap An E C

15. This Activity R U Ap An E C

Bloom’s Taxonomy Classification Activity

Teaching and learning goals can be ordered using Bloom’s Taxonomy

KNOWLEDGE SURVEY

At this moment:

A. I have heard of BT

B. I have heard of BT but can’t explain much about it.

C. I can name the six categories of BT.

D. I can classify exercises into the six BT categories.

E. I could make up questions representative of the six categories of BT.

METACOGNITIONKnowledge surveysReading refl ecti onsMinute papers WrappersMastery Quizzes

KNOWLEDGE SURVEY #2

How confident are you that you could create an activity that provides students an opportunity to assess their metacognition?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not confident

Very confident

Imagine that the illustration represents a curved tube lying horizontally on a table.

Identify the trajectory a ball would take after it had traveled through the tube.

When looking only at the confidence of people getting 100% vs. 0% right, it was often impossible to tell who was in which group.

DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT

Williams, Dunning, Kruger, 2013, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, v. 104(6), p.976-994Pacific Standard Magazine, We are all confident idiots, David Dunning, October 27, 2014

IMPORTANCE OF STUDENT REFLECTION

Dunning et al., 2003. Current directions in psychological science, v.12 #3, p.83-87

Low scoring students• overestimated their own

skill level• failed to recognize skill in

others• failed to recognize the

degree of their insufficient knowledge

• recognized their lack of skill, only if they were trained to improve

Students completed a task (e.g., logical reasoning test) and estimated how their score would compare with other students.

Strongest students

underestimated their

performance

Weakest students overestimated their

performance

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STUDENT LEARNING

Personal Characteristics

of Student (age, gender, academic

rank, experience)

Course Context (tasks, grading policy,

pedagogy, instructional resources)

Course Outcomes(effort, interest, performance)

Student self-regulation of

learning(studying and/or learning behaviors, e.g., planning,

monitoring, reflection)

Student motivations(things that drive

learning, e.g., task value, self-efficacy)

Adapted from Pintrich, P. R., & Zusho, A. (2007).

Instructional Design

Learning Process

Mastery

Problem: We don’t know much about the student experience in geoscience classes.

Planning

Action Reflection

Reg

ulatio

n

Students apply specific strategies and tactics to learn material.

Students determine what they need to learn, establish goals, and decide how they will study (choosing strategies and tactics).

Students continue with strategies and tactics they decided worked and change those that didn’t.

*Reflection includes monitoring (keeping track of thoughts, feelings, and behavior), evaluation (comparing results to goals), and analysis (deciding if the approach used is effective and appropriate).

SELF REGULATED LEARNING CYCLE

Students think about what they did and determine why they did or did not meet their goals.*

HOW DO INSTRUCTORS INFLUENCE STUDENT MOTIVATION AND

PREPARATION? Both HP and LP students rely on instructor provided

resources to define learning tasks and to use as tactic tools

Both HP and LP students look for and perceive instructor cues

HP students view instructor assignments as part of their learning/studying process

LP students rely on explicit instructor direction for study strategies

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN FOR INSTRUCTORS?

Instructors may facilitate learning by providing:

Clear learning objectives

Learning objectives that are linked with assessments

Regular assignments with feedback

Opportunities to explicitly reflect on learning processes

Explicit directions on strategies for studying

STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING

Provide opportunities for students to self-evaluate their learning

• Knowledge Surveys• Wrappers• Reading Reflections• Mastery Quizzes• Peer instruction/Think-Pair-Share

1Based on research findings from Zimmerman, B. J. (1989)

Create an environment that fosters learning to learn1

• Encourage self-comparison over social comparison (e.g., reflective prompts, wrappers)

KNOWLEDGE SURVEYS

Students complete a knowledge survey before and after a lesson, module, or part of a course

• Survey questions may focus on content and/or tasks representing different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

KNOWLEDGE SURVEYS EXAMPLES

Continental drift

0. I don’t know what this is.

1. I have heard of this but I can’t describe it.

2. I can give a general description of this.

3. I can give a description of this and how it relates to Pangaea.

4. I can explain this and describe the observations used by Alfred Wegener to describe the assembly of Pangaea.

KNOWLEDGE SURVEYS EXAMPLES

How confident are you that you can complete the following learning objectives?

I can explain Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis and his supporting observations. (Circle the number to indicate your level of confidence.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I can sketch the features and processes associated with a divergent plate boundary. (Place a mark along the line to indicate your level of confidence.)

Not confident

Very confident

Not confident

Very confident

READING REFLECTION

After completing the reading assignment, write brief responses (i.e., at least several sentences) to 2 out of 3 questions: 

1. What is the main point of this reading?

2. What information did you find surprising? Why?

3. What did you find confusing? Why?

K.Wirth, http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/metacognition/activities/27560.html

MINUTE PAPER/MUDDIEST POINT

A short informal writing assignment that typically occurs at the end of a lecture. Write for one minute on the following question:

What is the most important concept that we discussed today?

OR

What was the most confusing point presented in today’s lesson?

OR

What one idea that we talked about today in class most interested you and why?

WHAT ARE WRAPPERS?

A wrapper is an activity that surrounds any pre-existing learning or assessment task and encourages students’ to think about their learning

• Exam Wrapper - short self-monitoring activities that students complete before and/or after an exam

M.C. Lovett, Carnegie Mellon; http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/examwrappers/

EXAM WRAPPER QUESTION TOPICS – BEFORE

1. What are the principal concepts that you expect to see on this exam?

2. As you prepare for the exam, which of the following study strategies do you plan to use?

3. How well do you think you will do on this exam?Not at all well

Very well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• Reading the text book

• Reading lecture notes, handouts

• Summarizing notes/book

• Memorizing key terms

• Making lists of important concepts

• Comparing notes & readings to find common topics

• Creating outlines for topics

• Drawing labeled diagrams

• Asking questions of instructor

• Studying with high-performing peers

EXAM WRAPPER QUESTION TOPICS – AFTER

Select some from the following:1. What score do you think you earned on the exam?

2. How much time did you spend in preparation?

3. Proportion of studying alone vs. w/partners

4. Relative time spent on different class materials (book, lecture notes, homework, study guide, online quizzes)

5. Student self-assessment of performance (good/bad, reasons for result)

6. Student identification of particular topics or skills they did poorly on (provide list)

7. Potential changes in preparation for future examshttp://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/examwrappers/

MASTERY/PRACTICE QUIZZES

Low stakes or no stakes online quiz intended for students to practice answering questions on key concepts. • Uses a databank of questions that are selected by

random or semi-random process• Can be taken for no grade or can be taken multiple

times with only highest score to count• Allows students to become familiar with new

vocabulary and concepts • Students can identify challenging or easy concepts,

become more strategic in allotting study time, effort

Examine the map and answer the question that follows. How many plates are present?

a.

b.

c.

d.

CONCEPTESTS AND PEER INSTRUCTION

McConnell et al., 2006, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, #1, p.61-68.

3 (26%)

4 (19%)

5 (44%)

6 (11%)

Examine the map and answer the question that follows. How many plates are present?

CONCEPTESTS AND PEER INSTRUCTION

McConnell et al., 2006, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, #1, p.61-68.

a. 3 (26%; 0%)

b. 4 (19%; 18%)

c. 5 (44%; 75%)

d. 6 (11%; 7%)

Individual responses

Post-discussion responses

KNOWLEDGE SURVEY #2

How confident are you that you could create an activity that provides students an opportunity to assess their metacognition?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not confident

Very confident

Any Questions?

Introductory Exercise 

Higher order learning

Remember Understand Application Analysis Evaluation Creation

Venn diagram

Concept maps

Performance tasks and rubrics

These types of exercises• help students generate more complete answers• target a range of higher reasoning skills• provide instructors with alternative grading options.

A concept map includes:• core concepts -

usually enclosed in circles or boxes

• arrows connecting concepts and propositions or statements that explain the relationship between concepts

A concept map organizes (synthesizes) information

What is a concept map?

http://edmall.gsfc.nasa.gov/WebQuest/sysmapex.gif

Concept Maps• Comprehension – Provide a partially completed concept

map and a list of terms. Difficulty can vary with number of nodes on map and number of blanks.

• Analysis – Create an incorrect concept map. Ask students how map could be improved.

• Evaluation – Supply students with multiple concept maps and have them rank them from best to worst and justify choices.

• Creation – Provide a concept and have students create a concept map from scratch.

ONE QUESTION STYLE, MANY USES  

What is . . . ? Who, what, when, where, ...? Describe . . .

What would happen if . . . ? What does . . . illustrate about . . .? What is analogous to . . . ?

How could . . . be used to . . . ? What is another example of . . . ?

How does . . . affect . . . ? What are the differences (similarities) between . . . ? How does . . compare or contrast with . .?What is a solution for the problem of . . . ? How would you plan a new . . ? How does X relate to Y?

Why is . . . important? What is the best . . . , and why? Do you agree/disagree that . . . ?

OPEN-ENDED QUESTION STEMS

King, A., 1995, Teaching of Psychology, v. 22, p. 13-17.

Bloom’s Level Question Stems

1. Remembering

2. Understanding

3. Applying

4. Analyzing

5. Evaluating

6. Creating