cultivating understanding of student and faculty classroom expectations 2011-2012 lilly graduate...

From Seed to STEM

Cultivating Understanding of Student and Faculty Classroom Expectations2011-2012 Lilly Graduate Fellows:Presenters: Elise Larsen, Karl SchmittAndrea Andrew, Abdel-Hameed Badawy, Mara Dougherty, Katie Marie Hrapczynski, Matthew Walker Miller, Breanne Robertson, Artesha Taylor Sharma

Sponsored by UMD’s Center for Teaching Excellence

Co-Investigators: Spencer Benson, Sabrina Kramer, Alexis Williams

Sowing the Seeds…

• Student expectations for a course?• Teaching techniques?• Technologies and tools?• Different Assessments?

• Student expectations for instructors?• Types of Communication?

Sowing the Seeds.. II

• Do these student expectations match faculty’s impressions?

• How can we identify similarities and discrepancies?

• How do we address these?

Cultivating the Garden…• Motivation and Introduction

• Summary of (Pilot) Tool & Responses

• Audience Choice of Two Data-sets

• Misconceptions Students think Faculty Have

• Conclusions & Discussion

A Simple, Deployable Seed (Tool)

Tool Requirements:• Address areas of concern raised previously-

• Learning Activities• Learning Assessments• Technology• Instructor Communication

• Broad Applicability• Appropriate length• Sufficiently Informative• Flexibility

Participant Summary

Pilot Student Survey Instructor Survey

29%

20%28%

23%Class Distri-

bution

Freshman Sophmore

Junior Senior

73%

27%Major Dis-tribution

STEM Non-STEM

43%

27%

29%Position Dis-

tribution

Tenure & Tenure-Track

Other Instructors

Graduate Students / TAs

288 instructors across all disciplines at UMDCP

27 Instructors; 25 courses 816 students enrolled in

STEM courses

Fruits of our LaborWhich would you like to discuss?

Afterwards:Misconceptions Students think Faculty have…..

1. Learning Activities Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations

2. Learning Assessment Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation

3. Technology PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media

4. Instructor Communication Types of Communication/Availability- Office Hours, Classroom,

Non-Office Hours, Naming





Non-Office Hours, Names

Activities

Assessment

Technology Instructor



Learning Activities: Which do you think students expect the most?

1 2 3 4 5

0%

33% 33%

0%

33%1. Study Guides2. Discussions3. Readings4. Demonstrations5. Chalk-/White-

board

Learning Activities IIExpectation of Learning Components

Stud

y Gui

des

Discus

sions

Reading

s

Demon

stra

tions

Chalkbo

ard/

WB

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Students Faculty Perception Spring 2012

Learning Activities III

Study Guides Discussions Readings Demonstrations Chalkboard/WB0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

Expectation of Learning Activity Components by Class

Spring 2012


25%

25%

25%

25%







Activities

Assessment


Learning Assessment: Which do you think students expect the most?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0% 0%

50%

0%

50%

0%0%

1. Multiple Choice Exams

2. Essay-Based Exams

3. Individual Projects4. Group Projects5. Written Papers6. Homework7. Class Participation

Learning Assessment IIExpectations of Learning Assessment Components

Multiple ch

oice Ex

ams

Essay

-based Ex

ams

Individual

projects

Writt

en pap

ers

Group Projects

Homework

Studen

t parti

cipati

on0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Student Faculty Perception Spring 2012

Learning Assessment III

Mul

tiple

Cho

ice E

xam

s

Essa

y-Bas

ed E

xam

s

Indi

vidu

al P

roje

cts

Group

Pro

ject

s

Writ

ten

Pape

rs

Homew

ork

Class

Par

ticip

atio

n0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Expectations of Learning Assessment Components by Class

Spring 2012


25%

25%

25%

25%







Activities

Assessment


Technology: Which do you think students expect the most?

1 2 3 4 5

50%

0% 0%0%

50%1. PowerPoint2. Learning

Management System (ELMS, etc)

3. E-Textbooks4. Social Media5. Clickers

Technology IIExpectations of Technology Components

Powerpoint

Learn

ing Man

agem

ent S

ystem

e-Tex

tbooks

Socia

l Med

ia

Clicke

rs0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Technology III

Powerpoint

Learn

ing Man

agem

ent S

ystem

e-Tex

tbooks

Socia

l Med

ia

Clicke

rs0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Expectations of Technology Components by Class

Spring 2012


25%

25%

25%

25%







Activities

Assessment


Instructor: Which do you think students expect the most?

1 2 3 4

25% 25%25%25%1. Office Hours2. Interaction with

Students in Class3. Accessibility

Outside Office Hours

4. Know Student Names

Instructor II: AvailabilityExpectations for Each Instructor Component

Office Hours Interaction with Students in Class

Accessible Outside Office Hours

Know Student Names

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Instructor III: Availability

0%20%40%60%80%

100%


Expectations for Each Instructor Component by Class

Spring 2012


25%

25%

25%

25%







Activities

Assessment


Student Opinions of Faculty Misconceptions

• Open-Ended Question:• “What misconceptions do you think faculty have about students?”

• 473 student responses


• What themes do you think were voiced in their responses?


• We identified the following themes in student responses:

•Dominate Themes (>100):-Student time commitments-Student effort, attitude

• Secondary Themes (~40):- Effectiveness of pedagogy- Pace and student

comprehension

• Tertiary Themes (<30):- Students goals and grades - Teaching tools- Prerequisites - Student-instructor

communication- Major or class specific comments - Other- Cheating - No Misconceptions

Student Opinions of Faculty MisconceptionsStudent time commitments (130 responses)

“I think professors frequently underestimate the average workload of a full-time student”

“[Some faculty believe] That we are only in THEIR class and don't take any other time-consuming courses or have jobs “

“They forget not all the students are traditional college students some work a lot and have responsibilities beyond school”

Student Opinions of Faculty MisconceptionsStudent effort & attitude (145 responses)

“[Faculty believe] That students are lazy and try to take the easy way out whenever possible”

“[Faculty believe] That our grades on exams directly correlate to how we feel about the course material..i.e. a bad exam grade means the student does not care”

“[Faculty believe] That if they don't show up to office hours/review sessions then they do not care about their grades”

“[Faculty believe] That we only want to get a good grade and typically aren't very interested in learning. Or that we should know everything we are told to learn, even when that includes minor details that aren't emphasized in lecture”

Student Opinions of Faculty MisconceptionsPedagogy (49 responses)

Faculty believe “That students prefer an excessive amount of "easy" questions on exams in comparison to a shorter amount of more difficult questions. “

“When teaching a large class, it is easy to overlook the fact that there are individuals in your class with individual needs. Also, I feel that chemistry professors in particular have trouble explaining concepts to students. They assume that it makes sense to the students because it makes sense to them.”

Faculty believe “That PowerPoints are an effective teaching method. They are good for presentation of material, not retention. A presenter is not synonymous with a teacher.”

Student Opinions of Faculty MisconceptionsMany students touched on several themes:

“[Faculty believe] That we don't want to learn -- if we show up to class, we are there to learn -- it is not hard to "skip" a class. In that vein, if we are in class, please -- do not baby us, do not mock us for asking questions, and do not waste your time or ours going into information that is irrelevant. Good lectures are key to a good class, whether or not the course material is interesting.”

“I think they think that if we are using our lap tops we are on facebook but that is not always true. I also think they think we don't do the reading but in reality many people do, its just that there is so much reading that it might take a few reminders of which reading we are talking about before the faculty should jump to the conclusion that no body did the reading.”

Conclusions

• Students and instructors do not always agree on expectations

• Many students feel that instructors do not value student time, attitude and effort.

• This tool provides an opportunity early in the semester for instructors and students to communicate about expectations in the classroom

Thanks

• UMCP Center for Teaching Excellence• Spencer Benson, Sabrina Kramer, Alexis Williams

• Instructors and students who participated in the surveys

• Faculty who distributed the student survey

cultivating understanding of student and faculty classroom expectations 2011-2012 lilly graduate...

Documents

misconceptions students

courses816 students

nonoffice hours

office hoursinteraction

student responsesfruits

study guides

stem expectations

conclusions discussion