Download - Changing the way we teach Ian Clark University of South AustraliaUniversity of South Carolina
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Changing the way we teach
Ian Clark
University of South AustraliaUniversity of South Carolina
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Acknowledgements Dr Yvonne Zeegers from the School of
Education, UniSA made a significant contribution to the planning and development of this project.
Professor Patrick James and Dr Christopher Clark (Uni Adelaide) helped with the field teaching
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Introduction Purpose and background to the study
Teaching methodology
Evaluation of teaching & learning
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Purpose of the Study Promote meaningful learning Make students responsible for their own
learning Demonstrate that constructivist
methods are appropriate in tertiary classroom Confine content Control products
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Purpose Action research
Pilot methodologies Investigate various methods of collecting data
We know what we are doing works, but how do we show it
Limitations of the research No control group Uncontrolled variables
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Background Nature of the course
Taught for 5 years prior to this Optional, full semester course Final year course for Env Mgt students 4th year course for double degree students
Eng/Env Mgt About 30 students/year
Most had completed same introductory earth science course
Few had another introductory earth science coursecouple had no previous experience
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Background Course content
Introduction to the Earth System Biogeochemical evolution of the Earth Mass extinction Bolide impacts Greenhouse/icehouse – Snowball Earth Cambrian-Precambrian boundary
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Background Nature of the Problem
Traditional didactic teaching methods Lectures, laboratories, show-&-tell fieldwork,
assignments & exams Student Evaluations
Students not engaged Assessment
Rote knowledge Lack of understanding Poor performance on higher order thinking skills
Problem-solving, analysis, synthesis, evaluation
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Teaching methodology Constructivist approach
All learners construct their own ideas about the world
Learners actively construct knowledge and meaning from their interpretation of what is happening around them, based on their own experiences and understandings
Learning is an interpretive process that entails challenging and enriching one’s own thinking
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Constructivist Teaching
No single teaching approach is always most suitable
Constructivist approach demands a teaching style that differs greatly from traditional “chalk & talk”
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Teaching Approach De-emphasised traditional content-
driven approach Recognised enormous possible scope of
content Acknowledged it was too great for time
allocated
Encouraged students to think about their own learning Assess their needs Explore an area of interest
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Teaching Approach Teaching strategies focussed on:
Eliciting students’ prior knowledge;
Providing a range of exploratory activities designed to engage and challenge students’ thinking;
Providing opportunities for students to raise questions and then investigate an area of interest
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Eliciting students’ prior knowledge
what the students already knew about the ‘Earth System’
activity served two purposes to challenge the students’ thinking in ways
that made them consider what they already knew, and then what more they wanted to know about the Earth System
to collect information that would assist us to plan the content of future workshops
Post Box technique
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Post-box questions What do you think the term “Earth System”
means? What are three (3) things that are currently
having an impact on the Earth System? What are two (2) things that have occurred in
the Earth’s past that have had an impact on the Earth System?
What are two things that could be done to protect the Earth System?
What are two (2) things about the Earth System that you would like to know more about?
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Exploratory Activities
Two sets The first activity made links to concepts that
the students had been introduced to in previous courses (in classroom)
The second was to demonstrate evidence that has been used to develop a model for the evolution of the Earth System (in field)
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Teaching Approach Encouraged interpretive discussions
Change in roles Lecturer became a facilitator Student changed from a “ passive absorber
of knowledge” to an active participant taking responsibility for learning
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Teaching methodology
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Explain how this rock might have formed?
Clasts angular
Clasts unsorted
Range of compositions
Conclusion: probably glacial
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Explain how this rock might have formed?
New information
Rock formed near sea-level, near equator
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Teaching methodology
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Teaching methodology
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Teaching Approach Teaching strategies focussed on:
Eliciting students’ prior knowledge;
Providing a range of exploratory activities designed to engage and challenge students’ thinking;
Providing opportunities for students to raise questions and then investigate an area of interest
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Field notebooks Traditional use
Record observations Record what instructor says
Added use Record questions
Provided the students with a mechanism for reflecting on their learning
Provided us with a means of gaining some insight into the development of their thoughts and understandings about the Earth System
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Raising Questions Questions were a pivotal part of the
teaching and learning approach Big and little questions
Little question ‘What causes the layers to become tilted?’
Big question What caused Snowball Earth to return to normal
Earth?’
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Evaluation of Teaching & Learning
Comparison of marks
Student evaluation of teaching questionnaires
Focus group interviews
Informal observations
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Results Comparison of marks
Traditional teaching
Constructivist teaching
High +ve correlation with other courses
High +ve correlation with other courses
No significance difference between course means
significant difference between this course mean and 2 of the other 3
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Results Student evaluation of teaching
questionnaires
Summative part – 10 questions –7 point Likert scale
Mean = 5.59 SD = 0.25
All questions skewed towards Strongly Agree
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0
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Q1*Q2Q3
Q 1 Aims & objectives clear from outsetQ2 Staff member made course interestingQ3 Staff member motivated me to do my best work.
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0
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7
*Q4*Q5Q6*
Q 4 provided adequate opportunities for me to pursue my own learning
Q5 Staff member helped me develop my understandingQ6 Staff member displayed genuine interest in my learning
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0
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0 0 0 0 7 13 5
Q7Q8Q9Q10
Q 7 gave me helpful feedbackQ8 Staff member used up-to-date T&L approachesQ9 made University grad qualities clearQ10 overall satisfaction
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ResultsQ11- The course was taught in a way that facilitated
my learning.
02468
101214
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Score
Fre
quen
cy
OldNew
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Results
Q19- My understanding of the subject has been increased as a result of the way this course has been
taught.
0
5
10
15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Score
Fre
quen
cy
OldNew
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Results
Q20-My learning has been enhanced by the way this course was taught.
0
5
10
15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Score
Fre
quen
cy
OldNew
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Results Student evaluation of teaching
questionnaires
Formative part What were the best parts
Field work Being able to choose own topic “none-the teaching sucks”
How could teaching method be improved More help in refining the research question Give more information (small number) Have more lectures (one person)
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Results Focus Group
Question 1 – Do you think the emphasis on recording (in your notebooks) your questions for later discussion & clarification helped your learning?
All students agreed. Several thought more time should have been spent addressing the questions. It was considered especially helpful when completing the research project. There was strong agreement that the process aided learning.
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Results Focus Group
Question 2 – Did the process of framing your own research question make a difference to the way you approached the assignment
The response was mixed (No = 4 Yes = 3) Those who did not like the process wanted more direction such as a set of questions to choose from. Others liked the freedom to pursue a topic of interest. There was also some concern about conflicting ideas in the literature
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Results Focus Group
Question 3 – Did you perceive the workload for this course to be any different to that of other courses that you have or are doing?
• The consensus was no difference, but some students spent more time researching their question than they would normally have done for a set question
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Results Focus Group
Question 4 – Do you think this approach to teaching helped your learning
• All agreed that it was better than ‘lecture, classroom’ approach; it encouraged thinking; students gained better understanding. It was suggested that it suited some students more than others
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Results Focus Group
Question 5 – In what ways do you think this approach to teaching affected your learning?
• No consistent theme in answers to this question.
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Results Student cohorts
No significant difference in marks between student groups (EM, Eng, etc.)
Content Students’ assignment questions very similar
to those used during the more traditional approach
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Conclusions Generally +ve evaluations suggest students
like method Evidence suggests that this approach does not
disadvantage students Possible to confine content Improvements
Allow more time for students to develop their questions
Explain the methodology better to students Introduce the method earlier in program
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Conclusions
Improving Student learning As Ramsden (1988) asserts,
“improving learning is about the relations between the learner and the course matter and an essential aspect of teaching and learning is to understand the students’ perspectives, their perceptions of learning and their previous experiences”.
However we also need to be aware that students’ perspectives of what supports their learning is not necessarily the same for each student, nor the same as that of the instructor
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Adelaide Fold Belt Intracratonic trough Continuous deposition
from ~900-500 mya 24 km of shallow water
clastics & carbonates Deformation produced
broad open folds & faults Exposed ever since
Outcrop
Adelaide
Brachina Gorge
Probable extent
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Corridor through time
Brachina Gorge15 kilometres
Wilk
awill
ina
FmPa
rach
ilina
Fm
Poun
d Q
tzW
onok
a Fm
Bun
yero
o Fm
AB
C R
ange
qua
rtzi
te
Bra
chin
a Fm
Nuc
cale
ena
Dol
omite
Ela
tina
Fm F
mT
rezo
na F
m
Eno
ram
a Fm
Etin
a Fm
Precambrian/Cambrian boundary
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Features of Corridor Through Time
Stromatolites
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Features of Corridor Through Time
Ejecta layer
Volcanic fragment
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Features of Corridor
Through Time
Ediacara fossil layer
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ArchaeocyathaEarly Cambrian fossils