Stephen Crown, UTPA, Mechanical EngineeringTimothy Hill, SJSU, MIS

Deborah Crown, SJSU, College of Business

Challenge-Based Instruction – Transferring the Tools to Multiple

Learning Environments

Abstract

Challenge-Based Instruction – Transferring the Tools to Multiple Learning Environments

Track: Track 1: Innovations in Online Teaching and LearningPresenters: Stephen Crown, Tim Hill, Deborah CrownLocation: Bayshore Foyer Date: Friday August 14th 2009, 4:45 pm to 5:45 pm

Challenge-Based Instruction (CBI) has been piloted in education for the hard sciences, and is emerging as an effective means of fostering adaptive expertise and students’ ability to innovate. This session will examine the principles of CBI, highlight examples of CBI application successes within STEM, and consider how the unique advantages of CBI might be realized in business education and other disciplines. Learning circles will also be used to explore how CBI might be used within other fields of study. Finally, we will open up discussion regarding effective strategies for increasing faculty commitment to this and other emerging instructional advancements.

Outline

• Introductory exercise• Presentation of CBI

– How People Learn– Legacy Cycle– Implementation (VaNTH and CCRAA)– Examples– Designing a Challenge

• Learning Circles• Summative Assessment

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Vegas Card Game Pick the four of spades and win $25 $10 to play Dealer reveals one card ($5 to

change your mind)

Vegas Card GameThe Challenge: Determine the

appropriate odds for this Vegas card game and present a convincing report to Vinnie. Note: Don’t mess with Vinnie

Vegas Card Game

What are the odds? (Probability and Statistics) How can you prove it? (LabView Simulation) Should you play this game? (Efficacy and

Learning)

The Need for Curriculum Reform

• Some minority students lack an equitable number of career influencers and role models within their families and familiar networks

• The lack of significant real world connections to classroom learning early in the curriculum is one reason why minority-STEM students decide to drop-out or transfer out of STEM undergraduate fields

• Focusing primarily on efficiency in early courses can stifle attempts at innovation in later courses

LabView Programming Language

LabView Programming Language

Student Projects Heat Transfer Fin Solver Battle Tanks Four Function Calculator Home Alarm System Hang Man game GPA Calculator Memory Game Drinking Game Lottery Game Temperature Measurement Heliocentric Model of the Solar System Battery Tester Filter Experiment Guitar Tuner Drinking Game

Challenge Based Instruction- CBI

• A form of inductive learning, has been shown to be a more effective approach to the learning process than the traditional deductive pedagogy• Built around the How People Learn (HPL) framework as realized by the STAR Legacy cycle (VaNTH)

•Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press (1999) •Schwartz, D. L, S. Brophy, X. Lin, and J.D. Bransford, “Software for Managing Complex Learning: Examples from an Educational Psychology Course,” Educational Technology Research and Development, Vol. 47, No. 2, 1999, pp. 39–60.

Challenge Based Instruction- CBI

• Teaching backwards: Problem/Challenge first, supporting theory second• Focuses on student retention and student adaptive expertise• Emphasis placed on formative assessment• Makes full use of technology to provide asynchronous feedback, support, and instruction

How People Learn - HPL

• A knowledge centered environment provides students with tools to organize knowledge that is accessible

• A learner centered environment works within the context of what students already know and believe.

• A community centered environment gives students the opportunity to learn through interactions with peers, the instructor, and the professional community.

• An assessment centered environment relies on formative assessment to provide the student with feedback on their learning through correction and guidance

• The learning environments are complimentary and should all be present in effective student learning environments

Legacy Cycle

Legacy Cycle

• The Challenge: A real life and open ended question that engages students and brings them to a place of inquiry about specific course content. Challenges generally grow in complexity with each cycle and draw on previous course content. Learner centered.

Legacy Cycle

• Generate ideas: Students are asked to generate a list of issues and answers that they think are relevant to the challenge; to share ideas with fellow students; and to appreciate which ideas are “new” and to revise their list. Learner and community centered.

Legacy Cycle

• Multiple perspectives: The student is asked to elicit ideas and approaches concerning this challenge from “experts.” Community and knowledge centered.

Legacy Cycle

• Research and revise: Reference materials including lecture content to help the student reach the goals of exploring the challenge and to revise their original ideas are introduced here. Typically this step and the next are revisited in several iterations. Knowledge and learner centered.

Legacy Cycle

• Test your mettle: Formative assessment is used to direct students to review previous step or to return for additional instruction. Summative instructional events are presented before moving on to the final step. Knowledge, learner, and assessment centered.

Legacy Cycle

• Go public: This is a high stakes motivating component introduced to motivate the student to do well. Knowledge, learner, and assessment centered.

Implementation - VaNTH

VaNTH Engineering Research Centerhttp://www.vanth.org

Implementation - CCRAA

College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) grant from the US Department of Education for Hispanic serving institutions (HSI)

• $100 million / yr

• 2 years of funding

• Focus on STEM and 2 and 4 year institution collaboration

South Texas Initiative• “Increasing Student Access, Retention, and

Graduation Through an Integrated STEM Pathways Support Initiative for the Rio South Texas Region”

• Collaboration between The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and South Texas College (STC) to facilitate student engagement and success in STEM areas

• Project Goals: Increase enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in STEM fields

• $1.2 Million / yr• October 2008 - September 2010

South Texas Initiative

UTPA

• South Texas (Edinburg, Texas)• Component of the University of Texas System• Comprehensive University• 17,500 students, 85% are of Hispanic, mostly

low-income, primarily commuter students• 76% are also first-generation college students

STC

• Similar student demographics to UTPA• Began as Community College (STCC) in 1993.• 22,000 students• Two Bachelor’s degrees (Applied Technology

and Technology Management)

80 faculty trained in CBI Students exposed to CBI in 80 STEM courses CBI fully integrated into 10 courses supporting engineering

Calculus I and II, Physics I, Introduction to Engineering, Statics, Dynamics, Engineering Graphics, Mechanics of Solids, Measurements and Instrumentation, Introduction to STEM

CBI Implementation

CBI - Curriculum Reform

• NSF’s VaNTH ERC studies have shown student learning improvement (in particular, AE) within the Biomedical Engineering student populations of its core institutions (Vanderbilt-Northwestern-Texas-Harvard/MIT)

• One common course at UTPA (Intro. to Comp. Biomech.)– Technical elective at UT-Austin and at UTPA– UTPA course comprised of VaNTH CBI learning modules–Effect size indicates a 78% probability that a student from the UTPA (experimental) group will learn a greater amount than a student from the UT Austin (control) group

CBI - Faculty Development

• Train, mentor, and support a cadre of highly qualified STEM faculty in innovative inductive teaching methodologies that will have a broad and measurable positive impact on STEM faculty and students (i.e., LC implementation of HPL inspired CBI)

• Two-day workshops on the theory, impact, and design of CBI methods (by key VaNTH personnel)

• Mentoring workdays provided on CBI implementation, and faculty support through a web-based “Teaching Toolbox”

•Participant stipends

CBI - Faculty Development

CBI – Designing Challenges

CBI – Learning to use Technology

Outcomes - Faculty Development

• Faculty receive over 20 hours of mentoring and instruction

• Faculty will have developed CBI content that can be delivered and assessed in 80 courses

• Widespread implementation of CBI will allow for a study of its overall impact on teaching effectiveness and efficiency in learning

• The expected outcome is that this implementation of CBI will produce a measurable increase in both student learning, retention, and adaptive expertise

Example in Statics

Your company’s’ bridge has failed and it is your job as the new design engineer to determine what could have caused the failure of the bridge and, as much as possible, defend the company. Is your company liable for the accident?

Examples in Engineering Graphics

How do you design and create a challenging and entertaining cube puzzle?

Virtual CAD World

A call has gone out to the people of the local villages to assemble a force that will drive out the rebel group occupying the fortress.  There is a need for new recruits to be trained in the use of CAD (Computer Aided Design).  New recruits are to report to Caius in the training center at once.  Enjoy your time here but take your training seriously as future generations of the virtual world are depending on your success.

Virtual CAD World

Virtual CAD World

You and your classmates are invited to take up residence in one of the local villages.  To get started first pick up a housing application at the next window.  The clerk behind the sales counter will be able to help you in the purchase of a home.  Your home is a place where you can display your individual work.  Visitors will periodically enter your home to view your work so take to keep it orderly and appropriate for visitors.

Designing a Challenge

• Identify significant course objectives and concepts• Ensure that formative and summative assessment

is practical• Students must have some insight as to addressing

the challenge (ideas, concepts, etc.)• Students must recognize deficiencies in their

understanding of related concepts• Challenge must engage students• Challenge should be a real world problem04/19/23 41

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Critical Thinking Skills: It is imperative to develop a child's critical thinking skills. By developing a child's critical thinking, they become better able to respond to problems presented to them. Through this challenge, the child will be better able to analyze information presented to them and develop an independent solution with reason.

Learning Objectives

• Primary Objectives - By the next class period students will be able to:

– Understand the benefits of playing a game with a plan in mind – More effectively participate in critical thinking games

• Sub Objectives - The objectives will require that students be able to: – Express their ideas without reserve – Willingly desire to triumph in critical thinking games

• Difficulties - Students may have difficulty at first in understanding the strategy presented to them.

• Real-World Contexts - Good critical thinking skills benefit one by allowing them to see problems differently and think things through so that they may form a solution.

Model of Knowledge

Concept Map Content Priorities

Enduring Understanding Understand how to solve higher level critical thinking skills

problems Important to Do and Know

Formulate ideas independently Worth Being Familiar with

Describe a persons physical attributes when presented with a photograph

Assessment of Learning

• Formative Assessment – In Class (groups)

• Students will play the "Guess Who" game

• Summative Assessment – Students will play "20 Questions"

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The Challenge

How can one play the “Guess Who” game and be the first one to guess the correct person / thing?

Learning Circles

• Break into 3 groups• Discuss: Do you believe that CBI might have a

positive impact on learning in your field of interest?– Discuss: What obstacles do you envision?– Discuss: What is a possible challenge question for a

course you teach?

• Discuss: How might you use technology with CBI in your own fields, programs, courses?

Summative Assessment

• Reporting back by groups– CBI in your field

• Obstacles• Challenge questions

– Interface of technology

• Building a Network

• Conclusions