scholarly journals Improved Student Learning through a Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed a Large-Enrollment Course from Lecture to Student Centered

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. ar22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily R. Elliott ◽  
Robert D. Reason ◽  
Clark R. Coffman ◽  
Eric J. Gangloff ◽  
Jeffrey R. Raker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Large Enrollment

Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture setting. To support this change, we set up a faculty learning community (FLC) in which instructors develop new pedagogies, adapt active-learning strategies to large courses, discuss challenges and progress, critique and revise classroom interventions, and share materials. We present data on how the collaborative work of the FLC led to increased implementation of active-learning strategies and a concurrent improvement in student learning. Interestingly, student learning gains correlate with the percentage of classroom time spent in active-learning modes. Furthermore, student attitudes toward learning biology are weakly positively correlated with these learning gains. At our institution, the FLC framework serves as an agent of iterative emergent change, resulting in the creation of a more student-centered course that better supports learning.

Undergraduate Biology Instructors Still Use Mostly Teacher-Centered Discourse Even When Teaching with Active Learning Strategies

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 901-913
Author(s):  
Petra Kranzfelder ◽  
Jennifer L Bankers-Fulbright ◽  
Marcos E García-Ojeda ◽  
Marin Melloy ◽  
Sagal Mohammed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Dialogic Discourse ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Science

Abstract Reform efforts in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction often emphasize student-centered teaching approaches, but relatively little attention is paid to the way STEM teachers use discourse when interacting with their students. In the present study, we examined the instructional and discourse behaviors of biology faculty members (N = 20) teaching in undergraduate biology classes. Although we found that the biology teachers spent most of their time guiding student learning in active learning activities and less time presenting, an analysis of their classroom communicative approaches showed that the participants mostly used authoritative and not dialogic discourse to teach biology content. Similarly, we found a strong positive correlation between biology teachers guiding student learning and authoritative, interactive approaches, suggesting that these teachers mostly asked the students to recall facts or basic concepts rather than asking them to collaboratively build knowledge. We describe the implications of these findings and our results for undergraduate biology instruction.

scholarly journals Are the Sequential Interactive Effects of Two Active Learning Strategies Synergistic? The Use of the Socratic Method of Questioning and Ability Based Learning Techniques to Enhance Student Learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
La Shun L. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Gainful Employment ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Enhance Student Learning

If students do not fully apply themselves, then they may be considered responsible for the result of being inadequately prepared. +- Nevertheless, student outcomes are more likely to reflect a combination of both effort and systematic problems with overall course architecture. Deficiencies in course design result in inadequate preparation that adversely and directly impacts students’ productivity upon entering the workforce.  Such an impact negatively influences students' ability to maintain gainful employment and provide for their families, which inevitably contributes to the development of issues concerning their psychological well-being.  It is well-documented that incorporating active learning strategies in course design and delivery can enhance student learning outcomes.  Despite the benefit of implementing active learning techniques, rarely in the real world will it be possible for techniques to be used in isolation of one another.  Therefore, the purpose of this proposed study is to determine the interactive effects of two active learning strategies because, at a minimum, technique-pairs more accurately represent the application of active learning in the natural educational setting.  There is a paucity of evidence in the literature directed toward investigating the interactive effects of multiple active learning techniques that this study is aimed at filling.  The significance of this research is that, by determining the interactive effects of paired active learning strategies, other research studies on the beneficial effects of using particular active learning technique-pairs will be documented contributing to the literature so that ultimately classroom instruction may be customized according to the determination of optimal sequencing of strategy-pairs for particular courses, subjects, and desired outcomes that maximize student learning.

scholarly journals IMPEDIMENTS FACED BY TEACHERS IN APPLYING ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN LANGUAGE CLASSES IN ENHANCING LISTENING SKILLS

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
V. Maithri ◽  
P. Suresh
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Middle Schools ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Survey Form ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Blended Teaching

Purpose: The study analyses how active learning strategies can improve the learners’ language skills especially the listening skills with the use of various active learning strategies and blended teaching. It also shed light on the aim and purpose of certain strategies that will make the class more student-centered and engages the learners actively. It supports the constructivist approach a theory that underlies active learning. The study involves a survey conducted in some private, semi-urban, CBSE, middle schools in Chennai on the English teachers in understanding their opinion on using active learning strategies in class to enhance the learners’ language skills in a day-to-day classroom. The data collected from the survey form and details from one-on-one interaction with teachers will help the researcher learn the impediments faced by the teachers in implementing these strategies in the classroom. Methodology: The survey sheet is a questionnaire that focuses on the teacher’s classroom practices. It involves certain aspects such as Teaching methodology, teaching strategies, assessments, Feedback and its efficacy and Teacher attitude towards students. The questionnaire besides MCQs also had some one-line questions to which teachers had to answer. The survey was conducted on 50 teachers from 6 different schools teaching English in Middle schools of the semi-urban area of Chennai. Main Findings: The various barriers faced by the teachers in implementing active learning strategies are found in the survey conducted. It was also observed that there was some dearth of knowledge among teachers in the contemporary theories that lead to the resistance of the teachers in conducting the activities. Application: The methods mentioned in the paper can be adopted by teachers who also feel that the major reasons for their resistance in using active learning strategies in their day-to-day class are categorically similar to the reasons mentioned in the paper. Novelty: The methods suggested in the paper are a combination of active learning which is a theory predominantly based on constructivism and blended teaching. Although the reasons mentioned by the teachers in the survey are major limitations in planning an active learning class, these can be controlled to an extent by planning these strategies with resources suitable to one’s learner group and using certain active learning strategies in class with the students.

scholarly journals Implementation of a Learning Assistant Program Improves Student Performance on Higher-Order Assessments

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. ar62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Sellami ◽  
Shanna Shaked ◽  
Frank A. Laski ◽  
Kevin M. Eagan ◽  
Erin R. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Large Enrollment ◽  
Curricular Transformation ◽  
Positive Effect

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of active learning. To determine the effect that LAs would have beyond a student-centered instructional modality that integrated active learning, we introduced an LA program into a large-enrollment introductory molecular biology course that had already undergone a pedagogical transformation to a highly structured, flipped (HSF) format. We used questions from a concept test (CT) and exams to compare student performance in LA-supported HSF courses with student performance in courses without LAs. Students in the LA-supported course did perform better on exam questions common to both HSF course modalities but not on the CT. In particular, LA-supported students’ scores were higher on common exam questions requiring higher-order cognitive skills, which LAs were trained to foster. Additionally, underrepresented minority (URM) students particularly benefited from LA implementation. These findings suggest that LAs may provide additional learning benefits to students beyond the use of active learning, especially for URM students.

scholarly journals Wicked Problems Through a New Lens: Combining Active Learning Strategies for Solutions-Oriented Teaching

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Elizabeth Bishop-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Large Complex ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Active Learning Strategies

Abstract: Wicked problems are large, complex problems involving multiple perspectives that present substantial future challenges. These challenges can be overwhelming for learners and pose difficulties in teaching for instructors. Herein a solutions-oriented teaching strategy that amalgamates proven active learning strategies is presented along with a step-by-step guide and materials list. Evidence of student learning is provided. This strategy provides students the opportunity to view complex, wicked problems from multiple perspectives and to visualize their role in future solutions.

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