International Forum on Active Learning Classrooms

At this year's International Forum on Active Learning Classrooms in sunny Minneapolis/St. Paul, the focus of sessions was well balanced between how to accomplish certain administrative processes, implementations, technical issues and why we focus on active learning, evidenced through valuable research that shows the impact active learning has for student success.  The following captures some of my key takeaways from three full days of presentations, workshops, posters, and networking.

Christina Petersen from the University of Minnesota discussed different practices to discern if students in small groups are indeed learning, adding accountability and moments of reflection for individual students and groups. Here are some key strategies she used

• Noise level in class
• Instructor captures student contributions
• Provide specific and clear opportunities for individual students to check in with you
• Provide groups with a plan and elements that need to be covered to be successful in learning in group
• Ask for volunteers
• Call randomly on individuals (with random generator)
• Call on someone but give opportunity to check with table for 30 seconds before the cold call
• Cold call
• all groups participate by making choices (e.g., student response systems or simply paper)

Some of the issues with these are that random and cold calling can be problematic for introverts; however, research shows that cold calling does increase student voluntary participation - and student anxiety. Giving students extra time and allowing to check in with group members may help.

Wait until more hands are raised.

Tracey Birdwell from Indiana University showcased how they provide faculty with opportunities and ideas to come up with dream learning spaces

Derek Bruff from Vanderbilt, drawing on his new book Intentional Tech:  Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching, led us into raising awareness what technology is the most important one - it was a draw between erasable surface and wheels, not too surprising in our group.  He asked us to think about story telling and thin slices of learning (Randy Bass) as ways for students to get more engaged with the materials, create knowledge and artifacts.  He reminded us that our task is to move novices towards expertise, which means we need to be agile teachers to make learning visible.  He also reminded us that volunteer responses from students always come from the same type of students, always about 5-8 students, no matter the class size.

Elizabeth Lugosi, Math faculty at University of Arizona, showed research indicating how active learning in her Math courses had increased the A and B grades and decreased failure rate by 13.4%.

I learned here about pressbooks for the first time, and I saw them again at Educause - more to be explored.  I had some great discussions around my own poster:

Colleagues from Florida International, Uma Swamy and Sonia Underwood, discussed how model building and simulations can make Chemistry more relevant and relatable for students.  Their tools include balloons and gum drops for physical manipulation of molecular structures, but also online simulations.  These models and simulations make it easier for more students to shift from a 2D model of thinking to a 3D model of thinking, vital to understanding chemical structures.

Julian Allen, Georgia State, discussed his research on exploring and overcoming instructor barriers to adopting active learning techniques.  He learned that while faculty think that their students are resistant, it is really more the faculty themselves and their leadership that brings resistance to the table, partially explained by the perception that a space needs to be designed for active learning.

My colleagues Taffye Benson-Clayton and David Crisostomo made our session on inclusion, diversity, equity, and academic development towards active learning a big success. Together, we asked session members to explore IDE through the lenses of the teacher, the administrator, and student success.  We saw quite a few aha moments, and we learned about using a word cloud app to make invisible diversity obvious to everyone in class.

Sarah Grace, University of Arizona, reported on her research that included classroom observations in active learning classrooms.  Her observation tool is somewhat different from others we have seen, and relies on five-minute- chunks. She learned that while more women do active learning, they shift back to lecture after about 20 minutes.  Having learning assistants is very important to keep going with active learning.  Active learning also happens more during 1st year classes (towards the end of the class) than 4th year classes.

Michelle Rossi and Kem Saichaie, UC Davis, shared four practical strategies from the science of learning for some workshop ideas.  Their handouts connect the theory from the science with the practical application (jigsaw) to give faculty the time to think about the science and how this may affect their classes. The four strategies are Retrieval Practice, Interleaving, Spaced Learning, and Explanatory Questioning or Elaborating Interrogation.  Most interesting to me was that Michelle had used this activity as an icebreaker in her lab with undergraduate students, and they used this language throughout the term, even into the student evaluations.

Finally, Sue Wick from U of Minnesota gave us some moments of reflection about the conference, what we learned, its history, and future challenges of student mental health.

Book: The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion

Sarah Rose Cavanagh works through different dimensions of emotion and how they impact learning and therefore teaching and the classroom.  Her big takeaway is to involve our students emotionally in order for them to learn better and persist, stay motivated, and not give (too much) into negative emotions. She reminds us that emotion and cognition are intertwined and connected in our brains (not in separate regions as some folks believe), and that emotions are needed to make quick decisions (think back to Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow), so we as teachers need to be able to recognize student emotions, make sure we have tools to generate positive emotions and handle negative emotions.

If learning is paired with positive emotions, students will believe they are more successful - which may not lead to more learning but will lead to greater willingness to stay engaged with content and that should lead to more learning.  However, positive emotion does not equal entertainment.

The following are some quick notes about each of the chapters, with a couple of resources:  

1. The science and neuroscience of your emotions
   emotions guide our thinking and cannot be separated out from what we consider rational
2. The Wellspring:  emotions enhance learning
   emotions connected to how well we focus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo)
   emotions maximize working memory potential and memory consolidation:  the more memorable the circumstance, the more likely you remember the content- surprise
   emotional contagion:  emotions can be contagious, affective crossover
   Why we hold hands tedtalk:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UMHUPPQ96c
3. Be the Spark. Craft your first and lasting impression:. Active and enthusiastic. Take care of yourself; be mindful and aware of yourself, emotionally authentic; humor relevant to course, confidence and optimism, inclusive pronouns - we learn together
   Flook article Mind brain and education 7(3) 182-95
4. Burning to Master:  make your content relevant, engaging, creating curiosity and confusion, pushing students carefully out of their content comfort zones
5. Fueling the Fire. Prolonging Student Persistence - give students some choices for their assignments as that kind of empowerment will give greater buy-in into their learning; goal setting are also important to foster growth mindset
6. Best-Laid plans. When emotions challenge or backfire. Negative emotions taking over because of anxiety, esp on tests and other high stakes assignment - clarity, transparency
   power struggle - students want to not do the work, so will challenge esp when authority is perceived as not that strong - be transparent, respectful, engaged.  Social loafing

Her conclusion highlights the key ideas (starting on page 212):

1. "Choosing activities, readings, and assignments that are interesting, self-relevant, emotionally evocative, and/or deeply relevant to the future careers of students may be the most powerful organizing principle you have as a teacher" (212). 
Where do you see this in the classes you teach?  Take a moment and identify three moments in your class where you are carefully building into the class these kinds of activities, readings, or assignments.  What do you find?

2. "Practicing full transparency will yield benefits in motivation, heighten student perception of your supportiveness and honesty, decrease student anxiety, and alleviate psychological reactance" (213).
Think back to a moment where your transparency helped your students relax into the content, learn better, and engage more fully with potentially adverse or difficult ideas and concepts.

3. "Teaching is a performance profession, so hone your performance:  transmit confidence, curiosity, optimism, and immediacy in your verbal and nonverbal performance" (213).
How do you practice performance?  Do you stand in front of the mirror for practice?  Do you mark in your lesson plan moments of performance?  Do you reflect on your course and identify moments of performance?