Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology1 Creating a Balanced Course

Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology 1

Creating a Balanced CourseCreating a Balanced Course


What needs to be balanced?What needs to be balanced?

• Content vs. Process Learning

• Formative vs. Summative Evaluation

• Passive vs. Active Learning

Feedback is what lets us know we have the balance right


Process vs. ContentProcess vs. Content

ContentProcess

How What


In The PastIn The Past

Content

Process


Why is process important?Why is process important?

• The knowledge base for disciplines is constantly expanding and changing. No one can ever learn everything, but everyone can better develop their skills and nurture the inquiring attitudes necessary to continue the generation and examination of knowledge throughout their lives.

• Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. Facts change, and information is readily available -- what's needed is an understanding of how to get and make sense of the mass of data.

• http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html


How much content is enough?How much content is enough?

• For students, the experience of learning is mostly a balance tipped far in favor of content over process, and so they master the material, but leave the course having learned little. And we in higher education have yet to confront central questions as to the role and function of content in learning. How much content is enough? … How much of what’s covered winds up being learned deeply and permanently so that it can be applied and used?”

Maryellen Weimer - http://www.upei.ca/stlhe/html/e_speakers.html


Learning GoalLearning Goal

• The question is not “can I teach them everything they need to know.” Even if we were able to do this (which we are not) it should not be our goal. The question is “what is the minimum amount I can teach that will enable them to learn more on their own.”

• Remember the process used to learn new content is more important than the content itself.


From what to howFrom what to how

• The focus of our teaching must shift to more “how we come to know” and less on “what we know”

• In COMP 1813 a shift from just memorizing commands to producing a product.

• This works both on an individual basis and/or as part of a group.

• New Blooms


How do or would you evaluate process?How do or would you evaluate process?


Formative vs. Summative evaluationFormative vs. Summative evaluation

Summative – evaluation of student or instructor regarding their final level of knowledge and/or skill. Typically done using: major tests, exams, term projects and course evaluations.

Formative - assessment of a person’s current knowledge and/or skill level with the goal of improving it. Typically done using; quizzes, short papers and surveys.

Material

Form Form

Sum


Formative vs. SummativeFormative vs. Summative

• The tendency is to provide more summative evaluations of students than formative ones.

• Adding more quizzes to COMP 1813


Repetition CountsRepetition Counts

• One way to think about it is to consider how many chances the students get cover the material again as this has a direct impact on what they will remember six months later:

1 - I forgot it all

2 - I remember it was covered

3 - I know something about it

4 - I know most of it

5 - I remember it


Criterion-referenced and norm-referenced Criterion-referenced and norm-referenced

• Criterion referenced assessment, as the name implies, occurs when candidates are measured against defined (and objective) criteria. Criterion referenced assessment is often, but not always, used to establish a person’s competence (whether s/he can do something).

• Norm-referenced assessment is not measured against defined criteria. This type of assessment is relative to the student body undertaking the assessment. It is effectively a way of comparing students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessment


Formative assessment using criterion?Formative assessment using criterion?


What is active learning? What is active learning?

• Active learning is simply having students engage in some activity that forces them to think about and comment on the information presented.

Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.

–Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson, “Seven Principles for Good Practice,” AAHEBulletin 39: 3-7, March 1987


Active learning builds KnowledgeActive learning builds Knowledge

• We learn 20 percent of what we both see and hear.

• We learn 80 percent of what we experience actively or practice.

Information Transfer

Material Student

KnowledgeBuilding

Student Apply

LearningRetained

Student Material


Use of Class TimeUse of Class Time


KnowledgeBuilding

LearningRetained

Lecture Lecture & Activity

1 hour

½ hour


Use of Class TimeUse of Class Time


KnowledgeBuilding

LearningRetained

Lecture Lecture & Activity

1 hour

½ hour


Active learning Examples Active learning Examples

• Group work– Presenting topics or reporting on research

• Role plays – Acting our an historical event or representing physical forces

• Case studies– Real world scenario that requires an action (messy)

• Guided Imagery Exercise– Putting your self in history or watching a chemical reaction take place

• Problem Based Learning– Constructing solutions to open-ended and complex problems


How do or would I use active learning?How do or would I use active learning?


Feedback helps us create a balanced courseFeedback helps us create a balanced course

• Feedback allows us to modify the course to better meet the needs of the students. Provides clear direction on how they can improve their teaching style. Creates a deeper relationship between themselves and the students.

Content vs. Process Learning

Formative vs. Summative Evaluation

Passive vs. Active Learning


• I didn't understand – the history of computers. It was too quick. Will those

ppt notes go up on acme?

• I would like to learn more about– i would like to learn more about how bits and bytes

actually work

• I really liked– Doing the hands on work ie: creating folders etc

because I found it was easier to learn it when we were actually doing the work rather than listening to you explain about it.

Thinking about this week in COMP 1813Thinking about this week in COMP 1813

Documents

Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology1 Creating a Balanced Course