Connecting Teaching and Research:Is it the Impossible Dream?

Donna M. Qualters, Ph.D.Director/Associate Professor

Northeastern University

Minority Faculty Development Forum

Washington, D.C.August 1, 2006

Objectives:

Be exposed to some interesting (intriguing) research on the teaching/research nexus

Understand “Backward Design” process as a possible means to incorporate research

Be exposed to AEM learning: active, engaged, measured learning as a form of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

WHO ARE YOU?

You are from a top 100 research institution You are from a Research

Intensive/Extensive (old Carnegie 1) institution?

You are from a Comprehensive Institution You have less than 5 years of teaching

experience More than 5 years of teaching experience Any training in teaching/education

Research – your reaction Professors find their own research and

teaching activities merging in a seamless blend (Clark, 1987)

“US higher education needs to break away from the tired old teaching/research debate!” (Boyer, 1990)

“ Colleges whose faculty are research oriented increases student dissatisfaction and impacts negatively on most measures of cognitive and affective development” (Astin, 1993; Astin & Chang, 1995)

“Bringing teaching and research together involves developing a conception of teaching as being student focused and concentrating on conceptual change” (Brew, 2001)

Turn to a partner, small group What is your reaction to these

quotes What are the challenges to a

seamless teaching research nexus?

Research – your reaction Professors find their own research and

teaching activities merging in a seamless blend (Clark, 1987)

“US higher education needs to break away from the tired old teaching/research debate!” (Boyer, 1990)

“ Colleges whose faculty are research oriented increases student dissatisfaction and impacts negatively on most measures of cognitive and affective development” (Astin, 1993; Astin & Chang, 1995)

“Bringing teaching and research together involves developing a conception of teaching as being student focused and concentrating on conceptual change” (Brew, 2001)

1. BACKWARD DESIGN (Wiggins & McTighe: Understanding by Design)

Identify Determine Plan learning desired acceptable experiences results evidence and instruction

Strategies to increase relationship between teaching and learning

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS that your class answers

Rich and engaging questions that cause someone to RETHINK previous ideas or see from a DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE and create

ENDURING UNDERSTANDING!

If I ran into a student one year after my course

what would I want s/he to tell me about my class!

Engineering Essential Questions

Overarching

What are the ethical concerns of engineers?

TopicalUnit on car

manufacturing What EPA laws

apply to car manufacturers?

What are the challenges of

balancing profit and environment?

Enduring Understanding!

Facets of Understanding:1. Explanation: sophisticated theories

which provide knowledgeable and justified accounts of an event

2. Interpretation: narratives, translations that provide meaning (Donna’s velcro theory)

3. Application: ability to use knowledge effectively in a new situation or diverse context

Enduring Understanding!

Facets of Understanding:1. Perspective: critical and insightful

points of view

2. Self-Knowledge: wisdom to know one’s ignorance and how one’s patterns of thought and action inform as well as prejudice understanding

YOUR ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Take a few minutes, think about your course and write a couple of Essential Questions (integration YOUR RESEARCH) that provide enduring understanding for a course you will teach!

Write a topical question that your course will answer.

Share your questions and get some feedback or additional questions

2. Determine Acceptable Evidence

Lowest – Material worth being familiar with Traditional quizzes, tests etc

Middle – Material important to know and DO

Know – traditionally Do?? – active learning – projects, group activities,

application exercises, simulations

Highest – Enduring Understanding Performance tasks and projects

3. Plan the Learning Experience

W = Where are you going? (where does this fit into the larger picture? How do I connect new material to prior information, where can this contribute/ enhance my research?)

H = Hook – How am I going to introduce the topic? (pose questions that you’re researching and are trying to answer, show some puzzling results from your research)

E = How will you Engage and Equip students for enduring understanding

R = How will my class cause students to Reflect and Rethink their idea? (how do you create an atmosphere where students can take risks and change their mind? How are differing viewpoints encouraged?)

E = How will students Exhibit their understanding?

Summary Start with essential questions

Overarching/topical – integrate research

Determine evidence that will allow you to know that students can answer the essential questions of your course

Plan activities – including traditional lecture and “hands-on” feedback –integrate research

AEM Learning: Active, engaged & measured

Active engagement of students in the process of their own learning

Investment of mental and physical energies to make learning meaningful

Careful two way on-going feedback system

Techniques to do AEM

How do I know what students are really learning?

How do I measure enduring understanding?

How do I convey in a timely manner to students their knowledge and skills (or lack thereof)

How do I build to a final assessment?

Step 1: create an integrated course/research map

Objective Evidence of learning Research Int

Step 1: create an integrated course/research map

Objective Evidence of Learning Research Int

Explain the con- quiz final examtheories

cept of green Engineering

Demonstrate short answerEthical decision Air Model (Cohen

& Qualters)

making

M: On-going learning measurement

Classroom Assessment Techniques: (CATs)T. Angelo & P. CrossT. Angelo & P. Cross

Techniques & active approaches to Techniques & active approaches to leaningleaning

Ways of knowing HOW students are Ways of knowing HOW students are learning so as to better plan teaching learning so as to better plan teaching activitiesactivities

Simple, non-graded, often anonymous in-Simple, non-graded, often anonymous in-class activities that give IMMEDIATE class activities that give IMMEDIATE feedback to teacher and learnerfeedback to teacher and learner

One Minute Paper

On a 3x5 card anonymously write down the answer to the following question(s):

What was the main point of today’s class?

What questions do you still have? What would enhance learning in this

class

Let’s try it! What’s the most important insight about

teaching and learning you’ve had so far? What’s one technique for you to create a

teaching/research nexus?

MY Question – what do you do with this data? Remember recreational data collecting creates burnout!

Think-pair-share After a segment, give a task that can be

accomplished by pairs in several minutes

Each task has several parts Formulate the answer alone in writing Share the answer with a partner Listen to the partner’s input Create a BETTER answer through synthesis

Ask a student to explain the answer to the class

Concept Quiz - PRS

Prepare a brief conceptual multiple choice quiz

Have students write their answers on a card/paper and hold it up

Discuss the answer with partner Brief class debrief of answer and

why

Example

Teaching/Research nexus is important because

A. It is more efficient and will assist in tenure

B. It will create an active learning environment

C. It will force faculty to talk to each other about their teaching

Cold Calling: brr…….

Write student’s names on cards, shuffle the deck, use the order to call on people to answer questions on points you think may be difficult.

Should you cold call? How do you warm them up?

Note Checking

At the end of a lecture segment, students pair up to complete a short exercise with their notes:

For example Summarize the three major points so

far Write a quiz question

Let’s try it!

Find a partner Think about the session so far and

write 1-2 possible quiz questions I could ask if I was testing you on this material.

Application Cards

After students have heard about a principle, theory, procedure, etc

Hand out card Have them write a least ONE real

world application for what they’ve learned

Debrief the class

Directed Paraphrase Select an important concept students

have studied in depth

Determine who would be a realistic audience for the paraphrase of this topic – make it two different audiences

Have students construct a paraphrase/share and critique each others.

Let’s try it

You have just learned about Classroom assessment techniques to improve learning. Explain what they are to: Students in your freshmen class Senior colleague

Involving Students in Your Research

Can you design a project that students can participate in as a class project Simulation we designed – we had students

write the EPA cards. They had to research an EPA law around car manufacturing and come up with a challenge card for the game.

Course – the faculty member was researching consumer responses to designs and she had her class respond to her project

Undergraduate Research projects

Take Home Points

Find points DURING the planning process to integrate your research into your class

Involve students actively in your class

If possible, find ways to involve students in your research

Thank You!

Questions/Comments/Ideas???