What is it?
Facts/Questions/Response is a literacy strategy used to encourage students to think actively about information that they read by applying the thinking processes I’ve written about before: Readers are more engaged and successful in learning when:
A three-column chart is used to record the Facts, Questions, and Responses. Students determine importance as they retell or summarize textual information in the Facts column using jot notes. They reflect about the textual information by recording questions asked in the Questions column. They make connections, make inferences, and visualize as they record their relating and reflecting responses to the textual information in the Response column. The FQR strategy helps those students who
How to use it:
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Last week I had the pleasure of attending a two-day SoTL “hackathon” in Saskatoon. It was a rich couple of days with sessions on ideation, ethics, indigenization and decolonization, student partnerships, and research design. Attendees were mostly from Alberta and Saskatchewan, but there were a couple from Ontario.
What I especially appreciated was the number of instructors/professors who attended. These people were very interested in shifting their research from studying their discipline to studying the teaching of their discipline. For instance, instead of looking at effective practices in veterinary science, examining the way in which students learn veterinary practices best - through lecture, scenarios, problem solving or hands-on work with animals. Could students learn through the use of VR and AR? Such SoTL work is really an extension of the work many of our instructors already do. SoTL really just takes thoughtful inquiry and reflective practice and firms it up by putting a research frame on it to provide focus and generate data and artifacts that can be analyzed. I might argue, that SoTL work is very powerful in post-secondary teaching as it allows us to better understand the impact of our teaching and gives us a way to share promising practices with colleagues inside and outside our institution. The only issue is, it is easy to access funding and support for applied, discipline-based research (the what), but much harder to secure funding for inquiries related to teaching and learning (the how and why). Some post-secondaries have established SoTL funding frameworks, but many have not. Often funding is tied to institutional priorities and individual instructors engage in SoTL inquiries because they can’t help themselves. They just have to know! And they’ll give up weekends and weeknights to find out! Some of the SoTL inquiry questions that Caylee Kreller and I took to the SoTL Summit/Hackathon included:
Obviously, these questions were of a more institutional or departmental level. Many of the participants at the summit had more course specific inquiries. For instance, one business instructor was interested in bringing more indigenous perspective into his course by inviting indigenous leaders to provide perspectives on management that may differ from the typical textbook examples traditionally studied in his courses. Would guest speakers, field trips and shared discussions bring about a greater awareness and understanding of alternative models? Polling Polling can be a valuable tool for instructors to engage with their students, assess student understanding, and tailor their teaching approach accordingly. It can be used both in online and in-person settings to gauge student interest, evaluate the effectiveness of lessons, prepare students for upcoming topics, and encourage active participation. Let's explore how a college instructor teaching an environmental studies course could utilize polling for these purposes:
Online Polls In an online setting, instructors can utilize polling features within video conferencing platforms or employ dedicated polling tools (like Mentimeter, Quizlet, Polly or Poll Everywhere). They can pose questions related to the course material and ask students to respond in real-time. The results can be shared with the class, enabling students to compare their answers and discuss the reasoning behind their choices in a chat or discussion forum. Snowball Polls
In a classroom setting, students can be polled by a simple raising of hands or thumbs up/thumbs down activity. However, if you need to preserve anonymity, you might think of using a snowball war poll. A snowball war poll activity is an interactive and engaging polling exercise that involves students or participants in a playful manner. It is typically used to gather opinions, preferences, or votes on a specific topic or set of options. The activity gets its name from the concept of a snowball fight, where participants throw snowballs at each other. In a snowball war poll activity, the process involves several steps:
The snowball war poll activity encourages active participation, stimulates discussion, and provides a sense of anonymity, allowing participants to express their opinions freely. It adds an element of surprise and unpredictability, as participants are not aware of whose response they have picked up until they share it. This activity can be particularly useful when exploring subjective topics, gathering diverse opinions, or encouraging collaborative learning and critical thinking. By incorporating polling into their teaching strategies, college instructors can gain valuable insights into student interests, comprehension levels, and opinions. This information allows them to adjust their teaching methods, create engaging lessons, and foster active participation among students, ultimately enhancing the learning experience in an environmental studies course. The Jigsaw teaching strategy is a cooperative learning approach that involves sub-dividing home groups into expert groups to work on different aspects of a larger topic or project. Each expert group is responsible for mastering a particular subtopic or component, and then individual members teach their findings to their home group. This method is designed to encourage participation, collaboration, and critical thinking, while also promoting a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Here's an example of how the Jigsaw strategy could be applied in a college-level business program:
For example, let's say the topic is "Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses." The expert group topics could be:
Each group would research their specific subtopic and create a presentation that explains the basics, best practices, and examples of their marketing strategy. Then, the groups would present their findings to their home groups, who could ask questions and engage in discussions. Finally, the class would wrap up with a discussion on how all these marketing strategies could be combined to create a comprehensive marketing plan for a small business. Need more ideas? Check out these links:
Jigsaw Strategy Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence https://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/alex/jigsaw.pdf Jigsaw Collaborative Discussion Method - Inclusive Teaching University of Michigan https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/inclusive-teaching/jigsaw-collaborative-discussion-method/ 4 Things You Don’t Know About the Jigsaw Method https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/jigsaw-teaching-strategy/ An icebreaker is an activity or exercise designed to help a group of people get to know each other and feel more comfortable working together. Icebreakers are used in many different settings, including classrooms, meetings, workshops, and team-building events.
In a college classroom, icebreakers are an important tool for building community and establishing a positive climate for learning. When students feel comfortable with one another and with the instructor, they are more likely to participate in class discussions, ask questions, and take risks in their learning. Icebreakers can be especially helpful in online classes, where students may feel more isolated and disconnected from their classmates and instructor. In an online class, icebreakers can help students feel more connected to each other and establish a sense of community despite the physical distance. Here are some examples of icebreaker activities for both online and face-to-face instruction: Face-to-face:
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AuthorJeff Kuntz Ph.D. ImagesExcept where indicated, images used in the blog posts are personal photos, images from NorQuest College or images from Pixabay. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. https://pixabay.com/ Archives
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