Musings on Assessment The question of whether instructors should reward participation/conscientiousness is one that has provoked a lot of debate, especially between educational experts (often academics) and those charged with teaching (hard working practitioners!). When I have talked to NorQuest instructors about this issue, they have shared several reasons for using “participation marks”:
Instead, these educators suggest making a concerted effort to focus on competence by:
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Several times I’ve mentioned the Think-Pair-Share (TPS) strategy as one way to allow students time to process their thoughts and consolidate learning. This week I’d like to dive a little deeper into this strategy. The TPS is a very well-known strategy and one that is used extensively across the college, but some newer instructors might not have heard of it and some of the more experienced instructors may have forgotten just how powerful it can be and use it sparingly or ineffectively. The Think-Pair-Share teaching strategy is a very simple collaborative learning technique used to encourage active engagement and critical thinking. It consists of three distinct phases: Think, Pair, and Share. 1. Think: In this phase, students are given a specific question, prompt, or problem to consider individually. They are encouraged to reflect on the topic and generate their own thoughts or ideas without discussion with others. This step allows students to process information independently and develop their own understanding of the topic. Example: In a psychology class discussing theories of motivation, the instructor might ask students to think silently for a few minutes about what factors they believe motivate people to achieve their goals. What is important in this step is that students are given enough think time (Remember last week’s article?). Hurrying this phase will result in truncated thinking where students will simply take quick and superficial stabs at the problem and fail to unpack assumptions or discover complexities. 2. Pair: After the thinking phase, students are then paired up with a classmate to discuss their thoughts and ideas. This phase provides an opportunity for students to articulate their own understanding of the topic and to hear perspectives from their peers. By engaging in dialogue with a partner, students can clarify their own thoughts, gain new insights, and practice communication skills. Example: Continuing with the psychology class example, students might pair up and discuss their thoughts on motivation theories with a partner, comparing and contrasting different perspectives they came up with during the thinking phase. In this phase the quieter, more introverted students are given a safe place to share their ideas. Sharing thoughts will a class of seventy can be daunting, but talking to your elbow partner is a little less intimidating. This step is important because every student is expected to participate, not just the five or six that continually give feedback to the instructor. And it is helpful to remind students that listening is just as important as sharing! 3. Share: Finally, students are given the opportunity to share their ideas with the entire class. This phase allows for the consolidation of learning by synthesizing individual ideas into a collective understanding. It also provides an opportunity for the instructor to clarify any misconceptions and facilitate further discussion or exploration of the topic. Example: In the psychology class, each pair of students might share a summary of their discussion with the rest of the class, highlighting key points and insights. The instructor could then lead a class-wide discussion, drawing connections between different perspectives and providing additional context or examples. Often, I will ask students to share an insight that they heard from their elbow partner. This practice can tighten up the discussion (Students must remember and summarize, not pontificate!). Applying the Think-Pair-Share strategy in an online context requires some adjustments but can still be effective:
The Think-Pair-Share strategy encourages active learning, collaboration, and critical thinking, making it a valuable tool for both traditional and online instruction. NB: This article was a collaborative effort between Jeff and Chat GPT! The Central Purpose Question or Comprehension Purpose Question strategy (CPQ) challenges students to respond to an important and often complex question, to connect this question to their own background knowledge and beliefs, and then to read a relevant text or watch a short video with the CPQ in mind. This strategy presses students to read, listen, or watch with purpose and helps them to find, select and remember important details. Instructors may choose to deal with the CPQ in a variety of ways. One approach is to share the question on the whiteboard or a PPT slide and spend some time as a class talking about it before tackling the task (possibly as a think/pair/share activity). Other approaches might involve incorporating the CPQ into an anticipation guide, a quick write, a discussion web, a role play, a visualization exercise, or a case study. Regardless of how it is advanced, the CPQ is very important for the teacher as well as the student. It lends focus to the lesson and helps to provide relevancy. Some teachers have formalised the CPQ by developing an organizer and leading their students through the three stages in an active learning process (anticipation, consolidation, and extension). In this approach:
N.B. If the CPQ is one that can evoke a yes/no response that asks for reasons for and against (e.g., “Should 16-year-olds be given the opportunity to vote in municipal, provincial and federal elections?”), teachers should consider using a Discussion Web. Providing students with a central purpose question prior to assigning a short reading or video presentation serves several important functions:
If you are anything like me, you can become very focused on making sure that, within allocated class time, you get through the central concepts in a timely fashion. Because of this pressure, you might hurry through classroom questions, waiting only for a quick response that confirms the answer so you can get on with the lesson. And, since you already know the answer, you are ready to jump in just as soon as you feel the students have had time enough. Trouble is, it usually isn’t time enough. What can seem like an eternity of waiting can sometimes be only 10-15 seconds. This is barely enough time for an online student to hear and understand the question and perhaps raise an online hand! (If you think I am overstating this, re-watch some of your recent recordings! I did… I am very impatient!) Giving think time when asking questions is important. Students need the opportunity to process questions thoroughly and formulate thoughtful responses. If we fail to give enough think time, we will end up with very little interaction–only the very quick, auditory processors will be volunteering answers. The rest of the class may disengage or simply let others do the thinking for them. A class of seventy will quickly devolve into a back and forth from one teacher with 5 or 6 keener beaner students. Ultimately, we want to encourage deeper engagement with the material and critical thinking. We would also like it if all students had an equal opportunity to participate and contribute meaningfully to the discussion! So how do we go about doing this? Well, one way is by setting time limits and conditions. When you present your question, let the students know that they are not to answer immediately, but that you are giving them a certain amount of time to think about their response. Depending on the question, this could range from a minute to four or five minutes. During that set time, students might jot down their thoughts, make an illustration, or formulate an argument. The hardest part in giving think time is keeping yourself from interrupting! That’s why you need a timer! When the time elapses, you might engage the students in a think/pair/share activity (in-person) so that every student gets a chance to share their thoughts with someone before you pull back to a general classroom discussion (More on TPS in another musing!). Or, if you are working in an online environment like Class Collaborate (BBCU) or Kaltura, you might ask the students to type their thoughts into the chat feed and then “flood the chat” when the time limit elapses. Having students press submit at the same time means that everyone can contribute and prevents students from piggy backing on responses from those quick processors. Flood the chat also provides a rich trove to use as you further discuss the topic. Often students provide perspectives and insights that we never thought of. However, you need to be careful with this strategy because the chat is not anonymous. If you are discussing sensitive topics and want to safeguard students, you might choose to get their ideas through an online polling or posting tool (Padlet, Jamboard) that allows for anonymity. Giving think time fosters a supportive and inclusive learning environment by reducing pressure and anxiety associated with rapid-fire questioning. We’d like our students to be confident and willing to participate! We also want them to engage in more than just passive listening, we want them to do some of the work! 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:
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/ Reciprocal teaching is a collaborative learning strategy that involves students taking turns as the teacher and leading discussions about the text or subject matter. This strategy can be used in various disciplines such as nursing, business, social work, and other fields where critical thinking and analysis are necessary. In a reciprocal teaching session, the instructor would typically divide students into small groups and provide them with a passage or article to read or a short video to watch. The group members take turns leading the discussion, taking on one of the four roles: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. (If predicting is a challenge, students might be assigned to illustrate the process or define significant terms.) In a nursing classroom, for example, students could read a case study or patient scenario, and each group member could take on a role in analyzing the information, such as summarizing the patient's condition, questioning the diagnosis, clarifying the treatment plan, and predicting the outcome. In a business classroom, students could read a case study about a company's financial performance and take on the roles of summarizing the company's financial statements, questioning the reasons for the company's success or failure, clarifying the economic factors that may have impacted the company, and predicting the company's future performance.
The instructor should consider several factors when using reciprocal teaching. Firstly, the instructor should ensure that the text or subject matter is appropriate for the students' level of understanding and knowledge. The instructor should also set clear expectations for each role and provide examples of how each role could be performed. Instructors should also encourage collaboration and active participation among group members. The instructor should monitor the group discussions to ensure that each student has a chance to participate and provide feedback to students on their performance. Overall, reciprocal teaching is an effective strategy for promoting collaboration, critical thinking, and analysis among students in a college classroom. By taking turns as the teacher, students can develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter and improve their communication skills. For more information: https://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/resources/articles/teachtechnique/reciprocalteaching/index.php Quick writes provide one way for instructors and learners to find out just how much of what is being discussed and reviewed is being caught by the learner. In this strategy the instructor learners to take a moment and reflect upon a question or prompt related to what they are currently studying. The question may ask the learners to draw upon their background knowledge, make a prediction, give an analysis, relate a personal anecdote, take a stand on a particular issue, or visualize a circumstance. Along with the question you should give the learners a limited amount of time (two to five minutes) in which they free write a response.
For instance, you might ask the learners to reflect upon their last visit to a doctor and to consider all the aspects that a general practitioner is responsible for. In this case you are looking to use their background knowledge to activate this topic and give direction to the lesson. Some instructors like to use this as the first step in a think/pair/share activity. It allows individual learners to consolidate their thinking before they pair up and begin discussion. But quick writes can also be used to reflect upon on respond to new information. For instance, you might ask the learners to give their response to a video clip you presented on healthy food choices. Even just a walk through the classroom to quickly observe the student responses to this question would tell the instructor just how much learners related to what was being shown and if they caught the most important points of the presentation. These quick writes would likely also provide more questions to consider as a class. Quick writes can be done in face-to-face classrooms on paper, and in hybrid or online classrooms these writes can happen by setting up a forum in Moodle (you can choose to make it public or personal) or through many different polling or posting apps. Some instructors also use the chat for this, asking the students to flood the chat when their allotted writing time is up. The idea behind quick writes is to get the learners comfortable with writing and expressing their ideas. Quick writes can be used for assessment, but most instructors use them only for formative assessment. They provide an interesting window on your learners; you can learn much about their interests and personality through these quick and low-stress responses. But be warned, instructors who collect these “free-writes” to evaluate the learners and assign marks soon find out that the learner writing will become stiffer and less personal. SoTL corner - August 22, 2022 This week is a busy one … so I’m making the SoTL Corner easy on myself by featuring research done by Viola Manokore and myself. In October of 2020, we conducted a research study involving instructor surveys, instructor interviews, and student surveys. Much of this research was done with NorQuest faculty and learners. Our project was rich and complex. Survey data had to be coded by themes, sorted, and then reexamined for emerging patterns and significances. Interviews had to be note-taken or transcribed and then reviewed, compared, and correlated. Then Viola and I framed up three different inquiries and went through the process of writing articles and submitting them to peer reviewed journals for publication. This last part is like playing tennis. You submit the article, they send it back with suggestions, you make the changes and send it to them, and so on. In the end, both parties (writers and editors), end up with articles that are sharp and specific. Of course, not every SoTL inquiry must be as rigorous or academic as the one that Viola and I undertook. In fact, many SoTL studies are informal and remain in-house. Research questions, observations, and findings are shared only within a particular department. The relevance and application of these inquiries are very specific to a particular cohort or a particular course or instructional strategy. And there is a lot less stress ab out polishing and publishing! That said, it is kinda fun to put yourself out there and submit to online journals. This is something that Viola is very experienced with, and I am trying to catch up! At this point we have three articles published online and, in the last 90 days, they have been downloaded 288 times by researcher from all over the world. What follows is a quick snapshot of each article. If you want to read the full article, or just download it to read later, just click on the title! Our first article, TPACK Tried and Tested: Experiences of Post-Secondary Educators During COVID-19 Pandemic (based upon 140 Alberta instructor surveys) explored educators’ experiences during the rapid shift from face-to-face to emergency virtual remote teaching and learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that educators who were more comfortable with their TPACK (technical pedagogical content knowledge) had an easier transition to virtual remote teaching. Institutional support, students’ digital literacy/access, and overall wellbeing were also identified as factors that influenced educators’ overall experiences. This article really unpacks the whole concept of TPACK as well as Hutchings’ model for SoTL inquiry. It also shares many of the strategies and practices (for example: flipping the classroom, improving communication strategies, incorporating activity into synchronous lessons, and moving to a competency model) instructors used to be successful in a new teaching modality. Our second article, Replication or Reinvention: Educators’ Narratives on Teaching in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic zeroed in on the instructor interviews we conducted (11). The interviews yielded rich anecdotes about the shift to emergency remote virtual learning. Our thematic analysis revealed that educators’ experiences were influenced by three main factors: (a) student engagement, interactions, and persistence in learning; (b) competence in the application of teacher technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK); and (c) overall wellbeing of faculty and students. The article showed just how different the pandemic shift was for our post-secondary instructors. While some found the adjustments to be invigorating, others were frustrated and a little lost. And they let us know that! The third article, “I Did Not Sign Up For This”: Student Experiences of the Rapid Shift from In-person to Emergency Virtual Remote Learning During the COVID Pandemic was the latest to be published and I think it is the most interesting to read. In it you will hear the voices of our students and you will come to see their experience as much more complex than just simple “learning interactions”. Our students were impacted by the stress of the pandemic itself, varying levels of access to and confidence with technology, and a general sense of disconnect (even abandonment!). For this study, Viola and I used a model developed by Athabasca University’s Dr. Terry Anderson as an organizational frame. The data was organized and analyzed according to Anderson’s six factors in online teaching, namely: (a) Independent Study; (b) Peer, Family, & Professional Support; (c) Structured Learning Resources; (d) Community of Inquiry; (e) Communication; and (f) Paced, Collaborative Learning. The results are both affirming and concerning. You should click on the link and take a quick read! Now our research study is becoming a bit stale. It is time to check in with the field again. Are the instructors and students still struggling with the new teaching modalities, or have they attained a new level of comfort? So, what you planning to investigate this year? What aspects of student learning or of your teaching practice might need a closer look? |
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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