Gaining A Geological Perspective Through Active Learning in the Large Lecture Classroom

Details Gaining A Geological Perspective Through Active Learning in the Large Lecture Classroom Gaining A Geological Perspective Through Active Learning in the Large Lecture Classroom

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufmed31a0580k&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #ED31A-0580

Mathematics

Logic

0810 Post-Secondary Education, 0820 Curriculum And Laboratory Design, 0825 Teaching Methods, 0840 Evaluation And Assessment

Scientific paper

NATS 101 A Geological Perspective is a general education course taken by non science majors. We offer 600 seats per semester, with four large lecture sections taught by different faculty members. In the past we have offered optional once a week study groups taught by graduate teaching assistants. Students often feel overwhelmed by the science and associated jargon, and many are prone to skipping lectures altogether. Optional study groups are only attended by ~50% of the students. Faculty members find the class to be a lot of work, mainly due to the grading it generates. Activities given in lecture are often short multiple choice or true false assignments, limiting the depth of understanding we can evaluate. Our students often lack math and critical thinking skills, and we spend a lot of time in lecture reintroducing ideas students should have already gotten from the text. In summer 2007 we were funded to redesign the course. Our goals were to 1) cut the cost of running the course, and 2) improve student learning. Under our redesign optional study groups were replaced by once a week mandatory break out sessions where students complete activities that have been introduced in lecture. Break out sessions substitute for one hour of lecture, and are run by undergraduate preceptors and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). During the lecture period, lectures themselves are brief with a large portion of the class devoted to active learning in small groups. Weekly reading quizzes are submitted via the online course management system. Break out sessions allow students to spend more time interacting with their fellow students, undergraduate preceptors, and GTAs. They get one on one help in break out sessions on assignments designed to enhance the lecture material. The active lecture format means less of their time is devoted to listening passively to a lecture, and more time is spent peer learning an interacting with the instructor. Completing quizzes online allows students more freedom in when and where they complete their work, and we provide instant feedback on their submitted work. The University of Wyoming Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team, who specialize in project evaluation, are leading the evaluation effort. We are comparing pre-test to post-test gains on the Geoscience Concept Inventory and Attitudes Toward Science surveys before and after the redesign, and inductive analysis of student interviews and reflective writing that describe student perceptions of the modified learning environment. The redesign has cut the cost of the class per student by more than half. This was achieved primarily in two ways: 1) by greatly reducing the number of hours spent by faculty and graduate teaching assistants on preparation, class time, and grading; and 2) reducing the number of graduate teaching assistants required for the class and replacing many of them with undergraduate preceptors. Undergraduate preceptors are not paid, but receive academic credit for their teaching service. The savings from the redesign is used to allow faculty more time to work on institutional priorities.

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