Tutorial Methods of Instruction
Spring Semester Orientation
7 February 2007
Prof. Hal White
Topics for Today
• Introductions
• What is Problem-Based Learning
• What is PLTL
• Importance of Peer facilitators
• Preview of the course
• Boyer Commission Report
Introductions
• Who are you?
• In what course will you be a facilitator?
• Why did you choose to be a facilitator?
General Information
• Attend class regularly
• Keep in touch with me via e-mail
• Keep a journal of critical incidents
• Write two teaching cases
• Course sponsored by HHMI
Activity
• In groups discuss and make a list:
– How does Problem-Based Learning
differ from other class formats? or
– How does Peer-Led Team Learning
(Workshop Chemistry) differ from other
class formats?
Teaching = Learning?
Methods of Active/Group Learning
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT
Temporary groups
“THINK/PAIR/SHARE”
Permanent groups
PLTL
PBL
Constructivism
• Learners make sense out of new
information by building on to prior
knowledge. Their minds are not blanks
slates to write on.
• Information needs to be processed
before it can make sense.
• John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev
Vygotsky
Workshop Chemistry and
Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL)
Workshop
Workshop
Leaders
Leader Training
Students Lecture & Laboratory
Leader Training
Learning
Specialists
Faculty
Program Direction
PBL: The Process
• Learning initiated with problem.
• Students organize ideas and previous
knowledge.
• Students pose questions, defining what
they know and don’t know.
• Assign responsibility for questions, discuss
resources.
• Reconvene, explore newly learned
information, refine questions.
Comparison of PBL and PLTL
Comparison
PBL
PLTL
Lectures
No
Yes
Group/Team
Facilitators
Instructor& Peers
Peers
Group Size
~4
6-8
Problems
Complex, Open-ended,
Real-world, Deliberately vague
sometimes
Varied Structure,
Supplement/Complement Lecture
Student Role
Formulate & Pursue “Learning Issues”
Work through Activities Collaboratively
Individual
Accountability
Varied Assignments, Including Writing
& Group Projects,
Worksheets, Quizzes, and Exams
Facilitator Role
Asks questions, don’t provide answers
Asks questions, don’t provide answers
Particular
Emphases
Problem-solving, Intellectual
Independence, Communication Skills,
Knowledge Integration, Finding
Relevant Information
Conceptual Understanding
Use of Text
Reference books, one of many
resources
Traditional use associated with lecture
Nature of
Exams
Individual & Group Exams,
Substantial new information
May or may not change nature of
examinations
Cooperative Learning:
What the research shows
• Academic Success
higher achievement, including
knowledge acquisition, accuracy,
creativity in problem-solving, and
higher reasoning level.
• Attitude Effects
persistence towards goals,
intrinsic motivation, applying
learning in other situations,
greater time on task
Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998 )
Chinese Proverb
Embodies the PBL Philosophy of Education
Tell me, and I forget;
Show me, I may remember;
Involve me, and I will understand.
As interpreted by Ei-Ichiro Ochiai, J. Chem. Educ. 70:44 (1993)
What Are Peer Tutors?
•
•
•
PBL jargon for group facilitators
Undergraduates who guide student
groups in PBL or active learning
classrooms
Work alongside the faculty instructor
Peer Group Facilitators
Activities
•
•
Weekly meetings with the course instructor
Tutorial Methods of Instruction
- 0 to 2 credits
•
•
Work with one or more groups in class
Optional: meet with group(s) outside of
class
•
No involvement in grading
Characteristics of a Functional Facilitator











Active member of the group (friendly, interested)
Involves all students in the process
Questions/probes the thinking and reasoning process
Provides information when appropriate
Promotes the use of appropriate resources
Guides/directs/intervenes to keep the group on track
Is flexible
Sets high standards for the group
Supports good interpersonal relationships
Serves as a model for giving and receiving feedback
Has a finely tuned “b.s.” detector
From, University of New Mexico Primary Care Curriculum, A Guide to Quality Tutorials
Tutorial Methods of Instruction
A 2-credit course that provides in-service supervision and support for
peer group facilitators in PBL courses

Intellectual development of undergraduates

Learning styles

Group dynamics and group processing

Dealing with conflicts

Questioning skills for group discussion

Peer, group, and self-assessment

Ethical issues

Reflective processing of the experience
Why Use Peer Facilitators?
A Multilayered Learning Community
With Benefits To:
Students
• help with passive ----> active transition
• view to path ahead
Instructors
• managing multiple groups
• use of complex problems
• foster positive group process
• provide feedback
•
•
•
Tutors
final overview of
discipline
view to path ahead
mentoring by
instructor
The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates (1998)
REINVENTING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
A BLUEPRINT FOR AMERICA’S RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES
Recommendations
I. Make Research-Based Learning the Standard
II. Construct an Inquiry-based Freshman Year
III. Build on the Freshman Foundation
IV. Remove Barriers to Interdisciplinary Education
V. Link Communication Skills and Course Work
VI. Use Information Technology Creatively
VII. Culminate With a Capstone Experience
VIII. Educate Graduate Students as Apprentice Teachers
IX. Change Faculty Reward Systems
X. Cultivate a Sense of Community
Characteristics Needed For Success
1. Communication Skills - both verbal and written.
2. Ability to define problems, gather and evaluate
information related to the problem, and develop
solutions.
3. Ability to work with others, especially in team
settings.
4. Ability to address specific problems in complex, realworld settings.
From 1994 Wingspread Conference on “Quality Assurance in Undergraduate Education”
Characteristics Needed For Success
Oral
Written
Communication Skills
Visual
Characteristics Needed For Success
Education
and
Training
ProblemSolving
Ability
Acquired
Skills
Accumulated
Knowledge
Characteristics Needed For Success
From: http://www.qvresearch.com/self_assessments/am_i_a_team_player.htm
Characteristics Needed For Success
Ability to address specific problems in complex, real-world settings
“…once you have learned to ask questions –
relevant and appropriate and substantial
questions – you have learned how to learn
and no one can keep you from learning
whatever you want or need to know.”
Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner
in Teaching as a Subversive Activity, 1969
Problem-Solving Ability in Groups
Impossible
Problem Difficulty
Can’t Solve
Trivial
Might Solve
PBL
Solution
obvious
A B
C
D
Group Members
Group
Potential
Problem solving is what you do when you don’t know what to do,
otherwise it is not a problem.
Wheatley (1984)
Observations and analysis of students working in
groups in class have revealed that:
• Learning is identified by students as getting the right
answer.
• Learning is disassociated from understanding and
explaining.
• Answers are sought first by recall, not analysis.
• Considerable time is needed before concepts are
considered and even rudimentary analysis is
attempted.
from D. Hanson and T. Wolfskill, J. Chem Ed. 75(2): 143 - 147 (1998)
Forming Groups
Homogeneous vs Heterogeneous
“Homogeneous”
Groups
Your Class
“Heterogeneous”
Groups
What Aspects of Heterogeneity
are Important in Groups?
Race?
Major?
First Day of Class
• Form new Groups, Count off by 4’s.
• In your new groups, make a list of 3 positive
and 3 negative first-class experiences.
• What needs to happen on the first day of
class to set up a positive climate for learning?
First Day of Class
• Video Vignette on being a Tutor
Facilitator
• Groups in Action
– <http://www.udel.edu/pbl/groups-in-action/>