Transforming Teaching:
from more to less
Y.M.Zubovic
Chand K.Chauhan
FACET Retreat, 2014
The Need for Transformation
•
•
•
•
Lack of critical thinking
Lack of independent thinking
Lack of retention
Inability to apply results in unfamiliar settings
Transforming Goals
Previous Goals
• cover the content in an
orderly manner
• answer questions
• prepare them to pass the
exam
• have them recall
information on a test
New Transformed Goals
• teaching them how to think
about a problem
• search for an answer
• listen and analyze a
question presented in the
class
• see tests as opportunity for
self-evaluation
Transform Content Delivery Process: Talk less
and listen more student engagement
•
•
•
•
•
Using advance organizers
Restructuring class time
Role as a facilitator
Provide activities for deeper understanding
Promote student-to-student interaction
Using Advance Organizers
• Handouts provided to the students prior to introducing
a new concept
• Topics included: prerequisite information, definitions,
or algebraic skills, familiarity with the concepts
• Benefits
– Students can take their time to become familiar with the
topic
– Students make a connection between the new and
previously covered topics
– Motivate interest (need) in new topic
– Allows a discussion at a deeper level in the class
Advance Organizer: Identifying what we know
and what we don’t know yet.
Please read the following problems. For each of them:
Identify the type of the data for independent, as well as for the dependent variable.
Identify the method (tool) you will apply to study the relationship between the variables.
Problem 1: A scientist wishes to investigate the relationship between
X= # of hours of studies per week Y= scores on a test. The following data were obtained:
X=
2
14
20
4
8
5
11
7
9
Y=
21
82
96
32
70
60
76
68
83
Problem 2 : A scientist wishes to investigate the relationship between
X= a voter’s political affiliation, and Y= his/her income level. The partial data obtained were:
X= D D
R
R
I
R
R
D
D
I
R
D …………………
Y= L L H
M H
L
H
M
M H
M H …………
(Note D=democrat, R=republican, I=Independent, L=low income, M=middle income, etc)
Pre-requisite result: You may want to recall the following important result in probability:
Suppose two events A and B are independent. Then P( both A and B occur) = P( A occurs). P( B occurs)
Advance Organizers: Sorting the Situations
• In a random sample of 30 math majors of a particular state , the mean
expense/semester on text books is $325.00 with a standard deviation of
$32.50. Compute a 99% confidence interval of the mean expense for all
such students.
• In a random sample of 20 biology majors of the same state, the mean
expense/semester on text books is $340.00 with a standard deviation of
$28.50. Do we have evidence to believe that the true mean expense/
semester on text books is higher for biology majors than for the math
majors? We may assume that the variances are same for both
populations.
• In a random sample of 80 students of a particular university, 10 admitted
to regularly using cell phone during lectures. Compute a 95% confidence
interval of the true proportion of such students. Also check the conditions.
Example: Questions as you read
• Questions as You Read
– Prior to the class
• What is the difference between categorical and
numerical data?
– At beginning of the class
• Identify each variable from the Echinacea study as
categorical or numerical:
– Age, Sex, Number of colds in previous year, Severity of
sneezing (1=none to 4=severe), Weight
Example: Real life applications
• Before the class:
– Go to the Hoosier Lottery website: www.hoosierlottery.com
• Describe how Cash 5 is run
• Describe how Daily 3 is run
• Describe how Powerball is run
• During the class:
– In small groups discuss:
• How are Cash 5 and Daily 3 similar?
• How do Cash 5 and Daily 3 differ?
• Is Powerball more similar to Cash 5 or Daily 3? Explain.
–
–
–
–
Group report: summarize differences
As a class, discuss the mathematical structure of the problems
Introduction to multiplication rule and counting techniques
Mathematical concept emerges from discussion of the problem
Promote Continuous Learning
• How to use students’ desire for good grade to
motivate learning?
– Frequent self evaluation opportunities
– Variety of assessments (not just tests)
– As we progress, our questions, evaluation, and
grading process reflect our expectation of how
their learning should be progressing
Class Participation:
Assessing conceptual understanding
Circle the most appropriate answer: (3+3)
1) Suppose in a hypothesis testing problem the p value was found to be .01,
or 1%. It means :
a) The probability of H0 being true is 1%.
b) The probability of H1 being true is 1%.
c) The probability of observing, when H0 is true, a sample result as extreme
as or more extreme, than the one we have observed is 1%.
2) Suppose in a hypothesis testing problem the p value was .239. It means :
a) H0 should be rejected.
b) We should fail to reject H0.
c) Not enough information to make a decision.
Example : Going Beyond Classroom Coverage :
Assessing critical Thinking
Given: Three independent populations and their test scores are as follows:
Math majors (1)
CS majors (2)
Sample sizes
20
30
Sample mean scores
72
69
Sample variances
1.3
1.5
Assuming population variances are equal:
Question 1:
Find an estimate of the common variance for populations 1 and 2.
Answer: Covered in the class. 19(1.3)  29(1.5)
48
Question 2:
Find an estimate of the common variance for populations 1,2, and 3.
Not covered in the class:
19(1.3)  29(1.5)  21(1.8)
69
Biology majors (3)
22
72.5
1.8
Assessing our Transformation
• Planning a study in Fall 2014 with the students
of Stat 340: Give them a test with questions
similar to the conceptual questions given in
stat 240 final, and evaluate their retention.
• Give them critical thinking activity at the
beginning and at the end of the semester and
evaluate the progress.
Transform Assessment Process
• Promote continuous learning process
• Variety of assessment process including formative
and summative ( Formative for self evaluation
and instructor feedback)
• Questions assess their deeper understanding and
not the ability to perform certain steps to get an
answer.
• Challenges include changing expectations of
students and using their motivation for a good
grade to encourage learning through the
assessment process.