Haim Ginott
1972-1973: teacher, child psychologist
I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I
am the decisive element in the classroom…my
personal approach creates the climate…my daily
mood makes the weather.
As a teacher, I possess tremendous power..I can
be a tool of torture or an instrument of
inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or
heal..it is my response that decides whether a
..child [is] humanized or de-humanized.
Chief Dan George
1899-1981, Chief of the Coast Salish Tribe
If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you
and you will know each other. If you do not talk
to them, you will not know them. And, what you
do not know you will fear. What one fears one
destroys.
Finding our students’ stories
Teaching excellence with diverse learners
RCDE Faculty Retreat, February 3-4, 2011
Carol Rosenthal, Director
Academic Resource Center, Logan campus
Teaching excellence…
• Ensures engaged, active learning experiences
▫ Weave instruction with students’ “stories”
• Hones teaching basics.
▫ Simple, yet elegant solutions
• Embraces fresh perspectives and methods.
diverse learners….
• Represent richness and heterogeniety.
• Need their “stories” known and integrated into
instruction.
▫ Encourages trust, rapport, motivation, effort
▫ Discourages fear, anxiety, isolation, pessimism,
(learned) helplessness
Discovering richness
• First week exercise: Learn student stories
▫ “What are some of your family and cultural
strengths?”
▫ “What are some talents and skills evident in your
family?”
▫ “If I were to walk into your home, describe what
I would find that helps me know (you) (what you
are most proud of) (how you are unique).”
Weave stories into content instruction
• Applications, metaphors, examples that fit
students’ stories
▫ Displaced worker
 Chemistry, Microbiology, Economics, USU 1300, etc.
▫ Time and self-management
 Project cycles, customer flow, inventory cycles,
family management, self-employment
 Cultural approaches to time: compare/contrast
▫ Other examples?
• KWL: “stories” to prepare for learning
Know about _____? (and how did
▫ What do you already
you come to know it?)
Want to know about _____?
▫ What did you Learn about _____?
▫ What do you
 How will you Use what you learned?
What drives students’ stories about learning?
• Dr. Marlene Schommer-Aikins, Wichita State
University
Beliefs about knowledge and learning affect:




active participation
persistence
reading comprehension
learning in complex or poorly structured
environments
Beliefs about learning
Omniscient Authority
Certain Knowledge
Simple Knowledge
Fixed Ability
Quick Learning
Professor responsible <-------> self-responsibility
Static <------------------------------------ > Dynamic
Fact bits <------------- Concepts & relationships
Innate <------------------> effort: learn how to learn
One time <--------------------------> Time/effort
Counterproductive
Productive
Think-Pair-Share
• What beliefs do you see most prevalent in your
students?
▫ In what ways do the beliefs show?
• Guiding students through teaching methods
• All-knowing authority
• Collaborative, active learning
• Problem-solving tasks
• Certain, unchangeable knowledge
• Structured controversy
• Exposure to evolution of view
points
• Simple knowledge
• Teach about Bloom’s
• Think Alouds
• In-class demonstration of complex
tasks
• Reflection writing
• Quick learning
• Share your experiences
• Explicit and implicit study
strategies instruction
• Fixed, innate ability
• Role models
• Scaffolding learning
• Tap into current abilities (use
their “stories”)
Wait time
…Think Time
Essential teaching strategies
“Wait time” as an instructional tool
Dr. Mary Budd Rowe,
1925-1996
1972 study
Average wait time < 2 seconds
Increase to >3 seconds = improved
Logic
Language
Length & correctness of responses
 Volunteered answers

 Variety of questions
 Higher level of thinking
“I don’t know”
 No response

 Amount (quality vs quantity)
• “Wait time” is “think time”
▫ uninterrupted silence by teacher and students so
both can complete necessary information
processing (Stahl, 1990)
▫ the primary purpose and activity: complete ontask thinking
Information processing
• Multiple cognitive tasks take time
• We need uninterrupted time to
▫ Process, reflect, think of response
• Exercise: cats and dogs
• How often are students typically provided sufficient
time?
Types of “think time” silence
1. After teacher asks a question

Clear question with adequate cues

“What is the difference between a change on the
demand curve and a shift of the entire curve”?
2. During a student’s response

Allow hesitation as student continues
3. After a student responds

Other students need time before they comment
4. Teacher pause time

Consider what your next statement or behavior will be
Effects of increased think time
• More questions asked
• More accurate and complex responses
• Students initiated discussions more frequently.
• Teachers’ questions = fewer and higher quality
Think time works with all learners.
Especially effective for certain cultures.
Questioning Techniques
“The most powerful technology we have in
education is the ability to ask good questions”.
(including those questions we ask ourselves!)
“Always the beautiful answer/who asks a
more beautiful question.”
ee cummings
Beautiful Questions help students
“dive deep”
• Beautiful questions move students from
“Beginner” to “Expert” thinking levels:
▫
▫
▫
▫
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation
How do we learn: beginner to expert
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking & Learning
Evaluate
Can you evaluate, judge,
make informed opinion?
Analyze
Can you break info. into parts
and examine?
Apply
Can you apply what you know
to “real life” situations?
Deep learning
Comprehend
Can you put information into your own words,
explain to others accurately
Knowledge: (memorize)
Can you recognize and recall information?
Shallow learning
• Do you have any questions?
• Are there any questions?
• What questions do you have?
How do students typically respond to these
types of questions – and why?
Students don’t always know what they don’t know
or understand. Or they need a specific focus.
Do you have any questions?
 Okay, so summarize why it’s important to use Think Time. (a great
Think/Pair/Share)
 Which of the following is the better example of an application level question
and why?
Are there any questions? What questions do you have?
 In the past two lectures, I covered the following concepts. What parts are still
confusing for you?
 What would you like me to explain better ? What can I clarify?
 I know this topic can be really confusing. What things are still unclear or don’t
make sense to you?
Give students permission to be confused.
Beautiful questions
Don’t just
happen.
Take effort,
time,
practice.
Questioning
is a skill that
must be
learned and
practiced.
Models for your
students how they
need to think.
Brief, active learning exercises that require
students to process information individually
and collaboratively
• Effective for beginning and ending class
▫ Helps you avoid the “What questions do you have?”
trap
• Great during lectures (with Think-Pair-Share)
Select the best response.
• Select the best answer for a M/C test question.
Example
Jean stole a loaf of broad in order to feed his starving
family. What level of moral development would say that
what he did was “OK”?
A. Pre-Conventional
B. Conventional
C. Post-Conventional
D. Les Miserables is a sweet musical, I don’t care if it
makes me less of a man!
Correct the error
• Instructor poses a test item that contains an
error; students must find the error.
Example next slide
The Equilibrium Constant
Reactant
K=1
Product
[Products]
K = [Reactants]
K<1
K>1
Complete a sentence starter
• Instructor provides a sentence stem for students
to complete (not just at knowledge level)
Example: The three strikes mandatory
sentencing laws might result in __________.
Compare or contrast
• Instructor poses a comparison or contrast
item to the class.
Example: Compare Alpha vs Beta Decay
relative to radioactive decay.
Relative size
Alpha decay
Beta decay
Particle charge
Reorder the steps
• Given a set of randomly ordered steps ,
students are asked to correctly sequence them.
Example
Drawing stereo-images
1. Identify the molecule as R or S.
2. Create a 3-D drawing of the molecule.
3. Draw the mirror image of your 3-D molecule.
4. Draw a "mirror".
Support a statement
• Students are given a statement and, based on
their reading, assignments, or lecture notes, are
asked to provide support for the statement.
Example
Criminal behavior is a rational choice made by a motivated
offender who perceives that the chances of gain outweigh
any possible punishment or loss. (Criminological Choice
Theory)
Teaching students how to learn
• Note taking
systems: how to
“dive deep”
▫ Summaries
▫ Self-test questions
• Cornell
system/adaptations
Strategic reading
• Think Aloud textbook tour
▫ “architecture” of their text
Teaching students how to learn
Visual organizers:
match how information
is organized to the
learning task
Why teach visual organizers?
Words
alone not
sufficient
Humans
seek
patterns
Elaborative
rehearsal =
long term
memory
How we organize information
affects comprehension!
Patterns help us learn & remember
CATs
• Classroom Assessment Techniques: Thomas
Angelo & Patricia Cross 2nd ed., 1993, Jossey Bass
▫ What are students capable of now?
▫ How well are students learning?
▫ How effectively am I teaching?
• Informal, consistent monitoring of students’
learning
• Feedback: Are they getting it? >>> teaching
effectiveness
Minute Paper
• Excellent for large classes
• Quickly assesses student learning vs teacher’s perceptions
• More than recall: students evaluate and self-assess
▫ How well did I understand?
Examples
▫ What was most confusing about ____________?
▫ What is the single most significant reason Italy became
a center of the Renaissance?
▫ List the 3 most important points from today’s lecture?
Class opinion poll
Step 1: Please respond to each of the following statements:
strongly agree (1)……..I’m neutral (3)………I strongly disagree(5):
1.
2.
3.
4.
I need to change my teaching methods to improve students’
critical thinking.
I can’t take time in class to add activities or discussion.
I’m reluctant to create any more I have to respond to.
If students don’t take responsibility, what I do doesn’t matter.
Step 2: Discuss answers with your partner.
Step 3: Show of hands poll (I-Clicker). Discuss with class.
Defining Features Matrix
• Teaching goal: distinguish between theories, systems,
processes, etc.
▫ Develops :
 Analytical skills
 Conceptual and factual understanding
 Implicit and explicit study strategy (how to
organize information to see relationships)
Example
CAT
Teacher-directed
+
Standardized & validated
Focused on classroom teaching
and learning
Institutional
assessment
+
+
Replicable
+
Useful to administrators
+
Feedback for teachers and
students
+
+
“Misconceptions/Preconceptions”
• Gauge where students are at
• Develop students’ ability to distinguish between fact
and opinion
• Determine/develop openness to new ideas
Question: What makes the seasons change on Earth?
1.
Sort explanations into categories (e.g., correct; “weather”,
“distance”, “other”) Perfect for I Clicker!
2.
Quick discussion to explain choices - Think-Pair-Share
3.
Assignment: Students research which answer is correct
and explain in short paper.. Class discusses evidence for
each position.
4.
Professor concludes explaining why other models are
reasonable, though incorrect.
Muddiest Point
What was the muddiest point in……lecture, video, lab,
discussion, presentation?
 Prof. responds in next class with discussion, activity,
additional simulation
▫ Advantages:




Excellent for large classes
Safe alternative to asking questions
Focuses future lectures and assignments
Teaches metacognitive behavior (self-testing)
▫ Disadvantages
 Students may have difficulty expressing what they don’t
know.
One more….
• What do you want your professor to Start, Stop,
Keep Doing?
Start Doing
Stop Doing
Source: Teaching Professor: Magna Publication
Keep Doing
ARC: www.usu.edu/arc
Study Smart Starter Kit