On Course Workshop:
Station-to-Station: Covering the Syllabus
and Setting the Tone for a Learner-Centered Class
on Day One
Presented by Palomar College Professors
Kelly Falcone: kfalcone@palomar.edu
Al Trujillo: atrujillo@palomar.edu
Rationale for using station-to-station
for covering your syllabus
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Sets the tone of the course from Day 1
o Students are active: discuss,
collaborate, question
o This starts the course in the On Course
direction
Students find answers about the syllabus
o They don't just hear and read about it,
they "DO" it--which means they'll
UNDERSTAND it better
Creates connections with students
o Building connections in the class is
building a class community, which
equals more commitment to the class
o Lets students know they will be working
together in teams, which facilitates
group work for the rest of the semester.
Builds connections with the instructor
o Students connect with the instructor,
which means increased commitment to
class attendance
Gets students up and moving! (exercise
improves brain power)
Syllabus station-to-station comments
from students:
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“I have never made so
many friends in a class my entire
college career and I have been
here for 5 years!”
 “This is the first semester
where I felt like I belonged.”
 “The first day [station-tostation] activity was a clever way
to get us engaged in the course.”
Selling active learning to your
students
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You are breaking the mold, be ready for a push
back from some students
Start from the first day of class so they know
what to expect in your course
“I hear I forget, I see I remember, I Do I
Understand” ~Confucius
John Dewey (1938) - Experience and Education
o Education through experience, through
doing!
o “…there is an intimate and necessary
relation between the processes of actual
experience and education.”
National Center for Education and the Economy
(2008)
o To be successful we must be "among
the top two in technology in every
industry in which we hope to be a major
player" (p. 29).
o We "will have to change the [education]
system from one that was designed a
century ago to meet the needs of our
emerging mass production economy to
one that will sustain the knowledgebased, technology-powered, globally
interconnected economy" (p. 40).
o Education must focus on creativity and
innovation.
16 Syllabus station ideas:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Student-centered vs. teacher-centered
classrooms
a. What is the difference between a
teacher-centered and a studentcentered classroom?
b. What are 3 benefits and 3
drawbacks to a teacher-centered
classroom?
c. What are 3 benefits and 3
drawbacks to a student-centered
classroom?
Qualities of successful students
a. At this station, work as a group to
come up with 3
qualities/characteristics of
successful students.
b. Write these on sticky-notes and add
them to the big board at this station.
c. Note that you CANNOT duplicate
any that are already on the board!
Qualities of successful teachers
a. At this station, work as a group to
come up with 3
qualities/characteristics of
successful teachers.
b. Write these on sticky-notes and add
them to the big board at this station.
c. Note that you CANNOT duplicate
any that are already on the board!
Your Success Team
a. A Success Team is a group of
students who help each other
succeed in class. Students in a
Success Team share contact
information in order to contact each
other to ask questions and for other
help in the course.
b. This is your Success Team!
Exchange contact information with
your classmates. Also, give your
team a team name and add it to the
list at this station
c. As a group, discuss what you will do
to help each other succeed.
Academic integrity
a. Is there a statement about academic
integrity in the syllabus? What does
it say?
b. What does academic integrity
mean? You may want to refer to the
Standards of Conduct available at
this station.
c. What are some common violations
to the student code of conduct?
d. What are the consequences to
violating the student code of
conduct?
e. What would you do if you knew a
student was cheating in class or
plagiarizing assignments?
How do students learn?
VII.
VIII.
IX.
a. How do you learn best? Auditory,
visual, kinesthetic, or a
combination?
b. Edgar Dale's Cone of Learning
represents how much we remember
from different ways of learning. He
says, we remember about…
i. 5% - 15% Verbal or Written
ii. 10% - 20% Visual
iii. 40% - 50% Visual and
Verbal
iv. 60% - 70% Discussion
v. 90% of what you experience
vi. Do you agree with this???
Do students need communication and
collaboration skills for future employment?
a. "The number one reason people
lose their first real job is not a lack of
technical skills, it is because they
can’t get along with other people."
National Job Service.
b. "51% of employers said their
employees did not work well with
others." USA Today - March 15,
1999.
c. "Communication skills and working
in a team were listed as abilities that
were missing in newly graduated
students." National Alliance of
Business.
Increase learning through active learning
a. "Lectures put participants in a
position of sustained, passive
listening. Learning, unfortunately is
not an automatic consequence of
pouring information into another
person’s head. It requires the
person’s own mental processing.
Therefore, lecturing by itself will
never lead to real learning." Dr. Mel
Silberman, a professor at Temple
University.
b. "No matter how creative, colorful or
exciting a lesson is, if the teacher's
brain is the only one interacting with
the material, the teacher's brain not the student's brain - is the only
brain forming dendrites." Pat Wolfe,
"The Brain Matters: Translating
Research into Classroom Behavior.
Instructor contact information
a. What is the instructor’s e-mail
address?
b. What is the instructor’s phone
number?
c. Where is the instructor’s office
located?
d. What are the instructor’s office
hours?
e. Does the instructor have specific
communication guidelines?
What are at least 3 “significant
events” that may affect a student’s
attendance in class that would be
important to communicate to your
instructor?
Course assignments/exams
a. How do you earn points for this
course? (number of exams and
assignments; point values).
b. Go around to each member of the
group and share how many units
each of you are taking this
semester.
c. Is there a policy for make-up or late
assignments/exams?
d. How difficult does the workload
seem for this course (easy, medium,
hard, …ridiculous?)
Course topics
a. Review the course topics or lecture
topics. Have each person in the
group share which topic they are
most excited to learn about and
why.
b. Is the content for this course
different than what you thought?
How so?
c. What questions do you have about
the course topics that you hope get
answered in the lectures?
Expectations for success
a. As a group, list 3 expectations you
believe the teacher has of each
student to be successful.
b. As a group, list 3 expectations you
have of the teacher in order to help
you succeed.
Advice from former students
a. At this station are index cards with
comments from last semester’s
former students on how to succeed
in this course. Have each student
select one and read it aloud to the
group (you may keep the card to
take home).
b. Read a few others and read aloud
any especially compelling ones.
Discuss the common themes you
noticed.
Study skills
a. Take turns telling the group what
one study skill or study tip has
worked particularly well to help you
succeed in your past classes.
b. Identify one new study technique
you can employ this semester to
help you be more successful in
college.
Miscellaneous but important stuff from the
syllabus
a. What is the exam make-up policy for
this class?
f.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
b. What types of extra credit are
offered?
c. What is the instructor’s cell phone
policy?
d. Are there any field trips for this
class?
Q and A with the instructor
a. This is your time to get to know your
instructor better! (no question is too
unusual to ask)
b. What questions do you have about
the course? About your instructor?
About any station you’ve
completed?
Conclusion of stations wrap-up:
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Have students sit with their Success Teams and
ask for any further questions or comments.
What did you learn? What questions do you
have?
Tips for successful facilitation
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Organize students into groups
o Count off and send to stations, or hand
out index cards with numbers.
Set up stations around the room in numerical
order to make switching easy (ex: clockwise flow
around the room)
Students can start at any station
o If possible leave at least two stations
open prior to the “Q and A with the
instructor” station to allow students to
get to know each other and work
through a few stations prior to meeting
with the instructor. Or, just make the “Q
and A with the instructor” station the last
station.
Each station has an activity with questions along
with 1 copy of the syllabus. Add a QR code to
the syllabus so students can scan it view it on
their mobile device. Put all station information in
plastic sleeves. Let students know to leave all
materials at each station.
Allow ~4 minutes per station
o Use an interval timer or a timer
displayed as a PowerPoint slideshow.
Make sure it is visible to the students so
they can keep track of their time.
Instructions to students:
o Work together to determine the answers
o Students need writing utensil and paper
Taking roll
o To save time on the first day you can
take roll when the group comes to meet
you at the “Q and A with the instructor”
station. This way you can also welcome
them individually to the class.