Please read Chapter 8 of Bean's Engaging Ideas, "Designing Tasks to Promote Active Thinking and Learning." After reviewing Bean's "Ten Strategies for Critical Thinking Tasks (beginning on page 151), write a two part blog reflection: 1. What approaches do you already use in your course to encourage active learning in the classroom? What has worked thus far and what hasn't? What Bean strategies do you think would most benefit your students (and are most relevant to your course)?
Please follow up this reflection and reading by designing an activity specific to your course that employs one or more of Bean's strategies. Post that activity here after your reflection. Please try to post by October 16, one week from today. (This activity, like your low stakes assignment in blog #1, will form part of your WID portfolio). After you have tried out this activity in class, return to this post and add a reflection on how it went, how you would refine it for next semester.
Note: On the subject of active thinking and learning, if you have time, take a look at Ken Bain's Chapter under course documents, "What the Best College Teachers Do." WID participants have found his essay provocative, convincing and helpful.
The most common approach that I have used was the Tasks inking course Concepts to Students' Personal Experience or Previously Existing Knowledge. I am teaching a Community Health Course this semester and sometimes I find the material a little dull. It makes it difficult to engage students' interest and attention. I find that when I introduce new topics, it is easier for them to grasp and understand it when I make them connect the idea to a personal experience.
ReplyDeleteIt increases class participation and discussion. For instance, we were discussing diet and exercise as an important tool to stay healthy. I had them think of examples of their own lives and how many times they went on a diet or what kind of exercise programs that they take part in. We discussed crash diets vs lifestyle changes and we thought about all the of the times that we "dieted" and how much weight we really lost from those types of diet.
I think that the Assignments Requiring Role-Playing of Unfamiliar Perspectives or Imagining "What If" Situations would be another strategy that would work with my students really well. I will try that in the next couple of classes.
The assignment/activity that I chose to give in class was as follows:
ReplyDeleteWith regards to perceiving information in the Healthcare World, there is a theory called the "Unfamiliarity Effect". It essentially states "out of sight, out of mind". If you knew someone that has died of lung cancer or of AIDS, would you be more willing to break bad habits or pick up good ones. For example, would you stop smoking if you were a smoker or would you practice safer sex habits?
James--I like your point about trying to find a way to connect "dull-ish" material to students' own experience--and Bean's role playing exercise might work quite well. I am wondering if you could flesh out or make a little more specific the actual assignment so others on the blog could get ideas. Would they write an individual response--in class or out of class--would they share responses--would they actually role play talking to someone about this issue?
ReplyDeleteDr. Van:
DeleteI basically had them perform the exercise during my last class. I had them take 5-10 minutes during class to write down 4-6 sentences in response to my question. I then asked for volunteers to read aloud their response to the class. I think it worked well, although I only got about 3 volunteers to share. I think next time, I may put them into groups of 3 or 4 and then share each response with just their group. This way - the whole class would be sharing ideas, instead of just 3 students.
I think it's a good instinct to have them share in small groups first if you have the time--even a few minutes--or pairs! I often have a free-write and then ask them to pair up for five minutes--sort of works as an icebreaker. Then they are often more willing to talk. Thanks for sharing the results :)
ReplyDeleteWorking off of Bean's suggestion to have students explain what they have learned to someone else, I asked students to work in groups to develop their own rules for writing. We had read two essays (by Orwell & Vonnegut) in which the authors give a numbered list of rules for writers, accompanied by explanations or justifications. I asked students to mimic this format, choosing with their groups what they deemed the most important rules for a writer. They presented them to the class at the end of the exercise, and then posted them to Blackboard. We were then going to have a vote on which set we thought would be most helpful to our own writing, but the poll did not work out so well (something I would work on before assigning again!)
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought it went well: I heard some real discussion about their choices, which worked toward my goal of having them think critically about what is important in writing, rather than simply accepting received commands. While most drew on what we had read, they did display some originality, and some got very creative!
I love this assignment Meredith--I'm familiar with Orwell's "rules" but not Vonnegut's --will find them! What I like is putting the students in the driver's seat of defining effective writing--might steal this one.
DeleteIn my French classes, I frequently ask students to think about their own experiences with whatever topic we happen to be discussing (student life, travel, family, etc.) or their previously existing knowledge about Francophone countries (which is often either nonexistent or sometimes based in stereotypes, allowing a lot of room for discussion and learning).
ReplyDeleteI have even used data-provided assignments in the past by showing them graphs or charts depicting things like the amount of time certain age groups in France spend doing certain leisure activities vs. Americans or TV consumption of different countries, and then they have to interpret the data, in French, and then compare and contrast the different groups represented and infer why one group might show different behavior than another group. This activity is not nearly as scientific or in-depth as the point Bean makes about it on page 154, but it's something that I incorporate into lessons that I didn't really think about characterizing as that sort of assignment before.
I believe ‘Writing at the End of Class to Sum up a Lecture or Discussions” to be an effective critical thinking tool as it probes the student to focus on what they’ve learnt.
ReplyDeleteMy class usually starts with lecture followed by nursing case-studies, scenarios and simulations, role-playing and have them discuss and reflect on the lecture. In other words applying their knowledge learnt.
In nursing I believe ‘Assigning requiring Role-Playing or What if Situations’, ‘Cases and Simulations’ are extremely important because nurses are always placed in ethical dilemmas/situations/conflicts. This is a career where someone’s life is in your hands… Thus this form of active thinking and learning is paramount. Summaries or abstracts of articles or course lectures are also beneficial because nursing research/evidence-based practice in at the forefront of nursing today… Nurses are always asked: “Where’s the Evidence?”
As a nurse educator I'm always amazed about how students gain knowledge but have difficulty in applying their knowledge learnt into the clinical settings. Therefore, I strongly believe that dialogues, case studies and simulations are quite effective in nursing.
1. You are caring for a new group of patients in the nursing home, and one of your team members, a CNA, tells you that Julia in room 40B is having aching in her knees and would like something for pain. You check the medication record and see she has Tylenol 650mg p.o. ordered every 4–6 hours for pain. She has not received any pain medication for several days. You obtain the medication and enter room 40. You go to bed B and say, “Hello, Julia, here’s your pain medication.” You give her a cup of water and she swallows the Tylenol. Later on the CNA returns and reminds you that Julia is still asking for her pain medication. You check the MAR, look at the photo of Julia, and realize you have given Tylenol to her roommate instead. You have made a medication error and it requires a written medication error report, make a call to her doctor, and notification to your supervisor. You look at her roommate’s medical record and find that she, too, has an order for Tylenol. You decide to give Tylenol to Julia and then document that you gave Tylenol to both Julia and her roommate. After all, no harm will occur to either patient.
• What rationalizations might you have used to come to the decision you did regarding this medication error?
• If a nurse has an obligation to do good and no harm and your actions produced no harm, have you behaved unethically?
Have you ever rationalized doing something that you knew was not the right thing?
I also made the students watch this ethical dilemma video and had them discuss it after. The students enjoyed the movie and it was great! I don’t think I would refine it as of now. My goal is to keep the students engaged and motivated. The role of an educator is not only to teach/lecture but to promote an environment conducive to learning. So hopefully it works!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRPMJUyE7Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF1CmtKyHNw
Hi Faith,
DeleteIt seems like you are already using some of the writing-to-learn activities that Bean suggests.
"Writing to sum to a lecture" seems to tie in with what you mentioned in your last blog post, where you mentioned that you often use low stakes writing to assess students' grasp of the course material, and where they need more assistance.
The role-playing exercise does seem particularly well-suited for a nursing course. Do you ever have you students actually write out the dialogue for both sides, or do you primarily have them act it out? Writing out a dialogue might help them to develop their thinking as they are forced to articulate the position of both sides.
The last exercise you include seems thought-provoking, and I'm sure it generates a good deal of discussion! I'm wondering if it is a low-stakes assignment or a more formal, graded assingment? I like that you have broken down the response into three distinct questions. Depending on how you format the assignment, they could even be 3 separate exercises: the first, analyzing the situation, the second question connecting the particular situation to the larger realm of medical arguments, and the third connecting medical ethics to their own experience.
- Meredith
They are all low-stakes assignments.
DeleteHi Meredith:
DeleteSurprise Surprise… I did not realize I was utilizing the writing-to-learn activities that Bean suggests :)) I just decided to try it out and I am grateful that it is working.
I did not think of asking the students to write out the dialogue rather than acting it out: I think this is a brilliant idea!
Yes… Thought-provoking it was! But the students got so excited and was making up points, and gave examples from their own clinical, and life experiences. My goal is for them to understand the different concepts and to make the connections between the how and why… and they are ‘getting it!’
What I've come to realize is that students don’t really get it not until they can talk or write about what is being taught; whether it is through their nursing textbooks, clinical or lecture. In other words they are learning through their own personal experiences which is great.
What I observed through my own learning process is that students want to see their professors engaged and involved in the process. I actually give my own scenarios and writings so they can see. I think it’s like ‘driving a car’… The car can’t move without a driver right?”
Thanks so much for your suggestions… Keep them coming!
Faith
Sounds great--and yes, I think that sharing your scenarios and writings is a great idea! It is often very helpful for students to see the kinds of writing we expect from them "modeled"--whether by the professor or another source.
DeleteTo encourage active learning in classroom instruction I currently engage the students by using case studies in a group forum. The students are assigned a topic being discussed that week to research. The student groups then present their findings to the entire class.
ReplyDeleteThis practice allows the students to develop critical thinking skills, establish group dynamics, accountability, culture of owner ship, and support interest in the subject matter.
These group learning activities empower students to assimilate information based on evidence, improve their language skills, encourage public speaking, and as well promote the interaction with different cultures through the sharing of information.
The assignment:
The students were divided into three groups and given the health care system to research.
Discussion Topics
Group 1: John died the other day. He died from a tumor of the spine known as a spinal lymphoma. In actuality he died due to lack of medical care. John was a clerk in a small store, and he had no health insurance coverage. His salary was $9 per hour. He barely could make ends meet. A while ago he noticed a lump on his back along his spinal column. He asked a friend about it, and was told to see a doctor. He did not do this because he said he could not afford it. As a result, several months went by and he noted that it was getting larger. Finally, he was suffering with pain and was losing weight. He went to the emergency room for relief of his pain, and while hospitalized was found to have Stage IV Lymphoma. He died 4 weeks later. John was 28-years-old.
• How does delaying health care impact patients?
• What are the consequences to society when persons delay seeking health care?
Group 2: You and a group of individuals are having lunch together in the cafeteria, and the topic of health insurance is brought up. There are two different points of view being discussed. The first viewpoint is that health care is a fundamental right and the government should ensure access to it. The opposing viewpoint is that persons should be responsible for obtaining their own health care and insurance, and that the taxpayer should not be expected to provide the funds for them.
• What arguments could be presented for both viewpoints?
• How do you feel about the political aspects of this debate?
Group 3: Sitting down in the student lounge, your eye catches the headline on the paper on the table next to you. The headline reads: “Six physicians involved in Medicare fraud ring–Millions in fraudulent Medicare claims.”
• How does the medical professionals’ behavior affect the public’s perception of health care providers and the government?
• How can you help prevent fraud in the health care system?
The group activity went well! It was a very lively discussion on healthcare here in the U.S.A and other countries. Students went further with their presentation to discuss health care practice in their countries.
Hi Roxanne,
DeleteThis sounds like an interactive and enlightening assignment for your students. The goals you’ve set up for the group forum assignment are great goals to have(developing critical thinking skills, establishing group dynamics, accountability, culture of ownership, and supporting interest in the subject matter), but they are all quite large and can be somewhat abstract ideas. I’m curious: do you include these goals in the students’ instructions for the assignment so they are tuned in to your expectations? How have the students done in terms of meeting these goals?
Along with these goals, the learning objectives for the group activity that you mentioned (assimilating information based on evidence, improving language skills, encouraging public speaking and promoting interaction with different cultures) are all really important and can certainly be achieved when students are given opportunities to recognize and understand each of these outcomes. If this is a fairly large or high stakes assignment that your students undertake, you may consider breaking the assignment down into smaller parts, giving them separate guidelines and expectations for the research portion and the presentation portion (including a breakdown of how the group work will be graded/evaluated).
In the three group prompts that you provided, was the goal for each group to take the discussion topic given and then answer the corresponding questions as a continuation of that particular situation? For example, in the group 1 discussion topic, were the students supposed to answer the two questions “How does delaying health care impact patients?” and “What are the consequences to society when persons delay seeking health care?” based mostly on the John situation that you described?
You said that there was a lively discussion in class about the topics: was this your one of your goals for the assignment? How did the students do on their separate group presentations and research?
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