designing courses for significant learning workshop by: l. dee fink, ph.d. educational consultant in...

DESIGNING COURSES for SIGNIFICANT LEARNING

Workshop by:

L. Dee Fink, Ph.D.

Educational Consultant in Higher Education

Author: Creating Significant Learning Experiences

BYU-IdahoApril 16, 2012

Designing Courses for Significant Learning

MY GOALS FOR THIS WORKSHOP

My hope is that, by the end of the workshop, you

will…

1. Be persuaded that course design is the most important single thing you can learn about college teaching.

2. Be able to design your courses more intentionally to achieve a high level of SIGNIFICANT LEARNING among your students.

THE AGENDA FOR THE WORKSHOP

1. Big Picture of Teaching – Place of Course Design

2. Integrated Course Design:

Situational Factors

Learning Goals – “Dreaming” Exercise

Teaching/ Learning Activities

Feedback & Assessment

Making Your Course Integrated

4. Question: “Will it be worth the time it takes?”

3 FEATURES OF A HIGH

QUALITY LEARNING

EXPERIENCE

1. Students

are: ENGAGE

2. Student effort results

in: SIGNIFICANT & LASTING LEARNING

3. The learning: ADDS VALUE

During Course/College:

After College:

End of course

Managing the

Course

FUNDAMENTAL TASKS OF TEACHING

Knowledge of the

Subject Matter

Interacting with

Students

Designing Learning Experienc

Beginning of the Course

Question:

What are some common

problems you encounter in

your teaching?

• Lack of Interest: “Students are bored with my class and lose interest quickly.”

• Poor Preparation: “Students don’t do the assigned readings before class.”

• Poor Retention of Learning: “Students do well on the test, but on the next test or in the next course, they seem to forget everything they learned earlier.”

THREE COMMON PROBLEMS:

1. Enhance the teacher’s lecturing skills.

2. Use more material from “cutting edge” research.

3. Re-design the course to replace lecturing with more active learning.

Lack of Interest

1. Assign more severe penalties for not doing the readings beforehand.

2. Give students a pep talk.

3. Re-design the course to give students a reason to do the readings.

Poor Student Preparation

1. Make the tests better (or tougher)

2. Require students to complete a refresher course

3. Re-design the course to give students more experience with using what they have learned

Poor Retention of Learning

3 Ways of Designing Courses:

1. “List of Topics”

2. “List of Activities”

3. Need a way of designing courses that is:

• Systematic

• Integrated

• Learning-Centered

Integrated Course Design:

OVERVIEW

S i t u a t i o n a l F a c t o r s

INTEGRATED COURSE DESIGN:

Key Components

Learning Goals

Feedback &

Assessment

Teaching &LearningActivities

Criteria of “GOOD” Course Design

S I T U A T I O N A L F A C T O R S

In-Depth Situational

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

Integration Feedback

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

Readiness Assessment Test(RAT)

# of SCRATCHES: # of

POINTS:

1 - - - - 4

2 - - - - 2

3 - - - - 1

4 - - - - 0

SITUATIONAL FACTORS

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

Situational Factors:

Collecting information about…

• Specific Context

• Expectations by people outside the course

• Nature of the Subject

• Nature of Students

• Nature of Teacher

Situational Factors

• Specific Context of the Teaching/Learning Situation

– Number of students– Level of course– Time structure– Delivery: Live – Hybrid – Online

• Expectations of Others:

– What expectations are placed on this course or

curriculum by:

• Society?

• The University, College and/or the

Department?

• The Profession?

• Nature of the Subject

– Primarily theoretical, practical, or some combination?

– Convergent or divergent?– Important changes or controversies

occurring?

• Characteristics of the Learners

– Their life situation (e.g., working, family, professional goals)?

– Their prior knowledge, experiences, and initial feelings?

– Their learning goals, expectations, and preferred learning styles?

• Characteristics of the Teacher(s)

– My beliefs and values about teaching and learning?

– My attitude toward: the subject, students?

– My teaching skills?

– My level of knowledge or familiarity with this subject?

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

LEARNING GOALS

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

FACULTY DREAMS• If you had a class that could and

would learn anything and everything you wanted them to learn:

• In your “Dream of Dreams,” what is it that you would really like them to learn?

Taxonomy of Significant Learning

CaringDeveloping new…

Feelings Interests Values

Learning How to Learn

Becoming a better student

Inquiring about a subject

Self-directing learners

Human DimensionsLearning about:

Oneself Others

IntegrationConnecting:

Ideas People Realms of life

Foundational KnowledgeUnderstanding and remembering:

Information Ideas

Application Skills Thinking: Critical, Creative, & Practical

Managing projects

In a course with significant learning, students will:

1. Understand and remember the key concepts, terms, relationship, etc.

2. Know how to use the content.

3. Be able to relate this subject to other subjects.

4. Understand the personal and social implications of knowing about this subject.

5. Value this subject and further learning about it.

6. Know how to keep on learning about this subject, after the course is over.

Writing Significant Learning Goals for Your Course

For one of your own courses:

• Write learning goals for Integration in the Taxonomy of Significant Learning.

• Preface: “By the end of the course, my hope is that students will be able to….”

• Suggestions:

Pay close attention to your VERBS

High “Visibility” Index

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

FEEDBACK &

ASSESSMENT

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

3-COLUMN TABLE:

Learning Goals: Assessment Activities: Learning Activities:1.

3. Integration:

Feedback and Assessment:“EDUCATIVE ASSESSMENT”

Forward-Looking

Assessment

“FIDeLity” Feedback

Criteria and Standards

Self-Assessment

Feedback and Assessment:“EDUCATIVE ASSESSMENT”

Criteria and Standards

Assessment

Feedback

Important Learning

Forward-Looking Assessment Task

“FIDeLity Feedback”

•F = Frequent

•I = Immediate

•D = Discriminating (based on criteria and standards)

•L = Feedback given in a Loving or supportive way

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

3-COLUMN TABLE:

3. Integration:

xxxxx ????

A MODEL OF ACTIVE LEARNING(The Basic Version)

OBSERVING

OTHERS

RECEIVING INFORMATION

& IDEAS

PASSIVE LEARNING:

A C T I V E L E A R N I N G :

EXPERIENCE REFLECTIVE DIALOGUE, with:

Holistic Active Learning

Experience Doing,

Observing Actual,

Simulated “Rich Learning

Experiences”

Information & Ideas Primary/

Secondary In-class, out-of-

class, online

Reflection About the…

Subject Learning

Process Via: Journaling,

Learning Portfolios

Multiple Activities that Promote

ACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE REFLECTIVE DIALOGUE,

with: GETTING

INFORMATION & IDEAS

"Doing" "Observing" Self Others

DIRECT

Original data

Original sources

Real Doing, in authentic settings

Direct observation of phenomena

Reflective thinking

Journaling

Live dialogue

(in or out of class)

INDIRECT,

VICARIOUS

Secondary data and sources

Lectures, textbooks

Case studies

Gaming, Simulations

Role play

Stories (can be

accessed via: film, literature, oral history)

ONLINE

Course website

Internet

Teacher can assign students to "directly experience" …

Students can engage in "indirect" kinds of experience

online

Students can reflect, and then engage in various kinds of dialogue online.

HOLISTIC ACTIVE LEARNING: A Case Study

In a course on “Leadership for Engineers,” the teacher does the following:

• Begins the course by asking students to think about what leadership means to them, individually and then collectively.

• Then the class reads a book or case study about people in leadership positions (e.g., Abraham Lincoln).

• Following this, they re-visit the central question of “What constitutes leadership”? and revise their earlier definition accordingly.

• This sequence is repeated throughout the course: – students read something – revisit the central

question – read something new – revisit the central question – etc.

Question #1:• Which of the three components of holistic

active learning does this course include – as described above? (More than one component is possible)

1. Information and Ideas

2. Experience

3. Reflection

Question #2:• How might you strengthen the

“Experiential” component?

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

INTEGRATION

Analysis

Learning Goals

Significant

Learning

EducativeAssessmen

Active Learning

& Assessment

Teaching and

LearningActivities

INTEGRATING THE COURSE

1. 3-Column Table

2. Weekly Schedule

• Teaching Strategy

• Culminating Project

• String of Activities

1. 3-Column Table

2. Weekly Schedule

3-COLUMN TABLE:

1. 3-Column Table

2. Weekly Schedule

3-COLUMN TABLE:

Learning Goals: Assessment Activities: Learning Activities:1. Foundational

Knowledge

2. Application

3. Integration

4. Human Dimension

5. Caring

6. How to Keep on Learning

Week #: Mon Wed Fri

1. 3-Column Table

2. Weekly Schedule

TEACHING STRATEGY:

• A particular COMBINATION of learning activities…

• arranged in a particular SEQUENCE

Two Examples:

• Problem-based learning

• Team-based learning

Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri

In-ClassActivities

? ? Assessm’t &

Feedback

Out-of-Class

Activities:

“CASTLE-TOP” DIAGRAM:

A Tool for Identifying Your

TEACHING STRATEGY

TEACHING STRATEGIES

QUESTION:• This strategy creates a high likelihood

that most students will…

1. Be exposed to the content.

2. Understand the content.

3. Be able to use the content.

4. Value the content.

In-class:

Lecture Lecture Lecture Exam

Out-of-class:

Read text

Homework exercises

Review

TEACHING STRATEGIES

QUESTION:

• This strategy creates a high likelihood that most students will…

1. Be exposed to the content.

2. Understand the content.

3. Be able to use the content.

4. Value the content.

In-class:

Readiness Assurance Test: Individual Group

Application problems

(Small Groups)

Exam: Content Application

Culminating Project

Out-of-class:

Read text

Homework exercises

Review

1. 3-Column Table

2. Weekly Schedule

S i t u a t i o n a l F a c t o r s

Model of:INTEGRATED COURSE DESIGN

Learning Goals

Feedback &

Assessment

Teaching &LearningActivities

Getting Better as a Teacher

Learning Goals1.Xxx2.Xxx3.Xxx4.Xxx5.Xxx6.xxx

Learning Goals

Ass’m’t Activ.

LearningActiv.

1. Xxx

2. Xxx

3. Xxx

4. Xxx

5. Xxx

6. Xxx

3-Column Table

Week: Mon Wed Fri

Weekly Schedule

Learning IMAGINED

DOES IT WORK?

DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Case #1

• Jane Connor, SUNY-Binghamton

•Course: Multi-Cultural Psychology

•Primary Learning Goal:

•To help students learn about – and learn how to interact with – people who are different from themselves

• CONTENT: Used Readiness Assurance Process from TBL

• STORIES: Had speakers come in (students, people from community)

• REFLECTIONS: Both before and after readings; before and after stories

• RICH LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

• For a 4-week period, students had to put themselves in contact with someone different from themselves – preferably someone (or group with whom they were uncomfortable)

COURSE DESIGN FEATURES:

RESULTS?

•Students did the readings – and understood them.

•As a result of the “strategy” (readings + dialogue with others + special experiences + multiple reflections):

•Students reported, almost to a person, that this course “transformed” them.

•Teacher won the university’s primary teaching award.

•Dean of Student Affairs: 11 of 16 students said this was “the most valuable course in their whole college experience.”

Does It Make a Difference? Case #2

•Bill Weeks, University of Missouri at Rolla

•Course: Coding in Computer Science

•Small class (18 students), traditional time structure (M-W-F)

• Initially: Lecture + homework

•Results: Students overwhelmed by complexity of the math – frustration – apathy – low course evaluations

Changes Made:

1. Completely re-wrote his learning goals: (examples)

• For a given communication channel, students will be able to compute the maximum rate of reliable transmission

• Students will learn how to work effectively in a group setting.

• Students will be able to direct their own learning in relation to understanding, designing, and evaluating new codes.

2. New teaching strategy: Used TBL

3. Used reflective writing: Learning portfolios

4. Oral presentations

5. Had students re-submit their homework

RESULTS:

•Students did the readings, and did as well as before on exams of Foundational Knowledge.

•TEACHER: “…drastic improvement in student morale…They worked harder – and reported enjoying it more.”

•STUDENTS:

•…an interesting learning experience I will never forget…provided me with knowledge to carry out independent study.

• I enjoyed this course to the fullest…course was entertaining and at the same time enlightening.

TEACHER’S REACTION:

•“Teaching such an excited group of students was an unforgettable experience.

• It made my job seem worthwhile and very fulfilling.

• I will be feeding off that student excitement for years.”

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER

LEARNING:

Print Resources

Website:

www.designlearning.org

Each Other

Your Dreams

THE END!THE END!

Higher Education: Let’s make it all that it can be and needs to be!

THE END!THE END!

Higher Education: Let’s make it all that it can be and needs to be!

OR, A NEW START?

Teaching for the 21st Century . . .

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