Jay Howard Butler University 2013 Future Faculty Teaching Fellows Summer Institute Increases learning (Astin 1985, Johnson and Johnson 1991, Kember and Gow 1994, McKeachie 1990) Increases critical thinking (Garside 1996, Smith 1977, Weast 1996) Makes students co-creators of knowledge & understanding Makes class more interesting and fun One minute to describe in writing Share with partner Volunteers to share? Norms: taken- for-granted rules for behavior in social situations Norm of Civil Attention Students are not required to pay attention. Norm of Civil Attention Students only need to appear to pay attention. Establish norm on first day Dont do all the talking Introductions Ice breaker related to course Talk with students outside of class Weaver and Qi 2005. Get closer to your students Move around the room Directly call upon students Reward participation by grading it 1 = Present, but did not contribute to discussion. 2 = Made at least one contribution, but had not read the assigned material prior to class. 3 = Made one contribution to discussion and read the material prior to class. 4 = Made more than one contribution to the discussion and read the material prior to class. 5 = Made more than one contribution to the discussion, read the material prior to class and made an effort to secure the participation of all group members. Norm of Consolidation of Responsibility Howard, Zoeller, and Pratt Introductory Sociology Courses 9 instructors teaching 15 sections Average class size = 39 Howard, Zoeller, and Pratt Averaged 49 student comments in 75 minutes Roughly 1 comment every 1.5 minutes Only 30% of students participated (N=12) 70% didnt participate at all! (N=27) Regardless of class size, 5 to 7 students will make 75-95% of comments. Significant differences: Student Age (4:1) Instructor Gender (nearly 3:1) Seating Third (2:1) Few differences by Student Gender or Race Talkers & Non-talkers perceive class environment and their role differently in one key respect Agree should complete assignments, pay attention, study, learn, ask for help Differ on participate in discussion Many significant differences between talkers and non-talkers Something to share, need clarification, help grade, comfortable atmosphere, learn more, more interesting, disagree with another, familiar & comfortable with classmates, trying to help Significant differences between talkers and non- talkers Shy, someone else will do it, fear of appearing unintelligent to others, class too large, course not interesting Lets hear from someone who Use direct questions (call on individual students) Carrots & Sticks (Just-in-Time quizzes, Reading Check quizzes) Break the class into smaller groups to discuss Allow time to reflect before speaking (Think-Pair-Share) Structure with discussion questions Use board to highlight key points Overtly emphasize key points Summarize periodically Effective Discussion, like all good teaching, requires careful planning and structuring Jay Howard Butler University 2013 Future Faculty Teaching Fellows Summer Institute