students expectations assessment of student expectations in the classroom and applications for...

STUDENTS EXPECTATIONSASSESSMENT OF STUDENT EXPECTATIONS IN THE

CLASSROOM AND APPLICATIONS FOR FACULTY

Lilly Graduate Fellows:Andrea Andrew, Abdel-Hameed Badawy, Mara Dougherty, Katie Marie Hrapczynski, Elise Larsen, Matthew Walker Miller, Breanne Robertson, Karl Schmitt, Artesha Taylor Sharma, Breanne RobertsonCo-Investigators: Spencer Benson, Sabrina Kramer, Alexis Williams

Presenters: Hameed Badawy and Karl Schmitt

Motivation

• Student expectations for a course?• Teaching techniques?• Technologies and tools?• Different Assessments?

• Student expectations for instructors?• Types of Communication?

Motivation II

• Do these student expectations match faculty’s impressions?

• How can we identify similarities and discrepancies?

• How do we address these?

Outline• Motivation• Related Work• Tool Description• Pilot Results• Faculty Feedback• Conclusions• Q&A

What Others Say…

• Sanders, et al.• Planning for 4-year curriculum/course of study• Did not compare with faculty perceptions of student

expectations (gap analysis)

• Trudeau & Barnes• Focused on instructor traits

• Royal, Eli, & Bradley• Focused on instructor goals for student development

• Umbach & Wawrzynski• Showed positive correlation with many of the techniques

our survey addressed and student engagement

A Simple, Deployable ToolTool Requirements:

• Components of interest• Learning activities• Learning assessments• Technology• Instructor communication

• Broad applicability• Appropriate length• Sufficiently informative• Flexibility

1st Page of Content on SurveyThis page collected demographic information and will be trimmed down or eliminated in final draft as much of this information is directly available to professors.

We have not displayed our consent form, it was however the first actual page of the survey.

2nd Page of ContentThe bulk of our questions lie on this page.

3rd Page of ContentOur final question and open ended question are on this page

43%

27%

29%Position Distri-

bution

Tenure & Tenure-TrackOther InstructorsGraduate Students / TAs

29%

20%28%

23%Class Distribution

Freshman SophmoreJunior Senior

Participation Summary

• Pilot Student Survey • Instructor Survey

288 instructors across all disciplines at University of Maryland, College Park

816 undergraduate students enrolled in STEM courses

27 Instructors; 25 courses

73%

27%Major Distri-

bution

STEM

Non-STEM

Outline

• Motivation• Related Work• Tool Description• Pilot Results• Faculty Feedback• Conclusions• Q&A

Think, Pair, Share, Predict - Results

•Learning Activities• Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations

• Learning Assessment• Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation

• Technology• PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media

• Instructor• Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Naming, Answering Emails and Phone-

calls, Assignment return, Grade posting

Learning Activities:Which do you think students expect the most?

Study G

uides

Disc

ussions

Readings

Demonstr

ations

Chalk/White

-bo...

0%

100%

0%0%0%

1. Study Guides

2. Discussions

3. Readings

4. Demonstrations

5. Chalk/White-board

Learning Activities (Students vs. Faculty)

Spring 2012

Study Guides Discussions Readings Demonstrations Chalkboard/WB0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Students Faculty Perception

Learning Activities (by Class)

Study Guides Discussions Readings Demonstrations Chalkboard/WB0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

Spring 2012

Seniors expect more discussion, fewer demonstrations, and less use of the chalkboard/whiteboard than other students

• Learning Activities• Classroom Discussion, Readings, Chalk-/White-Boards, Study Guides, Demonstrations

•Learning Assessment• Exam types, Projects, Papers, Homework, Class Participation


• Instructor• Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Naming, Answering Emails and Phone-

calls, Assignment return, Grade posting


Learning Assessment: Which do you think students expect the most?

Multi

ple Choic...

Essa

y-Based Ex..

.

Individual

Pro...

Gro

up Projects

Writt

en Papers

Homework

Class Parti

cip...

0%

100%

0% 0%0%0%0%

1. Multiple Choice Exams

2. Essay-Based Exams

3. Individual Projects

4. Group Projects

5. Written Papers

6. Homework

7. Class Participation

Learning Assessment (Students vs. Faculty)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%Student Faculty Perception

Spring 2012

Learning Assessment (by Class)

Multiple Choice Exams

Essay-Based Exams

Individual Projects

Group Projects

Written Papers

Homework Class Par-ticipation

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

Spring 2012

Seniors expect more sophisticated learning assessment components, such as essay-based exams, group projects, and written papers



•Technology• PowerPoint, ELMS, e-Texts, Clickers, Social Media

• Instructor• Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Naming, Answering Emails and Phone-calls,

Assignment return, Grade posting


Technology: Which do you think students expect the most?

PowerPoint

Learn

ing Manag..

.

E-Textb

ooks

Socia

l Media

Clicke

rs

0%

50%

0%0%

50%

1. PowerPoint

2. Learning Management System (ELMS, etc)

3. E-Textbooks

4. Social Media

5. Clickers

Technology (Students vs. Faculty)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Student Faculty Perception

Spring 2012

Technology (by Class)

Powerpoint Learning Management

System

e-Textbooks Social Media Clickers0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

Spring 2012

Fewer freshmen expect PowerPoint compared to other students

Students tend not to expect e-textbooks and social media in STEM courses




•Instructor Availability• Office Hours, Classroom, Non-Office Hours, Naming,

Answering Emails and Phone-calls, Assignment return, Grade posting


Instructor Availability: Which do you think students expect the most?

Offi

ce H

ours

Inte

racti

on wi...

Accessi

bility ...

Know Student N

...

0% 0%0%

100%

1. Office Hours

2. Interaction with Students in Class

3. Accessibility Outside Office Hours

4. Know Student Names

Instructor Availability (Students vs. Faculty)

Office Hours Interaction with Students in Class

Accessible Outside Office Hours

Know Student Names

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Student Faculty Perception

Spring 2012

Instructor Availability (by Class)

Office Hours Interaction with Students in Class

Accessibility Outside Office

Hours

Know Student Names

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Spring 2012

Interesting Comparisons - Results

• Honors vs. Non-honors students

• 200 vs. 400 level course comparison

Honors vs. Non-Honors Students

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%Honors

Non-Honors

Spring 2012

Learning Assessment Components Comparison

In general, honors students have fewer expectations compared to non-honors students. This trend was also observed with learning activities components.

Comparison of Student Response for BSCI 223 and BSCI 440

Po

we

r P

oin

t slid

es

Le

arn

ing

Ma

na

ge

me

...

e-T

ext

bo

oks

Stu

dy

gu

ide

s

So

cia

l Me

dia

In-c

lass

dis

cuss

ion

s

Cla

ss p

art

icip

atio

n_

x...

Mu

ltip

le c

ho

ice

_x0

0...

Gro

up

Pro

ject

s

Ho

me

wo

rk

Writ

ten

Pa

pe

rs

Ess

ay-

ba

sed

Exa

ms

Sm

all

dis

cuss

ion

_x0

...

Re

ad

ing

s o

the

r_x0

00

...

Ind

ivid

ua

l Pro

ject

s

Clic

kers

Te

xtb

oo

ks

De

mo

nst

ratio

ns

Ch

alk

bo

ard

/WB

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

BSCI 223 BSCI 440

Outline

• Motivation• Related Work• Tool Description• Pilot Results• Faculty Feedback• Conclusions• Q&A

Faculty Feedback

“I thought this survey was great at getting a cross section of what my students expected from the class. Plus, we are trying some new formats for the course, and we want to see how the student body changes. I was surprised at some the expectations, but the complaint of the majority: this class is too much work is wrong, in my opinion.”

“What misconceptions do you think faculty have about students?”

• Students had the opportunity to comment on their perceptions of faculty misconceptions

• Dominant themes included:• Constraints on student time• Student effort• Student attitude toward classes

• Other themes: • Faculty communication• Effectiveness of pedagogy• Course pace• Overall comprehension


“We don't want to be engaged. I am very frustrated that so many of my classes are so geared toward the exam, yes I want to learn the information but I could just read a book. I want to be engaged.”


“That students prefer an excessive amount of ‘easy’ questions on exams in comparison to a shorter amount of more difficult questions.”


“That the students know exactly what the faculty member expects of them…every teacher has their own standards and expectations.”

Conclusions

• Students and instructors do not always agree on expectations in the classroom.

• Many students feel that instructors adopt a condescending attitude and underestimate their abilities.

• This tool provides an early opportunity for instructors and students to communicate and to improve learning.

Reflection

• Which student expectations do not match your current teaching style?

• What curriculum changes might you make based on this information?

• Are there questions specific to your course or to your discipline that you would want to add?

Coming this fall…

Student Survey Tool• Improvements to pilot survey will be made

based on faculty and student feedback• The refined survey can be customized and

available for individual faculty use• Format for course management system at UMD

for easy distribution

Thank You

• UMCP Center for Teaching Excellence• Spencer Benson, Sabrina Kramer, Alexis Williams

• Instructors and students who participated in the surveys

• Faculty who distributed the student survey

students expectations assessment of student expectations in the classroom and applications for...

Documents

student engagement

actual page

nd page of content

undergraduate students

assessmentexam types

types of communication

final question

fewer demonstrations