8 April 2023 1

Dr Rob Macpherson UHI Millennium Institute

Orkney College, 7th April 2004

8 April 2023 2

What do lecturers do in lectures?What do lecturers do in lectures?

What do you do to support learning?What do you do to support learning?

What do you do which helps students What do you do which helps students to learn?to learn?

What do you do to keep up to date with What do you do to keep up to date with your subject?your subject?

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Intended learning Intended learning outcomes…outcomes…

By the end of this workshop, I hope you will have:

Explored some of the most common lecturer/teacher behaviours

Worked out which behaviours cause learning to happen

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Post-it task…Post-it task…

Please write on a post-it your personal completion of the phrase:

“Lecturing would be much better for me if only I …”

Please bring your post-it to the front and share what’s on it briefly.

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An historic view...An historic view...

“People have nowadays got a strange opinion that every thing should be taught by lectures. Now, I cannot see that lectures can do as much good as reading the books from which the lectures are taken.”

(Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784)

Keeping it Keeping it simple?simple?

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”

(Albert Einstein, 1879-1955).

Also:“Knowledge is experience, everything

else is just information”

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Teaching…Teaching…

Other people’s knowledge is just information.

Teaching is helping people to turn information into knowledge

by getting them to do things with the information

and giving them feedback about their attempts.

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Information and Information and communication?communication?

Information can be communicated, in large amounts, in books and articles,

or right to our computers, and downloaded onto our hard discs.

But it’s not knowledge till we do things with it…

Apply it, extend it, interrogate it, analyse it, disagree with it, compare and contrast it, and so on

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Another...Another...

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field.(Niels Bohr, 1885-1962)

Therefore we need to allow learners to make mistakes, and help them to gain feedback in a constructive environment, to help them towards becoming experts.

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But sometimes we But sometimes we really need teachers…really need teachers…

Someone who already knows;Someone who already understands;Someone who has already learned

by getting it wrong at first;And can help us to do the same…Sometimes without saying a word…

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Five factors for successful Five factors for successful learninglearning

learning by doinglearning from feedbackwanting to learnneeding to learnmaking sense - ‘digesting’

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active experimentationconcrete experiencereflective observationabstract conceptualisation

Traditional views...Traditional views...

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Is it a cycle?

ActiveExperimentati

on

ConcreteExperience

ReflectiveObservation

AbstractConceptualisati

on

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Is it a cycle?

Wanting/Wanting/NeedingNeeding

DoingDoing

FeedbackFeedback

DigestingDigesting

Ripples on a pond….Ripples on a pond….

Wanting/Needing

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Wanting/Needing

Doing

Ripples on a pond….

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Ripples on a pond….

Wanting/Needing

Doing

Digesting

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Ripples on a pond….

Wanting/Needing

Doing

Digesting

Feedback

Teaching?

Assessing?

Understanding?

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Task: What do you actually Task: What do you actually dodo in lectures? in lectures?

Jot down several things you actually dodo in lectures/classes.

Choose ‘…ing’‘…ing’ words or phrases, such as…

Talking Listening Teaching Mentoring Asking questions Answering questions Supervising

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What you do in lectures...What you do in lectures...

Write the main ‘…ing’‘…ing’ words at the left hand side of a piece of paper.

Explain how you build this into the classes.

Talk about what learning payofflearning payoff students gain from you doing this.

Then identify how you know if your ‘…ing’‘…ing’ words has been effective.

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Now rank your activities in lectures in Now rank your activities in lectures in order of learning payoff for studentsorder of learning payoff for students

1

2 3

5 64

87

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Most productive instudents’ learning

Less productive

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How does each ‘…ing’ help How does each ‘…ing’ help learning?learning?

DDoing: causing student oing: causing student actionaction

FFeeding backeeding back

WWantinganting

NNeedingeeding

MMaking sense - digestingaking sense - digesting

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Group taskGroup taskNow, chose one of the following and

conduct a similar exercise: What do you do to plan or design learning

activities? What do you do to give feedback to students? What do you do to make the learning

environment effective for students? What do you do to ensure you are teaching

well? What do you do to keep up to date with your

subject?

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Specimen Answers ASpecimen Answers AWhat do you do to plan or design learning

activities? Preparation (annually, weekly, daily) Write new course material Develop online materials Contribute to student handbook/support materials Vary teaching/assessment modes Course/module committee meetings Academic Development processes Quality Committees Validation process QAA/HMI audit activities Respond to External Examiners

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Specimen Answers BSpecimen Answers BWhat do you do to give feedback to students? Informal feedback - verbal or written; planned or

unplanned Formal feedback - guidelines; comments; pro-forma Individual feedback to student Group feedback to students Individual feedback from you Group feedback from you as part of a marking team Peer review As part of normal supervision In separate feedback sessions Through varying assessment modes Student self assessment

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Specimen Answers CSpecimen Answers CWhat do you do to make the learning environment

effective for students? College design, lighting and layout Room design, lighting and layout Seating and site-lines Access to appropriate computers, etc Access to suitable labs, rooms, fieldwork Teaching and Learning strategies Placements/Years abroad/Work-place learning Guest lecturers/tutors Style of teaching - one-to-one advice/group teaching Counselling and learner support Guidelines, workshops and development tutorials Supporting learners with special needs

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Specimen Answers DSpecimen Answers DWhat do you do to ensure you are teaching well? Informal discussion with colleagues Formal discussion with colleagues eg committees Repeat known best practice over time Develop new skills and apply to new teaching At course, college, UHI or sectoral level External Examiners/Course Leaders forums Student feedback - formal or informal Informal discussion with students Student evaluations Engagement in Staff development Scholarship on pedagogy Conferences of Learning and Teaching

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Specimen Answers ESpecimen Answers EWhat do you do to keep up to date with your

subject? Engage in Research - study Engage in Research - write and deliver papers Supervise Research Scholarship - books and/or websites Scholarship - newspapers (eg THES, Guardian) Scholarship - circulars Discussions with peers - inter-UHI and extra-UHI Attend conferences Attend workshops/forums LTSN discussion forums ILTHE membership