A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (and sponsored by Sonic Foundry) indicates a high demand on the part of students for online lectures - as well as a desire for long-term access to online course content well after the course is over.

The report states:

"Lecture capture has been gaining momentum in recent years, but that momentum is being outpaced by student demand. According to new research released this week by the University of Wisconsin-Madison involving about 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students, an overwhelming 82 percent of students said they would prefer courses that offer online lectures over traditional classes that do not include an online lecture component. The researchers also pointed out the implications for these findings extend well beyond the classroom."

The full story is available online at http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/67990/. To read the full report from the UW-Madison, go to http://www.uwebi.org/news/uw-online-learning.pdf.

Posted by Amy Hoseth at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Enhance Your Lectures: Make them More Active

There are ways to make lectures more participatory, more engaging for your students. This tip describes 4 ways to increase active-learning in a basic lecture-format class.

1. Taking "Periodic Pauses" Lecture Format

First 12-15 Minutes: Lecture.

Pause for 2 Minutes: Students work in pairs to review, discuss and revise their notes.

Repeat the Pattern: Do 2 or 3 times.

Last 3 Minutes: Have students write down everything they can recall from the lecture.

Results: On a 65-item multiple-choice quiz given 12 days after the last lecture, comprehension and retention of lecture material was consistently higher; in some cases up to 2 letter grades better.

Note: "Treatment" and "control" groups were measured in two different courses over two semesters.

2. "Immediate Test" Following Lecture Format

Format: Give a test at the end of each lecture on the material covered each day.

Results: Doubled the retention rate of lecture material on a test given 8 weeks after the last lecture.

Note: This format based on empirical observations that people comprehend and retain material better when tested quickly and frequently.

3. "Feedback" Lecture Format

Before Class: students do "study questions."

First 20 Minutes: Lecture.

Next 10 Minutes: Small groups discuss teacher-provided, lecture-related question(s).

Next 20 Minutes: More lecture.

After Class: Students do more "study questions."

Results: 99% of students liked the method and 93% said they in fact did do the study questions both before and after class.

4. "Guided" Lecture Format

First 30 Minutes: Lecture (students take NO notes).

Next 5 Minutes: Students take notes on what they remember.

Last 15 Minutes: Small groups discuss teacher-provided question related to lecture.

Sources

Bonwell, C. C., Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creative excitement in the classroom. In ASHE-ERIC Higher education report #1. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University.

University of Oklahoma Program for Instructional Innovation. (n.d.) Enhanced Lecture Formats. In Ideas on teaching. Retrieved August 11, 2008, from the University of Oklahoma Program for Instructional Innovation Web site: http://www.ou.edu/pii/tips/ideas/lecture.html

Contributors: Peter Connor - TILT Content Editor

Copyright and Permissions: This Teaching Tip was adapted from material developed by the Program for Instructional Innovation at the University of Oklahoma.

Posted by Amy Hoseth at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This week's tip comes from Educause -- a concept called "Google Jockeying" that is apparently being incorporated into some classrooms. The idea is to embed a Google Jockey" in your class: a student who works on Google throughout the period, entering keywords and helping to build a discussion on what he/she finds. While the article discusses the concept in relation to full-semester courses, could this be an idea to test out in a one-shot library class? For more information on "Google Jockeying," follow the link below:

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7014.pdf

Posted by Amy Hoseth at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Putting the "Sticky" in your Lectures

"Lectures should be organized in [ways that aid] comprehension and retention" (Knight, 2002). That being the case: What is it you want your students to comprehend? What is it you want them to retain? Deciding this before preparing your lecture establishes clear learning objectives.

So -- if you could boil it down to one or two essentials -- what is it that you most want to have "stick" in your students' minds after your lecture? One week later? One month? What do you most want your students to know, or be able to do?

Solve a particular type of problem?

Understand the history of a major socio-political issue?

Explain a specific method for collecting statistical data?

Whatever it is you boil it down to, you have to give it some "sticky." Build your entire lecture around it and strive to avoid getting too far off-task, or message, with tangential digressions.

As with any public speech, your lecture should consist of three main sections: an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. Each should be an iterative tool reinforcing your objective.

From the Program for Instructional Innovation at the University of Oklahoma, here is a simple solution for putting the "sticky" into your lecture:

In the introduction, tell your students what you're going to tell them.

In the body, tell them what you told them you were going to tell them.

Lastly, in your conclusion, tell them what you just told them.

Sources:

Knight, A.B., (n.d.). Lectures: Organizing them and making them interesting. In Ideas on teaching. Retrieved September 2, 2008, from http://www.ou.edu/pii/tips/ideas/lectures.html

Contributors: Peter Connor - TILT Content Editor

Copyright and Permissions: This Teaching Tip was adapted from material developed by the Program for Instructional Innovation at the University of Oklahoma.

Posted by Amy Hoseth at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Sara Rathburn

Knowing where you intend to go with a course - and having a mental map of your overall goal - increases the chance that you, and your students, will actually end up there at the end of the semester.

Breaking a mental map down into individual learning objectives - written statements organizing and defining the specific knowledge, skill-sets, and/or abilities your students should acquire - will help make achieving the course goals more manageable; more doable.

Besides focusing your students' attention on a clear set of priorities, establishing learning objectives will help you focus more closely on planning, organizing and delivering instructional content relevant to achieving your overall goal.

In addition, having specific learning objectives will provide you with a basis for analyzing the cognitive levels you expect to see your students rise to, as well as help you assess and evaluate the course, and its learning outcomes, at the end.

So…what constitutes an effective learning objective?

There are three major components:

1. A description of what students should know or be able to do
2. The conditions under which students will demonstrate their proficiency
3. The criteria for evaluating students' knowledge and/or performance
Learning objectives differ from course goals in that they are more specific, stating in measurable terms, what the student should know or be able to do as a result of your instruction. The actual course goals are more general.

For instance: The course goal of GEOL122 (Geology of Our Environment) is that students gain an appreciation of how human activities affect planet Earth. Two learning objectives related to this goal are more specific:

Learning Objective #1: Given a set of geologic conditions, students will be able to identify the potential hazards associated with the given condition.

Learning Objective #2: Given geologic data on frequency of hazards, students will be able to calculate the recurrence-interval associated with the hazard.

Note that the course goal focuses on the big picture, an intangible, which is difficult to measure. The two learning objectives, on the other hand, focus on observable student performance; on producing one single learning outcome per objective.

Learning objectives can be written for an entire course or for individual assignments. Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives recommends including verbs that clearly indicate observable, measurable student responses (e.g. identify, analyze, interpret, and calculate).

By focusing your classroom instruction around established learning objectives, you emphasize the measurable knowledge and tangible skills you expect your students to be acquiring throughout the semester.

Doing so will help you design effective student assessments (exercises, quizzes and tests) as well as send a clear message indicating around what core content material your students should be setting their study priorities.

Sources

Arreola, R. A., (1998). Writing Learning Objectives. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from http://www.utmem.edu/grad/MISCELLANEOUS/Learning_Objectives.pdf

Contributors: Peter Connor - TILT Content Editor

Posted by Amy Hoseth at 08:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)