A flipped learning/SCALE-UP taster session in which we will be using technology to support interactive, group-led learning for large groups. No background knowledge of global warming, physics or pirates required.

1. Are Pirates Causing Global Warming?
Causality and data handling in a SCALE-UP environment
David Fairhurst

2. Our experiences of using the SCALE-UP
approach to teach a Year 3 Physics Module
“Experimental Techniques”
David Fairhurst

3. SCALE-UP Approach
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Student
Centred
Active
Learning
Environment with
Upside-down
Pedagogies

4. SCALE-UP Approach
• Background reading/preparation
– Bookwork is not covered in class: flipped learning
• SCALE-UP sessions for high level work
– Analysis
– Discussion
– Group work
– Drawing conclusions
• Assessment
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5. “Advanced Experimental Techniques”
• 75 students
• 5 techniques, taught using
– Background reading/preparation
– 2 × 2hr SCALE-UP sessions
– 1 × 1hr exam
• Background reading
– Assigned 1 week beforehand
– Websites
– Books
– Research articles
– Videos
– Partially revealed descriptive exam
questions
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• SCALE-UP sessions
– 6 tables of 9
– 3 teams of 3 at each table
– 1 laptop per team
– Guided discussion on descriptive
exam questions
– Team work analysing real
experimental data
– Combine analysis from teams
around the table to form conclusion
– Share conclusion with the class
• Exam
– Selection of previously seen
descriptive questions
– Analysis and interpretation of
unseen data

6. “Adv. Exp. Tech” v Today’s Workshop
• Background preparation
– Books
– Research articles
– Videos
– Partially revealed descriptive exam
questions
• SCALE-UP sessions
– 6 tables of 9
– 3 teams of 3 at each table
– 1 laptop per team
– Guided discussion on descriptive
exam questions
– Team work analysing real
experimental data
– Combine analysis from teams
around the table to form conclusion
– Share conclusion with the class
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• Background preparation
– Common sense
– Sense of humour
• SCALE-UP session
– Tables of 9
– 3 teams of 3 at each table
– 1 laptop per team
– Team work analysing real data
– Discuss analysis around the table
– Draw conclusions and share findings
with the class

7. “…global warming, earthquakes,
hurricanes, and other natural
disasters are a direct effect of
the shrinking numbers of Pirates
since the 1800s... I have
included a graph of the
approximate number of pirates
versus the average global
temperature over the last 200
years. As you can see, there is a
statistically significant
inverse relationship between
pirates and global temperature.”
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http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

8. Wicca is a modern witchcraft
religion whose membership has
increased recently
Firefox is a free, open-source
internet browser, downloads of
which have also increased
recently.
…draw your own conclusions!
Vote Microsoft
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xkcd.com/111/

9. Classifying correlations
• The “correlation coefficient” has a value between +1 and -1.
• It defines how strongly the two variables are related
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wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_and_dependence

10. In your teams of 3, your task
• Find your own positive and negative
• Highly recommended to use the website:
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http://www.tylervigen.com/discover
• Correlation coefficient = 0.666

11. Share your work with the other teams
• Share your correlations with the other teams at your table
• Discuss whether there could be a relationship between the
variables
• Pass your correlations on: let other teams invent explanations for
the correlations you have discovered
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12. Share your explanations with the class
• Each table present their favourite explanation to the rest of the
class.
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Variable 1 Variable 2 r Reasoning

13. “Adv. Exp. Tech” v Today’s Workshop
• Background preparation
– Books
– Research articles
– Videos
– Partially revealed descriptive exam
questions
• SCALE-UP sessions
– 6 tables of 9
– 3 teams of 3 at each table
– 1 laptop per group
– Guided discussion on descriptive
exam questions
– Group work analysing real
experimental data
– Combine analysis from groups
around the table to form conclusion
– Share conclusion with the class
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• Background preparation
– Common sense
– Sense of humour
• SCALE-UP session
– Tables of 9
– 3 teams of 3 at each table
– 1 laptop per group
– Group work analysing real data
– Discuss analysis around the table
– Draw conclusions and share findings
with the class

14. Implementation of SCALE-UP at NTU
• Custom built room with 6 round tables of 9 students
• Two independent screens/projectors
• Share data between groups/room using Apple TV
• Increase in student performance in exams
• Used a bursary summer student. Over 10 weeks he:
– spent 2 weeks in each of 5 research labs
– collected data for the module
– prepared videos for use this year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GrP4aWB10k
– Developed his CV significantly!
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15. Supporting Group work
• Allocate students to teams
– Best if they are not friendship groups
– A range of abilities in each team
– One “excellent” student on each table
• Choose roles within the group and stick to these for each topic
– Facilitator or coordinator
– Recorder or scribe
– Researcher
– Questioner or sceptic
• Use giant dice to select tables/groups to answer questions
• Encourage team work outside of scheduled class time
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16. Challenges
• Getting students to engage from the start
– Encouragement from other team members
– Regular tests – also means no final exam to revise for
• Students struggled to use Apple computers
– Introduced 2hr training session at start of module this year
– May revert to PCs in future
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17. Spurious Correlations website
• Nice commentary on the role of human common sense
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-g0ovHjQxs
• And a TED video on correlations and causation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B271L3NtAw
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18. Thank you!
for joining in
questions?
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