A presentation from the University of Sheffield's Sixth Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, 2012. Research-led teaching can easily become research-informed teaching, where students hear about research in traditional lectures but do not engage with it, leading to a focus on research findings rather than the research process. This presentation shows how using a practical activity in a lecture setting engaged students in learning about published research and helped to achieve three aims: (1) introducing a research paper for study in later classes; (2) demonstrating research designs in practice; and (3) helping students approach reading a journal article for the first time. The workshop involved delegates taking part in the activity as it has been used with students, and participants heard about the effects of employing this approach, from the lecturer and students’ perspectives. Delegates discussed how the method might be used and adapted for use in their own teaching, and what benefits this might bring for the lecturer and their students.

1. 1
‘Involve me and I’ll understand’:
engaging students in research-led
teaching.
Sixth Annual Learning & Teaching Conference
Gary C. Wood
School of English Literature, Language & Linguistics
g.c.wood@sheffield.ac.uk

2. 2
Introduction & Overview
• Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember;
involve me and I’ll understand
• Research-led teaching
• Definitions, challenges and opportunities
• Case study of an undergraduate module
• Replication of student activity
• Evaluation from student and teacher perspectives
• Discussion of applications and benefits of this approach
to you and your students.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

3. 3
Defining Research-led Teaching
• What is research-led teaching?
• Difficult to define:
• What is research?
General vs. specific sense
OED: ‘Systematic investigation or inquiry aimed at contributing to knowledge of
a theory, topic, etc., by careful consideration, observation, or study of a
subject.’
‘Contributing to knowledge’ – generally, or for the individual?
Our own research, or others?
• Variation across disciplines in what research and RLT are like and
how they are defined.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

4. 4
A working definition
• Teaching that engages students with scholarly research
as a focus for learning, and in so doing, promotes deep
rather than surface learning.
• Different terminologies:
• research-led teaching (RLT)
• research-based learning (RBL)
• problem-based learning (PBL)
• inquiry-based learning (IBL).
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

5. 5
Research led vs. informed
• A further distinction:
• Research-led teaching – involves students actually engaging with
research
• Research-informed teaching – involves students becoming aware
of research, often with a focus on outcomes and findings, rather
than the process itself.
• Engagement is key to RLT, but not (always) easy to
achieve:
• Resource/time pressures
• Class sizes and background knowledge
• Consumer vs. producer of knowledge.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

6. 6
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood
high level
interaction
low level
interaction
academic
HE
student
A-Level
student
A-Level
student
A-Level
student
informal
research
Research-led
teaching
academic
research
CONSUMER
PRODUCER
Research-informed
teaching

7. 7
A case study of RLT in action
• ELL115 Doing Linguistics – Level 1 UG module
• Introduces key skills for linguistics, and key ideas behind
what linguists do
• Structured around a core paper that exemplifies many of
the concepts/skills we want the students to learn
• Introduced in week 3 of the first semester.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

8. 8
Three key issues/aims
1. Introducing a research paper for study in later classes
2. Demonstrating research designs in practice – needs
focus to be RL not RI
3. Helping students approach reading a journal article for
the first time.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

9. 9
An informal replication
• We’re going to informally try to elicit the type of data that
Arnold et al (2000)* analysed, as a way in to looking at
the issues:
• Find a partner
• Make sure you are sitting next to them
• Decide which of you will be person A and which person B.
*Arnold, J. E., Losongco, A., Wasow, T. & Ginstrom, R. (2000) Heaviness vs. Newness: The Effects of
Structural Complexity and Discourse Status on Constituent Ordering. Language, 76, 28-55.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

10. 10
Instructions
• One of you is going to be the linguist, the other the
participant
• You need different instructions – linguists don’t want the
participants to know what they’re interested in
linguistically, because they might become self-conscious
and change what they do!
• So, I’m going to show some slides for As and some for Bs,
and ask you to shut your eyes through the ones that
aren’t intended for you!
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

11. 11
If you are a B…
CLOSE YOUR EYES NOW!
No peeping!
Only open your eyes
when I ask you to.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

12. 12
As: here is your task
• Imagine that your B partner has a huge set of props
• You’re going to see some slides with pictograms
• In each case, you will be required to ask your partner to
give one of the props to somebody (as indicated in the
slide)
• Each time, you must use the verb ‘give’, but what else you
say is up to you
• Put up your hand when you’ve read this, and I’ll show you
more instructions…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

13. 13
As: here is your task
• There is more than one of some of the props, varying in
colour or size, so sometimes you’ll have to describe the
specific one you mean.
• This will be indicated in the slide with a COLOUR and
SIZE being written below the prop on the slide. If you do
not see these labels, assume there is only one of the prop
and its name alone will allow your partner to identify it.
• Raise you hand after reading this, and I’ll show you an
example…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

14. 14
This is an example…
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood
BIG RED

15. 15
Understood?
• Raise your hand now if you have not understood
anything…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

16. 16
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

17. 17
If you are an A…
CLOSE YOUR EYES NOW!
No peeping!
Only open your eyes
when I ask you to.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

18. 18
Bs: here is your task
• Your A partner is going to give you commands
• They don’t know what the purpose of giving you the
commands is
• Each command will involve giving something to
somebody, but don’t worry if they seem odd: you don’t
actually have to carry out the instructions!
• Instead, listen carefully to what your partner says for
each command, and write it down word for word
• Raise your hand when you’ve read this, and I’ll show you
the next instruction…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

19. 19
Bs: here is your task
• Try to remember what your partner says each time, but
you can ask them to repeat it if you have to
• Very importantly, don’t let A see what you’re writing
down – you don’t want them to try and guess what we’re
looking at and change the way they speak!
• Raise your hand when you’ve read this…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

20. 20
Understood?
• Raise your hand now if you have not understood
anything…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

21. 21
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

22. 22
Instructions for everybody
• There will be 6 trials
• Bs will need to close their eyes before each trial, whilst
As receive specific instructions from a slide
• After As receive specific instructions, I will count to three
and then you should carry out your task
• Here goes…
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

23. 23
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

24. 24
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood
SMALL YELLOW

25. 25
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

26. 26
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

27. 27
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

28. 28
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

29. 29
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

30. 30
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood
BIG YELLOW

31. 31
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

32. 32
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

33. 33
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

34. 34
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

35. 35
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

36. 36
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood
SMALL RED

37. 37
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

38. 38
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

39. 39
GIVE
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

40. 40
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

41. 41
Things you might have noticed
• Sometimes the prop was mentioned first:
• Give the small red rose to David Cameron
• Sometimes the recipient was mentioned first:
• Give David Cameron the small red rose
• Review what you said in your groups
• Count how many times the prop came first, and how many times
the recipient came first.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

42. 42
Research Questions
• Why does post-verbal constituent order vary?
• What factors influence the choice of one ordering over
the other?
• What function(s) can varying constituent order serve?
• In your group, think about:
• Why you chose the order your did
• Why you varied the order (if you did)
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

43. 43
Moving forwards in the course
• After this introductory session, students go on to:
• Next session: consider the experiment Arnold et al did
• Read the paper
• Consider the research design
• Learn about experimental methods in linguistics
• Learn about ethics in research with participants
• Undertake a small scale project where they are asked to design a
follow-up study introducing a motivated modification.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

44. 44
Benefits of the replication
• Students consider the research as a whole – shifts focus
from the results/outcomes
• Students see research designs in action
• They get a sense of what it feels like to be a linguist or a
participant
• Their experience of reading a paper is easier because
they know what to expect.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

45. 45
Evaluation: what students think
• End of course questionnaire
• 85% response rate
• 97% of students enjoyed the replication (45% ‘very much’)
• 100% of students felt that doing the replication improved their
understanding of the paper (55% ‘to a great extent’)
• 96% of students thought they would have found reading the
paper more difficult without participating in the replication
• 100% of students felt their participation was useful.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

46. 46
Evaluation: what students think
The replication helped me to:
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
• see what it felt like to be a linguist
• understand data analysis and conclusion
• understand the details of the experiment
• understand the issues being investigated
• understand the background to the paper
• understand what a Journal Article is
• feel confident in starting to read the paper

47. 47
General comments
• ‘I liked the interactivity – it helped me fully understand
what the experiment aimed to do’
• ‘Seeing the type of information used in the experiment
helped me understand the types of IV used in the paper.’
• ‘Because it was practical it got us thinking, which gave us
a good basis for understanding what the journal was
tackling … simply just reading it would have been very
daunting.’
• ‘Could understand exactly what it felt like to be a
participant’
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

48. 48
Discussion
• How might this approach be useful in your own
teaching/discipline?
• What challenges would you face in using this approach?
• What adaptations/alternative approaches could you use?
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood

49. 49
Summary and Conclusions
• Importance of engagement in research as a way of
learning about the process as well as the
outcomes/conclusions
• A practical way of doing this, through informal replication
• Students enjoy it, and they learn from it
• Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may
remember; involve me and I’ll understand.
14/09/2014 © The University of Sheffield / Gary C. Wood