Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a teaching method where students work in teams on inquiry-based activities guided by questions to develop understanding of key concepts. The activities follow a learning cycle of exploration, concept formation, application, and reflection. Students take on specific roles in their teams and work through stages of the activities that develop critical thinking and problem solving skills while learning course content. There is evidence that using POGIL results in improved mastery of content, learning skills, student retention, and attitudes compared to traditional lecture-based methods.

1. Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning for Entrepreneurship Clif Kussmaul, PhD Associate Professor of Computer Science Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA [email_address] NCIIA 2011

2. Student learning is enhanced by a variety of factors: work in teams combine content & process construct knowledge follow learning cycles connect multiple concepts & representations receive prompt, regular feedback reflect on process & progress

3. Teams & processes help students to learn from each other. Students teams learn, understand, & remember more. Processes provide helpful scaffolding. Students also learn process skills, such as communication & teamwork. Students can answer each others’ questions; teacher answers more difficult questions. The best way to learn is to teach.

4. Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (www.pogil.org) Learners work in teams (typically 3-5) on scripted activities with questions that guide them through inquiries (investigations) which often model discovery & research, to help learners construct knowledge . Teams follow processes with specific roles, steps, reports, etc. Facilitator circulates to monitor & support. Activities & processes are designed to achieve content & process objectives .

5. Example: Project Scheduling (see paper & supporting docs) Estimate time to make a batch of cookies. Study & organize steps in a recipe, resulting in a work breakdown structure . Estimate time for each step, & implications. Identify dependencies & sequence of steps, resulting in a Gantt chart . Explore resource implications. Identify steps that can’t & can be shifted, resulting in a critical path .

6. POGIL has evolved over time. David Hanson, Stony Brook University, 1994 series of 20+ NSF grants originally in chemistry, spreading elsewhere regular workshops & regional meetings useful resources & active community http://www.pogil.org

7. There is evidence that POGIL works. data from 3 experiments lower student attrition improved mastery of content improved learning skills better attitude & motivation # format %A %B %C %D,F,W 1 pre: lecture 19 33 26 22 post: POGIL 24 40 26 10 2 pre: lecture 20 20 27 33 post: POGIL 29 35 24 12 3 pre: lecture 12 19 16 53 post: POGIL 9 32 31 28

8. Activities are designed with stages that form learning cycles (Karplus, Piaget). 1. Orient , motivate, prepare 2. Explore , observe, analyze 3. Form concepts via questions 4. Apply in exercises & problems 5. Close , reflect, assess induction deduction

9. Questions & problem solving move from simple to complex issues. Directed questions prompt exploration and develop context & confidence. Convergent questions lead to formation of concepts . Divergent questions encourage application & future exploration.

10. Reporting & meta-cognition help students learn how to learn. Reports help learners & teachers see & think about what happened in team. Getting learners to think about their learning is key to becoming better learners.

11. Responsibility & evaluation provide incentives & avoid problems. Each student has a role, and roles rotate. Students know they depend on each other. Free-loading is discouraged. Depending on the academic environment, reports may or may not be graded.

12. Example: Stage Gate Models for New Product Development (NPD) Explore set of NPD activities, consider expected costs, hit rates, & returns. Sort activities into groups & sequence, resulting in a set of stages . Consider costs & risks over time, and ways to minimize both. Develop criteria to apply after each stage, resulting in a set of gates . Re-consider expected costs, hit rates, returns.

13. In summary, POGIL uses 7 key components. Learning teams Guided-inquiry activities Questions to promote critical thinking Problem solving Reporting Meta-cognition Individual responsibility Grades (when necessary)

14. POGIL has variations, pros & cons. Small & large courses (scales reasonably well). Daily, weekly, or occasionally. Paper and/or technology for activities & reporting. Adapts to varied languages & cultures. Teacher as “guide on the side” not “sage on the stage”. Harder to predict & control class. Requires time & effort to design activities.

15. My experiences with POGIL are recent & exciting. ongoing interest in active learning chemistry colleagues who use POGIL POGIL workshop at ASEE 2009 POGIL activities for soft computing in India regional POGIL meeting 2010 POGIL activities for other topics project management, e’ship, computer science NSF TUES grant to develop & validate activities possible reviewers & collaborators?

16. Work backwards to create POGIL activities. Choose the key concept(s) to be learned. Decide how to apply the concept in order to evaluate mastery. Design steps & key questions to guide learners as they explore toward concept. Decide how to orient learners through motivation & background information. Design reporting & reflection for closure . Try the activity and revise as necessary.

17. Questions & Discussion & Evaluation Clif Kussmaul [email_address] The POGIL Project http://www.pogil.org Hanson. Instructor’s Guide to POGIL. Hanson. Designing POGIL Activities. Summer 2011: Regional POGIL Meetings invaluable to get started Eberlein, Kampmeier, Minderhout, et al. (2008) Pedagogies of engagement in science: A comparison of PBL, POGIL, and PLTL. Biochemistry & Mol. Bio. Education 36(4):262–273