Active learning tools, both in the classroom and outside. I presented these slides at a pedagogy workshop, and it was received well. It is tough to implement, but I always include elements like the ones presented here, to my classes, to keep the lectures fun for me and my students.

1. PRE, ACTIVE, AND POST: TAKING
LEARNING BEYOND THE LECTURE
Devaleena S. Pradhan
Department of Biology
PhD Candidate
dpradhan1@student.gsu.edu
An alternative approach to university educatio

2. 3 TIER APPROACH – TAKE IT
BEYOND THE LECTURE
Active
Learnin
g
Preparation
Assessment,
Synthesis,
Improvement
ROOTS
Trunk
Dense, leafy, branches

3. Take an active learning
approach
Our students have preconceptions about how teaching works
Student Expectations:
 No need to prepare prior to class
 Power point lecturing of the material: passive learning
 Notes will be posted (why bother attending class?)
 Feed me: Step by step instructions on EVERYTHING
 (Students may not know how to follow instructions)
 Cram: Exams will test factual knowledge of the material

4. Average Percentage of Retention of
Material after 24 hours (taken from Sousa,
“How the Brain Learns”, 1995 p. 43)
 Lecture 5%
 Reading 10%
 Seeing or Hearing the Material
20%
 Demonstration 30%
 Discussion Group 50%
 Practice by Doing 75%
 Immediate Use of Learning 90%
 Teaching others 90%

5. – Its not just for
us!
 PROBLEM: Students do not come prepared
 SOLUTUION: Assignments (“preparation”) due a day
before class
 BENEFITS:
 You know what material to focus on in class!
 No need to use class time for a quiz
Tools: 1) Assignment Content
2) Use of media
Preparation

6. Tech Tools
 Blackboard tools
 Dropbox Assignments (D2L – add a deadline)
 Message boards/ Discussion Forums
 Social Media (Facebook)
 Blogs
 Online Modules (Build novel tools that help
learning)
Preparation

7. Example:
Facebook interactions

8. Benefits
 Students acclimate to the extended
classroom
 Rapid grading tools (in many cases)
 Students can show off skills  engaged
beyond class  enthusiasm for class
 Allows you to focus on higher order thinking
skills
Preparation

9. Active  Creativity
 Puzzles
 Word games
 Debates  excellent for learning the scientific method
 Short film
 Poem / Limerick / Haiku / Short story
 Skit
 Cultivate a classroom culture that promotes
discussion
Takes the pressure off of you!
Active
Learning

10. Promote “Student Talk”
 Closed questions – do not drive deep thinking (Bloom et
al 1956, Allen and Turner 2002)
 Pose misconceptions to evaluate scientific correctness
 Think-Pair-Share activities
 Group Problem Solving
 “Multiple Hands, Multiple Voices”
 One Minute Paper – helps quality and honest responses
 Workshop Biology – e.g. Process of Writing Lab Reports
 Jigsaw Groups: Build something (“Divide and Conquer”)
Active
Learning

11. Post Classroom
The Usual:
 Classroom work sheets
 Written Assignments
 Exams
Modified:
 Provide feedback and opportunity for improvement
 Application of classroom theories to life examples
 Continued interaction on social media
 How have your views of pre-class assignment
Assessment,
Synthesis,
Improvement

12. Jigsaw Groups
 An example from this talk
 Divide this group into Pre, Active, Post
 You discuss take home messages
 One volunteer from each team shares with the group

13. This is just too much!
 Student does not like using social media. Period.
 Social media is for fun. I don’t want to mix it with work!
 Too much material to cover! Quality vs. Quantity
 Too much time - its easy to just lecture
 Development of new curricula to supplement textbooks
 You need to be very comfortable with the material
 Students complain that they are putting in more time
relative to other sections
 GSU undergraduate expectations: “For every 1 h of lecture, a
student must spend 3 h outside the classroom” (Dr. Grober,
during faculty orientations)

14. Your Role: Control and Moderate
 Set the standards
 Improvise
 Instructor prescribed questions in class
 Recognize Blooms Taxonomy
 Meaningful Grades – assign points for ALL aspects of
student learning – also saves you effort of bulk grading!
 Lots of books/ materials available to adopt transformational
teaching approaches

15. Make student thinking
visible to both students
and teachers
What I have learned:

16.  Socrative student
 72988
 Doc cam
 Use doc cams
 Lynda.com
 Khanacademy
 Hybrid pedagogy – innovation
 Tumblr

17. Acknowledgements
 Dr. Matthew Grober (GSU, Dept. of Biology)
 Dr. Stephanie Gutzler (GSU, Dept. of Biology)
 Dr. Matthew Brewer (GSU, Dept. of Biology)
 Dr. Agnes Lacombe (UBC, Dept. of Biology)
 Dr. Kyle Frantz (GSU, Neuroscience Institute)