The document discusses a three-tier approach to enhance university education through active learning, highlighting the importance of student preparation before class to improve engagement and retention of material. It outlines various tools and methods for facilitating active learning, such as creative assignments, group problem solving, and ongoing interactions using social media. The emphasis is placed on transforming teaching practices to foster deeper understanding and meaningful engagement among 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)