This document summarizes a SCALE-UP project piloted at Sheffield Hallam University. SCALE-UP is an active learning pedagogy where students work in groups on conceptual exercises and problems. The university piloted SCALE-UP in 13 subjects across 7 schools with 37 instructors and found mostly positive results. Students reported high satisfaction with SCALE-UP modules and signs of improved problem-solving, understanding, and expectations. Instructors found benefits but that careful planning is needed for group work, resources, and pre-class activities. The university aims to evaluate conditions needed for wider SCALE-UP implementation and impacts on learning given mixed approaches and constraints generating conclusive data.

1. SCALE-UP project
Jane McNeil
Learning & Teaching Exchange
Sheffield Hallam University
8th January 2015

2. Why we did it
How we did it
What happened

5. Why we did it

6. Enquiry-based
learning

7. Identifying
information-responsive
What is the existing
answer to this question?
Producing
discovery-responsive
How can I answer this
question?
Pursuing
information-active
What is the existing
answer to my question?
Authoring
discovery-active
How can I answer my
question?
Student-led
Staff-led
Exploring
existing
knowledge
Participating
in
building
knowledge
Adapted from Levy 2009

8. Demonstrated
benefits

9. Benefits
Based on a comparison of 16,000 Physics students at NCSU
Ability to solve problems improved
Conceptual understanding increased
Expectations and attendance improved
Failure rates were significantly reduced
“at risk" students also did better in later modules
Beichner et al 2007

10. Dominance of the
lecture

11. Lecturers’
reasons

12. Reason No.
Lectures perceived to be
ineffective
13
Wanting to use technology 7
Attracted by the SCALE-UP
rooms
6
Opportunity to further develop
PBL
5
Seeking to engage students 5
Try a new teaching approach 5
Opportunity to teach the whole
cohort
4
I’m very much in
favour of trying to
involve students, trying
to make teaching as
interactive as possible
I got involved because
I’m interested in the
use of technology in
education
I’m always happy to
have a go with new
approaches that can
improve our teaching

13. How we did it

14. Meet
Bob
Decide
to do it
Telecon
with Bob
SCALE-
UP day
Adapt
rooms
Teaching
starts
Sept 2012
Nov 2012
Jun 2013
Sep 2013
Apr 2013
Aug2013

15. Researchers
Michaela Borg
Gladson Chikwa
Technical advice
Marek Oledzki
Royce McKie
37 Pilots
Pilot leaders
Module teams
Students
Levels 4-7
7 Schools
13 subjects
Making it happen
Senior managers
L&T Co-ordinators
Libraries
IS
Estates
Timetabling

16. Before

17. After

20. What
happened

21. First class

22. Evaluation
1. Assess SCALE-UP intended benefits in context
2. Identify conditions needed for SCALE-UP
3. Assess potential and feasibility for wider use
Challenges
Multiple disciplines
Institutional information needs
Constraints on data generation
Mixed approaches to SCALE-UP

23. Lecturers’ experiences

24. “It's made me aware of how important it is to get
the tasks right…I think some of the stuff I did in the
SCALE-UP wasn't the best…In a way, SCALE-UP has
helped me to become more reflective on my
practice”
“…being able to interact with students is better
than just standing in front of them talking and it
did really reinforce that, particularly going back into
the lecture theatre...I have been trying to keep
some of the principles”
“I have turned the curriculum upside-down”

25. Students’ experiences

26. EvaSys: Full year modules
Student reporting (out of 5)
Overall indicators Modules
A B C D E F G
Teaching on this module 4.8 4.6 4.5 4 4.6 4.6 4.8
Assessment & Feedback 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.2 4.6 4.1 4.8
Module organisation &
resources
4.7 4.4 4.5 3.9 4.5 4.0 4.7
Overall satisfaction 4.6 4.6 4.4 3.8 4.4 4.2 4.7
EvaSys module questionnaire

27. I feel more
enthusiastic coming
to these sessions
At first I did not like
[it] but as time went
on I enjoyed it and
always kept people
engaged
I like that I am not
just spoken to for
an hour and that’s
it
Enjoy that we have
more interaction with
the tutor & as a class
Scale-up’s good,
bigger groups so
more ideas on work
Time wasted
on…group
discussions
I would have
preferred to have a
more traditional
lecture

28. Evaluating SCALE-UP benefits
Aspect
NCSU 16,000
students
Problem-solving Improved
Conceptual
understanding
Increased
Expectations Improved
Attendance Improved
Failure rates
Significantly
reduced
NTU pilots
Positive signs
Improved
Students largely positive
Module satisfaction high

29. Attendance
Attendance? Same
as last year. Quality
of work improved.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
No
of
students
in
a
session
(%)
Sessions
Mod A (SSS)_L4
Mod B (EDU)_L5
Mod C (NLS)_L5
Mod D (SST)_L6
Mod E (EDU)_L6 & 7

30. Evaluating SCALE-UP benefits
Aspect
NCSU 16,000
students
Problem-solving Improved
Conceptual
understanding
Increased
Expectations Improved
Attendance Improved
Failure rates
Significantly
reduced
NTU pilots
Positive signs
Improved
Students largely positive
Module satisfaction high
No effect
Inconclusive on failure
Positive impact on grades

31. What next

32. What we learned about
conditions for SCALE-UP
Need careful planning for:
group management
resource design
framing of pre-class activities
Preparation takes longer
Peer & specialist support crucial
Worked best where several modules used it
SCALE-UP principles can be used in other classes

33. What we learned about
conditions for SCALE-UP
Spaces are loved
Round tables are crucial
Circulation space is important
Voice augmentation is useful
Technology must be seamless
Scarcity of large, flat rooms
Consideration of contact hours

35. “The main thing with SCALE-UP is
capturing how students learn, because
I think years and years of evidence
have shown that students do not learn
the way we teach, so what we need to
do is to start teaching the way they
learn and that’s what SCALE-UP does.”
SCALE-UP pilot leader