Week by Week Assignments and Class Activities

Instructional Strategies, ADLT 672, Spring 2015

(revised Feb 2, 2015)

Textbooks:

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Brookfield, S. D. (2006). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (2nd ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Date / Preparation for Class &
Assignments Due / In-Class Activities and Discussion Topics
Session 1
Feb 10 / New! Pre-reading assignment before first class session. Ambrose et al. text, How Learning Works, the Introduction, pp. 1-9, and
Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 10-39.
  • Purchase textbooks and bring to first class
  • We will complete an “in-class” needs assessment on the first night of class.
/ Introducing the Course
  • Overview of the course
  • Learner expectations
  • Discussion on the nature of teaching and learning
  • What do we mean by “learning?
  • What constitutes “good” teaching?
  • Introduction to POGIL with an exercise on teaching perspectives
  • Brookfield’s Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ)

Session 2
Feb 17 /
  • Read: Brookfield text, Chapters 3 and 4
  • Read: Pratt & Collins’ article on teaching in medical education (handout will be posted on the blog
Optional:
The TPI Inventory (link will be posted on our blog site after the first class session.)
Short Essay due on “Why Teach?” see syllabus or course blog for the assignment details / Understanding the Teaching / Learning Relationship
  • Review of the TPI and article by Pratt and Collins on what constitutes good teaching
  • Skillful teaching involves three major assumptions about teaching and learning
  • Understanding our classrooms (or any other teaching setting)
  • Strategies for engaging learners
  • The critical incident questionnaire
  • What students/trainees value in teachers: credibility and authenticity
  • The role of prior knowledge
  • Collection of Why Teach? papers
  • CIQ

Session 3
Feb 24 / Read: Selection from Jane Vella’s book, On Teaching and Learning (linked on blog) as well as review of Ambrose et al., chapters 1 and 2 prepared for the first class session.
Review posted resources in the Explore Further! Section of the Blog on
  • Vella’s Learning and Resources Needs Assessment (LNRA)
  • Just-in-time Teaching (JiTT)
  • Graphic organizers
  • Use of concept maps
  • Jane Vella’s four I’s
/ Teaching Begins from What They Know
  • Methods to gauge the extent and nature of learners’ prior knowledge
  • Learning and resources needs assessment (LNRA)
  • Diagnostic – Just in Time Teaching (JiTT)
  • Methods to Activate Prior Knowledge
  • Intro to Jane Vella’s Four I’s
  • Graphic organizers and concept maps
  • How organization of knowledge affects its use
  • Turning novices into experts – organization of knowledge structures
  • CIQ

Date / Preparation for Class &
Assignments Due / In-Class Activities and Discussion Topics
Session 4 -
March 3 / Read two journal chapters posted on the blog:
  • Getting Started with Team Based Learning by Michaelsen (n.d.)
  • Teaching Skills for Facilitating Team-based Learning (Lane, 2008)
  • Review the TBL Handout
/ Learning Concepts through Team-Based Learning
  • Guest facilitator: Dr. Steven Bishop, Internal Medicine Team-based Leaning
  • Come to class prepared to engage as a team-based learning participant in a TBL exercise to learn about TBL.

Session 5
March 10 / Readings: Before class, download the 60-page instructor’s manual from the POGIL website and read these pages: page 42 (reflection on learning), page 43, self-assessment of learning; page 44, group (team) assessment; page 45, hints for the instructor; page 46, facilitation tips; 47-52 on structuring and running a POGIL session.
In addition, these pages from the author guidelines may be helpful to writing your first POGIL. Writing Content Learning Objectives, Writing Process Skill Goals, Basic POGIL Classroom Implementation, and Characteristics and Types of POGIL Activities documents to familiarize yourself with what makes for a POGIL activity. The Author Guidelines for Developing Activities and the Elements of a Typical Classroom Activity may also be helpful in this endeavor. / Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning
  • Guest facilitator: Dr. Erin Reese, Dermatology, POGIL exercise.
  • POGIL and TBL – how do they differ?
  • Which is a better strategy for what you want to accomplish? Class debate.
  • Discussion of your instructional design projects
  • In-class time to coordinate your Appendices topic presentations – 20/30 minutes

No class on March 17 in lieu of Spring Break week
Session 6
March 24 / Read:
  • Teaching with Case Studies.pdf This is an older article from Stanford, but it provides a good overview of using cases.
  • Additional handouts to be posted
Prepare: Before this class, you should investigate an example of at least ONE well-written case study from the many online resources available. Some of these include:
  • The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (cases for all levels of students, including graduate and professional degree programs). View the Case Collection in Medicine and choose a case of interest;
  • MedEdPortal on the AAMC website. To access cases, you will need to register and then indicate your role as faculty to download case materials. You can conduct a search using “case study” and peruse the many peer-reviewed cases written by physicians.
  • Others you find through Google or Google Scholar
/ Teaching with Cases
  • What makes for a compelling case?
  • What subject matter do you teach that can be taught in a case?
  • Facilitating a case study
  • What will you / your learners gain through CBL?
  • In-class activity: Integrating basic science and clinical practice to create a case study for medical students
  • Commonalities and differences: TBL, POGIL, and CBL.
  • How PBL differs from CBL
  • Pair with one other person in class and choose one of the Teaching Topics introduced in the Appendices of the Ambrose et al. text. (pp. 225-259). You will present these to the class on April 7.

Session 7
March 31 / Read: Ambrose et al., pp. 66-152.
  • Chapter 3, What factors motivate students to learn?
  • Chapter 4, How do students develop mastery?
  • Chapter 5, What kinds of practice and feedback enhance learning?
Answer one of the blog post questions with a comment after you have completed the readings.
Target due date for observing an instructional strategy in practice in the classroom or clinical setting.
Target due date for the literature review on your learning strategy posted to the wiki. / Understanding motivation, mastery, and the role of practice and feedback
  • Deliberate practice and feedback – teaching skills
  • Peer feedback: use of the MedED Portal feedback tools for small group and lecture teaching / clinical teaching
  • Pair with your peer feedback partner to plan a date for observation and feedback to each other
  • Discussion of your instructional design projects for the course
  • Presentation Pairs meet to discuss Appendices topic presentations / facilitated discussions on April 14.
  • Schedule time to meet with Terry Carter in the next couple of weeks to discuss your ideas for your instructional strategy project, if you have not already done so

Session 8
April 7 / Reading: Brookfield, Chapters 6, 7, and 8, pp. 97-152.
Bring to class: To prepare for an in-class activity, locate a PowerPoint presentation you have given for a class or a conference presentation – especially one that you consider may be overly long or detailed. Print the slides (3 or 6 to a page) and bring this hard copy with you OR bring it on a jump drive with your laptop and you can work on it during a class exercise.
Target due date for an outline of your implementation plan for your instructional strategy: who, why, when, where, what (content), what for (objectives) and how / Developing Better Lectures and Class Discussions
  • Being clear about why we lecture
  • Characteristics of helpful lecture
  • Preparing students for discussion
  • Grading for participation
  • Scaffolding discussion through structured conversation
  • Better lectures, better learning – some guidelines on constructing engaging presentations when designing a lecture session
  • Vella’s Seven steps of design for your project designs
  • Confirmation of plans for a meeting with your peer feedback partner for observation and feedback to each other

Session 9
April 14
No in-class session / No additional readings, but you should be working on your wiki project pages, exploring additional literature on your chosen strategy, observing a colleague teach with this strategy, and observing / meeting with your peer feedback partner to exchange feedback on teaching practices in either classroom or clinical settings.
The goal for your project is a complete learning design, which includes preparation with questions for TBL or POGIL, written cases or case materials already chosen and developed, and fully fleshed out pages in the wiki on all seven steps of design (who, why, when, where, what (fully developed content), what for (objectives), and how).
Target date for developing a rubric for grading your instructional strategy.
Target date for writing a description of your plan for obtaining learner feedback. / Meetings to Discuss Your Project - Individual Assignment
  • If you have not yet met with Terry Carter to confirm a design project and discuss its implementation in your context, this is your last week to do so
  • If you have not yet done so, be sure to arrange for observation and peer feedback sessions with your feedback partner, using the MedEd Portal tool.

Session 10
April 21 / Readings: TBA based on appendices topics chosen (readings assigned by your peers) / Being Creative with your Instructional Plan
  • Pairs present their chosen topics in the Appendices of the Ambrose et al textbook

Session 11
April 28
All project work completed by this date / Read: Ambrose et al., Chapter 7, How Students become Self-directed Learners
Handout posted on the course blog: Gerald Grow’s 1991 article on Teaching Learners to be Self-Directed
End of course blog post due on what you have learned from the course.
Submit teaching strategy project by completing all pages in the course wiki for this purpose on or before May 5. Come to class prepared to share your final plans with the group and reflect on your learning during the semester. / Teaching for Self-Directed Learning
  • Grow’s model of SDL
  • Presentation of projects by class members (round robin with a team other than your own)
  • Reflections on your learning- in class activity
  • Group discussion of the value of peer feedback on teaching

Session 12 - No in-class meeting on May 5, but this is the final date for submission of your project work on the wiki to receive a grade this semester

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