Best Practices in Undergraduate Science & Economics Education

Steve Greenlaw

Abstract: This presentation will provide an introduction to “Pedagogy in Action,” a web portal designed to showcase best practices in undergraduate science and economics education. For some time we’ve been told of a revolution in active learning pedagogies to replace the traditional ‘chalk & talk’ of lecture-based learning. These pedagogies include Calibrated Peer Review, Cooperative Learning, Just-in-Time Teaching, and Quantitative Writing, to name just a few. But who has the time to research and determine the applicability of these methods to one’s teaching, much less the time to revise one’s class notes to incorporate these methods? The answer to this quandary might be Pedagogy in Action, a National Science Foundation-funded web portal hosted at Carleton College in Minnesota. Each pedagogy is explained in a stand-alone module. Each module follows the same structure–In three short paragraphs, the module answers the following questions: What is the pedagogy? Why might it be useful in your teaching? How can you implement it in your teaching? Perhaps the best part of each module is the list of ten or more examples of how faculty like you have used the pedagogy successfully in their teaching. As an added bonus, much of the material is designed to be discipline-agnostic, so even non-science or economics faculty may find it very useful.

Website: http://stevegreenlaw.org/pedablogy/

Tags: serc, EconEd,

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

Teaching the On-Line Literary Journals Class, the Next Generation and Why I Bought a 1958 Mercury Excelsior Letterpress

Claudia Emerson

Co-Presenters: Jim Groom I don’t have a panel in mind–but would, of course, be happy to share with anyone!

Abstract: With Jim Groom’s help, I have now completed teaching three semesters of The Literary Journal: Professional Practice in Publishing and Editing, learning new things with each semester. I’ll talk about the positive experience the students share in learning creativity alongside the practical aspects of publishing a journal–and, as important, the art of collaboration. Because we spend so much time talking about the meaningful interplay of text and image, color and font, I decided to bring into the discussion of “technology” an older, uniquely valuable tool–a letterpress, and will begin having students learn to create fine arts broadsides as another way to think about text, paper, and the “limited run.”

Tags: creativity, collaboration, experiential learning

Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)

Preparing to Use Peer Instruction in Teaching Principles of Microeconomics

Robert Rycroft

Abstract: Peer Instruction, a teaching strategy pioneered by Eric Mazur, a Harvard University physicist, apportions learning responsibility differently from a traditional lecture course. Instead of the instructor lecturing on all issues great and small, students are expected to read their textbook ahead of class to learn the “simple” things while class is given over to discussion of key or particularly taxing concepts. Class periods are broken down into several modules. During the first part of each module, students are given a short lecture on a topic. They are then quizzed on their understanding by being asked to respond to a question. Before the correct answer is revealed, students are allowed to discuss their answer with a small group of students seated nearby (this is where peer instruction comes in), and change their answer. If significant misunderstanding remains, the sequence of question and discussion continues until mastery is obtained. Peer instruction is more efficient when students have access to “clicker” technology, although it is not required. The strategy is particularly well-suited for courses where problem-solving ability is an important goal. Mazur and others claim significant gains in student learning in a wide variety of science courses and in institutions ranging from Harvard to two-year colleges. Economics is a discipline which attempts to teach students problem-solving ability, and would seem to be fertile ground for the Peer Instruction approach. I discuss the trials and tribulations encountered in a first-time use of Peer Instruction in Principles of Microeconomics.

Website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze1m7fu

Tags: Peer Instruction, economics, teaching innovation

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

Microlectures and Student Learning

Marie McAllister

Abstract: The “microlecture,” a 1-5 minute audio or video lecture that students can access online, is technologically easy to create, and has become popular enough that the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a cover story in March on microlecturing: (http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i26/26a00102.htm). Last year I recorded a number of audio microlectures for one of my courses, focusing on useful background information that would help students understand the course materials. I will talk about how students have used these, how they have shifted what we do in class, what I do and don’t like about the microlecture idea, and when microlecturing might be useful for other faculty.

Website: http://ecaudio.umwblogs.org

Tags: microlecture, audio

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

“How I use Drupal to roll my own LMS,” or “Eight Reasons why Drupal is better than WordPress”

Zach Whalen

Abstract: In this presentation, I will give an overview of how and why I use Drupal as my platform of choice for creating online learning spaces. Since my assigned teaching area is New Media, my pedagogy is often as much *about* technology as it is *through* technology. Therefore, the choices I make regarding our course websites give shape to the opportunities my students have for creating content and learning to express themselves digitally within a participatory learning experience. These choices must closely reflect and demonstrate my teaching philosophy and pedagogical agenda. For this brief talk, I will structure my remarks around a list of ways in which Drupal is better than WordPress. This somewhat facetious framework invokes the long-running generic debate between proponents of the two platforms, but it is not necessarily my aim to convince WordPress adherents to switch sides. Rather, I will focus on why Drupal has been a good choice for me and ultimately argue that a working knowledge of how any works with or against pedagogical goals is an important component of course design.

Website: http://www.zachwhalen.net

Tags: drupal, wordpress, LMS, edupunk

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

Pentop Computers: Educational Applications

George Meadows

Abstract: Pentop computers are relatively inexpensive mobile computers built into pens. The basic components are infrared cameras capturing approximately 80 images/second, microprocessors, and USB connections for uploading and downloading to and from larger computers. Microdot paper serves as the basis for input/output. In this presentation I will demonstrate and discuss three examples of pentop computers: the TAG Reader Pen, the Fusion Fly Pen, and the Pulse Smartpen. All three pens are relatively inexpensive, widely available, and have a number of educational applications. These applications vary from developing basic reading skills to algebra tutorials and music composition to producing audio-documents for pencasts. The pens may also be used to provide learning aids for students with limited English language skills, students with learning disabilities, and students with visual impairments. This presentation will also include some initial findings from Education graduate students who worked with pentop computers in their student teaching classrooms.

Tags: pentop computer, smartpen, assistive technology

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

Digital Resources and Global Studies: Working Projects

Susan Fernsebner

Co-Presenters: Joseph Calpin
Alexandra deGraffenreid
Steven Harris

Abstract: In what ways can we use digital tools to facilitate global perspectives? Our panel of faculty and student collaborators will introduce two working projects that pursue this aim across our own fields (Chinese Studies, Russian Studies, and History). We will share the immediate ambitions of the projects and their logistics as a starting point for a broader group discussion. This workshop conversation is aimed at producing a shared familiarity with available resources, a brainstorm of project design, and at exploring issues of pedagogy, collaboration, and knowledge creation in a global context.

Website: http://susanfernsebner.org

Tags: global_studies, resources, pedagogy

Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)

There’s a librarian in my CMS!

Paul Boger

Co-Presenters: Jami Bryan

Abstract: Academic librarians are increasingly venturing outside of their library’s physical and virtual walls, connecting with patrons in the web spaces where students and faculty spend so much of their time. The CGPS Stafford Library can already be found on the social web through YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and chat. But to capture students on the learning web, and illuminate the pathways to library resources and services in the digital learning environment, the librarians of CGPS are embedding themselves within the CMS. In this presentation, Paul Boger and Jami Bryan will introduce the concept of the “embedded librarian” and describe their collaborative efforts with CGPS faculty to create a specialized library presence in courses using Blackboard. Jami will share the results of the CGPS Stafford Library’s early endeavors at using Blackboard to provide course specific library instruction and easy access to selected library resources. Finally, Paul will discuss a current project aimed at eliminating the barriers facing students taking an online course by providing research instruction and assistance from inside the CMS.

Tags: library, CMS, Blackboard, embedded

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

Altering Reality: Teaching About and With ARGs

Zach Whalen

Abstract: Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are cross-media storytelling ventures sometimes involving thousands of players collaborating on solving puzzles, communicating with in-game characters, and generally advancing the plot. While most interaction with ARGs takes place online, the central conceit of these fictions, often, is that they are really happening, and interactions frequently extend to in-person contact between players and characters. In this presentation, I discuss my own experience teaching about ARGs in a New Media class, and I offer examples from student-designed ARG projects to argue that the learning outcomes associated with ARG play and design are indeed significant. These include critical thinking about media texts and media literacy (for example, the ethics of media hoaxes) as well as an insight into how to invoke and harness the powerful suspension of disbelief that constitutes online discourse. I also relate my experience attending the 2009 ELI Meeting in Orlando FL where organizers commissioned a self-contained ARG to run during the event. I end the presentation by contrasting this ARG and my own experience with an alternative model for ARG pedagogy — teaching WITH ARGs — and point out what I see as potential problems with putting this in practice. The crucial point that all these ideas relate back to is the latent tension between the idea of ARGs and the actual experience of playing ARGs. Much of the enthusiasm for ARGs in academic and conversation deals too much in the former, so this presentation attempts to bring some insight from the latter.

Website: http://www.zachwhalen.net/

Tags: alternate reality games, new media, cross-media storytelling, hoaxes, rabbits

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)

A Class Exhibit : Individual Work toward a Common Online Exhibit

Jeffrey McClurken

Co-Presenters: Jim Groom, if he’s not otherwise busy. I can also just use his name liberally as the guy who thought of this idea, so he doesn’t actually need to be there….

Abstract: In this presentation, I’ll discuss the way that my History of American Technology and Culture class presented their individual work using a common “lightly hacked” custom WordPress theme. This template allowed students to work on their own research projects, while allowing the class to create a fairly seamless exhibit for the semester. http://historyoftech.umwblogs.org/

Website: http://mcclurken.org/

Tags: online_publishing, student_work, digital_scholarship, WPMU, umwblogs

Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)