Diane Ebert-May, Kathy Williams, Janet Batzli

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Innovative Teaching to Achieve Active Learning in
Ecology

• Diane Ebert-May, Kathy Williams, Janet Batzli
• Michigan State University
• San Diego State University
• University of Wisconsin
• www.first2.org

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Consensogram Directions

• 1. Take one color-coded post-it for each
  question, write the question in the corner.
• 2. Write a number between 0-100 on each
• post-it in increments of 10.
• 3. Do not share responses

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Consensogram Questions

• Please respond on a scale of 0 -100 in increments
  of 10
• 1. What proportion of your undergraduate courses
  used an active, inquiry-based learning approach?
• 2. To what degree should undergraduate courses be
  based on active, inquiry-based learning?
• 3. To what degree do the assessments you use (or
  you experienced as an undergraduate) provide
  convincing data about student learning?
• 4. How important is it to use multiple kinds of
  data to assess your students?
• 5. How often do you use data to make
  instructional decisions?
• 6. In my department, teaching is as important as
  research and is rewarded accordingly. (100 agree
  - 0 disagree)

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How often do you use data to make instructional
decisions?
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How often do you use data to make instructional
decisions?
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Goals for This Workshop

• As a result of your participation in this
  workshop, you will...
• Develop a practical and theoretical understanding
  about active and inquiry-based learning.
• Use multiple instructional designs and strategies
  that promote active learning by all students.
• Develop and analyze multiple forms of assessment
  to gather data about students understanding.
• Use data to identify student misconceptions and
  improve instructional design.
• Consider discpilinary research strategies for
  assessment of learning - what are the parallels?

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Instruction using a Learning Cycle

• 1. Determine the learning outcome.
• 2. Plan the instructional design.
• Engage - prior knowledge of students
• Explore - concepts
• Explain - application, integration
• 3. Assess - student learning

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Engage Termite Problem

• Learning outcomes -you will be able to
• Explain the dimensions of inquiry-based, active
  learning.
• Apply both (above) to instructional design.

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Cooperative Groups

• 2-3 students per group
• First - read problem/think about task
  individually importance of quiet
• Address the problem

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Problem

• 1. On a sheet of paper, draw two circles near
  each other on the center of the page.
• 2. Release termites onto paper.
• 3. Keep creatures safe. I will collect them in
  their original habitat.
• 4. What do you observe about termite behavior?
• 5. Develop a testable question.
• 6. Develop a method to test the question.
• 7. If time permits, test the question and analyze
  the data.

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How did this inquiry work?

• Develop a learning goal for this inquiry.
• List the performance expectations for your
  students.
• What assessments would you use to determine the
  if your students achieved the learning goals?
• During break record your answers to these items
  on the postits around the room.

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What are central questions about learning?

• 1. What do we want our students to know and be
  able to do?
• 2. What knowledge or misconceptions do our
  students bring to the course?
• 3. What evidence will we accept that students
  know and can do?
• 4. How does our instruction help learning?

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True or False?

• Assessing student learning in science parallels
  what scientists actually do as researchers.

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Parallels assessment

• Ask questions
• What is happening?
• Is there systematic effect (does x cause y)?
• Why or how is it happening?
• Select instructional or research design
• Determine appropriate data collection methods
• Analyze results
• Results inform next steps
• Peer review

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Assess what Type of Learning?

• Bloom (1956)
• 6 major categories in the Cognitive Domain of
  Educational Objectives
• Condensed to 3 - realistic to work with

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Cognitive Levels

• Knowledge - remember
• Understanding and Application - grasp meaning,
  use, interpret
• Synthesis
• Critical Analysis - original thinking, open-ended
  answers, whole to parts, parts to whole,
  evaluation

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Analyze Assessment Questions

• Individually,
• Use the modified Blooms taxonomy to classify the
  cognitive level of the assessment questions in
  the handout.

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What is assessment?

• Data collection with a purpose....
• students learning
• students skills
• students attitudes
• course/curriculum changes

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What type of data do we gather?

• Depends on the evidence we will accept that
  students have learned what we want them to learn.
• Data must be aligned with the course goals.
• Measures of knowledge, attitudes, and skills.
• tests, extended responses, concept maps,
• research papers, teamwork, communication

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Plan a Unit of Instruction

• Goal Students will be able to demonstrate their
  understanding of photosynthesis and cellular
  respiration.
• Assessment - multiple forms
• Instructional design - how to achieve goals

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Common Misconceptions Photosynthesis
Respiration
Photosynthesis as Energy Photosynthesis provides
energy for uptake of nutrients through roots
which builds biomass. No biomass built through
photosynthesis alone. Plant Altruism CO2 is
converted to O2 in plant leaves so that all
organisms can breathe. All Green Plants have
chloroplasts instead of mitochondria so they can
not respire. Thin Air CO2 and O2 are gases
therefore, do not have mass and therefore, can
not add or take away mass from an organism.
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Radish Problem

• Experimental Setup
• Weighed out 3 batches of radish seeds each
  weighing 1.5 g.
• Experimental treatments
• 1. Seeds not moistened (dry) placed in LIGHT
• 2. Seeds placed on moistened paper towels in
  LIGHT
• 3. Seeds placed on moistened paper towels in
  DARK

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Problem (cont)

• After 1 week, all plant material was dried in an
  oven overnight (no water left) and plant biomass
  was measured in grams.
• Predict the biomass of the plant material in the
  various treatments (use think-pair-share).
• Light, No Water
• Light, Water
• Dark, Water

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Results Weight of Radish Seedlings
1.46 g 1.63 g 1.20 g
Write an explanation about the results. (Remember
all treatments started as 1.5g).
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How and when do you identify student learning
difficulties?

• Dont have to grade formative assessment
• Pre-test or engagement activity like Radish
  problem
• Before instruction

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Find a Partner

• Develop a question that reveals the thin air
  misconception with your partner
• Share your question with another pair
• Critique the question and select one question to
  share with the class

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Elements to consider

• What are the goals of your assessment?
• What specific learning difficulties or
  misconceptions are you trying to measure?
• Can you predict how students will answer the
  question?
• How will you determine the learning difficulty
  based on the information you get from students
  answers?
• How will you analyze and use the data?

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Once you have evidence of a problem, how do you
evaluate the learners progress in correcting and
extending their understanding?
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What are Concept Maps?
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Activity

• Make a concept map with 10 concepts related to
  photosynthesis that you think are important to
  students understanding.

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Concepts

• Photosynthesis Glucose
• Respiration Energy
• Carbon cycle Water
• Decomposers Oxygen
• Primary producers
• Consumers
• Carbon dioxide