April 1, 2013

Putting it all together

Learning together

Some instructional approaches, when implemented effectively, can incorporate several learning principles simultaneously to foster student learning. For example, activities that include a structured discussion can make thinking visible by eliciting ideas, give students practice in expert problem-solving by having them reason and respond to ideas in a group, and engage them in creating a community of learning and scholarship.

Not surprisingly, research shows that “Individuals are likely to learn more when they learn with others than when they learn alone,” according to a review in Advances in Physiology Education. Discussion is a great way to facilitate such group learning. As UW faculty know, cultivating productive discussion requires forethought and guidance, whether the conversations happen face-to-face or online.

• Inspiring and managing discussion: “To spark lively class discussion online, I provide students with prompts seeded with links, YouTube videos, images, etc., that illustrate a concept or theme. Nearly all the work that students do in my classes is posted publicly on our course online discussion boards, and students are graded both on the caliber of their work and the quality of their engagement with the work of their peers.” — Natalie Jolly, Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Tacoma
• Acting as a provocateur to fuel discussion: “I throw out an open-ended question (like a piece of raw meat) onto the table and let them argue. If they refuse to debate, I make a clearly preposterous statement, and let the eruption occur.” — Jeff Dean, Lecturer, Milgard School of Business, UW Tacoma
• Planning for effective conversations: “I think of teaching in terms of task, talk, and tools. In active, collaborative classrooms and especially when trying something new, we tend to focus most on tasks and tools—either high-tech or low-tech. It’s important, though, to pay attention to talk as well. Certain forms of classroom talk stimulate student thinking. Planning for productive discourse in real and virtual classrooms can boost opportunities for students to learn. In my work with TAs and K-12 teachers, we use a ‘discourse primer’ to practice successful classroom conversations, questioning techniques, getting students to talk, and managing silence. They find it’s extremely helpful and really improves classroom interaction.” — Mark Windschitl, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, UW Seattle

Research-based complete approaches

A number of approaches synthesize the principles of how learning works in a holistic way and can employ technology to help. For example, team-based learning, and problem- or case-based learning,32 are multi-phase, structured techniques for engaging students in authentic and complex work. “All these approaches have something in common; they are student centered to varying extents, encourage students to seek, synthesize, and integrate information from a variety of sources, and assess performance in diverse ways,” according to the author of an article in Advances in Physiology Education. Active learning can be fostered in a variety of settings ranging from small to large groups and in face-to-face settings as well as online, through the use of wikis and other tools. Groups and departments throughout the three UW campuses implement these approaches successfully.

• Preparing medical students for team-based patient care: “Team-based learning (TBL) is all about peer-teaching, coupled with guided feedback from an expert instructor. Modern medicine requires teams of doctors and staff to sort through reams of data and make judgments about how to use information to benefit patients—having enough information is only the first step. In TBL, medical students come to class having prepared themselves in advance by reading and watching pre-recorded videos. In class, guided by experienced instructors, students work in teams, pool their knowledge, consult outside sources, and learn to develop strategic approaches to solve clinical problems—problems just like those they will soon encounter as attending physicians. The social philosopher, Eric Hoffer, got it right when he said: ‘In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.’” — Robert A. Steiner, Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Physiology and Biophysics, UW Seattle
• “Flipping” the classroom: Nursing student Pamella Guntram appreciates learning in a flipped classroom, in which she “attends” lectures online and spends class time on case studies, group projects, complex problem sets, and other collaborative work. “The ability for us to come together on campus is an opportunity to be taken, and having the course recorded enables us to use precious class time most effectively.” — Pamella Guntrum, Graduate Student, Nursing, UW Seattle; Program Manager, Clinical Development and Patient Education, Clinical Care Systems, Harborview Medical Center
• Learning collaboratively: “In our argumentative writing and research class, Professor [Riki] Thompson has us work on something overnight so the next day we can post it on Canvas to see everyone’s different point of view, and then we get to collaborate to see where everyone’s coming from. I really believe this is making our learning experience better, because you get to collaborate with fellow students and it’s a really hands-on approach.” — Morgan Hughes, Junior, Communications, UW Tacoma

Continuing the conversation

Instructors across the three UW campuses work to make thinking visible and motivate students. They thoughtfully design instruction and learning environments using tools ranging from the low-tech, such as whiteboards, to the high-tech, such as concept-mapping software.

While the plethora of research-based approaches and technologies can offer tremendous potential benefits, the variety of options can be overwhelming. Instructors can take comfort from the authors of How Learning Works, who write, “the number of strategies we must master to be effective teachers is not infinite. The same can be said for tools. The UW instructors profiled in this report have found that the best standard for selecting and retaining tools and techniques is finding which best serve their students’ needs. They are putting learning first.

We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. Please email edtrends@uw.edu.

Learn More

Read the full Provost report on how students learn and how technology helps.

Additional resources for teaching with technology.

For a full list of referenced works, click here.