Transcript Teaching College Freshman - Computing and Communications

Lost in Translation:
Teaching College
Freshmen
Dr. De Gallow
UC Riverside
April 9, 2004
A trip down memory lane…
My, how times have changed…
Agenda

Where students are coming from
(attitudes, experience, cognition)

What works

Applying what you (now) know
The “Millennial Generation”:




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97% born in 1984 or 1985!
Paul Newman makes salad dressing
Bert & Ernie are old enough to be their
parents
Computers have always fit in their backpacks
Rock ‘n Roll has always been a force for
social good
Source: The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2007
Do you remember?

What was your primary goal in
attending college?
 To
be financially well off?
 To develop a meaningful philosophy of
life?
 To meet a potential partner?
 To become an authority in your field?
 To get away from your parents?
Financially Well Off
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Well Off
Philosophy
1968
1998
2003
Source: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA (the
nation’s most comprehensive and longest running assessment
of student attitudes and plans)
How Many Hours Per Week Did
You Spend Studying During Your
Senior Year of High School?
0-6 hours
 7-10 hours
 11-20 hours
 20+ hours

Are Today’s Students More or
Less Politically Engaged Than
You Were as a College
Freshman?
More
 Less

Political Engagement
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1966
1986
1996
2000
2003
Political Orientation: 2003
22.7% Conservative/Far Right
 24.2% Liberal/Far Left
 50.3% Middle-of-the-Road
 Socially liberal/fiscally conservative

Portrait of the “Millennials”

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Demanding of a secure, regulated environment
Trust authority figures
Close with their parents
Focused on grades & performance
Savvy in technology
Busy with extra-curricular activities
Source: Howe & Strauss, Millennials Go to College, American Assoc.
of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers, 2004.
Cognitive/Learning Styles:
Concrete
 Sensing
 Dual or Relativistic
 Visual/Kinesthetic
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
This does not mean they don’t or
can’t learn in other ways.
7 Principles for Good Practice in
Undergraduate Education
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Good practice encourages contacts between students &
faculty.
Good practice develops reciprocity & cooperation
among students.
Good practice uses active learning techniques.
Good practice gives [& gets] prompt feedback.
Good practice emphasizes time on task.
Good practice communicates high expectations.
Good practice respects diverse talents & ways of
knowing.
In what ways have you
increased meaningful and
frequent contact with
students, even in large
classes?
How Many of You Have Used
Small Groups or Other Interdependency Activities? How
Have You Used Them?
In What Ways Do You Balance
Levels of Intellectual Challenge
with Intellectual Support?:
How Have You Integrated
Respect for Diverse Ways of
Knowing?
How Might You Give (& Get)
Prompt & Frequent Feedback?
OPTIONS:
Each table selects one colleague’s class
to use as a model and generates ideas for
1-3 selected Principles.
 We select one class and generate ideas
that will address 1-3 of the Principles.
 Collectively we can address selected
Principles.

In Groups: 15 Minutes
Select one colleague’s class from the
group
 Brainstorm:

 In
what ways might you add relevant, real
world examples to this class?
 In what ways might you add active learning?
 In what ways might you incorporate strategies
and assessments for diverse learning styles?
Reports:
Course
 Relevance
 Active
 Diverse

Collectively Select One Class

Someone volunteers their class or we make one up
http://www.discoveryseminars.ucr.edu/students.php?cont
ent=courses/s/current.html

Each group collectively generates ideas to address the
following Principles:



Group 1: Developing Reciprocity &
Cooperation Among Students
Group 2: Incorporates Diverse Talents &
Ways of Knowing
Group 3: Uses Active Learning Techniques
We Collectively Address
Principles You Select:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Good practice encourages contacts between students &
faculty
Good practice develops reciprocity & cooperation
among students
Good practice uses active learning techniques.
Good practice gives [& gets] prompt feedback.
Good practice emphasizes time on task.
Good practice communicates high expectations.
Good practice respects diverse talents & ways of
knowing.
1. Good Practice Encourages
Contacts Between Students & Faculty

“Frequent student-faculty contact in & out of
class is a most important factor in student
motivation & involvement. Faculty concern
helps students get through rough times & keep
on working. Knowing a few faculty members
enhances students’ intellectual commitment &
encourages them to think about their own values
& plans.”
2. Good Practice Develops
Reciprocity & Cooperation
Among Students.

“Learning is enhanced when it is more like
a team effort than a solo race. Good
learning, like good work, is collaborative
not competitive and isolated. Working with
others often increases involvement in
learning. Sharing one’s ideas and
responding to others improves thinking
and deepens understanding.”
3. Good Practice Uses Active
Learning Techniques.

“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do
not learn much by just sitting in classes listening
to teachers, memorizing prepackaged
assignments, and spitting out answers. They
must talk about what they are learning, write
reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences,
and apply it to their daily lives. They must make
what they learn part of themselves.”
4. Good Practice Gives [& Gets]
Prompt Feedback.

“Knowing what you know and don’t know focuses your
learning. In getting started, students need help
assessing their existing knowledge and competence.
Then, in classes, students need frequent opportunities to
perform and receive feedback on their performance. At
various point during college, and at its end, students
need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what
they still need to know, and how they might assess
themselves.”

Teachers also need frequent, formative feedback from
students during a course, as well as summative
feedback at the end.
5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time
on Task.

“Time plus energy equals learning.
Learning to use one’s time well is critical
for students and professionals alike.
Allocating realistic amounts of time means
effective learning for students and effective
teaching for faculty.”
6. Good Practice Communicates
High Expectations.

“Expect more and you will get it. High
expectations are important for everyone—
for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling
to exert themselves, and for the bright and
well motivated. Expecting students to
perform well becomes a self-fulfilling
prophecy.”
7. Good Practice Respects Diverse
Talents & Ways of Knowing.

“Many roads lead to learning. Different students
bring different talents and styles to college.
Brilliant students in a seminar might be all
thumbs in a lab or studio; students rich in handson experience may not do so well with theory.
Students need opportunities to show their talents
and learn in ways that work for them. Then they
can be pushed to learn in new ways that do not
come so easily.”