Transcript Socially Based Learning: High Expectations for Students

Increasing Student
Academic Success Through
Interactive Learning
Presented by:
Dr. Barbara M. Montgomery
Colorado State University-Pueblo
Colorado, USA
RELATIONSHIP OF TEACHING AND
LEARNING

Definitions
– Teaching = content and methods
– Learning = knowledge, comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation
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Models
– Hypodermic Model: Teaching  Learning
– Interactive Model: Teaching <-> Learning
Challenges to Learning: Students
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Academic difficulty
Inability to adjust
Weak completion goal
Vague life goals
Lack of commitment
Insufficient finances
 Lack of connection
 Misfit with
institutional culture
 Withdrawal from
academic and social
life

V. Tinto, 1996
Challenges to Learning: Faculty
Competing priorities
 Traditions and models
 Isolated pedagogical research
 Lack of professional development
resources
 Minimum institutional rewards
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Costs of Student Underachievement

Economic – lost intellectual capital, tax
revenue, productivity
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Social – lost stability (volunteerism, charitable
giving, family cohesiveness)
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Higher Education – lost prestige, efficiency
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Personal – lost opportunities, earnings, life
satisfaction
Who is responsible for student
learning?
The student
 The faculty
 The institution
 All of the above
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Factors Promoting Student
Achievement
Student-faculty contact
 Student cooperation
 Active learning
 Prompt feedback
 Time on task
 High expectations
 Respect for diversity
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Chickering & Gamson, 1991
Progressive learning
 Synthesizing experiences
 Integrating experiences
 On going skill practice
 Assess learning/feedback
 Informal contact with
students
 Special attention to early
years
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Jones & Ewell, 1993
Traditional & Interactive Learning
TRADITIONAL TEACHING
INTERACTIVE LEARNING
Teaching-centered
 Faculty – dominate
 Students – attentive
 Focus – knowledge,
comprehension
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Learning-centered
 Faculty – direct
 Students – engaged
 Focus – application,
analysis, synthesis,
evaluation
Interactive Learning Methods
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Group discussion and projects
Question-answer dialogue
Case study debates
Faculty/student interaction out of class
Peer tutoring
Internships
Service learning
Community research projects
Faculty/student research
Research Findings
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Knowledge acquisition
Mastery of content
Problem-solving skills
Critical thinking skills
Persistence
Psychosocial benefits
For summary see Braxton, et al., 2000; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005
Learning Communities
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A group of students take two or more
thematically linked courses
–
–
–
–
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Peer support groups – collaborative learning
Student interaction and engagement
Synthesizing experiences
Integration of student’s academic and non-academic
lives
Research: Enhanced learning, academic
development
(see Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Mansfield et al., 2004)
Supplemental Instruction
Key Characteristics:
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“High risk” courses
Peer mentors as model
students
Supplementary seminars
on study and learning
skills
Promotes:
Collaborative learning
 Student engagement
 Proactive, not reactive
interventions
 Higher level of learning
 Higher graduation rates
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Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005
Colorado State University-Pueblo
2004 & 2005
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Learning Communities –
Writing in the disciplines
Supplementary Instruction
9.3 point increase in
student retention rate
Positive response from
students and faculty
2006 +
Learning Communities in
mathematics, writing &
sciences courses
 First-year Seminar
 Expanded Supplemental
Instruction
 Comprehensive data
tracking
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References
Braxton, J., Milem, J. & Sullivan, A. (2000). The influence of active learning on the college student departure process:
Toward a revision of Tinto’s theory. The Journal of Higher Education, 71 (1), 569-590.
Chickering, A. & Gamson, Z. (1991). Applying the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Johnson, D., Johnson, R. & Smith, K. (1998). Cooperative learning returns to college. What evidence is there that it
works? Change, 30, 26-35.
Jones, D. & Ewell, P. (1993). The Effect of State Policy on Undergraduate Education: State Policy and Collegiate
Learning. Denver, Colorado: Education Commission of the States.
Mansfield, N., Commander, N. & Fritz, W. (2004). Freshmen Learning Communities: meeting the Needs of
Commuting Students at an Urban Research University. Metropolitan Universities, 15 (1), 122-134.
Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P. (2005). How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Shapiro, N. & Levine, J. (1999). Creating Learning Communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tinto, V. (1996). Reconstructing the first year of college. Planning for Higher Education, 25, 1-6.