Transcript Faculty Perceptions about Barriers to Active Learning

Faculty Perceptions
about Barriers to Active
Learning
Joel Michael
Analysis and Critique
Traditional Teacher’s
Role
• Teacher in front of class
• Writes on blackboard
• Students write
• Emphasizes rote memorization
• Memorize facts
• Students do not talk
Active Learning
• From Paper
• “Active learning involves
building, testing, and repairing
one’s mental model of what is
being learned”
• What does this mean?
Active Learning
• Teacher interacts more with
students
• Get students involved in learning
process
• Ask questions
• Class discussion on material
• Emphasizes how to use knowledge
• Use vivid examples
• Students more likely to remember
• Students tend to forget a lot of rote
memorization!
Active Learning
• The author assumes this is a
better teaching style
• Is it better?
• How would you measure this?
• Tests may reflect the teacher’s
style
Active Learning
• Education is moving in this
direction in U.S.
• May be good for many business
and introductory courses
• Courses with advance math
• This teaching style may be harder to
apply
• I usually spent a week trying to
understand advance mathematics
Active Learning
• Some courses require rote
memorization
• History
• Times, Names, Events, etc.
• Political Science
• Structure of Gov., Leaders, etc.
• Higher level history and political
science courses could use more
active learning
Active Learning
• Word used often is facilitated
• Teacher facilitates learning
• Used in University of Phoenix
Barriers to Active
Learning
• Author lists many barriers to
this teaching style
• Student Barriers
• Faculty Barriers
• Pedagogical Barriers
• I critiqued some of them
Barriers to Active Learning
Students
• Students do not know how
• Students do not know how to
prepare for lectures
• Students will not do it
• Student heterogeneity
• Heterogeneity means students
have different ethnic and social
backgrounds
• How?
• Possible richer discussions
Barriers to Active Learning
Students
• Reason for barrier
• Students are used to traditional
style of teaching since school
• Rote memorization dominates
education in U.S.
• Grades 1 – 12
Barriers to Active Learning
Faculty
• Requires more preparation time
• Teacher has less control of
classroom
• Colleagues do not use this
method
Barriers to Active Learning
Faculty
• Poor student evaluations
• From experience
• Evaluations tend to correlate with
the grades
• Better grades leads to better
evaluations
Barriers to Active Learning
Faculty
• “Lack of teacher maturity”
• Have no idea
• Usually teacher is more mature than
students
• Faculty reward structure
• Have no idea
• Teachers usually have fixed salaries
• Could be bonus for good test scores
• Teachers do not know how to do
it
Barriers to Active Learning
Pedagogical Issues
• Pedagogical – teaching
• Classrooms do not lend to this
style
• Classrooms are inanimate
• Takes too much time and
content suffers
• Student assessment is more
difficult
• Give same tests
Barriers to Active Learning
Pedagogical Issues
• Difficult to predict outcomes
• Difficult to ensure “quality
control”
• Each class, students learn the
same material
Barriers to Active Learning
Pedagogical Issues
• Not enough resources
• Teachers always complain about
this
• Standard class times
• A class is 50 minutes
Criticism
• Do you have any complaints
about article?
• Is it a good article?
Criticism
• Author never defines active
learning!
• He gave some vague definition
• Psychologists are very good at
doing this!
• Along with economists, etc.
Criticisms
• Valid Criticisms
• Students are used to traditional
style
• Faculty are used to traditional
style
• As a person gets older, the less
likely they can change
• Some faculty do not like questions
• Students may ask a question that the
professor does not know
Criticisms
• “Quality Control”
• Dynamics of classroom could
change with different students
• I had classes that were fun and
some classes I did not like
• Valid criticism
• Some criticisms are ludicrous!
Criticisms
• More preparation time
• In the beginning, teachers may
need more time to prepare
• As they get used to it, it becomes
easier
• Learning Curve
• Classroom size
• Bigger the classroom, the more
difficult
• Also true for rote memorization
Criticisms
• If active learning works, then
use it.
• It also depends on instructor’s
personality
Barriers to Active Learning
Faculty
• Teachers may not implement active
learning
• U.S. Federal and states gov.s are
passing laws
• Many students are behind
• Many U.S. schools are weak
• Laws make the teacher responsible
for students’ scores on national
tests
Barriers to Active Learning
Faculty
• I do not like this
• Forces teachers to emphasize test
scores
• Teacher has to focus on material for
national exam
• I do not think it is the teacher’s fault!
• Thus, teachers are not likely to switch
to active learning
• Teachers are not likely to experiment
with new method
References
• Michael, Joel. 2007. “Faculty
Perceptions about Barriers to
Active Learning.” College
Teaching 55(2): 42-7.