Strategies to Promote Active Learning

in Math/Stat Discussion Sessions

John Zweck

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, Maryland 21250
zweck@math.umbc.edu

February 1st, 2006

J. Zweck (UMBC) Active Learning Strategies February 2006 1 / 14

1 Resources

2 Ten maxims for good teaching

3 What is active learning?

4 Why bother?

5 Types of active learning

6 Strategies for asking questions

7 Leading effective discussions

8 Getting off to a great start

J. Zweck (UMBC) Active Learning Strategies February 2006 2 / 14

Resources

This talk is at the Math/Stat TA Training Web Page

http://www.math.umbc.edu/∼zweck/
All TAs should check out a copy of Teaching Mathematics in Colleges
and Universities: Case Studies for Today’s Classroom from the
Department office for the semester.
Consult with the Instructor for your course: An open letter has gone
out to instructors about Discussion Sessions (also see web page)
Talk with your fellow TAs to see what’s working.
UMBC Faculty Development Center web pages at
http://www.umbc.edu/fdc/fdcteachinglearning.html
http://www.umbc.edu/fdc/fdcteachingresources.html

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Ten Maxims for Good Teaching1

“A teacher affects eternity:

She can never tell where her influence stops.”

1 Examine why you want to teach

2 Enter each class with specific goals and objectives
3 To feel confident, act confident
4 Enthusiasm and energy can carry the day
5 Use active learning strategies regularly
6 Ask for feedback from students and colleagues
7 Be relaxed about admitting you when don’t know something
8 Learn the characteristics associated with effective teaching
9 Don’t be a perfectionist
10 Teach less, better
1
From “Confidence in the classroom: Ten maxims for new teachers”, by James
Eison, College Teacher, Vol 38, No. 1, pages 21-25
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 2
What is active learning?

Active learning means getting involved — analyzing, sythesizing,

evaluating.
Active learning involves students in doing things and thinking about
the things they are doing.
Active learning usually results in generation of something new, e.g., a
relationship between two ideas.
Students do not spontaneously engage in active learning.
They must be promoted to do so!
For each concept, structure an activity that requires students to
generate meaning about that concept.
Students must use their own words and experiences.

2
“From sage on the stage to guide on the side”, A. King, College Teaching, 41 (1),
p.30
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Why bother?

When students are actively involved in a learning task, they learn

more than when they are passive recipients of instruction.
“You can’t learn math (stat) without doing it!”
“The best way to learn a subject is to teach it to others.”
Since Chemistry 101 adopted small-group, inquiry-based discussion
sessions the passing rate increased from 72% to 86%.

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Types of active learning

Blackboard work by TA with continuous, active input from students.

Think-pair-share: Students individually think for a moment about a
question posed by TA, then pair up with a classmate next to them to
discuss their thoughts. Finally, a few students are called on to share
their ideas with the entire class.
Pair summarizing/checking: Students work in pairs. One
summarizes a concept, an approach to solving a class of problems, or
a particular problem. The other listens and checks for errors,
correcting them as they arise.
Problem posing: Individual students construct a problem regarding a
particular concept, and then exchange problems with a classmate for
solving.
Critiques: Students have short pair-wise or entire-group discussions
to find flaws in an argument presented by TA.

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Types of active learning

Step-by-step: Using a blackboard discussion, have students break a

problem up into several short steps. Then have them fill in the steps
by themselves.
Concepts to Pictures: Have students draw pictures to illustrate
mathematical concepts.
Pictures to Algebra: Have students turn the ideas in a picture into
a calculation.
Group work on a list of related problems, with occassional summary
by TA to entire class. Do it in short bursts (10 minutes max)!
Text Reading: Lead a class discussion based on reading a short
segment from the text book. This will help students to develop good
mathematical reading and comprehension skills by seeing them
modeled.

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Cautionary Notes

Designing your sessions so that students come fully prepared to

participate.
You need to continually explain why you want active learning.
Explain the specific goal of each active learning exercise.
Give clear and concise instructions.
Match type of activity to content.
If a strategy is not working, fix it and/or change it!

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An activity for you

Plan an active learning strategy for a pre-calculus class

Topic: Solving 2 linear equations in 2 unknowns
Questions:
How is your activity a good match to the content?
How does activity generate meaning for students?
What instructions will you give students?
How will you measure success?

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Strategies for Asking Questions3

Ask a lot of questions at low cognitive levels to help students shore

up basic skills from previous courses or earlier in current course.
Also ask some questions at high cognitive levels.
Wait 3-5 seconds after asking a question.
Encourage students to respond
Probe students responses for clarification and to stimulate thinking
Acknowledge correct responses: “Praise should be used genuinely,
sparingly, and it should be specific.”
Design questions so that about 70% are answered correctly.
Balance responses from volunteering and non-volunteering students.

3
From The Teaching Professor, October 1994, p3.
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Leading Effective Discussions4

Effective questioning (see above)

Active listening: Important messages are often conveyed by the way
something is stated, including choice of words.
Peripheral vision: Involves ability to intuit group process, and to
know when to provide more direct guidance, offer encouragement and
reinforce with words and actions.
Empathy: Ability to see there is more than one approach to a
problem.
Sense of timing: When to ask a question, when to offer a summary,
when to be silent.

4
From The Teaching Professor, June/July 1995
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Leading Effective Discussions

Clarity: Aims to move discussion forward with understanding. Often

involves restating “muffled” ideas.
Differentiation: A good leader cannot become totally absorbed by
discussion.
Variability: When to be light, serious, supportive, confrontational.
Connecting with the class: Ability to reach each member of class,
accounting for emotional, intellectual and physical state of the person.
Self-disclosure: Sharing of persoanl information to enhance
discussion
Flexibility: Balancing free-wheeling discussion with one that is
controlled and directed.

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Getting off to a Great Start

The first few minutes of the first class are the most important.
Welcome students and be enthusiastic.
So: Answer unspoken questions quickly and set the tone.
Get the students talking in the first 10 minutes using brief group
introductions: Name, information to provide insight into students’
interests and personalities.
Learn students’ names and address them by name.
Develop a short set of (review) problems that can be completed in the
first 10-15 minutes of first session. Questions must be answerable,
but include one or two harder∗ ones
Use active learning on the first day with modest, acheivable goals.
Explain your motives for using active learning and your expectations.
Give students a particular task to prepare for the next session.

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