Effective Use of Class Time

What to do with a class when everything

anybody needs to know can be found on

Overview
Why change?
Lecture worked for me, whats wrong
with students these days?

Whats better?
What can I use to change what Im
doing?

Driving the Change

Curriculum Initiatives
State and National
K-12 and Higher Education

Technology Advances
Educational Resources
Distractions

Curriculum Initiatives
State-level directive
General Education Core Curriculum
Revision in Texas

National Initiative
LEAP initiative from AAC&U
Standardized assessments of critical
thinking

Texas Higher Ed
Core Curriculum Revision
Focused on six core competencies,
stated in the form of learning
outcomes
Critical thinking
Communication skills
Empirical and quantitative skills
Social responsibility
Personal responsibility
Teamwork

LEAP Initiative
Intent is to broaden the reach of a
liberal education to more college
students
Devised a set of Essential Learning
Outcomes
Advocates High-Impact educational
practices
LEAP States Initiative focuses on
authentic assessment of
competencies

Technology Advances
Cloud / internet resources
Factual knowledge
Explanations of theories
Examples of phenomena
Interaction with others
Video, audio, text resources
Commercial ventures
Lecture capture

Technology Challenges

Distractions
Time management
Information overload
Evaluation of sources

Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluating Web Sites

Scientific Teaching
Multiple studies show
increase in student success
with active learning
Key concept: students are
doing something in the
classroom

Course Design
First step is always to determine
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Align elements for each outcome:
Pre-class reading assignments
Quiz or assessment to validate reading
Lecture (brief, focused, based on
assessment)
Class activity (social, active)
Post-activity assessment

Best Use of Class Time

Overriding question: what is the best
use of synchronous, face-to-face,
course time?
Secondary question: what resources
do all students have access to that
they can use outside of class?

Suggested Practice #1
Predetermine what resources can be
provided outside of class
Reading assignments
Textbook
Library or online references
Trusted web sites

Pre-recorded lectures or openly available

videos
Online course materials
Web pages with embedded links

Suggested Practice #2
Assess to hold students accountable
for being prepared for class.
Assessment of reading assignment
Online quiz or homework
First-of-class reading quiz

Assignment to be turned in at beginning

of next class
Group work to be reported on or turned
in

Suggested Practice #3
Develop conceptual questions to
explore in class that rely on student
preparation and are meaningful in the
context of the course.
This is the most challenging aspect!
Cant be just busy work
Cant be just filling in worksheets or
reading in groups
Cant duplicate or replace the pre-reading

Vision and Change

Action Items
Define learning goals focus on core
concepts and align assessments with
understanding
Relate abstract concepts to real-world
examples
Introduce fewer concepts in more depth
Demonstrate passion and delight

Examples
Team Based Learning
www.teambasedlearning.org
Highly structured organization
Complex problems that students must
make a choice in solving
Individual accountability with a group
dynamic

Examples
Flipped Classrooms
7 Things You Need to Know about
Flipping the Classroom

The Flipped Classroom

: Increasing Instructor Effectiveness i
n
Higher Education

Summary
Focus is shifting from learning facts
to mastering concepts.
Students need support in developing
conceptual mastery.
Facts can be learned out of class,
from a variety of sources, at differing
paces.
Students benefit from well-structured
classroom activities.

LEARNING IS NOT A
SPECTATOR SPORT.