Learning and Teaching Institute6 May 2010

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Overview

• Original study – background

• Relating to practice

• Student thoughts

• Concluding thoughts and discussions

Brief history of the 7 principles• Invited small task force of

scholars (12)

• Wanted emphasis on the how rather than the what of effective undergraduate education

• Insisted that principles be “accessible, understandable, practical and widely applicable”

Going public …

• Published in March 1987 issue of American Association for Higher Education (AADE) Bulletin

• Developed self assessment instrument

• Inventories published Autumn 1989– Faculty inventory– Institutional inventory

Good practice in undergraduate education…1. Encourages contact between students and lecturers2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among

students3. Encourages active learning4. Gives prompt feedback5. Emphasises time on task6. Communicates high expectations7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning

Institutional Inventory1. Climate

Student & faculty, student reps, hard work!

2. Academic PracticesWork / life, graduates, clear criteria …

3. CurriculumHands on, choice, cultural diversity

4. Faculty (Academic staff)On campus, time for CPD, feedback

5. Academic and student support servicesCounselling, students act as advisors, help for poor

record

6. FacilitiesClassrooms, public transport, café, comfy spaces

Relevance for UH?

• Common sense• Accessible language• Stood the test of time• Not subject specific “address the teacher’s

how, not the subject matter what…”• Considers ‘student experience’• Positive feedback from staff

“Frequent student-lecturer contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement”

Good Practice… encourages contact between students and lecturers

Video clip

Activity

Introduce yourself to the person sitting behind or in front of you

Share two top tips that you use for getting to know your students

Good Practice… develops reciprocity and cooperation among students

Professional Studies Module -first year teacher trainees

• Students self select group (6)• Provided with 1 piece of

carbon paper • Have to make a 3D map of

the campus to be displayed in ‘the street’ at 4pm

“Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated”

Good practice… uses active learning techniques

“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorising pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it past experiences, apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves”

We pay more than £3000 just to be

referred to studynet...sad...sad

Surely death by PowerPoint can wait until I'm ready?

1636 members

“We've all done it at some point.You're there, in a lecture, frantically trying to keep up with yet another PowerPoint slideshow, scribbling down notes, when its announced that the presentation will be on Studynet after the lecture.Time to switch off and decide if it was actually worth getting out of bed to come in.'Cos of course we'll all go back home and read through it on Studynet...”

• Creative Arts – Film and TV production

• Level 1• 2 hours in studio to record a game show

Good practice… uses active learning techniques

“Learning is not a spectator sport”

Good practice… gives prompt feedback

“Knowing what you know and don’t know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses”

Good practice… emphasises time on task

“Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for staff”

WATS – Weekly Assessed Tutorial Sheets

• students engage on a regular basis

• able to contextualise the maths• closely tied into the personal

tutorial system• students liked the competitive

element• students were able to build

confidence

Good practice… emphasises time on taskWATS in Biosciences Tutor thoughtsdoing biowats each

week has helped me understand how to answer and solve a certain problem

a highly stressful experience! …felt good to know how you were doing week by week…being assessed throughout a course instead of all at the end is a much better way to see how well someone is doing. that especially applies to me.

I think the wats are a good idea…for the slightly lazy people like myself, it forces us to do relevant questions each week thus making revision easier. I also believe the workload is just about spot on.

Good practice… communicates high expectations

“Expect more and you will get more…Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations of them”

Activity Share how you communicate high expectations to your students with the person sitting next to you

Good practice… communicates high expectations

Good practice… respects diverse talents and ways of learning

“Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. They can then be pushed to learning in ways that do not come so easily”

Good practice… respects diverse talents and ways of learning

Video clip

Conclusions

• Principles are being widely applied

• Applicable to all disciplines

• Student-lecturer contact- particularly valued by students

Thanks• LTI

– Mark Russell – Sarah Flynn– Dominic Bygate

• Physiotherapy– Janet Webber

• Education– Lynn Bhania– Sally Graham– Dianne Solly

• Creative Arts– Annabel Waller

• Business School– Karen Robins– Mary Simspon

• Biosciences– Jackie Willis– Ela Bryson

• Physics, Astronomy and Maths– Mark Hughes – Victoria Milne– Alan McCAll– Sylvia Pepper

Tutor of the year“This will be awarded to a member of staff who has

demonstrated outstanding commitment to, and achievement in, excellence in inspirational teaching”

• Analysed student nominations from 08 and 09

Some word frequencies

• Help … 250• Support … 93• Interest … 88• Inspire … 84• Best … 68• Encourage … 46• Motivate … 29• Mile … 14

Seven Principles for good practice …

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Motivation and hygiene factors

Motivators• Connections• Personal achievement• Recognition• Responsibility• Advancement in

competence• Psychological growth• Campus pride

Hygiene• Class related processes• Bureaucracy • Rules• Systems• Living conditions• Costs

Danielson, C. (1998). Is Satisfying College Students the Same as Decreasing Their Dissatisfaction? Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research (38th, Minneapolis, MN, May 17-20, 1998). pp. 17.