On Course Workshop:Station-to-Station: Covering the Syllabus and Setting the Tone for a Learner-Centered Class on Day One Presented by Palomar College Professors Kelly Falcone: kfalcone@palomar.edu Al Trujillo: atrujillo@palomar.edu

Rationale for using station-to-station for covering your syllabus

Sets the tone of the course from Day 1o Students are active: discuss,

collaborate, questiono This starts the course in the On Course

direction Students find answers about the syllabus

o They don't just hear and read about it, they "DO" it--which means they'll UNDERSTAND it better

Creates connections with studentso Building connections in the class is

building a class community, which equals more commitment to the class

o Lets students know they will be working together in teams, which facilitates group work for the rest of the semester.

Builds connections with the instructoro Students connect with the instructor,

which means increased commitment to class attendance

Gets students up and moving! (exercise improves brain power)

Syllabus station-to-station comments from students:

“I have never made so many friends in a class my entire college career and I have been here for 5 years!”

“This is the first semester where I felt like I belonged.”

“The first day [station-to-station] activity was a clever way to get us engaged in the course.”

Selling active learning to your students

You are breaking the mold, be ready for a push back from some students

Start from the first day of class so they know what to expect in your course

“I hear I forget, I see I remember, I Do I Understand” ~Confucius

John Dewey (1938) - Experience and Educationo Education through experience, through

doing!o “…there is an intimate and necessary

relation between the processes of actual experience and education.”

National Center for Education and the Economy (2008)

o To be successful we must be "among the top two in technology in every industry in which we hope to be a major player" (p. 29).  

o We "will have to change the [education] system from one that was designed a century ago to meet the needs of our emerging mass production economy to one that will sustain the knowledge-based, technology-powered, globally interconnected economy" (p. 40).  

o Education must focus on creativity and innovation.

16 Syllabus station ideas:I. Student-centered vs. teacher-centered

classroomsa. What is the difference between a

teacher-centered and a student-centered classroom?

b. What are 3 benefits and 3 drawbacks to a teacher-centered classroom?

c. What are 3 benefits and 3 drawbacks to a student-centered classroom?

II. Qualities of successful studentsa. At this station, work as a group to

come up with 3 qualities/characteristics of successful students.

b. Write these on sticky-notes and add them to the big board at this station.

c. Note that you CANNOT duplicate any that are already on the board!

III. Qualities of successful teachersa. At this station, work as a group to

come up with 3 qualities/characteristics of successful teachers.

b. Write these on sticky-notes and add them to the big board at this station.

c. Note that you CANNOT duplicate any that are already on the board!

IV. Your Success Teama. A Success Team is a group of

students who help each other succeed in class. Students in a Success Team share contact information in order to contact each other to ask questions and for other help in the course.

b. This is your Success Team! Exchange contact information with your classmates. Also, give your

team a team name and add it to the list at this station

c. As a group, discuss what you will do to help each other succeed.

V. Academic integritya. Is there a statement about academic

integrity in the syllabus? What does it say?

b. What does academic integrity mean? You may want to refer to the Standards of Conduct available at this station.

c. What are some common violations to the student code of conduct?

d. What are the consequences to violating the student code of conduct?

e. What would you do if you knew a student was cheating in class or plagiarizing assignments?

VI. How do students learn?a. How do you learn best? Auditory,

visual, kinesthetic, or a combination?

b. Edgar Dale's Cone of Learning represents how much we remember from different ways of learning. He says, we remember about…

i. 5% - 15% Verbal or Writtenii. 10% - 20% Visualiii. 40% - 50% Visual and

Verbaliv. 60% - 70% Discussionv. 90% of what you experiencevi. Do you agree with this???

VII. Do students need communication and collaboration skills for future employment?

a. "The number one reason people lose their first real job is not a lack of technical skills, it is because they can’t get along with other people." National Job Service.

b. "51% of employers said their employees did not work well with others." USA Today - March 15, 1999.

c. "Communication skills and working in a team were listed as abilities that were missing in newly graduated students." National Alliance of Business.

VIII. Increase learning through active learninga. "Lectures put participants in a

position of sustained, passive listening. Learning, unfortunately is not an automatic consequence of pouring information into another person’s head. It requires the person’s own mental processing. Therefore, lecturing by itself will never lead to real learning." Dr. Mel

Silberman, a professor at Temple University.

b. "No matter how creative, colorful or exciting a lesson is, if the teacher's brain is the only one interacting with the material, the teacher's brain - not the student's brain - is the only brain forming dendrites."  Pat Wolfe, "The Brain Matters: Translating Research into Classroom Behavior.

IX. Instructor contact informationa. What is the instructor’s e-mail

address?b. What is the instructor’s phone

number?c. Where is the instructor’s office

located? d. What are the instructor’s office

hours?e. Does the instructor have specific

communication guidelines?f. What are at least 3 “significant

events” that may affect a student’s attendance in class that would be important to communicate to your instructor?

X. Course assignments/examsa. How do you earn points for this

course? (number of exams and assignments; point values).

b. Go around to each member of the group and share how many units each of you are taking this semester.

c. Is there a policy for make-up or late assignments/exams?

d. How difficult does the workload seem for this course (easy, medium, hard, …ridiculous?)

XI. Course topicsa. Review the course topics or lecture

topics. Have each person in the group share which topic they are most excited to learn about and why.

b. Is the content for this course different than what you thought? How so?

c. What questions do you have about the course topics that you hope get answered in the lectures?

XII. Expectations for successa. As a group, list 3 expectations you

believe the teacher has of each student to be successful.

b. As a group, list 3 expectations you have of the teacher in order to help you succeed.

XIII. Advice from former studentsa. At this station are index cards with

comments from last semester’s former students on how to succeed

in this course. Have each student select one and read it aloud to the group (you may keep the card to take home).

b. Read a few others and read aloud any especially compelling ones. Discuss the common themes you noticed.

XIV. Study skillsa. Take turns telling the group what

one study skill or study tip has worked particularly well to help you succeed in your past classes.

b. Identify one new study technique you can employ this semester to help you be more successful in college.

XV. Miscellaneous but important stuff from the syllabus

a. What is the exam make-up policy for this class?

b. What types of extra credit are offered?

c. What is the instructor’s cell phone policy?

d. Are there any field trips for this class?

XVI. Q and A with the instructora. This is your time to get to know your

instructor better! (no question is too unusual to ask)

b. What questions do you have about the course? About your instructor? About any station you’ve completed?

Conclusion of stations wrap-up: Have students sit with their Success Teams and

ask for any further questions or comments. What did you learn? What questions do you

have?

Tips for successful facilitation Organize students into groups

o Count off and send to stations, or hand out index cards with numbers.

Set up stations around the room in numerical order to make switching easy (ex: clockwise flow around the room)

Students can start at any stationo If possible leave at least two stations

open prior to the “Q and A with the instructor” station to allow students to get to know each other and work through a few stations prior to meeting with the instructor. Or, just make the “Q and A with the instructor” station the last station.

Each station has an activity with questions along with 1 copy of the syllabus. Add a QR code to the syllabus so students can scan it view it on their mobile device. Put all station information in plastic sleeves. Let students know to leave all materials at each station.

Allow ~4 minutes per stationo Use an interval timer or a timer

displayed as a PowerPoint slideshow. Make sure it is visible to the students so they can keep track of their time.

Instructions to students:o Work together to determine the answerso Students need writing utensil and paper

Taking roll

o To save time on the first day you can take roll when the group comes to meet you at the “Q and A with the instructor” station. This way you can also welcome them individually to the class.