Show notes
It seems that the larger classes get, the more distant our students can seem. On today’s episode, Dr. Chrissy Spencer helps us discover how to make large classes interactive.
Even if you teach classes of 20, the resources she uses in her classes as large as 200+ will be of benefit.
Podcast notes
Guest: Dr. Chrissy Spencer, teaches at Georgia Tech
Ph.D., Genetics, University of Georgia
Active learning video: Turning students into chili peppers
The interactive classroom
- Learning Catalytics
- Prepared in advance a few slides that help clarify commonly misunderstood concepts
- Allowing students to fail or struggle with an answer
Interrupted case studies
- Traditionally a set of materials where there are specific stopping points built in
- Powerful, because students need to have their progress monitored and milestones achieved
- Bonni’s case studies rubric
- Forming groups
- Catme team maker
Team-based, low stakes assessments
- Georgia Tech Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning workshop on team based learning
- Don’t try team based learning half way
- Start small
Switching from clickers to Learning Catalytics
- Pearson’s Learning Catalytics
- Strength in the types of questions that can be asked
- Bonni uses PollEverywhere
Flipped classroom
- Khan Academy
- Reinforce that reading ahead and reading in a particular way is important to making the class time in interesting ways
- Process called team based learning
- Lesson learned/ ignored: “start small and do things in a small and measured way”
- Evernote
- TopHat audience response system
Service learning
The way that students could apply learning from a content area in the real world and also give back to the community in some way (Chrissy)
- Identified project partners that met certain criteria
- Outside in the field
- CATME tool helped to determine who had cars
Recommendations
- The Dip (Bonni)
- Find something that you love and bring it in to the classroom (Chrissy)