A is for Think-Alouds, B is for (Fill-in) the Blanks of a Mindmap, and C is for Clickers

Professors Danton A. Berube, Robin Boyle Laisure, and Michael Hunter Schwartz

Overview of Session

I. Learning Styles in a NutshellII. Specific Techniques Aimed at Learning

StylesA. Think-AloudsB. MindmapsC. Clickers

III. Assessment of Clickers as an Instructional Tool

Learning Styles in a Nutshell

What do you know What do you know about learning styles?about learning styles?

True or false – “Learning styles” are the ways in which individuals begin to concentrate on, process, internalize, and remember new and difficult academic information or skills.

Learning Styles Mini-Inventory Question 1I concentrate best in quiet surroundings with no sound or people talking.a. Strongly disagreeb. Disagreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Agreee. Strongly agree

Learning Styles Mini-Inventory Question 2Early morning is my most productive time to work on difficult tasks.a. Strongly disagreeb. Disagreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Agreee. Strongly agree

Learning Styles Mini-Inventory Question 3I concentrate best when the lights are not bright.a. Strongly disagreeb. Disagreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Agreee. Strongly agree

Learning Styles Mini-Inventory Question 4When learning, I remember best when I take notes.a. Strongly disagreeb. Disagreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Agreee. Strongly agree

Learning Styles Mini-Inventory Question 5When learning, I remember best when I see words rather than charts and graphs.a. Strongly disagreeb. Disagreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Agreee. Strongly agree

Learning Styles Mini-Inventory Question 6I prefer to work on complex projects without help from my superior/professor.a. Strongly disagreeb. Disagreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Agreee. Strongly agree

The percentage of law students who express a strong preference for auditory learning (learning by listening) is approximately:a. 10-15%b. 20- 30%c. 50-75 %d. 75-100%

The percentage of law students who express a strong preference for visual learning (remember what they read or see) is approximately:a. 8-25%b. 30-45%c. 50-75%d. 75-100%

The percentage of law students who express a strong preference for tactual learning (remember what they write or draw) is approximately:a. 10-15%b. 20-25%c. 50-75%d. 75-100%

The percentage of law students who express a strong preference for kinesthetic learning (learn by doing) is approximately:– none– 7 -15%– 25 - 50%– 50 - 75%

Which of the following statements is true regarding the benefits of multi-modal teaching?

a) Multi-modal teaching can help students learn more and learn it better.

b) Multi-modal teaching can manifest a professor’s commitment to student learning, and a manifested commitment to student learning can help students learn more and learn it better.

c) Even if multi-modal teaching produces moments when some of your students are not using their preferred learning style, the mental effort involved in doing so can produce a stronger memory trace.

d) All of the above statements are true.

What were you thinking about right before you saw this

slide?

The Environment

The Senses See, hear, feel, etc.

Selective Attention

Long-Term Memory

Working Memory

Retrieval

Encoding

Response Generator

“Cognitive Think-Aloud” TechniqueDescription of technique

o Articulate all the thoughts, hypotheses and steps involved in performing an intellectual skill

o Often best if a second asks questions to make sure the speaker is not leaving out steps, and is explaining her thinking, hypotheses, ideas, etc.

Rationale for its use

Example

Facts for Think-Aloud Demonstration

Lefkowitz Case Advertisment

Saturday 9 A.M. Sharp3 Brand New Fur Coats

Worth to $100.00First Come First Served

$1 Each

Carbolic Smoke Ball Case Advertisement

£100 reward will be paid by the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company

to any person who contracts the increasing epidemic influenza,

colds, or any disease caused by taking cold, after having used

the ball three times daily for two weeks, according to the printed directions supplied with each ball. £1,000 is deposited with

the Alliance Bank, Regent Street, shewing our sincerity in

the matter.

For what aspects of a legal writing class might you use think-alouds?

Integrated Learning Strategies Instruction

No Integrated Learning Strategies

Instruction

Integrated Learning Strategies Instruction

Student Learning in the Subject

Student Learning to Learn in Field

Fosters Independence

Types of Types of Learning Learning

StrategiesStrategies

Time, Work Management

Strategies

Elaboration (mastery) Strategies

Organizing/ Synthesis Strategies

Statute/ Rule Reading

Strategies

Case Reading and Briefing Strategies

Paraphrasing of Doctrine

and Holdings

Examples and Non-Examples

Student-Created Hypos

Outlining Strategies

Graphic Organizers

Pre-Reading the Case

Strategies

Questioning the Author Strategies

Note-Taking Strategies

Memorization Strategies

For what aspects of a legal writing class might you integrate cognitive strategies instruction?

For which of the following can you use clickers in your teaching:a. To improve student learning.b. To spark discussion.c. To try to determine whether students have adopted values you have sought to teach them.d. To transmit knowledge.e. All of the above.

M transported a stolen airplane across state lines. A federal statute prohibits transporting “motor vehicles” and defines motor vehicles to include “any self-propelled vehicle not designed for running on rails.” Which of the following arguments is least credible:a. Dictionaries commonly define “vehicle” as “an

object that travels and carries things or people.”b. The examples listed in the statute were only vehicles that travel on land.c. The Senate debate on the statute did not include

any mention of airplanes.d. When the statute was enacted, airplanes had been

rarely, if ever, stolen.

I believe my students would learn more and learn better if I taught using a variety of teaching methods.a. Agreeb. Disagree