Teaching Big 2012
Engaging Students In and Beyonda 400 Seat Freshman Lecture
Charles A. LucyDepartment of Chemistry
University of Alberta
Teaching Big 2012
Lucy’s Big Lectures
• 150-200 students for 2nd year quantitative analysis
• 240-400 students for 1st year general chemistry
Student issues:
isolation
engagement
diverse students
motivation
Engagement in 1st year Engagement in upper years
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• Isolation and anonymity
- create a supportive & respectful atmosphere- humour
* Ron Berk, “Professors are from Mars, Students are from Snickers, Mendota Press, 1998.
student world anecdotes
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• Isolation and anonymity
- create a supportive & respectful atmosphere
- be present
- be dynamic- be adaptive
Poor contrast slides filled with lots of text that require the lights to be off are a sure way to literally put your students to sleep. Put your hand up when you are done reading this slide.
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• Isolation and anonymity
- create a supportive & respectful atmosphere
- learn student names
Joan Middendorf, Indiana Univ., www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/names.htm
Dr. Lucy learned everyone’s name, which was nice because you no longer felt like a number, but an individual. Also, it formed a more personal relationship, which made it easier to talk to him & ask questions.
Chem 213 Winter 2010
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• engagement
- demos
Initiate… …and step back
Room temperature 100 oC
Flash bang Student worlddemos
The demonstrations were also great and really helpful. They kept me coming to class.
Chem 102 Winter 2012
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• engagement
- show and share
Bringing props to class is definitely a bonus and really helps to explain the machines.
Chem 213 Winter 2007
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• Isolation & anonymity • engagement
Angelika Kerr, Teaching and Learning in Large Classes at Ontario Universities: An Exploratory Study, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO), 2011.
Appendix D Selected Sample Strategies (pg 28-56)
Brock 2nd year psycho: audio recordings of common exam question errors
Lakehead 1st yr geology: students write one paragraph personal introduction
McMaster 1st yr economics: online homework and experiments
McMaster 1st yr chemistry: clickers and live skit demonstrations
Teaching Big 2012
In Class Engagement
• engagement
- demos
Initiate… …and step back
Room temperature 100 oC
Flash bang Student worlddemos
The demonstrations were also great and really helpful. They kept me coming to class.
Chem 102 Winter 2012
Teaching Big 2012
Beyond Class Engagement
• engagement
- demos
I was wondering if we have any access to your demos that were video taped? I'd like to show them to my family and friends.
Chem 102 Winter 2012
Teaching Big 2012
Beyond Class Engagement
• engagement
- student world examples
Following today's lecture I became intrigued by the new concept of how a kg of steel weighs more than a kg of feathers, because my dad used to bug me with this question (assuming it's a dumb question of kg=kg) when I was younger. Could you try to explain it again? I'll show him that even my prof says the same as me, and I'll win the argument! …Chem 211 is turning out even more interesting than I expected…
Chem 211 Fall 2010 e-mail
sample
air
weightstd
air
obstrue
d
d
d
d
ww
1
1.
Buoyancy effect
Teaching Big 2012
Beyond Class Engagement
• engagement
- spamming
Students sign up for class e-mail list (News Forum)- typically two thirds of students participate
Any student e-mail question - Strip question of identifiers - Send answer to all students on e-mail list - Complex questions discussed in class