Marion Webb January 2015

 Considered factors that can impact on the design and delivery of taught sessions  Explored techniques to facilitate small group activities and manage student discussion and feedback  Considered how theoretical models and concepts can be used to underpin effective teaching  Discussed important factors for delivering successful large group sessions  Discussed the importance of planning for taught sessions  Planned and delivered a short micro teaching session  Observed colleagues and shared feedback

 An introduction to some theories of learning  Techniques for small and large group teaching  Dealing with problems  Techniques for planning teaching  Afternoon: micro-teaching

 Introduce yourself to the people around you  Explain what teaching you are involved in (or will be involved in).  Do you teach small groups/large groups? Both?  What would you like to explore today?  Jot down your ideas on a post-it

 Think of something you are good at.  How did you become good at it?  How do you know you are good at it?  Think of something you are not good at?  What happened when you tried to learn it?  Think of something you didn’t like but you carried on with it anyway  What made you carry on?

 Learning by DOING  Learning from FEEDBACK  WANTING to learn  NEEDING to learn  MAKING SENSE – “getting one’s head around it” – digesting Phil Race, Making Learning Happen, Sage 2010

 Mastering abstract principles  Understanding proofs  Remembering factual information  Acquiring methods, techniques and approaches  Recognition  Reasoning  Debating ideas  Developing behaviour appropriate to specific situations Fry et al (2004)

Students in all subject areas express dissatisfaction with, and learn less from, teaching strategies which are perceived: ◦ to be impersonal; ◦ to focus on the transfer of information; ◦ to paralyse responsible attitudes to studying; ◦ to encourage low level intellectual endeavour.

Saljo (1979) asked adult students what they understood by learning: 1. Learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge 2. Learning as memorising 3. Learning as acquiring facts, skills and methods that can be retained and used as necessary 4. Learning as making sense or abstracting meaning 5. Learning as interpreting and understanding reality in a different way

 Conceptions imply a less complex view of learning  Conceptions 4 -5 look to the internal, or personal aspect of learning

 Deep learning involves the critical analysis of new ideas, linking them to already known concepts and principles, and leads to understanding and long-term retention of concepts so that they can be used for problem solving in unfamiliar contexts. Deep learning promotes understanding and application for life.  In contrast, surface learning is the tacit acceptance of information and memorization as isolated and unlinked facts. It leads to superficial retention of material for examinations and does not promote understanding or long-term retention of knowledge and information.

Further research – Biggs (1987) and Ramsden (1988) - has developed these conceptions, particularly by using the student voice in different disciplines exhibiting deep and surface approaches. Biggs (1987) identified a third approach – strategic. Emphasis on organising learning specifically to obtain a high examination grade.

 Critical to our understanding of this principle is that we should not identify the student with a fixed approach to learning, but it is the design of the learning opportunity that encourages students to adopt a particular approach.  Major influence on the students' approach to learning is the assessment method.

 People construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences

 Problem solving  Experiments  Teacher as facilitator

 “Among the most difficult and highly skilled of teaching techniques”

 A sense of belonging-discussing issues, addressing questions, arriving at solutions  Developing confidence  Development of group work skills

 To help students to understand  To help students to develop their capacity for critical thinking  To help students to develop key skills: communication, working in groups, time management, problem solving  To help students to take greater responsibility for their own learning  To encourage deep learning

 Arousing interest  Establishing prior learning  Checking progress  Encouraging participation  Encouraging deeper learning  Assessing achievement  Reviewing and summarising

 Short and simple  In a logical sequence  Singular Always  Repeat the question to the group  Value the question Don’t  be threatened  bluff

Questions in lectures Prepare them! “Any questions”? Question/pounce Post-its

 Aim  Learning outcomes  Topic/activity Timing You Student 

 What factors do you need to take into account?

 Remember:  Structure  Explanation  Pace/timing  Examples and links  What are the students doing?  Pitfalls:  Being boring  Running out of time- too much information  Slides with too much detail  Is taking notes enough?

 You will be given a list of issues which can arise in group work. In groups of three consider ways in which you could handle these situations

 Delivered in a way that is informative, interesting and engaging  Content is well organised and easy to follow  Students feel involved  Students leave wondering where the time has gone  Students leave knowing they have learned something  ( adapted from Morton.A Lecturing to Large Groups in Fry H Ketteridge S &Marshall S 2009 A Handbook for Teaching and Learning IN HE)

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1. Smile 2. Pauses 3. Give them things to do 4. Get them working out what is important 5. Get them to think about assessment-what might come up.

 Begin each lecture with something interesting that they won’t want to miss-eg a hint about assessment/quiz  Start on time!  Don’t ignore bad behaviour/chat  Think about clarity of explanation  Links with existing experience/knowledge  Can you tell a story?  Resources: slides-do they help? handouts-will they be complete/incomplete?

 tHso tHso

a) Knows subject material thoroughly b) Adopts a scholarly approach to the practice of teaching c) Is reflective and regularly reviews own practice d) Is well organised and plans curriculum effectively e) Is passionate about teaching

 Voice  Pace  Eye contact/staring  Lists of 3  Repetition of words  Change and variety  Remember a lecture is about the spoken word not the written word

 Exley K and Dennick R (2004) Small group teaching: Tutorials, Seminars and Beyond London  Griffiths S (2003) Teaching and Learning in Small Groups (in Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall, 2009, A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in HE 3 rd edition London, Routledge)  Jaques D (2000) Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work, 3 rd edition, London, Kogan Page  Race P (2005) The Lecturer’s Toolkit, London, Routledge