Active Learning and Team-Based Learning in the Engineering Classroom Bill Weeks ECE Department NFTS Luncheon

Outline Active Learning Barriers Goals Team-Based Learning Examples Testimonials Results

Active Learning Bonwell and Eison: an educational process that "involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing” Course Goals Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning Implementation of Educational Activities

Efficacy of Active Learning Pause Procedure – Ruhl, Hughes, and Schloss Discussion Activities – McKeachie, et al Cooperative Learning – Johnson, Johnson, and Smith Team-Based Learning (TBL) – Fink

Barriers to Implementation Amount of material Instructor preparation time Large classes Lack of resources and materials Perceived risks

Taxonomy of Significant Learning Foundational Knowledge Application Integration Human Dimension Caring Learning How to Learn

Goals  Students will understand and remember key concepts from the main content areas listed in the topical outline (below).  For a given communication channel, students will be able to compute the maximum rate of reliable transmission and design, evaluate, and implement codes that achieve capacity with reasonable decoding complexity.  Students will build the knowledge and develop the skills necessary to read and understand articles written in journals such as the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory.  Students will learn how to work effectively in a group setting to accomplish goals related to a coding theory project.  Students will appreciate the importance of coding theory and information theory and its impact on society.  Students will be able to direct their own learning in understanding, designing and evaluating new codes.

Team-Based Learning (Fink) Groups of 5-7 students Maintain groups throughout semester Significant portion of grade Constant feedback Evaluate individual contributions Reading Quiz – Homework – Team Project

Code Design Challenge Teams of 3 or 4 Design several codes Evaluation – Self – Competition – Team members Reward points

Active Learning Techniques Grading Two Tests40% Final Exam40% Homework15% Participation 5% Grading Final Exam30% Midterm Exam20% Group Work10% Reading Quizzes10% Homework (rough) 5% Homework (final) 5% Professionalism 5% Reflections 5% Presentation 5% Learning Portfolio 5% OldActive

Testimonials Excerpted from Learning Portfolios Not anonymous Careful instructions Exuberant praise Comparison

Results Question Departmental Average Difference Instructor Difference Educational Value Assignments/Tests Instructor Concern Preparedness Communicate+0.3 Stimulate/Motivate Overall+0.3

Reasons Assignments/Tests Educational Value Stimulation/Motivation Instructor Experience Different Textbook

Conclusions Progression – Lecture – Active Techniques - TBL Cover more material Soft skills encouraged Lifelong learning Improved student morale Improved instructor morale