A selection of slides* you can use in class to introduce and motivate interaction and student engagement Beth Simon UCSD, CTD 2012 *Note: Not necessarily intended to ALL be used, or used in order given READ THE COMMENTS FIELD for information on how to use them/things to say

Learning Requires Your Effort I can’t do the learning for you Higher-level learning = brain development It’s like muscle development! Strenuous, repeated effort -> New Muscle Cells Strenuous, repeated effort -> New Neurons, Links! Development of new neurons in response to difficult learning task T. Shors, Sci. Amer. Mar 09

Group Discussion Questions Opportunity IN CLASS to develop understanding, make sure you get it – By trying to explain to someone else – Getting your brain actively working on it What will happen – I pose a challenging question on board – You discuss with 1-2 people around you Most important is your understanding of why the answer is right – After most people seem to be done I’ll ask everyone to get quiet Ask people to share what their group talked about – Good answers are those where you were wrong, then realized…

Instructor Cheat Sheet Prompting After Group Discussion Always ask 2-3 groups to report back in BEFORE you go over the question – “Who will share what their group talked about?” – “Did anyone imagine how someone might get the wrong answer?” If not UTTERLY clear, briefly go over yourself – “How I think about this question is…” Reinforce how this might relate to exam questions (same, easier, harder, different structure)

Have you ever had any of these experiences in lecture? After getting lost about 10 minutes in, the entire rest of the lecture is completely incomprehensible… You wish you had just 30 more seconds to get that note down… You realize 2 slides later that you didn’t get the material 3 slides ago… You are completely sure you got it… – But later on the homework is really hard

A New Lecture Technique: Two-Minute Pause Research has shown that learning increases when – After every 8-12 minutes of lecture – Students turn to the person next to them and discuss/review what was just lectured on You can – Double check your notes – Discuss how you understand something – Discuss what is important to know Please pay attention and quickly return to “lecture mode” so we can keep going!

Two-Minute Pause Discuss with your Neighbor – What was important – What you want to check understanding of – Notes – What do you need to know (might be on test)