This is the research that Dr. Todd Zakrajsek, Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has immersed himself in for much of his career. As author of The New Science of Learning, Dr. Zakrajsek has tapped into legacy motivational theories to help faculty keep their students interested and engaged in their own learning. We sat down with Dr. Zakrajsek to decode three key theories and uncover tangible ways to help students—and educators—find joy in the classroom.

➝ Free toolkit: Fuel student engagement this semester

Tip #1: Reduce cognitive load where possible | Cognitive load theory

If we gave you a verbal recount of how to get from your university to a Walmart 20 minutes away, chances are you won’t remember more than the second or third street to drive down. That’s because you’re likely to feel cognitively overloaded.

Proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968, cognitive load theory relates to the amount of information the brain can absorb at any given time. It’s also why forgetting is so normal. “If you’re teaching new material, you’ll likely max out students’ cognitive load. That’s why it’s so important to mix in breaks and activities to stop and solidify information before moving on,” Dr. Zakrajsek says.

The solution to helping students retain information? Intersperse your lectures with moments of action, discovery and curiosity. Or, as James Lang, author of Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It, might advise, start thinking like a poet and a playwright to reawaken student attention. Dr. Zakrajsek suggests turning to leaders in the film industry for inspiration. “Filmmakers lay down plot lines and include action scenes so that you won’t have monotony which will shut the brain down,” he shares. He recommends switching things up every 15 minutes in class to avoid students checking out.

Tip #2: Give students a taste of success | Expectancy theory

When you expect to be successful, you’re more likely to work harder towards a task. That’s exactly the science behind the expectancy theory, proposed by Victor Vroom of Yale School of Management in 1964. Dr. Zakrajsek unravels the three components of this theory using the example of a student preparing for an upcoming test.

• Expectancy (Effort): Can a student learn the material just enough to pass their test? If they don’t believe they’re capable, then motivation falls flat.
• Instrumentality (Performance): If a student believes they’re able to pass the test, do they believe they can produce answers that are correct and will lead them to get the overall grade they are after?
• Valence (Reward): How much does a student value achieving an ‘A’ grade in your class?

Keep students motivated by making it clear how to achieve success in your class and how that success will give them an advantage in the future. It could be upper-year course preparedness, an easier transition into the workplace, or at minimum, having the soft skills necessary to excel in an apprenticeship program or co-op.

Tip #3: Promote competence, autonomy and relatedness | Self-determination theory

Determination and motivation go hand in hand. The self-determination theory, proposed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in 1985, supports the idea that people are more motivated to take action when they believe doing so will impact the outcome. Related, there are three basic psychological needs all humans (not just students) desire:

• Competence: Gain mastery of one’s environment
• Autonomy: Choose to maintain control of one’s own life and behaviors
• Relatedness: Experience a sense of belonging, care and connection with others

Competence is synonymous with control. “We don’t like the feeling of offering an answer to a question and the teacher telling you that you’re wrong,” says Dr. Zakrajsek. 

Autonomy is all about giving students choice and freedom to influence elements of their learning journey. For instance, you might allow students to weigh in on assignment frequency or format. 

Community also has an outsized impact on the student experience and can even inform patterns in retention. Dr. Zakrajsek’s suggestion: use group work as a means of cultivating peer-peer connections. If you’re met with groans and looks of despair, you’re not alone. “Universally, almost all students don’t like group work. But there’s good evidence that shows if you teach students how to work well in groups, they won’t hate it,” he says. Consider taking a step back and share group roles and responsibilities to help all students contribute fairly and equally.

➝ Plan your best course yet with our new Student Engagement Toolkit

References

1. Reuell, P. (2019, Sept. 4). Lessons in Learning. The Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/study-shows-that-students-learn-more-when-taking-part-in-classrooms-that-employ-active-learning-strategies/
2. The Treisman Model. (n.d.). Merit Program for Emerging Scholars. https://merit.illinois.edu/for-educators/the-treismans-model/

The post Boosting Joy and Motivation in Class: In Conversation with Dr. Todd Zakrajsek appeared first on Top Hat.

Part of the reason why students aren’t studying effectively: they weren’t taught how. In fact, only 20 percent of students agreed that they study the way that they do after a teacher taught them how to study effectively.² The pervasive ‘metacognitive equity gap,’ coined by Dr. Saundra McGuire—Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success at Louisiana State University and author of Teach Students How to Learn—continues to prevent certain populations from succeeding. For instance, economically disadvantaged students often don’t have access to mentors or tutors who model metacognitive thinking skills. In addition, students from underrepresented communities are more likely to have a fixed mindset about intelligence. The good news is that the right tools paired with the right mindset can turn even the most underprepared cohort into confident learners. Here are three scientifically proven ways to turn students into conscious thinkers during the study process.

→ On-demand webinar: Dr. Saundra McGuire on teaching students how to learn

1. Turn students into leaders by promoting a growth mindset

How many times have you heard your students say that they ‘aren’t math students?’ or that they ‘aren’t as smart as their classmates?’ These are classic traits of a fixed mindset, where students attribute failure to a lack of ability. Feelings of doubt or inadequacy—often a byproduct of imposter syndrome—are even more pronounced among historically underrepresented students.³ But as Dr. McGuire reminds us, a growth mindset is the precursor to long-term success and greater confidence. Students are better able to persist in the face of setbacks and view their mistakes as invaluable learning moments. You might consider using some of the following techniques to promote a growth mindset among your students.

• Embrace the word ‘yet:’ The next time you have a student who claims that they’re ‘not a chemistry person,’ add ‘yet’ to the end of their statement. Doing so will signal that they’re able to improve upon their ability with persistence and time.
• Test more often: Give students more opportunities to show what they know and shore up their learning gaps early. You might consider increasing the frequency of tests from three per term to smaller, bi-weekly quizzes.
• Encourage goal setting: Prompt students to set SMART goals in the lead up to a test. Start by asking learners to set a broad goal (such as achieving a B+ or higher on their assessment) and then have them list the steps they’re taking to meet that goal. The ultimate end result is to signal to students that a state of growth is always possible.
• Equip students with effective study tools early on: It could be a lecture on The Study Cycle. Or providing resources on learning strategies after students complete their first test. Encouraging integrative learning begins with awareness and education.

2. Help students see value in Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy is just as much for students as it is for instructors. The age-old educational framework is an invaluable tool in informing study methods. Helping students see the value in Bloom’s Taxonomy involves exposing the ‘hidden curriculum’—the unwritten rules and context in which learning occurs—and outlining clear expectations in the lead up to assessments. If students are to adapt their own study techniques for the better, educators must first make their class aware of how true learning takes place.

Effective studying begins by prioritizing long-term knowledge retention over rote memorization. While helping students remember and understand information has its place when introducing new material, moving learners towards applying and analyzing will better prepare students for their exams. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers several study methods to support higher-order thinking no matter your discipline.

• Remember: Design flashcards for key definitions or design a timeline capturing key milestones.
• Understand: Summarize a chapter using one’s own words.
• Apply: Complete problems that encourage students to relate concepts to the real world.
• Analyze: Consider how a different population might view a concept or debate how a single element relates to a broader challenge.
• Evaluate: Take a stance against an argument or consider which point of view is most effective.
• Create: Design an experiment or write a short story about a new concept.

3. Embrace The Study Cycle 

Familiarity can often be conflated with understanding. Dr. McGuire advocates for a more thoughtful approach to studying—one that boosts long-term retention. 

Coined ‘The Study Cycle,’ the process of acquiring knowledge is broken into five key steps. Students begin by previewing material and forming big picture ideas. Next, they actively participate when attending class, such as by answering questions and completing problem-solving activities. Third, students then review their notes and fill in any gaps in their understanding. The fourth step is where studying begins. Here students are encouraged to set a specific goal, and to study for a 30–50 minute burst by thinking critically about what they are learning. Asking ‘why,’ ‘how,’ or ‘what if’ helps students to engage more deeply with the material. Then they should step away for a 5–10 minute break before summarizing what they’ve accomplished. At this point, students decide whether to continue studying, take a longer break, or change tasks. 

Focused study sessions, outlined in the video below, are structured to help students more effectively absorb (and retain) the information they’ve just reviewed. You can do this in class as well using active learning techniques such as concept mapping or asking students to teach material to a peer to gauge how well the content has stuck.

Helping students recall information beyond test day isn’t impossible. Nor does it require a massive overhaul of your course or additional hours of instructional planning. The process involves exposing methodical study techniques that won’t only serve students during their time in your course, but their entire lives.

→ On-demand talk: How to fuel academic success

References

1. Willingham, D. T. (2023, April 20). There are better ways to study that will last you a lifetime. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/opinion/studying-learning-students-teachers-school.html
2. Kornell, N., Bjork, R.A. (2007). The promise and perils of self-regulated study. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14, 219–224. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194055
3. Le, L. (2019). “Unpacking the Imposter Syndrome and Mental Health as a Person of Color First Generation College Student within Institutions of Higher Education,” McNair Research Journal SJSU: Vol. 15 , Article 5. https://doi.org/10.31979/mrj.2019.1505 https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/mcnair/vol15/iss1/5

The post 3 Ways To Teach Students How To Study appeared first on Top Hat.

→ Watch On-Demand: Engaging Students Using Neuroscience

Why engagement starts with metaphor, motion and your own enthusiasm

At a time where students are increasingly disconnected from their learning experience, capturing their interest is among the most important things you can do as an instructor. But how exactly do you gain—and sustain—attention? As Dr. Oakley shares, ‘hooks’ in the form of powerful and emotional connections made between the material and students’ personal lives are the precursor to engagement. “When you hook students with a story at the beginning of class, that will inactivate their mind-wandering network and activate a state of focus,” she shares. You might embed a viral GIF into your slides. Or perhaps share a thought-provoking podcast clip in advance of a discussion. Ultimately, these small gestures will help reduce the urge to wander to a different task.

From a neuroscience perspective, learning occurs when neurons in the brain are linked. When these neural links are strengthened over a prolonged period, we’re more easily able to retrieve information from our long-term memory. Metaphors can form ‘memorable images’ in our brains and are an especially powerful tool in helping students absorb and retain new material. Dr. Oakley suggests making these metaphorical links to your material as wacky and fun as possible to add levity to the learning process. Go one step further by asking students to develop their own metaphors when describing a specific topic.

When it comes to engagement, don’t underestimate the power of movement. It could be using your own hand gestures. Or getting students out of their seats. The ‘allure of movement,’ as the author puts it, is one of the most effective ways to keep students attentive throughout class. Enthusiasm and engagement have a direct correlation on the student experience as well. “If you exhibit excitement and enthusiasm, you can affect and motivate students in ways that are impossible to do otherwise,” shares Dr. Oakley. Demonstrating enthusiasm shouldn’t be viewed as an emotionally draining chore. She suggests finding a temporary way to be more effusive and outgoing than you might be outside of class in order to help students truly lean into their learning.

Five best practices to make learning ‘stick’

When it comes to building your curriculum, take a page out of Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg’s book. No matter your discipline, think of your lecture as a scene in a movie. How will you build up to a significant or emotional turning point? What about introducing something new into your story line? In the context of academia, interspersing active learning exercises throughout lessons makes all the difference in making learning ‘stick.’ “If you use at least 10 percent of class to intersperse active learning throughout lectures, students will perform significantly better,” Dr. Oakley reminds us. Unpredictability and minimal talking on your part can help students become active participants in their learning journey.

How often do you see students re-reading their verbatim notes in advance of a test? Or perhaps highlighting every other line of their assigned reading passage? As Dr. Oakley calls out, educators need to encourage students to go beyond reviewing facts and instead retrieving information from their heads. The best part for any instructor is that retrieval practice is a proven means of making neural connections and deepening knowledge retention in the long run. The author shares her recommended learning strategies to cement learning in any discipline.

1. Retrieval practice: Use exercises such as brain dumps or mini quizzes to get students to pull information out of their heads and apply their understanding in a low or no-stakes environment.
2. Interleaving: Encourage students to study multiple subjects or topics in one sitting versus reviewing a single topic thoroughly before moving onto the next (otherwise known as blocked practice).
3. Jot recall: Ask students to jot down notes, draw sketches or jot down what they remember after reading a passage from their textbook.
4. Incomplete notes quiz: Facilitate a low-stakes quiz where students must fill in the blanks for missing information. The process will be especially beneficial for students who have not yet mentally organized the information they’ve learned thus far.
5. Collaborative recall technique: Pair students up and ask them to explain to a classmate an aspect of the lesson you just taught. Ensure you reverse roles so that each student has a chance to practice retrieving your material.

As Dr. Oakley underscores, there’s a fine line between building activities around student strengths and making these exercises too challenging. When students are overwhelmed by a task—and when their cognitive load is maxed out—their working memory won’t be able to support complex thinking. However, a little encouragement goes a long way. Dopamine plays an enormous role in acquiring and absorbing new information. When running your next set of classroom activities or after a stress-inducing test, be sure to recognize student efforts. You could use stretch breaks or offer different forms of praise. Promoting a small dopamine burst doesn’t only have to come from you. Encourage students to reward themselves beyond your course using methods like the Pomodoro technique. 

In service of neural synchronization

Neuroscience may seem complex at first glance. Dr. Oakley has dedicated decades to demystifying the outsized value that brain science has on the student learning experience. Ultimately, she strives to help faculty and students gain neural synchrony with one another. Not only should students’ brain activity in class mirror yours, but they should also be able to take communicative and interpersonal cues from you when learning. It could be drawing a parabola from your whiteboard into their math notebook. Or mirroring the guitar strings you strum in a music class. No matter your field, gaining neural synchrony with students starts and ends with you.

→ Watch On-Demand: Engaging Students Using Neuroscience

The post Dr. Barbara Oakley on Using Brain Science to Deepen Learning appeared first on Top Hat.

Central to Stommel’s view is that students are complex individuals deeply committed to learning but who also bring with them unique challenges and lived experiences. As Stommel believes, traditional grading systems often don’t serve fragile communities such as those facing socio economic hardships or those who feel isolated from their peers and educators. Ungrading, as he outlines, is education’s moment to remove the emphasis on grades as the primary motivator for students in order to focus on approaches that are more inclusive, adaptive, challenging, and compassionate. 

With so much need to improve retention and graduation rates, Stommel calls upon educators to invite students into a long-overdue conversation on the impact of grades on their sense of motivation and achievement. That starts with offering alternative assessment ideas designed with the least privileged students in mind.

→ Watch now: Jesse Stommel’s alternative assessment ideas

Traditional grades and assessments interfere with meaningful learning

The pursuit of a letter grade often runs counter to meaningful learning. Based on the structures we provide, students will do what it takes to achieve their desired outcome—and if the purpose of assignments or assessments is simply viewed as a way to grade performance, that invariably means taking shortcuts. Significant learning, on the other hand, starts by tapping into deeper motivations and using the classroom and assessments as spaces for dialogue, and exploration, rather than ‘hoops’ for students to jump through. It involves helping students develop the metacognitive skills to become ‘readers’ of their own education.

At a time when more first-generation students and students from historically underrepresented communities are filling our lecture halls, letting rigid assessment policies dictate the student experience can have a disproportionately negative impact. Recent data reveal how basic needs insecurity is directly linked to test performance. Students who are food insecure generally receive lower Math-SAT scores. Those who don’t feel a sense of belonging in class tend to see lower GPA scores. It begs the question: what are we actually assessing? The ability to manage stress on an empty stomach? Whether a student had the advantage of tutoring? “We fetishize grades and make them the center of our system,” Stommel reminds educators. “But we can’t grade students without knowing who they really are.”

Given these concerns, he encourages instructors to reflect on the following:

• Who is assessment for? Ask yourself how you might adapt your policy compared to the way your institution structures the assessment system.
• What’s the difference between grading and feedback? Be sure to make the process of completing an assessment a learning experience in itself, compared to quantifying knowledge.
• Why do we grade? Consider the emotional and physical response associated with letter grades as well as your end goal.
• What would happen if we didn’t grade? Weigh up the structural obstacles that come with a gradeless course against the potential benefits.

Stommel envisions the future of assessment to be less about achievement and more about reflection and intrinsic motivation. Above all, he advocates for a world where educators recognize that specific students need tailored resources in order to excel. “Trusting students means we create a space where, in turn, students trust us as teachers,” Stommel says. 

Influenced by educational thinker Paulo Freire, he emphasizes using student self-assessment as the compass with which to evaluate significant learning and achievement. After all, isn’t it by reflecting on our own journeys—what we’ve learned about ourselves and others, our sources of inspiration, our insights, where we struggled and what we would do differently—a better measure of the knowledge we’ve acquired?

Shifting from high-stakes to alternative assessment ideas

The most important takeaway from Stommel: be sure to invite your students into a conversation about grades. Create a safe space for them to share how grades make them feel academically and emotionally. Allow them to question how they apply their knowledge. And be sure to let them reflect on the circumstances under which they perform best. “It isn’t that we throw rubrics out altogether. It’s that we ask ourselves, ‘how do we use rubrics to speak to students better?,’” Stommel says.

He offers alternative assessment examples below that allow for greater agency, and more importantly, promote trust.

• Minimal grading: Use scales with fewer intervals to make grading more clear and transparent.
• Contract grading: Convey expectations about what’s required for each grade and use contracts to ensure goalposts don’t suddenly shift.
• Process letters: Ask students to reflect on how their work has evolved over the term and allow them to guide the grading of their own work.
• Authentic assessment: Let students complete activities for audiences in their communities, boosting intrinsic motivation.
• Self-reflection: Allow students to reflect on their work in your course and how they met their academic goals they set for themselves. Encourage learners to assign themselves a letter grade at the end.

The ideas above are a few of the many ways to build up metacognition among students, to get them to really think about their learning experience. Whether it’s questioning how they’re assessed or giving students different assessment types to demonstrate their knowledge, the end goal is to make learning ‘stick’ in a meaningful and productive manner. This isn’t about removing grades and structure altogether. As Stommel outlines, alternative grading policies are meant to give students greater agency over their academic experience. It’s also about providing what many came to college for in the first place: the chance to learn about themselves and others, to grow intellectually and to develop character and humility in the process.

→ On-demand webinar: Jesse Stommel on ungrading and alternative assessments

The post Why Do We Grade? In Conversation with Dr. Jesse Stommel appeared first on Top Hat.

Low success rates are the byproduct of a broken system

The UIA is a coalition of leading public research universities from across America dedicated to increasing the number and diversity of college graduates. As our campus communities increasingly represent first generation, historically underrepresented and financially constrained communities, the need for change couldn’t be more real. In fact, the record with these students screams urgency. 

A cursory look at the statistics reveals double-digit gaps for these students in both individual course success in core areas across the curriculum and in overall retention and graduation rates. Our universities are failing these students and the reason is uncomfortably clear: the system we have is simply not designed to serve them effectively. 

Students today are keenly sensitive to bad design. Immersed as they have been for years in a digitally enhanced consumer environment, they have high expectations for a smooth digital experience that is tuned to their interests. And they want the flexibility in learning that they know is possible in a post-pandemic reality. Everything, from the way they register for courses and pay their bills, to the way they participate in class and earn and transfer credits and credentials, will be subject to their finely tuned judgment *as* experiences. It’s not just about alleviating transactional friction. It’s about designing consumer-grade experiences that advance equitable learning outcomes. 

Community, inspiration and purpose are the building blocks for change

The challenge is significant. But we have to look no further than the UIA’s record of increasing graduation rates for low-income students by 37 percent and for students of color by 73 percent to know that meaningful progress is achievable. As Dr. Burns suggests, it starts with empathy and taking time to understand the student experience as it is today, not how we imagine it to be. 

I’ll share an example. When I was at Ohio University, we worked with a faculty member and their students to map out the student course enrollment experience from start to finish. Students videotaped their own journey and created process maps. This work laid bare just how student-unfriendly and needlessly burdensome the experience was. We then pulled in the key units responsible for each step, and worked as a community to improve the process with what often turned out to be relatively simple solutions. 

Of course, if innovation were always that easy, we’d all be much further along. So Dr. Burns offered some additional insights. First, the importance of being explicit about a failure strategy. Not every initiative will bear fruit. So how will you treat failure productively as a team? And, how can you leverage success to cultivate new habits? For example, you could make empathy informed process mapping standard practice when developing new strategies for student success.

How we foster community and shared purpose among stakeholders is equally vital. Consider establishing meaningful ground rules, such as embracing a “yes…and” model when entertaining new ideas and solutions. And at a time when evidence is everything, develop and align on success metrics and hold one another accountable to confirm with data that what you’ve changed has actually improved outcomes. If the evidence suggests otherwise, then commit to a clear-eyed review of the results and learning from mistakes as a community. 

Of course, everything I’ve shared is applicable not just to the administrative dimension of the student experience, but to their learning experience as well. Faculty individually and academic departments collectively can apply these approaches to course and program design and delivery as well. 

Innovation work isn’t easy, and we’re all facing burnout and resource constraints that show no signs of abating. A necessary step is to prioritize this work, and create the time and space to do it—to ideate, to dream, to test and fail and iterate, and ultimately, improve the student experience. Working as a community (not a committee!) and including a wide variety of voices can provide much needed purpose and inspiration. Perhaps an easy first step is to join me at our next Top Hat Engage event and be inspired, as I was, by our community of caring and impactful instructors.

Brad Cohen is the Chief Academic Officer at Top Hat and the former Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Ohio University. 

The post Improving Student Success Takes Community, Purpose and Inspiration appeared first on Top Hat.

At our webinar, Dr. Viji Sathy and Dr. Kelly Hogan, award-winning educators and authors of Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom, shared their guiding principles to make your course design and class environment more inclusive—without the additional time commitment on your part. We’ve summarized their advice below.

→ On-demand talk: Inclusive teaching principles you need today

Inclusive teaching principles

No matter the role you hold at your institution, your discipline or the size of your class, ask yourself this simple question before setting a class policy: who is being left out as a result of this approach? Dr. Sathy and Dr. Hogan offer three core principles to empower all students and simultaneously counteract messages of exclusion that they may receive implicitly or explicitly.

1. Inclusive teaching is a mindset: Start small by examining how your students may feel when participating in class. Who volunteers? Many times, students won’t feel comfortable answering aloud because of the pressure they place on themselves to be correct. 
2. The more structure, the better for all students: The authors remind us that additional structure benefits ALL students, not just those who may need some extra support. “Many students may not know how to organize their notes. It’s why you could provide guided reading questions to help students key in on the main ideas in their textbook, all while giving them a sense of what your expectations are,” says Dr. Hogan.
3. Too little structure leaves too many students behind: Loosely structured lessons can translate to poor student performance. By telling students to “turn to a neighbor and discuss [some topic],” you may unintentionally exclude certain students from participating. Instead, Dr. Sathy and Dr. Hogan recommend assigning groups with specific roles so that all students feel like they belong.

How to add structure to your course design and class environment

The authors make it clear that ‘course design’ and ‘class environment’ cannot be used interchangeably. Course design refers to the objectives, opportunities for practice and problems that students must complete. Class environment denotes the climate in which students are expected to engage with you and their peers. They share six ways you can structure your course design and class environment to give all students a voice.

1. Be goal oriented: Ask yourself, what do you want students to be able to do at the end of your lesson? It’s also important to balance content delivery with skill–building to help students apply your course material to upper-year courses and their careers. “Think of your students as partners and ask them what would be helpful to them when forming your objectives. Work backwards from there,” Dr. Sathy recommends.
2. Practice, practice, practice: Make low-stakes quizzes your new friend. By evaluating students multiple times in a low-pressure way, you’ll be able to eliminate the chance of them seeing material for the first time on an exam. Ensure learners are adequately prepared for larger tests by running polls with questions that are likely to be found on your exam—what the authors deem ‘typical test questions.’ Students will also get an idea of the level of depth needed to solve specific problems well in advance.
3. Gauge and adjust as you go: Students may nod their heads in agreement when you’re presenting new information. But how do you know if they truly comprehend your subject matter? The authors recommend using informal surveys to help you identify what you might stop, start and continue doing to accelerate student success. “We crowdsource what our final project might be, which is different every semester. Invite students into the discussion and ask, ‘what ways do you want to show me you understand this work?,’” says Dr. Sathy.
4. Be explicitly welcoming from day one: Use the early days of your course to connect with students personally. Begin by learning the correct pronunciation of the names of your students, model sharing pronouns and check in with those who may have missed two consecutive classes. You may also send an encouraging note to students after they complete a test or exam, reminding them that they belong.
5. Don’t assume everyone is comfortable: Be sure to create participation and engagement policies that play to the strengths of extroverts and introverts. Your introverted students likely have equally meaningful contributions to make, but may not feel comfortable speaking out in a large auditorium. An easy fix: run anonymous discussions using an engagement platform like Top Hat.
6. Intersperse techniques: Vary the format in which you engage and assess students. You might begin class with a large group discussion and end your lecture with a think-pair-share exercise. No matter how you choose to measure learning, make sure your questions, answers and reasoning are available to review after the fact to help students effectively study.

How your colleagues embrace inclusive teaching

Throughout their webinar, Dr. Sathy and Dr. Hogan invited attendees to share ways they create more inclusive class structures. You’ll want to take note of these innovative techniques your peers use to empower all students. For more resources on inclusive teaching, check out Dr. Sathy and Dr. Hogan’s website.

The post ‘Who’s Being Left Out?’ Dr. Viji Sathy and Dr. Kelly Hogan on Inclusive Teaching appeared first on Top Hat.

→ Dr. James Lang on teaching distracted minds [Webinar on-demand] 

What was the motivation behind writing your latest book, Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It?

The problem of distraction in the classroom has been one of the major issues faculty members have faced in the last few years. It occurred to me that there’s an opportunity here for us to push education forward if we can use that problem to think about what we’re doing, and consider the best ways to reach today’s students.

My goal in writing the book is to try and get faculty to step away from thinking about distraction as a problem they have to solve, and instead think about, “How do I cultivate and direct the attention of my students? And what creative strategies can I use to help my students pay attention to the course material and one another?”

In the book, you delve into the science behind why we struggle to focus. Why is it important for instructors to have this context?

There’s something important about understanding the history of distraction, as well as understanding the biology behind it. Understanding the history helps you step back and say, “look, it’s not just the devices in the room that are causing students to be distracted. We’ve always been distracted.” This is just the nature of human experience, to feel that we’re not able to focus as much as we would like, and for as long as we would like. Technology intensifies the problem, but it’s not really the source of the problem. Ultimately, a distracted mind is just a human mind. The good news is that novelty can lead to little bursts of satisfaction that make it easier to stay focused.

Scrolling through your news feed when you have nothing else to do isn’t being distracted in your estimation. So how exactly do you define ‘distraction?’

Distraction means doing something that interferes with your goals. If I’m trying to achieve something that is either important to me or that I need to do in order to fulfill a job, distractions are the things that get in the way of me pursuing and achieving those goals. 

The longer you try to pay attention to something, the more challenging it becomes given limited cognitive control. It stems from two things:

1. Our attention fatigues over time. That’s a fundamental feature of our attention systems. At a certain point, you need to stop. 
2. Change renews attention. If you leave the task that’s causing you to slowly fatigue, you can do something else, and then come back to it—now your attention has been renewed. We want to use novelty to our advantage, not only in our work lives, but in the classroom.

What role does goal setting play in our ability to maintain focus?

If you have a strong commitment to a goal, you’re probably more likely to stay focused on it. In a classroom setting, you want to make the goal clear to students—or you want to give them the opportunity to form their own goals. That’s the place a lot of educational theorists will go: give students the chance to formulate their own goals, which is good to a certain extent.

The problem you might run into, especially at the beginning of class, is that students don’t even know what the goal possibilities are. First-year students may have trouble setting a goal that will sustain them throughout the semester. Initially, we have to do a decent amount of goal setting and convincing for them. Once we get into the class a bit, then you can give students opportunities to start setting their own goals. Ideally there’s contribution from both sides.

You suggest that how instructors teach is often at odds with how students learn. What’s the disconnect here? 

The disconnect is taking for granted that students should pay attention. What we need to think about is how we structure the class in a way that sustains someone’s attention through an extended period of time. We need to think like playwrights. What do they do to maintain attention? They have acts and scenes, there’s an intermission, the action rises and falls. At the beginning of a play, something happens that is designed to intrigue you and get you engaged in the story. I argue in the book that we have to think both like a playwright and like a poet. You have to think like a playwright in terms of the structure. You have to think like a poet in terms of “what’s going to reawaken the attention of my students,” or awaken the attention of my students to this particular content for the day.

You have to think like a playwright in terms of the structure. You have to think like a poet in terms of “what’s going to reawaken the attention of my students,” or awaken the attention of my students to this particular content for the day.

How should instructors adjust their teaching to better support how students learn?

Distraction is the ocean we’re swimming in. Attention is the islands that rise when the circumstances are right. Here are a few ways that I adapt my teaching to keep students alert.

1. Cultivate community in the classroom: Attention begets attention. If I pay attention to you, you’re more likely to pay attention to me. Be more attentive to the community in the classroom, and try to help students be more attentive to one another. Putting emphasis on community building and attention has to start from the very beginning of your course and must be sustained.

2. Be deliberate in choosing learning exercises: When I’m lecturing to students about some difficult new content, it needs to be alternated with something that’s going to give students a bit of a break, and let them engage in a task. Pausing throughout class for peer-peer discussion is also proven to boost comprehension.¹ Then we can come back to another piece that might be more cognitively challenging. Think deliberately about, “How is attention going to wax and wane throughout this period? And how can I structure and order the events in ways that will keep them focused?”

3. Intersperse ‘signature attention activities’ throughout class time: I argue for what I call signature attention activities—the things that teachers should have planned throughout the semester. You’re going to get a slump in a 75-minute class. Forty-five minutes in, what are you going to do to get people reawakened for the last half hour? These are the moments that are going to re-energize the class, because attention lags not only in the class period, but throughout the semester. You need to think about the big picture as well.
   
   a. Connection notebooks: Ask students to respond to a prompt such as “how does what you learned today connect to something you’ve learned in another class?” or “have you experienced something you learned today in your life outside of school?”
   b. Close reading: With a partner, ask students to review a passage from your course text and jot down any questions they have or reflect on how the text connects to other elements of your course. 
   c. Image of the day: Begin class by posting a relevant image on screen and ask students to answer a) what do you notice? and b) what do you wonder? This exercise can help activate students’ prior knowledge and improve retrieval practice. 

→ Webinar On-Demand: Dr. James Lang on improving attention and focus 

James M. Lang, PhD, is the author of six books, including Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It and Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning. He also writes a monthly column on teaching and learning for The Chronicle of Higher Education, which his work has appeared in since 1999. He is the recipient of a 2016 Fulbright Specialist Grant (Colombia) and the 2019 Paul Ziegler Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship at Assumption College.

References

1. Thaman, R. G. (2014). Effective use of pause procedure to enhance student engagement and learning. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2014/8260.4691

The post James Lang’s Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It appeared first on Top Hat.

In our recent webinar, Dr. Agarwal uncovered why forgetting is so common among students. She also offered practical activities to make learning stick no matter your field. Here are her takeaways.

→ Get Dr. Pooja Agarwal’s Science-Backed Teaching Tips [On-Demand Webinar]

Why do students forget material in the first place?

No matter your age, background or ability, forgetting is a natural part of learning—and nothing to be ashamed about. “We typically focus on getting information into students’ heads through lectures, activities and readings. Instead, we need to focus on getting information out of students’ heads,” she says. Reducing the chance of forgetting starts with frequent exposure to certain topics and recalling those facts regularly. But as an instructor, what exactly can you do to boost long-term learning and memory? Dr. Agarwal’s answer: embrace retrieval practice.

“We typically focus on getting information into students’ heads through lectures, activities and readings. Instead, we need to focus on getting information out of students’ heads.”

What is retrieval practice and how does it promote long-term retention?

Retrieval practice is a low- or no-stakes learning strategy where students pull information out of their heads and apply their knowledge to a given scenario. In other words, they’re asked to ‘retrieve’ the information they’ve accumulated. Retrieving shouldn’t be confused with reviewing. The latter might mean telling students, ‘here’s what we discussed yesterday.’ On the other hand, using a retrieval technique would involve asking students, ‘what do you remember from our unit last week?’ Switching from encoding information to retrieving facts will help your students remember better.

Dr. Agarwal is one of many scholars who can vouch for retrieval practice as a means of improving student outcomes. Research shows that student grades rose from Cs to As upon incorporating retrieval practice into the classroom. Just as important is the impact retrieval practice has during test time. Seventy-five (75) percent of students state that their anxiety reduced around exam time since retrieval practice made learning more digestible.¹ Curious to incorporate proven evidence-based teaching approaches to your course? Read on for Dr. Agarwal’s four recommendations.

Four retrieval practice activities to make learning stick

Brain dump

This simple activity involves asking students to retrieve and write down everything they can remember about a topic covered during your lecture. Alternatively, you might ask your students to write down two or three things they can remember about your topic on the whole—an especially effective technique at the start of your course or learning unit. Take this retrieval technique one step further by asking students to complete the same brain dump at the end of your unit, making it clear how much they’ve learned throughout your class. Remember, this activity should serve as a rough measure of student comprehension and shouldn’t be graded.

Two things

This retrieval technique is the sister to the brain dump. Pause partway through your lesson and ask students to respond to a simple prompt such as ‘what are two things you learned so far today?’ or ‘what are two ways you might relate today’s topics to previous topics?’ Dr. Agarwal also recommends being strategic in how you ask students to retrieve information. Small changes can help students engage deeper with the course material and force them to think more critically. “If you ask students, ‘what did you learn today?’ at the end of class, you’ll likely get blank stares. But ask, ‘what did you learn yesterday?’ and you’ll see their faces light up,” she says.

“If you ask students, ‘what did you learn today?’ at the end of class, you’ll likely get blank stares. But ask, ‘what did you learn yesterday?’ and you’ll see their faces light up.”

Think-pair-share

Chances are you’ve heard of this classic learning strategy before—or maybe used it too many times to count. Ask students to respond to a question, find a partner and then discuss findings in pairs. From here, invite students to share their thoughts in a larger class discussion. Proven to boost peer-peer community, Dr. Agarwal calls out that this tactic can be used in both in-person and online classes. If you’re teaching an online or hybrid class, ask partners to complete a Google Slide in your slide deck for the ‘pair’ portion of this exercise. Alternatively, students might type individual reflections in your Zoom chat or via Top Hat’s discussion board before meeting with a partner in breakout rooms.

Mini quizzes

As the name suggests, mini quizzes are a retrieval technique in which students are assessed in a low-stakes environment. These small quizzes, typically administered weekly, encourage students to reflect on their own learning process. Not only does it provide educators with an understanding of learning gaps, it gives students a chance to ask for help earlier than later. Don’t forget to incorporate the ‘retrieval’ element in your quiz. For example, instead of asking students to define a mathematical correlation, you might ask them, ‘provide an example of a correlation from our lesson last week.’ This shift in wording can help students draw out information from their memory.

→ Webinar Recording: Dr. Pooja Agarwal on Unleashing the Science of Learning

References

1. Agarwal, P.K., Nunes, L.D. & Blunt, J.R. Retrieval Practice Consistently Benefits Student Learning: a Systematic Review of Applied Research in Schools and Classrooms. Educ Psychol Rev 33, 1409–1453 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09595-9

The post Stop Reviewing and Start Retrieving: Dr. Pooja Agarwal on Making Learning Stick appeared first on Top Hat.

To help make the trip, Bowen presented a simple framework. Playfully referred to as the ‘New 3 Rs,’ this process involves prioritizing relationships, resilience and reflection to help learners get the most value out of your course.

→ RSVP for future webinars to improve teaching and learning

What are Bowen’s 3 Rs?

• Relationships: Lesson delivery is only one slice of the pie. Getting to know your students on a personal level creates a more inclusive and supportive environment that encourages them to take risks and lean into learning.
• Resilience: Help students become comfortable with ambiguity and failure. Students will inevitably forget parts of what you teach them. Remind learners that this cycle of forgetting and re-learning is an essential part of the journey and developing a sense of intellectual humility.
• Reflection: Give students opportunities to integrate the feedback they’ve been given. Instead of handing out papers or exams with letter grades attached, make time to process the feedback you’ve provided. What worked and what didn’t? How might they approach things differently in the future? Create spaces for students to reflect and think critically before revealing how they actually did. 

Here are a few additional tactics you can use to create a more inclusive learning environment.

1. Keep learning pleasantly frustrating

We’re likely to abandon an activity altogether if it proves too easy or too challenging. Making learning ‘optimal’ involves finding the middle ground that allows for greater motivation and persistence. This also means giving students the insights they need to excel at a given task. “If you’re learning tennis, the instructor provides you with a grade, but the tennis net provides you with feedback. Be the tennis net,” Bowen recommends.

Bowen’s advice: Make the challenge associated with learning a new topic appealing through your assessment techniques. Smaller, bite-sized assessments with frequent feedback create a sense of momentum. This also offers students opportunities to reflect and build on what’s working and discard what isn’t.

2. Shift your cognitive load according to the interests of your students

When students are intrinsically motivated, they’re driven by personal satisfaction and interest as opposed to external rewards. Using examples or case studies that feel foreign to learners may take more mental effort to absorb. Instead, incorporate examples, names and terminology that reflect the demographics and interests of your students to pique their interest from the get go. 

Bowen’s advice: Make your assessments reflective of our present moment while giving students a sense of freedom, or agency, in how they apply their knowledge. For example, instead of referencing trains or football in your problems, try using a broader social or political concept that all students are likely to be familiar with. Go one step further by asking learners to explain a concept using language and a medium (such as video) that they understand. “I’m not babying my students—I haven’t dropped my standards. I’ve just added care,” Bowen points out.

3. Position course policies as invitations

Wherever possible, remove barriers for students to access you via office hours, email and other communication channels. Getting to know students for who they are and under what conditions they thrive is an essential first step. “Instead of asking students, ‘what do you know about my subject or discipline?’ at the start of your course, ask them to tell you under what circumstances they do their best work,” Bowen advises. The next step involves translating outdated, static course documents—such as the syllabus—into an interactive format that lets students get a better glimpse into who you are. Your enthusiasm may get lost through an eight-page document. Short introductory videos may do a better job of creating a class climate that promotes belonging and engagement from the start.

Bowen’s advice: Without realizing it, the way you frame certain aspects of your course can predict engagement. Consider changing the term ‘office hours’ to ‘student success hours’ to reduce the stress or confusion and make participation more inviting. Similarly, consider using ‘we’ instead of ‘you’ when interacting with students to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

4. Model failure (not just certainty) in front of students

Students want to see you as a real human being. That means not just showing them what you know about your subject area, but being honest about what you don’t know. “If you’re only modeling certainty in the classroom, you’re sending the wrong message. You need to model ambiguity, humility and even failure for your students,” Bowen says.

Bowen’s advice: It’s okay to not have all the answers to student questions at the ready. If a student poses a question in class that you can’t answer confidently, consider telling them that you’ll complete some more research after class and get back to them. Doing so empowers students and serves as a reminder that they, too, can be leaders in the classroom.

→ Join us at one of our upcoming faculty development webinars

The post Relationships, Resilience and Reflection: In Conversation With José Antonio Bowen appeared first on Top Hat.

We share Dr. Emdin’s takeaways for any faculty member looking to create the conditions for students to truly thrive.

→ Event recording: Get Dr. Chris Emdin’s 7 tips for supporting students

Embracing your ‘ratchetdemic’ self

‘Ratchetdemic’ (ratchet + academic), a term Dr. Emdin coined, refers to creating spaces for students to display their academic brilliance without sacrificing who they are as individuals. It’s a play on the term ‘ratchet’ popularized in hip hop music which has both positive and negative connotations and is often used to describe an individual who is rude, sassy or unruly. The key message? Loosen up. Bring your whole being, including your struggles and your passion, to connect more meaningfully with students. “If you can reach the soul of your students, you automatically support the mind in retaining more information,” Dr. Emdin shares. Breaking the script, allowing for spontaneous conversations and connecting your course to non-academic interests or events will make for a more inviting learning experience. 

This mindset governs the ‘ratchetdemic’ pedagogy Emdin employs in his classroom. This novel teaching philosophy is supported by the following rights.

“If you can reach the soul of your students, you automatically support the mind in retaining more information.”

Right 1: The right to be here

Students must feel like their presence is valued and welcome in your course. In order to allow for meaningful learning, remind your learners that while they are within the confines of your institution, the most important thing is their own growth and sense of belonging. “Your classroom is your students’ home each week, which is why we need to embrace radical hospitality as a pedagogical strategy,” Emdin says. You can start by incorporating statements like ‘this is your classroom’ into your syllabi and course discussions to give students a sense of agency.

Right 2: The right to feel

Give students the space and resources necessary to express their feelings and emotions in your class. Work with students to identify how they feel about the material and their learning journey. Allow time for them to express frustration and model how to address these emotions in a judgment-free manner. “The purpose of good education is to provide a range of emotions and go back and analyze.” This involves cultivating a constant feedback cycle: frequently checking in with students and asking for their input on what is, and isn’t working—and how they’re actually feeling about the learning process or concepts you’re sharing.

Right 3: The right to act

Our bodies are powerful vehicles when it comes to communication. Hand gestures. Movement. Intonation. How we show up makes all the difference in getting across our message. “Teaching is a performance art, and the inability to be flexible will truly rob you,” Dr. Emdin says. Get students out of their seats, whether to collaborate with a neighbor or even act out a particular concept. See the difference movement and expression in different forms can have on engagement.

Right 4: The right to love and be loved

Learning becomes ten times more engaging and meaningful when students are allowed to express their love for the people and things outside of your classroom. For example, if you’re an Economics instructor, you might let students decide on an industry of their choosing to describe the effects of supply and demand as opposed to assigning a rigid case study to complete. Give students space to make connections between your course and their non-academic interests. Not only will this flexibility provide a more application-based learning experience, the freedom to incorporate their own interests and passions can help boost engagement and accountability.

Right 5: The right to speak

Being an educator today comes with a level of privilege. Amplify the voices of your students and give them access to those who hold power so they can feel seen and heard. As Emdin outlined, you’re not just seen as an academic, but a scholar and public figure to your students. “Young people don’t want you to be like them, they just want you to like them,” he says. Along with empowering students, this ‘right’ involves creating opportunities for learners to speak both within and beyond your course.

Right 6: The right to see

Biases. It’s what makes your viewpoint different from your neighbor’s. Give students the autonomy to power their own learning based on their lived experiences. Accept that it’s okay for students to see things differently—and encourage them to share their perspectives. Doing so creates the opportunity for frank and meaningful conversations about how students are faring within and beyond academia.

Right 7: The right to know

Give students a 360 degree view of your field. The good, the bad, the ugly. Present a balanced view of what you teach, even if it isn’t pretty. “It’s always about raising the rigor in academia. But who determines the subjects that get taught other than you?” Offer a toolkit for students to fully understand the world around them in relation to your discipline. Bring in injustices, histories and legacies that help learners pursue knowledge in an unrestricted way.

→ Event recording: Hear how Dr. Chris Emdin helps all students thrive

The post 7 Ways Dr. Christopher Emdin Reaches the Soul to Teach the Mind appeared first on Top Hat.

After completing grad school and paying close attention to the flaws of the postsecondary system, Dewsbury was determined to make his own classroom a place where diverse students could thrive and excel. We share his story below and his advice for educators looking to bring an extra dose of inclusion and accessibility to their courses.

→ Get Dr. Chris Emdin’s tips on authentic teaching [Free Virtual Event]

You’ve spoken widely about the ‘social context of education.’ What does this mean and how does it predict engagement and retention for marginalized students?

When a student arrives at your course, they don’t walk in as a blank slate. The experiences and social struggles that they’ve had prior can’t be wiped away. The social context of education refers to the realization that several socio- cultural and economic factors will inevitably impact the degree to which students can engage in a given moment. As educators then, our role is to understand that not everyone will be fully cognitively and emotionally present in the classroom—which is more than okay. It’s why equity is the backbone of my courses today.

How have you re-thought traditional teaching structures to allow for more flexibility and accessibility in your course?

The current structure of my course pre-dates the pandemic by about six years. I’ll share how I’ve adjusted my attendance and assessment approach to give students the most autonomy possible.

Attendance: Anything that has a point-value associated with it doesn’t accurately reflect true learning or a skill that we want students to develop. Belonging can also serve as a big predictor of attendance. If you’re not motivated to be in a space or see value in being present, you’re more likely to skip attending lectures. The challenge that I set for myself? Design the type of face-to-face experience where students wake up in the morning and can’t wait to come to class.

Assessment: My assessment structure has always been quite diffuse. The first major exam is worth 15 percent of the final grade and out of 50 points. Hypothetically, students could get a 0 on this assessment yet still pass the class. For me, the point of assessment is to build in enough space to help students transition into a post-secondary understanding of your discipline and to get comfortable in a technical environment. It’s not about using it as a tool to see who’s the brightest student in your course.

What are some ways that professors can get to know their students better on a personal level?

The biggest piece of advice I can give: getting to know your students must be done from an equity-based lens. You’re trying to learn from a place of humility and not confirm a bias you may already have. That involves putting structures in place to make sure students are accommodated without having to ‘out themselves’ to you and their peers. For example, in a room of hundreds of students, it’s unlikely that learners who are food insecure will volunteer that kind of information up front.

I’ve begun to shift my role from subject matter expert to someone who purposely cultivates excellence among, and with, students. One of my favorite quotes is, “I don’t teach biology. I teach students, I cover biology.” There’s a couple simple practices I use to fully embrace this mindset.

• Using a basic needs security statement: Sara Goldrick-Rab at The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice has developed a great syllabus insert to remind students where to access your campus’ food pantry, stable housing, mental health, financial aid resources and more.
• Buying meals once a week: Since my student success hours (what I call office hours) fall during the dinner window, I’ll buy pizza for everyone who shows up. For commuter students or those who are food insecure, it’s a way that I personally show up for them.

How can faculty reduce barriers in the classroom in order to level the playing field?

It’s hard to narrow it down, but feedback quality and exam structure are two things that come to mind.

Feedback: Many students who are taking their first Biology course may struggle to adjust—not because they’re not capable of learning and engaging with Biology principles, but because of the psychology associated with transitioning from high school to post-secondary. Some of the worst feedback you can give students is just a letter or word. Consider inviting students to provide feedback. By asking students about their study techniques and frequency, you’ll a) be in a better position to help learners navigate through assessments and b) help them develop a lifelong skill that will exceed their time within your course.

Exam structure: The last question I always ask on my exams is, “predict your score out of 50.” The responses to this question allow me to host larger conversations with students about why there might be a 15-point gap between their predicted versus actual grade. I’m able to use this information to ask how they prepared and get a sense of other circumstances—not necessarily related to academics—that could have impacted their ability to get their predicted grade.

Let’s say a professor wants to incorporate underrepresented voices into their curriculum. How might they get started?

Incorporating imagery of Black and Brown students in your textbook or showcasing the work of diverse scholars on your syllabus is only the tip of the iceberg. Instead, start by dedicating a good chunk of time to re-engaging the scholarship on inclusive and equitable teaching and doing the learning yourself. Because when that takes place, understanding the top five tactics to put into place on a Monday morning really isn’t that hard. When you get to a point of seeing people and understanding their humanity, teaching automatically revolves around humanism. That, to me, feels like a good place to begin.

→ Free Virtual Event: Dr. Chris Emdin on Supporting Diverse Students

Bryan Dewsbury is an Associate Professor of Biology and Associate Director of the STEM Transformation Institute at Florida International University. He is the Principal Investigator of the Science Education and Society research program where he and his team explore questions pertaining to the social context of teaching and learning. He is a Fellow of the John N. Gardner Institute and the Racially-Inclusive Open Science institute (RIOS). He has conducted faculty development at over 100 institutions of higher education across North America and West Africa pertaining to inclusive practices. He is a co-author of the upcoming book ‘Norton Guide to Inclusive Teaching,’ creator of the upcoming MOOC ‘Education for Freedom,’ and founder of the NSF-funded ‘Deep Teaching Residency.’

The post Students First, Curriculum Second: In Conversation With Bryan Dewsbury appeared first on Top Hat.

Dr. Cathy Davidson, Distinguished Professor of English and the Founding Director of the Future Initiative at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York (CUNY), offered an infrastructure for curiosity—one that acknowledges the unique circumstances of a vastly diverse student population.

Below, we share Davidson’s key takeaways for educators and administrators looking to improve student outcomes today.

→ Webinar on Demand: Dr. Chris Emdin on Supporting Diverse Students

1. Keeping our students curious

Today’s student body has never been more diverse. Forty (40) percent work over 30 hours a week. Twenty-four (24) percent are from a low-income background. Forty-five (45) percent identify as people of color.¹ If we want to retain today’s learners, a more equitable and engaging approach to course delivery is a must. 

For starters, Davidson advocates for more experiential, hands-on learning opportunities that give students the space to explore on their own. “We don’t learn best through lectures. We learn best through trial and error and lectures,” she says.

Teaching has always been a two-way process. Piquing curiosity in the classroom means giving students frequent opportunities to show what they know. Davidson shares two pedagogical approaches to help you gauge subject mastery.

• Inventory methods: Take a pulse on student comprehension and preconceived attitudes and beliefs before your class begins. Davidson uses an entry ticket here, asking for students to note their responses to a question relevant to the day’s lesson. An example: “Based on the readings for class today, what is your understanding of X?”
• Total participation: Engage every student at once with techniques that promote participation and higher-order thinking. Davidson uses activities like think-pair-share and collaborative note-taking exercises to actively involve students in their learning.

2. Keeping ourselves curious

Just because you’re an educator doesn’t mean you’re responsible for imparting knowledge to students during every class. Let students direct their own learning—otherwise known as the ‘open syllabi’ model. “I leave a portion of my syllabus blank and leave students to program those two weeks on their own. I guarantee that they’ll have a memorable learning experience during that time,” she shares. As a plus, students are given more opportunity to ask “why” and to explore answers to course concepts in a more dynamic way.

Small tweaks to your class can help you promote what Davidson calls “curious course design.” This philosophy involves engaging every student and ensuring that their interests and learning gaps are adequately addressed. Davidson recommends using collaborative lesson plans and real-time course design to guide you. She shares one simple way she’s fostered a sense of peer-peer teaching in her course. “Students take what they’ve learned in my graduate class and teach that in their undergraduate class and collaboratively work on lesson plans together.”

3. Keeping our institutions accountable for curiosity

Institutional structures are deeply flawed and no longer provide the necessary support for educators and students. Using research, teaching and service as guideposts, Davidson outlines how institutions today must rethink the value of all three pillars. “Research is so dominant that it’s hard to get tenured or promoted without it. Teaching is hardly visible in our rewards system—teaching evaluations, for example, are biased—yet they’re used so widely,” she says.

Looking ahead, institutions might swap ‘service’ for ‘institutional leadership’ or ‘responsibility.’ Instead of a narrow funnel where research efforts reap the most rewards (tenure and promotions), Davidson argues that equal weight should be given to research, teaching, public impact and institutional leadership. Plus, she recommends colleges broaden their definition of research to encompass efforts that would otherwise go unnoticed—such as faculty presentations.  

Davidson ended her keynote on a powerful message for administrators at colleges. “Unless faculty are supported in changing their teaching, how students spark their curiosity and have agency in the classroom isn’t going to change,” she says. “Agency isn’t conferred, it’s modeled and shared.”

→ Get Dr. Chris Emdin’s tips on authentic teaching [Webinar on Demand]

References

1. Davidson, C. N. & Eversley, S. (2021). Practicing the Equitable, Transformative Pedagogy We Preach. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2021/08/16/academe-needs-structural-change-toward-more-equitable-pedagogy-opinion

The post The 3 Phases of Curiosity: A Conversation with Cathy Davidson appeared first on Top Hat.

We recently sat down with Higgins to understand how the hip hop icons can help bring a much-needed dose of diversity to academia while fostering entrepreneurial skills among today’s learners.

How did you get started in higher ed?

I’m not a traditional academic by any stretch. I’ve been documenting Black music and hip hop culture for close to 20 years. I’ve worked in the music industry in various capacities, as a music presenter or booker, as an artist manager touring artists across Canada, and I own an independent publicity company.

Rap and R&B music is rapidly outperforming every other music genre—these two genres combined account for 35–40 percent of all music consumption today. And when we look at this from a generational point of view, it’s hip hop that reigns supreme on American college campuses. Hip hop as an educational tool is what led me to academia, where I’ve lectured about these topics at many Canadian universities including locally at the University of Toronto and York University for over a decade.

Where did the concept behind your new course “Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd” come from?

In the U.S., there are a ton of pop culture courses on rock, pop, hip hop and R&B, from Miley Cyrus and Kurt Cobain all the way to Beyoncé and Outkast. But for me, being based in Toronto, the diversity in higher ed is sorely lacking—both on campus and within the curriculum. Drake and The Weeknd are arguably two of the top 10 artists on the planet, so I knew I wanted to teach a course about them and the Black music culture they both occupy. I really wanted to put a mirror up to the reality of what’s happening outside of the classroom and address the fact that rap and R&B will continue to dominate the music landscape, especially for Generation Z.

What makes your new course different from any other course you’ve taught?

• Diversity and culture is at its core: This course is intensely and proudly Canadian and multicultural. We’ll talk about the role that culture plays in the narrative of someone like The Weeknd and how Ethiopian and East African retentions bleed their way into his work. Same goes for Drake and his bicultural and biracial (American Black and Canadian white Jewish) identity.  
• Rap lyrics can teach students about literary devices: We’ll deconstruct songwriting styles and lyrics of both artists. What people tend to forget is that Drake is a great writer. In his rhymes, he employs a number of literary devices like metaphors, similes and Iambic pentameter—all of which you would find in a course about English literature.
• An opportunity to arm students with business acumen: Entrepreneurship sits at the center of The Creative School, the faculty in which my course falls under. When you think about Drake, you instantly think about owls, the long line ups outside the OVO store in Yorkdale mall in Toronto and OVO Fest. He’s also a figure who seamlessly blends the world of music and sports, largely with his attachment to the Toronto Raptors. All of these pieces combined make up part of the OVO brand, which we’ll dig into.

How does the Professional Music program bridge the gap between the classroom and the workforce? 

The Music Den, which is part of The Creative School, is essentially an incubator for students to develop a product, idea or skill that allows for hands-on learning. This incubator aims to bring together successful music industry entrepreneurs and businesspersons that we’re connected with at the university through our committees, and also provide masterclasses and workshops for aspiring music entrepreneurs. For instance, for students who are interested in developing an innovative app, or maybe their own indie promotional company, we might be able to pair them up with a company like Live Nation in a mentorship-like capacity. The best case scenario is leaving the incubator with a big idea that’s near ready to go to the market, or quite possibly a co-op opportunity in their respective field. 

How will your new course help historically excluded or underrepresented students overcome learning barriers and barriers to the workforce? 

We have a saying in the Black community: when you see it, you can be it. When you have racialized instructors and thought leaders, both inside and outside of academia, it creates a trickle down effect to IBPOC students. So just by virtue of me or any other racialized instructor teaching courses like this, it sends a strong message to racialized students that they too can aspire to achieve some semblance of success in the industry, in different capacities, because they see it in front of them.

Music education has historically focused on dead white rock and roll male artists. But that’s not what the world is, and it’s not where the music industry is heading either—the world is hip hop, it’s electronic music, it’s R&B, it’s Black and Brown too. What’s happening in the outside world isn’t really what’s being presented in academia, which many believe to be detached from popular culture, and so it’s time for a paradigm shift. We’re trying to reflect these contemporary realities in the classroom to emphasize where this generation is occupying most of their time.

What advice would you give to professors who want to embrace more of an equity mindset in their courses but don’t know where to begin?

If you want to build a smarter department or a smarter course, you’ll find a way to organically include and integrate voices from racialized communities in your curriculum. These groups are so woefully underrepresented in academia it’s almost embarrassing. Token gestures like hiring one scholar of color for your department or hosting the occasional IBPOC guest lecturer to check off a box won’t work. An inclusive classroom also needs an inclusive syllabus. There has to be a more seamless blend where you can see the roots of cultures or backgrounds reflected in your curriculum and reading materials. If you want to correct historical wrongdoings, you have to look at everything through an equity lens.

Dalton Higgins is a publicist, author of six books, and works at Ryerson University (soon to be renamed) where he also teaches the course “Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd.” His book Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake is carried in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum collection in Cleveland, and his best-selling Hip Hop World book is carried in Harvard University’s hip hop archive and research institute. Higgins has contributed chapters and lesson plans to textbooks used in schools focused on popular culture, including Rhymes to Re-Education (Canada’s first hip hop textbook) and the anthology In This Together about Indigeneity and Blackness in hip hop.

The post Meet the Educator Tackling Hip Hop, Race and Class in His Course appeared first on Top Hat.

Stephen Buckles, Principal Senior Lecturer of Economics at Vanderbilt University, encountered this issue first hand. The traditional textbooks he came across lacked essential active learning opportunities. They also weren’t able to offer relevant, timely content. His solution? Authoring three digital, interactive textbooks with support from 16 faculty currently teaching introductory economics courses: Principles of Economics, Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics.

We caught up with Buckles to understand how he customizes his textbooks to appeal to the evolving interests and needs of Gen Z. Plus, he shares how in-text assessments—and the insights that are generated—actively motivate and enable students in their learning journey.

→ Discover Top Hat’s affordable, engaging and customizable textbook solution

Why did you choose to author your own interactive textbook?

When I started teaching at Vanderbilt, I was using a standard textbook. I tried several bestsellers, but none of them took into account how students most effectively learned: through active learning. As serious educators, we must drill deeper than simple memorization and encourage students to put these concepts into practice in a tangible way.

Professor and Learning Theorist Eric Mazur at Harvard was one of the first promoters of the classroom clicker. The principle behind clicker use—getting students to productively think and discuss their ideas—holds true with what we’re trying to achieve in embedding assessments in textbook chapters. That is my primary motivation for this work. Students learn significantly more and are much more capable of applying that learning if they are actively engaged instead of passively reading paragraph after paragraph.

How does an up-to-date textbook with assessment questions woven throughout inform the way you teach?

I view frequent assessments as a way to make student learning easier. Students no longer need to go back and re-read the entire chapter again to make sure they understand the material—they’re given plenty of opportunities to do this throughout. In exchange, the insights I receive from these in-text assessments help me create flexible lessons that speak to students’ strengths or challenges with the material.

Students understandably want to know in advance what will be covered on my final exams. But here’s my response: I tell them if they’ve read the book and answered the questions throughout, they’ve already seen all of the exam questions. It’s the best way that I’ve been able to create a flexible, simplified and extremely effective study process for students—and its design is based on sound empirical evidence.

Your book will soon include a case study on the January 2021 GameStop stock craze. Why was that important to highlight?

It all boils down to student motivation. The more contemporary examples that students relate to and find interesting, the more likely they are to understand the relevance of their learnings in everyday life. It helps them understand bigger, underlying issues about financial markets that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Almost every single student knows about the GameStop stock phenomenon. They’ve seen a ton of references to it on social media.

With a customizable text, I’m able to tailor my content to meet students’ needs and interests. I don’t have to wait several years to revise or add a new case study: I’m able to do so from semester to semester. The GameStop case study won’t be in the book forever, but that’s the great thing. As soon as GameStop and other current examples disappear from students’ active interests, we will swap out these stories for something that future students know and actually want to learn about.

What are some of the benefits of keeping your book relevant and making sure students are tested on what they know?

When students relate to content in their coursework, they’re much more likely to become engaged and involved in class discussions. Since using my digital textbook as a way to prime students before they arrive to class, my teaching assistants have seen a noticeable increase in quality economics-driven discussions. By facilitating pre-class readings, around 75–80 percent of students discuss financial topics in peer discussions.

I’ve found that frequent assessments woven throughout chapters really help students prepare for their exams. Their scores show it. I’ve done a handful of casual correlations between the number of questions students answer in the textbook and their exam scores, and the students who answer more questions tend to perform better on their exams. 

→ Get pre-built slides, quizzes and assignments for your next economics course 

Stephen Buckles is a Principal Senior Lecturer and former Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University, where he also received his PhD. Buckles has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (Vanderbilt, 2008), Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award (Southern Economic Association, 2006), and the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (Vanderbilt, 2007). He is the lead author of three Top Hat textbooks: Principles of Economics, Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics.

The post Interactive Textbooks Help Gen Z Learn From Real-World Content appeared first on Top Hat.

The approach is clearly in tune with the desires of today’s students. Data from Top Hat’s latest survey of 3,052 undergraduates underscores the importance students place on skill-building in the classroom. Seventy-nine percent of students say it’s important or very important that their instructors create opportunities for them to develop transferable skills—including communication, collaboration and analytical skills. Sanchez shares how Innovation-Based Learning (IBL) responds to this desire by creating opportunities for personalized, skills-first learning.

How would you describe Innovation-Based Learning? How did it come to be?

Some 36 years ago, I wrote a paper on the need for more real-world and relevant curriculum to engage students in their learning. This process sparked my interest in sourcing a more practical way to learn—which is how IBL came to be. You can think of IBL as an instructional delivery system. It’s a paradigm that matches subject content to a student’s idea, area of interest, major or desired career path. For example, students might learn about math or liberal arts by applying theory to a project or activity they’re passionate about. Since its inception in the mid-80s, IBL has grown into a comprehensive education ecosystem that meets the needs of all students, no matter their institution type, course or level.

How does IBL help students see the relevance and importance of their academics in relation to their passions and goals beyond class?

Traditionally, students might not understand how course content ties to a real-world application. That in turn can lead to retention problems. Metaphorically, we can think of education as a forest. Various pathways in a forest might represent different subjects students have to master. But navigating these pathways without a sense of direction or connection to what matters means students are more vulnerable to getting lost or dropping out. 

IBL provides students with their North Star to guide them on their learning journey. Instructors who use IBL are able to anchor learning activities to their students’ idea or innovation, career choice, major, self-employment idea or hobby—hence the name Innovation-Based Learning. It’s a win-win situation for both students and institutions: students are better able to see the value of what they’re learning while colleges have a better chance of retaining students when personal meaning and purpose are put at the center.

We’re seeing growing concern among students about the value they’re receiving for their tuition dollars. Why should faculty incorporate IBL into their courses and how might it address these concerns?

IBL lets students tap into an entrepreneurial mindset. This framework lets students walk away from college with a degree and potentially a marketable product or service that can form the foundation of their career. Plus, IBL positions the professor as a facilitator who can help align student learning to an idea or innovation and structure activities that are specific to students’ interests. As soon as students a) engage in activities that ladder up to their larger goals and aspirations and b) have a facilitator they can rely on, they’re more engaged and motivated in class. This continuous back-and-forth between students, peers and faculty members helps solidify learning because gaps are exposed and strengths are drawn out from day one across disciplines and curricula.

What are some approaches professors might use to incorporate IBL into their teaching philosophy? What does this look like in STEM versus humanities classes?

Learning by doing is the one of the most effective ways for students to learn, expose their own learning gaps and create connections between course material and their area of interest. Let me give you a few examples.

• Math courses: It’s normal for students to question, “how will learning this equation help me with a given project?” As an educator, try and link equations or formulae to an area of interest for students such as algorithms or software development, which will create deliberate ‘aha’ moments.
• Essay-based courses: Consider giving students the autonomy to choose their own topic for an essay. They’re more likely to enjoy applying sentence mechanics or syntax to something that they like learning about or that relates to a larger project they’re working on.
• Psychology courses: Students might apply psychological concepts such as sensation perception to an area of interest, let’s say cosmetology, in the form of a case study.

Today’s students are preparing to enter a drastically different workforce. How does IBL help prepare students? 

Modern workplaces are now putting a premium on uniquely human skills—problem solving, communication, collaboration and analytical skills—when sourcing talent. That’s where IBL really benefits students. The framework helps learners develop and hone a wider range of skills that are in demand and can be applied no matter their career path. Students are better equipped to become contributing members of society because they’re given the time and space to nurture the soft skills needed post-graduation.

How has your use of IBL affected student outcomes? 

A study of over 630 students and 10 faculty across 15 courses at South Texas College showed that course pass rates rose by as much as 24 percent after math faculty members adopted IBL in their courses. So there’s clearly a positive correlation. 

One student shared this with me. They said, “I was someone without an idea or innovation originally. I used my major for this, and answering questions using IBL showed me how every aspect of my career choice has a connection to everything I’m learning.” That’s pretty consistent with the feedback we get. IBL has given students and educators a chance to bring value to course delivery—all while keeping student engagement, motivation and retention at the forefront.

Dr. Joe A. Sanchez is the founder and CEO of the Innovation-Based Learning (IBL) Institute: an organization dedicated to data-driven student academic success at all educational levels. IBL’s mission is to motivate, educate and graduate students. For the past 37 years, Dr. Sanchez has been working in the field of education as an educator, mental health professional and consultant at all levels of education from Pre-K through higher education. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Texas A & M University-College Station, Texas and his Masters and BA from University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (formerly Pan American University). Dr. Sanchez is an author, keynote speaker and lecturer on topics related to education, psychology and innovation. He is in the process of completing two books elaborating on IBL. Dr. Sanchez can be contacted at https://ibl.institute/ or jsanchez@ibl.institute.

The post How Innovation-Based Learning (IBL) Is Helping More Students Become Career-Ready appeared first on Top Hat.

Delivering a media-rich and up-to-date view of human sexuality is only part of the story. With better exam performance and student course evaluations that would put most professors over the moon, we sat down with McNichols to discuss how her approach to authoring has improved the learning journey for thousands of students.

What was your motivation for writing A Critical Introduction to Human Sexuality?

When I was preparing to teach, my predecessor, who’d taught the course for 30 years, warned me that there weren’t a lot of great textbooks out there and had actually taught without one. Initially I did try to settle on a traditional print textbook but found that it really wasn’t something that met the needs of my students. It was filled with outdated views and used language that reflected the stigma that surrounds a lot of topics about human sexuality we’re trying to move away from.

Still, writing your own textbook is a daunting project.

For sure. But I’d been using Top Hat for in-class polling and discovered they had just rolled out new technology that allowed professors to write their own interactive textbooks. So Matthew and I took it as an opportunity to throw out what hadn’t been working and start fresh. 

Traditional print textbooks are such an outdated mode for delivering content to students. They can’t change. And because they’re printed, they’re not interactive. The beauty of writing a digital textbook was that we could change it constantly. We don’t have to wait two years to come up with a new edition. We’re able to talk to students and learn from their ideas. We could also introduce questions into the text to check their understanding or include a YouTube video or a podcast to augment the learning experience and get them really engaged.

How did your insights into Gen Z students guide the approach you took to writing your book?

Gen Z learners aren’t going to consume content in the same way I did when I was in college 20 years ago. They generally don’t read books for pleasure but they are constantly looking at content on their phones. The difference is that instead of being fed stagnant, fixed content, they’re used to clicking and interacting. 

I also think the world is going in the direction of more active learning—where students take ownership for their own learning. So rather than passively consuming information I think they need to engage with it in order to form their own opinions. So we planned out the major sections and served up text in more bite-sized chunks. But layered on top of that, we added different types of questions to test students on what they’ve just read. It meant curating the design of each chapter by picking the tools Matt and I thought would best drill home the points we were trying to make, whether incorporating video, podcasts, links to research or interactive questions.

Are you concerned that chunking text and using video and interactive elements is just coddling today’s students? 

I don’t think so. It’s appreciating that students are individuals and that they have different ways in which they consume media, and have different ways in which they best learn, so why not provide that? 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of reading to do, it’s just presented differently and with interactivity in mind. My assessment is that they’re spending just as much time reading our interactive textbook as they would a traditional printed version. But they’re also reading the most current research, which is important.

What difference has this made in terms of learning outcomes? 

There’s no doubt that students are performing better on exams that have been evaluated by our Center for Teaching and Learning. These assessments have been judged to be more difficult than the exams that existed before students used this textbook, and compared to the exams my predecessor used. 

Plus, they’re enjoying the course more. Since introducing the textbook, I’ve taught over 10,000 students. My average course evaluation rating—the summative rating—has been a five out of five. And the overwhelming majority of students mention the textbook as being an important factor. I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that having this book has transformed the learning experience for my students.

What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about embracing a digital textbook?

I think it is completely delusional to think that a print textbook or a PDF copy is going to deliver the same experience as something that is interactive. It’s really doing a disservice to our students to think otherwise. This is their education. Don’t students deserve to have something that is really going to deliver an excellent learning experience and optimize their outcomes? 

I also believe this is a conversation that in 10 years will make us laugh because I can’t imagine that traditional print textbooks are going to be sticking around for that much longer. The format of the Top Hat text speaks perfectly to what it really means to have and use active learning.

Create a customized and safe learning environment for your human sexuality students to thrive in. Learn more about Nicole McNichols’ interactive Top Hat textbook here.

Nicole McNichols is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also received her PhD in Social Psychology in 2009. McNichols teaches the largest and most popular undergraduate course at UW, PSYCH 210 – The Diversity of Human Sexuality. She recently co-authored her textbook titled A Critical Introduction to Human Sexuality. It provides a modern, comprehensive and research-based exploration of human sexuality and incorporates real life perspectives on contemporary issues. The book is available to adopt in the Top Hat Catalog. You can follow McNichols on Instagram at @Nicole_TheSexProf for entertaining, subject-specific content.

The post How a Digital Textbook Helped Earn This Prof a Perfect Course Evaluation appeared first on Top Hat.

The fall 2020 semester was an unprecedented one. Pushed into online teaching and learning and away from normal routines, many educators worried about how their courses would run online. In his freshman-level class with more than 200 students, Joel Stake knew right away that the key was to keep it simple and to stay connected. 

Staying connected

When it was clear that classes would remain online for the foreseeable future, Joel Stake knew that he would need to double-down on creating opportunities for community and connection in his classes. To do this he started with an introductory video to allow students to get to know him a little better. 

“It shows them that I’m a person and that I’m approachable, from behind their screen,” he says.  

This semester, Stake has also added weekly videos to maintain his ‘virtual presence’ and often films these one-to-two minute videos in different locations to add personality and keep things fresh. He also uses Top Hat Community, a free messaging app that enables professors and students to chat, engage in video discussions, collaborate on assignments and to stay connected with his students. “It allows for more casual interaction that can be lost in online and blended learning environments,” Stake says. “Learning extends outside of the classroom as well.”

The three-click rule

Particularly for freshmen, it’s important for online learning resources to be easily accessible. 

“I have what I like to call a three-click rule,” Stake says. “If it takes more than three clicks, it’s probably going to keep the student from wanting to engage.” 

He used Top Hat to house all of his course materials, making it straightforward and intuitive for students to navigate course resources and activities. “This way, students don’t have to look in a bunch of different places,” Stake said. “Everything’s in one spot.” 

Ensure course design is strategic

Many students are juggling family responsibilities, part-time work and other commitments, which means time is precious. Stake knew that this meant he had to design his course in a way that would ensure students would derive value at every step. 

“I want to be crystal clear for my students as to why they’re doing a particular assignment,” Stake says. “They know how everything they’re doing  relates to what we’re supposed to be learning this week and why it relates to the overall goals.” 

The effort has paid off. Stake saw an increase in the course average when teaching online, in comparison to his traditional face-to-face courses.

Keeping students motivated

In asynchronous courses, it’s tempting to load students up with readings and assignments.  But Stake made a concerted effort to limit activities and avoid anything that wasn’t clearly aligned with the learning goals he communicated each week through video to his students.   

By focusing on scaling back the detail of the course content, Stake feels he was able to give students a broader stroke of the material. In the process, he hopes that they gain a greater appreciation for how biology works. 

“You don’t want students to be spinning their wheels with busy work,” he says. “Take out content if you have to, they can learn it well without a million activities reinforcing it.”

Top Hat’s recent webinar provided educators with tangible tips to foster community and build dynamic learning experiences online. View the free webinar recording here. 

The post Why Staying Connected Is Important in Asynchronous Classes appeared first on Top Hat.

The fall 2020 semester has been a rollercoaster for professors and students. Pushed outside their comfort zones into the world of online teaching, many educators think that they need to overcompensate by exerting control. The more tools, readings, assignments and content, the better, right? Not so fast. Professor of Philosophy Jessica Roisen advocates for doing less in order to create the space for students to engage with each other and the learning process.

After adopting a HyFlex strategy this term—whereby students can choose to attend in-person classes or tune in via video conferencing software—Roisen had to rethink her course delivery to appeal to those in both modalities. She shares her takeaways from the semester, which support her goal of spending less time on instruction and more time on her students.

Top Hat’s recent webinar offered educators tangible tips to foster community and build dynamic learning experiences online. View the free recording here.

Cut back on instruction by adopting a flipped classroom

In this new teaching reality, some professors have upped their lecturing time in order to cover all pertinent details of a topic. But doing so, means it can be easy for students to feel overwhelmed. To avoid this, Roisen decided to flip the classroom.

In each of her 30-student classes, learners now watch lectures on their own time and use class time for discussions and activities. This inverted teaching model helped turn Roisen’s students into leaders. “It was the opposite of what felt comfortable. I wanted to do more and lecture more and try to squeeze in as much as I could, but letting my students take over and having me do less was the right strategy.”

Relinquish control and create more room for community

With online learning, many educators have sought to control their learning community. But as Roisen found this term, letting go can actually boost feelings of camaraderie between students. This goes for discussions and chatting in class.

As a user of Top Hat Community, a communication tool that lets students and instructors interact in and out of class, she noticed sidebar conversations happening that she feared would be distracting. But after some reflection, she realized that this contributed to the chemistry and community between users. So she adapted her communication policy. “I removed my control over the chat feature in Community, which was such a changing moment for me,” she says. “If my students need to ask a classmate for clarification on a question, then that’s fantastic. And if it’s us having a side conversation about a TV show, then that’s great. It’s a way for us to relate on a more human level.”

Talk less, show more

Lecturing too much can rid the classroom of participation and collaboration. What’s Roisen’s solution? Dial down the time you spend teaching students a concept—and let them explore on their own. “I try to talk for no more than 10 minutes straight,” she says. “I work through my slides, keep the material really visual and engaging. And then I try to step away and find a video that provides the same information. Then we do an activity. Things are consistently broken up and they’re not just listening to an ongoing lecture.”

A short lecture, followed by a video to help come at the content from a different angle and then a learning activity has been a winning formula. After all, lecturing is only one element required for mastery. It’s opportunities for active learning exercises that will help students apply and deepen their understanding of what they’ve just learned.

Let students take the lead during exam season

Roisen has always offered optional group exams in her courses. By setting the stage with community-building practices throughout the term, she realized this impacted how students opted to take their final exam. “Pre-COVID, about 74 percent of my students opted to take a group exam. This semester, 100 percent of my students who had the option of doing a group exam chose to do so,” she says.

While exam time can be stressful for many, collaborative assessments have helped Roisen’s students realize that they’re all in the same camp. “I removed all exam restrictions. I said, ‘you have access to everything and you can take as much time as you want.’ There’s no better way of checking to see if students get what they’re talking about then to see if they can explain it to somebody else.”

The post How ‘Doing Less’ Can Improve Community and Connectivity Online appeared first on Top Hat.

The spring 2020 semester was unlike any other in history. Having access to quiet spaces, reliable Wi-Fi and balancing the demands of family and work life are just a few of the challenges college students faced in the switch to remote learning.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic’s rippling effects, Viji Sathy, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, led innovative classroom and diversity initiatives and offered workshops on inclusive teaching.

While COVID is disrupting higher ed, Sathy believes it’s even more important for instructors to acknowledge what’s happening with their students in ways that feel comfortable and safe. She sat down with us to share strategies for inclusive teaching based on her own experience—and the feedback she’s receiving firsthand from students and faculty.

1. Classes during COVID aren’t ‘business as usual’

What were your main takeaways from UNC Chapel Hill’s sudden shift to remote teaching in the spring semester?

Everything turned upside down very quickly. One thing that I did early on that students really responded well to was contacting them. Rather than push out an announcement through my LMS with the generic, ‘Hello, I hope you’re okay,’ I actually took the time to figure out how to use mail merge and personalize each email with students’ preferred names. It was just a message to say that we were going to be okay. I was going to make adjustments to the course and we’d figure it out.

My M.O. throughout this whole thing was ‘first, let’s deal with the fact that this is happening and it’s weird and awkward and uncomfortable, and then we’ll get back to the course.’

From the student feedback, that acknowledgement of things being unsettled was really helpful. They saw that as a sign of care for their wellbeing. They needed to hear that and they needed the reassurance. And they didn’t really like it when people just plowed ahead like it was business as usual.

2. A mix of synchronous and asynchronous classwork is necessary

What are your thoughts on the synchronous versus asynchronous debate? How should faculty think about this split?

It’s actually a really timely conversation. The distinction of asynchronous or synchronous isn’t enough—we have to qualify how much of a course is synchronous so that students can make the best choices in terms of their work schedules and other commitments.

What we’re realizing is that a lot of the courses are using a mix of asynchronous and synchronous activities. But there’s great variation in how much of it is synchronous and how much of it is asynchronous. We need to communicate which parts are optional and which are required.

So if you have an instructor who’s saying, ‘I want to host my lectures synchronously with students because I want them to have time to reflect, answer and discuss in real time,’ we need to communicate that to our students. That way, they have the expectation if they sign up for a course, they’re going to have to be at their computer ‘x’ days a week for a certain amount of time.

3. Students want to see you and your take on things—they don’t want to see you reading slides

How can professors make recorded lectures more engaging?

It’s better to aim for shorter videos. Instead of putting up a 50-minute lecture, consider posting multiple five-minute lectures with questions you want students to respond to placed in between.

This modularity is beneficial for both the instructor and the student. It’s helpful from the instructor side, because if I mess up something in minute two of a three-minute video, it’s not a big deal to re-record. But if I mess up something in minute 15 of a 27 minute video, it just seems like a nightmare to go in and do the editing work.

And then from the student side, this modularity is helpful because they might not have a single 50-minute session to sit down and listen to you. But they could have a few minutes in between making lunch or taking care of a younger sibling where they can watch a short video. Plus, if they want to go back and review something, it’s super easy to pick it out from the list of recordings.

4. It is a privilege for students to have their cameras on

Some instructors who are holding synchronous sessions are saying it’s difficult to teach when student cameras are off. What do you recommend these instructors do?

First of all, ask yourself: ‘Why do I want their cameras on?’ If you feel uncomfortable talking to a black box, that is the wrong reason. My students shouldn’t have to support my comfort in teaching. And they shouldn’t have to feel like they need to show me where they live. That is a privilege.

First of all, ask yourself: ‘Why do I want their cameras on?’ If you feel uncomfortable talking to a black box, that is the wrong reason.

If, however, I need them on screen because we’re having a dialogue, it’s helpful to have the visual cues that somebody is about to speak and share their expression, gestures, etc. Work with your students to come up with the norms around when videos are on, what the expectations are, and that it’s not required but encouraged.

5. Rethink the value of being a hard-ass

Students are telling professors that they’re more stressed out than ever before. What are some suggestions for instructors looking to help?

Good instructors are asking themselves: ‘What is essential in order for students to learn the skills and content in my course, while allowing for flexibility as much as possible and keeping a standard of quality to the course?’

You can still have standards about what’s reasonable to accomplish with students, but try to be creative in giving them opportunities to take that pressure off. If you have to take away content or modify projects or assignments, that could be a bit harder because you might feel like you’re losing something that you got to do with previous groups of students. But previous groups of students didn’t have to live during a pandemic, so I think it’s okay for you to change your mind mid-course and make adjustments.

6. Digital tools allow for community building

Can you provide tips on how to build a sense of community in an online classroom?

When you do have opportunities to meet synchronously, make sure you’re building that connection. Me talking at you for 50 minutes doesn’t allow for that connection to occur, but me saying, ‘I’m going to do five minutes of this, I’m going to pose a question, I’m putting you in a breakout room, please discuss, and then let’s come back together again’ gives students a chance to meet their classmates.

And why does entering a synchronous session have to be this awkward thing where numbers of participants are coming in and everyone’s on mute? Why not just have a prompt up on your screen that says ‘Tell me something you’re grateful for today,’ and then you could see the responses rolling in as they’re putting their answers into a poll question. Try to think of ways in which you’re getting them to connect with each other and with you very mindfully.

7. Acknowledge student obligations outside of school

What practices should faculty new to online teaching prioritize in order to guarantee equitable access for the most marginalized students?

Remember that there are some students for whom being at home is not a supportive learning environment. For one, they may not feel comfortable speaking out loud in a class. There might be topics they don’t want their family to hear discussed that are related to the course. So that’s why it’s good to have options where students are able to type their response to a prompt and be able to share that way.

Another group I often think about are first-generation college students. Their families may not understand what college involves and what is expected. These students may have pressure to do things for their family—to not be as engaged in their schoolwork because of X, Y and Z. When first-generation students came to campus, lived in a dorm and came to classes, their parents weren’t all up in their business. They left them alone to do schoolwork. And we have students now who can’t be left alone to do schoolwork so we need to be mindful of that and make adjustments as needed.

The post 7 Steps Professors Can Take to Build More Inclusive Classrooms appeared first on Top Hat.

An award-winning educator and expert in the field of cognitive science, Michelle Miller has devoted a good chunk of her career to helping instructors incorporate technology into their teaching. Her book Minds Online is considered required reading and her ideas are now being put to the test as thousands of faculty plunge headlong into the world of online instruction.

At a time of unprecedented change, Miller advocates for the need for flexible design and understanding student goals in order to hone in on what’s truly important. Identifying priorities and making tradeoffs is critical—not only to keep students engaged and motivated but for the good of instructors teaching in an entirely new way.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty around the fall 2020 semester. Given that the pandemic is far from over, what are some of the risks you see in how faculty have approached their course preparations?

It’s not so much that faculty have left bases uncovered. I think we need the flexibility to change approaches—going from a synchronous to asynchronous approach online or going from hybrid in-person instruction to an entirely synchronous approach. And we do need to have some contingencies in place. What happens if I lose access to the internet? What if some of our students need to quarantine? These are the kinds of things that need to be addressed.

You’re a proponent of flexible course design. How do you define that?

Flexible teaching offers different methods of engagement for different students, providing pathways around barriers that could potentially exclude some students—really at any time, but especially now. Things like lack of access to the kind of equipment and bandwidth that’s needed to do remote instruction.

I’m taking lessons from my own experience of finding alternatives for students—like maintaining group cohesion when students are engaging in different ways, or managing my own limited cognitive resources when I’m engaging with different groups simultaneously.

Do you use certain templates or tools to map out your courses, or even to identify where things could go off the rails?

For this upcoming semester I used a simple week-by-week structure, which is familiar to students. Everything I need to do in a week is right there in a folder on the learning management system, which helps me stay organized.

I heavily emphasize small-stakes, frequent-engagement assignments—not the one big killer assignment that shows up in the very last week of the semester. Students have larger capstone assignments and projects, but we work up to that. And all of those intermediary steps are right there in the folder: the course content, links to the courseware and other small-stakes assignments.

I try to use as much of a repeating or recursive structure as possible. For the most part, those small-stakes assignments recur every single week. I like to set some consistent due dates as well, so we have that rhythm to fall back on. It may not be fancy, but that’s helping us stay on top of everything. This structure also includes alternatives, so if a student can’t make one of my remote synchronous meetings, similar concepts can be explored in an asynchronous discussion forum.

Did you do anything differently in setting up the semester with an eye to flexibility?

It really does demand a different approach to communication. For the first time ever, I’ve incorporated an outside application that allows me to message students in a class and allows them to message each other without sharing phone numbers. Traditionally, this was done through e-mail and office hours, but I feel we have to expand on that model.

I also ditched traditional office hours in favor of an online scheduler system to meet students’ needs in a more immediate way. It could be Zoom. It could be FaceTime. It could be a phone call. It doesn’t matter. But they have those options. This requires some marketing with students—they’re not used to what I’m calling ‘radical availability.’ But it is helping.

Remote synchronous instruction can be engaging, but you do have to adjust your expectations around time. There’s more lag time, there might be technical issues. Sometimes it makes sense in large classes to batch questions and address them at once. In smaller classes, I’d rather get a text from a student that I can handle in 30 seconds, in real time, when they need it.

I ditched traditional office hours in favor of an online scheduler system to meet students’ needs in a more immediate way.

Why is it important to incorporate student goals into course design?

When I talk about student goals, I’m referring to why they’re in this course, what gets them out of bed in the morning as a student. This is the time to toggle off the cynicism switch—goals aren’t just about an easy A. Students have some noble goals, and those are important to keep as our beacon when providing instruction.

From a cognitive science perspective, we retain knowledge better when it maps onto immediate goals. That’s the way your mind and brain are set up to take in information. So when students understand what they’re trying to accomplish in class and how it fits into their goals, they can soak up information like a sponge.

There are more formal and less formal approaches. Let’s say you want to get familiar with polling software. Instead of some incredibly high-stakes exam, why not try that on the first day of class and simultaneously tie that to learning about student goals?

How does this understanding help you enable flexibility?

It ties into priorities and trade-offs. It forces us to step back and understand we can’t do everything, and it allows us to hone in on the most critical and essential stuff. For example, I zeroed in on the active learning components built into all of my classes, and that’s what I want to translate into discussions that students are doing as a substitute.

You encourage students to think of their course like a sandwich. How does that help decide which aspects should be taught synchronously as opposed to asynchronously?

I don’t want to take credit for the concept, but the basic idea is that the asynchronous components of your course—the assignments, the offline discussion and so forth—are the meat and cheese. And think of the synchronous components as the condiments, the pickle or the special sauce. Now, why is this useful? I believe it helps discourage using our synchronous time primarily for content delivery.

When students are working in small groups, for example, being able to ask questions and get a live response or watch a short video clip requires synchronous class time. These days I think we do need to take a more creative approach, so that’s the purpose of the sandwich analogy.

How do faculty ensure they have the right tools in place for flexible course design?

Right now our interactions are going to be mediated in some way by technology. But we shouldn’t start with the tools. We need to be designing for the goal. Is my goal to get students talking to each other? Is it to develop a particular thinking skill? Is it to build a knowledge base? So here again, it comes back to goals. When we’re clear on the objective, it makes it easier to identify the right technology.

When we’re clear on the objective, it makes it easier to identify the right technology.

The shift to emergency remote teaching in the spring didn’t land well with a lot of students. How can instructors use technology to increase students’ attention online?

There’s a lot of discussion about cameras being on or off. My policy is that having your camera on is appreciated but not required. The more inclusive thing to say is, “However you can join us is how you can join us.” Accept that some of your students may not have all eyes on you at all times in all of your synchronous meetings, and that’s okay.

That said, we want to create conditions for students to be attentive and engaged—having breakout groups, small group discussions, asking the types of questions that always get students to raise their hands in a face-to-face environment. Cherry-pick the best of those and front-load them.

I’ve used a whiteboard tool at the start of class and told students they could doodle on it while we were waiting for folks to join. It was a lighthearted way to road-test the tools and let students know this class is going to ask you to jump in. But we also have to let ourselves off the hook if students are not 100 percent there all the time.

Given your work in cognitive science, do you have any practices you recommend instructors use in the virtual classroom to deepen understanding or subject mastery?

No discussion of learning sciences and technology is complete without talking about retrieval practice. This is when we’re pulling things out of memory, like when we take a quiz for understanding—not the high-stakes assessment at the end of a course. If you’ve just taken a quiz, so much more of that information is going to stick and soak in. This is where technology shines, of course.

Do you have any tips for humanizing the online learning experience?

I would encourage people not to think of community building as the thing you do in the first 20 minutes of class. To me, community is something that happens organically from good course design and best practices. It’s something that should be happening every few minutes of every class. Active learning activities should be done in a way that connect students to each other and to the instructor. It’s not that we all have to go out and sing karaoke together; working on a project is an authentic way to connect.

It’s going to be a challenging semester. But as we adapt to new learning formats, what would you encourage faculty to keep top of mind?

It’s a time for flexibility on a lot of levels. Not that standards go out the window, but if there was ever a time to question our basic assumptions, this is the time to do it. You need depth over breadth, quality over quantity. This semester I’m trying to do things differently, where students have different options to demonstrate their knowledge. Because that, to me, is what testing is about.

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