Zachary Goodell

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Making Student Thinking Visible Teaching with
Audience Response Systems
Zachary Goodell Jeffrey Nugent Center for
Teaching ExcellenceVirginia Commonwealth
University
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How do you know what your students are thinking?
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Too rarely is the individual teacher so free
from the dictation of authoritative supervisor,
textbook on methods, prescribed course of study,
etc., that he can let his mind come to close
quarters with the pupils mind and the subject
matter. John Dewey,
Democracy and Education
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Session Overview

• Discuss rationale for making thinking visible
• How can Audience Response Systems (ARS) support
  engaged learning?
• Teaching with ARS teaching vignettes
• Student perspectives

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Making Student Thinking Visible

• How do you know what cognitive baggage your
  students bring with them?
• How do you know if your students are paying
  attention to your lecture?
• How do you know if your students understand your
  lecture?
• How do you know if your students can apply the
  lecture material to novel contexts?

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Key Questions

• What can you do in the classroom that you cant
  do anywhere else?
• What is the difference between talking for 90
  minutes and teaching for 90 minutes?

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How Do People Learn?

• Key findings from over 40 years of research on
  learning (cognitive science, neuroscience,
  developmental psychology)
• Understanding results from knowledge construction
  not memorization.
• Knowledge construction is the result of trial /
  error / feedback / retrial Active Learning
• Knowledge construction is a communal activity
• Pre-existing knowledge can either support or
  undermine knowledge retention

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Using ARS to Promote Interactivity Engaged
Learning

• Gain insight into what and how students are
  learning
• Generate opportunities for Active Learning (e.g.
  whole class small group discussions)
• Assess student prior knowledge
• Expose misconceptions through metacognition
• Connect with students in large enrollment courses
• Reduce fear of answering (anonymity)

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Examples General Polling

• How many of you did the reading last night?
• Demographic questions (data slicing)
• Men vs. women
• Freshmen, sophomores, etc.
• Religious, racial, ethnic affiliations
• Beliefs and opinion polling
• Learn about your students
• Admin stuff (study sessions, etc.)

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Reading Comprehension

• Experts vs. Novices

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Graccomine is a highly fractile compound found in
the mountains of Gorbonzola. The Gorbonzolans
mine graccomine using frenzate in order to
prevent graccomine from bubbulating. Frenzate is
a synthetic compound that must be carpaxilled in
order for it to prevent graccomine from
bubbulating. If frenzate is not carpaxilled,
graccomine will fractilize and become inert. What
process prevents graccomine from fractilizing?

1. Gorbonzolans mining graccomine with fenzate
2. Graccomine must be carpaxilled before it is mined
3. Frenzate must be carpaxilled before it is used
4. Carpaxile must be bubbulated into frenzate

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Linking personal experience with research

• If you have followed a crush of yours or
  conspired to meet them, did you do that alone or
  with a close friend?
• Males - Alone
• Males - With Friend
• Females - Alone
• Females - with Friend

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Open-ended Questions Brainstorming Activities

• What is civilization?
• What makes us social?
• How many racial categories are there?
• What is Intelligence and how can it be measured?

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Promote Active Learning
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Two identical beakers are filled to the same
level with water. One of the two glasses has ice
cubes floating in it. When the ice cubes melt, in
which glass is the level of the water higher?

1. The glass with the ice cubes.
2. The glass without the ice cubes.
3. It is the same in both.

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How confident are you that your answer is correct?

1. Id bet the farm on it.
2. Im on the fence.
3. No clueI guessed.

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Two identical beakers are filled to the same
level with water. One of the two glasses has ice
cubes floating in it. When the ice cubes melt, in
which glass is the level of the water higher?

1. The glass with the ice cubes.
2. The glass without the ice cubes.
3. It is the same in both.

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Peer Instruction Model

• Question posed
• Students given time to think
• Students record individual answers
• Students attempt to convince peers
• Students record revised answers
• Explanation of correct response

Eric Mazur, Peer Instruction A Users Manual
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Expose and Confront Misconceptions
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What percentage of collegiate athletes are
African American?

• 15
• 25
• 40
• 65

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What did you base your answer on in the previous
question?

• What you have read.
• What you have heard.
• What you have seen on TV.
• What you have experienced as an athlete yourself.

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Write down as many collegiate sports as you can.

• Now circle the ones that are nationally televised
  sports.

Now circle the ones that African Americans tend
to participate in the most.
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What percentage of collegiate athletes are
African American?

• 15
• 25
• 40
• 65

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Who is more likely to die from heart disease?

• Men
• Women

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Which of the following columns lists the typical
symptoms of a cardiac arrest due to heart
disease?A B

• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Aches in chest or shoulder

• Dizziness, nausea
• Indigestion-like pain
• Mood swings (sense of impending doom)

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If a 55 year old woman complains to a doctor that
she is experiencing symptoms from the B list (hot
flashes, indigestion-like pain, mood swings),
what might be the initial diagnosis?

• Menopause
• Heart disease
• The flu

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Who is more likely to die from heart disease?

• Men
• Women

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Question / Activity Debrief

• Debrief the students after every activity even
  if you have to cut the activity short.
• The first Q should serve the function of forcing
  a decision based on limited information in order
  to elicit misconceptions
• Additional Qs serve the function of adding
  complexity, context.
• Scaffolding questions attempt to encourage
  metacognition

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Application and TransferUsing Cases
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Scenario 1Head and Neck Examination

• A patient enters your general practice with a
  mass on the left side of the face just below the
  angle of the Jaw

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What questions would you want to ask this patient?

• Is it painful?
• How long has it been there?
• Has it grown quickly or slowly?
• What does it feel like on palpation?

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If the patient claims that the mass has grown
very quickly and it is very painful to the touch,
what would you conclude about this mass?

1. It is malignant
2. It is benign
3. I need more information

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Now lets suppose this mass is on the hard
palate. Which of the following becomes a more
likely diagnosis?

1. The mass might be a Lipoma tumor
2. The mass might be the result of a neural tumor
3. The mass is likely a salivary gland tumor or
   obstruction of the salivary gland
4. The patient has the Mumps

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Scenario 2Cariology Examination

• A teenager enters your office for an initial oral
  exam. The exam reveals multiple carious teeth.

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What questions would you need answered in order
to properly treat this patient ?

• How long has it been since their last exam?
• Are there other filled teeth?
• What are the patients dietary habits?
• What does it feel like on palpation?
• What preventative measures are practiced?

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The frequency of brushing has little to do with
the number and frequency of carious teeth.

1. True
2. False

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If we are to select restorative materials for
this patient, how will we decide which ones to
use?

• List the variables that are important to consider
• What should be done if the patient has high sugar
  intake, and the effected teeth are located in the
  front of the mouth?

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Student Perspectives
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Feedback from students
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Feedback from students
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Feedback from students
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Feedback from students
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Feedback from students
I think the CPS system should be used in all of
the large classes at VCU, it's great for
immediate feedback and it allows me to get a
better understanding of the material. The CPS
system allows me to see if I'm on the right
track- or not- at that minute rather than waiting
for the test and realizing I don't.
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Feedback from students
I think that the CPS system is a great tool to
evaluate where each student is and what they are
learning from each lesson. I really wish that all
of the classes that I am taking were using the
system, and I think that it is a great way to
understand what sort of questions may be asked on
the up coming test.
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Feedback from students
All we do is take mini quizzes to check
attendance and answer questions about the text we
are reading. They never lead into any discussion
and sometimes the details are so minor, you can't
even get the answers out of reading the text one
time. I think it helps people attend class, but
for paying attention, no. We had to start
spreading out the quizzes over the class period
because students would come in and take the quiz
and leave. Overall its just a pain.
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Suggestions for Best Practice

• Focus on making student thinking visible through
  formative assessment
• Keep an intermediate level of difficulty for
  questions (trivial or overly complicated
  questions are not useful)
• Provide more opportunity for feedback,
  reflection, and revision of ideas
• Frequent low-stakes assessments support student
  learning
• Use the system (CPS) regularly
• Avoid using the technology exclusively as a
  classroom management tool (attendance, etc.)

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Discipline-based Question Development

• Identify a challenging concept in your discipline
  that students often have misconceptions about
• Question sequencing to model discipline-based
  thinking
• Give students ample practice and ample
  opportunities for feedback

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Personal Response Systems at VCU

• Using CPS from eInstruction
• Implemented and supported by the CTE
• Initially identified for use in large enrollment
  classes
• Early adopters primarily from math and sciences
• Has diffused to HAS, Business, Art and the
  Medical Campus
• Currently 10,000 students using ARS technology,
  over 100 faculty and 80 classes per semester

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Thanks for Coming!