What makes for an Effective Mini-Lesson?

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What makes for an Effective Mini-Lesson?
Jeff Ryan, University of South Florida
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1) Important Content

• The topic is important to address in the
  geoscience course/discipline being targeted.
• Content is rigorous, but pitched appropriately to
  the course level and intended audience.
• For MARGINS Lessons should seek to reflect the
  multidisciplinary nature of the modern
  geosciences.

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2) Effective Instructional Approaches

• Clearly stated and reasonable learning goals.
• Engaging and appropriate instructional
  strategies
• See http//serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/instructiona
  lmethod.htmlteaching for many successful options

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3) Active Engagement

• Students participate actively in the learning
  process
• Hands-on measurements and/or examinations of data
  
• Working with real data
• Working without a net

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4) Encouraging Higher-Order Thinking

• Include questions/activities that require
  application, analysis, synthesis and/or
  evaluation of information.
• Permit time for reflection (its important to
  ponder!)
• Include discussion/debate as part of the activity

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5) Good Assessment Strategies

• Assessments should be aligned with learning
  goals, i.e., you should measure that which you
  seek to accomplish.
• Measures and standards should be straightforward
  and clear
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative? (see learning
  goals)
• Assessment results should inform future
  approaches (formative evaluation), as well as
  provide a measure of instructional success
  (summative evaluation)

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6) Transportability

• The resource should be readily usable/adaptable
  to other classrooms at other institutions.
• Frontpage descriptions permit instructors to
  select effectively for their particular class
  audiences.
• Content and resources provided should be
  self-explanatory and clear to a college student!