Designing and Implementing High Performance Learning Teams

Karl A. Smith

Civil Engineering

University of Minnesota

ksmith@umn.eduhttp://www.ce.umn.edu/~smith

American Accounting AssociationAugust 2005

Overview

• Introduction – Faculty as Designers• Small Changes to Large Classes

– Informal groups– Classroom assessment

• Large Changes to Small (and Large Classes)– Formal groups– Design and Implementation

• Slides posted to www.ce.umn.edu/~smith - Resources

Lila M. Smith

Pedago-pathologies B Lee Shulman

Amnesia

Fantasia

Inertia

Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking learning seriously. Change, 31 (4), 11-17.

What do we do about these pathologies? Lee Shulman

ActivityReflectionCollaborationPassion

Combined with generative content and the creation of powerful learning communities

Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking learning seriously. Change, 31 (4), 11-17.

Lila M. Smith

Formulate-Share-Listen-Create (Think-Pair-Share)

• Individually read the quote “To teach is to engage students in learning. . .”

• Underline/Highlight words and/or phrase that stand out for you

• Turn to the person next to you and talk about words and/or phrases that stood out

To teach is to engage students in learning; thus teaching consists of getting students involved in the active construction of knowledge. . .The aim of teaching is not only to transmit information, but also to transform students from passive recipients of other people's knowledge into active constructors of their own and others' knowledge. . .Teaching is fundamentally about creating the pedagogical, social, and ethical conditions under which students agree to take charge of their own learning, individually and collectively

Education for judgment: The artistry of discussion leadership. Edited by C. Roland Christensen, David A. Garvin, and Ann Sweet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School, 1991.

It could well be that faculty members of the twenty-first century college or university will find it necessary to set aside their roles as teachers and instead become designers of learning experiences, processes, and environments James Duderstadt, 1999

We never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment. Whether we permit chance environments to do the work, or whether we design environments for the purpose makes a great difference.

John Dewey, 1906

Backdrop – Recent Reports

National Research Council Reports:1. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience,

and School (1999).2. How People Learn: Bridging Research and

Practice (2000). 3. Knowing What Students Know: The Science

and Design of Educational Assessment (2001).

4. The Knowledge Economy and Postsecondary Education (2002). Chapter 6 – Creating High-Quality Learning Environments: Guidelines from Research on How People Learn

Designing Learning Environments Based on HPL

(How People Learn)

Active/Cooperative Learning, Learning Community

Success Story

Reflect on and Talk about your Active/Cooperative Learning, Learning Community Success(es)

1. Context?2. Structure/Procedure?3. Outcome?

Getting Students Actively Involved Using Cooperative Learning: Principles, Strategies, and Problem-Solving

What is it? How do you do it? Why bother?

Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom

• Informal Cooperative Learning Groups

• Formal Cooperative Learning Groups

• Cooperative Base Groups

See Cooperative Learning Handout (CL College-804.doc)

Cooperative Learning is instruction that involves people working in teams to accomplish a common goal, under conditions that involve both positive interdependence (all members must cooperate to complete the task) and individual and group accountability (each member is accountable for the complete final outcome).

Key Concepts

•Positive Interdependence•Individual and Group Accountability•Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction•Teamwork Skills•Group Processing

http://clte.asu.edu/active

Book Ends on a Class Session

Book Ends on A Class Session

1.Advance Organizer2.Formulate-Share-Listen-Create (Turn-to-your- neighbor) B repeated every 10-12 minutes3.Session Summary (Minute Paper)

1.What was the most useful or meaningful thing you learned during this session?2.What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session?3.What was the “muddiest” point in this session?

Advance Organizer

The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.

David Ausubel - Educational psychology: A cognitive approach, 1968.

Quick Thinks

•Reorder the steps•Paraphrase the idea•Correct the error•Support a statement•Select the response

Johnston, S. & Cooper,J. 1997. Quick thinks: Active- thinking in lecture classes and televised instruction. Cooperative learning and college teaching, 8(1), 2-7.

Formulate-Share-Listen-Create

Informal Cooperative Learning GroupIntroductory Pair Discussion of a

FOCUS QUESTION1.Formulate your response to the question

individually2.Share your answer with a partner3.Listen carefully to your partner's answer4.Work together to Create a new answer

through discussion

Minute Paper• What was the most useful or meaningful thing

you learned during this session?• What question(s) remain uppermost in your

mind as we end this session?• What was the “muddiest” point in this

session?• Give an example or application• Explain in your own words . . .

Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. 1993. Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Informal CL (Book Ends on a Lecture) with Concept Tests

Physics Peer InstructionEric Mazur - Harvard B http://galileo.harvard.edu

Peer Instruction www.prenhall.comRichard Hake

Chemistry Chemistry ConcepTests - UW Madison

www.chem.wisc.edu/~conceptVideo: Making Lectures Interactive with ConcepTests

ModularChem Consortium B http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/

STEMTECVideo: How Change Happens: Breaking the “Teach as You Were Taught” Cycle - Films for the Humanities & Sciences - www.films.com

Thinking Together video: Derek Bok Center www.fas.harvard.edu/~bok_cen/

Richard Hake (Interactive engagement vs traditional methods) http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/

Traditional (lecture)

Interactive (active/cooperative)

<g> = Concept Inventory Gain/Total

The “Hake” Plot of FCI

Pretest (Percent)

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00

ALS

SDI

WP

PI(HU)

ASU(nc)

ASU(c)

HU

WP*

UMn Traditional

XUMn Cooperative Groups

XUMn-CL+PS

Physics (Mechanics) Concepts:The Force Concept Inventory (FCI)

• A 30 item multiple choice test to probe student's understanding of basic concepts in mechanics.

• The choice of topics is based on careful thought about what the fundamental issues and concepts are in Newtonian dynamics.

• Uses common speech rather than cueing specific physics principles.

• The distractors (wrong answers) are based on students' common inferences.

Informal CooperativeLearning Groups

Can be used at any time

Can be short term and ad hoc

May be used to break up a long lecture

Provides an opportunity for students to process material they have been listening to (Cognitive Rehearsal)

Are especially effective in large lectures

Include "book ends" procedure

Are not as effective as Formal Cooperative Learning or Cooperative Base Groups

Session Summary(Minute Paper)

Reflect on the session:1.What were the most important points for

you?2.What is one thing you would be willing to try?3.What questions do you have?

4.Pace: Too slow 1 . . . . 5 Too fast5.Relevance: Little 1 . . . 5 Lots6.Format: Ugh 1 . . . 5 Ah

Formal Cooperative Learning Task Groups

Cooperative Learning Research SupportJohnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Smith, K.A. 1998. Cooperative learning returns

to college: What evidence is there that it works? Change, 30 (4), 26-35.

• Over 300 Experimental Studies• First study conducted in 1924• High Generalizability• Multiple Outcomes

Outcomes1.Achievement and retention2.Critical thinking and higher-level reasoning3.Differentiated views of others4.Accurate understanding of others' perspectives5.Liking for classmates and teacher6.Liking for subject areas7.Teamwork skills

Pedagogies of Engagement:Classroom-Based Practices

http://www.asee.org/about/publications/jee/upload/2005jee_sample.htm

Pseudo-group

Traditional G roup

C ooperative G roup

H igh-perform ing C ooperative G roup

Individual M em bers

PE

RF

OR

MA

NC

E L

EV

EL

TYPE O F G R O U P

Teamwork

Characteristics of Effective Groups• ?

A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

• SMALL NUMBER• COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS• COMMON PURPOSE & PERFORMANCE GOALS• COMMON APPROACH• MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY

--Katzenbach & SmithThe Wisdom of Teams

--Katzenbach & Smith (2001) The Discipline ofTeams

Six Basic Principles of Team Discipline

! Keep team membership small

! Ensure that members have complimentary skills

! Develop a common purpose

! Set common goals

! Establish a commonly agreed upon workingapproach

! Integrate mutual and individual accountability

Cooperative Learning is instruction that involves people working in teams to accomplish a common goal, under conditions that involve both positive interdependence (all members must cooperate to complete the task) and individual and group accountability (each member is accountable for the complete final outcome).

Key Concepts

•Positive Interdependence•Individual and Group Accountability•Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction•Teamwork Skills•Group Processing

Teamwork Skills

•Communication• Listening and Persuading

•Decision Making•Conflict Management•Leadership

Group Task and Maintenance Roles

Group Task Roles Group Maintenance Roles

Initiating Encouraging

Seeking Information Expressing Feelings

Giving Information Harmonizing

Seeking Opinions Compromising

Giving Opinions Facilitating Communications

Clarifying Setting Standards or Goals

Elaborating Testing Agreement

Summarizing Following

Team Charter

• Team name, membership, and roles• Team Mission Statement• Anticipated results (goals)• Specific tactical objectives• Ground rules/Guiding principles for team participation• Shared expectations/aspirations

Code of Cooperation

•EVERY member is responsible for the team’s progress and success.•Attend all team meetings and be on time.•Come prepared.•Carry out assignments on schedule.•Listen to and show respect for the contributions of other members; be an active

listener.•CONSTRUCTIVELY criticize ideas, not persons.•Resolve conflicts constructively,•Pay attention, avoid disruptive behavior.•Avoid disruptive side conversations.•Only one person speaks at a time.•Everyone participates, no one dominates.•Be succinct, avoid long anecdotes and examples.•No rank in the room.•Respect those not present.•Ask questions when you do not understand.•Attend to your personal comfort needs at any time but minimize team disruption.•HAVE FUN!!•?Adapted from Boeing Aircraft Group Team Member Training Manual

Ten Commandments: An Affective Code of Cooperation

• Help each other be right, not wrong.• Look for ways to make new ideas work, not for reasons they won't.• If in doubt, check it out! Don't make negative assumptions about each other.• Help each other win, and take pride in each other's victories.• Speak positively about each other and about your organization at every opportunity.• Maintain a positive mental attitude no matter what the circumstances.• Act with initiative and courage, as if it all depends on you.• Do everything with enthusiasm; it's contagious.• Whatever you want; give it away.• Don't lose faith.• Have fun

Ford Motor Company

Group Ground Rules Contract Form (Adapted from a form developed by Dr. Deborah Allen, University of Delaware)

Project groups are an effective aid to learning, but to work best they require that all groups members clearly understand their responsibilities to one another. These project group ground rules describe the general responsibilities of every member to the group. You can adopt additional ground rules if your group believes they are needed. Your signature on this contract form signifies your commitment to adhere to these rules and expectations. All group members agree to:

1. Come to class and team meetings on time. 2. Come to class and team meetings with assignments and other necessary

preparations done. Additional ground rules:

1.

2. If a member of the project team repeatedly fails to meet these ground rules, other members of the group are expected to take the following actions: Step 1: (fill in this step with your group) If not resolved: Step 2: Bring the issue to the attention of the teaching team. If not resolved: Step 3: Meet as a group with the teaching team. The teaching team reserves the right to make the final decisions to resolve difficulties that arise within the groups. Before this becomes necessary, the team should try to find a fair and equitable solution to the problem. Member’s Signatures: Group Number:______________ 1.____________________________ 2.____________________________

3.____________________________ 4.____________________________

Group Processing Plus/Delta Format

PlusThings That Group Did Well

DeltaThings Group Could Improve

Formal Cooperative Learning

1. Jigsaw

2. Peer Composition or Editing

3. Reading Comprehension/Interpretation

4. Problem Solving, Project, or Presentation

5. Review/Correct Homework

6. Constructive Academic Controversy

7. Group Tests

Challenged-Based Learning

• Problem-based learning

• Case-based learning

• Project-based learning

• Learning by design

• Inquiry learning

• Anchored instructionJohn Bransford, Nancy Vye and Helen Bateman. Creating High-Quality

Learning Environments: Guidelines from Research on How People Learn

Problem-Based Learning

Problem posed

Identify what weneed to know

Learn it

Apply it

START

Subject-Based Learning

Told what weneed to know

Learn it

Given problem toillustrate how to use it

START

Normative Professional Curriculum:

1. Teach the relevant basic science,

2. Teach the relevant applied science, and

3. Allow for a practicum to connect the science to actual practice.

Kolb=s Experiential Learning Cycle

Observation and Reflections

Concrete Experience

Formulation of abstract concepts and generalizations

Testing implicationsof concepts innew situations

Professor's Role inFormal Cooperative Learning

1. Specifying Objectives

2. Making Decisions

3. Explaining Task, Positive Interdependence, and Individual Accountability

4. Monitoring and Intervening to Teach Skills

5. Evaluating Students' Achievement and Group Effectiveness

Comparison of Learning Groups

Less Structured (Traditional) More Structured (Cooperative)

Low interdependence. Members takeresponsibility only for self. Focus is onindividual performance only.

High positive interdependence. Membersare responsible for own and each other’slearning. Focus is on joint performance.

Individual accountability only Both group and individual accountability. Members hold self and others accountablefor high quality work.

Assignments are discussed with littlecommitment to each other’s learning.

Members promote each other’s success. The do real work together and help andsupport each other’s efforts to learn.

Teamwork skills are ignored. Leader isappointed to direct members’ participation.

Teamwork skills are emphasized. Membersare taught and expected to use social skills. All members share leadershipresponsibilities.

No group processing of the quality of itswork. Individual accomplishments arerewarded.

Group processes quality of work and howeffectively members are working together. Continuous improvement is emphasized.rewarded. Continuous improvement is emphasized.

Cooperative Learning Task Groups

Perkins, David. 2003. King Arthur's RoundTable: How collaborative conversations createsmart organizations. NY: Wiley.

Problem Based Cooperative Learning FormatTASK: Solve the problem(s) or Complete the project.

INDIVIDUAL: Estimate answer. Note strategy.

COOPERATIVE: One set of answers from the group, strive for agreement, make sure everyone is able to explain the strategies used to solve each problem.

EXPECTED CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS: Everyone must be able to explain the strategies used to solve each problem.

EVALUATION: Best answer within available resources or constraints.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY: One member from your group may be randomly chosen to explain (a) the answer and (b) how to solve each problem.

EXPECTED BEHAVIORS: Active participating, checking, encouraging, and elaborating by all members.

INTERGROUP COOPERATION: Whenever it is helpful, check procedures, answers, and strategies with another group.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Problem-based learning is the learning that results from the process of working toward the understanding or resolution of a problem. The problem is encountered first in the learning process B Barrows and Tamlyn, 1980

Core Features of PBL$ Learning is student-centered$ Learning occurs in small student groups$ Teachers are facilitators or guides$ Problems are the organizing focus and stimulus for learning$ Problems are the vehicle for the development of

clinical problem-solving skills$ New information is acquired through self-directed

learning

Key Features of Cooperative Learning

Active/InteractiveCooperativePersonal (before professional)Structure (before task)Knee-to-Knee, Eye-to-Eye/Space/FocusChallenging task (worthy of group effort)Students talking through the material (cognitive rehearsal)Learning groups are small (2-5) and assignedHeterogeneousYour own cooperative group

The biggest and most long-lasting reforms of undergraduate education will come when individual faculty or small groups of instructors adopt the view of themselves as reformers within their immediate sphere of influence, the classes they teach every day.

K. Patricia Cross

Cooperative Base Groups

• Are Heterogeneous• Are Long Term (at least one quarter or

semester)• Are Small (3-5 members)• Are for support• May meet at the beginning of each session or

may meet between sessions• Review for quizzes, tests, etc. together• Share resources, references, etc. for individual

projects• Provide a means for covering for absentees