Flipping a Calculus Course - and self directed learning?

I have posted in this blog a couple times on the "flipped classroom" teaching strategy (check the categories on the right).  In this entry I want to share a series of posts in which a mathematics lecturer at the Grand Valley State University in Michigan, Robert Talbert, chronicles his experiences with "flipping" a calculus course.  In the process he illustrates the potential of the flipped approach for developing self-regulating students, an important goal in the preparation of 21st century graduates.

The following post entitled The inverted calculus course and self-regulated learning is a good place to start - http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2014/03/03/the-inverted-calculus-course-and-self-regulated-learning/ .  You can  use the “previous”  and “next”  links at the top of the post to see his earlier and later posts if it gets interesting.  He is writing about his experience “flipping” a calculus course, but the concepts introduced and the lessons learned are  relevant to most disciplines.  I particularly like the post on Creating Learning Objectives, flipped classroom style which really gets you thinking about how you develop and sequence learning outcomes http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2014/03/05/creating-learning-objenctives-flipped-classroom-style/ .   The posts are certainly worth a read.  

Don't forget to leave me a comment!

Georgia Tech Launches a "Masters Mooc" in Computer Science!

MOOC MASTERS! 

The higher education world is watching as Georgia Tech launches a "Master MOOC"! ... the Master of Science in Computer Science costing a mere $6600.00, less than one sixth of the cost of their residential programme.  READ HERE about the programme and the kinds of people who have signed up. (Check the comments section too.)  What do you think of that?

Teen to Government...Change Your Typeface and Save Millions!

14-year-old science student hits upon a simple strategy for saving big on printing costs.

What really excites me about this story is what it suggests about the power and potential of authentic learning and assessment.  CLICK HERE to check it out and leave a comment.

Flipping the Foreign Language Classroom

Image source:http://webhost.bridgew.edu/lwerner/

 Foreign language faculty looking for ways to move beyond traditional approaches to teaching will find this article from the November 2013 issue of The Language Educator, a publication from The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) quite thought-provoking.

The article entitled A New Approach to Language Instruction — Flipping the Classroom shares the strategies and experiences of teachers at both university and high school level, who are using technology to improve the teaching of foreign languages, at the same time developing self-regulated learning skills of students.  Their model is the Flipped Classroom on which we have blogged before (see Would Flipping the Classroom Work for Your Course? ).

“Keep in mind that flipping the classroom

is not the delivery of a lecture on video.

A video of a boring lecture is a boring

video that doesn’t enhance the learning experience."

The article explains the flipped classroom approach, its growing popularity in high school and university classrooms and pros and cons of adoption in foreign language teaching.  Sharing the results of research and anecdotal reports from faculty,  it highlights issues and strategies such as "how to flip", "does flipping work", technical and pedagogical considerations, the importance of preparing students, and strategies for getting students involved.

Take a look and let know what you think.  Or share your own "flipping" experience!

Optimal Video Length for Student Engagement

For those persons using or considering using online video lectures in their courses, as occurs for example in "flipped classroom" or other models of blended learning,  you may be interested in this post (https://www.edx.org/blog/optimal-video-length-student/1239)  in which Philip Guo, an assistant professor of Computer Science at the University of Rochester whose main research interests are in human-computer interaction and online education, shares preliminary results about video usage in blended or online courses.  The post is based on findings published in a Wall Street Journal article, An Early Report Card on Massive Open Online Courses, obtained from initial analyses of a few math and science courses on the edX system.  The findings seem to support what is currently recommended as best practice for use of instructional video.

Guo reports that the data suggest "The optimal video length is 6 minutes or shorter -- students watched most of the way through these short videos. In fact, the average engagement time of any video maxes out at 6 minutes, regardless of its length. And engagement times decrease as videos lengthen: For instance, on average students spent around 3 minutes on videos that are longer than 12 minutes, which means that they engaged with less than a quarter of the content. Finally, certificate-earning students engaged more with videos, presumably because they had greater motivation to learn the material."

Guo ends with a "take-home message for instructors" using or thinking about using videos in their classes, as occurs for example in "flipped classroom" approaches or other models of blended learning.  The message is that in order to maximize student engagement, video lectures should be broken up into small, bite-sized pieces.

Are MOOCS a Good Alternative to Text Books? This Prof Thinks So

There has been a lot of hype about massive open online courses (MOOCs) and their future place in higher education.  While some trumpet MOOCS as the great transformer of all that is wrong in higher ed, or the great leveler of the playing field, others point to some of the delivery format's current short-comings, such as the low completion rates, as "proof" of long-term failure, and others still choose to ignore these developments completely, perhaps at their peril.

Then there are those who have chosen to embrace MOOCS on their own terms, to explore the possible nexus between the traditional and new.  Panagiotis Tsigaris, a professor and chair of the Department of Economics at Thompson Rivers University, Canada is one such person.  In this Times Higher Ed article entitled MOOCS are a Good Alternative to Books, http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/comment/opinion/moocs-are-a-good-alternative-to-books/2008345.article, Tsigaris reaches the conclusion that MOOCS can be a positive addition to his courses.

"There is no question in my mind that the printed textbook will die out soon. In Canada, British Columbia is taking the lead as the first province to offer students free access to online textbooks for the 40 most popular post-secondary courses next year. However, I also think it is important to accommodate different student needs – so now I plan to offer “à la carte” course materials. Students will have the choice of buying a textbook – either printed or electronic – or using free online educational resources. My guess is that most students will choose the latter, since, as my experience has shown, they are similar enough to be considered almost perfect substitutes for traditional textbooks."

In response to the article, one reader, commented:

"I think that this is a terrific article that expresses the growing trend of MOOCs and education in general. I am currently a student taking online Master's courses. What has been somewhat unsatisfying to me is the approach taking by many professors. It is the same approach that you would see from classroom lectures. I like the idea of integrating MOOCs and other online resources to change the learning process, similar to what is described in the article. I have found myself searching for my own alternative forms of learning through sites mentioned in the article as well as other ones such as www.CourseWorld.org in order to shift away from strictly reading. I hope that more teachers will take this approach in the future as well."

 What do YOU think?

The Teaching Prof Says Give Students a Choice in Assignments and Boost Creativity and Motivation

"Dan Pink, in his 2006 book A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future, indicates that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are qualities that motivate learners and result in achievement. Isn’t this what we desire for our students? When students are asked to interpret, construct, and demonstrate their own concepts or ideas regarding specific course concepts from a selection of product or performance options, content retention, commitment, motivation, and creativity increase. At least that’s what’s happened in my courses, and those outcomes are consistent with the principles of effective course design."

Looking for workable ideas for increasing student engagement and meaning-making? In this article, the "Teaching Professor" shows what can happen when students get to choose.  If you have any experiences of your own to share, add a comment!