Next Meeting - March 31, 2008
"Comparing Traditional Lecture and Self-paced Courses"
Elizabeth Connor, Elise Wallace, Jennifer Turner, Alix Darden, Erick Snellman, Kathy Zanin, Julie Lipovsky, Jane Bishop, Cindy Bolt, Gardel Feurtado, Joseph Nave (GA)
Personalized Systems of Instruction (PSI)
No Visual Aides – The idea is that traditional lecturing does not convey critical information we want the students to learn. Teaching/Lecturing vs. Learning
In a self-paced course there are no exams! Students have the option of frontloading all of the coursework or waiting until the end of the semester to fulfill their requirements.
In a self-paced course traditional lectures are replaced by demonstrations and group discussions.
Grades are usually given on a pass/fail – Mastery/or not basis.
Peer Assistance - Use assistants and graduate students. Maintain reliability checks and quality control. Make sure that the peer assistance evaluations are effective.
Class Materials – A text that is reliable and course study guides. Include in the study guides terms and questions the students are responsible for. The study guide replaces the lecture.
“Professors are not professing the way they used to.”
“Administrators seemed to be annoyed with this sort of class. Are you teaching the students?”
“Students have to buy into your new way of teaching – you have to help them understand.”
“Professors have
to assure the students that they are doing something correctly.”
Useful Links-
Teaching of Psychology 1975; 2(4): 156-158.
Journal of Educational Psychology 1975; 67(3): 416-421.