Making it Stick: How a Faculty Book Group is Reshaping Courses Across the Curriculum

Type of Presentation

Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)

Target Audience

Higher Education

Location

Room 212

Abstract

Do you find your library full of students cramming the night before a major exam? Is your classroom full of sleepy students on exam day, supplying ill-thought-out responses? Do you as an instructor ever say, “What were they thinking?” as you grade their papers? Perhaps your students are not really “learning” the material, even though they have spent hours trying. Traditional study methods of continually rereading the material or memorizing a sheet of facts do not allow for retrieval of information in a manner that can be applied to problem solving and diverse situations.

Sponsored by the Center for Excellence through Teaching and Learning (CETL) at our university, faculty came together to read a common book and discuss these issues. Faculty were able to discover ways to reshape their current courses to change the atmosphere immediately. Simply by adding more intentional testing, more specific feedback, and a tailored approach to purposeful practice, students are now able to develop better mastery and retention of material, making them more independent learners and supplying them with lifelong learning skills. This session will give ideas on facilitating a faculty book talk that results in actionable curriculum change.

Presentation Description

Do you ever say, “What were they thinking?” as you grade papers? Perhaps your students are not really “learning” the material, even though they spend hours trying. Traditional study methods of rereading and memorization do not allow for deep learning that can be applied to problem solving. Learn how faculty were able to collaborate and discover ways to reshape current courses by adding strategic testing, specific feedback, and purposeful practice. Students now demonstrate improved mastery and retention of material, making them more independent learners.

Keywords

problem solving, faculty collaboration, strategic testing, purposeful practice, retention, study methods, teaching and learning

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

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Sep 28th, 10:25 AM Sep 28th, 10:45 AM

Making it Stick: How a Faculty Book Group is Reshaping Courses Across the Curriculum

Room 212

Do you find your library full of students cramming the night before a major exam? Is your classroom full of sleepy students on exam day, supplying ill-thought-out responses? Do you as an instructor ever say, “What were they thinking?” as you grade their papers? Perhaps your students are not really “learning” the material, even though they have spent hours trying. Traditional study methods of continually rereading the material or memorizing a sheet of facts do not allow for retrieval of information in a manner that can be applied to problem solving and diverse situations.

Sponsored by the Center for Excellence through Teaching and Learning (CETL) at our university, faculty came together to read a common book and discuss these issues. Faculty were able to discover ways to reshape their current courses to change the atmosphere immediately. Simply by adding more intentional testing, more specific feedback, and a tailored approach to purposeful practice, students are now able to develop better mastery and retention of material, making them more independent learners and supplying them with lifelong learning skills. This session will give ideas on facilitating a faculty book talk that results in actionable curriculum change.