95 Large Enrollment Lessons with Margene Anderson – 01.19.2018

At the Active Teaching Lab Sneak Preview on January 19, Margene Anderson shared her successes and challenges-yet-unsolved with promoting active learning in large-enrollment classes. She discussed the rationale behind her approaches to in-class quizzing and classroom management of peer-to-peer learning as well as the technical challenges with grouping in Canvas.

Takeaways:

• Five-minute, low-stakes Canvas quizzes at the beginning of each class promote student accountability, preparedness, and collaboration before class and keep lecture attendance high.
• The Canvas Quiz Statistics feature alerts the instructor to patterns and allows for activity adjustment based on student performance and misconceptions.
• Quizzes taken first individually, then in a group create opportunities for peer learning as students with correct responses teach others
• Readiness-Assurance-Tests (RATs) ensure that students have gone through all the initial readings.
• The peer pressure of in-group in-class quizzing, especially if peer review is part of the grade, helps address student readiness issues.
• IF-AT quiz forms for team quizzing provide scratch-off lottery satisfaction.

For more information about using Canvas Quizzes, Groups, and Discussions for large-enrollment courses, check out the session’s activity sheet. See Margene’s inventory of activities and formative assessment for more ideas.

Active Teaching Labs are held Fridays from 8:30-9:45am in room 120, Middleton Building (1305 Linden Dr.) as well as some Wednesdays from 12:30-1:30pm in room 302 Middleton Building. Check out upcoming Labs or read the recaps from past Labs.

Similar to the Active Teaching Labs, Active Teaching Exchanges feature instructors sharing their teaching experiences with tools and techniques, but provide more time for discussion without the hands-on investigation time. Exchanges are are held Thursdays from 1-2pm in room 120, Middleton Building. See the full calendar of both events. Stay informed about upcoming Labs and Exchanges by signing up for regular announcements by sending an email to join-activeteaching@lists.wisc.edu.