We had a great time at the 2013 Celebration of Teaching and Learning on Friday, and hope those of you who were able to attend did as well!
The editorial team wanted to share just a few of our favorite moments from the 2013 Celebration of Teaching and Learning.
Patty:
- I learned the importance of spaced retrieval and how Anki – Keith Lyle’s electronic flashcard program – can support this concept.
- Ben Motz presented research that challenged my assumption about best practiced with group work. I need to further investigate whether heterogeneous or homogeneous groups are better.
- Terry Doyle’s session reinforced that time x practice = mastery.
Steve:
- I was reminded that there are several brain-based technological “freebies” out there. One of my favorites is Lumosity.
Marie:
- I enjoyed hearing about all of the tools and strategies that can support brain-based learning, including Tegrity, just-in-time teaching, flipping the classroom, wikis, and rubrics.
- Terry Doyle said if there was one thing that stuck with us from everything he said, he hoped it was the importance of giving cumulative tests. It stuck.
Michelle:
- I had a great time participating in the Twitter backchannel. Not only did I get to learn from Terry and Ben, but I was able to “engage my social brain” by considering and making sense of what I was learning with colleagues from across UofL.
Below, you’ll find some of our favorite Tweets and Tweeted pictures using Storify.
What were your favorite moments for the 2013 Celebration of Teaching and Learning? For those of you not able to attend, what questions do you have for your colleagues who did?
Thanks to the I2A team for such a great conference. You really packed a one day event with valuable information. Special thanks to Linda and her Cafe. I can’t select a favorite moment because everything was so beneficial.
Toni
Wish I could have been there, though I also attended a great symposium on African American and Latino student success. Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe started the morning, and two different but connecting thoughts stuck with me, as well as the student participants I heard from yesterday. “Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think.”– Einstein. (Reminds me of the tweet above about the fact that employers aren’t looking for students who are only great at multiple choice tests.). He also asked us to consider and repeat, “I can. I will. I must.” We each define that for ourselves, though once we do is it something we tuck away in thought or something we actively aim to do every day? It’s not enough to come and take notes; we must also integrate that can/will/must into regular practice. Some of the students commented that once the “must” of getting into college was completed and they’re here, they don’t feel like they hear enough about “must graduate”– interesting observation that makes me wonder how our practice could change to improve that.
Effort and Practice (via space retrieval) make people learn… I will need to have the references handy in case my students ever tell me “I am not good at….” I will also try to be mindful about the time of assignments and prompting questions.
Thank you all the Delphi Center team and the presenters for such a great conference!
I liked Terry’s quote from Robert Bjork: “Learning is the ability to use information after significant periods of disuse, and it is the ability to use the information to solve problems that arise in a context different (if only slightly) from the context in which the information was originally taught.” This challenges me to question how we are measuring learning in my discipline.
Very interesting conference. Ben Motz’s closing plenary was quite engaging and I enjoyed his presentation style.
Also, another product similar the one Steve D. commented on is Memrise (http://www.memrise.com/). Check it out!
I also loved this quote and have been reflecting about it a often since the conference. Specifically, what is it realistic to expect that our students will learn and retain 5-, 10- or 20- years from graduation?
I haven’t used that one Dale — thanks for the heads up!
One thing that struck me about the topic is the advances we’ve made in brain science and in particular how that discipline has practical application in education. My suspicion is that many of the “better” students use some of the techniques mentioned — perhaps unconsciously, while some of the students who may need help need to have more explicit help with study tips. Having three children go through a state-recognized high school prepared them for a lot of things — but not HOW to study. With the techniques we’re learning through brain science, it may be time to begin pondering how we can help more students and thus increase student retention. Just a thought.
Steve, your comment about the high school preparation, or lack thereof, regarding HOW to study caused me to pull out my soapbox. Perhaps the issue isn’t so much that a high school education did/does not educate them on HOW to study because the impetus is not there for secondary school educators to teach students HOW to study. Rather, they are focused on teaching material that will be covered on a statewide assessment that fuels funding for school districts. Maybe if students are taught HOW to think rather than WHAT to do for an assessment, we might see a change. Until then, I am afraid this will be like pushing pudding up a hill.
I did not attend Celebration so I do not have anything to offer this week. However, I have enjoyed reading everyone’s comments and will check out the sites, thanks.
Ben Motz’s closing session was very interesting. I am one of those weirdos he was referring to that tries to engineer student teams. In some classes, I’ll intentionally mix up my majors, minors, and other students when forming teams. @BenMotz shared a MatLab script with me that uses Markov Chain Monte Carlo method (simulated annealing) to form groups that are maximally homogeneous. Perhaps, a tad ambitious for my goals! I start with a multi-level sort in Excel and then make a draft team assignment before tweaking by hand.
This was the best celebration yet! I especially enjoyed Keith Lyle’s breakout session and the time we had to chat with others.