Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World (2009) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
3 Improving the Learning Experience
3 Improving the Learning Experience
Pages 35-64
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 35... ...
The traditional approach to collegelevel instruction -- especially in science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics disciplines -- has historically been lecture-based delivery; as discussed below, the passive lecture format may not be as effective as desired in promoting student learning. Tutorials, laboratories, field-based learning experiences, problem-based learning, and other models can be 35
|
From page 36... ...
Few receive any formal training in how to be effective teachers or are exposed to pedagogy, the science of teaching. In fact, when thrust into the classroom, most faculty members teach the way they were taught during their own student experiences -- which, for most, is almost exclusively lecture-based -- despite research demonstrating that interactive engagement is more effective in enhancing student learning.
|
From page 37... ...
• Learning is facilitated by the use of metacognitive strategies that identify, monitor, and regulate cognitive processes. • Learners have different strategies, approaches, patterns of abilities, and learning styles that are a function of the interaction between their h eredity and their prior experiences.
|
From page 38... ...
• Metacognitive strategies help students to learn and take control of their own learning. These strategies -- such as predicting outcomes, explaining to oneself, and noting failures of comprehension -- can be taught effectively in the context of subject matter.
|
From page 39... ...
University faculty facilitate learning for greater numbers of students if they also provide a diversity of experiences in their classrooms. As elementary and secondary education experiences become increasingly collaborative, students are primed for this type of interaction when they reach college.
|
From page 40... ...
Moreover, necessary experiences should be continual and extended over courses at all levels to allow additional achievement and growth throughout an undergraduate career. Departments and colleges are encouraged to conduct explicit planning to define how the skills will be incorporated into their academic offerings and how student achievement in these areas will be assessed.
|
From page 41... ...
Critical Thinking and Analysis Employers need workers who can make good decisions even when relying on data that are incomplete or even contradictory. Few academic institutions provide explicit training in critical thinking and analysis, and few classroom experiences challenge students in this regard.
|
From page 42... ...
Case Studies and Problem-Based Learning Food and agriculture provide numerous real-world examples that can be brought into the classroom and used to enhance student learning, providing opportunities for students to practice the variety of transferrable skills described above. Case studies and problem-based learning provide ideal opportunities for students to work together in diverse teams, to consolidate
|
From page 43... ...
. Faculty can use examples from their own research, industry contacts and community organizations can propose challenges for courses, and extension activities can suggest issues of concern in a given state (see Chapter 5 for a discussion of the role of outreach, extension, and industry connection in fostering undergraduate education)
|
From page 44... ...
Community engagement and service learning are natural outgrowths of many of the best practices discussed throughout this report. Because agriculture encompasses many areas of study and application with obvious community connections, the committee hopes that agriculture colleges will take advantage of opportunities for students to engage with their communities and receive academic credit for service learning.
|
From page 45... ...
As a result of recognition that cooperative learning is an effective teaching and learning strategy for higher education, it appeared on the college instruction scene in the 1990s. Cooperative learning is more than just group work; it incorporates several elements: positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, interpersonal skills, and group processing (Johnson and Johnson 1989; Johnson et al.
|
From page 46... ...
Although the committee does not expect universities suddenly to dedicate millions of dollars for classroom renovations, it hopes that universities will seriously consider pedagogy and instructional needs as part of the planning for new construction and renovation. That is, if an institution is building or renovating a building that includes classrooms, the committee hopes that the instructional spaces will be aligned with learning objectives and with the types of instruction that could be incorporated into the spaces. Collaborative and active learning also includes a variety of less formalized arrangements, including tasks on which groups of students work together over only a minute or two.
|
From page 47... ...
. The settings also provide teaching and learning venues outside the normal classroom, allowing a variety of instructional strategies that can address different learning styles and provide multiple assessment opportunities that facilitate learning.
|
From page 48... ...
As discussed in Chapter 6, the committee hopes that it will become common for undergraduate students in food and agriculture programs to have the opportunity to participate in research; achieving this aim will require support and facilitation by universities and funding agencies as such experiences often require significant personnel and financial resources. REU programs have been quite common in the basic sciences; the National Science Foundation (NSF)
|
From page 49... ...
Such programs increase the depth of students' understanding and prepare them for future roles, whether in academe, government, industry, or other sectors. Of particular utility to institutions looking to expand their international programs may be the recently announced Center for Capacity Building in Study Abroad, a joint project of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The center, launched in 2008, supports learning abroad by identifying opportunities in emerging and high-demand study-abroad markets, helping institutions to access these markets, building a database to support institutional expansion efforts, and fostering information-sharing among institutions.
|
From page 50... ...
Course Content Increasing the inclusion of internationally based lecture topics, case studies, and research programs in existing structures would deepen students' understanding of international perspectives and the increasingly interconnected food and fiber supply chain. Despite the benefits, few institutions require students to take international-focused courses; ACE reports that only
|
From page 51... ...
EAST program courses incorporate a number of interactive pedagogical e lements -- such as active learning, problem-based research, team-based learn ing, and student peer review -- and opportunities to engage with experts on East Asian issues. At the time of the Summit, 13 EAST fellows were offering 18 courses that reached some 1,600 students.
|
From page 52... ...
For example, providing access to course material and lecture notes or even allowing homework submission on course Web sites may be valuable but does not break new pedagogical ground. However, technology can enhance the ability of instructors to conduct formative assessment, such as in Just-in-Time Teaching, in which students provide feedback to their instructors a few hours before class by answering questions posted online (Novak et al.
|
From page 53... ...
If students overwhelmingly answer correctly, the instructor can move on the next topic, with the reassurance that students are on board; but if student responses reveal lack of understanding, the instructor has the opportunity spend more time discussing the confounding topic right then. This formative assessment in the classroom allows faculty to be in more nearly constant touch with what students are learning, not only what they are teaching -- and to do so in real time, not weeks later on the midterm examination.
|
From page 54... ...
Adoption of Effective Teaching Methods Despite decades of research demonstrating the effectiveness of teaching methods, including active student engagement, adoption by individual faculty has been slow. That suggests that one of the most important challenge in reforming teaching and learning is not basic knowledge of what works but putting the information in the hands of faculty, providing the necessary infrastructure, and providing the appropriate incentives for faculty to implement the methods.
|
From page 55... ...
Therefore, engaging them in conversation about the reform of undergraduate education while they are still s tudents and trainees will pay off for years to come. And it will make those graduate students and postdocs more valuable on the job market if they can demonstrate depth in their thinking about teaching and learning (see Box 3-7 for an example of a program designed to help graduate students to be effective teachers)
|
From page 56... ...
Centers for Teaching and Learning A number of institutions have established centers dedicated to improving undergraduate instruction. Whether they are called centers for teaching excellence, centers for teaching and learning, or something else, they are typically staffed by education professionals who work with faculty, graduate teaching assistants, and others to improve undergraduate education (Singer 2002)
|
From page 57... ...
Faculty Development Implementing the changes that would promote effective teaching and learning in undergraduate agricultural education and support the success of a diverse student population will require adequate resources. Although support for academic research is often available to faculty from external and internal sources, few resources are available for teaching.
|
From page 58... ...
. BOX 3-8 National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology The authors of the 2003 National Research Council report Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists recognized the central role of faculty development in effecting changes in undergraduate education, and they devoted one of their eight recommendations to campus-level and national faculty development (NRC 2003a)
|
From page 59... ...
One national effort that strives to prepare graduate students for careers at a variety of academic institutions with a variety of missions, student bodies, and faculty expectations is the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) initiative.11 Individual PFF programs address the full scope of faculty responsibilities; provide multiple mentors to students, including mentors in teaching; and engage a cluster of diverse institutions so that students have opportunities to work with faculty and gain teaching experience in a variety of settings.
|
From page 60... ...
Some of the changes that will be required are a refocusing of faculty hiring and evaluation to include consideration of learning outcomes, valuing the scholarship of teaching and learning in the promotion and tenure process, and adopting other strategies for honoring and supporting teaching. A number of ideas for rewarding undergraduate teaching and supporting student learning were offered at the Leadership Summit.
|
From page 61... ...
The institution even decided to offer teaching awards to entire departments; in addition to public recognition, the award comes with a prize of unrestricted funds that the department can spend as it sees fit. Because such unrestricted funds are so uncommon at most institutions, this can be a powerful motivator for even a recalcitrant department to focus on teaching quality and student learning.
|
From page 62... ...
• Student evaluations, including numerical ratings for each course, but also qualitative student evaluations for a selection of courses and exit interviews with a handful of randomly selected students from each course. Even if individual student responses are not always objective or fair, the collective wisdom of many students usually provides an accurate picture of an instructor.
|
From page 63... ...
And it has taken steps to continue to value teaching after tenure, for example, by making it one criterion for annual merit salary adjustments, requiring sabbatical applications to include a justification for teaching development, nominating in structors for teaching awards, and publicizing faculty teaching accomplishments. For additional information see the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Guidelines for Recommendations for Promotion or Appointment to Tenure Rank in the Biologi cal Sciences Division at |
From page 64... ...
Those steps, taken together, can foster a culture of excellence in undergraduate education in which faculty, staff, administrators, and students work together to improve teaching and learning. Faculty who receive training in evidence-based methods and materials can be more effective teachers and promote enhanced student learning.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.