Pedagogical Thinking in Course Design

1. Understanding Learning and Building Comunity

This chapter will examine how learning occurs and how best to facilitate it through connections and community. 

1.1. How Learning Works

1.2. The First Day of Class

Every semester, you get another chance to make a good first impression on a new group of students. It's altogether too easy to fritter away the first day of class on paperwork and policies. But it's so much better to engage your students in meaningful interaction with the course content. The Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University offers this advice:

James Lang, author of several excellent, practical books on teaching, offers four principles for "How to Teach a Good First Day of Class" in a Chronicle of Higher Education advice guide:

1. Spark students' curiosity.
2. Build a sense of community.
3. Get students learning.
4. Set high expectations.

Read Lang's full advice guide for real example first days from an English composition course taught by Lang, a history survey course taught by Cate Denial at Knox College, an upper-level psychology course taught by Sarah Rose Cavanaugh at Assumption College, and a mathematics course taught by Derek Bruff at Vanderbilt.

If you'd like even more ideas about how to use the first day of class effectively, consult the "what to do on the first day of class" advice offered by these teaching centers:

• Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning
• Carnegie-Mellon University's Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation
• Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
• Stanford Teaching Commons
• Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

In addition to Lang's advice guide mentioned previously, you might find these advice articles useful:

• Boldt, J. (2014). What do you do on the first day of class? Chronicle Vitae [website].
• Castillo, A. (2013). Off to a great start: Stanford teachers share tips for a successful first day of class. Stanford Teaching Commons [website].
• Garrett, J., & Clement, M. (2018). Advice for the first day of class: today we will. Faculty Focus [website].
• Mayhall, M. (2018). The vital importance of first-day activities. Inside Higher Ed [website].

Finally, no matter what activities you have planned for the first day of class, I urge you to learn your students' names before the semester begins. Photo rosters are available in SelfService. Addressing your students by name on the first day of class has enormous positive impact and makes students feel welcome like nothing else can.

Based off writing by: Christopher Heard

1.3. Moments Before the Class Begins

The Chronicle of Higher Education offers a series of "Two-Minute Tips: short videos to help you excel in the academic workplace." The videos are hosted by Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz, breaking news editor at the Chronicle. The tip for October 22, 2018 offered "3 Tips for the Minutes Before Class," based on "Small Changes in Teaching: The Minutes Before Class," a 2015 Chronicle advice article by James Lang. In brief, Lang and Zamudio-Suaréz encourage us to enhance the minutes before class by:

1. Make small talk with students.
2. Preview the class agenda.
3. Create wonder.

1.4. Community Building Activities / Ideas

Equity Unbound has a site dedicated to Community Building Ideas. 

From the site:

"Each of these resources includes a video either demonstrating or describing the activity or exercise for community-building. We also include descriptive text, slides you can reuse/adapt where relevant, and links to additional resources. We also show you how much time, what kind of resources you need, and different variations on the activity to help you adapt it for your purposes."

2. Learning Theories/Frameworks/Models

In this chapter we will look at learning theories (Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism) and frameworks such as Blooms Taxonomy. 

2.1. Basic Overview of the major Learning Theories

Behaviorist Theory

What is it? Behaviorist Theory utilizes key ideas from the work of B.F. Skinner, who theorized that learning occurs through a series of rewards or punishments. While Skinner believed that all learning could occur this way, Behaviorist Theory is most commonly utilized in classrooms today as a tool for behavior management. However, educators still utilize rote practice and repetition: two practices that are linked to Behaviorist Theory. According to Skinner, rewards increase the likelihood that behaviors will be repeated, while punishments decrease the likelihood of repetition. He also theorized that rewards and punishments could be either positive or negative in nature. This can confuse a lot of people!  What he meant was that when we give or add something to the environment, the interaction is positive; when we take something away, the interaction is negative. So, for example, removing an undesirable activity from the agenda might be a negative reward, and adding an undesirable activity to it might be a positive punishment. 

Scenes from a Classroom –

• In Professor  X’s  classroom, she is working with one of her students, Sam, to help him with some challenging attention-span issues. She gives him a reward whenever she sees him on task. (Positive reward)
• In Mr. X’s classroom, Mr. X quietly reminds a student to keep all four legs of his chair on the floor by saying . (Positive punishment – yes, verbal praise & reminders qualify as adding something to the environment!)
• To increase the number of students who turn in their homework each day, Mr. X announces that if the class has 100% completion on today’s assignment, they won’t have a quiz that day. (Negative reward)
• Students in Mrs. X’s art class are having trouble sharing the supplies. Mrs. X writes the word ART on the board, and each time students have a disagreement over supplies, she erases a letter. If the word is erased completely, students will have to use pencil to complete their project for the day. (Negative punishment) 

Cognitive Theory

What is it? Cognitive Theory is largely based on the work of Jean Piaget, who rejected the idea that learners are passive and simply react to stimuli in the environment. Instead of focusing solely on observable behavior, Cognitive Theory seeks to explain how the mind works during the learning process. Like a computer, the mind takes in information, processes that information, then uses that information to produce learning outcomes. Piaget’s 4 Stages of Development indicate the learner’s ability to understand abstract, complex concepts.

Scenes from a Classroom – 

• Professor  Mr. X begins his unit on fractions, he incorporates manipulatives in order to provide a concrete learning experience.
• To help students memorize the Periodic Table, Mrs. X co-creates various mnemonic devices with her class.
• Ms. X uses a graphic organizer in order to help students write paragraphs with appropriate structure. 
• At the start of every lesson, Mr. X asks questions to activate the prior knowledge of his students. He knows this will help to link the new learning concepts to previously retained ideas, increasing the likelihood that the new learning will be remembered.

Constructivist Theory

What is it? Constructivists see the learner as a constructor of knowledge. New learning is shaped by schemas, which the learner brings to the learning process. Lev Vygotsky is an important founder of Constructivist Theory. Vygotsky believed that learning is a collaborative process, and that social interaction is fundamental for cognitive development. According to Vygotsky, students learn best when working collaboratively with those whose proficiency level is higher than their own, allowing them to complete tasks they are not yet able to do independently. Vygotsky identified these concepts as the More Knowledgeable Other and the Zone of Proximal Development. Constructivist classrooms are student-centered, with the teacher acting as the facilitator.

Scenes from a Classroom –

• Mr. X intentionally pairs high performing students with students that are not performing as well, inviting them to turn and talk about their learning throughout a lesson. 
• Professor X uses collaborative learning to facilitate engagement with specific learning targets, ensuring heterogeneous student groupings.
• Ms. X uses Problem-Based Learning to engage her students in solving real world problems, meeting several learning targets while giving students autonomy to make decisions. She encourages students to work with peers who have different strengths than their own. 

Humanist Theory

What is it? Humanist theory approaches learning as a way to fulfill an individual’s potential rather than meeting specific learning targets. Maslow’s research on the Hierarchy of Needs is a major concept within this theory, as it focuses on the whole person, specifically the cognitive and affective needs of the learner. The theory holds that self-actualization is the ultimate goal of each individual. Learners are trusted to determine their own goals, set standards, and evaluate their own work. Thus, students are at the center of the Humanist classroom. Teachers are facilitators and coaches, recognizing the unique needs of each student and supporting their academic and social development.  

Scenes from a Classroom –

• Professor X begins each class with a meeting to check in on her students’ emotional well-being and proactively teach them specific coping skills & strategies. 
• Mr. X, in a science class, provides his students a menu of assessment options to illustrate their mastery of learning targets for the unit. 
• Mrs. X sets aside an hour of time each week for students to learn about and create anything they want, utilizing the framework she provides.

2.2. Blooms Taxonomy

• Bloom's Taxonomy Question Stems
• Bloom's Taxonomy Action Verbs

2.3. A more In-depth Look at Learning Theories

So what are educational learning theories and how can we use them in our teaching practice? There are so many out there, how do we know which are still relevant and which will work for our classes?

The main schema’s of learning theories; Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. In this article you will find a breakdown of each one and an explanation of the 15 most influential learning theories; from Vygotsky to Piaget and Bloom to Maslow and Bruner.