Premeeting Activities

2005 Summer Focus Session Homework Assignment

The homework exercise is designed to stimulate thinking about interactive learning and the role technology can play in supporting it. In it, you will be asked to address the following scenario:

You are an experienced and generally successful instructor who has finished an unsuccessful semester teaching a standard lower-division course, traditionally viewed as the gatekeeper course for your discipline. Student exam scores and grades were significantly lower than usual. Only a few of the students in the first two rows ever seemed to understand the core concepts. During the latter half of the course, those students who got it seemed bored and restless; the remaining students seemed to feel like they would never get it and were sullen and upset.

You decide that something has to change. You suspect that increasing the interactivity of students in the course will help.

Take the role of the instructor. Please answer the following questions.

1. What forms of interactivity could you employ the next time you teach the course for more effective student learning? Make two lists: one for in-class activities, the other for out-of-class activities.
2. What are the benefits of your suggested activity compared to a lecture approach?
3. What concerns are associated with the activity?
4. What additional resources might you need for the activity?

In addition to helping you "warm up" for the session, the assignment is part of a group activity scheduled for June 15. For that reason, we ask that you complete and submit the assignment to your assigned wiki by June 10. Each participant has been given a personal wiki as the platform for completing the homework. You should have received the URL for your wiki via e-mail. If you did not, please contact Jarret Cummings (jcummings@educause.edu). Instructions for using the wiki to complete the assignment are provided on your wiki page.

You can also access a Word file that provides the details regarding the homework exercise. Please note that you should post your homework responses online via your wiki. We look forward to seeing you at Michigan State University on June 15.