Helping Students Practice Knowledge Transfer

 

Being able to apply information that is learned in one context to solve problems in another context, is known as ‘transfer’.  Many would argue that being able to transfer concepts and knowledge to a new context is the true test of learning.  We agree!

 

“A central and enduring goal of education is to provide learning experiences that are useful beyond the specific conditions of initial learning.”

(Lobato, 2006, in Nokes-Malach and Richey 2015)

It turns out that researchers have been arguing over, and studying, both content and context in which learning transfer fails or succeeds since the very early 1900s. Nokes-Malach and Richey (2015), summarize the arguments, research, and outcomes in this complex literature. For our purpose of sharing practices that can make transfer more likely, we will focus on the outcomes. To illustrate just a bit about the complexity of this topic, transfer of knowledge can be: ‘near’ (executing learned procedures), ‘intermediate’ (adapting learned procedures), and ‘far’ transfer (relating concepts to each other and to new problems with different features).

Examples will be discipline specific. Here are examples of where transfer of knowledge is required in a civil engineering design course:

Basic Knowledge: Structural Analysis (Beam). Using the principles of statics and mechanics of materials, students learn to determine the shear force, bending moment, and deflection along the length of the beam.
Near transfer: Structural Analysis (Frame). Students are asked to analyze a structural frame, such as a door frame. The frame consists of interconnected beams and columns, subjected to various loads and boundary conditions.
  • In the frame analysis, there is a more complex structural system with multiple members connected at joints. This requires additional considerations and analysis techniques (frame stability, joint behavior, and load distribution among members).
Intermediate transfer: Truss Analysis. This problem involves the analysis of a truss structure. The truss consists of interconnected members subjected to external loads.
  • The new approach must be adapted to account for the unique characteristics of truss structures (i.e. axial forces in the members).
Far transfer: Foundation Design: This example involves the design of a  structural foundation. The structure has specific requirements for load-bearing capacity, settlement, and stability
  • Designing a foundation system that interacts with the underlying soil and supports the entire structure involves applying principles from different areas of civil engineering, such as geotechnical engineering and foundation design, which may not have been directly addressed in the analysis of a beam.

These levels of transfer require different skills and likely help explain the variety of learning outcomes in the transfer literature. Applying, adapting, comparing and contrasting, and evaluating are (more or less) progressively more challenging cognitive tasks (think ‘Blooms taxonomy’, Agarwal, 2018). These different levels can be promoted using different learning strategies.

If transfer of knowledge is an expectation and it requires critical thinking skills, this should be transparent in the learning objectives for the course and/or assignment. Rather than teaching or practicing these skills, it may be that students are expected to already have these skills. Some likely do; others do not and need structured practice.  This is a question of equity. Because  students are transitioning to college courses from a variety of educational experiences, not all have been challenged to critically think and transfer complicated knowledge to a new context. This does not mean they are unable to learn how. If we make assumptions about students’ critical thinking skills, we perpetuate an inequitable situation in our classrooms and institutions.

Higher level critical thinking skills needed for information transfer include the ability to analyze, compare contrast, link concepts, and evaluate approaches. These skills can be practiced and scaffolded so that students who have a grasp on content in the context it was taught can know how to use that information in a new context.

A review by Hadjian (2019), reported that transfer could occur at any stage of learning and practices that might be effective to support students include scaffolding the learning, students interacting, reflecting and practicing assessment in a low stakes learning environment.
A summary of some practices to support learning of transfer skills include:
  • Identifying ‘knowledge transfer’ as an expected learning outcome.
  • Scaffolding complex problems by helping students build on the basic information using metacognitive questions and reflection.
  • Comparing and contrasting the simple questions with more complex questions.
  • Provide relevant real-world problems for students to practice and collaborate on.
  • One key here is inviting students – in groups – to practice and discuss a progression of problems from one context to another.

This is an easy way to help our students be more successful in their learning.  Happy teaching and learning. Happy transferring!!

 

The value of being a teaching assistant when teaching is not the chosen path: A reminder for graduate TAs

Regardless of the path you take after attaining your degree, the skills you gain by working on a teaching team will be valuable in your professional career! The knowledge and skills that support effective learning are the same as those that result in the best work environments and business outcomes. Being a teaching assistant (TA) is an excellent way to gain and strengthen both your technical and non-technical skill sets.

 Professional skills for engineering career success – room for growth!

Historically (and still today) these professional skills have often been referred to as ‘soft’ skills. This term originated in the U.S. military, and was used to differentiate a certain set of interpersonal skills from more knowledge-based skills associated with specifics of a professional role (‘hard’ skills).   As we start to recognize critical importance of these interpersonal skills in successful engineering tasks, careers, products, processes and outcomes, many people are beginning to refer to this skill set as ‘professional’ skills.  We use that language here.

Five hundred companies and organizations participated in a study where they rated the importance and proficiency of their recent entry-level engineers for 26 identified ‘professional’ skills. These skills include the type of work a teaching assistant (TA) does and can learn about through the act of using evidence-supported strategies and working to support student learning. Here is a list of some of those skills:  communication, organization, team work, creativity, social skills, critical thinking, interpersonal communication, adaptability, punctuality, friendly personality, critical thinking and more (Hirudayaraj, et al. 2021).

“The findings suggest that although entry-level engineers have proficiency in all of these ABET required skills, the entry-level engineers were not meeting the level of importance expressed by the organization for 24 of these 26 skills.”

Green (2023) recently surveyed perceptions of faculty, students and engineering employers for 8 professional skills (collaboration, communication, ethical considerations, inclusivity, leadership, professional judgment, task management, and teamwork) exhibited by engineering students .

“Statistical analysis on survey data indicated that how students rate their peers’ abilities aligns with the perceptions that practicing engineers have of student abilities with both groups’ means for each skill being [significantly] lower than how the students rated their own ability”

The conclusion from these (and other) studies is that there is a need for graduating engineers to improve these skills. Teaching, and TA training, are one of the best opportunities to do that in a higher education environment.

The value of teaching and TA training to develop technical and professional skills

Teaching others means you learn it better, get new perspectives, and solidify your knowledge-base. Even long-term memories can fade over time, and your practice helps to lock in less used ideas (that might be useful to remember in the future).

 

The best evidence-supported teaching practices are grounded in inclusivity, engagement, collaboration, reflection, perspective sharing, and leadership. Working as part of a teaching team in a college course requires the ability to listen, include, create an engaging and purposeful environment, give and take feedback, and work on a team toward common goals.  Doing this consciously and mindfully and with the intention of developing these skills is leadership.  If there is the opportunity to take advantage of some pedagogy training to get you started, it will provide tools and help develop the confidence to try them and to grow these professional skills.

While teaching is not the only way to build these important skills, it is likely to be the situation in which you will have the most opportunity to practice, evaluate, try again, or try something new.  Teamwork is hard. People are complex, and our own biases and perceptions often blind us to other ways – maybe better ways – to approach or solve a challenge.  Growing these skills takes practice, and teaching for a semester or a few semesters is an excellent way to do this as a graduate student.  Being a TA is a win/win.  Your practice will help engineers coming up under you AND improve your the quality of your team’s work and increase opportunities to advance in your career.

Group projects in design courses, particularly when well structured by the instructor, are great opportunities to grow teamwork, communication, and collaboration skills. Other co-curricular activities like mentoring undergraduates in a lab can also build important professional skills – again, particularly when guided by a few basic evidence-supported practices that take into account how people learn, become engaged and feel like they belong. Facilitating communication with colleagues is the key to learning and leading.

“Gone are the days of sitting at a cubicle, and minding your own business. This is the digital age, and communication skills reign supreme.”

https://www.engineering.com/story/5-skills-hiring-managers-look-for-in-engineering-grads

Just a couple more reasons to consider being a teaching assistant

Your work supporting others with shared passion for the work of engineering is so important.  Learning from peers and those closer in experience (than professors) opens up possibilities for empathy that become harder and harder to access with growing expertise and cognitive intuition.  Learning how to support other humans in distress or create an environment in which everyone can learn and/or contribute is a skill that comes with practice and is strongly related to being a leader of people in your field.

Your expertise in a field will only take you so far if your ability to manage programs and people, communicate, collaborate and share ideas in ways that make sense to different audiences is lacking. Being a TA is a valuable resume builder when you can talk about how you learned to manage people, facilitate discussions on challenging topics, actively listen and use questioning strategies to prime critical thinking. These are skills you need and can sell!

Embrace it!

IT’S NOT JUST YOU WHO FEELS THIS WAY!

College is a time full of transitions and new experiences. Early on, there’s the transition to learning in a new environment, and for many, living away from home for the first time. There’s learning new things as you explore a major and classes become more and more focused on your discipline. There might be a transition to a new major or other significant events and experiences that happen in your pathway. All and all, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. You may ask yourself questions like, “Do I really belong here?” and “Am I smart enough to make it?”

But, it’s not just you who feels this way—what many students don’t realize is that some kind of adverse experience and these types of feelings of not belonging are very common in college. Your challenges are likely not going to be the same ones as everyone else, but all students deal with challenges at some point in their college careers. And, you’ll discover that you get better at dealing with these issues over time, in part by using more of the supports that are available to you. Now, it’s not like you’ll get to your senior year and be like, “I have conquered all of my problems and insecurities.” But, we can say that the things we get hung up on are more surmountable than we first think. ​

The UBelong Collaborative is conducting research on how best to understand students’ experiences with challenges and  support student belonging. This team from Purdue University, University of Pittsburgh, and University of California, Irvine, are investigating how reflection on and discussion of challenges can better equip students to frame these normal experiences as typical and not unique to them. So, when you feel overwhelmed, know that you are not alone. Reach out and talk to others—it’s likely more common than you think. And, if someone else has not had the same experience, they likely have some other experience with a common theme on which you can relate.

Allison Godwin, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University.

Other members of the UBelong Collaborative:  Linda DeAngelo, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Kevin Binning, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Chris Schunn, Ph.D., is a Professor of Learning Sciences and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh.
Natascha Trellinger Buswell, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC Irvine
The UBelong Collaborative also benefits from the support of a large team of collaborators including:
Maricela Bañuelos, Bev Conrique, Carlie Cooper, Charlie Díaz, Gerard Dorvé-Lewis, Ketura Elie, Rachel Forster, Hee Jung Gong, Cherry Ji, Kevin Kaufman-Ortiz, Audrika Khondaker, Danielle Lewis, Dr. Eric McChesney, Dr. Erica McGreevy, Dr. Heather Perkins, Jacqueline Rohde, Kelly Tatone, Dr. Rob Toutkoushian, and Dr. Nelson Zounlome.

Recognizing and Requesting Transparency in the College Classroom

Black boxes are useful in a model system or the research we do as we work to understand the world.  In those cases, the ‘unknowns’ are exciting and they represent what we are working to ‘know’.  However, when it comes to what is expected of you as a learner in your classes, there should NOT be black boxes.  Transparency is paramount for equitable, inclusive learning.

This post is intended to share materials and ideas for students to recognize transparency or lack of it, so that they can ask the right questions of their instructors and have those expectations clarified so that they have the best chance to be successful.  The framework of transparency is not intended to be  unidirectional – simply clarifying the information shared from faculty to student- but also a conversation where clarity and communication are maintained through a regular feedback cycle about how well it is working and what might be made even more clear.

What is transparency in educational settings and why does it matter?

The basic concept is simple. Transparency in the classroom means that the purpose, the task, and the criteria (to be successful) must be clear to the learners. 

Probably the most comprehensive set of materials on transparency in higher education comes from the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) Higher Ed. body of work inspired and directed by Dr. Mary-Ann Winkelmes. Many of the resources discussed or linked here are from that work in some way or another.

Most of the research and resources regarding transparency are aimed at teachers who are looking for examples and templates to increase transparency in their course materials.  The number of these types of resources is growing, which means change is happening!  As with most of the evidence-supported practices that make learning inclusive and effective, there is still work to do.  In the meantime, learners need some tools.

The rules and criteria that result in ‘success’ in a particular course (or assignment) are determined by the instructor.  It follows that, if those expectations and criteria are inadvertently withheld from the students (unless students can intuit specific expectations and can do it correctly – and some can) a barrier to learning and to meeting those expectations is established. 

You may be wondering how information that allows students to be successful can be ‘inadvertently’ withheld. Easily.  As humans, without being intentional and reflective about the varied realities of others, we often operate based on our own past experiences, our own understandings of the world, and our own ‘entry points’ into ideas and tasks. Ultimately, we make assumptions.  In an educational setting where we are working to develop a diverse group of learners and professionals, our assumptions can create biases and a very unequal playing field for students with different past experiences and understandings. Most often if we experience lack of transparency as learners, instructors are sharing what they experienced and haven’t taken or had the time to consider the assumptions they are making when they share expectations, use language, and/or expect certain outcomes on assignments.

How to recognize Transparency

Read your Syllabus and your assignments.  Your syllabus is effectively your learning contract with the course, and the course’s learning contract with you.  It takes time to develop these, even more time to make them transparent and welcoming. Each assignment should also be transparent so that students have clear understanding of what is expected of them to do well.  Associated with transparency in assignments is the related transparency in assessment.  Rubrics are the best ‘tools’ to help a student know what is required and valued in any assignment and how they will be graded. These can also lack detail and transparency. At their best, they are sufficiently detailed and concise so that a student can use the criteria to pre-check their work. At worst, rubrics are a great starting point for a more detailed discussion about expectations. Be sure you do the work of reading what has been shared so that you can ask necessary, specific and respectful questions that will allow you to meet instructor expectations.

This link will help students look for the key indicators of transparency in a syllabus/assignment:

  • the purpose (why are we doing this, learning outcomes objectives)
  • the task (what are we doing specifically)
  • the criteria – (what specifics are required to be successful)

How to ask for transparency, if it is lacking

Simply asking an instructor to provide a more transparent syllabus or assignment could require some clarification on your part as to what it is you mean. So what can a student do to recognize when transparency is missing and ask valuable clarifying questions?

Again, read your syllabus and your assignments. Look for purpose, tasks, and criteria. Read for unfamiliar terms or phrases. Remember, the language and expectations may not be familiar to you for a host of reasons, for which you are not to blame!  After you have paid careful attention to the materials provided, go to office hours, ask in class when opportunities arise, or reach out after class to the instructor, TAs, or other members of the teaching staff.

  • Ask how the assignment connects specifically to the content and learning outcomes objectives
  • Ask for examples of good work
  • Ask for rubrics with detailed criteria
  • Ask for definition of any terms used in the syllabus or on an assignment with which you are unfamiliar

In the case where you are having difficulty getting the answers you feel you need, you can use the metacognitive cycle to help you fill in what you can until you get more answers.

    • Find a diverse group of peers to work with.  Discuss and write what you collectively believe are the purpose, the task and the criteria.  More ‘heads/persectives’ will represent different experiences and possibly include someone who can better intuit or understand (via their experiences) what is really expected.  Reflect on what you are being expected to learn in the context of what has been happening in class. Here is a link to a previous Edublog with support for turning problem sets into study sessions using ‘metacognition’ (thinking about your learning process) that could help.

The bottom line is: we may be quite a distance from perfect transparency in our higher education classrooms, and slowly things are changing. All learners deserve an equitable opportunity to be successful, regardless of diversity of experience and cultural expectations. We are richer for our diversity. Lack of transparency is typically an oversight, and therefore calling respectful attention to it will help instructors recognize oversights and will benefit individual learners now and in the future.

USING THE METACOGNITIVE CYCLE TO TURN ‘PROBLEM SETS’ INTO ‘STUDY SESSIONS’

After a fun and productive meeting with a couple of our undergraduate educators in my office last week, we shifted gears and started to talk about how very busy their own semesters were.  One of them confided that they were committed to getting a good night’s sleep (Bravo!), and they had time for doing homework – mostly in the form of problem sets for engineering students in their first couple of years – but that they were having a hard time finding time to ‘study’. At that point I asked, “Isn’t doing a problem set ‘studying’?”

The brief conversation that followed reminded me that students sometimes compartmentalize tasks, experiences, and even related content information.  And that ‘studying’ continues to mean finding large blocks of time to go over class notes and materials – often in passive, ineffective ways.  It is what they are used to doing.  Compartmentalization is often our default to get things done in a busy schedule.  And we typically don’t support students in making those critical links and connections.  But we can! When instructors are explicit about putting class activities, homework assignments, and topics into a larger context, and encourage complementary practices that prompt students to grapple with those connections, students become better, more self-directed learners, gain depth of understanding, new perspectives, and insight into their own thought processes. These powerful, under-used practices are reflection and metacognition.

This post will introduce the terms and share their value and some related links. Ultimately we suggest a practical way (and provide a worksheet to get started) to apply the ‘metacognitive cycle’ to problem sets so that the large amount of time students spend on these applications will become more efficient, deep- learning opportunities in which students actively retrieve, review and process course content while they apply their knowledge to solving problems.

Defining the terms

Whether we understand them in these specific terms or not, metacognition and reflection are critical parts of the ‘expert’ practitioner’s tool box.  However, novice learners – early undergraduates – need to be instructed in the practice and the value of these tools. Generally, reflection is thinking back on an experience in order to process it and turn it into ‘knowledge’.  In this way reflection can also be a version of ‘retrieval’ (pulling up information and working with it again, also a critical practice for making knowledge stick).  Metacognition is most easily described as a type of reflection in which one examines the thought processes used during a task.  So metacognition is ‘thinking about thinking. There is a lot of research on metacognition in the psychological literature and it is complex! Research suggests that adding metacognition to disciplinary teaching in the classroom where groups of students are solving problems can help them become better at solving open-ended problems and transferring that understanding to solving novel problems.

These higher order thinking skills are the goal of our disciplinary curricula, particularly in technical and applied sciences like engineering.

Applying the ‘metacognitive cycle’ to problem sets

Studying is most efficient when done in short, spaced, repeated, active, intervals. Interspersing topics, revisiting and actively engaging with the material several times before an assessment, has been shown to provide the best results.  So, in a perfect world, we aren’t looking for large chunks of time to ‘go over notes’ or other more passive activities that are shown to not be very effective for learning. By adding a few extra minutes (30?) to the practice of ‘doing a problem set’, a student – ideally a group of students – can contextualize the problems they are solving in their growing conceptual understanding and make it an efficient, deep-learning study session.

 

The metacognitive cycle is broken into the following simple stages: planning (before beginning working on the problems in the set, gathering resources), monitoring (what is happening in ones thoughts while trying to apply knowledge to problem sets), and evaluation (how did it go, what was hard? what was learned? what do you need to ask at office hours or recitations?)

 

During the Planning Stage

Take a few minutes to look through the problems set and decipher the larger context of the problems there:

  • List what you know about conceptual information that surrounds the problems and the associated equations that are being applied – retrieval
  • Write 2 – 3 learning objectives. These are statements about what one should know by the successful completion of the problem set – goal setting. If they are not given in the assignment, it is your job as a learner to ‘figure them out’ from the types of problems in the worksheet – retrieval
  • At the start of each question, ask  “what information do I need to know in order to begin this question and why do I need it? “- reflection, retrieval and metacognition

During the Monitoring Stage

As you work through each of the problems in the set, be intentional about the choices you are making.  Ask the ‘why’ questions:

  • In a group or solo ask the question ‘why is this problem challenging?’. Responses to this question requires – reflection.
  • Explain the decisions/processes that led to the solving of each part of a problem. Ask why did you/I make that choice in this part of the problem.  Answers to these questions require – metacognition

During the Evaluation Stage

At the close of the problem set, or the part of it that was completed in one session, look through and remember the content that was applied, the processes and the decisions.

  • Write a paragraph that summarizes (more detail is better) of what was learned and how ideas are connected and applied in the problems completed – reflection
  • Make a list of topics/concepts/skills that still need work for good understanding and bring these to the next office hours or recitation section to get the support needed – goal setting

These suggested practices are the same ones that experts use without conscious effort!  For someone new to material, reflection and metacognition and using the simple application of these learning strategies in work that is required as homework, will  make it more relevant and expedite learning!  Less additional time will be needed for ‘studying’,  and the time spent studying will be more effective and efficient. This should help with time management and result in deeper understanding of disciplinary material. Start slow, and see how it works.  Here is a worksheet to remind about guidelines while applying these strategies to problem sets.  Let us know how it goes, and enjoy the process of  becoming an expert!

4 Steps for a Successful Semester – Build and keep a schedule, attend classes, reach out, and believe in yourself!!

Put your ‘Ducks in a row’ 

It takes time to transition to a busy college schedule.  And by ‘time’, we mean sometimes several semesters!  If you don’t feel you are there yet, you are not alone!  We all come to new experiences with different strengths, and sets of experiences.   If you are an undergraduate student in the early days of your college career, this is a practical ‘To-Do’ list with tried and true advice and links to resources to cheer-you-on to a successful start of a successful semester!

Here are some steps and links to help you start the semester right.

1. Build your schedule: Before classes start!

There are ‘old-school’ paper versions, Outlook and Google Calendars, and a million apps to help you organize your time. Time management is one very important aspect of a successful and healthy semester. Among other studies on the benefits of managing time for college students,  Adams and Blair (2019) examined the impact of time management behaviors on Engineering students’ performance. Self-reported behaviors that correlated most strongly with GPA were setting goals and priorities (the building phase) and maintaining control over the time spent on various tasks (the sticking to it phase).

 

2. What to Schedule?: Including your personal wellness and free time

    1. In- Class time – including office hours, recitations, and discussions.
    2. Study time – personal preparation, study groups.
    3. Personal time – mental and physical well-being
    4. Networking or other co-curricular professional development time

3. Attend your Classes!! 

Studies show that students who attend their class meetings are more likely to have higher grades. Even if you feel well prepared for a particular course, attending the scheduled class meetings is perhaps the easiest way to keep up with work. Being introduced to new topics, getting insights from the instructor that might only be shared verbally, getting reminders for upcoming assignments, listening to the questions asked by peers, opportunities for in-class collaborations,  are all ways that attending class can keep you on track and deepen your understanding, even when you feel you understand the material.

“…early and consistent class attendance strongly correlates with academic performance” (Kassarnig et al, 2017)

4.  Stick to your Schedule: The hardest part – and you can do it!

The work of Adams and Blair (2019) with engineering students, generally matched the findings of other studies: Time management supports success! What they also found was that though students were quite successful at building schedules, they were less successful at sticking to them. The perception of control over scheduled time was much more difficult. But it can be done! Take this quick time management quiz to see where you might be able to improve.

Quick read on more good information about time management for college students!

5.  Keep a ‘Growth Mindset’  and reach out for support as soon as you need it.

image of growth mindsetA ‘growth mindset’ is in contrast to a ‘fixed mindset’. A growth mindset acknowledges that you might not be there yet, but with perseverance,  you can, and will get there!  A fixed mindset refers to the belief that the ability to learn or master certain topics is something that is innate and inflexible. The evidence-supported truth is that ones own perception of their ability to learn challenging material actually influences ones cognitive ability to do so. It is a bit like mind over matter! and it is REAL.  Believe in yourself. You are capable of learning things that are challenging! The ability of your brain to learn challenging material can grow!

College is the next step It is supposed to be challenging. Finding oneself in need of support from peers or from the course teaching staff is normal and expected.  That is why study groups are a great idea and why support offices and office hours are available.  Everyone needs to share ideas and get new perspectives at some point, and it’s also the best way to deepen your understanding of material. If you don’t know the people who can help, ask an instructor or advisor! Collaboration results in deeper learning.

Here is a fun video to remind you to focus on the fascinating journey and grow rather than shrink from the challenges: The Super Mario Effect – Tricking Your Brain into Learning More | Former NASA and Apple Engineer – now Science and Engineering Youtuber, Mark Rober

 

-YOU GOT THIS! Have an amazing semester!

Engineering Learning Initiatives

 

3 TYPES OF ‘STRUCTURE’ CREATE INCLUSIVE COLLABORATION in a student-centered classroom

 

These teaching spaces have been designed or updated to include group seating, rolling chairs, projection and whiteboard access in multiple locations

As we know, collaboration does not typically happen by simply asking students to collaborate. Without structure, students familiar with the still-common passive forms of teaching often default to working independently, or occasionally cooperating with a peer nearby, and then only if they are confident and feel safe in a classroom. Creating the sort of inclusive collaboration that is most likely to improve learning outcomes is challenging, and requires structural scaffolding and diligence on the part of the instructor.

    Structure creates inclusive collaborative groupwork in a student-centered classroom. The key is how we understand and address ‘structure’.

Three components of structure should be considered in order to make effective collaboration happen: 1) Characteristics of the learning space itself and how they are used – “physical space”, 2) the development of community and inclusiveness among learners and between learners and instructors – “emotional space”, and 3) pedagogical choices and their implementation “pedagogical space”.

Structuring the physical space

Recently Colleges and Universities have begun to pay much more attention to the design of physical learning spaces. The two images to the left show classrooms that have been designed or updated for collaborative learning.

Thankfully, the options to teach in spaces that consider student collaboration, neurodiversity, and accessibility, are increasing.  However, there are many remaining learning spaces that were designed for the traditional lecture format in which we must make the best of a bad situation.  Further, and something less discussed in the literature and education blog-o-sphere, is that regardless of the quality of  room design, effective group behavior is not ensured by grouping students in even the most perfect setting without ensuring the other forms of structure are in place. This post shares tips for each of the types of structure, and how to make the most of a tough classroom design situation!

Worst case scenario for collaborative learning and small group discussion – the lecture hall.

There are many different room designs that are amenable to group collaboration. Key aspects of such classrooms are those seen in the images above. Students, when seated, are at small tables so that they face each other and have common working space. The room provides ample space for movement.

The worst case scenario for collaborative learning involves a room with attached seats, no aisle, and all seats facing forward toward a single area at the front of the classroom where a single projection screen is flanked by chalkboard (the only access to writing/collaborative space is this board). These spaces are very familiar in higher education! Here are some workarounds to support collaboration in these environments!

Group seating formation in a lecture hall that is not conducive to student collaboration

If the room is not at capacity you can brainstorm and prescribe seating arrangements.

A group of 4 in a ‘panel’ formation is not conducive to end members hearing and communicating with each other, and often the students default to work individually or in pairs at best.

 

Group structure in a lecture hall environment that improves the chance of collaboration

When students are randomized into groups of 3 or 4, two students sit in the front row, ideally, with a seat between them and the writing desk of the empty seat raised between them. They can use the center desk as the collaborative writing surface (not pictured here). In this seating arrangement, students can face each other such that the one or two people in the row behind sitting side-by-side, make a physical group.

 

In a ‘U’ shaped table formation, simply moving chairs from one side to the other can allow very good group collaboration.

Another familiar seating situation in moderate sized classrooms is long tables, horizontal to the front of the room, or tables that create a ‘U’ shape for large group discussions.

Moving chairs from one side of the table to another or having students in one row of tables turn their chairs around, so they are seated on either side of the long table facing each other, is a relatively easy fix. In general, the instructor should be explicit and possibly show the class a diagram, or the common default is a ‘panel’ formation that does not promote communication among all members.

In a packed lecture hall, instructors can still work creatively to help students form small groups, but the easiest to implement is a paired working arrangement (think/pair/share), which can be very effective particularly if the partnering switches from one side of a student to another.

These are only the first steps to fostering inclusive, collaborative learning. Even in the most modern of classrooms, collaboration will only happen if both the emotional and the pedagogical spaces are prepared and monitored!

Structuring the emotional space

Much has been said about the importance of creating belonging in a learning environment to allow inclusion of all learners regardless of differences in personality, confidence, or other aspects of diversity that we need to celebrate. There is general agreement that this is the primary consideration from which all other scaffolding of the classroom climate flows.  Getting to know each other in a classroom where the expectations for respectful interaction are clear (and ideally developed as a class) will allow trust to build, relationships to form, and engender willingness to work together and a desire to be accountable to one another

Icebreakers are typically fun (can be based on content) activities that are used to build community through developing trust and familiarity among students and between students and instructors.
  • Make an effort to learn students names, and have them learn each others name (and pronounce them correctly).
  • Throughout the semester, include icebreaker activities – build common ground. ‘Identity affirming’ or ‘self-affirming’ icebreakers are those that promote students sharing aspects of who they are, and help create strong community.
  • Encourage the sharing of pronouns and allow it to be voluntary. Instructors should consider sharing their pronouns to model the choice and explain why.

 

Structuring the pedagogical space

Structure assignments that require collaboration.  The outcomes of the activity should require both individual accountability and collaborative interaction. Pedagogical choices should be articulated to students along with expectation for participation.  Well considered learning objectives provide direction  (for students and teachers!) and all these aspects of structure should be constantly monitored.

learning objectives slide
Clearly stated learning objectives guide both instructor and student focus and have been shown to be valuable for student success.
  • Explicitly create groups through a simple, fun form of mixing students.  In a pinch, counting off such that you end up with groups of 3-5 is easy. Mixing matters for inclusion, and having students work with different peers each activity helps create community in the large classroom throughout the semester.
  • Clarify the  learning outcomes for the group activity.
  • Explain how the task involves both positive interdependence and individual accountability, and how you will assess each.
  • Assign group roles or give groups prompts to help them articulate effective ways for interaction.

Best laid plans for knowledge construction using groupwork can fall flat in classrooms with the most modern designs.  Indeed, technology, movable table units, and whiteboards on surrounding walls create an opportunity for effective groupwork! Yet even those settings can become ‘lecture theatres’ without building a community, intentionally grouping students, designing activities that benefit strongly from collaboration. Instructors should articulate and share specific learning objectives, rationale, expectations, and guidelines for collaboration.  And finally, the key: doggedly, doggedly monitor, encourage, and interject just-in-time questions and information during the collaboration.  This is hard work, but the learning outcomes of real collaboration are rewarding for students and instructors!

Cornell Engineering Tutors: Exemplifying the Benefits of One-on-One Support


Dhruv Sreenivas

 

“I enjoyed helping other people out, and tutoring also helped me get a stronger hand on the material, which actually helped me in courses I took later on in college.”

We are sending off seven ‘21 graduating Engineers with our utmost gratitude for their exceptional support mentoring students in the Engineering Learning Initiatives (ELI) tutors-on-call program.  Thank you Acacia Tam, Dhruv Sreenivas, Lynn Jeannoute, Michael Richardson, Sijia Liu, Stephie Lux, and Veronica Nobrega for your talent and compassion and a combined 32 semesters tutoring and 852 tutor appointments!  These ELI tutors supported engineering students in 14 challenging core engineering courses.  They participated in 3 tutor trainings and small group check-ins each semester to prepare for and grow in their role as one-on-one peer educators.

Tutor Training

Sijia Liu will move on to work in New York City as a software engineer!

Trainings focused on active learning strategies for tutors to use in their meetings with tutees.  Tutor community building is important, so when shared dinner during tutor trainings was no longer possible due to transition to online- tutors made connections in a smaller group training format and formed bonds in break-out rooms using the online zoom platform. Throughout this transitional time, ELI tutors relied on one another for support and shared best practices.  Even with success mastering online tutoring, it will be exciting to be back to in-person tutor appointments in the fall.

“I like meeting people and sharing my studying strategies with those eager to learn and improve. I really enjoyed the time being an ELI tutor.”

Benefits for tutees and tutors:

Acacia Tam will pursue a Master in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University.

A key component of all of our peer education programs is the focus on evidence-based practices. Peer education is no longer something that happens on the margins of higher education where ‘at-risk’ students enroll in or are assigned tutorial support.  These days peer education is an opportunity for all learners who anticipate or discover the need for a little more clarity on a particular topic, or a longer-term investment of time to deepen understanding of challenging conceptual or technical knowledge (Latino and Unite, 2012). These opportunities happen with groups of learners, typically associated with a certain course, or as one-on-one interactions through tutoring.

“I loved tutoring for ELI! It was always so rewarding to see that I had helped a student better understand a concept or prepare for an exam. Additionally, it made me happy to see that I could pass on some of the tips and tricks I had learned while taking the class to other students. Finally, I loved meeting new people whether in person or online! It made me feel more connected to the Cornell community!”

Tutoring requires all the components of other student academic support including collaboration, retrieval (pulling information out of students rather than putting it in) and open-ended questions to generate reflection, metacognition and critical thought.  There are some unique opportunities in this valuable type of support.

The Role of ‘Coach’

The very personal nature of a tutor session creates a great opportunity for tutors to mentor and coach students regarding practices that generally improve student outcomes. Research has shown that helping with study behaviors was a significant factor improving student outcomes (Gurung and McCann, 2011).

Lynn Jeannoute

“The classes I tutored were geared towards mostly freshman year students and I know how hard it can be transitioning from high school to college, so I especially valued not only being able to assist in their coursework but being able to give them general advice on how to study for exams and stay on top of their work and things like that.”

As coaches, our undergraduate tutors: keep a growth mindset, listen to student challenges, and suggest various ways to overcome them. They ask the right questions, inquire about preparation for evaluations, suggest study practices, encourage, and give specific feedback. Research on the role of peer coaching in higher education suggests that some effective strategies are: being nonjudgmental, listening, shared accountability for the interaction, and asking questions (Ericksen et al 2020).

Stephie Lux is headed to the National Institutes of Health, where she accepted a Cancer Research Training Award to study tumors with a surgical oncologist.

“I can very effectively help others break down an academic problem, and I have also found new ways to be creative when communicating and teaching. Beyond developing my teaching skills, I made several lasting friendships with students I tutored and with  other tutors. ELI Peer Tutoring was a very important part of my Cornell Engineering experience.”

As peers, tutors help build community one student at a time by developing acquaintances and friendships, finding common ground, sharing empathy, working together on a level playing field, and sharing academic and social challenges.

The quotes shared by these tutors exemplify the practices that make tutoring a very powerful form of academic support.  Mentoring students who are just learning to navigate busy schedules and challenging assignments, building community, and breaking down complex ideas using active, collaborative learning, are practices that benefit both the tutor and tutee.  We are so grateful for the hard work of these graduates.  In the past year tutors had to become comfortable working with their peers remotely due to COVID-19.  We are so proud and grateful for the difference ELI tutors made for students finding their way during this very unusual and difficult past year!

Sources used and further reading:

Eriksen, M., Collins, S. Finocchio B., and Oakley J. 2020. Developing Students’ Coaching Ability Through Peer Coaching. Journal of Management Education, 44: 9–38
Gurung R.A.R. and McCann, L.I. 2011. How Should Students Study? Tips, Advice, and Pitfalls
(https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-should-students-study-tips-advice-and-pitfalls)
Latino, J. A. and Unite C.M. 2012. Providing Academic Support Through Peer Education.
New Directions for Higher Education, 157:31-43. DOI:10.1002/he.20004