Using online lectures to increase in-class collaboration
Abstract
In Fall 2015, I recorded screencast lectures for the Wednesday meetings of my two sections of Single Variable Calculus. Students viewing the screencast saw my writing on the screen next to an online copy of the text and heard my voiceover. Students viewed the lecture online in advance of our Wednesday meeting, sometimes in groups. In-class time was devoted to taking a peer quiz on the lecture material that was then peer-graded. Remaining time was spent working in groups on homework due Friday. Watching the recorded lecture was self-paced and allowed students to occasionally pause and discuss with peers if they were watching in groups. Pushing easier procedural material outside of class allowed students to bring more refined, conceptual questions for in-class discussion. I think this use of blended learning had some advantages and some drawbacks, sometimes differing from student to student. However, the number of students who reported that their "understanding of the subject matter increased" was much greater than in the same version of the course taught previously. The reasons could be various, ranging from the accessibility of the material in different formats, the mandatory group work, student leadership in learning, or increased time for instructor-student discussions on Wednesdays. I would argue that this is a promising model for the first-year Calculus course because students bring diverse preparation and may need increased assistance in forming peer study groups. Further applications could benefit from online self-quizzing tools, to better target the material that should be emphasized in-class.
Session
Poster Session
Location
Thomas Great Hall
Start Date
5-19-2016 3:00 PM
End Date
5-19-2016 4:00 PM
Using online lectures to increase in-class collaboration
Thomas Great Hall
In Fall 2015, I recorded screencast lectures for the Wednesday meetings of my two sections of Single Variable Calculus. Students viewing the screencast saw my writing on the screen next to an online copy of the text and heard my voiceover. Students viewed the lecture online in advance of our Wednesday meeting, sometimes in groups. In-class time was devoted to taking a peer quiz on the lecture material that was then peer-graded. Remaining time was spent working in groups on homework due Friday. Watching the recorded lecture was self-paced and allowed students to occasionally pause and discuss with peers if they were watching in groups. Pushing easier procedural material outside of class allowed students to bring more refined, conceptual questions for in-class discussion. I think this use of blended learning had some advantages and some drawbacks, sometimes differing from student to student. However, the number of students who reported that their "understanding of the subject matter increased" was much greater than in the same version of the course taught previously. The reasons could be various, ranging from the accessibility of the material in different formats, the mandatory group work, student leadership in learning, or increased time for instructor-student discussions on Wednesdays. I would argue that this is a promising model for the first-year Calculus course because students bring diverse preparation and may need increased assistance in forming peer study groups. Further applications could benefit from online self-quizzing tools, to better target the material that should be emphasized in-class.