|
|
The March 2010, Volume 19 Number 3, introduces two titles which
comprise the first offerings in a new series of books
produced by the Forum and Stylus Publications. The whole series,
like the first two titles on “Just-In-Time Teaching” and
“Cooperative Learning,” extends the idea of the Forum as a vehicle
for presenting ideas in contexts so that faculty may see how they
work and then apply them to their own situations. I hope you find
the books helpful. We have additional titles in preparation, and I
confess I’m pretty darned excited about it all.
 Cooperative
Learning in Higher Education
Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy
Edited by Barbara Millis
Foreword by James Rhem
(click on the title to link to StylusPublishing.com)
If you’ve been interested in cooperative learning, but
wondered how it would work in your discipline, this book provides the
necessary theory, and a wide range of concrete examples.
Experienced users of cooperative learning demonstrate how they use it in
settings as varied as a developmental mathematics course at a community
college, and graduate courses in history and the sciences, and how it works
in small and large classes, as well as in hybrid and online environments.
The authors describe the application of cooperative learning in biology,
economics, educational psychology, financial accounting, general chemistry,
and literature at remedial, introductory, and graduate levels.
The chapters showcase cooperative learning in action, at the same time
introducing the reader to major principles such as individual
accountability, positive interdependence, heterogeneous teams, group
processing, and social or leadership skills.
The authors build upon, and cross-reference, each others’ chapters,
describing particular methods and activities in detail. They explain how and
why they may differ about specific practices while exemplifying reflective
approaches to teaching that never fail to address important assessment
issues.
 Just
in Time Teaching
Across the Disciplines, and Across the Academy
Edited by Scott Simkins, Mark Maier
(click on the title to link to StylusPublishing.com)
Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) is a pedagogical approach that
requires students to answer questions related to an upcoming class a few
hours beforehand, using an online course management system. While the phrase
“just in time” may evoke shades of slap-dash work and cut corners, JiTT
pedagogy is just the opposite. It helps students to view learning as a
process that takes time, introspection, and persistence.
Students who experience JiTT come to class better prepared, and report that
it helps to focus and organize their out-of-class studying. Their responses
to JiTT questions make gaps in their learning visible to the teacher prior
to class, enabling him or her to address learning gaps while the material is
still fresh in students’ minds – hence the label “just in time.”
JiTT questions differ from traditional homework problems in being designed
not only to build cognitive skills, but also to help students confront
misconceptions, make connections to previous knowledge, and develop
metacognitive thinking practices. Students consequently spend more time on
course concepts and ideas, but also read their textbooks in ways that result
in more effective and deeper learning. Starting the class with students’
work also dramatically changes the classroom-learning environment, creating
greater student engagement.
This book demonstrates that JiTT has broad appeal across the academy. Part I
provides a broad overview of JiTT, introducing the pedagogy and exploring
various dimensions of its use without regard to discipline. Part II of the
book demonstrates JiTT’s remarkable cross-disciplinary impact with examples
of applications in physics, biology, the geosciences, economics, history,
and the humanities.
Just-in-Time Teaching article from The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
Reprinted with permission from Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
Magazine.
www.hispanicoutlook.com.
Sign up for an
Institutional Site License!
Make this insightful and informative newsletter
available to your entire
faculty!
|
