Interactive Learning into Large Classes Interactive learning 6 delay (min) Delay (min) Educator Theory Student Exercise Interactive class ➡ Multiple iterations in one class
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Interactive learning 7 “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand. Step back and I will act.” — Chinese Proverb Immediate feedback Definition: Educators teach and exercise small chunks of content in short cycles in class. They provide guidance to prevent misconception and immediate feedback so that learners can reflect on the content and increase their knowledge incrementally. Exercise Example Solution Reflection Theory Student
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Typical in-class exercise types Individual exercises • E1 Quizzes with multiple choice questions • E2 Tutorials with step by step instructions • E3 Coding challenges to solve programming assignments • E4 Modeling exercises Team exercises • E5 Project team work (including communication and collaboration aspects) ➡ (Semi-) automatic correction reduces the effort of the instructor 8
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Best practices: quizzes • Alternate different quiz types, e.g. checkmarks, drop down, drag and drop, fill blanks • Double check the correctness of question and answer choices • Avoid too complex questions and answer choices (e.g. avoid double negation) • Avoid too many answer options • Mix easy, medium and difficult questions in each quiz to keep the motivation high • Possible tools: Moodle, edX, Google Forms, … 11
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Best practices: tutorials with step by step instructions • Precisely describe each step (distribute slides before class) • Ask whether students can follow during the exercise • Offer optional challenges for experienced students • If possible have teaching assistants (TAs) in class who help the students if they face problems • Repeat crucial steps • Take your time - do not rush through the tutorial 13
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Automatic assessment of coding challenges 15 Student Version Control Server 1 submit solution Continuous Integration Server 2 check for changes 3 compile, run tests 4 notify student with feedback
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Best practices: coding challenge • Reward all students (not only the best ones) • Add tasks directly into the source code or next to the source code • Optional challenges for experienced students • Allow successful failures • Put effort in automatic testing and automatic feedback —> less manual correction • Possible tools: AutoGrader, ArTEMiS (https://github.com/ls1intum/ArTEMiS) 16
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Best practices: modeling exercises • Precisely define what should be modeled • Give students the possibility to present their solutions • Show exemplary student solutions (anonymized) and point out typical errors and correct parts • Show intermediate solutions and/or give hints • Let students use the tool of their choice for modeling • Let students be creative 18
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Best practices: project team work • Plan time for finding teams • Integrate all students in the lecture hall • If possible: include assessment metrics to motivate all team members to participate • Clearly communicate the goals, but provide freedom for creative deviations • Plan your time: team exercises are very time consuming ➡They bring a lot of fun! 23
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Best practices for in-class exercises • Clearly describe the exercise goals • Avoid complex setups and make it easy for students to participate • Show a timer and give time extensions if necessary • Hire teaching assistants or very good students in your class: • Walk around and help students • Check if they are doing the right things • Take your time and walk around as well to get a feeling • Create a culture that failures are allowed and reward if students learn from such failures 25
Interactive Learning into Large Classes 28 What students say about courses where we apply interactive learning … “The course is highly interactive and practical usage oriented. It keeps the mind pacing and makes it easier to understand the concepts.” “The interwoven format of lectures and exercises allow me to activate the obtained knowledge immediately after getting them. I deem this very efficient, as the course itself is rather practical.” “The interactive lectures are very useful and interesting.“ “Best lecture in the Informatics faculty.”
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Perceived improved learning 29 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% In the exercises, I was able to improve my skills in agile methods I am confident to apply agile methods in my next team project 3% 3% 9% 12% 88% 85% Agree Neutral Disagree ➡ Similar results for other taught topics
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Perceived improved learning 30 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 9% 11% 24% 10% 13% 7% 26% 24% 23% 14% 16% 13% 65% 65% 53% 76% 71% 80% Agree Neutral Disagree The mix of theory and exercises in class contributed to my learning success The mix of theory and exercises improved my understanding during class In-class exercises motivated me to attend the lecture Quizzes motivated me during class to actively listen Interactive tutorials were particularly helpful to understand concepts that I did not know before Team exercises helped me to apply a concept in a different setting to deepen my knowledge and understanding
Interactive Learning into Large Classes How should I start with interactive learning? Recommendations • Start with quizzes • Easy to setup and maintain during class • But: don’t overdo it! • Include small live tutorials • Also easy to setup and maintain during class • Try it out and iteratively improve the exercises during class 33
Interactive Learning into Large Classes Conclusion about interactive learning + Tighter integration of lectures and exercises leads to interactive classes + Higher participation in classes than in traditional courses + Correlation between exercise participation and final exam grade + Scalable and applicable to large classes without increasing teaching effort significantly ✓ Want to adopt this approach? Talk to us or send us a mail: [email protected] ✓ More information on www.interactive-learning.org 34