Curiosity Projects - A fantastic way for students to learn about something new

This semester, I am using again a curiosity-project activity in my Life of Mammals course. If you have never used a curiosity project activity in your courses, I suggest you read my previous post. The main idea behind curiosity projects is that when we are curious about something, we want to explore and learn about it. 

Curiosity is at the very heart of learning and it is what drives or guides people to want to learn more about something. 

Once that initial spark of curiosity happens, the next step is to investigate the topic, event or thing more thoroughly. That investigation then leads to wanting to wholly understand it or to unravel its mystery. And of course, that's where learning comes into action.

Curiosity projects are a fantastic way for students to learn about something new; something exciting or interesting selected by each one of them. Students are free to learn or be curious about anything that attracts their attention as long as it is related to the main subject of the course. 

To help students select a topic, idea or question and to maintain motivation and interest, I organize 3-4 brainstorm sessions during the semester. Each session has a different purpose/goal and is meant to provide students with a working plan to conduct successfully their curiosity project.

In this post, I provide some information about what I am planning to do for the Brainstorm Session 1. I will provide information about the other brainstorm sessions in other posts.

BRAINSTORM SESSION 1

In conjunction with a short pre-class questionnaire, students will use the steps listed below to identify 2-4 ideas or topics that they may be interested in exploring. 

I will be using Google Docs to create the pre-brainstorm questionnaire.  The goal of the questionnaire is to encourage students to start thinking about topics, issues or questions that they would like to explore. Students would have the chance to use their answers during the brainstorm session.

Brainstorm Session 1 will need about 1 and 1/2 hours. At the end of the activity, I expect that each student will have 2-4 ideas to work on. Students will be able to start gathering information, explore their topics/ideas and generate questions. 

Do you use Curiosity Projects in your courses?

 If you do, I would be interested to know about the ways/activities that you conduct to help students.

A Teacher is More Important than What He Teaches - Menninger

From http://www.rd.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/05-role-most-inspirational-quotes-on-teaching-NF-narloch-liberra.jpg

Icebreakers for the college and university classrooms - First Day of Classes

What do you do on the first day of class?

So, I thought that it might be fun to post some of the activities that I do during the first day of class in my various courses. 

Here are two examples:

BEST and WORST classes  

I provide more information about this fun and simple activity HERE. 

What do I know about...?

In both cases, you students can work individually or in groups. Personally, I prefer when students work in groups because it encourage participation and communication. 

Curiosity Projects for Undergraduate Courses

EXTRAORDINARY MAMMALS

A Curiosity Project for an Undergraduate Mammalogy (Zoology) Course

By Dr. Marina Silva-Opps, Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island)

(feel free to use this outline, but don't forget to my cite me!)

Curiosity may be defined as a desire to know, to see or to experience that motivates exploratory behaviour directed to the acquisition of new information.  For example, children are very curious creatures.  They explore, question, and wonder, and by doing so, learn.  From the moment of birth, likely even before, humans are drawn to new things.

When we are curious about something new, we want to explore it.  So, curiosity is at the very heart of learning.  It is what drives or guides people to want to learn more about something.  Once that initial spark of curiosity happens, the next step is to investigate the topic, event or thing more thoroughly.  That investigation then leads to wanting to wholly understand it or to unravel its mystery.  And of course, that's where learning comes into action.

Keeping these ideas in mind, here I propose you an opportunity to learn about our own taxonomic class, Mammalia!

1. You will select a topic/question/issue in mammalogy that you are curious about.
2. You will research and learn about the topic/question/issue using all possible sources of information that are accessible to you.
3. You will share what you are learning and how are you learning it with others.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Scientific Objectives

1.       To obtain in-depth knowledge on a mammalogy-related topic, issue or question of your interest.

2.       To gain basic knowledge on various topics and issues associated with mammals or mammalogy that cannot be covered or expanded during lectures.

Communication Objectives

1.       To improve your skills in terms of comprehension and understanding of information from all possible sources, not just scientific journals, books and internet, but also from leaders in the field or industry.

2.       To improve your scientific writing skills, verbal communication, explanatory methods and skills as well as audience awareness.

Educational Objectives

1.       To learn how to give and receive feedback in order to improve the quality of the work that you create (e.g., papers, reports, research work, etc).

3.       To improve your critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills.

4.        To help you practice analyzing and assessing scientific reasoning.

GRADING

Part I: Curiosity Project Learning Logs (25% final grade)

Over the course of the semester, you will keep a Learning Log.  In this log, you will keep track of what you are learning in detail, how you came up with the information, your assessment of the validity of the information, your ideas, questions and potential answers to questions concerning the topic/issue that you have chosen for your curiosity project.  In other words, a Learning Log is a log or record or journal of your own learning.  It is not necessarily a formal ‘academic’ piece of work.  It is a personal record of your own learning.  As such it is a document which is unique to you and cannot be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.  A Learning Log helps you to record, structure, think about and reflecting upon, plan, develop and evidence your own learning. 

You will use your learning logs in two ways:

1.         You will use it to write ideas, potential source of references and/or any other kind of information regarding your topic that you will find/collect when doing your review of the topic (i.e., search of information).

2.         You will use your learning log during our 1-hour class discussions (students will be separated in small groups) that will take place during five lab periods.  During discussions, you will write down ideas, questions, comments and suggestions associated with your project/topic that would result from group discussions.

At the end of each one of the five class discussions, we will collect your log to mark it.  We will give it back to you at the beginning of the next class lecture (i.e., Wednesday).  So, it is very important to take notes during discussions.  Please note that we will not focus on marking or correcting grammatical mistakes or syntax errors.  We will be more interesting in reading your ideas, questions or notes regarding your project-topic.

  

Part II: Participation During Group Discussions – A peer review process (15% final grade)

Although the attendance to each one of the lab discussions associated with this curiosity project is required, participation marks are not awarded for mere attendance.  You are expected to actively participate during group discussions and other related activities.

Participation will be assessed in three ways: self-assessment (5%), peer-assessment (5%) and instructors-assessment (5%).  Here are the criteria that we will use to assess participation:

1.      Preparation: the extent of your reading, exploration and curiosity demonstrated by contribution to discussion of your own topic and that of others.

2.      Contribution to discussion: the extent to which you volunteered answers, asked relevant questions, expressed your own opinion and analyzed contributions of others.

3.      Group skills: the extent to which you allowed others to contribute, avoided class domination, shared ideas with others, assisted others, provided positive feedback to others and exhibited tolerance and respect for others.

4.      Communication skills: the quality of your expression, clarity, conciseness, use of appropriate vocabulary, confidence.

5.      Attendance: includes punctuality.

Part III: Project Final-Product (60% final grade)

At the end of the semester, you will produce/create a paper, a lecture on your topic for grade 12^th high school students (or 1^st year university students), a video that you will upload in the internet (e.g., YouTube), a brochure or a webpage that details the results of your investigation on your topic.  Please note that:

1.      You need to provide a complete list (printed copy; double space; alphabetical and chronological order) of all your sources of information (papers, websites, names of interviewed people, video titles, etc) used to prepare your project final-product.

2.      If you decide to make a video or a high-school presentation, this should be approximately 15-minutes long.

3.      If you decide to write a paper, this should be approximately 7 pages long (excluding cover page, figures, tables and references list).

4.      If you decide to make a brochure, this should be approximately 4 pages long and should be composed of text, figures and at least one table.

Let me know if you use this outline. This activity can be adapted to other topics. Social media platforms such as Google+ or Blogs could also be used for to run the Log Learning component.

My Teaching Philosophy

When I began teaching at the University of Prince Edward Island, I thought I was supposed to teach students what they needed to know; cover as much material as possible!  As I lectured over the years, however, I have realized that creating a classroom environment where students would “want to know” and be curious is really more important. Today, when I teach or organize the material/activities for my courses, I keep two things in mind: 

(1) although coverage of the material is important, it is even more essential that I ensure that students are interested in learning; and

 (2) students learn best through an interactive teaching style that demands their active participation, challenges their abilities, and provides them with sufficient freedom to be creative and curious.

My philosophy of teaching is based on a belief that learning needs to be student centered and that students need to be equal partners in the learning process.  The ultimate goal of most of the activities or teaching strategies that use in my courses is to encourage students to be active learners.  In all my courses, I make a special effort to facilitate and encourage peer learning.  In my opinion, peer learning is the most efficient way for students to gain deeper understanding of new concepts through a relatively informal means.

I always design class activities that encourage students to share their opinions, perspectives, doubts and experiences.  I also focus on building independent skills such as the ability to connect concepts, solve problems as well as practice different types of scientific writing.  I believe that working on these types of skills is crucial to prepare students for “real world” situations, therefore when I grade the work done by students I favor inquisitiveness, practice, analysis and creativity. 

It is very difficult to become an inspiring teacher if you don’t have a genuine interest in the subject one teaches...

I think that we need to show enthusiasm and passion when we teach because it significantly affects learning and student engagement.  I am one of those people who believe that when teaching, you are actually performing.  In other words, you need to feel a little bit like a showman who is entertaining or is trying to captivate an audience.  Thus, I persistently try to motivate and engage students using real-life examples, anecdotal information, social media, or anything that can help my audience to remain “connected to me”.  I think students can sense very quickly whether an instructor is enthusiastic about teaching, and I believe that such vitality can be infectious.  I admit that maintaining student’s attention or motivation to learn could be challenging in large classes where some students can remain incognito very easily.  Through the years, however, I have learned that one of the best ways to engage students is by using my own personal experiences to illustrate concepts or ideas, but also to force them to stay mentally present.  For instance, I find that many students are more interested to learn when I use examples from my own research projects.  Other students get motivated to learn when they are given the opportunity to share their knowledge, experiences and/or difficulties with their peers.  Therefore, I always make an effort to include in my courses activities that force students to collaborate, discuss and cooperate together.

Effective communication with students is an essential component of my teaching philosophy.  I am always trying to improve the ways that I convey or exchange information with my students.  Students in my courses know that they can stop me any time if they need clarification, more time to write their notes, or if they need me to repeat the information.  It is essential for me to gauge how effective my communication is with my students, especially when I teach large classes.  So, I always make the effort to obtain visual or oral feedback from my students.  I observe their faces, ask questions and leave time/space for them to ask me questions. Sometimes, I force a little bit the situation by “volunteering” people to ask questions.  All these strategies help me to vary the pace of the class which allows me to see what students are struggling with.

An important element that characterizes my way of teaching lectures is that I don’t have, or use lecture notes.  I believe that this helps me to keep very good eye contact with my students because I am always looking at them.  I make the point to look directly at my students’ faces to see their reactions and determine whether or not they understand what I am explaining to them.  Of course, it is always a little bit more challenging to do this when teaching large classes, but I have developed ways to deal with this issue.  For example, I move around the classroom, so I can maintain eye contact with most students regardless of where they are sitting in the classroom. I also organize short 1-2 minutes dialogue exercises where students can gain bonus points if they ask a question, discuss potential answers or exchange information regarding a particular issue/concept or idea. 

Finally, a key component of my teaching philosophy is to maintain a respectful and amicable relationship with students...

It is very important for me that my students feel comfortable with me, so they approach me for assistance.  I always encourage students to feel at ease to talk with me about their concerns regarding the course, their grades or anything else that they might consider important.  As an instructor at a small university, I consider that I have a unique opportunity to influence the directions of my students at a formative time in their lives.  Therefore, I also see my teaching role as both mentor and adviser to prepare students for what lies beyond graduation.  I continuously tell students they are welcome to come by my office at almost any time and, unless I have an immediate deadline, meeting or class, I will always make the time to help them.  

Integrating Social Media in Higher Education: A 6-Month Sabbatical Project

The internet age, with its thriving online social networks, offers new tools that have the potential to help our current generation of college/university students to learn more effectively.  

Research has shown that undergraduate students use the internet and social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, etc.) at higher rates than the general population (e.g., Junco 2014). As the popularity of social media platforms continues to grow, it becomes clear that if used effectively, these internet-based tools may have the ability to increase student engagement, improve learning and promote collaboration in the classroom (Junco et al. 2012).

Learning, retention, and attainment in university are consistently associated with students’ being actively engaged with college faculty and staff, with other students, and with the subject matter they are studying.  

Research has demonstrated that engaging students in the learning process increase their attention and focus, motivates them to practice higher-level critical thinking skills, and promotes meaningful learning experiences (Bertram and Katti 2013; Junco 2014).  Unfortunately, engaging students to learn is one of the most challenging things we do as university/college instructors. Several studies have suggested that the use of social media and other internet-related tools in the classroom may be an excellent avenue to engage students and promote learning because students are already engaged in social media (e.g., Buddle 2012; Bertram and Katti 2013; Junco 2014).

Regrettably, the successful integration of these tools in the classroom is not simple.  Some studies have shown that simply creating Facebook pages or sending messages via twitter may not be sufficient or helpful. Over the last two years, I have started to explore the different ways that social media and other internet-based tools could be integrated in undergraduate biology courses.  Although this type of exploration requires time, I have been able to experiment with the use of various social media platforms in some of my undergraduate courses at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada.  For example, students have been allowed to use social media platforms for course projects, to create websites, Facebook pages and even blogs (Google blogger) for community-based and curiosity-based projects.

Although I have been able to experiment a little bit with several social media platforms, there is still a lot to learn, practice and try when it comes to the integration of social media in courses.  

For example, I have not been able yet to design or create an efficient way to evaluate student’s participation.  Although I have collected some data via surveys (using Google Drive) and written comments, I have not been able to conduct a proper evaluation of the outcomes of my experiments with social media in the classroom.

Having said this, I have noticed that the integration of social media in my courses has increased collaborative learning and interest on the material discussed in class (please see responses of a class survey in the last section of this proposal).  I also find that the use of social media for specific course activities has forced students to take a greater responsibility for their learning experience.  Overall, these last two years have really convinced me that the integration of social media in the classroom has the potential of promoting student engagement, learning and discovery.

My 6-month sabbatical project... 

I should say that I really believe that the integration of social media and other internet-based tools can help us, instructors or teachers, engage students in the process of learning. Therefore, I decided that my project for my 6-month sabbatical leave will be an investigation of the use of social media in higher education. 

I've completed my sabbatical leave in December 2015. Over the last 6 months, I've improved my knowledge regarding effective teaching, social media in education as well as other teaching methods and approaches. 

I will share with you my findings and learning experience in other posts!