Teaching Using Problem-Based Learning

Steven Canaday
Anne Arundel Community College 

"You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen, but attendance is 100% and the students are motivated. PBL has restored the intellectual excitement for faculty who said they had been burned out.”

— Barbara Duch, Professor of Physics, Associate Director of Mathematics and Science Education Resource Center, University of Delaware

“I was teaching courses with lots of information and students weren’t remembering three-fourths of it and I was discouraged. Now, with PBL, it’s different. When they apply it—working in a group, figuring it out for themselves—they remember it.”                

— Chandra Reedy, Professor of Art History, University of Delaware

“I never liked working in groups. Now I prefer it. This class is a lot of work, more work than my other four classes put together, but it is enjoyable and the cases don’t seem overwhelming when we can work on them together. Everyone else on my team has such amazing ideas that I would never think of on my own. I also would be less likely to hand things in on time—or at all for that matter—but knowing others' grades are in my hands, there is a ton of motivation. The ability to read and discuss with peers is an uncommon delight. I get so much more from the material that we cover. Also I enjoy the various cases. It’s always a mystery what we will be accomplishing next. I love it.”

— Tiffany Hogan, AACC student in Professor Canaday’s Spring 2004 PBL English class

Imagine teaching a class where all of your students not only attend every session, but where they're already hard at work each day when you arrive at the classroom. A class where students don't complain about the work. A class where the grading is—dare I say it?—enjoyable. Impossible, you say? Think again! 

Problem-Based Learning is not a pedagogical fad or gimmick but a radical approach to class design that works because the students in a PBL class become responsible for their own education. Having designed and taught several classes using the PBL approach, I have come to see how PBL empowers my AACC students and how—once empowered—they produce work they did not believe they were capable of producing. 
 

What is Problem-Based Learning?

Here are some responses to that question by professors who use PBL in their classrooms:

Essentially then, PBL is an instructional method that differs not just in design but in philosophy from both the lecture-driven and the seminar, teacher-led student discussion type of class.

On the first day of the semester, the students in a PBL class are separated into teams (see PBL: The First Day of Class). All semester the students work in these teams to solve cases that the "teacher" of the PBL class designs (see The Heart of PBL: Case Design). In solving these cases, the students in a PBL learn the course content. But that's just the start. For in a PBL class, the students also learn individual responsibility, learn how to work in teams, learn methods for tackling open-ended problems. In short, in a PBL class the students learn how to learn. (For more, see The Student Benefits of PBL.)
 

The Philosophical Underpinnings of PBL

The philosophy behind PBL is disarmingly simple: Students learn more material, learn it more efficiently, and retain it better when they are responsible for solving meaningful “cases” in teams than when they are lectured to or “led” in traditional class discussion formats. Problem-Based Learning, I would like to propose, is a revolutionary pedagogy. As it's name suggests, PBL is learning that comes as the result of students working with problems. What is so radical about that, you might well ask. Don't we usually learn by solving problems? In life, yes. But what about in school?

Think about what happens in our classrooms for a moment. Most of the time when we teach, we don't challenge our students with the task of solving problems. Instead, we begin with the premise that there is a body of information that we know that our students don't know but need to know and we set about trying to pass this information along to them. We lecture to our students or we lead them in discussion, but both methods say to our students (explicitly or implicitly) that we are "content masters" and that their job is to show us on tests or papers that they have absorbed the information we are passing along to them. In the past, when I lectured or “led” student discussion, I positioned myself as a “content expert,” a subject who knew “the right answers.” In such classes, my students were positioned as objects—empty vessels to be filled by my “knowledge.” The result? The only real "problem" that the students solve in our classes is the problem of us: how many times have you heard your students say, "Just tell me what you want"?, “What is it your are looking for?” or “What do you want for this assignment?” When you stop to think about it, can we really blame them for asking such questions?

With PBL, everything changes. Using PBL, a teacher moves away from such a limited (and limiting) model of education. No longer a “content expert” who tells students what material they need to know to pass a test or write a paper (that has little relevance beyond the classroom), a teacher in a PBL class plays two roles: case designer and "facilitator." 

As a case designer, the PBL teacher creates open-ended "cases" that challenge students to identify how to tackle problems. Working in teams, students are forced to decide what it is they need to know to solve a case (the "learning issues"), what they already know, and the best way of finding out what they don't already know.

As a facilitator, the PBL teacher tries to help guide teams of students as they figure out how to best attack each new case. The students are encouraged to come up with effective, creative solutions to each case, to draw on their existing individual strengths as they cooperate on a group project.

Implicit in the PBL approach is a pedagogy of liberation. The professor who employs PBL is freed from the stifling role of being a dispenser of data. The student in the PBL class is similarly liberated. In fact, PBL is an instructional method that liberates precisely those students in your classroom that need liberating most of all. They no longer functions as a mere receptacles for data but instead—working with teammates—each student actively defines the “learning issues” that each new case presents and then actively decides how to work with her team to resolve those issues. As Kurt Burch, a political science professor at the University of Delaware puts it, "In a typical class the professor is speaking or is in a one to one conversation, whereas in groups, everybody can and does participate, not just the men or the talkers."

When he first tried PBL, Burch worried that the student teams would become competitive. He was surprised with what he found. "The groups aren't competitive," he says. "They're trying to coordinate themselves which is to say socialize themselves." After he taught his first class using PBL, Burch knew he'd found a useful new pedagogy: "My reaction to PBL was really political. PBL increases participation by minority groups, by women, by shy people. It makes class very democratic.

Like Burch, when I first heard about PBL, I became excited by the possibilities it seemed to offer as a pedagogy of liberation. That said, because I always liked to be in control of my classes, it wasn’t easy for me to give up my teacherly “authority." But now that I've taught several PBL classes, I see that what I thought was authority was really insecurity. Once I took the leap and tried PBL, I found I did not want to return to my old ways. More importantly, my students appreciated being treated as subjects and did not want to go back to being objectified.
 

The Student Benefits of PBL

In a PBL class the students do more work, and they do better work. 

At first, PBL students work harder out of a sense of responsibility to their teammates. As one of my PBL student's wrote in a course evaluation: 

On the most superficial level I care about my work in this class because other people are dependent on me getting it done in a timely fashion. I do good work because, well I take pride in it, but also it's leverage. If someone in the team is lagging behind I can’t tell them to go deeper if I’m not doing all I can.

But as the individual members of a PBL team begin to form a bond, they work harder for a different reason. They realize that the team has become greater than the sum of its parts. And as the team begins to produce work that no individual member thought him or herself capable of producing, the members become excited about what they see happening. They become curious. They want to see how far they can go, how good the work can get. For a PBL teacher, this is truly a special moment in the semester.

There are of course other more obvious ways that the PBL approach improves student success in learning. In a PBL class, students learn to work in a team. They learn to listen to one another. They learn to encourage each other, but they also learn to discipline each other. They learn to appreciate a teammate’s effort, but they also learn not to tolerate inefficiency. They learn that it is useful to tap into their own creativity, but they also learn that they will ultimately be judged by the effectiveness of the case reports they produce. 

In all of these respects, I would argue, a PBL class prepares a student for life outside the classroom walls in ways that a traditionally taught lecture or discussion class cannot.

The Teacher Benefits of PBL

Okay, so what's in it for you?  ☺

I want to start by being upfront. The first time you teach a PBL class, it's a lot of work -- more work than lecturing or leading discussion, because you already know how to do those things. But the benefits you'll experience when you try PBL are worth noting.

First, your students will sense right away that you are invested in the class, that you're willing to do extra work, to try a new approach if it means a better class. They will respond to this. If they see you're working hard for them, they'll return the favor.

Second, you will find your intellectual curiosity being rewarded in ways that it can't be in traditional lecture or seminar classes. As you design the cases, you'll challenge yourself to be creative, to think about the material you teach in new ways, to imagine learning opportunities that you hadn't thought of before.

Third, you will grade fewer assignments, and the ones you grade will be far more interesting than the assignments your lecture and seminar students turn in. 

Finally, you'll gradually find yourself relieved of the pressure of being a "content expert," and you'll revel in the opportunity to learn along with your students.

PBL and WebCT

A teacher at AACC willing to try PBL will need to schedule her PBL class to meet in one of AACC's many computer labs so her students can access the internet during class. She will also need to become familiar with WebCT. Today at AACC, WebCT technology is primarily used for distance learning classes, but any course offered at AACC can easily incorporate WebCT technology. A teacher who wishes to use WebCT for a class need only arrange to have WebCT activated, a process that takes just a few minutes. Once WebCT is activated, any teacher can learn how to design a WebCT site for a PBL class in a matter of minutes.

WebCT offers the PBL teacher three indispensable functions: First, the PBL teacher can quickly and easily post each installment of each case to the class’s WebCT site’s Course Menu. When a student clicks on the link, an electronic version of the case appears directly on the student’s WebCT screen. Here is the screen my ENG-210 students see when they click on the link for Case 1, Installment 3—a case concerning the poetry of Emily Dickinson:

On WebCT, this case is uploaded as an HTML web page. This means that all of the URLs in the document are active links. When a student clicks on a specific URL in my Case 1.3 assignment sheet, she is immediately linked to an electronic archive of Dickinson’s work hosted by the University of Virginia where she finds herself looking at a vivid reproduction of an original Dickinson manuscript that she needs to see so that she can help her team “solve” the case. Here is the screen my ENG-210 student sees when she clicks on the URL on the case 1.3 assignment sheet I describe above:

WebCT also lets teammates stay in touch with each other when they are not in class. Using the WebCT discussion forum, a student on a PBL team can contact her teammates any day, any time--day or night. You can see from this next screen shot that the 21 students in my American Lit PBL class sent a staggering total of 1,216 email messages to their teammates during the semester:

A student can attach a website or a Word document to an email message she posts for her teammates. WebCT automatically displays these emails in a threaded discussion forum, privatized for each team. On any given evening, teammates may send dozens of linked email messages to each other:

The third indispensable tool for the PBL class that WebCT offers is the real-time chat room. During class time, PBL teammates can set a time at night or on a weekend that they want to “meet” electronically to “chat” about their case. Here is a brief excerpt from what wound up being a 70-minute, 20-page team chat about Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party:

To my mind, WebCT is an indispensable component of the PBL course. Now that I've introduced you to some of the things your PBL students will be able to do using WebCT, let me walk you through the ways to get your PBL class WebCT site set up.

Getting Your PBL Class WebCT Equipped

Getting Started with PBL

While some teachers who use PBL use it as a module in an otherwise traditional class, I am of the opinion that PBL works best when the whole course is taught using the PBL approach. Why give students a taste of PBL and not let them eat the whole meal?  ☺

It typically takes both the students and the teacher a period of time to adjust to PBL, so it doesn't make sense to put everyone through that transition over and over again in the same semester.

Once you've made the commitment to trying PBL, draw up a rough list of cases you are considering. Don't try to design all of the cases right away though! That would be a lot of work, and, I think you'd find, a lot of wasted effort. You'll get better at designing cases as you go. Let yourself learn as the semester rolls along. Figure out what's working and use it again. Figure out what's not working and jettison it. 

In my PBL classes, I distribute a syllabus on the first day of class (see PBL: The First Day of Class), but I explain on the syllabus that the cases that I have listed there are only provisional (see PBL and the Course Syllabus). 

Other tasks you'll want to take care of before the first day of class include making sure your PBL course is WebCT activated and making sure the class meets in a computer lab. It's also a good idea to set up your WebCT homepage and to upload and post your first case installment (1.1) on the WebCT site. You can also set up your WebCT email discussion forums in advance if you wish, but I actually like to do this right after the first class meets, so I know which students attended, what the students have named their teams, etc.

As you think about getting started with PBL, it's probably most important that you understand the new roles that you will be playing in the PBL classroom. For more on this topic, see The PBL "Teacher"
 

The PBL Teacher

If you've already visited The Philosphical Underpinnings of PBL, you know that the role the teacher plays in a PBL class is—pedagogically speaking—markedly different from a traditional teacher's role. 

In her article "A Problem-Based Learning Course in Physiology for Undergraduate and Graduate Basic Science Students," (Advances in Physiology Education, Dec. 1998, vol. 20, no. 1) Sheela Mierson writes that the PBL teacher functions as both a "coach and role-model." I like that. ☺

Mierson, like many of her PBL peers, uses the verb facilitate when she writes about the "teacher's" role during a PBL class session: "The role of the faculty member in small-group, student-centered PBL is to facilitate group members' interactions and inquiries." It has been my experience that Mierson is correct when she writes that "PBL facilitators in general need a set of skills different from those required of a lecturer." According to Mierson, those skills include the following:

1.     the ability to listen

2.     restraint in not giving the answers so that students can engage in their own learning process

3.     monitoring the group dynamics and knowing when to intervene and when not to intervene

4.     a willingness to acknowledge one's own ignorance

5.     giving feedback

6.     managing conflicts

7.     empowering students rather than always holding the reins of control

I've written about Mierson's item 7 in The Philosphical Underpinnings of PBL. I'd like to say a few words here about some of the other skills she suggests you'll need to become a successful PBL facilitator.

Item 1, while certainly a skill that's helpful to a PBL facilitator, is also helpful to any teacher who leads student discussion during class. The best lecturers, I have also found, tend to be good listeners. Like Mierson, I have found occasions in my PBL classes when I need to be careful not to tell students "answers" (especially during the period when the student teams begin each new case) but these occasions occur less often than you might think. It's important to keep in mind that the best PBL cases don't necessarily have a "right" solution. I also find that Meirson's fourth item is the most exciting on the list: the better the PBL case I've designed, the less I know in advance about what direction the student teams will take it. One of the most invigorating moments for a PBL facilitator comes when a student or a team asks a specific question and the facilitator drums up the courage to say, "That's a great question, an important question, and to be honest, I have no idea what the answer to it is." In my experience, these moments initially unsettle the students (and often me as well!). But when the students come to see that you are willing to let go of what Mierson calls "the reins of control" they realize they suddenly have a terrifying and powerful new responsibility for their own education.

Mierson's third and sixth items are related and they're both important skills a PBL facilitator needs to learn early on. Again, restraint is the key in my experience. On the first day of class, I explain in detail the way the course will run (see PBL and the Course Syllabus and PBL: The First Day of Class) In addition to being a facilitator during class, the PBL teacher has a second crucial role: that of case designer. Case design (as you'' find at The Heart of PBL: Case Design) is at the heart of the PBL method. Good cases, good class. Bad cases, well you get the idea. For more on designing PBL cases, see The Heart of PBL: Case Design.

The Heart of PBL: Case Design

At the heart of Problem-Based Learning in case design; your PBL class will only be as good as the individual cases you design. Designing effective PBL cases can be difficult at first, but you'll find that you quickly get better at it with practice. While you'll probably feel a bit awkward as you write your first case, you'll find your "voice" as you write subsequent cases. There isn't a single right way to write a PBL case. That said, I've found that there are some good rules of thumb to follow though:

Barbara Duch, a physics professor at the University of Delaware, gives the following advice in an article in the University of Delaware's PBL Clearinghouse:

Sources of Good Ideas for Problems
So now that we know what makes a good problem for use in PBL - how can you write one? Some faculty use video-clips, stories, novels, articles in the popular press, and research papers as a basis of a problem. Frequently, faculty members use a typical textbook problem, and rewrite it as an open-ended, real world problem. You might think of following the following steps to writing a PBL problem:

Step 1. Choose a central idea, concept or principle that you always teach in your course. Then, think of a typical end-of-chapter problem, assignment, or homework that you tend to assign to students when you teach that concept. List the learning objectives you want students to meet when they work through the problem.

Step 2. Think of a real-world context for the concept you've chosen. At this point, you could think of a story-telling aspect to an end-of-chapter problem. This adds some motivation for students to solve the problem, and it requires students to go beyond simple "plug-and-chug" in order to solve it. Look at magazines, newspapers, articles for ideas on the "story-line". You might think of talking to professional in the field for ideas of realistic applications of the concept you are teaching.

Step 3. At this point, you want to flesh out the problem by asking yourself some of these questions:

Usually PBL problems are multi-stage or multi-page and may take student groups a week or more to complete. Not all the information needed to solve the problem is given in the problem, or chapter, or perhaps even in the textbook. Students will need to do some research, discover new material, arrive at judgments and decisions based on the information learned. The problem may have more than one acceptable answer, based on the assumptions students make.

Step 4. Write a teacher guide detailing how you plan to use the problem in your course. If you are using a combination of mini-lectures, whole class discussion, small group work with groups regularly reporting out to the whole class, you will want to indicate how you plan to cycle through the pages of the problem interspersing the various modes of learning.

Probably the best way to get a sense of what a PBL case looks like is to look at some actual cases. I've included all of the cases I've designed for my PBL classes in The PBL Case Library. You may also wish to visit the PBL Clearinghouse website at the University of Delaware's website.

PBL: The First Day of Class

When you meet your PBL class for the first time, it's very important that you explain to them how the class is going to be run. The more details you can provide the better.

Distribute and go over the course syllabus as you would in a traditional class, being sure to take questions.

Explain to the students that the class is going to be an experiment. Let them know that you are a little nervous, but tell them why you've chosen to give PBL a try. 

Be as honest with the students as possible. If you are worried about certain aspects of the course, you can let them know if you want to. But be firm. Don't let them talk you out of anything!  ☺

Put the students in their teams. Do this randomly. Don't bother to try to "balance" the teams by ability. In my experience, the team in the class you are most "concerned" about in the beginning of the semester will turn out to be the best one in the class.

Before the students leave the first class, be sure to have them come up with team names. Then, have the students go to the computers in the room, log on to myaacc and go to the WebCT homepage for the course. Show them where the email discussion forum and chat links are on the WebCT homepage Course Menu. 

Then show them where you have posted their first case on the Course Menu. Have them open it and read it. Then have them reconvene in their teams and begin discussing the case and how they plan to approach it. 

Before they leave, have each team designate a "Team Leader" and a "Team Scribe" for Case 1, Installment 1. Explain to them that these duties will rotate for each new installment and that they will all serve as leaders and scribes several times during the semester. Tell them that the leader's primary role is to keep everyone on the team on task, to cast the deciding vote to help the team make the decisions that get the team moving. Tell them that scribes primary role is to coordinate all of the members' separate data/findings/texts into one, unified product.

The PBL Case Library 

In this section of the site, I've included links to the PBL cases that I have created for my American Literature PBL course and my Modern Drama PBL course. 

    American Literature PBL Cases

    Modern Drama PBL Cases

As you think about designing your own PBL cases, you may find it helpful to look at several of the cases I've designed to get a feel for what a case looks like. 

    Submit Your Case to the PBL Case Library 

PBL and Student Assessment

In keeping with the political impulse behind PBL—to empower our students by putting them in charge of their education—assessment must play an important role in the PBL classroom. The important difference between assessment in a PBL class and assessment in a traditional (lecture or discussion) class is that the students in a PBL class assess not only the teacher and the content being presented to them, but their own performance and that of their teammates as well. As a teacher of a PBL class, I eagerly await the student assessments. They not only give me a sense of how the individual students are learning but also how the teams are functioning. In addition, each set of student assessments helps me design my next PBL case for the class.

I have developed two assessment forms that I distribute to students after they finish each case. One is shorter, the other longer. Sometimes I only distribute the shorter form, sometimes the longer form, and occasionally both. In my PBL classes, as we get to the end of each case I modify the assessment form(s) so the questions are specific to the case, but as you'll see when you look at the two sample forms I've included below, these modifications typically take only a few minutes to make.

Short PBL Assessment Form

Long PBL Assessment Form

Contact Me

Please feel free to send me an email with any questions you might have about PBL or to offer suggestions or feedback on this site. 

Many thanks! 

— Steve Canaday

Contact Me: sbcanaday@aacc.edu

By clicking on the links in the Table of Contents found below, you will learn what Problem-Based Learning is, how and why it works, how to design your own PBL class, how to design effective and compelling PBL cases in your discipline, how WebCT technology supports PBL, and how to use and contribute to the PBL Case Library. 

Happy exploring!

Battling Boredom in Basic Writing: Active Learning Strategies for Paragraph Writing

Laura Fox and Lisa Tittle
Educational Studies
Harford Community College
 

Grammar Refresher: Kernel Sentences 

Materials needed: Packets of kernel sentences (see attached), paper, pen/pencil. 

1. Divide into groups of no more than five people. Each person should choose a kernel sentence from those provided in the envelope.
    

2. Write your kernel sentence at the top of your sheet of paper. Then change the noun to a word that is more specific and interesting for your reader. Do not change the meaning, number or gender of the noun. For example, if the noun is “The building,” you might change it to “The skyscraper” or “The shack.” Each noun gives an entirely different picture to your reader. Write the new sentence with your new noun under the kernel sentence. Then pass the paper. Be sure to pass papers in the same direction each time.
    

3. Now you should have a paper with two sentences on it. First, be sure the previous person changed the noun correctly. If not, hand it back to them to correct. Then change the verb using a synonym that adds interest, specificity, and power. Do not change the tense or form of the verb. For example, if the verb is “fell,” you might change it to “collapsed” or “stumbled.” Write your new sentence under the second sentence. Now pass the paper in the same direction.
    

4. The paper before you should have three sentences. First be sure these were changed correctly. Then write a fourth version in which you add as many adjectives as you want to modify the noun. Again, the idea is to paint a clear, specific, interesting picture for your reader. Once you have added your adjectives, pass the paper.
    

5. Check that the four previous sentences were changed correctly, and then add adverbs to modify the verb and/or adjectives. Then pass the paper one more time.
    

6. Under the five sentences already on the paper, you will write a sixth version to which you add prepositional phrases. Remember that a prepositional phrase contains a preposition (see the sheet in the envelope) and a noun. Then return the sentence to the original owner.
    

7. Share the original and final versions with the whole group.
    

8. Finally, combine two of the sentences into one.

When I do this with my class, I model a sentence on the board as we go through each step. I also ask them to write the combined versions on the board. This usually allows me to point out that they are already skilled at coordination and subordination.

Sample Kernel Sentences

The man said.                                                   The man laughed.

The woman thought.                                         The woman traveled.

The people walked.                                          The people worked.

The youth wrote.                                              The youth sang.

The group met.                                                 The group read.

The car died.                                                    The animal ate.

The animal ran.

Grammar “Quiz”: Tic-Tac-Toe

This exercise can be used for a variety of grammar skills. I use it for subject-verb agreement and pronouns.

Materials needed: a Tic-Tac-Toe board, a container with subject-verb questions, and a container of pronoun questions (see attached).

1. On the board, draw a large tic-tac-toe board. Fill in the spaces with letters indicating subject-verb agreement (SV) and pronouns (P).
    

SV                   P                      SV

P                      SV                   P

P                      SV                   P
 

2. Divide the class into two groups. Then have them pair up within their groups. One group will be the X’s and the other is the O’s.
    

3. Together the group can decide on strategy. But the questions can only be answered by one pair. If anyone else in the group speaks or signals in any way, the group loses its turn.
    

4. Flip a coin to decide which group will go first. Then let them decide where to start.
    

5. Allow one member of the first pair to select a slip of paper from the appropriate container. Read the sentence to the entire class, and then give the slip to the pair. Allow them about one minute to arrive at an answer (you might want to use a timer). If they are right, they get the X or O in the square they chose. If they are wrong, they do not get the square.
    

6. Move to the other group and let them decide where to go. Follow the same procedure until one team wins (allow for five square wins). The winning team should get a prize (and it helps motivation and focus if they know about the prize ahead of time). I usually grant a pass on a homework assignment.
    

Pronoun Sentences: Students must decide if the sentence is correct or not, and if it is not, they must correct it.

The patient is fully aware of the decision they have to make.

Whether student, teacher, graduate, or parent, each wants their school to be the one that remains open.

The family needs to review its budget.

In class everyone performs at their own fitness level.

When someone has been drinking, they are likely to speed.

The jury reached their decision.

Either Bruce or James should receive first prize for their sculpture.

Joel ran away from home because his stepfather and he had quarreled.

Sandra confessed that the artist was she.

Geoffrey went with my family and I to Cedar Point.

My husband likes football better than I.
 

Subject-Verb Agreement Sentences: Students must choose the correct verb. 

Why (is  are) the man from New Jersey and his sister from New York trying to buy a house in Bel Air?

Either the next door neighbors or the man from down the street (collect  collects) our mail when we go on a trip.

Sitting next to my sister (is  are) my boyfriend’s parents.

Steve and his family ( go   goes) to the mountains every summer.

Neither Mark nor his sisters (know  knows) the combination to the safe.

There ( was  were ) a caterpillar, a spider, and six worms hiding under that rock.

The members of the committee (want  wants) to see the report again.

Bill, while traveling to Europe last year with his children, ( was  were ) lucky enough to see the Northern Lights.

Seeing their children make the wrong decision ( is  are ) difficult for parents.

Why ( is  are ) my brother and your sister fighting?

Thesis Statements

This activity follows an introductory lesson on the thesis statement.

Materials needed: envelopes with topic ideas and one penny, paper, pen/pencil.

1. In small groups, choose one person to be the scribe.
    

2. Open the envelope and take out the topic ideas (see attached). Choose three on which to write thesis statements.
    

3. Once you have three topics, flip the coin to determine which side of the issue you will argue. Heads—you are to write a thesis statement in favor of the topic; tails—you are to write one against it (this is to avoid spending time arguing the issue).
    

4. Write one thesis statement for each topic, being as specific and clear as possible. Also, remember that these will be 500 word essays, so you might need to narrow your topic a bit.
    

5. Choose one thesis statement to write on the board. We will discuss the strengths of each and suggest revisions to make them even better.

Sample Topic Ideas

Remedial Education in College
Music Video Ratings
Locker Searches in High School
Beauty Pageants
Year-Round School
Banning Violence on Television
Paying College Athletes to Play Sports
School Uniforms
  

Description Paragraph: Adding Sensory Detail

Materials needed: one or two lemons cut into wedges, rosemary or another herb, pieces of a soft material, small containers of Play-Dough (be sure to have enough of everything for half the class), paper, pen/pencil. 

1. Begin by explaining that we tend to be over-reliant on the sense of sight to describe things, and to fully and richly describe anything, we should use all our senses. The following exercise will help refresh our senses of touch, taste and smell.
    

2. Ask the students to pair up with someone. Then explain that one student will close his or her eyes and be given an object. That student will describe what he or she feels, smells, and/or tastes (when appropriate). The other student will act as scribe and write down everything he or she says. Then they will reverse roles for the second item. There are a total of four items, so each student will get to describe twice and scribe twice. Remind them that the object is not to guess what the item is, but to find as many words as possible to describe its touch, taste and smell.
    

3. Begin with any item you choose, but I recommend ending with the Play-Dough as it tends to generate the most discussion, and its smell stays on the hands and overpowers all other smells. Pass out each item after the receiving students have closed their eyes. Be sure to tell them which senses to use on each item. Suggest that they not taste the cloth or Play-Dough.
    

4. After each item has been described, ask the scribes to share some of the words.

As an additional exercise, I like to have them find words to describe what they hear. This works best when you can send them outside, but even standing in the hallways can be effective. Have them each take a notebook and describe everything they hear, reminding them that the list should not include their own voices. Also, suggest that they try to describe the sound, not simply list what they hear. Give them 5-10 minutes ( you will probably want to walk around to encourage them to stay on task). Then discuss together the results.

Organization and Transition Words

Materials needed: Envelopes containing the sentences (cut them up into individual strips. I have found that it helps to cut twice because some clever students just match up the cuts) and sheets with the original paragraph.

1. Divide the class into groups of three or four and give each group an envelope. Explain that all groups have the same paragraph. Their job is to try to put the paragraph together, paying attention to why they place each sentence where they do.
    

2. Give them time to put the paragraph together.
    

3. On the board, use the letters on the side of each sentence to write down the order each group decided on. Then write the order of the original ( be sure to explain that this may not be “right”).
    

4. Discuss why they chose the orders they did. Examine the sentences that most groups agreed went together and those that seemed to fit anywhere or nowhere.
    

5. Based on the discussions, ask each group to rewrite the paragraph adding a purposeful order that is made clear by the use of appropriate transition words. Share the revised paragraphs with the whole group.

My first apartment showed what I could do with a little cash and plenty of ideas.

To furnish my apartment, I started with an old bed I got at a thrift shop. I took off the headboard and covered the bed with a blue tablecloth. Then, to make the bed look like a couch, I covered the wall side of the bed with piles of blue and red pillows. I also got an armchair from the thrift shop. It had yellow plastic cushions, but I camouflaged those cushions with more blue pillows. I made a bookcase out of bricks and lumber. The bookcase was five feet high, and I used it as a wall unit. On it, I put my cassette player and speakers, some books, some framed photos, and a candle in a wine bottle dripped with wax. For the windows, I made curtains out of red and blue striped sheets and hung them on brass rods. I was proud of those curtains. On the wall I had movie posters of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They were filled with shades of blue, and I thought they added the perfect final touch to my stylish but inexpensive apartment.

8. My first apartment showed what I could do with a little cash and plenty of ideas.
    

5. To furnish my apartment, I started with an old bed I got at a thrift shop. I took off the headboard and covered the bed with a blue tablecloth.
    

10. Then, to make the bed look like a couch, I covered the wall side of the bed with piles of blue and red pillows.
     

1. I also got an armchair from the thrift shop.
    

12. It had yellow plastic cushions, but I camouflaged those cushions with more blue pillows.
     

9. I made a bookcase out of bricks and lumber.
    

2. The bookcase was five feet high, and I used it as a wall unit.
    

6. On it, I put my cassette player and speakers, some books, some framed photos, and a candle in a wine bottle dripped with wax.
    

11. For the windows, I made curtains out of red and blue striped sheets and hung them on brass rods.
     

4. I was proud of those curtains.
    

7. On the wall I had movie posters of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
    

3. They were filled with shades of blue, and I thought they added the perfect final touch to my stylish but inexpensive apartment.

Description Paragraph (collaborative activity)

Materials needed:  white ditto paper, colored pencils or crayons, pencils, notebook paper

1. While working independently, draw a picture of a monster.  Do not show the picture to you partner or group.
    

2. When you have finished the picture or the monster, write a paragraph that describes the monster’s appearance on a separate piece of paper.  Use as much detail as possible.
    

3. When you have finished your paragraph, keep the picture of your monster hidden and hand the paragraph to your partner.
    

4. Using only the written paragraph to guide, draw a picture of your partner’s monster.
    

5. Compare the monster you drew to the original.
    

6. Based on the results of the activity, what are the characteristics of a good descriptive paragraph?
1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

Student Sample of Description Paragraph- Monster Activity

My monster is around 7 feet 300 pounds.  He smells like road kill because he eats people and does not wash his body because he does not like water.  His pants are red because of the blood of his victims.  The only time he comes out is at dark because he lives in the woods where people go to have parties and have fun.  He has lots of fun by hunting people like a hawk with cold eyes.  The hair stands up all over him, but it looks like a cat mixed with a cougar with razor claws, and that is my monster.

Process Paragraph (collaborative activity)

Materials needed:  peanut butter, jelly, bread, knife, paper plates, napkins, pencil, paper, OR plain ditto paper.

1.      Working with your group, write the directions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in paragraph form.  Be sure to include a thesis statement that explains why the process is important and material necessary as well as the tools and equipment before writing the process.

Materials needed:  pencil, paper, plain ditto paper.

2.      Working with your partner, write the directions for making a paper airplane in paragraph form.  Be sure to include a thesis statement that explains why the process is important and material necessary as well as the tools and equipment before writing the process.

Alternative PBJ for Process Paragraph

Materials needed: peanut butter, jelly, bread, knife, paper plates, napkins, pen/pencil, paper. 

1. During the class before assigning the Process Paragraph, ask each student to write down the directions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (be aware that some of your ESL/EFL students may have no idea what you are talking about). Do not give them any further directions. When they are done, collect the papers and tell them that the purpose for this writing will become evident next class.
    

2. Select 4-5 of the sets of directions. What you are looking for are vague terms, inappropriate verbs, lack of detail, anything that is open to interpretation. I have included some samples from my classes this fall. It works best if you can select directions from each class. Type these up on a sheet of paper; do not include names.
    

3. On the day of assigning the Process Paragraph, begin with a brief explanation of the paragraph: for example, “Our first paragraph will be a process paragraph, which is a paragraph in which you will tell us how to do something. Last class, when I asked you to tell me how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I was asking you to write a process paragraph. Now we will attempt to build a PBJ using your directions. Pay particular attention to what goes wrong and why.”
    

4. Now ask one student to read the directions slowly, giving you enough time to complete each step. Then build the sandwiches exactly as directed. The messier they are, the more effective the demonstration.
    

5. When the sandwiches are built, ask students what went wrong. Then ask them to explain what is needed in a good process paragraph. They will probably generate great ideas about specific, clear directions. You will probably have to reinforce the ideas of purpose and audience.

This also works well with directions for throwing a ball. Use lightweight, soft balls to avoid injury.

I have not done this with the students building the sandwiches or throwing the ball. They tend to fill in the blanks the writer created and not follow the directions exactly as written. But this semester, I think I’ll try it, maybe giving each group 3-4 sets of directions and asking them to determine which is best and why.
 

Sample Student Directions for Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

1. Take bread. Put P.B. on it. Add jelly and spread.
    

2. Ingredients: peanut butter, jelly and bread. Supplies: two knives and a plate. You will need to place two pieces of bread on the plate side by side. Open the peanut butter, and use the knife to scoop out a spoonful of peanut butter, and smear it over one slice of bread. Open the jelly and use a knife to scoop out a spoonful of jelly and smear it across the other half of bread. Take both halves in your hand and place them together peanut butter and jelly facing each other. You may cut in half if desired. Clean up.
    

3. First you take two slices of bread. Then you take out the jelly and peanut butter. You then get out a spoon. Put the spoon into the jar of peanut butter and scoop it up and then put it on to one of the pieces of bread. Now get another spoon and put it into the jelly, scoop it out and put it on the other piece of bread. Now put the bread together.
    

4. To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you must follow these few simple steps. First you must buy a loaf of bread, jar of jelly, and can of peanut butter, and make sure you have two separate knives with you. Take two pieces of bread and lay them out flat. Take a knife and scoop some peanut butter and spread it on both slices. Then take the second knife and spread the jelly on both pieces. Once complete to your liking, combine the two slices of bread. Cut the sandwich in half, and there is your peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
    

5. In order to make a PBJ, you will need to get out your ingredients and materials. You will need peanut butter, jelly, two slices of bread, a knife, paper plate or plate, napkin, a cup for a beverage if you want one. To start, get your bread. On one piece of bread, dip your knife into the peanut butter and spread some on the bread. On the opposite side of the bread put some jelly. Put both pieces together and enjoy.
    

6. Take peanut butter and jelly out of the refrigerator. Grab the bread (two slices). Grab a butter knife. First, you grab some peanut butter and slide it on one side of your bread. Then you get some jelly and put it on the other slice. Then you put your slices together.
    

7. First, you take the two pieces of bread and put smooth peanut butter on one and strawberry jam on the other. After that, you mash them together into one. Finally, you go to town, chomping it down like there is no tomorrow. And that’s how you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
    

8. Grab two pieces of bread. Apply a layer of Peter Pan peanut butter onto one side of one of the pieces. Put it to one side; you’ll need it later. Apply Smuckers Jelly to one of the sides of the other piece of bread. Put the peanut butter slice and the jelly slice together. Cut in half and enjoy!
    

9. The way you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is to get two pieces of bread, jelly, peanut butter and a knife. You first spread the peanut butter evenly on both pieces of bread. You then put a glob of jelly in the middle of one slice of bread and spread it evenly across the slice. Then you put the slices together and cut down the middle of both slices and enjoy it!!
    

10. First you start by getting your ingredients out: two pieces of bread, peanut butter and jelly. Next, you get a knife and spread peanut butter on both sides of the bread. Then you put jelly on one side and put both pieces of bread together. Last you eat your sandwich.
     

11. First, you take the two pieces of bread and put smooth peanut butter on one and strawberry jam on the other. After that, you mash them together into one. Finally, you go to town, chomping it down like there is no tomorrow. And that’s how you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
     

12. In order to make a good peanut butter sandwich you must first get a jar of jelly, two pieces of bread, and some peanut butter. Then lay out each slice of bread and put a little bit of peanut butter on each slice. Then take the jelly and apply it to each slice and put them together. You should then take the knife and cut the sandwich into slices.
     

13. First, you will have to get out your materials. They are a plate, butter knife, bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Then you take the bread out of the bag and place it on the plate. Then you would open up the jars of peanut butter and jelly. Then take your knife and spread peanut butter on one side of the bread. Then spread the jelly on the other side, and you have yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
     

14. To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you need the following things: peanut butter, jelly, two pieces of bread, and a knife for spreading. First you spread the peanut butter on each piece of bread. Then you spread some jelly on top of the peanut butter. After that you place the two pieces of bread together. Finally, you cut the sandwich in half to make it easier to eat.

Sample Student Responses for Making a Paper Airplane

1.      To make a paper airplane, you would first get a piece of paper, then you will fold it down the middle longways, then you take the top left and top right and fold them till they meet in the middle. Then you would fold the left and right side till they meet.  Then take the top left and right corners till they fold outwards to the center line.  Repeat once more.  Finally you are done.  Take the airplane, split it in the middle, flip it over and you are ready to fly.

2.      First you need a piece of paper.  Second, fold the paper in half the long way.  Third you take each corner at the top of the paper and fold them in the middle where their corners meet.  Then fold the paper back in half.  Take each of the papers and fold it to the top.

3.      In the process of making a paper airplane. First you need to find a piece of paper.  In this case a piece of paper measuring 8x11 will work very well.  Now, fold the paper in half down the long axis.  Open it up, and fold the top left corner down to meet the line in the first step. Do the same to the right top corner.  Then close the paper trapping the corners inside.  Laying the paper on its side, fold the side down till its corner meets the bottom.  Repeat on the other side, this creates wings.  You may have to readjust the wings in order for it to fly properly. Open the wings up, hold it by the bottom crease and throw it.

4.      Making a paper airplane is fun.  First fold a piece of paper in half longways like a hotdog.  Second, unfold the paper, fold the top corners in toward the crease to form a triangle and fold the paper back in half.  Next, fold one side to the tip, do the same for the other side and fold back in half. Then fold the ends down to the crease on each side, fold in half.  Finally, fold the ends out and enjoy your paper airplane.

5.      There is seven easy steps to make your very own paper airplane.  The very first step is to get your paper and fold it in half.  After it’s folded in half, you open it back up.  Next you fold both top edges down to meet the center, followed by folding the edges down.  You fold it back together again.  Then staple the bottom back together, fold each side down in half again.  Finally throw your paper airplane around the room.

6.      To make a paper airplane, you need a sheet of paper.  Then you are going to fold it in half.  Then you are going to fold the corners in.  You are going to fold the corners inward.  And then fold the wings back.  Then you have your finished product, a paper airplane.
 

7.      Making a paper airplane is an easy task to do.  First you need a piece of paper.  Next, fold the two ends to make a triangle.  Third, repeat the second step.  Then fold the paper in half hot dog style.  After you fold the paper in hot dog style, fold both loose sides down to the fold to make the wings.  Now you just made a paper airplane.

8.      The first and most important step to making a paper airplane is to find a piece of paper.  After paper is found, the paper should be folded long ways.  Next, fold the top corners down to the middle crease.  Repeat step one, one more time.  After the corners are finished, than fold in half so that it resembles a shoe.  The final step would be to fold the upper half on both sides, then just let the airplane go and watch it fly.

9.      First get a plane sheet of paper.  Second, fold the paper in half to make a crease in the center.  Third, unfold.  Fourth, fold top two corners to the center crease.  Fifth, fold the top two corners again to the center crease.  Sixth, fold in half.  Seventh, fold each side to meet center fold to make the wing.  Then throw.
 
 

Comparison/Contrast Paragraph (collaborative activity)

Materials needed:  Skittles and M&M candies, napkins, paper, pencil, Venn diagram or three-column chart

1. Take one packet of each candy type.
    

2. With your group, brainstorm a list of similarities and differences of the candies.  Use one of the graphic organizers below to help you if needed.
   
     

3.      Review the list you have generated with your group.  Using the information on your lists, what three points of comparison can be made for the candies?  Be sure the items cannot be placed under more than one point of comparison.
     
      a.       Point 1:  __________

b.      Point 2:  __________

c.       Point 3:  __________

4.      Again refer to the list your group created.  Remove the weaker or unrelated items from each point, leaving only two or three of the best/clearest in each point.  The remaining items will be used as the support for your paragraph.

5.      Using what you have previously learned about the elements of a thesis statement, work with your group to create a thesis based on the prewriting and categories you have created.

Classification Paragraph (collaborative activity)

Materials needed:  20-30 small related or unrelated items, paper, pencil

1.      Look at the collection of items and consider the following questions with your group members.  List your responses in the space below

What are the items?  This will be the topic of your paragraph.

What do the items have in common?  This will be the criterion on which you base your groups.
 

2.  Now place the items into three subgroups based on the criterion your group chose.    Be sure that none of the items can be placed into more than one group.  Each item must clearly fit into a group.  List the groupings below.

a.       ________________   b. ________________  c. _________________
 

3.      Using what you have learned about writing an effective thesis, write a thesis statement explaining why you classified (grouped) the items.  Be sure to include why these items are grouped as well as the overall criteria for creating the groups.

For example:  If I had a set of pictures of a variety of breeds of dogs (my topic), I could group them based on their uses (criterion).  I would then consider why the uses of dogs would be important; perhaps I am thinking about purchasing a dog.  Within that criterion of uses, I would create three groups:  pets, working, and show dogs.  My thesis might look like this:

Before choosing a dog, buyers should consider whether they want a pet, working dog, or show dog.
 

Cause and Effect Paragraph (individual, small, and large group activity)

Materials needed:  20-30 small related items or pictures (i.e.  Beanie Babies or Happy Meal toys), paper, pencil 

1. Look at the item you were given.  Identify it.  __________________
    

2. Below, brainstorm a list of why these items exist.  Try to think of five reasons (causes) for the items’ existence.
    

3. Now, brainstorm a list of the results (effects) of the items’ existence.  What has happened as a result of the item?  Keep in mind that some causes and effects may overlap.
    

4. Share your list with your group.  Discuss each person’s reasoning for the cause or effect on his/her list.
    

5. Come to consensus with your group on three causes and three effects that are the clear, effective, and easiest to support or explain in a paragraph.  List these below in emphatic order.

Causes                                                 Effects

   

   6.  Now apply this prewriting technique to your topic in order to generate supporting details for the body paragraph. 

 Order of Session 

1.     Introduction and Welcome

2.     Explanation of Activities
a.      Create interest in different modes of writing
b.     Helps writers who think they have more skill than they really do
c.     Encourages prewriting and planning, weaknesses to good writing in developmental writers
d.     Helps students who lack confidence in the skills they do have
e.      Improves classroom atmosphere
f.       Alleviates teacher boredom

3.     Break participants into groups for activity
a.      Tic Tac Toe
b.     Compare/contrast
c.     Classification
d.     Sensory details
e.      Organization/transitions 

4.     Each group reports back to larger class
a.      Summarize activity
b.     Overall effectiveness
c.     Suggestions

5.     Hand our packet with all activities inside- quick overview of contents

6.     Sharing and questions?
a.      When do you use active learning in your classroom?

Internships/Co-Ops/Work Experience/Job Shadowing: What Does Your School Do?

Trudy M. Gift and Karen Weil-Yates
Hagerstown Community College

Abstract

The outcomes for this presentation were: 1) to share information of the course IST269 Internships at Hagerstown Community College and 2) to gather additional information from the participants on their programs.

After much discussion, an HCC committee decided to name the course name would be Internship (in place of experiential learning, co-operative work experience, field placement service learning, and externship). An internship is an opportunity to practice what is learned in the classroom in the work world.

Many of the forms you are about to view have been an accumulation of many years of workshops, seminars and sharing with colleagues. We can not take credit for all of the forms.

Any comments by the presenters and participants that are not part of the syllabi are italicized. The following is the official course syllabus that is on file with the college:

COURSE:       IST 269/270    Internship

CREDITS: 3   CLOCK HOURS: 150

HCC SUPERVISOR:            Trudy Gift
                                                giftt@hagerstowncc.edu
                                                301-790-2800
                                                Advanced Technology Center – ATC205

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  An internship gives students an opportunity to put what is learned in the classroom into practice at an appropriate work-site selected by an HCC faculty member and the student.  A minimum of 150 hours per semester is required, and a maximum of six credits may be taken.  Additional projects are assigned to students by the HCC faculty member.  Students desiring to complete an internship must make arrangements one semester prior to the actual semester the internship will be taken.  Prerequisites:  Recommendation from an IST faculty member, completion of entry-level courses and internship application, and consent of HCC Supervisor.  Minimum of ten hours per week as arranged.  Semesters offered:  Fall, Spring, Summer.   

TEXTBOOK:  None

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

•           Apply skills and knowledge acquired during his/her education to work situations
•           Demonstrate appropriate work place behavior and dress
•           Practice human relation skills
•           Evaluate his/her abilities, interests, and values in relation to the work site experience
•           Acquire new skills and knowledge not available during his/her education.

Standards-Based Teacher Education at Community Colleges

Eva Griffin
Education Department
Prince George's Community College
 

Dr. Peter Paulson
Education and English
 College of Southern Maryland 

Abstract

Participants sampled published materials on increasing personal efficiency and effectiveness.  Audience members shared insights and reflections on the published materials examined.  The discussion attended to practical application of the ideas, in real-life situations.  The twenty-five books examined were drawn from popular literature by such authors as Wayne Dyer, Phil McGraw, and Dale Carnegie.

Some of the wordings of ideas distilled from the books are paraphrases and some may be close to the wording in the original sources. Because ideas were drawn from many books, it is impossible to say which are paraphrases and which are quotes. However, a sampling of those ideas selected and discussed is as follows: 

When you know it better, you do it better.

Secure your own oxygen mask first.

We can look for gold or for filth.

Creative thinking is joyful.

We select and direct only 5%of our own actions; the others are reactions.

We play not to lose; we need to play to win. (We need to step out of our comfort zones.)

No one can persuade another to change.

We do not get it done if we set no time aside for it.

Because nobody else cares how much we suffer to achieve a goal, why do we let, or make, ourselves suffer?

To make or to appreciate art is to approach spirituality.

Geology and Human Health

Nancy Thorpe, PhD
Hagerstown Community College

The presentation I gave at the January, 2005 AFACCT meeting included a Power Point Presentation, which is attached.  This short paper is to add more detail to the information given in the slide show.

One of the latest cutting-edge topics in the geosciences is the effect that geology and geologic processes have on human health.  I attended several conferences during 2004 that discussed this topic.  One conference was from the geoscientist’s point of view, the other ones were from the health-field point of view.  Both sides are very interested in the integration between these two fields.  One goal for the presentation is to promote the importance of this topic and another is to demonstrate ways that the topic of human health issues can be introduced in various geology courses.

I started the presentation with a little information about my background and some of the research that I have done in this field of integrating environmental and geological issues to human health.  When I started working on my Master’s degree in the early 1990’s, the concepts of integration of these two fields and disease mapping was very new.  Both these topics as fields of study have rapidly grown since that time.  I then talked about the various conferences I attended and gave the website addresses for more information regarding these conferences, which also supply links to other sources of information.  By exploring these websites and following all the links, one will be overwhelmed with the amount of information available.  I listed several geologic topics and environmental concerns that can affect human health, just to get people thinking about this concept. 

After introducing the idea of the relationship between human health and geology I listed many of the textbooks, activities, assignments, and labs that I use in the course I teach, Introduction to Physical Geology, and made suggestions on how one could include these things in the coursework.  I also provided a list of more website addresses for sites that provide more information and teaching guides on the topic.  During the presentation I shared some of the handouts and activities I use in class which are not provided here, but if you are interested, please contact me and I would be glad to share them with you.  In the laboratory component of the course I do introduce GPS/GIS technology and explore ways that it can be used for the study of effects on human health. I also discussed two examples regarding the environmental issue of polluted groundwater.  One example is my research on groundwater quality and childhood cancer, and the other is groundwater pollution in the area of Butte, MT, that surrounds the Berkeley Pit Copper Mine.  I share these examples with my classes and we discuss the pros and cons of pesticide use and mining operations.  I have found that these topics engage the students.

The presentation ended with a time of sharing ideas of what others do or teach in their classrooms regarding human health.  We discussed other activities and possible field trips. 

I want to stress the idea of integrating geology and human health is an important concept for us as educators to introduce to our students.  It not only gets them more involved in geology, but it is something that is important to their lives. 

Contact me at :thorpen@hagerstowncc.edu        

Power Point presentation