SDU UP : Theme Sheet 1
Theme Sheet 1: From “Exercise Race” to Deeper Conversations and Motivation
Learn how to create more motivating teaching.
Let’s assume you usually give a series of exercises based on statistics for your students to work on in a traditional format. Now, let’s turn this around: you can present a problem that needs to be calculated and argued in relation to a scenario with multiple perspectives. Find statistics that are relevant and meaningful for your students. Motivation research shows that relevant topics and professional perspectives increase motivation to participate actively.
Let’s play with an example: imagine you use datasets on the incidence of oral cancer and gum disease in municipalities with different levels of social load, along with data on young people’s use of snuff. Choose key statistical themes and have your students calculate these elements based on the data.
End with a short argumentation task about prevention efforts on the calculations. For example, a 12-minute debate helps create an understanding that it’s okay to have different opinions in class and that everyone is allowed to have a viewpoint. This also allows students to work together to find relevant calculations and practice getting to grips with the theories.
Those 12 minutes are well spent because students engage more deeply with the calculations when they know they will soon use them for something. Students need to thrive together, accept each other, and participate in content dialogue. At the same time, they practice arguing with theories.
Now, your instructors have a new task. They may have been used to having a specific number of statistical exercises that needed to be completed during class. That’s no longer the case. Students now work on calculations in groups and practice argumentation based on one of the two datasets they’ve been given.
Your instructor must listen, provide feedback, acknowledge academic calculations and argumentations, and stimulate dialogue and deeper understanding of the material. In addition, the instructor must manage a classroom where two groups, having worked on different datasets, now sit together and spend a few minutes sharing their calculations and viewpoints on discussion questions to propose effective prevention efforts for municipalities.
This is absolutely doable for instructors, and all parties may find it very inspirational.
When it comes to exercise classes, we work with a format that has enormous learning potential, which is far too rarely fully utilized.
Prevent stress
Check the evaluation from last year’s course to see if anything caused stress for your students. People typically don’t learn well under stress. Prevent stress and maintain a good pace throughout the course.
Talk to course coordinators from other courses in the semester to avoid heavy workload periods or even collaborate on topics along the way
Course coordinator
As course responsible coordinator, try to see yourself as the designer of a physical space where the course objectives are written on the walls. Pay special attention to goals for knowledge, skills, and competences. For example::
“After the course, students should be able to calculate and analyze socio-economic conditions (Knowledge and Skills) … and propose solution scenarios for simple mathematical problems (Competences).”
That’s your starting point. At the center is the classroom, which you need to structure so that all students interact with and personally process the material, achieving the learning objectives in a motivating way.
As instructor
As instructor, you need to be prepared, and SDU CTL offers instructor courses at the start of every semester. These courses introduce instructors to create a safe classroom environment and provide a set of methods to engage students. We often say the instructor course equips instructors to “take ownership of the classroom” and to arrange appropriate learning activities and build a learning community, where students can achieve the positive experiences of mastery.
A safe classroom
Participating in a safe classroom where students feel comfortable asking questions and engaging in dialogue and debate is crucial for achieving mastery. Mastery is a core element in motivation and retention – both in the specific courses and throughout the study program.
Teaching team
As teaching team (course coordinator and instructors), it is important to have conversations about teaching, the pace of the course, the group, the atmosphere, whether students feel pressure (See Theme Sheet 3), attendance, motivation, and learning prerequisites. Good collaboration between course coordinators and instructors – and among instructors themselves – is essential for successful students.
Theme Sheet 2 provides suggestions for discussion topics that can foster openness and collaboration before the semester starts, two weeks into the semester, during the semester, before preparing for exams, and after the semester ends. Read more in Theme Sheet 2.