More technology is not always the answer - the power of sticky notes

More technology is not always the answer - the power of sticky notes

Context

• First-year introductory course on computer programming

• 80-90 geoscience students each year

• Taught in computer lab - one 3-hour slot each week

• Support from Teaching Assistants

• SOLE feedback received at end of term

• Our teaching approach has evolved considerably throughout the last 5 years

Previous approaches (2010)

• Adopted 'traditional' lectures with relatively little time for practical exercises

• Students positive about lecturing style (what they are used to from A-level)

• Majority of negative feedback concerned pace and difficulty of material

Previous approaches (2010)

• Good lecturer and module scores, but poor learning outcomes

• Programming is a practical skill. Need more practical time

Previous approaches (2011)

• Introduced an additional (separate) 3-hour practical workshop

• Significantly more (positive) comments regarding support

• Relatively high average SOLE score maintained

Previous approaches (2011)

• Marks improved, likely as a result of more allocated time...

• ...but approach not sustainable, and pace still too fast

Previous approaches (2012)

• Moved away from traditional passive classroom environment - YouTube videos introduced

• Lots of positive feedback regarding pace

  • students work through videos at own pace, and can go back and repeat

• Mostly negative comments about lecturer & method of delivery ('the lecturer is not lecturing us')

  • students did not feel supported
  • not all students had developed independent learning skills by this point

Previous approaches (2012)

• No benefit to learning outcomes. Exam marks similar to 2010 mark distribution

• Lower SOLE score - unfamiliar method of content delivery

Previous approaches (2013)

• Moved to a flipped classroom environment

  • A type of blended learning - brief lecture to establish context, followed by longer practical session.

• Positive feedback regarding support, and pace/material.

• Majority of negative feedback about lecturing style again - not matching student expectations.

Previous approaches (2013)

• Marks greatly skewed towards positive end of scale

• But students were not satisfied with flipped classroom - used to traditional passive lecturing

  • "Explained material" criterion had lowest score of -0.06

Current approach

• Still using blended learning

• ...but we split up workshop into 'bite-size chunks'

  • Mixing short (10-15 mins) lectures with in-class exercises (30-40 mins)

• Justified approach to students and emphasise benefits throughout

• Students felt reassured, resulting in only positive comments regarding lecturing style

Current approach

• Marks also positively skewed. Most students did very well in meeting learning outcomes in 2014

• More reassurance and justification behind blended learning approach resulted in improved scores

Some challenges

• Throughout the workshops we found that...

  a) Students waiting for TAs had to keep hand raised

  b) Feedback only provided via SOLE at end of term

Sticky notes

• Sticky notes: powerful, versatile, low-tech

• Frequently used by Software Carpentry organisation

• Students given one red & one green at start of class

• Posted on top of student's computer monitor

Green Sticky Notes

• Posted when student completes a particular exercise.

  • Visual indicator of progress

• Used to provide positive feedback at end of workshop

Red Sticky Notes

• Posted if student requires assistance.

  • Alerts the lecturer & TAs
  • Student continue working without keeping hand raised

• Used to provide negative feedback at end of workshop

Conclusions

• Sticky notes allowed us to rapidly identify what works and address any problems arising.

• Students could see that feedback was acted on quickly.

• Quantity & quality of feedback and pass rate has significantly increased since this technique was introduced.

Resources

• Software Carpentry: https://software-carpentry.org

• Course website: http://ggorman.github.io/Introduction-to-programming-for-geoscientists/

• Paper under revision for Journal of Geoscience Education. Experiences with efficient methodologies for teaching computer programming to geoscientists. http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.05425

• Slides: http://christianjacobs.uk/hen-2016-sticky-notes