In a recent survey of employers released by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (Falling short? College learning and career success, 2015), almost all employers surveyed (96%) believed that a college education should give students experiences in solving problems with people whose views differ from their own. When I visited Kathy Shade’s geology class she provided an active learning experience that helped students improve this skill. The topic of the lesson was plate tectonics, the theory that the outer layer of the earth is composed of plates that move. After a brief introductory lecture to provide students with some background on the topic, Kathy divided the class into four groups. Each group was assigned to a scientific specialty that studied plate tectonics. The specialists were seismologists, volcanologists, geographers, and geochronologist. Each specialty group was provided a world map showing data relevant to their specialty. For example, the seismologists had a map showing earthquake activity around the world and the geochronologists had a map showing sea floor age.
I was put in the earthquake group and our first task was not to explain the data but to just make observations and describe what we were seeing in as much detail as possible. Once we were clear about what we were seeing we could make hypotheses about the meaning of the data. In the second part of this activity, one specialist from each of the previous groups formed a second group where we focused on just one part of the world and combined the data from each of the four specialties to help us understand plate tectonics from a multifaceted perspective.
This activity gave students practice in data interpretation, problem-solving from multiple perspectives, and communicating our ideas to others. The students in my group made some conflicting interpretations because science is not as neat as we sometimes present it in textbooks. At the conclusion of the activity, Kathy helped the class summarize how the information helped scientists understand plate tectonics. Activities such as this allow students to be a part of building concepts. We do a disservice to our students when we do all the thinking and then present knowledge as absolute.
In my classes I have used an activity called “Think Again” taken from the podcast of the same name to help students learn to examine the opinions of others in a scholarly manner. I play a short audio or video clip of a potentially controversial nature. I pair the students up and they first have to explain the point the person was making so they truly understand their perspective. If a student agrees with the clip, I have them switch sides and argue against the clip to understand any potential flaws of logic. I’ve attached a 2-minute audio clip that would be similar to an audio clip I would use in class. It is taken from a Teaching in Higher Education podcast in which Stephen Brookfield discusses thinking like an adult. I encourage you to think of an active learning strategy for an upcoming class to give your students an experience in solving a problem from a variety of viewpoints. After our students graduate from college they will likely forget many of the facts they learn in your class but if you are building problem-solvers, analytical thinkers, and people who have learned to work effectively as part of a team then your students will have the skills they need and the skills that employers are seeking.
Teaching in Higher Education podcast clip (2:19)
Bad Joke to Start the Week
What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple? Finding half a worm.
Last Thought
“An obstinate man does not hold opinions – they hold him.” Joseph Butler