During this meeting we focused on the second chapter of the book.  The second chapter is entitled Practice and Feedback. Bruff suggests that instructors consider the types of skills that their students need and then center class activities around these needs.  He recommends the adoption of a flipped classroom model so students have an opportunity to practice with ongoing support from the instructor and peers. One suggestion is to begin with think-pair-share and then to add elements, such as combining pairs, forming small groups, using techniques such as jigsaw.  In jigsaw each small group “works on one topic, and then shares their work with their other groups. This can be done with face to face and remote classes.  Another technique is using polling. One way to find time for these in class activities is to move introductory material to outside the classroom.

During this meeting we discussed chapter 1 which has many interesting ideas. Chapter 1 is called A TIME FOR TELLING.

Bruff begins the chapter with an example of presenting an exciting science experiment to a group of kindergartens to raise curiosity. The presenter then went on to explain the science behind the experiment.  This is an interesting technique that can be used with polling questions. Many of us use polling questions, to get instant feedback from students after teaching a concept.  After reading this chapter I decided that I would present the poll BEFORE teaching the concept. What a difference timing makes.

First I get instant feedback as to the level of understanding of the concept before even presenting it.  Second,  Student are now primed to learn because they want to know why the answer was correct. It’s a very simple change but one that has resulted in a great improvement in my pedagogy without any additional work.  The entire chapter is devoted to similar examples that instructors can use to enhance and refresh their course.