If you are dealing with large introductory classes, consider using recent (last semester's) top introductory students as peer tutors/mentors in your present introductory course who can play the role of "teaching assistants." Then you could break your large 101 class into smaller groups as per the MIT model. "Google" peer tutoring and you will see that various colleges and universities are using this approach of training top performing students to tutor other students with great success. However, these programs, for the main, have students working one-on-one with other students. But I see no reason why the peer tutoring notion couldn't be tweaked a bit to have peer tutors, instead, work with groups of students withing a large introductory class to support and encourage them while working on interactive, collaborative learning exercises. While many of these other colleges pay their peer tutors, it would seem logical and certainly more cost effective to consider providing peer tutors class credit.
My experience with having my best students assist other students has been wonderful. We have an honors program at Oakton and students in this program can take special honors courses AS WELL AS completing an honors contract in a regular course. I now encourage my honor contract students to consider becoming a mentor (peer tutor) as fulfillment for their contract. Most students find this extremely gratifying and I have seen struggling but motivated students (ESL students usually) make remarkable improvements in their class performance due to the tutoring they receive. Next Fall I plan to offer a special section of Educational Psychology for my best Introductory Psychology students who would like to become peer tutors for introductory psychology students. Joan [email protected] > I think that's great - however, we are currently getting pushed in the > opposite direction. If we want to have smaller class sizes for our > junior and senior level classes, then we need to have larger intro > courses (supersized). > > > Christopher D. Green wrote: > > >>Perhaps this is something that large psychology departments should >>consider as well. Of course, it would take money. >> >>"The [MIT] physics department has replaced the traditional large >>introductory lecture with smaller classes that emphasize hands-on, >>interactive, collaborative learning.... M.I.T. is not alone. Other >>universities are changing their ways, among them Rensselaer Polytechnic >>Institute, North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland, >>the University of Colorado at Boulder and Harvard. In these >>institutions, physicists have been pioneering teaching methods drawn >>from research showing that most students learn fundamental concepts > more >>successfully, and are better able to apply them, through interactive, >>collaborative, student-centered learning." >>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?_r=2 >> >>Chris >>-- >> >>Christopher D. Green >>Department of Psychology >>York University >>Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 >>Canada >> >> >> >>416-736-2100 ex. 66164 >>[email protected] >>http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ >> >>========================== >> >> >>--- >>To make changes to your subscription contact: >> >>Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > > ---------------------------------- > Deb > > Dr. Deborah S. Briihl > Dept. of Psychology and Counseling > Valdosta State University > 229-333-5994 > [email protected] > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
