Principles and Strategies for Effective STEM Learning I

Catalog description

This course is designed to prepare undergraduate peer-learning mentors for their role in facilitating student centered learning activities. This course is designed to prepare peer-learning mentors for their role in facilitating student centered learning activities. The course content includes a blend of strategies for effective teaching and learning coupled with the opportunity to practice strategies of effective mentorship and feedback to peers and faculty. Through selected readings and course discussions students are introduced to the basic tenants of learning: the role of prior knowledge, the organization of knowledge into networks, the role motivation plays in learning, tools for the development of gaining mastery, effective practice and feedback, the importance of course climate, and the role metacognition plays in achieving self-regulated learning. Each of these topics is covered in one of the seven class periods. The students who have completed this course will be able to understand: - How prior knowledge affects learning and suggest alternate examples to help peers see the information through another perspective - How the organization of knowledge affects long term learning and share with peers the knowledge networks most commonly utilized in STEM disciplines - Factors that motivate student learning and apply this knowledge to assist faculty in motivating student engagement - How students develop mastery and assist peers to engage in activities that promote mastery through directed practice - How practice and feedback enhance learning and provide effective feedback when working with their peers - How course climate affects learning and provide faculty with valuable feedback in regard to the climate of their course learning spaces - How learners develop stronger metacognitive skills to be able to reflect on their own learning experiences and share this with their peers. Student mastery of the material is typically assessed through weekly written reflection assignments based on the readings and in class discussions. These reflections are graded and feedback is provided to assist students in growth in becoming effective learning facilitators. A final reflection assignment is typically given in which the students are asked to describe how these course topics will be put to use in the assignment as a learning assistant.