Peer Teaching An Aston Experiment Amanda Poulton Information

Peer Teaching: An Aston Experiment Amanda Poulton Information Specialist – Engineering and Life Sciences Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Outline • • My teaching background Context CILIP ‘teaching skills’ course Learning theory Redesign of sessions Reflections and recommendations The future at Aston Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

My teaching background • No formal teaching qualification • Dissertation and optional module on user education during MA • Teaching for six years • ‘Trial and error’ • Interest in teaching and learning • Member of ILTHE • CILIP ‘Teaching Skills’ course Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Context • 180 Year 2 Pharmacy Undergraduates • Hands-on • Ten 2 hour sessions over 5 weeks • Part of Module (indirectly linked to assignment) • Worksheet-based Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Concerns • • Information overload Boredom Principles of searching Too many handouts/worksheets Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

CILIP course – ‘Teaching Skills’ • • Focus on learner not teacher Consider learning theory Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle Honey and Mumfords’ Learning Styles • Practical application Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Actual learning experience ‘doing’ Kolb’s ‘Experiential Learning Cycle’ Concrete Experience Reflective Observation Active Experimentation Abstract Conceptualisation Putting it into practice ‘relevance’ Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/ Thinking about what happened Comparing what learnt with what already known

Honey and Mumfords’ ‘Learning Styles’ Activist Pragmatist Reflector Theorist Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Honey and Mumfords’ ‘Learning Styles’ • Pragmatist – Relevant and practical – Try things out with support from an expert – Given immediate opportunities to implement what learnt – Problem solving • Activists – – New experiences ‘Have a go’ Problem solving Team work Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Honey and Mumfords’ ‘Learning Styles’ • Reflector – – Thinking things through Observation Paired discussions Opportunity to review and reflect • Theorist – – Models and concepts Lectures Following step-by-step instructions Opportunity to ask questions and probe ideas Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

The Learning Pyramid Taken from: http: //www. tcde. tehama. k 12. ca. us/pyramid. pdf Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Redesign of sessions • What am I trying to achieve? – Principles of information retrieval – Differences between full-text and bibliographic databases – Skills can be applied to any database – Reduce handouts – More varied session Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Redesign of sessions • • • One handout Brief introduction Demonstration of a database Practise (reflection) – applying to assignment Teach a colleague from other group discussion • Practise (reflection) – applying to assignment • Apply to alternative database • Summary Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Redesign of sessions Lecture Demonstration Practise (reflect) Teach colleague Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Practicalities • Two staff • Two separate demonstrations require two separate locations • Only possible with small groups • Monitoring students – Net. Op School • Odd numbers • Latecomers Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Student comments • What did you find valuable about the session? – Opportunity to interact and share knowledge within group – Chance to practice by ourselves – Interaction with other students – Having time to apply information – Teaching each other what we learnt Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Reflections - positive • More problem-based which reflects teaching at Aston • Gets students thinking - more active learning • Encourages discussion • More engaged with the session • Opportunity to find out student concerns and gaps in their knowledge • Less repetitive for me as each session unique Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Reflections - negative • Can never suit everyone's learning styles • Classroom management • Some students struggle whilst some advance quickly • Not suitable for all resources, e. g. Beilstein • Risk that students won’t teach everything that was covered Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

Recommendations • Use variety of techniques • Be aware that behaviour might be an issue and consider tactics to get class back on track • Monitor students • Have more advanced exercise prepared • Provide contact details for follow-up • Provide a checklist of what should be shown when teaching colleague Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/

The Future? • • • Extended to Psychology Further subject areas Postgraduates Regular review Stay up-to-date with teaching and learning techniques • Teaching and learning course for all Information Specialists Library & Information Services www. aston. ac. uk/lis/