Lesa Rae Vartanian, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology

IPFW

Expanding Classroom Walls:

The Power of Active Learning

“…universities are as congenial to teaching as the Mojave Desert is to a clutch of Druid priests. If you want to restore a Druid priesthood you cannot do it by offering prizes for Druid-Of-The-Year. If you want Druids, you must grow forests.”

-- William Ayers Arrowsmith

Words of Wisdom (?)

A gardener gardens because she loves to…but I have never known one to resent compliments on the fruits of her efforts.

-- Lesa Rae Vartanian

THANK YOU FRIENDS!!Recognition for dedication to and achievement in teaching is a key part of what makes “the forest” grow...

Overview

• Who I am as a teacher…

• Examples of how I have tried to expand the walls of my classrooms:– Technology– Observation & Collaboration– Service Learning

My Teaching Philosophy

“The mediocre teachers tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

-- William Arthur Ward

“The secret of education is respecting the pupil.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”

-- John Cotton Dana

“Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.”

-- Chinese Proverb

Active Learning Through Technology…

• I maintain web pages for each of my courses…– WebCT

• Students in PSY 235 engage in on-line discussions about controversial issues like:– effectiveness of government-funded programs– impact of mass media– daycare, divorce/remarriage, corporal punishment

Active Learning Through Observation / Experience

• PSY 235-Child Psychology– Observation Journal – “Bingo Project”

• PSY 371-Death & Dying– Field Trips

Active Learning Through Collaboration…

• RESEARCH…Publications with IPFW Students• Dickerhoof, R. M., & Vartanian L. R. The contributions of positive versus negative

varieties of imaginary audience and personal fable ideations to facets of adolescent well-being.

• Giant, C. L., & Vartanian, L. R. (in press). Experiences with parental aggression during childhood and self-concept in adulthood: The importance of subjective perceptions. Journal of Family Violence.

• May, D. A., Vartanian, L. R., Virgo, K. (2002). The impact of parental attachment and supervision on fear of crime among adolescent males. Adolescence, 37, 267-288.

• Giant, C. L., Passino, R. M., & Vartanian, L. R. (2001). Sex differences in the contributions of appearance-related messages to body esteem and perceptions of thinness. Psi Chi Journal for Undergraduate Research, 6, 91-100.

• Vartanian, L. R., Giant, C. L., & Passino, R. M. (2001). “Ally McBeal vs. Arnold Schwarzeneggar”: The importance of sociocultural factors for understanding men’s and women’s body satisfaction and body shape concerns. Social Behavior and Personality, 29, 711-724.

Active Learning Through Collaboration…

• RESEARCH…Presentations with IPFW Students• Vartanian, L. R., Conner, D. M., & Arrington, P. (2002, May). “Was it good for you?” : Late

adolescents’ satisfaction with school-based sex ed. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Dickerhoof, R. M., & Vartanian, L. R. (2002, April). Positive versus negative imaginary audience and personal fable ideations, separation-individuation, and depressive affect. Poster presented at the 9th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, April 2002, New Orleans, LA.

• Giant, C. L., & Vartanian, L. R. (2001, May). "I was spanked..but not 'abused'": The importance of subjective perceptions for understanding the impact of parental aggression on later psychological functioning. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Giant, C. L., Passino, R. M., Dickerhoof, R. M., Virgo, K., Junk, D., & Vartanian, L. R. (2001, May). Hercules and Xena or Ken and Barbie: Males' and females' descriptions of the "perfect male" and the "perfect female" bodies. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• May, D. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Virgo, K. (2001, April). The impact of parental attachment and supervision on fear of crime among adolescent males. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North Central Sociological Association, Louisville, KY.

• Vartanian, L. R., Conner, D., Goodman, M., Herron. C., Leszinske, N., & Teusch, J. (2001, April) College students’ satisfaction and experiences with school-based sex education. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Indiana Council on Adolescent Pregnancy, Indianapolis, IN.

Active Learning Through Collaboration…

• TEACHING…• Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

– Attend all classes, guide/grade on-line discussions, organize structured review sessions for exams; keep a self-reflective journal of experiences/encounters

– Design and conduct a research project; present it in our campus symposium

• Effects of email messages on student confidence prior to exam• Effectiveness of UTA-led review sessions for reducing test anxiety

– Working with UTAs a “win-win” situation!

Active Learning Through Service Learning

• What is service learning?

• Volunteers at Regional Science Fair– 13 volunteers from Adolescent Development

class in 2001– Nearly 70 from Child Psychology for this year’s

Fair!

• Service Learning in PSY 371…

Service Learning in PSY 371

• Optional Project– 18 of 23 students chose service learning!

• 2 sites in community– Erin’s House for Grieving Children– Visiting Nurse Service and Hospice

• Students completed 32 hours of volunteer training / volunteer work

The Power of Active Learning in PSY 371…

• Pre and Post Measures of Death Anxiety, Knowledge…

• 4-point scale…– 1 = disagree almost totally– 2 = disagree somewhat– 3 = agree somewhat– 4 = agree almost totally

The Power of Active Learning in PSY 371…

• “I have a positive attitude to the process of dying as a part of my life.”– Pre = 2.80– Post = 3.14

• “If one of my loved ones were to die, I would know exactly how to proceed with the arrangements for his/her funeral / burial / cremation.”– Pre = 2.05– Post = 3.09

The Power of Active Learning in PSY 371…

• “I have engaged in some advance planning for my own funeral / burial / cremation.”– Pre = 1.59– Post = 2.45

• “Those closest to me know exactly how I feel about organ donation.”– Pre = 2.68– Post = 3.00

The Power of Active Learning in PSY 371…

• “I have discussed my last wishes with those closest to me.”– Pre = 2.14– Post = 2.73

• “I feel knowledgeable about the resources in my community that pertain to death, dying, grief, and loss.”– Pre = 2.00– Post = 3.32

The Power of Active Learning in PSY 371…

• What impact did the field trips and the service learning experience have? Created a composite of those 6 questions…

• Number of Field Trips Attended– 4 or Less: Pre = 2.48 vs. Post = 2.79– 5 or More: Pre = 2.08 vs. Post = 3.03

• Service Learning vs Traditional Research Paper– Service Learning: Pre = 2.16 vs. Post = 3.02– Research Paper : Pre = 2.37 vs. Post = 2.73

Active Learning Works!

• Learning starts in the classroom…

• Need to transform “the classroom” so that students begin to view anywhere they are or hope to be a classroom within which they will learn and grow through participation, NOT passivity

• Devising active learning experiences requires significant effort…

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR NOTICING MY WORK!

One university.Two great names.

www.ipfw.edu