UNIV-460 Section 044, Tutorial Methods of Instruction

Each PBL tutor or PLTL Leader registered for CHEM-401Tutorial Methods of Instruction will write two teaching cases based on his or her experiences. The first is due the last class before Spring Break and the second is due the first week of May. These cases should focus on some critical issue or critical incident associated with the tutoring experience and should be written so that they will promote reflection and discussion among others who might have or potentially might encounter similar issues. The format may vary, but brevity and drama heighten the utility and interest as do clever titles and engaging dialog. Prof. White has published an extended case study, "Dan Tries Problem-Based Learning," about the challenges of a fictitious faculty member, Dan Sherman, who confronts the challenges of using problem-based learning for the first time. Five additional tutorial methods case studies,

Prof. Sherman's Introduction to Anthropology class meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and starts promptly at 8 a.m. The course uses a problem-based learning format. Each of the seven groups in the class has an upperclass tutor-facilitator who, like Janine, previously has taken the course and done well in it. This is the first PBL class for Janine's students and they are apprehensive about the upcoming first hourly exam which would include a group-graded part.

Prof. Sherman: (Wrapping up about 5 minutes of introductory remarks and announcements before turning the class over to the groups.) "Well, that's all I have to say this morning. Are there any questions before I let you get started?

Janine: "O'kay, Where shall we start this morning? What did you ..(interrupted by Jill).."

Jill: "Where's Dawn? This must be the fifth or sixth time already that she has been late or absent for class. Why is it our responsibility to waste class time and tell her what she missed?"

Bob: "Yeh, not only that, when she is here, she keeps asking questions about things we have already discussed. I'm not interested in her getting credit for our hard work." (Nods of agreement from others in the group.)

Janine: (Sensing that things might get out of hand.) "Would you feel any differently if you discovered that Dawn had a serious personal problem that caused her to be absent but she is embarrassed or reluctant to share it with you?"

Bob: (Unmoved) "O'kay, say she has mono or is on drugs, does that change the situation? She's ruining the course for us. I'm for kicking her out of the group."

Debby: (Similarly unmoved) "I doubt she has anything wrong. She's just lazy or likes to party late. There are lots of students in my dorm just like her. They avoid eight o'clocks like the plague."

George: "I hate eight o'clocks too but this course is required for my major and I make a point of getting here on time. How long would Dawn last if she gets a job that starts at eight? ...or even earlier!"

Janine: (Still trying to generate another perspective.) "Then you all think her personal situation is irrelevant?"

Jill: (With hint of reflection.) "I don't know what to think. You know? Like, if I knew for sure she was just lazy or hungover, I would have no sympathy. On the other hand, can we just exclude her from the group part of the exam or kick her out of the group if it wasn't part of our group guidelines? You know what mean?"

Janine: (Seizing the moment.) "Do you think this group has any responsibility for Dawn's behavior or trying to change her behavior?"

Bob: (Seated in a position where he can see the door behind Janine, says in a quiet voice.) "Here she comes."

Dawn: [Dawn enters the room quietly but directly; hair uncombed, looking tired, and carrying vending machine breakfast (a Coke and a Pop-Tart). She takes her seat at the group's table.] "Sorry. My alarm didn't go off. ...What did I miss?"

What appropriate consequences might a group impose on a member who frequently misses class without notice? Should circumstances factor in?

As a tutor in a PBL Introductory Biology course, Jared Diggs was being challenged. The five members in his group got along fine but they seemed to be satisfied with a superficial level of understanding. They just didn't seem to do any more than they felt they had to. They didn't seem to have any curiosity to pursue problems a bit deeper and see how interesting this all was. He was sure that today would be no different.

(As group members arrive before class, they sit down and engage in friendly social conversation in Jared's presence but Jared is not involved. He is looking through the plans he has for today's class. The instructor gives the cue for the class to start.)

Jared: (In an upbeat but somewhat forced way.) "Well guys, how did it go over the weekend? What did you find out about your learning issues? (Without waiting for a volunteer).....Judy, Let's start with you today. What did you learn about naphthalene?"

Judy: (Reading from a sheet of paper she pulls from her notebook.) "Naphthalene is a white, crystalline, aromatic hydrocarbon with a formula, C₁₀H₈."

Judy: (In a tone and expression that reflects a guess.) ".....Does it mean it smells?"

Jared: "Pete, You are taking organic chemistry. What do you think naphthalene looks like?

Pete: (After some hesitation and glances for help from other group members.) "A long chain, maybe?"

Hank: (Hank sits with arms folded, leaning back in seat, seemingly paying attention to things out the window. He has not brought anything to class.)

Jared: (Somewhat sternly) "You know, I think there are some things here you guys ought to look up."

Jared: "Jen, Does what Judy found out about naphthalene tell you anything about why we wanted to look it up in the first place?"

Jen: (A conscientious student who would rather be in a lecture class. She typically comes to class with several reference books.) "I don't know. ....You seem to want us to say something specific, but I don't have any idea what you want. Why don't you just tell us?"

Jared: (Ignoring Jen's question) "Ed, Why did we want to know about naphthalene?"

Ed: (Looking through his loose papers trying to find one that would jog his memory.) "I'm not sure, but didn't it have something to do with the kid getting sick."

Jared: "Good, if that's the case, what more would you want to know about naphthalene?"

Ed: (In a tone that sounds like he has figured out what Jared is driving at.) "What does it smell like?"

Jared: (Displaying his frustration with a smirk.) "Sure. That might be worth knowing and even interesting, but how would knowing its smell help you with finding out why naphthalene induces hemolytic anemia in some individuals? If you were a doctor and this kid were your patient, would the smell of naphthalene be the most important thing for you to find out?"

It was like pulling teeth to get the students to say anything substantive and understand it. Jared thought of them as water striders constantly skimming the surface and never getting wet. It seemed to him that the students had wasted their weekend in a mindless search for information. Jared decided it was time to get serious but he wasn't quite sure what he could do that would, figuratively, break the surface tension. He contemplated just getting up and walking out saying he would return when they were ready to discuss the problem.

What factors determine when, whether, or how a person knows to dive into a problem?

What should Jared do to get students to do more than skim the surface of a problem?

Samantha was a very bright student. Those who didn’t know it rarely escaped hearing her parenthetical remarks about being valedictorian of her high school class and how she just missed getting 1600 on her SATs. Even though “Sam” was a freshman, she had a way of intimidating self-confident senior tutors like Greg who himself was no intellectual slouch. Sam loved to read and reveled in learning new facts and ideas. She took to the problem-based history class like a duck to water and was able, single-handedly, to track down the learning issues generated by her PBL group. The learning issues she generated were sophisticated and probing. Greg didn’t know how to deal with Miss Einstein. In the third week of the course Greg was describing the early explorations of the New World with some names and dates and trying to set the framework for a discussion of why all this activity was happening in the 16^th century. Several times Sam interrupted him to correct his pronunciation of explorer’s names, provide dates that he couldn’t remember, or add interesting additional information. Harry, Ginny, and Peter, the other members of the group, listened without comment to the introductory presentation and often needed encouragement to present their ideas and the information they had found.

Unhappy Hap

A teaching case written by Hal White for Tutorial Methods of Instruction, 1996.

It was five weeks into the semester. Hap Lloyd was beginning to think there was nothing he could do to get the students he tutored in his PBL group to talk to each other about the problems they were studying. Before class, all four would chatter among themselves about almost anything but, when class began, things were different. All conversation involved him directly. He longed for a day when two, or better yet, more students would get into an active discussion over anything and not need his prompting or seek his approval. When he took the same genetics course two years ago, his tutor could sit back while he and others would challenge each other to explain things. He remembered with pleasure how they got into heated but respectful discussions about the ethics of genetic testing and how they accomplished things together in lab. Hap began to lose sleep over his dysfunctional group after they performed especially poorly on the group part of the first exam. He couldn’t help but think that it was partly his fault.

In what ways are the interactions between and among students different inside and outside of class?
How does a good discussion differ from a casual conversation?
In preparation for making suggestions, what questions would you want to ask Hap about his group and how he conducts it?

Staci Deals with Misinformation

Written by Hal White for Tutorial Methods of Instruction, 1996

About five weeks into ANTH-255, Staci expressed her growing frustration with the impact of one student in the problem-based learning group she tutored. John was intelligent and enthusiastic. As a result he dominated discussion. He came on time to every class and was always well prepared. His research on assigned learning issues were typed up and distributed to the other members of the group and everything was properly referenced. The other students had come to rely on him and trusted his analysis even though they occasionally rolled their eyes when he went on for minutes at a time. Although John had a good grasp of the material, he frequently didn’t have things quite right, yet no one would challenge him. Staci had tried unsuccessfully to get other group members to question John’s explanations. John thought he was doing a good job and had learned a lot. Nevertheless, he was oblivious to the fact that he intimidated the other students intellectually and frequently bored them with his explanations. Interesting similar scenarios were being played out in several other groups although the tutors had not yet identified the problem as clearly as Staci had.

If you were Staci, what strategies might you use to deal with John and the other group members so as to get everyone to contribute?
What considerations might influence the strategy or strategies you would try first?

Stephen D. Brookfield presents some possible strategies for this type of situation in Chapter Eight, Facilitating Discussions, of his book, “The Skillful Teacher” [Jossey-Bass Publishers]