Education Group Seminar: Brian White
Warm-ups and cold calls: getting students to engage with the lecture material
Professor Brian White is a Professor of Biology at University of Massachusetts Boston where he teaches introductory biology. Professor White’s research group focuses on biology education, in particular on developing and evaluating technology for teaching biology concepts and in investigating students’ reasoning and problem solving processes.
Research has shown that active engagement with the material during lectures can lead to increased learning. Professor White will be talking about
two active learning techniques that he has adapted to a large lecture class. The first strategy is the use of warm-up exercises based on computer simulations that he has created. These warm-ups expose students to key issues before they are covered during lecture so that students have a set of common experiences to draw on during lecture. The second is the frequent use of 'cold calling' (calling on students by name), which is designed to get all the students applying the material during the lectures. Professor White will share the results of incorporating these strategies into his lectures. For more information click
Refreshments will be provided.
