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Show 198 Nicole Harris The study involves the investigation of differing teaching methods in traditional Honors courses and Reacting to the Past games in regards to the successfulness in teaching students oral and written communication skills, self-confidence, teamwork as well as an understanding of historical texts and their context. In Reacting to the Past courses, students are assigned specific roles with goals they need to achieve in order to "win" the game. Such a design puts the students largely in charge of their own learning experience and provides more opportunities for public speaking. The traditional Honors Intellectual Tradition courses are mostly lecture, where the instructor goes over material with students in class to ensure they understand it, particularly in a modern con-text. University-wide surveys taken for classes and professors, surveys administered by the LEAP department, and surveys written and distributed specifically for this research project were the method of data collection to compare the two teaching styles. The LEAP survey had students an-swer questions about whether their relationships with their classmates were more enhanced by Reacting to the Past games than other LEAP classes without games. Also, University-wide surveys evaluating both the class and the professor were studied to see if any perceptible differences in student experiences arose between classes with Reacting to the Past games and those without. Finally, a survey written specifically to evaluate students' opinion of their learning experience in both types of courses was distributed via email and held online. Answers were compiled and assessed to determine the successfulness of both classes in teaching various academic areas. The data that was collected shows that students who participate in Reacting to the Past will emerge from the class with more confidence, better oral communication skills, improved writing ability, and a comprehensive understanding of how to work together cohesively in a team. COMPARATIVE CLASSROOM PROCEDURES Nicole Harris, Candace Oman (Ann Engar) Honors College University of Utah spring 2012 Candace Oman undergraduate student experts on teaching Ann Engar |
