{"id":27,"date":"2012-02-01T17:36:04","date_gmt":"2012-02-01T17:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/redpincushion.wordpress.com\/?p=27"},"modified":"2012-02-01T17:36:04","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T17:36:04","slug":"let-go-of-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redpincushion.us\/blog\/teaching-and-learning\/let-go-of-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"Let go (of coverage) [from the archives]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This post was originally published in 2011.<\/p>\n

I heard it over and over at the CIC Information Fluency in History Education conference: \u201cLet go of coverage,\u201d our presenters and mentors told us. The coverage they were addressing is instructors\u2019 attempts to \u201ccover\u201d the material or the content of a course. Our mentors challenged us to give up the need to \u201ccover everything\u201d superficially but instead focus on encouraging students\u2019 deep understanding of course concepts.<\/p>\n

I love this idea; it\u2019s a key principle of learner-centered teaching and it is strongly supported by research. But, in practice, letting go of coverage is quite difficult. In this blog post, I will discuss some of the arguments for letting go of coverage, then focus on how to let go of coverage.<\/p>\n

The primary argument against the coverage model is that it leads to faculty\u2019s telling students what they \u201cneed to know\u201d, students\u2019 regurgitating that information on tests, followed by the students\u2019 forgetting the course materials once the course has ended. This isn\u2019t learning. Paul Ramsden said, \u201c[students] can reproduce large amounts of factual information on demand; they have appropriated large quantities of detailed knowledge; they pass examinations successfully. But they are unable to show that they understand what they have learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Weimer (2003), the coverage model prevents students from taking ownership of their learning and from developing learning skills that will help them learn beyond the confines of the classroom and the University. The coverage model also discourages students from deeply engaging with course concepts, asking critical questions, and analyzing evidence that supports or refutes course concepts. In essence, the coverage model discourages deep learning and the development of lifelong learning.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in learning more about the coverage model and its limitations, I encourage you to check out Weimer\u2019s seminal book\u00a0Learner-centered teaching: Key Changes to Practice<\/em>. I want to focus on how instructors can shift from the coverage model to a model that encourages deep learning.<\/p>\n

Weimer described the deep learning model as: \u201cTeachers cover less, students learn more,\u201d where instructors seek a balance of covering content and teaching learning skills. The key here is balance. You will still cover some concepts in your course but then you will build deep learning opportunities through teaching and activities that let students explore, ask questions, investigate, analyze, and evaluate concepts.<\/p>\n

Here are some tips that I found for achieving this balance:<\/p>\n