How to get your Students to Prepare for Every Class
Transcription
How to get your Students to Prepare for Every Class
How to get your Students to Prepare for Every Class Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) A. Gavrin, IUPUI http://webphysics.iupui.edu/nfw_fall11/index.html 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 1 A few of your comments • “x”: The first question was a bit ambiguous. But it is OK as it made me think further. • “Bueller”: …it seems to be impractical to assign questions that will result in lengthy answers that cannot be effectively (and quickly) reviewed… • “Andriy” In my opinion it is great method, which, however, needs special preparation… • “LC”…not everybody is able to use it effectively … 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 2 Outline • Introduction • Just-in-Time Teaching – “Theory” – Implementation – Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 3 How did you decide how to teach? • “ATS”: I try to think back to when I was an undergrad and imagine how I would have best learned the material. • “CGP”: I have made decisions based on my own experience in similar courses (now ~years out of date) and discussions with other faculty members (and graduate students) … • “Vayu”: Experience as a student. I've tried to incorporate what i thought were "good" things some of the profs who've taught me over the years and avoid what i thought were the "bad" things. • “R”: Based on observations of and conversations with teachers that I have either experienced first-hand as being good teachers or who have been recommended to me… 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 4 Results • Classes that are designed “for professors” • Problem: Students do not learn like we do – See R. Felder references on web site • Many students not well prepared • Few students motivated like we were • Most students have different goals than we did. • Most students do not “think like we do” 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 5 Digression • Could have spent time “collecting data” • Instead, spent time discussing it • Same content covered at greater depth 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 6 Outline • Introduction • Just-in-Time Teaching – Background – Implementation – Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 7 The (original) settings • Large numbers of students • Theater-style lecture hall • 1 graduate assistant (lab only) • All students take physics • Military, athletic requirements • Highly selective college • Very heavy teaching loads 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop IUPUI USAFA Davidson Coll. 8 The “theoretical” background • • • • • Active learning (students think in class) Student centered (it is not about you) Formative assessment (real-time feedback) Peer interaction (learning and motivation) Many learning styles (faculty not like students) 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 9 Active Learning: • Proven effective for “regular students” – Anyone not a likely future professor • Used extensively at MIT, RPI, UIUC, NCSU, Harvard • Used extensively at IUPUI, many other places you have never heard of, community colleges, high schools, etc. • Question: How did you learn from your PhD advisor… Lectures? 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 10 Outline • Introduction • Just-in-Time Teaching – Background – Implementation – Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 11 What is JiTT? • “Elethea”: It's a teaching approach that uses pre-class, post-reading quizzes to spur students to think about the topic, inform instructor's teaching, and amass volumes of data on student learning. • “Mishka”: It's a way to optimize the contact time in the classroom between teachers and students. . • “Toshiba:” It is a teaching method that incorporates the feedback from students into classroom teaching. Instructors assign pre-class works to students. By evaluating the student's answer, instructors tune their lectures to better cater the needs of students 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 12 Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) World Wide Web Homework Classroom Assignment Design 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 13 Just-in-Time Teaching • Adaptable – focus on feedback, not on details • WarmUp Exercises = Online, pre-class reading quiz: – – – – 11/18/11 Due 1-24 hours before class A few open-ended, conceptual, questions Cover that day’s material Provide “conversation starters” New Faculty Workshop 14 Another Digression • JiTT described in your words • Jargon already familiar (JiTT, WarmUp) • “preview” of important concepts 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 15 Example • Question: Is it possible to add heat to an ideal gas without changing its temperature? If it is possible, please explain how it is done. – “It is not possible because the internal energy of an ideal gas only depends on the temperature.... the internal energy will increase when the temperature rises.…” – “It is possible to add heat to an ideal gas without it changing it's temperature by the gas receiving the heat, and the atoms of that gas getting excited enough to disperse that heat as fast as they receive it…” – “If you add heat to a system while the system is doing the corresponding amount of work, the temperature will not change.” 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 16 What makes a good WarmUp? • “I’mNotElvisPresley”: Short exercises that prompts the student to think about the upcoming lesson. • “Drago”:Questions should be short and conceptual and could be open-ended in order to get students thinking. • “CalCal”:good warmup exercise would encourage students to begin thinking through a problem before class, trying to see the different angles of it. • “Dr Dr.” a good warm-up will elicit students' prior knowledge about a topic, and get them thinking about what they do and do not understand … • “Owl”: Broad, open-ended questions that can prompt discussions in class. 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 17 Online archive of Warmup exercises http://webphysics.iupui.edu/warmup/physics_ archive.html • • • • • • • • Introductory physics (2 semester sequence) Statistical/Thermal Physics (2 sets) Intermediate Mechanics (2 sets) Quantum Mechanics Mathematical Methods Intermediate E&M (2 semester sequence) Introductory Astronomy Needed: Modern Physics! 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 18 Choosing and using student responses • Always say something positive (see last example) – This is true, but what if something else occurs simultaneously… – This makes sense, but something is missing… – This is a great response… how would we know how much heat to add? • More useful phrases… – This is a good answer, but to a different question… – This has a great beginning, but more could be added… – This is correct, but the reasoning isn’t quite right… 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 19 Tips and Pitfalls • Explain methods and purpose on first day • No need to review all responses before class; sample for “useful” quotes, grade later • Focus on students strengths, too, not just misconceptions and other problems. • Use answers from many students: not favorites. • Do not “isolate” WarmUps - scaffold lecture • Must be routine. Do not start/stop during semester • Upper level students can handle more “exploratory” questions, connections to intro. 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 20 Chemistry example This picture depicts matter at the submicroscopic level. Describe what you see and take a guess as to what the identity of the substance is. – “The particles are well spaced out so I would guess the substance to be a gas. The substance is a gas composed of 2 elements that are in an equal ratio.” – “After reading Chapter 1 in the book I would guess that the substance is water in the form of a solid because the atoms are in order. However, I could be wrong because I think the atoms in a solid might be closer together.” 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 21 Other JiTT Components • Weekly Puzzle Opposite “Bookend” to WarmUp • “What is Physics Good For” • Student-Faculty and Student-Student Communication tools • Collaborative problem Solving in Recitation 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 22 Results • Students better prepared for class – Familiar with jargon – Given thought to ideas • Faculty better prepared for students – Misconceptions identified – Just in time adjustment to coverage • Class time spent more productively – Students interact during class 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 23 Outline • The Challenges • Just-in-Time Teaching – Background – implementation – Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 24 How to get great student evaluations • Be honest and clear—use the first day of class to explain what you are doing and why. • First five minutes are absolutely crucial! • Be a leader—college is difficult and confusing, so students look to you for motivation. • Build a team—let students know that you and they are working towards a common goal. • Hold yourself and your students to high standards—if you work hard, they will too. 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 25 Study Habits (N=155, biology) Q1 Do the WarmUps help you stay caught up? Q2 Do you “Cram” before tests in this course? Q3 Do you “Cram” in your other courses? “A” students “B” students “C” students “D” students “F” students 11/18/11 1- Yes 85% 89 % 89% 84% 92% 2- Yes 14% 39% 47% 68% 58% New Faculty Workshop 3- Yes 43% 61% 68% 68% 58% 26 Retention (N~80-150/semester) Attrition in Calculus 164 Attrition in Biology N100 60.0 30 40.0 Attrition (% DFW) Attrition (% DFW) 35 50.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 20 15 10 5 0.0 9 8 F9 Sp9 11/18/11 25 0 9 F9 Sp0 0 F0 1 2 3 2 3 1 0 0 F0 F0 Sp0 F0 Sp Sp Semester 0 Sp97 F97 Sp98 F98 Sp99 F99 Sp00 F00 Sp01 F01 Sp02 F02 Sp03 New Faculty Workshop Semester 27 Cognitive (biology, N~200) Final exam questions tied to… no interventions additional homework problems WarmUp or cooperative learning questions WarmUp and cooperative learning questions 11/18/11 % Gain (Post%-pre%) %G = 15% Average Normalized Gain <g> = 0.16 7 (25%-10%) %G = 17% <g> =0.20 7 (35%-18%) %G = 45% <g> = 0.51 1 (59%-14%) %G = 56% <g> = 0.63 6 (68%-12%) New Faculty Workshop 28 Affective (E&M, N~60) 1. Do you feel that the warm-up assignments helped your professor make good use of the classroom time? 2. Do other professors have better ways to determine how class time should be used? 3. Do you feel that the warm-up assignments helped your professor focus on important topics in class? 4. Do your other professors have effective methods for focusing on important topics in class? 5. Did the warm-up assignments help your professor get a good feel for what the students know? 6. Do your other professors have effective methods for getting a feel for what their students know? 7. Do you think the warm-up assignments help your professor get students involved during the lecture? 8. Do your other professors have effective methods for getting their students involved in lecture? 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop Yes 47 87% Yes 14 26% Yes 49 91% Yes 33 61% Yes 42 81% Yes 20 38% Yes 37 70% Yes 23 43% No 7 13% No 40 74% No 7 13% No 21 39% No 10 19% No 33 62% No 16 30% No 31 57% 29 Student Comments • “This was a fantastic course. It was the hardest course I’ve taken yet, but also the most fun.” • I think the WarmUps are a good idea because they give students a chance to think about the material prior to lecture. • "This course was very well structured. It was obvious that a lot of time was spent in preparation for it.” • "152 & 251 have made me reach more than any courses I have taken.” • Don’t tell anyone, but I think I will greatly miss my physics class. 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 30 Summary • JiTT is based on feedback between homework and classroom • Class is a dialog based on students work and faculty notes • WarmUp exercise: a pre-class, online reading quiz • Improved study habits, retention, content knowledge, morale. • Instructor knowledge of student difficulties • Easily adopted and adapted 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 31 Your Assignment: Please write a few possible warmup questions for a class you will teach some time soon. 11/18/11 New Faculty Workshop 32