Best (Online) Practices for Teaching MTH 211-212-213 Dr. Laurie Burton Mathematics Department...
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Transcript of Best (Online) Practices for Teaching MTH 211-212-213 Dr. Laurie Burton Mathematics Department...
Best (Online) Practices for Teaching
MTH 211-212-213
Dr. Laurie BurtonMathematics Department
TOTOM—September 11, 2015
211-212-213 Online?
• Last year we (WOU) offered 211 and 212 online for the first time, with 213 for fall 2015
Does anyone else offer 211-212-213 online?
Another undergrad math ed class?
Class structure—Set up• 10 weeks = 10 sections (possible combo)• Each week / section has the same structure– A Forum: Initial math activity and discussion– B Forum: Lecture powerpoint and discussion– C Quiz: Activity set quiz– D Online Homework: Publisher’s site– E Written Homework– V Vocabulary Quiz: 213 only
Class structure—Exams
• Proctored midterm (one)• Proctored final• (WOU required)
Proctored skills tests in 212 & 213
Who has been signing up?
• So far my (self-selecting) population has been fairly distinct– Single parents–Working adults (very few)– Confident math students
When is work due?• "They" tell me that I should only have things due
once or twice (maybe) a week in an online class.– "They" might be students I don't really recall
where I heard this particular “should” • I have disregarded this advice• 211-212-213 isn’t a once a week experience– 3 key due days per section– Forum responses on other days
Nitty gritty
• OK, so how do I really do all of this? • I’ll give one thorough example and the
remainder examples “lite”
(A) Math activity forum• Students do a
math activity• Students post an
answer (group forum)
• Students respond to other student’s answers
(A) Math activity forum• That sounds great! How did it work out?• 211 I found a flaw• I didn’t require “correctness” (to facilitate
conversation)– After all, when we ask them to share in class
they aren’t required to be correct• When students made errors, I would ask a
question to get them to move forward– So that’s good pedagogy, how did it work out?
(A) Math activity forum
• Two things happened …. • Some students fixed their errors• Some students (rightly) noticed they were not
required to respond and so they –did not!
(A) Math activity forum
• This means the other students in their group will read the wrong answer and never have a recourse about what the right answer is unless– I post the right answer
• Which, as we know, tends to shut down the conversation and thought process
(A) Math activity forum• So now I … • Include a correctness check• First answer rating:–On time–Work shown AND fully explained– Answer complete, including images
BEST PRACTICES
(A) Math activity forum
• To address correctness:• First answer professor response: – (error) ask questions • Students respond with corrections
– (accurate ) responds with "correct“• Students respond with an acknowledgement
(A) Math activity forum
• All together (week starts Monday)– Students post answer by TUESDAY– Students post corrections by WEDNESDAY– Students post response to another student
post by FRIDAY– Groups of 3 or 4 students –Who answers / responds is assigned
Keeping track
• I started by just filtering and sorting email notifications
• I would want to see my students progress and I would go back through folders and back through forum threads and waste a lot of time
• The gradebook wasn't particularly useful if I had a forum with two ratings, I couldn't distinguish between low or incomplete
A Best Practice
• This is perhaps not the pedagogical best practice advice you were hoping for, but it is connected
• In order to implement any good pedagogy, you have to be hands on too & that creates work for you
DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING TWICE
Another Best Practice
• I use a Google sheet to track ALL progress• Device independent and easy access• I can check off (for myself) student work– At my WOU office– At my home office–On my phone–On my iPad
Lesson learned
• 211-212-213 is not a class where you can set up a forum, no matter how great your content / questions / prompts are and let the students “converse amongst themselves” without instructor input
• “Hands-off” doesn’t actually save time since you have to “hands-on” check for progress
• Integrating hands-on / progress check can be FAST
Lesson learned
• This hands-on check & track method worked beautifully in my summer EMIL course (4-week intensive, 46 students (2 sections))
And the rest ….
• B Forum: Lecture powerpoint and discussion– Students post answers & respond (similar to A
forums, only Thursday-Friday-Sunday)• Then the rest are due Sunday– C Quiz: Activity set quiz– D Online Homework: Publisher’s site– E Written Homework– V Vocabulary Quiz: 213 only
C activity set quiz• Use a “write in’ activity book• The quiz questions don’t make sense unless
the student have done the activity set• Examples:
• A little vocabulary quiz philosophy• They are not really memorizing – Do they ever?
• The vocabulary quizzes are timed so they do have the opportunity to learn to– fluidly access and be comfortable using their
vocabulary terms
V quiz example
Other details
• Ideas for any online class–Write down all directions – Keep it as simple as possible– Require the students to talk to each other
The good stuff• These classes are very accessible and these
students are grateful • The online environment fosters individual
responsibility • Every student must show their work for class
activities – You can’t sit in the back and pretend to work
• Public sharing of work (even in small groups) tends to result in higher quality work
Some issues
• These students are not really having a conversation – They (perhaps?) are missing the aha! moments
when another student shares a solution • Student responses are minimal – 140 characters or less?
• I’ve lost true activity set focus and discussion in my class
Not an issue • Using manipulatives – Text comes with kit• Students post hand sketches• Students post photographs
– Virtual manipulatives• Students post screenshots
– Students will check out manipulatives too• Geometry software– For 213 we’re using GeoGebra
Not an issue
• Uploading work– Students type and embed images– Students photograph hand written pages– Students scan hand written pages