NameSchoolDepartment

JUST IN TIME TEACHINGMAKING IT SHINE!(PART 2)

@ COLTT 2015

DR. JEFF LOATSDEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

OVERVIEW

1. Recap of JiTT with an example

2. Best tools for JiTT

3. The “sales pitch”

4. Closing the loop

5. Writing good questions

THE EVIDENCE STANDARD

Teachers can feel bombarded…

I strive to be a scholarly teacher …

• Apply the rigor we bring to our academic disciplines to the discipline of teaching.

• Choose teaching methods that are strongly informed by the best empirical evidence available.

Contrast teaching your subject with treating a medical condition like diabetes

PHYSICS EDUCATION REVOLUTIONEric Mazur, Physicist at Harvard:

“ALL SIMILARLY (IN)EFFECTIVE…”

0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-80% 80-100%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

29% 31%

20%

14%

5%

Consider a typical day in your class. What fraction of students did their preparatory work before coming to class?

Previous anonymous poll results (compiled):

N = 232

JUST-IN-TIME TEACHING

Online pre-class assignments called WarmUps

First half - Students

• Conceptual questions, answered in sentences

• Graded on thoughtful effort

Second half - Instructor

• Responses are read “just in time”

• Instructor modifies that day’s plan accordingly.

• Aggregate and individual (anonymous) responses are displayed in class.

Learner

Teacher

JUST-IN-TIME TEACHING

A different student role:

• Actively prepare for class(not just reading/watching)

• Actively engage in class

• Compare your progress & plan accordingly

A different instructor role:

• Actively prepare for class with you(not just going over last year’s notes )

• Modify class accordingly

• Create interactive engagement opportunities

Learner

Teacher

Students have developed a robot dog and a robot cat, both of which can run at 8 mph and walk at 4 mph.

A the end of the term, there is a race!

The robot cat must run for half of its racing time, then walk.

The robot dog must run for half the race distance, then walk.

A) The cat wins B) The dog wins C) They tie

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WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS. ROBOCATPredict which one will win the race, and explain why you think so.

From last night:

~33% → Robocat!

~50% → Robodog!

~0% → They tie!

~17% → Can’t tell!

From a previous set:

~33% → Good math

~16% → Bad math

~33% → Good reasoning

~16% → Bad reasoning

~33% → Invalid arguments

WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS. ROBOCATInvalid arguments:

“Cats rule - dogs drool!”

“Robot dog. Because dogs naturally walk more thaan cats. ”

WARM-UP: ROBODOG VS. ROBOCAT“Assuming the dog and cat both run at the exact same speed and walk at the exact same speed, the cat will win the race. Why? The total time to walk half the distance is greater than the total time to run half the distance. So if the cat spends a full half of its time running, it will get further than halfway at the high speed, running right by the dog, who started walking at the halfway mark. Also, the cat wins because cats are better than dogs.”

MAZUR AFTER 1 YEAR

ELSEWHERE?

My Physics I

Summer 2015

(45,26)Gain: 0.51

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

Either from your memory of the workshop, or from reviewing the slides (above), what is your biggest question/concern about Just-in-Time Teaching?

But first… think about what a teacher/facilitator “should” do with responses to a question like this.

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

Topics already on the docket:

Managing your (instructor) time commitment

“I'm concerned about the time it will take to come up with questions.”

Questions for a quick discussion now:

“Students' work/life schedules that makes them want to do homework just in time for class, not for my JiTT assignment”

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

Questions for lunch or later:

“I'm also a little concerned about whether I will end up spending a lot of time talking about things in class that are "tangents" because I get excited about the topic, and then I don't have a record of it to use for making questions for the exam.”

“How to best translate the JiTT technique into the online environment?”

Why did 10% of students think WarmUps were “harmful” to their preparation, engagement, and learning?”

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

“My biggest concern regards the conception of the role of the teacher. Standing in front of students is belittled as being some sort of "sage on the stage" in this philosophy. I would argue there is a crying need for leadership and guidance in the classroom demonstrating connections between concepts, encouraging the students to explain why they think their answer is correct. Overall, my concern is that a guide on the side is simply an abdication of authority and responsibility. If the students are supposed to figure this out all on their own then perhaps full-time faculty would agree to a commensurate cut in their salary.”

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

“My main concern is about the underlying paradigms of JiTT:

Paradigm 1. A teacher must use the latest teaching methods.e.g., Dr. Loats said he would not be treated by a phsician who uses ‘old fashioned’ treatments. Would Dr. Loats be treated by a physician who says: ‘I use the latest cutting-edge treatment, even though it does not really make sense to me’?”

“cutting edge” vs. “well established”

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

“Paradigm 2.Students must be prepared for class (ahead of time). Doesn't it ruin the edge? i.e., the element of prompting new ideas during the class? (e.g., isn't it like watching a football game when you already know the final score?)”

Would we say learning requires experiencing the joy of discovery?I would argue the arrow goes the other way…

(Plus, a good show can’t replace best practices)

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

“When 90% are correct and 10% are not incorrect; what keeps the 'incorrect' students from being turned off or feeling hopelessly excluded?”

“My biggest concern is that the additional workload for the student might not be worth the reward/gains in learning the material.”

Concrete results: More time-on-task, less cramming, better study “habits”.

WHAT TOOLS TO USE?

The crucial part:

Daily reading, grading & using responses

• Automatic full credit for any response

• View all responses to a question together

• Grade responses on the same page with minimal clicks

Wishlist:

Easy (quick!) individual feedback

SMALL ASIDE: TEXT EXPANDER

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Every professor should have this!

You define a snippet like “ttyl” which instantly gets replaced by “Talk to you later!”Windows:

– Texter, PhraseExpres (FREE, some advanced features, some flaws)

– Breevey ($40, worth it if you hit problems)

– AutoHotKey (FREE advanced automation tool)

Mac:

– TypeIt4Me, TextExpander, Typinator(All cost $20-$30. Generally worth it!)

WHAT TOOLS TO USE?

• CMS/LMS (Blackboard, D2L, Moodle, etc.)Ready to use, tools… imperfect awful

• Free service from JiTTDL.org.Designed just for JiTT. Additional website, not very “shiny” by 2015 standards.

• Students email responsesEasy… also overwhelming and awful

• Blogging tools (WordPress)?

• New tools (TopHat? Learning Catalytics?)

WARM-UP: WHICH CLASS & WHY?If you did implement JiTT, what class would you implement it in?

Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, & Physical Assessment

General Chemistry

Beginning Spanish One

Suplemental Academiic Instruction (corequisite to college algebra for students not fully ready)

Fluid Mechanics, Intro to Membrane Science and Technology, Material and Energy Balances as well as Heat Transfer

WARM-UP: WHICH CLASS & WHY?… and what is the benefit you would most be hoping for?

~50% → Give instructors insight into student understanding

~17% → Increased student excitement

~17% → Free up time for activities/application

~17% → More learning

WARM-UP: WHICH CLASS & WHY?“Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, & Physical Assessment. There's lots to digest and memorize in these classes. The real time, ongoing learner assessment embedded in JiTT would provide valuable data for instructors.”

“My hope would be to help get a better feel for where the students are at and to help lead the discussions of these classes.”

“What I would most be hoping for is improved learning and retention by my students in these courses, as well as renewed excitement in the student. Plus I just think it would be more fun to teach this way.”

THE SALES PITCH

The way we talk to our students impacts

• How they approach the assignments

• How they feel about the work they do

OVERARCHING MESSAGE

Communicating with your students (humans)

• Message (explicit statements)• Attitude (subtext, body language, etc.)

Consistent subtext:"I am here to help you learn, and I have thought about your learning trajectory carefully."

Consistent attitude:I am comfortable and relaxed about my part of this partnership.

DAY 1 – GENERAL

Describe components of the course

• How each one is graded, and why.

• How each one is important for learning and/or assessment.

Keep justifications short and succinct

Be honest:"This is my first time using this method, and there is a lot of data on how and why this is effective and what the best practices are."

DAY 1 – JITT

When discussing JiTT:

“Today is going to feel pretty ‘normal.’ You’ll get to see how this works starting next time, after you’ve done your first warm-up.”

It isn’t “more assignments = more work,” but rather “working in smaller chunks is more effective and more efficient.”

ALLOW TIME

They (probably) won’t “buy it all” on Day 1

Emphasize that you will be consistent and they will get to see its value over time

“This class is different, and I will say that to you, but it really is something you will get to see/experience every day.”

DAY 2 – JITT

Discuss their first experience with warm-ups

Share how many did them

Remind them of structure:Release/due times, course value, grading

Remind them of the purpose of warm-ups:

–Student preparation

–Instructor preparation (“Which I’ll show you now!”)

DAY 3 – JITT BITS

A different role for you:

• Actively prepare for class by engaging and being reflective.(not just reading/watching)

• Be ready to actively engage with the material in class.

• Take regular “readings” on your experience with the material compared to classmates. Make plans accordingly.

DAY 3 – JITT BITS

A different role for me:

• I will actively prepare for class by engaging and focusing on you.(not just going over last year’s notes )

• I will modify the class plan based on what I see in your preparatory work.

• I will consciously create chances for you to grapple with the material in an active way.

STUDENTS: BUSY-WORK DETECTORSK-12 represents more than 13,000 hours of class

Students are experts at detecting what really matters to an instructor:

• What does the instructor do with class time?

• What does the instructor talk about?

• Does the instructor push against the usual “invisible contract” of the classroom?

DEMONSTRATING VALUE IN JITTIdeas for demonstrating that you value JiTT

• Thank those who do them for giving you insight into their learning.

• Bring at least one “difficult/interesting” item from WarmUp to class each day.

• Give non-verbal cues that you value discussing WarmUps as much (more) than other course components.

• Be consistent!

CONSISTENCY

Be consistent with:

• Assignment releases

• Assignment due dates/times

• Follow-up in class

• Summative assessments (e.g., exam questions) that build on WarmUp questions.

FEATURES OF A GOOD QUESTION39

What would a “good” response look like? – A paragraph? (too long)– One word? (too short)

Make sure the reading is needed to respond (but a sentence straight out of the book shouldn’t work).

Make sure a beginner can take a crack at the question

Be concrete: – “Explain in 2-3 sentences.”– “Give two brief examples.”– “Explain how you got your estimate.”

“Game out” their responses a bit.

WRITE A QUESTION AND SHARE...

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Consider an intro. course in your discipline.

Consider a topic you discuss early in that course.

Write one question… shoot for “higher level.” Good starting words: apply, analyze, evaluate, sketch, use, compare, estimate, etc.

Take 3 minutes… then trade questions with your neighbor and do your best to answer theirs.

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

“What is the mininum amount of my evening time (when I'm busy with family) or before class prep time (when I'm busy organizing my thoughts generally) can I spend on this and still be effective? I am teaching 250-500 students each day - so that's a LOT of responses to look through. And if I'm using analytics instead of reading responses (online HW scores, for example), how can I make that as useful as possible? For the record, I've tried both methods with the big class, and just couldn't keep up with it so far...”

A POSSIBLE PLAN

Choose one course you will teach next term.

A. Write two questions for each class meeting:

1. One lower-level (maybe multi-choice?).One higher-level (sentences).

2. Give yourself 10 minutes to write each one

B. Write a standard (1st) metacognitive question

C. Discuss one question at the top of class, and one in the middle. Use the metacognitive responses as break points or highlights.

MY SUMMARY

From an evidence-based perspective, JiTT addresses often-neglected areas.

The sales pitch, demonstrating value and consistency can make the JiTT experience shine for both you and the students.

Real help is out there when you get stuck or worried. Get in touch with JiTT users or others doing innovative teaching.

YOUR SUMMARY

If you want to implement JiTT, what is your next concrete action?

Anyone want to chat at lunch? Tell me!

Email: Jeff.Loats@gmail.comTwitter: @JeffLoatsSlides: www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats

JITT REFERENCES & RESOURCESSimkins, Scott and Maier, Mark (Eds.) (2010) Just in Time Teaching: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy, Stylus Publishing.

Gregor M. Novak, Andrew Gavrini, Wolfgang Christian, Evelyn Patterson (1999) Just-in-Time Teaching: Blending Active Learning with Web Technology. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River NJ.

K. A. Marrs, and G. Novak. (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Biology: Creating an Active Learner Classroom Using the Internet. Cell Biology Education, v. 3, p. 49-61.

Jay R. Howard (2004). Just-in-Time Teaching in Sociology or How I Convinced My Students to Actually Read the Assignment.  Teaching Sociology, Vol. 32 (No. 4 ). pp. 385-390. Published by: American Sociological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3649666

S. Linneman, T. Plake (2006). Searching for the Difference: A Controlled Test of Just-in-Time Teaching for Large-Enrollment Introductory Geology Courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 54 (No. 1)Stable URL:http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan06.html#v54p18

ON-DEMAND SLIDES

JITT STRUCTURE & RESPONSE RATES

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College Physics I, N = 78

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Intro. Sociology, N = 23

Worth 10% of final gradeDue 10 PM the night before classAssignments available for prior 2-3 days

College Physics I Intro. to SociologyWorth 5% of final gradeDue 10 PM the night before classAssignments available for prior 2-3 days