Mobilizing the Forgotten Army: Equipping TAs with Inquiry-Based Instruction Methods

1. Mobilizing the Forgotten Army:Equipping TAs with Inquiry-Based Instruction Methods Jordan Gerton (Utah) & Mike Schatz (Ga Tech) Linda Columbus (Virginia); Sara Skrabalak (Indiana); John Cerne (Buffalo); Luis Echegoyan (UTEP); Brian Saam (Utah) Your name goes here:___________________(sign up below)

2. Sign up to join! Needs: • Program committee • Logistics • Preparation of workshop materials • Breakout session leaders • Website maintenance • Advertising/Dept. email list

3. Motivation • TAs play a key instructional role at R1 Universities • They are a major resource, but… • …training is inhomogeneous and often neglected • Traditionally, TAs are primarily utilized in: • UG teaching laboratories • Recitation sessions for large, intro lecture courses • Assessment (grading) • TAs comprise our next generation of faculty instructors • Huge opportunity to positively impact STEM instruction • Help them succeed in the classroom now & in future • Indoctrinate them before developing bad habits

4. Terra infirma • The education landscape at R1 Universities is shifting: • Use of inquiry-based instruction methods is growing,… • …but pressures on young faculty make it difficult to adopt new methods in situ • R1 Universities must compete with a broader range of alternative education options: for-profit, MOOCs, etc. • The UG laboratory environment is shifting: • 2012 PCAST report recommends “replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses” • New approaches and technologies: “World as Laboratory”

5. Project Objective To provide departments with the tools to broadly adopt interactive and discovery-based teaching methods through education and training of TAs. • Addresses an immediate need for higher performing TAs • Exposes developing scientists to the practice of modern teaching methods during their preparatory years • Encourages development of instruction-focused peer-to-peer and mentorship networks • Fosters skills such as team building, communication, and management in next generation of instructors • Empowers and recognizes graduate students as agents of change within their own institutions

6. Plan of Action • 2-day workshop focused on inquiry-based approaches in introductory labs and recitation sections • Led by CS collaborative in partnership with recognized practitioners (Ken Heller, Priscilla Laws, Melanie Cooper…) • Participants will be 2-person TA/instructor teams to maximize impact upon return to their home department • Develop a suite of print and electronic materials • Outline best practices and case studies • Pre-workshop activities (i.e., we will flip our classroom) • Assessment: • TA/instructor teams will develop an implementation strategy • Teams report to collaborative by end of academic year • Collaborative will survey Chairs from participating Depts.

7. TAs get ready: there are changes a comin’ In light of rapidly changing instructional landscape (e.g., MOOCs), it's important to take a broader view of Labs & Recitations • Articulating the purpose of the intro labs and recitations • What are the intended learning outcomes? • What are the TA skills needed to further those outcomes • The World as a Lab: Experiments outside bricks & mortar labs • UIUC SmartLabs • Use of cell phones for video-based analysis of observations • New activities beyond standard instructional lab practices • Computational modeling of student experiments • Student lab reports delivered in video format • Evaluation of reports by student peers