How to get your Students to Prepare for Every Class

1. 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 New Faculty Workshop

2. 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… New Faculty Workshop

3. Outline • Introduction • Just-in-Time Teaching • “Theory” • Implementation • Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment New Faculty Workshop

4. 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 • “CGP”: I have made decisions based on my own experience in similar courses (now ~years out of date) and discussions with other faculty members (and graduate students) … • “Vayu”: Experience as a student.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… New Faculty Workshop

5. 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” New Faculty Workshop

6. Digression • Could have spent time “collecting data” • Instead, spent time discussing it • Same content covered at greater depth New Faculty Workshop

7. Outline • Introduction  • Just-in-Time Teaching • Background • Implementation • Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment New Faculty Workshop

8. The (original) settings • Large numbers of students • Theater-style lecture hall IUPUI • 1 graduate assistant (lab only) • All students take physics USAFA • Military, athletic requirements • Highly selective college Davidson Coll. • Very heavy teaching loads New Faculty Workshop

9. 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) New Faculty Workshop

10. 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? New Faculty Workshop

11. Outline • Introduction  • Just-in-Time Teaching • Background  • Implementation • Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment New Faculty Workshop

12. 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 New Faculty Workshop

13. Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) World Wide Web Classroom Homework Assignment Design New Faculty Workshop

14. Just-in-Time Teaching • Adaptable – focus on feedback, not on details • WarmUpExercises = Online, pre-class reading quiz: • Due 1-24 hours before class • A few open-ended, conceptual, questions • Cover that day’s material • Provide “conversation starters” New Faculty Workshop

15. Another Digression • JiTT described in your words • Jargon already familiar (JiTT, WarmUp) • “preview” of important concepts New Faculty Workshop

16. 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.” New Faculty Workshop

17. 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. New Faculty Workshop

18. Online archive of Warmup exercises http://webphysics.iupui.edu/warmup/physics_archive.html • Introductoryphysics (2 semestersequence) • Statistical/Thermal Physics (2 sets) • Intermediate Mechanics (2 sets) • Quantum Mechanics • Mathematical Methods • Intermediate E&M (2 semester sequence) • Introductory Astronomy • Needed: Modern Physics! New Faculty Workshop

19. 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… New Faculty Workshop

20. 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. New Faculty Workshop

21. 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.” New Faculty Workshop

22. 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 New Faculty Workshop

23. 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 New Faculty Workshop

24. Outline • The Challenges  • Just-in-Time Teaching  • Background  • implementation  • Aside: How to get great student evaluations • Assessment New Faculty Workshop

25. 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. New Faculty Workshop

26. 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? New Faculty Workshop

27. Retention (N~80-150/semester) New Faculty Workshop

28. Cognitive (biology, N~200) New Faculty Workshop

29. Affective (E&M, N~60) New Faculty Workshop

30. 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. New Faculty Workshop

31. Summary • JiTT is based on feedback between homework and classroom • Class is a dialog based on students work and faculty notes • WarmUpexercise: a pre-class, online reading quiz • Improved study habits, retention, content knowledge, morale. • Instructor knowledge of student difficulties • Easily adopted and adapted New Faculty Workshop

32. Your Assignment:Please write a few possible warmup questions for a class you will teach some time soon. New Faculty Workshop