NameSchoolDepartment

JUST IN TIME TEACHINGFOR FACULTY, BY FACULTY

PART 2 – MAKING IT WORK

OCTOBER 15TH, 2014

JEFF LOATSDEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

OVERVIEW

1. Your questions

2. Writing good questions

3. Best tools

4. The “sales pitch”

5. Closing the loop

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

Previous anonymous poll results (compiled):

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

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

28%33%

21%

14%

5%

N = 206

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

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… Consider what a teacher/facilitator “should” do with responses to a question like this.

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

Topics already on the docket:

“How to use the technology to implement.”

“What kind of hardware and software will I need to implement JiTT in my class(es)?”

“My biggest concern is being able to construct thoughtful and beneficial warm up questions.”

“drafting meaningful questions which are not burdensome to the students.”

WARM-UP: JITT QUESTIONS

“I'm curious about the nature of the questions asked prior to class and how those questions relate to (1) how you prepare your lesson plans, and (2) what do you do in classes without textbooks (it sounds like jitt may be independent of a text)”

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”.

FEATURES OF A GOOD QUESTION14

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...

15

Imagine an introductory course in your discipline.

Imagine a topic you discuss early in that course.

Pick one type, write one question:

–A “low level” question (remember, understand):Terms: “Define, repeat” or “describe, explain”

–A “higher level” question (apply, analyze, evaluate)Terms: “Sketch, use” or “compare, estimate”

Write for a few minutes, then to trade and answer your neighbor’s.

FEATURES OF A GOOD JITT TOOL

16

All student responses on one webpage

Auto-grading: 2/2 for anything by default.

Click to email students from the response page.

“Frequently sent responses” a bit automated.

List of responses is either randomized or tracked to distribute instructor attention.

Other “modern” web amenities, like autosave, time warnings, etc.

SMALL ASIDE: TEXT EXPANDER

17

Every professor should have this!

You define a short text string, such as “ttyl”When typed instantly replaced: “Talk to you later!”

Best FREE tools for Windows:

– Texter (simple with some advanced tools)

–AutoHotKey (advanced and can do much more)

Best tools for Mac:

– TypeIt4Me (30 days free, $5 after that. Worth it)

WHAT TOOLS TO USE?18

• CMS/LMS (Blackboard, D2L, Moodle, etc.)Ready to use, tools range from ok to awful

• Free service from JiTTDL.org.Designed just for JiTT, but extra login, and the site has not been improved in ~5 years

• Students email responsesEasy! Usually 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?

Finite math or college algebra

Intro. to statistics

Intro. to nutrition

Technical communication

Conducting and/or music appreciation. Orchestra?

Public speaking, electronic media and society, writing for broadcast journalism.

American sign language

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

~58% → Better student preparation

~25% → More student engagement/motivation

~8% → More student participation during class

~17% → Free up time for activities/application

~17% → More learning

~8% → Faster learning

~8% → Review past material for class

WARM-UP: WHICH CLASS & WHY?“I think it could be implemented in any of my classes because I think it would encourage additional engagement in class regardless of the subject matter. I'd probably choose to try it in a more advanced (smaller) class first where there is less risk involved as I learn how to incorporate the warm-ups effectively, etc. However, I think it would be most useful in general studies courses where the students are often less engaged in the material when they come in.”

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

• Exam questions that build on WarmUps

JITT STRUCTURE & RESPONSE RATES

0

10

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40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Response Rate by Day

Class #

% R

esp

on

sed

College Physics I, N = 78

0

10

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100

Response Rate by Day

Class #

% R

esp

on

sed

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

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.

MSU Denver is doing good work in supporting innovative pedagogy, like JiTT. We have a solid JiTT “User’s Group.”

YOUR SUMMARY

If you want to implement JiTT, what is the most important next step?

Please… get in touch!

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